An In-Depth Look at the RamSan-810 Flash Solid State Disk

An In-Depth Look at the RamSan-810 Flash Solid State Disk A white paper by Robbie Stevens, Senior Marketing/Technical Writer Web: RamSan.com Facebook: facebook.com/texasmemorysystems Twitter: @TexasMemory LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/texas-memory-systems Scan this QR code with your smartphone for more information on the RamSan-810. Download a QR scanner here: http://2dscan.com RamSan and The World s Fastest Storage are registered trademarks of Texas Memory Systems, Inc. 2011 Texas Memory Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of Texas Memory Systems is strictly forbidden. Texas Memory Systems cannot be responsible for errors in typography or photography. Information in this document is subject to change without notice.

Table of Contents Introduction... 4 A Closer Look at the RamSan-810... 6 emlc Flash Storage... 8 Performance... 9 Bandwidth... 10 I/Os per Second (IOPS)... 10 Latency and I/O... 11 Connectivity... 12 SAN Connectivity... 12 Fibre Channel... 13 InfiniBand... 14 Reliability... 15 Three Layers of Flash Memory Protection... 15 Layer 1: ECC for Flash Memory... 15 Layer 2: Variable Stripe RAID for Flash Memory... 15 Layer 3: Active Spare (System-Level, Optional)... 15 Flash Wear Leveling... 16 Batteries... 16 Fault Isolation... 17 Capacity... 18 Availability... 19 Scalability... 20 Manageability... 21 For More Information... 23

Table of Figures The RamSan-810... 4 RamSan-810 Flash Module Diagram... 6 RamSan-810 Architecture Diagram... 7 Back Connectivity of the RamSan-810... 13 Inside the RamSan-810... 17 Browser Configuration Interface (System Information)... 21

Introduction For years, Texas Memory Systems has recommended only single-level cell (SLC) technology when implementing Flash storage in the datacenter. While some competitors have introduced multi-level cell (MLC) Flash devices, TMS believes that consumer-grade MLC is too unreliable for the majority of enterprise environments. However, there is now an alternative. Enterprise MLC (emlc) is a new kind of MLC Flash technology that offers an order of magnitude greater reliability than consumer MLC while maintaining a similar price point. emlc is perfect for tier-one storage situations and applications such as data warehousing, content delivery networks, and other read-intensive environments. The RamSan-810 packs up to 10 TB of the latest emlc Flash in a compact 1U enclosure. It delivers up to 320,000 IOPS and 4 GB/s through its 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel or 40 Gb/s QDR InfiniBand connections. While SLC is still recommended for write-intensive workloads, emlc allows for the performance and reliability that Texas Memory Systems is famous for at a more affordable price point. FIGURE 1: THE RAMSAN-810 15k RPM hard disk drive (HDD) arrays are officially obsolete for tier-one storage applications. The RamSan-810 blows away 15k RPM HDDs in density, cost, and reliability while offering stunning performance and power efficiency. This solid state disk (SSD) leverages generations of backplane, interface, and reliability experience designed into RamSan SSDs. The RamSan-810 has the following key features: The World's Fastest Storage : Sustained I/O rates up to 320,000 IOPS for reads or writes and sustained, random bandwidth up to 5 GB/second. Fault Tolerant Flash (FTF): The Flash used in the RamSan-810 is enterprise grade emlc Flash. Each Flash module in the RamSan-810 includes on-board RAID protection to protect against chip failure. In addition, an advanced chip-level ECC provides multiple levels of bit correction per page. Series-7 Flash Controller : One key to the RamSan-810 s uncompromising performance is the Series-7 Flash Controller incorporated into each Flash module in the system. Based on high-performance Xilinx FPGAs and a PowerPC processor, the Series-7 Flash Controller is field-upgradable, ensuring that TMS customers will always have the best performance and latest features. November 2011 4 Texas Memory Systems

