AMS 2000 Qualifies with VMware's vSphere™

Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage 2000 family systems now ship with microcode enhancements to support VMware's vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI). This API is available in vSphere 4.1 and enables ESX hosts to offload storage processing to the system.

There are three specific use cases:
  • Full Copy, enables the storage arrays to make full copies of data within the array without having to have the ESX Server read and write the data. This speeds up VM cloning and Storage vMotion (in the storage system).
  • Block Zeroing, enables storage arrays to zero out a large number of blocks to speed up provisioning of new VMs.
  • Hardware Assisted Locking, provides an alternative means to protect the metadata for VMFS cluster file systems and thereby improving the scalability of large ESX server farms sharing a datastore. This is the primary benefit for customers. In versions prior to vSphere 4.1, the ESX kernel managed the VMFS clustered file system and locked the entire LUN (using SCSI reserve) when Virtual Machines were being accessed. This new modification to the ESX Kernel and in conjunction with the modification to the microcode offloads this SCSI reserve into the system.
Advantages for your customers include:
  • Improved scalability: VAAI and Hitachi Dynamic Provisioning enable more VMs per data store and better storage utilization.
  • Improved performance: vSphere offloads storage specific tasks to the arrays, freeing up cycles on the host for other workloads.
  • Improved ROI: Utilizing the entire volumes available disk space. Faster time to deployment (vSphere integration and HDP) means less coordination between VMware and storage administrators operationally.
  • Reduced OPEX and CAPEX costs
Availability and Ordering
Each Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage 2000 family system must have a minimum microcode version of 0890/B or later installed to support the SCSI commands required by VMware VAAI. In conjunction, Storage Navigator 9.03 must be installed. This microcode version has already been released by Hitachi Data Systems for installation on all applicable systems covered by an active software maintenance agreement. At the same time the Storage Navigator 2 software version has also been released for installation. As always, customers are encouraged to keep their storage system's microcode level current to ensure that they have the most up-to-date enhancements and fixes. Customers whose storage systems are using an older microcode release should contact their authorized service provider for assistance in the planning, ordering and installation of a more current microcode release.

Customers should be directed to VMware to acquire VMware vSphere 4.1 and any other related software products and maintenance offerings required.

The support for the SCSI commands required by VMware VAAI is included in Hitachi AMS2000 microcode version 0890/B and later and there is no pricing adjustment to the microcode. All Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage 2000 family systems covered by an active software maintenance agreement are entitled to receive this microcode version at no additional cost.

Support
The Hitachi AMS2000 microcode version 0890/B and later has been enhanced to support the SCSI commands required by VMware VAAI and this microcode release along with the Storage Navigator 9.03 release is supported by Hitachi Data Systems Global Services.

Technical Considerations
This functionality is supported via 4Gb/sec, 8Gb/sec Fibre Channel and 1Gb/sec iSCSI interfaces for vSphere 4.1 and the systems of the Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage 2000 family.

Additional Information
To extend our integration with VMware, Hitachi Data Systems will qualify both the Hitachi Universal Storage Platform™ V and Hitachi Universal Storage Platform VM with VMware's VAAI. We target announcing this qualification in the first half of calendar 2011. Hitachi Data Systems will also be supporting the "Thin-provisioning Stun" functionality in the Adaptable Modular Storage 2000 family microcode update scheduled for release in the fall. This feature was originally slated for the phase 2 of this program, but VMware decided to support this in this release, so we will implement this functionality in our next microcode update.

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