OK, we have a 10/100 CAT5 network throughout the building.
Our HP ML350 servers have gigabit NICs connected to NetGear gigabit switches, then into standard CAT5 cabling to 100mb switches and finally to client PCs.
From memory I seem to recall something along the lines of NICs slowing down to the slowest connection on the network which would mean that although the initial connections are gigabit the throughput will be 100mb.
Now, my plan is this: I want to set up a single server to act as a NAS device.
Servers 1, 2 and 3 will each back up a disk image to the NAS at 8pm, 11.30pm and 3am respectively.
The NAS will have a scheduled script copying all three server disk images to an external hard drive for offsite and fireproof safe onsite storage.
Could this be achieved by fitting a second gigabit NIC to each server, putting all the secondary gigabit NICs on a completely unrelated IP range and have the NAS as a standalone box on the same IP range ?
Example:
Current network internal address range is, say, 10.0.10.x
Let's say the NAS is on 192.168.10.10 and server 1, 2 and 3 are on 192.168.10.1, 192.168.10.2 and 192.168.10.3 respectively, with all links going through a gigabit switch.
The only links on that switch would be the NAS and the server secondary gigabit NICs.
Would that give me gigabit speed for running backups tot he NAS or would the presence of 10/100 on another NIC and IP range downgrade the throughput ?
I ask because I have a 15,000 RPM twin 500GB, quad core/4gb RAM server sitting doing nothing and this would give me an inexpensive belt and braces method of speedy backups to run in addition to our main backup regime.
The data transfer for backups would only work though, if it was piping through gigabit. It's too much for 100mb to get the 3 servers imaged overnight.
So, secondary gigabit cards, gigabit switch, gigabit NAS all on unrelated (to our main network) IP range. Will that do what I have in mind ?
Thoughts appreciated.
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