Magnus Frey, Head of IT for the Sauber F1 Team, explains how they are finding high performance at reduced costs using NetApp solutions.
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1. Technical Case Study
Sauber F1 Team
By Magnus Frey, Head of IT, Innovation at 200 Miles per Hour
Sauber Motorsport AG Fanatical crowds, fever-pitch emotions, to-the-edge drivers, thunderous
engines, screaming tires that hit speeds of more than 200 miles per hour,
devastating defeats and exhilarating wins, champagne and celebrity—it’s
all part of Formula One racing.
But it’s also composite engineering and carbon-fibre/aluminum honeycomb
monocoques (the driver’s workplace and safety cell); high-tech, 6.6-pound
seats that cushion against 4 g of lateral acceleration; a 460-foot-long wind
tunnel tube; and world-class computational fluid dynamics (CFD) programs
for aerodynamics research. Formula One racing is clearly a sport of passion,
but it’s also a sport of technology at the highest level.
IT and the design and production processes we support are at the core of
Sauber Motorsport AG activities. In fact, we’ve turned our capabilities in IT
into a competitive advantage that helps our privately owned Sauber F1 Team
successfully race against much larger, more generously funded teams with
such well-known names as Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren. The FlexPod ® data
center platform from NetApp® and Cisco® and NetApp MetroCluster™ storage
solutions are fundamental to our IT infrastructure. NetApp solutions deliver
the speed and agility we need for critical decision-making in a sport in which
0.001 seconds can be the difference between winning and losing.
The Formula for Success
Sauber Motorsport AG, founded by Peter Sauber, operates the Sauber F1 Team.
We employ some 300 people who collaborate on the design and production of
our race cars. Our headquarters in Hinwil, Switzerland, houses the main office, a
factory building, and the wind tunnel building where we test race car prototypes
for aerodynamic performance. Most of the tests run on 60% scale models
because of Formula One regulations that limit full-scale testing.
Our sport is heavily regulated in both technical and sporting elements.
Regulations direct everything from engine and tire specifications to where we
can position the exhaust, the height of the nose cone, and even how much time
we can spend testing in the tunnel. Such regulations make it even more critical
for us to focus on what we can control—aerodynamics and race strategies, for
example—to differentiate our team and to make the adjustments that will give
us that all-critical lap-time advantage.
2. Competition is fierce and it happens at 01:20:000
200 miles per hour. Often, milliseconds can 1st place
be the difference between winning and losing.
01:20:005
2nd place
Finding that adjustment—which can be a miniscule change in a part design—
takes attention to detail and fast but sophisticated analysis of the huge amounts
of data generated during the development of the car and on the track. In both
arenas, NetApp storage plays a mission-critical role.
FlexPod on the Road
A mobile data center
Our partnership with NetApp began in 2007 when we implemented the first
MetroCluster solution at our data center in Hinwil. It was only natural that we
would consider NetApp again when we needed a movable system—essentially
a complete, but mobile data center—for the racetrack.
We selected the FlexPod data center solution, jointly created by NetApp and
Cisco, for its small size and weight, which enable us to conveniently transport
it on planes or in trucks; its functionality—we can run all our analysis tools right
at the track; and its reliability. The FlexPod must operate dependably—and it
does, whether it’s a cold day at the track in Germany, sweltering in Singapore
at 100º Fahrenheit, oppressively humid, or truck-rattling windy.
Reliable
Formula One teams travel to racing venues on the Monday before the race
weekend. Race cars arrive partly in pieces and are assembled by Thursday,
after which they are “scrutineered” by FIA officials and team crews practice
pit stops. Track action begins on Friday with two practice sessions, followed
by another practice session and qualifying events on Saturday. With just
two days to analyze data in preparation for Sunday’s race, we can’t tolerate
system downtime.
The FlexPod platform travels with our team to every race—that is, to 20 racing
events in 19 countries every year. Races occur in different countries on average
every two weeks between March and November. Driven or flown, the FlexPod
platform must survive the vibrations and shock of transport to operate across
the season’s wide range of environmental conditions. Once the system arrives
on site, we bring it up quickly—we can have our crew working within two and
a half hours after arrival.
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3. FlexPod’s mobility, size, and level of integration are amazing. But it’s the
reliability that’s critical—we have never had a failure. If we did, it would be
disastrous—we could not even safely start the car, let alone optimize it for
speed. And, without a reliable infrastructure to support critical decision-making
both on and off the track, it would be like going back more than 20 years,
when drivers had to go it alone—they really would not be competitive against
technology-assisted teams. We are always in go-live mode; there is no coming
back to do it over. If we miss the opportunity, it’s gone.