Variable Stripe RAID (VSR ): VSR is a patented technology only available to TMS customers that drastically reduces wasted Flash storage. If a Flash plane fails, VSR automatically rebuilds and relocates the data from that plane. It then allows data to be rewritten to the working area, dynamically altering the size of the stripe to avoid the failed plane. Under traditional RAID schemes, the entire stripe would have been unusable and all its remaining good planes would have been lost. 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel: The RamSan-810 is available with up to two dual-ported 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel interfaces. 40 Gb/s QDR InfiniBand: The RamSan-810 is available with up to two dualported 40 Gb/s QDR InfiniBand interfaces. Active Spare: One FTF card can be designated as an active-spare that works hand-in-hand with the chip level RAID. If one of the cards experiences a failure that degrades its RAID protection, the system will immediately migrate the data on that card to the hot-spare to return to a fully redundant state. Wear Leveling: The RamSan-810 includes wear-leveling technology that protects the underlying Flash media by spreading out writes and maximizing the write life of the system. Completely Non-Volatile: Flash memory is inherently non-volatile. Batteries are incorporated into the design anywhere RAM buffers are used with enough power to synchronize the buffers to Flash storage upon power loss. Unparalleled Scalability: A single 1U chassis upgrades from 2 to 10 TB of Flash storage and from two to four Fibre Channel or InfiniBand ports. Multiple units can be added to meet any capacity or performance requirement. Low Power: The RamSan-810 typically uses only 250 watts of power. November 2011 5 Texas Memory Systems

A Closer Look at the RamSan-810 Enclosed in the RamSan-810 are up to 21 Flash modules, each containing 20 emlc Flash memory chips (totaling up to 420 chips). The key features of these Flash modules are explained in more detail below. FIGURE 2: RAMSAN-810 FLASH MODULE DIAGRAM The RamSan-810 provides on-board hardware-based Variable Stripe RAID deployed across all Flash chips for maximum data protection. A dedicated Series-7 Flash Controller manages 20 chips on each Flash module. To ensure enterprise-grade performance and reliability at an affordable price point, TMS chose emlc NAND Flash for the RamSan-810. The consumer-grade MLC Flash used in some competing products lacks the endurance and performance of emlc, making it unacceptable for mission critical enterprise deployments. November 2011 6 Texas Memory Systems

Flash Module Flash Module Flash Module Flash Module Flash Module Flash Module Flash Module The RamSan-810 incorporates a small amount of RAM which is also involved in accelerating write speeds. Because RAM has much lower data access times (latency) than Flash, storing the Flash translation table on RAM significantly improves write performance. The RAM is also used as a buffer to help queue and manage writes to the Flash maximizing write efficiencies. The key system-level features of the RamSan-810 are explained in more detail below. IB or FC Interface IB or FC Interface Manager Internal Data Switch (21 total) FIGURE 3: RAMSAN-810 ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAM A fully loaded RamSan-810 has 21 total internal RAID groups and 420 Flash elements all working in parallel. This architecture allows for resiliency while delivering industry-leading performance. The RamSan-810 has up to 13 TB of raw Flash storage, 30% more than the 10 TB of advertised usable space. The extra Flash storage enhances both the performance and the reliability. A process called wear leveling spreads data writes evenly over all the Flash blocks, dramatically increasing the Flash media endurance; plus, the extra storage ensures that pre-erased Flash blocks are always available, accelerating write performance. To protect the data as it moves through the RAM buffers, the RamSan-810 includes batteries that hold significantly more charge than needed to flush the RAM to persistent Flash. Thanks to the batteries, you could actually unplug the RamSan-810 from its host without warning or preparation and lose no data. November 2011 7 Texas Memory Systems

