Microsoft Ignite: DataON Data Center Plus Configurations V.2 of Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI

DataON, a division of Area Electronics Systems, Inc., has collaborated with Intel Corp. to offer Data Center Plus configurations for version 2 of Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI, powered by 2nd gen Xeon Scalable processors and Intel Optane DC SSDs.

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These solutions was showcased at the company’s booth at Microsoft Ignite 2019, in Orlando, Florida, FL.

The company is one of the first Intel Platinum Partners to offer all four validated configurations for Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI:

Data center model, base configuration – For enterprise environments, supports primary workloads in a hybrid storage design.
Data center model, plus configuration – For enterprise environments, supports the demanding critical production workloads. For healthcare environments where electronic healthcare database software require fast responses.
Edge model, base configuration – For SMBs, ROBOs, and edge environments
Edge model, plus configuration – Leverages leveraging Intel Optane technology to support demanding workloads such as SQL Server.

Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI are performance-optimized for hyper-converged compute and storage. This solution improves performance by utilizing Optane DC persistent memory as cache storage for Storage Spaces Direct to accelerate the cache tier for storage at DDR4 speeds vs. PCIe/SATA speeds.

With the Edge model Plus configuration, businesses can add 3 times greater memory capacity per cluster and 50% greater raw storage capacity per cluster using three-way mirroring over the Base configuration ^(*). With the company’s Center model Plus configuration of Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI, businesses can achieve 20% more cores for computation and 88% higher throughput in IO/s over the Base configuration ^(**).

These solutions add to DataON’s first gen of Intel Select Solutions for Windows Server SDS, and second-gen Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI and SQL Server.

Intel created Intel Select Solutions to reduce the time required to evaluate, select, and purchase hardware for workloads and applications. They are benchmark-tested with today’s high-priority workloads, helping businesses realize smooth deployments and performance. By eliminating guesswork and ensuring predictability with pre-defined configurations, businesses can take advantage of new technologies faster.

The Intel Select Solutions are powered by 2nd gen Xeon Scalable processors. They represent a new class of Xeon processors designed for HPC and IaaS workloads. The processor delivers up to 28 cores per CPU and six DDR4 memory channels per socket. In addition, they support Intel’s Optane DC persistent memory, delivering greater than 3TB per socket. These solutions also support Optane SSDs which can accelerate applications, reduce transactions costs for latency-sensitive workloads, and improve TCO.

“DataON was an inaugural partner for Intel Selection Solution for Windows Server SDS, and we are proud to be the first Intel Platinum Partner to have all four validated solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI,” said Howard Lo, VP, sales and marketing, DataON. “Having these validated solutions demonstrates our commitment to providing Intel-based solutions for Azure Stack HCI. Customers will be able to realize a faster time-to-value and reduced operational costs with these pre-validated solutions.”

“Data center architects continue to face new and increasingly larger challenges due to the sheer volume of data and inevitable demand for new digital services,” said Jake Smith, director, data center technologies, Intel. “Intel Select Solutions, delivered through industry leaders like DataON, are designed to reduce the time-consuming research and testing process for architects, and accelerate their time-to-deployment.“

Hybrid Cloud solutions for Azure Stach HCI
Microsoft Azure Stack HCI is the basis for Intel Select Solutions from the company. It is an evolution of data center computing that blends Windows Server technologies with new Azure management service integration. It features the same Hyper-V based software-defined compute, storage, and networking as Azure Stack and shares similar testing and validation criteria. It follows engineering best practices to get customers up and running without lengthy design and build times.

The company offers customized, turnkey solutions for Azure Stack HCI, from 4-node solutions for enterprise data centers to 2-node solutions for SMB, ROBO, edge, and IoT.

Firm’s solutions utilize Intel technology, including:

2nd gen Xeon Scalable processors – Offers higher performance, improved price/performance and enhanced security capabilities over previous gen Xeon Scalable processors. Supports Optane DC Persistent Memory
Optane DC SSDs – Helps eliminate data center storage bottlenecks and allows bigger, more affordable data sets
Optane DC persistent Memory – Provides more usable memory, supports larger workloads, or helps consolidate multiple, existing workloads

^(*) Intel internal testing as of February 15, 2019. Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI Edge model Base configuration: 2x Xeon Gold 5218 processor, Intel Server Board S2600WFT, 256GB total memory (8x32GB, 2,666MT/s), Intel Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel HT Technology) enabled, Intel Turbo Boost Technology enabled, storage (boot): 1x480GB SSD DC 3520 U.2 SATA, storage tier: 4×1.6TB SSD DC P4610 PCIe NVM Express (NVMe), 1×25 gigabits per second (Gbps) Chelsio network adapter, 10GbE, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter edition build 17763. Plus configuration: 2xXeon Gold 6230 processor, Intel Server Board S2600WFT, 512GB OptaneTM DC persistent memory (4x128GB, 2,666 MT/s), 192GB DRAM (12x16GB, 2,666MT/s), Intel HT Technology enabled, Intel Turbo Boost Technology enabled, storage (boot): 1x 480GB SSD DC 3520 M.2 SATA, storage (cache): 2x375GB Optane SSD DC P4800X, storage (capacity): 4x4TB SSD DC P4510 PCIe NVMe, 1×25 Gb/s Chelsio network adapter, 25GbE, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter edition build 17763.
^(**) Intel internal testing as of February 15, 2019. Intel Select Solutions for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI Edge model Base configuration: 2xXeon Gold 5218 processor, Intel Server Board S2600WFT, 256GB total memory (8x2GB, 2,666MT/s), Intel Hyper-Threading Technology (Intel HT Technology) enabled, Intel Turbo Boost Technology enabled, storage (boot): 1x480GB SSD DC 3520 U.2 SATA, storage tier: 4×1.6 TB SSD DC P4610 PCIe* NVMe, 1x25Gb/s) Chelsio network adapter, 10GbE, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter edition build 17763. Plus configuration: 2xXeon Gold 6230 processor, Intel Server Board S2600WFT, 512GB Optane DC persistent memory (4x128GB, 2,666 MT/s), 192GB DRAM (12x16GB, 2,666MT/s), Intel HT Technology enabled, Turbo Boost Technology enabled, storage (boot): 1x480GB SSD DC 3520 M.2 SATA, storage (cache): 2x375GB Optane SSD DC P4800X, storage (capacity): 4x4TB SSD DC P4510 PCIe NVMe, 1x25Gb/s Chelsio network adapter, 25GbE, Windows Server 2019 Datacenter edition build 17763.

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