At the track, we use data on the FlexPod system to fine-tune vehicle setup,
qualifying tactics, and race-day strategy. The FlexPod platform collects new
data from the car any time it is running. Real-time data, including fuel usage,
temperatures, engine information, and other sensor feedback, transmits via
radio to the FlexPod platform. We use this telemetry data along with track
conditions data to run new simulations on the FlexPod system before and
during the race, comparing how the virtual model performs with the actual
vehicle setup and track data versus with the “ideal” parameters and factory
car design.
From the track-based results we make on-the-fly adjustments to the driver’s
strategy and fine-tune the car for performance—for example, the team might
make a front-wing change, modify cooling, or adjust pit stops to maximize
how long we can run a set of tires without risking overheating and blistering.
We currently collect data from more than 100 sensors on each vehicle. While
sensors are key to design and decision-making, their benefit is always measured
against the additional weight they add to the car.
100 sensors on the Sauber F1 Team cars
send data to the FlexPod in real-time.
On track engineers analyze the data to
improve performance.
FlexPod components
Our FlexPod platform integrates a dual-head NetApp FAS2040 cluster with
NetApp SyncMirror ® software for replicating data across the cluster, eight
Cisco® Unified Computing System™ blade servers, and a Cisco Nexus®
switch (see Figure 1). Although we did look at alternative blade solutions,
our experience with Cisco networking and NetApp storage and the benefits
of prevalidation made the FlexPod platform uniquely advantageous.
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4. During practice sessions, qualifying runs, and at the end of each race, we
replicate race data via NetApp SnapMirror ® technology to a MetroCluster in
Hinwil. Data transmits to Hinwil via an MPLS link at a maximum rate of 4Mb/sec.
The communications link is provided by a dedicated communication partner at
every track with transmission rates dependent on the network speeds available
in each country. The average track-to-headquarters delay would be 15 minutes.
Right up until race time (and then afterward for the next venue), engineers in
Hinwil collaborate with the track team to fine-tune car setup and race strategy.
Races run an average of 190 miles and by regulation cannot exceed 2 hours.
Even as the race winds down, crews are already packing equipment for
transport to the next venue.
NetApp MetroCluster at Headquarters
We run all of our corporate systems on a NetApp MetroCluster solution that
provides storage to two Hinwil data centers—one primarily for business systems
and a second for engineering. In total we run 40 major business and technical
applications and annually generate about 20TB of new data, with an increasing
trend every year.
Mobile Data Center at the Race Track
VMware vSphere and vMotion
Data Analysis and Database Applications
Cisco Unified
Computing System
(UCS) C250
NetApp SnapManager
Cisco Nexus 5020
Switch
Realtime Upload NetApp FAS2040A
of Data to Running
the Factory Data ONTAP 8.0 NetApp Snapshot
FlexPod
Telemetry Data Timing Video GPS Data
from the Cars Data Data from Other Cars
Figure 1. Mobile FlexPod data center solution at the track.
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5. Flexible
On the technical side, engineers continually strive to make our cars faster,
better, and easier to drive. From year to year, we basically develop and build a
completely new car, depending upon track results and new regulations. In April
of each year, engineers start work on concept designs for the next year, using
our CAD systems to develop 6,000 to 7,000 individual components (including
car parts and the tools to manufacture them). At the same time, they’re making
changes to this year’s car in response to driver feedback and what has happened
on the track. As we adjust for track differences and periodically upgrade design
elements based on the latest race data, we’re effectively putting a newly
modified race car on the track almost every other week.
Keeping Track—by the Numbers
Per-lap data (speed, movements,
MetroCluster gives us fast access to the large amounts of data engineers need
g forces, pressures, temperatures, for decision-making. In the development process, designers analyze a broad set
engine data, etc.): 4MB per lap from of data to most effectively balance regulated design elements such as stiffness
race car to pit systems via real-time and weight, with the overall design. We buy the complete powertrain from
radio transmission; 20MB to 30MB Ferrari, for example, but we develop, design, and build the rest of the car.
downloaded from the car when it
The goal is always to increase aerodynamic efficiency—that is, to maximize
arrives back in the pit after each run
the amount of downforce for the smallest amount of drag.