emlc Flash Storage The RamSan-810 is the first Flash SSD from Texas Memory Systems that does not use SLC NAND Flash storage. In the past, we have asserted that SLC is the only Flash storage medium fast and reliable enough for the enterprise. Why have we changed our position? The introduction of Enterprise MLC (emlc) Flash provides datacenters with an attractive middle ground between SLC Flash and consumer-grade MLC Flash. The following are some key differentiators of emlc Flash when compared to SLC and MLC: emlc Flash is almost as fast as SLC Flash in RamSan products. The RamSan- 810 achieves at least 80% of the sustained IOPS and bandwidth performance of its SLC-based cousin, the RamSan-710. emlc Flash is ten times as reliable as MLC Flash at the chip level. Most emlc Flash chips are rated for 30,000 write/erase cycles, meaning that you should be able to rewrite reliably to each location in the chip 30,000 times. In contrast, same-generation consumer MLC Flash is typically rated for 1,000-3,000 write/erase cycles, while SLC Flash is typically rated for 100,000 write/erase cycles. emlc Flash is approximately twice the capacity density of SLC Flash. Current emlc Flash places two bits in each physical chip location (cell), while SLC Flash only holds one bit per cell. emlc Flash is approximately half the cost per capacity of SLC Flash. Since chip costs are roughly proportional to chip area, squeezing twice the capacity into the same area reduces the cost per capacity by half. November 2011 8 Texas Memory Systems

Performance Performance is key to a quality SSD. As the latest SSD from TMS, the RamSan-810 maintains the RamSan tradition of providing the World s Fastest Storage. The RamSan-810 boasts the following key performance metrics: 70 microsecond access time (writes) 160 microsecond access time (reads) 320,000 sustained random IOPS (writes) 320,000 sustained random IOPS (reads) 5 GB/second sustained bandwidth The key measure of the RamSan-810 s capabilities is its ability to sustain extreme inputs/outputs per second (IOPS) even with mixed read/write workloads. This is important because most applications have a mixture of reads and writes with a great deal of random access. Most other Flash SSDs and hard disk drive (HDD) solutions suffer significant performance degradation from random access patterns. In practice, this means that the emlc-based RamSan-810 will deliver better sustained real world random read/write application performance than any MLCbased SSD. And if other Flash SSDs have difficulty competing with the performance of the RamSan-810, hard disk drives can t even get in the ballpark. Consider this: high performance 15K RPM Fibre Channel (FC) HDDs can achieve at best 300 IOPS. At that IOPS rate, it would take over 1,000 HDDs to equal the performance of one RamSan-810. This means almost 80 3U 14-disk enclosures in six 44U racks, all of which would draw over 15,000 watts, while one RamSan-810 uses 250. You can also compare HDD to the RamSan-810 on the basis of capacity and performance. The highest-performing 15K RPM FC HDDs usually provide 600 GB of capacity. One disk enclosure would offer 8 TB of raw storage, but deploying these drives in RAID 10 sets for performance and reliability would actually offer only 4 TB of usable capacity for each enclosure. To equal the RamSan-810 s 10 TB capacity you would need three of these enclosures and 17 disks. Combined with the controller (another 3U), the full disk solution would require 12U (almost a third of a rack) and provide only 1% of the performance of the RamSan-810. Perhaps most surprisingly, if you include the power, space, and cooling costs with the upfront acquisition costs, the RamSan-810 may be the LESS expensive solution. November 2011 9 Texas Memory Systems

