EMC Delivers VFCache (Formerly Project Lightning)

EMC Corporation introduced VFCache, a new server Flash caching solution.

Together, VFCache and EMC Flash-enabled storage systems improve application performance by leveraging intelligent software and PCIe Flash technology-testing resulted in up-to 3X increased throughput while reducing latency by 60%.

With this announcement, EMC is extending Flash technology to the server and evolving the benefits of PCIe Flash technology from edge case social media and internet to mainstream mission critical applications such as Microsoft, Oracle, and SAP. Now databases (CRP, ERM), OLTP, email, Web, and reporting-any read-intensive workloads with cacheable working sets-can benefit from the performance benefits of PCIe Flash.

VFCache combined with VMAX, VMAXe, VNX and VNXe storage delivers performance with protection (high availability, data integrity, reliability, and disaster recovery). While VFCache is the next evolutionary step of EMC’s Flash strategy-requiring no disruption to customers’ existing storage architectures-it delivers benefits.

Putting Flash drives into the storage array achieved an order of magnitude better performance – 300X faster data access than 15K HDD. Now, placing Flash technology in the server on a PCIe card can accelerate performance up-to another order of magnitude-4000X faster data access than 15K HDD.

Coming in the next year, EMC will add deduplication technology to VFCache, enabling customers to achieve more efficiency from Flash technology. Additional Flash capacity and form factors will also be supported. VFCache will also more deeply integrate with EMC storage management technologies, and additional integration with FAST architecture. EMC’s vision for VFCache is delivering an efficient and intelligent I/O path from the application to the data store. The result will be a networked infrastructure that is dynamically optimized for performance, intelligence, and protection for both physical and virtual environments.

EMC VFCache Technology Benefits

• Performance. VFCache is a fast PCIe server Flash caching solution. It resides in the server, eliminating the need for hot data to travel through the network to the storage array-boosting throughput performance in some cases up-to 3X and reducing latency by 60%. The PCIe Flash cards deliver better throughput and response, while using four times less CPU and memory resources than competing solutions.  
• Automated Intelligence. VFCache is enabling a new tier of high performance storage in the server. VFCache extends the EMC FAST architecture to facilitate an intelligent end-to-end data tiering and caching strategy from the storage to the server.
• Enterprise Protection: VFCache enables customers to benefit from protection with ‘write-through caching’ to the storage array. When data is written to VMAX, VMAXe, VNX or VNXe storage, customers have the confidence of knowing data is protected by highest availability storage with data integrity, data reliability and disaster recovery. The information remains shareable and scalable – without any stranded storage.

EMC also plans an early customer access program for ‘Project Thunder’ in the second quarter of 2012. It is optimized for high-frequency, low-latency read/write workloads, will build upon the PCIe technology delivered in VFCache to leverage the power of Flash through a dedicated server networked Flash-based appliance.

Frank W. Smith, Senior IT Infrastructure Manager, PPG Industries, said: "PPG Industries manufactures coatings and specialty products for the construction, consumer products, industrial and transportation markets. Putting Flash in the server was an easy decision for us. We know that the closer data on Flash is to an application, the better it will perform. However, we need more than just crazy fast I/O. Our data is the lifeblood of our operations, so we require a solution we can count on to protect our mission critical data while adding performance. That is why we chose EMC VFCache for our Oracle environment, which complements our Symmetrix VMAX storage running FAST VP. With EMC, we get performance with protection-crazy fast I/O coupled with EMC’s trusted networked storage. There is no other solution on the market today that comes close to offering VFCache’s comprehensive performance, intelligence, and protection."

Craig VanHuss, IS Manager, Enterprise Systems, Crutchfield Corp., said: "Crutchfield Corporation is a leading catalog and Internet retailer of consumer electronics products. We’ve been impressed with the performance and efficiency benefits of Flash drives and FAST Suite in our Microsoft SQL Server database environment, responsible for hosting www.crutchfield.com. After being introduced to EMC VFCache, we started thinking about the performance benefits of having data on Flash drives that are even closer to our SQL Server application-the closer to the application, the better it will perform. The potential performance benefits got us really excited. Deploying VFCache together with our Flash-enabled VNX running SQL would enable Crutchfield to protect our mission critical data while adding insanely fast performance."

