Hi,
I've set it up for this purpose with a max sustained throughput of
~25-30MB/sec (megabytes). This was using p-ide on the backend and 3ware
cards with RH9 and xfs and a mix of raid5 and raid10 (1+0).
This was with a gig e (non jumbo capable) network and tricks like increased
TCP window sizes and the typical Samba tricks like TCP no delay etc...
However even with NetApps or BlueArcs (both with fiber channel on the
backend @ raid4), the sustained throughput according to my bro at R&H was
like 45MB/sec.
There are several things to consider like;
- whats doing the file serving (fiber, ide, raid or striped)
- is it an OS or an appliance
- is the net topology ethernet
- is it gig e with jumbo frames
- can the client handle that throuput
Choosing a backend is key as well as your net topology.
Also, look into http://www.myri.com/ for a fast topology.
For disk i/o look into http://www.pvfs.org/.
I've nevr been called upon to look into these but they look like a lot of
fun.
Bri-
Network Consulting Services