IOmark and Evaluator Group Release Benchmark results for HP StoreVirtual 4335 Hybrid Storage

2-node StoreVirtual achieves 152 VMs with IOmark

Watch short video announcement on IOmark, with Senior Partner & Analyst, Russ Fellows

Boulder, CO June 9, 2014. IOmark and Evaluator Group announce audited benchmark results for HP’s StoreVirtual 4335, a hybrid, scale-out converged storage appliance. The HP StoreVirtual 4335 was tested using the IOmark-VM benchmark for virtual machine workloads.

The audited IOmark-VM results show that a two node, HP StoreVirtual 4335 was able to support 152 simultaneous virtual applications at an average cost of $542.22 per application using a 2-node configuration. Cost information utilized list pricing to determine cost per instance.

IOmark-VM tests real world workloads by recreating multiple instances of a standard set of virtual applications, driving actual I/O streams rather than simulations or synthetic workloads. IOmark-VM measures a standard set of applications running in a virtual machine environment. The results are audited to ensure uniform testing and reporting of results. This enables IT users to compare products using metrics that matter: price, capacity and application performance.

“HP StoreVirtual performed very well on a per node basis and with its scale-out capabilities is able to scale up performance and capacity linearly to meet increased virtual machine needs,” said Russ Fellows, Senior Partner of Evaluator Group.
“We have tested other hybrid arrays without HP’s advanced functionality or scale; the StoreVirtual 4335 delivered 20 to 25% better price / performance than competing systems.”

The StoreVirtual 4335 is a hybrid, scale-out storage appliance with iSCSI protocol connectivity. Functionality used in the benchmark included sub-LUN tiering called Adaptive Optimization with support for SSDs and HDDs and thin provisioning software. Adaptive optimization is available on both the StoreVirtual VSA and the StoreVirtual 4335

IOmark-VM

The application mix for Virtual Machine benchmark includes databases, webservers and Exchange mail servers plus for each 21 workloads it includes 1 instance of clone, deploy, boot, software upgrade, VM deletion and Storage migration (aka Storage vMotion) between storage volumes. Per the benchmark specifications, the two node, StoreVirtual 4335 supported 152 applications with a mean response time of 4.77 milli-seconds.

“HP StoreVirtual is the only platform that can deliver hybrid storage value in both a software-only virtual storage appliance as well as a converged storage appliance for greater scale and performance” said Craig Nunes, Vice President, Marketing, HP Storage. “Customers, who start with StoreVirtual VSA for their hybrid storage deployment, can non-disruptively grow into a StoreVirtual 4335 appliance and with this benchmark, be confident in the cost efficiency and performance headroom of this solution.”

The IOmark-VM benchmark requires the following to achieve passing results:

For the steady-state workload:
Total test time is 1 hour, with a measured interval of 30 minutes
Seventy percent of response times for I/O’s must not exceed 30ms
A minimum number of storage vMotion and VM clone operations must also be completed during a 1 hour test

Evaluator Group is the developer of IOmark, which is available without charge to Evaluator Group IT end user premium subscribers. Vendors, performance testing labs and channel partners may purchase to use the tool in their lab and for publishing audited results. IT end users may purchase a discounted license. An evaluation license may be obtained for 30 days for internal trials.

HP results are available at the IOmark Results website.

About IOmark

IOmark is dedicated to helping IT professionals and Vendors effectively measure and compare storage system performance while running real application workloads. IOmark-VDI was released in 2011 followed by IOmark-VM for VMware ESX server measurement in 2013. More information is available at iomark.org.

About Evaluator Group

Evaluator Group is a technology research and advisory company covering Information Management, Storage and Systems. Executives and IT Managers use Evaluator Group analysts and research on a daily basis to make informed decisions to architect and purchase systems supporting their digital data. Evaluator Groups goes beyond the technology landscape by defining requirements and gathering in-depth product knowledge along with the intricacies that will dictate long-term successful strategies.