SQL Server
Recently I wanted to test out SAN access with SQL Server while I was on the road. I wasn’t able to get access to our Data Center which runs with an IBM DS4300 SAN via Fiber Channel using a Brocade switch. Enter the Sun Unified Storage Simulator with support for iSCSI! Yes, this simulator, delivered as a VMWare virtual machine, allows you to realistically run a SAN on your laptop. It actually is a virtual version of the Sun 7000 Unified Storage System. It even comes with 16 spindles pre-configured. You can create storage pools using supported RAID levels (I chose RAID-10 for Mirroring and Striping). You can then create LUNs and install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Initiator and Windows will see your SAN. And so will SQL Server! Sun Unified Storage Simulator: http://www.sun.com/storage/disk_systems/unified_storage/resources.jsp?intcmp=2992 Very cool. cheers Brian
