WOT:Computer Folks, This gizmo is very cool Options

[trojanhorsepower]

My Brother is works for a company that makes really cool ram boxes. I had him write me a blurb about what they do and how they are used. I just thought some of the people here might think these were handy.

Pete,
Here's the scoop on TMS product. Here's a link: http://www.superssd.com/products/ramsan-320/index.htm

It's a big box of RAM - up to 64GB. There are internal batteries and hard drives. So, in case of a power failure, the system waits 5minutes and then backs everything up to the internal disks. So, you never loose your data.
It support up to 8 fiber channel interfaces. These are 2Gigabit interfaces which gives a throughput of about 200Megabytes / sec. The internal bandwidth is much higher, so all the interfaces can run at full speed simultaneously.
Because it's based on memory not a disk (mechanical), there is no penalty for random accesses. A disk can provide pretty good performance if the data is all in one place, but performance goes way down when the heads have to start moving around.
You connect the box either to a server/processor or a "storage network". Then, since it's so much faster than a disk, you applications go faster. Yes, you could use it w/ you PC to make MS Office start faster, but that's kind of expensive.
Here are two examples:
One customer was a bank, they had to process all the transaction overnight and make sure everything was reconciled. This task had grown to a 12hr task which ran overnight. It was taking so long that the teller were coming in and unable to use the system in the mornings. By attaching a SSD, they reduced the time to 30minutes.
One of the online betting services also uses it to power their web server. For them every slow page or delayed page can mean not only lost bets but lost customers who start using their competition and don't come back. The business also means very high peak demands around tournament time etc.
Many customers use the SSD with database applications. Many times the database won't fit onto one RAMSAN, in which case it's usually most effective to put certain files on the RAMSAN. In a database there are index files (like an index in a book) which index different fields (name, company, phone number) and tell you where in the database to find these things. There are also temp file the database uses all the time and journal files the database uses to record it's activity. These files are accessed ALL the time, so moving them to the RAMSAN can really speed things up.

Thanks!
Chris
Let me know if you want any more info.

Thanks

-Pete

[fiid]

That's freakin cool. I'll forward it on to some folks at wells fargo and see if they are interested in it.

Fiid.

[trojanhorsepower]

Thanks fiid,

I know he is grateful for all the circulation he can get.

-Pete

[Gint]

Nice peice. I'll get that link out to some key people in my environment as well.

[trojanhorsepower]

Thanks Gint.

Just let me know if anybody wants more contact info.

-Pete

[fiid]

It's already out there. :-). None of my current clients do enough volume to justify it, but I'll bear it in mind if I hear of anything.

Fiid.

[trojanhorsepower]

Thanks again Fiid.

I really appreciate it.


-Pete