It truly is a beautiful thing when something just works. This is especially true with computers. High capacity storage has become almost a commodity with the price of an external 1 TB USB hovering around $100. All you have to do is plug in the power and connect the USB cable, and you’ve got instant storage expansion. Works great for a single computer, and you could even unplug it from one and plug it into another. While that does work, it tends to get old after a while, and if you’re using that method for backups, you will more than likely end up forgetting or just quitting altogether at some point.
Network Attached Storage (NAS) is one answer to sharing large storage devices over a network. You could buy a NAS device from your favorite local or Internet supplier, but chances are you’ll wind up with something less than what a “real” NAS has to offer. That’s where VIA’s ARTiGO A2000 comes in. The A2000 fits a full-featured computer with space for two 3.5″ SATA drives in a package about the size of a shoebox. Add to the hardware the FreeNAS open source software and you’ve got a really capable storage solution.
Read further (LinuxPlanet – 17/04/2009)
ZFS is a file system that has changed storage system rules as we currently know them and continues to do so. It is with no doubt the best architecture to date and now you can use it for your VMware stores.
Previously I had explored using it for a VMware store but ran into many issues which were real show stoppers. Like the VPD page response issue which made VMware see only one usable iSCSI store. But things are soon to be very different when Sun releases the snv_93 or above to all. I am currently using the unreleased snv_93 iscsitgt code and it works with VMware in all the ways you would want. Many thanks to the Sun engineers for adding NAA support on the iSCSI target service. With that being said let me divulge the details and behaviors of the first successful X4500 ZFS iSCSI VMware implementation in the real world.
Lets look at the Architectural view first.
The architecture uses a best practice approach consisting of completely separated physical networks for the iSCSI storage data plane. All components have redundant power and network connectivity. The iSCSI storage backplane is configured with an aggregate and is VLAN’d off from the server management network. Within the physical HP 2900’s an inter-switch ISL connection is defined but is not critical. This allows for more available data paths if additional interfaces were assigned on the ESX host side.
Read further (laspina.ca)
Published on
08/04/2009 in
NAS.
Choosing a proper NAS device for your office or home has never been more important in light of the current economy. Pick the wrong one, and what may seem like a bargain can quickly end up wasting precious time and resource, and worst, compromising your company or your personal data. Data specs don’t always tell the whole story. We urge you to ask the right questions so that whatever device you end up purchasing will work as expected, especially and more importantly when something goes wrong.
Here’s a list of questions you should ask:
How safe is your online expansion?
How comprehensive is the backup capability?
How extensive is your media streaming support?
How can I access my NAS remotely?
Does your firmware support third-party add-ons?
How will you support me if I run into problems?
Where can I learn more about your products?
What’s your warranty?
- How safe is your online expansion?
- How comprehensive is the backup capability?
- How extensive is your media streaming support?
- How can I access my NAS remotely?
- Does your firmware support third-party add-ons?
- How will you support me if I run into problems?
- Where can I learn more about your products?
- What’s your warranty?
These questions are on the ReadyNAS website and the answers are hence in favour of ReadyNAS. However, it’s still good to think about all these questions when selecting your new NAS system
Published on
08/04/2009 in
NAS.
Buffalo Technology on Tuesday introduced its LinkStation Mini, a new miniature 1 terabyte (TB) Network Attached Storage System. The device is coming in May for US$699, and will soon be joined by a 500GB version.
The LinkStation Mini combines two 500GB hard disk drive mechanisms operating at 5400RPM, and can be configured either using RAID Level 0 (striping) or Level 1 (mirroring). It sports Gigabit Ethernet and has a USB port that can support an extra hard drive or printer that can be shared using an integrated print server.
Other features include Remote Power, which can power up the unit remotely, and Web Access, which lets users access storage anywhere using a Web browser. It can also support UPS devices, so the unit can coordinate a shut down during power outages. It’s DLNA-compatible, so it can stream files through DLNA-compatible players, and it also supports Active Directory. Other protocols supported by the device include FTP, SMB and HTTPS. Buffalo includes Memeo backup software, which is Windows-compatible only.
Source: PCWorld (08/04/2009)