V3 Storage Architecture Overview and Implications for VDI. May 2016

Transcription

1 V3 Architecture Overview and Implications for VDI May 2016

2 Our Technology Philosophy At Sphere 3D, our philosophy is to reduce as many layers of abstraction between hardware and software as possible. 2 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

3 Architectures and Implications Summary Context Architectures to Handle OS & Temp Data Performance, Scaling, Management & Cost NAS Architecture better than SAN for User & App Data What does that mean for a business? Why use a SAN to handle OS & Temp Data? 3 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

4 Summary

5 Choices Inform VDI Feature Set VDI V3 for User & App Data Local for OS & Temp Data or Local HCI VDI Vendors* SAN or NAS NAS for Fail Over\Recovery Local for Speed Implications for Feature Set No limit on distance between nodes Only need to replicate User and App Data on Recovery, leading to faster Recover times No special storage equipment or personnel needed Implications for Feature Set VDI performance with nominal network latency Local storage for each node is segregated; therefore no performance degradation as you add nodes No need to replicate OS and Temp Data on Recovery, leading to faster Recover times No special storage equipment or personnel needed SAN or NAS SAN for Speed & Fail Over\Recovery Implications for Feature Set VDI performance subject to network latency of SAN Distance of more than 1-10 miles creates multiple, isolated storage networks Performance degrades as nodes increase All Data needs to be replicated, leading to very slow recover times Expensive & special networking equipment required Skilled storage AND VDI professionals required * HyperConverged Infrastructure vendors including Nutanix, SimpliVity, EVO, etc. We are referring to the VDI side of their business, not their server virtualization side. 5 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

6 Context

7 Let s Look at How a Desktop Interacts with Desktop I\O Description Physical Analogy App Data Opening, saving or closing what users traditionally think of as files (Excel file, Word file, etc.). Read\writes are occasional so speed is not essential. Taking a tool out of the toolbox and a project (an unfinished chair) out of the storage room. Then putting it back. User Data The customized settings that make a user s desktop look like his or her desktop: desktop background image, the selection of apps, where the apps are (pinned on taskbar, etc.), the settings within each app (show ribbon, hide toolbar, etc.), browser settings like bookmarks. Read\writes are occasional so speed is not essential. Choosing a carpenter s toolbox: color of the toolbox, the actual selection of tools in the box, the type of tool and its color. OS & Temp Data Write Read The hidden things always going on in the background so that the computer can function properly. Read\writes are constant and numerous so speed is essential. A carpenter s heartbeat and breathing. 7 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

8 Why OS & Temp Data Constantly Access If the heartbeat and breathing of a system perform badly, then the entire system will perform badly. OS & Temp Data must be handled efficiently for the entire system to perform well. OS & Temp Data Write Read Physical Near constant read\writes of OS & Temp Data On the Windows desktop, there is near constant movement of information from physical to virtual (also called the PageFile) which is in and back. Developers created the PageFile because physical is expensive and there are limits to that can be used (for example, for 64 bit OS, limit is 8GB of physical ). The PageFile allows the Desktop and its apps to use more than physically is available. Virtual or PageFile Even if there is enough physical, the Windows OS will constantly interact with the PageFile. As Microsoft says Virtual memory is always being used, even when the memory that is required by all running processes does not exceed the volume of that is installed on the system. * * 8 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

9 Why OS & Temp Data Constantly Access Because read\writes of User & App Data is much less frequent, speed and performance are less important features. Much more important is the ability to move that data so users can Fail Over and Recover instantaneously. Desktop Down New Desktop App Data User Data App Data User Data Some things to consider here are: v Is there a distance limitation on how far the new desktop can be from the old one? How quickly will the data replicate? Can the new desktop have different computing resources from the old desktop? 9 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

10 Architectures to Handle OS & Temp Data

11 Management Layer (software) Comparisons of Architectures to Handle OS & Temp Data V3 HCI VDI Vendors Local Bus Connection Connections Switch Card Card Combining VDI & SAN makes at least 3 Nodes Required Some systems require even more nodes than the bare minimum. Card Yes, you re seeing that right. V3 s storage architecture for OS & Temp Data really is that simple vs. every other traditional VDI vendor. 11 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

12 Management Layer (software) Path of a Write Transaction V3 HCI VDI Vendors In the SAN, the Write Transaction from VDI must be written to 3 different Nodes or Servers. It is done over a slower network connection. It must be processed with software (management overhead) and so also requires CPU and at each server. A Write Transaction (for example, a keystroke or moving from app to app) is a series of electrical impulses. In a V3 box, these electrical impulses only have to hit 1 physical component before hitting storage and there is almost no management overhead (software or processing). Connections Card Local Bus Connection Switch Card Write Transaction must hit at least 3 Nodes The Windows OS is constantly writing to the PageFile on, so handling this Write Transaction well has profound effects on VDI performance. The electrical impulses of a Write Transaction must be moved through and processed by a variety of hardware components. Most of the latency or delay is due to the LAWS of PHYSICS. Card 12 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

