N5K FCoE direct attachment storage conf sample

I am looking for a configuration sample of two N5K's connecting directly to a single storage device (direct attachment) using at least 2 VSANs, looking specifically for the zoning configuration. This will be a temporary solution while MDS ports are not available for the new enviromment. Please, share any simple configuration using the presented scenario: 2 N5K's, 2 EXS hosts (1000V), 2 VSANs, 2 Zones, and single storage (ie.: N-series). Thank you!

Hello,
For the first question, it is NOT supported.
It might work if we enable default zoning but it is not recommended.
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/unified_computing/ucs/sw/gui/config/guide/2.0/b_UCSM_GUI_Configuration_Guide_2_0_chapter_0101.html#concept_05717B723C2746E1A9F6AB3A3FFA2C72
The next major release is expected to support direct attach storage.
Padma

Similar Messages

Zoning in direct attached storage environment

Hi everibody,
I have a small humble question about zoning.
When using JBOD, each physical disk had its own WWPN and FCID. The zoning configuration is for a server WWPN against disk WWPN so basically each server has its own disk.
Now for more advance storage systems (such as EMC) instead of physical disks to be mapped to servers we are mapping LUNs per server. I thought that for each LUN a WWPN and FCID are created and then you map the server to that LUN’s WWPN. Now I see that it does not work this way.
I have a UCS system with direct attached storage (EMC VNX5100). The active zoneset shows that all servers WWPNs are mapped to the same target WWPN (which is the EMC). There is a zone entry for each server.
So basically the result of that is that all servers can access the same target and the EMC controls the isolation of the LUNs from other servers.
If this is correct, then my question is why do I need the zoning configuration in this scenario ? why not set the default zone to permit and let EMC control LUN access?
BTW, this scenario of one storage system attached to the SAN is the same if we use Nexus 5k, so why bother and set zoning if the EMC can control the access to LUNs?

If this is correct, then my question is why do I need the zoning configuration in this scenario ? why not set the default zone to permit and let EMC control LUN access?
You could of course create multiple Storage Target Policies (different FC interface on controller, resp. other storage arrays)
Zoning is just another level of security, default zone permit is not recommended to be used in productive environments. The standard classical procedure is: zoning AND lun masking / mapping.
In the case of N5k, you have to do the zoning manually (CLI), or with DCNM-SAN; in the case of local zoning on the Fabric Interconnect, UCS Manager does it automatically for you.
Hope that helps !

Direct Attached Storage LUNs Performance Slow compared to VHDx

Hi,
We have a problem with performance on pass-thru disks on our VMs and Hyper-V hosts. When we directly provision LUNs from 3PAR via Fibre HBAs the performance is shocking (diskspd tests). However, when we use a VHDx file stored on the same LUN the performance
is nearly 3 times faster.
Surely this doesnt sound right. We also tried provisioning a SSD volume from our 3PAR but the performance on this is the same compared to VHDx. How can VHDx be faster than SSD volume. Anyone got any ideas on this? What sort of performance do you see on your
pass-thru disks compared to VHDx.
Really struggling to figure out what could cause should dramatic difference. Any help or suggestions highly appreciated.
The diskspd parameters i am using are: -o8 -t1 -c25G -d120.
Thank You

Hi,
I have done tests with different parameters i.e. 30% write, 100% write, 100% read etc. Also changed the the number of threads, outstanding I/Os etc.
As for the tests with caching (-h) switch goes, please see the below table for results for these tests.
VHDx
3PAR
Write
Read
Total
Write
Read
Total
18.61
43.39
62.00
2.18
5.06
7.25
Test: Diskspd.exe -b4K -d120 -h -L -o1 -r -t1 -w30 -c25G
With -h
15.66
36.50
52.16
2.96
6.86
9.82
Test: Diskspd.exe -b4K -d120 -L -o1 -r -t1 -w30 -c25G
No -h
56.36
131.54
187.89
22.41
52.31
74.72
Test: Diskspd.exe -b4K -d120 -h -L -o8 -r -t1 -w30 -c25G
With -h
14.28
33.28
47.56
2.97
6.88
9.85
Test: Diskspd.exe -b4K -d120 -L -o8 -r -t1 -w30 -c25G
No -h
I have also performed some of the tests as per the blog by Jose Barreto but the results are same, performance on VHDx is far better than RAW LUNs whether thats on a VM or Hyper-V Host. If you want me to perform some specific tests and post the results, please
let me know.
HP have been troubleshooting this problem with us and so far they have been unable to trace the problem. They have looked at 3PAR performance as a whole and that appears OK, they are doing to do some more tests this morning. I will keep you guys posted on
how this develops. Thanks for all your input so far.
Mayur

Direct Attach SATA 4TB Storage Solution

I need to purchase a Direct Attach storage device. It will need to store 3-4TB of video files. I have narrowed down my search to three companies: Dulce Systems (4TB Quad), Sonnet Technologies (4TB Fusion), and CalDigit (HDPro). My budget is $5000. I am looking for any suggestions or feedback on any of these systems or advice on another system. I am finding it very difficult to find people who have worked with any of these devices other than the sales staff for each company. This is a big investment for me. I want to make the most informed decision I can. This forum has always had good advice, Im hoping a few people can help me out.

