Nexenta build for business.

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wrxdonkey

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Jul 28, 2012
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I am currently (and have quite happily been) running Nexenta CE 3.1.3 (since April 2011) with 26 disks as my primary NAS with a usable space of about 5.5TB. It is supporting an expanding VMware deployment.

Current build:
Dell PowerEdge c2100
Dual Intel Xeon 5 (Westmere 2.4GHz)
144GB RAM @ 1333MHz (14x4)
Dual Intel x520-DA2 (for 4x 10GbE ports)
Mezzanine LSI SAS controller
2x 240GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD (L2ARC)
2x 120GB OCZ Deneva 2 SSD (ZIL)
22x Seagate 500GB Constellation 7200 RPM drives

Expansion:
We've got one PCI Slot available on the c2100, which I'm thinking to put an LSI 9200-8e on and add a 72 bay SuperMicro JBOD (Supermicro SuperChassis 417E16-R1400UB) and populate the chassis gradually with either 1TB or 500GB 7200 RPM Constellations, adding RAID-5 zPools as needed (or when disks are too cheap to say no).

SC417E-R1400LPB_spec.jpg


SC417E-R1400LPB_alt.jpg


Any objections, enhancements, or modifications to such a build? Ultimately, I intend to have 2 of these units in different geographic locations and replicate from A to B with a smallish appliance at each site taking backups of the data on each unit.

Additional Questions:
Different disk recommendations for the zil/l2arc?
Optimization suggestions?
Availability recommendations?

Everything has been done on a budget to this point, but I am now entertaining the idea of investing more in the growth of this system to support our business. I anticipate that this means either licensing with Nexenta or converting to a different OS and rebuilding our storage.

Thanks in advance for any assistance.
 
If space is not to big of a issue would go with 3.5" disks like asgards said. There cheaper per GB. Would stay away from Seagate Constellation your really just paying for it being labeled as a enterprise drive. There are other drives cheaper per GB that are just as fast and reliable. Like seagate xt, wd black, and hitachi ultrastar

Not to familiar with VMware but but for a NAS using Nexenta/Illumos. Would recommend areca ARC-1882X instead for the c2100. Areca drivers work very well in solaris base OS. Most OS have the drivers built in. They preform slightly better then LSI's and they have a dedicated ethernet for web base administration.

Then just daisy chain 24bay JBOD 3.5" cases with SAS6G expanders. Would allow you grow better as you need more storage.
 
asgards said:
im currious, why go for 2,5" drives?
Click to expand...

Power, cooling, and density. I could be way off on this and I'm open to arguments that 3.5" disks are better for power/cooling/density.

amps2volts said:
If space is not to big of a issue would go with 3.5" disks like asgards said. There cheaper per GB. Would stay away from Seagate Constellation your really just paying for it being labeled as a enterprise drive. There are other drives cheaper per GB that are just as fast and reliable. Like seagate xt, wd black, and hitachi ultrastar

Not to familiar with VMware but but for a NAS using Nexenta/Illumos. Would recommend areca ARC-1882X instead for the c2100. Areca drivers work very well in solaris base OS. Most OS have the drivers built in. They preform slightly better then LSI's and they have a dedicated ethernet for web base administration.

Then just daisy chain 24bay JBOD 3.5" cases with SAS6G expanders. Would allow you grow better as you need more storage.
Click to expand...

Is the Seagate Constellation not a SAS drive? Most of the other drives you listed are SATA.

Thanks for the head's up on the Areca. Is there a particular 24bay JBOD you'd recommend? A particular set of SAS6G expanders?
 
amps2volts said:
If space is not to big of a issue would go with 3.5" disks like asgards said. There cheaper per GB. Would stay away from Seagate Constellation your really just paying for it being labeled as a enterprise drive. There are other drives cheaper per GB that are just as fast and reliable. Like seagate xt, wd black, and hitachi ultrastar

Not to familiar with VMware but but for a NAS using Nexenta/Illumos. Would recommend areca ARC-1882X instead for the c2100. Areca drivers work very well in solaris base OS. Most OS have the drivers built in. They preform slightly better then LSI's and they have a dedicated ethernet for web base administration.

Then just daisy chain 24bay JBOD 3.5" cases with SAS6G expanders. Would allow you grow better as you need more storage.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't run sata drives with expanders for a business. For home/lab use, maybe.
 
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