I have experienced with several of these storage units a network problem that really hampers the operation of file sharing, backups or as a source for database stores. The most recent problem I've come across and this is the worse one, is that the Storevault has Microsoft Exchange information stores located on it and by using iSCSI initiator on the exchange server, tit's able to access the SAN as local storage. The network stops responding to the Storevault.

The Storevault's feature set is a very good one. It has iSCSI capabilities that I found to work superbly. It can also provide NFS shares. It is limited to two network connections and that can be a problem for busy networks.

This is the worse case as the problem happens so frequently. During one incident. a customer called to alert that their mailboxes were not accessible. I logged into the server remotely to take a look and sure enough the stores were not mounted any longer. I mounted the stores and then started a constant ping to the NetApps StoreVault. not before long, the pings started to timeout to the Storevault. This is a huge problem and as I mentioned the worst. The problem used to happen to server after several weeks at least but this one has gone to a whole new level in that it happens now several times a day.

Remote Support

These network storage appliances are not longer supported. Support has ended on them for several years now. The StoreVault S500 and S550 are end-of-sale and end-of-life. Obtaining drives for the Storevault is very difficult and a very costly proposition. Not any drive can be installed in the S550 or in the S500. They must be from an approved serial number list. If the drives are not from that list then they will not work. Support for these storage units has also expired. When it was active their tech support was very good. Remote support was available to. It usually required making contact via phone or online through their web portal for as with the new models of network attached storage systems from NetApps, the storage devices call home to report errors. Web based remote PC support is not built-in but can be accomplished with other web based remote support applications.

Another vendor that provides support software for all their server that calls home and alerts admins and the vendor it's self of problems with the unit is done by IBM. One of the things I learned about their software is that it not only can monitor and alert support for IBM hardware but it can also do this for other vendor systems to. So, with this one support application designed for IBM series servers you can support and monitor IBM servers but also HP, Dell or white-box servers.

Didn't find what you needed?
Try your seach again.

Time Saving Technology for Computer Support

One of the things I've heard works for the networking connection on the storevault has been to not use the A port on the units. The netapps storevault comes with two networking interfaces. They are labeled A and B. I have heard that if your having an issue with networking connections "freezing" or being un-reliable or unstable, to connect to the B port instead. This can make a huge and dramatic difference in the network connection stability and reliability of the iSCSI connections and LUNs.
NetApps StoreVault S500 Network Problem

To add a comment please login by clicking here