Converged storage

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Difference between non-converged, converged and hyper-converged network storage. Hyperconvergence.jpg
Difference between non-converged, converged and hyper-converged network storage.

Converged storage is a storage architecture that combines storage and computing resources into a single entity. This can result in the development of platforms for server centric, storage centric or hybrid workloads where applications and data come together to improve application performance and delivery. [1] The combination of storage and compute differs to the traditional IT model in which computation and storage take place in separate or siloed computer equipment. [2] The traditional model requires discrete provisioning changes, such as upgrades and planned migrations, in the face of server load changes, which are increasingly dynamic with virtualization, where converged storage increases the supply of resources along with new VM demands in parallel. [3]

Contents

Design considerations

The goal of converged storage is to bring together server and storage [4] and/or application and data to deliver services that are better optimized for target workloads. [5] This can mean server and storage converged within a common hardware platform. For example, a blade server enclosure, applications and storage can be brought together within a server by virtualization. Server and storage can be managed as a resource pool, for example in infrastructure- as-a-service (IaaS).

Common hardware platform

Industry standard servers, such as those using Intel processors (x86), form the basis of converged storage. [6] [7] As these servers follow Moore’s Law and increase power and performance they have the capabilities to run storage workloads, in addition to being compute servers. Data centers can further consolidate and minimize the use of physical space and energy by using industry-standard –based blade server for both server and storage. [8] [9]

Common software

In server virtualization, multiple “virtual” servers operate on a single platform using hypervisor technology. These virtual servers could be running traditional server tasks, such as applications programming. By using storage controller software, these servers could also be made into data storage systems. [10] This latter architecture is known as virtual machine-based storage. The storage software is often called a VSA−virtual SAN appliance [11] or virtual storage appliance. VSA products from companies such as HP, Nutanix and VMware allow users to build storage-area networks using their existing servers. [12] [13] [14] [15]

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS)

The goal of IaaS is to provide a pool of resources [16] that can be quickly deployed to deliver new services. This requires a service designer to lay out the required characteristics for a new service or application and an orchestration (computing) engine [17] to configure the underlying infrastructure to deliver the new service.

Characteristics

Scale-out architecture

Scale-out architecture is a component of converged storage. Scale-out storage is the combination of modular computers and standardized storage components to create federated storage pools. [18] The result is an increase of computer power, bandwidth and storage capacity that can exceed that of a single traditional storage array or high performance computer. [19] Storage vendors such as NetApp, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and EMC provide scale-out storage to address both the growth of unstructured data and the need to simplify data center operations. [20] At the file system level, parallel file systems like BeeGFS are available to provide a single namespace with automatic data distribution for shared network access across the internal storage devices of multiple servers.

Scale-out storage differs from scale-up architectures in traditional storage, which primarily scales by adding many individual disk drives to a single non-clustered storage controller. [21] In a scale-out architecture, management software is used to manage the multiple storage devices, to act like a single system. [22] Storage analyst company, Enterprise Strategy Group, writes that scale-out storage can help to provide timely IT provisioning, improve system availability and provide better resource utilization. [23]

Federation

Storage federation (also known as federated storage) uses distributed volume management to shift workloads from busy arrays to those with available capacity. This is done using native peer-to-peer communication. [24] Multiple autonomous storage systems are combined and managed as a single storage pool. [25] This helps to improve storage utilization, balance workloads and ease storage migration.

