Xsan 2 box (2008)

This Xsan 2 retail box from 2008 includes the software to set up Apple’s SAN (Storage Area Network) solution on a Mac with a G5 processor with an Apple Fibre Channel card running Mac OS X or Mac OS X Server 10.5 or later.

The box uses the tagline, “Share terabytes of storage. Zero bottlenecks.”

The four key technologies highlighted on the box include:

  • Simplified setup
  • MultiSAN
  • Full-throttle performance
  • Spotlight

The Xsan 2 setup guide is not for the faint of heart. It lists “Equipment You’ll Need” and specifies, “To set up a SAN using the instructions in this guide, you need:”

  • RAID storage devices for SAN storage
  • Two computers running Mac OS X Server v10.5 to act as SAN metadata controllers
  • One or more SAN client computers running Mac OS X v10.5 or Mac OS X Server v10.5
  • An Intel or PowerPC G5 processor and at least 2 GB of RAM in each SAN computer
  • An additional 2 GB per SAN volume in each metadata controller that hosts more
  • than one SAN volume
  • An Apple Fibre Channel PCI, PCI-X, or PCI-E card installed in each SAN computer
  • A Fibre Channel switch and cables for all storage devices and computers
  • An Ethernet switch and cables for the private SAN metadata network
  • A second Ethernet switch and cables for public intranet and Internet access
  • An equipment rack for your RAID storage systems and Xserve computers
  • A list of qualified RAID systems and Fibre Channel switches is available on the Xsan website at www.apple.com/xsan

Source: Apple