Technology Insight Series

Transcription

1 Building a Storage Environment for Super-Efficiency Hitachi Data Systems unifies block, file and object storage with Unified Storage John Webster April, 2012 Technology Insight Series Evaluator Group

2 Copyright 2012 Evaluator Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Page 1 of 8

3 Executive Summary The growth of stored data is about to increase at rates never before seen. This growth is being driven by a need to leverage new data sources (web based social media for example) to create new business opportunities and increase competitive advantage. The current ways of managing data in an accelerated growth environment are not sustainable. Petabyte scale storage and data management processes will be required. Traditional storage architectures and data management practices will not be sustainable at Petabyte scale. IT administrators must therefore respond by becoming far more efficient. Here we enumerate the attributes of a storage environment designed for sustainable, high velocity growth, and review Hitachi Unified Storage (HUS) as a platform for sustainable storage and data management. Storage for a Petabyte World Forward motion Sustainability Headlines that report accelerating data growth within enterprise data centers have been commonplace for years. Storage growth rates of % per year are now commonplace and present management challenges for sure, but they pale in comparison to the growth rates of two to three times that of what storage administrators are experiencing now rates that the Evaluator Group believes are probable within the next three to five years. We know of data centers that are adding multiple Terabytes of new disk storage capacity per day just to keep up with demand generated by existing applications and webbased customers. We believe that the storage industry will see unprecedented demand for capacity starting now and lasting into the foreseeable future. This demand is being driven by a number of factors, both old and new. Data growth within the data center growth generated by enterprise applications will be driven by: The continual advance of server and desktop virtualization projects driving the growth of virtual machine (VM) deployments The proliferating use of wireless mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) for enterprise application delivery to users in addition to the more traditional methods (PC and terminals) The dramatic growth of unstructured data within the enterprise data center coupled with an emerging requirement to leverage and mine this data for new business insights The growing use of visualization to add impact and insight to information delivery At the same time, data drawn from a much larger reservoir external to the data center will place additional demands on the enterprise storage environment. Data types in this category include: Web based click streams generated by consumers and business users The growing use of machine generated and sensor generated data including digital video, RFID, GPS, etc. These factors combine to produce an unsustainable data management environment if approached simply by using time honored practices. Storage is already one of the largest single line items in today s enterprise IT hardware budgets. The storage environment continues to increase in complexity, driving up the portion of the OPEX budget dedicated to storage and data management. Finally and perhaps Page 2 of 8

4 most importantly, storage administrators are now reporting that they are increasingly challenged to maintain service levels as experienced by application users and customers. Data and storage management practices must be reexamined and potentially rewritten for forwardmotion sustainability. In fact, management sustainability in the context of accelerating storage capacity growth should underwrite any transformation of IT to a services oriented model that includes such things as a services catalogue and service level objectives (SLOs). It is rare to see enterprise, production quality storage environments that do not present opportunities to consolidate and simplify operations. We see them for example, in the form of point tool sets for separate functions and platforms, each requiring different skill sets and interfaces to learn. Consolidating and simplifying will: Reduce complexity, often identified by storage administrations as a top concern Reduce manual, repetitive housekeeping tasks that are also error prone Break down and consolidate siloed and redundant management practices Provide a continuing and cohesive view of storage requirements, performance and utilization We also note that SAN and NAS environments commonly co exist in many medium to large scale data centers. Unifying these two environments is now not only possible, but desirable for the reasons listed above. Here we offer a detailed examination of the Hitachi Unified Storage (HUS) platform. Hitachi Unified Storage (HUS) Block, File, and Object From a management perspective, Hitachi Unified Storage (HUS) unifies an enhanced version of its AMS arrays with its newly acquired BlueArc high performance NAS technology under a common management umbrella the Hitachi command Suite. HUS is an integration of all three, sold as a single, unified storage platform. As such, HUS simultaneously supports and manages block (commonly implemented as SAN) and file based storage (commonly implemented as NAS). As a unique competitive differentiator, HUS also supports object based storage via the File Module side of HUS. Unlike block storage, an object based file system creates and maintains additional intelligent attributes of a files (metadata). Along with each file, Hitachi s file system implementation creates attributes describing the file (file contents, replication status, ACL, etc.) that it stores as file metadata along with file data thus creating the data object. Under certain applications, this capability can accelerate file searches, tiering, migration and replication at large scale. The objective of HUS is unified management of block, file, and object based storage to create a servicesoriented storage management model. Unification also extends in this case to solutions that can use HUS as a base such as the Hitachi Content Platform (HCP); using a common storage pool for advanced object store capabilities. HCP is an object based storage device (OSD) which creates data containers of variable length. Each container wraps together both data and metadata. OSD also accelerates searches, tiering, migration and replication at large scale by transferring file processing closer to the storage device. HUS offers a common management and control interface across block, file, and object storage for: Storage capacity provisioning and planning Page 3 of 8

