VStorage APIs for Array Integration

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{{DISPLAYTITLE:vStorage APIs for Array Integration}} {{Infobox software | name = VAAI | logo = [[Image:Corp_Logo.png|180px|Logo]] | screenshot = vStorage APIs for Array Integration | caption = | collapsible = | author = {{Nicholas Bellinger}} | developer = {{RTS legal}} | released = {{RTS releases|VAAI|initial_date}} | discontinued = {{RTS releases|VAAI|eol_date}} | latest release version = | latest release date = | latest preview version = {{RTS releases|VAAI|preview_ver}} | latest preview date = {{RTS releases|VAAI|preview_date}} | status = {{RTS releases|VAAI|status}} | frequently updated = | programming language = C | operating system = Linux | platform = | size = | language = | genre = T10 SCSI feature | license = GNU General Public License | website = {{RTS website}} }} :''See [[Target]] for a complete overview over all fabric modules.'' The [[VMware]] '''vStorage APIs for Array Integration''' ('''VAAI''') enable seamless offload of locking and block operations onto the storage array. == Overview == [[VMware]] introduced the vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) in [[VMware vSphere|vSphere]]&nbsp;4.1 with a plugin, and provided native VAAI support with vSphere&nbsp;5. VAAI significantly enhances the integration of storage and servers by enabling seamless offload of locking and block operations onto the storage array. The {{Target}} provides native VAAI support for vSphere&nbsp;5. == Features == {{T}} and [[{{OS}}]] support the following VAAI functions: {| class="table-left" |- bgcolor=#a0c0f0 ! Name ! Primitive ! Description ! Block ! NFS ! [[{{OS}}]] |- | Atomic Test&nbsp;&amp;&nbsp;Set (ATS) | Hardware&nbsp;Assisted&nbsp;Locking<br/><code>COMPARE_AND_WRITE</code> | Enables granular locking of block storage devices, accelerating performance. | Yes | N/A | Yes |- | Zero | Block Zeroing<br/><code>WRITE_SAME</code> | Communication mechanism for thin provisioning arrays. Used when creating VMDKs. | Yes | N/A | Yes |- | Clone | Full Copy, XCopy<br/><code>EXTENDED_COPY</code> | Commands the array to duplicate data in a LUN. Used for Clone and VMotion operations. | Yes | N/A | Yes |- | Delete | Space Reclamation<br/><code>UNMAP</code> | Allow thin provisioned arrays to clear unused VMFS space. | Yes | Yes | Yes<br/><small>Disabled</small> |} The presence of VAAI and its features can be verified from the VMware ESX&nbsp;5 CLI as follows: <pre> ~ # esxcli storage core device vaai status get naa.6001405a2e547c17329487b865d1a66e VAAI Plugin Name: ATS Status: supported Clone Status: supported Zero Status: supported Delete Status: unsupported </pre> {{Ambox| type=note| head=Delete is disabled| text=Delete is disabled per default, see [[#Delete|below]] for more details.}} == Primitives == === ATS === ATS is arguably one of the most valuable storage technologies to come out of VMware. It enables locking of block storage devices at much finer granularity than with the preceding T10 [[Persistent Reservations]], which can only operate on full LUNs. Hence, ATS allows more concurrency and thus significantly higher performance for shared LUNs. For instance, Hewlett-Packard reported that it can support six times more VMs per LUN with VAAI than without it. ''ATS'' uses the T10 <code>COMPARE_AND_WRITE</code> command to allow comparing and writing SCSI blocks in one atomic operation. NFS doesn’t need ATS, as locking is a non-issue and VM files aren’t shared the same way LUNs are. Feature presence can be verified from the VMware ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxcfg-advcfg -g /VMFS3/HardwareAcceleratedLocking Value of HardwareAcceleratedLocking is 1 </pre> VMware actually uses ATS depending on the underlying filesystem type and history: {| class="table-left" |- bgcolor=#a0c0f0 ! On VAAI Hardware ! New VMFS-5 ! Upgraded VMFS-5 ! VMFS-3 |- | Single-extent datastore reservations | ATS only<ref group="ATS">If a new VMFS-5 is created on a non-ATS storage device, SCSI-2 reservations will be used.</ref> | ATS but fall back to SCSI-2 reservations | ATS but fall back to SCSI-2 reservations |- | Multi-extent datastore when locks on non-head | Only allow spanning on ATS hardware<ref group="ATS">When creating a multi-extent datastore where ATS is used, the vCenter Server will filter out non-ATS devices, so that only devices that support the ATS primitive can be used.