AC&NC RAIDs Certified for vSphere 5 and VAAI

AC&NC
Corp.
announced that its JetStor
SAS
724iF
and 724iFD
RAID
arrays have passed certification for VMware Ready for vSphere 5 and
VAAI (vStorage APIs for Array Integration).

It enables the
solutions to accelerate storage performance in vSphere 5 environments
while improving the scalability and efficiencies of VMs. By reducing
server CPU cycles, the VAAI-compliant JetStor 724iF RAID arrays
conserve hypervisor compute power for running VMs, improving VM to
host ratios, VM density, server efficiencies, and application
delivery. They also speed processes like VMotions, Storage VMotions,
cloning, and VM deployments.

"Achieving
VAAI compliance renders our JetStor SAS 724iF systems ideal for
vSphere environments,"
said Gene Leyzarovich, president of AC&NC. "They
can enhance the value and administration of virtualized servers in
even the most demanding networks. These solutions can speed storage
and improve the utilization and productivity of servers. They also
make function-rich storage provisioning as simple as plugging a cable
into an available port on an Ethernet and/or FC switch."

VAAI from VMware
integrates with vSphere to offload storage tasks from the physical
servers running VMware virtualization to the storage array. It
reduces redundant I/O paths and quickens the provisioning of new VMs,
such as creating, starting, moving, and stopping VMs, as well as
taking snapshots. Thinly provisioned arrays that are VAAI-compliant
are given notice when space thresholds are attained to avoid
jeopardizing application performance and availability. They can pause
VMs when space is exhausted to permit administrators to add storage
or migrate the VM to another device.

Real-World
Benefits:

Users report that
JetStor SAS 724iF solutions deliver performance in vSphere 5
environments. Cross
IT
Services
& Solutions,
LLC,
a minority-owned provider of compute and networking consulting
services, deployed a JetStor SAS 724iF RAID array in a VMware View
5.1 environment. The solution performed a provisioning operation
across a pool of 15 machines in under 10 minutes, whereas a
non-compliant array with twice the number of 15K disks and SSDs
needed almost 30 minutes to do the same work.

"What’s
more, the AC&NC JetStor 724iF was four times faster in cloning
operations than another legacy storage solution with four times the
drives,"
said Thomas A. Breakiron, technical services manager, Cross IT
Services & Solutions, LLC. "That’s
amazingly fast. There’s zero doubt that the VAAI acceleration makes a
tremendous difference. The JetStors are winners."

The JetStor SAS
724iF RAID arrays feature four 8G FC interfaces and two iSCSI ports
to deliver block-level storage across IP or FC SAN networks. Their 24
bay design supports SAS and SATA disks up to 3TB in capacity and
SSDs of up to 800GB. They can scale to 96TB in a compact 4U enclosure
and offer capacity up to 640TB using 7 JBODs, ensuring investment
protection for the most data-intensive organizations.

For I/O performance,
the JetStor SAS 724iF systems provide Intel Xeon 64-bit processors,
parity-assist ASIC, an iSCSI-assist engine, and a TCP Offload Engine.
To bolster availability and data protection, they also are equipped
with JetStor’s cableless backplane-based design and dual redundant
hot-swappable power supplies with two independent power inputs and
turbo cooling fans. JetStor SAS 724iFD RAID solutions are furnished
with dual-redundant active/active embedded RAID controllers for
additional fault tolerance.

The
JetStor
SAS 724iF and JetStor SAS 724iFD RAID arrays are shipping now.