VAAI available for Eternus DX400 /DX8000.
Support of vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI) announced from Fujitsu. You can read the whole post here.
The VAAI enhances the performances of Eternus Storage Systems. The latest firmware from Fujitsu is required for the plugin to function. The firmware and plugin are provided free of charge.
VAAI brings some CPU reduction during vMotion – a reduction in CPU utilization of about 20%. Copying blocs or creating clones will be offloaded to the SAN. Also storage vMotion will be treated more on the storage side and not through your storage networks.
A quick quote from VMware about the vStorage API:
New Capabilities Deliver Deeper Integration with Storage Partner Functionality
vStorage enables intelligent integration of storage products within the Virtual Datacenter OS through the new vStorage APIs.vStorage APIs deliver tight integration of advanced capabilities from storage partners with the Virtual Datacenter OS from VMware. vStorage APIs for array integration will enable customers to leverage array-based capabilities, such as snapshots, provisioning, replication and restore, directly with individual virtual machines in conjunction with the clustering and pooling capabilities of VMware Infrastructure. vStorage APIs for multi-pathing will provide customers the ability to integrate advanced load balancing capabilities provided by leading partners’ multi-pathing software with their virtual environment.
And from Fujitsu:
The high performance ETERNUS DX400/DX8000 now support the following three functions:
1. Full Copy
Data copy operations are performed using the resources and hardware acceleration features of the storage array. This frees the server from read and write operations, and speeds up the overall process. Server workloads are therefore reduced and more effective use is made of all available resources. Data center operators can expect faster virtual machine creation and accelerated movement of data via Storage VMotion.2. Block Zeroing
This function enables hardware accelerated initialization for the allocation of new storage capacity. The server now only sends one command to the array, which delegates the task of filling the initialized capacity with zeroes to the storage system. This feature further reduces server workloads, speeds up virtual machine provisioning, and results in fewer servers needed to handle application performance.3. Hardware Assisted Locking
With locking mechanisms being offloaded from the server to the array, locking can be performed at a block level rather than at LUN level. This functionality results in greater granularity that reduces the size of locked sections and improves the performance of common tasks such as virtual machine migration, the powering of many virtual machines on or off, and template-based creation of virtual machines. This feature helps to make virtualized data centers with high VM counts, much more efficient and operationally flexible.
Source: Fujitsu
