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When considering deploying a super-converged architecture, many enterprises tend to use flexible hardware configurations rather than just one brand. SmartX super-converged solution provides two delivery modes: Halo all-in-one machine and SMTX OS pure software, which can better meet the needs of different users.

SmartX has compiled the "SMTX OS hardware selection recommendation Guide" (hereinafter referred to as "the Guide") for SMTX OS pure software delivery users, which provides a complete reference for the whole process of stand-alone hardware configuration, hardware resource reservation scheme and capacity expansion selection, making super-converged hardware configuration easier.

The following is an excerpt from the first issue of the Guide: an overview and CPU of stand-alone hardware configuration for readers.

Overview

When customers or partners choose SMTX OS software solutions, they sometimes feel at a loss in the face of hardware configuration choices. This document mainly makes some recommendations for the selection of hardware configuration from three aspects: stand-alone hardware configuration, hardware resource reservation scheme and expansion selection.

Before making the hardware configuration recommendation, let's take a look at the SMTX OS super-fusion overall architecture so that it corresponds to the various hardware components. The overall software architecture is divided into three parts:

Storage Tier-SMTX Block Storage Service

SmartX distributed block storage service achieves access to disk resources of multiple servers through a 10 Gigabit network, forming a unified storage pool with high performance, high availability, scale-out and other advanced functions.

Virtualization layer-supports SMTX virtualization services, VMware vSphere, Citrix XenServer, OpenStack

SMTX Virtualization Service Software is a server virtualization platform developed by SmartX based on open source KVM virtualization technology. It provides common server virtualization functions, meets the needs of most users, and is easy to use.

Management-SMTX Web console

SMTX Web console, which integrates monitoring, operation and maintenance, management and other functions.

SMTX OS software architecture / components

The super-converged deployment based on SMTX virtualization service, that is, the deployment of a complete set of SmartX super-converged components using SMTX Web console, SMTX virtualization service and SMTX block storage service. This method is the simplest and supports bare metal deployment, which can be completed at one time by directly deploying SMTX OS on physical servers. The topology is as follows:

Super-converged deployment Topology based on SMTX Virtualization Service

The super-converged deployment based on VMware vSphere is a combined deployment of SMTX Web console + VMware vSphere + SMTX block storage services, which involves SCVM (SmartX Controller Virtual Machine) deployment. The specific deployment method is to install VMware ESXi on each physical server first, and then create a SCVM virtual machine. SCVM directly manages the server's hard disk resources (including SSD and HDD), and interconnects multiple SCVM using 10 Gigabit networks. The storage pool is formed by SMTX block storage service software, and finally mounted to VMware ESXi through NFS protocol to provide storage services as Data Store. The topology is as follows:

Super-converged deployment Topology based on VMware vSphere

CPU of stand-alone hardware configuration

To deploy the servers required for super convergence, the stand-alone hardware configuration is mainly considered from eight dimensions: CPU, memory, boot disk, storage controller, SSD, HDD, network card and model. This issue introduces the first dimension: CPU.

CPU introduction

Intel ®Xeon ®Scalable Processor (Intel ®Zhiqiang ®Extensible processor) is divided into four series: copper, silver, gold and platinum series. The CPU naming rules are as follows:

Note: the last two alpha marks are subject to the actual Cascade Lake parameters published by Intel.

The comparison of CPU features of different series of Skylake platforms is as follows:

Note: Intel ®AVX-512 is a new set of instructions that improve performance for a variety of workloads and uses, such as scientific simulation, financial analysis, artificial intelligence (AI) / deep learning, 3D modeling and analysis, image and audio / video processing, encryption, and data compression. Two 512-bit fusion multiplication and addition (FMA) units can provide higher vector processing capacity.

Server manufacturers are expected to launch servers with Cascade Lake CPU in April 2019, and Cascade Lake CPU has further improved memory capacity and performance, such as supporting AEP memory, 2933 MT/s memory (1DPC line 1 DIMM per Channel), and a single CPU supporting more memory.

Dual server CPU recommendation

For a better virtualization experience, it is recommended that a single CPU physical core is greater than or equal to 8 cores, and the CPU master frequency is not less than 2.1GHz.

The list of mainstream Intel ®Xeon ®Scalable Processor CPU is as follows:

Source: Intel ARK

The recommendations of each series of CPU are as follows:

The number of cores per physical CPU is recommended to be greater than or equal to 8, and the main frequency is recommended to be no less than 2.1GHz.

Copper 3100: not recommended. Copper series CPU has a single thread per core, low kernel and main frequency, so it is difficult to bring a better virtualization experience.

Silver 4100: the price is relatively cheap, but its core and main frequency are relatively low. Silver 4110 can be used as an entry-level CPU.

Jin 5100: the maximum memory frequency supported is the same as that of the silver series, but its core and main frequency are higher than the silver series, so it is worth choosing.

Jin 6100: if you have high requirements for CPU kernel, main frequency and memory performance, you can choose this series.

Platinum 8100: the price is relatively high, but the performance is better than other series, if you pay more attention to the overall procurement cost, you should be careful with platinum processors; if the pursuit of extreme performance, platinum processors can bring a better experience.

Visit SmartX Super Fusion official website to download the complete "Guide": https://www.smartx.com/smtx-os#doc-smtx-os-recommend

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