The  D-Link®  DSN-1100-10  xStack  Storage  4x1GbE  iSCSI SAN Array provides a smaller, more value-oriented solution for  entry-level  and  SMB  customers.  The  heart  of  the DSN-1100 is based on the same powerful System-on-a-Chip (SoC) design  found  in  larger arrays  such as  the DSN-3000 Series of products, but housed in a smaller chassis. Utilizing a 10Gbit iSCSI SoC solution that can handle over 80,000 I/Os per  second,  the   DSN-1100  is  capable  of  supporting  5TBs of  raw  capacity  using  1TB  hard  drives  (and  even  higher capacity hard drives as  they are  introduced). The DSN-1100 can  easily  be  implemented  as  nearline  storage  or  as  a supplement to your primary backup and recovery device. This evolutionary advancement in performance is a testament to
the  tightly  integrated xStack Storage architecture and  is a sharp contrast to the discrete implementation of competing products.

iSCSI for IP Networks
SAN  has  been  traditionally  reserved  for  Fibre  Channel networks until the recent introduction of iSCSI extended this powerful  yet  simple  centralized  backend  storage  system to  IP  networks.  By  utilizing  existing  Ethernet  technology, the cost associated with separate host bus adapters and the per-Gigabyte cost  for storage  is signifcantly reduced. iSCSI SANs can  leverage  the Ethernet  infrastructure and standards that are already familiar to your IT staff.

Four 1GbE Interfaces
The  DSN-1100  implements  four  1GbE  ports  that  support IEEE 802.3ad Link Aggregation Groups (LAG) for full offoad capability. This allows all four ports to be grouped together for  up  to  425MB/s  bandwidth,  increasing  throughput  and redundancy.

System-on-a-Chip (SoC) Implementation
By  utilizing  a  SoC  design,  the  DSN-1100  combines both  networking  and  storage  functions  into  a  single specialized Application Specifc  Integrated Circuit  (ASIC). The  SoC  solution  combines  10Gbps  iSCSI,  TCP  &  IP offoad,  embedded  processors,  and  storage  virtualization frmware onto a single chip. The  tight  integration of  these functions  eliminates  interoperability,  timing,  and  support issues  found  in  competitive  products  that  offer  “discrete implementation” wherein  all  the  various  components  are chosen  separately  and  then  assembled.  The  DSN-1100 outperforms  these  discrete  implementations  and  does  so at a lower price point, while delivering mission-critical data quickly with state-of-the-art reliability.

RAID for Effciency
The DSN-1100 features fve hot swappable Serial ATA (SATA) disk  drive  bays  supporting  5TB  raw  capacity  using  1TB hard drives (and even higher capacity hard drives as they are introduced) in RAID level 0, 1, 1+0 and 5 confgurations. You can quickly deploy a SAN using inexpensive SATA disk drives and, depending on your growing storage needs, you can simply add more drives as you go.

Embedded Centralized Storage Management
The embedded, user-friendly IP-SAN Device Manager (IDM) provides  comprehensive  network  storage  management. Boasting  a  rich  set  of  management  features,  this  suite of utilities allows monitoring and control of  your SAN  via the  Storage Management  Initiative-Specifcation  (SMI-S) command set. Combined with an embedded secure server, users will be able  to remotely confgure and monitor  their SAN storage subsystems.

Advanced Management Features
The  DSN-1100  provides  additional  advanced  features  for effcient  management  of  network  storage  and  optimal performance.

For  the  fastest RAID performance offered  in  the  industry, the  D-Link  adaptive  cache  management  provides  write coalescing  and  multi-stream  read-ahead  on  a  volume basis,  optimizing  cache  utilization  and  performance  in an  application-dependent  manner.  Volatile  cache  data protection  is  afforded  via  an  on-board  battery  that  is designed to back up to 1GB of cached memory for at least 72 hours.  A write-back or write-through cache memory policy can be selected manually or automatically, depending on the battery’s charge.

VLAN  Zoning  supports  IEEE  802.1q  VLAN  tagging  to segregate traffc into isolated zones for secure access and jumbo frames, improving network throughput and reducing CPU overhead. Volume  Virtualization  utilizes  the  concept  of  storage Extents.  Extents  are  the  fundamental  building  blocks used  to  enable  features  such  as  RAID,  online  capacity expansion and volume migration. Drives of dissimilar size can be used to create volumes. Growth can occur without volume  migration  or  reconstruction.  Single  drives  can contain multiple and divergent RAID technologies. Volume structure  can  also  provide  infrastructure  for  Snapshot copies.

RAID Support for RAID Levels 0, 1, 1+0 and 5 (striped sets, mirrored sets, striped mirrored sets, and parity sets) allows for different storage options.Online  Capacity  Expansion  and  RAID  Level  Migration are  performed  online  with  minimal  impact  on  users.  For example,  a  mirror  volume  of  two  drives  can  easily  be converted to a parity volume of three or more drives while users continue to access this storage. Micro  Rebuilds  provide  protection  against  unresponsive SATA  commands  by  forcing  a  response  within  a  preset time limit.

An iSCSI array can prove to be a valuable tool to supplement your  network  storage  foundation.  Whether  providing  a  low-cost block-based solution for data backup and recovery, replacement  of  Direct-Attached  Storage  (DAS)  drives, or  providing  a  cost-effective  entry-level  nearline  storage solution, the DSN-1100 can meet all of your immediate needs.