Apple Xsan 2 (Third Edition) - Manual (Page 22)

Memory
Client computers must have at least 2 GB of RAM. Â
Computers used as metadata controllers must have at least 2 GB of RAM for Â
Mac OS X Server plus an additional 2 GB of RAM for each SAN volume hosted by the
controller. For example, a controller should have 4 GB of RAM to host one volume,
or 6 GB for two volumes.
Supported Operating Systems
You can install Xsan 2.2 only on computers with Mac OS X v10.5, Mac OS X Server v10.5,
Mac OS X v10.6, or Mac OS X Server v10.6.
Mac client computers must run Xsan 2.1.1 on Mac OS X v10.5 to join an Xsan 2.2 SAN,
and can access only volumes that aren’t using extended attributes.
To join an Xsan 2.2 SAN, Windows, AIX, IRIX, Linux, and Solaris clients must be running
Quantum’s StorNext File System. For version compatibility information, see “Version
Compatibility” on page 10.
Supported Storage Devices
Use only Apple-qualified RAID systems for your storage devices. For the
latest information about qualified RAID systems, see the Xsan webpage at
www.apple.com/xsan/.
Important: Be sure to install the latest firmware update on your RAID systems before
you use them with Xsan.
Fibre Channel Fabric
Unlike file system metadata, which controllers and clients exchange over Ethernet, file
content in an Xsan SAN is transferred over Fibre Channel connections (as is metadata
that controllers access on a volume). To set up the connections, you need:
An Apple Fibre Channel card for each client and controller computer Â
A supported Fibre Channel switch Â
Fibre Channel cables connecting computers and storage devices to the switches to Â
form a Fibre Channel fabric
Fibre Channel PCI Cards
Install Apple Fibre Channel cards in all Macintosh computers that will connect to
the SAN.
Fibre Channel Switches
Fibre Channel switches from Brocade, Cisco, and QLogic have been tested with Xsan
and the Apple Fibre Channel PCI, PCI-X, and PCI-E cards.
For the latest information about qualified switches, see the Xsan webpage at
www.apple.com/xsan/.
22 Chapter 2 Planning a Storage Area Network