Bandwidth Maximum data throughput is another key performance metric. The RamSan-810 delivers its bandwidth to hosts through up to four 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel interface ports or up to four 40 Gb/s QDR InfiniBand ports. Its high bandwidth offers two main benefits: High bandwidth enables administrators to share the RamSan-810 across multiple hosts without affecting performance. Some applications require high bandwidth, including video on demand, data warehousing and analytics, and non-linear video editing. Competing SSDs offer far less bandwidth than the RamSan-810, cannot support all of the applications the RamSan supports, and cannot be shared with as many hosts. An important feature of the RamSan-810 is that it provides this massive 5 GB/s bandwidth in a 1U form factor that also offers up to 10 TB of capacity drawing 250 watts and weighing 25 pounds. An HDD-based system would need almost 80 drives to match this bandwidth, take up 18U of rack space, and draw roughly 1,200 watts. An important note to keep in mind as you compare the RamSan to HDD RAID: our solid state disk can sustain its bandwidth numbers with random data streams. Conversely, HDD RAID systems can only sustain high bandwidth numbers with sequential data streams. I/Os per Second (IOPS) The RamSan-810 in a 10 TB configuration can deliver 320,000 random IOPS to your applications. We stress "random IOPS" because HDD RAID manufacturers occasionally cite their IOPS performance and discerning buyers should be aware that these quoted numbers almost always represent sequential IOPS performance. Similarly, if you see Flash SSD performance quoted, beware that many times these numbers only reflect read performance, are often based on cache hits, and are not sustainable without extremely high thread counts to the system. Further, some Flash manufacturers quote numbers that are only achievable with odd capacityconstrained configurations. The problem with sequential IOPS is that almost no "real world" applications actually result in sequential small block disk access. So why do you need high random IOPS? They are needed to process database transactions. Database transactions have two main characteristics: they are small (typically 4 KB pages), and they are random. Small random file accesses thrash HDDs. In fact, really good 15K RPM HDDs can only provide around 300 random IOPS. Fast HDD RAID systems would need over a thousand drives to match RamSan-810 performance, if the controller didn t become a bottleneck first. November 2011 10 Texas Memory Systems

This brings us to an answer to the original question it is important to support a high number of IOPS because your servers can produce a high number of IOPS. When your processor is faster than your storage, then your processor literally waits on storage for data needed to perform calculations this is called I/O wait time. If your processor is waiting, then your users are waiting too. In addition, you are wasting a significant investment in the latest processors and software licenses. By supplying very high random IOPS, the RamSan-810 eliminates I/O wait time for all of its stored files. Because its random IOPS capabilities are so extraordinary, a single RamSan-810 can provide I/O acceleration for multiple host servers. Latency and I/O Peak application performance is affected by the combination of response time (latency) and peak I/O at certain thread counts, block sizes, and read/write patterns. HDD RAID systems typically offer 4-8 millisecond access times. To lower response times and increase performance, HDD RAID systems add RAM or Flash caches to their array controllers. These caches can lower latency to around 0.5 millisecond access times when the requested data resides in the cache, but when it doesn t and the data request goes through to the back-end disks, the latency returns to 4-8 milliseconds. The RamSan-810, on the other hand, offers 0.07 millisecond access times for writes. This is much faster than HDD RAID systems. The RamSan-810 provides 0.160 millisecond access times for reads. This is at least 25 times faster than most HDD RAID systems as well. In fact, in most cases the Flash-based RamSan- 810 will return data faster than the cache on RAID subsystems (regardless of the type of storage used for the cache). For some customers, this combination of low latency and sustainable I/O is the key to improving application performance. When you consider the RamSan-810 s blend of high combined bandwidth, fast random IOPS performance, and extremely low latency, it is clear why Texas Memory Systems calls the RamSan "The World's Fastest Storage." November 2011 11 Texas Memory Systems

Connectivity SAN Connectivity The field of solid state disk options has expanded dramatically as the cost has come down. This expansion has included SSD connectivity. Now you can buy SSDs that look like HDDs and connect using the same methods: SAS, SATA, and so on. You can also find SSD solutions such as the RamSan-810 that connect using Fibre Channel or InfiniBand interfaces directly to servers or through Storage Area Networks (SAN) and even Network Attached Storage (NAS) architectures. In-server, Direct-Attached Storage (DAS) PCIe SSD options such as the RamSan-70 are also available, offering the ability to put a high performance, high capacity SSD solution entirely within a server. PCIe connectivity can be a powerful feature for high-end workstations, small database systems, sharded and distributed shared-nothing data, and other environments which need highly local storage. It isn t the best solution for every storage requirement, however. When deploying PCIe-based solutions, the SSD capacity is limited by the number of PCIe expansion slots supplied by the manufacturer. Plus, the SSD cannot be shared directly with other machines without additional software, potentially requiring more license fees and overhead. Some proponents of PCIe SSDs claim that locating the SSD close to the server CPU increases performance by avoiding network and storage array performance penalties. The truth is, connecting SSDs using a high speed low latency interface such as 8 Gb/s Fibre Channel or 40 Gb/s QDR InfiniBand adds <10 microseconds to an access. The Flash storage medium itself, the SSD controllers, and the PCIe interface add significantly more latency than this. So you can, in fact, configure externally attached SSD with lower latency and higher IOPS and bandwidth than can be achieved with a PCIe SSD implementation. The RamSan-810 is an SSD attached externally to servers. Because of this it does not suffer from the limitations of PCIe solutions. By leveraging SAN and NAS architectures the RamSan-810 offers some important advantages: Shareability Redundancy Ability to provision the exact SSD capacity that an application requires Centralized management These SAN/NAS-derived features enormously broaden the range of SSD solutions over PCIe products. For example, consider an organization that has 20 servers, each needing 500 GB of SSD capacity. The systems administrator could consider two options: first, deploy twenty 900 GB RamSan-70s, one for each server; or second, November 2011 12 Texas Memory Systems

