How to Utilize Open, Simple, and Scalable Storage at a Fraction of the Cost of Traditional Systems

SUNT STORAGE 7000
UNIFIED STORAGE SYSTEMS
Architected for Open, Simple, and Scalable Enterprise Storage White Paper May 2009Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Changing Storage Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Unceasing Demand for Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Open Unified Storage Arrives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Sun Storage 7000 Unified Storage Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3The World's First Open Storage Appliances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Key Storage Technology Innovations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9ZFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Enterprise Solid State Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10ZFS and Hybrid Storage Pools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13Detailed DTrace Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Sun Open Unified Storage Platforms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Sun Storage 7110 Unified Storage System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Sun Storage 7210 Unified Storage System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19Sun Storage 7310 Unified Storage System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Sun Storage 7410 Unified Storage System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Sun Storage 7000 Storage Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Real-Time Dashboard and Advanced Analytics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Data Protocols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Data Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Out-of-the-Box Setup and Services Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34Cluster Configurations, RAS, and Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37For More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Executive Summary Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Executive Summary
Near exponential data growth is changing the rules for organizations everywhere. Server and desktop virtualization, databases, Web 2.0 applications and high-performance computing (HPC) are all contributing to new data management challenges, even as these applications change the way that organizations use data to fulfill their missions and impact their bottom lines. Streaming and transactional data in particular are driving new requirements for storage infrastructure.
Complicating matters, these challenges are occurring in the context of a highly-competitive global marketplace where getting to data to market quickly with predictable costs can make all of the difference. Like computational infrastructure, data storage infrastructure must be agile in order to scale for unpredictable growth spikes in workloads and changing business strategies. With volatile global economic conditions, no organization can afford to ignore costs, even as they plan for future growth and deploy storage infrastructure that can continue to perform at peak levels.
Unfortunately, most of today's storage solutions remain proprietary, complex, and expensive, with appliance vendors seeking proprietary lock-ins and lucrative software licensing. In this demanding environment, special-purpose appliances have hit hard limitations in terms of performance and scalability. Limits for power, cooling and real estate have also become very real constraints, and energy costs are rising while IT bud... [download for more]