jgsenecal
Level 1
(0 points)
Q: Non-Apple RAID hardware and XSAN--What are the real issues?
Hi all,
What are the real issues when using non-Apple RAID hardware and XSAN?
We need to add some additional capacity to our SAN, and I've been tasked with pricing. As currently configured, it's 100% Apple hardware (except the switches, of course). We'd like to keep it that way, but we're at a critical point where money is extremely tight (Congress hasn't approved a budget, and layoffs are coming in January). We may have to install some non-Apple products as a cost-saving measure.
I received a quote for Xserve RAIDs from our contracted supplier and Apple Sales Rep, but the quote, while cheaper than what I could do on the Apple store, is significantly more expensive that competing products that are more modern. For several $k less I can get a comparable product with SATA-II, 4Gbit fibre, RAID-6, and a larger drive capacity (16 instead of 14). For the same price I can get all this plus a product that's more reliable (redundant controllers and fibre ports).
The Apple Sales Rep is of course trying to sell me on Apple quality, interoperability, drive reliability, etc. I'm reluctant to purchase hardware that uses technology that's on its way out. Currently, the only advantage I see to the Apple product is the interface. It is very easy to set up and use. But the competing products aren't that bad. As I understand it, XSAN only wants a block-addressable device and communicates with it via fibre--there's no communication with storage via Ethernet.
So I ask: what are the real issues when using non-Apple storage with XSAN? Anyone operating a heterogeneous XSAN? Is it reliable enough? Were there serious problems (if so, what?)? Any non-Apple products that XSAN likes more than others?
Any practical information or advice that you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
To address some things preemptively:
* Our SAN is old enough so that any multi-year Apple support agreement has already expired.
* Regarding the quality of Apple (Hitachi) drives, drive burn-in can be done ourselves (the utilities exist), and the Google paper indicates that there's no real advantage to using enterprise-class drives.
Thanks very much!
-Josh
What are the real issues when using non-Apple RAID hardware and XSAN?
We need to add some additional capacity to our SAN, and I've been tasked with pricing. As currently configured, it's 100% Apple hardware (except the switches, of course). We'd like to keep it that way, but we're at a critical point where money is extremely tight (Congress hasn't approved a budget, and layoffs are coming in January). We may have to install some non-Apple products as a cost-saving measure.
I received a quote for Xserve RAIDs from our contracted supplier and Apple Sales Rep, but the quote, while cheaper than what I could do on the Apple store, is significantly more expensive that competing products that are more modern. For several $k less I can get a comparable product with SATA-II, 4Gbit fibre, RAID-6, and a larger drive capacity (16 instead of 14). For the same price I can get all this plus a product that's more reliable (redundant controllers and fibre ports).
The Apple Sales Rep is of course trying to sell me on Apple quality, interoperability, drive reliability, etc. I'm reluctant to purchase hardware that uses technology that's on its way out. Currently, the only advantage I see to the Apple product is the interface. It is very easy to set up and use. But the competing products aren't that bad. As I understand it, XSAN only wants a block-addressable device and communicates with it via fibre--there's no communication with storage via Ethernet.
So I ask: what are the real issues when using non-Apple storage with XSAN? Anyone operating a heterogeneous XSAN? Is it reliable enough? Were there serious problems (if so, what?)? Any non-Apple products that XSAN likes more than others?
Any practical information or advice that you can offer would be greatly appreciated.
To address some things preemptively:
* Our SAN is old enough so that any multi-year Apple support agreement has already expired.
* Regarding the quality of Apple (Hitachi) drives, drive burn-in can be done ourselves (the utilities exist), and the Google paper indicates that there's no real advantage to using enterprise-class drives.
Thanks very much!
-Josh
PowerMac G4 "Sawtooth", Mac OS X (10.4.11), Upgraded to 1 GHz, Radeon 9200
Posted on Nov 26, 2007 9:51 AM
