Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Miles Nordin wrote: "et" == Erik Trimble writes: et> I'd still get the 7310 hardware. et> Worst case scenario is that you can blow away the AmberRoad okay but, AIUI he was saying pricing is 6% more for half as much physical disk. This is also why it ``uses less energy'' while supposedly filling the same role: fishworks clustering is based on SAS multi-initiator, on SAS fan...uh,...fan-in? switches, while OP's home-rolled cluster plan was based on copying the data to another zpool. remember pricing is based on ``market forces'': it's not dumb, is the opposite of dumb, but...under ``market forces'' pricing if you are paying for clever-schemes you can't use, YHL. No, 6% LESS for the 7310 solution, vs the dual x4540 solution. The key here is Usable disk space. Yes, the X4540 comes with 2x the disk space, but having to cluster them via non-shared storage, you effectively eliminate that advantage. Not to mention that expanding a clustered X4540 either means you have to buy 2x the required storage (i.e. attach another array to each x4540), or you do the exact same thing as with a 7310 (i.e. dual-attach an array to both). You certainly are paying some premium for the A-R software; however, I was stating the worst-case scenario where he finds he can't make use of the A-R software. He's still left with a hardware solution that is superior to the dual X4540 (in my opinion). That is, software aside, my opinion is that a clustered X4140 with shared J4400 chassis is a better idea than "redundant" X4540 setup. With or without the AR software. The AR software just makes the configuration of the 7310 extremely simple, which is no small win in and of itself. -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-123 Phone: x17195 Santa Clara, CA Timezone: US/Pacific (GMT-0800) ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
> "et" == Erik Trimble writes: et> I'd still get the 7310 hardware. et> Worst case scenario is that you can blow away the AmberRoad okay but, AIUI he was saying pricing is 6% more for half as much physical disk. This is also why it ``uses less energy'' while supposedly filling the same role: fishworks clustering is based on SAS multi-initiator, on SAS fan...uh,...fan-in? switches, while OP's home-rolled cluster plan was based on copying the data to another zpool. remember pricing is based on ``market forces'': it's not dumb, is the opposite of dumb, but...under ``market forces'' pricing if you are paying for clever-schemes you can't use, YHL. pgplSxaec58ln.pgp Description: PGP signature ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Erik Trimble wrote: Miles Nordin wrote: "lz" == Len Zaifman writes: lz> So I now have 2 disk paths and two network paths as opposed to lz> only one in the 7310 cluster. You're configuring all your failover on the client, so the HA stuff is stateless wrt the server? sounds like the smart way since you control both ends. The entirely-server-side HA makes more sense when you cannot control the clients because they are entee usars. lz> Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster lz> over 2 X4540s backing each other up and splitting the load? remember fishworks does not include any source code nor run the standard opensolaris builds, both of which could be a big problem if you are working with IB, RDMA, and eventually Lustre. You may get access to certain fancy/flakey stuff around those protocols a year sooner by sticking to the trunk builds. Furthermore by not letting them take the source away you get the ability to backport your own fixes, if you get really aggressive. Having a cluster where one can give up the redundancy for a moment and turn one of the boxes into ``development'' is exactly what I'd want if I were betting my future on bleeding edge stuff like HOL-blocking fabrics, RDMA, and zpool-backed Lustre. It also lets you copy your whole dataset with rsync so you don't get painted into a corner, ex trying to downgrade a zpool version. I'd still get the 7310 hardware. Worst case scenario is that you can blow away the AmberRoad software load, and install OpenSolaris/Solaris. The hardware is a standard X4140 and J4200. Note, that if you do that, well, you can't re-load A-R without a support contract. Oops, I mean a J4400. -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-123 Phone: x17195 Santa Clara, CA ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Miles Nordin wrote: "lz" == Len Zaifman writes: lz> So I now have 2 disk paths and two network paths as opposed to lz> only one in the 7310 cluster. You're configuring all your failover on the client, so the HA stuff is stateless wrt the server? sounds like the