Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Del...Principled Technologies
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX with VMware vSAN Ready Nodes delivered a 55.9% faster response time than a Cisco UCS solution and a 41.3% faster response time than an HPE Synergy solution
Business-critical applications on VMware vSphere 6, VMware Virtual SAN, and V...Principled Technologies
Moving to the virtualized, software-defined datacenter can offer real benefits to today’s organizations. As our testing showed, virtualizing business-critical applications with VMware vSphere, VMware Virtual SAN, and VMware NSX not only delivered reliable performance in a peak utilization scenario, but also delivered business continuity during and after a simulated site evacuation.
Using this VMware Validated Design with QCT hardware and Intel SSDs, we demonstrated a virtualized critical Oracle Database application environment delivering strong performance, even when under extreme duress.
Recognizing that many organizations have multiple sites, we also proved that our environment performed reliably under a site evacuation scenario, migrating the primary site VMs to the secondary in just over eight minutes with no downtime.
With these features and strengths, the VMware Validated Design SDDC is a proven solution that allows for efficient deployment of components and can help improve the reliability, flexibility, and mobility of your multi-site environment.
A company’s success depends on critical application performance and availability. Upgrades and patches can improve application efficiency and user experience, but making the necessary changes requires resource intensive environments to test updates before deploying them. What’s more, these applications need to continue accessing data even in the event of an on-premises crisis.
Our Dell EMC VMAX 250F and PowerEdge server solution supported test/dev environments and production database applications simultaneously without affecting the production applications’ performance. Storage latency for the VMAX 250F peaked at a millisecond in our testing while IOPS stayed within an acceptable range. The solution also kept data highly available with no downtime or performance drop when we initiated a lost host connection for the primary storage. Consider the Dell EMC VMAX 250F array for your datacenter to support the critical database applications that drive your company.
Slow performance and unavailable critical applications can impinge a company’s progress. You can apply patches and updates to improve application quality and user experience, but these changes need to be tested in resource-intensive environments before deployment. Keeping these applications accessing data is vital, too, as on-premises events can put availability at risk.
Our Dell EMC VMAX 250F and PowerEdge server solution supported test/dev environments and production database applications simultaneously without affecting the production applications’ performance. As we added VMs designed for test/dev environments, the production workload maintained an acceptable level of IOPS and achieved an average storage latency of less than a millisecond. The solution also kept data highly available with no downtime and no performance drop when we initiated a lost host connection for the primary storage. To run critical database applications of your company, consider the Dell EMC VMAX 250F for your datacenter.
Symantec NetBackup 7.6 benchmark comparison: Data protection in a large-scale...Principled Technologies
The footprint of a VM can grow quickly in an enterprise environment and large-scale VM deployments in the thousands are common. As this number of deployed systems grows, so does the risk of failure. Critical failures can become unavoidable and offering data protection from a backup solution promotes business continuity. Elongated protection windows requiring multiple jobs of different types can create resource contention with production environments and may require valuable IT admin time, so a finite window for system backups can have plenty of importance.
In our hands-on SAN backup testing, the Symantec NetBackup Integrated Appliance running NetBackup 7.6 offered application protection to 1,000 VMs in 66.8 percent less time than Competitor “E” did. In addition, the Symantec NetBackup Integrated Appliance with NetBackup 7.6 created backup images that offered granular recovery without additional steps. These time and effort savings can scale as your VM footprint grows, allowing you to execute both system protection and user-friendly, simplified recovery.
SQL Server 2016 database performance on the Dell EMC PowerEdge FC630 QLogic 1...Principled Technologies
Upgrading the hardware running your SQL Server to a space-efficient modular Dell EMC modern environment can help your company achieve a great deal of database work in a small amount of space. With the Dell Express Flash technology, adding a caching solution such as Samsung AutoCache can make the environment even more efficient.
In the PT labs, we ran a mixed database workload on six Dell EMC PowerEdge FC630 servers, powered by Intel Xeon E5-2667 processors, in three PowerEdge FX2 enclosures. The solution included the QLogic QLE2692 16Gb FC adapter with StorFusion Technology, Dell EMC Storage SC9000 all-flash storage, and Dell EMC PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe Performance PCIe SSDs.
With no caching solution, the 36 SQL Server 2016 VMs on the six servers achieved a total of 431,839 orders per minute while an Oracle workload ran on 12 VMs. When we added a caching solution to accelerate the SQL database volumes, the performance across the 36 SQL Server 2016 VMs doubled to 871,580. These numbers show the power of server-side caching to alleviate pressure on the storage array allowing you to get even more out of the Dell EMC modern environment.
3 key wins: Dell EMC PowerEdge MX with OpenManage Enterprise over Cisco UCS a...Principled Technologies
In head-to-head tests, the modular Dell EMC™ PowerEdge™ MX7000 with
OpenManage™ Enterprise reduced admin time and effort on repetitive tasks when compared to Cisco UCS® 5108 with Cisco UCS Manager and HPE Synergy with OneView.
Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Del...Principled Technologies
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX with VMware vSAN Ready Nodes delivered a 55.9% faster response time than a Cisco UCS solution and a 41.3% faster response time than an HPE Synergy solution
Business-critical applications on VMware vSphere 6, VMware Virtual SAN, and V...Principled Technologies
Moving to the virtualized, software-defined datacenter can offer real benefits to today’s organizations. As our testing showed, virtualizing business-critical applications with VMware vSphere, VMware Virtual SAN, and VMware NSX not only delivered reliable performance in a peak utilization scenario, but also delivered business continuity during and after a simulated site evacuation.
Using this VMware Validated Design with QCT hardware and Intel SSDs, we demonstrated a virtualized critical Oracle Database application environment delivering strong performance, even when under extreme duress.
Recognizing that many organizations have multiple sites, we also proved that our environment performed reliably under a site evacuation scenario, migrating the primary site VMs to the secondary in just over eight minutes with no downtime.
With these features and strengths, the VMware Validated Design SDDC is a proven solution that allows for efficient deployment of components and can help improve the reliability, flexibility, and mobility of your multi-site environment.
A company’s success depends on critical application performance and availability. Upgrades and patches can improve application efficiency and user experience, but making the necessary changes requires resource intensive environments to test updates before deploying them. What’s more, these applications need to continue accessing data even in the event of an on-premises crisis.
Our Dell EMC VMAX 250F and PowerEdge server solution supported test/dev environments and production database applications simultaneously without affecting the production applications’ performance. Storage latency for the VMAX 250F peaked at a millisecond in our testing while IOPS stayed within an acceptable range. The solution also kept data highly available with no downtime or performance drop when we initiated a lost host connection for the primary storage. Consider the Dell EMC VMAX 250F array for your datacenter to support the critical database applications that drive your company.
Slow performance and unavailable critical applications can impinge a company’s progress. You can apply patches and updates to improve application quality and user experience, but these changes need to be tested in resource-intensive environments before deployment. Keeping these applications accessing data is vital, too, as on-premises events can put availability at risk.
Our Dell EMC VMAX 250F and PowerEdge server solution supported test/dev environments and production database applications simultaneously without affecting the production applications’ performance. As we added VMs designed for test/dev environments, the production workload maintained an acceptable level of IOPS and achieved an average storage latency of less than a millisecond. The solution also kept data highly available with no downtime and no performance drop when we initiated a lost host connection for the primary storage. To run critical database applications of your company, consider the Dell EMC VMAX 250F for your datacenter.
Symantec NetBackup 7.6 benchmark comparison: Data protection in a large-scale...Principled Technologies
The footprint of a VM can grow quickly in an enterprise environment and large-scale VM deployments in the thousands are common. As this number of deployed systems grows, so does the risk of failure. Critical failures can become unavoidable and offering data protection from a backup solution promotes business continuity. Elongated protection windows requiring multiple jobs of different types can create resource contention with production environments and may require valuable IT admin time, so a finite window for system backups can have plenty of importance.
In our hands-on SAN backup testing, the Symantec NetBackup Integrated Appliance running NetBackup 7.6 offered application protection to 1,000 VMs in 66.8 percent less time than Competitor “E” did. In addition, the Symantec NetBackup Integrated Appliance with NetBackup 7.6 created backup images that offered granular recovery without additional steps. These time and effort savings can scale as your VM footprint grows, allowing you to execute both system protection and user-friendly, simplified recovery.
SQL Server 2016 database performance on the Dell EMC PowerEdge FC630 QLogic 1...Principled Technologies
Upgrading the hardware running your SQL Server to a space-efficient modular Dell EMC modern environment can help your company achieve a great deal of database work in a small amount of space. With the Dell Express Flash technology, adding a caching solution such as Samsung AutoCache can make the environment even more efficient.
In the PT labs, we ran a mixed database workload on six Dell EMC PowerEdge FC630 servers, powered by Intel Xeon E5-2667 processors, in three PowerEdge FX2 enclosures. The solution included the QLogic QLE2692 16Gb FC adapter with StorFusion Technology, Dell EMC Storage SC9000 all-flash storage, and Dell EMC PowerEdge Express Flash NVMe Performance PCIe SSDs.
With no caching solution, the 36 SQL Server 2016 VMs on the six servers achieved a total of 431,839 orders per minute while an Oracle workload ran on 12 VMs. When we added a caching solution to accelerate the SQL database volumes, the performance across the 36 SQL Server 2016 VMs doubled to 871,580. These numbers show the power of server-side caching to alleviate pressure on the storage array allowing you to get even more out of the Dell EMC modern environment.
3 key wins: Dell EMC PowerEdge MX with OpenManage Enterprise over Cisco UCS a...Principled Technologies
In head-to-head tests, the modular Dell EMC™ PowerEdge™ MX7000 with
OpenManage™ Enterprise reduced admin time and effort on repetitive tasks when compared to Cisco UCS® 5108 with Cisco UCS Manager and HPE Synergy with OneView.
A company’s success depends on critical application performance and availability. Upgrades and patches can improve application efficiency and user experience, but making the necessary changes requires resource intensive environments to test updates before deploying them. What’s more, these applications need to continue accessing data even in the event of an on-premises crisis.
Our Dell EMC VMAX 250F and PowerEdge server solution supported test/dev environments and production database applications simultaneously without affecting the production applications’ performance. Storage latency for the VMAX 250F peaked at a millisecond in our testing while IOPS stayed within an acceptable range. The solution also kept data highly available with no downtime or performance drop when we initiated a lost host connection for the primary storage. Consider the Dell EMC VMAX 250F array for your datacenter to support the critical database applications that drive your company.
Your datacenter is capable of doing great things—if you let it. Upgrades from Intel for compute, storage, and networking components can help your business support new services and expand your customer base. In our hands-on testing, we found that new Intel processors, high-bandwidth network components, and SATA or PCIe SSDs working together can boost your datacenter’s capabilities, which could translate to better business operations for your organization.
