Disk drives are probably the first thing you should consider. Enterprise-class SATA
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drives are available in the same capacities as regular SATA drives and at a slightly higher cost, generally $50-$100 per drive. All other enterprise-class drives, whether Fibre Channel (FC), SCSI or SAS (serial attached SCSI), are based on the same higher-speed, more durable electronics, usually come in smaller capacities, typically 73 GB, 146 GB and 300 GB, and are much more expensive. They are, however, also a good deal faster, especially in server applications and should last longer.There are two ways to connect storage to a server: direct-attached storage (DAS) that is connected directly to a single server; and networked storage, which as the name implies is shared storage connected through a network connection, whether Ethernet, FC, Infiniband or something else.
Continue reading "How to select the right storage array."
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About the author: Logan G. Harbaugh is a freelance reviewer and IT consultant in Redding, CA, who has worked in IT for more than 20 years.
This was first published in April 2008