UFS2 with SAN
Indigo
indigo at voda.cz
Sat Feb 10 14:23:15 UTC 2007
On Sat, 10 Feb 2007 07:54:57 +0100, Chris Haulmark <chris at sigd.net> wrote:
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Eric Anderson [mailto:anderson at freebsd.org]
>> Sent: Saturday, February 10, 2007 12:48 AM
>> To: Chris Haulmark
>> Cc: freebsd-fs at freebsd.org
>> Subject: Re: UFS2 with SAN
>>
>> On 02/09/07 19:30, Chris Haulmark wrote:
>> > Hello,
>> >
>> > I am looking into setting up a SAN with several web servers that
>> > will be clustered. It would be a FC network using Qlogic cards
>> > in each of those FreeBSD web servers. It would be about 5+
>> > of those web servers.
>> >
>> > I want to have the capability to share the same web data across
>> > those web servers. I have scorched the entire mailing list and
>> > found that there were some work on GFS porting over to FreeBSD.
>> > It seems like that it is just all talk and if I am wrong, could
>> > you have my head turned over to where I can find out how to enable
>> > GFS on those FreeBSD systems.
>>
>> GFS on FreeBSD is indeed dead. Not enough people stepped up to help
>> port it.
>
> I really feared to hear that!
>
If it was possible to use OCFS2 then thats a cluster-fs that can handle
reasonable traffic.
Does it work in FreeBSD?
>>
>> > If GFS is out of question, which file system am I recommendeded
>> > to attempt to use for this SAN setup?
>>
>> NFS.
>>
>> > My first thought to use UFS2 and attempt is to allow only one web
>> > server to have a write/read access while the reminder would be
>> > read only access. That should prevent from lockings that is similar
>> > on NFS/NAS.
>>
>> This will result it the read/write system seeing the data ok, and the
>> rest getting corrupt data without knowing it, and probably crashing.
>> UFS2 is not cluster aware. You could mount all the hosts read only,
>> and
>> then update the mount point on one to rw, makes changes, then back to
>> ro, then unmount/remount on the other boxes.
>
> That's my original idea if I do not have anything else better to go
> with.
>
>>
>> That's all still a kludge to simulate what NFS will do for you. Why
>> won't NFS work for you?
>
> I have a client who wants to go from NAS to a true SAN solution with
> full
> fibre channel network. I would hate to lose the opportunity for this
> client
> to continue using FreeBSD as the choice of OS for his web servers.
> Currently,
> his set up is using NAS with NFS. He complains of locking files that
> occurs
> too often.
>
> I had hoped to find more better solution and make this client much more
> happier
> with all the FreeBSD support that can be provided.
>
>>
>> I agree that it would be fantastic to have a clustered file system for
>> FreeBSD, and I've done lot's of hunting and nagging vendors to support
>> it - but it's just not there.
>
> We should get few bandwagons and get in circle. It could be likely that
> I could
> provide access for the developers to test and get whatever file system
> and other
> necessaries needed to be working. :)
>
> Thanks for your reply.
>
>>
>> Eric
>
Vasek
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