Kraftway presents a new product in the hardware-oriented cluster storage segment: trusted storage systems PROGRESS, which are based on controllers with integrated information security tools and Russian software products disk array management. Distinctive features trusted storage platform Kraftway:
- built-in information security functions integrated into the controllers (circuitry of the board, BIOS and firmware code of the Navy);
- software(Software) for managing the storage system, entered in the register of the Ministry of Communications of the Russian Federation. The software is produced by Radix, NPO Baum and Aerodisk.
Trusted storage is designed for customers who have specific security requirements for their IT systems. DWH PROGRESS contains models with the number of controllers 1,2,4 and 8 (*) operating in Active-Active mode and providing high fault tolerance of the storage system. Expansion disk shelves of various standard sizes are connected to the system controllers, providing a storage capacity of up to several tens of PB. The maximum capacity of 2-controller storage is 16 PB. Storage host interfaces: iSCSI 1 to 100 Gb/s, FC 2 to 32 Gb/s, Infiniband up to 100 Gb/s (*).
(*) Specifications may vary for each software vendor.
E. Access control
Attached file
Trusted storage systems Kraftway PROGRESS
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Trusted storage systems Kraftway PROGRESS
Features of Kraftway PROGRESS storage management software
Trusted storage systems Kraftway PROGRESS
Main scenarios for the use of VAZ
A. Ensuring that only authorized personnel have access to the storage controller
For loading operating system controller requires two-factor authentication. After the power is turned on, the VZZ stops the download process. An authorized user must have an identification device (smart card, USB key) and a password to proceed with the download.
VZZ has the ability to differentiate the rights to manage security settings depending on the user's role. Regular user, for example, may not have access and modification rights UEFI settings BIOS.
B. Controlling the integrity of the hardware configuration
After power is applied, the VZZ performs self-testing, checksum calculation and comparison with the reference ones. If successful, the integrity of the equipment is monitored by comparing checksums and signaling when changes are detected. If the integrity is violated, only a user with Administrator rights will be able to manage the VZ.
B. Controlling the integrity of the file system
The VZ administrator can enable checking the integrity of critical files for changes. In this case, when the product is turned on before the OS is loaded, the checksums of the files added to the control list are calculated. If the integrity is violated, only a user with Administrator rights will be able to manage the integration VIS
D. Antivirus scanning before the operating system starts
The search for malware at the stage of UEFI operation before the operating system boots allows you to neutralize threats that are extremely difficult to detect after the OS starts, the so-called "rootkits" and "bootkits". They can modify boot sectors system, as well as to hide traces of the presence of an intruder or malware in system. The search is carried out by a specialized module "Kaspersky Anti-Virus for UEFI". If malicious code is detected, the scanner suspends OS loading and identifies the infected object.
E. Access control
to hardware resources using a "thin hypervisor". The hypervisor is part of UEFI and is a software tool for restricting access to hardware resources of a computing device.
The hypervisor functions in the virtualization mode of all those physically present on the motherboard input/output devices, as well as input/output ports and direct memory access channels. The hypervisor provides access control to external media, including a ban on their use, as well as a centralized accounting of connected removable media.
Storage management software features
The attached file contains a description and features of disk array management software from each of the manufacturers: Radix, NPO Baum and Aerodisk.
The humble DotHill 4824 storage system will be the hero of this review. Surely, many of you have heard that DotHill, as an OEM partner, produces entry-level storage systems for Hewlett-Packard - those very popular HP MSA (Modular Storage Array) already in the fourth generation. The DotHill 4004 line matches the HP MSA2040 with minor differences which will be detailed below.
DotHill is a classic entry-level storage solution. Form factor, 2U, two options for different drives and with a wide variety of host interfaces. Mirrored cache, two controllers, asymmetric active-active with ALUA. Last year, new functionality was added: disk pools with three-level tiering (tiered data storage) and SSD cache.
Characteristics
- Form factor: 2U 24x 2.5" or 12x 3.5"
- Interfaces (per controller) 4524C/4534C - 4x SAS3 SFF-8644
- Scaling: 192 2.5" drives or 96 3.5" drives supports up to 7 additional DAEs
- RAID support: 0, 1, 3, 5, 6, 10, 50
- Cache (per controller): 4GB with flash protection
- Features: snapshots, volume cloning, asynchronous replication (except SAS), thin provisioning, SSD cache, 3-level tiering (SSD, 10/15k HDD, 7.2k HDD)
- Configuration limits: 32 arrays (vDisk), up to 256 volumes per array, 1024 volumes per system
- Management: CLI, Web interface, SMI-S support
Disk pools in DotHill
For those who are not familiar with the theory, it is worth talking about the principles of disk pools and tiered storage. More precisely, about a specific implementation in the DotHill storage system.Before the advent of pools, we had two limitations:
- The maximum disk group size. RAID-10, 5 and 6 can have a maximum of 16 drives. RAID-50 - up to 32 disks. If you need a volume with large quantity spindles (for the sake of performance and / or volume), then you had to combine LUNs on the host side.
