netapp product analysis fas3100 v3100

8/12/2019 NetApp Product Analysis FAS3100 V3100

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ES/OLEvaluator Series On-Line

Network Attached Storage June 2010Product Analys is Page 2 of 26

NetApp FAS3100 and V3100 Storage Systems

2010 Evaluator Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is prohibited.

(303) 221-7867 www.evaluatorgroup.com

The FAS3100 fabric-attached storage (FAS) series supports fibre channel SAN, IP SAN (iSCSI) and network-attached storage (NAS) environments via NFS and CIFS. NetApp refers to fabric-attached storage systems asstorage connected to hosts via any network. The FAS series is part of NetApps strategy to offer a networkstorage system that is capable of supporting both NAS and storage-area network (SAN) accessibility from asingle storage pool.

The NetApp FAS systems are nearly identical to the V-series systems, the primary difference being the V-series do not include NetApp disk storage, instead permitting attachment of third party storage systemsNetApp uses the term fabric-attached storage (FAS) for their integrated systems, with the standalonecontroller-only systems known as the V for virtualization series. NetApps FAS systems support three primarytypes of host attachment, including fibre channel and iSCSI SAN attach and via NAS.

NetApp uses the terminology Unified Storage Architecture when describing their primary storage systems,which includes the FAS and V series systems. For both, the underlying storage processing and intelligenceare the same, with the difference being V-Series are offered as standalone devices or gateways to third partybackend fibre channel (FC) storage systems.

Availability of the FAS3100 products is provided via NetApps standard channel resellers as well as theiOEMs, with IBM being the only current OEM partner.

The FAS3100 series from NetApp is a family of unified SAN and NAS devices targeted to cover the mid-tierand large enterprise storage environments. The available models are:

FAS3140 / V3140 small to mid-tier enterprise environments

FAS3160 / V3160 and FAS3170 / V3170 mid-tier enterprise environments

FAS and V Series 3140, 3160, and 3170Figure 1: NetApp 3100 Product Line

Clustered models (denoted by both an a and c suffix) are active-active configurations. In recenannouncements, NetApp utilizes product nomenclatures that are consistent with other traditional SAN storagevendors. Specifically, dual controller configurations are not differentiated from single controller systems withthe default limits, capacity and connectivity provided for dual controller configurations. NetApps use of an aor c suffix is still utilized in technical specifications although its use for other purposes has largely beenended.


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Network Attached StorageProduct Analysis

June 2010Page 3 of 26




The FAS3100 series support both fibre channel and SATA disk drives. The FAS3170 supports up to 840 TB ostorage on 840 drives. All dual controller FAS3100 systems include 8 fibre channel and 8 gigabit Etherneports. The primary difference between models of the 3100 series is memory and processor configurations, aswell as capacity limitations, all of which provide differentiated levels of performance. The FAS3100 seriesprovides high availability with support for clustered failover, RAID storage and redundant components

Additional integrity features include disk scrubbing of data to look for unreadable locations before a disk failureoccurs and NVRAM for protection of volatile write data.

FAS and V Series Features Technical Highlights

SAN Protocol Support Fibre Channel Protocol (FCP) for SCSI; fabric-attached and direct-attached;iSCSI

File Service Protocol Support NFS V2/V3/V4 over UDP or TCP, PCNFSD V1/V2 for (PC) NFS client

authentication, Microsoft CIFS

Other Protocol Support HTTP 1.0, HTTP 1.1 virtual hosts

LUNs 2,048

FlexVols 500 per controller

Volume/Aggregate Size 16TB

Snapshots 127,000 (maximum is 255 / Volume)

Up to 4 ports per controller for front-end (host) connectivity

Up to 4 directly connected servers (per controller or active/active system)Number of Supported Hosts

Up to 256 SAN connected servers (per controller or active/active system)

Highly Available Controller Configurations:Active/active controller with Controller Failover, active/active controller withstretch (non-switch) MetroCluster, active/active controller with Fabric

Attached MetroClusterHA Supported Configurations

Highly Available Back-End (Disk) Configurations:

Dual-path, Multipath HA Storage

Reliability Redundant hot-swappable controllers, cooling fans, power supplies, optics,and RJ-45 ports

Management

Full-duplex 10/100/1000Base-T Ethernet onboard console, diagnosticLED/LCD, Remote LAN Management (RLM) Card5, SNMP, telnet, SSH,HTTP, Web (SSL), host scripting, e-mail alerts

Security

Virus Protection

Authentication: Kerberos (MIT/Active Directory)

