Hitachi Unified Storage VM (HUS VM)

The storage system of Hitachi Unified Storage VM, according to her creators from Hitachi Data Systems, represents the first in the industry unified platform of storage with support of virtualization for all data types.

The release of HUS VM is of great importance also for the company: it marks portfolio construction of the integrated scalable solutions in data storage area, Robert Basilio, the vice president of HDS for product management of infrastructure platforms emphasized. Now this portfolio includes three solutions integrated by the general technology concept: the powerful Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) system for big customers; HUS VM — for the enterprises which grew for a framework of a segment of SMB; Hitachi Unified Storage 100 (HUS 100), the storage system announced this spring and intended for medium business and the small companies.

When developing HUS VM the array of storage of HUS 100 was taken as a basis, but the new product has where great opportunities thanks to support of the means of virtualization borrowed the senior VSP model. The HUS VM system provides consolidation of services of storage and is capable to virtualize both internal, and external resources. Capacity of one HUS VM system due to connection of internal hard drives (and optionally — and solid state drives) can be increased up to 3.38 PBytes, and thanks to connection of external resources of storage — is expanded to 64 PBytes. For access to such large volumes of data a system is equipped with high-performance network interfaces — HUS VM has 32 eight-gigabit ports Fibre Channel and uses SAS on 6 Gbps for internal connections.

Main advantage of a new product — the unified architecture allowing to integrate storage in one system of different data types — block, files and objects which, in fact, represent unstructured data. A system is also distinguished by simplicity of management — the solution Hitachi Command Suite 7 manages all services of storage of the enterprise created by product-based HDS. Among other advantages high operational efficiency of HUS VM is mentioned. Its compactness and high density of data storage minimizes energy consumption therefore operating expenses when using HUS VM are 40% lower, than, for example, at the EMC VMAX 10K system. One more advantage of the provided platform — the accelerated deployment of applications thanks to the integrated support of a hypervisor of Microsoft, software of VMware, Oracle and SAP.

In the fall of 2012 in Russia the first orders for the storage systems of Hitachi Unified Storage VM provided about a month ago are made. Skachkov Yury, the CEO of Hitachi Data Systems in Russia and other CIS countries reported about it, representing HUS VM.

"HUS VM are intermediate between building block systems and the systems of the corporate level of Hitachi, use the same architecture, as the senior models of disk arrays, have their many functions, but have some restrictions on expansion, connectivities of external systems and upgrade" — Skachkov explained.

New storage systems which can be placed in standard 19-inch racks combine the hardware solutions used in the Hitachi Unified Storage 100 systems provided in April with microcodes and architecture of controllers of corporate Virtual Storage Platform disk arrays. The HUS VM systems have potential to process block, file and object data and also are capable, as well as the senior models to virtualize disk space in limits to 64 PBytes at connection of external systems of storage of Hitachi and other producers.

From storage systems of the middle class of Hitachi Unified Storage the modularity and methods of connection of disk shelves, and from corporate Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform disk arrays — completely switched architecture are borrowed. In HUS-VM the failsafe configuration based on two modular controllers in one chassis is applied. Each controller contains the switch, interface units of external and intrasystem switching, data processing modules, a cache memory with a capacity up to 256 Gbytes and also the specialized module with self-contained supply preventing loss of the data which are not written on a disk.

In HUS VM it is possible to set up to 1152 disks with a capacity up to 3.5 PBytes which are connected to controllers on the bus of SAS with high-speed performance of 6 Gbps. For interaction with servers 8-gigabit ports Fibre Channel and also iSCSI and FCoE ports with high-speed performance of 10 Gbps are used.

Work with data on the CIFS, NFS and FTP protocols is performed by means of the connected modules of file access. According to Irina Yakhina, the head of department of technical solutions of HDS in Russia and the CIS, new storage systems of the company are distinguished by support of multilevel migration of files according to the politicians of their storage applied by the enterprises.

The HUS VM systems are as explain in Hitachi, the corporate platforms of storage of initial level intended for IT systems of the medium-sized and large companies. Hitachi expects also the Russian enterprises, considering our country as one of the most perspective markets for HUS VM.

The Moscow office HDS considers that in Russia HUS VM are of interest to such organizations as regional banks and retail networks of "the second ten". Except virtualization of customers can attract also profitability of HUS VM.

HUS VM can be applied also on reserve server platforms or in reserve DPCs of large enterprises as support replication of data at joint work with disk arrays of the senior class Hitachi Virtual Storage Platform.

As the main channel of promotion HUS VM Skachkov considers direct partners — system integrators. He believes that these systems can be delivered also for specific projects and through distributors though their regular placement in warehouses is not planned. Retailers became the first customers of HUS VM in our country.

Analysts regarded release of HUS VM as approach of Hitachi to positions NetApp and EMC. HDS consider as competitors of the new systems also products HP and IBM. By data IDC, in the second quarter 2012 of Hitachi (without OEM-deliveries Oracle and HP) together with Dell the fifth place (about 8%) on sales volumes in the world market of the external disk systems belonged. EMC (30%), IBM and NetApp (13 and 12% respectively) remained the leader still took the second and third places, HP (11%) — the fourth.

2013. Significant changes of the solution

On July 11, 2013 the Hitachi Data Systems Corporation company announced significant upgrade of the solution HUS VM: it is completely implemented on a flash memory.

Achievements

The HUS VM system is completely implemented on technologies of use a flash memory, as well as the solutions Hitachi Unified Storage and Hitachi NAS and also an expanded line of the solutions Hitachi UCP and make available to the companies the most effective IT platforms from among presented at the market.

These solutions allow to accelerate collecting of analytical data, to improve decision making process and to release the resources necessary for implementation of innovations in the course of business conversion. The solutions for creation of private cloud infrastructures having such qualities as the minimum time of implementation, flexibility, efficiency in terms of costs allow to maintain peak values of workloads.

The advantages offered with technologies are extremely important for maintenance of the high level of service that helps IT departments of the companies with the maximum degree of readiness to meet user requirements.

"Cloud" to all head

Solutions and the services for cloud content announced by HDS in May, 2013 are the cornerstone of three called infrastructure technologies. They provide performance, efficiency and economic indicators at the level necessary for creation of the base of the integrated corporate cloud environments. Besides, these technologies mark a new milestone in development of three-level strategy of Hitachi Data Systems providing creation of a cloud of infrastructure, cloud of content and information cloud on the basis of already made investments into IT. Such approach allows to create the single platform for virtualization of all data supporting technologies of Big Data.

Dynamics of growth

All these improvements will allow the organizations to increase considerably rates of implementation of innovations, to increase efficiency of use of data and to get competitive advantages:

• Performance: Almost twice exceeds similar indicators of alternative solutions, providing online access to information.

• Efficiency: A possibility of increase in efficiency of infrastructure and personnel of IT due to virtualization, better distribution of capacity and automatic configuring. All this allows to release valuable resources for implementation of the strategic initiatives of the company directed to the solution of the key tasks facing business.

• Economic indicators: Reduction of total cost of ownership up to 30 percent due to unification of management, automatic migration and configuring of storage that as a result allows to accelerate process of collecting and processing of analytical data.

The system software HUS VM for the module of storage Hitachi Accelerated Flash

• System performance is capable to reach 1 million transactions of input-output – IOPS, provides an information access quicker, accelerates process of collecting of analytical data.

• Increase twice efficiency of data storage on solid state drives at simultaneous reduction for 60% of costs counting on one input-output operation.

• Service life is increased and performance of the existing storage systems using instruments of virtualization of external storages and technology of dynamic data movement for the Hitachi Dynamic Tiering levels is increased