Lab Report: QSAN XCubeNXT “XN5124D” Unified Storage and Toshiba 22TB Nearline SAS HDD

Introduction

Virtualization, containerization, surveillance, back up – for such workloads, modern enterprises and businesses need large-scale, multi-functional storage more than ever. Performance is key here and, with a view to this, the Toshiba team started a new test in its laboratory using the next-generation Toshiba Enterprise Capacity MG-Series HDDs, the 22TB SAS 12Gb/s model MG10SFA22TE, installed in QSAN’s flagship XN5124D. This is a 4U/24-bay fully integrated unified storage that can either operate as network attached storage (NAS) providing shared folders/file system or as block storage for dedicated storage area networks (SAN) like iSCSI, Fibre Channel, or even both in parallel.

QSAN promotes it as “the newest generation of XCubeNXT that harnesses industry-leading versatility for mixed workloads.” Additionally, the highly available and secure multiple protocol and cross QSAN platform support is claimed as being the best Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for capacity demanding applications.

Setup

The XN5124D comes with a dual controller architecture, so it’s best suited for high-capacity SAS Nearline HDDs. Rackmount, with dual path from network down to HDD access and dual/redundant power supply, it’s definitely enterprise suited. To achieve large-scale, we installed the current top model of the Toshiba Enterprise Capacity MG-Series, the 22TB SAS 12Gb/s model MG10SFA22TE.

By default, each controller is equipped with 4 channels of 10GbE SFP+, a 1GbE RJ45 management port, and two SFF-8644 (mini-SAS-HD) ports for capacity extension using external JBODs. Two sub-module slots enable an upgrade for different connectivity technology, such Fibre Channel, or – like in our case – 25GbE with two SFP28 ports. We connected one port of each controller unit via SFP28 direct-attached-copper cable to the applications server.

Download the whole Lab Report here.