Authorization: LDAP, NIS

Auditing: File access logging

Encryption: IPSec, SSL, SSH, SMB signing

Role Based Access Control (RBAC)

Table 1: NetApp FAS and V Series Overview


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NetApp Model Comparison 3140a 3160a 3170a

Controllers / Config 2 / HAactive-active

2 / HAactive-active

2 / HAactive-active

Max SAN Host Connections 256 256 256

RAID Levels 4, 6, 4+1*, 6+1* 4, 6, 4+1, 6+1 4, 6, 4+1, 6+1

Max. Raw Capacity 420 TB 672 TB 840 TB

Max. # Disk Drives 420 672 840

ECC Memory 8 GB 16 GB 32 GB

NVRAM 1 GB 4 GB 4 GB

Max # LUN's 2048 2048 2048

Drive Type FAS series FC & SATA FC & SATA FC & SATAStorage FC Interface 4 Gb 4 Gb 4 Gb

Spec NFS Performance (ops/s) SPEC sfs2008 Results Not Published

Expansion Slots: (PCI-E) 8 8 8

Onboard IO Ports:

GbE Ports 4 4 4

FC Ports 8 @ 4 Gb 8 @ 4 Gb 8 @ 4 Gb

Optional FC Connectivity:

2 port FC Disk connect HBA 8 @ 4 Gb 8 @ 4 Gb 8 @ 4 Gb

2 port FC Target HBAs 4 @ 4 Gb 4 @ 4 Gb 4 @ 4 Gb

4 port FC Target HBAs 6 @ 4 Gb 6 @ 4 Gb 6 @ 4 Gb

4 port FC Disk or Tape 8 @ 4 Gb 8 @ 4 Gb 8 @ 4 Gb

Optional 2-port Ultra320 SCSI TapeHBA

8 8 8

Optional Network Connectivity:

4 port 1 GbE TOE 8 8 8

4 port 10 GbE TOE 8 8 8

2 port 10 Gb iSCSI HBA 8 8 8

Dual 10 GbE FCoE Target Adapter 8 8 8

4 port SAS HBA 8 8 8

Performance Acceleration Module 4 4 8

Performance Acceleration Module II 0 4 4

* RAID 4+1 and 6+1 available with SyncMirror option only

Table 3: NetApp 3100 System Overview


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PRODUCT ARCHITECTURE

NetApps 3100 systems may be used for a variety of purposes, including providing file access to hosts, andproviding virtualized block data to hosts via both FC and IP networks. The NetApp implementation of the FASproduct line operates with several basic functions identified below along with specialized elements to improveperformance and add functionality.

Figure 2: NetApp FAS Architectural Components


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sNetApp FAS3100 and V3100 Storage System



Figure 3: NetApp V Series Architectural Components


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SOFTWARE ARCHITECTURE

NetApp software performs the RAID functionality to attached disk storage located in NetApp storage trays orattached disk storage in the case of the V-series. Licensed software includes NetApps SnapManager,SnapMirror, SnapVault, SnapRestore, SnapDrive, SnapLock, Clustered Failover, MetroCluster, MultiStoreDataFabric Manager, FlexVol, FlexClone and SecureAdmin. The FAS and V series can be integrated with

ApplianceWatch for HP OpenView and Tivoli.

The software architecture of the 3100 product series is very similar to all other NetApp Data ONTAP basedsystems. The Evaluator Group provides a detailed product analysis of Data ONTAP. Information on thesoftware features and functions of the 3100, the reader should refer to the Data ONTAP analysis.

I/O Connectivity

NetApp provides both block and file access to data with the 3100 products offering block I/O via both fibrechannel and IP networks and file access via IP networks. NetApp supports a variety of host based multi-pathing and load balancing options including Symantecs VERITAS VxVM with DMP. Initially, SCSI was both ablock protocol and connectivity standard, although the protocol has successfully been used with otherconnectivity methods including both Fibre Channel (FC) and TCP/IP. The SCSI protocol transmitted over FCis known as FCP and SCSI over IP is known as iSCSI.

Additionally, 3100 systems may be connected to SAN attached tape devices using fibre channel interfaces fobackup and recovery. Typically, data backup is accomplished via the NDMP protocol in conjunction withbackup software from providers including EMC, IBM and Symantec. The lists of supported backupapplications and tape devices are in tables later in this document.

Evaluator Group Comment: The ability to use the same storage system for block and file storageappeals to many customers. What is not clear are the tradeoffs in the usage when there are combinedtypes of I/O. What effect does streaming of files have on the cache hit ratios for block s torage? Iwould be useful to understand these tradeoffs before deploying a particular solut ion.

