Exclusive preview: Xyratex goes modular

Xyratex goes modular

If many new storage arrays look surprisingly similar to you, don’t jump to the hasty conclusion that vendors are copying from each other.

Quite possibly the reason is that many new units are based on SBB (Storage Bridge Bay), a new standard that sees many vendors cooperating to create a compatible form factor and a modular architecture for components such as backplanes, power supplies and controllers.

For more info on this new standard, now reaching version 2.0, and to read the full list of participating vendors please explore the Storage Bridge Bay Working Group site.

Xyratex, a supplier of tier 1 storage vendors and one of the voting members of the group will announce next week, and will show at the upcoming Storage Networking World in Dallas, OneStor ESP (Extensible Storage Platform, a new family of product based on SBB 2.0.

The first model of this new platform, which is also Xyratex first SBB -based device, is the ESP SP1424s, a massive box that takes 4 rack units and can host up to 24 3.5″ SAS or SATA drives in an impressive lineup of six rows.

One of the benefits of using the SBB standard is the ability to create different configurations on the same chassis by simply swapping modules. In fact, the SP1424s can be packaged into a final product with up to 4 energy efficient power supplies, and can mount, for example, two FC (fibre channel) controllers, or two iSCSI adapters or one of each.

It’s no surprise that vendors such as Xyratex are quick to acknowledge the benefits of SBB solution: Exploiting its modularity they are able to offer their customers what is essentially the same basic box but can be quickly adjusted to satisfy different requirements that go beyond flexible connectivity to different SAN (storage area network) protocols.

For example adding a processor module makes the SP1424s capable of double duties as a storage and as an application server, hence suitable for NAS (network attached storage) deployments. By installing an application such as Windows Storage Server and taking advantage of 1GB SATA drives customers can easily push their file serving capacity to a respectable 24 TB in a single 4U box.

By contrast, if resilience is the main objective, installing two similar controllers customers can easily build high availability solutions capable of surviving a controller failure or a path failure.

No vendor was ready yet for a show and tell session with a OneStor based product before the announcement, so I haven’t actually tried to lift a fully configured box, but after checking the specs, I wouldn’t attempt this without help.

If the trend of building more dense storage arrays continues (incidentally, this was one of the new features driven in SBB 2.0) we’ll have to use motorized pallet trucks, or wear a power suit, to lift these babies.

Xyratex is not revealing at this time which vendors have shown interest or are developing new products based on the 4U24 but given its unique form factor, those new products should be easy to spot when they come to market.

One characteristic I am curious to explore in final products is the ability, built in the design of the unit according to Xyratex, to selectively power off individual drives when not accessed, which should make products based on the SP1424s sensibly more energy friendly.

Regardless, simply combining an application server and a storage array in the same box could bring some noticeable power saving, Xyratex explains, suggesting that the SP1424s is a more efficient alternative to a typical combination of an application server plus the equivalent storage capacity.

Like a double Mac to a glutton, the SP1424s is an attempt to satisfy our insatiable appetite with a larger serving of storage. If the promises of being a more environmentally friendly solution proves to be true and if final products are priced right, customers should be willing to byte.