Whether it be a small RAID 6, Luster solution or a clustered parallel storage solution by Panasas, Advanced Clustering will help you determine what is the best implementation for you.
There are several storage options available:
- Internal RAID in a server
- Direct Attached Storage
- SAN, NAS and iSCSI storage
- parallel storage
Each has it's benefits and pitfalls.
Internal RAID storage is less expensive than the other options, but if the machine were to fail, your data will be captive until the machine can be brought back-up again. Building redundant features into this type of machine is a wise idea if you can't live without your data for a day or more.
Direct Attached storage, which is a little more costly, is an easily implemented solution and highly portable. If the node that it is attached to fails, you can simply move it to another machine with a SAS connection.
SAN storage is highly reliable and redundant, but it is extremely pricey if done correctly. This type of storage system will require fiber cards for each machine that will directly access the storage, as well as commercially available software.
NAS and iSCSI storage offers a standalone storage option, which reduces the dependency of being attached or located in a server, but it's primary bottleneck rests in the switch that it is attached to. There could be delays in accessing data if multiple machines are trying to access data at once, flooding the switch backplane.
For users that require fast I/O Lustre or Panasas could be the answer. Lustre is a freely available software, but several types of severs are required for it run correctly. Panasas storage systems are specialty hardware storage solution with a proprietary file system
If you have questions or simply need more information on the available storage solutions, contact us at sales(at)advancedclustering.com, or give us a call at 866.802.8222.
