What's the difference between the datastores and how do they operate?

Hi guys, just wanna ask what's the difference between them and how to know which deployment is better?

I know that the virtual storage is like a virtual pool by combining 2 physical storage or more as 1. For an example, the setup is using 2 nodes, node A and node B. If node A is down, node B can still run the VM as long it has the capacity to run the VM that initially ran on node A.

So does the other datastore operates in the same way as the virtual storage but different approach or they are completely different?

If possible I would like a clear comparison between the datastores regarding their types and how do they operate differently. I can just google it but i feel like maybe in Sangfor it may use a different apprach, so that's why I'm asking.

HiHi,

You can find the link below for the "Overview of Sangfor Distributed Storage" where you can find your answer.

https://knowledgebase.sangfor.com/detailPage?articleData=%7B%22articleType%22%3A1,%22articleId%22%3A%229cd1bf472e8c45c78fc6278010edea90%22,%22keyword%22%3A%22%22%7D

this might help. pls see attached

there are different kind of datastor.
local
shared SAN/NAS storage (FC, iSCSI, etc)
depending on the setup you can opt for one or more. once presented as datastor, all of them will work in the same way and troughput will be the difference between the medium.

FC (Fibre Channel) is a high-speed, dedicated storage networking technology, typically used for connecting servers to storage arrays. iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) is a storage protocol that allows block-level access to storage over standard Ethernet networks. NFS (Network File System) is a file-level storage protocol that enables shared access to files over a network. Local storage refers to the use of directly attached storage devices on a server. The choice between these storage deployments depends on factors such as performance requirements, scalability, and management preferences. FC is often chosen for high-performance and mission-critical applications, iSCSI for cost-effective block-level access over IP networks, NFS for simplicity in file sharing, and local storage for applications with lower performance demands or where centralized storage is not necessary. The best deployment depends on specific use case requirements and considerations such as budget, ease of management, and performance needs.

Other Datastore is whether you want to create a storage outside of your virtual data pool of HCI, whether locally, or act as attached network storage,

can try refer here for the differences
https://www.rcannings.com/san-storage-fc-vs-fcoe-vs-iscsi/

Hope this helps!

hi, there are some differences among Fibre Channel (FC), iSCSI, NFS, and local storage:

FC: Fibre Channel is a high-speed network technology that is used to connect servers to storage devices. It uses fiber-optic cables to transmit data and is known for its high performance and reliability. FC is typically used in enterprise environments where high-speed data transfer is critical.

iSCSI: iSCSI is a storage protocol that allows block-level access to storage devices over an IP network. It uses standard Ethernet cables and network adapters to connect servers to storage devices. iSCSI is generally viewed as less complex to implement and maintain than Fibre Channel, and it is also less expensive. However, iSCSI currently does not scale to the same performance level as a Fibre Channel SAN.

NFS: Network File System (NFS) is a distributed file system protocol that enables users to access files stored remotely, similar to how local storage is accessed. NFS is typically used in environments where file sharing is required, such as in a network of Unix or Linux systems. NFS is easy to manage and is often used in virtualization environments.

Local storage: Local storage refers to storage devices that are directly attached to sanfgor hci nodes.

NFS (Network File System) and VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) are different File Systems. NFS is a file level file system, and VMFS is a block level file system.

In a typical HCI system, including Sangfor HCI, data stores can differ in several key aspects:

1. Type of Storage:

    Virtual Data Stores: Logical pools of storage capacity created from the combined physical disks of multiple nodes. They offer flexibility, scalability, and ease of management.
    Local Data Stores: Physical disks directly attached to specific nodes, often used for high-performance workloads or specific applications with unique requirements.

2. Storage Policy:

    Erasure Coding: Data is distributed across multiple nodes with redundancy for high durability and fault tolerance, but may have some performance overhead.
    Mirroring: Data is replicated across multiple nodes for faster performance but potentially less efficient storage utilization.

3. Performance and Capacity:

    Tiered Storage: Different data stores can be configured with different performance characteristics (e.g., SSDs for high-performance workloads, HDDs for capacity-oriented workloads).

4. Access Protocols:

    NFS: Network File System, commonly used for file-level sharing.
    SMB: Server Message Block, often used for Windows-based file sharing.
    iSCSI: Internet Small Computer System Interface, a block-level storage protocol often used for virtual machines.

5. Replication and Protection:

    Replication: Data can be replicated between data stores within the HCI cluster for redundancy and disaster recovery.
    Snapshots: Point-in-time copies of data can be created for backup and recovery purposes.

The high-speed, dedicated storage networking technique known as FC (Fibre Channel) is generally utilized to link servers to storage arrays. A storage protocol called iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface) enables block-level access to storage via Ethernet networks. Shared file access over a network is made possible by the file-level storage technology known as NFS (Network File System). Using storage devices that are physically attached to a server is known as local storage.