</ref> | ATS except when locks on non-head | ATS except when locks on non-head |} <references group="ATS"/> === Zero === Thin provisioning is difficult to get right because storage arrays don't know what’s going on in the hosts. VAAI includes a generic interface for communicating free space, thus allowing large ranges of blocks to be zeroed out at once. ''Zero'' uses the T10 <code>WRITE_SAME</code> command, and defaults to a 1&nbsp;MB block size. Zeroing only works for capacity inside a VMDK. vSphere&nbsp;5 can use <code>WRITE_SAME</code> in conjunction with the T10 <code>UNMAP</code> command. Feature presence can be verified from the VMware ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxcfg-advcfg -g /DataMover/HardwareAcceleratedInit Value of HardwareAcceleratedInit is 1 </pre> To disable ''Zero'' from the ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxcfg-advcfg -s 0 /DataMover/HardwareAcceleratedInit Value of HardwareAcceleratedInit is 0 </pre> This change takes immediate effect, without requiring a 'Rescan All' from VMware. === Clone === This is the signature VAAI command. Instead of reading each block of data from the array and then writing it back, the ESX hypervisor can command the array to duplicate a range of data on its behalf. If ''Clone'' is supported and enabled, VMware operations like VM cloning and VM vMotion can become very fast. Speed-ups of a factor of ten or more are achievable, particularly on fast flash-based backstores over slow network links, such as 1&nbsp;GbE. ''Clone'' uses the T10 <code>EXTENDED_COPY</code> command, and defaults to a 4&nbsp;MB block size. Feature presence can be verified from the VMware ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxcfg-advcfg -g /DataMover/HardwareAcceleratedMove Value of HardwareAcceleratedMove is 1 </pre> To disable ''Clone'' from the ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxcfg-advcfg -s 0 /DataMover/HardwareAcceleratedMove Value of HardwareAcceleratedMove is 0 </pre> This change takes immediate effect, without requiring a 'Rescan All' from VMware. === Delete === VMFS operations like cloning and vMotion didn’t include any hints to the storage array to clear unused VMFS space. Hence, some of the biggest storage operations couldn't be accelerated or "thinned out". ''Delete'' uses the T10 <code>UNMAP</code> command to allow thin-capable arrays to offload clearing unused VMFS space. However, vCenter&nbsp;5 doesn't correctly handle waiting for the storage array to return the <code>UNMAP</code> command status, so the use of ''Delete'' is disabled per default in vSphere&nbsp;5. Feature presence can be verified from the VMware ESX&nbsp;5 CLI (the default value is '0'): <pre> ~ # esxcli --server=<my_esx_server> -u root system settings advanced list --option /VMFS3/EnableBlockDelete Type: integer Int Value: 0 Default Int Value: 0 Min Value: 0 Max Value: 1 String Value: Default String Value: Valid Characters: Description: Enable VMFS block delete </pre> To enable ''Delete'' from the ESX&nbsp;5 CLI:<ref>{{cite book| title=ESXi and vCenter Server 5 Documentation| chapter=Disable Space Reclamation| chapterurl=http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vsphere.storage.doc_50%2FGUID-EB15AF57-0AD2-414D-BE5D-3AAF4623133D.html| last=VMware| publisher=vmware.com| location=Palo Alto| date=2011-11-10| accessdate=2012-12-26}}</ref> <pre> ~ # esxcli --server=<my_esx_server> -u root system settings advanced set --int-value 1 --option /VMFS3/EnableBlockDelete Value of EnableBlockDelete is 1 </pre> Many SATA SSDs have issues handling <code>UNMAP</code> properly, so it is disabled per default in {{OS}}. To enable <code>UNMAP</code>, start the ''[[targetcli]]'' shell, enter the context of the respective backstore device, and set the ''emulate_tpu'' attribute: <pre> /backstores/iblock/fioa> set attribute emulate_tpu=1 Parameter emulate_tpu is now '1'. /backstores/iblock/fioa> </pre> Reboot the ESX host or re-login into the backstore in order to get ''Delete'' as recognized, then verify its presence from the VMware ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxcli storage core device vaai status get naa.6001405a2e547c17329487b865d1a66e VAAI Plugin Name: ATS Status: supported Clone Status: supported Zero Status: supported Delete Status: supported </pre> {{Ambox| type=note| head=Qualified backstore devices| text={{RTS short}} has successfully tested UNMAP only on Fusion-IO ioDrive PCIe flash cards so far.}} == Performance == {{Image|VMware Clone with VAAI.png|Cloning [[VMware]] VMs in 25s over 1&nbsp;GbE on an {{OS}} SAN with VAAI and Fusion-IO ioDrive PCIe flash memory.