Hi. Is it a bad idea to use NAS to store customers data on? That way, if a server bugs out, a spare can come online and continue using the latest data off the NAS?

Smart/dumb? Comments?
If it is a smart move, anyone recommend any vendors?

Thanks

What's NAS?

network attached storage

well, I suggest you swap the characters and make it SAN :)))

NAS is a good idea actually. It's eventually more cost effective to build a larger RAID 5 disk array and use it as a NAS server than it is to put drives in each server. It's a lot easier to add disk to a NAS server than it is to add it to existing servers.

SAN would be better/faster, but just the cost of a decent fiber channel card can sometimes double the cost of your typical web hosting server. Not to mention buying an FC array is quite an impact.

So If I were to hook up a nas server ( a brand name one) to my network, i could basically have 2 machines or more accessing the data (to distribute the load) or have 1 main server and if it fails, the 2nd server can use the nas correct? And, to be even more redundant, a 2nd nas to backup the first nas nightly :)

I assume i would use NFS right? (hacker paradise?, by the way hackers, my company is.. hosting.com -:) )

Will it be alot slower? will customers notice?

Know how much brand name ones cost?

I guess id build my own storage machine, but if it freezes, its not better than a frozen webserver without the data :) - is there any known nas that is stable and will never freeze (ie a god-sent one?)

I would be interested to try a LVS or linux ha setup - I would put 2 directors (linked via serial cable) and if one director fails the other will take over the IP and forward requests to 2 web servers - the 2 web servers will call the data off the nas. The only problem i see is that the 2 web servers cant share ips, so i would probably setup namebased hosting... am i missing something?

For hosting - I wouldn't use nas. That is I would pull webpages to be servedup off of nas. It'd be too slow - I would however certainly use it for backups. However - It's nice to have tape backups that you can take with you and store off site. That way if there's sometype of physical problem with where the server is, you've still got data.

Alot slower? Will anybody notice? I guess you are right thats what i feared all along, you are the first one to confirm it :(

:o oh well. It was an idea.

If you build a decent NAS box using RAID 5 then you don't need another box that backs up the NAS. A decent tape backup would be a good idea so you can save your data off site, but is probably overkill. Keep plenty of spare diska, RAM, and power supplies around and you should be in good shape.

As for NFS, set it up so your NAS box is not connected to the internet at all, only your web servers can see it. The web servers only use NFS as a client so they will not be exposed to potential NFS security issues. If you set your web servers up in a load balanced environement (is this what LVS does?) then they will effectively be servicing the same data, you can use round robin DNS for this. If one machine goes down, have the other take over the IP's and there will be almost no noticeable downtime whatsoever.

This isn't your run of the mill hosting platform by any means, but it could be done on a budget pretty nicely I think.

As for speed, use gigabit ethernet between web server and NAS device and I doubt you'll notice any degredation at all. You are just serving web pages, and over the internet to boot. There are many other bottlenecks in place that will burdon the load long before NAS does. If it becomes an issue and you can afford it, go for SAN.

Alrighty, thanks for the advice. I will continue to weigh my options and see were to go...

About the IP takeover we've looked into that, but im using "smart" (ya right) switches - dont they remember which port the IP goes to?

Yeah, but if I had a clue about networking I'm sure I could answer that one for you as well.

Also, for a decent NAS server, you might check Dell's 755 (I think) series. They run under $10k. If you are on a tighter budget, you can definitely build something for far less, or even buy a Dell PowerEdge 2650 or 2550 with maximum storage for quite a bit less.

Sounds like a plan to me. :)

Well, price is definately a factor but the most important thing is uptime - it cant crash - thats why i hesitate about building my own - my parts will not compare to the ones dell use (nor the warranty) or another brand name. I need to make sure this nas will be up 24/7 - or better ;-D

good thing about *most* dell business type servers / products. 24 / 7 / 365 4 hour hardware replacement & on site repair

-neil