PowerFlex 4.x Concepts Flashcards
What is software defined storage?
means that physical storage that forms aggregate nodes are pooled together to create volumes
volumes are mapped to targets allowing an application to have access to storage
What are the IP based protocols used by PowerFlex?
file level TCP/IP
NVMe/TCP
proprietary TCP/IP
What is the scaling capability of PowerFlex?
4 node minimum - up to thousands of nodes
How does PowerFlex manage workloads?
can consolidate heterogenous workloads while maintaining performance/throughput levels by aggregating resources from underlying nodes in the cluster
How is PowerFlex scaling achieved?
by building a large and distributed pool that eliminates IO bottlenecks present in any single node by itself
each node contributes bandwidth to maximize throughput
What happens when you add or remove a node in the cluster?
system rebalances automatically - can also take nodes offline for maintenance reasons without cluster impact
What is software only PowerFlex?
intended for large enterprise implementations where robust onsite hardware is already available
What must customers do if they want to purchase software only PowerFlex?
must commit to licensing in the hundreds of thousands of nodes over a predefined time period
What is the R640/50 PowerFlex node?
single rack unit (great for CPU core density)
best for compute only/HCI nodes
provides 10 drive slots for max 76.8TB capacity`
What is the R6525/7525 PowerFlex node?
6525 - 1U 7525 - 2U
similar to other node types but w/ AMD procs
AMD proc servers can only be used as compute only nodes in PowerFlex
What are R740/750xd PowerFlex nodes?
2U - greater storage density
ideal choice for storage only nodes
max capacity of 124TBs - 24 drive slots
provides greater expansion in form of full height PCI cards for dual GPUs (make it good HCI node candidate also)
What is the R840/50 PowerFlex node?
2U
same benefits of R750 (storage density/expansion) but w/ 4 CPU sockets instead of 2
additional cores provide more storage density and compute power
best for HCI nodes
What does the MDM have to do w/ volume creation?
as volumes are created, MDM provides the information application servers need to connect the cluster’s virtualized storage
What does the MDM have to do with resource utilization?
ensures the even distribution of writes to ensure balanced utilization
How does the MDM ensure data integrity?
runs periods background processes to verify protection
How does the MDM interact with user data?
user data never passes through the MDM
How are MDM nodes typically deployed?
in a cluster to ensure availability
How is SDS run on PowerFlex?
instance of SDS is run on every node that contributes storage - manages the capacity of that single server
Besides storage management what else is the SDS responsible for?
performs requested SDC back end IO operations
performs MDM rebuild and rebalance operations
How is the SDC installed in PowerFlex?
runs on every application server
How does the SDC work?
an application issues an IO request
SDC fulfills the request regardless of what SDS the requested blocks reside on
How does the SDC communicate with other nodes?
over TCP/IP
What IO does the SDC interact with?
only the IO that are directed at the volumes that belong to PowerFlex
What is FTP?
standard network protocol used to transfer files over a TCP based network
What does SDT do?
manages host connections and controllers that are connected over NVMe/TCP
How does the SDT work?
sends admin and IO commands forward to the SDS programmatically such that the SDS is oblivious to the source of the IO
makes SDT traffic look like it’s coming from SDC
How is the SDR installed?
installed alongside any node w/ SDS that have volumes that has potential to be replicated
How does the SDR work?
intercepts write IO from the SDC for replication and pass it to the SDS for storage
if data written is being replicated IO redirected to the SDR
SDR appears as an SDS to the SDC and appears as an SDC to the SDS
What is the Lighweight Installer Agent (LIA)?
installed on every node during PowerFlex deployment
used to upgrade the component on which it is installed and is required for many maintenance operations
What authentication method can you use with LIA?
LDAP
What does PowerFlex Manager do?
automates deploying, configuring, managing, and upgrading system
How does CLI run on PowerFlex?
runs directly on PowerFlex node by invoking “scli” command
How is the scli command structured?
command | parameter | value format
What does the query group of commands do on PowerFlex manager?
provides general information about the health and operations of the system
allows detailed examination of components
What is PowerAPI?
PowerFlex REST API
allows users to automate deployment, configuration, and management tasks
What are the two types of calls for PowerAPI?
PowerFlex Block API
PowerFlex Manager API
How is PowerAPI installed?
as part of the PowerFlex gateway package
adheres to standard REST API call/response structure