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When considering deploying hyperconverged architectures, many organizations tend to adopt flexible hardware configurations rather than just one brand. SmartX hyperconverged solution provides Halo all-in-one and SMTX OS pure software delivery modes, which can better meet the needs of different users. SMTX OS Hardware Selection Recommendation Guide (hereinafter referred to as the Guide) is specially produced for users who choose SMTX OS software solutions. It introduces the items and indicators that need to be considered when configuring hardware for SMTX OS from a professional point of view. It can help users choose more suitable hardware products according to their own situation, making it easier to configure hyper-converged hardware.

The Guide includes three parts: stand-alone hardware configuration, hardware resource reservation scheme and expansion selection. We have already introduced the recommended choices of CPU, memory, SSD and HDD in the stand-alone hardware configuration. In this issue, we continue to share with you the contents of boot disk, storage controller and network card.

If you wish to obtain the complete Guide, click here to enter the download channel.

Start-up disk & storage controller & network card of stand-alone hardware configuration

boot disk selection

1. Boot disk type

All hardware vendors basically support the configuration of M.2 SSD on Intel® Xeon® $>Scalable Processor platform. As an alternative to SATA DOM, M.2 SSD can support higher capacity and support SATA interface and PCIe interface. In addition, M.2 does not occupy physical disk space, which is very suitable for use as a boot disk, but in order not to occupy disk space, M.2 SSD is generally placed inside the server and does not support hot plug. Huawei is an example, M.2 SSD and M.2 SSD array cards will occupy a rear PCIe slot, M.2 SSD can support hot plug from the rear of the machine.

2. Boot disk array and quantity recommended

When deploying SMTX virtualization services, an additional boot disk is required to boot the SMTX OS, which only works when the SMTX OS boots. Because this boot system is rebuildable, even if the boot disk unfortunately fails, when SMTX OS continues to work and does not restart, it will not affect the function of this server, so it can accept a M.2 SSD or other hard disk device as a boot disk, but it needs to be repaired in time to prevent the server from restarting or failing. Therefore, two M.2 SSDs configured with RAID 1 as boot disks can provide higher security. The disk layout diagram is as follows:

Disk layout diagram when SMTX virtualization services are deployed

However, when deploying VMware vSphere, VMware ESXi OS needs to be deployed on each server. The software functions of each server depend on ESXi OS. When ESXi system fails, the entire server will lose service capacity. Therefore, it is recommended to deploy ESXi to two hard disk devices configured with RAID 1, such as two M.2 SSDs. The disk layout diagram is as follows:

Disk layout diagram when deploying VMware vSphere

Therefore, when configuring hardware, it is also necessary to consider configuring M.2 SSD array cards, such as Dell BOSS card, Huawei Avago 3004 array card, etc.

For SATA M.2 RAID card support from various manufacturers, refer to the table below. Dell, Huawei and Lenovo have better M.2 RAID support.

SATA M.2 RAID Card Support by Manufacturer

3. boot disk capacity

The recommended capacity is not less than 120G.

4. boot disk interface

M.2 SSD interface is divided into SATA and PCIe, SATA interface M.2 SSD can support RAID through M.2 RAID card, such as Dell BOSS card, or through on-board SATA controller to group soft RAID. When supporting PCIe interface M.2, manufacturers either do not support RAID or need to purchase an additional Key (Intel®$> VROC) to form RAID. Since the performance requirements for the boot disk are not so high, it is recommended to choose M.2 SATA SSD, which is more convenient to support RAID 1.

5. Unable to configure M.2 SSD case

For SMTX virtualization service, you can choose a single small-capacity SSD/HDD hard disk as the boot disk, such as 120G SSD. For VMware, it is recommended to configure a separate RAID card and two small-capacity 2.5" SSD hard disks, and ensure the security of the boot disk through RAID 1.

The overall recommendations for boot disks are as follows:

Number of boot disks: It is recommended to configure 2 disks to make RAID 1 to ensure the security of boot disks.

Start disk capacity: not less than 120G.

