Title

AWS re:Invent 2023 - Deep dive on Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP scale-out file systems (STG229)

Summary

• Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP is a managed service launched in collaboration with NetApp, providing a complete ONTAP file system in AWS with simplicity, agility, and resiliency.
• The service offers rich data management features, storage efficiency features, and data protection capabilities like SnapMirror and SnapVault.
• Common use cases include general-purpose user shares, high-performance applications, databases, and disaster recovery sites.
• Scale-out file systems were introduced to meet the demand for higher performance scalability.
• Scale-up file systems are powered by a highly available pair of file servers (active and passive), with performance limited by the single active file server.
• Scale-out file systems can have 2 to 6 HA pairs of file servers, each delivering up to 6 GB/s of disk throughput, enabling higher performance.
• Maximum read throughput has increased by 9x to 36 GB/s, write throughput by 6x to 6 GB/s, and SSD IOPS by 7x to 1.2 million.
• Key use cases for scale-out file systems include big data analytics, cloud bursting workloads, and remote artist workstations.
• Best practices for optimizing performance include using parallelism with NFS and Connect or SMB multichannel and leveraging PNFS for direct data access.
• Optimizing TCO involves using storage tiering with SSD and capacity pool tiers, with scale-out file systems offering improved performance for capacity pool storage.
• A customer case study with ARM was presented, highlighting their use of FSx for ONTAP for interactive and compound workloads, and the benefits of scale-out file systems in reducing workload execution times by more than 50%.

Insights

• The introduction of scale-out file systems is a significant development for customers requiring high-performance storage solutions in the cloud.
• The ability to horizontally scale file servers and storage tiers addresses the growing demand for compute-intensive workloads and data-intensive applications.
• The seamless integration with existing on-premises NetApp ONTAP environments and the ability to replicate the same user experience in the cloud is a key advantage for customers transitioning to AWS.
• The use of parallelism and PNFS for optimizing performance indicates that AWS is focused on ensuring that storage does not become a bottleneck for compute-intensive tasks.
• The emphasis on optimizing TCO through storage tiering suggests that AWS is mindful of the cost implications for customers as they scale their workloads.
• The customer case study with ARM demonstrates real-world applications and benefits of FSx for ONTAP scale-out file systems, reinforcing the value proposition of the service.
• The session indicates that AWS is continuously listening to customer feedback and evolving its services to meet the dynamic needs of various industries and use cases.