Administrator Guide
FluidFS Administration
How FS8600 Scale-Out NAS Works
Dell FS8600 scale-out NAS leverages the Dell Fluid File System (FluidFS) and Storage Centers to present file storage to Microsoft
Windows, UNIX, and Linux clients. The FluidFS cluster supports the Windows, UNIX, and Linux operating systems installed on a dedicated
server or installed on virtual systems deploying Hyper-V or VMware virtualization.
The Storage Centers present a certain amount of capacity (NAS pool) to the FluidFS cluster. This NAS pool is then divided into NAS
volumes, which in turn are used to create SMB shares and NFS exports.
Figure 38. NAS Storage
To the client, the FluidFS cluster presents itself as a single file server, hosting multiple SMB shares and NFS exports, with a single IP
address and namespace. Clients connect to the FluidFS cluster using their respective operating system's NAS protocols:
• UNIX and Linux users access files through the NFS protocol
• Windows users access files through the SMB protocol
• Users can also access files through the FTP and FTPS protocols
The FluidFS cluster serves data to all clients concurrently.
FS8600 Scale-Out NAS Terminology
The following table defines terminology related to FS8600 scale-out NAS.
Term
Description
Fluid File System (FluidFS) High-performance, scalable file system software installed on NAS controllers.
Appliance (NAS appliance) A rack-mounted 2U chassis that contains two hot-swappable NAS controllers in an active-active
configuration in a FluidFS cluster. Cache data is mirrored between the paired NAS controllers within
the NAS appliance.
Controller (NAS controller) The two primary components of a NAS appliance, each of which functions as a separate member in
the FluidFS cluster.
Peer controller The NAS controller with which a specific NAS controller is paired in a NAS appliance.
Standby controller A NAS controller that is installed with the FluidFS software but is not part of a FluidFS cluster. For
example, a new or replacement NAS controller from the Dell factory is considered a standby
controller.
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