Since i'm slowly working through the process of designing up a home NAS/SAN which I hope to grow over time, and I see that "this issue" is a big one affecting which NAS software is even an option I decided to re-ask it sort of head on...
Currently faster-than-gigabit Infiniband and FibreChannel hardware is available used on ebay for a pittance. Much cheaper than 10gig Ethernet hardware at least for HBA's. But even if 10gig Ethernet hardware drops in price soon is that a superior solution then?
I'm told one issue is the overhead of TCP IP and such so that 10gig Infiniband for instance will always be faster than 10gig Ethernet. How much that matters probably depends on the scenario - is 4gig FibreChannel ever going to be faster than 10gig Ethernet due to lacking that overhead? (i'm doubting but who knows)
Future expandability will always be in favor of IB/FC which already of course have much faster and lower latency systems built. Even if we start saturating 10gig links with ramdisks and SSD's i'm pretty sure the next round of faster-than-10gig hardware will then roll out again putting the performance crown back there.
Am I correct or incorrect in assuming there are any security benefits of using Infiniband/Fibrechannel? Part of the idea being TCP IP and Ethernet just seem so emminently hackable and i'm assuming the standards difference and not being routable(?) puts up a barrier to the kind of normal malware stuff. I am aware of features like automatic failover, combining 2+ links for faster bandwidth, and different networking topographies also as options but assumed none of that is inherently prevented from being on Ethernet, either the software implements such a feature or it doesn't. Perhaps the only other remaining question is are there any non-networked storage solutions for which FC/IB are still a killer app and always will be or are likely to be, even if it's down to "certain clustering software only works with that and nobody will rewrite it" kind of things. Ie - side nerd reasons to still consider it anyways if all else is equal.
In short are there reasons beyond raw performance that still make IB/FC worth considering, or will a newer 10gigE NAS box with a RAID array of SSD's not only perform just as good but also be just as securable and such if properly set up?
Currently faster-than-gigabit Infiniband and FibreChannel hardware is available used on ebay for a pittance. Much cheaper than 10gig Ethernet hardware at least for HBA's. But even if 10gig Ethernet hardware drops in price soon is that a superior solution then?
I'm told one issue is the overhead of TCP IP and such so that 10gig Infiniband for instance will always be faster than 10gig Ethernet. How much that matters probably depends on the scenario - is 4gig FibreChannel ever going to be faster than 10gig Ethernet due to lacking that overhead? (i'm doubting but who knows)
Future expandability will always be in favor of IB/FC which already of course have much faster and lower latency systems built. Even if we start saturating 10gig links with ramdisks and SSD's i'm pretty sure the next round of faster-than-10gig hardware will then roll out again putting the performance crown back there.
Am I correct or incorrect in assuming there are any security benefits of using Infiniband/Fibrechannel? Part of the idea being TCP IP and Ethernet just seem so emminently hackable and i'm assuming the standards difference and not being routable(?) puts up a barrier to the kind of normal malware stuff. I am aware of features like automatic failover, combining 2+ links for faster bandwidth, and different networking topographies also as options but assumed none of that is inherently prevented from being on Ethernet, either the software implements such a feature or it doesn't. Perhaps the only other remaining question is are there any non-networked storage solutions for which FC/IB are still a killer app and always will be or are likely to be, even if it's down to "certain clustering software only works with that and nobody will rewrite it" kind of things. Ie - side nerd reasons to still consider it anyways if all else is equal.
In short are there reasons beyond raw performance that still make IB/FC worth considering, or will a newer 10gigE NAS box with a RAID array of SSD's not only perform just as good but also be just as securable and such if properly set up?