IBM Systems and Technology

October 2013

IBM System Storage N series

Exploring the concept and terms of Clustered Data ONTAP

IBM System Storage N series

Improved storage management

Regardless of size and complexity, data centers and IT organizations are seeking cost-effective approaches to solve storage challenges and address storage requirements. Infrastructure optimization has been a key capability since the storage industry began, with vendors driving technologies such as thin provisioning, deduplication and storage tiering. The broad acceptance and rapid adoption of virtualization are certainly prime examples of how quickly technology has been put into place to satisfy a growing clich: do more with less. Whether storage, virtualization or something completely different, any new technology brings with it concepts and terms meant to bind concrete associations to support abstract ideas. With Clustered Data ONTAP, it is no different. Clustering capabilities can be added to the Data ONTAP operating system, which is included with IBM System Storage N series offerings. Clustered Data ONTAP enables N series arrays and appliances to connect, yet to present as a single storage entity that can be used to address storage pools through logical storage controllers. Clustering at the storage layer supports functions that change the dynamics and the capabilities of both the data center and the IT administration staff. Its technology allows nondisruptive operations based on a clustered file system hosted on interconnected nodes. It enables organizations to support faster time to market by providing massive throughput, with the expandability necessary to meet the demanding requirements of highperformance computing and virtualization infrastructures.

The guiding principles of clusters

All clustering technologies follow a common set of guiding principles, including:

Nondisruptive operationsThe key to efficiency and the lynchpin of clustering is the ability to make sure the cluster does not failever. Virtualized access to the managed entityDirect interaction with the nodes that make up a cluster is in and of itself a violation of the cluster concept. During the initial configuration of the cluster, direct node access is a necessitybut steady-state operations are abstracted from the nodes as the user interacts with the cluster as a single entity. Data mobility and container transparencyThe end result of clusteringthe nondisruptive collection of independent nodes working together and presented as one holistic solutionis the ability of data to move freely within the boundaries of the cluster. Delegated management and ubiquitous accessIn large, complex clusters, the ability to delegate or segment features and functions into containers that can be acted upon independently of the cluster means the workload can be isolated. Equally important is that the cluster must not establish conditions that affect access of its contents. Enabling ubiquitous access, however, should not limit the use of security measures, which remain necessary to protect the content being accessed.

Clustered Data ONTAP embodies these guiding principles by virtualizing access using controllers, ubiquitous access through multiprotocol support, and its ability to move data within the cluster depending on workload needs and intra-cluster relationships.

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Clustered storage overview

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An overview of Clustered Data ONTAP

The need to scale performance while controlling costs is one of the greatest challenges facing the data center. Highperformance, technical computing and digital media content applications place extreme demands on storage systems. Compute clusters running these applications can require multiple gigabytes per second of performance along with many terabytesor even petabytesof capacity. To maintain peak application performance, users must be able to add storage and move data between systems and tiers of storage without

disrupting ongoing operations. At the same time, users must be able to effectively manage the storage environment to help control costs. Clustered Data ONTAP addresses these challenges by supporting high performance and high capacity. It enables organizations to address faster time to market by providing massive throughput and the scalability necessary to meet the demanding requirements of high-performance computing and virtualized infrastructures. These high performance levels address the growing demands of performance, manageability and reliability for larger Linux, UNIX, Microsoft or VMware clusters.

IBM System Storage N series

Clustered Data ONTAP, an optional feature of the Data ONTAP operating system for N series, includes:

Nondisruptive operations based on a clustered file system hosted on interconnected nodes Multinode scaling with global namespacing technologies N series FlexVol for storage virtualization N series backup and recovery solutions based on local Snapshot copies, replication and mirroring

The benefits of Clustered Data ONTAP

Clustered Data ONTAP provides a number of key benefits, including the ability to:

Accelerate performanceClustered Data ONTAP uses clustered file system technology to provide maximum input/ output throughput and help remove the bottlenecks that affect production. Information can be striped as volumes across any or all storage controllers and disks in the system, enabling balanced levels of throughput for even a single file or volume and allowing technical teams to run multiple compute jobs concurrently. When many compute nodes simultaneously require data, you can use Clustered Data ONTAP loadbalancing mirrors or add N series FlexCache storage accelerators in front of the system to deliver much higher read throughput.

