• Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  Mac Security,  Mass Deployment,  Network Infrastructure,  Unix,  Windows Server

    "Don't Go Near There": Sponsored Top Level Domain Names

    October 25, 2011

    Any time I think of something you’re not supposed to do with network architecture, I always think of Good Morning Vietnam. When Robin Williams says: “Don’t go near there!” But Betty! “Don’t go near there…get away from the river! Stay away from there!” One of the things you’re not supposed to do on networks is have conflicting DNS information. One example is to use a www record on one DNS server and a different one on another DNS server. This introduces a potential problem when some users end up with one DNS server and others end up with another. IP, DNS and other conflicts are usually a bad thing. Another…

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  • Xsan

    Adding Xsan Clients to StorNext Environments

    January 19, 2011

    There are a lot of people who keep saying that StorNext is the same thing as Xsan. StorNext is similar to Xsan, but not identical. Apple makes their own changes to the StorNext code before recompiling and shipping. One need only look at the output of a cvlabel command on each to see this very quickly. The similarities mean that you can mix and match Xsan clients to StorNext controllers and match up StorNext controllers to Xsan clients (although you can’t match StorNext controllers to Xsan controllers). The differences mean that you might have a tiny amount of work on your hands to get the mix and matched controllers/clients to…

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  • Mac OS X,  Network Infrastructure,  Xsan

    Xsan: Metadata Network

    January 7, 2005

    Xsan needs an out-of-band metadata network.  This network is used to transfer information, or metadata on files being written to the SAN.  The metadata network on an Xsan should be low latency.  Nothing should potentially interfere with the transfer of data.  Therefore, make sure that you disable all the management features of your switch.  But make sure it’s a good switch.  I prefer to use a managed switch, disabling all the management features.

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