I got this Westerndigital world edition II Hard Disk 1GB. It is very slow and require mionet(WD AccessAnywhere)/internet connection to be recognised in my computer. You can use it without mionet but you have to map each folder to appear in my computer (it will appear in my network places). You also need to be consistent as everything you create using mionet you can't change without it and vice versa. It is based on SAMBA only so no NFS, etc.
Mionet is interesting if you travel a lot. It will make you be able to share your file anywhere in the world (they said securely) but it is not free. There is yearly fee.
Its transfer speed is only about 5MByte/s (around 40Mbps which explain my network utilization of around 40% on fast ethernet) because it is the limit of their internal processor (I ask WD about this so it is acurate). So it does not matter whether you got gigabit ethernet or not. Also it has limit on the file sized transfered. I have successfully transfered around 4 GB at a time (takes about 20min) but I when I transfered 12 GB (12 big files around 1 GB and few small files) it choked near the end (report error).
It's 2 TB also based on 2 1GB HD with JBOD so it does not provide safety of data redundancy. It does offer RAID 1 (mirroring) but you got only 1TB.
I use it for backup of my video (DIVX, XVID, WMV, etc) and it can stream these file OK. I have no idea how it will handle bigger data rates.
I agree the fastest way is using eSATA drives. I plan to buy another 1GB eSATA drives when the price drop to store video and use WD as other purpose. Hope it helps.

Mirroring two ESX Servers with direct attached arrays

Hi, am new to the forum so please forgive if I commit any faux pas
We have two HP DL585 servers (amd opteron) with Direct attached storage arrays (attached via scsi cable) We would like to create a VM environment using ESX 3.5 (this is whats available to us - packaged) We also have all the vmware tools available to us but no other budget to spend on NAS\SAN's
Is there a way to create a mirror between the two machines (and arrays so to speak) so that failover is possible if one goes down or something similar - I think HP storageworks storage mirroring does this but does VMware have anything build in to do the job?
we will be installing the ESX build on the local hard disks(mirrored) and the VM slices on the array (raid 5). Also the arrays are seen as another local disk on the server. Would Vmotion help or what could we put in place here?. Thanks
Alternatively, what is a good design to follow with the hardware we have? I'm finding it hard to get examples of VMware environments on the web. Thanks in advance

Hi Kelly,
I've put this on a different thread but said I would ask you as you have been of such help in the past
Converter errors
Im running vmware converter standalone, ran on a W2k3 server (importing an online physical server,i.e itself ) . I am trying to P2V itself and send it to out to our ESX3.5 server\datastore (destination)
sorry I cant explain it any better than this.
Hi All, I'm getting this error
Unknown error returned by Vmware convertor Agent
and in the logs its saying
2009-10-29 15:18:11.119 'ClientConnection' 5028 info Making sure that UFAD interface has version vmware-converter-4.0.2
2009-10-29 15:18:11.135 'ClientConnection' 5028 info UFAD interface version is vmware-converter-4.0.2
2009-10-29 15:18:11.150 'P2V' 5028 info task,277 Task execution completed
2009-10-29 15:18:11.181 'P2V' 5028 info ufaSession,129 DoImport called
2009-10-29 15:18:11.181 'P2V' 4256 info task,275 Starting execution of a Task
2009-10-29 15:18:11.181 'P2V' 4256 info ufaTask,207 Successfully connected to VMImporter
2009-10-29 15:19:20.149 'P2V' 4256 error task,296 Task failed: P2VError UNKNOWN_METHOD_FAULT(sysimage.fault.ImageProcessingTaskFault)
Is there no way I can P2V it to itself and then copy it to the datastore
(when i try this, it just doesnt see a file the file even though its there)
What is the best P2V tool out there?..
Thanks for any help provided

How much attached storage can a mac server handle? What would be the best suggestion for this?

Hello, hopefully I am in the correct location, if not, i apologize. Please bear with me as I am fairly new to MAC server. Here is my dillema. I have a mac graphics group that uses about 6TB of storage currently on a Windows server. We are running into issues such as permissions and searching inability. I was considering moving them to a mac server but will need to add storage to this. What would be recommended for such large disk space? We do currenlty have 2 mac mini servers and all the users are bound to AD as well. Thank you in advance for any suggestions!

