Using DiskXtender Appliance Edition Aggregation Software with Snap Servers

Challenge

Your Users Are Demanding Access to More and More Data Storage Resources
Storage has increasingly become a large portion of the IT budget. Effectively controlling costs and intelligently managing end users’ access to added data storage is proving to be a difficult task.
Solution
Snap Servers and DiskXtender Appliance Edition (DX AE) Software provide a complete, Cost-effective Solution for Managing Your Growing Storage Requirements
  • Seamlessly add Snap Server 12000 and/or Snap Server 4100 units (maximum of five) for increasing storage needs
  • Manage data storage using automated policies, reducing manual management overhead and providing lower total cost of ownership
  • Relocate data from existing Windows NT/2000 servers to Snap Server 12000 or Snap Server 4100 units

Benefit

  • Increase Your Storage Resources with the Snap Server DX AE Solution
  • Provides end users immediate and transparent access to all their stored data without administrator intervention
  • Simplifies managing user access to added islands of storage
  • Seamlessly integrates into your organization’s current environment; no interruption to end users
  • Reduces IT management costs, while meeting your application and user storage demands
  • Leverages your existing IT investment
 
 
 

Equipment

  • Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 1 or Windows NT 4.0 Server with Service Pack 6a
  • Pentium 450MHZ or higher
  • Minimum 256 MB RAM
  • NTFS hard drive (size depends on application requirements)
  • DiskXtender Appliance Edition (DX AE) Software
  • One or more Snap Server 12000 and/or Snap Server 4100 units

How It Works

DX AE aggregates the storage of individual Snap Servers into consolidated storage pools using automated policies, while providing end users transparent access to their data.
The Snap Server DX AE solution integrates seamlessly into existing Windows 2000 or NT environments. DX AE turns any NTFS volume into an infinite disk for storing your business-critical data. The migration is managed automatically based upon configurable rules. Since the directory and file structures are retained on the main server, retrieval of data is simple and intuitive. By utilizing the DX AE policies, less frequently accessed data can be automatically directed to the Snap Servers providing faster backup and better data protection. Increasing storage is as simple as connecting additional Snap Server 12000 or Snap Server 4100 units to your network.

FAQ

Q. What is the data migration feature of DX AE?
A. One (or multiple) Windows NT or 2000 servers can automatically move files to a group of Snap Servers based on a pre-set schedule (immediately upon creation, once per hour, once per day, or once per week). This helps network administrators be more productive, while maintaining archiving objectives.

Q. What happens if the DX AE server fails?
A.  For mission-critical applications, DX AE can be configured to run in a Microsoft Cluster environment, providing automatic failover and continuous data availability.

Q. Are there any performance issues when aggregating Snap Servers into one network volume?
A.  No. By aggregating dispersed storage resources with DX AE and Snap Servers, end user access times will improve. Productivity increases because users no longer have to scour a collection of network resources now that all of their data will be easily accessible from one central location.