0

I've been comparing the Thecus N8800 Pro and the Thecus i8500 and both of them seem to support primarily the same features, what is the main difference between these 2 lines?

My primary purpose for the product would be a large data array for a File server / on site snap shots and then later a high speed array for using as storage for VHD's. Would either of those 2 products be more suited to that? Is the 8800 just better on this end because it offers 10Gbe support and has higher hardware inside it?

Chris Marisic
  • 1,434

1 Answers1

2

You're basically correct.

i8500; Pros - can have a battery-backed cache, does more RAID modes including 30,50 and 60, multi-stage snapshots Cons - only 2 x 1Gbps NICs, slower CPU and less memory

N8800P; Pros - can be upgraded to 10Gbps later if needed, faster CPU and more memory, thin provisioning for iscsi Cons - no battery-backed cache option, less RAID modes

Chopper3
  • 101,651
  • If I would need to add a Raid60 array would I be able to use the stacking capability Thecus offers and stack one of the i8500 with the N8800 or would that effectively be the same as just both standalones, what exactly does the stacking functionality offer? Or is the stacking for making an 8 drive Raid60 array into a 16 drive Raid60 array? – Chris Marisic Dec 21 '09 at 18:42
  • Also does the battery backed cache really offer anything above having a UPS, other than I guess if power goes out and the UPS uses it's charge that it can finish the last Raid access before the server is dead? – Chris Marisic Dec 21 '09 at 18:44
  • Although I have an N7700Pro at home for my own use (and therefore like them a lot) I have no professional experience with them, certainly not in stacking (at work I'm a NetApp/HP XP/EVA guy), I'd suggest you ask them directly. I'm not sure if I'd put my business in the hands of such a pro-sumer/SATA-only based device to be honest. Oh and the BBWC just decreases the chance of file corruption in the event of power-loss. – Chopper3 Dec 21 '09 at 18:50