HPE Nimble Storage Products & Technology Overview:
The Nimble Secondary Flash Array represents a new type of data storage optimized for both Capacity and Performance. It adds high performance flash storage to a capacity-optimized storage architecture for a unique backup platform that lets you put your backup data to work.
The Nimble Secondary Flash Array is Cloud Ready and optimized for backup, disaster recovery and secondary data storage. By using Flash, it lets you put your backup data to work for Dev/Test, QA and analytics. Instantly backup and recover data from any primary storage system. With our integration with leading backup software, it simplifies data lifecycle management and provides a path to cloud archiving.
Next-gen Flash storage solution
The Flash-enabled architecture delivers fast backup and restores, and doesn’t compromise on storage efficiency. Flash also provides the speed to let you quickly test and verify backups as you go, providing peace of mind. With secondary flash, you can quickly access files, VMs, applications or entire systems, or rapidly copy them back to primary. Or, don’t wait to restore: run production workloads at full speed on the Secondary Flash array and restore in parallel. The Secondary Flash array is Capacity-optimized to reduce your cost per gigabyte – delivered in part through Flash-enabled inline data reduction up to 18:1 or more, with no performance impact.
Put your backup data to work
Run real workloads with flash performance, such as Dev/Test, QA, Patch testing, Reporting and Analytics. Zero-copy clones let you re-use backup data and instantly spin up hundreds of application copies. The Secondary Flash array lets you easily and quickly get to your data: reads are over 100x faster than with traditional hard-drive-based backup appliances. Restores can be near-instantaneous, or you can just run your application directly from the array for performance similar to Primary storage.
Manage within a Multicloud Flash Fabric
For Nimble environments, execute thousands of instant, zeroimpact snapshots on primary storage and natively replicate to the Secondary Flash Array. All Nimble flash arrays are Cloud Ready — providing an easy on-ramp to the cloud through Nimble Cloud Volumes.
The Secondary Flash Array: also a Predictive Flash Platform
The new Nimble Secondary Flash Array was built on the same innovative data management platform as the AF and CS-Series arrays. With this comes the extensive instrumentation and cloudbased intelligence comprising the industry-leading Internet of Things capability, Infosight. With InfoSight Predictive Analytics, the Secondary Flash Array, along with your entire Multicloud Flash Fabric, is automatically monitored. On-demand status and performance insights are available at a click of a button, as well as trend analysis to help plan for future infrastructure needs. InfoSight predicts and prevents 9 out of 10 problems, and has visibility across the application-to-storage stack, achieving 99.9999% uptime across the HPE Nimble Storage customer base.
HPE Nimble Storage SF-Series Arrays
The SF Series is a line of storage arrays optimized for Secondary storage tasks, optimized for data deduplication to maximize effective capacity.
Initial models available are the SF100 and the SF300. Both are comparable in terms of array-based Snapshots, Replication and Cloning capabilities, always-on inline data reduction, and cost-effective data capacity.
SF100
The SF100 is the initial entrylevel model, targeted at midsize IT organizations or Disaster Recovery sites of larger organizations.
SF300
The SF300 was designed for larger organizations and provides twice the capacity, IOPS and throughput of the SF100.
HPE Nimble Storage Technology: Secondary Flash
Key Benefits
No more Backup windows
- Near-instant snapshot-based backup – no more back-up windows and zero impact to host
- Near-instant restore – access files, VMs, applications or entire systems directly on the SFA or rapidly copy them back to primary
- Near-instant disaster recovery – failover to the SFA and run production workloads at full speed
Flash-based performance
- Run real workloads with flash performance, such as Dev/Test, QA, Patch testing and Analytics
- Zero-copy clones let you re-use backup data and instantly spin up hundreds of application copies
- Easily and quickly test and verify backups for peace of mind
Radical simplicity
- Converges backup, DR and secondary storage within a single, cloud-connected solution
- InfoSight predictive analytics anticipates and prevents issues for trouble-free operations
- Third party software integration simplifies data management and enables cloud archiving
Features and Benefits:
Instantly Restore and Recover
Near-Instant Snapshot-Based Backup
No more backup windows. Zero impact to host.
Near-Instant Restore
Access files, VMs, applications or entire systems directly on the Secondary Flash array or rapidly copy them back to the Primary Flash array
Run Applications on the Secondary Flash Array
Rather than restore, run production workload with flash performance directly on the Secondary Flash array
Cloud Ready
Nimble arrays are Cloud Ready, giving you the flexibility to create a multicloud environment. Easily migrate data between on-premise flash arrays and the public cloud with Nimble Cloud Volumes.
Flash Performance with Inline Deduplication
Clone and Run
Instant cloning lets you take space-efficient copies and run real workloads with flash performance. It's perfect for Dev/Test, QA, and analytics
Store More Data
Always-on inline deduplication and compression with zero performance impact
Fast Backup Verification
Frequently and easily test backups for peace of mind
InfoSight Predictive Analytics
InfoSight Predictive Analytics anticipates and prevents issues for trouble-free operations, and greater than 99.9999% measured availability.
Timeless Storage
Nimble arrays come with a satisfaction guarantee, all-inclusive software licensing, flat support pricing, and no forklift upgrades.
