Lab Validation:
SanDisk FlashSoft
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© 2012 by The Enterprise Strategy Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
ESG Lab Validation
ESG Lab validated prior performance testing and performed remote hands-on evaluation of a FlashSoft
implementation via a lab located at the Milpitas, California, SanDisk facility. Using industry-standard tools and
methodologies, ESG Lab conducted testing that was designed to demonstrate integration with VMware features,
ease of management, performance scalability, and the ability to increase virtual machine density.
Getting Started
The test bed consisted of one Dell R810 server with VMware ESX, one Dell R720 server with VMware ESX, and two
Dell R710 servers in an ESX cluster. These hosts were configured with 180GB of LSI WarpDrive PCIe SSD storage. All
servers were connected via iSCSI SAN to a storage array with 24 x 15K RPM SAS drives. The VMware vCenter
Management Interface was connected via LAN to the vSphere server.
Figure 3. FlashSoft Test Bed
ESG Lab Testing
Installing the FlashSoft application into a VMware ESX cluster was extremely simple, and the task was performed
without disruption to the cluster. First, using VMware vMotion, the virtual machines were moved from the first Dell
R710 node to the second. Next, the FlashSoft ESX kernel module was installed on the first host (now containing no
VMs). Following that step, the VMs were moved back to node 1 using vMotion, and FlashSoft was then installed on
the second Dell R710. Service from the cluster was not interrupted at any point during installation. Figure 4 shows
output from the command line interface as install file uncompression and installation was occurring.