One of the Mac Mini Server boxes I deal with has 24 TB hanging off of the box (configured as RAID-6), plus a two-disk RAID-1 mirror set inside the box. That's also a pretty small configuration, both in terms of its physical size and in terms of its storage capacity in the grand scheme of things.
A Mac Pro or Mac Pro Server will do 8 TB inside the box, plus a whole lot more outside the box either direct-attached storage (DAS) or via a Storage Area Network (SAN) configuration, but the performance of a Mac Pro Server is probably overkill for your needs, too.
As much as you are focusing on the capacity, you'll also want to look at how you'll archive and manage that much storage. At how you'll manage and conduct backups of your data.
You'll also be looking at the speed and the design of your network, if you're moving large files around regularly. Gigabit Ethernet does pretty well for small groups, but you may be looking for a different setup of that's not fast enough.

UCS direct attach to NetApp in Flexpod

Hello Experts,
We have a new project which is based on Flexpod design and needs a direct attach between the FI 6248 and NetAPP storage.(Without a Fabric Switch N5K or MDS)
We had concern if Cisco has validated this design.Or else if there is CVD(Cisco Validated Design) based on Direct attach of UCS with NetAPP storage.Also if there is/are any constraints / limitations that must be considered in such a direct attach design
Is there any document (CVD) by Cisco or NetApp which details the diagram/configuration steps and other relevant information for the direct attach between UCS FI and Netapp storage.
FYI: The architecture will be like this
2 FI6248
1 5108 Chassis
1 B200m2 and 1 b200m3 Blade
2 2104 IOM
No Fabric Switch between FI and NetApp storage.
An early response will be very much appreciated and a useful doc with details.

Thanks Abhinav and Matthew,
Now Since UCSM 2.1 supports direct-attached NetApp.So to validate the architecture I updated by UCSM to 2.1.1a and now it should support a direct attach NetApp with UCS System.
I have conncted ports 31 and 32 of both FI (FC Stoarge Port with required SFPs) to my NetApp Device.But problem I am facing is,it says Link failure or not-connected and is in Orange Colour.Any idea where am I wrong?
I dont want to use FCoE Traffic or NFS between FI and NetApp.I want to use the FC traffic between UCS and NetApp.Is it possible and if yes How?
=================================
(nxos)# show interface fc 1/31
fc1/31 is down (Link failure or not-connected)
    Hardware is Fibre Channel, SFP is short wave laser w/o OFC (SN)
    Port WWN is 20:1f:54:7f:ee:a9:d9:40
    Admin port mode is F, trunk mode is off
    snmp link state traps are enabled
    Port vsan is 14
    Receive data field Size is 2112
    Beacon is turned off
    1 minute input rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
    1 minute output rate 0 bits/sec, 0 bytes/sec, 0 frames/sec
      0 frames input, 0 bytes
        0 discards, 0 errors
        0 CRC, 0 unknown class
        0 too long, 0 too short
      0 frames output, 0 bytes
        0 discards, 0 errors
      0 input OLS, 0 LRR, 0 NOS, 0 loop inits
      0 output OLS, 0 LRR, 0 NOS, 0 loop inits
    last clearing of "show interface" counters never
====================================

I want a new and more powerful (non-Apple) wireless router but I still want to use my existing Time Capsule to continue with my Time Machine backups and I still need the Time Capsule's Network Attached Storage (NAS) features and capabilities

