Silverton Consulting: A Review of HUS and HNAS Platform Analyst Report

Silverton Consulting, Inc.
StorInt™ Briefing

SCI Briefing:
A Review of the New
Hitachi Unified Storage
and Hitachi NAS
Platform 4000 Series

Written by: Ray Lucchesi, President and Founder
Published: July, 2013

REVIEW
OF
HUS
&
HNAS
PLATFORM
4000
FAMILIES
PAGE
1
OF
6

TWITTER.COM/RAYLUCCHESI | RAYONSTORAGE.COM |
+1-720-221-7270 | SILVERTONCONSULTING.COM
© 2013 SILVERTON CONSULTING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Executive Summary
Hitachi
Unified
Storage
(HUS)
and
Hitachi
NAS
Platform(HNAS)
have
been
enhanced
with

the
newly
introduced
4060,
4080
and
4100
file
sharing
models.
These
new
file
modules

provide
significantly
more
file
IOPS
and
throughput
performance.
They
also
offer
improved

front-‐end
server
and
faster
back-‐end
storage
connectivity,
as
well
as
expanded
scalability

through
a
larger
single
namespace.
Primary
data
deduplication
is
the
major
new
feature

that
helps
achieve
higher
utilization
and
cost
savings
through
capacity
efficiencies.
This

increase
in
performance,
scalability
and
capacity
efficiency
helps
IT
departments
to

accelerate
insight,
improve
decision-‐making
and
free
up
resources.

Introduction
In
today’s
data
center,
file
data
is
growing
at
exponential
rates
with
no
end
in
sight.
We
are

all
generating
more
data—almost
2.5EB
a
day—most
of
which
is
in
the
form
of
file

information.
To
provide
better
insight,
smart
businesses
are
capturing
information
on

customer
interactions
everywhere
they
can,
and
their
employees
are
creating
and
sharing

more
information
than
ever
before.
Data
centers
are
struggling,
especially
since
the

traditional
storage
and
systems
used
to
manage
this
avalanche
of
file
data
are
insufficient
to

the
task.

HUS and HNAS 4000 Series
Hitachi
Data
Systems
(HDS)
has
recently
introduced
three
new
file-‐sharing
models
called

Hitachi
NAS
Platform
4060,
4080
and
4100.
These
models
improve
performance,
enhance

configuration
flexibility
and
increase
name
space
scalability.
These
improvements,
together

with
the
increased
capacity
effectiveness
available

from
deduplication,
help
customers
store
more
file

data
with
fewer
storage
systems
and,
as
such,
reduce

the
operational
burden
for
managing
enterprise
file

storage.

HDS
offers
their
new
file
modules
in
HNAS
file
service

gateways
that
use
SAN-‐attached
storage,
as
well
as

HUS
configurations
that
support
both
file
and
block

data
in
a
single
system.
In
both
solutions,
the
new
file

modules
supply
the
same
advanced
functionality
available
from
Hitachi’s
current
HNAS

3080
and
3090
file
sharing
models.
However,
the
new
file
modules
perform
better.

The
new
file
modules
have
undergone
a
number
of
industry-‐standard
benchmark
tests
to

obtain
more
information
on
their
performance.
In
a
subsequent
section
of
this
paper,
we

discuss
one
series
of
benchmark
results
that
compares
the
previous
generation
of
file

modules
with
the
new
file
modules
in
HUS
configurations.

Enterprise File Challenges Today
Managing
increasing
amounts
of
file
data
is
challenging
because
traditional
file
storage

suffers
from
limitations
of
scale
at
the
directory,
file
system
and
name
space
level.
When

dealing
with
explosive
file
growth,
scalability
constraints
like
these
can
cause
IT
significant

problems.

For
example,
sooner
or
later
corporate
file
data
expands
beyond
set
limits,
and
then
the

data
must
be
divided
across
multiple
directories,
file
systems
or
name
spaces.
At
that
point,

operators
must
find
or
configure
more
storage,
move
file
data
to
the
new
storage
and

update
hundreds,
if
not
thousands,
of
end
users
or
applications
to
point
to
the
new
location.

REVIEW
OF
HUS
&
HNAS
PLATFORM
4000
FAMILIES
PAGE
2
OF
6

Much
of
this
administrative
work
can
be
automated,
but
splitting
up
file
data
makes
files

harder
to
find,
protect
and
manage.

