Overland Storage REO 9000 - Manual (Page 17)

Reviewing Pre-Installation Requirements W 17
Setup Guide
Network
For best results, Overland Storage strongly recommends that you use a
dedicated GbE network to share the storage resources on the REO
Appliance among multiple backup servers.
To ensure optimum performance, always use the appropriate patch
cables to connect the REO Appliance to the backup-server storage
network. To select the appropriate cables, use the following guidelines:
„ If you intend to use GbE, you must use Category 5E (or better) cables
for GbE connections. You can use either straight-through or cross-over
cables.
„ If you intend to connect the REO Appliance to a 100 BaseT network,
use CAT 5 (or better) shielded (screened) or unshielded 100-ohm
twisted-pair RJ-45 network cables. Also:
„ If you intend to connect the Management Port, which is a 10/100
port, to an application or backup server via a switch, you must use
a straight-through cable.
„ If you intend to connect the Management Port directly to your
application or backup server (without a switch), you must use a
cross-over cable.
„ The maximum length of cable for any Ethernet-based network
connection is 328 feet (100 meters).
Note: For smaller environments, you can attach the REO Appliance
directly to a single application or backup server by using standard
Category 5E cables without the use of a switch.
iSCSI Initiators
iSCSI initiators are required to communicate with the iSCSI targets
(REO Devices) on the REO Appliance. Each backup server that will
interface with the REO Appliance must be equipped with a software- or
hardware-based initiator. The REO Appliance supports any computing
platform with an available iSCSI initiator, either in software or using an
iSCSI HBA (it must be iSCSI draft 20/version 1.0).