THE SHORTER STORY
My goal is to successfully use my existing Time Capsule (TC) with a new and more powerful wireless router. I need a new and more powerful wireless router in order to reach a distant Denon a/v receiver that is physically located in a master bedroom some 50 feet away from my modem. I need to provide this Denon a/v receiver with an Internet connection so that it can obtain its firmware updates and I need to connect this Denon a/v receiver to my network in order to use its AirPlay feature. I believe l still need the TC's Network Attached Storage (NAS) features because I am not sure if the new wireless router will provide me with the NAS like features / capabilities I need to share files between my two Apple laptops with OS X 10.8.2. And I know that I absolutely need my TC's seamless integration with Apple's Time Machine (TM) application in order to continue to make effortless backups of my two Apple laptops. To my knowledge nothing works with TM like Apple's TC. I also need the hard disk storage space built into the TC.
I cannot use a long wired Ethernet cable connection in this apartment and I cannot use power-line adapters. I have read that wireless range extenders and repeaters are difficult to successfully set-up and that they will reduce data speeds, especially so when incorrectly set-up. I cannot relocate my modem and/or primary base station wireless router.
In short, I want to use my TC with my new and more powerful wireless router. I need to stop using the TC to connect to the modem. However, I still need the TC for seamless TM backups. I also need to use the TC's built in hard drive for storage. And I may still need the TC's NAS capabilities to share files wirelessly between laptops because I am assuming the new wireless router will not provide NAS capabilities for OS X 10.8.2 (products like this/non-Apple products rarely seem to work with OS X 10.8.2/Macs to provide NAS features and capabilities). Finally, I want to continue to use my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also want to continue to use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Can someone please advise on how to set-up my new Asus wireless router with my existing TC in such a way to accomplish all of this?
What is the best configuration or set-up to accomplish my above goals?
Thank you in advance for your assistance!!!
THE FULL STORY
I live in an apartment building where my existing Time Capsule (TC) is located in my living room and serves many purposes. Specially, my TC is at least all of the following:
(1) Wi-Fi router connected to Comcast Internet service via Motorola SB6121 cable modem - currently the TC is the Wi-Fi base station that connects to the modem and has the gateway address to the Internet. The TC now provides the DHCP service for the Wi-Fi network.
(2) Wireless router providing Internet and Wi-Fi network access to several Wi-Fi clients - two Apple laptop computers, an iPod touch, an iPad and an iPhone all connect wirelessly to the Internet via the TC.
(3) Wired Ethernet router providing Internet and Wi-Fi network access to three different devices - a Panasonic TV, LG Blu-Ray player and an Apple TV each use one of the three LAN ports on the back of the TC to gain access to the Internet.
(4) Primary base station in my attempt to extend my wireless network to a distant (located far away) Denon a/v receiver requiring a wired Ethernet connection - In addition to the TC, which is my primary base station, I am also using a second extended Wi-Fi base station (a Netgear branded product) to wirelessly extend my WiFi network to a Denon receiver located in the master bedroom and requiring a wired Ethernet connection. I cannot use a wired Ethernet connection to continuously travel from the living room to the master bedroom. The distance is too great as I cannot effectively hide the Ethernet cable in this apartment.
(5) Time Machine (TM) backup facilitator - I use my TC to wirelessly back-up two Apple laptops using Apple's Time Machine (TM) application. However, I ran out of storage space on my TC and therefore added external storage to it. Specifically, I added an external hard drive to my TC via the USB port on the back of the TC. I now use this added external hard drive connected to the TC via USB as the destination storage drive for my TM back-ups. I have partitioned the added external hard drive, and each of the several partitions all have enough storage space (e.g., each of the two partitions used by TM are sized at three times the hard drive space of each laptop, etc.). Everything works flawlessly.
(6) Network Attached Storage (NAS) - In addition to using the TC's Network Attached Storage (NAS) capabilities to wirelessly back-up two Apple laptops via TM, I also store other additional files on both (A) the hard drive built into the TC and (B) the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB (there are additional separate partitions on this drive for these other additional and non-TM backup files).
I use the TC's NAS feature with my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Again, everything works wirelessly and flawlessly. (Note: the Apple TV is connected to the network via Ethernet and a LAN port on the back of the TC).