smart way since you control both ends. The entirely-server-side HA makes more sense when you cannot control the clients because they are entee usars. lz> Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster lz> over 2 X4540s backing each other up and splitting the load? remember fishworks does not include any source code nor run the standard opensolaris builds, both of which could be a big problem if you are working with IB, RDMA, and eventually Lustre. You may get access to certain fancy/flakey stuff around those protocols a year sooner by sticking to the trunk builds. Furthermore by not letting them take the source away you get the ability to backport your own fixes, if you get really aggressive. Having a cluster where one can give up the redundancy for a moment and turn one of the boxes into ``development'' is exactly what I'd want if I were betting my future on bleeding edge stuff like HOL-blocking fabrics, RDMA, and zpool-backed Lustre. It also lets you copy your whole dataset with rsync so you don't get painted into a corner, ex trying to downgrade a zpool version. I'd still get the 7310 hardware. Worst case scenario is that you can blow away the AmberRoad software load, and install OpenSolaris/Solaris. The hardware is a standard X4140 and J4200. Note, that if you do that, well, you can't re-load A-R without a support contract. -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-123 Phone: x17195 Santa Clara, CA ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
> "lz" == Len Zaifman writes: lz> So I now have 2 disk paths and two network paths as opposed to lz> only one in the 7310 cluster. You're configuring all your failover on the client, so the HA stuff is stateless wrt the server? sounds like the smart way since you control both ends. The entirely-server-side HA makes more sense when you cannot control the clients because they are entee usars. lz> Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster lz> over 2 X4540s backing each other up and splitting the load? remember fishworks does not include any source code nor run the standard opensolaris builds, both of which could be a big problem if you are working with IB, RDMA, and eventually Lustre. You may get access to certain fancy/flakey stuff around those protocols a year sooner by sticking to the trunk builds. Furthermore by not letting them take the source away you get the ability to backport your own fixes, if you get really aggressive. Having a cluster where one can give up the redundancy for a moment and turn one of the boxes into ``development'' is exactly what I'd want if I were betting my future on bleeding edge stuff like HOL-blocking fabrics, RDMA, and zpool-backed Lustre. It also lets you copy your whole dataset with rsync so you don't get painted into a corner, ex trying to downgrade a zpool version. pgpNpD8ARnXEN.pgp Description: PGP signature ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Get the 7310 setup. Vs. the X4540 it is: (1) less configuration on your clients (2) instant failover with no intervention on your part (3) less expensive (4) expandable to 3x your current disk space (5) lower power draw & less rack space (6) So Simple, A Caveman Could Do It (tm) -Erik On Mon, 2009-11-23 at 14:46 -0500, Len Zaifman wrote: > I asked this question a week ago but now I have what I feel are reasonable > pricing numbers : > > For 2 X4540s (24 TB each) I pay 6% more than for one 7310 redundant cluster > (2 7310s in a cluster configuration) with 22 TB of disk and 2 x 18 GB SSDs. > > I lose live redundancy, but can switch the filerserver serving nodes with a > short downtime if I have 2 X4540s. > > I have a live copy of 1/2 the disk on one file server and a backup copy of > the other half of the disk on the same fileserver. The second server then has > the other half live , and the first half mirrored. > > So I now have 2 disk paths and two network paths as opposed to only one in > the 7310 cluster. > > Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster over 2 X4540s > backing each other up and splitting the load? > Len Zaifman > Systems Manager, High Perime formance Systems > The Centre for Computational Biology > The Hospital for Sick Children > 555 University Ave. > Toronto, Ont M5G 1X8 > > tel: 416-813-5513 > email: leona...@sickkids.ca > -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-123 Phone: x17195 Santa Clara, CA Timezone: US/Pacific (GMT-0800) ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