deploy a RamSan-810 and provision twenty 500 GB LUNs one for each server. In the first scenario each server must have maintenance scheduled, take downtime to install the RamSan-70, and then have 400 GB of excess capacity locked in the server. In aggregate, this leads to 8 TB of excess SSD capacity. And consider if the application storage requirements change down the line. With a RamSan-810, storage requirement changes can easily be accommodated, while an internal solution is effectively locked up forever. The RamSan-810 offers the flexibility of shareable externally attached storage that can be integrated with host side or SAN/NAS side software features such as data deduplication, data replication, and snapshots. The RamSan-810 installs in minutes and appears to the server operating system as simply another storage drive, albeit a blazingly fast one. The RamSan-810 connects to its host or SAN/NAS fabric using Fibre Channel or InfiniBand to support its very high performance and low latency capabilities. Fibre Channel The RamSan-810 uses Fibre Channel interfaces to connect to up to four host devices directly and to storage networks for connection to a virtually unlimited number of devices. FIGURE 4: BACK CONNECTIVITY OF THE RAMSAN-810 Our newest Fibre Channel interface, the FC-381, includes two 8 Gbit Optical (LC) Fibre Channel interface ports. The FC-381 supports 8, 4, and 2 Gbit devices and auto-negotiates to operate in the proper mode. Both ports can be active, enabling LUN sharing across servers and various multipathing and clustering schemes. The FC 381 supports the following Fibre Channel topologies: Point-to-Point: The RamSan-810 properly implements the point-to-point (n-port to n-port) topology for Fibre Channel. Through the point-to-point topology, the RamSan-810 can be attached directly to up to four host servers. Switched Fabric: The most popular way to attach a RamSan-810 is with the switched fabric topology. The switched fabric topology implies that there is a storage network switch between the host and the RamSan-810. Switched fabric topologies can be used to provide unparalleled scalability and redundancy for storage networking. Because Fibre Channel switches tend to add very little November 2011 13 Texas Memory Systems

latency to storage transactions, the switched fabric topology is still an excellent choice for high performance storage. InfiniBand The RamSan-810 also supports up to two dual-ported QDR InfiniBand controllers (IB-381). The system communicates with InfiniBand adapters installed in host systems and switches using the standard SCSI Remote Protocol (SRP), providing direct storage access just like other block storage devices. November 2011 14 Texas Memory Systems

