Demartek Validates Nimbus SSD System

Nimbus Data Systems, Inc. announced that Demartek, LLC, a test lab for storage, has completed a performance validation of Nimbus S-Class multiprotocol flash system.

In the study, the Nimbus S-Class delivers nearly 8,000MB per second, a record-setting accomplishment for a single flash memory storage system.

The report also validates Nimbus‚ support of VMware Storage APIs for Array Integration, formerly known as VAAI, including Hardware Acceleration APIs, Array Thin Provisioning APIs, and Automatic SSD Enablement.

"Establishing new levels of performance is important for the industry, and establishing new unified flash memory storage technologies that have practical use in the real world is what is valuable to IT professionals struggling to meet user demands and budget realities," said Dennis Martin, president of Demartek. "Solid-state memory solutions like Nimbus’ are affordable, high performance alternatives to adding hundreds of additional spindles of HDDs. Nimbus’ close integration with VMware and its storage-specific APIs will further help broaden the potential audience for flash memory technology and simplify deployment in virtualized environments."

Multiprotocol Storage Performance
The Demartek SSD Deployment Guide confirms that Nimbus S-Class flash memory systems deliver performance across a range of protocols, including 10GbE, FC and IB. Demartek ran IOzone and TIObench, two benchmark tools, against the Nimbus S-Class, performing individual tests at varying block sizes and combined tests over multiple protocols at the same time. In IOZone, just one Nimbus S-Class 2.5TB system utilizing a dual-port QDR IB connection delivered near line-rate 7.6GBps performance on reads and over 2GBps on parity-protected (RAID-5/6) writes.

Purpose-built Non-blocking Architecture
Fuels Record Performance
The uncached performance results demonstrate the advantages of Nimbus‚ proprietary non-blocking controller architecture. Unlike off-the-shelf storage enclosures and servers, its approach eliminates expanders and oversubscription that hinder legacy storage arrays modified with flash or all-flash arrays based on commodity servers. TIObench results, which take advantage of caching, show higher performance, with multithreaded read operations bursting to over 20GBps, an accomplishment for a single Nimbus S-Class system. This speed sets a new bar for price/performance and energy/performance unmatched by legacy 15K RPM disk arrays or competing flash arrays.

VMware Storage API (VAAI) Integration
Demartek also validated Nimbus’ support of VMware’s Storage Hardware Acceleration APIs, including Full Copy, Block Zeroing, and Hardware-Assisted Locking. These storage array-specific features reduce the CPU and memory utilization of VMware hosts, increasing VM consolidation per host and reducing administration and licensing costs.

Full Copy, also called copy offload, enables Nimbus systems to make copies of data within the storage system without having the host read and write the data, accelerating operations like vMotion and reducing the network load when cloning and provisioning VMs from templates.

Block Zeroing, also called write same, enables to zero out a number of blocks to provide newly allocated storage, increasing effective storage utilization and simplifying administration.

Hardware-assisted locking, also called atomic test and set (ATS), enables the to support sector-level, rather than LUN-level locking, enabling larger LUN sizes while improving storage performance, increasing VM consolidation, and simplifying administration.

Automatic SSD Enablement
Demartek also validated Nimbus’ support of Automatic SSD Enablement, a new feature in vSphere 5 that leverages the low latency of flash technology to improve VMware operations. Benefits include the ability to utilize Nimbus-based datastores as swap space and host cache for improved system performance. By automatically appearing as an ‘SSD Type’ device, Nimbus datastores do not require manual SSD tagging, simplifying administration. Nimbus is the only flash memory system in Demartek’s SSD Deployment Guide shown to support these capabilities.

"As demonstrated Demartek’s hands-on test results, a single Nimbus S-Class system can replace hundreds of 15K spinning disks, slashing power and operating costs while increasing VM density and storage performance dramatically," stated Thomas Isakovich, CEO and founder of Nimbus. "The close VMware integration also demonstrates Nimbus’ commitment to solving the unique challenges faced by virtualization users by providing not just flash hardware, but an intelligent flash memory platform that works seamlessly with end-user applications and deployment scenarios."

About the SSD Deployment Guide
The April 2012 SSD Deployment Guide released by Demartek is designed for managers and technical professionals within IT departments who are exploring the possible benefits of SSD technology or who are looking for actual deployment examples of SSD storage solutions. It is designed to provide basic information about SSDs and practical guidance for planning and deploying SSD technology and products. This is primarily a technical document, including information about the types of solid state media that are available, form factors, deployment examples, and more.