Demartek Tested Dot Hill Hybrid-Storage Array AssuredSAN 4824

Dot Hill Systems Corp. announced that an analyst test found that its AssuredSAN 4824 hybrid-storage array delivers flash array performance, with as little as five of storage capacity consisting of SSDs.

This capability is made possible through company’s RealStor next generation real-time storage OS, which uses autonomic tiering and intelligent software to enable organizations to configure expensive SSDs and low-cost high-density HDDs to generate compelling price/performance characteristics.

Demartek, LLC is an independent analyst firm that performs a range of performance, validation and other tests from its own ISO 17025 accredited computer test lab. For the Dot Hill test, Demartek compared an AssuredSAN 4824 array with a base configuration of 20 HDDs to hybrid configurations that included deployment of up to four SSDs. The SSDs represented between five and 10% of total storage capacity, depending on the configuration. These tests were run against MS SQL Server database, executing real transactional I/O designed to simulate a workload similar to that which could be experienced by a real business.

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In the AssuredSAN 4824 array hybrid configuration, RealStor’s patented autonomic tiering technology dynamically staged high priority data on SDDs, with lower priority data on HDDs. It automatically migrated data every fives, ensuring that hot data was always up to date and optimally staged for application and end-user requirements. RealStor also autonomically migrated colder data to lower cost HDDs. This capability enables end-users to gain the benefits of flash performance without engaging in an expensive all-flash array.

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The test results illustrate RealStor’s effectiveness: storage bandwidth and IO/s (IO/s) increased more than 2.5x when employing SSD read caching on the AssuredSAN 4824, and by more than 4.5x with SSD performance tiering. (complete report)

“Many organizations today need to improve storage performance to meet application requirements and end-user expectations, but moving to all-flash arrays is cost prohibitive,” said Dennis Martin, president, Demartek. “Demartek’s test shows that Dot Hill’s hybrid storage arrays enable organizations to adopt flash incrementally, so they can dramatically improve storage performance in a way that is both cost-effective and easy to implement.“

“The Demartek test is another point of validation for Dot Hill’s strategy of delivering hybrid storage arrays that are innovative, practical and effective,” said Bill Wuertz, SVP, products and solutions, Dot Hill. “Our unique hardware/software architecture is ideally suited to meet the needs of today’s market, where organizations need to improve storage performance without adding onerous cost and management overhead.“