N7700+
Ultimate Network Attached Storage Looking to get one of this enterprise grade NAS solutions? send me an email  olumartins@gmail.com
		Feature
	Ready For the Future (10 GbE NIC Compatibility List) Future technologies are around the corner, and the N7700+ is ready. With its PCI-e slot, the N7700+ can accommodate a number of emerging technologies. Add a 10Gb Ethernet adaptor and experience the lightning-fast file transfers. With PCI-e expansion, the N7700+ is ready for whatever may come. Unique Dual DOM™ Design In business, having access to mission-critical data at all times is crucial. The N7700+ is equipped with a dual Disk On Module (DOM) design to ensure flawless operation and maximum uptime.  Stackable Storage and iSCSI ReadyThe N7700+ supports iSCSI initiators, which allows servers to access it as a direct-attached-storage device over LAN or Internet with excellent transfer speeds. With this capability, users can centrally manage and deploy storage for their entire network. In addition, the N7700+ is also stackable, enabling users to connect their unit with up to five additional N7700+s via a master system as a large data pool. With iSCSI and stackability, expanding the capacity of application servers is both quick and easy. Maximum Flexibility and ExpansionAside from being iSCSI ready, the N7700+ offers unmatched flexibility. Support for multiple file systems including Ext3, XFS and ZFS, as well as online RAID migration and expansion, means that the N7700+’s data protection and capacity are upgradable and can be integrated into virtually any company network with ease. Users can add larger hard disks to available slots and join an existing RAID volume. The N7700+ will automatically rebuild the RAID array and increase storage capacity. Handy Snapshot Feature for Version Control The N7700+ is capable version control via a snapshot function with the ZFS file system, allowing users to efficiently create and restore remote backups. For users, the result is total data security and peace of mind.
Looking to get one of this enterprise grade NAS solutions? send me an email  olumartins@gmail.com

The 7-bay NAS is shaping up to be the go-to desktop NAS device for users who require both massive storage and blazing performance. Today, Thecus® Technology is pleased to introduce the N7700+, a seven-bay storage server that retains all of the robust functionality of the N7700, but ups the ante with aPCIe x8 slot suitable for 10Gb Ethernet cards. Thecus® constantly engineers new ways to squeeze the maximum performance from existing technologies. The N7700+ one-ups its predecessor by including an internal PCIe x8 slot. Compared to the x1 slot found in the N7700, the N7700+’s PCIe slot offers up to eight times more bandwidth, which makes it perfect for 10Gb Ethernet cards. Outfitted with one of these cards, the N7700+ is fully compatible with the latest 10Gb networks, delivering unprecedented data transfer rates for the most demanding users. Of course, the N7700+ still includes the extensive feature set of the N7700. A wide selection of RAID modes including RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and JBOD are there, allowing system admins to choose the optimal level of data protection. The N7700+’s Dual DOM design gives added system reliability by reprogramming the primary DOM with a secondary DOM in case of a failure. System administrators don’t have to worry about the N7700+ not being compatible with their existing network as the N7700+ supports Ext3, XFS, and ZFS file systems, and is fully compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux. Admins will also love the fact that the N7700+ comes with online RAID expansion and migration, making it easy to administer from anywhere on the network. The N7700+ is powered with an Intel® Celeron™ M CPU and 2GB compliment of high-speed DDR2 memory, enabling it to achieve data transfer speeds of up to 300MB/s by adding a PCI-e 10Gb Ethernet adapter. This power can easily manipulate the up to 14TB of storage space offered by the N7700+’s seven 3.5” hard disk bays. And if 14TB isn’t enough, the N7700+ is also stackable with up to five other N7700+es, and all of these can be accessed via the master system for ultimate convenience. The N7700+ is even compatible with iSCSI initiators and supports iSCSI thin provisioning for added performance and flexibility With the popularity of  VMware, virtualization technology is now widely used in the IT world. Thecus® is now the member of Technology Alliance Partner (TAP), and N7700+ is now officially VMware® Ready certified. “The N7700 offered unprecedented performance, and with the new N7700+, Thecus® has raised the bar yet again,” said Florence Shih, Thecus® Technology General Manager. “With the new PCIe x8 slot, N7700+ users will be able to connect the latest 10GbE NICs and enjoy next-generation transfer speeds in their corporate environment.” Looking to get one of this enterprise grade NAS solutions? send me an email  olumartins@gmail.com

My ESX 3.5 lab on the cheap.

After doing a bit of research online i decided to settle for 2 HP d530 computers rather than building a quad core Intel computer (as some websites i visited suggested)and it did prove a wise choice too.
Both computers combined cost me less than $300 complete with 300GB HDD and 4GB ram each compared to over $600 for just the Quad core processors and supporting motherboard.

I have Vmware ESX 3.5 installed on both machines already and performance is unbelievably stable and reliable, i am able to manage both machines via VI client via wireless link. The ESX servers are tucked away in a room connected to an APC UPS, a gigabyte switch connected to an Apple time capsule for internet and wifi access. They both run headless, no monitors, no mouse, no keyboards , just power and network connections.

Since am currently studying for both a 2008 Server exam and the VCP exam, this is going to be like killing two birds with one stone.
Already have a 2008 domain setup on one of the ESX boxes complete with the new server core installations, DNS, AD, DHCP WDS and i plan to make the best use of my new d530s.

If you haven't been able to make up your mind on what machine to get to run your ESX test lab(Note that i said test lab), if budget and power consumption is also a major factor to consider then you can't go wrong with this babies. I have been able to run 5 VMs on each box so far with acceptable performance. I had my reservations too but now am sold.

One huge challenge i thought i might face was getting the hardware, with ebay and other websites not accepting Nigerian activities on their site, it was going to be a battle. For a brand new system i could easily have worked up to a local HP rep and picked up the equipments but not this D530s, first and foremost they are pretty old, dating back to the days of Pentium 4. (Lol!!, i say that like it was some decade ago.My set came standard with 40gb IDE hdd, 512 ram and a 2.6 HT processor. So i had to swap the drive for a Sata drive, upgrade the ram and that was all.)
So off i was to the local computer village to begin a bargain hunt, luckily for me, i found a very large consignment of them just waiting for me, nobody was buying them, the dealer was only too happy to let me have them. They were in perfect condition and to be honest i would have happily paid $300 each for them but i wasn't about to tell him that.
I had them tested, 2 blew up in the process( the dealer had forgotten to regulate the power to 220v , which is what we use in Nigeria) but we eventually found 2 mint looking ones which had been properly regulated, i opened them up, pulled out both HDD and memory modules and traded them for 2GB of ram. (I wasn't about to take 2 40GB HDD and 512mb modules back home to add to my clutter of IT junk).

Once home i installed the HDDs and ram i had sitting around, connected the power cord, monitor, keyboard and mouse, popped in the cd and voila, clean boot.

Installation was complete in less than 10 minutes. No issues at all.

I will find time to write a more detailed breakdown of what am doing( Hopefully) Right now am just too excited everything works straight out of the box, fully supported.