Is a Synology brand NAS any good for hosting a vault?

[QStoss]

Is a Synology NAS any good for hosting a vault? Aside from that, what is good mid price ranged hardware for hosting a start up vault with plans to grow to 10 TB in the next 2 years? Are there any known hardware brands/models that one should stay away from entirely?

I've heard good things about NetApp and BlueArc (high priced), Dell Compellent and Equallogic (mid-priced), and Nexenta (low priced)....

[mbottoms]

I don't know anything about Synology, but I'll second what you've heard about NetApp and BlueArc. Both are very spendy, but provide excellent performance.

[gaulfinger]

We use portable NAS devices to capture initial backups into our "permanent" vault. Brands like Synology, Thecus, and QNAP have tested well for performance. We've had a lot of success with Thecus, in particular. But we use these as short-term devices, not long term sustained backup vaults. But that's a function of scale. With a device like this, we're importing a 3TB customer's data into a 100TB vault. What size operation are you looking at?

Gary

[gaulfinger]

Sorry, I missed the 10TB statement.

At this scale, why use a NAS? Is this to be shared across multiple servers? If not, A SAN solution, like a Nexsan SATABoy or E18 will offer much greater performance and availability (with redundant controllers) with great prices. Even a single server with internal drives can scale beyond 10TB very easily.

Typically the likes of a NetApp is when you want 100TB+.

[QStoss]

Thanks Guys. I'm actually consulting a client on this one, so it's not my vault. They asked me if Synology would support Asigra's software well and if I knew of any known hardware that doesn't play well with Asigra's platform. Their plan is to scale to 10TB, hopefully more, in the next 24 months and then grow beyond that. At first they may not host across multiple servers, but later I would imagine so. So the recommendation for a SATABoy or E18 still hold?

[Jamesc]

We are just about to deploy some synology RS3411RPxs, We've been talking lots to people who are using them including the uk download mirror for software updates who run a number of their boxes. Amazingly low power usage, and very affordable.

Will let you know in a few weeks how our deployment is going.

[QStoss]

Much appreciate Jamess - i'll be looking for your updates.

[Jamesc]

How are you intending on using the unit and which units are you looking at? We'll be running ours as iSCSI storage.

[QStoss]

Configured for windows file sharing (CIFS/SMB) and intended to operate in the following functions with Asigra's software:

1. As an onsite repository for the cached information before it's sent to the back end database
2. As a back end storage destination for the central repository

[gaulfinger]

Asigra has two architectures for the DS-System vault:

1. N+1 Grid
2. Stand-alone

NAS is required for an N+1 grid architecture, where several servers share responsibility for the backups and need access to the same set of backups. This design is more complex but yields higher capacity and availability. Capacity of this sort of system is usually in the 30-100TB range. It also supports more simultaneous backups, on the order of 50-100 per grid node. So a three-server minimum would easily handle hundreds of simultaneous backups. This design also requires a common database for the meta data.

The second design is a stand-alone server. One server does all the work. We've successfully scaled to over 40TB stored on a stand-alone server. (That's the equivalent of nearly 200TB of tape). We also support over 100 concurrent backups on a single server. If cost matters, the stand-alone will generally be less complex and less costly.

With low cost in mind, I would stick by my Nexsan E18 suggestion on a stand-alone server. It can start with 9x1TB SATA disks and add another 9 drives later as space requires. If their needs grow beyond that, two expansion options can be added to a Nexsan E18. Either another 18 drive bay (E18X) or a 60-drive bay (E60X).

I also like the space and power efficiency of Nexsan products. The E18 is only 2U and the E60X unit is only 4U! If space matters, this is one of the best data densities out there. We have one Nexsan (E60 model) with 180TB raw in a 4U chassis. Definitely saves on space costs...