Telemetry data collected per
three-day race weekend: 25GB
Available
Data transmitted to Hinwil during In today’s motorsports, aerodynamics offers the most promise for improving
one hour of free practice: 600MB
performance. For us, that means keeping our wind tunnel and CFD systems
running continually to enhance our design and correlate model data with actual
race data. When we improve aerodynamic efficiency, we’re effectively reducing
lap time in the next race. Ultimately it’s all about lap time and where we can
shave off a couple of tenths of a second more. Competition during the 2012
racing season, for example, was particularly tight. During any given race,
qualifying times of the first 15 cars were likely to be within a span of just one
second. A fraction of a second can be the difference between qualifying or not
in the top 10.
Since strict Formula One regulations prohibit testing on the track during race
season, we can’t use the race track to test efficiency, so we rely heavily on our
CFD tools and the wind tunnel. MetroCluster keeps our aerodynamicists, model
designers and model builders, CFD engineers, and other staff working, helping
to provide availability of wind tunnel technology, including data acquisition and
model motion systems. These systems are in use 24/6 by our own team and
for third-party projects. Continuous data availability is important across the
company—downtime delays design, testing, or production processes—but
it’s essential for the wind tunnel. Every hour it’s down is an hour we aren’t
improving the car.
MetroCluster components
Data is replicated synchronously across two MetroCluster nodes, one a NetApp
FAS3240 system in the factory building and the second a NetApp FAS3240
array approximately 247 feet away in the wind tunnel building (see Figure 2).
With 460TB of capacity across both nodes, MetroCluster gives us always-on
data service, built-in data protection, and the ability to scale performance
and capacity without disrupting operations. By centralizing all of our data
services, we’ve been able to significantly reduce the complexity and costs
of IT management.
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6. The MetroCluster node (configured with FC drives) in the wind tunnel building
supports all of our UNIX®- and Linux®-based technical systems. The NetApp
systems also store summary results of calculations run on a high-performance
compute cluster comprised of hundreds of nodes configured with minimal
internal capacity. Wind tunnel systems generate significant data from measuring
downforce, pressure distribution, air resistance (or drag), and other processes
related to the design and testing of both individual components (such as a new
wing) and the fully assembled car.
In the office building, the NetApp MetroCluster node (configured with SATA
drives) provides storage for our production and office systems. The environment
is currently 90% virtualized. This node supports both physical servers and five
VMware® ESX servers hosting upward of 55 virtual server instances. We expect
to implement an additional cluster to support some 100 virtualized desktops,
which will enable us to retire up to 80 physical desktops and make it financially
feasible for individual engineers to work in multiple-desktop environments.
MetroCluster meets our requirements for 99%+ uptime. All data is synchronously
written in both data centers, so if we experience a loss of power or another
failure event in one of the buildings, we immediately fail over to the second
data center with no data loss. It takes just two or three seconds to restore
data services at the second site, so in most cases our users are not
even aware of the failover.
Computational Fluid
Dynamics (CFD)
Calculation
Data Center 1 Data Center 2
Hinwil Hinwil CFD pre- and
postprocessing
VMware VMware
vSphere vSphere
and VMotion and VMotion
NetApp SnapManager
NetApp MetroCluster
NetApp FAS3240 NetApp FAS3240
NetApp Snapshot
Cisco Unified
Computing System
(UCS) C250
Cisco Nexus 5020
Capturing
Switch
Vehicle Data
at the Race Track
NetApp FAS2040A
Running
Data ONTAP 8.0
FlexPod
Figure 2. Storage infrastructure and data communication at Sauber Motorsport AG headquarters
in Hinwil, Switzerland.
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7. The Need for Speed—Faster, More Innovative, and Efficient on NetApp
Increasing technical regulations on testing, equipment, and profiling, as well
as various sporting regulations (to improve safety, ensure a level playing field,
and reduce costs), require innovation in other areas like IT. To meet our IT
challenges, we’ve for some time relied on NetApp—beginning with the 2012
season, NetApp became an official Technical Partner of the Sauber F1 Team—
and UP-GREAT AG, our provider for information technology and infrastructure.
Together they’ve helped us replace numerous individual solutions with a more
high-performance, resilient, and cost-effective architecture.
