Starwind + NVME

[lohelle]

I'm wondering if there have been some testing on Starwind + Intel P3700-drives?
It would be interesting to see some benchmarks on an ISCSI volume!

[Anatoly (staff)]

We don`t at the moment, but I`ve passed your request to the QA department. I`ll share the results if we'll have anything.

[ulaaser]

Is it now possible to use a nvme ssd like intel 750 or intel p3500 as cache in combination with a bundle of nl-sas disks?

As alternative is the use of sata based ssd and spindle disk also a recomended hardware option? or
should i always prefer (nl-)sas for ssd and spindle disk.
Finally in the HCP setups i detect that the bundle always comes with 2 ssds.... should the ssd be setup in raid1?

[anton (staff)]

Yes you can absolutely do it right away!

Yes hyper-converged platform we sell definitely has Intel NVMe used as a cache.

RAID1 is still recommended for cache but we'll probably get rid of this limitation soon.

Is it now possible to use a nvme ssd like intel 750 or intel p3500 as cache in combination with a bundle of nl-sas disks?

As alternative is the use of sata based ssd and spindle disk also a recomended hardware option? or
should i always prefer (nl-)sas for ssd and spindle disk.
Finally in the HCP setups i detect that the bundle always comes with 2 ssds.... should the ssd be setup in raid1?

[ulaaser]

i cant find in any documentation where i specify the nvme storage as cache? I can specify cache size (step 11-12 in 2-node and 3-node whitepaper) but not a partition or disk??
Can you point me to the full documentation?

[anton (staff)]

You have to layer partition on the NVMe card and format it NTFS. We'll put there L2 container. Process is no different from placing L2 cache on ordinary SATA or SAS SSD.

i cant find in any documentation where i specify the nvme storage as cache? I can specify cache size (step 11-12 in 2-node and 3-node whitepaper) but not a partition or disk??
Can you point me to the full documentation?

[ulaaser]

Let me explain what i think i can do:

Hardware:
2 Supermicro servers with nvme support and lsi 3108 raid controller (2 500GB SAS Drives for WIndows 2012R2 Boot Hyper-Cluster and Starwind instalation and 6 1TB SAS Drives for SAN. One 400GB Intel 750 SSD (optional an P3500). 128GB RAM (16GB reserverd for Host OS and lfls)

So what i understand
after installing Windows Server, i create 1 NTFS-Volume based on the 6 1TB SAS Drives (and assign a Letter), and the same for the 400GB SSD (with or without Letter?). And while creating in Starwind the CSV the L2-Cache is created automatically in the background from the SSD using the Size i defined in the Starwind-Assistant?
Is there a way to monitor the usage of the Cache?

As the nvme is super fast, can i use it as Windows boot/Instalation Drive 100GB and also as CACHE 300GB?

About the 200% overprovisioning rule in LSFS (in relation to a NVME SSSD DISK:
Must i consider this overprovisioning also for the 400GB NVME SSD (CACHE) or only for the SAS Drives Volume?

[anton (staff)]

1) Can be drive letter or other mount point.

2) L2 Cache is assigned to virtual LUN. There may be or may be not CSV on top. L2 settings are applied during virtual LUN creation process.

3) Yes, you can check cache stats (hit/miss/utilization) in virtual LUN information tab.

4) Yes, you can absolutely share NVMe disk with boot. Except I don't see much point in that (do you reboot on a routine basis to make this process complete faster?)

5) Cache does not need any over provisioning. It's basically a pre-allocated file.

Let me explain what i think i can do:

Hardware:
2 Supermicro servers with nvme support and lsi 3108 raid controller (2 500GB SAS Drives for WIndows 2012R2 Boot Hyper-Cluster and Starwind instalation and 6 1TB SAS Drives for SAN. One 400GB Intel 750 SSD (optional an P3500). 128GB RAM (16GB reserverd for Host OS and lfls)

So what i understand
after installing Windows Server, i create 1 NTFS-Volume based on the 6 1TB SAS Drives (and assign a Letter), and the same for the 400GB SSD (with or without Letter?). And while creating in Starwind the CSV the L2-Cache is created automatically in the background from the SSD using the Size i defined in the Starwind-Assistant?
Is there a way to monitor the usage of the Cache?

As the nvme is super fast, can i use it as Windows boot/Instalation Drive 100GB and also as CACHE 300GB?

About the 200% overprovisioning rule in LSFS (in relation to a NVME SSSD DISK:
Must i consider this overprovisioning also for the 400GB NVME SSD (CACHE) or only for the SAS Drives Volume?