iSCSI SAN

rowdylewis · ‎01-16-2009

Can anyone recommend an inexpensive SAN solutions for a 3.5 environment? I found the Datacore products interesting.

The project I am working on is on a very tight budget.

Lightbulb · ‎01-16-2009

You could use either Openfiler (http://www.openfiler.com/) or FreeNAS (http://www.freenas.org/) for ISCSI or NFS.

bobcat757 · ‎01-19-2009

Hello,

I would recommend StarWind (www.starwindsoftware.com). It is an inexpensive solution which has the possibility of transforming any windows machine into a iSCSI SAN. It is really easy to use and it supports CDP, mirroring, thin provisioning and is compatible with VMotion, DRS, VMware's HA,...

Thanks,

Bobcat

Lightbulb · ‎01-19-2009

Also I hear that Starwind supports ISCSI-3 Persistent Reservation (Which Openfiler and Freenas do not), so you can use it for Windows 2008 clustering.

williambishop · ‎01-19-2009

IF this is production, I'll tell you what I tell everyone else. You can do it free, and in all likelihood, it will work for you. If you merely are looking to get out cheap, but still want to get a real san (with the redundancy, speed, and support that is entailed), then you can get something from several vendors for a moderate price. Let us know which way you really want to go, and we can offer suggestions.

--"Non Temetis Messor."

rowdylewis · ‎01-20-2009

It will be used for production so I would prefer the redundancy etc... of a real SAN. If we cannot find something economical in that category then we will be forced to build our own.

Thanks.

williambishop · ‎01-20-2009

You're determined for iscsi?

You say a tight budget, can you give us an idea? That will certainly give us some parameters to work within.

--"Non Temetis Messor."

rowdylewis · ‎01-20-2009

If I am lucky I will have 45-50K to work with. I would like to have async replicaiton for a subset etc...

The solution need not be ISCSI based...

williambishop · ‎01-20-2009

Ouch....You'd be lucky to get a single san for that, let alone a replicated one(even a subset).

How much space are you going to need?

Definately, you're looking at an iscsi, you may be able to do a small san and a small shelf for replication.

--"Non Temetis Messor."

rowdylewis · ‎01-20-2009

My thoughts exactly.

I think we could start small with 2TB.

williambishop · ‎01-20-2009

That's probably doable. You'll find lefthand, and your first pick within that range. You could probably even slot something like a ds4700 with 2T for about 23k(guessing here). You could actually accomplish the the async with either of the first two options, but I doubt it with the IBM's or hitachi's of the world....and we won't even discuss EMC for that range.

--"Non Temetis Messor."

doubleH · ‎01-20-2009

you can definately get an EqualLogic SAN for price and it has built-in support for replication. their year end is Jan31 and I know for a fact they have reduced pricing until Jan 31 so they make make their books look good. now is a great time to check them out!

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mbeck69 · ‎02-11-2009

DoubleH, do you still have that PDF HOWTO for building a linux-based iSCSI target using IET? Would love to take a look at it if so. It used to be at:

http://www.doubleH.ca/docs/

Thanks!

doubleH · ‎02-11-2009

it's a little dated so the versions may be different but here it is...

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pcmd · ‎02-19-2009

Hi All.

I wasn't quite sure where to post this question, but I figured in here might be better than starting a new thread.

I set up a FreeNAS virtual appliance on one of my ESX boxes (3.5 U3) the other day for a completely different project.

Now, I'm looking at it to be an iSCSI target.

I added a virtual hard disk and configured it to be an iSCSI target.

I know it is working, because I'm able to connect to it and format or whatever I want with my Windows XP box using MS iSCSI initiator.

However, I can't (or just don't understand how to) connect to it from either of my ESX boxes.

Is Virtual Center required in order to connect to an iSCSI target from an ESX box?

Thanks.

steven

:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,~`:

Thanks for your kindness and patience as I continue this adventure in the world of virtualization.

Bullies need not reply

Luckybob · ‎02-19-2009

Without knowing your storage capacities, for the price I would recommend LeftHand San. We currently run 2 clusters, one SAS on SATA, total of 16TB. We are in the process of adding two more units for a total of 10TB. the quotes I have recived for this have been in your price range. If you are interested in Thin Provisioning, Redundancey, Cloning,. HA, I would definatley check them out.

If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Leafy911 · ‎02-19-2009

If I am lucky I will have 45-50K to work with. I would like to have async replicaiton for a subset etc...

The solution need not be ISCSI based...

I think you can get a EMC Clariion CX3-10c for that money. It's got fibre channel and iSCSI.

Might be cheaper now with the CX4 series coming in.

Regards

Leafy911

(Dont forget you recieve points when you award points)

Regards Leafy911 (Dont forget you recieve points when you award points)

Leafy911 · ‎02-19-2009

Hi All.
I wasn't quite sure where to post this question, but I figured in here might be better than starting a new thread.
I set up a FreeNAS virtual appliance on one of my ESX boxes (3.5 U3) the other day for a completely different project.
Now, I'm looking at it to be an iSCSI target.
I added a virtual hard disk and configured it to be an iSCSI target.
I know it is working, because I'm able to connect to it and format or whatever I want with my Windows XP box using MS iSCSI initiator.
However, I can't (or just don't understand how to) connect to it from either of my ESX boxes.
Is Virtual Center required in order to connect to an iSCSI target from an ESX box?
Thanks.
steven
:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,~`:
Thanks for your kindness and patience as I continue this adventure in the world of virtualization.
Bullies need not reply

Have a look at this http://communities.vmware.com/message/699178#699178

Regards

Leafy911

(Dont forget you recieve points when you award points)

Regards Leafy911 (Dont forget you recieve points when you award points)

pcmd · ‎02-19-2009

Thanks, but actually, I just figured it out on my own.

I just had to create a VMKernel, and I was good to go.

Of course, I still haven't actually gained any new storage as of now since I'm just serving up space on one ESX box to another, but it's very cool to finally break out into the world of the SAN (even if it is iSCSI).

Next step is to turn a bunch of extra computers we have sitting around into a multi-node, redundant iSCSI SAN.

I have a general idea of what I'm going to do for this, but any suggestions?

Thanks.

steven

:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,_`:`.:,~`:

Thanks for your kindness and patience as I continue this adventure in the world of virtualization.

Bullies need not reply