Disaster Recovery and Disaster Avoidance Planning for a Small Manufacturing Firm
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@Dashrender said:
OK @travisdh1 , but I was looking more from a configuration side of things, not SPOF.
Scott generally speaks out about users having vendors do the hardware setup of a server. The vendor probably won't make the settings setups decisions that you want/need.
Considering some of the things I've seen come from manufacturer that's the right conclusion. In this case tho, you're specifying how much CPU, RAM, HD/SSD, etc you want and all they do is setup the StarWinds VSAN for you. Is it better for you to do it yourself? Probably. In this case I'd actually consider it, assuming someone from StarWind is actually doing the configuration.
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@JaredBusch said:
@Dashrender said:
OK @travisdh1 , but I was looking more from a configuration side of things, not SPOF.
Scott generally speaks out about users having vendors do the hardware setup of a server. The vendor probably won't make the settings setups decisions that you want/need.
Well that one is sold as an appliance. So you would expect configuration. THis one seems different only because it is on an Dell server.
This is the key. Determine if it is an appliance (e.g. you don't manage it) or a server (e.g. you manage it.) Who takes care of it once it is installed? All NAS and SAN are appliances, you require the vendor for support. That's fine, but you have to make the distinction of if you are in "whole hog" with the vendor and are okay with an appliance or you want to have flexibility and support it yourself like a server.
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@travisdh1 said:
@Dashrender said:
OK @travisdh1 , but I was looking more from a configuration side of things, not SPOF.
Scott generally speaks out about users having vendors do the hardware setup of a server. The vendor probably won't make the settings setups decisions that you want/need.
Considering some of the things I've seen come from manufacturer that's the right conclusion. In this case tho, you're specifying how much CPU, RAM, HD/SSD, etc you want and all they do is setup the StarWinds VSAN for you. Is it better for you to do it yourself? Probably. In this case I'd actually consider it, assuming someone from StarWind is actually doing the configuration.
Why would you assume that? The hardware is coming from XByte. I'd assume the setup was being done by XByte.
Of course that doesn't imply that it's wrong, only that it is.
Also, what I don't know - do you have to install the hypervisor first? I'm assuming the answer to that is yes. Why do I assume this? Because StarWinds only supports Hyper-V and ESXi. If it was installed before any hypervisor, then it wouldn't matter what hypervisor was installed over the top, because the array would be presented just like a RAID controller presents disk to an OS installed on top of it (though since I don't know - I could be mistaken).
So assuming that StarWinds has to be installed after the hypervisor, now we're allowing the vendor to install that as well.
Again - this could be a great appliance, on tune with Scale. I'm guessing those machines come all pre built, just drop and start using them. So I'm not trying to trash anyone, I'm simply asking.
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@Dashrender said:
Again - this could be a great appliance, on tune with Scale. I'm guessing those machines come all pre built, just drop and start using them. So I'm not trying to trash anyone, I'm simply asking.
Correct, they are a fully supported appliance. Same as a Unitrends, for example.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Again - this could be a great appliance, on tune with Scale. I'm guessing those machines come all pre built, just drop and start using them. So I'm not trying to trash anyone, I'm simply asking.
Correct, they are a fully supported appliance. Same as a Unitrends, for example.
I had written Unitrends originally, but felt that Scale provided a better point to what I was saying since it's the same end type appliance.
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@Dashrender said:
So assuming that StarWinds has to be installed after the hypervisor, now we're allowing the vendor to install that as well.
Correct. I would, in a case like this, get a bundle from xByte with the servers, the specs, the Starwinds licensing, etc. but make sure that I do the setup myself so that I know what is going on and that I can recreate it.
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
So assuming that StarWinds has to be installed after the hypervisor, now we're allowing the vendor to install that as well.
Correct. I would, in a case like this, get a bundle from xByte with the servers, the specs, the Starwinds licensing, etc. but make sure that I do the setup myself so that I know what is going on and that I can recreate it.
Is that necessary? If you're buying an appliance, won't they put it back that way if it has to be replaced/repaired?
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@Dashrender said:
@original_anvil said:
@garak0410 said:
We are running production VM's on that aging (but licensed) PowerEdge 2900. Do I need replacing that as my priority or perhaps look at the Starwind solution first?
Actually two options here:
StarWind Virtual SAN, which is software only
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-virtual-san
StarWind HyperConverged Platform, which is the bundle of the Dell hardware, storage and hypervisor. https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-hyperconverged-applianceActually in my opinion giving a try to the second option is way much better idea since you are still considering geеting the Xbyte as an option, and xByte is actually out partners
So as the result you`ll get the fully functional system, not just the part of it.Does it come pre built? I thought that was generally frowned upon around here?
Yes, it is. First we are discussing desired hardware and software configuration, then we are doing the most part of configuration on our end, shipping it to the customers datacenter, and then finishing up the configuration. I`m assuming that we are talking about the HycperConverged Appliance
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
Again - this could be a great appliance, on tune with Scale. I'm guessing those machines come all pre built, just drop and start using them. So I'm not trying to trash anyone, I'm simply asking.
Correct, they are a fully supported appliance. Same as a Unitrends, for example.
+1!
Thanks! -
@original_anvil said:
@Dashrender said:
@original_anvil said:
@garak0410 said:
We are running production VM's on that aging (but licensed) PowerEdge 2900. Do I need replacing that as my priority or perhaps look at the Starwind solution first?
Actually two options here:
StarWind Virtual SAN, which is software only
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-virtual-san
StarWind HyperConverged Platform, which is the bundle of the Dell hardware, storage and hypervisor. https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-hyperconverged-applianceActually in my opinion giving a try to the second option is way much better idea since you are still considering geеting the Xbyte as an option, and xByte is actually out partners
So as the result you`ll get the fully functional system, not just the part of it.Does it come pre built? I thought that was generally frowned upon around here?
Yes, it is. First we are discussing desired hardware and software configuration, then we are doing the most part of configuration on our end, shipping it to the customers datacenter, and then finishing up the configuration. I`m assuming that we are talking about the HycperConverged Appliance
Just out of curiosity, who is doing the build? StarWinds or XByte?
Considering this an appliance definitely changes things.
Thanks for responding too.
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@Dashrender said:
@original_anvil said:
@Dashrender said:
@original_anvil said:
@garak0410 said:
We are running production VM's on that aging (but licensed) PowerEdge 2900. Do I need replacing that as my priority or perhaps look at the Starwind solution first?
Actually two options here:
StarWind Virtual SAN, which is software only
https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-virtual-san
StarWind HyperConverged Platform, which is the bundle of the Dell hardware, storage and hypervisor. https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-hyperconverged-applianceActually in my opinion giving a try to the second option is way much better idea since you are still considering geеting the Xbyte as an option, and xByte is actually out partners
So as the result you`ll get the fully functional system, not just the part of it.Does it come pre built? I thought that was generally frowned upon around here?
Yes, it is. First we are discussing desired hardware and software configuration, then we are doing the most part of configuration on our end, shipping it to the customers datacenter, and then finishing up the configuration. I`m assuming that we are talking about the HycperConverged Appliance
Just out of curiosity, who is doing the build? StarWinds or XByte?
Considering this an appliance definitely changes things.
Thanks for responding too.
Cooperation
Everything is mostly handled by StarWind, but xByte does the great job as well though. -
Looks like the topic ran away from me...been swamped with other things this past week...glad to see it made for good conversation.
