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Home > Archive > Data Storage > November 2005 > Inexpensive alternative to a SAN
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Inexpensive alternative to a SAN
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| I know it sounds kludgy, cheap and amateurish, but...
I have a legacy app that millions of small, static image files. The
app requires a mapped drive letter, so they all have to be on one
volume. Problem is, it's getting to be too much to store on a sigle
volume. Is there an inexpensive (or open source) software alternative
to a SAN? I need a virtual f:\ drive, where some of the subfolders are
stored here, others there, etc.
(oh, and please forgive my ignorance on stoarge in general, I'm a
developer, not an architect).
Thanks for any pearls of wisdom.
-Keith
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| Roberto Giana 2005-11-11, 5:54 pm |
| Keith wrote:
> I know it sounds kludgy, cheap and amateurish, but...
> I have a legacy app that millions of small, static image files. The
> app requires a mapped drive letter, so they all have to be on one
> volume. Problem is, it's getting to be too much to store on a sigle
> volume. Is there an inexpensive (or open source) software alternative
> to a SAN? I need a virtual f:\ drive, where some of the subfolders are
> stored here, others there, etc.
>
> (oh, and please forgive my ignorance on stoarge in general, I'm a
> developer, not an architect).
>
> Thanks for any pearls of wisdom.
>
> -Keith
>
Hi Keith
Basicly it's nothing new for the Unix/Linux world. That's exactly the way how partitions or shares are mounted into the
filesystem.
Under Windows 200x you can acheive now the same thing by using Distributed File System (DFS). You can map partitions or
shares from other computers into subdirectories and then share the directory as one to others.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows200...print/dfsbp.asp
--
Best regards
Roberto Giana
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Giana Roberto Consulting - GiaRoCo
https://www.giaroco.ch/
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| Thanks! That looks like exactly what I need.
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| Keith wrote:
> I know it sounds kludgy, cheap and amateurish, but...
> I have a legacy app that millions of small, static image files. The
> app requires a mapped drive letter, so they all have to be on one
> volume. Problem is, it's getting to be too much to store on a sigle
> volume. Is there an inexpensive (or open source) software alternative
> to a SAN? I need a virtual f:\ drive, where some of the subfolders are
> stored here, others there, etc.
A Linux/Samba file server could probably do this - depending on your
volume size and required growth.
Also, google for 'junction points': "You can surpass the 26 drive letter
limitation by using NTFS junction points. By using junction points, you
can graft a target folder onto another NTFS folder or "mount" a volume
onto an NTFS junction point. Junction points are transparent to programs."
This allows you to 'mount' multiple local drives under a single drive
letter.
Thomas
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