Dramatic Data Center Footprint and TCO Reduction
Radical Simplicity
Converge & Standardize Devices
Standardize your Backup, Disaster Recovery and Secondary Storage onto a single storage system
Highly Available Secondary Storage
InfoSight predictive analytics anticipates and prevents issues for trouble-free operations, and 99.9999% measured availability
Simplified Data Management
Deep integration with Veeam and other data-protection software simplifies the data management lifecycle.
Manage Backup Within a Multicloud Flash Fabric
For Nimble environments, easily manage both Primary and Secondary storage arrays within a single Multicloud Flash Fabric. Execute thousands of zero-impact snapshots on Primary storage and natively replicate to the Secondary Flash array.
CASL Architecture:
HPE Nimble Storage solutions are built on its patented Cache Accelerated Sequential Layout (CASL) architecture. CASL leverages the unique properties of flash and disk to deliver high performance and capacity – all within a dramatically small footprint.CASL and InfoSight form the foundation of the Adaptive Flash platform, which allows for the dynamic and intelligent deployment of storage resources to meet the growing demands of business-critical applications.
CASL and InfoSight form the foundation of the Adaptive Flash platform, which allows for the dynamic and intelligent deployment of storage resources to meet the growing demands of business-critical applications.
Watch CASL Architecture Deep Dive
Storage architect Devin Hamilton provides an in-depth look at Nimble’s core architecture. (74:45)
Key Innovations from CASL
- Flexible Flash Scaling
Flexibly scale flash to satisfy the changing performance demands of today's business-critical applications.
- Adaptive Flash Service Levels
Tailor the amount of flash allocated to workloads on a per-volume basis. Assign one of three flash service levels (All Flash, Auto Flash and No Flash) to accommodate latency-sensitive critical applications to capacity-optimized applications, for management efficiency and optimal TCO.
- Dynamic Flash-Based Read Caching
CASL caches "hot" active data onto SSD in real time—without the need to set complex policies. This way it can instantly respond to read requests—as much as 10X faster than traditional bolt-on or tiered approach to flash.
- Write-Optimized Data Layout:
CASL collects or coalesces random writes, compresses them, and writes them sequentially to disks. This results in write operations that are as much as 100x faster than traditional disk-based storage.
- Inline Compression
CASL compresses data as it is written to the array with no performance impact. It takes advantage of efficient variable block compression and multicore processors. A recent measurement of our installed base shows average compression rates from 30 to 75 percent for a variety of workloads.
- Scale-to-Fit Flexibility
CASL allows for the non-disruptive and independent scaling of performance and capacity. This is accomplished by either upgrading the storage controller (compute) for higher throughput, moving to larger flash SSD (cache) to accommodate more active data, or by adding storage shelves to boost capacity. This flexible scaling eliminates the need for disruptive forklift upgrades.
- Scale Out
Scale capacity and performance beyond the physical limitations of a single array by seamlessly clustering any combination of HPE Nimble Storage hybrid arrays. Eliminate capacity silos and performance hotspots, and easily manage all hardware resources across the cluster as a single storage entity.
- Snapshots and Integrated Data Protection
CASL can take thousands of point-in-time instant snapshots of volumes by creating a copy of the volumes’ indices. Any updates to existing data or new data written to a volume are redirected to free space (optimized by CASL’s unique data layout). This means there is no performance impact due to snapshots and snapshots take little incremental space as only changes are maintained. This also simplifies restoring snapshots, as no data needs to be copied.
- Efficient Replication
HPE Nimble Storage efficiently replicates data to another array by transferring compressed, block-level changes only. These remote copies can be made active if the primary array becomes unavailable. This makes deploying disaster data recovery easy and affordable – especially over a WAN to a remote array where bandwidth is limited.
- Zero-Copy Clones
HPE Nimble Storage arrays can create snapshot-based read/writeable clones of existing volumes instantly. These clones benefit from fast read and write performance, making them ideal for demanding applications such as VDI or test/development.
Services:
HPE Pointnext
HPE Pointnext leverages our breadth and depth of technical expertise and innovation to help to accelerate digital transformation. A comprehensive portfolio that includes—Advisory, Professional, and Operational Services is designed to help you evolve and grow today and into the future.
Operational Services
- HPE Flexible Capacity is a new consumption model to manage on-demand capacity, combining the agility and economics of public cloud with the security and performance of on-premises IT.
- HPE Datacenter Care offers a tailored operational support solution built on core deliverables. It includes hardware and software support, a team of experts to help personalize deliverables and share best practices, as well as optional building blocks to address specific IT and business needs.
- HPE Proactive Care is an integrated set of hardware and software support including an enhanced call experience with start to finish case management helping resolve incidents quickly and keeping IT reliable and stable.
- HPE Foundation Care helps when there is a hardware or software problem offering several response levels dependent on IT and business requirements.
Advisory Services
Advisory Services includes design, strategy, road map, and other services to help enable the digital transformation journey, tuned to IT and business needs. Advisory Services helps customers on their journey to Hybrid IT, Big Data, and the Intelligent Edge.
Professional Services
Professional Services helps integrate the new solution with project management, installation and startup, relocation services, and more. We help mitigate risk to the business so there is no interruption when new technology is being integrated in the existing IT environment.
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