File I/O Connectivity

NetApp products originated providing remote file connectivity via standard protocols. Initially, NFS was theprimary protocol supported, and over time additional protocols such as CIFS, FTP, HTTP, and others havebeen added. By their design, remote file connectivity protocols provide a means of ensuring data coherencyamong multiple hosts. The two primary methods of remote file connectivity deployed are NFS and CIFS.

NetApp systems provide implementations of both protocols along with NetApp proprietary software in order toprovide the ability to share data in both environments simultaneously. For more information, refer to theEvaluator Groups NetApp Data ONTAP product analysis.

Block I/O Connectivi ty

NetApps 3100 series systems support both FCP (SCSI over fibre-channel) and iSCSI (SCSI over TCP/IP)protocols for block storage connectivity. NetApp supports the new ANSI T10 standard for multi-path accessknown as ALUA, (Asymmetric Logical Unit Access). There is confusion in that the controllers are active/active


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which means each may takeover for a failed controller. However, data access via a LUN may not occur viaboth controllers. In this sense, it is an asymmetric controller design similar to most other competing midrangesystems such as the EMC Clariion, HP EVA and LSI based systems.

NetApp supports iSCSI connectivity from a variety of hosts including Windows, Linux and several versions oUNIX. For Windows hosts, NetApp supports iSCSI pathing via Microsofts MPIO framework and for LinuxNetApp supports the iSCSI multi-pathing provided within the iSCSI distributions from RedHat and SuSE. FoUNIX distributions, NetApp supports HPs HP-UX, IBMs AIX, and Suns Solaris operating systems for thenative multi-pathing for iSCSI. NetApps support for iSCSI is detailed in subsequent tables.

Reliability and Performance

NetApp has changed the nomenclature for their cluster configurations, which were previously denoted by a cin the model name. In place of the c denotation, NetApp now uses an a in order to denote active-activecontroller configurations. However, for block data access, these systems continue to operate as asymmetricsystems as previously denoted.

In symmetric mode, file access via the alternate node can occur without a failover and timeout of severalseconds. Asymmetric systems cannot typically be used for accessing data via alternate paths due to theassociated performance penalty.

The unified SAN and NAS functionality allows the NetApp filers to serve blocks from LUNs for servers that maybe either direct attached or SAN-fabric connected. Each of the 3100 systems have two or more Etherneadapters installed with the system providing access via either depending on network configuration. In additionthe Data ONTAP OS provides fabric login and other fabric access management capabilities. NetApp supportslink aggregation at the Ethernet level (802.3ad), commonly known as trunking, providing increased

performance and increased connectivity reliability in cases of line failures.

The 3100 systems offer both bundled and optional RAS features including the following:

HA Cluster, with alternate paths for access to disk via an InfiniBand interface

Redundant hot-plug power supplies and cooling fans standard on all models with load sharing toextend life

Multiple IO connectivity which may be dynamically reconfigured

Dedicated service Ethernet port provides a service interface

Battery-backed NVRAM to maintain data consistency of WAFL filesystem

RAID protection of the data storage performed by Data ONTAP software with support for bothRAID-4 and RAID-DP (dual parity) with raid group sizes dependent upon RAID level and diskdrive type utilized.

Disk scrubbing to protect from an unreadable data block, which would be uncorrectable if readwhile a drive had failed.

Dynamic online expansion of file systems allows for continued availability while increasing the filesystem size.

Auto Support feature is a pro-active maintenance mechanism NetApp systems use to reportstatus to a NetApp global service center or an internal IT department

Filesystem snapshots (point in time copy) provide data protection and availability.

For serviceability, the 3100 line has a web-based GUI called FilerView to perform the prescribed administrationand service tasks. FilerView is included with all NetApp storage appliances using Data ONTAP.


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When configuring 3100 systems for an active-active cluster arrangement, several points should be considered:

Network connections to hosts must be redundant. The cluster configuration is active-active, althoughdata access is tied to a particular controller. In this arrangement, sometimes known as active-passivedata access, each of the controllers may concurrently serve and manage the file systems over which ithas primary control. In the case of a failover, the remaining appliance will take over, assume the IP andMAC address of the failed appliance and assume ownership of the file systems.