13 Performance, Scaling, Management & Cost

14 Choice of Architecture for OS & Temp Data Creates Dramatically Better Performance for V3 N.B. V3 testing based on LoginVSI 4.1. Competitor testing based on published LoginVSI benchmarking. 14 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

15 Law of Physics are Bad for Scaling HCI VDI Nodes Increasing the number of Nodes or servers increases the length of the path that the electrical impulses need to travel and\or the processing (management overhead) that the software governing the nodes needs to do to determine the shortest path. There is a hard stop at 1-10 miles. If you locate a Node or Server more than 10 miles away from another Node, then the entire system will stop working or you will add another storage network to implement and manage. VDI run on SANs are sensitive to distance. You can see why VDI run on SANs have to be centralized, data center installations. 15 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

16 Management Layer (software) Management of V3 is Easier V3 HCI VDI Vendors Local Bus Connection Connections Card Managing a local bus connection is much easier than managing a SAN with fluctuating performance based upon how many users are on the system, how many apps each user has opened and what apps each user is using. Switch Card Write Transaction must hit at least 3 Nodes SANs attached to VDI installations are very unusual animals and often react in strange ways during normal use. Card In fact, SANs themselves without VDI attached is a complex system that requires highly skilled and expensive people to manage. 16 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

17 Less Stuff means V3 is more Cost Effective In traditional VDI installations, the Costs include very little actual dollars allocated to storage. Most of the Cost is related to deploying and managing the SAN. 17 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

18 NAS Architecture Better than SAN for User & App Data

19 V3 & NAS Enable Distributed Desktops V3 and NAS HCI VDI Vendors & SAN Desktop Down New Desktop App Data User Data App Data User Data NAS Desktop Down App & Temp & OS Data User Data SAN New Desktop App & Temp & OS Data User Data Moving users when a desktop goes down. No limit on distance Near instantaneous 10 mile limit on distance 4+ hour Recover time (more data to be moved & restored) Desktop Desktop with GPU & More Compute App Data User Data App Data User Data NAS No limit on distance Near instantaneous Moving users to give them a more powerful virtual desktop. 19 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

20 What Does That Mean for a Business?

21 What Does That Mean for a Business? With Traditional HCI VDI, you have the following restrictions: Must deploy at least 3-4 Nodes or servers in your installation; As you Scale Up or Out, your performance degrades; Cannot do varying size, Multi-Site or Distributed/Cannot do Single Appliance per Distributed Site; Hyperconvergence is not an answer to the issues listed above. 21 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

22 Traditional VDI Must Start with Large Deployment V3 HCI VDI Vendors Initial Install Initial deployment can be sized to the number of users in the location. Traditional HCI VDI vendors force a customer to start with at least 3 Nodes or Servers. Most vendors mandate 4 Nodes or Servers to start. 22 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

23 Traditional VDI Must Start with Large Deployment V3 HCI VDI Vendors Best efforts Internet Connection Initial Install Scaling to Add Users Scaling Out does not affect performance in any way Scaling Out by increasing the size of the total SAN, the length of network connections, the number of variables (Nodes) that the storage management software has to deal with, etc., degrades overall performance for every user. 23 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

24 Traditional VDI Cannot Do Distributed, Multi-Site or Single Appliance V3 HCI VDI Vendors Best efforts Internet Connection Initial Install If the ROBO is more than 10 miles away (nearly all are), then the ROBO must have a full new deployment with another storage network. Now there are 2 SANs that must be connected in some way. There must be a management overlay (more storage software) to manage the 2 SANs. Fail over or disaster recovery from one site to the other is very cumbersome and time consuming and\or expensive. ROBO deployment can be sized to the number of users in the remote office\branch office. Adding a Remote Office/Branch Office Now there are 2 SANs to manage. 24 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

25 Hyperconverged VDI Explained Traditional VDI Switch Mgmt Layer (software) Card Hyperconvergence claims to solve many problems by moving storage nearer to the compute (VDI). It provides a marginal improvement. Putting everything in 1 physical box does not change the fact that storage is still managed through a SAN. Every Write Transaction must move through a very circuitous path through 3 Nodes in the SAN. Putting physically in the box does not magically make the SAN equivalent to local storage, no matter how it looks visually. Hyperconverged Switch Mgmt Layer (software) Still network connection to storage Card The electrical impulses of a Write Transaction must still be moved through and processed by a variety of hardware components in all 3 Nodes. Most of the latency or delay in a storage network is due to the LAWS of PHYSICS. Path of a Write Transaction 25 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