Run compute-intensive Apache Hadoop big data workloads faster with Dell EMC P...Principled Technologies
Moving compute-intensive, Hadoop big data workloads to current-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge R640 servers powered by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors could allow your organization to better meet the data analysis challenges of today. Faster analysis of large data sets means getting insight into your organization, products, and services sooner, which could help your organization grow and beat its competition.
Keep your data safe by moving from unsupported SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server ...Principled Technologies
Many small and medium businesses delay updating their server operating systems and applications. When software reaches end-of-support and the vendor ceases to release security updates and patches, businesses that fail to migrate risk incurring downtime and expense. They may encounter technical problems, and their vital data becomes especially vulnerable to cyber attackers, who often target outdated software.
Keep remote desktop power users productive with Dell EMC PowerEdge R840 serve...Principled Technologies
When the Dell EMC™ PowerEdge™ R840 launched, we found that companies could get more power for their CPU-intensive workloads with this 2U four-socket rack server.1 Now, it presents an opportunity for you to support more power users, speed desktop responsiveness, and grow your employee base.
A single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 solution delivered better value on a...Principled Technologies
If your company is running important business applications in VMware vSAN clusters of servers that are several years old, chances are good that you’re considering upgrading to newer hardware. Our testing demonstrated that our clusters of single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 servers and clusters of dual-socket HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers could both improve upon the database performance of a legacy cluster with five-year-old servers by more than 50 percent, with the Dell EMC cluster achieving 93.4 percent of the performance of the HPE cluster.
Spend less time, effort, and money by choosing a Dell EMC server with pre-ins...Principled Technologies
Deploying a Dell EMC PowerEdge R740 with pre-installed Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Standard took less time and fewer steps than deploying the same server without it
With new automation tools, tying up your administrator’s time with repetitive processes can become a thing of the past. Our tests showed how Dell ASM, with the ability to build deployment templates, can save significant administrator time and steps compared to a solution that lacks these features. In an age where business IT demands grow rapidly, providing administrators with the right tools to manage their virtualized infrastructure is critical for keeping your datacenter running efficiently.
Get higher transaction throughput and better price/performance with an Amazon...Principled Technologies
In addition, the EBS gp3-backed EC2 r5b.16xlarge instance delivered a lower average transaction latency to offer more consistent transactional database performance than two Microsoft Azure E64ds_v4 VM configurations
Compute intensive performance efficiency comparison: HP Moonshot with AMD APU...Principled Technologies
AMD’s accelerated processing units can be an enormous boon to those who perform compute intensive processing workloads, such as the 3D rendering workload we tested. In the Principled Technologies labs, an AMD-based HP Moonshot 1500 chassis with the ProLiant M700 server cartridge outperformed an Intel Xeon processor E5-2660 V2-based server —delivering 12.6 times the rendering performance of a single Intel server. It achieved this performance advantage while utilizing 10 percent less power than the more traditional server solution, and used just 4.3U of rack space instead of the 12U that 12 Intel servers would have used.
Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle Database: Benefits of upgrading with NVMe ...Principled Technologies
Strong server performance is essential to companies running Oracle Database. The new Dell PowerEdge R920 provides strong performance in its base configuration with 24 SAS hard disks, but this performance gets an enormous boost when running the configuration containing NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs. In our testing, the upgraded configuration of the Dell PowerEdge R920 delivered 14.9 times the database performance of the base configuration. In addition, in testing the raw I/O throughput of the NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs, we saw as much as 192.8 times the IOPS as compared to the base configuration. Given that the storage subsystem is critical in servers and specifically database applications, the performance improvements offered by NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs can lead to great service improvements for your customers, making this upgrade a very wise investment.
Watch your transactional database performance climb with Intel Optane DC pers...Principled Technologies
Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd servers with Intel Optane DC persistent memory handled more transactions per minute than configurations with NAND flash NVMe drives or SATA SSDs
Consolidating Web servers with the Dell PowerEdge FX2 enclosure and PowerEdge...Principled Technologies
Consolidating Web servers to a new environment can save you a great deal on operating costs such as power and cooling, and the shared nature of converged infrastructure solutions can maximize these savings. In our tests, we found that the Dell PowerEdge FX2 enclosure with Intel Atom processor C2750-powered FM120 nodes provided better consolidation ratios and power efficiency than both the HP Moonshot 1500 shared infrastructure solution and the current-generation HP ProLiant DL320e Gen8 v2 rack server. The Dell PowerEdge FX2 could consolidate 12 legacy Web servers and deliver up to 6.7 times the power efficiency that legacy servers would use. It also delivered up to 110.1 percent more performance/watt compared to the current-generation Web server solutions we tested from HP.
As these results show, the Dell PowerEdge FX2 with FM120x4 microserver blocks could provide your organization with dramatic power savings through consolidation, all while providing the Web server performance you require.
Prepare images for machine learning faster with servers powered by AMD EPYC 7...Principled Technologies
A server cluster with 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors achieved higher throughput and took less time to prepare images for classification than a server cluster with 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Platinum 8380 processors
Save IT admin time with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform and OpenManage En...Principled Technologies
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution required 86.8 percent less admin time to implement VMware vSAN and 19 fewer steps to update firmware on a single system versus a Cisco UCS solution
Migrate VMs faster with a new Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution - SummaryPrincipled Technologies
Faster VM migration times can help admins complete routine maintenance and updates more quickly, and end users are less likely to notice performance issues as VMs migrate quicker during automatic resource re-balancing. The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution moved VMs in 42.3 percent less time than the Cisco UCS solution and in 20.0 percent less time than the HPE Synergy solution.
A company’s success depends on critical application performance and availability. Upgrades and patches can improve application efficiency and user experience, but making the necessary changes requires resource intensive environments to test updates before deploying them. What’s more, these applications need to continue accessing data even in the event of an on-premises crisis.
Our Dell EMC VMAX 250F and PowerEdge server solution supported test/dev environments and production database applications simultaneously without affecting the production applications’ performance. Storage latency for the VMAX 250F peaked at a millisecond in our testing while IOPS stayed within an acceptable range. The solution also kept data highly available with no downtime or performance drop when we initiated a lost host connection for the primary storage. Consider the Dell EMC VMAX 250F array for your datacenter to support the critical database applications that drive your company.
Your datacenter is capable of doing great things—if you let it. Upgrades from Intel for compute, storage, and networking components can help your business support new services and expand your customer base. In our hands-on testing, we found that new Intel processors, high-bandwidth network components, and SATA or PCIe SSDs working together can boost your datacenter’s capabilities, which could translate to better business operations for your organization.
Run compute-intensive Apache Hadoop big data workloads faster with Dell EMC P...Principled Technologies
Moving compute-intensive, Hadoop big data workloads to current-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge R640 servers powered by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors could allow your organization to better meet the data analysis challenges of today. Faster analysis of large data sets means getting insight into your organization, products, and services sooner, which could help your organization grow and beat its competition.
Keep your data safe by moving from unsupported SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server ...Principled Technologies
Many small and medium businesses delay updating their server operating systems and applications. When software reaches end-of-support and the vendor ceases to release security updates and patches, businesses that fail to migrate risk incurring downtime and expense. They may encounter technical problems, and their vital data becomes especially vulnerable to cyber attackers, who often target outdated software.
Keep remote desktop power users productive with Dell EMC PowerEdge R840 serve...Principled Technologies
When the Dell EMC™ PowerEdge™ R840 launched, we found that companies could get more power for their CPU-intensive workloads with this 2U four-socket rack server.1 Now, it presents an opportunity for you to support more power users, speed desktop responsiveness, and grow your employee base.
A single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 solution delivered better value on a...Principled Technologies
If your company is running important business applications in VMware vSAN clusters of servers that are several years old, chances are good that you’re considering upgrading to newer hardware. Our testing demonstrated that our clusters of single-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge R7515 servers and clusters of dual-socket HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 servers could both improve upon the database performance of a legacy cluster with five-year-old servers by more than 50 percent, with the Dell EMC cluster achieving 93.4 percent of the performance of the HPE cluster.
Spend less time, effort, and money by choosing a Dell EMC server with pre-ins...Principled Technologies
Deploying a Dell EMC PowerEdge R740 with pre-installed Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Standard took less time and fewer steps than deploying the same server without it
With new automation tools, tying up your administrator’s time with repetitive processes can become a thing of the past. Our tests showed how Dell ASM, with the ability to build deployment templates, can save significant administrator time and steps compared to a solution that lacks these features. In an age where business IT demands grow rapidly, providing administrators with the right tools to manage their virtualized infrastructure is critical for keeping your datacenter running efficiently.
Get higher transaction throughput and better price/performance with an Amazon...Principled Technologies
In addition, the EBS gp3-backed EC2 r5b.16xlarge instance delivered a lower average transaction latency to offer more consistent transactional database performance than two Microsoft Azure E64ds_v4 VM configurations
Compute intensive performance efficiency comparison: HP Moonshot with AMD APU...Principled Technologies
AMD’s accelerated processing units can be an enormous boon to those who perform compute intensive processing workloads, such as the 3D rendering workload we tested. In the Principled Technologies labs, an AMD-based HP Moonshot 1500 chassis with the ProLiant M700 server cartridge outperformed an Intel Xeon processor E5-2660 V2-based server —delivering 12.6 times the rendering performance of a single Intel server. It achieved this performance advantage while utilizing 10 percent less power than the more traditional server solution, and used just 4.3U of rack space instead of the 12U that 12 Intel servers would have used.
Dell PowerEdge R920 running Oracle Database: Benefits of upgrading with NVMe ...Principled Technologies
Strong server performance is essential to companies running Oracle Database. The new Dell PowerEdge R920 provides strong performance in its base configuration with 24 SAS hard disks, but this performance gets an enormous boost when running the configuration containing NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs. In our testing, the upgraded configuration of the Dell PowerEdge R920 delivered 14.9 times the database performance of the base configuration. In addition, in testing the raw I/O throughput of the NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs, we saw as much as 192.8 times the IOPS as compared to the base configuration. Given that the storage subsystem is critical in servers and specifically database applications, the performance improvements offered by NVMe Express Flash PCIe SSDs can lead to great service improvements for your customers, making this upgrade a very wise investment.
