Chapter 8. Selecting Storage for Optimum Directory Server Performance

Chapter 8. Selecting Storage for Optimum Directory Server Performance

Providing detailed directory server sizing information is difficult because of the many ways that directory services can be deployed. There are, however, some general guidelines for choosing the appropriate Sun hardware that can be helpful. The most significant hardware factors affecting directory server performance are:

• Disk storage subsystem

• CPU

• Memory

Network bandwidth is a consideration, but with speeds of 1Gbit/second, it is difficult for a directory server to saturate the network. In this chapter, the focus is on choosing the correct disk storage subsystem and the right class of Sun systems to provide optimum performance for directory services.

To choose the correct disk storage subsystem, you need to understand the performance characteristics of the available subsystems and how they relate to directory server performance. Choosing the server platform is tricky because the load you put on the directory server can vary greatly between different environments.

To address the disk storage subsystem, a detailed look into Sun storage technology is presented as follows :

• "Software Characteristics" on page 444

• "Survey of Sun Storage Subsystems" on page 445

• "Introduction to the Sun StorEdge T3b Storage Array" on page 447

• "Sun StorEdge T3b Array and Veritas Volume Manager" on page 455

• "RAID Explained for Directory Administrators" on page 459

Note

Storage products described in this chapter are for products available at the time of this writing. It is likely that the storage products you have to choose from have changed as new models are introduced. Nevertheless, the same concepts and performance principles apply.