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caster
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-14-2009 07:21 AM

to iSCSI or not dell/hp?

Going to be going the vmware esx(vsphere) route shortly to make more efficient use of systems.

I was originally looking into a Dell 2950 with a md3000i incase we do vmotion in the future. Is the md3000i quick enough to handle exchange 2003/07 for 50 users and another few intense server vm's as long as I get a nice server?

Does HP have a unit thats comparable to the md3000i that I can pair with the hp ml370?

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AndreTheGiant
Immortal
Immortal
‎09-14-2009 07:31 AM

Dell R710 (or similar) + MD3000i could be a good solutions.

And can work also with more load than 50 Exchange users Smiley Wink

Be sure to use dedicated switches for iSCSI, follow the network topology, enable Jumbo Frame.

And make at least 2 RAID group (assigned to different MD3000i controller).

Andre

Andre | http://about.me/amauro | http://vinfrastructure.it/ | @Andrea_Mauro
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caster
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-14-2009 08:30 AM

I was looking at those dell r710's. Yes I planned on getting the cisco 2960g's 8 port for my setup ( i believe they have the 8 port in that version)

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TimPhillips
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
‎09-14-2009 10:01 AM

Good solution, but I would you to recommend also take a look to other software iSCSI solutions, not only HP/Lefthand, to see what`s more passes to your requirments.

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caster
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-14-2009 10:24 AM

care to make recommendations?

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TimPhillips
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
‎09-14-2009 10:31 AM

Top-3 is Datacore, StarWind and Lefthand from HP, also you can try open-e, but first 3 is top.

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krowczynski
Virtuoso
Virtuoso
‎09-14-2009 11:11 AM

Hi,

we also have 4 host (Dell PoerEdge 295) with ISCSI and Datacore running.

Our complete Terminalserver Farm an Exchangeserver (130 users) and soon our SQL Server running on it.

It is great!

MCP, VCP3 , VCP4
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RyanRackley-ISG
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-14-2009 02:07 PM

If you are going with Dell, why not look at an EqualLogic PS4000X or PS4000XV? These are not software based, but are industry leading peer based storage arrays. These have link aggregation, support for lots of RAID types, snapshot backup capabilities, multiple RAID types, Active/Passive controllers. The MD3000i may support a small environment, but the PS4000 series will blow the MD3000i away in features and performance at around the same price points.

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caster
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-16-2009 05:55 AM

is datacore,starwind replacements for the following that I would purchase with my md3000i

No data protection software

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License key for Snapshot software feature - 4 Snaps per LUN, MD3000i

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License key for Snapshot (4 per LUN) AND Virtual Disk copy software features, MD3000i

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License key for Snapshot software feature - 8 Snaps per LUN, MD3000

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License key for Snapshot (8 per LUN) AND Virtual Disk copy software features, MD3000

|

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caster
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-17-2009 11:00 AM

just trying to get a answer to my last question on datacore etc vs snapshot by dell?

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krowczynski
Virtuoso
Virtuoso
‎09-17-2009 11:03 AM

Datacore is licensed by TB capacity!

If you want a software that takes a lot of snaps, I also know falconstore.

MCP, VCP3 , VCP4
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caster
Contributor
Contributor
‎09-17-2009 11:26 AM

so im correct in datacore, etc are competition to what dell is trying to push?!

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TimPhillips
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
‎09-21-2009 01:36 AM

Yes, for example, you take StarWind (i don`t see clear product chart on other sites) - for $3k you`ll get unlimeted storage size, with all kind of snapshots and disaster recovery functions, eitehr security options. See yourself - their product chart.

P.S. You also may find useful this article on Wiki - comparison of iSCSI targets.

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