SSD Hybrid SAN

[CyberNerd]

Anyone got one?

What did you go for?

 

I need to replace my ageing DS3400 (6yr old now).

Am looking at the storwize V3700 and it looks like a small business/ low end enterprise replacement for a DS3400 but interested in other options.

I'm using more and more VDI machines each year so looking for something that will still be fast in 6yrs time, so SSD hybrid sounds like a good plan.

Does anyone have any experience with this or any other hybrid SAN?

I want to do the migration with as little downtime as possible. Is it possible to do SAN to SAN replication if the SAN is from a different vendor? I can see that I can do a non-disruptive migration with IBM -> IBM, but what if I went with an HP, how would that work?

[glennda]

I've just started working with IBM and recently installed a V7000 SAN and a client down the road from you.

 

But I would recommend the Nimble Boxes - they have redefined how storage works and really are the market leader when it comes to this kind of device.

 

With regards to the SAN to SAN replication I doubt cross vendor will work.

 

Do you use VMware for the HyperVisor.

[bart21]

I second nimble

[CyberNerd]

Do you use VMware for the HyperVisor.

 

KVM, our vmware is pretty much legacy as we couldn't afford the cost of going more than one server, plus I'd rather spend the money on decent hardware!

 

I must admit I've not really considered Nimble.

I'd quite like the features of Flashcopy and be able to replicate the new SAN to the current one without having to deal with extra backup software..

We've also got quite a few LUN's with some raw mappings, so moving a few TB of data isn't going to be a doddle without some form of non disruptive migration technology.

[glennda]

KVM, our vmware is pretty much legacy as we couldn't afford the cost of going more than one server, plus I'd rather spend the money on decent hardware!

 

I must admit I've not really considered Nimble.

I'd quite like the features of Flashcopy and be able to replicate the new SAN to the current one without having to deal with extra backup software..

We've also got quite a few LUN's with some raw mappings, so moving a few TB of data isn't going to be a doddle without some form of non disruptive migration technology.

 

Hmm it should be possible - i would have to have a think about the migration but they have revolutionised the storage market at this level.

[PhilD]

KVM, our vmware is pretty much legacy as we couldn't afford the cost of going more than one server, plus I'd rather spend the money on decent hardware!

 

I must admit I've not really considered Nimble.

I'd quite like the features of Flashcopy and be able to replicate the new SAN to the current one without having to deal with extra backup software..

We've also got quite a few LUN's with some raw mappings, so moving a few TB of data isn't going to be a doddle without some form of non disruptive migration technology.

 

Your dilema is exactly what Nimble is trying to avoid, complex backup software where it is not always needed. I've very recently come across a recovery solution that is really interesting - please read the rest:

 

First, a Nimble Array with snapshots at the disk/lun level (Redirect On Write (ROW) snapshots - i.e. no impact when taken and stored efficiently (with real-time compression before hitting disk)) with built in Replication (SAN to SAN) capabilities at no extra cost.

The "backup" part is then covered by snapshots and for extra protection you can ensure these are VMware (vCenter) or VSS consistent snapshots (as appropriate) or perhaps for those large file-system shares, just a crash-consistent snap (We all know MS survives these quite happily!)

 

So protecting the data is easy, recovering it not always as easy.

 

I've just come across a bit of software out there called "UFS Explorer" (no tie to Nimble in any way that I'm aware), what this allows you to do is mount a snapshot or clone a snapshot (from any snapshot taken on the array) and mount this to any host (Windows/Linux/MAC) that can connect to the array via the iSCSI protocol, then you browse the content (LUN/Volume) and recover individulal files (makes sense with NTFS/EXt... etc).

 

Now what impressed me even more is the ability to mount a VMFS filesystem (DataStore), browse to an individual VMDK file and then browse the content of the VMDK file at the file level.

So now you can take snapshots hourly (or more regularly if needed) and when a file recovery is needed on a VM, simply connect from your workstation to the relevant snapshot, browse and recover!

 

Unfortunately Hyper-V virtual disks is a "future"

 

OK, there is no index/catalog but how oftern do you really need to search an index/catalog? You know what it is you want to recover and your Recovery Time Objective (RTO) has now improved from daily (at best with backup software) to hourly or less.

Edited November 11, 2013 by PhilD