Bluemage Wrote:Quote:robkelk wrote:All the more reason to go with attached storage instead of local storage - one can more easily move the app somewhere else if/when necessary.Local storage is probably the best option- it just has a long implementation lead time.
(I'm assuming they have access to the forum software settings and thus can add remote disk, of course - if they don't, never mind.)
From what I know of servers and hosting (not as much as a full admin, but I have hands-on experience) you're best off having your storage all in the same place- the same site as your server, as tightly linked to the server as possible. Having your storage in the server itself is best, followed by external drive racks with dedicated connections. SATA external is third, followed by non-dedicated Ethernet connection or USB, depending on which USB standard and the local Ethernet load.
Using a remote system for your data storage is possible, but your software has to be written for it, and you're going to eat lag three ways- data request to storage, data received from storage, and data out to client. Not optimal, speed-wise- not to mention the reliability issues cloud anything tends to have! It's good enough for data backups at the current start of the art/'net, I've found, but not for active use- especially for a site with the kind of load SB gets.
This does not match with my knowledge of external storage. (Except for the part about storage over USB being bad - but how many servers even have USB ports?)
There's no reason software has to be written to specifically use external storage - just configure the external storage as a virtual drive, and it's presented to the software exactly the same way as a local drive. Yes, this requires root/admin rights on the server.
Data lag is trivial unless your connection is running slower than T1 speeds - and even home DSL connections run faster than T1 speeds nowadays. SB isn't connected to the Internet via dial-up, is it?
Local storage is tied to the physical server. This makes app portability difficult.
(EDIT: SATA? Really? Why choose so slow a disk? FC is the way to go.)
--
Rob Kelk
"Governments have no right to question the loyalty of those who oppose
them. Adversaries remain citizens of the same state, common subjects of
the same sovereign, servants of the same law."
- Michael Ignatieff, addressing Stanford University in 2012