French Caisse uses NetApp to move backups to object storage

NetApp continuity between storage protocols

The GIE Informatique CDC is a longstanding NetApp customer. In 2014, it replaced its NetApp block access arrays with NetApp filers and was very satisfied with how simple the transition between the two systems was.

Before studying the market more widely, Denis looked into the possibility of being able to work with object storage from the systems already deployed. It turned out that NetApp had built this possibility into its Ontap operating system. Functionality called FabricPool allows StorageGRID object storage arrays to connect with existing storage as a simple additional storage tier.

“The advantage of this solution is that there isn’t much you need to do to make it work,” says Denis. “We only needed to create rules at the level of Ontap to define at what point NAS data is pushed to StorageGRID. This rule sets up a job that executes at the required time to convert files on-the-fly to object mode.”

Another advantage with the NetApp object storage product is that it uses an algorithm, StorageGRID Webscale, to share data between different sites that are geographically distant and connect via the WAN. This functionality exactly fitted the requirements of the GIE, however.

“We use private fibre between all our sites and this works very well with the NAS cluster,” says Denis. “A master NAS can share its data with a master StorageGrid Webscale, to the right places and according to the rules.”

A simple solution that performs

The system was five months in testing, installation and putting into production. The GIE opted for twin redundant StorageGrid arrays at each site, with each in a 2U, 12-drive form factor.

For security reasons, Denis did not disclose the number of sites equipped like that, but total capacity comes to 380TB.

“We are impressed with the efficiency of the system,” says Denis. “StorageGRID arrays have spinning-disk hard drives, but according to our measurements, access to data is practically as fast as to our NAS arrays that have flash drives.”

Denis points out that, from the network point of view, traffic passes via conventional F5 load balancers. “StorageGRID takes charge of all the logic of distribution and it hasn’t been necessary to invest in dedicated S3 gateways,” he says.

Another point of satisfaction concerns maintenance. Updates are carried out without interruption to service and to each controller in turn. “This was already the case with our NAS and it’s something we really like from NetApp,” says Denis.

Each StorageGRID controller can support up to 2.14PB of capacity. The GIE intends to use its object storage for other workloads. As well as serving as storage for backups for big data, the system could be used for cold data from other NAS storage which is no longer needed in production.

“Other use cases don’t require investment in another solution,” says Denis. “We just need to create new object storage buckets in StorageGrid and to append new rules.”