Where Speed Matters
Today businesses create new products, which largely depend on IT infrastructure characteristics and possibilities. The quality of the infrastructure layer, that seems invisible, is more commonplace in a product value chain.
To meet these requests, vendors create and develop new technologies of storage devices with the highest throughput, extended bandwidth with the lowest latency. Such changes provide high performance software and efficient data management to get the most from the hardware.
A lot of industries demand high-speed access to operate the data: Internet of Things (IoT), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Real-Time Bidding (RTB), large SQL and NoSQL databases, intensive calculation in HPC and Big Data, 4K and 8K video production and etc.
All these tasks are focused on IT infrastructures, which are able to provide balanced performance for mixed types of workloads.
Considering these requirements, RAIDIX has developed a new approach to storage data that demands high access speed for performing tasks within high workloads. The core principle is to optimize CPU calculations of incoming data streams for efficient exploitation to drive bandwidth and throughput characteristics.
We’ve implemented this idea in RAIDIX ERA, which aggregates multiple directly attached SSDs in fast and reliable virtual block storage. It supports multiple queues, provides record access speed and shows lowest latencies for read and write operations.
Opportunities of Smart Calculations
RAIDIX ERA algorithms focus on maximizing the capabilities of CPU and optimization of multi-threaded calculation. Computing and processing of input/output operations are performed with maximum parallelization in order to get the best performance and even workloads on all CPU cores. Solution performance is increased by 20 percent with simultaneous multithreading during operation (Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology or similar).
An important feature of RAIDIX ERA is parallel calculation implemented with elimination of emerging delays caused by mutual locking of data segments. Lockless architecture reveals the potential of developed algorithms and CPU calculation without additional load on hardware platform.
The software eliminates bottlenecks during multiple IO processing on CPU. It helps to use all opportunities of NVMe interface such as extended bandwidth that support high deep queues.
The Next Level of Access
Traditional NAND-flash drives have one general weak spot based on significant difference in performance on write and read operations. Assembled in RAID, such drives comprise unbalanced system for mixed workload, which is characterized by 2-4 times lower rate on random write operation than random read. The common solution for this issue is to use more drives in array, but this makes negative contribution to the total cost of the system and configuration adjustment.
Intel Optane technology is ideal for handling data that needs to be close to the CPU for rapid access. Drives based on this technology have high throughput needed for real-time analytics, financial transactions, multi-threads processing in databases, and other use cases that require predictably fast read-response times.
SSDs, based on Intel Optane technology, look like standard SSDs, but they are not NAND-based drives. Unique
Intel® 3D XPoint™ memory architecture gives more stable performance comparing to usual NAND SSDs, providing high rates for both read and write operations.
Maximum Productivity from NVMe
RAIDIX ERA efficiently works with all types of flash devices from different vendors. Collaborating with Intel Optane technology, RAIDIX ERA can provide significant synergy effect for data-rich storage tasks. It comes from the Intel Optane hardware layer, where Intel 3D XPoint Memory Technology is used, as well as from RAIDIX ERA’s parallel calculation and lockless architecture, which produce unrivaled storage acceleration.
We made a number of tests to demonstrate how Intel Optane technology can add more value for high performance systems and spend less (than NAND flash) drives to achieve established figures for mixed workloads.
Hardware Performance Tests
RAIDIX decided to make efficiency comparisons between a system with Intel Optane SSDs (we use Intel Optane DC P4800X Series 375GB NVMe Drive) and a system with classic NAND memory drives (Intel SSD DC D3700 Series). Both systems are managed by RAIDIX ERA software.
As desired performance level we’ve established 1,000,000 IOps for RAID 5 array, with 4k block random mixed pattern (70% read / 30% write).
With the first step, we’ve checked performance of each single SSD to get vision on total hardware speed and understanding of drive quantity to accomplish target performance level.
Compared with classic NAND drive, Intel Optane technology reaches significantly better results: excel by 431 percent on write and by 30% on read operations.
RAID 5 Performance Tests
With the second step, we looked at software RAID performance applying directly attached drives. For 1 000 000 IOps the system should process 700,000 IOps for reading and 300,000 IOps for writing. In RAID 5, each write request turns to 2 read and 2 write requests. Therefore, we need to have at least 1,900,000 IOps from the drives to achieve desired performance level.
Using single SSD testing results, the first system made with 4 Intel Optane SSDs and second system with 12 NAND memory SSDs. Furthermore, we expect near 100% utilization of hardware potential from RAIDIX ERA managing software.
As a result, the system with 4 Intel Optane DC P4800X drives have reached 1,043,000 IOps, but system with 12 Intel SSD DC D3700 drives have shown 864,000 IOps. Such difference comes from Intel Optane ability to provide stable performance both for read and write loads.
Conclusion
RAIDIX ERA software efficiently works with modern solid state drives, creating performance arrays for high load tasks and applications. Joint RAIDIX ERA and Intel Optane storage is able to reach 1,000,000 IOps only with 4 drives. It can be used as an efficient “building block” for large infrastructure solutions.
Comparing with classic NAND, Intel Optane storage differentiates with substantial storage density (3 times less drives, and up to 2 times less server space). Moreover it shows better results with low queue depth, what increases implemental range in data intensive industries.