Offloaded Data Transfers (ODX) Introduction

Offloaded data transfer was introducted Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 which helps in reducing network load by offloading a copy operation to the storage array. From a SCSI terminology point of view this is an XCOPY (actually an XCOPY-lite) operation and is similar in many ways to the XCOPY (Extended Copy) operation as a part of vSphere Storage APIs - Array Integration (VAAI).

vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI)

Since early 2011 QUADStor storage virtualization software has supported vStorage APIs for Array Intergration (VAAI). The aim of VAAI is to offload certain operations from a ESXi host to the storage array thereby reducing CPU utilization and network bandwidth.

Tutorial: Configuring high availability with synchronous mirroring

With QUADStor synchronous mirroring the following High Availability (HA) scenarios are possible

  • Active-Active (Dual Primary)
  • Active-Passive (Single Primary)
  • Active-Passive with Manual Failover

In this tutorial we describe a step-by-step procedure for achieving HA with QUADStor VDisks

High Availability with Shared Storage Clustering

Clustering was introduced to provide scalability and high availability. The clustering described in this article is shared storage clustering, where in nodes belonging to the cluster have access to a common storage.

High Availability with Synchronous Mirroring

Synchronous mirroring is a feature where in data is mirrored between two storage systems (nodes) over a network. The network connectivity between the two systems is usually a private network to minimize interference with other data traffic.

Data Deduplication Tuning

In this article we describe the options available for fine tuning data deduplication and compression.