Enterprise iSCSI

[SmithyJones]

Looking for suggestions and/or warnings to avoid on enterprise class iSCSI rigs.

Must haves:
Must be able to team multiple 1gbit NICs (preferably 4+) No 10g for this set of systems
Must run a dual parity raid or better (6DP, 10, etc)
Redundant controller is a must
Vendor support for disk & hardware replacements -24x7 4 hour response or better

Nice bonus:
Ideally would have SSD/Flash cache
NDMP backup capability
Possibly have replication capability, in the event we buy another for an upcoming change in our DR plans.

None of this:
No "home-brew"
No MS storage server type systems


The goal is capacity & reliability with fair performance. Trying to avoid adding expensive SAN shelves for things that could make due on lesser performing disk. Mostly static records/documents on file shares that we need to keep available for compliance reasons.

 

[Nate7311]

Budget/Desired Capacity?

 

[blinkenflamingo]

I don't know about other vendors, but you can take a look at the EMC VNX series. The new VNX5200 may be an option. It does work with shelves though, but the controller enclosure already has 25 slots for 2.5" disks. They will fit various disk types, going from SSD's to larger Nearline SAS spinning at 10 or 7.2K.
the config depends on the size of your library, the growth rate and how many IOPS you really need.

Obviously there is the usual: 24/7 support, dual SP's, various raid levels depending on your requirements, replication, NIC teaming, ...

With the ESRS solution, troubleshooting is considerably faster and easier for EMC support if you compare it to webex. It's a very secure setup which allows the support guys to remotely dial into the system and grab the logs/collects.

My field experience with the VNX2 range: solid. Haven't seen many issues or break/fix pop up in our country for them. It's also easy to maintain and service.

That said, every vendor has its product, fans and conquistadors. Keep your ears open and let the reps from various companies come over and talk you through their solutions. They should all be capable to configure an array depending on your needs .

 

[SmithyJones]

Budget/Desired Capacity?

Given the list of other requirements, I don't think capacity is going to be a concern.

Budget shouldn't really be either, since the alternative would cost much, much more. We'd have to replace the current SAN controllers, and add more fiber switches at this point. Its going to be a money hog any way we look at it.