My EtherealMind» iscsi

Internets of Interest:16 Jan 10

bookmarks — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 19:33:01 +0000

Collection of useful, relevant or inane places on the the Internets for 16 Jan 10:

Internets of Interest:8 Dec 09

bookmarks — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:01:06 +0000

Collection of useful, relevant or inane places on the the Internets for 8 Dec 09:

Why Does iSCSI Use TCP Instead of IP ?

Greg Ferro — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:33:47 +0000

The iSCSI protocol carries block data from storage array to server. Typically, that is inside a data centre where loss is not a problem. So why use TCP and have all that overhead ?

The Case Against FCoE and Fibrechannel – A Reasonably Complete View

Greg Ferro — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:58:34 +0000

A number of storage bloggers have been questioning the relevance of FCoE and why would you bother with it. Given the size of marketing budgets pushing FCoE and the reality distortion this generates, lets look at the case AGAINST FCoE.

FCoE and the Return of Spanning Tree

Greg Ferro — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 09:20:37 +0000

One of the most amusing parts about Fibre Channel over Ethernet(FCoE) is that Spanning Tree is making a triumphant comeback. And I am talking a Roman style parade after the gates to the city have been built and the streets lined with gold.

Are You Ready to Purchase a Brocade Ethernet Switch ? What ?

Greg Ferro — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:52:13 +0000

One of the more amusing byproducts of the FCoE marketing push, is that Brocade has announced that they will producing FCoE switches for their customers. So, are you ready to buy a Brocade Ethernet switch ? In their report to investors, Brocade announced that “FCoE is Fibre Channel, not legacy Ethernet”(1). Aside from the breathtaking [...]

Article: The Future of Storage – Seven Fundamental Reasons Why FCoE Will Fail

Greg Ferro — Tue, 20 May 2008 07:37:27 +0000

An article I wrote on concerns about FCoE adoption has been posted at The Future of Storage and reviews seven reasons why FCoE might not achieve critical mass in the marketplace. Feedback appreciated. Is anyone considering using FCoE in real life ? If you are arriving here from The Future of Storage you may be [...]

iSCSI Network Designs: Part 5 – iSCSI Multipathing, Host Bus Adapters, High Availability and Redundancy

Greg Ferro — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:21:54 +0000

In iSCSI Part 3 - Server Side - iSCSI Host Bus Adapters and IP Performance I looked at how server side issues would affect the traffic generated on a per server basis. I recommended that you use iSCSI HBAs for high intensity servers to meet the high levels of performance. The next level is evaluate how the server should connect to the network, specifically, this means how many ethernet ports you need, and what configuration is needed to support them to deliver high availability / redundancy and increased bandwidth.

Don’t Tell Me iSCSI Is Complicated if Fibrechannel Looks Like This

Greg Ferro — Wed, 14 May 2008 11:44:41 +0000

I am working my way through the next couple of articles on iSCSI Network Design. Its getting complicated is some ways. I noticed this article todayhttp://vinf.net/2008/04/09/how-does-an-hp-fibre-channel-virtual-connect-module-work/ explaining how Fibrechannel failover work for a HP Fibrechannel Virtual Connect in a blade server chassis. It is all rather confusing, and seemingly no more complex that the iSCSI network design.

iSCSI Network Designs: Part 4 – Fibrechannel Integration

Greg Ferro — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:13:43 +0000

Its possible that you would already have some Fibrechannel in your estate. Perhaps the cost of Fibrechannel for some new servers is too much when you calculate the HBA and Fibrechannel switch port costs, or you don't need the complexity of Fibrechannel for a simple server setup. Lets look at options for connecting to the Fibrechannel nteworks.

iSCSI Network Designs: Part 3 – Server Side – iSCSI Host Bus Adapters and IP Performance

Greg Ferro — Tue, 06 May 2008 07:05:37 +0000

I have been researching iSCSI impementations on the server to try and understand the dfference between them and to come to grips with how they work. This article looks to compare the various methods of connecting to a iSCSI network. It seems that many people do not know or understand that the generation and transmission [...]

Network Dictionary – iSCSI

Greg Ferro — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:01:24 +0000

iSCSI – (eye-scuzzee) - a protocol designed to transport SCSI block data across an IP network thus allowing a single network infrastructure. - a protocol used by networking teams so they don’t have to understand storage (thanks to Jeff Darcy at Pl.atyp.us) compare with Fibrechannel Posts Related to this ArticleiSCSI Network Designs: Part 4 – [...]

Data Networks – More Reliable to Than Storage Networks ?

Greg Ferro — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:07:32 +0000

I was participating in a storage design discussion and a Storage person threw up their most common complaint about networking – “we don’t know how to build reliable networks”. Let me take a shot at that. Investment Between networking and storage, there is a large difference in scale and investment. The Storage markets have been [...]

iSCSI Network Designs: Part 2 – Simple Scaling

Greg Ferro — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:26:16 +0000

We have looked at a simple iSCSI network solution in iSCSI Network Designs Part 1. We have kept the storage traffic separated from our data for operational reasons. But we are limited to 1GB/s and the port density of the switch.

iSCSI Network Designs: Part 1 – Introduction and Basics

Greg Ferro — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:02:26 +0000

I am working on a Data Centre that has more than 500 servers and we are considering what our storage strategy should be. This is why I have been looking at FCoE and iSCSI and establishing the benefits (or not). My next few posts will be a “stream of consciousness” on possible designs for an [...]