Dell Storage SC9000: Intelligent Storage for Efficient Data Center
Growing storage performance requirements are forcing vendors to look for new approaches to creating an optimal storage architecture and, along with traditional disks, to use flash memory. Development of servers and storage systems is one of the priorities of Dell, where the company invests heavily. It currently offers new backup and storage systems for various types of businesses. Let's take a closer look at the Dell SC9000 storage system .
The new Dell SC9000 disk array was released in October 2015 and definitely deserves to take a closer look at it. This flagship solution can already be seen in the major data centers of the world. But the system should look and medium-sized companies. SC9000 storage with multi-petabyte capacity and the operating system Storage Center 7.0 offers new opportunities for IT departments.
The SC9000 hardware platform, the oldest in the SC series array lineup, is characterized by the highest performance and scalability — up to 960 SAS SSD and / or HDD drives per array, and the arrays can be grouped into groups (federation).
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The platform, which has already proven its reliability, is equipped with new 8-core Intel processors, the memory capacity of the system memory is quadrupled, and the SAS 12 Gb / s interface is used as a backend. The system supports SAN protocols (FC, iSCSI, FCoE), as well as NAS through an optional FS8600 device.
System performance compared with previous SC products increased by 40%. Internal tests showed that the performance of the SC9000 array exceeds 360 thousand IOPS with a delay of less than a millisecond. In addition, the bandwidth has doubled, and this means no bottlenecks with increasing load.
At the heart of the Dell SC9000 is the new Dell PowerEdge 13th generation server platform with four 8-core Intel Xeon processors with a clock speed of 3.2 GHz and main memory up to 512 GB. The system can be configured as a flash array or hybrid storage.
Thanks to the use of redundant and hot-plug components, the SC9000 is a fault tolerant and easy-to-deploy solution with high availability. Expansion shelves SC400 / 420, SC200 / 220 or SC280 allow you to increase capacity. The system supports unified management with the SC8000, SC4020, SCv2000 arrays.
The capacity of the flash array is up to 46 TB per 1U (without data compression). This density was achieved thanks to the use of three-level memory Samsung TLC 3D NAND in the storage system. The SC9000 system provides more than 3 PB of clean capacity, and arrays can be grouped together if workloads require large amounts of storage.
The SC280 expansion shelves (and this is 96 HDD 3.5 ”) provide more than 100 TB of capacity per 1U. This can be used for media archives or in applications that work with large files.
Despite the impressive characteristics of the hardware platform, the SC9000 owes its many qualities to software. The virtualized Storage Center software environment with automation features makes the system more economical and adequate for a wide range of tasks.
Comparison of software of the SC series arrays.
Featuring new features, Dell Storage Center 7.0 software provides enhanced support for Dell Storage SC Series devices in private cloud environments and other mission-critical applications. Let's see what's new.
Considering that the high cost of flash memory is a major barrier to adopting this technology, Dell has focused on increasing the efficiency of using drives to reduce their cost. Many vendors claim optimization, but a simplified approach is often used with a single storage level, in which all types of flash memory behave the same way.
Modern Dell virtualization technologies allow you to use different types of flash memory in the same array to run different workloads and different use cases. Thanks to this, the company was able to produce a series of high-speed and efficient arrays, both completely based on flash memory and in a hybrid version.
The Dell auto-tiering takes into account different price / performance parameters for different types of SSDs. That is, to achieve high performance in IOPS, you will not need to pay an exorbitant amount. That's why Dell flash arrays cost just 0.65 cents per gigabyte. Well, in hybrid storage, this figure is even lower.
To increase the life of the 3D NAND memory, a tiring mechanism is involved - moving data between storage levels.
The first level (Tier 1) is represented by SLC or eMLC flash memory, which can withstand a large number of rewriting cycles, the second (Tier 2) by 3D NAND memory, in which relatively rarely used data is written, and in compressed form. Some models have a third level (Tier 3) - HDD.
The system configuration (the ratio of the capacity of different types of flash memory and hard drives) can be selected taking into account the nature of the load: for this there is a corresponding utility. WI - for intensive writing, RI –- for intensive reading
Dell-based tiring methods are among the most comprehensive in the industry. SC arrays allow you to create unified SAN and / or NAS storage pools from heterogeneous systems, form volumes of different types of media (including Tier 0 in them - server-side cache), set flexible RAID configurations. Due to the automatic placement of data at the appropriate level of storage, real-time “warming up” of the data and its “cooling down” are accelerated. But the main thing is that management is simplified, and it is possible to squeeze everything out of the drives in terms of performance.