Multitenant architecture

Converged storage supports the multitenant (multitenancy) architecture of cloud computing, in which multiple machines or users access the virtual and physical resources at the same time. In addition to storage, the other resources accessed in this architecture are processors and networks. [26] A converged storage does this by moving application workloads between disk systems. [27]

Comparisons to traditional storage architectures

Monolithic storage architectures

Monolithic storage architectures share RAM across multiple IO controllers. They have been characterized as large storage arrays that require a large upfront investment and resources. Hitachi Vantara, is quoted as saying such storage requires enterprises to spend $500,000 on customizing their data centers to support the power requirements of monolithic equipment. [28] Monolithic arrays provide failover benefits. The shared cache architecture of monolithic arrays ensures that if one cache module fails, another cache is used to process the user's request. However once you have more than a single system this architecture is complex and requires investment to manage and control the interactions between the different components. [29] Monolithic architectures support both block and file-based architectures, either independently or in a unified storage system that brings together both block and file. [30]

Direct-attached storage

Direct-attached storage (DAS) provides scaling of storage directly attached to the server. The storage is dedicated to a single server and is not sharable among multiple servers. Data stored on a Storage area network (SAN) and network-attached storage (NAS) architectures can be shared among several server applications. [31]

Related Research Articles

Network-attached storage Computer data storage server

Network-attached storage (NAS) is a file-level computer data storage server connected to a computer network providing data access to a heterogeneous group of clients. The term "NAS" can refer to both the technology and systems involved, or a specialized device built for such functionality.

NetApp American technology company

NetApp, Inc. is an American hybrid cloud data services and data management company headquartered in San Jose, California. It has ranked in the Fortune 500 from 2012–2021. Founded in 1992 with an IPO in 1995, NetApp offers cloud data services for management of applications and data both online and physically.

A virtual storage area network is a logical representation of a physical storage area network (SAN). A VSAN abstracts the storage-related operations from the physical storage layer, and provides shared storage access to the applications and virtual machines by combining the servers' local storage over a network into a single or multiple storage pools.

HP StorageWorks

The HPE Storage is a portfolio of HPE storage products, includes online storage, nearline storage, storage networking, archiving, de-duplication, and storage software. HP and their predecessor, the Compaq Corporation, has developed some of industry-first storage technologies to simplify network storage. HP is a proponent of converged storage, a storage architecture that combines storage and compute into a single entity.

In computer science, storage virtualization is "the process of presenting a logical view of the physical storage resources to" a host computer system, "treating all storage media in the enterprise as a single pool of storage."

Dynamic Infrastructure is an information technology concept related to the design of data centers, whereby the underlying hardware and software can respond dynamically and more efficiently to changing levels of demand. In other words, data center assets such as storage and processing power can be provisioned to meet surges in user's needs. The concept has also been referred to as Infrastructure 2.0 and Next Generation Data Center.

Eucalyptus is a paid and open-source computer software for building Amazon Web Services (AWS)-compatible private and hybrid cloud computing environments, originally developed by the company Eucalyptus Systems. Eucalyptus is an acronym for Elastic Utility Computing Architecture for Linking Your Programs To Useful Systems. Eucalyptus enables pooling compute, storage, and network resources that can be dynamically scaled up or down as application workloads change. Mårten Mickos was the CEO of Eucalyptus. In September 2014, Eucalyptus was acquired by Hewlett-Packard and then maintained by DXC Technology. After DXC stopped developing the product in late 2017, AppScale Systems forked the code and started supporting Eucalyptus customers.

Universal Storage Platform Enterprise storage array

Universal Storage Platform (USP) was the brand name for an Hitachi Data Systems line of computer data storage disk arrays circa 2004 to 2010.

Virtual Storage Platform is the brand name for a Hitachi Data Systems line of computer data storage systems for data centers. Model numbers include G200, G400, G600, G800, G1000, G1500 and G5500

Converged infrastructure

Converged infrastructure is a way of structuring an information technology (IT) system which groups multiple components into a single optimized computing package. Components of a converged infrastructure may include servers, data storage devices, networking equipment and software for IT infrastructure management, automation and orchestration.

