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iSCSI SAN Homebrew Performance Question

D

DevX81

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2000
Messages
1,283
So I am a mad tinkerer like most users here, and currently have an all-in-one virtualized storage system (thanks to napp-it).

My current storage system is spec'd below:

Semperon 140
8gb ram
4x 2tb 5400 rpm spinpoints, connected via onboard sata controller


Right now I use said parts to not only run the storage system, but also two virtualized 2003 servers w/ exch 2003 and sql 2005. It boots slow, but runs adaquate.


This question my blur the lines between the Virtualization and storage forums but here goes:

I plan to repurpose my storage system into JUST storage. Blow away the virtualization, add an ssd for zil/l2arc, and just run a free OS/ZFS/iSCSI solution.

With this storage setup, would you think I could host 4x Server 2008 R2's, with Exch 2010 and SQL (both redundant/clustered/etc)? They would be running on some nice mini servers built with sandy bridge xeons, 16gb ram, etc (ESXi 5).

The I/O loads are rediculiously low.. two users on exchange.. with a total of maybe 10 new emails per day. SQL backend for a website that gets less than 100 hits per day. File sharing would also be done, but just stuff like mp3's. No Bluray streams or anything.

Looking at bonded intel gigabit nics all around and a cisco gigabit switch. A dedicated iSCSI level switch is out of the budget range.

THis is all just for my home... but lets call it a test lab so I can justify it :)
 
i wouldn't bond the nics for iscsi. let esxi's multipathing handle that you'll get generally better performance.

it should be fine performance wise given the workload you describe.
 
I tried this and was not happy with 1Gb connection so I can't imagine I would be with a 2Gb connection either. I would consider maybe a 4Gb connection using single or dual FC HBAs. But that's just me.
 
So even with crappy 'green' drives i'd be maxing out a 1-2gb link? Food for thought for sure.
 
DevX81 said:
So even with crappy 'green' drives i'd be maxing out a 1-2gb link? Food for thought for sure.
Click to expand...

I didn't realize you have 4x 5400rpm drives. Your bottleneck is still your one gig ethernet, but not by much
 
I would think that 2 user/20 email exchange would survive just fine on a single 5400/7200 drive (especially exch 2010). Depending on how many queries your website generates for those 100 hits, and the complexity of them, it also could probably survive on 1-2 drives.

If you create pools just for the SQL and/or Exchange, your L2ARC SSD, if large enough, could cache all your data. Gigabit will still be your bottleneck, but you should have the read IOPS handled.

And for sequential transfers, modern 5400 drives are able to sustain 100MB+/sec.

I currently have a lab with similar setup, I'll try and find some benchmarks for IOPS.

Here is atto, going to a 4 drive mirror. Windows 7 to Solaris 11 Express

 
Thx for the info. I was going to double up the link to a 2gb. FC HBA's are waaaay outta my budget range considering my storage setup only cost like $500 to begin with lol.

And yeah, those 100 hits (being very generous) dont even use sql yet. the sql is for a shopping cart/inventory/etc kinda page. So its very quick, single query updates.

Also, being home use.. if my outlook takes an extra 5 seconds to bring me my email, i wont really care. Just looking to use what I have, and add some more power to the front end.
 
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