The recommended practice is to use multi-path clusters, in which there are two paths between disksand controllers. This is accomplished utilizing the dual fibre channel loops where each appliance hasactive path access to both sets of disks. With standard cluster configurations, there may only be oneconnection active at a time. The minimum Data ONTAP level required for FAS3100 systems to utilizemulti-path clustering is ONTAP 7.2.1.

Clustering support requires an appliance-to-appliance link that is used for heartbeat messages and fomirroring the NVRAM data between the two appliances. NVRAM cards utilize a private InfiniBand connectionin order to maintain their mirroring NVRAM data to the partner controller NVRAM card.

Figure 4: NetApp Cluster Configurations (Source: NetApp)

The figure above shows a graphical depiction of 3100 systems in the two primary types of clusterconfigurations.

HARDWARE ARCHITECTURE

The ability to provide both block and file storage eliminates the need to deploy separate systems to addressrequirements in some environments. The FAS3100 series systems support both SATA and Fibre Channel diskdrives providing users with more choice in meeting their storage requirements. The hardware platforms all runNetApps common software platform, Data ONTAP.


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The 3100 systems have extensive onboard Fibre Channel (FC) and Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, which canbe augmented using included PCI Express expansion slots and integrated remote LAN management. TheFAS3170 scales to 840 drives, offering 840 terabytes of raw capacity per system.

FAS3100 Architecture Overview CPUs Dual core AMD Opterons

System memory (RAM) used for OS and data caching functions

Non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) is used as a data write cache, to help ensure data consistency

Cluster interconnect utilizes InfiniBand connections

On-board 10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet for IP network connectivity

On-board FC connections for block SAN connectivity

PCI 32-bit and 64-bit slots for additional network and SAN storage connections

Contains an add-in card for non-volatile RAM for file system integrity

PCIe and PCI-X adapter cards: Dual fibre channel adapters for disk device attachment. Dual and Quad fibre channel host bus adapters for SAN attachment Gigabit Ethernet adapter cards for Ethernet connection SCSI adapter card for tape attachment Dual fibre channel adapters for SAN tape backup capabilities Cluster interconnect adapter to support clustering connection to companion

Power and cooling: Redundant load-sharing power supplies to handle failure of a supply and to extend the life of the

power supplies by sharing the load in a non-failure condition Dual AC power cords to allow for failure of one power source On-board redundant battery backup for the NVRAM to allow for file system coherency data in the

event of a power loss Redundant cooling fans to handle the failure of a fan

Packaging: The 3100 systems use a system cabinet or rack mount for all of the components Floppy disk drive (installed for specific service updates to 3100 systems) Compact Flash

3100 systems have a compact flash (CF) card which contains system boot information, whichprovides fast system starts

The CF can hold two versions of the Data ONTAP operating system as well as other supporsoftware.


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Architectural Elements 3140 3160 3170

Processor Sockets 2 4 4

Processor Cores 2 2 2

Processor Type 2.5 GHzAMD

Opteron 250

2.5 GHzAMD

Opteron 250

2.5 GHzAMD

Opteron 250

Memory Type DDR DDR2 DDR2

Memory Amount 4 GB 8 GB 16 GB

Chip / Memory Connect HyperTransport

HyperTransport

HyperTransport

Processor to Memory & IOInterconnect

CrossbarSwitch

CrossbarSwitch

CrossbarSwitch

Disk Controllers 2 2 2Memory Interface

Processor I/O Speed Up to 24GB/s

Up to 24GB/s

Up to 24GB/s

Table 4: Detailed NetApp Single Controller Hardware Design

Evaluator Group Comment: NetApps choice of AMD processors, along with their HyperTransport I/Oprovides a superior platform for multi-CPU, high I/O workloads such as high end Data ONTAPenvironments. As processor capabilities have advanced, one of the greatest limitations onperformance gains has been the system architecture's ability to deliver sufficient IO and memorybandwidth to the processor. AMD Opteron based products reduce data bottlenecks by integrating a

memory cont roller into the processor, as opposed to util izing an external bridge I/O chip as Intel Xeonchips. Addi tionally, IO is accessed via a separate interface, which AMD refers to as theHyperTransport , able to transfer of over 4GB/s per link . As a result , processors are able to accessboth memory and I/O via separate high-speed channels, greatly increasing bandwidth while decreasingIO and memory access times. Use of AMD Opterons in NetApps design has improved the platformscapabilities while still utilizing off the shelf components, thereby maintaining low design andproduction costs.

SAN and Tape Connectivity

The 3100 product line also includes the capability of direct attachment to a tape drive (utilized for backup) viaSCSI. Additionally, a fibre channel adapter may be used for attachment for SAN tape backup.

