Current Revision posted to TechCenter Chats - Wiki by DELL-Amol B on 10/17/2017 10:40:45 AM
The Dell TechCenter experts and a special Dell network attached storage (NAS) expert discuss the new Dell™ PowerVault™ NX3000 and PowerVault NX300 NAS storage solutions.
Technical Community - Background Reading
- Dell PowerVault NX3000 – Dell TechCenter Page (with Interface/Setup Demo)
- Dell Network Attached Storatge
- Dell PowerVault NX3000 Network Attached Storage
- Dell PowerVault NX300 Network Attached Storage
- Dell PowerVault NX3000 support documentation
- Dell PowerVault NX300 support documentation
Dell PowerVault NX3000 and PowerVault NX300 Overview
Dell network attached storage (NAS) systems run the Microsoft® Windows® Storage Server 2008 OS, which provides a user interface for:
- Initial system configuration
- Unified storage appliance management
- Simplified setup
- Management of storage and shared folders
- Optional support for Microsoft Internet SCSI (iSCSI) Software Target
Windows Storage Server 2008 is specially tuned to provide optimal performance for network attached storage. It provides enhancements in share and storage management scenarios, as well as integration of storage appliance management components and functionality.
Features in This Release
Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 provides efficient and unified file management by extending and consolidating the management interface. This enhanced interface includes:
- File Server Resource Manager (FSRM) provides support for performing additional administration tasks.
- Share and Storage Management is a snap-in application that allows for provisioning shares.
- (Optional) Microsoft iSCSI Software Target, including the iSCSI Software Target snap-in application and wizards, can be used for creating and managing iSCSI targets, virtual disks, and snapshots.
- Services for Network File System (NFS) enables NFS systems to access files on the NAS system.
- Remote Desktop for Administration provides a Windows Server Remote Administration applet that enables browser-based remote access to the management console from non-Microsoft clients.
- Single Instance Storage (SIS) enhancements include remote management, up to 20 volumes per server, and support for un-SIS or removal of SIS from a volume.
Chat Transcript
| Dell-ScottH | www.twitpic.com/hrbsg |
| Dell-JeffS | Okay, my clock shows 5 after |
| VeeamMark | Let's get ready to rumble |
| Dell-JeffS | Let’s kick this thing off. A few housekeeping items, and then we'll jump in. This is an open dialogue; feel free to jump in with your questions at any time. No need to take notes; a transcript will be published within a couple of days. When you click any links provided, try using a right-click as the interface can sometimes bump you out |
| Dell-ScottH | Link to the transcript page: www.delltechcenter.com/page/chat+topics+and+transcripts |
| Dell-JeffS | Okay, so, let’s go. Today's topic is Dell PowerVault NAS solutions, namely a couple of new solutions we've put out recently: Dell PowerVault NX3000 and PowerVault NX300 |
| Dell-JeffS | We have a guest expert today, Karthik, the Storage Product Marketing Manager for the NAS line. Did I get that right, Karthik? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | I am here…and you are right. I go by Karthik |
| Dell-ScottH | FYI, for anyone that joins a chat late, you can use Action, Recent Room History to catch up |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Or K-man, as my peers call it :) |
| grealish | Cool!, so I've got a question regarding the backward compatibility with other PowerVault and SAN systems from Dell; this is related to central management |
| Dell-ScottH | Nice Super K-Man! |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | :) |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Hello all! |
| VeeamMark | Could you also let us know which file protocols each support? For cross Unix/Windows support environments? |
| Martin_H | Hi |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | On management, do you use OpenManage? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Mark, both products support CIFS/NFS |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | NFS for non-Windows |
| VeeamMark | Excellent |
| grealish | No NAS management yet, but we will be investing in a SAN infrastructure and the PowerVault NX3000 could act as a NAS node to the SAN volumes |
| Dell-JeffS | FYI, a link to the Dell TechCenter page on the PowerVault NX3000, with a cheesy demo I recorded (which I plan to redo when time permits): www.delltechcenter.com/page/dell+powervault+nx3000 |
| VeeamMark | Could this be used as a direct to target location for a backup software provider? |
| grealish | As the EqualLogic SAN has integrated management, how does this interface to the NAS |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Grealish, Dell OpenManage can manage both previous generation and current generation NAS products |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | An EqualLogic SAN does not manage PowerVault NAS; PowerVault NAS is managed by OpenManage for both 1:1 and 1:many |
| grealish | Does OpenManage run on the NAS hardware, or is it an external component (sorry if it's a silly question) |
| VeeamMark | At first glance, looking at the box online, it appears to be built on a PowerEdge chassis. Does this mean it supports CIM/Smash hardware alerting? |
