HSM with Xsan

So I have heard of what HSM does in the past but I did not know it was called HSM. It appears to be something that was stripped out of StoreNext when Apple implemented it. Am I correct in this? If so, is there any way to get some sort of HSM feature-set (or anything equivalent) working between an Xsan implementation and a tape storage device?

If by upgradeable you mean replacing all your Mac MDCs to Linux then yes.

Be sure all you'll ever want to do is archive a stornext file system as it won't archive anything else directly. In my opinion StorageManage is too expensive and limited. It is good at it's one trick tho.

Take a look at Storage DNA's Evolution

[Ian Liuzzi-Fedun] "Xsan can be 'upgraded' to storage manager."

You can replace Xsan MDCs with Linux StorNext MDCs, add the Storage Manager option, and use your Xsan clients as you would with Xsan MDCs. They are completely compatible as clients. The price for Storage Manger and all it requires is very high compared to Xsan though. If $100,000+ is expensive for what you want to do, look elsewhere.

Best,
Andy

[Ian Liuzzi-Fedun] "$100K??? - for licenses and two MDCs?"

For a complete system, including server hardware, some kind of Tier 2 storage like a tape robot, all the StorNext licensing involved, and doing so at a scale of any consequence, yes, you'd easily cross the $100K threshold. Seriously.

We're not talking about just a couple servers and a license, we're talking about an integrated tiered storage installation with an HSM. It doesn't really happen on small scales.

Best,
Andy

[Ian Liuzzi-Fedun] "$100K??? - for licenses and two MDCs?"

Yes, that would buy the MDC and storage manager licenses to manage 200TB. Add any hardware on top of that.