Hello everyone,
I’m currently working on scaling up our internal server setup and am looking into leveraging storage area networks (SAN) for better performance and reliability in our gaming-studio environment. On a tight budget, we have a mix of application servers, game build servers, and asset storage, some of which must stream to internal users with minimal latency.
Here are the key details:
I’m currently working on scaling up our internal server setup and am looking into leveraging storage area networks (SAN) for better performance and reliability in our gaming-studio environment. On a tight budget, we have a mix of application servers, game build servers, and asset storage, some of which must stream to internal users with minimal latency.
Here are the key details:
- We currently operate three 2U servers (Xeon, 32 GB RAM each) with NAS for asset storage.
- We want to adopt a SAN setup to isolate storage traffic, deliver faster access, and simplify backups.
- Our main goals: low-latency access for game assets, redundancy (RAID + dual controllers), and scalable growth in the next 12-24 months.
- Bonus requirement: compatibility with GPU render servers and streaming from the same asset store with minimal bottlenecks.
- What SAN protocol would make sense for this scale (iSCSI vs Fiber Channel vs NVMe over Fabrics)?
- Are there cost-effective gear options for small studios (10-20 concurrent users) that still perform well?
- What common pitfalls have you encountered when converting a traditional NAS environment into a SAN for game-asset workflows?