SolidFire and ONTAP

I had a reseller ask last week "Now that NetApp bought SolidFire, are they going to kill all-flash FAS?"  My answer: not on your life. 

NetApp has sold tens of thousands of all-flash FAS (AFF) systems, which run CDOT, our flagship operating system.  It's a great product that enormous enterprises (and governments) are spending a billion dollars a year on: there's no way we'd back down from continuing to invest in R&D there.  

Besides that, SolidFire has a completely different architecture than AFF.  One way to understand it is that AFF's architecture starts with smaller building blocks.  Here's what I mean:

1. AFF dedupes each volume individually: SolidFire dedupes the entire cluster.
2. AFF protects each disk using RAID: SolidFire protects each node using two copies of everything.
3. AFF puts QOS on each volume: SolidFire shows you whether your QOS promises exceed the cluster's ability.
4. AFF deals with node failure by having a redundant partner take over: SolidFire deals with node failure by having ALL the other nodes pick up the slack.

These are different architectures, which solve different needs.   I thought this was a great overview of SolidFire as well:
http://www.virtualtothecore.com/en/solidfire-a-quality-storage/

NetApp Training Brain Dump: Cabling Standards

I encourage anyone who owns a FAS system to read over either of these two documents and make sure their system is correctly cabled.  It could save you a big headache in the future!

DS4243 Installation and Service Guide

http://now.netapp.com/NOW/knowledge/docs/hardware/filer/210-04708_B0.pdf

SAS Cabling Guide

http://now.netapp.com/NOW/knowledge/docs/hardware/filer/215-05500_A0.pdf

Feel free to email me if you need a copy but don't have a NOW account.  My email address can be found in my "about me."

NetApp Training Brain Dump: Terms and Acronyms

Here is a list of useful acronyms and definitions.  The list is seriously incomplete, I'll keep it updated as I learn.  These definitions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are meant to be concise and accurate to give you the general idea, in plain english, quickly.

Terms:

1. Anodefile: Haven't defined this yet.
2. The RLM/BMC/SP have essentially the same functionality.  They are control modules for management of the device, giving you remote console access in case other connections go down.  RLM is the oldest, SP the newest version of this module.
3. FlexClone: Copy of an existing volume.  Looks like a volume, acts like a volume, takes up no space until you change something from the original.  R/W.  Basically a writable snapshot.
4. Snapshot: Point in time copy of an existing volume.  Cannot be changed.  Snapshots take up no space until data is changed on the  original, because it's really just a bunch of pointers that are still pointing toward the original blocks.
5. Fingerprint database:
6. Deswizzling: background WAFL scanner establishing the relationship between the PVBNs and VVBNs.  Only impacts destination, only impacts volumes.

Acronyms:

1. Product designations*2
1. Denotes single CPU Module (Controller):
1. FAS CI (Controller/IOXM): One controller, one IOXM, one chassis.  IOXM adds PCI slots to support additional ports.
2. FAS CB (Controller/Blank): Self explanatory.
3. FAS E (Expansion): One controller, one IOXM, one chassis. 
2. Denotes only HA (dual) CPU Modules: 
1. FAS CC (Controller/Controller): Two controllers, one chassis
2. FAS c (Controller/Controller): Two controllers, one chassis
3. FAS AE (Active/Expansion): Two chassis set up for an HA pair.  One controller, one IOXM per chassis.
4. FAS A (Active/Active): Indicates the same thing as CC.
2. VIF (Virtual Interface):  virtual NIC, known as Trunked or Teamed NIC.  They come in single mode (redundancy) or multi mode (load balanced).  There are two types of Multi-Mode VIFs, Static Etherchannel and LACP.*1
3. Static Etherchannel: older protocol for combining  NIC's into a single virtual NIC.  Load balances just as well as LACP.
4. LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol): Newer protocol for combining  NIC's into a single virtual NIC.     This is an enhanced option over Static Etherchannel because of better error detection and handling.  Pick LACP when possible.
5. ACP (Alternate Control Path): Backup path for the CPU modules to control the shelf modules.
6. Wiregauge: software that tests whether a FAS system is correctly wired for MPIO/HA.
7. NGS: NetApp Global Support.
8. NRD (non-return disks): Client has paid for the right to keep disks after they've failed.  Never take these offsite.
9. IOXM (Input/Output Expansion Module): Module that goes in the place of a CPU module in a FAS system.  Provides more PCI slots for network connectivity.
10. IOM3/IOM6 (Input/Output module): Redundant shelf module for DS42XX series.  
11. FC-AL (Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop):
12. FC-VI (Fibre Channel-Virtual Interface):
13. TOI (Transfer of information).  
14. IMAC (Install, Add, Move, Change).
15. NDMP: Network Data Management Protocol.  This protocol sets up communication between the NAS device (e.g. Filer) and your backup device (e.g. tape library), bypassing the backup server.  Typically the backup server is running enterprise backup software to facilitate the exchange, but doesn't want to be the middleman in the flow of data.  You can think of the backup server as the witness in a duel, and the code of honor each dueler follows as NDMP.  When the witness says go, take 10 steps, turn and shoot - very important, but the witness doesn't want to stand in between the two and pass on the bullets :-)
16. WWPN or WWN (World Wide Port Name): In a SAN, these unique names are used at a software level to route data to and from the correct ports.  Each port has a unique name, ostensibly unique in the world
17. NPIV (N_Port ID Virtualization): How multiple 
1. For more info on this, check out http://blog.scottlowe.org/2009/11/27/understanding-npiv-and-npv/
18. RDM (Raw  Device Mapping): A term for presenting the LUN to the server via SCSI/FCoE/FCP.
19. VMFS (Virtual Machine File System): VMware's cluster file system.
20. NDU (Non-Disruptive Upgrades): refers to whether a firmware upgrade takes down the service.
21. PVBN (Physical Volume Block Numbers): how WAFL identifies the blocks of data.  Essentially an address.
22. VVBN (Virtual Volume Block Numbers): how WAFL identifies the blocks to mirror changes.  Each block has the same VVBN on the source and dest volume. 
23. FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt): how small minded people justify avoiding work.
24. QSM (Qtree SnapMirror)
25. RTO (Recovery Time Objective): How long it takes to failover and be up from a disaster.
26. RPO (Recovery Point Objective): How much data the system will lose in the event of a disaster.  Zero RPO means no data lost.
27. SDS (Storage Design Studio): Software within NetApp Dynamics that is used to design a SAN, including network, disk, and volume levels.
28. ALUA (Asymmetric Logical Unit Access): Since only one controller at a time owns and writes to each hard drive, ALUA software uses awareness of this to send traffic to the owning controller.  This optimizes performance.
29. LREP (Logical Replication): Used for the first, full transfer of data for either replication of backup.  
30. ASIS (Advanced Single Instance Storage)*3: NetApp's old name for data dedupe.
31. RBAC (Role Based Access Control)
32. RAS (Reliability, Availability, and Serviceability)