Simplify storage and data managementClustered Data ONTAP supports fully integrated storage solutions that are easy to install, manage and maintain. Enhancing this support with its global namespace capability, administrators can simplify client-side management by mapping all data volumes in the cluster into a file system tree structure that automatically maps or remaps servers to their data, even if that data is moved. By offering a single system image across multiple storage nodes, the global namespace eliminates the need for complex automounter maps and symbolic link scripts. Improve data accessStorage is virtualized at the file system level to enable all compute nodes to mount a single file system, access all stored data and automatically accommodate physical storage changes that are fully transparent to the compute cluster. Each client can access a huge pool of information residing anywhere in the storage cluster through a single mount point. Keep resources in balance without disrupting operationsAs storage nodes are added to the cluster, physical resources, including CPU, cache memory, network I/O bandwidth and disk I/O bandwidth, are kept in balance automatically. Clustered Data ONTAP enables you to add storage and move data between storage controllers and tiers of storage without disrupting users and applications. This ushers in a whole new paradigm in which capacity increases, workload balancing, elimination of storage I/O hot spots and component depreciation become normal data center processes without requiring scheduled downtime. More importantly, these tasks are accomplished without the need to remount shares, modify client settings or stop active workloads, as is typically the case with traditional or other high-performance computing storage systems.

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Simplify installation and maintenanceThe value of a multiprotocol storage product comes from its ability to use standard Network File System (NFS) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) protocols to access Clustered Data ONTAP systems without needing to install special clients, network stack filters or code on each server in the compute cluster. The Clustered Data ONTAP architecture also reduces or eliminates routine capacity allocation and storage management tasks, resulting in more time to address organizational goals and objectives and less time spent managing storage. Meet high-availability requirementsAlong with stringent performance requirements, high reliability is important for technical applications and cluster computing. Clustered Data ONTAP leverages core software write anywhere file layout (WAFL), RAID-DP and Snapshot. RAID-DP, a highperformance implementation of RAID 6, protects against double-disk failures, and transparent node failover automatically bypasses any failed components without interrupting data availability. In addition to having no single point of failure, Clustered Data ONTAP supports the online expansion or reconfiguration of the storage infrastructure, enabling applications to run uninterrupted as more storage capacity, processing power and/or throughput are added.

Enable continuous operationsClustered Data ONTAP is configured for continuous operation with the use of highperformance and modular N series storage components. Each system consists of one or more fabric-attached N series storage building blocks, and each is a high-availability pair of controllers (storage nodes). Multiple controller pairs form a single, integrated cluster. Clustered Data ONTAP uses Gigabit (Gb) and 10 Gb Ethernet technology for server connections and for interconnecting N series controllers. Servers can also be connected through the InfiniBand standard using a gateway device. Each controller can support a mix of high-performance SAS and cost-effective SATA disk drives. Data can move nondisruptively between nodes or between different tiers of disk as performance requirements change. This capability helps ensure that data center and IT administrators can maximize performance where needed while simultaneously improving capacity utilization.

A solution for todays storage needs

The optional Clustered Data ONTAP feature for the N series operating system supports nondisruptive operations based on a clustered file system hosted on interconnected nodes. It supports fully integrated storage solutions that are easy to install, manage and maintain, helping organizations meet the demanding requirements of high-performance computing and virtualization infrastructures.

For more information

To learn more about IBM System Storage N series, please contact your IBM representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit the following website:
ibm.com/systems/storage/network/software/
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Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other countries, or both. Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. UNIX is a registered trademark of The Open Group in the United States and other countries. This document is current as of the initial date of publication and may be changed by IBM at any time. Not all offerings are available in every country in which IBM operates. THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND ANY WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF NON-INFRINGEMENT. IBM products are warranted according to the terms and conditions of the agreements under which they are provided. Actual available storage capacity may be reported for both uncompressed and compressed data and will vary and may be less than stated. Please Recycle

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