On Nov 23, 2009, at 14:46, Len Zaifman wrote: Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster over 2 X4540s backing each other up and splitting the load? Do you want to worry about your storage system at 3 AM? That's what all these appliances (regardless of vendor) get you for the extra cash: the manufacturers have test things out so they Just Work. Of course if you're comfortable with creating your own fail-over and redundancy system (or don't have the cash for the appliance), then there's no reason why you can't roll your own. It's the usual trade-off: time or money. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Len Zaifman wrote: Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster over 2 X4540s backing each other up and splitting the load? FISH! My wife could drive a 7310 :-) www.eagle.co.nz This email is confidential and may be legally privileged. If received in error please destroy and immediately notify us. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
If the 7310s can meet your performance expectations, they sound much better than a pair of x4540s. Auto-fail over, SSD performance (although these can be added to the 4540s), ease of management, and a great front end. I haven't seen if you can use your backup software with the 7310s, but from what I have read in this thread, that may be the only downside (a big one). Everything else points to the 7310s. -- This message posted from opensolaris.org ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
I asked this question a week ago but now I have what I feel are reasonable pricing numbers : For 2 X4540s (24 TB each) I pay 6% more than for one 7310 redundant cluster (2 7310s in a cluster configuration) with 22 TB of disk and 2 x 18 GB SSDs. I lose live redundancy, but can switch the filerserver serving nodes with a short downtime if I have 2 X4540s. I have a live copy of 1/2 the disk on one file server and a backup copy of the other half of the disk on the same fileserver. The second server then has the other half live , and the first half mirrored. So I now have 2 disk paths and two network paths as opposed to only one in the 7310 cluster. Under these circumstances what advantage would a 7310 cluster over 2 X4540s backing each other up and splitting the load? Len Zaifman Systems Manager, High Perime formance Systems The Centre for Computational Biology The Hospital for Sick Children 555 University Ave. Toronto, Ont M5G 1X8 tel: 416-813-5513 email: leona...@sickkids.ca From: Len Zaifman Sent: November 17, 2009 12:20 PM To: storage-disc...@opensolaris.org; zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org Subject: X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage We are looking at adding to our storage. We would like ~20TB-30 TB. we have ~ 200 nodes (1100 cores) to feed data to using nfs, and we are looking for high reliability, good performance (up to at least 350 MBytes /second over 10 GigE connection) and large capacity. For the X45xx (aka thumper) capacity and performanance seem to be there (we have 3 now) However, for system upgrades , maintenance and failures, we have an availability problem. For the 7xxx in a cluster configuration, we seem to be able to solve the availability issue, and perhaps get performance benefits the SSD. however, the costs constrain the capacity we could afford. If anyone has experience with both systems, or with the 7xxx system in a cluster configuration, we would be interested in hearing: 1) Does the 7xxx perform as well or better than thumpers? 2) Does the 7xxx failove r work as expected (in test and real life) 3) Does the SSD really help? 4) Do the analytics help prevent and solve real problems, or arui?he ge they frivolous pretty pictures? 5) is the 7xxx really a black box to be managed only by the GUI? 6) If are in or near Toronto, would you be willing to let us see your setup? Thanks for any insights you may have and are willing to share. Len Zaifman Systems Manager, High Performance Systems The Centre for Computational Biology The Hospital for Sick Children 555 University Ave. Toronto, Ont M5G 1X8 tel: 416-813-5513 email: leona...@sickkids.ca This e-mail may contain confidential, personal and/or health information(information which may be subject to legal restrictions on use, retention and/or disclosure) for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review or distribution by anyone other than the person for whom it was originally intended is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please contact the sender and delete all copies. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Thanks for your note: Re type of 7xxx system: It is mostlikely a 7310 with one tray, two if we can squeeze it in. Each tray will , we hope be 22x1TB disks and 2x 18GB SSDS. In a private response to this I got: >> With SSD it performs better than the Thumper. My feeling would be two >> trays plus two heads...4 read SSDs and 1 write SSD per tray should >> outperform 3-4 Thumpers. Thanks for the failover reference. And thanks for mentioning backups :we use networker and if we cannot install the networker client, we need to enable ndmp on the backup server. I will investigate. Len Zaifman Systems Manager, High Performance Systems The Centre for Computational Biology The Hospital for Sick Children 555 University Ave. Toronto, Ont M5G 1X8 tel: 416-813-5513 email: leona...@sickkids.ca From: darren.mof...@sun.com [darren.mof...@sun.com] On Behalf Of Darren J Moffat [darr...@opensolaris.org] Sent: November 18, 2009 12:10 PM To: Len Zaifman Cc: storage-disc...@opensolaris.org; zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org Subject: Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage Len Zaifman wrote: > We are looking at adding to our storage. We would like ~20TB-30 TB. > > we have ~ 200 nodes (1100 cores) to feed data to using nfs, and we are > looking for high reliability, good performance (up to at least 350 MBytes > /second over 10 GigE connection) and large capacity. > > For the X45xx (aka thumper) capacity and performanance seem to be there (we > have 3 now) > However, for system upgrades , maintenance and failures, we have an > availability problem. > > For the 7xxx in a cluster configuration, we seem to be able to solve the > availability issue, and perhaps get performance benefits the SSD. > > however, the costs constrain the capacity we could afford. > > If anyone has experience with both systems, or with the 7xxx system in a > cluster configuration, we would be interested in hearing: > > 1) Does the 7xxx perform as well or better than thumpers? Depends on which 7xxx you pick. > 2) Does the 7xxx failove r work as expected (in test and real life) Depends what your expectations are! The time to failover depends on how you configure the cluster and how many filesystems you have and how many disks etc etc. Have a read over this blog entry: http://blogs.sun.com/wesolows/entry/7000_series_takeover_and_failback > 3) Does the SSD really help? For NFS yes the WriteZilla (slog) really helps because of how the NFS protocol works. For ReadZillia (l2arc) it depends on your workload. > 4) Do the analytics help prevent and solve real problems, or arui?he ge they > frivolous pretty pictures? Yes they do, at a level of detail no other storage vendor can currently provide. > 5) is the 7xxx really a black box to be managed only by the GUI? GUI or CLI but the CLI is *NOT* a Solaris shell it is a CLI version of the GUI. The 7xxx is a true appliance, it happens to be built from OpenSolaris code but it is not a Solaris/OpenSolaris install. So you can't run your own applications on it. Backups are via NDMP for example. I highly recommend downloading the simulator and trying it in VirtualBox/VMware: http://www.sun.com/storage/disk_systems/unified_storage/ -- Darren J Moffat This e-mail may contain confidential, personal and/or health information(information which may be subject to legal restrictions on use, retention and/or disclosure) for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review or distribution by anyone other than the person for whom it was originally intended is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please contact the sender and delete all copies. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Darren J Moffat wrote: Len Zaifman wrote: We are looking at adding to our storage. We would like ~20TB-30 TB. we have ~ 200 nodes (1100 cores) to feed data to using nfs, and we are looking for high reliability, good performance (up to at least 350 MBytes /second over 10 GigE connection) and large capacity. For the X45xx (aka thumper) capacity and performanance seem to be there (we have 3 now) However, for system upgrades , maintenance and failures, we have an availability problem. For the 7xxx in a cluster configuration, we seem to be able to solve the availability issue, and perhaps get performance benefits the SSD. however, the costs constrain the capacity we could afford. If anyone has experience with both systems, or with the 7xxx system in a cluster configuration, we would be interested in hearing: 1) Does the 7xxx perform as well or better than thumpers? Depends on which 7xxx you pick. The 7210 (the thumper/thor-based AmberRoad) does not support clustering. Neither does the 7110. The 7310/7410 are the clusterable solutions. They are much more flexible in configuration than the Thumper stuff, as they provide disk attach via a J4000-series JBOD, which can be populated with SAS or SATA drives, and different SSD configurations. Frankly, you might want a 7310/7410 in any case, over a thumper. Even with SSDs, certain