Test with large blocks of 128k \u2013 6 gigabytes per second read stream; 5.5 gigabytes per second write stream.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/p>\n
In both cases, the load on the storage system's processors is about 50%, meaning this is not the limit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What do these numbers tell us? Is it a lot or a little? Let\u2019s compare. I test many different storage systems as part of my work. Naturally, I cannot publish direct competitor results on Habr for AERODISK, they would sue me for that. However, I can say this: vendors with three-letter names \u2013 both blue and green \u2013 can also achieve these kinds of results. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But there is one problem. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
These results in A-brands are only possible for mid-range and high-end models (Mid-Range and Enterprise Mid-Range), while entry-level models perform significantly worse, by three to four times. To avoid being unsubstantiated, I will provide an example from the materials of one of the A-brands, where this is stated absolutely officially.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"AERODISK:](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/905468e869ef2812e95eb3d83197d608.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This is a description of an A-brand with three letters. You can find it on the Internet. On the left \u2013 the entry-level model, on the right \u2013 the highest one. Thus, the entry-level AERODISK delivers performance equivalent to a top-tier system from a competitor A-brand.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I have not yet seen the test results for the ENGINE N4 storage system (Enterprise Mid-range), but I suspect that a new record will soon be set for mid-range and high-end storage systems. We'll just have to wait.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Output: Aerodisk's performance is at least on par with A-brands, and thanks to a more attractive pricing policy, it gains an advantage in the price\/performance ratio.<\/strong> or if you prefer IOPS\/per ruble.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Cost of expansion<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
This is a crucial point that customers often forget. It frequently happens that we buy a storage system in its initial configuration at a super price, genuinely for a pittance. Excited about the successful purchase, we put the storage system into operation and start storing data on it. After two or three months, however, the space on the storage system runs out, and we go to the manufacturer for new disks or shelves. And here we encounter a surprise.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It suddenly turns out that the fantastic discount applied only to the initial configuration, and expanding the storage system must be done at full price. In the end, there's no choice; we can't just buy a new storage system, can we? We're forced to spend a fortune on expansion. But that's not all.
\nAt some point, we will hit the maximum specifications of this storage system because the controller's processor can't keep up, and we'll indeed have to purchase a new storage system.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Of course, a reasonable question arises: why wasn't the proper sizing done and the capacity calculated? <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The question is indeed reasonable, and all vendors (including Aerodisk) keep saying: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sizing, sizing, and once again sizing! For a minimum of three years!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
But in reality, three purely psychological factors come into play.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n- The desire (or necessity) to save money. It was calculated just enough, and then some was cut off; it should be enough.<\/li>\n
- Vendor marketing, which promises tremendous space savings through compression and deduplication.<\/li>\n
- Unaccounted workloads that arise right after implementation. To be precise, they existed, but it wasn't planned to host them on the new storage system. In fact, a new, fast, and convenient storage system was installed, and it immediately turned out that there are millions of internal IT services that need to be migrated there to increase loyalty among internal IT users and businesses as a whole.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
As a result, after three months, we need to expand the system... at a different cost.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The situation described above is classic for A-brands. How does it play out with AERODISK?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The AERODISK Engine is essentially a constructor. If at any point you hit a wall with the controller processor, you can replace it with a more powerful one instead of upgrading the entire storage system to a more advanced model. The same goes for RAM and input-output adapters. Naturally, the vendor will handle the selection and replacement of components since they provide a warranty on their equipment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What about the disks? This is where it gets interesting. We all know that A-brands don\u2019t allow third-party disks. For instance, you can\u2019t buy an HGST disk and plug it into an A-brand storage system. It simply won\u2019t work. Why?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In the past, vendors themselves launched legends, like:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n- Disks in storage systems are produced by the storage manufacturers themselves. This is not true. They are made by the same companies, WD, Samsung, Micron, Intel, etc. Just due to service and marketing, these disks are 4-8 times more expensive than their counterparts from the original manufacturers.<\/li>\n
- Drives in the storage system are specially flashed by the storage manufacturer with their firmware to enhance reliability and\/or performance. And that's not true as well. Drives are flashed (rather, the sector size is changed to a custom one) to protect the vendor. On one hand, to ensure that no third-party drives can be used in their storage system, on the other, to prevent their 'flashed' drive from being used anywhere else.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
AERODISK has a very interesting policy in this regard. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Just like A-brands, AERODISK offers its own disks, which are essentially the same as those from the open market, but they are more expensive (though only 1.5-2 times more, not 4-8 times) because they come with a warranty from AERODISK (quick disk replacement).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, there is one VERY IMPORTANT difference. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Attention!<\/strong> You can use your own disks. Yes, your own. <\/u><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
That is, you can go to Yandex Marketplace, buy some HGST disks, plug them into the storage system, and they will work. Naturally, there will be no warranty from AERODISK on these disks (but the warranty on the storage system itself will remain intact), and you will have to manage disk replacement yourself. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s important to understand that the developers of the storage systems are also people and need to eat, so using third-party disks will require a separate license (which isn't very expensive, by the way).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As a result, In terms of expansion cost, AERODISK is more flexible than most top competitors.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Missed the sizing? No problem! There\u2019s always an option to expand the system for not too much money. The ability to freely upgrade hardware, use expensive drives from the storage developer without stress, or save costs by using your own drives \u2013 all of this is quite pleasing. Unlike the A-brands, Aerodisk provides choice, and having such a choice is always a good thing in my opinion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Quality of support<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
