These past few weeks have been very busy, but exciting for us. We were invited to participate in Stephen Foskett’s Storage Field Day #3 in Denver. For those of you who have presented or been a delegate to one of these events you understand the depth of the technical discussions. While Stephen always has a great group of delegates at these events, those at SFD3 were truly outstanding. Here are links to information on FlashSoft as a result of SFD3:

Videos
SanDisk, FlashSoft, and the Economics of Caching
Core SanDisk FlashSoft Caching Technology
SanDisk FlashSoft for VMware vSphere
SanDisk FlashSoft Performance Results
The above videos are also posted on Vimeo.

Delegate Blog Posts
SanDisk’s FlashSoft Paints a Bullseye on Server Side Caching, Chris Wahl of Wahl Network
Flash Cache Acceleration with Pernix Data and SanDisk FlashSoft, by Ilja Coolen
Storage Field Day 3 Recap, by Justin Paul

Where to Catch FlashSoft Next…

VMware User Group (VMUG) Conferences
If you are in the Philadelphia area attending the VMUG on May 23, you can hear all about FlashSoft in our session from 2:45 to 3:30pm – Serving Up Flash-Based Technology in VMware

We will also be in Charlotte on June 6 and Indianapolis on July 25.

NetApp Partner Academy
This Spring we are joining NetApp to deliver education and training to the NetApp Channel Partners across North America. SanDisk is a NetApp Server Cache Partner with its FlashSoft software validated by NetApp for compatibility with Data OnTAP. FlashSoft works with NetApp data management and data protection solutions so that FlashSoft may be deployed without disruption to existing storage infrastructure and policies, learn more about our joint solutions.

If you would like to see our entire event calendar or more information on FlashSoft, please go to FlashSoft-Connect.

Victoria

Today we announced that the SanDisk FlashSoft software has been validated by NetApp for use with NetApp’s OnTAP enterprise storage and data management solutions. We’re very excited about this announcement, because we’ve worked closely with NetApp over a long period of time to ensure complete interoperability between our products. The NetApp team is excited about working with us because FlashSoft offers their customers a solution that seamlessly improves performance for the broadest set of user applications and operating system environments.

Server-side solid-state caching is a real game-changer in the storage industry, but no matter how great an innovation it represents, there’s little benefit without the assurance of data integrity and compatibility with existing storage systems and operations. From the beginning, FlashSoft software was designed to work with our customers’ preferred server platforms, storage infrastructure and solid-state devices. In our collaboration with NetApp, we’ve gone through rigorous testing to demonstrate that NetApp customers can confidently use FlashSoft software to deliver the performance benefits of a server-side solid-state cache without any disruption to their storage infrastructure.

This year we’ll be working directly with NetApp sales and technical staff, as well as channel partners and customers, to demonstrate the benefits of FlashSoft in NetApp storage environments with servers running Linux, Windows Server, and VMware vSphere. We’ll be hitting the road to visit cities across the country in the NetApp Partner Academy program during May and June, and we’ll be back in Las Vegas for NetApp Insight in October.

If you’re considering solid-state caching in the server for use in your NetApp storage environment, you will want to learn more about FlashSoft.

Tom

Evaluator Group analyst Leah Schoeb recently published a report entitled, “FlashSoft Software from SanDisk: Accelerating Virtual Infrastructures,” which offers an in-depth analysis of the software.  She discusses the challenges behind increasing virtual machine density without sacrificing high performance, and how FlashSoft can address these challenges. Schoeb outlines how FlashSoft handles I/O, the advantages it provides to vSphere and includes test results on tier one application performance and increased VM density.

You can download the full report here. Check it out when you have the chance.

Rich

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

As I previously mentioned the SanDisk FlashSoft team participated in NetApp Insight in Las Vegas a few weeks ago and I can’t say enough what a great experience it was to talk with NetApp® technical sales folks and learn about their customers’ challenges and how we can work together to solve I/O problems. In fact, Tom Matson, Global Channel Sales Manager for FlashSoft software, participated in a video interview in which he commented on the partnership and shared the ways we are working closely with NetApp to link our products together.

