Storage

Larger models and need for more in-depth analysis creates larger and in some cases huge data-sets that needs to be managed in a efficient manner, to allow easy manipulation.

Gridcore has deep knowledge in the creation of stable and scalable storage solutions that fulfills the needs of Technical & Scientific computing. Combining this knowledge with the IBM storage portfolio and advanced file systems we can create solutions for all needs.

Storage solutions

Gridcore can offer storage solutions ranging from a few terabytes up to hundreds of terabytes using the same proven technology from our partners.

But size is not the only important parameter when implementing a storage solution. Different applications and different job types within the same application create different data access patterns and data volumes. In order to speed up overall performance, it is necessary to create a solution that is balanced against the CPU and  memory resorces available in the rest of the system. This is achived by adapting the design of the storage subsystem, choosing different type and size of disks,  RAID-levels, controllers and interconnect fabrics.

Gridcore can offer cost effective storage solutions tailored to the needs of your applications.

Storage hardware

Gridcore offers storage solutions based on hardware from IBM's TotalStorage program. IBM TotalStorage encompasses entry level, midrange and enterprise class storage systems.

In the entry level segment there is the IBM DS3200 (SAS attached to host) and DS3400 (FibreChannel attached) which both support SAS and SATA hard disk drives. The DS3000 controllers support RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 10.

The entry level systems provide a cost effective solution for small to moderate storage needs, with limited scalability and redundancy.

In the midrange segment, all disk controllers are attached to the host systems using 4 Gbps FibreChannel technology, preferrably using SAN switches for increased  redundancy and flexibility. RAID levels supported by all controllers in the DS4000 series are 0, 1, 5 and 10. DS4200 and DS4700 also support RAID6.

The DS4200 controller supports 16 hot-swap SATA drives, and can be expanded to a maximum of 112 drives by attaching up to six EXP420 drive expansion chassis.

The DS4700 controller supports both FibreChannel and SATA drives. 16 hot-swap drives can be installed directly in the controller and by attaching expansion chassis up to 224 drives can accessed through the same controller.

The DS4800 controller supports both FibreChannel and SATA drives. No drives are installed directly in the controller, instead up to 14 expansion chassis EXP810 can be connected to the controller, for a maximum of 224 drives. The DS4800 controller supports bandwidths up to 1600 MB/s with full redundancy.

SAN fabric hardware

IBM TotalStorage provides a comprehensive set of Storage Area Network products ranging from small entry level switches to enterprise class SAN directors.

The SAN16B-2 provides between 8 and 16 switch ports communicating at 1, 2 or 4 Gbps. It can be used both in smaller standalone configurations and as part of large SAN fabrics.

In the midrange segment the SAN32B-3 offers 16 to 32 switch ports (1, 2 or 4 Gbps auto-negotiating), and it also provides high availability features, such as hot-swappable power supplies.

Storage software

To fully take advantage of the performance of the disk system, advanced file systems can be used. High performance parallel file systems offer scalability in storage size and throughput performance. Optimizations for meta data handling is available, depending on the chosen file system.

Gridcore offers installation and configuration of IBM General Parallel FileSystem (GPFS), Sun/CFS Lustre and PVFS2.

IBM GPFS offers distributed meta data handling, scalable performance, policy based allocation of storage devices for different categories of files, and the possibility to connect several GPFS clusters together, sharing a common filesystem namespace. Migration of data between different physical disks.

Sun Lustre is a parallel object-based filesystem released under the GNU GPL license. It offers excellent scalability and performance. Commercial support is available from Sun Microsystems.

PVFS2 is an open source high performance parallel filesystem with support for parallel programs (MPI-IO) and high availability features.