Reliability Some people believe that Flash-based SSD is not ready for the enterprise, partly due to issues of data reliability. In the case of RamSan products, this simply is not true. But it is true that Flash, as a storage medium, presents certain challenges for storage engineers. The storage medium in the RamSan-810 is enterprise Multi-Level Cell (emlc) NAND Flash. emlc or SLC NAND Flash the only types of Flash used by Texas Memory Systems are required for enterprise applications where there is any kind of mixed read-write workload and heavy sustained use. Some SSD vendors have recently incorporated consumer-grade MLC NAND Flash chips. But MLC is slower and offers less reliability than emlc or SLC. From the TMS perspective, use MLC in mixed workload enterprise environments at your own risk. In order to meet enterprise reliability requirements, the RamSan-810 includes many key reliability features in its fault tolerant Flash (FTF) cards: Three Layers of Flash Memory Protection Layer 1: ECC for Flash Memory A proprietary Error Correction Code (ECC) implementation corrects additional random bit errors within each 1,024-byte data set, a significant increase over the bits required by the Flash memory manufacturer. An additional cyclic redundancy check (CRC) adds additional data protection by validating each data set after error correction has been performed. Layer 2: Variable Stripe RAID for Flash Memory Variable Stripe RAID (VSR ) is a patented technology from Texas Memory Systems that reduces the risk of uncorrectable errors in user data while preserving as much storage space as possible. VSR maximizes chip storage space since it is not necessary to relocate an entire stripe following a failure on the chip. For example, if a plane fails VSR automatically responds, seamlessly rebuilding and efficiently relocating any stripes that contain the plane. By dynamically altering the stripe size, VSR can drastically reduce wasted planes. Layer 3: Active Spare (System-Level, Optional) At the system level, the RamSan-810 allows you to designate one of the cards inside the system as an active spare that works hand-in-hand with the chip level RAID on each of our boards. If one of the cards experiences a failure that degrades its RAID protection, the system will immediately migrate the data on that card to the Active Spare to return to a fully redundant state. At that point, the failed card will be November 2011 15 Texas Memory Systems

inactive and can be swapped during the next scheduled maintenance downtime. Having the Active Spare means that a faulty card can be swapped in a matter of minutes without the need to migrate all 10 TB of data off of and back onto the RamSan. Flash Wear Leveling Wear leveling is a common feature in Flash SSD solutions. Wear leveling is required because the underlying Flash memory chips are specified to handle a limited number of writes. The RamSan-810 uses high quality emlc NAND Flash memory specified to handle 10 times more programs/erases (writes) than the lower quality MLC NAND Flash used in consumer devices and many other SSDs. Even with the use of emlc Flash memory, it is still important to implement wear leveling strategies in order to prolong the write endurance of the system. The RamSan-810 includes proprietary algorithms to maximize its write life and is designed to operate for 10 years at a continuous 15% write bandwidth. Batteries The RamSan-810 uses a small amount of RAM on each of the Flash controllers in the system. This RAM is used to store the Flash management tables for the card and buffer writes. In order to ensure the buffered data is written to Flash, the RamSan- 810 includes redundant batteries. If external power is lost, the batteries will automatically engage and provide ample amounts of power to back up the RAM contents to the Flash storage area. This ensures that the RamSan-810 is an entirely non-volatile storage device. November 2011 16 Texas Memory Systems

Fault Isolation The RamSan-810 is designed to isolate any failures within the system. The major components are illustrated below. A passive backplane provides multiple connections between the fault tolerant Flash (FTF) cards, the multiple controllers in the system, the redundant power supplies, and an out-of-band management card. The management card coordinates system startup /shutdown, monitors system environmental conditions, sends out fault alerts, and provides a management interface. It is not in the data path and a failure here does not impact data availability. 2-10 TB of emlc Flash boards 2 dual-ported FC or IB interfaces Management control processor Redundant fans Redundant power supplies Front panel controls and display Batteries 1U chassis FIGURE 5: INSIDE THE RAMSAN-810 November 2011 17 Texas Memory Systems

Capacity The RamSan-810 is a high capacity emlc Flash system that provides up to 10 TB of usable capacity. Behind the scenes, the RamSan-810 also adds an additional 11% capacity to store XOR RAID data and 20% for general overprovisioning purposes, yielding a total raw capacity of approximately 13 TB. November 2011 18 Texas Memory Systems

