Client testing for enterprise grid environments

NetApp today launched Kilo Client, a massive testing environment capable of exceeding the most scalable and extreme performance conditions that most enterprises deploy in their data centres.

It provides an environment in which utility computing approaches can be tested in real-world environments and on a scale unavailable from other storage vendors, according to Patrick Rogers, vice president of solutions marketing at NetApp.

"Thousands of customers are deploying NetApp storage with larger and larger computing grid environments. In order to meet the increasingly demanding requirements of these data centres, we built the Kilo Client to explore the limits of its storage solutions in a controlled environment and developed best practices in rapid provisioning methodologies," he said.

"Specifically, NetApp learned how a SAN boot architecture coupled with thin provisioning provides rapid client provisioning and storage consolidation, simplifies the management of large data centre architectures, and reduces the level of power consumption, all for huge overall cost savings.

"It is a breakthrough architecture that pushes the limits in the testing and development of enterprise grid compute environments."

Rogers said this environment was made possible through close collaboration with AMD, Blade Network Technologies, Brocade, Chelsio Communications, Cisco, IBM, Intel, QLogic, Qlusters, and VMware.

"The Kilo Client is a technology that delivers the day-to-day business efficiencies promised by utility computing and makes those efficiencies not just a theoretical possibility, but a practical consideration for commercial usage today," he added.

The Kilo Client is a 1,500-node diskless enterprise server farm which runs multiple operating systems including Windows, Unix and Linux.

It supports NAS, FC SAN, and IP SAN protocols and the system leverages NetApp FlexClone(r) technology to rapidly create system images without making full physical copies of those images.

Rogers said this approach affords near-instantaneous image provisioning, maximum performance, and unprecedented flexibility in a footprint of just over 300 square feet.

"NetApp is taking a holistic approach to helping users test and build the most energy-efficient data centres without sacrificing performance and scalability," he said.

"End users can get the right insight into pulling the maximum utilisation from their storage and server virtualisation resources."

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