server setup

[t3dm]

Hi All.

well, just had a major server 'issue' luckly no data lost but the server (ms exchange, dell poweredge with 6 scsi raid drives etc... 6 years old.. old lto tape back up and usb back up)


anyway keeping it brief, my IT guys are fine but a little in the dark about what we actually do. I am just wondering how other smaller visualisation companies set up there systems. I am of the thinking that we go smaller and lower spec on a new quieter server, back up via smaller LTo5 tapes, critcal files (max and asset directories) and then NAS or network attach raid storage for aniamtion and larege render layoffs..

so in summary, looking for some pointers on a good efficient and secure server/storage setup.

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Hi

Build. It. Ur. Self.

I think I would not go with other dell/HP as it gets pricey for good hardware from them.

[t3dm]

I do not want to build this myself, I would rather just focus on the development side...

not worried about Dell or HP brands, but I want warranty and support and I am happy to use my IT company. I just was wondering on the actual configuration/setup of our system?

was wanting to have more storage that I can have attached to the server purely for our outputs, so that our render jobs can be separated from our critical maps, assets and max files (which will stay on the server internal RAID.. kept at under 1TB so its easier to back up via tape/hdd) while external render outputs are safe on RAID and backed up/archived manually (as this data can be regenerated and is not critcal)

we are also moving away from an exchange server and going cloud on that front... just looking at some pointers for specin a new work /3D visualization system

[Dariusz Makowski (Dadal)]

Ahh so u asking software side of set up - buh silly me.

Cant help you with this one. I run simple 10tb Data storage with raids+mirror. All on standard desktop system with many enterprise HDDs+backup. The only thing I can complain about is the 1gb lan speed I have... need more

[deflix]

Definitely would do 10 Gbps if you can - it makes a big difference - 100mb per second just doesn't cut it anymore.

Software-wise you may want to look at the ZFS Filesystem which is vastly superior to NTFS -

It is supported by BSD/MacOS/Linux but can also be used under windows using software such as:

http://zfsguru.com/
http://dokan-dev.net/en/

cheers