The issue I am having is when I try to listen to music via Apple's AirPlay in the master bedroom. This master bedroom is located at a distance of two rooms away from the TC's current location in the living room, which is a distance of about 50 feet. This apartment has a long rectangular floor plan where each room is connected to the next in a straight line. In order to use AirPlay in the master bedroom I am using a second extended Wi-Fi base station (a Netgear branded product) to wirelessly extend my WiFi network to a Denon receiver located in the master bedroom and requiring a wired Ethernet connection. This additional base station connects wirelessly to the WiFi network provided by my TC and then gives my Denon receiver the wired Ethernet connection it needs to use AirPlay. I have tried moving my iTunes music directly onto my laptop's hard drive, and then I used AirPlay on this same laptop to connect to the Denon receiver. I always get a successful connection and the song plays, but the problem is that the connection inevitably drops.
I live in an apartment building and all of the many wireless routers in this building create a great deal of WiFi interference on both the 2.4 GHz and 5GHz bands. I have tried connecting the Netgear product to each the 2.4 and 5 GHz bands, but neither band can successfully maintain a wireless connection between the TC and the Netgear product. I also attempted to maintain a wireless connection to an iPod touch using the 2.4 GHz band and AirPlay on this iPod touch to play music on the Denon receiver. Again, I was able to establish a connection and successfully play music, but after a few minutes the connection dropped and the music stopped playing. I therefore have concluded that I have a poor wireless connection in the master bedroom. I can establish a connection, but it is intermittent with frequent drops. I have verified this with both laptops by working in the master bedroom for an entire day on both laptops. The Internet connection in this master bedroom proved to drop out frequently - about once an hour with the laptops. The wireless connection and the frequency of its dropout are far worse with the iPod touch and an iPhone.
I cannot relocate the TC. Also, this is an apartment and I therefore cannot extend the range of my network with Ethernet cable (I cannot drill through walls/ceilings, etc.). It is an old building with antiquated wiring and power-line adapters are not likely to function properly, nor can I spare the direct power outlet required with a power-line adapter. I simply need every outlet I can get and cannot afford to block any direct outlet.
My solution is to use a more powerful wireless router. I found the ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router which will likely provide a better connection to my wireless Internet in the master bedroom than the TC. The 802.11ac band of this Asus wireless router is totally useless to me, but based on what I have read I believe this router will provide a stronger connection at greater distances then my TC. And I will be ready for 802.11ac when it becomes more widely available.
However, I still need to maintain the TC's ability to work seamlessly with TM to backup my two laptops. Also, I doubt the new Asus router will provide OS X 10.8.2 with NAS like features and capabilities. Therefore, I still would like to use the TC's NAS capabilities to share files on my network wirelessly assuming the Asus wireless router fails to provide this feature. I need a new and more powerful wireless router, but I need to maintain the TC's NAS features and seamless integration with TM. Finally, I want to continue to use my Apple laptop and AirPlay to wirelessly access and play my iTunes music collection stored on the TC's hard drive. I also want to continue to use my Apple laptop, AirPlay and Apple TV to wirelessly watch movies and TV shows stored on the additional external hard drive connected to the TC via USB. Can someone advise on how to set-up my existing TC with this new Asus wireless router in such a way to accomplish all of this?
Modem
Motorola SB6121 SURFboard DOCSIS 3.0 Cable Modem
Existing Wireless Router and Primary Wi-Fi Base Station - Apple Time Capsule
Apple Time Capsule MC343LL/A 1TB Sim DualBand (purchased June 2010, likely the Winter 2009 Model)
Desired New Wireless Router and Primary Wi-Fi Base Station - Non-Apple Asus
ASUS RT-AC66U Dual-Band Wireless-AC1750 Gigabit Router
Extended Wi-Fi Base Station - Provides an Ethernet Connection to a Denon A/V Receiver Two Rooms Away from the Modem
Netgear Universal Dual Band Wireless Internet Adapter for TV & Blu-Ray (WNCE3001)
Addition External Hard Drive Attached to the Existing Apple Time Capsule via USB
WD My Book Studio 4TB Mac External Hard Drive Storage USB 3.0
Existing Laptops on the Wireless Network Requiring Time Machine Backups
MacBook Air (11-inch, Mid 2012) OS X 10.8.2
MacBook Pro (13-inch Mid 2010) OS X 10.8.2
Other Existing Apple Products (Clients) on the Wireless Network
iPod Touch (second generation) is model A1288.
iPad (1st generation)
Apple TV (3rd generation) - Quantity two (2)