SAN Connectivi ty

Supported HBAs include Emulex and the Qlogic HBAs for UNIX, Linux and Windows environments. A list osupported devices is provided below.


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The SAN switches supported with the 3100 systems are listed below.

Storage Array SAN Connectivity

Brocade Silkworm 2400/2800, (Tape only)

3200, 3250, 3800, 3850, 3900, 4012, 4020,4100, 4900, 12000, 24000, 48000

Qlogic 5600, 5602

Cisco MDS 9120, 9140, 9216, 9506, 9509, 9513,9020, 9124, 9222i, 9134

Sphereon 32XX, 4300, 4400, 4500, 4700

Intrepid 6064, 6140, ED-5000

McDATA

ES 3016, ES 3032

Table 6: NetApp SAN Switch connectivity

Tape Connectivi ty

Backup offerings are offered in partnerships with leading third party ISVs, SAN switch vendors, tape drive andtape library vendors.

Backup and restore over a FC SAN provide the following features when used with NetApp 3100 systems:

Library and tape sharing to improve utilization of tape resources Extended distances from data to centralized tape backup libraries

Minimal impact from backups on servers on the network

Tape drive swap

Dynamic tape configuration changes without bringing down the NetApp system

Up to eight (8) concurrent dumps to shared tape resources.


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stemsNetApp FAS3100 and V3100 Storage Sy



Figure 5: NetApp SAN tape Support (Source: NetApp)

Utilizing fibre channel fabric tape backups provides more flexibility than conventional direct-attached methodsby allowing multiple NetApp filers and tape devices to be shared on the same SAN. Up to 15 NetApp systemsin combination with up to 64 tape devices each with up to 16 media changers are supported in a fabric. Someof the connectivity options are outlined above.

Because each system has visibility to all tape devices in the SAN, these configurations enable dynamic tapesharing and optimal utilization of resources, when used with Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP) andsoftware applications that support dynamic tape sharing.

FC SAN tape backup enables hot swapping and dynamically changing tape configurations after the filer isrunning. A Fibre Channel tape drive or library may be connected and disconnected from the Fibre Channeswitch, and the switches rescans the ports to determine whether devices were added or removed. The NetAppsystem detects these configuration changes without requiring a restart. Drives that have been removed aredisabled with new drives automatically configured and exported for use by applications and users. A listing osupported tape drives is provided below.


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Tape Drive Support Interfaces

Certance LTO2, LTO3 Ultrium SCSI

DLT 7000, DLT 8000 SCSI

Exabyte Mammoth (I, II) SCSI

Exabyte Mammoth II FC

HP LTO SCSI

HP LTO 2 SCSI/FC

HP LTO 3 , 4 SCSI/ 2&4Gb FC

IBM 3590 SCSI/FC

IBM 3590B, 3590E, 3590H,3590E05

FC

IBM 3592J1A , TS1130 FCIBM LTO FC

IBM LTO 2, 3, 4 Ultrium SCSI/FC

IBM LTO 3 ULT3580 SCSI/FC

IBM ULT3580-TD1--LTO SCSI

IBM Ultrium-TD1LTO SCSI

Quantum DLT-S4 FC

Quantum DLT-V4 SCSI

Quantum SDLT 320 SCSI

Quantum SDLT 600 SCSI/FC

Quantum Super DLT 220 SCSI

Seagate Ultrium (LTO) SCSI

Sony AIT 1, AIT 2, AIT 3,AIT-3Ex

SCSI

Sony AIT4, SDX-900V SCSI

Sony AIT-5, SDX-1100 SCSI

Sony GY-2120--DTF SCSI

Sony GY-8240--DTF2 SCSI/FC

Sony S-AIT SCSI/FC

Sun STK 9840, 9940, 9840B,9940B

SCSI/FC

STK T9840C, D FC

STK T10000A, B FC

Sun LTO 3 FC

Tandberg Data LTO 2, 3, 4 SCSI

Table 7: NetApp Tape Drive Suppor t

Evaluator Group Comment: Many, if not most, customers are moving beyond using tape as a dataprotection solut ion. It would be useful for NetApp to explain the alternative data protection enabledusing NetApp systems for those customers. This may provide motivation to move to better dataprotection systems and could benefit NetApp with usage of additional software functionality.


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Device naming convention: After a tape drive is discovered by the filer, the drive is allocated a name usingthe format stn, where n is a number assigned to the drive based on when it was discovered. Tape libraries(also known as media changers mc ) follow a similar naming convention. The following are some limitationswith earlier naming conventions:

Data ONTAP assigns device addresses on a first-come first-served basis.

