Dell PowerVault MD

To ensure continuous availability of data and meet Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs), storage administrators must continually replicate data. The Dell MD Array series data protection capabilities like Snapshots and remote IP replication ensure data is protected in a secure, remote location.

However, as data is replicated over a Wide Area Network (WAN), a number of conditions can adversely affect replication performance and the ability to meet RPOs. As replication is stretched over longer distance, three factors can impact throughput:

• Distance (latency) can significantly decrease replication performance. The farther the distance, the more replication throughput is reduced.
• WAN quality (packets lost and delivered out-of-order) can also affect replication performance. Dropped and out-of-order packets means retransmissions and slower replication time. Adding more bandwidth won't solve the problem.
• Bandwidth is also a factor for replication throughput -- if there is more data to replicate in a given period of time and bandwidth isn’t sufficient, the RPO will be missed.

Dell-Silver Peak performance testing

Dell and Silver Peak have partnered to eliminate these challenges. In joint lab testing conducted by Dell and Silver Peak, the combined Dell PowerVault and Silver Peak solution delivers on average 6x better replication performance for customers. On a 45 Mbps WAN connection with 40 ms round trip time latency (approximately Atlanta to Dallas), Silver Peak accelerated throughput for Dell PowerVault MD:

• Before Silver Peak: 3 GB/hour
• After Silver Peak: 19.5 GB/hour
• The Silver Peak Advantage: 6.5X higher throughput

Dell and Silver Peak

• Dell MD3 and Silver Peak solution brief
• Dell - Silver Peak Technology Partnership
• Dell PowerVault MD information (on dell.com)

Silver Peak VRX software

Silver Peak VRX software is made for storage replication. It lets you configure and view stats using storage-specific terms, and shows data replicated (in bytes) and replication performance. You can segment reports by the type e.g. replication and / or backup traffic, and application. Metrics display per minute, per hour, and per day and include a 10 day graph showing changes made over a weekend.

Silver Peak  software fixes the problems that exist on the WAN, enabling more data to be replicated, in less time, and over longer distances. Silver Peak software solves WAN problems by repairing dropped and out-of-order packets, overcoming the effects of latency, and providing real-time deduplication and compression of all data sent across the WAN. Silver Peak also provides an IPsec AES-256 site-to-site VPN that secures replication traffic without impacting performance. When the problems on the WAN have been repaired, it is easy to meet, maintain, and even reduce RPOs.

With Dell PowerVault and Silver Peak Velocity Replication Accelerator (VRX) software, you can protect all of your business-critical data and replicate consistently, regardless of network problems or distance.