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©2008-14 Overland Storage, Inc.
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Chapter 1
Overview
SnapScale is a flexible, scalable, low-maintenance network-attached storage cluster composed
of a redundant array of independent nodes running RAINcloudOS (ROS). This guide applies to
SnapScale nodes running RAINcloudOS version 4.1.
Offering user-selectable levels of data redundancy, SnapScale uses File-level Striping to write
data across multiple nodes and drives simultaneously for instant protection and high
availability. With a SnapScale cluster, volumes can be configured, created, provisioned, and
grown on demand. Special features such as Data Balancer redistributes files to optimize
performance and Spare Distributor evenly distributes spare drives across nodes. Files can be
accessed either through NFS or CIFS/SMB protocols. SnapScale Flexible Volumes
automatically adjust capacity so they only occupy as much space as their data requires.
Topics in Overview:
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Using SnapServer Manager with SnapScale
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SnapScale Conventions
The SnapScale cluster supports three or more nodes hosting redundant sets of data for data
protection. An Administrator can configure, add, or remove nodes on demand to change
storage requirements. The overall storage system is able to easily grow from three nodes to
meet your needs.
