Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage (AMS) 2000

In July, 2010 Hitachi Data Systems Corporation announced integration of the platforms with VMware vSphere 4.1 that it will help customers to optimize infrastructure of IT and cloud computing. Support by products of the Hitachi Adaptable Modular Storage (AMS) 2000 family of the software VMware vSphere 4.1 allows to perform data processing at the level of arrays of storages, providing more high density of virtual machines, increase in scalability, acceleration of an investment payback and the best performance of the virtualized applications in the vSphere environments.

The functions opening possibilities of VMware in a binding to certain hardware platforms are available to customers of the systems of the class Hitachi AMS 2000 above. Integration of storage systems of Hitachi into the software of vSphere 4.1 includes the following elements:

• Support of blocking at the hardware level: offers an alternative method of protection of metadata of the file system of a cluster of VMFS
• Complete copying: allows to create complete copies of the resources of the ESX Server server given in arrays without attraction for a read and write of data
• Zeroing of blocks: allows to nullify not used data units at the level of arrays of storages thanks to what deployment of virtual machines of the big size accelerates.

Function of dynamic configuring Hitachi Dynamic Provisioning allows the organizations to create pools of storage systems which resources can be used as required. Creation of such pools allows to increase performance and level of utilization of DWH. The symmetric controllers implementing function of balancing of loading Hitachi Load Balancing in the mode "active-active" provide distribution of workloads of VMware between all available access paths. It allows to exclude congestion of input-output channels and to achieve at the expense of it optimal performance. Integration elements in a combination create much more comfortable operational conditions for customers at the expense of such factors as:

• Increase in scalability: Bigger number of virtual machines counting on one data warehouse; higher level of utilization of DWH
• Performance improvement: vSphere transfers the tasks relating to "area of responsibility" of storages to arrays, releasing thus processor resources of the host machine for other tasks
• Reduction of payback periods: Reduction of terms of deployment means reduction of number of the transactions requiring coordination of efforts of administrators of VMware and storage systems
• Reduction of capital and operating costs