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Emc SAN or something else!?

T

Tazman2

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I work at a non profit and we looking at Sans that we can replicate across our VPN (ASAs) to our DR site. I've done some googling, etc. and everything seems great on paper but. What is the cheapest but still good way of having a SAN that will work with our ESX(i) 4.x/5.x servers, store our data and replicate/dedup? Thanks for any insight! :)
 
Tazman2 said:
I work at a non profit and we looking at Sans that we can replicate across our VPN (ASAs) to our DR site. I've done some googling, etc. and everything seems great on paper but. What is the cheapest but still good way of having a SAN that will work with our ESX(i) 4.x/5.x servers, store our data and replicate/dedup? Thanks for any insight! :)
Click to expand...

We need to know a bit more. What kind of connections do you and your DR site have to the outside world? Do you want live replication or are you going to batch/backup off hours? If so, what kind of backup window will you have? How much data do you have now/Forsee in the next 3 years? Is your DR site a live replicate of your work site, or just an offsite backup location?
 
2xT1s out of our CO and a Business Class cable connection at the DR site. Yes yes I know horrible but nothing faster here at the CO area! :/ Live would be nice but not really expected as we are only on a 3 meg pipe! The DR site is a cold site, only to be brought up when the CO is down for a extended period!
 
would you mind translating those acronyms in something a normal european may understand?
thanks :)

CO? DR?
 
Non profit I hope you can get it for free because an EMC SAN is going to run you over $100,000 after all the MSA and Controllers are put in place.

Why not an enterprise grade NAS. You can get those for far cheaper. I am not sure of many companies that are willing to donate or even highly discount a SAN for a non profit no matter how virtuous the 501(c)3 is.

QNAP makes VMware certified 10gbit copper connected NAS's with 12 disk starting around $3400.00 or so. Far far less expensive and can still do iSCSI luns.

Do you have a specific need for FiberChannel instead of iSCSI or Inifiniband or something else like that?
 
cheap and san do not go hand and hand.

you get what you pay for.

emc is top dog because they make the top products hence the premium cost.

with that said.. esxi can work with different storage vendors.. emc, netapp, 3par, ibm, cappallent and a few others out there.

ask yourself 2 questions..

1. What is your budget.
2. How long can you be down.

That should help you decide on a solution that works.

If management scoffs at cost.. then ask them just how much they think their data is worth.

this isnt a dig.. so don't take it this way. sounds like you guys are a small shop. If I was in your shoes, and worked with Sigma, CDW, or Sirrus Solutions.. I would work with them to help you design a solution that fits your needs and budgets. I know if you order your servers and desktops from any VAR, if you buy storage, you'll get a discount, and they also bring to the table someone who can help build you a solution or atleast get you thinking about certain things.

just be sure to push the slimey sales guy out the way, and work with their technical folks.. they at one point used to be just like you and me. guys up at 2am fixing stuff.

best of luck.
 
no.. but depending on the hardware, usable space needed, IOPS, license enablers(fast, replication, dedupe, compression), and replication tools he uses.. yes, it could easily cost 100k.

goes back to my 2 original questions..

1. What is your budget.
2. How long can you be down.
Click to expand...

If the answer to number 2, is never.. then number 1 better be very high.. which is usually followed by..

If management scoffs at cost.. then ask them just how much they think their data is worth.
Click to expand...

if the answer to above is priceless, then back to question number 1.. very high.

rinse and repeat.
 
How much space do you need? Another option to consider is EqualLogic depending on your needs.
 
About 3 TB give or take and would like to have two that replicate to themselves if possible. Also we do NOT need fiber or anything like that we can barely swing $8-10k for two SANs/NASs if that! :eek:
 
if you have a tight budget, the Extreme Margin Company are the worst people to talk to.

on your budget you're better off looking at building something based on linux or freeBSD and using DRBD or HAST to handle the replication. of these two, linux is your better option as HAST's async mode is still iffy and DRBD under linux is quite good.

that is just the bottom line. you can't even buy the lowest end chassis from emc for 8-10k with nothing in it. in fact, for 8-10k building 2 of something yourself that is usable with performance that doesnt suck balls is going to require some careful consideration. luckily you don't need a great deal of capacity.
 
Yea, as others are saying, with that budget, you would not be able to get into entry level EMC or netapp SAN's. I'd go with ZFS. Spec out some supermicro gear, find a deal on some drives and run either OI+NappIT or Nexenta community edition and you could build out two for $10k or less if you shop around.
 
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