Positions (loose definitions):

- TPM (Third Party Maintainer): 3rd party NetApp contracted break/fix/install.

- ASE (Accredited Services Engineer):  Somewhat analogous to TPM.

- FSE (Field Services Engineer): Third party firefighter.  Expert level ASE.

- PSE (Professional Services Engineer): Consultant expert for implementations and base software like Operations Manager.
- TSE (Technical Support Engineer): The guys at NGS.  

- PSC (Professional Services Consultant): Consultant guru, highly specialized expert.  Architect.

Sources

*1.  http://communities.netapp.com/message/8185?tstart=898
*2.  http://www.netapp.com/us/communities/tech-ontap/tot-fas3200-boost-1101.html
*3.  http://www.backupcentral.com/mr-backup-blog-mainmenu-47/13-mr-backup-blog/250-netapp-asis.html

NetApp Training Brain Dump: Bird's Eye View

Preparing for a deep dive into NetApp technology! In an intelligence report to King George in 1776, England's spies wrote about John Adam's strength being that he "sees large things largely."  I try to take that approach of not getting caught in minutia when approaching a new technology, to better grasp the big picture.  The next few posts will be my journey into that, and I'm sure that in trying to encapsulate complex ideas I will be slightly incorrect in some of these statements.  Nuance comes with time!  So here we go, basic terms, spelled out in English:

Product Definitions:

- FAS system (aka filer): NetApp's term for the custom machine that manages the storage. Roughly equivalent in purpose to HP EVA, IBM XIV, etc. Capable of serving storage over ethernet NAS (file based protocols like HTTP, FTP, CIFS, etc) or SAN block based protocols (FCoE, iSCSI, or FC).  FAS (Fabric Attached Storage) designates that the filer is operating on FCoE, iSCSI, or FC rather than simply as a NAS device.

- SnapVault (OSSV): NetApp's backup solution.  Allows full or incremental backups to be transfered from a server directly to a NetApp storage system.

- SnapMirror: Real time replication.  Effectively creates software layer RAID 1 by creating exact clones of volumes or qtrees (can't mirror an aggregate from what I've read).  This enables NetApp's Metrocluster.

- Metrocluster: their version of DR implementation.  Two options: stretch (both controllers in one datacenter) or fabric attached (replication across an ISL (inter-site link) with one controller in each datacenter).

- SyncMirror:

- SnapDrive:

- FlexShare: Allows you to set processing priority for volumes within an aggregate.

- iGroup: Initiator group.  All LUN's are mapped to an iGroup, which handle LUN masking based upon the client system.  The iGroups basically contain the specifications for the OS-App combo etc to communicate to the LUN.  Typically, each server (or cluster) should have its own iGroup based upon the OS, Application (SQL, VMware, etc), and SAN protocol.

Break it down: There are a few layers where the building blocks of storage are combined to form higher level concepts for easier management, each with NetApp-specific jargon.  No worries, I'm here to translate and simplify:

- Layer 1: Disk drives.  duh.

- Layer 2: RAID Group.  This is a group of up to 28 disks operating as a pool of storage, 16 best practice.  You want all the RG's in a specific aggregate to be the same size.  Two parity disks per RG.

- Layer 2.5: Plex. A plex is a physical copy of the WAFL storage within the aggregate. A mirrored aggregate consists of two plexes; unmirrored aggregates contain a single plex.  Take 11 players from the Chicago Bears and NE Patriots, and they're a football team.  Move them around a bit, and you can put them in shotgun formation.  You can say that they're a set of players (aggregate), and they're distinctly from the Bears and the Patriots (volumes in the aggregate), and that they're a formation (plex)...there are many ways to view the organization of data.

- Layer 3: Aggregate.  This is a group of RAID Groups.  A RAID group can not be assigned to more than one Aggregate.

- Layer 4: Volume. This is space carved out inside an aggregate.  Typically this is space for 1 LUN + reserve space.
- Layer 5: LUN.  This is space carved out inside a volume.  There can be multiple LUNs per volume, but that can be inadvisable.  The LUN is the actual virtual disk being presented to the server.

- Layer 6: QTree. Essentially, this is space carved out inside a LUN for a particular directory, sometimes with a hard limit.

I'll keep these definitions updated as I learn the nuances or need to make corrections.