| ceri | Evening. Sorry I'm late. Did something to my knee on this evening's run and had to hobble home ::unsure |
| erson | Both are running Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008, right? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | When you connect an EqualLogic back end to the PowerVault NX3000, you provison the storage through the EqualLogic SAN but can do your monitoring through OpenManage with the rest of your servers |
| Dell-JeffS | @erson, correct |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | It is built on PowerEdge servers, and yes it is running Windows Storage Server 2008 |
| grealish | Okay, thanks Kart ;) |
| HoosierCAB | The PowerVault NX3000 looks a lot like a PowerEdge R710; does it use the same spares for drives? |
| erson | Doh, nothing on learndell about either of the two |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | OpenManage supports CIM; I am not too sure about Smash. I believe it will if not already does support it |
| Dell-JeffS | The PowerVault NX300 was just released last week; the page for it is here: www.dell.com/us/en/business/storage/powervault-nx300/pd.aspx?refid=powervault-nx300&s=bsd&cs=04 |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | You bet, Grealish |
| grealish | But OpenManage can't act as the central management of the EqualLogic and PowerVault NX? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Correct, same as PowerEdge R710 |
| durkinr | Will there be a Windows Server 2008 Release 2 (R2) version of storage server that support classifications? |
| erson | Any idea when the manuals will show up for the PowerVault NX300? Presumably here: |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Dell Management Console can be your centralized one-to-many management tool, but because of general SAN complexity, EqualLogic SAN management tool makes more sense for SAN management |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | No plans for Storage Server version yet |
| erson | Durkinr, Windows 2008 Storage Server was released just a couple of months ago, so if an R2 version is released it's probably far off |
| grealish | Will there be demo kits available, or did any of you guys see these units in VMworld? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | At RTS on 10/12, we will post all support documents |
| VeeamMark | Does the Dell TechCenter have any of these boxes installed in their environment yet? |
| grealish | @kart, yes the EqualLogic SAN tool is sweet; I like it a lot :) |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | They soon will, that is if they are nice to me of course :) |
| Dell-JeffS | I have the PowerVault NX3000 up and running |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Glad you like it. I will pass it on to my EqualLogic peers |
| Dell-JeffS | Similar interface as the PowerVault NX300 (same OS, Wizard) |
| grealish | btw.. i miss it, been working on a Fsc Fibercat .... uuuuhhh |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Yep |
| VeeamMark | I would love to see the performance of a backup using the vStorage API to a PowerVault NX3000 and see performance between that and VCB—in a virtual environment, that is |
| Dell-JeffS | come on over :) I'll record you and Kong and take all the credit for the demo |
| erson | How does it work to connect multiple PowerVault NX300 systems? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Lol |
| Dell-JeffS | They can all play in the same namespace |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Under DFS single-root namespace |
| grealish | Namespace, and a separate management VLAN possibly? |
| Dell-ScottH | There's the Jeff we know and love; and if it stinks, you'll get the credit :-) |
| HoosierCAB | Do both PowerVault NX3 boxes support iSCSI? |
| erson | Is it a PERC 6/i in the PowerVault NX300? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Only PowerVault NX3000 supports an iSCSI target |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Yes, it has PERC 6/i |
| Dell-JeffS | Seriously though, Mark, next time you are in town, swing on by—the PowerVault NX3000 is very underutilized as it is. :) |
| VeeamMark | I will be there next week |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | VLAN...hmmm, namespace is managed within the Windows Storage Server GUI, but you will need to manage your VLAN outside. Not sure if I answered your question |
| VeeamMark | I could do it now if VKY has set up the vendor permissions :) |
| Dell-JeffS | Still working on that; redoing the lab this week. Will have vendor gateway before too long |
| ceri | What discovery methods does the PowerVault NX3000 support for iSCSI? |
| grealish | If it's Windows 2003 Standard installed, it could be done with some configuration work |
| durkinr | Okay, is there a benefit to buying a PowerVault NX3000 over just buying a PowerEdge R710 and putting on Server R2 and setting it up as a file server? |
| Dell-JeffS | Funny, I wrote a blog on that |
| VeeamMark | Great question, Durkin; I was literally typing that |
| Dell-JeffS | Is that a set-up question? |
| grealish | @durkinr, yes I'd be interested in knowing the differences |
| erson | Almost looks like the PowerVault NX300 has one PCIe slot and bracket on the back? |
