Looking for iSCSI advice

I am looking for an iscsi solution for hyper-v storage. I have done some research and found options such as nework-attached-storage-nas-ix4-200r NAS ix4-200r: Network Attached Storage 200r Linux
and Buffalo Technology - Products - TeraStation III iSCSI Rackmount

What has me concerned is that they are a lot cheaper than anything offered by Dell. Is this just due to the difference in storage capacity (2T to 20+T) or is there something else I should look for?
Has anybody used either the Buffalo or iomega products as storage for hyper-v r2?

Thanks

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kalebksp

Iomega and Buffalo make consumer and small business products, in general you will not get the same quality, features, or support as you would from an enterprise focused product like those from Dell, EMC, NetApp, etc. Of course enterprise products are more expensive and many times take more knowledge to configure.

Which one you chose depends on your needs. Personally I wouldn't even consider running a production SAN on Iomega. I haven't looked at Buffalo, but I suspect I would come to the same conclusions.

Hyper-Me

We run our hyper-V failover cluster on a Dell Equallogic PS6000. There are doable SANs for cheaper, but this one had a lot of cool features

dynamik

kalebksp wrote: »

Which one you chose depends on your needs. Personally I wouldn't even consider running a production SAN on Iomega. I haven't looked at Buffalo, but I suspect I would come to the same conclusions.

That's my sentiment as well. If you want dirt cheap so you can have something to play around with, check out Open Filer. You can load that on an old PC and experiment.

If you're looking for more affordable enterprise-level SANS, check out LeftHand Networks.

Hyper-Me

dynamik wrote: »

That's my sentiment as well. If you want dirt cheap so you can have something to play around with, check out Open Filer. You can load that on an old PC and experiment.

If you're looking for more affordable enterprise-level SANS, check out LeftHand Networks.

I cringe at anything from HP.

dynamik

I don't. I love HP servers. Their support has been awesome for me as well.

jibbajabba

If you have a MSDN or Technet Subscription then you can download the Server 2008 Storage Server. What is new with Server 2008 is that Microsoft now also included the iSCSI target which was only available in Server 2003 Windows Unified Storage Server (WUDSS) and that was only available as trial or as a bundle from Dell, HP or any other OEM Storage partner.

Using WUDSS, or Server 2008 Storage Server, you can build yourself a cheap SAN. If you need a hand with that let me know as we are also OEM partner and I know WUDSS left right center

HeroPsycho

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I cringe at anything from HP.

You cringe at HP but have no problems with Dell?! Seriously?!?!

Equalogic is honestly pretty good, but generally speaking HP hardware is better quality than Dell, just sometimes too expensive to justify.

+1 btw for LeftHand or Equalogic. And agree above, you do not go with the cheapest solution for your shared storage. Remember, your company's data is gonna be stored on whatever SAN you go with. This isn't something you go with based on cost alone!

Hyper-Me

HeroPsycho wrote: »

You cringe at HP but have no problems with Dell?! Seriously?!?!

Equalogic is honestly pretty good, but generally speaking HP hardware is better quality than Dell, just sometimes too expensive to justify.

+1 btw for LeftHand or Equalogic. And agree above, you do not go with the cheapest solution for your shared storage. Remember, your company's data is gonna be stored on whatever SAN you go with. This isn't something you go with based on cost alone!

We really dont have many problems out of Dell equipment.

When I get 650 machines in one order and less than 5 are DOA or have issues in the first 6 months, that aint bad.

I havnt used any HP servers from the last couple years, but the few I did have to take care of werent all that great, and a lot of their networking equipment is cheap. I havnt used LeftHand before, but they are likely just fine ( i think that was an acquisition similar to Dell/Equalllogic?)

Grynder

Thanks everybody for your input. A lot of information here that I will research

HeroPsycho

Hyper-Me wrote: »

We really dont have many problems out of Dell equipment.

When I get 650 machines in one order and less than 5 are DOA or have issues in the first 6 months, that aint bad.

I havnt used any HP servers from the last couple years, but the few I did have to take care of werent all that great, and a lot of their networking equipment is cheap. I havnt used LeftHand before, but they are likely just fine ( i think that was an acquisition similar to Dell/Equalllogic?)

I don't remember the last time I had a DOA HP server. Keep in mind I'm not talking about desktops, only servers. Dell and HP desktops both suck IMO.

Down the line, the features you want in a server are the same, or HP has a slight advantage in. ILO is superior to Dell's without a doubt. HP uses the same hardware for SCSI controllers on every model that has the same model number, which isn't the case with Dell (they go with whatever is cheaper at the time they buy the components), etc.

But Dell costs less almost everytime, too. So, if you want the cheaper one, go Dell. If you want the better quality product, go HP.

If price wasn't taken into consideration, I'd take an HP server everytime, but Dell I don't mean to suggest is bad. But it's certainly odd to hear someone trumpeting the reliability or quality of Dell over HP.

LeftHand is an acquisition, and is software that virtualizes storage, similar to DataCore, but now you buy it on HP servers instead of loading it on any server you want.

Hyper-Me

I was referring to desktops on the DOA comment. I've been at my current job 3 years and never received a DOA dell Server/Storage device, over a couple hundred ordered.

We simply dont use HP because we specifically spec Dell models and have multiple vendors bid on it for the lowest price (public sector). I dont know if there is any reason behind them not going with HP, but i would suspect price being the culprit.

HeroPsycho

Hyper-Me wrote: »

I was referring to desktops on the DOA comment. I've been at my current job 3 years and never received a DOA dell Server/Storage device, over a couple hundred ordered.

We simply dont use HP because we specifically spec Dell models and have multiple vendors bid on it for the lowest price (public sector). I dont know if there is any reason behind them not going with HP, but i would suspect price being the culprit.

So why are you bashing LeftHand or anything HP related to storage?

Hyper-Me

Ive used plenty of HP desktops and many HP servers and had issues out of most of them (but like i said, not any servers from the past 3 years or so).

I also said I havnt actually used Lefthand products so I cant pass true judgement on that. I guess my comment on "anything HP" was a little too inclusive. Apologies.

HeroPsycho

Hyper-Me wrote: »

Ive used plenty of HP desktops and many HP servers and had issues out of most of them (but like i said, not any servers from the past 3 years or so).

I also said I havnt actually used Lefthand products so I cant pass true judgement on that. I guess my comment on "anything HP" was a little too inclusive. Apologies.

No offense, but unless the servers were physically abused or you didn't do something right, absolutely no way you had issues with most HP servers. And if someone said that about Dell, I'd say the same thing. Both companies make solid products.

RTmarc

For the record, HP purchased LeftHand Networks a little over a year ago.

RobertKaucher

HeroPsycho wrote: »

No offense, but unless the servers were physically abused or you didn't do something right, absolutely no way you had issues with most HP servers. And if someone said that about Dell, I'd say the same thing. Both companies make solid products.

Ehem... Could you two get a room?

HeroPsycho

Sorry, I tend to get caught up in pointing out the insanity...