Thanks Bob Timmons.
In regards to a Plan B, I hear ya brother. I am already on what feels like Plan Z. Getting WiFi to a far off room in an apartment building crowded with WiFi routers is a major pain.
I am basing my thoughts on the potential of a new and more powerful router reaching the far off master bedroom based on positive reviews on cnet.com, pcmag.com and pcworld.com. All 3 of these web sites have reviewed the Asus RT-AC66U 802.11AC wireless router as well as its virtual twin cousin 802.11n router. What impressed me is that all 3 sites rated this router #1 overall in terms of both range and speed (in both the 802.11n and 802.11AC flavors). They tested the router in real world scenarios where the router needed to compete with a lot of other wireless routers. One of the sites even buried this Asus router in a media room with thick walls and inside a media cabinet. This Asus router should be able to serve my 2.4 GHz band wireless clients (iPod Touch and iPhone 4) with a 2.4GHz Wireless-N band offering some 50 feet of dependable range and a 60 Mbps throughput at that range. I am hoping that works, but it's borderline for my master bedroom. My 5 GHz wireless clients (laptops) will enjoy a 5GHz Wireless-N band offering 150 feet of range and a 200 Mbps throughput at that range. I have no idea what most of that stuff means, but I did also read that Asus could reach 300 feet and I got really excited. My mileage may vary of course and I'm sure I'm making some mistakes in my interpretation of their data. However, my Winter 2009 Time Capsule was rated by cnet.com to deliver real world performance of less than that, and 802.11AC may or may not be useful to me someday. But when this Asus arrives and provides anything other than an excellent and consistent wireless signal without drops in the master bedroom it's going right back!
Your solution sounds great, but I have some questions. I'm using OS X 10.8.2 and Airport Utility (version 6.1 610.31) and on its third tab labeled "Wireless" the top option enables you to set "Network Mode" to either:
Create a wireless network
Extend a wireless network
Off
Given your advice to "Turn off the wireless on the TC," should I set Network Mode to Off? Sorry, I'm clueless in regards to how to turn off the wireless on the TC any other way. Can you provide specific steps on how to turn off the wireless on the TC? If what I wrote is correct then what should the rest of this Wireless tab look like, or perhaps it is irrelevant when wireless is off?
Next, what do you mean by "Configure the TC in Bridge Mode?" Under Airports Utility's fourth tab labeled "Network" the top option "Router Mode" allows for either:
DHCP and Nat
DHCP Only
Off (Bridge Mode)
Is your advice to Configure the TC in Bridge Mode as simple as setting Router Mode to Off (Bridge Mode)? If yes, then what should the rest of this "Network" tab look like? Anything else involved in configuring the TC in Bridge Mode or is it really as simple as setting the Router Mode to "Off (Bridge Mode)"?
How about the other tabs in Airport Utility, can they all stay as is assuming I use the same network name and password for the new Asus wireless router? Or do I need to make any other changes to the TC via Airport Utility?
Finally, in regards to your Plan B suggestion. I agree. But do you have a Plan B for me? I would greatly appreciate any alternative you could provide. Specifically, if you needed a TC's Internet connection to reach a far off corner of your home how would you do it? In the master bedroom I need both a wired Ethernet connection for the Denon a/v receiver and wireless Internet connection for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Power-Line Adapters - High Cost, Blocks at Least One Wall Outlet and Does Not Solve the Wireless Need
I actually like exactly one power-line adapter, which is the D-Link DHP-540 PowerLine AV 500 4-Port Gigabit Switch. This D-Link power-line adapter plugs into your wall outlet with a normal sized plug (regular standard power cord much like any other electronic device) instead of all of the other recommended power-line adapters that not only use at least one wall outlet but also often block the second outlet. You cannot use a power strip with a power-line adapter which is very impractical for me. And everything about my home is strange and upside down. The wiring here is a disaster and I don't have faith in its ability to carry Internet access from the living room to the master bedroom. And this D-Link power-line adapter costs $90 each and I need at least two to make the connection to the Denon A/V receiver. So, $180 on this solution and I still don't have a dependable drop free wireless connection in the master bedroom. The Denon might get its Ethernet Internet connection from the power-line adapter, but if I want to use an iPhone 4 or iPod Touch to stream AirPlay music to the Denon wirelessly (Pandora/iTunes, etc.) from the master bedroom the wireless connection will not be stable in there and I've already spent $190 on just the two power-line adapters needed.
Extenders / Repeaters / Wirelessly Extending the Wireless Network
I have also read great things about the Amped Wireless High Power Wireless-N 600mW Gigabit Dual Band Range Extender (Repeater) SR20000G and the My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender. The former is very powerful and the latter is easier to install. Both cost about $150 ish so similar to a new Asus router. However, everything I read about Range Extenders points to them not being very effective for a far off corner of your house wherein it's apparently hard to place the range extender in the sweet spot where it both gets a strong enough signal to actually effectively extend the wireless signal and otherwise does not reduce network throughput speeds to unacceptable speeds.
Creating a Roaming Network By Hard Wiring with Ethernet Cable - Wife Would Say, "**** No!"
Even Apple seems to warn against wirelessly extending your network (see: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4145#) and otherwise strongly recommends a roaming network where Ethernet cable is used to connect two wireless base stations. However, I am in an apartment where stringing together two wireless base stations with Ethernet cable would have an extremely low wife acceptance factor (WAF). I cannot (both contractually and from a skill prospective) hide Ethernet wire in the walls or ceiling. And having visible Ethernet cable running from room-to-room would be unacceptable, especially to the wife.
So what is left? Do you have a Plan B for me? Thanks in advance for your help!