Watch your transactional database performance climb with Intel Optane DC pers...Principled Technologies
Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd servers with Intel Optane DC persistent memory handled more transactions per minute than configurations with NAND flash NVMe drives or SATA SSDs
Consolidating Web servers with the Dell PowerEdge FX2 enclosure and PowerEdge...Principled Technologies
Consolidating Web servers to a new environment can save you a great deal on operating costs such as power and cooling, and the shared nature of converged infrastructure solutions can maximize these savings. In our tests, we found that the Dell PowerEdge FX2 enclosure with Intel Atom processor C2750-powered FM120 nodes provided better consolidation ratios and power efficiency than both the HP Moonshot 1500 shared infrastructure solution and the current-generation HP ProLiant DL320e Gen8 v2 rack server. The Dell PowerEdge FX2 could consolidate 12 legacy Web servers and deliver up to 6.7 times the power efficiency that legacy servers would use. It also delivered up to 110.1 percent more performance/watt compared to the current-generation Web server solutions we tested from HP.
As these results show, the Dell PowerEdge FX2 with FM120x4 microserver blocks could provide your organization with dramatic power savings through consolidation, all while providing the Web server performance you require.
Prepare images for machine learning faster with servers powered by AMD EPYC 7...Principled Technologies
A server cluster with 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors achieved higher throughput and took less time to prepare images for classification than a server cluster with 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Platinum 8380 processors
Save IT admin time with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform and OpenManage En...Principled Technologies
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution required 86.8 percent less admin time to implement VMware vSAN and 19 fewer steps to update firmware on a single system versus a Cisco UCS solution
Migrate VMs faster with a new Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution - SummaryPrincipled Technologies
Faster VM migration times can help admins complete routine maintenance and updates more quickly, and end users are less likely to notice performance issues as VMs migrate quicker during automatic resource re-balancing. The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution moved VMs in 42.3 percent less time than the Cisco UCS solution and in 20.0 percent less time than the HPE Synergy solution.
Update your private cloud with 14th generation Dell EMC PowerEdge FC640 serve...Principled Technologies
Critical Apache Cassandra NoSQL databases can offer reliability and flexibility for workloads like media streaming or social media. Running these databases in a private cloud can let you maintain control of your data while giving you the agility and flexibility the cloud provides.
In our datacenter, the Dell EMC PowerEdge FC640 solution powered by Intel Xeon Gold 5120 processors dramatically increased performance for Apache Cassandra workloads compared to a legacy solution. By choosing a solution that can do up to 4.7 times the work of the legacy solution, your infrastructure could handle more requests at a time—and we found that the Dell EMC PowerEdge FC640 solution could do all this additional work in less space, which could let you hold off on renting more datacenter space or on building out your existing space as your business grows.
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution required 89.4 percent less admin time to deploy multiple server nodes and 15 fewer steps to update firmware on multiple systems
VxRail Appliance - Modernize your infrastructure and accelerate IT transforma...Maichino Sepede
An overview of the VxRail Appliance, including what’s new with VxRail on the 14th generation PowerEdge server, and advancements in the VxRail 4.5 software.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
Conclusion
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. We found that a Dell PowerEdge R760 server cluster running VCF 5.1 processed over 78 percent more TPM and 79 percent more NOPM than a Dell PowerEdge R750 server cluster running VCF 4.5. It’s also worth noting that the PowerEdge R750 cluster bottlenecked on vSAN storage, with max write latency at 8.9ms. For reference, the PowerEdge R760 cluster clocked in at 3.8ms max write latency. This higher latency is due in part to the single disk group per host on the moderately configured PowerEdge R750 cluster, while the better-configured PowerEdge R760 cluster supported four disk groups per host. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Get higher performance for your MySQL databases with Dell APEX Private CloudPrincipled Technologies
Featuring 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, the Dell APEX Private Cloud solution processed more new orders per minute in a transactional database workload than a comparable AWS solution
When we compared the MySQL database performance of a four-server solution supporting 16 client VMs from Dell APEX Private Cloud to 16 similarly configured VMs on AWS using the TPROC-C workload from the HammerDB benchmark suite, the Dell APEX Private Cloud solution processed 25.4 percent more NOPM than the AWS solution. These results indicate that to maximize the performance of MySQL databases and the responsiveness of critical applications, the APEX private cloud solution is the better choice compared to a similarly configured solution running on AWS.
Reap better SQL Server OLTP performance with next-generation Dell EMC PowerEd...Principled Technologies
These new servers achieved up to 36.1 percent more OLTP database work than current-generation Dell EMC PowerEdge MX servers, while also lowering application response time
Handle 19.7% more SQL Server work and support 25% more VMs with new Dell Powe...Principled Technologies
A cluster of new 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge MX servers accomplished more OLTP orders per minute and increased VM density at a given level of latency compared to their 15th Generation counterpart
Selecting the right hardware for your data center can empower you to support increased business demands, both now and into the future. When it comes to OLTP database work, new-generation Dell PowerEdge MX760c servers can offer compelling performance gains. In hands-on tests against previous-generation servers in the same chassis, the new-generation Dell PowerEdge MX servers achieved up to 19.7 percent more orders per
minute and increased VM density by 25 percent while delivering similar response times. With these advantages, 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge MX760c servers could provide the increased computing performance and VM density your organization requires.
Move your private cloud to Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server nodes and boost Ap...Principled Technologies
Powered by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server nodes handled 2X the operations per second of older HPE ProLiant XL170r Gen9 nodes
Before you make the plunge, take into consideration every aspect of your VDI project: user experience, admin time, storage capacity, and ongoing costs related to datacenter space. Our experiences with Dell EMC PowerEdge FX2s enclosures outfitted with PowerEdge FC630 compute modules and Dell EMC XtremIO arrays show that this solution is a compelling one for VDI deployments. The Dell EMC XtremIO solution supported 6,000 virtual desktops with a good user experience, offered flexibility by supporting both full and linked clones, recomposed the desktops quickly and easily, and reduced data dramatically through inline deduplication and compression. And it did all this in less than a single rack of datacenter space, to keep server sprawl in check and costs down.
Boosting virtualization performance with Intel SSD DC Series P3600 NVMe SSDs ...Principled Technologies
When it comes time to make your server purchase or if you’re looking for an easy way to boost performance of existing infrastructure, consider upgrading your server’s internal storage. As our hands-on tests with a Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 environment running VMware Virtual SAN proved, Intel SSD DC P3600 Series NVMe SSDs could increase virtualized mixed-workload performance by as much as 59.9 percent compared to SATA SSDs while allowing you to run a large additional number of VMs. When you improve performance for your virtualized workloads, your employees and customers will benefit. By increasing performance with Intel NVMe SSDs on your Dell EMC PowerEdge R630 servers, you can potentially slash wait times and do more work on your servers without having to expand your infrastructure with additional storage arrays, which can translate to happier users and a more efficient infrastructure.
Get insight from document-based distributed MongoDB databases sooner and have...Principled Technologies
With additional drive bays and 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Dell EMC PowerEdge R640 servers handled more Yahoo Cloud Serving Benchmark (YCSB) operations per second than previous-generation servers and handled them more efficiently
Make Kubernetes containers on Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd servers easier to man...Principled Technologies
Running VMware Tanzu on a VMware vSphere 7.0 Update 1 environment with Dell EMC PowerEdge servers provided centralized container management features at reasonable cost
A Dell PowerEdge MX environment using OpenManage Enterprise and OpenManage En...Principled Technologies
Compared to a Cisco UCS-X environment using Intersight, the Dell environment streamlined making changes to VLANs and helped avoid interventions during scheduled firmware updates
Conclusion
We executed two management scenarios in a Dell PowerEdge MX environment with Dell OpenManage Enterprise and OpenManage Enterprise Modular and a Cisco UCS X-Series chassis environment with Cisco Intersight. We learned that the Dell solution’s single-part profile modification for performing VLAN updates was quicker and simpler than the Cisco solution’s two-part profile deployment, requiring 40 percent less time and two-thirds as many steps. We also compared the firmware updating process on the solutions. Being able to schedule these updates to occur automatically from the online Dell repository offered an advantage over having to manually execute the same tasks from the Cisco Intersight repositories. Namely, administrators do not need to take action during maintenance windows but can instead schedule them ahead of time. Saving time on routine tasks frees administrators to pursue innovation, and being able to avoid middle-of-the-night duties helps companies provide a better work experience for admins. Together, these advantages help make Dell PowerEdge MX servers a good candidate for companies considering upgrading the older Cisco UCS servers in their data centers.
Move your private cloud to Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server nodes and boost Ap...Principled Technologies
Powered by 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, Dell EMC PowerEdge C6420 server nodes handled 2X the operations per second of older HPE ProLiant XL170r Gen9 nodes
Investing in GenAI: Cost‑benefit analysis of Dell on‑premises deployments vs....Principled Technologies
Conclusion
Diving into the world of GenAI has the potential to yield a great many benefits for your organization, but it first requires consideration for how best to implement those GenAI workloads. Whether your AI goals are to create a chatbot for online visitors, generate marketing materials, aid troubleshooting, or something else, implementing an AI solution requires careful planning and decision-making. A major decision is whether to host GenAI in the cloud or keep your data on premises. Traditional on-premises solutions can provide superior security and control, a substantial concern when dealing with large amounts of potentially sensitive data. But will supporting a GenAI solution on site be a drain on an organization’s IT budget?
In our research, we found that the value proposition is just the opposite: Hosting GenAI workloads on premises, either in a traditional Dell solution or using a managed Dell APEX pay-per-use solution, could significantly lower your GenAI costs over 3 years compared to hosting these workloads in the cloud. In fact, we found that a comparable AWS SageMaker solution would cost up to 3.8 times as much and an Azure ML solution would cost up to 3.6 times as much as GenAI on a Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. These results show that organizations looking to implement GenAI and reap the business benefits to come can find many advantages in an on-premises Dell solution, whether they opt to purchase and manage it themselves or choose a subscription-based Dell APEX pay-per-use solution. Choosing an on-premises Dell solution could save your organization significantly over hosting GenAI in the cloud, while giving you control over the security and privacy of your data as well as any updates and changes to the environment, and while ensuring your environment is managed consistently.
Workstations powered by Intel can play a vital role in CPU-intensive AI devel...Principled Technologies
In three AI development workflows, Intel processor-powered workstations delivered strong performance, without using their GPUs, making them a good choice for this part of the AI process
Conclusion
We executed three AI development workflows on tower workstations and mobile workstations from three vendors, with each workflow utilizing only the Intel CPU cores, and found that these platforms were suitable for carrying out various AI tasks. For two of the workflows, we learned that completing the tasks on the tower workstations took roughly half as much time as on the mobile workstations. This supports the idea that the tower workstations would be appropriate for a development environment for more complex models with a greater volume of data and that the mobile workstations would be well-suited for data scientists fine-tuning simpler models. In the third workflow, we explored tower workstation performance with different precision levels and learned that using 16-bit floating point precision allowed the workstations to execute the workflow in less time and also reduced memory usage dramatically. For all three AI workflows we executed, we consider the time the workstations needed to complete the tasks to be acceptable, and believe that these workstations can be appropriate, cost-effective choices for these kinds of activities.
