[OT: NAS] Storage solutions

[Harry Putnam]

Starting to need massive network storage here with a home videographer
business.

I'm running 3 windowsXP machines loaded for video work with lots of
the adobe tools installed. And a 4th machine (linux) that is my main
desktop for everthing else.

All have gigabit network adapters and there are 2 gigabit switches in the
interlinking network.

I'm thinking of getting something that allows at least a terabyte of
storage and can serve the lan at gigabit speeds. Printserver and extra
usb ports and such would be a secondary consideration.

Any input on tried and and known hardware or home built solutions
would be most welcome.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Make sure you know what file system the NAS uses. Many cheap ones use Linux
as an OS but the file system is FAT32 which limits you to maximum 4 GB file
size, not good for video. I haven't tried it but at a recent rade show I saw
this one. It looked very good for the price.

http://www.intel.com/design/servers/storage/ss4000-E/

Note that it comes without drives. It uses SATA II drives. Make sure you
don't use drives rated for desktop use but that you use drives designed for
RAID use. They don't cost that much more. The desktop drives will have
timing issues in a RAID array that may cause them to get marked as bad when
they aren't.

 

[Matt Beals]

Consider something like the SNAP servers that use iSCSI. If you're looking
for that much storage and to share it with three desktops I think that
something like iSCSI is going to be very beneficial to you. You can get one
for about $4k depending on the amount of storage. Is 1TB the working space
you need or is it also for archival?

Make sure you know what file system the NAS uses. Many cheap ones use Linux
as an OS but the file system is FAT32 which limits you to maximum 4 GB file
size, not good for video. I haven't tried it but at a recent rade show I saw
this one. It looked very good for the price.

http://www.intel.com/design/servers/storage/ss4000-E/

Note that it comes without drives. It uses SATA II drives. Make sure you
don't use drives rated for desktop use but that you use drives designed for
RAID use. They don't cost that much more. The desktop drives will have
timing issues in a RAID array that may cause them to get marked as bad when
they aren't.

Matt Beals
Consultant
Enfocus Certified Trainer, Markzware Recognized Trainer
(206) 618-2537 - cell
(720) 367-3869 - fax
mailto:[email protected]

Come visit me at:
http://www.mattbeals.com
http://www.actionlistexchange.net
http://www.mattbeals.com/blog/

Friends don't let friends write HTML emails

 

[Harry Putnam]

Make sure you know what file system the NAS uses. Many cheap ones use Linux
as an OS but the file system is FAT32 which limits you to maximum 4 GB file
size, not good for video. I haven't tried it but at a recent rade show I saw
this one. It looked very good for the price.

http://www.intel.com/design/servers/storage/ss4000-E/

Thanks, that one does look to be versatile. How would I know the
filesystem used? At that link and following to the specs:

http://www.insight.com/site/product...6684177&cpncode=11-5374356&scSourceCode=CI012

I see it is an linux os using kernel 2.6 but no mention of what the
file system is. Or can the user just format them as desired?

If you have one of these can you explain how much the user can do with
the OS? Like for example can you install software on the OS?

Note that it comes without drives. It uses SATA II drives. Make sure you
don't use drives rated for desktop use but that you use drives designed for
RAID use. They don't cost that much more. The desktop drives will have
timing issues in a RAID array that may cause them to get marked as bad when
they aren't.

At the site above it says Hard Drive: Standard

How can a user tell the difference between desktop type drive and the
ones designed for raid use?

 

[Harry Putnam]

Consider something like the SNAP servers that use iSCSI. If you're looking
for that much storage and to share it with three desktops I think that
something like iSCSI is going to be very beneficial to you. You can get one
for about $4k depending on the amount of storage. Is 1TB the working space
you need or is it also for archival?

For both.

This is the first I'd heard of iSCSI and it looks very usefull but at
$4k it would be over my budget by about $3k.

 

[Kerry Brown]

Thanks, that one does look to be versatile. How would I know the
filesystem used? At that link and following to the specs:


http://www.insight.com/site/product...6684177&cpncode=11-5374356&scSourceCode=CI012

I see it is an linux os using kernel 2.6 but no mention of what the
file system is. Or can the user just format them as desired?

If you have one of these can you explain how much the user can do with
the OS? Like for example can you install software on the OS?

I don't know. I haven't personally used the device. You should contact Intel
directly.

At the site above it says Hard Drive: Standard

How can a user tell the difference between desktop type drive and the
ones designed for raid use?

Seagate Barracuda ES

http://www.seagate.com/products/enterprise/barracuda_es.html

Western Digital WD RE

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=233&Language=en