how do export a block device via eSATA?

[SilverNodashi]

Does any one know how to, if at all possible currently, to export a block device via eSATA? i.e. how do I do something like iSCSI, but over eSATA?

I have a cheat ($15 probably?) media player at home (Egreat EG-M31B Network Media Tank - awesome little machine) that runs some flavor of Debian and can be connected to any PC via eSATA as an external HDD's. i.e. it exports the built-in HDD as a block device to the host (My laptop or PC).

Now, the question is, how can I do this on Linux?
Would I need a different eSATA card than the on-board eSATA port on most motherboards? Or would the on-board one work?

The question is, how do I tell Linux to export a file system, or block device via the eSATA port?

If any one has attempted this before, then please share some knowledge or pointers on the subject. I couldn't find anything using google, but I may not necessarily have searched for the correct terms?

 

[MyWorld]

What type of eSata port does your PC have?
http://serverfault.com/questions/111850/linux-export-block-device-over-esata

I have read your other threads on the internet regarding this and you should maybe give a bit more detail here.
I thought you only wanted to connect a disk via eSata until I read the other post, what you are basically wanting to do is to setup a server with a couple of HDD's and then connect that via eSata to another server or something similar?

If I understand the first link I posted it seems like it can be done, if you have the correct SATA hardware both devices should be able to communicate with each other, but this seems like uncharted territory, like you discovered, so it seems you will have to be the pioneer and test it out to see how it's done?

 

[SilverNodashi]

What type of eSata port does your PC have?
http://serverfault.com/questions/111850/linux-export-block-device-over-esata

Well, it's not on my PC, but on a server. In fact, any server We got Dell, SuperMicro, IBM, HP.

I have read your other threads on the internet regarding this and you should maybe give a bit more detail here.
I thought you only wanted to connect a disk via eSata until I read the other post, what you are basically wanting to do is to setup a server with a couple of HDD's and then connect that via eSata to another server or something similar?

Yup, I want to setup a JBOD. i.e. a server chassis with say 16 HDD's, and then connect it to another server (typically called a JBOD HEAD) to setup a cheap SAN. Surely this should be possible. iSCSI HBA's are rather expensive and 6GBPs SATA / eSATA is very common these days.

If I understand the first link I posted it seems like it can be done, if you have the correct SATA hardware both devices should be able to communicate with each other, but this seems like uncharted territory, like you discovered, so it seems you will have to be the pioneer and test it out to see how it's done?

Ok, so I presume I need a slave device (if I look at the media device). But google search results don't have much on a eSATA slave device, so I presume it's called something else?

And it doesn't seem like an eSATA HBA is what I'm looking for either. This looks like a device to simply connect 4 eSATA devices on the PC. Which is what I'll need if I want to connect upto 4 eSATA JBOD's to the HEAD node.

 

[Grim147]

i have never heard of anyone doing anything like that please post if you ever get it right