Assigned stnaddresses do not move when the device is moved.

Addresses might not be reassigned in the same order after reboot.

Unlike direct attached SCSI devices, the order of device discovery on a SAN is not fixed. New tape drives canbe easily added or removed from the system. Names assigned to one device can be assigned to a differentdevice after a reboot. This dynamic naming scheme is problematic with tape drives and libraries on a SAN. Tosolve this naming scheme problem, the tape aliasing method was developed.

Tape aliasing provides a correspondence between the logical names of a backup device, for example (st0mc1), and a name permanently assigned to a port or to a tape device. The following are three namingschemes used to assign permanent names to logical names of tape devices:

Logical namesprovide software assigned name given to the tape device by the filer. The format for tape drivelogical name is stn, where n is an integer greater than or equal to 0. The value of n is assigned to the drivebased on when it was discovered. Tape libraries (also known as media changers mc ) follow a similar namingconvention.

Example: Logical name - dump 0f /dev/nrst0a /vol/vol0

Electrical or Physical path names (PPN): A PPN is the numerical address sequence that Data ONTAPassigns to a tape drive and library based on which SCSI-2/3 adapter or switch they are connected to on thefiler. A PPN is also known as an electrical name. Note: Different filers can have different PPNs for the sametape device.

Example: Electrical name - dump 0f /dev/nr.MY_SWITCH:5.6.a /vol/vol0

World wide names (WWN): A WWN is assigned to tape devices at the time of manufacture. WWN appliesonly to Fibre Channel devices and not to SCSI devices. Note: Accessing a tape device through the WWNenables multiple filers to track the same device. In addition, using WWNs eliminates confusion in namingconventions sometimes caused by using PPNs.

Backup Application Support

Depicted below, a simple backup configuration is shown that allows a backup application residing on a host, tomove data from a NDMP capable NetApp system to a tape device via a fibre channel SAN. This type obackup is often referred to a as a LAN free backup, as data does not move across an Ethernet LAN.


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stemsNetApp FAS3100 and V3100 Storage Sy



Figure 6: Backup Application Deployment (Source: NetApp)

Additionally, the applications listed below have been certified to interoperate with both NetApp Data ONTAP7.2+ based systems, and the tape devices listed previously.

Company Backup Application

Atempo Time Navigator

BakBone NetVault

CommVault Galaxy

CA BrightStor ArcServe

CA BrightStor Enterprise

HP OpenView Data Protector

Oracle w/ SnapMirror

Oracle w/ SnapShot

Syncsort Backup Express

Tivoli TSM (Tivoli Storage Mgr.)

Symantec Veritas NetBackup

Table 8: NetApp Backup App lication Support


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iSCSI Connectivity

The internet SCSI (or iSCSI) protocol provides raw (or block) data access over a network. NetApp has beenone of the most vocal proponents for this technology due in part to fact that iSCSI utilizes TCP/IP networkswhich NetApp systems have traditionally utilized for file connectivity. There is a variety of managementconnectivity and multi-pathing issues that must be solved when deploying iSCSI solutions, much as when moretraditional fibre channel networks are used to provide block data access.

Figure 7: iSCSI SAN Deployment (Source: NetApp)


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There are a number of options for providing multiple connections between clients (hosts) and storage foiSCSI. By providing multiple paths, it is possible to improve performance as well as increase system reliabilityand redundancy. Provided in the table below is a summary of the benefits of the various options.

iSCSI Multi PathFeatures

LinkAggregat ion

MPIO - Multipathing

MCS - Multip leConnectionSessions

Where implemented Network Link(Ethernet

802.3ad) layer

Host devicedriver layer

iSCSI initiatorlayer

Improved bandwidthbetween servers andstorage

Yes Yes Yes

Provides completelyphysically independentpaths

No Yes Yes

Supports HBA initiators No Yes No

Provides multi-pathingbenefits to other TCP/IPtraffic

Yes No No

Only basic iSCSI initiatorrequired

Yes Yes No

Only basic iSCSI targetrequired

Yes Yes No

Only basic device driverrequired

Yes No Yes

Table 9: Summary of iSCSI Multi-path Options

The tables on the following pages provide details for iSCSI HBA and driver support by host operating systemplatform, for Windows, UNIX and Linux hosts.