workloads are far better served with SAS drives than SATA drives, and with a 7310/7410, you can easily mix both types in the same clustered setup. In my case, I'm going with SAS to serve xVM images, as they demand a very high level of random I/O which is not well served by even SSD/SATA configs. I'd really concentrate on the 7310 - it's in your capacity band, and provides clustering and SSD support. A note here: officially, you can't add anything other than a J4400 with SATA/SSDs to these things. HOWEVER, there's no technical reason not to add any J4xxx into one, and populate it with any combination of SAS or SSDs. The software certainly has no problem with it. I'm still waiting for Official Support of a SAS-populated J4xxx into an A-R system. 2) Does the 7xxx failove r work as expected (in test and real life) Depends what your expectations are! The time to failover depends on how you configure the cluster and how many filesystems you have and how many disks etc etc. Have a read over this blog entry: http://blogs.sun.com/wesolows/entry/7000_series_takeover_and_failback 3) Does the SSD really help? For NFS yes the WriteZilla (slog) really helps because of how the NFS protocol works. For ReadZillia (l2arc) it depends on your workload. I'm testing SLOG performance right now with iSCSI-shared xVM images. The L2ARC definitely makes a big difference here, as my VMs have a huge amount of common data which is read-mostly. 4) Do the analytics help prevent and solve real problems, or arui?he ge they frivolous pretty pictures? Yes they do, at a level of detail no other storage vendor can currently provide. I have to agree here. The A-R custom software is definitely nicer than the roll-my-own OpenSolaris-based setup I pitted the A-R against. 5) is the 7xxx really a black box to be managed only by the GUI? GUI or CLI but the CLI is *NOT* a Solaris shell it is a CLI version of the GUI. The 7xxx is a true appliance, it happens to be built from OpenSolaris code but it is not a Solaris/OpenSolaris install. So you can't run your own applications on it. Backups are via NDMP for example. I highly recommend downloading the simulator and trying it in VirtualBox/VMware: http://www.sun.com/storage/disk_systems/unified_storage/ My biggest bitch with the A-R systems is that I can't add common X4x40-series upgrades to them (and, attaching any combo of a J4xxx to one is still not Officially Supported). That is, I'd love to be able to add a FC HBA into one and make it act like a FC target, but so far, I'm not getting that it's a supported option. Also, while you can add a second CPU or more RAM to some of the configs, it's not really "encouraged". A-R is an appliance, and frankly, you have to live with the limited configurations it's sold in. -- Erik Trimble Java System Support Mailstop: usca22-123 Phone: x17195 Santa Clara, CA ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
I don't wish to hijack, but along these same comparing lines, is there anyone able to compare the 7200 to the HP LeftHand series? I'll start another thread if this goes too far astray. thx jake Darren J Moffat wrote: Len Zaifman wrote: We are looking at adding to our storage. We would like ~20TB-30 TB. we have ~ 200 nodes (1100 cores) to feed data to using nfs, and we are looking for high reliability, good performance (up to at least 350 MBytes /second over 10 GigE connection) and large capacity. For the X45xx (aka thumper) capacity and performanance seem to be there (we have 3 now) However, for system upgrades , maintenance and failures, we have an availability problem. For the 7xxx in a cluster configuration, we seem to be able to solve the availability issue, and perhaps get performance benefits the SSD. however, the costs constrain the capacity we could afford. If anyone has experience with both systems, or with the 7xxx system in a cluster configuration, we would be interested in hearing: 1) Does the 7xxx perform as well or better than thumpers? Depends on which 7xxx you pick. 2) Does the 7xxx failove r work as expected (in test and real life) Depends what your expectations are! The time to failover depends on how you configure the cluster and how many filesystems you have and how many disks etc etc. Have a read over this blog entry: http://blogs.sun.com/wesolows/entry/7000_series_takeover_and_failback 3) Does the SSD really help? For NFS yes the WriteZilla (slog) really helps because of how the NFS protocol works. For ReadZillia (l2arc) it depends on your workload. 4) Do the analytics help prevent and solve real problems, or arui?he ge they frivolous pretty pictures? Yes they do, at a level of detail no other storage vendor can currently provide. 5) is the 7xxx really a black box to be managed only by the GUI? GUI or CLI but the CLI is *NOT* a Solaris shell it is a CLI version of the GUI. The 7xxx is a true appliance, it happens to be built from OpenSolaris code but it is not a Solaris/OpenSolaris install. So you can't run your own applications on it. Backups are via NDMP for example. I highly recommend downloading the simulator and trying it in VirtualBox/VMware: http://www.sun.com/storage/disk_systems/unified_storage/ ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