Aside from giving some background on the partnership and how the products work together, Tom also shared a thought that is worth calling out – one of the many reasons SanDisk is such an ideal partner for NetApp is our shared philosophy for openness. Meaning, the customer can plug in whatever flash device makes sense to them while still taking advantage of both NetApp and SanDisk solutions to solve I/O challenges.

Together, we provide a game-changing solution for customers. This includes 3 – 5x* performance improvement and about 3x** density improvement. Plus, we’re able to support any operating system in the guest that VMware® currently supports, important for customers running many of the Linux distributions and older versions of Windows. This is due to the way our product is architected and, in turn, how it works so seamlessly with NetApp storage. Whether you are looking for solutions for VDI deployments, virtualizing enterprise data center applications, or accelerating stand-alone database servers, FlashSoft with NetApp can help you achieve your goals without disrupting your existing storage infrastructure.

You can view the full video interview here to learn more about how SanDisk is not only an extension of NetApp but a storage technology partner as well.

Victoria

Trademark, copyright and performance data information, and other technical claims are detailed in the SanDisk Legal Disclaimer page.

Last week I had the privilege of attending the NetApp Insight event in Las Vegas, along with Tom Matson, Channel Sales Manager for FlashSoft software. NetApp® has a rich history of delivering game-changing technology and it was clear from the Insight event that they are still at it, particularly in solid-state caching technology. It was awesome to see the number of sessions covering flash technology and server-side caching.

SanDisk is a NetApp Advantage Alliance Partner. Our partnership with NetApp helps us bring SanDisk’s FlashSoft™ software to enterprise, mission-critical applications that require server-side caching to meet their requirements for high-performance storage. FlashSoft software leverages enterprise flash to reduce I/O latency. This reduction in latency is a key enabler for increased performance and scalability for databases, enterprise applications, and virtualization environments.

In my conversations with NetApp Insight attendees, a couple of key points that resonated were our hardware independence and our agentless design.

Hardware Independent – FlashSoft is designed to work with any solid-state technology, whether from SanDisk or another vendor. Our open approach allows customers to select the flash hardware best suited to their specific needs. This flexibility was a key requirement for many of the people I spoke to at Insight.

Agentless Design – A second point that resonated with attendees is the fact that our software is agentless. This is critical in virtualized environments, where a single host can run multiple VMs. Being agentless means that no software is installed in the VM. In an enterprise environment that may have hundreds of virtualized hosts running thousands of VMs, installing agents in each VM introduces management overhead that admins want to avoid. Because the FlashSoft design is agentless, agents in VMs are simply not an issue. Installation on a virtualized host is straightforward, and users begin realizing caching benefits immediately.

We are excited to be working with NetApp to deliver solutions that allow customers to better meet the demands of the enterprise data center.

Victoria

The FlashSoft team was at VMworld Europe last week in Barcelona. I don’t want to make you jealous, but if you missed the event, you missed a great opportunity to mix with more than 7,000 virtualization professionals like yourself, in Barcelona, in some beautiful Mediterranean weather. But I digress.

I had an interview with W. Curtis Preston of Truth In IT, during the conversation, we coined a new expression: “storage of record.” I have been meeting customers and partners who describe the same dilemma: how do you improve the performance of a storage system that you can’t touch?

As we talk about in the interview, business requirements like regulatory and standards compliance, and technical requirements like backup are increasingly built into the storage infrastructure, making the storage “untouchable”. OK, not always untouchable, but it’s always a very nervous, “sweaty-palms” touch — with lot of constraints and lots of interested parties.

Riffing on the idea of a “system of record” – a familiar concept in information management – we talked abouthow a lot of IT professionals know that flash can improve storage performance, but they can’t touch their organizations’ storage systems, because the entire storage infrastructure has become a kind of system of record. And it’s not just IT that relies on this “storage of record”, it’s Operations, it’s Legal, it’s Finance.

That’s where FlashSoft software can help. Because FlashSoft implements a flash-based cache in the server, it accelerates I/O between server and storage, enabling faster, more scalable storage performance without touching the SAN or any storage systems. Without changing your “storage of record”.

See my interview here, and let us know if you’ve got a “storage of record” problem.

Peter Crosby
Product Manager for SanDisk