SAN implementation advise

[ponetguy2]

Hello Everyone,

First, I would like to apologize for this long post.

I was assigned to design a SAN solution for our company. They would like to migrate our Oracle database to this SAN solution. The problem, I do not have any SAN experience and I don't think they will pay for training.

I did some poking around (google) and learned a few things. I also purchased a book, SAN for dummies (0764524801). Despite of this mini-research, this seems to be a daunting task. I need to come up with quotes for parts and software to implement this project and a solution.

I do know that I want to stick with Sun Solaris products. I'm currently looking at StorEdge 3510s arrays and a V480 as a host. As for the switch, I like the Brocade E200s w/ 16 ports (4G transfer rate). For the software I need to run, I have no clue.

Please advise on a simple SAN solution for our company. We are currently housing 4T of data and they are on Sun's StorEdge A1000s running Oracle.

Thank you in advance,

ponetguy2

"Not all OSs suck, it's just that some OSs suck worse than others"

 

[anawrocki]

If it were me, I would say........ If you can't afford to send me to training, you can't afford a SAN.

The alternative would be to hire a consultant to look at your needs. An investment as big as this needs to be gotten right the first time.

 

[ponetguy2]

thank you anawrocki. i wish it was that simple. unfortunately, this company does not work that way. either i do it, or they find someone else. plus finding a job as a unix admin in chicago is not that easy.

"Not all OSs suck, it's just that some OSs suck worse than others"

 

[ponetguy2]

If someone has an existing SAN infrastructure, it would be nice if he/she can list the software/hardware of his infrastructure. If he/she can also list his/her thoughts on their setup, it would really help me.

I just recieved a quote from two distributors. Here is a list of products I requested to get a quote on:

2x V480 Sun V480, 4 x 1.05 GHz, 8 GB Memory, 2 x 73 GB HD

2x Sun 3510 FC Array, 2 Hardware Controllers, 12 x 146 GB HD

4x Sun 2 GB PCI 1 Port Network Adapter
or
2x Sun Dual Fibre Channel 2Gb PCI

2x Brocade Silkworm 3800, 16 Ports 2 Gb, (includes 16 x SFP)

LC to LC 5 Meter Cable

LC to LC 7 Meter Cable

10 Meter Fibre Cable

If I am missing anything, please feel free to add. If someone has an opinion, please feel free to post your thoughts.


"Not all OSs suck, it's just that some OSs suck worse than others"

 

[Breslau]

i think a lot depends on what you need this SAN to do now and in the near future. you can make this as simple or as complicated as you want.

now, i'm not familiar with sun disk solutions, but if they offer a controller that runs at 4 Gb/sec then i'd get it (esp if it's 4 gig down to the drives), along with 4 gig switches and HBAs. even if your apps dont require that much bandwidth, you'd still be on the technology curve instead of being behind as soon as you power up your equipment. plus, you'd be set for the next couple of years or so until 8 gig comes out.. i have a feeling that 6 gig may not make it to the marketplace.

if you have a need for redundancy, you might want to consider a second switch and HBAs for your host(s). of course this costs more money, and there might not be corporate support for the expenditure, but it makes it less likely you'll face the heat if your disk tries go out from under your servers.

also, most disk manufacturers that sell FC attachable arrays will offer dual controllers that run in an active-active configuration. some have this out of the box while others it may be an option. i see you listed 2 controllers above, so you may already have that.. but if not, it's something to consider....

 

[ponetguy2]

Thank you Breslau for the input.

We've decided to go for two StorEdge 3510FC array and two Brocade 200E switch. Each array will have dual controllers for redundancy and load balancing. On the host side, we are ordering two V490s with 4 1.2GHz CPU, 4 HBAs and 8G of memory.

We wanted to utilize the 4G transfer rate on the switches, but the arrays are only capable of 2G transfer rate. This caused us to go for the 2G HBAs, since the switches are capable of negotiating. Plus if we go for the 4G switches, this gives us room to grow. If the 4G arrays go down in price, we can still obtain this technology.

Now that we are ordering all the hardware, I can use on some suggestions with the software. I inquired about Sun Cluster with Sun, but the cost was way too expensive. Because of this, I will need to do some research on a clustering solution on the host side

"Not all OSs suck, it's just that some OSs suck worse than others"

 

[Linuxian]

My company did the same thing with our data backup solution.

What a mess!