Re: [zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
Len Zaifman wrote: We are looking at adding to our storage. We would like ~20TB-30 TB. we have ~ 200 nodes (1100 cores) to feed data to using nfs, and we are looking for high reliability, good performance (up to at least 350 MBytes /second over 10 GigE connection) and large capacity. For the X45xx (aka thumper) capacity and performanance seem to be there (we have 3 now) However, for system upgrades , maintenance and failures, we have an availability problem. For the 7xxx in a cluster configuration, we seem to be able to solve the availability issue, and perhaps get performance benefits the SSD. however, the costs constrain the capacity we could afford. If anyone has experience with both systems, or with the 7xxx system in a cluster configuration, we would be interested in hearing: 1) Does the 7xxx perform as well or better than thumpers? Depends on which 7xxx you pick. 2) Does the 7xxx failove r work as expected (in test and real life) Depends what your expectations are! The time to failover depends on how you configure the cluster and how many filesystems you have and how many disks etc etc. Have a read over this blog entry: http://blogs.sun.com/wesolows/entry/7000_series_takeover_and_failback 3) Does the SSD really help? For NFS yes the WriteZilla (slog) really helps because of how the NFS protocol works. For ReadZillia (l2arc) it depends on your workload. 4) Do the analytics help prevent and solve real problems, or arui?he ge they frivolous pretty pictures? Yes they do, at a level of detail no other storage vendor can currently provide. 5) is the 7xxx really a black box to be managed only by the GUI? GUI or CLI but the CLI is *NOT* a Solaris shell it is a CLI version of the GUI. The 7xxx is a true appliance, it happens to be built from OpenSolaris code but it is not a Solaris/OpenSolaris install. So you can't run your own applications on it. Backups are via NDMP for example. I highly recommend downloading the simulator and trying it in VirtualBox/VMware: http://www.sun.com/storage/disk_systems/unified_storage/ -- Darren J Moffat ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
[zfs-discuss] X45xx storage vs 7xxx Unified storage
We are looking at adding to our storage. We would like ~20TB-30 TB. we have ~ 200 nodes (1100 cores) to feed data to using nfs, and we are looking for high reliability, good performance (up to at least 350 MBytes /second over 10 GigE connection) and large capacity. For the X45xx (aka thumper) capacity and performanance seem to be there (we have 3 now) However, for system upgrades , maintenance and failures, we have an availability problem. For the 7xxx in a cluster configuration, we seem to be able to solve the availability issue, and perhaps get performance benefits the SSD. however, the costs constrain the capacity we could afford. If anyone has experience with both systems, or with the 7xxx system in a cluster configuration, we would be interested in hearing: 1) Does the 7xxx perform as well or better than thumpers? 2) Does the 7xxx failove r work as expected (in test and real life) 3) Does the SSD really help? 4) Do the analytics help prevent and solve real problems, or arui?he ge they frivolous pretty pictures? 5) is the 7xxx really a black box to be managed only by the GUI? 6) If are in or near Toronto, would you be willing to let us see your setup? Thanks for any insights you may have and are willing to share. Len Zaifman Systems Manager, High Performance Systems The Centre for Computational Biology The Hospital for Sick Children 555 University Ave. Toronto, Ont M5G 1X8 tel: 416-813-5513 email: leona...@sickkids.ca This e-mail may contain confidential, personal and/or health information(information which may be subject to legal restrictions on use, retention and/or disclosure) for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review or distribution by anyone other than the person for whom it was originally intended is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please contact the sender and delete all copies. ___ zfs-discuss mailing list zfs-discuss@opensolaris.org http://mail.opensolaris.org/mailman/listinfo/zfs-discuss