Using a ethernet external Maxtor Hard Drive (Network Attached Storage)

Does anyone know if I can use a NAS (Network Attached Storage - in this case a 1 Tb Maxtor external drive with ethernet connection) and have my iMac G5 and Macbook backup to this drive on the same ethernet segment using Time Machine ? (both computers and the Hard drive will be connected through a router).
cheers
Steve

This used to be a suggestion often given in this forum when TM was new - but you rarely see it now. I've read posts for users who found the suggestion worked, but in time they would report that the methods eventually failed. I don't know whether anyone has had long term success.
One problem with using a NAS, you may not be able to do a full restore using the install disk when the TM backup is on a NAS. I use a Mac Mini as a file server and its external disks are used as TM destination drives for other macs in the house. This works and is supported by Apple since the server runs Leopard (the only way to provide a backup over a LAN, not including the new Apple Time Capsule). However, when doing a full restore, I have to detach the drive that is on the Mini and attach it to the source mac. Having done full restores several times, I was unable to access the LAN based mac to get to the TM backup. It has to be directly attached. So, if your NAS can't be attached or if it's not the right format (and NAS devices are rarely formatted HFS+), you won't be able to full restore, which is an important consideration.

Using Aperture with a Network Attached Storage (NAS)

Hi,
I would like to make my Aperture library accessible from severals Macs and for different users on these Macs --- not at the same time. The idea is that only one user from one Mac can use Aperture at a given time.
The basic idea is to install the Aperture library on a Network Attached Storage (NAS) --- either will all photos included or with all photos stored in a separated folder structure --- next to the library ("externally referenced masters").
The NAS I am planning to use is a QNAP TS 239 Pro II+, which will be attached to a Gigabit Ethernet network (to which all Macs are connected too). Following the reviews, the QNAP should be capable to deliver a read/write performance in the order of 70 Mb/s ... hence performance-wise there should be no problem.
I've read through various forums and found many messages telling that using Aperture with a NAS is not possible or at least not a good idea. The posts in the forum were partially a bit confusing; people were telling contradictory things. I also had the impression that the answers depend on the actual version of Aperture. Apple itself put in the release notes of Aperture 3.1.1 about Vaults: "Fixes an issue that could sometimes cause Aperture on a computer with Mac OS X v10.5.8 Leopard to stop responding while updating a vault stored on a network volume." Hence, it seems that Aperture 3.1.1 can work with a NAS ... at least it can use vaults that are stored on a NAS. On the other hand, it's exactly the topic of vaults where many people say that this does not work with a NAS ...
To clarify things, I try to get some clear and competent answers here. The questions are:
Can one store and use the Aperture library on a NAS (whose disk is formatted using a UNIX file system, e.g. EXT4) ?
If yes, does this work in both configurations: (a) with a library containing the masters, and (b) with a library with externally referenced masters (that are also located on the NAS) ?
If a user on a given Mac on the network has opened Aperture (and thus the library on the NAS), is this library the blocked for other users ? (That should ideally be the case.)
If it is NOT possible to use an Aperture library on the NAS, is it then possible to store it on an external, HFS+ formatted drive connected to the NAS via USB ? (QNAP allows to format its external drives with HFS+).
I know that putting everything on an iSCSI target volume on the NAS is a solution, but is iSCSCI properly working under OS X (10.6). I read that one has to install an iSCSI Initiator software first ... which is not from Apple itself.
What about Vaults: According to the Aperture 3.1.1 release notes, it seems to be possible to use vaults on a NAS ... is this really the case ?
Is usage of Aperture on a NAS depending on the file protocol used to transfer the data ? I read also that if one uses the AFP protocol (supported in a QNAP NAS) then everything's fine ... Is this the case ?
Thanks a lot in advance for any clear and correct answer!
Rainer

Can one store and use the Aperture library on a NAS (whose disk is formatted using a UNIX file system, e.g. EXT4) ?
Not reliably, no. You will encounter issues. You could use Mac OS X disk images on the server, mount them on a client, and work that way. Note only one machine can mount the disk image at a time.
If yes, does this work in both configurations: (a) with a library containing the masters, and (b) with a library with externally referenced masters (that are also located on the NAS) ?
(a) no (b) no.
If a user on a given Mac on the network has opened Aperture (and thus the library on the NAS), is this library the blocked for other users ? (That should ideally be the case.)
Aperture does no locking. There is a very high likelihood you will corrupt the library if you do this.
If it is NOT possible to use an Aperture library on the NAS, is it then possible to store it on an external, HFS+ formatted drive connected to the NAS via USB ? (QNAP allows to format its external drives with HFS+).
How would you be accessing it then? If it's over a file protocol (SMB or NFS or ...) it likely won't work.
I know that putting everything on an iSCSI target volume on the NAS is a solution, but is iSCSCI properly working under OS X (10.6). I read that one has to install an iSCSI Initiator software first ... which is not from Apple itself.
Right. There is no Apple-provided iSCSI initator. I don't know how well 3rd party initators work.
What about Vaults: According to the Aperture 3.1.1 release notes, it seems to be possible to use vaults on a NAS ... is this really the case ?
I've done vaults reliably for years using a Mac OS X disk image stored on the NAS, that I mount before backing up. I wouldn't do it "naked" (i.e. stored directly on the NAS).
Is usage of Aperture on a NAS depending on the file protocol used to transfer the data ? I read also that if one uses the AFP protocol (supported in a QNAP NAS) then everything's fine ... Is this the case ?
AFP might have a better chance than other protocols but... frankly... it's a bad idea. If you MUST share a library across many machines, use something like a Promise DS4600 (direct attached) and plug it into a machine when you're using it.

Network attached storage transfer rates

Can one connect a Network Attached Storage device (Western Digital My Book Live) directly to the iMac via an ethernet cable to speed up the transfer rates? It would only be a one time deal to import all of the data from my device onto the iMac, then I would attach the NAS back to my network.

