Re: Storage: SAN, NAS, or Local

"Burton Peltier" <burttemp1REMOVE_THIS_at_bellsouth.net> wrote in message news:<HAwDa.13406$pA3.4709_at_fe10.atl2.webusenet.com>...
> Ok, I may not have stated my point as well as I could have.
>
> The challenge is that someone with more control over IT in our shop thinks
> SAN is a miracle cure. I don't agree with this and was hoping to get some
> useful info to argue against it (if and when needed).
>
> The comments on the oaktable.net web site were useful.
>
> I suspect the attempt by others (not me) to use SAN for EVERYTHING is
> flawed, especially if it is as I suspect mixing Oracle datafiles and
> non-Oracle "who knows what" stuff on the same disk spindles.

Yes, it is important for it to be properly admin'd. On the miracle I was referring to, the unix boxen had their own volume groups on their own allocated partitions, and the PC's had theirs. I can imagine the Oracle PC parts were as poorly maintained as any PC administrated by MS fans (but I really don't know, since I kept to unix as much as possible). The key to it all was the SANS administrator, who is a brilliant unix admin. If you don't have a good SANS administrator, I can imagine it could easily go to hell in a hurry.

On the other hand, having craploads of fast cache like these things do can be amazingly forgiving from a performance standpoint. Hitachi does have some unbelievable uptime guarantees, too.

>
>
> --
>
> "Daniel Morgan" <damorgan_at_exxesolutions.com> wrote in message
> news:3EDE1EEE.628C4E7E_at_exxesolutions.com...
> > Burton Peltier wrote:
> >
> > > Good suggestion and I agree that what others are doing does NOT alter
> what
> > > our needs are and whether it is right for us. Some people (with more
> > > control over our IT shop) seem to be convinced SAN storage is a a good
> thing
> > > for all databases. I am not so convinced, especially because if
> configured
> > > for both databases and non-databases (which I think it is), there might
> be
> > > some problems. Like I said, the article at oaktable.net was definitely
> > > useful especially in recommending a "MicroSan" for Oracle databases. Do
> you
> > > agree with this or do you think it is a bad idea?
> > >
> > > My question may not have been phrased correctly. I was just mainly
> wanting
> > > to hear from others their experience with using SAN.
> > >
> > > I know this isn't a scientifically perfect "poll" by any means. But,
> hearing
> > > what someone or anyone has to say might help it seems, especially if
> they
> > > provide comments on tips to avoid problems. And, of course, I would
> always
> > > try it myself too.
> > >
> > > I do look at any suggestions, prove it for myself, and then maybe use
> it.
> > >
> > > Isn't a forum such as this a good place to ask questions like this?
> > >
> > > --
> > >
> > > <snipped>
> >
> > Is a SAN a miracle cure for everything and every situation? No! Nothing in
> the
> > IT world is.
> >
> > You still haven't posted a single bit of useful information someone could
> use to
> > formulate an intelligent answer to your query. Not even something as basic
> as
> > what challenges are you facing and what do you think it is going to do for
> you
> > if you get it.
> >
> > Seems to me like a mindless attempt to throw money at a problem in the
> hope of
> > making it go away.
> > --
> > Daniel Morgan
> > http://www.outreach.washington.edu/extinfo/certprog/oad/oad_crs.asp
> > damorgan_at_x.washington.edu
> > (replace 'x' with a 'u' to reply)
> >
> >

jg

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