Fujitsu Unveils Resource Pool Architecture For High Performance Servers
Fujitsu Laboratories Limited today announced the construction of a server prototype that uses a resource pool architecture to deliver high performance and flexibility.
By pooling CPUs, hard disk drives (HDDs) and other hardware components that
comprise the ICT infrastructure, and connecting these resources together
using high-speed interconnects, Fujitsu Laboratories has enabled the
delivery of high-performance server and storage capabilities as needed
without losing any of the hardware's original functionality or performance.
In the resource pool architecture, the hardware components, such as CPUs and HDDs, are linked together with high-speed interconnects.
The pool management feature allows for necessary resources to be allocated from the pool, the deployment of OS and middleware resources, and the on-demand provision of servers in a required configuration.
Using server resources from the pool, storage capabilities are delivered by configuring the middleware, which controls HDD management and data management functions. Whether it is a server with multiple local disks tailored for large-scale data processing tasks, or RAID functions for improved data reliability, the system can be flexibly configured to meet performance and power consumption requirements.
The disk pool comprised of multiple HDDs is connected to the CPU pool via a high-speed interconnect disk area network. The HDDs linked to the CPUs through the disk area network have the same disk access capabilities as the local disks in a typical server, and their performance is not affected by other CPUs. A disk area network was created using prototype interconnects that connect a CPU to a given HDD at a speed of 6 Gbps without any mutual interference.
Moreover, even if any of the CPUs, HDDs or other hardware fails, simply switching the connections to the failed parts will reduce replacement frequency and lower maintenance costs.
In comparison with typical system configurations tailored to traditional web services, Fujitsu's new prototype delivered a benchmark performance of approximately four times higher I/O throughput as well as increased performance of about 40% when running actual applications.
This technology makes it possible to configure high-performance ICT infrastructure that can flexibly handle a variety of services. By consistently being able to rapidly configure optimal server and storage resources to fit the requirements of the task at hand, whether it is delivering the type of web services currently provided via the cloud, or new services yet to emerge, the new architecture makes possible higher value-added services.
Fujitsu plans to commercially launch the technology in fiscal 2013.
In the resource pool architecture, the hardware components, such as CPUs and HDDs, are linked together with high-speed interconnects.
The pool management feature allows for necessary resources to be allocated from the pool, the deployment of OS and middleware resources, and the on-demand provision of servers in a required configuration.
Using server resources from the pool, storage capabilities are delivered by configuring the middleware, which controls HDD management and data management functions. Whether it is a server with multiple local disks tailored for large-scale data processing tasks, or RAID functions for improved data reliability, the system can be flexibly configured to meet performance and power consumption requirements.
The disk pool comprised of multiple HDDs is connected to the CPU pool via a high-speed interconnect disk area network. The HDDs linked to the CPUs through the disk area network have the same disk access capabilities as the local disks in a typical server, and their performance is not affected by other CPUs. A disk area network was created using prototype interconnects that connect a CPU to a given HDD at a speed of 6 Gbps without any mutual interference.
Moreover, even if any of the CPUs, HDDs or other hardware fails, simply switching the connections to the failed parts will reduce replacement frequency and lower maintenance costs.
In comparison with typical system configurations tailored to traditional web services, Fujitsu's new prototype delivered a benchmark performance of approximately four times higher I/O throughput as well as increased performance of about 40% when running actual applications.
This technology makes it possible to configure high-performance ICT infrastructure that can flexibly handle a variety of services. By consistently being able to rapidly configure optimal server and storage resources to fit the requirements of the task at hand, whether it is delivering the type of web services currently provided via the cloud, or new services yet to emerge, the new architecture makes possible higher value-added services.
Fujitsu plans to commercially launch the technology in fiscal 2013.