Enable security features with no impact to OLTP performance with Dell PowerEd...Principled Technologies
Get comparable online transaction processing (OLTP) performance with or without enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and AMD Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Encrypted State
Conclusion
You’ve likely already implemented many security measures for your servers, which may include physical security for the data center, hardware-level security, and software-level security. With the cost of data breaches high and still growing, however, wise IT teams will consider what additional security measures they may be able to implement.
AMD SME and SEV-ES are technologies that are already available within your AMD processor-powered 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers—and in our testing, we saw that they can offer extra layers of security without affecting performance. We compared the online transaction processing performance of a Dell PowerEdge R7625 server, powered by AMD EPYC 9274F processors, with and without these two security features enabled. We found that enabling AMD Secure Memory Encryption and Secure Encrypted Virtualization-Encrypted State did not impact performance at all.
If your team is assessing areas where you might be able to enhance security—without paying a large performance cost—consider enabling AME SME and AMD SEV-ES in your Dell PowerEdge servers.
Improving energy efficiency in the data center: Endure higher temperatures wi...Principled Technologies
In high-temperature test scenarios, a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server continued running an intensive workload without component warnings or failures, while a Supermicro SYS‑621C-TN12R server failed
Conclusion: Remain resilient in high temperatures with the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 to help increase efficiency
Increasing your data center’s temperature can help your organization make strides in energy efficiency and cooling cost savings. With servers that can hold up to these higher everyday temperatures—as well as high temperatures due to unforeseen circumstances—your business can continue to deliver the performance your apps and clients require.
When we ran an intensive floating-point workload on a Dell PowerEdge HS5620 and a Supermicro SYS-621CTN12R in three scenario types simulating typical operations at 25°C, a fan failure, and an HVAC malfunction, the Dell server experienced no component warnings or failures. In contrast, the Supermicro server experienced warnings in all three scenario types and experienced component failures in the latter two tests, rendering the system unusable. When we inspected and analyzed each system, we found that the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 server’s motherboard layout, fans, and chassis offered cooling design advantages.
For businesses aiming to meet sustainability goals by running hotter data centers, as well as those concerned with server cooling design, the Dell PowerEdge HS5620 is a strong contender to take on higher temperatures during day-to-day operations and unexpected malfunctions.
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a Kubernetes container-based generative AI workload effectively
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift: An easily deployable and powe...Principled Technologies
The 4th Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processor‑powered solution deployed in less than two hours and ran a generative AI workload effectively
Conclusion
The appeal of incorporating GenAI into your organization’s operations is likely great. Getting started with an efficient solution for your next LLM workload or application can seem daunting because of the changing hardware and software landscape, but Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift powered by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors could provide the solution you need. We started with a Dell Validated Design as a reference, and then went on to modify the deployment as necessary for our Llama 2 workload. The Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Red Hat OpenShift solution worked well for our LLM, and by using this deployment guide in conjunction with numerous Dell documents and some flexibility, you could be well on your way to innovating your next GenAI breakthrough.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
For organizations running clusters of moderately configured, older Dell PowerEdge servers with a previous version of VCF, upgrading to better-configured modern servers can provide a significant performance boost and more.
Upgrade your cloud infrastructure with Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and VMware...Principled Technologies
Compared to a cluster of PowerEdge R750 servers running VMware Cloud Foundation 4.5
If your company is struggling with underperforming infrastructure, upgrading to 16th Generation Dell PowerEdge servers running VCF 5.1 could be just what you need to handle more database throughput and reduce vSAN latencies. As an additional benefit to IT admins, we also found that the embedded VMware Aria Operation adapter provided useful infrastructure insights.
Realize 2.1X the performance with 20% less power with AMD EPYC processor-back...Principled Technologies
Three AMD EPYC processor-based two-processor solutions outshined comparable Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based solutions by handling more Redis workload transactions and requests while consuming less power
Conclusion
Performance and energy efficiency are significant factors in processor selection for servers running data-intensive workloads, such as Redis. We compared the Redis performance and energy consumption of a server cluster in three AMD EPYC two-processor configurations against that of a server cluster in two Intel Xeon Scalable two-processor configurations. In each of our three test scenarios, the server cluster backed by AMD EPYC processors outperformed the server cluster backed by Intel Xeon Scalable processors. In addition, one of the AMD EPYC processor-based clusters consumed 20 percent less power than its Intel Xeon Scalable processor-based counterpart. Combining these measurements gave us power efficiency metrics that demonstrate how valuable AMD EPYC processor-based servers could be—you could see better performance per watt with these AMD EPYC processor-based server clusters and potentially get more from your Redis or other data intensive applications and workloads while reducing data center power costs.
Improve performance and gain room to grow by easily migrating to a modern Ope...Principled Technologies
We deployed this modern environment, then migrated database VMs from legacy servers and saw performance improvements that support consolidation
Conclusion
If your organization’s transactional databases are running on gear that is several years old, you have much to gain by upgrading to modern servers with new processors and networking components and an OpenShift environment. In our testing, a modern OpenShift environment with a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7615 servers with 4th Generation AMD EPYC processors and high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs outperformed a legacy environment with MySQL VMs running on a cluster of three Dell PowerEdge R7515 servers with 3rd Generation AMD EPYC processors and 25Gb Broadcom NICs. We also easily migrated a VM from the legacy environment to the modern environment, with only a few steps required to set up and less than ten minutes of hands-on time. The performance advantage of the modern servers would allow a company to reduce the number of servers necessary to perform a given amount of database work, thus lowering operational expenditures such as power and cooling and IT staff time for maintenance. The high-speed 100Gb Broadcom NICs in this solution also give companies better network performance and networking capacity to grow as they embrace emerging technologies such as AI that put great demands on networks.
Boost PC performance: How more available memory can improve productivityPrincipled Technologies
With more memory available, system performance of three Dell devices increased, which can translate to a better user experience
Conclusion
When your system has plenty of RAM to meet your needs, you can efficiently access the applications and data you need to finish projects and to-do lists without sacrificing time and focus. Our test results show that with more memory available, three Dell PCs delivered better performance and took less time to complete the Procyon Office Productivity benchmark. These advantages translate to users being able to complete workflows more quickly and multitask more easily. Whether you need the mobility of the Latitude 5440, the creative capabilities of the Precision 3470, or the high performance of the OptiPlex Tower Plus 7010, configuring your system with more RAM can help keep processes running smoothly, enabling you to do more without compromising performance.
Deploy with confidence: VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdg...Principled Technologies
A Principled Technologies deployment guide
Conclusion
Deploying VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 on next gen Dell PowerEdge servers brings together critical virtualization capabilities and high-performing hardware infrastructure. Relying on our hands-on experience, this deployment guide offers a comprehensive roadmap that can guide your organization through the seamless integration of advanced VMware cloud solutions with the performance and reliability of Dell PowerEdge servers. In addition to the deployment efficiency, the Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge solution delivered strong performance while running a MySQL database workload. By leveraging VMware Cloud Foundation 5.1 and PowerEdge servers, you could help your organization embrace cloud computing with confidence, potentially unlocking a new level of agility, scalability, and efficiency in your data center operations.
Based on our research using publicly available materials, it appears that Dell supports nine of the ten PC security features we investigated, HP supports six of them, and Lenovo supports three features.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Increase security, sustainability, and efficiency with robust Dell server man...Principled Technologies
Compared to the Supermicro management portfolio
Conclusion
Choosing a vendor for server purchases is about more than just the hardware platform. Decision-makers must also consider more long-term concerns, including system/data security, energy efficiency, and ease of management. These concerns make the systems management tools a vendor offers as important as the hardware.
We investigated the features and capabilities of server management tools from Dell and Supermicro, comparing Dell iDRAC9 against Supermicro IPMI for embedded server management and Dell OpenManage Enterprise and CloudIQ against Supermicro Server Manager for one-to-many device and console management and monitoring. We found that the Dell management tools provided more comprehensive security, sustainability, and management/monitoring features and capabilities than Supermicro servers did. In addition, Dell tools automated more tasks to ease server management, resulting in significant time savings for administrators versus having to do the same tasks manually with Supermicro tools.
When making a server purchase, a vendor’s associated management products are critical to protect data, support a more sustainable environment, and to ease the maintenance of systems. Our tests and research showed that the Dell management portfolio for PowerEdge servers offered more features to help organizations meet these goals than the comparable Supermicro management products.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS ...Principled Technologies
In our tests, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS outperformed similarly configured solutions from Vendor A, achieving more IOPS, better throughput, and more consistent performance on both NVMe-supported configurations and configurations backed by Elastic Block Store (EBS) alone.
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS supports a full NVMe backed configuration, but Vendor A doesn’t—its solution uses EBS for storage capacity and NVMe as an extended read cache—which means APEX Block Storage for AWS can deliver faster storage performance.
Scale up your storage with higher-performing Dell APEX Block Storage for AWSPrincipled Technologies
Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger and more consistent storage performance for better business agility than a Vendor A solution
Conclusion
Enterprises desiring the flexibility and convenience of the cloud for their block storage workloads can find fast-performing solutions with the enterprise storage features they’re used to in on-premises infrastructure by selecting Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS.
Our hands-on tests showed that compared to the Vendor A solution, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered stronger, more consistent storage performance in both NVMe-supported and EBS-backed configurations. Using NVMe-supported configurations, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS achieved 4.7x the random read IOPS and 5.1x the throughput on sequential read operations per node vs. Vendor A. In our EBS-backed comparison, Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS offered 2.2x the throughput per node on sequential read operations vs. Vendor A.
Plus, the ability to scale beyond three nodes—up to 512 storage nodes with capacity of up to 8 PBs—enables Dell APEX Block Storage for AWS to help ensure performance and capacity as your team plans for the future.
Get in and stay in the productivity zone with the HP Z2 G9 Tower WorkstationPrincipled Technologies
We compared CPU performance and noise output of an HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation in High Performance Mode to Dell Precision 3660 and 5860 tower workstations in optimized performance modes
Conclusion
HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users can change the BIOS settings to dial in the performance mode that best suits their needs: High Performance Mode, Performance Mode, or Quiet Mode. In good
news for both creative and technical professionals, we found that an Intel Core i9-13900 processor-powered HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation set to High Performance mode received higher CPU-based benchmark scores than both a similarly configured Dell Precision 3660 and a Dell Precision 5860 equipped with an Intel Xeon w5-2455x processor. Plus, the HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation was quieter while running CPU-intensive Cinebench 2024 and SPECapc for Solidworks 2022 workloads than both Dell Precision tower workstations. This means HP Z2 G9 Tower Workstation users who prize performance over everything else can do so without sacrificing a quiet workspace.