}} Performance improvements offered by VAAI can be grouped into three categories: * Reduced time to complete VM cloning and Block Zeroing operations. * Reduced use of server compute and storage network resources. * Improved scalability of VMFS datastores in terms of the number of VMs per datastore and the number of ESX servers attached to a datastore. The actual improvement seen in any given environment depends on a number of factors, discussed in the following section. In some environments, improvement may be small. === Cloning, migrating and zeroing VMs === The biggest factor for Full Copy and Block Zeroing operations is whether the limiting factor is on the front end or the back end of the storage controller. If the throughput of the storage network is slower than the backstore can handle, offloading the bulk work of reading and writing virtual disks for cloning and migration and writings zeroes for virtual disk initialization can help immensely. One example where substantial improvement is likely is when the ESX servers use 1&nbsp;GbE iSCSI to connect to an {{OS}} storage system with flash memory. The front end at 1&nbsp;Gbps doesn't support enough throughput to saturate the back end. When cloning or zeroing is offloaded, however, only small commands with small payload go across the front, while the actual I/O is completed by the storage controller itself directly to disk. === VMFS datastore scalability === Documentation from various sources, including VMware professional services best practices, has traditionally recommended 20 to 30 VMs per VMFS datastore, and sometimes even fewer. Documents for VMware Lab Manager suggest limiting the number of ESX servers in a cluster to eight. These recommended limits are due in part to the effect of SCSI reservations on performance and reliability. Extensive use of some features, such as VMware snapshots and linked clones, can trigger large numbers of VMFS metadata updates, which require locking. Before [[vSphere]] 4.1, reliable locks on smaller objects were obtained by briefly locking the entire LUN with a SCSI [[Persistent Reservations]]. Any other server trying to access the LUN during the reservation would fail and would wait and retry up to 80 times by default. This wait and retry added to perceived latency and reduced throughput in VMs. In extreme cases, if the other server exceeded the number of retries, errors would be logged in the VMkernel logs and I/Os could return as failures to the VM. When all ESX servers sharing a datastore support VAAI, ATS can eliminate SCSI Persistent Reservations, at least reservations due to obtaining smaller locks. The result is that datastores can be scaled to more VMs and attached servers than previously. {{RTS short}} has tested up to 128 VMs in a single VMFS datastore on {{OS}}. The number of VMs was limited in testing to 128 because the maximum addressable LUN size in ESX is 2&nbsp;TB, which means that each VM can occupy a maximum of 16&nbsp;GB, including virtual disk, virtual swap, and any other files. Virtual disks much smaller than this generally do not allow enough space to be practical for an OS and any application. Load was generated and measured on the VMs by using ''iometer''. For some tests, all VMs had load. In others, such as when sets of VMs were started, stopped, or suspended, load was placed only on VMs that stayed running. Tests such as starting, stopping, and suspending numbers of VMs were run with ''iometer'' workloads running on other VMs that weren't being started, stopped, or suspended. Additional tests were run with all VMs running ''iometer'', and VMware snapshots were created and deleted as quickly as possible on all or some large subset of the VMs. The results of these tests demonstrated that performance impact measured before or without VAAI was either eliminated or substantially reduced when using VAAI, to the point that datastores could reliably be scaled to 128 VMs in a single LUN. == Statistics == The VMware ''esxtop'' command in ESX&nbsp;5 has two new sets of counters for VAAI operations available under the disk device view. Both sets of counters include the three VAAI key primitives. To view VAAI statistics using ''esxtop'', follow these steps from the ESX&nbsp;5 CLI: <pre> ~ # esxtop </pre> # Press 'u' to change to the disk device stats view. # Press 'f' to select fields, or 'o' to change their order. Note: This selects sets of counters, not individual counters. # Press 'o' to select ''VAAI Stats'' and/or 'p' to select ''VAAI Latency Stats''. # Optionally, deselect ''Queue Stats'', ''I/O Stats'', and ''Overall Latency Stats'' by pressing 'f', 'g', and 'i' respectively in order to simplify the display. # To see the whole LUN field, widen it by pressing 'L' (capital) then entering a number ('36' is wide enough to see a full NAA ID of a LUN). The