Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference Scope of this Document This document provides an overview of the Dell DX Object Storage CFS Gateway solution and lists the hardware and software components that are used in the solution.
Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference Specific CFS Configurations CFS configurations front-end a DX Object Storage cluster that has a CSN and at least two storage nodes. There are two types of CFS configurations offered – single server (no failover) and high availability (failover).
Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference Failover Configuration The failover configuration allows CFS servers to be deployed in pairs so that if one server fails, the share can be recovered by the other CFS server to minimize recovery time. In this configuration, the CFS servers utilize iSCSI storage to store spooled data.
The CFS can be configured for NFS or SMB/CIFS gateways. For SMB/CIFS, users and groups can access the system through standalone authentication, or if Active Directory Services exists, users and groups can be authenticated through the existing ADS structure. For NFS, Dell supports version 3 only; it does not support version 4.
Node and the CFS Server. Different versions may run on the CFS Server and the CSN. See the interoperability matrix for information about versions. CFS – This is the software on the CFS Server that presents Dell DX Object Storage to clients as a common file system.
Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference DX Object CFS Processes The data flow in a DX Object Storage File Gateway depends on the type of configuration. The following examples show, a standard DX Object Storage cluster (for reference purposes), a DX Object Storage cluster with a single-server gateway, and a DX Object Storage cluster with a failover gateway.
Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference DX Object Storage File Gateway (single-server) In a DX Object Storage File Gateway, data objects are written to a CFS server before being written to a Storage Node. In this configuration, the application server and clients are actually viewing objects as they reside in the spool cache of the CFS server.
Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference DX Object Storage File Gateway (Failover) A failover configuration (see Figure 3) provides two CFS servers and a separate dedicated spool/cache. This configuration provides continuous service on the gateway, as long as the cluster and the shared storage are running.
Dell DX Object Storage – File Gateway Architectural Reference Sizing Guidelines When selecting a DX Object Storage CFS Gateway solution, the following factors should be considered. Availability Whether to choose a single-server solution or a failover solution depends on how mission-critical the data is (in terms of downtime).