VMware NAS/iSCSI recommendations - smallish organization

Posted by Bubnoff on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by Bubnoff
Published on 2011-01-13T23:38:09Z Indexed on 2011/01/13 23:55 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 302

Filed under:

virtualization

|

nas

|

iscsi

I have two VMware servers - ESX + ESXi. Two backup NAS boxes. The current NAS boxes are low-cost and unsuitable for running VMs from. Support NFS only. Slow.

My plan is to have a dedicated iSCSI/NAS for storing and running VMs. Two additional low-cost boxes for backup.

I'm looking for advice regarding 2 things really:

Recommendations as far as VMware architecture/design for a smaller organization. Less than 20 Virtual Machines. 2 servers + 2 x 1.5 terabyte backup NAS boxes.
A good NAS/iSCSI box with your recommendation on RAID config ...I would go with 6 or better.

I'm trying to design an installation that is both fast and reliable/redundant. If you have any experiences to share or your current configuration including network design ( switches, fiber ...etc ), I will be enormously thankful. I'm not married to this idea, so if you have a design not using iSCSI NAS boxes ...let er rip. Cost? Can we stay around $5,000 ( on top of already stated components )?

Links to info are welcome also.

Thanks for reading!

Bubnoff

© Server Fault or respective owner

Related posts about virtualization

Storage Virtualization, Redux: Arise File Virtualization

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
As virtual storage finds its way into enterprises, file-level and block-level virtualization are most talked-about approaches. Block-level virtualization has already captured the hearts of many firms. Now, file-level virtualization is gearing up for a second coming. >>> More
Free Oracle Special Edition eBook - Server Virtualization for Dummies

as seen on Oracle Blogs - Search for 'Oracle Blogs'
Oracle has released a quick and easy-to-read guide on Oracle Virtualization. Now available is "Server Virtualization for Dummies," an Oracle Special Edition eBook. Need to virtualize, but not sure where to start? Virtualization should make things simpler, not more complex. … >>> More
Reducing Virtualization's Storage Demands

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
They're early in development, but some new technologies hold promise for reducing server virtualization's demand on storage environments. >>> More
Storage Virtualization Gets Serious

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
Virtually Speaking: A torrent of products are being unleashed to meet the challenges of backing up virtual machines. From cloud storage to golden image management, virtualization technologies for storage are on the move. >>> More
Helping Storage Keep Up With Server Virtualization

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
If you virtualize your server environment without taking storage into consideration, your performance will likely suffer. >>> More

Related posts about nas

Backup NAS to another NAS?

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
hey there, is there a way to backup / transfer a NAS (it's like a big harddrive with some access to a webinterface, but closed linux etc.... only two ethernet ports) to another one? or is the only way to connect both NASs to my computer and copy the data from one to the other? it's like 750gb of… >>> More
Copying files from NAS to NAS drives

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Very simple question. I've got 2 NAS drive that are "wire" connected via a router. If I have a wireless laptop and request a large amount of data be copied from one NAS drive to the other, does the network traffic go direct from the one drive to the other, going via the wired network, or does the… >>> More
cPanel web servers mounting home partition to a NAS or SAN

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Hello, I currently have 2 cPanel web servers that are little 1RU dual cpu quad core xeons. They have a lot of resources for processing and handling web requests, and never exceed more than 10% cpu usage. They also have plenty of RAM. The problem is though that they both have RAID 1 160Gb SAS hard… >>> More
cant find nas mediaplayer on vista

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
i have a icy box ib mp3010hw media player i have it on wireless and have it connected to my tp link wr641g router and can access the radio on the net the problem i have is vista sp2 does not see it and i don't know how to go about making it find it. i ran the ping test i think it is by going through… >>> More
Qnap TS-809 NAS

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I'm looking for a portable NAS solution for around 30 servers to back up to. I require 8-16TB of space. Does anyone have any experience of the Qnap TS-809 and know if it would be suitable for this many servers to be backing up to? >>> More