Auckland, NZ, 25 July 2007 - Rack mounted systems save space.  One unit of rack space in a well equipped datacenter costs roughly $45 + GST to rent per month.  This is where 1U or Supermicro Twin 1U systems provide value.  However, the small physical size means we only get a small storage size as well.  There are many applications requiring large storage capacity and a 1U may not be appropriate. Based on the low cost 3.5" hard disk drive form factor, the 1U can accommodate a maximum of 4 drives while the 2U can accommodate 8 drives.  If you require more storage, you may need to install multiple systems of 1U or 2U and to share the storage space.  This is not an ideal arrangement.  This article outlines an optimal solution.

The solution is 16 Terabytes of storage in 3U.  This is equivalent to over 5 TB per 1U and is clearly above what the market leaders can do with the low cost 3.5" hard disk form factor.  Furthermore, there is no premium for this optimal solution.  Compucon New Zealand has delivered 3U storage systems for a price lower than virtually all leading suppliers on a global basis.

The hard disk is a major component that drives up cost.  To keep cost down, many Internet and Web service providers have opted for SATA drives.  It is fine as long as you appreciate the value of SATA versus SAS.  With 16 hard disks running and assuming 3% failure rate per hard drive per annum, the possible failure rate of the system would be as high as 50% per annum.  The obvious solution is to apply RAID technology to reduce the chances of downtime. We can provide 3 levels of mitigation:

RAID 5 - survive the loss of 1 disk
RAID 6 - survive the loss of 2 disks, simultaneously
RAID 6 with a hot standby - the standby drive will automatically replace a failed disk

The exchange of a fraction of the total disk storage for a longer MTBF (Mean Time before Failure) and a shorter MTTR (Mean Time to Repair) is worthwhile.  Please consider this and work out the level of impact on your operation under various scenarios.

With so many drives spinning, how much electricity do they consume and how much would the monthly power bill be?  Supermicro have taken care of this concern and are able to present you the best offer in the world!  Compucon will supply an 800W PSU with High Efficiency and Redundancy.  Our system can reach as high as 92% efficiency at 80% load.  Compared to an average system of 70% efficiency, the power bill saving will be in the order of $1000 per annum.  This is not an exaggeration.  There are 2 aspects we need to know.  The first is the waste of electricity due to the low efficiency of AC to DC conversion.  The other is the additional air conditioning effort required to remove the waste heat energy.

Compucon is a high end system integrator for New Zealand customers whereas Supermicro is a technology leader on a global scale.  The engineering solutions above are available locally in New Zealand and are an outcome of the joint effort between the two technology operations.  You can acquire a 3U system from either Compucon New Zealand or Supermicro New Zealand.  You will acquire the same level of world class technology and support services irrespectively.

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