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Thread: ESX 3.5 Certified?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    86

    Default ESX 3.5 Certified?

    G'day, I notice that you are now certified by VMware for iSCSI, as per http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi35_san_guide.pdf
    It states " Open‐E DSS with Intel S5000PAL/SR 2500 Active‐active Fixed Data Storage Server"

    However there is no mention of it on your site? and no mention of the full server specifications either.
    ie SAS or SATA and if it is the full Raid or the default onboard etc.

    Also, is DSS Lite also certified? I would like to run it in a production system and if all went well upgrade to the 4TB DSS.

    What about the NAS and iSCSI versions?

    Rgds Ben.

  2. #2

    Default

    Thanks for sending this information. Open-E as of last week passed the certification and are in the process of updating the website.

    Open-E DSS iSCSI Target function was certification with VMware ESX 3.5. Open-E DSS FC and NAS features and functions are currently not certified, we will evaluate this at a later date but no set time frame has been established.

    DSS LITE will not be certified as this is a free product. Please test with the DSS Demo-CD as this has a 60 day evaluation period and is the full version of our professional product providing 160TB storage support.


    Specifications:

    • Model: Open-E Data Storage Server
    • Version: 5.0.DB44000000.3025
    • Release Date: 2008-02-27
    • Licensed Storage Capacity: 16TB

    Intel SRS2500 server specifications:

    • Intel SRS2500
    • Intel S5000PAL
    • Intel 1x Xeon 3.73GHz
    • Bios Version s5000.86b.10.00.0084
    • BIOS Build Date 10/17/2007
    • 2GB Memory
    • 2x Intel GbE Ethernet Controller 80003ES2LAN (Copper)
    • LSI SAS1068 PCI-X Fusion-MPT SAS
    • 4x SATA Drives Seagate Model: ST3500630AS
    • Raid-0 was used
    All the best,

    Todd Maxwell


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  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    86

    Default

    Excellent! Thankyou for such a comprehensive reply. Many thanks. Looks like I have 60 days :-)

    Rgds Ben.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    108

    Default

    Todd,

    How was the active-active HDD controller portion of the config accomplished?

    Or does active-active refers simply to the iSCSI target functionality via the 2 GbE controllers?

  5. #5

    Default

    Hey man - long time no speek!

    Yes you are correct it is with 2 x GbE NIC's (Balance rr)

    Go to page 45 then Table 56. ""Open-E""

    http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi35_san_guide.pdf
    All the best,

    Todd Maxwell


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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
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    80

    Default

    The certification is great news.
    Can I ask if there's any thought to certifying DSS running on the Intel SSR212MC2?
    I guess this is a question for Open-E and Intel combined.

    I know Intel have done ESX running on SSR212MC2 hardware, and now Open-E have done ESX connected to DSS running on a standard Intel hardware platform.

    Some cutomers may still say that the OPen-E certification config (SR2500+S5000PAL) is close but not the same as what our company is tying to sell them (the SSR212SSR has a Xyratex chassis/enclosure management+S5000PSL+etc). We would say to them that it's "effectively" the same so they should be comfortable with that, but would have to agree that it's not identical.

    How do you think we should handle this situation?
    Thanks for the help.

  7. #7

    Default

    I understand there are other systems many of you would like to have certified but unfortionalty the VMware certification is very expensive. At the time we started the certification process the MC2 was not on the VMware's HCL and the SRS2500 was. We are currently certifying with the Intel Modular Server MFSYS25 because of the blade technology plus other features. This does not rule out that in the future we won't certify with the MC2. So with the combination of these 2 systems we should be on a good start.
    So please be patient as we grow to other platforms.
    All the best,

    Todd Maxwell


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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
    Location
    Toronto, Canada
    Posts
    108

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by To-M
    ...We are currently certifying with the Intel Modular Server MFSYS25 because of the blade technology plus other features...
    I'd like to hear more about the choice of this platform, especially since this server has a storage controller module which by my reading provides SAN functionality.

    So, I liked to head how Open-e fits into this picture.

  9. #9

    Default

    This was pushed from some very large opportunities that evolved us developing an installable version of DSS (not yet available for public - but soon). More information will be provided once this is listed. Until then only one of the blades was used and with all 2.5" drives RAID 0.
    All the best,

    Todd Maxwell


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  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    86

    Default

    G'day Sean,
    I agree it can be a bit frustrating selling solutions to customers if they are not strictly on the HCL.
    However, perhaps Open-E can help here.
    Since iSCSI and/or NAS are the protocols involved.

    Tom, can Open-E provide a statement that would confirm that Open-E DSS conforms to the ESX VMFS requirements, regardless of the underlying hardware?

    What I mean is, if when using iSCSI for example that there is no difference to ESX, regardless of whether you are using SAS or SATA, or a particular Raid Controller.
    Therefore, so long as the Hardware is certified by Open-E for use with DSS, then we as integrators can be confident that it will work. In particular I am thinking of the drama around the SCSI RESERVE and RELEASE commands.

    (Forgive me if the iSCSI protocol does not work this way, as I am not as familiar with it as other protocols)

    I know that will not satisfy all clients, but it would give me the confidence to try to sell it to them. Particularly if I can convince them to try DSS-Lite in their Test environments first.

    Rgds Ben

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