EMC MirrorView

Accelerate EMC MirrorView over Distance

EMC Mirrorview/A is an asynchronous remote replication solution for EMC VNX and Clariion storage arrays. Asynchronous replication sends data to a distant site and sends periodic updates for any changed data. The amount and frequency of replication is user-configurable and can be set based on the recovery using a pre-determined schedule.

One of the main advantages of asynchronous replication is that it allows replication to occur between sites that are located far apart. However, as distance increases between the data center and the remote site, round-trip latency also increases. A combination of this increased latency and the amount of packet loss typically found on shared networks can cause replication to slow down or even stop. That’s where Silver Peak can help.

How Silver Peak Helps                                         

Silver Peak software fixes the problems on the wide area network so that Mirrorview/A customers can protect more data and easily meet their RPO. By combining Mirrorview/A with Silver Peak, users can:

  • Accelerate replication traffic and efficiently uses all of the available bandwidth—helping overcome distance limitations between source and target devices. 
  • Avoid or delay WAN bandwidth upgrades by reducing the amount of data transferred across the WAN while using all the available bandwidth.
  • Increase the geographic distance between disaster recovery facilities – Above 80 ms of latency, throughput starts to drop – up to 50 percent in some instances. Silver Peak offers significant advantage in these higher latency environments.
  • Secure data in transit with IPsec AES-256 site to site VPN.

EMC and Silver Peak

Performance Results

Results for EMC MirrorView/A were compiled from two customers – a real estate investment firm and a state court. 

Real estate investment firm improves replication throughput by 22X

  • WAN speed: 100 Mbps
  • Rate of packet loss: 0.1%
  • Round trip latency: 15 ms

 

Replication Throughput

 

Mirrorview/A native

20 Mbps

Mirrorview/A optimized with Silver Peak

450 Mbps

 

The Silver Peak advantage

22.5X higher throughput

State court system reduces redundant data sent over the WAN by 80%

Silver Peak Network Memory eliminates the transfer of repetitive data patterns over the WAN. The state court system wanted to reduce their MirrorView replication traffic by 60 percent. Silver Peak beat that by eliminating 80% of their repetitive data. The result: more efficient use of available bandwidth and LAN-like replication performance over the WAN.

  • WAN speed: 50 Mbps
  • Rate of packet loss: 0.4%
  • Round trip latency: 30 ms

 

Data sent over the WAN

MirrorView/A native

837 GB

MirrorView/A optimized with Silver Peak

163 GB

The Silver Peak advantage

80 percent reduction in redundant data

Silver Peak VRX Software        

Silver Peak Replication Acceleration 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.

 

Benefits

  • Meet Recovery Point Objectives (RPO). Replicate more data in less time to remote locations.
  • Replicate over longer distances. Eliminate distance limitations between source/target devices.
  • Improve business continuity. Maintain redundant data centers for hot failover.
  • Lower disaster recovery costs. Eliminate costly dedicated networks for replication; avoid bandwidth upgrades.

Resources

  • Silver Peak VRX Replication Acceleration software makes replication acceleration easy and affordable.