Intelligent data placement and storage optimization at all levels.
The patented technology of automatic multi-level data placement uses the main advantages of various types of drives to optimize data throughout the life cycle.
The same virtualization, which helps the SC series arrays demonstrate their advantages in the price / performance ratio, allows you to implement new solutions. A good example is the TLC 3D NAND. By releasing Mainstream Read-Intensive drives last summer, Dell halved the cost of Tier 2 flash memory without sacrificing durability or performance. TLC memory is successfully used in its high-end arrays, while competitors are still trying to change the architecture of lower-level single-level systems.
Simultaneous vertical and horizontal scalability makes SC arrays well extensible.
The SC9000 flexible self-optimizing system allows you to get more than 3 PB of net capacity and combine arrays into groups, providing the necessary capacity for large workloads. The SC9000 provides fast, modular expansion with support for storage area networks (SANs) and network-attached storage systems (NASs). It can also be connected to other arrays of the SC series in larger federated systems with unified management.
SCOS software includes an optional “storage hypervisor” that allows you to easily move data across the “federation” of arrays. And even in the case of increasing one disk array, you can get the capacity and performance of a large distributed system with unified management.
Dell Volume Advisor will advise on proactive load balancing based on preset rules. It monitors the federation of arrays and advises where to place the data.
SC series arrays with SCOS 7.0 software support intelligent data compression on flash drives and HDD. This results in significant savings in capacity. The compression function is integrated with the tearing, so compression does not reduce performance. At the same time such functions as dynamic distribution of capacity are active.
Data compression provides significant savings in storage capacity, which is especially important for flash memory.
Due to data compression, reaching 93% in the case of Microsoft SQL databases, the solution becomes even more economical: the flash array is comparable in price to a disk array based on HDD SAS 15k.
Compression occurs when data blocks move to lower levels, thereby reducing the effect of data compression on system performance. When moving active blocks to upper levels, they remain compressed.
New SCOS 7.0 feature called Live Volume Auto-Failover prevents unplanned downtime. In the event of a failure, the Storage Center software redirects the load to the backup volumes synchronized with the primary on another array and starts the recovery procedure. Administrator intervention is not required.
By reassigning hosts, you can make changes to storage without affecting users and applications.
Moving volumes transparent to the server between arrays in a federated cluster improves cache and capacity utilization with increasing loads.
Another remarkable technology SC9000 - the function of automatic replacement of the failed array Live Volume, which allows you to work without downtime. It makes it possible to “stretch” volumes between sites using the means of the disk array itself. As a result, an inexpensive, disaster-proof solution is created that does not require reorganization of the data storage architecture.
The Live Volume feature with automatic failover ensures continuous system operation during power outages and automatically restores the high availability environment when the array is turned on. Installation of additional equipment or software is not required.
The Live Volume feature on the SC series arrays is well suited for cloud environments. It provides disaster recovery and transparent automatic switching to fully synchronized volumes on another array of the SC series.
At the application level, snapshots are supported in the Oracle environment, cloud environments on the Microsoft Azure platform, VMware Metro Stretch Clusters. The Azure Site Recovery feature backs up your Microsoft cloud infrastructure. It also provides integrated protection for Oracle, Microsoft and VMware environments.
The Application Protection Manager suite of programs ensures data integrity on a server in Oracle, VMware, and MS database environments. Optional FIPS certified SSDs and self-encrypting hard drives protect data from theft, loss, or unauthorized access. And the built-in advanced features include comprehensive "subtle" methods for managing system resources.
In conclusion, we compare the array with competitors:
The SC9000 array is the right solution for large storage systems, heavy workloads and distributed enterprise environments. The SC9000 doesn’t just improve performance: its intelligent, virtualized architecture automatically optimizes cost and storage capacity, maximizing savings.
The Dell SC9000 storage arrays are designed to help companies with large data storage centers more confidently and quickly achieve important goals, spending less money and time. Dell provides customers with flexible, integrated solutions that can quickly adapt to changing needs, offers a solution with a record low cost of storing a gigabyte of data based on solid-state drives thanks to a new type of TLC 3D memory.
