Please allow me to give some context as it relates to the blog post title. Andy Banta aka Storage Janitor at NetApp (a storage company) presented at Tech Field Day but it didn’t involve storage. Well, kinda, maybe, already then….
Andy began the session with a discussion around Enhanced Data Center Workloads. First generation data centers were limited in resources which in turn reduced efficiency and productivity. Then late first-gen data centers were introduced that included a slight improvement because the resources available could be included to build out dedicated systems that could independently run their own workloads. Second-generation data centers allow multiple workloads to run on systems including processes, VMs, operating systems, etc. and in some cases isolated from one another.
The image below as explained by Andy explains four-dimensional VMs and each includes Compute, Memory, Throughput, and Capacity.
Free Shrugs are permitted! In-memory databases are larger in size, offer more flexibility, and are referred to as ‘Big Ass Memory’! It’s unique because it’s dynamic or persistent because it can be broken up to permit shared resources that accommodate data center needs.
Lose power? Not a problem because the memory contents are recoverable. The Intel Optane DCPM (Data Center Persistent Memory) is the most recognized option in the market and it provides a wealth of reasons to deploy it and I blogged about this earlier this year when I attended the Intel Data-Center Innovation Day as a Tech Field Day delegate. For more information including videos from the event, please click here.
Additionally, with ESXi 6.7 the persistent memory can be divided and assigned to a VM and then vMotion the VM from one system to another and the memory contents will get transferred over seamlessly. Also, ESXi 6.7 allows you to provision the memory as a persistent local datastore.
This will conclude my first post for NetApp and I hope you’ve enjoyed it. Additional posts to come in the near future but I’ve included the names for each of the YouTube videos recorded during NetApp’s presentation and they are listed below with a hyperlink for your convenience:
- NetApp Enhanced Data Center Workloads – Persistent Memory
- NetApp Enhanced Data Center Workloads – Microvisors
- NetApp Enhanced Data Center Workloads – GPUs and Inference
- NetApp Enhanced Data Center Workloads – High Performance Computing
For more information about NetApp, Tech Field Day and how to become a TFD delegate – please click on the links below:
Please take a moment to subscribe to the YouTube channel which also includes watching the various videos that were posted throughout the day. Kudos to PrimeImage Media for recording the live sessions.
Credit also goes to Stephen Foskett, Ken Nalbone, and Tom Hollingsworth, and the entire Tech Field Day staff for allowing me to join them on-site during VMworld.
If you’re looking for additional content about the NetApp presentation, I would recommended checking out Dan Frith’s blog post.
Al Rasheed - A personal Blog about IT related subjects. 