With
the
increased
use
of
big
data
analytics,
the
value
of
file
data
is
increasing
in
the

enterprise,
and
more
business-‐critical
applications
are
starting
to
use
files
rather
than
block

storage.
As
file
data
becomes
more
mission-‐critical,
file
performance
tuning
becomes
yet

another
reason
to
move
file
data.
It’s
one
thing
when
a
few
users
complain
about
slow

access
to
file
data,
but
it’s
something
else
entirely
when
crucial
applications
wait
on
file

data.

With
these
thoughts
in
mind,
it’s
no
wonder
that
the
time
to
store,
tune
and
protect
file
data

is
starting
to
reach
troubling
levels.
But
even
without
the
above
system
constraints,

managing
file
information
is
becoming
a
more
significant
burden
to
IT
staff
given
the

expansion
of
corporate
file
data.

Hitachi 4000 Series of File-Sharing Systems Enhancements
HDS
supports
the
new
Hitachi
NAS
Platform
4060,
4080
and
4100
as
standalone
gateway

configurations
or
as
file
modules
in
HUS
110,
HUS
130,
HUS
150
and
Hitachi
Unified
Storage

VM
storage
systems.
All
of
the
new
file
modules
offer
the
following
hardware

enhancements:

• Next-‐generation
FPGA
that
has
faster
hardware
and
more
electronics,
which
can

help
sustain
much
faster
file
I/O
performance.
Hitachi’s
use
of
FPGA
hardware

acceleration
has
always
been
the
hallmark
of
its
superior
file
I/O
performance.

• New
Intel
Xeon
processors
that
have
more
CPU
cores,
more
local
memory
and

faster
instruction
execution
to
help
speed
up
the
file
software
stack
and
increase
the

number
of
simultaneous
I/O
operations
that
can
execute
in
parallel.

• Larger
memory
cache
to

help
generate
more
cache
hits,

resulting
in
faster
file
I/O
because

data
is
coming
out
of
memory
rather

than
backend
storage.
Both
NAS

Platform
4060
and
4080
now

support
46GB
of
cache
per
node,
and

the
4100
offers
108GB
of
cache
per

node.

• Faster
file
sharing
10GbE
frontend
ports,
which
speed
up
server
data
transfers

and
provide
more
file
data
throughput.
The
new
systems
can
be
configured
with
up

to
4-‐10GbE
links
for
server
networks,
and
they
also
continue
to
support
2-‐10GbE

links
for
inter-‐cluster
communications.

• Higher-‐speed
8Gbps
backend
fibre
channel
ports
for
faster
storage
to
file

module
data
transfers,
leading
to
better
performance
for
data
coming
off
of
backend

storage.
The
system
can
be
configured
with
up
to
4-‐8Gbps
FC
links.

Furthermore,
the
NAS
Platform
4060
can
be
configured
with
up
to
two
nodes
per
cluster,

and
the
4080
and
the
4100
can
be
configured
with
up
to
four
nodes
per
cluster.

REVIEW
OF
HUS
&
HNAS
PLATFORM
4000
FAMILIES
PAGE
3
OF
6

Hitachi File Module Software Enhancements
The
new
file
modules
add
to
the
already
impressive
file
storage
functionality
present
in
the

previously
available
NAS
Platform
3080
and
3090
file
modules.
Earlier
this
year,
HDS

introduced
primary
storage
deduplication
for
file
data.
Primary
storage
deduplication

eliminates
data
redundancy
across
files,
which
reduces
the
storage
needed
to
save
file
data

and
increases
the
capacity
efficiency
and
effectiveness
of
their
file
sharing
modules.

Most
file
storage
or
NAS
systems
that
offer
data
deduplication
perform
the
compute-‐
intensive
portion
of
deduplication
processing
using
software
that
can
materially
reduce
file

I/O
performance,
especially
when
files
are
being
created.
In
contrast,
Hitachi’s
new

deduplication
functionality
uses
FPGA
hardware
acceleration
to
perform
most
of
the

compute-‐intensive
work
required
to
eliminate
redundant
data
and,
as
such,
has
a
minimal

impact
on
file
creation
performance.

Hitachi
deduplication
can
be
enabled/disabled
at
a
file
system
level.
The
base
license
comes

with
one
deduplication
engine
and
is
available
for
free.
Additional
deduplication
engines

can
be
purchased
if
needed.

In
addition,
the
new
NAS
Platform
4080
and
4100
file
modules
also
offer
a
larger
single

name
space
that
now
supports
up
to
16PB
of
file
data.
The
4060
file
module
supports
up
to

an
8PB
single
name
space.
All
current
and
new
file
modules
support
up
to
a
256TB
file

system
pool
size.

As
shown
in
Table
1,
the
new
file
modules
offer
more
file
throughput
and
more
cache.
For

NAS
Platform
4080
and
4100,
they
also
offer
substantially
more
scalability
and
performance

per
node.
We
discuss
these
performance
advantages
more
fully
later
in
this
paper.
Some

reasons
to
continue
using
the
NAS
Platform
3080
and
3090
are
1GbE
support
and
the
ability

to
add
a
performance
acceleration
option
(3090
only)
to
boost
performance
beyond
base

configurations.
A
few
reasons
to
consider
using
the
new
4000
series
include
better
frontend

and
backend
throughput,
more
simultaneous
open
files
and
more
cache
memory.

Advantages
for
the
4080
and
4100
also
include
more
IOPS,
higher
throughput
and
larger

name
space.

HUS
&

HNAS
3080

HUS
&

HNAS
3090

HUS
&
HNAS

4060

HUS
&
HNAS

4080

HUS
&
HNAS

4100

IOPS
per

node1
40,000
72,000
70,000
105,000
140,000

Throughput

per
node
700MB/sec.

1,100MB/se
c.

1,000MB/sec.
1,500MB/sec.
2,000MB/sec.

Performance

Acceleration

N/A
Yes
N/A
N/A
N/A

Scalability2
4PB
8PB
8PB
16PB
16PB

File
sharing

ports/node

2-‐10GbE
and

6-‐1GbE

2-‐10GbE
and

6-‐1GbE

4-‐10GbE
4-‐10GbE
4-‐10GbE

1
Performance
results
from
SPECsfs_2008
NFSv3
data.

2
Single
name
space
maximum
capacity.

REVIEW
OF
HUS
&
HNAS
PLATFORM
4000
FAMILIES
PAGE
4
OF
6

Backend

ports/node

4-‐4,
2,
or
1

Gbps

4-‐4,
2,
or
1

Gbps

4-‐8,
4,
or
2

Gbps

4-‐8,
4,
or
2

Gbps

4-‐8,
4,
or
2

Gbps

Cache/node
32GB
32GB
46GB
46GB
108GB

Max
nodes

per
cluster

2
4
2
4
4

Table
1
Summary
Hitachi
NAS
Platform
Technical
Specifications

HUS 100 Series and HUS VM Block Storage Enhancements
The
HDS
block
storage
modules
present
in
HUS
configurations
have
recently
been

enhanced.
For
instance,
the
Hitachi
Accelerated
Flash
(HAF)
array
with
new
Flash
Module

Drive
(FMD),
previously
available
only
on
Hitachi
Virtual
Storage
Platform
(VSP),
is
now

offered
on
HUS
VM.
The
FMD
is
a
proprietary,
Hitachi-‐designed
flash
storage
device
that

offers
more
capacity,
better
read
performance
and
higher
write
performance,
as
well
as

higher
endurance
than
traditional
SSD
or
flash
storage.
All
of
these
capabilities
will
increase

HUS
VM
file
data
access
speed.

Moreover,
HDS
has
eliminated
all
prior
limits
on
the
number
of
FMDs
or
SSDs
that
could
be

used
in
HUS
storage
systems;
as
a
result,
HUS
storage
all-‐flash
array
options
are
now

available
for
customers
that
need
even
higher
performance.

HDS
now
also
supports
an
all-‐DC
power
option
for
HUS
storage.
This
option
adds

deployment
flexibility
and
will
simplify
installation
for
many
customer
environments
that

don’t
have
AC
power
or
don’t
want
to
use
it.

HDS
block
storage
module
software
functionality
has
also
been
enhanced.
Specifically,

• Hitachi
Dynamic
Tiering
(HDT)
can
now
use
external
capacity
as
a
separate,

distinct
storage
tier.
For
example,
an
external,
all-‐flash
storage
array
can
now
be

used
for
HDT’s
top
data
storage
tier.

• HDT
now
enables
data
volumes
to
be
locked
to
a
single
tier
such
as
flash

storage
until
they
no
longer
need
high
levels
of
performance.

• HUS
block
storage
now
offers
data-‐at-‐rest
encryption
for
secure
data
storage.

HUS
block
storage
controllers
encrypt/decrypt
data
as
it
is
written/read
back
from

backend
storage.

