Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Latest News
    • Storage

    OnStor Device Consolidates Storage

    Written by

    Henry Baltazar
    Published March 7, 2005
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      OnStor Inc.s OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway is a powerful appliance that lets IT managers grant their clients and servers file share access to SAN resources. In eWEEK Labs tests, we were impressed with the gateways extensive clustering capabilities and level of scalability. We believe this enterprise-class network-attached storage solution would be suitable for storage chores in almost any large enterprise.

      Click here to read the full review of the 2260 NAS Gateway.

      2

      OnStor Inc.s OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway is a powerful appliance that lets IT managers grant their clients and servers file share access to SAN resources. In eWEEK Labs tests, we were impressed with the gateways extensive clustering capabilities and level of scalability. We believe this enterprise-class network-attached storage solution would be suitable for storage chores in almost any large enterprise.

      The high-performance OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway, which shipped in January, costs $55,500 for a single gateway.

      The unit we tested included four Gigabit Ethernet ports (for NAS access) and two 2G-bps Fibre Channel ports to connect to Fibre Channel storage units. Two other Gigabit Ethernet ports are included for management and to provide a cluster heartbeat between units.

      OnStor also sells lower-end NAS Gateway appliances, starting at $20,000, that have less memory and fewer ports. The OnStor 2200 has 2GB of ECC (error-correcting code) memory; and the OnStor 2400 includes 4GB of cache.

      As with competing NAS gateways, such as Network Appliance Inc.s gFiler, the OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway sits between Fibre Channel storage units and the IP network.

      The OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway takes control of LUNs (logical unit numbers) on the Fibre Channel SAN (storage area network) and creates shared volumes for them. The appliance then enables sharing via a CIFS (Common Internet File System) and NFS (Network File System).

      A single OnStor 2260 can create and host as many as 255 virtual servers, which allows IT managers to maintain security integrity, even though the underlying storage is shared at the SAN level.

      The gateways ability to spawn multiple virtual servers lets IT managers consolidate NAS servers. Instead of juggling multiple NAS units, each with its own attached storage, IT managers can purchase a single storage infrastructure and use the virtual servers to share the storage resources. This consolidation is far easier to maintain and will greatly increase storage use—shared resources can do a better storage job with fewer boxes.

      In addition, the OnStor 2260s dynamic volume management, which automatically expands volumes when they are close to full capacity, should make daily storage management easier.

      /zimages/3/28571.gifTo read more about new products that are teaching NAS gateways and network file servers new tricks to maximize storage capacity, click here.

      A clustered pair of OnStor 2260 NAS Gateways can support as many as 400 file systems, and each file system can scale to 100TB in size.

      Unlike other gateway systems, including gFiler, the OnStor 2260 can support heterogeneous storage units—back-end storage devices dont have to be identical. In the case of gFiler, SAN storage units cannot be mixed and matched. This is a serious limitation, one that we hope Network Appliance addresses in the near future. Because SAN units cannot be mixed, companies must purchase a separate gFiler for each SAN storage family.

      Next page: No RAID for storage.

      Page Three

      OnStors 2200 Series appliances are compatible with storage hardware from major storage vendors including EMC Corp., Hewlett-Packard Co., Hitachi Data Systems Corp., IBM and Storage Technology Corp. In tests, we configured a clustered pair of OnStor 2260 NAS Gateways with a Nexsan Technologies Inc. Fibre Channel storage unit.

      The OnStor 2260 does not provide RAID for storage. Instead, it leverages RAID that is already implemented on the storage systems. This makes the OnStor NAS Gateway approach a bad fit for IT managers using low-end JBODs (just a bunch of disks).

      However, this capability is compelling for the vast majority of storage systems that already have high-performance RAID controllers built into them.

      Utilizing installed RAID is also a welcome strategy for companies that already have a variety of storage units in their data centers, whether because of departmental differences or due to corporate acquisitions.

      Configuration was fairly easy in tests, and we had NFS and CIFS shares up in a matter of minutes. OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway appliances do not have their own directory services, so IT managers must link the appliances to Active Directory servers (for CIFS) or NIS (Network Information System) servers (for NFS) to handle user accounts and access rights.

      Having no directory services might be a deterrent to smaller sites, but for larger organizations, it makes more sense from a management and security point of view to have centralized directory servers handling authentication information.

      OnStors file service support lets NFS and Windows clients share files—a crucial feature for IT shops that have to support both protocols. The OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway honors the rules under which files are written, regardless of where files originate.

      For example, if an administrator gives full access on the CIFS side, access restrictions on the NFS side are not affected.

      The OnStor 2260 NAS Gateways snapshot capabilities let IT managers quickly roll back volumes when problems arise. Snapshots can be scheduled or can be run on demand, and each file system can support as many as 48 snapshots.

      File auditing is another useful management feature on the OnStor 2260; it allows IT managers to track file changes via an audit log. The file-auditing feature can be configured to look for specific events, such as file ownership changes or file restore operations.

      Like the other models in the 2200 Series, the OnStor 2260 NAS Gateway has no moving parts (no hard drives), which makes it extremely reliable on the hardware level. The appliances have specialized processors that handle file services, IP and storage communications.

      Senior Analyst Henry Baltazar can be reached at [email protected].

      Check out eWEEK.coms for the latest news, reviews and analysis on enterprise and small business storage hardware and software.

      Henry Baltazar
      Henry Baltazar

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×