Network World on SANs

How we tested the iSCSI SAN servers

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

We tested iSCSI servers by installing and configuring them, putting them through a series of typical tasks, and running performance tests.

LeftHand Networks NSM 2120 Storage Node

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

LeftHand Networks has a very different approach to scaling storage-area network bandwidth than other products we tested. LeftHand is a software company, and its SAN/iQ software is offered on many different platforms.

NetApp FAS2050 (dual controllers)

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

As the second oldest storage server vendor in this test (HP, still using the StorageWorks brand it acquired with Digital Equipment days), it quickly became obvious that NetApp (the artist formerly known as Network Appliance) brings an enormous pile of innovative technology to the table, especially in the area of snapshots and multi-site replication.

NetApp, Compellent, HP, Dell top the field in 12-product test

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

A terabyte isn't what it used to be. Disks are slower than you think. And a Gigabit Ethernet is plenty of bandwidth for many storage applications.

Stonefly Storage Concentrator with DNF FS16F Array

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

Where Stonefly excelled in our testing was in the performance it got out of their SATA array. Although Nexsan, another SATA-based vendor, was faster in most of our tests, Stonefly came in first or second in every performance metric when compared to other SATA devices.

Reldata 9240 Unified Storage Gateway

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

So with a fairly high price per Gbyte rating ($12.20), and very middle-of-the-road performance, it's hard to see a compelling case for choosing Reldata when its best feature seems to be the technical team standing behind it.

Nexsan SATABeast

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

The SATABeast is a 3U high chassis with 42 SATA drives, giving it the highest density of any system we tested, by far. The chassis also accommodates two controllers, providing integrated high availability.

Kano Technologies NetCOR 7500

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

While the NetCOR 7500 needs some work to compete in the high-end enterprise market, the strong pricing, expansion capability, and simple management make it an ideal solution for mid-range enterprises.

HP StorageWorks 2012i

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

The HP StorageWorks 2012i is a 2U system with 12 drive bays that can house either SATA or SAS drives. Ours came half of each type of drives, an attractive feature for someone who wants a storage-area network but doesn't need or have the room for more than a dozen drives in total. In the rear of the box sit redundant hot-swappable controllers, and hot-swappable power supplies.

FalconStor Software's NSS-S12

Joel Snyder — 2008-07-28T00:00:00Z

The FalconStor NSS-S12 is a packaged offering based on FalconStor's own SAN Disk Manager, a combination of operating system and SAN management toolkit. As a software company first, and a hardware company second, FalconStor has pulled together the hardware in the NSS-S12 to offer a unified solution for enterprises that don't want to roll their own hardware.

Is your data center ready for tomorrow's applications?

2004-04-12T00:00:00Z

Click here to see what Gartner, Network World and other experts say about the new data center.