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iSCSI, NFS, CIFS, and Beyond |
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Versatile Storage That Adapts to You
Nimbus H-class storage systems combine the strengths of separate SAN and NAS arrays into one unified multi-protocol storage solution. By unifying iSCSI, NFS, and CIFS protocols, H-class systems enable IT administrators to centrally provision capacity for both block and file storage needs and structured and unstructured content from one system with one management interface. No separate NAS gateway is necessary, and existing file servers can be retired and consolidated onto the Nimbus storage infrastructure.
Nimbus: Multi-protocol Storage on Common 10 GbE Infrastructure
Storage Virtualization Technology
Storage virtualization abstracts enclosures and drives into a virtual domain of storage capacity, not confined by enclosure boundaries or physical location. With virtualization, IT administrators can aggregate drives across enclosures into flexible storage pools, based on performance, density, energy usage, and redundancy. As new storage is added, it can be incorporated into existing pools non-disruptively. Storage virtualization is the essential technology that enables Nimbus H-class systems to offers 24 classes of service (4 drive types and 6 RAID levels) on one centrally managed storage system. It also enables seamless expansion of volumes without predefined limits, dramatically increasing storage utilization.
Superior iSCSI Session Management
Nimbus unified storage offers an all-in-one approach without compromises. iSCSI with error recovery level 2 (ERL2) provides the most reliable and secure storage connection for applications like Oracle, SQL Server, Exchange, and other databases. The iSCSI protocol defines three levels of iSCSI session management: ERL0, 1, and 2. Most storage arrays use ERL0, whereas many iSCSI initiators, including Microsoft's iSCSI initiator, support ERL1 and ERL2. With ERL2, Nimbus iSCSI supports additional features such as:
CRC error detection
Header and data digest support
Automatic recovery from transmission errors
Multiple connections per session
Graceful reconnection to disrupted sessions
Enhanced iSCSI opcodes such as persistent reservations and reserve/release, necessary for server clustering, SAN file systems, and virtualization solutions, are also supported. Multiple connections per session enable parallel TCP connections that are necessary to achieve 10 GbE wirespeed performance.
NFS and Thin-provisioning
Multi-threaded NFS with v2, v3, and v4 compliance provides exceptional UNIX file-sharing performance and thin-provisioned shared storage for VMware and Xen virtualization deployments. With thin-provisioning using NFS in VMware and Xen, IT administrators do not need to preallocate storage capacity as is required with Fibre Channel LUNs and iSCSI devices. Preallocation limits flexibility, since the virtualization file system (such as VMFS) cannot be easily expanded, and VMs reserve all allocated capacity even if there is no actual data in the VM. With NFS, VMs only consume capacity as the VM itself grows, not in advance. NFS offers a proven alternative to preallocation and is a must-have for rapidly-growing virtualization environments.
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| Key Features |
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| • Unified iSCSI, NFS, and CIFS protocols |
| • iSCSI ERL2 and multiple connections/session |
| • Non-disruptive configuration changes |
| • NFS thin-provisioning for VMware and XenServer |
| • CIFS with Active Directory for Windows domains |
| • Integrated anti-virus scanning |
| • One Web interface for all storage provisioning |
| • Extensible to support new protocols like FCoE |
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VMware with NFS on Nimbus
VMware with iSCSI on Nimbus
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CIFS and Active Directory
CIFS support with Microsoft Active Directory integration (both Server 2003 and 2008) simplifies network shares within existing Windows domains. When creating NAS shares on the Nimbus system, the administrator can leverage existing user and group definitions in the Active Domain realm to manage permissions, simplifying management significantly. An anti-virus scanner, with automatic definition updates, is also included.
Extensible to Support All Ethernet-based Protocols
Built-in FTP, HTTP, and WebDAV capabilities offer added versatility for centralized content publishing and retrieval. Since all of these protocols run on Ethernet, organizations can further simplify their IT infrastructure with proven and interoperable Ethernet networking rather than proprietary Fibre Channel or Infiniband-based solutions. As new protocols emerge, such as Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE), Nimbus H-class systems can readily support them. |
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