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Operating System Suppor ted Initiator (OS Revisions)

Microsoft - Software Initiator

(Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, MicrosoftWindows Server 2003)

Microsoft - Software Initiator with Integrated iSCSI Boot for IBM BladeCenterwith Integrated NICs

(Microsoft Windows Server 2003)

Intel Pro 1000 T IP HBA - Hardware Initiator

(Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server,Microsoft Windows Server 2003 )

Adaptec HBA 7211C/F - Hardware Initiator

(Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server)

Alacritech HBA SES1001 - Accelerator for Microsoft Software Initiator(Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003)

Alacritech HBA SES2001/SES2002 - Accelerator for Microsoft Software Initiator(Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003)

Alacritech HBA SES2102/SES2104 - Accelerator for Microsoft Software Initiator(Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, Microsoft Windows Server 2003)

QLogic HBA QLA4010 - Hardware Initiator

(Windows 2000 Server, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows Server2003)

QLogic HBA QMC4052 - Hardware Initiator


QLogic HBA QLA405X - Hardware Initiator

Microsoft Windows ServerPlatforms


Table 10: NetApp iSCSI support for Windows


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Operating System Suppor ted Initiator (OS Revisions)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 - Software Initiator

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 - Software Initiator

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Update 4 - Software Initiator

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 Update 2 - Software Initiator

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 Update 3 or higher - Software Initiator

SuSE Enterprise Server 8 and 9 - Software Initiator

Adaptec HBA 7211C/F - Hardware Initiator

(Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1)


(Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 Update 3, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Update3, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 SP3)

QLogic HBA QLA405x - Hardware Initiator

Linux (Red Hat & SuSE)

(Red Hat Enterprise Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 Update 3, Red Hat EnterpriseRed Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 Update 3, SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 SP3,SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP3)

Novell - Software InitiatorNovell NetWare

(Novell NetWare 5.1, 6.0, & 6.5)

HP-UX - Software InitiatorHP-UX

(HP-UX11iv1, HP-UX11iv2, & HP-UX 11.23 v2)

Solaris - Software Initiator

(Solaris 10)


(Solaris 8, 9, 10 Update 1)

QLogic HBA QLA405x - Hardware Initiator

Solaris

(Solaris 9, 10 Update 1)

AIX - Software InitiatorIBM AIX

(AIX 5.2ML3-ML7, AIX 5.3 ML2-ML3)

VMWare ESX ESX 3.0, 3.0.1- Software Initiator

Table 11: NetApp iSCSI suppor t for UNIX


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Physical SpecificationsThe following table lists the physical specifications for the FAS and V series 3100 controllers with the table onthe next page providing the physical specifications for the disk shelves used in the FAS series. The clustemodels have slightly higher requirements but from an environmental planning point should be viewed as two ofthe base models. Physically, the clustered versions are equivalent to two controllers.

FAS/V 3100 System Specifications Dual Contro llerActive/Act ive Configurat ion

Single ControllerConfiguration

AC and DC Power/Current (line voltage forstandalone systems dependent on local powerdistribution; system cabinets are 200 - 240 VAC)

100 to120VAC, 4.07 to 9.74A,50/60Hz200 to240VAC, 2.02 to 4.69A,

50/60Hz

100 to240VAC, 2.37 to 5.07A,50/60Hz 200 to 240VAC, 1.19to 2.52A, 50/60Hz

Thermal Rating 3,305 Btu/hr 1,722 Btu/hr

Weight 122 lb (68kg) 95 lb (34kg)

Height 10.24"(26 cm), fits into 6Uspace

10.24"(26 cm), fits into 6Uspace

Width 19" IEC rack-compliant (17.6", 44.7 cm)

Depth 24.3"(61.7 cm), 28" (71.1 cm) with cable management bracket

Operating Temperature, Altitude, and RelativeHumidity

10 C to 40 C (50 F to 104 F); at


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Disk Storage Shelf Specifications

Disk Shelves Supported(Fibre Channel, SATA,SAS)

DS14, DS14mk2 FC, DS14mk2AT Each w/14 low-profile slots for FC and SATA disk drivesDS4243

Disks Supported on New Configurations:

- FC144GB, 300GB disks

- SATA250GB, 500GB disks

- SAS 300GB, 450GB

Disks Supported for Legacy (Controller Upgrade)Configurations:

- FC36GB, 72GB, 144GB, 300GB disks

Disk Drive Support

- SATA250GB, 320GB, 500GB disks

Shelves Supported on New Configurations:- Embedded Switched Hub (ESH)

- Embedded Switched Hub2 (ESH2)

- AT-FCX

Shelves Supported for Legacy (Controller Upgrade)Configurations:

