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Background:

I have a HP DL580 G5 Server with 128GB RAM and 4 Quad Cores but not much local storage just enough for OS and stuff.

I also have another HP StorageWorks X1400 G2 Network Storage System based on DL320 G6 which has plenty of available storage but not much horsepower.

What I would like to do is keep my virtual machines on HP Storage Works x1400 and run from DL580.

I have tried with 1 Gigabit ethernet but when you want to run multiple VMs it's not fast enough - things load slow.

I'm looking for the most economical piece of hardware that I can use to connect these two machines. It needs to:

  • have a similar connectivity to a DAS
  • let me store VMs on the G6, and run them over the connection on the G5
  • be professional quality, if possible
  • have as low a price tag as possible

The G5 server has a PCIe slot; I had wondered if I could use this as a basis for the hardware. Bonus points if that's the case.

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    Does it really need to "seem" like a DAS device, or does it just need to be fast? Given you've already got a kitted-out DL320 G6, I think it makes far more sense to create a NAS and enable Direct Attach than to just pass the disks through to the DL580 G5.
    – JMY1000 ♦
    Jan 18, 2020 at 18:50

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I guess the most inexpensive, yet high-performing approach is to get a pair of 10G Ethernet NICs like Intel X520 and a DAC to connect them (~100€ used).

You'll need to set up a storage protocol like iSCSI though. Depending on the operating systems, an iSCSI target (for the X1400) and an initiator (for the DL580) may or may not be included or available.

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