Hardware platform
The new Dell SC9000 disk array was released in October 2015 and definitely deserves to take a closer look at it. This flagship solution can already be seen in the major data centers of the world. But the system should look and medium-sized companies. SC9000 storage with multi-petabyte capacity and the operating system Storage Center 7.0 offers new opportunities for IT departments.
The SC9000 hardware platform, the oldest in the SC series array lineup, is characterized by the highest performance and scalability — up to 960 SAS SSD and / or HDD drives per array, and the arrays can be grouped into groups (federation).
')
The platform, which has already proven its reliability, is equipped with new 8-core Intel processors, the memory capacity of the system memory is quadrupled, and the SAS 12 Gb / s interface is used as a backend. The system supports SAN protocols (FC, iSCSI, FCoE), as well as NAS through an optional FS8600 device.
System performance compared with previous SC products increased by 40%. Internal tests showed that the performance of the SC9000 array exceeds 360 thousand IOPS with a delay of less than a millisecond. In addition, the bandwidth has doubled, and this means no bottlenecks with increasing load.
At the heart of the Dell SC9000 is the new Dell PowerEdge 13th generation server platform with four 8-core Intel Xeon processors with a clock speed of 3.2 GHz and main memory up to 512 GB. The system can be configured as a flash array or hybrid storage.
Thanks to the use of redundant and hot-plug components, the SC9000 is a fault tolerant and easy-to-deploy solution with high availability. Expansion shelves SC400 / 420, SC200 / 220 or SC280 allow you to increase capacity. The system supports unified management with the SC8000, SC4020, SCv2000 arrays.
The capacity of the flash array is up to 46 TB per 1U (without data compression). This density was achieved thanks to the use of three-level memory Samsung TLC 3D NAND in the storage system. The SC9000 system provides more than 3 PB of clean capacity, and arrays can be grouped together if workloads require large amounts of storage.
The SC280 expansion shelves (and this is 96 HDD 3.5 ”) provide more than 100 TB of capacity per 1U. This can be used for media archives or in applications that work with large files.
Software
Despite the impressive characteristics of the hardware platform, the SC9000 owes its many qualities to software. The virtualized Storage Center software environment with automation features makes the system more economical and adequate for a wide range of tasks.
Comparison of software of the SC series arrays.
Featuring new features, Dell Storage Center 7.0 software provides enhanced support for Dell Storage SC Series devices in private cloud environments and other mission-critical applications. Let's see what's new.
Improved flash optimization
Considering that the high cost of flash memory is a major barrier to adopting this technology, Dell has focused on increasing the efficiency of using drives to reduce their cost. Many vendors claim optimization, but a simplified approach is often used with a single storage level, in which all types of flash memory behave the same way.
Modern Dell virtualization technologies allow you to use different types of flash memory in the same array to run different workloads and different use cases. Thanks to this, the company was able to produce a series of high-speed and efficient arrays, both completely based on flash memory and in a hybrid version.
The Dell auto-tiering takes into account different price / performance parameters for different types of SSDs. That is, to achieve high performance in IOPS, you will not need to pay an exorbitant amount. That's why Dell flash arrays cost just 0.65 cents per gigabyte. Well, in hybrid storage, this figure is even lower.
Deep tearing not limited to flash memory
To increase the life of the 3D NAND memory, a tiring mechanism is involved - moving data between storage levels.
The first level (Tier 1) is represented by SLC or eMLC flash memory, which can withstand a large number of rewriting cycles, the second (Tier 2) by 3D NAND memory, in which relatively rarely used data is written, and in compressed form. Some models have a third level (Tier 3) - HDD.
The system configuration (the ratio of the capacity of different types of flash memory and hard drives) can be selected taking into account the nature of the load: for this there is a corresponding utility. WI - for intensive writing, RI –- for intensive reading
Dell-based tiring methods are among the most comprehensive in the industry. SC arrays allow you to create unified SAN and / or NAS storage pools from heterogeneous systems, form volumes of different types of media (including Tier 0 in them - server-side cache), set flexible RAID configurations. Due to the automatic placement of data at the appropriate level of storage, real-time “warming up” of the data and its “cooling down” are accelerated. But the main thing is that management is simplified, and it is possible to squeeze everything out of the drives in terms of performance.
