Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Cloud Hosting : Experience in Cloud Setup

[VirtualRain]

Hello,

I'm looking for someone who I can email or PM about a Cloud setup I am working on. I need some input on the hardware setup from someone who has worked in the field before.
If you wouldn't mind sparing sometime to help, that would be great.

Thanks, Charlie

[Katatonic]

You're probably better off posting here what you're trying to do then everyone can chip in.

[VirtualRain]

Originally Posted by Katatonic

You're probably better off posting here what you're trying to do then everyone can chip in.

Not a bad idea.
Ok, this is the basic setup we have running in our heads.
(Using Onapp as software)

- Control Panel server [Easy, nothing to it]

- Hypervisor server(s)
- Supermicro TwinBlade Enclosure
- Supermicro TwinBlade

- Data store [SAN]
[Using 15k SAS drives. What would be the best option for SAN setup? eg. Dell/Supermicro etc..]

- Backup Storage [No trouble there]

There is a basic setup but where I am getting in trouble is networking.
What is the best/easiest to use [10GbE/Infiniband/Fiber]
On Supermicro TwinBlade they offer
"Supermicro AOC-IBH-XDD - Dual 4x DDR 20Gbps Infiniband or Dual 10GbE Ethernet"
What would you suggest?

Thanks, Charlie

[X90H-Jake]

This will be interesting to see more posts.

[Katatonic]

Here's OnApp's own (brief) requirements:
http://onapp.com/get-onapp/hardware-requirements

You should speak to Ditlev - OnApp/VPS.net are running 100+ SANs themselves and have a lot of experience with the hardware and know what works best with their software, although it can pretty much run on any thing.

I would personally go down the Supermicro route simply because it is very cost effective and with a highly scalable application like OnApp you save even more.

[VirtualRain]

Thanks for the help with that link.

Just a question for someone.

What OS or software should be used for the SAN(s)?
Also, what should I use for network switches

[eming]

Originally Posted by VirtualRain

Thanks for the help with that link.

Just a question for someone.

What OS or software should be used for the SAN(s)?
Also, what should I use for network switches

really depends. If you use sanmelody or starwind you'll have to run windows on your SAN's. Others are based on Solaris and guys like open-e has their own OS (linux based).


D

[VirtualRain]

Thanks eming.

Another thing, suggest a drive.
256GB SSD SATA 6.0Gbps
vs
600GB 15k RPM SAS (6.0Gps)

[DataShack]

I looked at open-e but now im leaning more toward openfiler.

[CloudWeb]

Originally Posted by DataShack

I looked at open-e but now im leaning more toward openfiler.

What kind of application are you going to be running on this Cloud? What is the value of that environment? How about yours (or whoever is managing this) time valued per hour?

[DataShack]

Originally Posted by CloudWeb

What kind of application are you going to be running on this Cloud? What is the value of that environment? How about yours (or whoever is managing this) time valued per hour?

Are you saying those questions would make a difference between one or the other? If so, how?

[eming]

Originally Posted by DataShack

Are you saying those questions would make a difference between one or the other? If so, how?

I think it's fair questions really.
I mean for some applications you may need very fast disks and plenty of I/O, other usecases would be fine with what ever.
Some cloudplatforms are less turnkey than others, so if the OP is a busy guy it might make sense for him to go with a platform that ready to run and easy to manage, rather than an open framework that needs a lot of messing around with to work.


D

[CloudWeb]

Originally Posted by DataShack

Are you saying those questions would make a difference between one or the other? If so, how?

The design of an infrastructure's cost can vary wildly depending on what the infrastructure is used for, just as anything can in life. But it's all about value and if the infrastructure can afford downtime, and has a lower budget then free SAN software may work alright. But if it's a multimillion dollar infrastructure or high-profile site that would cost tens of thousands (or more) in damages per hour of downtime I wouldn't even consider it.

Where I'm getting at is if the infrastructure, time, and value of whatever is running on this is high then the price paid for enterprise SAN solutions is well worth it. We have and do use Openfiler + HA/DRBD for a redundant SAN and this is only done for my budget installations as believe me, they have their issues.

But for higher profile installations an enterprise SAN is hardly worth the price consideration as the reliability and support is far worth it.

[DataShack]

Originally Posted by eming

I think it's fair questions really.
I mean for some applications you may need very fast disks and plenty of I/O, other usecases would be fine with what ever.
Some cloudplatforms are less turnkey than others, so if the OP is a busy guy it might make sense for him to go with a platform that ready to run and easy to manage, rather than an open framework that needs a lot of messing around with to work.


D

I agree. Thats why I am leaning toward openfiler. It seems much easier to use and when there are support questions I can get answers from a lot of different places where as open-e doesn't seem so "open". Plus on larger installations it doesn't seem like the pricing structure scales very well. It gets very expensive very fast. A single storage box has 48TB of storage and open-e's model makes the software cost on a single server pretty steep.

[DataShack]

Originally Posted by CloudWeb

The design of an infrastructure's cost can vary wildly depending on what the infrastructure is used for, just as anything can in life. But it's all about value and if the infrastructure can afford downtime, and has a lower budget then free SAN software may work alright. But if it's a multimillion dollar infrastructure or high-profile site that would cost tens of thousands (or more) in damages per hour of downtime I wouldn't even consider it.

Where I'm getting at is if the infrastructure, time, and value of whatever is running on this is high then the price paid for enterprise SAN solutions is well worth it. We have and do use Openfiler + HA/DRBD for a redundant SAN and this is only done for my budget installations as believe me, they have their issues.

But for higher profile installations an enterprise SAN is hardly worth the price consideration as the reliability and support is far worth it.

Yes. My post doesn't mention anything about price. Just because you want to use open source software doesn't mean you want to use it just because it's free. I use lots of open source packages that I pay for service contracts on. For me, the top concerns are, in order, ease of use, support availability and price/performance.