- Suboptimal use of fast disks. Can be created a large number of disk groups for several load profiles, but with large numbers hosts and services on them, it becomes difficult to constantly monitor performance, volume and periodically make changes.
A disk pool in DotHill storage is a collection of several disk groups with load distribution between them. In terms of performance, you can consider the pool as a RAID-0 of several subarrays, i.e. we are already solving the problem of short disk groups. In total, only two disk pools, A and B, are supported on the storage system, one per controller), each pool can have up to 16 disk groups. The main architectural difference is the maximum use of free placement of stripes on disks. Several technologies and features are based on this feature: 
Differences from HP MSA2040
Performance
Storage configuration
- DotHill 4824 (2U, 24x2.5")
- Firmware version: GL200R007 (latest at the time of testing)
- Activated RealTier 2.0 license
- Two controllers with CNC ports (FC/10GbE), 4 x 8Gb FC transceivers (installed in the first controller)
- 20x 146GB 15Krpm SAS HDD (Seagate ST9146852SS)
- 4x 400GB SSD (HGST HUSML4040ASS600)
Host configuration
- Supermicro 1027R-WC1R platform
- 2x Intel Xeon E5-2620v2
- 8x 8GB DDR3 1600MHz ECC RDIMM
- 480GB SSD Kingston E50
- 2x Qlogic QLE2562 (2-port 8Gb FC HBA)
- CentOS 7, fio 2.1.14
Pool with tier-1 and cache on SSD
This test is a three-hour (180 cycles of 60 seconds) load with random access in 8KiB blocks (8 threads with a queue depth of 16 each) with various read / write ratios. The entire load is concentrated on the 0-20GB area, which is guaranteed to be less than the volume of the performance tier "and or the cache on the SSD (800GB) - this is done in order to quickly fill the cache or tier in an acceptable time.Before each test run, the volume was re-created (to clear the SSD-tier "a or SSD cache), filled with random data (sequential write in 1MiB blocks), read-ahead was turned off on the volume. IOPS, average and maximum latency values were determined within each 60- second cycle.
Tests with 100% read and 65/35 read + write were carried out both with SSD-tier (a disk group of 4x400GB SSD in RAID-10 was added to the pool), and with SSD cache (2x400GB SSD in RAID-0, storage does not allow more than two SSDs to be added to the cache for each pool.) The volume was created on a pool of two RAID-6 disk groups of 10 46GB 15K RPM SAS disks each (i.e. it is actually a 2x10 RAID-60). Why not 10 or 50?To deliberately make it harder for storage to write randomly.
IOPS
The results were quite predictable. As the vendor claims, the advantage of the SSD cache over the SSD-tier is faster cache filling, i.e. Storage is faster reacts to the appearance of "hot" areas with an intense load on random access: at 100% reading, IOPS "s grow along with a decrease in latency faster than in the case of using tier"ing.This advantage ends as soon as a significant write load is added. RAID-60, to put it mildly, is not very suitable for random writes in small blocks, but this configuration was chosen specifically to show the essence of the problem: the storage system cannot cope with writing, because. it bypasses the cache on a slow RAID-60, the queue fills up quickly, and there is little time left to service read requests even with caching. Some blocks still get there, but quickly become invalid, because the recording is in progress. This vicious circle causes the read-only cache to become inefficient under this load profile. Exactly the same situation could be observed with early versions of the SSD cache (before the advent of Write-Back) in LSI and Adaptec PCI-E RAID controllers. Solution - use a more productive volume initially, i.e. RAID-10 instead of 5/6/50/60 and/or SSD-tier instead of cache.
Average delay
Maximum delay
This graph uses a logarithmic scale. In the case of 100% and using the SSD cache, you can see a more stable latency value - after the cache is full, the peak values do not exceed 20ms.
What can be summed up in the dilemma "caching vs. tiering"?
What to choose?
- Cache filling is faster. If your workload consists of predominantly random reads and at the same time the area of "hot" periodically changes, then you should choose a cache.
- Saving "fast" volume. If the "hot" data fits entirely in the cache, but not in the SSD-tier, then the cache will probably be more efficient. The SSD cache in DotHill 4004 is read-only, so a RAID-0 disk group is created for it. For example, having 4 SSDs of 400GB each, you can get 800GB of cache for each of the two pools (1600GB in total) or 2 times less when using tiering "and (800GB for one pool or 400GB for two). Of course, there is another 1200GB option in RAID-5 for one pool, if the second one does not need SSDs.