Open up new possibilities with higher transactional database performance from...Principled Technologies
In our PostgreSQL tests, R7i instances boosted performance over R6i instances with previous-gen processors
If you use the open-source PostgreSQL database to run your critical business operations, you have many cloud options from which to choose. While many of these instances can do the job, some can deliver stronger performance, which can mean getting a greater return on your cloud investment.
We conducted hands-on testing with the HammerDB TPROC-C benchmark to see how the PostgreSQL performance of Amazon EC2 R7i instances, enabled by 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, stacked up to that of R6i instances with previous-generation processors. We learned that small, medium-sized, and large R7i instances with the newer processors delivered better OLTP performance, with improvements as high as 13.8 percent. By choosing the R7i instances, your organization has the potential to support more users, deliver a better experience to those users, and even lower your cloud operating expenditures by requiring fewer instances to get the job done.
Improving database performance and value with an easy migration to Azure Data...Principled Technologies
Migrating from Azure Database for MySQL – Single Server to a Flexible Server solution was quick and provided performance and cost benefits
Don’t put off migrating your databases from Azure Database for MySQL – Single Server until the last minute—which is September 2024, when the service will end. Our hands-on testing shows that moving to Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server is a simple process that can actually improve your overall database performance and offer better value. With as much as 117 percent better OLTP performance on sysbench and up to 266 percent better performance per dollar, migrating your database to Azure Database for MySQL – Flexible Server with AMD EPYC processors can help you serve more database users and potentially improve your operating budget compared to the expiring Single Server option.
Epistemic Interaction - tuning interfaces to provide information for AI supportAlan Dix
Paper presented at SYNERGY workshop at AVI 2024, Genoa, Italy. 3rd June 2024
https://alandix.com/academic/papers/synergy2024-epistemic/
As machine learning integrates deeper into human-computer interactions, the concept of epistemic interaction emerges, aiming to refine these interactions to enhance system adaptability. This approach encourages minor, intentional adjustments in user behaviour to enrich the data available for system learning. This paper introduces epistemic interaction within the context of human-system communication, illustrating how deliberate interaction design can improve system understanding and adaptation. Through concrete examples, we demonstrate the potential of epistemic interaction to significantly advance human-computer interaction by leveraging intuitive human communication strategies to inform system design and functionality, offering a novel pathway for enriching user-system engagements.
Slack (or Teams) Automation for Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Soluti...Jeffrey Haguewood
Sidekick Solutions uses Bonterra Impact Management (fka Social Solutions Apricot) and automation solutions to integrate data for business workflows.
We believe integration and automation are essential to user experience and the promise of efficient work through technology. Automation is the critical ingredient to realizing that full vision. We develop integration products and services for Bonterra Case Management software to support the deployment of automations for a variety of use cases.
This video focuses on the notifications, alerts, and approval requests using Slack for Bonterra Impact Management. The solutions covered in this webinar can also be deployed for Microsoft Teams.
Interested in deploying notification automations for Bonterra Impact Management? Contact us at sales@sidekicksolutionsllc.com to discuss next steps.
DevOps and Testing slides at DASA ConnectKari Kakkonen
My and Rik Marselis slides at 30.5.2024 DASA Connect conference. We discuss about what is testing, then what is agile testing and finally what is Testing in DevOps. Finally we had lovely workshop with the participants trying to find out different ways to think about quality and testing in different parts of the DevOps infinity loop.
Neuro-symbolic is not enough, we need neuro-*semantic*Frank van Harmelen
Neuro-symbolic (NeSy) AI is on the rise. However, simply machine learning on just any symbolic structure is not sufficient to really harvest the gains of NeSy. These will only be gained when the symbolic structures have an actual semantics. I give an operational definition of semantics as “predictable inference”.
All of this illustrated with link prediction over knowledge graphs, but the argument is general.
Key Trends Shaping the Future of Infrastructure.pdfCheryl Hung
Keynote at DIGIT West Expo, Glasgow on 29 May 2024.
Cheryl Hung, ochery.com
Sr Director, Infrastructure Ecosystem, Arm.
The key trends across hardware, cloud and open-source; exploring how these areas are likely to mature and develop over the short and long-term, and then considering how organisations can position themselves to adapt and thrive.
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 4DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 4. In this session, we will cover Test Manager overview along with SAP heatmap.
The UiPath Test Manager overview with SAP heatmap webinar offers a concise yet comprehensive exploration of the role of a Test Manager within SAP environments, coupled with the utilization of heatmaps for effective testing strategies.
Participants will gain insights into the responsibilities, challenges, and best practices associated with test management in SAP projects. Additionally, the webinar delves into the significance of heatmaps as a visual aid for identifying testing priorities, areas of risk, and resource allocation within SAP landscapes. Through this session, attendees can expect to enhance their understanding of test management principles while learning practical approaches to optimize testing processes in SAP environments using heatmap visualization techniques
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into SAP testing best practices
2. Heatmap utilization for testing
3. Optimization of testing processes
4. Demo
Topics covered:
Execution from the test manager
Orchestrator execution result
Defect reporting
SAP heatmap example with demo
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
State of ICS and IoT Cyber Threat Landscape Report 2024 previewPrayukth K V
The IoT and OT threat landscape report has been prepared by the Threat Research Team at Sectrio using data from Sectrio, cyber threat intelligence farming facilities spread across over 85 cities around the world. In addition, Sectrio also runs AI-based advanced threat and payload engagement facilities that serve as sinks to attract and engage sophisticated threat actors, and newer malware including new variants and latent threats that are at an earlier stage of development.
The latest edition of the OT/ICS and IoT security Threat Landscape Report 2024 also covers:
State of global ICS asset and network exposure
Sectoral targets and attacks as well as the cost of ransom
Global APT activity, AI usage, actor and tactic profiles, and implications
Rise in volumes of AI-powered cyberattacks
Major cyber events in 2024
Malware and malicious payload trends
Cyberattack types and targets
Vulnerability exploit attempts on CVEs
Attacks on counties – USA
Expansion of bot farms – how, where, and why
In-depth analysis of the cyber threat landscape across North America, South America, Europe, APAC, and the Middle East
Why are attacks on smart factories rising?
Cyber risk predictions
Axis of attacks – Europe
Systemic attacks in the Middle East
Download the full report from here:
https://sectrio.com/resources/ot-threat-landscape-reports/sectrio-releases-ot-ics-and-iot-security-threat-landscape-report-2024/
Encryption in Microsoft 365 - ExpertsLive Netherlands 2024Albert Hoitingh
In this session I delve into the encryption technology used in Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Purview. Including the concepts of Customer Key and Double Key Encryption.
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a buttonDianaGray10
Here is something new! In our next Connector Corner webinar, we will demonstrate how you can use a single workflow to:
Create a campaign using Mailchimp with merge tags/fields
Send an interactive Slack channel message (using buttons)
Have the message received by managers and peers along with a test email for review
But there’s more:
In a second workflow supporting the same use case, you’ll see:
Your campaign sent to target colleagues for approval
If the “Approve” button is clicked, a Jira/Zendesk ticket is created for the marketing design team
But—if the “Reject” button is pushed, colleagues will be alerted via Slack message
Join us to learn more about this new, human-in-the-loop capability, brought to you by Integration Service connectors.
And...
Speakers:
Akshay Agnihotri, Product Manager
Charlie Greenberg, Host
Connector Corner: Automate dynamic content and events by pushing a button
Power edge mx7000_sds_performance_1018
1. Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster
performance with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX with VMware vSAN Ready Nodes delivered
a 55.9% faster response time than a Cisco UCS solution and a 41.3% faster
response time than an HPE Synergy solution
Improving the performance of traditional applications with emerging technologies can help your organization achieve many
goals, from growing your revenue to expanding your customer base. The new Dell EMC PowerEdge MX modular solution
powered by Intel Xeon Scalable processors offers an innovative, flexible architecture that allows your organization to create
sizable VMware vSAN™
software-defined storage (SDS) environments that can boost performance of traditional applications.
These environments can also dynamically scale and respond to your changing operational needs now and in the future.
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX loosens the bounds of traditional infrastructure by leveraging shared pools of compute,
storage, and networking assets to create consumable resources on demand, which can allow organizations to adapt to
changing workload demands and get better performance from applications.
Our Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution was a vSAN Ready Node configuration with all NVMe drives for both cache and
capacity tiers.1
The unique all-NVMe design and greater drive count of the platform contributed to the advantages we
saw in our testing. Due to this unique storage layout,the powerful, robust Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution with vSAN in
our data center at Principled Technologies supported more virtual environments and offered better database application
performance than HPE Synergy and Cisco UCS®
vSAN ReadyNode™
solutions.
Dell EMC™
PowerEdge™
MX platform
powered by Intel®
Xeon®
Scalable processors*
more orders per
minute**
more virtual
machines**
lower storage
latency**
up to up toup to
625,000
40% 55.9%
*
Image provided by Dell EMC.
**
vs. two competing hyper-converged solutions.
Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform October 2018
A Principled Technologies report: Hands-on testing. Real-world results.A Principled Technologies report: Hands-on testing. Real-world results.
2. Exploring the unique design of the Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX
Organizations deploying vSAN can bring storage and compute
resources closer together to simplify hardware management and storage
provisioning. The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX does this with the two-
socket, single-width, six-drive Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c compute
sled. Using the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX, we were able to build a higher
performing vSAN cluster because it supports more high-performing
modular infrastructure components than the HPE Synergy and Cisco
UCS solutions.
Many organizations can take advantage of the innovative Dell PowerEdge
MX platform to create vSAN environments large enough to host all their
applications and workloads. To illustrate the potential resource availability
of a kinetic solution, a standard 19-inch, 42U rack of MX7000 chassis
can support any of the following configurations:
• Up to 48 two-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c compute sleds
with up to 96 Intel Xeon Scalable processors and 2,688 cores;
options for storage include up to 288 2.5-inch SAS, SATA, or Non-
Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) drives
• Up to 24 four-socket Dell EMC PowerEdge MX840c compute sleds
with up to 96 Intel Xeon Scalable processors and 2,688 cores;
options for storage include up to 192 2.5-inch SAS, SATA, or
NVMe drives
• Up to 42 single-width Dell EMC PowerEdge MX5016s storage sleds
with up to 672 2.5-inch, dual-port 12Gb SAS hot-pluggable drives
and hot serviceable expanders for availability; IT administrators can
map the drives individually to one or more servers and can choose
PERC or HBA storage controller options to best fit workloads;
each Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 full of Dell EMC PowerEdge
MX5016s sleds requires one single-width compute sled
Kinetic infrastructure: Helping organizations realize their potential
According to Dell EMC, kinetic infrastructure delivers the benefits of a modular
data center solution while leveraging configuration flexibility at the storage-
drive level. In the future, this flexibility could extend to memory-centric devices.
