NAS for Virtualization Server Build

[buff3r0vrfl0w]

Hello All,

I am considering purchasing a NAS but am not sure if I actually need one. Here are my needs. I currently have a server setup for a whole mess of things, socks proxy, vpn, media server, cloud server (owncloud), backups.. it has a raid 5 setup of 3x1.5TB hdds. I keep all my content on the raid array. My desktop is a kickass 16GB AMD 6-core box I am looking to convert into a virtualization server (not sure which platform yet. esxi or proxmox or virtualbox). I would like to turn my current physical server into a vm aswell as build other vms for testing/learning purposes. I was content on going with local storage for the virtual server build until I started researching it. Would nas storage be sufficient enough for this project? Could I store all of my media on it as well as use it for virtual machines or would it be wicked slow? Looking for ideas

 

[stevech]

You sound pretty tech-savvy.... how can we help you define your requirements?

As you know, given enough $$$ your NAS can have as much storage as you wish. Mainly, SMB accessible storage - if your applications work with that.

VM software would not be on your NAS of course. Storage for it could be, vs. on the same machine's disks.

 

[buff3r0vrfl0w]

You sound pretty tech-savvy.... how can we help you define your requirements?

As you know, given enough $$$ your NAS can have as much storage as you wish. Mainly, SMB accessible storage - if your applications work with that.

VM software would not be on your NAS of course. Storage for it could be, vs. on the same machine's disks.

Thanks for the reply!

Please, let me clarify. Basically I currently have a linux server running older hardware that I utilize for a lot of different services, it has a raid-5 array 3x1.5TB HDDS. I also own a desktop PC (see specs above) that I would like to turn into a virtual server (lets say ubuntu running virtualbox). I would also like to lose my old linux server and make that a virutal server on my soon to be virtualization server. My question is. Do yall think I should go with local storage for all of my data (multimedia and vm storage) or should I go with something like a Synology DS412+ or DS212+ for nfs, smb, iscsi based storage. I like the central san idea but will I see any benefits.. do you think I can store virtual machine hdds PLUS keep all of my media on a Synology device? I stream alot of media .. will I be able to stream media and run my vms without seeing a performance impact? I am trying to go with the best option and eliminate that old linux server.. also to note on the the new virtualization server my host operating system is going on a 120GB crucial ssd. and I already have 5+TB's of storage if I go with a synology type device..

Thanks!

 

[stevech]

Can this be simplified to:
With a NAS, your disk I/O speeds are often constrained by the ethernet speeds with the TCP/IP and SMB overhead. So of course, a computer with a directly connected disk improves the speeds from (best case) 100MB/s on gigE and fast PCs - TO - whatever the computer's I/O can be, usually much higher than 100MB/s, esp. with SSD.

Question then is: Is the speed on the LAN/NAS enough for your purposes?

 

[buff3r0vrfl0w]

Can this be simplified to:
With a NAS, your disk I/O speeds are often constrained by the ethernet speeds with the TCP/IP and SMB overhead. So of course, a computer with a directly connected disk improves the speeds from (best case) 100MB/s on gigE and fast PCs - TO - whatever the computer's I/O can be, usually much higher than 100MB/s, esp. with SSD.

Question then is: Is the speed on the LAN/NAS enough for your purposes?

Thanks for the reply, sorry for the long response been busy. My current home network is capable of gigabit speeds (for the enduser).. I am using cheap hardware but it works well, no bleeding edge cisco switches here. On my server itself it will have multiple gigabit nics with one dedicated for storage (isci, nfs, smb).. I was also looking into just going with a usb 3.0 array. I think it would be pretty fast .. not to sure yet but I would like to proceed with a solution soon.. I currently have the box setup with a 1TB hdd for my VM's temporarily .. but like I said in a previous post I would like to house all of my data .. multimedia, vm's, documents .. all on the same storage medium without suffering any performance degradation. I know the server for virtualization is beefy enough to handle the cpu/memory requirements .. its the storage I am worried about. Will I be able to stream music, video, and run 4 + virtual machines from a usb 3.0 raid array? idk .. or is a san based array over rj45 more up my alley? hmmmmm

 

[buff3r0vrfl0w]

Bump

Bump! Bump,bump it up! =]

 

[RocKKer]

Something to think about, I know the current trend is to VM everything and consolidate to fewer boxes, sometimes all to one box (like your thinking). Now, what if that box goes down? None of those services will be available.

Put the important services on separate servers. I would separate router from NAS and NAS from you normal workstation. If one goes goes down you likely still have the others.

Using USB (any version) for a NAS your just asking for poor performance.

I can give you details of my setup if your interested.