[Gluster-users] Need a quick answer on "Distributed Replicated Storage" questions

[Anand Babu]

We made good progress with unfs3 integration using booster model. GlusterFS
and unfs3 (modified version) will run in single address space using booster library.
This feature is scheduled for 2.1. We will try to have a pre-release available
soon (in weeks). GlusterFS v2.2 will have a native NFS protocol translator.

iSCSI exporting requires mmap support. You can create image files and losetup them
as devices. Then it will be possible to export as iSCSI volumes. We just fixed
a bug that caused poor mmap write performance. Work is on the way. We will keep
you updated.

--
Anand Babu Periasamy
GPG Key ID: 0x62E15A31
Blog [http://unlocksmith.org]
GlusterFS [http://www.gluster.org]
GNU/Linux [http://www.gnu.org]


Liam Slusser wrote:
>  
> Jonathan,
>  
> You can export a Gluster mount via a client with a NFS server however 
> the performance is pretty poor.  As far as i know there is no way to 
> export it with iSCSI.
>  
> Your best option is to use a single/dual Linux/Solaris iscsi server to 
> boot strap all your systems in xenServer and then use Gluster and fuse 
> to mount your /data drive once the system is up and running.
>  
> liam
> 
> On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 5:15 PM, Jonathan Bayles <jbayles at readytechs.com 
> <mailto:jbayles at readytechs.com>> wrote:
> 
>     Hi all,
> 
>     I am attempting to prevent my company from having to buy a SAN to
>     backend our virtualization platform(xenServer). Right now we have a
>     light workload and 4 dell 2950's (6disks, 1 controller each) to
>     leverage against the storage side. I like what I see in regard to
>     the "Distributed Replicated Storage" where you essentially create a
>     RAID 10 of bricks. This would work very well for me. The question
>     is, how do I serve this storage paradigm to a front end that's
>     expecting an NFS share or an iSCSI target? Does gluster enable me to
>     access the entire cluster from a single IP? Or is it something I
>     could run on a centos cluster (luci and ricci) and use the cluster
>     suite to present the glustered file system in the form of an NFS share?
> 
>     Let me back up and state my needs/assumptions:
> 
>     * A storage cluster with the capacity equal to at least 1
>     node(assuming all nodes are the same).
> 
>     * I need to be able to lose/take down any one brick in the cluster
>     at any time without a loss of data.
> 
>     * I need more than the throughput of a single server, if not in
>     overall speed, then in width.
> 
>     * I need to be able to add more bricks in and have the expectation
>     of increased storage capacity and throughput.
> 
>     * I need to present the storage as a single entity as an NFS share
>     or a iSCSI target.
> 
>     If there are any existing models out there please point me too them,
>     I don't mind doing the work I just don't want to re-invent the
>     wheel. Thanks in advance for your time and effort, I know what its
>     like to have to answer newbie questions!
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> 
> 
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