5 Creation and management of snapshots and clone copies Data protection Service level management and monitoring Chargeback reporting HUS system attributes included in the Hitachi announcement: Total HUS system capacity up to 3PB Scalability up to 960 disks and 32 back end paths per HUS system Storage media includes SSD, 10K or 15K small form factor SAS and large form factor nearline SAS K rpm disks in the controller trays as well as the expansion trays Up to 9GB/s of sequential throughput Intelligent tiering with automated policy based migration Support for up to 1024 snapshots per HUS and the use of writeable snapshots (block images or file clones) 1024 snapshots per file system Non disruptive scaling of block and file volumes and pooled capacity The ability to automatically match server load balancing with storage load balancing using a dynamic, load balancing controller design Reductions in floor space and energy requirements vs. previous generations Non escalating prices for maintenance at the end of the warranty period, i.e. the contract maintenance priced is flat for all consecutive out of warranty years 128TB LUN sizes (LUNs provisioned on the block device that are served to the file/object interface) File system scalability to 256TB and a single name space up to total storage capacity Command Suite Hitachi Command Suite (HCS) interfaces to two different versions of the Hitachi Base Operating System (BOS), one for modular block storage (BOS M) and one for file and object (BOS F). Each is a device manager that controls specific element managers within HUS, one for block storage services and one for file and object. For block, these include a LUN manager, a performance monitor, snapshot copy management, and others. For file, services include file system protocols (CIFS/NFS), Hitachi Command Director, pointer based snapshots and file cloning software. Both versions of the BOS software are included with the purchase of HUS. Bringing the element manager interfaces for AMS and BlueArc under one common umbrella required a major rewrite of Hitachi Command Suite 7 (HCS 7). The result is a unified, service level oriented, management platform that now spans all the Hitachi arrays and external storage that is virtualized via attachment to an Hitachi virtualized storage controller such as the VSP. Hitachi Command Suite not only will manage the file, block and object data from a unified viewpoint; it can also manage Hitachi s existing midrange (AMS) and enterprise (USP V, VSP) systems, and external heterogeneous arrays that are virtualized by Hitachi s virtual storage controllers. These resources can be Page 4 of 8

6 organized into logical hierarchical groups. Storage administrators can view the HUS storage environment from both the array level (supply) perspective and also from the storage consumer (demand) perspective. These views are available across the different HCS 7 management functions and can be used for both management and reporting tasks. Significant HCS 7 attributes that are applied to all storage accessed through the HUS platform include: Unified storage provisioning, management, monitoring and data protection Global Dashboard Storage Consumer View (demand), Storage Array View (supply) Service Level Objective (SLO) compliance management that includes application based SLO definition and compliance monitoring as well as SLO violation investigation Service based costing model: charge for storage services by tier, service level, utilization, and/or other administrator defined metrics Chargeback and utilization reports Identification of under and over utilized resources including capacity utilization and performance trending reports Apple ipad management client support Page 5 of 8

7 These and other attributes have been aggregated under HCS around the major IT management functions including data protection, generation and management of data replicas, and capacity provisioning. Data Replication Command Suite 7 offers consolidated data replication capabilities that can be applied across block, file, and object storage as well as a number of new replication functions that leverage both physical and pointer based (snapshot) technologies. Data copies are made for many reasons including data protection, test and development, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Providing individual physical copies for these processes can consume large amounts of storage capacity very quickly. Copied files have to be replaced when data is changed and capacity has to be reclaimed through a process of deletion of these copies when they become dormant. Otherwise, high value storage capacity can be wasted. For file based replication, Hitachi has adapted BlueArc space efficient snapshot and file clone technology to the unified management environment. JetClone maintains one physical copy and provides writable snapshots for the multiple applications that use copies. JetClone creates writable snapshots meaning that once a snapshot is made, any and all subsequent changes (deltas) are tracked and maintained in blocks pointed to by the original metadata table entry. All changes to the file copies are maintained in the form of writable snapshots belonging to each process. Updates are made and tracked without affecting the original, saving capacity and storage administrative time and reducing complexity. JetMirror uses object based replication technology to provide a faster, more efficient and more cost effective replication and remote data protection solution over wide area networks. For block replication, HUS supports copy on write (COW) snapshots and Hitachi ShadowImage. However, Hitachi has now included enhancements to the use consistency groups with HUS. Snapshot pool size is no longer limited. Storage administrators can dynamically create, edit and delete snapshot properties and add snapshot storage capacity via Hitachi Dynamic Provisioning (HDP) pools. Improvements in Hitachi Shadow Image provide faster split/write execution for overall performance improvements. Alternative replication software packages are also supported on the HUS platform including: Hitachi Replication Manager (HRpM) for Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server environments and native HDS array based replication requirements for local and/or remote protection, monitoring and recovery of critical data. Hitachi Dynamic Replicator (HDR) for heterogeneous replication, continuous data protection (CDP), and remote office protection for physical and virtual environments Hitachi Data Protection Suite (HDPS) based on CommVault Simpana Hitachi TrueCopy and TrueCopy Extended Distance for synchronous and asynchronous replication for disaster recovery and business continuance Page 6 of 8