Kinetic infrastructure can put the power to assign the right resources for the right
workload in the hands of IT administrators and decision‑makers.2
The PowerEdge
MX can contribute to a data center’s kinetic infrastructure and help achieve the
goal of full data center resource composability.
Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform October 2018 | 2
3. Get more infrastructure flexibility with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution offers two ways for your organization to more effectively protect data and
maintain better uptime than HPE Synergy and Cisco UCS:
• First, the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution we tested offered greater flexibility than the competition.
We loaded our MX7000 with Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c compute sleds, but you can configure the
compute, storage, and networking components of your Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 based on your
own current infrastructure needs and change components when necessary. More flexibility for compute
and storage components could, for example, allow your IT administrators to build more resilient all-
NVMe-based vSAN clusters with multiple disk groups per server. More vSAN disk groups means greater
redundancy for improved data protection and better performance.
• Second, each Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c compute sled can support up to six NVMe drives while
each HPE and Cisco compute node can support only two. Considering each solution ran a four-sled
or node vSAN cluster, the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution could have larger storage capacity in the
same amount of rack space. With the competing solutions, IT administrators would need to attach more
compute nodes or a storage node (as we did in our Synergy tests) to match the number of drives in the
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution. Increased complexity means more IT administrator labor that your
company could better spend elsewhere.
Another benefit of the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution is that it allows the use of NVMe SSDs, while the
HPE Synergy solution can use only SAS drives when using a Synergy storage node. NVMe SSDs offer design
advantages that can speed database operations and reduce input/output (I/O) overhead compared to hard disk
drives as well as SAS and SATA SSDs.
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform powered by
Intel Xeon Scalable processors*
*
Image provided by Dell EMC.
Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform October 2018 | 3
4. Maximize vSAN environments with more VMs
The modular Dell EMC PowerEdge MX allows organizations to assign the right resources for the right workload and
to change dynamically with business needs. This means maximizing vSAN environments that can scale and support
better database performance.
The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution supported 28 VMs running online transaction processing (OLTP)
workloads, while the competing HPE Synergy and Cisco UCS ReadyNode solutions supported 28 and 20 VMs,
respectively. Scaling to more than 28 VMs on the Synergy solution and 20 VMs on the Cisco UCS solution caused
storage latency levels to further exceed the critical storage latency vSAN threshold of 30 milliseconds under
heavy workloads.
As each workload instance contributes to the total orders per minute (OPM) a solution can handle, being able to
support more workloads can lead to better productivity and more application usage. The chart below shows the
number of VMs each solution supported in addition to total OPM.
Handle more transactions for Microsoft SQL Server 2016 databases
Retail, finance, and insurance organizations, among others, can all benefit from choosing a solution that handles
more database transactions. An increase in database transactions indicates that a higher number of users can place
orders, browse your catalog, and more, which can ultimately increase your revenue. The new Dell EMC PowerEdge
MX solution achieved over 1.8 million OPM and outperformed the HPE Synergy and Cisco UCS solutions by
220,347 and 625,157 OPM respectively. With the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution, more users can search, view,
or update data faster. If your organization runs e-commerce and other transactional database applications, better
performance can lead to more sales and more happy customers.
1,653,084 OPM
HPE Synergy solution
28 VMs
SQL Server transactions and VM count (higher is better)
625,000
more transactions
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution
1,248,274 OPM
Cisco UCS solution
20 VMs
1,873,431 OPM
28 VMs
up to
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5. Average latency in milliseconds (lower is better)
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution
11 ms
55.9%
lower
storage latency
up to
Cisco UCS solution
25 ms
HPE Synergy solution
18 ms
Boost application response times
When webpages and applications take too long to load, you can lose customers—and revenue. The Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX solution offered 41.3 percent shorter average response times than the HPE solution and 55.9
percent shorter average response times than the Cisco solution. Saving even fractions of a second on large-scale
operations can help increase the volume of e-commerce orders and generate more revenue.
What is vSAN?
VMware vSAN makes storage a virtual resource for your applications, reducing
the need for external storage arrays. Embedded in the hypervisor of VMware
Hyper-Converged Software solutions, vSAN clusters server‑attached flash
devices and hard disks to create a shared datastore. For more information,
visit the VMware vSAN website.
According to Dell EMC, “Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes [like the ones we used
in testing] have been pre‑configured, tested, and certified to run VMware vSAN.”3
Learn more about Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes here.
Fast computing with Intel Xeon Scalable processors
Intel Xeon Scalable processors are the latest generation of server processors from Intel, which comprises four
feature configurations designed for various workloads: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze. In our tests with
the PowerEdge MX solution, the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c nodes used Intel Xeon Platinum 8164
processors. The Intel Xeon Platinum 8164 processor contains 26 cores running at 2.00 GHz frequency,
with a Max Turbo frequency of 3.70 GHz. To learn more about Intel Xeon Scalable processors, visit
the Intel website.
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6. Manage larger workloads
While running our OLTP workload, we gathered input/output operations per second (IOPS) data for each
solution. IOPS show the number of interactions the storage can support when users access its databases, so
more IOPS can indicate the ability to handle larger and heavier workloads. Solutions that support more IOPS can,
for example, help users make purchases more quickly, view more items from a catalog, or receive more order
confirmations in a given period. The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution supported 1.1 times the IOPS of the HPE
solution and 1.5 times the IOPS of the Cisco solution. This not only demonstrates that the system can move more
data, it also indicates a higher threshold of activity without storage bottlenecks, which slow applications and
cause users to wait.
Our test tool: DVD Store 2
To create a real-world database workload, we used DVD Store Version 2.1 (DS2). DS2
models an online store where customers log in, search for products, and make purchases.
It reports these actions by showing how many orders per minute the system can handle, which
in turn demonstrates the kind of performance you could expect for your customers. DS2 also performs other
actions, such as adding new customers, to exercise the wide range of database functions you might need.
To download DS2, see https://github.com/dvdstore.
HPE Synergy solution
89,671 IOPS
1.5xthe
average operations
per second
Average IOPS (higher is better)
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution
up to99,767 IOPS
Cisco UCS solution
66,323 IOPS
Help protect vSAN clusters with fault domains
For vSAN clusters than span multiple Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 chassis or racks of chassis, you can
create fault domains to help protect against rack or chassis failure. Such failures can cause vSAN clusters to
lose necessary data center resources. According to VMware, “A fault domain consists of one or more vSAN
hosts grouped according to their physical location in the data center. When configured, fault domains enable
vSAN to tolerate failures of entire physical racks as well as failures of a single host, capacity device, network
link, or a network switch dedicated to a fault domain.” To learn more about fault domains for vSAN, visit this
VMware page in the documentation for VMware vSphere®
6.5.
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7. Conclusion
If you want better database performance and data center flexibility to meet future demand, the new, innovative
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX powered by Intel Xeon Scalable processors offers distinct architectural advantages
that can allow your organization to build high-performing, robust VMware vSAN environments. In our tests,
the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution with Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes beat HPE Synergy and Cisco UCS
ReadyNode solutions by supporting more VMs and handling more database transactions. In addition, the
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution accelerated response times for workloads and supported more IOPS,
demonstrating that the solution can better handle high-volume workloads. The Dell EMC PowerEdge MX
solution gained this performance advantage because it used only NVMe drives and supported more drives
overall than the competition. By doing more work, the flexible Dell EMC PowerEdge MX modular platform for
vSAN environments can help you grow your user base and ultimately help your organization’s bottom line.
1 The configuration we used differed in CPU, NIC, and storage from the vSAN ReadyNode configuration on the VMware
vSAN compatibility guide as of 10/30/2018. We used Intel Xeon 8164 processors, Intel Ethernet 25G 2P XXV710, and
1.6TB and 3.2TB PM1725a SSDs. The vSAN ReadyNode configuration for the PowerEdge MX740C specifies Intel Xeon
5118 processors, QLogic 41232 Dual Port 25GbE, and PM1725a SSDs (800GB capacity). We upgraded as allowed based
on this article: Bhattacharjee, Biswapati, “What You Can (and Cannot) Change in a vSAN ReadyNode™
,” accessed Octo-
ber 29, 2018, https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2017/03/14/can-cannot-change-vsan-readynode/
2 Hormuth, Robert, “Kinetic Infrastructure is the Path to Full Composability,” accessed July 27, 2018, https://blog.dellemc.
com/en-us/making-composability-kinetic/
3 “Dell EMC vSAN Ready Nodes,” accessed October 26, 2018, https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/povw/virtu-
al-san-ready-nodes?dgc=SRVR&cid=emcprd&lid=PowerEdge
To find out more about Dell EMC PowerEdge MX, visit https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/servers/modular-infrastructure.htm
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8. On August 20, 2018, we finalized the hardware and software configurations we tested. Updates for current and
recently released hardware and software appear often, so unavoidably these configurations may not represent
the latest versions available when this report appears. For older systems, we chose configurations representative
of typical purchases of those systems. We concluded hands-on testing on September 10, 2018.
Our results
The graphs below present our findings in detail.
A Principled Technologies report: Hands-on testing. Real-world results.
Cisco UCS
27
32
0
10
20
30
40
50
Peak vSAN storage latency (ms)
Critical latency level
lower is better
Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX
HPE Synergy
28 VMs 28 VMs
45
20 VMs
Cisco UCS
1,873,431
1,653,084
0
500,000
1,000,000
1,500,000
2,000,000
Total orders per minute (OPM)
higher is better
Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX
HPE Synergy
1,248,274
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9. Cisco UCS
99,767
89,671
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
Average vSAN cluster IOPS
higher is better
Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX
HPE Synergy
66,323
Cisco UCS
11
18
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Average storage latency (ms)
lower is better
Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX
HPE Synergy
25
Cisco UCS
1,304,202
1,153,890
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
Average vSAN cluster throughput (KBps)
higher is better
Dell EMC
PowerEdge MX
HPE Synergy
874,024
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10. System configuration information
The tables below present detailed information on the systems we tested.