I too am having similar problems two new Macbook airs yosemite 10.02 and one old basic windows toshiba laptop Toshiba flies Apple sleeps.. I've sent this to the developer of Forklift and WD no response from either. Extremely disappointed with apple. Have I missed something about remounting drives or shared folders or what. If this is standard for apple networking it must be **** on earth for business network users
I have a macbook air yosemite 10.10.2, and a 4 year old windows 7 computer. I run a 4tb WD Nas drive through a Apple Extreme Router operating in Bridged mode. Both Computers are connected via wifi.
When I turn the apple computer on and Open Finder or Forklift I can see both the Airport Extreme and the WD Live Duo Nas drives. When I click on either one in finder it can take up to a minute to see the shares and another minute to mount the shares then a few more seconds to see the contents, once they are visible they can be accessed read and written to quickly as you would expect from a network drive.
In Forklift this process is reduced to about 5-10 seconds much better than finder but even forklift won't reconnect at login.
When I turn on the Windows 7 machine the mapped network drives work and data are attached immediately available, almost instantly as you would expect any network drive to work.
When I turn the Apple computer on The Airport Extreme folder and the WD NAS Shared show in Finder and Forklift but I have to again go through the process of mounting the shared drives again with the same long timeframes applying. I have not been able to find anything in Forklift to have the shared folders reconnect and be ready for use automatically.
I have tried putting the shared drives into user login items but while this works it opens the folder every time and I then have to close them until I need them a most unsatisfactory arrangement.
Am I missing something, or is it just too bad its a mac?

Direct attachment of a server to 6100 UCS

Hi,
I would like to know if i can directly attach a standalone server with 10G CNA to the UCS 6100 10G port and it login to the switch. For example the way we do with c5020 switch. In the 6100 CLI config guide i have not seen any command like binding a vfc to a physical eth int or VSAN FCoE VLAN association.
Also can any one please explain at present how it works? I see from config guide it connects to the Blade chassis below. I guess the hardware where 10G ports from 6100 are connected is a fabric extender sitting on the blade chassis.
If i have a fabric extender connceted to 6100 and let my server connect to the FEX, will that work? I am just trying to learn connectivity point of view.
Thanks.

This video is helpful but it did not answer many Qs i have related to appliance port configuration.
As my FI is independent POD, i dont need End-Host mode right ? At least on the Fabric side. In the LAN side i guess it does not matter ? Can any one correct me please ??
Also once i configure the applicance port, where the appliance port will log in ? I did not see a show flogi database command. Besides i am not sure, if the UCS FI can work as FCF? Am i expected to see Discovery Advertisement that usually FCF sends to VN_port? How about LLDP? Can it negotiate LLDP with the appliance port which has SP-MA supported CNA.
Thanks,

Using network-attached storage for logic 9

My iMac's FW 800 Bus is no longer working says my Local Authorised Apple Repair centre
Why and how it failed noone knows
Option 1
New Mother Board = £600 No thankyou
Option 2
New Computer
Option 3
Transferring my 350Gig Sample Librrary (IvoryII/Omnisphere/Rmx/LASS etc ) to an ethernet based system
Anyone got any thought on the latter
Would an NAS system or a SAN system be able to read and write fast enough?

network attached storage was very slow, not to mention unsecured... i would suggest getting the new apple airport extreme base station and attaching an external USB disk instead.

FAS3220 and FAS2240 direct attach on fabric interconnect 6296UP

Hello everybody
I have the following architecture
1 Cisco Catalyst 6509-E
1 Cisco Catalyst 3560-x
2 Fabric Interconnect 6296UP
1 FAS 3220 (principal storage)
1 FAS2240 (vault backup)
1 chasis cisco UCS 5108
5 blade servers Cisco UCS B200M3
Firmware version: 2.2(3c)
Fabric Interconnect are direct attach on fabric interconnect 6296up and the ports are configurated as FC storage ports
My question is the following:
Can I zoning fabric interconnect with FAS3220 and FAS2240?
Can I present LUNS of FAS2240 and FAS3220 at the same time on the same boot policy, same san boot policy, and the same organization?
Thanks for your help

Well, even if that was possible. You're accounting for a critical failure - i.e. a failure of two redundant devices (both 3220s, which I would have assume would be running in a cluster ... or 7mode).
While just upstream you have a single cat 6500 - which would be a single point of failure.
Logic would dictate to account for a single device failure all across the path before looking into multi-device failure.

How can I use Time Machine with my existing network attached storage drives

I am a new mac user switching over from windows and have an extensive amount of existing equipment including 2 network attached storage devices (Buffalo Technologies). I would like to use these with Time Machine, but can not figure out how to do it. When I enter time machine setup it does not show these drives while the Finder does.

As of right now we are all SOL unless you own a Time Capsule. At the very least I wish apple would offer some kind of trade-up if they are not going to release a software update.
It really doesn't make any sense why we can't do this with a standard AEBS. Any fix should just be a matter of software, and while technically apple covered its butt with that little "subject to change" disclaimer on the leopard preview page, pulling it at the last minute and expecting those who believed their advertisement to buy another device that does the exact same thing for more money is just wrong. Give us a break apple, tell us your at least working on a fix, its the right thing to do.

N5K FCoE direct attachment storage conf sample

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