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Some key differences between
NetApp and Pure Storage
Pure FlashArray//M: FlashArray enables
you to scale up and expand capacity
by adding storage shelves and SSDs to
a pair of storage controllers. However,
the maximum capacity is limited by the
constraints of each controller’s addressable
capacity, a maximum of 10TB to 512TB of
flash capacity, depending on the model.
Scaling beyond those limits requires a
controller swap-out or an investment in
additional controller pairs, each of which
represents a capacity silo that must be
managed separately.
In addition, FlashArray storage controllers are
deployed in an active/passive configuration
in which the active controller processes all I/O
requests and the passive controller acts as a
passthrough device. If the active controller
experiences a failure, all I/O activity fails over
to the passive controller. By design, FlashArray
systems are limited to 50% utilisation of the
maximum processing power available in any
controller pair.
NetApp AFF: AFF node pairs support active/
active operation so that users can achieve
over 50% controller utilisation if needed.
Each AFF node pair can scale up to support
a maximum of 144 to 480 SSDs, depending
on the model, with a maximum physical
capacity of 7.3PB for A700 systems.
pair are reached, additional FlashArrays
must be deployed individually and managed
independently. The active/passive controller
architecture of the FlashArray can also
lead to inefficiencies: with each controller
pair operating at half of its maximum
performance potential, expensive all-flash
storage resources end up underutilised.
By contrast, new AFF node pairs can be
deployed as part of a cluster architecture
and managed as part of a single
environment. This provides tremendous
flexibility to adapt to changes in workloads
over time. For example, when additional
processing power is needed, you can non-
disruptively add an AFF node pair that is
optimised for performance to a cluster.
Alternatively, if you need more capacity, you
can add high-capacity, all-flash, hybrid, or
HDD nodes to the cluster.
However, combining Classes and Limits adds
complexity and is recommended for ‘more
sophisticated users’.
NetApp AFF: QoS controls have been
available in AFF systems since 2013. They
enable the delivery of predictable storage
performance for business-critical applications
in a shared infrastructure environment. By
assigning not-to-exceed performance limits
on a per-workload basis, resources can be
proactively managed. It is also possible
to set minimum performance thresholds
for the most business-critical workloads.
More recently, an Adaptive QoS feature has
been introduced to enable user-defined
QoS policies for AFF systems, such as gold,
silver and bronze. Adaptive QoS is designed
to automatically maintain policy-based
performance levels as workloads increase
and decrease over time.
Comparison: Both AFF and FlashArray
enable you to set QoS policies to provide
predictable performance levels for different
types of workloads, based on business needs.
Perhaps the biggest difference between the
two is the scope at which these policies can
operate. Like other management operations,
QoS for a Pure FlashArray must be set up
and managed on a per controller-pair basis.
AFF QoS operates on a cluster-wide basis
and can be used to manage performance
across a much larger pool of resources, up
to 24 all-flash storage controllers per cluster.
The ability to combine policy-based QoS
with multiple tiers of storage media (allflash,
hybrid and HDD) within a single ONTAP
cluster enables IaaS service providers and
private cloud administrators to automate
storage management and increase
operational efficiency. n
An AFF cluster can also scale out to support
up to 88PB of all-flash capacity. AFF
node pairs are available at multiple price/
performance points and can be mixed and
matched within a single cluster configuration
in many ways – old and new, big and small,
all-flash, hybrid flash and all-HDD node
pairs – within the same cluster. In addition,
the AFF supports the latest in high-capacity
SSDs which, at the time of writing, includes
15.3TB SSDs.
Comparison: FlashArray offers basic, scale-
up capacity expansion by adding storage
shelves. When the performance, capacity
and host connectivity limits of a controller
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