Pride Enterprises Selects Proximal Data AutoCache

Proximal Data, Inc. announced that PRIDE Enterprises (Prison
Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises, Inc.), a national training company, has selected Proximal Data’s AutoCache software to
improve application responsiveness and performance in its virtualized
environment.

PRIDE was able to reduce the response time of user applications by 80%.
AutoCache is a server-side caching solution with I/O Intelligence that removes
I/O bottlenecks and increases VM density by up to three times to attain maximum
performance for business-critical applications.

With 500-600 users in 13 locations across Florida, PRIDE’s frequently used
business applications were generating a large amount of disk storage activity
and high IO/s demands, a load that overwhelmed its SAN and diminished
application performance. A performance analysis indicated the need for
additional disks or flash storage to achieve the response time PRIDE needed for
these critical applications.

"We need a stable, continuously
running environment, but when you have a sloppy or demanding workload, it can
impact performance across the entire environment," said Roman Diaz,
infrastructure manager, PRIDE Enterprises. "We could do some segmentation to lessen or mitigate that performance
impact, but that consumes additional resources, as we would be dedicating disk
pools to specific workloads and VMs, and that costs more money."

PRIDE’s search for a solution involved reviewing nine different Flash storage
options. When PRIDE tested AutoCache, it immediately saw dramatic
improvements in application response times and IO/s. PRIDE turned AutoCache off
to see how it impacted performance and found that without
AutoCache the response time was 10-18ms; with it on, the response time was 2-3ms – an 80% time reduction.

"We liked the AutoCache interface
and excellent vCenter integration better than the other solutions we tested,"
said Diaz. "The AutoCache interface
had a very nice plug-in and worked across the entire environment. Other
products offer a single plug-in on a specific machine, whereas AutoCache runs a
central management server to which data reports back. AutoCache also has cache
pre-warming to move data between servers faster. Other products have this
feature but cost two to three times more. Choosing AutoCache really came down
to cost, performance and integration."

AutoCache conducts hypervisor caching within VMware ESXi hypervisors along with
a modest amount offlash storage, providing a more efficient and cost-effective
solution for PRIDE than the other flash storage options it tested.

"AutoCache helps things run faster
by smoothing and balancing out the workload," said Diaz. "A lot of companies are buying bigger and
bigger SANs and faster disks to get greater performance, but the amount of
floor space and electricity required to support all those disks is a tough pill
to swallow. With AutoCache, I automatically got a TB and a half of usable
storage for half the price of the other solutions which gave me only 400GB of
useable storage. From that point on, I was hooked. It’s a very good product."

PRIDE tested and now uses AutoCache with the Intel SSD 910 Series, an add-in
MLC PCIe card. The higher endurance and performance provided by the SSD
910, along with AutoCache software, enables servers and storage to be more
responsive as more data is transferred in less time.