Brian Carpenter, Vice President of Information Technology, Heritage Auctions, said: "Heritage Auctions (HA.com) is the largest collectibles auctioneer, and third largest auction house in the world. All of our data resides on EMC storage, which is the backbone of our mission critical Microsoft SQL Server environment. Using Symmetrix VMAXe with FAST VP enables us to leverage Flash drives to increase performance for faster response time to bidders. VFCache means we can extend the intelligence of FAST into the server-providing unparalleled response to our bidders."

Dave Vellante, Chief Analyst, Wikibon.org, said: "EMC landed a haymaker in 2008 when it introduced Flash into Symmetrix VMAX arrays and set the precedent for maximizing Flash technology in storage arrays. In 2012 we’re seeing the extension of the storage hierarchy where flash is being managed from the server all the way through to the spinning disk array. An important development is software that intelligently places data at the most appropriate location in this emerging storage hierarchy. Combined with FAST, EMC VFCache is a leading example of this trend coming to market as a solution."

Pat Gelsinger, President and Chief Operating Office, EMC Information Infrastructure Products, said: "EMC identified very early on that Flash technology would change the industry forever, and became the first to bring Flash to enterprise storage. With today’s announcement, EMC also becomes the first to implement PCIe Flash in a way that ensures mission critical applications reach new levels of performance, at the right cost, and with the level of protection and intelligence that customers demand."

Jason Nolet, Vice President, Data Center and Enterprise Networking, Brocade Communication Systems, Inc., said: "EMC and Brocade have a long-standing relationship in the delivery of high-performance, highly resilient data center solutions. The deployment of EMC VFCache and FAST storage tiering technology will better enable customers to gain the businesses efficiencies of Flash with the confidence that their data is fully protected throughout its information lifecycle. Brocade fabric-based networks, which feature industry-leading performance and built-in resiliency, are a natural connectivity choice for EMCs new offering."

Satinder Sethi, vice president, Data Center Solutions, Server Access and Virtualization Technology Group, Cisco Systems, Inc., said: "EMC VFCache extends the benefits of Flash storage into the computing system to dramatically improve application performance. VFCache complements the high density of the Cisco UCS platform to deliver higher performance computing needed in a virtualized data center environment and to support big data and business analytics applications."

Eugene Saburi, General Manager, SQL Server Product Marketing, Microsoft Corporation, said: "SQL Server customers who are looking to increase caching and storage performance can now take advantage of recent innovations in enterprise Flash technology. By extending PCIe flash caching technology to the server with VFCache-and putting data even closer the application-EMC is aiming to supercharge performance. EMC VFCache with SQL Server has the potential to boost caching and storage performance, while maintaining enterprise-class data protection."

Raghu Raghuram, senior vice president and general manager, Cloud Infrastructure and Management, VMware, said: "Our customers are focused on simplifying management for the cloud. With VFCache EMC is extending its expertise in information management and exploiting the benefits of Flash directly to the server-whether in a physical or virtual environment. VFCache coupled with VMware cloud infrastructure and EMC storage can deliver heightened levels of performance with data protection, easing our customers’ journey to transform their IT infrastructures."

Jamie Shepard, Executive Vice President, Technology Solutions, International Computerware, Inc., said: "VFCache is a brilliant addition to EMC’s already comprehensive, Flash-optimized portfolio. VFCache will deliver a performance boost unmatched in the industry today-and with the protection our customers have come to expect from EMC storage. This new solution will change application performance as we know it today."

Keith Norbie, Vice President, Nexus Information Systems, said: "VFCache allows Nexus to provide our clients with a unique performance AND protection blend-while leveraging the benefits of EMC’s Flash optimized storage arrays. What our clients will gain in performance and protection is complemented with the intelligence of EMC’s unique automated storage tiering technology through EMC FAST. VFCache will help us satisfy the performance boost requirements, protection needs and automated intelligence for our customers with mission critical, hybrid cloud environments."