John Tourloukis in Houston runs a web, co-location company called Fast PC Networks. He recently wrote in his blog about how easy it was to set up two EqualLogic iSCSI SAN systems: one in Houston and the other in Columbus and make snapshots and data replication work.
Here's a brief quote: "I take a snap shot of my exchange database every 20 minutes in case of corrupution or a virus I'll only lose 20 minutes of work and I can just reque email if needed. I have the SANS replicating between each other our most critical data. For systems admin this will make your life so much easier."
Comments (4)
Hi Marc,
We had some DHL issues getting the switches up to Columbus. They just came in today. Have you had the chance to play with the 5424? I was wondering if we have it configured optimally. We would be more than happy to setup and Webx if you would like to poke around. I do like that the switch sees the iscsi sessions and setup was a breeze.
Posted by John Tourloukis | March 3, 2008 6:05 PM
Posted on March 3, 2008 18:05
John, I'll try to get someone from our support organization give you call. They have the skills and knowledge to help.
Posted by marc farley | March 3, 2008 7:22 PM
Posted on March 3, 2008 19:22
In the past I was advised that Equallogic SAN replication was not "crash consistent", that is since many server apps hold data in RAM buffers/cache , the data on the SAN is not complete, thus replication to other SAN's sends incomplete data. To workaround this problem the SAN needs software running in conjunction with the server to sync the data in the buffers/cache to storage.
Does Equallogic do this now? How does it and where could I read the details of this? I'm interested in how crash consistent Exchange, SQL, windows AD and assorted VMware vm's with custom apps are.
Thanks.
Posted by stan | April 16, 2008 11:36 AM
Posted on April 16, 2008 11:36
Stan,
To address your questions and concerns, Auto-Snapshot Manager (ASM), is included in the Dell EqualLogic Host Integration Tools Kit. ASM integrates with Microsoft VSS and the EqualLogic VSS provider service to create application consistent copies (Smart Copies) of data on Win server 2003 systems.
The way it works is you would install the Host Integration Tools kit (downloadable at www.equallogic.com) on your server making sure you select Auto-Snapshot Manager as part of the install package. Once installed you authenticate the host to the PS Series SAN through CHAP authentication. Once all configured, ASM will be able to protect data on the host.
ASM facilitates the volume protection capabilities of the PS Series SAN like snapshots, clones, and replicas but integrates directly with the application through VSS to ensure data consistency. You as the user determines what type of Smart Copy to create beit snapshot, clone or replica.
For more information on how you would use ASM with SQL Server databases there is a detailed technical report describing this functionality on equallogic.com.
In terms of VMware protection, there is a lot of information out on the site with different examples of how to protect your VMware environment on a PS Series SAN.
Posted by Darren Miller | April 16, 2008 4:39 PM
Posted on April 16, 2008 16:39