On the other hand, the total useful pool size when using tiering will be larger due to the storage of only one copy of the blocks.
- The cache has no performance impact on sequential access. When caching, blocks are not moved, only copied. With a suitable load profile (random reading in small blocks with repeated access to the same LBA), the storage system issues data from the SSD cache, if it is there, or from the HDD and copies it to the cache. When there is a serial access load, the data will be read from the HDD. Example: a pool of 20 10 or 15k HDDs can give about 2000MB / s with sequential reading, but if the necessary data ends up on a disk group from a pair of SSDs, then we will get about 800MB / s. Whether this is critical or not depends on the real scenario for using storage systems.
4x SSD 400GB HGST HUSML4040ASS600 RAID-10
The volume was tested on a linear disk group - RAID-10 of four 400GB SSDs. In this DotHill shipment, HGST HUSML4040ASS600 turned out to be abstract “400GB SFF SAS SSDs”. This is an SSD of the Ultrastar SSD400M series with a fairly high declared performance (56000/24000 IOPS for reading / writing 4KiB), and most importantly, a resource of 10 rewrites per day for 5 years. Of course, now HGST has more productive SSD800MM and SSD1600MM in its arsenal, but these are enough for DotHill 4004.We used tests designed for single SSDs - "IOPS Test" and "Latency Test" from the SNIA Solid State Storage Performance Test Specification Enterprise v1.1:
- IOPS Test. The number of IOPS "s (IOPS) is measured for blocks of various sizes (1024KiB, 128KiB, 64KiB, 32KiB, 16KiB, 8KiB, 4KiB) and random access with different read / write ratios (100/0, 95/5, 65/35, 50/50, 35/65, 5/95, 0/100) 8 threads were used with a queue depth of 16.
- Latency Test. The value of the average and maximum delay is measured for various block sizes (8KiB, 4KiB) and read/write ratios (100/0, 65/35, 0/100) with a minimum queue depth (1 thread with QD=1).
SNIA PTS: IOPS test
As expected, the declared performance limit of a single controller in terms of IOPS with small blocks was reached. For some reason, DotHill indicates 100,000 IOPS for reading, and HP for MSA2040 - more realistic 80,000 IOPS (40 thousand per controller is obtained), which we see on the graph.
For verification, a single SSD HGST HGST HUSML4040ASS600 was tested with a connection to a SAS HBA. On a 4KiB block, about 50 thousand IOPS were received for reading and writing, with saturation (SNIA PTS Write Saturation Test) the write dropped to 25-26 thousand IOPS, which corresponds to the characteristics declared by HGST.
SNIA PTS: Latency Test
Average delay (ms):
Max Delay (ms):
Average and peak latency values are only 20-30% higher than those for a single SSD when connected to a SAS HBA.
Conclusion
Of course, the article turned out to be somewhat chaotic and does not answer several important questions:- Comparison in a similar configuration with products from other vendors: IBM v3700, Dell PV MD3 (and other descendants of LSI CTS2600), Infrotrend ESDS 3000, etc. Storage systems come to us in different configurations and, as a rule, not for a long time - you need to load and / or deploy.
- Storage limit not tested by bandwidth. We managed to see about 2100MiB/s (RAID-50 of 20 disks), but I did not test sequential load in detail due to the insufficient number of disks. I am sure that the declared 3200/2650 MB / s for reading / writing could be obtained.
- There is no IOPS vs latency graph, useful in many cases, where, by varying the queue depth, you can see how many IOPS can be obtained with an acceptable latency value. Alas, there was not enough time.
- Best practices. I didn't want to reinvent the wheel, because there is
- Dell EMC Storage SC Series are automated, modern infrastructure solutions built with hybrid storage and high-end Flash arrays.
- Dell EMC Equallogic PS Series - optimal devices for the corporate information environment, ensuring the effective implementation of daily information tasks.
- The Dell POWERVAULT MD Series are scalable, low cost systems that support the consolidation of large amounts of data and simplify data management.
- EMC VNXE Series are unified storage solutions for small business information needs.
Entry level storage
Dell EMC entry-level storage systems provide high-performance platforms for small businesses as well as large companies that are distinguished by their extensive branch infrastructure. This class of hardware is highly scalable from 6 to 150 drives for a maximum storage capacity of 450TB. Dell EMC storage systems are ideal for enterprises with advanced infrastructure of physical server systems, as well as for those who practice the use of virtualized server systems. The practical use of Dell EMC storage will allow you to consolidate large amounts of information, as well as improve the efficiency of their processing. Using these devices, it will be possible to deploy multifunctional storage systems based on IP networks that support file and block access protocols, respectively, NAS and iSCSI.