File Sharing Roadmap
HDS
has
announced
a
statement
of
direction
for
its
future
file
sharing
model
hardware
and

software
functionality
that
includes
the
following:

• 32PB
single
name
space,
which
doubles
the
current
single
name
space
capacity;

• 1PB
file
system,
which
quadruples
the
current
file
system
capacity;
and

• 8-‐node
clusters,
which
double
the
current
4100-‐cluster
configuration.

REVIEW
OF
HUS
&
HNAS
PLATFORM
4000
FAMILIES
PAGE
5
OF
6

New File Module Performance
The
SPECsfs_2008
(Standard
Performance
Evaluation
Corporation
for
System
File
Services,

2008
version)
benchmark
suite
is
an
industry-‐wide
performance
test
that
provides
a

standard
method
to
compare
file
I/O
performance
across
storage
systems
from
a
number
of

vendors.
SPECsfs2008
benchmark
runs
are
formally
documented,
independently
audited

and
available
for
viewing
on
their
website.3
SPECsfs2008
testing
is
designed
to
measure
file

system
performance
from
low
levels
all
the
way
up
to
peak
system
performance.
Although

SPECsfs2008
is
defined
for
NFSv3
and
CIFS/SMB1,
the
testing
discussed
below
is
based
on

NFSv3
results
only.

Figure
1
shows
both
published
SPECsfs2008
benchmark
results
(red
columns)
and

projected
results
(blue
columns).4
The
height
of
each
column
indicates
the
peak
NFS

throughput
operations
per
second
achievable
by
the
storage
system
under
SPECsfs2008

stress
testing.

Figure
1
SPECsfs2008
NFS
Throughput
Operations/Second
Hitachi
Comparison

As
the
figure
shows,
the
HUS
with
4080
and
4100
dual
node
clusters
performed
better
than

the
clustered
(2-‐node)
HNAS
3090-‐G2
system
with
the
optional
Performance
Accelerator

feature
by
~10%
and
~54%
respectively.
For
the
3090-‐G2
without
the
performance

acceleration
feature,
the
HUS
with
4080
and
4100
significantly
exceeded
the
performance
of

the
clustered
3090-‐G2
by
~41%
and
~97%
respectively.

3
Please
see
http://www.spec.org/sfs2008/results/sfs2008.html
for
more
information.

4
Projected
results
have
been
submitted
to
SPECsfs2008
but
have
yet
to
be
published.

REVIEW
OF
HUS
&
HNAS
PLATFORM
4000
FAMILIES
PAGE
6
OF
6

The
clustered
HNAS
3090-‐G2
system
without
the
performance
accelerator
feature
just

barely
topped
the
new
HUS
4060
by
less
than
1%.
This
small
performance
gap
could
easily

be
due
to
differences
in
backend
storage
and
could
be
the
result
of
a
measurement
error.

Summary
Hitachi’s
three
new
file
sharing
models
provide
the
same
features
and
functionality
of
the

current
Hitachi
NAS
Platform
3080
and
3090
while
supplying
increased
frontend
and

backend
throughput
for
an
organization’s
file
data.
NAS
Platform
4080
and
4100
supply

better
file
IOPS
and
throughput
performance
as
well.

In
addition,
the
new
4080
and
4100
models
offer
a
larger
single
name
space
than
previously

available.
With
the
new
deduplication
functionality,
all
HDS
file
modules
also
offer
more

efficient
storage
capacity.
With
the
increased
capacity
effectiveness
and
scalability
of
the

new
4000
series,
customers
can
now
use
even
fewer
storage
systems
to
support
their
file

data
needs.
All
in
all,
the
new
HDS
lineup
of
NAS
Platform
4060,
4080
and
4100
file-‐sharing

models
provides
an
even
more
compelling
solution
to
data
centers
that
need
better

performance,
more
scalability
and
easier
management
for
their
ever-‐expanding
and

increasingly
mission-‐critical
enterprise
file
data
environment.

Silverton Consulting, Inc., is a U.S.-based Storage, Strategy & Systems
consulting firm offering products and services to the data storage community.
QRcode: SilvertonConsulting.com

Silverton Consulting: A Review of HUS and HNAS Platform Analyst Report

Recomendados

Recomendados

Más contenido relacionado

Más de Hitachi Vantara

Más de Hitachi Vantara (20)

Último

Último (20)

Silverton Consulting: A Review of HUS and HNAS Platform Analyst Report