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VMware vSphere Generates Insane Amounts of I/O

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:04:06 +0100

The news has hit the Internet in various places, but I wanted to point it out here because it does help to debunk the myth that virtualization can’t handle all workload. What’s the news? EMC and VMware have jointly demonstrated that a single VMware vSphere host running just three virtual machines can drive just above 350,000 I/O operations per second (IOPS).

I’ll let that sink in for just a moment. In case you don’t understand just how significant that number is, consider that a typical Fibre Channel drive can sustain somewhere just below 200 IOPS (and that’s being a bit generous). At 200 IOPS per drive, driving 350,000 IOPS would require 1,750 drives. (Fortunately, EMC used Enterprise Flash Drives (EFDs), so far fewer drives were required.) I would wonder how many of us have actually seen a storage array with that many drives.

Chad Sakac of EMC covered the tests on his blog here; the VMware Performance blog also discussed the results in detail as well.

So, next time you are thinking that VMware vSphere can’t handle your database workloads, keep these figures in mind. Or, if you’re a consultant like me, use these figures next time your customer says that virtualization can’t handle I/O-intensive workloads. This looks like pretty definitive results to me.

Dell EqualLogic PS6000 Storage Arrays

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:19:52 +0100

Dell EqualLogic PS6000 Storage Arrays, Enhanced Software Suite Provide Customers Increased Performance and Value

Date: 3/25/2009
Round Rock, Texas

PS6000 Series includes Solid State Drive array to boost database and virtual desktop performance.
New EqualLogic SAN HeadQuarters software offers centralized monitoring and event reporting at no additional cost.
Dell EqualLogic snapshot integration with Microsoft Hyper-V allows for rapid restore of virtual machines.
New Dell ProConsult Storage consulting services that help customers better manage their data.
Dell NX4 availability extends already robust storage portfolio to address customer’s enterprise file storage needs; demonstrates two companies continued commitment to partnership.

Dell today announced availability of the Dell EqualLogic PS6000 series of storage arrays that offer customers increased performance, advanced virtualization capabilities and even greater value than previous generations. To help enterprises preserve and extend their existing investments, the EqualLogic PS6000 series integrates seamlessly into existing EqualLogic storage area networks (SANs) to form a virtualized pool of storage. The new Dell EqualLogic hardware and software, which are a part of Dell’s broad storage portfolio that includes the Dell PowerVault and Dell|EMC product lines, help enterprises easily enhance existing installations.

In addition to product advancements such as solid state drives (SSDs) and an expanded, all-inclusive EqualLogic software suite, Dell also unveiled new Dell ProConsult* infrastructure consulting services to help customers plan and deploy EqualLogic SANs.

The News:

Dell announced five new EqualLogic PS6000 series of storage arrays - PS6000E, PS6500E, PS6000X, PS6000XV and PS6000S. The new products combine a virtualized storage architecture and sophisticated management software with new high-performance hardware components designed to help customers lower costs, reduce complexity and free up resources.
The Dell EqualLogic PS6000 series:
- Performs up to 91 percent faster for sequential write workloads and up to 29 percent faster for sequential read workloads when compared with previous generation. [1]
- Is the first EqualLogic generation to include a Solid State Drive array. The PS6000S delivers SSD technology at an affordable price so more enterprises can practically apply its performance benefits for their critical applications. PS6000S arrays each have dedicated controllers for the SSD drives and can be combined together to scale performance linearly.
- Can support over 500 TB of storage per PS Series group.
Dell is significantly enhancing its all-inclusive suite of EqualLogic storage software. New support for Microsoft Hyper-V Smart Copysnapshots builds upon the PS Series’ existing integration with Microsoft Exchange, Microsoft SQL, VMware and Citrix XenCenter and enables rapid recovery of Hyper-V virtual machines in as little as seconds. Additionally, the Dell EqualLogic PS6000 series of arrays are VMware vStorage-ready, a technology which aims to make more efficient use of storage, networking and hypervisor resources by virtual machines.
Dell is also making available SAN Headquarters, a centralized dashboard that monitors performance and events for dozens of PS Series groups. SAN HeadQuarters is available to all Dell EqualLogic customers under a valid warranty or service agreement no additional cost.
New Dell ProConsult* (Dell ProConsulting Services in EMEA) and expanded Dell ProSupport consulting and customer service offerings are now available to help customers and partners plan, deploy and protect storage investments. In addition to existing storage assessment and migration services Dell is bringing to select markets four new Dell ProConsult design and implementation services that help customers get the most of their EqualLogic investments.
List pricing for the PS6000 arrays starts at $17,000 (USD). The starting price for PS6000S, the model with the Solid State Drives, is $25,000 (USD). The PS6000 series and associated services are available worldwide from Dell and its global PartnerDirect channel partners.
As previously announced, the addition of the Dell NX4 to the company’s broad portfolio of EqualLogic, PowerVault and Dell|EMC storage solutions expands the range of products Dell can offer its customers and demonstrates the two companies continued commitment to their long-standing partnership. The product offers no-compromise availability and advanced file management for Windows, Linux, and UNIX environments, as well as the flexibility to consolidate file and application storage via iSCSI or Fibre Channel.

