HP StorageWorks Scalable File Share - Manual (Page 18)

Overview 1–2
1.1 Product overview
HP StorageWorks Scalable File Share Version 2.2 (based on Lustre® technology) is a product from HP that
uses the Lustre File System (from Cluster File Systems, Inc.).
An HP StorageWorks Scalable File Share (HP SFS) system is a set of independent servers and storage
subsystems combined through system software and networking technologies into a unified system that
provides a storage system for standalone servers and/or compute clusters.
This section provides an overview of HP SFS and its architecture, and is organized as follows:
• Overview of the Lustre file system (Section 1.1.1)
• Overview of HP SFS (Section 1.1.2)
• HP SFS configurations (Section 1.1.3)
1.1.1 Overview of the Lustre file system
Lustre is a design for a networked file system that is coherent, scalable, parallel, and targeted towards high
performance computing (HPC) environments. Lustre separates access to file data from access to file meta-
data. File data is accessed through an object interface, which provides a higher level of access than a basic
block store. Each logical file store is called an Object Storage Target (OST) service. Data is stored on multiple
OST services, which may be served from one or more Object Storage Servers. Scalable access to file data
is provided by the Object Storage Servers, and scalable, independent access to file meta-data is provided
by the meta-data servers (MDS servers). Lustre configuration information is distributed to client nodes
through a configuration management server.
This modular architecture allows Lustre to overcome many of the bottlenecks and deficiencies of existing file
systems. The separation of data from meta-data allows extra capability to be added easily as data or meta-
data loads increase. Because Lustre is designed for HPC environments, high performance is at the centre of
the Lustre architecture.
Lustre networking protocols are implemented using the Lustre Networking Model API ( LNET) message
passing interface. The LNET network layer provides a network-independent transport layer that allows Lustre
to operate in multiple networking environments. Network types are implemented by Lustre Networking
Device layers (LNDs).
Lustre file systems can be accessed in the same way as other POSIX-compliant file systems.
Lustre is being developed and maintained as Open Source software under the GNU General Public License
(GPL), enabling broad support for industry-standard platforms.
Figure 1-1 shows a logical overview of the architecture of Lustre and its main features, which include the
following:
• Separation of data and meta-data
• Scalable meta-data
• Scalable file data
• Efficient locking
• Object architecture