[windows2000] Re: Storage Solutions

  • From: "Claus, Brian" <BClaus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <windows2000@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 09:58:31 -0400

Greg,
 
I'd recommend the HP Storage Cabinet 4314.  It's a great step between
server based storage and a SAN.  We have a few of them and have had no
problems.
 
http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantstorage/drives-enclos
ures/4300enclosure/description.html
<http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/proliantstorage/drives-enclo
sures/4300enclosure/questionsanswers.html> 
 
 
 
Here's some quick specs from HP.
All models of the StorageWorks Enclosure 4300 Family have the following
features: 

*       Ultra3 (LVD) support - Delivering data transfer rates up to 160
MB/s per channel 

*       3U rack height 

*       A common storage platform allows for future storage
consolidation to the SAN 

*       Award winning innovative SCA (Single Connect Attach) direct
connect drive carrier - provides better cooling and reliability for 10K
and future 15K drives 

*       Hot pluggable disk drives, power supplies, and fans 

*       Redundant fans, redundant power supply and dual bus I/O module 

*       Each Enclosure 4314T, 4314R, and 4310R comes with a single power
supply that is sufficient to provide power to the enclosure and maintain
normal operating levels. A second optional redundant power supply is
recommended for higher levels of fault tolerance and availability. 

*       Environmental Monitoring Unit (EMU) - Monitors environmental
conditions within the enclosure and components such as the power supply
and fans 

*       Easy removal of parts provides better serviceability. No tools
are required! 

Specific features of the StorageWorks Enclosure 4314T, 4314R, and 4354R
include:

*       Supports up to 14 (1-inch) Ultra 2 or Ultra3 Universal hard disk
drives 

*       Provides storage capacity of up to 509.6 GB per enclosure (using
36.4 GB 1-inch disk drives) 

*       House up to 14-enclosures in one 42U rack for a single rack
storage capacity of up to 7.13 TB of disk storage 

*       Modular design allows the StorageWorks Enclosure 4300 to be used
in any storage configuration -- from JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks) to
Smart Array storage enclosures to external multi-vendor Modular Arrays. 

Specific features of the StorageWorks Enclosure 4310R and 4350R include:

*       Supports up to 10 (1.6-inch) Ultra3 hard disk drives or 10
(1-inch) Ultra2 or Ultra3 Universal hard drives with drive extenders
(top hats) 

*       1.6-inch disk drive form factor allows MA/EMA customers to get
first access to future disk capacity points 

*       Provides storage capacity of up to 728 GB per enclosure (using
72.8 GB 1.6-inch disk drives) 

*       House up to 14 enclosures in one 42U rack for a single rack
storage capacity of up to 10.1 TB of disk storage 

*       Full installation and hardware warranty extension services
available 

 

 

  _____  


 
Brian Claus, MCP, Network+, A+
Network Administrator
WESCO Distribution, Inc.
225 West Station Square Drive, Suite 700
Pittsburgh, PA 15219-1122
Phone:  412-454-2412
Fax:  412-454-2540
 <mailto:bclaus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> bclaus@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
  _____  


-----Original Message-----
From: windows2000-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:windows2000-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of Greg Reese
Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 9:28 AM
To: windows2000@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [windows2000] Storage Solutions



I wanted to start a discussion on this to see what the rest of you are
doing and get a better understanding myself as I get pushed this
direction.

Currently, all our network drives are shared off of one server.  It has
two raid 5 arrays and has about 60GB of total file space.  All the user
home drives are there, plus the departmental shares, a public chare etc.

Those drives are nearly full.  My SQL server is running into the same
wall.  I backup my SQL databases to disk then put those backups on tape.
I have enough disk for the databases but the backups fail sometimes if
the previous nights files don't get removed first.

I don't think just replacing the current drives on these servers with
bigger drives is the answer. 

I have looking into setting up a SAN but they cost a small fortune.  I
can generally spend whatever I want here but I can't justify spending
that much on storage.

I have also looked at those Iomega 1u storage servers but they seem
cheap and a little weak for the kind of reliability I need.

What else is there for adding storage?  We have gigabit Ethernet in
place on the server rack.  Most of the clients connect via Citrix so the
connections from their sessions to the other servers is really good.

Is there something in between?  A SAN is nice, but I don't need my
servers to boot from it or anything.  I just need storage available to
the network somehow and need it available fast enough that it doesn't
bog things down.

My other thought is that I can set my backups to backup to disk and then
back that up to tape so users aren't slowed down by backup.  A couple of
DLT drives in a server isn't cutting it for backup anymore either.

Thanks! 

Greg 

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