Liverpool Linux User Group: Tom Hall - RAID / LVM December 2, 2009

Liverpool Linux User Group are a group of Linux and open source software users that meet on the first Wednesday of the month. If no talk is organised then we will usually organise a “open stage” for people to discuss projects, current news, or just to rant.

Main Talk
Tom Hall will be giving a talk; RAID and LVM: Why you want them, what they do, how to do it in Linux.

This talk introduces the block device (the abstraction that most filesystems expect to consume), and two useful ways of creating them.

Tom will explain how devices can be combined for performance and redundancy, including a discussion of the performance characteristics of RAID 0, 10, 5 and 6, a good rule of thumb for provisioning storage, how linux does it, RAIDs failings (and how smart hardware tries to avoids them). Tom will also explain how LVM works, go though some examples (including mirroring and striping and using it for KVM disks). He will try to also talk about network block protocols like iSCSI and AoE, Distributed Replicated Block Device and the Network Block Device.

In the new year (or the pub) Tom will be talking about how the ZFS/btrfs filesystems collapse the stack and do something like what RAID/LVM do by (depending on your view) telescoping some complexity or rampantly violating layers.

Open Stage
As per usual, time will be allocated to the end of the talk for anyone to give a five minute talk on any subject. If you want some time just drop me a mail or grab me on the day.

Doors are usually open before 7:00pm if people want to meet up in the centre, The Liverpool Social Centre is two doors up from Forbidden Planet and is the right-hand door at the front of “News From Nowhere”. Check the window for a handy Liverpool LUG sign, which will indicate we are there and not still at the pub. Press the white doorbell for access (the one marked basement) and someone will come up and open the door for you.

This month we're sharing the location with a book group, so be aware if someone strange opens the door for you. Ask for the Linux group and you should be OK.

After any talks are finished will usually stay in the meeting area until 8:00pm then head out to a local pub, The pub varies from month to month and usually depends on the size of the crowd. If you arrive late and unsure of where we are then give one of the contacts a ring.

Official Website: http://livlug.org.uk/meetings:2009_december