Overview of Snap Servers
Overland Data purchased the Snap Server range of products from Adaptec in 2008 and since that time the Snap Server range of solutions has grown from NAS (Network Attached Storage) to the latest Snap Server S2000 iSCSI storage solution which is fully VMware approved.
NAS Storage
Network Attached Storage (NAS) has become the storage choice for so many IT teams because it combines elegance with flexibility. By integrating the file system directly with the storage platform, NAS allows an organization to rapidly deploy, share, and scale its information without any headaches. With market leading expertise in NAS, Overland Snap Server NAS solutions can handle anything from departmental workloads to mission critical file environments with affordable performance and simplicity.
Network Attached Storage separates the application server from the storage. This increases overall system performance by allowing the servers to perform application requests and the NAS to serve files or run applications. As the name suggests Network Attached Storage allows disk-based storage to connect directly on a network using a 10/100Mbit or Gigabit Ethernet connection, many now also feature dual Gigabit connectivity. It is a fully self-contained file server that can be used to serve files or run applications. A wide variety of networking protocols can also be supported TCP/IP, IPX, NetBEUI, Appletalk, NFS, HTTP 1.1, FTP this allows a wide variety of operating systems access to the NAS Storage.
All NAS Storage use an operating system and in the case of Snap Servers they use a Guardian OS. Once the NAS Storage is connected to the network the Snap Server becomes a virtual OS server mimicking a Windows 2003, Windows 2008, MAC, Unix, Linux server etc. One of the major benefits of using Network Attached Storage is there are no software licences payable.
You can now easily create users shares, integrate it into Microsoft Active Directory or create drive letters on the users desktop.
A NAS storage has all the components of a traditional server but has no keyboard, monitor and mouse connected. The NAS storage have hard disks, processors, motherboards, memory, SCSI controllers, power supplies, fans and networking for connectivity.
Management of the NAS Storage is via a web browser or Windows Terminal Services. From this you can configure and monitor all the functionality the NAS Storage offers. The typical configuration time for a NAS device is about 15 minutes from connection.
Unified Storage
Unifed storage provides the features and flexibility of NAS Storage with the added benefit of providing "Block Level Storage" for systems that require a local disk to be seen to load an operating system or provide local disk storage for databases, email, files etc. In order to provide Unified Storage all components with the solution must be fast, reliable and perform under load, otherwise you will lose valuable data.
iSCSI Storage
iSCSI Storage uses the simple power of IP-based storage networking has transformed the data storage landscape. At Overland, the iSCSI SAN has evolved even further through a range of proven enhancements. In Overland's Snap Server line, the simplicity and power of iSCSI are front and center. Cost effective. High performance. Flexible. An iSCSI Storage SAN reduces costs and management headaches by eliminating the traditional end-to-end complexity of managing multiple networks in a storage area network. Since iSCSI SANs can leverage IP protocols, they are equally at home moving data across the LAN or WAN. Increasingly popular in both departmental and enterprise-wide infrastructures, iSCSI SANs provide an unrivaled union of ease of use with scalable performance. Explore how Overland iSCSI Storage SAN technology can grow your business today.
Building an iSCSI SAN (Storage Area Network) is no longer limited to those who can manage the complexities and cost of Fibre Channel technology. With the introduction of the iSCSI protocol, any enterprise that uses standard Ethernet technology can now build IP SANs and reap their benefits. Defined and supported by industry leading storage and networking companies, this new networking protocol that enables low latency SCSI "blocks" to be transported via Ethernet and TCP/IP.
Snap Server Models







