NetApp RAID E5500 for big data and HPC …

Massive amounts of data are being created and processed by a variety of
global organizations, including oil and gas and life science companies.
Data is also being used in university research centers to analyze
seismic data, predict severe storms, and power genomic and bioscience
research that can save lives. These organizations are increasingly
looking for technology solutions that provide high performance and
bandwidth at an affordable cost.

To address these challenges, NetApp, Inc. announced its E5500,
designed to provide industry-leading performance, efficiency, and
reliability for big data and HPC. It is the latest addition to the
E-Series platform, and builds the foundation for highly available
high-capacity application workflows to provide storage performance with
half the footprint and half the operational costs over competitive
systems.

Big data and HPC customers require an
infrastructure that provides speed, scale, and cost efficiency. As a
seventh-generation E-Series platform, the E5500 builds on the modular
scalability and reliability of the previous generations and provides
customers with a new level of performance, efficiency, and reliability.
With a high-performance architecture, improved storage density, and
additional support enhancements, the E5500 controller provides OEMs and
organizations with a platform that overcomes the speed, scale, and
reliability challenges posed by big data and HPC while delivering a
better return on investment.

"HPC and big data customers need
high performance to ingest and analyze huge amounts of data, while still
managing power and cost efficiently," said Brendon Howe, VP, product and solutions marketing, NetApp. "High
performance at a reasonable cost can be a difficult balance to strike;
however, with over 500,000 E-Series systems deployed, NetApp’s deep
industry and storage experience created a strong foundation for the new
E5500. The momentum of E-Series enabled us to build a new product that
provides industry-leading bandwidth per dollar spent while improving
density and reliability."

Performance Confirmed
The
SGI InfiniteStorage 5600, which is an OEM version of the E5500, has
produced a new SPC-2 result confirming the performance and cost
efficiency of the new E5500; it showcases the performance possibilities
the E5500 unlocks for HPC and big data organizations. The audited,
peer-reviewed SPC-2 result demonstrates the highest throughput per
spindle by more than 2.5 times over the nearest non-NetApp published
result. [Results with SPC ‘Accepted’ status as of January 2011 and
priced under $500,000 and not using NetApp technology.] It also
validates how the E5500 helps customers accelerate business results and
reduce operational costs and footprint.

Improved Scale and Density Drive
The
E5500 has a modular architecture that can be used with file systems,
such as Lustre and Hadoop, to scale to unlimited performance
efficiently. Combined with 4TB drive support, the E5500 provides the
density and speed needed to accelerate time to results for HPC and big
data customers. The result is a storage infrastructure that provides
increased density, more bandwidth, and performance efficiency.

AutoSupport Improves Enterprise Reliability
In
addition to the E5500, the NetApp AutoSupport tool is now available for
the E-Series product line, providing improved service and uptime to
customers. AutoSupport informs NetApp’s worldwide support organization of key metrics and system information.
Benefits of AutoSupport include improved system health and uptime,
enhanced storage and operational efficiency, and an overall improved
support experience.

"The research carried out on the HPC systems of the Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing at the TU Dresden comprises numerous disciplines, each with their own storage requirements," said Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Nagel, director of the center. "Our
new supercomputer, delivered by Bull, uses the new NetApp E5500 as the
base for an excellent storage system that will allow our researchers to
get their results faster. The enhanced reliability features and the
performance analysis possibilities significantly increase our
capabilities to support the users. We are already using NetApp FAS
systems for central IT services at the TU Dresden and are happy that the
AutoSupport feature has also been extended to the E-Series products."

Steve Conway, research VP for HPC, IDC, said: "The
performance and price/performance of storage are crucial for HPC and
big data implementation. The benchmark posted by SGI and the SPC-2
strongly indicate that the new NetApp E5500 will provide outstanding
speed and efficiency. With the additional reliability and support
features taken into account, this new product is positioned well to
succeed in the HPC and big data spaces."

Jose Reinoso, VP, storage engineering, Silicon Graphics International Corp., said: "Our
customers are turning massive amounts of data into new business and
scientific discoveries, so they need solutions that provide the best
price/performance possible. With SGI’s impressive new SPC-2 result
achieving a SPC-2 best price/performance, it’s clear that the NetApp
E5500 meets those expectations. The results clearly show that the E5500
provides organizations the high bandwidth and density needed to address
big data and HPC challenges."

Michel Guillemet, EVP, innovative products, Bull, said: "NetApp
E-Series has been a staple for customers with high-performance needs;
that’s clearly shown by the major success E-Series has seen in the
marketplace. The E5500 makes it possible for our customers to take a
building-block approach to a broad spectrum of workloads. The product
gives customers the efficiency and scalability needed to address
wide-ranging applications, from weather forecasting and analysis to
healthcare research."

Dr. Erich Focht, senior manager, R&D and storage products, NEC Deutschland HPC Europe, said: "At
NEC Deutschland HPC Europe division, we’ve successfully deployed our
NEC LXFS product with the E5500 and Lustre file system at a premium car
manufacturer from Germany. The NetApp E5500 has allowed us to get the
highest speed and density possible, while still delivering the
reliability and stability our customers expect. Using the E5500 with the
Lustre file system allowed for easy scaling and configuration in terms
of capacity and performance."