SanDisk has announced FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere 6 as a virtual data service through integration with VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering (VAIO). SanDisk indicates that the latest update of FlashSoft provides users with a substantial advancement in platform integration, usability and performance, all the while improving customer confidence in host-level storage acceleration. In addition, the new VAIO-integrated FlashSoft software features write-back caching support for all VMware datastores such as VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS), Network File System, VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes and VMware Virtual SAN. SanDisk acquired FlashSoft back in early 2012.
SanDisk has announced FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere 6 as a virtual data service through integration with VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering (VAIO). SanDisk indicates that the latest update of FlashSoft provides users with a substantial advancement in platform integration, usability and performance, all the while improving customer confidence in host-level storage acceleration. In addition, the new VAIO-integrated FlashSoft software features write-back caching support for all VMware datastores such as VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS), Network File System, VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes and VMware Virtual SAN. SanDisk acquired FlashSoft back in early 2012.
VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering allows for the integration of third-party data services with vSphere. This gives partner technologies the ability to add to VMware’s software-defined storage capabilities via Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM). To achieve this, SanDisk partnered with VMware in the specification and development of this new feature to bring partner technologies into tight alignment with vSphere.
SanDisk lists the following features for the latest FlashSoft for VMware vSphere:
- Usability and Management: As a data service integrated through VMware Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM), the cache will be automatically deployed, managed and maintained cluster-wide through VMware vCenter storage policies.
- Customer Confidence: As a supported solution of both VMware vSphere Storage Policy Based Management and VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering, customers and OEM partners will be able to adopt FlashSoft or other third-party virtual data services with the assurance of compatibility and supportability.
- Increased Performance: The VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering framework reduces storage stack latency, delivering data to the solid-state caching filter in one microsecond.
- Manageability: Individual virtual disks can be accelerated with ease, so administrators can focus cache resources on the most business-critical data and operations.
- Write-Back Caching: Support for write-back as well as write-through caching increases data write performance with high availability.
- Compatibility: Integration through the VMware vSphere APIs for IO Filtering framework enables compatibility with other VMware partner data services, such as replication.
- Versatility: Performance for virtual disks on all types of datastores can be accelerated, including VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) on SAN, NFS on NAS, VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes on array, DAS and cloud, as well as VMware Virtual SAN.
- Stability: User-world cache integration reduces the risk that a problem with one virtual machine could impact others on the same host server.
- Storage Traffic Offload Reporting (STOR): Moving storage traffic to host-level solid-state devices reduces overhead on storage systems, extending their useful life and delivering performance without costly upgrades to storage infrastructure.
Availability
FlashSoft software for VMware vSphere 5.1 and 5.5 is now available while VMware vSphere 6 as a virtual data service will be available for purchase from SanDisk and its enterprise channel partners sometime later this year.
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