Intelligent data placement and storage optimization at all levels.
The patented technology of automatic multi-level data placement uses the main advantages of various types of drives to optimize data throughout the life cycle.
The rapid introduction of new technologies
The same virtualization, which helps the SC series arrays demonstrate their advantages in the price / performance ratio, allows you to implement new solutions. A good example is the TLC 3D NAND. By releasing Mainstream Read-Intensive drives last summer, Dell halved the cost of Tier 2 flash memory without sacrificing durability or performance. TLC memory is successfully used in its high-end arrays, while competitors are still trying to change the architecture of lower-level single-level systems.
Fast vertical and horizontal scaling to meet data storage and performance needs.
Simultaneous vertical and horizontal scalability makes SC arrays well extensible.
The SC9000 flexible self-optimizing system allows you to get more than 3 PB of net capacity and combine arrays into groups, providing the necessary capacity for large workloads. The SC9000 provides fast, modular expansion with support for storage area networks (SANs) and network-attached storage systems (NASs). It can also be connected to other arrays of the SC series in larger federated systems with unified management.
SCOS software includes an optional “storage hypervisor” that allows you to easily move data across the “federation” of arrays. And even in the case of increasing one disk array, you can get the capacity and performance of a large distributed system with unified management.
Dell Volume Advisor will advise on proactive load balancing based on preset rules. It monitors the federation of arrays and advises where to place the data.
Efficient use of capacity
SC series arrays with SCOS 7.0 software support intelligent data compression on flash drives and HDD. This results in significant savings in capacity. The compression function is integrated with the tearing, so compression does not reduce performance. At the same time such functions as dynamic distribution of capacity are active.
Data compression provides significant savings in storage capacity, which is especially important for flash memory.
Due to data compression, reaching 93% in the case of Microsoft SQL databases, the solution becomes even more economical: the flash array is comparable in price to a disk array based on HDD SAS 15k.
Compression occurs when data blocks move to lower levels, thereby reducing the effect of data compression on system performance. When moving active blocks to upper levels, they remain compressed.
Permanent availability
New SCOS 7.0 feature called Live Volume Auto-Failover prevents unplanned downtime. In the event of a failure, the Storage Center software redirects the load to the backup volumes synchronized with the primary on another array and starts the recovery procedure. Administrator intervention is not required.
By reassigning hosts, you can make changes to storage without affecting users and applications.
Moving volumes transparent to the server between arrays in a federated cluster improves cache and capacity utilization with increasing loads.
Another remarkable technology SC9000 - the function of automatic replacement of the failed array Live Volume, which allows you to work without downtime. It makes it possible to “stretch” volumes between sites using the means of the disk array itself. As a result, an inexpensive, disaster-proof solution is created that does not require reorganization of the data storage architecture.
The Live Volume feature with automatic failover ensures continuous system operation during power outages and automatically restores the high availability environment when the array is turned on. Installation of additional equipment or software is not required.
The Live Volume feature on the SC series arrays is well suited for cloud environments. It provides disaster recovery and transparent automatic switching to fully synchronized volumes on another array of the SC series.
Enterprise Application Integration
At the application level, snapshots are supported in the Oracle environment, cloud environments on the Microsoft Azure platform, VMware Metro Stretch Clusters. The Azure Site Recovery feature backs up your Microsoft cloud infrastructure. It also provides integrated protection for Oracle, Microsoft and VMware environments.
The Application Protection Manager suite of programs ensures data integrity on a server in Oracle, VMware, and MS database environments. Optional FIPS certified SSDs and self-encrypting hard drives protect data from theft, loss, or unauthorized access. And the built-in advanced features include comprehensive "subtle" methods for managing system resources.
In conclusion, we compare the array with competitors:
The SC9000 array is the right solution for large storage systems, heavy workloads and distributed enterprise environments. The SC9000 doesn’t just improve performance: its intelligent, virtualized architecture automatically optimizes cost and storage capacity, maximizing savings.
The Dell SC9000 storage arrays are designed to help companies with large data storage centers more confidently and quickly achieve important goals, spending less money and time. Dell provides customers with flexible, integrated solutions that can quickly adapt to changing needs, offers a solution with a record low cost of storing a gigabyte of data based on solid-state drives thanks to a new type of TLC 3D memory.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/303796/
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