Re: most bang for buck with ~ $20,000

On 8/9/06, Kenji Morishige <kenjim(at)juniper(dot)net> wrote:
> I have unlimited rack space, so 2U is not the issue. The boxes are stored in
> our lab for internal software tools. I'm going to research those boxes you
> mention. Regarding the JBOD enclosures, are these generally just 2U or 4U
> units with SCSI interface connectors? I didn't see these types of boxes
> availble on Dell website, I'll look again.
> -Kenji
>
> On Wed, Aug 09, 2006 at 07:35:22AM +0200, Arjen van der Meijden wrote:
> > With such a budget you should easily be able to get something like:
> > - A 1U high-performance server (for instance the Dell 1950 with 2x
> > Woodcrest 5160, 16GB of FB-Dimm memory, one 5i and one 5e perc raid
> > controller and some disks internally)
> > - An external SAS direct attached disks storage enclosure full with 15k
> > rpm 36GB disks (for instance the MD1000, with 15x 36GB 15k disks)
> >
> > Going for the dell-solution would set you back "only" (including
> > savings) about $13-$14k. HP offers a similar solutions (a HP DL360G5 or
> > a DL380G5/DL385 with two MSA50's for instance) which also fit in your
> > budget afaik. The other players tend to be (a bit) more expensive, force
> > you to go with Fibre Channel or "ancient" SCSI external storage ;)
> >
> > If you'd like to have a product by a generic vendor, have a look at the
> > Adaptec JS50 SAS Jbod enclosure or Promise's Vtrak 300 (both offer 12
> > sas/sata bays in 2U) for storage.

I am really curious about the Adaptec SAS product to see what it can
do. If you don't know what SAS is, it is Sata Attached SCSI. SAS
cables use 4 sata lanes (3gb/sec each) bonded together in a single
cable. The raid is handled with via the raid controller or the o/s in
a software configuration.

SAS is the evolution of SCSI and I think will ultimately replace scsi
in enterprise setups becuase it is faster, cheaper, and more flexible.
SAS enclosures generally accept sata or sas drives in mix/match
configurations. so, you get to choose between cheap, large, 7200 rpm
sata drives or small, expensive sas 10k or 15k rpm drives *in the
same enclosure*. You also get a compromise drive in the form of the
raptor which is 10k rpm sata drive.

You could buy a 2u 12 drive SAS encloure (3000$), 12 150g raptors
(3000$) and spend another grand on cables/controller and have a
hellishly performing raid system for the money assuming sas performs
like it does on paper. note that i would not be trying this with my
own money unless I was guaranteed a money back rma for a 30 day
evaluation period.

that would leave you with 12 grand or so to pick up a quad (8 core)
opeteron if you bought it right.

regards,
merlin