Download - Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
1/12
Optimizing the Storage
Infrastructure for the
Private Cloud and Beyond
2012 Dell and VMware
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
2/12
2 2012 Dell and VMware
Table of Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Data center evolving to cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Evolution to private cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Tools streamline storage management in virtual environments . . . . .7
Revolutionary approach: Hybrid cloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Case study: Iland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
3/12
3 2012 Dell and VMware
Introduction
The Gartner Executive Programs (EXP) survey shows that CIOs top twotechnology priorities are implementing virtualization and cloud computing
technologies to reduce capital expenditures (CAPEX) and operating
expenditures (OPEX) and increase agility and flexibility. Two-thirds of
organizations have virtualized 50% or less of their infrastructure, and 29% say
the primary roadblock is the lack of in-house installation and management
skills. As organizations migrate Tier-1 applications to virtual environments, it
becomes essential to implement a storage platform that tightly integrates with
virtual servers to deliver crucial new capabilities needed by the business along
with the performance, scalability and reliability needed to support virtualizationof mission-critical applications.
Dell EqualLogic PS series SAN arrays abstract storage objects from storage
hardware to make storage as dynamic as upper-layer applications. A flexible,
scalable storage environment based on a shared pool of resources avoids the
cost and complexity of specialized storage networks. Dell EqualLogic iSCSI
SANs are tightly integrated with VMware vSphere and VMware View
to simplify the deployment of new functionality through streamlined storage
management, enhanced virtualization capabilities and superior businesscontinuity. EqualLogic support of vStorage APIs for Array Integration
(VAAI) enables quick deployment of virtual machines (VMs) from templates
and improves storage on volumes shared by multiple VMs.
Dells storage infrastructure integrates with virtualization to transform
physical silos into elastic virtual capacity while utilizing built-in, policy-driven
management to automate repetitive administrative tasks. Users are provided
with secure self-service to predefined IT services under a pay-for-use model.
Virtualization is the evolutionary path to cloud computing. Private cloud
computing combined with public cloud computing provides the ultimate
flexibility in workload deployment by shifting workload from internal to
external resources on demand while ensuring high levels of security.
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
4/12
4 2012 Dell and VMware
Data center evolving to cloud
Cloud is top technology priority
The Gartner EXP survey found that virtualization and the cloud are CIOs top
technology priorities. The survey included responses from 2,014 CIOs repre-
senting over $160 billion in corporate and public-sector IT spending across 50
countries and 38 industries. Currently, 3% of enterprises have the majority of
IT running in the cloud or on software-as-a-service (SaaS) technologies, but
over the next four years, CIOs plan to increase that number to 43%.
Benefits of virtualization and the cloud
Its not hard to see why CIOs place such a high priority on migrating to
virtualization and the cloud. Virtualization offers the potential to substantially
reduce CAPEX by reducing the number of physical servers and other
computing equipment that need to be purchased. Migrating spikes in demand
to the public cloud provides further CAPEX savings by eliminating the need to
purchase capacity to handle peak workloads.
Virtualization delivers substantial reductions in OPEX by reducing the number
of servers that need to be managed. Virtualization also reduces managementtime per server by automating and centralizing computing services. A library of
virtual machine templates drastically reduces the time required to provision a
server. Reducing the number of physical servers in the data center also reduces
power consumption and space requirements.
Virtualization and the cloud enable organizations to exploit global business
opportunities at a much faster speed. Bringing a new product to market
traditionally requires the purchase of hardware, software deployment and
testing, and possibly even new staff hires. Virtualization eliminates or reduces
these expenses by making it possible to deploy virtual resources to meet the
requirements of the product. Software deployment and testing is reduced or
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
5/12
5 2012 Dell and VMware
eliminated, since the new servers can be built from images of existing
production servers. The new resources integrate with existing resourcesso additional staffing is rarely needed.
Two paths to the cloud
Enterprises can choose between two primary paths to the cloud: evolutionary
and revolutionary. The evolutionary path preserves current investments by
putting existing enterprise applications into virtual machine containers. With
virtualization serving as the foundation, additional capabilities are then layered
on, such as usage-based billing/chargeback, workload life-cycle management,
dynamic resource pooling and self-service portals for users.
The revolutionary path adopts a new paradigm by developing cloud-native ap-
plications to leverage cloud-specific resources. This approach is appropriate
for Greenfield opportunities within organizations and is targeted at nontradi-
tional, Web 2.0 applications that are written for and deployed in the cloud.
These revolutionary solutions are often delivered together as an integrated,
turnkey unit.
Evolution to private cloud
Storage infrastructure challenges
As enterprises move to take advantage of the benefits of virtualization and the
cloud, a key challenge is architecting a storage infrastructure to enable the
private cloud. Server virtualization enables different operating systems to
share the same hardware and makes it easy to move workloads between dif-
ferent hardware, even while the applications are running. In order to take full
advantage of the potential of the cloud, storage needs to be just as dynamic byabstracting storage objects from physical storage in order to enable automatic
storage management and provisioning.
