We would like to add RAID to our AFS fileservers which house our "user"
volumes, since they can not be replicated. I would like to hear from
others who have already done or tried this. I am interested in opinions
and knowledge of hardware and or software combinations that do or do not
work.
I need over 100 gig of storage just to accomidate our current "user"
usage. Currently 5 sparcstations are handleing the load. I would like to
get a RAID box that can handle multiple controllers so I can still let
multiple hosts split the load. This would be similar to getting a number
of smaller RAID systems, but the cost for the larger inclosures is
insignificant. This way I can share a number of the redundant pieces
amongst multiple systems. The cost for the extra controllers per host
would be the main additional cost.
My inclination is to use Solaris 2.5 SparcStations with the DEC
StorageWorks product. It looks like much more of a hardware solution then
Suns Open Disk Suite (ODS) that appears to do more in software (on the
sparcstation). ODS reminds me of the Sparc printer which also uses the
sparcstation for much of its printer processing. I would prefer to let
separate hardware handle most of both of these tasks.
I also plan to have FDDI interfaces on these fileservers. Is there any
reason why AFS will not take good advantage of the faster network access?
Anyhow, if any of you has experiences in this arena I would greatly
appreciate your input.
Thank you,
Randall
