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cjvawv1982

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Possible to run HD mini SAS SFF-8644 over OC4 LC fiber cable?

Hello all,
I have three RAID Machine 24 bay 12G SAS Expander Enclosure - N4424RM at one location. I have another building I am guessing is less than 200 feet away that I would like to hook to the same RAID card as the others. I have at least 8 OC4 LC fiber cables available as well as Cat 6A cables. Is there anyway to connect the SFF-8644 to the expander of the 3rd enclosure, run over the fiber or ethernet and then connect with SFF-8644 to the fourth enclosure?

Thanks for any advice you can provide,
CJ
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Philip Elder
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That's called a "stretch cluster" if put together correctly with servers and replication or SAN to SAN replication if that's the underlying solution.

No.
Not sure if you want a Stretched cluster as Phil suggested, or just have half the storage in another building.

I built a stretched cluster in a big warehouse back in 1999 i think nit was, with a Server and a External RAID system at each end of the building (at least 200 metres apart and with a real Firewall in the middle) the servers were connected over ethernet and connected to a FC SAN that stretched across both servers and both RAID systems

I think the problem you have is that the N4424RM is a dumb shelf and uses the RAID controller in the Host, which makes sharing the storage difficult, if more than one server is involved then you will need to use Cluster software and dont forget to use diverse routing for the fibres between the buildings

Give us a better idea of what you are planning (a connection diagram would be best!)
Avatar of cjvawv1982
cjvawv1982

ASKER

Thanks for the replies!

Right now I have three N4424RM attached to a LSI 9380-8E on a Windows Server 2012 machine. I was wanting to add a 4th or more N4424RM that will be located in another building. The units in the second building will serve as backup for the data. I have the OC4 fiber and Cat 6A going over there. I haven't bought the units or set the second building up yet. I was wondering if there was a way to convert or adapt the fiber/cat 6a to the SFF-8644 so i can just attach the second building units to the first.

If not,  what would be the easiest way to accomplish this? Hook the second building units up to a raid card on a server and connect the servers from both buildings to several 10 gb NICs to transfer the data direct?

Thanks again for your help!
CJ
So this is a SAS Connected system!
Had it been FibreChannel connected, yes you could do what you want, but max length of a SAS cable is 10 metres
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