Cisco Cisco UCS C250 M2 Extended-Memory Rack Server White Paper
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Performance Characterization
Table 7 shows the workloads suited to run on the Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic solution. Each virtual machine running
on the system can exercise the I/O patterns shown in the table. The table does not list all workloads that this solution can run,
but the workload characterization provides a baseline for further estimation and sizing.
on the system can exercise the I/O patterns shown in the table. The table does not list all workloads that this solution can run,
but the workload characterization provides a baseline for further estimation and sizing.
Table 7. Application I/O Profile: Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic Solution
Application Profile
RAID Type
Access Mode
Read:Write Ratio
Block Size
Metric
Online transaction
processing (OLTP)
5
Random
80:20
8 KB
I/O operations per second
(IOPS) and response time
(milliseconds [ms])
Decision support system,
Decision support system,
business intelligence, and video
on demand (VoD)
Decision support system,
business intelligence, and
video on demand (VoD)
5
Sequential
100:0 and 0:100
256/512 KB
Transfer rate (MBps)
For the Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic solution, each server is configured with twenty-four 1.2-TB 10,000-rpm disks.
Each disk provides about 140 to 150 IOPS, with a response time of less than 20 milliseconds. The large disk size results in
greater variation in the response times, because of the mechanical head movement between the inner and outer cylinders.
Performance varies based on the size of the volume that is in use. For the test validation purposes here, three mirrored
volumes are created, each with eight 1.2-TB disks. Each virtual machine is allocated with 100 GB of disk space on the
mirrored volume.
Each disk provides about 140 to 150 IOPS, with a response time of less than 20 milliseconds. The large disk size results in
greater variation in the response times, because of the mechanical head movement between the inner and outer cylinders.
Performance varies based on the size of the volume that is in use. For the test validation purposes here, three mirrored
volumes are created, each with eight 1.2-TB disks. Each virtual machine is allocated with 100 GB of disk space on the
mirrored volume.
Workload Scenarios
The following three scenarios were tested and validated on the Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic solution:
• Scenario A, with 10 virtual machines on mirrored volume 1: This scenario helps estimate the achievable throughput and
response time under an average system load. Ten virtual machines are running on two servers, with each host carrying
five virtual machines loaded on one mirrored volume. This scenario mimics a typical deployment use case for a Cisco UCS
C240 M4 and StorMagic solution with eight disks.
five virtual machines loaded on one mirrored volume. This scenario mimics a typical deployment use case for a Cisco UCS
C240 M4 and StorMagic solution with eight disks.
• Scenario B, with 10 virtual machines on mirrored volume 1, and 10 virtual machines on mirrored volume 2: This scenario
helps estimate the achievable throughput and response time under a system with a medium-size load. Twenty virtual
machines are running on two servers, with each host carrying 10 virtual machines loaded on two mirror volumes. This
scenario mimics a typical deployment use case for a Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic solution with 16 disks.
machines are running on two servers, with each host carrying 10 virtual machines loaded on two mirror volumes. This
scenario mimics a typical deployment use case for a Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic solution with 16 disks.
• Scenario C, with 10 virtual machines on mirrored volume 1, 10 virtual machines on mirrored volume 2, and 10 virtual
machines on mirrored volume 3: This scenario helps estimate the achievable throughput and response time on a system
with a heavy load. Thirty virtual machines are running on two servers, with each host carrying 15 virtual machines loaded
on three mirrored volumes. This scenario mimics a typical deployment use case for a Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic
solution with 24 disks.
with a heavy load. Thirty virtual machines are running on two servers, with each host carrying 15 virtual machines loaded
on three mirrored volumes. This scenario mimics a typical deployment use case for a Cisco UCS C240 M4 and StorMagic
solution with 24 disks.
All the scenarios used the I/O profiles shown in Table 7. The results are discussed in the following sections. A 4-KB block size
was tested. The results matched those for an 8-KB block size; hence, the graphs show an 8-KB block size.
was tested. The results matched those for an 8-KB block size; hence, the graphs show an 8-KB block size.