Server enclosure
configuration information
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 Cisco UCS 5108 HPE Synergy Chassis
Power supplies
Number of power supplies 6 4 6
Vendor and model number Dell EMC
Cisco Systems Inc
N20‑PAC5‑2500W
HPE 2650W AC Titanium Hot
Plug Power Supply
Wattage of each (W) 3,000 2,500 2,650
Cooling fans
Total number of fan modules 9 8 10
Vendor and model number Dell EMC Cisco Systems Inc N20-FAN5 HPE Synergy Fan Module
I/O modules
Model
Dell EMC MX7116n Fabric
Expander Module, MX9116n
Fabric Engine
Cisco UCS 2304 HPE Synergy Frame Link Module
Occupied bays 1, 2 1, 2 1, 2
Server configuration
information
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c Cisco UCS B200 M5 HPE Synergy 480c Gen10
BIOS name and version Dell 0.4.3
Cisco
B200M5.3.2.3c.0.0307181316
HPE I42 v1.36
Operating system name and
version/build number
VMware ESXi™
6.7.0
(build 9484548)
VMware ESXi 6.7.0
(build 9484548)
VMware ESXi 6.7.0
(build 9484548)
Date of last OS
updates/patches applied
8/20/18 8/20/18 8/20/18
Power management policy Performance Performance Performance
Processor
Number of processors 2 2 2
Vendor and model Intel Xeon Platinum 8164 Intel Xeon Platinum 8164 Intel Xeon Platinum 8164
Core count (per processor) 26 26 26
Core frequency (GHz) 2.0 2.0 2.0
Stepping H0 H0 H0
Memory module(s)
Total memory in system (GB) 384 384 384
Number of memory modules 12 12 24
Vendor and model Hynix HMA84GR7AFR4N-VK UCS-MR-X32G2RS-H HPE SmartMemory 840757-091
Size (GB) 32 32 16
Type DDR4-2666V 2Rx4 DDR4-2666 DDR4-2666
Speed (MHz) 2,666 2,666 2,666
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11. Server configuration
information
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c Cisco UCS B200 M5 HPE Synergy 480c Gen10
Speed running in the server
(MHz)
2,666 2,666 2,666
Storage controller
Vendor and model Dell PERC H730P MX Cisco UCSB-LSTOR-PT
HPE Smart Array P416ie-m SR
G10
Network adapter
Vendor and model
Intel Ethernet 25G 2P XXV710
Mezz
Cisco UCS VIC 1340 Synergy 3820C 10/20 Gb CNA
The table below provides information about our vSAN clusters.
VMware vSAN cluster
information
Dell EMC vSAN cluster Cisco UCS ReadyNode HPE Synergy 480c Gen10
Number of servers in the cluster 4 4 4
Number of vSAN disk groups
per cluster
8 4 8
Cache drives
Number of drives per cluster 8 4 8
Drive vendor and model
Dell P/N 0JDMHM
(MZWLL3T2HMJP)
HGST HUSMR7680BDP301 HGST HUSMM3280ASS20
Drive size (GB) 3,200 800 800
Drive information
(interface, type)
NVMe SSD NVMe SSD SAS 12Gb/s
Capacity drives
Number of drives per cluster 16 4 16
Drive vendor and model
Dell P/N JD6CH
(MZWLL1T6HEHP)
HGST HUSMR76832BDP301 HGST HUSMR3280ASS20
Drive size (GB) 1,600 3,200 800
Drive information
(interface, type)
NVMe SSD NVMe SSD SAS 12Gb/s
vSAN configuration details
vSAN storage policy Default vSAN policy Default vSAN policy Default vSAN policy
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12. How we tested
Setting up the testbeds
The following sections detail the hardware configurations of each solution. For all solutions, we configured BIOS for maximum performance
and ensured that the following settings were identical (if available) on all the servers under test:
BIOS attribute Status
Node Interleaving Disabled
Virtualization Technology Enabled
Sub NUMA Cluster Enabled
Hardware Prefetcher Enabled
DCU Streamer Prefetcher Enabled
DCU IP Prefetcher Enabled
CPU Power Management Maximum Performance
Memory Frequency Maximum Performance
C1E Disabled
C States Disabled
Memory Patrol Scrub Disabled
Adjacent Cache Line Prefetch Enabled
Memory Refresh Rate 1x
Uncore Frequency Maximum
Energy Efficient Policy Performance
x2APIC Mode Enabled
Intel NIC DMA Channels (IOAT) / IOAT DMA Engine Enabled
SR-IOV Enabled
We also installed VMware ESXI 6.7 on compute nodes and configured two NICs for management as well as private VM, VMware vMotion,
and VMware vSAN traffic. We enabled MTU 9000 and ensured functionality by running the vmkping command between all hosts.
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13. Setting up the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution testbed
We set up two Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 chassis as follows:
• For one, we installed a Dell EMC MX9116n Fabric Engine in slot A1 and a Dell EMC MX7116n Fabric Expander Module in slot A2.
We also installed four Dell EMC PowerEdge MX740c compute nodes to be used as servers under test that host Microsoft SQL
Server VMs.
• For the other, we installed a MX7116n Fabric Expander Module in slot A1 and a MX9116n Fabric Engine in slot A2. We also
installed two MX740c compute nodes to be used as infrastructure servers that host a VMware vCenter®
server and DVD Store
load‑generating VMs.
We connected the two chassis via QSFP28DD cables and connected a top-of-rack (ToR) switch to each chassis via two 40 Gbps QSPF+
connections. The diagram below shows the Dell EMC solution configuration.
40 Gbps QSFP+ 2X 100 Gbps QSFP 28 DD
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX solution
TOR switch
Dell EMC PowerEdge MX7000 chassis with MX740c servers
4-server vSAN cluster 2x infrastructure servers
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14. Setting up the HPE Synergy solution testbed
We contacted HPE professional services to install our three-frame HPE Synergy solution. We used only two of the HPE Synergy 12000 frames
in testing. After HPE professional services set up and cabled the solution, we installed the nodes and virtual infrastructure as follows:
• For one frame, we installed four HPE Synergy 480 Gen10 compute nodes to be used as servers under test that host SQL VMs.
• For the other frame, we installed two Synergy 480 Gen10 compute nodes to be used as infrastructure servers that host a vCenter
server and DVD Store load-generating VMs. The diagram below shows the HPE solution configuration.
HPE Synergy 12000 Frame with
HPE Synergy Gen 10 servers
HPE Synergy solution
TOR switch
HPE Synergy 12000 Frame with
HPE Synergy Gen 9 servers
20 Gbps
QSFP+
40 Gbps
QSFP+
4-server vSAN cluster
2x infrastructure servers
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15. Setting up the Cisco UCS solution testbed
We set up two Cisco UCS 6332 16UP Fabric interconnects into a standard UCS cluster. For each Fabric Interconnect, we connected two 40
Gbps QSFP+ cables to a Cisco UCS 5108 chassis via a pair of Cisco UCS 2304 IO modules. We also connected each Cisco UCS 6332 16UP
Fabric Interconnect to a network top-of-rack (ToR) switch via two 40 Gbps QSFP+ modules and configured an LACP port channel.
We installed four Cisco UCS B200 M5 blades in the first Cisco UCS 5108 chassis to be used as servers under test that hosted SQL VMs.
We also installed two Cisco UCS B200 M5 blades in the second Cisco UCS 5108 chassis to be used as infrastructure servers that hosted a
vCenter server and DVD Store load-generating VMs. The diagram below shows the Cisco solution configuration.
Cisco UCS solution
TOR switch
Cisco 6332
Fab-B
Cisco UCS 5108 chassis with
B200 M5 servers
Cisco UCS 5108 chassis with
B200 M5 servers
Cisco 6332
Fab-A
40 Gbps
QSFP+
4-server vSAN cluster
2x infrastructure servers
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16. Installing VMware ESXi 6.7
1. Attach the installation media.
2. Boot the server.
3. At the VMware Installer screen, press Enter.
4. At the EULA screen, to Accept and Continue, press F11.
5. Under Storage Devices, select the appropriate virtual disk, and press Enter.
6. For the keyboard layout, select US, and press Enter.
7. Enter the root password twice, and press Enter.
8. To start the installation, press F11.
9. After the server reboots, press F2, and enter root credentials.
10. Select Configure Management Network, and press Enter.
11. Select the appropriate network adapter, and select OK.
12. Select IPv4 settings, and enter the desired IP address, subnet mask, and gateway for the server.
13. Select OK, and restart the management network.
14. Repeat steps 1 through 13 on the rest of the servers.
Deploying VMware vCenter Server 6.7
1. On a Windows server or VM, locate the VMware-VCSA installer image.
2. Mount the image, and navigate to the vcsa-ui-installer folder.
3. Double-click installer.exe.
4. Click Install.
5. Click Next.
6. Accept the terms of the license agreement, and click Next.
7. Leave “vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services Controller” selected, and click Next.
8. Enter the FQDN or IP address of the vCenter Server Appliance host.
9. Provide the server’s username and password, and click Next.
10. Accept the certificate of the host you chose to connect to by clicking Yes.
11. Provide a name and password for the vCenter Appliance, and click Next.
12. Set an appropriate Appliance Size, and click Next.
13. Select the appropriate datastore, and click Next.
14. At the Configure Network Settings page, configure the network settings as appropriate for your environment, and click Next.
15. Review your settings, and click Finish.
16. When the deployment completes, click Next.
17. At the Introduction page, click Next.
18. At the Appliance configuration page, select the time synchronization mode and SSH access settings, and click Next.
19. Select Create a new SSO domain.
20. Provide a password, and confirm it.
21. Provide an SSO Domain name and SSO Site name, and click Next.
22. At the CEIP page, click Next.
23. At the Ready to complete page, click Finish.
24. When installation completes, click Close.
25. Using the vSphere web client, log into the vCenter server using the credentials previously provided.
Creating a cluster and adding the hosts to VMware vCenter
1. Once logged into the vCenter, navigate to Hosts and Clusters.
2. Select the primary site management vCenter.
3. Right-click the vCenter object, and select New Datacenter...
4. Enter a name for the new datacenter, and click OK.
5. Right-click the new datacenter, and click New Cluster...
6. Enter vSAN as the name for the new cluster.
7. Click OK.
8. After vCenter creates the cluster, right-click the cluster, and click Add Host.
9. Enter the FQDN for the first server, and click Next.
10. Enter the root credentials for the server, and click Next.
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17. 11. To accept the server’s certificate, click Yes.