- Embedded Switched Hub (ESH)

- Embedded Switched Hub2 (ESH2)

- AT-FCX

Disk Shelf Support

- LRC

Disk Drive Storage Shelf

Interface

Fibre Channel-Arbitrated Loop (FC-AL)

Power Supply/Cooling Fans Dual, redundant, hot-pluggable, integrated powersupply/fan assemblies (220V/110V)

AC Power/Max. Current 100 to 120VAC/3.95A; 200 to 240VAC/1.9A

Thermal Rating 1,215 Btu/hr (fully loaded shelf)

Operating Acoustic Noise 49 dBA sound pressure (LpA) @ normal operatingconditions (at 22C and at sea level)

Dimensions(height/width/depth)

3 EIA U (5.25", 13.3 cm)/19" IEC rack-compliant(17.6", 44.7 cm)/20" (50.85 cm)

Weight 77 lb (35 kg) fully loaded

Table 14: Disk Shelf Specifications


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EVALUATOR GROUP COMMENTS

The current line of NetApp 3100 storage systems are competitive storage systems in the mid-rangeenterprise marketplace. These systems perform well, are scalable, high ly reliable and provide a widevariety of features. NetApp has continually updated and improved their hardware and softwarecapabilities while successfully expanding their products into new market segments. The NetApp FASand V series products provide a single point of access to both block and file storage, a concept thatappeals to many customers across vertical industries and application deployments.

In the FAS3100 and V3100, NetApp is able to provide their customers with products that are accessib levia nearly every protocol and physical connection commonly in use in the open systems storagemarket. NetApp has built a loyal base of customers by continually delivering products that meet their

expectations while adding business value.

Strengths:

NetApps Data ONTAP OS provides a wealth of features, functions and serves as a solid platform forthe FAS3100 and V3100 midrange product lines. The features, performance and reliability of DataONTAP coupled with the hardware are well matched for many enterprise deployments.

NetApp has significantly upgraded the hardware capabilities on their newest systems, which borrowmany architectu ral elements with the larger 6000 product line. By leveraging the AMD HyperTransportarchitecture, NetApp has the future ability to scale to mul ti CPU core systems along with suffic ient IOand memory processing capabili ties. These hardware upgrades prov ide a capable platform for future

Data ONTAP upgrades capable of fully utilizing the hardware platform improvements.

The 3100 products are well-designed, stable, storage systems capable of handling a wide variety ofstorage needs. The NetApp products are flexible storage systems, capable of provid ing multi protocoaccess, advanced data replication features, all of which provide unique capabilities in an integratedpackage that delivers many enterprise storage features.

NetApp has a proven record of delivering well-engineered products that customers value and wilundoubtedly cont inue to enhance the capabilities to address greater scalability in the future. NetApphas continually differentiated their products well, especially in light of the minimal architecturaldifferences that exist between the models.

Potential Concerns:

There are few issues with the 3100 product li ne. The systems are well posi tioned and targeted at amarket space which NetApp understands well and has had a great deal of success in servicing.

If any challenges remain for NetApp, it is with their service and support capabilities. NetApp has beenfocusing on broadening their services portfolio, both organically and through partnerships. To thisend, NetApp has a very capable partner in IBM, who offers the vast majority of NetApps new systemsvia an OEM agreement, along wi th their well known bus iness acumen. In addit ion, NetApp has beenexpanding their professional services capabilities to meet the needs of enterprise customers. While


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their offerings are still somewhat limited, with a product focus, these limitations are graduallydisappearing, with continual service improvements.

A challenge that NetApp is addressing wi th both their FAS and V-Series systems is the acceptance o fthese systems as viable alternatives to more traditional block storage products. The current FAS3100systems coupled with Data ONTAP enhancements move NetApp to a higher performance level thanwith previous systems. One of the strengths of NetApp has been in continually refining their hardwarearchitecture while adding a wealth of high-feature software functions in addition to their embeddedoperating system.

Copyright 2010 Evaluator Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying andrecording, or stored in a database or retrieval system for any purpose without the express written consent of Evaluator Group Inc. The informationcontained in this document is subject to change without notice. Evaluator Group assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Evaluator Groupmakes no expressed or implied warranties in this document relating to the use or operation of the products described herein. In no event shall EvaluatoGroup be liable for any indirect, special, inconsequential or incidental damages arising out of or associated with any aspect of this publication, even ifadvised of the possibility of such damages. The Evaluator Series is a trademark of Evaluator Group, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of theirespective companies.

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