The virtualization technology has become an IT hotspot in recent years. The easy-to-deploy and easy-to-maintain virtualized IT infrastructure delivers high IT service capability at low costs. The virtualized IT infrastructure provides the same functions as the traditional IT infrastructure does. Besides, it enhances resource availability and maximizes resource utilization. The virtualized IT infrastructure is an inevitable trend and has brought great benefits for a lot of customers.

However, many customers only use the virtualization technology to improve the utilization and management of resources on servers, but they do not adopt the virtualized IT infrastructure nor employ a comprehensive virtualization solution. As a result, advantages and features of the virtualization technology are not fully exploited.

The network storage system is an indispensable part of the virtualized IT infrastructure and plays a more important role in the virtualized IT infrastructure than it does in the physical IT infrastructure. Huawei VMware virtualized infrastructure solution optimizes and integrates the network storage system and vSphere platform, building a flexible, efficient, and reliable IT infrastructure. As a sound foundation for the enterprises' service development, this virtualized IT infrastructure reduces the bandwidth occupation on the virtualized platform, decreases server resource usage, enhances the performance and bearing capacity of the virtualized platform, and improves the utilization and management of storage resources.

Huawei VMware virtualized infrastructure solution offers a comprehensive and optimized infrastructure based on VMware vSphere 5.0. By employing the powerful Huawei OceanStore T series storage devices (T series storage devices for short) and integrating vSphere, this solution helps build a flexible, efficient, and cost-effective virtualized infrastructure. This infrastructure provides quality IT services for customers and is a sound foundation for the enterprises' service development.

Since Huawei OceanStor T series storage devices obtain the VMware vSphere 5.0 certification and support the VMware VAAI feature, they are seamlessly integrated with virtual machines. The integration simplifies data processing, decreases server resource usage, and improves the VMware infrastructure performance. T series storage devices support the VMware VASA port that allows administrators to view disk capacity, performance, mapping modes, and thin provisioning status of T series storage devices on the VMware vCenter, simplifying the management.

T series storage devices adopt intelligent storage resource management technologies such as SmartCache, SmartThin, SmartTier, and SmartQoS. Those technologies deliver functions such as thin provisioning, hotspot data access acceleration, and dynamic storage tiering. Those functions greatly optimize the VMware platform application.

T series storage devices are new-generation products designed for mid-range and high-end storage applications. They use industry-leading hardware and employ high-density disk design, hot-swappable I/O modules, and multi-dimensional data protection technologies. This enables the T series storage devices to meet the requirements of diverse service applications such as large-scale database OLTP/OLAP, high performance computing, digital media, Internet operation, centralized storage, backup, disaster recovery, and data migration. The T series storage devices ensure high application security and continuity for customers. Integrated with the VMware vSphere platform, T series storage devices provide the optimal user experience.

The preceding figure shows the VMware virtualization solution based on T series storage devices. This solution fully exploits the high performance, robust reliability, and easy management of T series storage devices to consolidate critical applications of enterprises, delivering a flexible and reliable virtualization solution.

Intelligent and Efficient Storage Platform

Multiple OceanStor devices win the leading position over its peers in the SPC-1 test. The industry-leading T series storage devices offer a reliable storage platform to the virtualized infrastructure and provide value-added functions such as SmartCache, SmartThin, SmartTier, SmartQoS that greatly improve storage efficiency.

Seamless Integration

Since T series storage devices obtain the VMware vSphere 5.0 certification including VAAI, SRM, and VASA, those devices are seamlessly integrated with vSphere. This integration reduces the network bandwidth occupation, decreases server resource usage, shortens response time, and improves the availability and business continuity of the virtualized platform.

Easy Management

T series storage devices support the VMware VASA port which allows administrators to view disk capacity, performance, mapping modes, and thin provisioning status of T series storage devices on the VMware vCenter. Administrators can maintain and manage storage devices on a single platform, simplifying management and reducing maintenance costs.

Comprehensive Reliability Protection

Hardware of T series storage devices adopts multiple technologies, meeting the carrier-class requirements on reliability. Meanwhile, the T series storage devices provide multiple functions for data protection and support VMware HA, DRS, SRM, and Huawei UltraVR, enhancing data and service security and ensuring business continuity.

This solution integrates the T series storage devices and VMware vSphere, building a flexible, efficient, and reliable virtualized IT infrastructure. The virtualized IT infrastructure helps customers fully exploit the advantages and features of the virtualization technology.