26 Hyperconverged Does Not Solve the Problem Traditional VDI VDI Server Connections Switch Mgmt Layer (software) Card Server Hyperconvergence simply puts VDI in a nicer looking package! Hyperconverged Still network connection to storage VDI Just because it s in 1 Box does not make it better. It does not make it local. Switch Mgmt Layer (software) Card 26 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

27 Why Use a SAN to Handle OS & Temp Data?

28 Why Use a SAN The Logical Question Some History Why a SAN Worked for Server Apps Looking at Code as an Archaeological Dig How to Deal with Fail Over and Disaster Recovery 28 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

29 The Logical Question If a SAN is more expensive, much slower and doesn t scale anywhere near as well as Local, why are VDI vendors using SANs in the first place? 29 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

30 The Answer Lies in History vmotion & the Ability to Fail Over Jumpstarts Server Virtualization SAN is not a Problem in the Data Center Data Center Installation Multiple VMs sit on each server Conditions for vmotion \ SAN 3+ Nodes required Physical proximity to reduce network latency \Centralized deployment High end networking equipment In fact, vmotion is DESIGNED for the DATA CENTER! 30 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

31 There is another Major Reason Why SANs Works with Server Apps Desktop Apps Read/Write to Often Server Apps Not So Often App Data User Data Temp & OS Data Windows Desktop Apps Saving & opening App files (like Word or Excel) Sporadic read\writes. User preferences (bookmarks, default settings) Sporadic read\writes. Every keystroke, every action taken by the user or the computer results in read\writes. This data is analogous to breathing & heartbeat. If performance here is poor, then everything else will be poor. Massive read\writes! Server Apps Very little read\writes compared to desktops. Even less Temp & OS Data read\writes which are the ones that degrade performance the most Moving this much data back & forth through the storage network is much harder than moving this much data! Path of a Write Transaction Server apps are much more efficient in using the OS than Desktop apps. Because of this efficiency, server apps access the storage network less (less read\writes). Less use of the storage network means the storage network has much less of an impact on app performance for server apps than for desktop apps. 31 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

32 Layers and Layers and Layers of Code V3 HCI VDI Vendors Desktop App Desktop App Guest OS Guest OS Sphere 3D value-add V3 s Desktop Cloud Orchestrator (DCO) Hypervisor Mgmt Layer Hypervisor VMWare value-add * Hypervisor Mgmt Layer Hypervisor VDI Vendor value-add Host OS Host OS Sphere 3D value-add Our philosophy is to remove layers of abstraction between software and hardware. Unlike other VDI vendors, we believe less is more. With DCO we were able to provide the Desktop app with local access to storage using a bus. That direct, local connection removed the need for a lot of slow and cumbersome layers of code. SAN Mgmt Layer Virtualized Pool VDI Vendor value-add 32 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary * Please note that V3 SmartNodes which are designed for the data center does use.

33 Others that have Tried Local Connections to Could not Handle Fail Over V3 Other Local Bus Connection NAS replicates User & App Data. No limit on distance. V3 s Desktop Cloud Orchestrator (DCO) asynchronously backs up User and App Data on local storage to another V3 appliance located anywhere in the world. In the event the first V3 appliance goes down, DCO will immediately Fail Over to the second V3 appliance. Local Bus Connection If the first Node or server goes down, others were not able to Fail Over to another Node. Despite the many advantages of local storage, other VDI vendors had to default to less efficient SANs because of this inability to do Disaster Recovery. Disaster Recovery? Problem solved. 33 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

34 Management Layer (software) Conclusion How Do you Untie the Gordian Knot of for VDI? Connections Card Desktop App Guest OS Hypervisor Mgmt Layer Switch Card Hypervisor Host OS Card SAN Mgmt Layer Virtualized Pool 34 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary

35 Conclusion Make it Simple VIRTUAL DESKTOPS OPTIMIZED FOR HORIZON DESKTOPS HYBRID READY APPLIANCE S DISTRIBUTED ENTERPRISE Deploy hundreds of desktops in minutes on one appliance MULTIPLE CONFIGS & SCALE POINTS Standardize & consolidate infrastructure for all remote/departmental workloads using our Knowledge Worker, Business Graphics or Professional Graphic Appliances Designed to work with Horizon Air Hybrid Mode END-USER AUTONOMOUS RESOURCE SCHEDULING Manage & Orchestrate across locations with no downtime INTEGRATED DESKTOP FAILOVER NON-DISRUPTIVE DDA SCALE OUT 35 Sphere 3D Corp Proprietary