Solid state drives (SSDs) are a hot topic of interest in IT organizations because of their potential
to turbocharge storage performance. One inhibitor to adoption has been the high cost of SSDs
relative to hard disk drives (HDDs) and a second has been the problem of when and how to use
SSDs efficiently and effectively. IBM DS8700 users now have the tools in Easy Tier and its associated
software tool Storage Tier Advisor to evaluate the benefits of, plan for, deploy, and
manage on an ongoing basis SSDs in combination with existing HDDs. It’s not for nothing that
IBM calls its product Easy Tier.
6. Easy Tier Enables DS8700 Users to Make Good Use of Solid State Drives
Commentary Page 6
but users have the option to use the neously in tandem, has been an
manual volume relocation compo- ongoing challenge.
nent of Easy Tier to move a volume For DS8700 users, that challenge
out of the Easy Tier managed extent has been resolved with the combina-
pool at the volume level. tion of Easy Tier and Storage Tier
Advisor. Now, users have the tools
Conclusion and capabilities to manage the
Performance — by one definition, the balance between SSDs and HDDs
efficiency with which something successfully, and to give the
fulfills a purpose — is something performance that an application
that appears desirable in all cases. needs while not breaking the budget
But is more “performance” always bank. So Easy Tier is something that
necessary? The answer for many IT every DS8700 user should consider
applications, such as response time carefully when SSDs are a part of the
in sending e-mails, is that existing picture.
performance is good enough. Still,
some growing IT applications
(especially revenue-generating ones) David Hill
would clearly benefit from improved
performance in most cases (if we
define adequate performance as
satisfactory response time for a
larger number of transactions per
second). Moreover, adequate
performance does not mean cost-
effective performance: Even applica-
tions that deliver satisfactory
performance may do so by way of
unnecessary hidden costs, such as
added disk space because of short-
stroking, or excess server capacity
due to underutilization of servers
caused by excessive I/O wait times.
Enter SSDs as Tier 0 in disk storage
systems. But understanding where
SSDs can best be used in conjunc-
tion with HDDs, and managing the
two tiers transparently and simulta-
Analyst Name: David Hill Mesabi Group LLC is an affiliate of Valley View Ventures that
Topic Area: Storage Tiering aims to provide thought leadership and sound advice to both
vendors and users of information technology. .
Mesabi Group LLC
26 Country Lane Phone: (781) 326-0038
Westwood, MA 02090 email the author: davidhill@mesabigroup.com
www.mesabigroup.com
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