hybrid storage architecture
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Overview Product & Specs Architecture Features Proactive Wellness Scale to Fit
Nimble's Hybrid Storage ArchitectureNimble Storage solutions are built on the patented Cache Accelerated Sequential Layout(CASL™) architecture. CASL differs from the traditional bolt-on approach of using flashas a tier. Instead, CASL is designed from the ground up as a hybrid solution to leveragethe lightning-fast random read performance of flash and the cost-effective capacity ofhard disk drives. CASL also incorporates innovative efficiency features, such as inlinevariable-block compression, cloning, and integrated snapshots, to store and serve moredata in less space.
"[Nimble Storage's] compression has been remarkable—and especially on VDIs, wheretoday we are seeing compression of between 60 and 80 percent. Now, we have literallyfour times the space and our expansion options are seemingly limitless."Tony Banken, Network Administrator at Central Minnesota Jobs & Training Services
Some of CASL's key innovations include:
Dynamic Flash-Based Read CachingCASL caches "hot" active data into a flash-based SSD in real time—without need to set any complex policies. This way it can instantly respondto read requests—as much as 10X faster than traditional bolt-on or tiered approach to flash.
Write-Optimized Data Layout:CASL collects or coalesces random writes to the array, compresses and writes them sequentially to disks. This results in write operations that areas much as 100x faster than traditional disk-based storage.
Inline CompressionCASL compresses data as it is written to the array with no performance impact. It takes advantage of efficient variable block compression andmulticore processors. A recent measurement of our install base shows average compression rates from 30 to 75 percent for a variety ofworkloads.
Scale-to-Fit FlexibilityCASL allows for the non-disruptive and independent scaling of performance and capacity. This is accomplished by either upgrading the storagecontroller (compute) for higher throughput, moving to larger flash SSD (cache) to accommodate more active data, or by adding storage shelvesto boost capacity. This flexible scaling eliminates the need for disruptive forklift upgrades.
Snapshots and Integrated Data ProtectionCASL can take thousands of point-in-time instant snapshots of volumes by creating a copy of the volumes' indices. Any updates to existing dataor new data written to a volume are redirected to free space (optimized by CASL's unique data layout). This means there is no performanceimpact of snapshots and snapshots take little incremental space as only changes are maintained. This also simplifies restoring snapshots as nodata needs to be copied.
Efficient ReplicationNimble Storage efficiently replicates data to another array by transferring compressed, block-level changes only. These remote copies can bemade active if the primary array becomes unavailable. This makes deploying disaster data recovery easy and affordable – especially over aWAN to a remote array where bandwidth is limited.
Zero-Copy ClonesNimble Storage arrays can create snapshot-based read/writable clones of existing volumes instantly. These clones benefit from the fast read andwrite performance, making them ideal for demanding applications such as VDI or test/development.
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