| Dell-JeffS | :) Getting link |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Couple of important benefits besides the appliance out-of-box experience in setting up, etc. 1) Windows Storage Server is basically optimized for file serving 2) No Cals needed for clients |
| Dell-JeffS | What he said in way too many words: http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/dell_tech_center/archive/2009/09/09/fast-deployment-amp-easy-to-manage-nas-dell-powervault-nx300.aspx |
| durkinr | @veeammark, me too. Disk space on our BE media servers with VCB is just not enough to run the simultaneous backups we need with VCB |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | PowerVault NX300 does not have any additional PCIe slot |
| Dell-JeffS | Ease of setup too. It’s done. When you turn it on, it already has the volumes/shares configured and ready to go |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Right |
| erson | I'm expecting the PowerVault NX300 to be dirt cheap |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Wondering how much you expect it to be; just curious |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | With 4x 160 GB drives for example... |
| VeeamMark | In comparison to quality for money received, everything from Dell is "dirt cheap" |
| erson | Who would buy that? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Just so you know, I don't want to mislead you on pricing as the pricing team is still working on that, but I am just curious |
| erson | The only sane option is 4x 1 TB nearline SAS, IMHO |
| VeeamMark | Erson, never underestimate the SMB market :) |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Very true |
| JeffHengesbach | SMBs that want simple, consolidated stuff—yeah, what Veeammark said |
| VeeamMark | Looking at this from a virtualization perspective, this box looks to be a solid entry into the shared storage needed for VMware |
| erson | I guess you’re right. I'm not very representative of the SMB market I guess with my PowerEdge M1000e, PowerEdge R710 and EqualLogic PS6000e |
| grealish | SMBs, less is more ;) |
| erson | Grealish, that also goes for disk space :) |
| VeeamMark | @erson, you are just more M than A—S that is |
| grealish | Someone put it to me once like this, "Fight the wife, and yeah sleep on your own" ;) |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Thanks for your input, Erson. That option is definitely there. We just made the capacity and drive type flexible so it fits all customers |
| erson | Veeammark, right again. So, what about 2 TB drives? Two manufacturers have released 7200 rpm drives |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Very soon after RTS |
| Dell-KongY | So how many here consider themselves SMB? MB? Large enterprise? Just curious |
| Dell-JeffS | RTS=release to shipping |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | RTS of those drives from Dell, I meant |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Ooops…thanks, Jeff |
| durkinr | We are SME ~250 users |
| grealish | @kongy, MB to large enterprise |
| VeeamMark | @dell-kongy, as a company, S... very S. As a consultant to customers, LEBU and FED |
| Dell-JeffS | I'm still new to Dell. Haven't been assimilated into acronyms yet |
| erson | We're a small company of 40 employees, but very high. IT demands being an ISV, thus the pretty hefty hardware |
| HoosierCAB | Dell-kongy, Um, I'm medium enterprise at the day job, SMB (or smaller) at the consulting gigs |
| JeffHengesbach | SME: ~200 |
| Dell-KongY | Thanks for sharing |
| ceri | @dell-kongy, I am ex-large enterprise; now I am just education. We aim to buy enterprise-class where appropriate, however |
| erson | So we're probably going in the medium business section when it comes to IT hardware purchases |
| Dell-JeffS | Kong, I'm LE ;) |
| durkinr | Is the SIS capability of the PowerVault NX3000 special or just built-in to Windows Storage Server? |
| grealish | We’re about 2500 globally, but also our customer solutions would be the real use |
| Dell-JeffS | It’s part of Windows Storage Server 2008 done at the volume level |
| erson | ETA on RTS of 2 TB? |
| erson | Durkinr, built-in |
| erson | Windows 2003 Storage Server also had SIS |
| erson | Doh, Jeff’s already answered |
| Dell-JeffS | In that demo I linked to earlier about halfway through, I turn on SIS on one of the volumes |
| durkinr | Yeah we use Windows Storage Server 2003—should have known the answer to my own question |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Tes, SIS is part of Windows Storge Server 2008 |
| durkinr | Um, I was just testing you ::blush |
| erson | Regarding small, medium, large companies, I often get to help our customers to size the hardware they need to run our software. And those companies are from about 5–20,000 people. BTW, for those with Technet (or MSDN I presume) you can get a Windows Storage Server 2008 for evaluation there. That's one thing they didn't offer with Windows Storage Server 2003. |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | How's SIS working out for you, Durkinr? |
| Dell-JeffS | Admin guide, other manuals for the PowerVault NX3000, FYI: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/stor-sys/nx3000/en/index.htm |