output of ''esxtop'' looks similar to the following: <small><pre> 4:46:50am up 44 min, 281 worlds, 0 VMs, 0 vCPUs; CPU load average: 0.00, 0.00, 0.00 DEVICE CLONE_RD CLONE_WR CLONE_F MBC_RD/s MBC_WR/s ATS ATSF ZERO ZERO_F MBZERO/s DELETE DELETE_F MBDEL/s naa.60014050e4485b9bdc841d09478888e6 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 23 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 naa.600140515743d5195b0498b8aad6fdd2 1583 792 0 0.00 0.00 1322 0 23 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 naa.60014053937c69d44ff4e0b9e5a95398 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 naa.60014055fcf891d0c5b4a60a66942400 4746 3955 0 0.00 0.00 4402 0 45 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 naa.600140573d94f8e531d4d1ab5c8a72ef 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 23 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 naa.6001405a2e547c17329487b865d1a66e 3164 4746 0 0.00 0.00 5692 0 54 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 naa.6001405a3a17fe4483c46f994f74b4e6 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 t10.ATA_____ST3400832AS_____________ 0 0 0 0.00 0.00 0 0 0 0 0.00 0 0 0.00 </pre></small> The VAAI counters in ''esxtop'' are: {| class="table-left" |- bgcolor=#a0c0f0 ! Counter&nbsp;Name ! Description |- | DEVICE | Devices that support VAAI (LUNs on a supported storage system) are listed by their NAA ID. You can get the NAA ID for a datastore from the datastore properties in vCenter, the Storage Details—SAN view in Virtual Storage Console, or using the ''vmkfstools -P /vmfs/volumes/<datastore>'' command. {{T}} LUNs start with naa.6001405.<br/> '''Note''': Devices or datastores other than LUNs on an external storage system such as CD-ROM, internal disks (which may be physical disks or LUNs on internal RAID controllers), and NFS datastores are listed but have all zeroes for VAAI counters. |- | CLONE_RD | Number of Full Copy reads from this LUN. |- | CLONE_WR | Number of Full Copy writes to this LUN. |- | CLONE_F | Number of failed Full Copy commands on this LUN. |- | MBC_RD/s | Effective throughput of Full Copy command reads from this LUN in megabytes per second. |- | MBC_WR/s | Effective throughput of Full Copy command writes to this LUN in megabytes per second. |- | ATS | Number of successful lock commands on this LUN. |- | ATSF | Number of failed lock commands on this LUN. |- | ZERO | Number of successful Block Zeroing commands on this LUN. |- | ZERO_F | Number of failed Block Zeroing commands on this LUN. |- | MBZERO/s | Effective throughput of Block Zeroing commands on this LUN in megabytes per second. |} Counters that count operations do not return to zero unless the server is rebooted. Throughput counters are zero when no commands of the corresponding primitive are in progress. Clones between VMFS datastores and Storage VMotion operations that use VAAI increment clone read for one LUN and clone write for another LUN. In any case, the total for clone read and clone write columns should be equal. == See also == * {{Target}}, [[targetcli]] * [[{{OS}}]] * [[FCoE]], [[Fibre Channel]], [[iSCSI]], [[iSER]], [[SRP]], [[vHost]] * [[Persistent Reservations]], [[ALUA]] == References == {{reflist}} == External links == * {{LIO Admin Manual}} * RTSlib Reference Guide {{Lib Ref Guide HTML}}{{Lib Ref Guide PDF}} * {{cite video |title=RTS OS VAAI video |publisher=YouTube |url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktexAFlYUho}} * {{cite web |url=http://blog.fosketts.net/2011/11/10/complete-list-vmware-vaai-primitives/| title=A Complete List of VMware VAAI Primitives| author=Stephen Foskett| publisher=blog.fosketts.net| date=2011-11-10}} * {{cite web| url=http://www.virtuallanger.com/2011/12/06/vaai-is-this-thing-on/ |title=VAAI, Is This Thing On?? |author=Jason Langer |publisher=www.virtuallanger.com |date=2011-12-06}} * {{cite book |url=http://media.netapp.com/documents/tr-3886.pdf |title=Understanding and Using vStorage APIs for Array Integration and NetApp Storage |series=TR-3886 |author=Peter Learmonth |publisher=NetApp |location=Sunnyvale |date=November 2010}} * {{cite web |url=http://linux.sys-con.com/node/1966586 |title=vSphere 5, VAAI and the Death of the Traditional Storage Array |author=Archie Hendryx |publisher=Sys-Con |date=2011-09-04}} * {{cite web |url=http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1021976 |title=vStorage APIs for Array Integration FAQ |publisher=VMware |location=Palo Alto |date=2012-06-18}} [[Category:Hypervisors]] [[Category:Virtualization]] [[Category:Target]] __NOEDITSECTION__

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