We have grown accustomed to the support of top brands. Support from leading vendors always gives peace of mind to the IT director. There are service centers in every city, many trained specialists throughout the country, plenty of technical materials online, and you can always 'Google' anything. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It seems that everything is perfect. But the devil, as they say, is in the details. Let\u2019s try to understand how the support for A-brand systems is usually organized. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You call (or write) to the call center\/service desk, where a polite person from the first line of support asks you 5-10 standard questions about your problem and registers a ticket. Then (immediately or after a short while), this polite, but not very competent person honestly tries to find a quick solution to your problem. If the issue is about replacing a faulty disk, that is, of course, resolved quickly, but if it's something more complicated, that\u2019s where the problems start. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Your request is escalated to the second line of support to guru engineers who know significantly more, and the chance that they will solve your problem is much higher. But here\u2019s the catch: guru engineers are a busy bunch, and you may have to wait several days for a guru to descend from the heavens and start addressing your problem. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I am not joking, and many clients can confirm this. For cool, expensive, and well-known A-brands, transferring a ticket between the first and second lines almost always means several days of waiting. And what if the second line can't handle it and you need developers from the third line for assistance?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"AERODISK:](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/e5071a48d501c7efa2e4a4dd939af33c.png\")
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
And how does Aerodisk support work? It\u2019s all absolutely the same: several lines of support, a ticketing system, and so on. Aerodisk has a regional presence in Russia and the CIS at roughly the same level (there are offices in all major cities), although, of course, the presence is not as extensive. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Qualified specialists and materials are scarce on the Internet, but their numbers are growing rapidly. SLA is roughly the same across the board, with several levels ranging from the most basic to mission-critical.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It might seem that we can conclude the comparison of support quality here. Overall, it's a draw, with a slight edge towards the top vendors. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, Aerodisk's support has one very interesting feature. I would even call it a killer feature. Regardless of the level of support you purchase, you have a dedicated qualified engineer. <\/u><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Moreover, you personally know your dedicated engineer; you are familiar with him. You have his mobile phone number and can easily message him via WhatsApp or Telegram. He is aware of your infrastructure and understands it well. He can resolve your issues easily because he knows you and your setup. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If he cannot solve the problem, he himself (take note, himself!) will call the developers, and they will help him resolve your issue. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
You might say that if this is done with all clients, the engineer will eventually be overwhelmed. I can assure you \u2013 they won't be overwhelmed, as the number of such engineers increases with the growing client base. The point is that Aerodisk does not rely on a large number of low-skilled personnel, as is typically the case with A-brands. Instead, the focus is on a small number of highly competent and educated individuals. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
This approach has its downsides, such as the never-ending search for personnel, but it works and works well. And I think that's enough about that.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As a result, The presence of a dedicated guru engineer as a mandatory element of services makes Aerodisk's support significantly more attractive and valuable in the eyes of the client compared to top vendors. <\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Price<\/h3>\n
<\/p>\n
And now for the most interesting part. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When I present clients with the AERODISK storage systems, clients usually say to me: 'Listen, Sergey, this is Russian, it should cost a bit more than nothing!!' <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
So I usually respond with:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n- AERODISK is not QNAP.<\/li>\n
- AERODISK is not SYNOLOGY.<\/li>\n
- AERODISK is not SUPERMICRO.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
<\/p>\n
It is a normal Enterprise storage system, with excellent performance and outstanding support, and which is naturally worth its price. Just like a good car.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aerodisk is not more expensive than a well-known top vendor with three letters, but it's not significantly cheaper either. However, wait, there\u2019s an option to use your own disks.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
If you use your own disks, it can be much cheaper than the top vendors. Therefore, if you need to beat someone on price, Aerodisk makes it easy to do so.<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In summary<\/h2>\n
<\/p>\n
I am by no means trying to idealize Aerodisk. It's clear that, like any solution, it has its drawbacks. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The limited number of installations (currently in the hundreds) does not allow us to draw a final conclusion about reliability, although at the moment, the SAN systems are working excellently in current projects, with Aerodisk's reliability on par with the best foreign solutions and not inferior to them at all.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Technical support is also not as extensively organized, although the resources are currently sufficient; at least none of my clients have complained, quite the contrary \u2013 they praise the original approach with a dedicated engineer, the super-fast response from all support lines, and the truly loyal attitude towards the client.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Aerodisk systems clearly outperform A-brands in terms of price-performance ratio. For less money, you can get more performance. And that\u2019s a fact you can\u2019t ignore.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Additionally, AERODISK SAN systems are technically more flexible (hardware upgrades, using your own disks), which makes it easy to solve scaling issues at a reasonable cost.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, decades of disparaging Russian technology have not gone unnoticed. We all have the stereotype 'Russian technology is bad' firmly stuck in our minds, and we will take a long time to overcome it, while failing to notice obvious flaws in foreign technology. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
With this article, I wanted to highlight the real advantages of a very worthy Russian product, which, in my opinion, truly resolves and outweighs any potential drawbacks. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Initially, I planned to also discuss the implementation and operational experience of Aerodisk with one of my commercial (important to note, this is not a government) clients, but then the article would have been quite lengthy, so expect a continuation in a week. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Thank you, please leave comments and share your experiences.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
P.S. By the way, you can watch the video of my recent Aerodisk presentation and a VERY lively discussion with real clients on the Aerodisk YouTube channel. <\/p>\n
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