Quick question re: non Xsan SAN and 10GbE

[adns]

Interesting thought but it doesn't answer the question.

<iSCSI is the new FC rant>
To many iSCSI is a more elegant solution for storage going forward as it converges networks like many other technolgies in the last several years (voice over IP, video over IP, access control over IP, security systems over IP, fire alarms over IP, etc.) The trend is clear networks are converging to ethernet because it's inexpensive, extremely flexible and easy to manage. Storage is one of the last in line to converge because speeds have been an issue in the past but this is being overcome. This is not to say that iSCSI is the end all be all for storage but I see a bright future for iSCSI in this particualr context since Snow Leopard will have a native iSCSI initiator and 10GbE is becoming more affordable. Storage area networks will just be another Vlan in the common networks of the future.
</iSCSI is the new FC rant>

But back to this particular application, are there any thoughts or pointers that are specific to FCS that I am not thinking of or that the Apple rep wasn't aware of?

[andiron]

I don't have any axe to grind against iSCSI. And I don't have any experience with 10Gb Ethernet. Here's where my concerns would be if I were buying this:

- storage - How is it administered? How does it behave under failures? How scalable is it?

- network hardware (10GbE) - there's a lot of stuff here: switches, cabling, connector technology, PCIe cards; What are the real issues: cable length, difficulty of running cables, failure rates, effects of little details on overall performance

- network software (iSCSI) - not a stock Apple protocol so how well does it perform on Macs?
Here's what ATTO says <from http://www.attotech.com/iscsiq.html >:
"iSCSI generally uses more computing resources and has less predictable latency than Fibre Channel"

- SAN software - which one is it? strengths? weaknesses?

- latency - what is my real latency going to be? This is potentially an issue for Final Cut Pro, any real-world examples?

- throughput - what do you really get? Mfgs claims are always suspect

- compatibility with Apple - do the vendors have a history of support for Apple products? How long does it take them to be compatible with new OS releases?

I'm not saying don't go with the solution. It could be great for all I know. Just go in with your eyes open.

[fritz.]

what SAN solution are you looking at? And are you looking at two network interfaces in this or more than that?

[adns]

Thank you for your comments so far. Here's a brief overview of the hardware and software that we're looking at.

Dell switch with 24 1Gb ports and 4 10Gb fiber ports.
iStor iS325 iSCSI appliance with 10Gb interface
Mac Pro with Final Cut and Intel 10Gb adapter
Xserve with Final Cut Server and Intel 10Gb adapter
TigerTechnology metaSAN iSCSI software
ATTO iSCSI initiator for MAC OS X

This is for one editing bay right now. Some servers in the future will connect to the SAN via 2 1Gb ports teamed together but this won't be for editing, it will be for low traffic VMs.

The plan is to give the Xserve and Mac Pro two interfaces, the 10Gb for storage and the 1Gb for network.