12. Review the server details, and click Next.
13. Assign the desired license, and click Next.
14. Disable Lockdown mode, and click Next.
15. Click Finish.
16. For the remaining servers in the cluster, complete steps 10 through 15.
Configuring VMware vSphere Distributed Switch
1. Navigate to the Networking tab.
2. Expand the vCenter for the cluster.
3. Right-click the datacenter, and click Distributed SwitchàDistributed Switch.
4. Enter a name for the vDS, and click Next.
5. Select Distributed switch: 6.7.0, and click Next.
6. Set the number of uplinks to two, and enter vSAN as the new default port group.
7. Click Next.
8. Review the settings, and click Finish.
9. Select the new vDS, and click the Configure tab.
10. Under Properties, click Edit...
11. Click Advanced, and for the MTU setting, type 9000.
12. Click OK.
13. On the left side of the screen, right-click the new vSAN port group that you created along with the new vDS.
14. Click Edit Settings.
15. Click VLAN, and enter the VLAN for vSAN traffic.
16. Click OK.
17. Right-click the vDS, and click Distributed Port GroupàNew Distributed Port Group.
18. Type vMotion as the name of the new port group, and click Next.
19. Under VLAN, set a VLAN for vMotion®
. Click Next.
20. Review the port group settings, and click Finish.
21. Right-click the vDS, and click Distributed Port GroupàNew Distributed Port Group.
22. Type VM_NET for the name of the new port group, and click Next.
23. Under VLAN, set a VLAN for VM_NET. Click Next.
24. Review the port group settings, and click Finish.
25. Right-click the vDS, and click Add and Manage Hosts....
26. Select Add hosts, and click Next.
27. Click + New hosts....
28. Select all the compatible hosts in vCenter cluster, and click OK.
29. Click Next.
30. Select Manage physical adapters and Manage VMkernel adapters, and click Next.
31. For each host, select each of the two networking ports, click Assign uplink, and assign them to the two uplink ports.
32. Click Next.
33. Select the first host, and click +New adapter.
34. Click an existing network, and click Browse.
35. Select the vMotion port group, and click OK.
36. Click Next.
37. Check the vMotion service to enable it, and click Next.
38. Enter the desired network information for the new VMKernel, and click Next.
39. Click OK.
40. Select the first host, and click +New adapter.
41. Click select an existing network, and click Browse.
42. Select the vSAN port group, and click OK. Click Next.
43. Check the Virtual SAN service to enable it, and click Next.
44. Enter the desired network information for the new VMKernel, and click Next. Click OK.
45. Select each of the remaining hosts individually, and repeat steps 33 through 44 for each server. Click Next.
46. Analyze the impact, and click Next.
47. Review the settings, and click Next.
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18. Enabling Virtual SAN on server cluster
1. Log into the vCenter web client, and navigate to Hosts and Clusters.
2. Expand the primary site management vCenter, and select the vSAN cluster.
3. Select the Configure tab, and under Virtual SAN, click GeneralàConfigure.
4. On the vSAN capabilities screen, click Next.
5. On the Network validation screen, click Next.
6. Select which disks to claim for cache and which disks to claim for capacity in the vSAN cluster, and click Next.
7. On the Ready to complete screen, click Finish.
Creating the SQL Server Master VM
1. In VMware vCenter, navigate to Virtual Machines.
2. To create a new VM, click the icon.
3. Leave Create a new virtual machine selected, and click Next.
4. Enter a name for the virtual machine, and click Next.
5. Place the VM on the desired host with available CPUs, and click Next.
6. Select the appropriate datastore to host the VM, and click Next.
7. Select the appropriate guest OS, and click Next.
8. In the Customize Hardware section, use the following settings:
• Set the vCPU count to four.
• Set the Memory to 8 GB.
• Add one 80GB VMDK for OS, one 50GB VMDK for database les, and one 30GB VMDK for database logs. Set OS VMDK to thin
provisioning, and set all other VMDKs to thick provisioning, eager zeroed.
• Create three additional VMware Paravirtual SCSI controllers, and assign the VMDKs to the new controllers.
• Attach the OS ISO to the CD/DVD drive.
9. Click Next.
10. Click Finish.
Installing Windows Server®
2016
1. Attach the Windows Server 2016 ISO to the virtual machine.
2. Open the VM console, and start the VM.
3. When prompted to boot from DVD, press any key.
4. When the installation screen appears, leave language, time/currency format, and input method as default, and click Next.
5. Click Install now.
6. When the installation prompts you, enter the product key.
7. Select Windows Server 2016 Datacenter Edition (Server with a GUI), and click Next.
8. Check I accept the license terms, and click Next.
9. Click Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
10. Select Drive 0 Unallocated Space, and click Next. This starts Windows automatically, and Windows will restart automatically
after completing.
11. When the Settings page appears, enter a password and confirm it. Log in with the password you set up previously.
12. Install VMware Tools in the VMs hosted on the ESXi servers.
13. From Server Manager, disable Windows Firewall.
14. Run Windows Updates.
Installing Microsoft SQL Server 2017
1. Attach the installation media ISO for SQL Server 2017 to the VM.
2. Click Run SETUP.EXE. If Autoplay does not begin the installation, navigate to the SQL Server 2017 DVD, and double-click it.
3. In the left pane, click Installation.
4. Click New SQL Server stand-alone installation or add features to an existing installation.
5. Specify Evaluation as the edition you are installing, and click Next.
6. To accept the license terms, click the checkbox, and click Next.
7. Click Use Microsoft Update to check for updates, and click Next.
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19. 8. At the Feature Selection screen, select Database Engine Services, Full-Text and Semantic Extractions for Search, Client Tools
Connectivity, and Client Tools Backwards Compatibility.
9. Click Next.
10. At the Instance configuration screen, leave the default selection of default instance, and click Next.
11. At the Server Configuration screen, accept defaults, and click Next.
12. At the Database Engine Configuration screen, select the authentication method you prefer. For our testing purposes, we selected
Mixed Mode.
13. Enter and confirm a password for the system administrator account.
14. Click Add Current user. This may take several seconds.
15. Click Next.
16. At the Ready to Install screen, click Install.
17. Close the installation window.
18. In the SQL Server Installation Center, select Install SQL Server Management Tools.
19. Click Download SQL Server Management Studio.
20. Click Run.
21. When the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio screen appears, click Install.
22. When the installation completes, click Close.
Configuring and running the DVD Store 2 benchmark
Data generation overview
We generated the data using the Install.pl script included with DVD Store version 2.1 (DS2), providing the parameters for our 20GB database
size and the database platform we used. We ran the Install.pl script on a utility system running Linux®
to generate the database schema.
After processing the data generation, we transferred the data files and schema creation files to a Windows-based system running SQL Server
2014. We built the 20GB database in SQL Server, then performed a full backup, storing the backup file remotely for quick access.
We used that backup file to restore the database when necessary.
In regards to schema creation scripts modifications, we only specified file sizes for our database. We explicitly set the file sizes higher than
necessary to ensure that no file-growth activity would affect the outputs of the test. Other than this file size modification, we created and
loaded the database in accordance to the DVD Store documentation. Specifically, we followed these steps:
1. Generate the data, and create the database and file structure using database creation scripts in the DS2 download. Make size
modifications specific to our 20GB database, and make the appropriate changes to drive letters.
2. Transfer the files from our Linux data generation system to a Windows system running SQL Server.
3. Create database tables, stored procedures, and objects using the provided DVD Store scripts.
4. Set the database recovery model to bulk-logged to prevent excess logging.
5. Load the data we generated into the database. For data loading, use the import wizard in SQL Server Management Studio. Where
necessary, retain options from the original scripts, such as Enable Identity Insert.
6. Create indices, full-text catalogs, primary keys, and foreign keys using the database-creation scripts.
7. Update statistics on each table according to database-creation scripts, which sample 18 percent of the table data.
8. On the SQL Server instance, create a ds2user SQL Server login using the following Transact SQL (TSQL) script:
USE [master]
GO
CREATE LOGIN [ds2user] WITH PASSWORD=N’’,
DEFAULT_DATABASE=[master],
DEFAULT_LANGUAGE=[us_english],
CHECK_EXPIRATION=OFF,
CHECK_POLICY=OFF
GO
9. Set the database recovery model back to full.
10. Create the necessary full text index using SQL Server Management Studio.
11. Create a database user, and map this user to the SQL Server login.
12. Perform a full backup of the database. This backup allows you to restore the databases to a pristine state.
Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform October 2018 | 19
20. Ensure greater uptime and boost VMware vSAN cluster performance with the Dell EMC PowerEdge MX platform October 2018 | 20
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DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY:
Principled Technologies, Inc. has made reasonable efforts to ensure the accuracy and validity of its testing, however, Principled Technologies, Inc. specifically disclaims
any warranty, expressed or implied, relating to the test results and analysis, their accuracy, completeness or quality, including any implied warranty of fitness for any
particular purpose. All persons or entities relying on the results of any testing do so at their own risk, and agree that Principled Technologies, Inc., its employees and its
subcontractors shall have no liability whatsoever from any claim of loss or damage on account of any alleged error or defect in any testing procedure or result.
In no event shall Principled Technologies, Inc. be liable for indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages in connection with its testing, even if advised of the
possibility of such damages. In no event shall Principled Technologies, Inc.’s liability, including for direct damages, exceed the amounts paid in connection with Principled
Technologies, Inc.’s testing. Customer’s sole and exclusive remedies are as set forth herein.
This project was commissioned by Dell EMC.
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Facts matter.®
Cloning additional SQL Server VMs
After generating the database, creating the ds2user login, and storing the backup on the Master SQL VM, we cloned the rest of our VMs
from the Master. For our testing, we created 32 SQL VMs.
1. From a web browser, log into vCenter.
2. Right-click the Master SQL VM, and select CloneàClone to Virtual Machine.
3. Select a name for the VM and a datastore location to store it, and click Next.
4. Select the compute resource which the VM will reside on, and click Next.
5. Set “Select virtual disk format” to “Same format as source.”
6. Set “VM Storage Policy” to “Keep existing VM storage policies.”
7. Select the appropriate datastore, and click Next.
8. Deselect all clone options, and click Next.
9. Review your settings, and click Next.
Running the DVD Store tests
We created a series of batch les, SQL scripts, and shell scripts to automate the complete test cycle. DVD Store outputs an orders-per-minute
metric, which is a running average calculated through the test. In this report, we report the last OPM that each target reported.
Each complete test cycle consisted of general steps:
1. Clean up prior outputs from the target system.
2. Drop the database from the target.
3. Restore the database on the target.
4. Shut down the target.
5. Reboot the target host.
6. Wait for a ping response from the server under test and the client system.
7. Let the test server idle for 10 minutes.
8. Start the DVD Store driver on the four clients.
We used the following DVD Store 2 parameters for testing:
ds2sqlserverdriver.exe --target=<target _ IP> --ramp_rate=10 --run_time=45 --n_threads=32 --db_size=20GB
--think_time=0.00 --detailed_ view=Y --warmup_time=15 --report_rate=1 --pct_newcustomers=20 --csv_
output=<drivepath>