Tag: SAN

What is SmartCTL?

Every modern hard drive has an option to monitor its current status and health via SMART attributes. SMART stands for Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology. The SMART test can be performed on your HDD to detect any potential problems with the hardware itself. Tests such as these are run using SmartCTL. According to the Linux man page, SmartCTL is a command-line utility designed to perform SMART tasks. Examples of these tasks would be printing error logs or enabling and disabling automatic SMART testing. 

Storing data in a safe, secure, and reliable manner has always been a significant concern for those working within a distributed networked environment. In this article, we will be exploring two specific methods of managing, preserving, and archiving information. These methods include using the SAN or Storage Area Network or the NAS or Network Attached Storage protocols. Both protocols provide a networked storage solution, but the main difference is in the approach and implementation. A NAS device is usually a single storage unit, while a SAN is typically a network cluster of several devices. Sometimes both these methods are employed and combined into a single medium called a Unified SAN. 

What is RAID?

RAID (or a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) is a way of storing logical data across a medium which is composed of multiple physical hard disk drives blended into one or more logical units or volumes that is used for data redundancy, performance improvement, and reliability.

Provided that you have access to the Liquid Web SAN you will need to set up your iSCSI initiator so that you can access your volume. Read on to find out how.