Magnus Frey Simpler, smarter data management
Head of IT
Sauber Motorsport AG
Intelligent data management increases efficiency and gives us an edge over
other teams. Because time is restricted in the wind tunnel, for example, we
Born and raised in Basel, Switzerland, strive to find more innovative procedures to measure even more on the model,
Magnus Frey studied economics and
computer science at Universities
analyze it faster, and more quickly start the next run. NetApp data management
Basel and St. Gallen. His career helps streamline processes—it’s easy to increase/decrease volume size, and
includes six years at various consulting it takes just minutes to provision virtual servers or desktops, so we are able to
companies working on projects related respond faster to requests and with fewer IT staff. Routine administration of
to IT strategy, IT infrastructure manage- the MetroCluster nodes typically takes less than 10% of one person’s time. It’s
ment, and IT service management, and
also advantageous to use the same platform and tools for all of our operating
five years in the IT infrastructure man-
agement department of a Swiss bank environments—Windows®, Linux, and UNIX—at both data centers and on the
in Zurich and New York. Magnus came track. Consolidating data onto a single architecture gives us a seamless data
to Sauber Motorsport AG in January stack and eliminates data copying so it’s easier and faster to access data—
2012. Outside of work, he is an F1 fan which ultimately means faster design and faster decision-making.
and actively enjoys biking and golf.
He says he would like to learn how We’re also able to complete all major IT technology refreshes during the two-
to fly a plane “if I’m bold enough!” week break when by international agreement all Formula One racing teams
cannot work. With MetroCluster, we can do updates during that break and with
zero downtime. We fail over one node while we upgrade it, then fail back and
upgrade the second. UP-GREAT completed this year’s upgrade in two hours.
Marcel Keller, storage and backup specialist at UP-GREAT, agrees that this
could not have been done without MetroCluster. He jokes that if it wasn’t for
this annual maintenance upgrade, his support team would have nothing to do.
We did the necessary maintenance of the FlexPod platform going to the track
in an hour, a process that used to take four weeks when we had four racks of
equipment we had to fly back to Hinwil for upgrades.
We’re a data-driven company, and IT is truly an enabler of innovation. But we
maintain limited IT staff—just five people at headquarters and one or two at
the track. We know that IT efficiencies really do help our team compete and
maximize the team’s direct investments in the car.
High performance + reduced costs
On-demand storage scale and performance help enable us to accommodate
whatever changes race and design teams may make to data collection, as well
as support more and faster compute platforms. We’ve also seen tremendous
performance gains by using NetApp Flash Cache intelligent caching in the
Hinwil MetroCluster solution. One of the benefits is that we’re able to use cost-
saving SATA drives without sacrificing speed. In the virtual server environment
where we use deduplication in conjunction with Flash Cache, we’re saving
capacity at the same time we’re improving performance by as much as three
times. For example, because we deduplicate 40 virtual machines, only the
first is read from disk; the next 39 load directly from the high-speed cache.
Database users also report extremely fast response times, particularly during
major updates of data tables.
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8. At the racetrack, deduplication gives us a savings of 8GB to 10GB per desktop,
an important benefit when space is at a premium and extra weight increases
travel costs. And deduplication helps enable us to scale efficiently. Saving
capacity is always beneficial, but it’s particularly important for the track platform.
Moving to a virtual server/desktop environment in the highly efficient FlexPod
frame, we were able to shrink our footprint from four to two cabinets and weight
by 50% to reduce transportation costs. We also cut power requirements in
half—that’s particularly important at venues where unreliable local power sources
make our team reliant solely on the power available from our trucks. Overall,
by cutting the footprint of the track system in half we saved in transportation
cost more than the entire cost of the FlexPod platform.
Summary
Partnering with NetApp and UP-GREAT to deploy an agile IT infrastructure, and
focusing on both IT innovation and efficiency, have helped us meet the advancing
technology demands of this pinnacle of motorsport. We’re managing more data,
refining our tools, and ultimately improving the car more quickly and better
than ever before. NetApp storage infrastructure gives us the benefits of rapid
adaptability, standardization, manageability, and room to grow—to support more
sensors, collect more data, or support new functionality such as taking databases
to the track or adding video feeds from the track. FlexPod provides the same
benefits in a small-footprint platform for the road. I don’t know of any other
technology stack that could deliver a better solution for our purposes. FlexPod
gives us the best space efficiency plus the versatility we need for critical
on-track operations, including real-time data collection, analysis, and
decision-making.
Of course the biggest test of our capabilities as a team comes on the track.
So far in the 2012 season we’ve won four podium finishes. In Italy, Sergio Perez,
one of our two drivers, scored a second-place finish. Our other driver, Kamui
Kobayashi, took third in Japan, and overall the team is already ahead of last
season’s total points. Monisha Kaltenborn, our Team Principal and CEO,
believes that “we’re getting better all the time.” I’d have to agree.
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