Quotes:

"With the new EqualLogic PS6000 series, Dell has delivered platform and information management advancements that allow our customers to meet growing storage needs in a simple and cost-effective way,” said Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Storage, Dell. “Features such as solid state discs, all-inclusive monitoring tools like SAN Headquarters, and seamless integration with prior SAN generations, are differentiating Dell from the other storage vendors and delivering on our promise of simple, capable, affordable storage.”
“While storage remains one of the few bright spots across the IT landscape, it is clearly not immune to the realities of the day,” said Steve Duplessie, Founder of ESG. “Cutting operating costs is paramount and gaining efficiency everywhere you can is all that matters. This is exactly why we are seeing accelerated interest in technologies such as iSCSI, and for Dell specifically, as they just keep on adding more and more value to their Equallogic line while effectively lowering the real cost of owning and operating their systems. This is nothing but good for Dell.”

NetApp Backs Virtualization Guarantee with $1 Million Challenge to Help Customer Use 50% Less ...

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:24:25 +0100

NetApp Backs Virtualization Guarantee with $1 Million Challenge to Help Customer Use 50% Less Storage

VMworld 2009, SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.—September 1, 2009— NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) today announced its $1 Million Virtualization Challenge contest to award NetApp® storage hardware, software, and services to a qualifying new customer to reduce the company's storage usage by 50% in a VMware® environment.

Launched in September 2008, the NetApp Virtualization Guarantee Program offers customers a guarantee* that they will use 50% less storage in their virtual environments with NetApp compared to traditional storage. NetApp is now taking the guarantee a step further by offering up to $1 million of NetApp technology and services to a new NetApp customer to further prove NetApp's efficiency in VMware environments. As part of the challenge, an independent third party will benchmark and measure the impact of NetApp's storage.

"We're confident that customers will use 50% less storage with NetApp, so we're willing to put our money where our mouth is with the $1 Million Virtualization Challenge contest," said Patrick Rogers, vice president of Solutions Marketing at NetApp. "Customers are proving that NetApp storage-efficiency technologies such as thin provisioning, deduplication, RAID-DP®, and Snapshot™ can help realize unprecedented space savings in virtual infrastructures. This is a great opportunity for a company that is facing the pressure of cost reduction to address its storage challenges and demonstrate the business impact of its NetApp and VMware environment."

Eligibility and Requirements
To enter NetApp's $1 Million Virtualization Challenge contest, an entrant must be a new NetApp customer and in good standing as a corporation that is incorporated and registered to do business in an eligible state as further described in and subject to the eligibility rules and requirements found at www.NetApp.com/MillionDollarChallenge. All entries must be received by September 21, 2009. The select customer will be chosen by Network World and a NetApp committee and be awarded up to $1 million of NetApp hardware, software, and services. To enter and read more details about the NetApp $1 Million Virtualization Challenge contest, visit www.NetApp.com/MillionDollarChallenge.

For more information on the NetApp Virtualization Guarantee, visit www.netapp.com/guarantee, where you can access program details including FAQs, technical resources, best practices, and the new NetApp Storage Efficiency Calculator to evaluate your current environment and learn how NetApp storage efficiency technologies can lead to higher storage utilization.

VMware Completes Acquisition of SpringSource

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:16:30 +0100

VMware Completes Acquisition of SpringSource

Combination Will Enable Customers to More Efficiently Build, Run and Manage Applications on both Internal and External Clouds

PALO ALTO, Calif., September 16, 2009 — VMware, Inc., (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop through the datacenter and to the cloud, today announced the completion of its acquisition of SpringSource, a leader in enterprise and web application development and management. VMware announced the signing of its definitive agreement to acquire SpringSource on August 10, 2009.

“The combination of VMware and SpringSource will enable us to take our customers on an evolutionary path forward, one that offers a superior platform for both internal and external cloud environments that can host both existing and new applications,” said Paul Maritz, president and chief executive officer, VMware. “What’s more, this combination will move us forward in our mission to simplify enterprise IT and make customer environments more efficient, scalable and easier to manage.”

SpringSource will become a division of VMware and will be led by Rod Johnson, the founder and chief executive officer of SpringSource, who will serve as its General Manager. This division’s charter will be to continue its focus on providing developers and customers the best experience for developing enterprise and web applications on all platforms, with an additional focus on helping VMware create integrated products that deliver a simplified “build, run and manage” experience based on both SpringSource technologies and VMware vSphere™. These new products will extend VMware’s strategy to deliver Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions that can be hosted at customer datacenters or at service providers.

VMWare Studio 2.0

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:31:15 +0100

At the end of August VMware finally released its authoring product Studio 2.0.

This new Studio introduces the support for vApps, the next incarnation of the VMware Virtual Appliances (VA), and a number of additional, welcome features:

Support for vSphere 4.0 (including both ESX and ESXi hosts), Server and Workstation as provisioning engines.
Support for OVF 1.0 and 0.9 formats
Support for VA/vApp customization (logo, EULA, first-boot script and user management capabilities)
Support for virtual machines (previously created with Studio) as input
Support for Windows Server 2003 and 2008 (32/64 bit)
Periodically publish critical updates to deployed VA/vApps through VMware Update Manager (VUM)
Authored VA/vApps have an agent built on a Common Information Model (CIM) Broker and CIM Provider for guest OS management