LSI Nytro WarpDrive PCIe Flash Cards Validated by NetApp

LSI Corporation announced that its Nytro WarpDrive family of application acceleration PCIe flash cards has been validated for use with NetApp, Inc.‘s Flash Accel software.

Together, LSI and NetApp are offering complete server flash caching solutions that speed application performance by converting server-based flash into ‘hot’ data cache for critical business applications. Nytro WarpDrive cards are among the first PCIe flash devices to be tested and qualified with NetApp’s intelligent server caching software.

"Flash memory adoption in the enterprise is a powerful complement to hard-disk-based network storage," said Tim Russell, VP, data lifecycle ecosystem group, NetApp. "Deploying flash as a high-speed cache in the server is a simple and cost-effective way to reduce latency and I/O bottlenecks, while providing enterprise-level data protection and manageability for the entire infrastructure. Working with our server cache partners, we’re able to offer customers a complete end-to-end, high-speed solution."

LSI and NetApp server caching solutions deliver:

• Automated and intelligent caching of hot data to PCIe flash storage
• Increased application responsiveness and reduced latency
• Optimised cost per IOPS and cost per gigabyte across flash and HDDs
• Power, cooling and physical footprint savings, reducing TCO
• Tested end-to-end solution simple to use

Nytro WarpDrive cards deployed in conjunction with flash Accel software intelligently place the most frequently accessed or ‘hot’ data on low latency, high-performance PCIe flash storage. Test results have shown a reduction in application and server latency by up to 90% while increasing throughput by up to 80%. By allowing infrequently accessed data to remain on HDD storage, organisations can deploy an economical mix of flash and HDD storage, optimising both cost per IOPS and cost per gigabyte of capacity.

The combined solution helps to reduce datacentre footprint and overall IT costs by delivering the equivalent I/O performance of hundreds of HDDs, while using less power, cooling and physical space. Storage efficiency is also improved by minimising the number of I/O operations between servers and back-end storage systems, which frees up shared storage resources to handle additional workloads. In addition, the Nytro WarpDrive card’s ‘off-loaded’ multiprocessor architecture uses up to four times less CPU and memory resources than competing solutions, providing performance over the life of the product and freeing up these costly resources for other critical applications and workloads.

"LSI Nytro WarpDrive cards help datacentre managers contend with massive data growth by increasing the speed and responsiveness of critical applications," said Gary Smerdon, senior VP and GM, accelerated solutions division, LSI. "The combination of Nytro WarpDrive cards and flash Accel software allows for an optimised use of flash while extending its significant performance and TCO benefits to any server connected to NetApp storage."

Nytro WarpDrive cards are part of LSI’s Nytro portfolio of PCIe flash adapters, including the Nytro XD and Nytro MegaRAID product families. The cards range in capacity from 200GB to 1.6TB of MLC or SLC flash memory and use LSI SandForce flash storage processors to deliver performance, reliability and energy efficiency. Using industry-standard LSI drivers, featuring in-box OS and management support, these cards are designed for plug-and-play integration into today’s low-profile, high-performance system chassis.

Nytro WarpDrive application acceleration cards are available from select OEM customers and worldwide network of distributors, integrators and VARs. NetApp offers flash Accel software as a free download for its customers.