CentOS - Jun 2007 - network raid file system/server

hi,
we've a few 10-20 server in a lan each has 4-8 hdd. we'd like to create
one big file server on these server hard disks and we'd like to create
it in a redundant way ie:
- if one (or more) of the hdd or server fails the whole filesystem still
usable and consistent.
- any server in this farm can see the same storage/filesystem.
it's someting a big network raid5-6... storage where we have about
40<partition added to the same network volume. and there is an fs over
it which hide all internal network raid functionality.
is there any such solution? i can't find any way to do this on our
linux servers.
thank you for your help in advance.

-- 
  Levente                               "Si vis pacem para bellum!"

I have never done this but this is where I would start

1 - raid - hardware/software scsi/ide - depending on your money/needs
(personally I like software w/ sata drives)
2 - 2 servers
3 - network raid 1 or rsync
4 - heartbeat to switch the servers when one goes down.

http://lcic.org/ha.html

On 6/13/07, Farkas Levente <lfarkas at bppiac.hu>
wrote:
> hi,
> we've a few 10-20 server in a lan each has 4-8 hdd. we'd like to
create
> one big file server on these server hard disks and we'd like to create
> it in a redundant way ie:
> - if one (or more) of the hdd or server fails the whole filesystem still
> usable and consistent.
> - any server in this farm can see the same storage/filesystem.
> it's someting a big network raid5-6... storage where we have about
> 40<partition added to the same network volume. and there is an fs over
> it which hide all internal network raid functionality.
> is there any such solution? i can't find any way to do this on our
> linux servers.
> thank you for your help in advance.
>
> --
>   Levente                               "Si vis pacem para
bellum!"
>
> _______________________________________________
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS at centos.org
> http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>

----- "Farkas Levente" <lfarkas at bppiac.hu>
escreveu:
> we've a few 10-20 server in a lan each has 4-8 hdd. we'd like to
> create one big file server on these server hard disks and we'd like to
> create it in a redundant way ie:
> - if one (or more) of the hdd or server fails the whole filesystem
> still usable and consistent.
> - any server in this farm can see the same storage/filesystem.
> it's someting a big network raid5-6... storage where we have about
> 40<partition added to the same network volume. and there is an fs
> over it which hide all internal network raid functionality.
> is there any such solution? i can't find any way to do this on our
> linux servers.
Hi Farkas,

  I think a start is to look on PVFS2 (www.pvfs.org).

  Or maybe using nbd and softwareraid ??? 


       Antonio.

-- 
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+
| Antonio S. Martins Jr. - Support Analist | "Only The Shadow Knows     |
| Universidade Estadual de Maring?? - Brasil|   what evil lurks in the   |
| NPD - N??cleo de Processamento de Dados   |       Heart of Men!"       |
| E-Mail: asmartins at uem.br / shadow at uem.br | !!! Linux User: 52392 !!!  |
+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+


-- 
Esta mensagem foi verificada pelo sistema de antiv?rus e
 acredita-se estar livre de perigo.

Farkas Levente napsal(a):
> hi,
> we've a few 10-20 server in a lan each has 4-8 hdd. we'd like to
create
> one big file server on these server hard disks and we'd like to create
> it in a redundant way ie:
> - if one (or more) of the hdd or server fails the whole filesystem still
> usable and consistent.
> - any server in this farm can see the same storage/filesystem.
> it's someting a big network raid5-6... storage where we have about
> 40<partition added to the same network volume. and there is an fs over
> it which hide all internal network raid functionality.
> is there any such solution? i can't find any way to do this on our
> linux servers.
>   
what about souch FS blocks path

server->gfs->LVM-> raid1(disc0)-> iscsi 
initiator->local-eth0->LANswitch0->remote-eth0->iscsi-target-on_file_server0->LVM->raid(1,5,6,...)->HDD(1,2,3,4,......)
                   \->LVM-> raid1(disc1)-> iscsi 
initiator->local-eth1->LANswitch1->remote-eth0->iscsi-target-on_file_server1->LVM->raid(1,5,6,...)->HDD(1,2,3,4,......)
                   \-------------||----------------

in souch setup you have no single point of failure

bacause of money you can decrease number of switches (FE to 2 and 
connect each server and FS to both of them)


If you do not need concurent access from 1+ servers to one fs 
(partition, logicalvolume, same file ...) you do not need gfs ..

-- 

   Petr Kl?ma

   e-mail:  qaxi at seznam.cz

On 6/13/07, Farkas Levente <lfarkas at bppiac.hu>
wrote:
> it's someting a big network raid5-6... storage where we have about
> 40<partition added to the same network volume. and there is an fs over
> it which hide all internal network raid functionality.
> is there any such solution? i can't find any way to do this on our
> linux servers.
I saw a presentation from the guy behind mogilefs. It sounds exactly
like what you're looking for.
-- 
Francois Caen