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
6/12
6 2012 Dell and VMware
In order to achieve the workload mobility required to support a resilient
virtual infrastructure for Tier-1 applications, virtualized servers require high-performance, concurrent access to shared storage resources. The storage
platform must deliver performance, reliability and scalability to support the
virtualization of mission-critical applications and the development of cloud
computing environments with self-service capabilities. At the same time, the
storage platform must help control operational costs by streamlining
management to avoid unnecessary administrative tasks.
Dell EqualLogic arrays optimize performance for virtualized environments
Dell EqualLogic virtualized iSCSI SANS provide a high-performance
storage infrastructure that can be tightly integrated with VMware virtualized
server and desktop environments. The Dell EqualLogic PS series iSCSI
SAN fully virtualizes storage across drives, controllers and networks to
decouple the logical storage service from the physical hardware and thus
bring the same benefits to storage that VMware brings to servers. Equal-
Logic PS series storage allows organizations to pool storage resources,
creating a flexible, scalable storage environment while consolidating storage
hardware.
By using Ethernet as the underlying network protocol, EqualLogic PS series
arrays help IT groups avoid the cost and complexity of specialized storage
networks and make it possible to leverage their investment in and knowledge
of Ethernet infrastructure. Dell EqualLogic has a rich and growing suite of
integrated storage capabilities that work with VMware APIs and dont
require the use of the NFS protocol.
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
7/12
7 2012 Dell and VMware
Tools streamline storage management in virtual
environments
VMware offers market-leading solutions that help businesses address their
server and desktop virtualization needs. Dell and VMware have a long
history of collaboration. Dell EqualLogic virtualized iSCSI SANs are
tightly integrated with VMware vSphere and VMware View. Included
with each storage array is a set of tools designed to streamline storage
management, deliver enhanced virtualization capabilities and enable busi-
ness continuity strategies for enterprises.
EqualLogic Datastore Manager
Dell EqualLogic Datastore Manager provides fast and efficient storage
integration and management of EqualLogic storage in VMware environ-
ments. This tool is used to create new datastores, expand existing datastores
and monitor datastores from vCenter in a matter of minutes. Since Datastore
Manager is a virtual application in vCenter, administrators can manage
storage from within their familiar vSphere framework.
Auto-Snapshot Manager
Dell Auto-Snapshot Manager / VMware Edition (ASM/VE) provides data
protection at the VM level. ASM/VE uses VMware vStorage APIs to create
instantaneous, space-efficient, online hypervisor-aware snapshots, clones
and remote replicas of virtual machines and Virtual Machine File System
(VMFS) datastores. ASM/VE is deployed as a vCenter vApp, meaning that
administrators can set automated schedules for snapshots, clones and
replicas from within the vCenter management framework.
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
8/12
8 2012 Dell and VMware
EqualLogic Virtual Desktop Deployment Utility
The EqualLogic Virtual Desktop Deployment Utility streamlines virtual desk-top infrastructure provisioning while optimizing the storage footprint. This tool
employs EqualLogic template volumes and thin clones to provide efficient
space utilization and enhances productivity by automating VM pool creation,
VM registration and patch and update management. The Virtual Desktop De-
ployment Utility deploys as a vApp in vCenter.
Storage Replication Adapter for Site Recovery Management
The VMware vCenter Site Recovery Management (SRM) Storage Replication
Adapter helps simplify disaster recovery management, automation and testing
for virtualized data centers. Combined with the native EqualLogic PS series
auto-replication feature, SRM enables administrators to easily replicate data,
configure VM protection groups and test recovery plans.
Dell Multipath Extension Module
The Dell Multipath Extension Module (MEM) automatically manages network
connections. It creates iSCSI sessions to all members that a volume spans.
As the storage environment changes, MEM responds by automatically addingand removing iSCSI sessions as needed. Furthermore, multiple paths to
storage enable load balancing of SAN traffic and provide redundant
connections to reduce the impact of network interface failures.
VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration
VMware vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) provide native
integration between the hypervisor hosts and the storage arrays, enabling
VMware vSphere software to work directly with Dell EqualLogic PS
series arrays. These off-loading operations can dramatically accelerate VMdeployment tasks by avoiding the requirement to read the data all the way up
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
9/12
9 2012 Dell and VMware
the storage stack and write it back down the storage stack. Instead, VMFS
directs storage to move data directly, resulting in a 76% faster boot, a 75%reduction in CPU load and a 95% reduction in SAN traffic.
A number of VMFS operations cause the logical unit number to temporarily
become locked for exclusive write use by one of the VMware ESX nodes,
such as moving a VM with vMotion, creating a new VM or deploying a VM
from a template. A VAAI feature called Atomic Test and Set allows the ESX
server to off-load the management of the required locks to storage and
avoids locking the entire VMFS file system.
