Sharing a thunderbolt raid drive between two new Mac Pros

[David Roth weiss]

[Nathan Sangster] ” I was wondering if one RAID drive with 2 Thunderbolt connectors could be shared between the 2 Mac Pros.”

Reliably? Possibly, but probably not.

As has been discussed here numerous times over the last few weeks, without proper protocol, Packet loss issues will most likely create issues streaming video between multiple workstations.

David Roth Weiss
ProMax Systems
Burbank
DRW@ProMax.com

Sales | Integration | Support

David is a Creative COW contributing editor and a forum host of the Apple Final Cut Pro forum.

[Petros Kolyvas]

If the storage device doesn’t have some kind of NAS/shared-storage software/firmware, it’s not worth trying.

But a setup is most likely possible (all signs point to TCP/IP over Thunderbolt) where you’d connect the array to one Mac Pro via Thunderbolt, configure a share or two and the appropriate user permissions, and then connect the Mac Pros via Thunderbolt for speeds that may even exceed 10GigE and will probably provide more than enough bandwidth for a small(ish) (say 12 drives or less) array without a major speed deficit.

At least, that’s what I’d experiment with! 🙂

—
There is no intuitive interface, not even the nipple. It’s all learned. – Bruce Ediger

[Nathan Sangster]

Thanks, you’ve given me something to think about. I might give it a try with one but have another RAID on standby in case the data bogs down too much.

[Bob Zelin]

I will tell you what, Nathan –
you go out and buy a new Mac Pro cylinder, and use your other iMac/MB Pro with Tbolt as the other computer, and attach a new Promise Pegasus 2 to this (get the 8 bay – it will probably be fast enough). And you contact me – and I will do ALL of the setup and testing for you FOR FREE. Will it work ? I have no idea, but you seem like the person that is willing to be the guinea pig to try this out, and for that, I will assist you FOR FREE, so I can find out what the problems are with a system like this (if any). Come on Nathan – tax season is almost over for spending, so order that new Mac Pro and Promise Pegasus 2, and contact me, and I will help you FOR FREE.

Bob Zelin

Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
maxavid@cfl.rr.com

[Petros Kolyvas]

I would jump on that if I were you! (I’m not in the market for new MPs, but I’d love to know the outcome Bob!)

—
There is no intuitive interface, not even the nipple. It’s all learned. – Bruce Ediger

[Nathan Sangster]

Bob, Sounds like a great offer. Since I work for a State Government Agency, we have the request for purchases delay that has to go up the chain of command. However, I would love to push something through and take you up on that offer.

A little more background: I work for Kentucky Afield Television, which is an outdoor program produced by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife. We are celebrating 60 years of broadcasting this year. Check out our YouTube Channel (KY Afield TV) where we upload our segments from the half hour show after the show has aired statewide on the State PBS network.

[Bob Zelin]

Nathan –
you get the state of Kentucky to make this purchase, and I will make sure that Creative Cow does a detailed story on you, your department, and this test with the new hardware – AND I will buy you (and myself) a few bottles of the worlds greatest Bourbon – Kentucky Bourbon !

Everyone is very interested in how a Thunderbolt network will perform in a “real world” situation with the new Mac Pro – and if you get the hardware, I will make this happen.

Bob Zelin

Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
maxavid@cfl.rr.com

[Tim Wilson]

[Bob Zelin] ” I will make sure that Creative Cow does a detailed story on you, your department, and this test with the new hardware”

Bob, you take care of the bourbon. The story is officially greenlit.

Yr pal,
Timmy

Tim Wilson
Vice President, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW

Tim Wilson
Vice President, Editor-in-Chief
Creative COW

[Chris Murphy]

Maybe I’m missing something in the topology, but I don’t see how this works without SAN software. Otherwise it’s basically like connecting two Macs to one drive via FW 800 (or USB or SCSI for that matter), and doing writes to the single drive. If the connections actually let you do this, and the file system mounted on the two computers at the same time as read-write volumes, the file system would quickly corrupt itself beyond repair. Hence the need for SAN software.

[Nathan Sangster]

Sorry I haven’t gotten back with you sooner, I was off yesterday. I will do my best to push this through with my superiors. They agree that we need an upgrade but making the connections to push through the paperwork is a challenge. Will be in touch.