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I've sent this message to a somewhat large number of lists/groups. Please
respond directly to me by e-mail. I'll summarize on each group someone
asks me to summarize on.
We're considering adding redundancy for some our disk storage.
There are a lot of options - we're interested in hearing general
recommendations, and some answers to specific questions if you have
the time.
UNIXwise, we use Sun, SGI and DEC machines.
We have about 130G scattered around presently.
Questions:
1) Is there a software RAID implementation for Sun, SGI or DEC that works
reliabily, and Predictably? We obviously don't want any surprises.
2) We want the ability to "grow filesystems", whether we go with hardware
or software RAID. Are there any (hardware RAID)+OS combinations that allow
growing filesystems without some sort of software volume management?
4) If hardware RAID would require software volume management to grow
filesystems, would we be better off just going with software RAID anyway?
5) What vendor(s) would you recommend for your preferred RAID solution?
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vendor recommendations
netapp xxxx
very fast, NFS, CIFS, http
no NIS, so export lists must be maintained separately
storageworks xx
flexible, less expensive than baydel or clariion
stick with Sun or DEC
works like a charm. on sun server. we do only raid 5
baydel xxxx
fast, expensive, RAID 3 only
great product, great support
very good but expensive
Fast, fairly priced, great resiliency, contains its own UPS
baydel employee; very, very fast
DG clariion xxxxx
almost as good as baydel, multiple raid levels
nice, expensive
best raid-systems otherwise (from hear-say)
disksuite xxxxxxxxxx
stable, barebones
if on budget of 0, seems to work
no reliable, predictable software RAID for sun (probably meant disksuite)
reviews are moderately enthusiastic
never had any problems with my configuration
No as good (as baydel), very complicated and ..., but inexpensive
it seems OK, don't have enough experience to recommend or discourage
works very well
They're both pretty good (disksuite and veritas)
seems to work fine
rumor: sun may ditch disksuite for veritas. Sun says "maybe, maybe not"
more appropriate than veritas for small numbers of disks
veritas xxxxxxx
nice GUI
quite nice
They're both pretty good (disksuite and veritas)
a good product if you choose software RAID
Veritas' new (in 2.3) disk sparing scheme is a mess!
better than disksuite for large numbers of disks
both times entire files systems were irrecoverable
artecon x
no experience with
raidtec x
sun rsm/ssa xxxxx
rsm-2000 sun-only now, due to become multiplatform soon
214RSM on a Sun Ultra1, I'm very impressed with the performance
excellent volume management software
stick with Sun or DEC
Raid-5 implementation is still tentative at best
SGI XLV xx
RAID 0, 1, 0+1
good experiences
XFS grows well on top of XLV
auspex x
el-RAID x
andataco xx
andataco employee
falcon x
land5 x
raidtec x
Even in write mode it does well. It has hardware parity on an ASIC
cheapest Raid solution we came across
have fiber channel now
r-squared
VERY bad luck, CMD-5000 controller
EMC Centriplex 1000 xx
estatic with it. Excellent boxes, excellent support. pricy
you get what you pay for
MTI-9300
problems, replaced with EMC after 2 weeks
acnc x
ad from company
software vs hardware raid
software
avoid for high reliability
On small RAID systems, sure you should go with a straight software RAID
If the software breaks, you're screwed
Software raid, are you serious? about performance....
hardware
probably can't grow filesystems
can be completely unconcerned about the OS/SW you run
Hardware raid can be faster and more cheaply dependable
had VERY bad luck with the CMD-5000 controllers, mylex ok
easier to administer
Huge list of RAID products, no reviews:
http://www.sresearch.com/search/105116.htm