Our tests gauged the performance of CIFS and NFS, using SourceForge's Iometer (see performance test results in chart on this page). In choosing our winner, we also considered ease of setup and administration, as well as fault-tolerance and scalability features, warranty and price.
To select the best NAS system for your enterprise, consider current and future storage demands, expected traffic and backup requirements. Your NAS should be expandable to suit your needs two years from now. Anticipating the traffic your NAS device will handle down the road will help you decide whether to get a second NIC on your unit and whether to use Gigabit Ethernet connections. And because you have several backup options, also think about your preferred backup method before you choose a device. Many NAS devices take a snapshot--a point-in-time backup of the current drive. However, snapshots take up space, especially if you use them extensively. You can make full backups with protocols such as NDMP (Network Data Management Protocol) or via a local tape, but your backup window and medium must be able to handle the additional stress the new NAS device may introduce.
On the hardware side, consider the importance of the data you are putting on the NAS. How fast does it need to be accessed, and how quickly does it need to be restored in the event of a failure? The faster you need that data, the more important multiple power supplies and redundant fans become. The drive choice is paramount: Conventional parallel ATA/IDE drives are slower and generally have less MTBF (mean time between failure) than their SCSI and Fibre Channel counterparts.
The combination of strong performance, a good warranty, flexible configuration and a decent interface make the Dell PowerVault 775N our Editor's Choice.
The PowerVault 775N is one of two units we tested that use Windows SAK as its base operating system. We were a little skeptical of this approach. After all, why buy a NAS if you're just going to load Windows? However, between SAK and the vendor's customization, both the PowerVault and HP's StorageWorks NAS B3000 were good contenders, with some inherent advantages over their Unix variant-based counterparts. The fact that Dell's unit costs about $10,000 less than HP's gave it a big edge--and thus, our Editor's Choice award.
The PowerVault 775N is a relabeled PowerEdge 2650 server connected via a PERC3 RAID card to a PowerVault 220s Ultra 320 SCSI JBOD and loaded with the Windows SAK. Although that may not sound exciting, the combination makes an impressive NAS device. This machine is loaded with two 2.4-GHz Intel Xeon processors and 1 GB of RAM. The PowerVault has all the familiar server features of a Dell PowerEdge server, including DRAC (Dell Remote Access Card) and front-panel diagnostics with the LED and ActiveBezel that we like. Two onboard copper Gigabit Ethernet ports on their own PCI-X bus provide network connectivity. For expansion, the PowerVault 775N has two 100-MHz PCI-X slots and one 133-MHz PCI-X slot on different buses to provide ample bandwidth. The PowerVault supports up to 16.7 TB of storage for your users and applications.
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