iSCSI and Mac OS 9?

[Knezzen]

I have no idea myself, but does a iSCSI initiator exist for Mac OS 9? It would be wonderful if it does

Does anyone know?

[IIO]

i think ... not before PCI-X

[MacTron]

Most PCI-X cards are compatible with PCI slots in most G4 motherboards. The main problem seems to be The Mac Os 9 support... IMHO

[Knezzen]

iSCSI is a protocol for SCSI over IP networks, so I don't need a PCI card. I need some software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISCSI

[supernova777]

iSCSI is a protocol for SCSI over IP networks, so I don't need a PCI card. I need some software

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISCSI

sounds like a longshot to me.
when was it invented? probably long after mac os 9 was dead in the water.

[Knezzen]

It was invented in 2002, so it might be a dead end.

[IIO]

i dont think it will work with the built-in ethernet

[Knezzen]

Im sure it will on the other hand . It's just like any other protocol over TCP/IP. AFP, NFS, HTTP etc.

I manage it daily at work, so I know how it works. I just can't find an iSCSI Initiator (or client if you will) for Mac OS 9.
There are plenty for Mac OS X though.

[IIO]

lets see ... the oldest i have here is globalSAN ... it supports PPC, but its a cocoa app ... and i also dont see an OS9 extension in pacifist.

i suppose they thought that it´ll be useless for systems with only 12 mb/s.
 

[Knezzen]

i suppose they thought that it´ll be useless for systems with only 12 mb/s.

I don't follow you... The MDD has a 1gbps NIC. I administrate SAN's and servers with the same speed NICs and iSCSI every day.
I don't think this should be an issue.

EDIT: I found a piece of software named "FibreShare" which seems to support at least SAN's connected through Fibre Channel. If im lucky I could use it to connect to my SAN over FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet).

Version 2.0 seems to be the last version that support Mac OS 9.... Now if I only could find it

http://fibreshare.charismac.com/

[IIO]

I don't follow you... The MDD has a 1gbps NIC.

as it seems i am not aware of that.

Version 2.0 seems to be the last version that support Mac OS 9.... Now if I only could find it

nice. well if this "over ethernet" mode is really available, it could actually work.

http://fibreshare.charismac.com/

yet the website says this app was introduced in 2007?

[Knezzen]

yet the website says this app was introduced in 2007?

Yeah, but if you google it a bit you will find stuff like this article:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20030910005681/en/Charismac-Show-FibreShare-2.0-Global-Distribution-Booth#.VEc6qPmsWd4

FibreShare V2.0 OS X SAN Software is a robust volume management solution that allows multiple users to dynamically share data between OS 9 and OS X and have shared read and write access to Fibre Channel storage without the bottlenecks commonly associated with traditional Ethernet-based networking. FibreShare V2.0 has been shipping since early summer and has been met with extremely positive feedback.

But it seems like it's locked by dongle, just like Logic. And it seems only to support some Fibre Channel cards.
So I might be out of luck with my FCoE or iSCSI idea. Bugger.

[supernova777]

interesting.
whats the benefit of this technology tho?
and what are u trying to achieve that u cant achieve with normal ethernet networking?
im not sure i understand fully.

[Knezzen]

iSCSI and FC works at a block level of the storage, not on the file level. You create volumes on a SAN, or NAS supporting iSCSI and bind this to the IP address of the machine (or machines) you want to be able to access it. On the client machine you have what's called an "iSCSI Initiator" which pretty much does what it's named. I initiates the volume, and mount it on your machine. Then you have to format it, just like you do on a real harddrive.

Think of it as a real harddrive physically connected to the machnie, but emulated and ran over the network .

You get more bandwidth and a faster connection than with common file sharing protocols that run on a file level.

I want to put a SAN in the server room and set it up with RAID5, and then run Pro Tools, Logic etc with it.
Record directly to the drive.

[supernova777]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storage_area_network
im unfamiliar with any of this..

interesting.

[Knezzen]

This quote pretty much sums it up:

One way to loosely conceptualize the difference between a NAS and a SAN is that NAS appears to the client OS (operating system) as a file server (the client can map network drives to shares on that server) whereas a disk available through a SAN still appears to the client OS as a disk, visible in disk and volume management utilities (along with client's local disks), and available to be formatted with a file system and mounted.

[Knezzen]

I sortof solved this issue with buying an Xserve RAID and connecting it to the MDD using FC.
Still have to sort the FC software on the MDD thought.

If I can't get it to work, I can connect it to my Xserve G5 and use it with that instead

[supernova777]

Im sure it will on the other hand . It's just like any other protocol over TCP/IP. AFP, NFS, HTTP etc.

I manage it daily at work, so I know how it works. I just can't find an iSCSI Initiator (or client if you will) for Mac OS 9.
There are plenty for Mac OS X though.

whats the benefit of using iSCSI??
if it works for mac os x why not use an X system as a bridge.
ie: run your iSCSI softs on the X box and then share it to the mac os 9 systems via AFP