Storage and Servers

[M-Callahan]

RRKKnight,


  On your last question to be honest I have not planned that far yet. How will Poser or DAZ Studio deliver data to your API?  Like most good programmers I will need to work this out on a flow chart to actually visualize to see how to create a program that will work.  Then apply the code, test, debug, correct and test, debug again to rinse and repeat until it works well with no flaws.   

[M-Callahan]

Hello, M-C!

Thanks!  I use Linux every day (Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora).  We use a SAN for file access for our supercomputers.  The underlying file system is GPFS.

I'm asking fairly detailed questions here: there are certainly Windows API's available in the server versions that will allow for file systems support.  Is that what you're planning?  The way that you're describing it makes me think you're planning on implementing an API of your own to interact with your SAN software (I'm also interested in what you've picked.)  How will Poser or DAZ Studio deliver data to your API?

I am glad you are asking these questions it has help me focus in my planning since I am just getting the hardware together as it is somewhere in transit from all parts in the US.  I am planning on using Fedora they are way ahead of Red Hat Enterprise I believe Red Hat is at version seven and Fedora is somewhere at version 32 or 33 now.  Fedora may not be as stable as Red Hat Enterprise but the price is right when it is free.  GPFS is a parallel file system I believe IBM started this out it is great for very large and growing storage.  If there is a API for this that will link windows to SAN that is free in the open source l will certainly use it instead of programing one my self.  Just as I started writing this my VNX 5300 disk array came in.  I was rather shocked that it would come in on a Sunday. 

[rrkknight3]

Hello, M-C!

Thanks!  I use Linux every day (Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Fedora).  We use a SAN for file access for our supercomputers.  The underlying file system is GPFS.

I'm asking fairly detailed questions here: there are certainly Windows API's available in the server versions that will allow for file systems support.  Is that what you're planning?  The way that you're describing it makes me think you're planning on implementing an API of your own to interact with your SAN software (I'm also interested in what you've picked.)  How will Poser or DAZ Studio deliver data to your API?

[M-Callahan]

M-Callahan and McG, you all are mightily confusing me.

M-C: if you're building a SAN, what file system are you going to use on your rendering computers?  Getting the blocks to and from them can be something like iSCSI but how will Windows know which blocks are associated with which files?

McG: Most commodity SSD's use flash memory, not static memory.  SSD's will retain the information for a year or more in a powered off state.  Static RAM only retains its data for seconds.

What am I missing?

Hello RRKKnight


Now starting to wake up after a short nap. 


One of the Reason why I am going to an Open Source Linux based operating system for a SAN is to be able to write an API (API is Application programming interface) that will link windows to recognize blocks for data storage. There are references for this.  You can think of the SAN as a back office where things are kept the API as the hallway to the front office where the windows based computers are.   I just want the SAN to store data nothing else.   Back when I was programming in UNIX, public libraries where doing away with physical paper files and going to computerized file as things progress and the introduction of microcomputers in the library environment is when API starting linking such systems.  There are site and forums  on the web that can give you insight on how to link such things together.  No use banging your head against the wall reinventing the wheel.

[rrkknight3]

M-Callahan and McG, you all are mightily confusing me.

M-C: if you're building a SAN, what file system are you going to use on your rendering computers?  Getting the blocks to and from them can be something like iSCSI but how will Windows know which blocks are associated with which files?

McG: Most commodity SSD's use flash memory, not static memory.  SSD's will retain the information for a year or more in a powered off state.  Static RAM only retains its data for seconds.

What am I missing?

[parkdalegardener]

  ( However there was a time in the late 70s and early 80s when I thought 5 megabytes was more than enough for storage when most file were in kilobytes.)  Now to remember the importance of Cable Management as this network goes together.

I remember the first really big WD drive I bought for internal storage instead of 5.25 inch floppys I was using. It was 3.5 meg and is still sitting in a box along with a dozen or more internal drives from over the years. I still have floppy and 1.44 drives in that same box. After all; I may want to install DOS or Win3.x. I still have all the disks. Have a zip tape drive and a few carts here as well from when that was my backup strategy. Pack rat. I may need this some day. Yeah right.

[M-Callahan]

If you look for what you want on the internet nowadays you can usually can find a way to do thing like making your own home brew servers for storage. 

[Noshoba]

Thanks for the links.  Yeah I am interested since I have been interested in doing short animations for awhile now. Had a cute one of Tabby I want to do and think my current rig can handle it . Just need to pick up the basics . 

[M-Callahan]

Morning..wish I could go the server route myself .
Went externals a long time ago for my stuff after my old faithful of a Toshiba went tits up after 10 years of good service and lost everything. Now have 12 Tb of external and needing to get more lol.

Hi Noshoba,



I get a lot of things cheap that are either second hand or refurbished so I can do things for little money.  If you have a college or a university near you.  You can see if they have a place where they sell their surplus also local government sell workstations and servers dirt cheap too.  Then there is ebay.  I got an HP 8100 workstation for 20.00 dollars and installed windows 7 on it from the university out here.  Monitor are very inexpensive too  they are most in small sizes but if you are OK with that they are around 20 dollars out here too. Plus I got an old Dell Optiplex 755 pentium grade for 20.00 and that is one of my back ups.    Also some charitable organization like the Blind Center for people who are legally blind rebuild computers and workstations and sell them at very reasonable prices too.   You could build yourself a NAS server and the software is free from an old computer using sata drives.  You can gut the old computer and put in in a case that can hold maybe eight or more drives.  A couple of years back  like 5 year ago I got a HP Z400 which I use all the time I think I paid 30 for.   If you are interested in building a NAS system to use on your computer here is a youtube video that is of interest.

[Noshoba]

Morning..wish I could go the server route myself .
Went externals a long time ago for my stuff after my old faithful of a Toshiba went tits up after 10 years of good service and lost everything. Now have 12 Tb of external and needing to get more lol.