HP Cloud Service Automation is cloud management software from Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) that is used by companies and government agencies to automate the management of cloud-based IT-as-a-service, from order, to provision, and retirement. HP Cloud Service Automation orchestrates the provisioning and deployment of complex IT services such as of databases, middleware, and packaged applications. The software speeds deployment of application-based services across hybrid cloud delivery platforms and traditional IT environments.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise and its predecessor entities have a long history of developing and selling networking products. Today it offers campus and small business networking products through its wholly owned company Aruba Networks which was acquired in 2015. Prior to this, HP Networking was the entity within HP offering networking products.

HP ConvergedSystem is a portfolio of system-based products from Hewlett-Packard (HP) that integrates preconfigured IT components into systems for virtualization, cloud computing, big data, collaboration, converged management, and client virtualization. Composed of servers, storage, networking, and integrated software and services, the systems are designed to address the cost and complexity of data center operations and maintenance by pulling the IT components together into a single resource pool so they are easier to manage and faster to deploy. Where previously it would take three to six months from the time of order to get a system up and running, it now reportedly takes as few as 20 days with the HP ConvergedSystem.

VCE (company) American computer hardware brand

VCE was a division of EMC Corporation that manufactured converged infrastructure appliances for enterprise environments. Founded in 2009 under the name Acadia, it was originally a joint venture between EMC and Cisco Systems, with additional investments by Intel and EMC subsidiary VMware. EMC acquired a 90% controlling stake in VCE from Cisco in October 2014, giving it majority ownership. VCE ended in 2016 after an internal division realignment, followed by the sale of EMC to Dell.

Software-defined storage (SDS) is a marketing term for computer data storage software for policy-based provisioning and management of data storage independent of the underlying hardware. Software-defined storage typically includes a form of storage virtualization to separate the storage hardware from the software that manages it. The software enabling a software-defined storage environment may also provide policy management for features such as data deduplication, replication, thin provisioning, snapshots and backup.

HP Cloud Set of cloud computing services

HP Cloud was a set of cloud computing services available from Hewlett-Packard (HP) that offered public cloud, private cloud, hybrid cloud, managed private cloud, and other cloud services. It was the combination of the previous HP Converged Cloud business unit and HP Cloud Services, which is the OpenStack technology-based public cloud. It was marketed to enterprise organizations to combine public cloud services with internal IT resources to create hybrid clouds, or a mix of private and public cloud environments, from about 2011 until 2016.

PernixData was a software company based in San Jose, California. PernixData was founded in 2012, and acquired in 2016. Its main product is PernixData FVP, which is software for virtualizing server-side flash memory and random-access memory (RAM).

ViPR Controller is a software-defined storage offering from EMC Corporation announced on May 6, 2013, at EMC World. ViPR abstracts storage from disparate arrays into a single pool of storage capacity that “makes it easier to manage and automate its own data-storage devices and those made by competitors.” ViPR became generally available September 27, 2013.

Dell Technologies PowerFlex Software-defined storage product

Dell Technologies PowerFlex, is a commercial software-defined storage product from Dell Technologies that creates a server-based storage area network (SAN) from local server storage using x86 servers. It converts this direct-attached storage into shared block storage than runs over an IP-based network.

ONTAP or Data ONTAP or Clustered Data ONTAP (cDOT) or Data ONTAP 7-Mode is NetApp's proprietary operating system used in storage disk arrays such as NetApp FAS and AFF, ONTAP Select and Cloud Volumes ONTAP. With the release of version 9.0, NetApp decided to simplify the Data ONTAP name and removed word "Data" from it and remove 7-Mode image, therefore, ONTAP 9 is successor from Clustered Data ONTAP 8.

