I attended the NEVTUG 7^th Annual Winter Warmer. First, a shout out to Chris and Dawn Harney for always putting together a great event.

Some great questions were asked during our breakout session, “Storage Performance in a VMware World – How to Architect and Design” including:

1) How does FlashSoft™ handle VMware VAAI (vSphere® APIs for array integration)?

2) What is the impact to FlashSoft regarding the following VAAI SCSI commands:

a. Write Same for bulk zeroing a range of blocks?

b. Extended Write (xcopy) for replicating a range of blocks?

c. Compare & Write for atomic block update?

Questions like these are the reason I love attending the Winter Warmer! Attendees are deep into VMware, its features and functions, and are interested in learning more.

Here’s the answer:

VAAI stands for vSphere Storage APIs – Array Integration.It is designed to be used by VMFS on the underlying LUN, if the array exposing the LUN supports VAAI. It improves the performance of certain operations between VMFS and the array by offloading the operations to the array instead of VMFS, reducing overhead on the server memory and CPU.

Since FlashSoft runs within ESXi as a kernel module, it sits above VMFS as a file level filter. All the VAAI related operations happen further downstream behind VMFS. FlashSoft does not have any impact on VAAI, nor does VAAI have any impact on how we cache individual VMDK files.

If you just read the above and said “Huh?” Let me break it down.

1. FlashSoft runs in the server, not in the array, and is completely transparent to the storage array. VAAI is designed to be used by a storage array so it has no impact on FlashSoft and vice versa.
2. FlashSoft is specifically architected as an ESXi kernel module, and functions as part of the hypervisor. As such it does not interfere with any of the features and functionality of the hypervisor. You can use FlashSoft without compromising any of the other features in the hypervisor such as vMotion®, HA, DRS, SRM, etc. Of course, this also means FlashSoft works with any VMware-supported operating system in the VM.
3. VAAI works mainly during initialization of storage or when zeroing out or copying/cloning VMDKs. VAAI functions are typically performed during non-steady state when application I/O is not yet active for these particular LUNS. FlashSoft is typically used when the system is in steady-state and applications/virtual machines are active.

So when would you use VAAI and when would you use FlashSoft?

VAAI moves server processes to the array, reducing overhead on compute resources like CPU and memory. So VAAI makes sense for workloads that are compute or memory-intensive. VAAI would also be helpful in non-steady-state operations, e.g. after a Storage vMotion to more quickly initiate the array LUN the storage was moved to. On the other hand, FlashSoft is best suited for workloads that are primarily I/O constrained – that is, when the ESXi host CPU utilization is low because the server is waiting for data from storage. FlashSoft enables solid-state devices in the server to be used as a read cache to satisfy most read I/O requests. Write requests are passed-through to primary storage which is typically an array.

Using FlashSoft in conjunction with VAAI may make the most sense of all, since the whole point of a virtualized infrastructure is to bring all available resources to bear when and where needed.

If you would like to know more about VAAI, here is a good place to start: vStorage APIs for Array Integration FAQ

For more information on FlashSoft visit www.sandisk.com/flashsoft-connect.

Victoria

At Dell World last month, I had the opportunity to chat again with the folks from Truth in IT. Host, W. Curtis Preston and I discussed the rapid change in the mindset of enterprise organizations when it comes to the adoption of flash as a cache in the server – moving from a possible application to an inevitable application – to take full advantage of the potential that flash offers in reducing I/O latency.  We also talked about the benefits associated with implementing FlashSoft™ for VMware® vSphere® software in the data center to intelligently accelerate I/O to use cache most effectively.

The complete interview is available here.  Check it out when you have the chance.

Rich

In 2012, SanDisk demonstrated its commitment to the enterprise market in various ways. SanDisk’s acquisition of FlashSoft and Schooner Information Technology, coupled with its 2011 acquisition of Pliant Technology, allowed the company to quickly offer a strong portfolio of flash-optimized hardware and software solutions for the enterprise.  In fact, SanDisk launched two new enterprise product lines in 2012 –  Lightning® PCIe Solid State Accelerators (SSAs) and FlashSoft™ 3.0 for VMware vSphere.

2012 was an incredibly productive year, and SanDisk culminates its success with participation at Dell World and HP Discover, widely attended by some of most influential enterprise and IT-focused managers, businesses and media.   These events provided SanDisk with the opportunity to be the first to demonstrate prototypes of SSDs with the new NVM Express and SCSI Express PCIe interfaces, and show the power and breadth of our FlashSoft product line.

At Dell World, SanDisk showcased its range of enterprise hardware and software solutions qualified to meet Dell’s strict standards, including SanDisk’s SAS enterprise SSDs and FlashSoft software. SanDisk’s next-generation Small Form Factor NVMe SSD was demonstrated within Dell’s booth, underscoring SanDisk’s technology leadership in the enterprise storage market. In addition, SanDisk participated in live streaming interviews at the Dell News Desk, featuring discussion of its enterprise SSDs and FlashSoft software. The company also contributed a guest blog post on the Dell World Online site entitled, “Understanding the Implications of New Connectivity Standards.”

Rich Petersen discusses performance and efficiency in virtualized environments.

Mike James discusses the implications of emerging industry standards like NVMe in data centers.

Image courtesy of StorageReview.com

Prior to Dell World, SanDisk displayed its robust portfolio of enterprise solutions at HP Discover, and exhibited a working demo of two Small Form Factor SSD prototypes connected via SCSI Express to an HP Express Bay server. SanDisk is also currently the only SSD vendor able to support a working SCSI Express SSD prototype. SanDisk SAS SSDs also appeared in the ProLiant Gen 8 demo where they produced 8x greater results than in the previous Gen 7 system.

As managing the daily flood of new data and content becomes more complex moving into 2013, SanDisk will continue to innovate and provide our customers and partners with leading edge, next-generation solutions that bring performance and efficiency benefits of flash-based storage to the enterprise.

Thanks to everyone for such a wonderful 2012. We look forward to another exciting year in 2013.

Patricia