8 Dynamic Provisioning Hitachi s implementation of thin provisioning for block storage is called Hitachi Dynamic Provisioning (HDP) and is supported on the HUS block storage modules. Its basic premise is to allow storage administrators to consume storage space as data is being written to disk rather than reserving or allocating chunks of space at some time prior to the time data is written. Dynamic Provisioning permits the unused capacity seen by applications and operating systems to be greater than the actual physical available capacity. As a result, storage administrators are released from having to continually deal with the manual process of assigning storage each time manually allocated capacity is used up. Command Director While Command Director is a module within Command Suite, it can be used in stand alone mode as a way to accomplish essential management tasks with HUS. Command Director offers SLO monitoring along with reports and charts of key metrics like top storage capacity consumers across block and file resources, busiest nodes, overall environment health and performance metrics. It also provides chargeback reporting that could in the future be integrated with external billing processes. Data Protection With the introduction of HUS and HCS 7, Hitachi is introducing Hitachi Application Protector (HAPRO) application consistent snapshot management software for data protection. Self service GUIs to HAPRO can be provided to selected storage users such as database administrators, putting them more in control of their data and relieving storage administrators of repetitive, time consuming, data protection tasks. Integration with core application management interfaces (for Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, and SharePoint, Oracle and SAP) is provided so that data recovery can be accomplished by these users as well and at the individual file level. For more information, see Evaluator Group s additional report on HAPRO and other data protection capabilities available with HUS and HCS 7. Conclusion We can no longer think of storage management efficiency in terms of TB/administrator. We are moving to PB scale. Managing data at petabyte scale requires a super efficient management model to be sustainable one that promises greater efficiency and simplicity at multiple levels. As data center storage capacities grow to petabyte scale, Hitachi Unified Storage managed by Hitachi Command Suite 7 offers multiple ways to increase efficiency and make storage and data management in accelerated growth environments more efficient. The consolidation of block, file, and object storage under a single umbrella delivers a more integrated, consolidated and simplified management model allowing IT to manage capacity growth with existing staff. It applies storage resident functionality to data protection, space efficient data replication, and thin provisioning across block, file, and object storage in consistent and repeatable ways. Exposing data protection control to select users through application side management GUIs (via HAPRO) removes a significant storage administrative headache that is acutely felt when a user has accidentally deleted a file and needs to recover it immediately. We note that this is the first release of HUS. In future releases, Hitachi indicates that the use of SSD will be supported for both block and file based storage. This will allow administrators to use Hitachi Dynamic Tiering to create storage tiers within HUS that include SSD as a separate storage tier; and even Page 7 of 8

9 tiered file system (TFS) on the File Module which automatically places metadata tables on the fastest storage tier, and user data on a lower tier, for optimum performance. Hitachi will of course continue to sell its AMS2000 and VSP as its midrange and enterprise block storage offerings. Over time, block only configurations of HUS will replace the AMS2000. The Hitachi NAS (BlueArc) product line will continue to be Hitachi s NAS gateway line, and by the 2nd half of 2012, all of these platforms will be managed by HCS. However, HUS represents Hitachi s first unified block, file, and object storage platform. As such, it makes a statement about Hitachi s ability to develop and push forward a super efficient storage and data management model that is consistent with the accelerating growth IT administrators are now grappling with. About Evaluator Group Evaluator Group Inc. is dedicated to helping IT professionals and vendors create and implement strategies that make the most of the value of their storage and digital information. Evaluator Group services deliver in depth, unbiased analysis on storage architectures, infrastructures and management for IT professionals. Since 1997 Evaluator Group has provided services for thousands of end users and vendor professionals through product and market evaluations, competitive analysis and education. Follow us on ### Page 8 of 8