Availability TMS has been designing and building high availability enterprise solid state storage for over three decades. The Ramsan-810 is no exception. TMS anticipates a few common deployment models for the RamSan-810: Just a Bunch of Flash (JBOF): A separate LUN can be presented for each FTF card in the RamSan-810. This flexibility allows you to mirror LUNs for maximum data protection. These LUNs can then be accessed externally by servers or storage appliances. The RamSan-810 units can also be deployed as single modules/arrays. In this mode LUNs are created that stripe across all of the FTF cards. This mode provides the maximum capacity and performance but limits the availability of the system as each LUN is created as a RAID 0 across multiple highly reliable FTF cards. The RamSan-810 includes redundant, hot swappable power supplies and redundant cooling fans. SNMP alarms, the browser-based management console, and the system s front panel simultaneously alert administrators to any failures. To assist in this process, Texas Memory Systems offers a variety of support options, including next day or 4-hour onsite support, advance parts replacement, and on-site spare kits for all serviceable components. For more information on Texas Memory Systems support options, visit http://ramsan.com/support/warranty. November 2011 19 Texas Memory Systems

Scalability The RamSan-810 provides up to an industry leading 10 TB of usable capacity. Capacity options start at 2 TB and can be scaled internally in 2 TB increments to the maximum usable capacity of 10 TB. Usable capacity can be split into 1 to 1,024 LUNs depending on application requirements. Enterprises starting with 2 TB configurations can expand storage capacity as their databases grow. An added benefit of having higher capacity per chassis is decreased total cost of ownership for large SSD configurations. Total cost of ownership comes from the lower price per capacity available at high capacities in a single chassis and from the lower management costs associated with having fewer discrete systems to manage. For customers with much larger data sets, multiple RamSan-810 systems can be arrayed. For example, a single rack containing 40 RamSan-810 units can provide 400 TB of usable Flash storage capacity and sustain 160 GB/second of random data transfers. The RamSan-810 includes slots for two dual-ported 8 Gbit Fibre Channel interfaces or two dual-ported QDR InfiniBand interfaces. Some of our customers use this capability to provide active/active multipathing configurations, while others use additional slots to directly connect to multiple servers or more switch ports. Each controller added to the RamSan-810 increases the performance available to performance-starved applications. November 2011 20 Texas Memory Systems

Manageability The RamSan-810 includes the most management features of any SSD to ensure the most effective and efficient use of your investment. Administrators can access the RamSan's management capabilities over the network or directly from the unit. From either a Telnet/SSH or an SSL secured browser interface (all password protected), administrators can monitor the RamSan's various sensors and status alerts and fully configure the system. FIGURE 6: BROWSER CONFIGURATION INTERFACE (SYSTEM INFORMATION) From these interfaces, administrators can: Configure from 1 to 1,024 LUNs of arbitrary capacity that can be used by a single server or shared across multiple servers, with optional masking features Configure Fibre Channel and InfiniBand interfaces View all SNMP alerts, system temperatures, and the status for every major component Monitor real-time performance Generate system reports for diagnostic purposes Specify RamSan network settings Unlike many other storage appliances, the RamSan-810 also incorporates a front panel display with basic control and monitoring functionality. The front panel display shows Fibre Channel or InfiniBand port activity during normal operation and November 2011 21 Texas Memory Systems

displays any system-generated warnings. Using the buttons next to the front panel display, the user can configure the RamSan's IP address and initiate a manual shutdown of the unit. The RamSan-810 is fully compatible with existing SNMP tools. November 2011 22 Texas Memory Systems

For More Information Texas Memory Systems has designed and built high availability enterprise solid state storage for over three decades. The RamSan-810 is no exception. However, to provide added peace of mind TMS offers a variety of support options. Texas Memory Systems sales and support specialists are available to discuss what the RamSan-810 can do in your particular application or environment. Call our main office in Houston, Texas, at +1 (713) 266-3200 or do one of the following: For more in-depth information, visit http://ramsan.com. For more information on support options, visit http://ramsan.com/support. Existing customers contact support@ramsan.com. Potential customers contact sales@ramsan.com. November 2011 23 Texas Memory Systems