Boot disk interface: SATA interface is recommended.

memory controller selection

Intel® Xeon® Scalable Processor platform servers generally adopt Intel® C620 series PCH, which can support 14 SATA devices onboard, generally including 12 SATA SSD/HDD and 2 M.2 SATA SSD (depending on the specific model). If the SATA interface hard disk environment is pure, PCH onboard SATA controller can be used to connect SATA hard disk, thus reducing the cost. However, depending on the specific model, some models of servers support limited number of onboard SATA hard disks under certain configurations.️️

However, the onboard SATA controller does not support SAS hard disks, so when configuring SAS interface SSD/HDD, SAS HBA cards or RAID cards must be configured. Also, the on-board SATA controller supports a limited number of hard drives. SAS HBA cards or RAID cards are also recommended if you need to configure a large number of hard drives.

1. Storage controller type recommendation

RAID itself means to increase IO bandwidth at the physical disk hardware level (such as RAID 0) or ensure disk security through mirroring (such as RAID 1). SmartX software will ensure data security through soft RAID and multiple copies at the software layer, so there is no need to configure hard/soft RAID on the storage controller. That is, you can choose SAS HBA cards with better prices to save costs. Moreover, SAS HBA cards are less complex and can further reduce failure rates.

SAS HBA cards are also available in three types: IT, IR and IMR. IT is pass-through;IR can support simple levels of RAID, such as RAID 0/1;IMR can support high levels of RAID, such as RAID 5, but generally requires the purchase of keys to use. IT or IR SAS HBA cards are recommended.

2. Number of channels selected

As technology evolves, storage controllers can support 8i, 16i, or even 24i, meaning that a single array card can support 8, 16, or 24 physical disks without connecting expansion devices. Of course, the more disks supported, the higher the cost. The choice of channel number should be configured according to the specific number of hard disks. If the required hard disks are no more than 8, the 8i storage controller with better price is recommended.

3. RAID card selection

The first thing to be clear is that SAS HBA cards are preferred. However, if you must choose RAID card in some cases, try to choose RAID card without cache, battery/super capacitor to reduce the overall cost, and make sure that this card supports JBOD/Passthrough mode.

4. List of common storage controllers

Currently, the mainstream memory controller chips on the market are Avago/LSI and Microchip/PMC.

LSI mainstream SAS HBA chip is 3008, upgrade version is 3408, RAID chip is 3108, upgrade version is 3508.

In order not to occupy the standard PCIe slot, many server vendors choose to customize the storage controller, which is configured on the motherboard in the form of a buckle/daughter card. Dell cards are named with mini, such as HBA330 mini, and HPE cards are distinguished by-a, such as E208i-a.

The following table is a reference list of common storage controllers by vendor:

Reference list of common storage controllers by vendor

In summary, the overall recommendations for storage controllers are as follows:

Type: SAS HBA card is recommended to reduce procurement costs and improve stability.

Channel: 8i, but depends on the actual number of hard disks.

RAID card type: If you need to choose RAID card, it is recommended to choose no cache, no battery, support JBOD/Passthrough mode.

Network card selection

A typical overall solution requires four networks: IPMI/BMC hardware management network, in-band management network, service network, and storage network. Standard servers generally integrate IPMI/BMC management network ports, and in-band management networks can be integrated with Gigabit ports. Service network plus storage network In the case of Bonding, a total of 4 10 Gigabit ports are required, and it is recommended to configure 2 dual-port 10 Gigabit network cards.

For some high-density servers, when more network cards cannot be configured due to structural constraints, the minimum configuration of dual Gigabit ports + dual 10 Gigabit ports can also be configured. Of course, IPMI/BMC is a separate network.

In addition, some servers can now support NC-SI (Network Controller Sideband Interface), and IPMI/BMC management can be implemented using the network interface of the NIC, that is, two functions can be implemented under one physical link. If the customer doesn't want to deploy that many networks, consider this feature, but not all servers support it. In non-exceptional cases, physical isolation of the network is recommended.

The network card recommendations are as follows:

Gigabit network card: dual electrical port.

10 Gigabit network card: two dual-port optical fiber 10 Gigabit network card.

Learn more about SmartX Hyperconverged Products: www.smartx.com

Download the complete Guide: www.smartx.com/smtx-os#doc-smtx-os-recommend

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