References

  1. ↑ Jedras, Jeff. “Data centre model ‘broken,’ HP says,” June 7, 2011, IT World Canada (See the text about MD Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas for how converged storage improves application performance and delivery).
  2. ↑ Talbot, Chris, “HP Adds to Converged Infrastructure Lineup,” June 7, 2011, ChannelInsider
  3. ↑ Madden, Brian."Did Nutanix just create the ultimate server/storage big data combo hardware for VDI?"
  4. ↑ TechTarget, "Unraveling the secrets of converged storage networks," page 6, February 2011
  5. ↑ Baburajan, Rajani. "The Rising Cloud Storage Market Opportunity Strengthens Vendors," TMCnet, August 24, 2011
  6. ↑ Floyer, David. "HP Converged Storage Sets the Stage for the Next Era of Computing", August 15, 2011, Wikibon
  7. ↑ Wexler, Steve. "Nutanix: Time To Ban The SAN", August 16. 2011, Network Computing
  8. ↑ Grayson, Ian. "Heat is on in search for perfect host as growth creates storage challenge," August 23, 2011, The Australian
  9. ↑ Burt, Jeffrey. "Cisco Surprise In x86 Blade Server Top Five, IDC Says," May 26, 2011, eWeek Europe Archived 2011-08-29 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Asaro, Tony. "The impact of virtual storage appliances," SearchStorage.com
  11. ↑ SearchStorage.com, "What is virtual SAN appliance (VSA)"
  12. ↑ Paul Ferril. "Two Virtual Storage Appliances – Worth a Look?," May 23, 2013, Enterprise Storage Forum
  13. ↑ Brian Beeler. "Why We Don't Have a Nutanix NX-8150 Review" August 2015, StorageReview
  14. ↑ Simon Sharwood. "Nutanix to release 'community version' of its secret software sauce" Feb 2015, The Register
  15. ↑ Eduardo Meirelles da Rocha. "vSphere Storage Appliance End of Availability" June 2014, Just Another IT blog
  16. ↑ Hess, Ken. "Do you need a private cloud?" ZDNet, August 21, 2011
  17. ↑ Bernier, Paula. "Telcos Continue to Buy Into the Cloud," TMCnet, May 1. 2011
  18. ↑ Mark Peters, Briefs: Scale-out Storage, Enterprise Strategy Group Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ Gary Orenstein, "Doubling Down on Scale-out Storage", GigaOm, April 10, 2010
  20. ↑ Mellor, Chris. "HP P10000 storage array more and less than expected," August 23, 2011, The Register
  21. ↑ Mark Peters, Briefs: Scale-out Storage, Enterprise Strategy Group Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ↑ Gary Orenstein, "Doubling Down on Scale-out Storage", GigaOm, April 10, 2010
  23. ↑ Mark Peters, Briefs: Scale-out Storage, Enterprise Strategy Group Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
  24. ↑ Mellor, Chris. "HP P10000 storage array more and less than expected," August 23, 2011, The Register
  25. ↑ Vellante, David. "Virtualizing Globally Federated Cache Coherent Storage for the Cloud," March 12, 2010, Wikibon
  26. ↑ Linthicum, David. "Face the facts: Cloud performance isn't always stable," August 18, 2011, InfoWorld
  27. ↑ Violino, Bob. "HP Unveils Storage Software For Cloud, Virtualized Environments," August 23, 2011, Information Management
  28. ↑ Tay, Liz. "Hitachi ditches monolithic storage," September 27, 2010, IT News
  29. ↑ Evans, Chris. "Choosing Between Monolithic and Modular Architectures – Part I," August 24, 2011, Sys-Con Media
  30. ↑ SearchStorage.com Midrange storage arrays do not share RAM, but they typically have active/passive dual controller architectures with some mirrored NVRAM. The shared compute and cache elements are still potential bottlenecks if workloads change dynamically. They are subject to neighbor noise from competing server workloads. These systems do not require RAID rebuilds on controller failure, unlike converged systems. It is also more common to find advanced data services (RoW snapshots, deduplication, compression, zero-space clones) here than in converged systems because all data is managed in a single operating footprint. definition of unified storage (network unified storage or NUS)
  31. ↑ Mellor, Chris. "Direct-attached storage vs SAN: Clustered DAS model gaining favor in virtualised, solid-state world?," SearchStorage.co.uk
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