| durkinr | We don't use it now, but I'm looking into it for the future. We are using Enterprise Vault on our PowerVaults right now |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Got it. Microsoft made some good improvements to SIS in Windows Storage Server 2008. You would like it |
| erson | /me is pondering about building a dirt-cheap SCSI target with Windows Storage Server 2008 on the lab network |
| Dell-JeffS | Also, File Server performance comparison of three Dell PowerVault NX3000 configurations paper: www.principledtechnologies.com/clients/reports/dell/nx3000.pdf |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Good link, Jeff. Thanks. We hope to deliver some more along the same lines with internal storage and PowerVault MD1000 soon |
| durkinr | Thanks, that's useful Jeff |
| grealish | Nice paper, Jeff, thanks |
| erson | "Snapshots Built-in VSS snapshots for CIFS/NFS. Additional snapshots capability may exist depending on external storage array." |
| erson | That’s from the PowerVault NX300 spec |
| erson | External storage array on the PowerVault NX300? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Yep, using VSS |
| durkinr | We have EqualLogic PS5000 and EqualLogic PS6000. I need to look at an EqualLogic PS4000 for some cheap bulk file storage |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Sorry |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | That should be corrected. It is taken from PowerVault NX3000. It should just say built-in snapshot support. Good catch, thanks |
| Dell-JeffS | Just got my EqualLogic PS4000XV in today, along with an EqualLogic PS6000XV in the process of re-doing our whole lab |
| Dell-JeffS | |
| durkinr | If I come and help, can I have an EqualLogic PS4000XV too? |
| Dell-JeffS | We're going to have 8 total EqualLogic arrays in our group. I wish we could give out storage arrays to help with all this fun |
| VeeamMark | I would be willing to host an array here in Dallas |
| Dell-JeffS | Lol |
| VeeamMark | You could prove out replication strategies over the WAN to remote locations. I even have a Dell PowerEdge 2200 that can act as a gateway |
| VeeamMark | for those wanting to run Nt and Netware 4.5 |
| Dell-JeffS | We will consider your generous offer |
| durkinr | I'll host one here in Oregon, and we can set up WAN replication testing |
| Dell-JeffS | We will consider your generous offer as well. :) |
| grealish | Nice idea, guys |
| Dell-JeffS | It was fun enough trying to get the hardware for the lab. I'm sure management would just love that request |
| Dell-JeffS | Any more NAS questions? |
| VeeamMark | I will produce white papers though |
| Dell-JeffS | Any NAS-specific demos I can record for you? |
| Dell-JeffS | Or rather, when Mark is here next week, that he can record for you |
| VeeamMark | Nice |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Jeff, I haven't checked out your demos.. did you send out the link here before? |
| Dell-JeffS | And I can take credit for? |
| VeeamMark | Yep |
| durkinr | Yes, record a demo setting up a PowerVault NX3000 as an NFS target for VMware backup using vSphere and the new DR appliance |
| Dell-JeffS | Just one cheesy one so far...Going to re-record and spend more time on the SIS/hadow copy: www.delltechcenter.com/page/dell+powervault+nx3000 |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Okay, thanks! |
| Dell-JeffS | I recorded the demo from the iDRAC console expecting more stuff on the initial setup |
| VeeamMark | @dell-jeffs, can you have a VM with access to a VC with VMS and network access to the PowerVault NX3000 ready for Wednesday? I'll do the rest |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Nice |
| Dell-JeffS | But the wizard just asked for a password change and language and bam—done! |
| Dell-JeffS | Sure. Kong,. that's possible right? |
| Dell-KongY | @veeammark, yes barring any major setback to the core infrastructure bring-up |
| Dell-JeffS | Alright, folks... Thanks for all the great questions! |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | So, no more questions on NAS right? |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | Yes, thank you all! |
| VeeamMark | Thanks @karthik! |
| Dell-JeffS | And thanks for joining us today. Next week we are going in-depth on EqualLogic Networking—two storage topics in a row! |
| Karthik_-_NAS_PM | You are welcome, Mark! |
| durkinr | Great, I'm always interested in new EqualLogic information |
| grealish | @jeff, cool! Will be interesting for sure |
| erson | Jeffs, remember to link the article about that in the latest Power Solutions magazine on the chat start page |
| VeeamMark | Is EqualLogic provisioning your storage any easier? |
| grealish | Network example with the PowerVault NX and EqualLogic would be interesting |
| VeeamMark | It only takes a rocket scientist to provision other storage solutions |
| Dell-JeffS | @erson, Good idea. Will do |
| erson | Page 94 :) |
| Dell-JeffS | @grealish, true, that's something we can do as well |
| durkinr | Provisioning is easy, doing it correctly for the specific situation is the hard part |
| Dell-JeffS | Okay, folks, have a good day (and a good evening Erson!) |
| durkinr left. | |
| grealish | Thanks, guys |
| grealish | It's good night from here ;) |
| Dell-KongY | Thank you, everyone |
| Ceri | Night then folks. |
| erson | Tune in next week, same bat time, same bat channel. Adam West obviously rules |