Midrange storage
Dell EMC Midrange Storage is a feature-rich platform that allows you to consolidate block storage, file server systems, and direct-attached storage. The use of this equipment will enable companies to dynamically increase file systems and block resources with parallel support for several protocols - NFS and CIFS. In addition, storage stores can provide access to information using protocols such as Fiber Channel, iSCSI, and FCoE. This will help support block applications that require high bandwidth and low latency.
Infortrend ESDS 1000 Series
Review Infortrend ESDS 1000
The EonStor DS 1000 storage systems provide an excellent price/performance ratio. For users of small medium...
Infortrend ESDS 1000 Series Storage
Infortrend ESDS 1000 Series - Affordable storage with built-in iSCSI and optional FC/SAS interfaces increased performance and scalability.
Review Infortrend ESDS 1000
The EonStor DS 1000 storage systems provide an excellent price/performance ratio. For small medium business (SMB) users, an entry-level solution is provided. Models are available for different quantity HDD drives in various form factors: 12-slot 2U, 16-slot 3U and 24-slot 2U under 2,5" drives. They all include multiple 1Gb/s iSCSI ports for network connectivity, an architecture built with surveillance applications in mind that need fast connection to multiple clients. Up to 444 drives can be connected to expansion enclosures. With 10TB drive support, this means the available capacity can be up to 4PB.
Series Composition EonStor DS 1000
Models for 2.5" HDD
DS 1024B - 2U, 24 2.5" drives with SAS or SATA interface
DS-1036B - 3U, 36 2.5" drives with SAS or SATA interface
Models for 3.5" HDD
DS 1012 - 2U, 12 drives 3.5" with SAS or SATA interface
DS 1016 - 3U, 16 drives 3.5" with SAS or SATA interface
DS 1024 - 4U, 24 drive 3,5"with SAS or SATA interface
Performance
- EonStor DS 1000 provides up to 550K IOPS (cache operations) and 120K IOPS (full path, including disks) to speed up all storage-related operations.
- Throughput reaches 5,500 MB/s read and 1,900 MB/s. on the record, which makes it easy handle even intensive workloads with high efficiency.
Working with SSD Cache
(optional, license required)
- Improved read performance for hot data
- Up to four SSDs per controller
- Large pool capacity SSD drives: up to 3.2 TB
Rice. 1 Growth in IOPS when SSD cache is saturated with hot data
Combined host interface options
- All systems feature four 1Gb/s iSCSI ports to provide more than enough connectivity to clients, servers, and other storage arrays.
- Optionally added module host interface with 8 Gb/s or 16 Gb/s Fiber Channel, iSCSI 10 Gb/s or 40 Gb/s iSCSI, 10 Gb/s FCoE or 12 Gb/s SAS to run in parallel with default iSCSI ports 1 Gbps.
- Optionally added to converged host board with 4 connectivity options to choose from (16Gb/s FC, 8Gb/s FC and 10Gb/s iSCSI SFP+, 10Gb/s FCoE)
Various cache saving options
Lifetime, maintenance-free, no-replacement supercapacitors and flash module provide a safe and reliable power source to maintain cache memory state if the main power supply fails
Hot-swappable battery backup unit (BBU) with flash module stores data if the system suddenly shuts down or there is a power failure.
You can choose BBUs or supercapacitors to suit your needs and budget
Optionally available and included advanced features:
Local replication Local Replication
(Standard license is included by default, extended license is optional)
Snapshots
| Standard license | Extended license | |
| Snapshots per original volume | 64 | 256 |
| Snapshots in the system | 128 | 4096 |
Volume Copy/Mirror
| Standard license | Extended license | |
| Source volumes in the system | 16 | 32 |
| Replication pairs per source volume | 4 | 8 |
| Replication pairs per system | 64 | 256 |
Fine tuning (enabled by default)
Just-in-time capacity allocation optimizes storage usage and eliminates dedicated but unused storage space.
Remote replication (additional license)
Replication per volume: 16
Replication pairs per source volume: 4
Replication batches per system: 64
Automated tiered storage system (additional license)
Two or four storage tiers based on drive types
SSD support
Automatic data migration with scheduling options
SSD caching (additional license)
Accelerating data access in read-intensive environments such as OLTP
Supports up to 4 SSDs per controller
Recommended DIMM capacity per controller for SSD cache:
DRAM: 2GB Max. SSD Cache Pool Size: 150 GB
DRAM: 4 GB Max. SSD cache size: 400 GB
DRAM: 8 GB Max. SSD Cache Pool Size: 800 GB
DRAM: 16 GB Max. SSD cache size: 1,600 GB
Doesn't fit your Infortrend DS 1000 Series storage system? Consider the storage of another series or line, go to the section: