Click here to receive your FREE subscription to Campus Technology
News
U Liverpool Deploys iSCSI in Virtualized SAN
7/8/2008
|
|
The University of Liverpool Department of Computer Science is moving away from direct-attached RAIDs to a virtualized SAN environment using StorMagic's SM Series iSCSI Storage Area Network.
According to the university, the department was using a system comprising three individual RAIDs and various DLT tape drives attached to two servers. Two were for faculty; one was for students. Using the iSCSI SAN, the storage devices were networked to make storage "more efficient" and to protect data.
"Because of the nature of our department, our users generate vast amounts of data and want to have access to a technology infrastructure that offers them very high availability and performance 24/7," said Kenneth Chan, principal experimental officer at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Liverpool. "The existing RAID systems were directly attached to the servers and as a result, they were becoming marginalized. We decided that networking our storage would be more effective, and the StorMagic system was the answer for us. The StorMagic system is effectively a SAN that uses existing Ethernet cabling and 'ordinary' Ethernet switches; hence, it eliminates the need for a Fibre Channel infrastructure, which tends to be complex and costly. We plan to also deploy our StorMagic system for near-line disk-based archiving."
The University of Liverpool's Department of Computer Science serves more than 500 undergraduate students and has 94 permanent staff, research assistants, and Ph.D. students.
About the author: Dave Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's educational technology online publications and electronic newsletters. He can be reached at dnagel@1105media.com.
Have any additional questions? Want to share your story? Want to pass along a news tip? Contact Dave Nagel, executive editor, at dnagel@1105media.com.
Cite this Site
copy text (above) for proper citation
Recommended Reading
- Moodle Gets SCORM Improvements, Security Fixes
New versions of Moodle have been released, bringing the most recent stable build to 1.9.3. The latest round of updates includes a number of bug fixes and security enhancements, as well as improvements to the SCORM module.
- Free 'Morro' Antivirus To Replace Microsoft OneCare
Microsoft is rolling out a free antivirus software program for consumers that will compete with products made by Symantec and McAfee. Code-named "Morro," the AV app is expected to be available by the end of 2009.
- Microsoft Demos New SQL Server Features at PASS
Microsoft Wednesday previewed the ability to centrally manage applications and resources in the planned upgrade of SQL Server, code-named "Kilimanjaro."
- Microsoft Unveils Exchange and SharePoint as Services
Microsoft exec Stephen Elop on Monday announced two hosted solutions from Microsoft--Exchange Online and SharePoint Online--which are now available to organizations of all sizes in the United States. The software, paid for by annual subscriptions, is hosted on Microsoft's servers and supported by Microsoft's channel partners.
- 6 Ways Not To Become Rote Using Instructional Technology
There are, in my experience, six strategies to consider with any use of technology that will guard against rote use of technology and facilitate critical analysis of teaching and learning effectiveness. In this article, I'll share with you the checklist I work with and encourage others to work with in learning about and using new technology.
- Bringing Student Web "Stuff" to Campus Enterprise Systems
How can an institution incorporate Web 2.0 learning opportunities for students, and evidence of learning from those opportunities, into existing campus technologies and processes? PlugJam is providing part of the answer.
