The RamSan-500, TMS' 12th generation solid state disk, is the most important advance in SSD technology in the last 20 years. The system is designed for high IO data warehousing, high bandwidth data acquisition, and rich media environments. The RamSan-500 is a hybrid of DDR RAM and Flash memory (NAND-SLC). The judicious use of RAM cache and advanced Flash architecture extends the usability of this hybrid device into applications with large block sequential or random writes, small block synchronous sequential writes, and any read-intensive application.

The RAM cache (16-64GB) provides sub-20 microsecond cache hit times and shelters the Flash storage from small random data accesses. The data in RAM is protected with ECC and Chipkill. The RAM cache is battery-backed up with redundant batteries.

The Flash storage (1-2TB usable capacity) is arrayed in nine RAID-3 protected hot swappable modules. The reliability of each module is further enhanced with ECC memory layouts, wear-leveling, and bad-block retirement. The RamSan-500 uses NAND-SLC Flash chips, the highest quality of Flash available on the market. The RamSan-500 is designed from the ground-up to protect data from the problems inherent to traditional Flash storage.

Performance

The RamSan-500 is the perfect combination of performance, price, and capacity. With up to 2TB of capacity, the system provides ample space for storing entire databases or frequently accessed files. Through its 4Gbit Fibre Channel or 4x InfiniBand ports the system is capable of over 100,000 random IOPS or 2 GB/second of sustained bandwidth (even with cache misses).
The RamSan-500 appears simply as a very fast drive to the network, able to act as any disk or storage system might. The RamSan-500 can accelerate numerous applications across industries. It is best known for producing dramatic performance gains in read intensive environments such as read-intensive OLTP environments, data warehousing, video on demand, and rendering.

Customers looking for high speed small block random write performance are encouraged to consider the RamSan-440.

Reliability

There is no tradeoff in reliability for this performance. The RamSan-500 includes hot swappable components or redundancies wherever physical wear is a factor, such as power supplies and Flash storage. It also includes two independent internal UPS systems to ensure that no power loss or power supply failure will stop the RamSan from flushing data from the RAM to the Flash RAID. Redundant cooling fans and redundant failover data ports (optional) are also part of the sophisticated design.

Interoperability

The RamSan-500 is designed to look like a disk to the network or operating system. Therefore, it is highly interoperable and works in virtually any enterprise environment. It can be installed in numerous environments, including Apple OS X, AIX, Solaris, Linux, HP-UX, OpenVMS and Windows. Hardware from Fibre Channel and InfiniBand vendors including Cisco, Emulex, Brocade, McData, Mellanox, QLogic, and LSI Logic easily interoperates with the RamSan.

Manageability

The RamSan-500 includes the most management features of any solid state disk. Administrators can manage the RamSan over the network or by directly connecting to the unit. The RamSan can be fully configured and monitored from either a Telnet or a browser. The front panel displays system status and allows basic management functionality as well.

Optional Feature: Turbo

The Turbo feature allows segregation of write and read data between RAM and Flash to accelerate transactional databases and mixed load applications. It can also reduce wear on the Flash memory to boost the operating life of the system. Turbo delivers microsecond response times. Turbo works by allowing administrators to lock a storage Logical Unit (LUN) entirely in high speed RAM cache, thus dedicating a portion of the cache to a specific dataset such as write-intensive metadata, redo logs, temporary space, or table spaces. The RamSan's high availability features such as redundant battery and RAID-protected Flash ensure that the data in the locked LUN is persistent, even in the event of an external power loss.

Optional Feature: E-mail Alert

Email Alert is an optional feature of the RamSan that will send an email in the event of a change in system status. This feature allows a system administrator to proactively resolve potential hardware or software problems before they escalate.

Optional Feature: DataStat-Archive

DataStat-Archive for the RamSan provides performance information that allows users to identify the I/O, bandwidth, and latency metrics for any given period of time for the past year. Using this optional feature makes it easier for customers to plan and organize their use of resources.

Optional Feature: Terawatch

For customers who have multiple units, we offer Terawatch, an optional software feature that allows management of multiple RamSans from a single management console. Terawatch is a part of the same management software program used to manage the RamSans individually; therefore no additional training is required to run Terawatch.

I/Os Per Second

• 100,000

Capacity

• 1-2 TB of Flash RAID
• 16-64 GB of DDR Cache

Bandwidth

• 2 GB per second

Latency

• Cache hit read and writes: less than 15 microseconds
• Cache miss read: less than 200 microseconds

Fibre Channel Connection

• 4-Gigabit Fibre Channel (2-Gb capable)
• 2 ports standard; up to 8 ports available
• Supports point-to-point, arbitrated loop, and switched fabric topologies
• Interoperable with Fibre Channel Host Bus Adaptors, switches, and operating systems

Management

• Browser-enabled system monitoring, management, and configuration
• SNMP supported
• Telnet management capability
• Front panel displays system status and provides basic management functionality
• Cache Management

LUN Support

• 1 to 1024 LUNs with variable capacity per LUN
• Flexible assignment of LUNs to ports
• Hardware LUN masking

Data Retention

• Redundant Battery - backed up cache
• Automatically flushes data to Flash RAID

Reliability and Availability

• Chipkill technology protects cache against memory errors up to and including loss of an entire memory chip
• Flash Layer 1: ECC (chip)
• Flash Layer 2: RAID-3 (system)
• Internal redundancies
     - Power supplies and fans
     - Backup redundant battery power
• Hot-swappable components
     - Nine Flash RAID protected modules (front access)
     - Power supplies

Cache Modes

• Write-Back
• Write-Through

Size

• 7" (4U) X 20"

Power Consumption (peak)

• 300 Watts

Weight (maximum)

• 70 lbs