VM provisioning from a template reduces installation time and standardizesworkloads. However, it requires a full data copy, which for a 100GB template,
may take five to 20 minutes. VAAI uses the arrays native copy/clone and ze-
roing functions for a 10x to 20x speedup in provisioning time.
VMware vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness
VMware vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) are a new set of APIs
that complement and coexist with VAAI off-load capabilities. Where VAAI
focuses on providing APIs to enable the off-loading of storage-related
functions from VMs to storage systems that support those capabilities, VASA
focuses on providing insight and information. For example, VASA enables
Dell EqualLogic arrays to provide vCenter with visibility into storage
configuration, health status and functional capabilities.
Dell Server Management Plug-in
In addition to the storage plug-ins mentioned above, the Dell Server
Management Plug-in for VMware vCenter Server seamlessly integrates
with vCenter to simplify and consolidate the management of server andvirtual infrastructure from a single console. It enables administrators to
create and use hardware and hypervisor templates to ensure consistency
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
10/12
10 2012 Dell and VMware
and maintain corporate-approved standards. According to a product review
by InfoWorld, Dell has compressed thankless and repetitive server admintasks into a few clicks of the mouse. It has also made gathering up-to-date
hardware inventory information extremely simple.
Dell vStart series
The Dell vStart series is a plug-and-play virtualization stack with all the hard-
ware, software and cabling preinstalled in the rack. vStart includes all of the
infrastructure required to run hundreds of VMware virtual machines. The
racks are shipped to the customer for installation by trained, certified
professionals who can quickly get the customer operational. The standardbuilding blocks are based on industry best practices and real-world designs,
with performance and availability optimized and provided in a complete
environment.
Revolutionary approach: Hybrid cloud
Virtualization increases efficiency by standardizing servers, operating
systems, desktops and applications. The next step is a hybrid cloud
environment that allows users to tap into resource pools when needed. Thisbusiness model lets end users have the keys to the kingdom so they can
rapidly provision servers and scale on demand at their own expense. The
end-to-end hybrid solution provided by VMware and Dell uses the same
architecture as the private cloud solution described earlier, so users can shift
workload from internal to external resources based on demand and pay for
hosted services only when needed.
Dell Cloud with VMware vCloud Datacenter Service is an enterprise-class
infrastructure as a service (IaaS) hosted in a secure Dell data center thatprovides access to vCPUs, memory, storage networks, IP addresses,
firewalls, catalog capabilities and additional services. Pooling of servers,
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
11/12
11 2012 Dell and VMware
networks and storage increases agility and reduces the time and CAPEX
needed to set up and maintain computing environments. On-demandcapacity makes it possible to quickly increase or reduce computing capacity
to respond to new business opportunities, seasonal/cyclical trends and other
fluctuations in demand. Mobile users have anytime access from multiple de-
vices, and stronger service-level agreements improve end-user satisfaction.
Case study: Iland
Challenge
Iland has evolved from a collocation and application hosting company into a
cloud infrastructure provider with high-availability cloud data centers in
Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas and London. The
company needed a fully redundant, cloud-ready solution that would provide
customers with high availability, scalability, ease of management and finan-
cial efficiencies while enabling them to target replication to a remote facility
for disaster recovery.
Solution
Iland chose Dell as one of its key technology partners to provide server and
storage environments through cloud offerings based on Dell PowerEdge
servers and Dell EqualLogic iSCSI SAN storage. Iland has standardized on
Dell EqualLogic PS6000 series iSCSI SAN arrays in its six data centers.
Benefits
Iland saved more than $1 million across several multi-array implementations
of Dell EqualLogic iSCSI storage, compared with the cost of Fibre Channel
SANs. The company provides cost-effective disaster recovery capabilitiesusing the built-in replication capabilities of Dell EqualLogic. Only five to 10
-
8/2/2019 Dell - VMware Optimizing WP (4!26!12)
12/12
12 2012 Dell and VMware
minutes is needed to install and configure a new EqualLogic unit. Global
visibility is provided into multiple EqualLogic units via one pane of glass,
with no-charge SAN headquarters software. EqualLogic iSCSI storage
requires 30% less administrative time compared with Fibre Channel.
Conclusion
Virtualization is the evolutionary path to cloud computing. Dell and VMware
have teamed to integrate the infrastructure needed to implement private
cloud computing. Furthermore, Dell and VMware offer hosted cloud
services at Dell data centers. Dell EqualLogic PS series SANs provide a
high-performance, scalable, cost-effective and easy-to-manage storage
platform for private cloud computing in virtualized data centers. Dell and
VMware have collaboratively developed a broad array of capabilities that
administrators can utilize to protect data, streamline management and
control costs. Dell EqualLogic PS series SANs enable organizations to
create virtual environments for mission-critical applications, deploy desktop
virtualization infrastructures and construct next-generation cloud environ-
ments that maximize the value of virtualization for the entire enterprise.