Features - Storage Innovations:

HUGE SYSTEMS MediaVault U-320RX PERFORMS IMPRESSIVELY

Huge Systems Inc, a storage solutions provider for the content creation, broadcast and delivery markets, has announced impressive performance results for its MediaVault U-320RX Dual Max RAID storage array when mated with applications running the recently released Linux 2.6.6 kernel.

Huge Systems tested a MediaVault U-320RX dual channel SCSI array with a desktop workstation running the latest Linux operating system. Configured with an Intel Westville motherboard, using an onboard Adaptec dual channel U320 chip set, a standard LMDD benchmark produced a read rate of over 460MB per second and a write rate of over 380MB per second.

"This is the fastest kernel we've ever measured," said Mike Anderson, CTO for Huge Systems. "At 460MB per second, a MediaVault U-320RX Dual Max connected to a system running Linux 2.6.6 is more than twice as fast as standard Windows XP in an equivalent configuration. These results give Linux users another compelling reason to look to Huge Systems for high performance storage solutions for an array of applications."

Huge Systems looks for the new MediaVault U-320RX gain the same notoriety that other products from the company have garnered from both users and the media. Bob Turner, technical editor with Video Systems magazine, recently awarded Huge System's SANStream GB Ethernet storage array a Making the Cut award following the product's first showing at the 2004 NAB expo. SANStream is also based on the Linux kernel.

In its Dual Max configuration, the MediaVault U-320RX offers up to 2.5TB of storage capacity and supports up to two U320 SCSI channels with a maximum of 10 disk drives. The array is optimized for non-linear video editing, content creation and delivery applications.

"Linux is performing at a level where enterprises that have rich media storage needs should seriously consider it for their file servers," continued Anderson. "Combined with Huge Systems' low cost, RAID-protected storage hardware, priced at under $10,000 for 2.5TB, Linux offers the best combination of price and performance in the market."

The Linux 2.6.6 kernel features a new I/O scheduling subsystem that dramatically increases the performance of the MediaVault array. New hardware support, software support and internal kernel improvements give Linux 2.6.6 better scalability and stability. The kernel supports a new version of XFS, which is designed to accommodate especially large file sizes (up to 4TB), and also provides hyper-threading, a new innovation from Intel.

Hyper-threading allows the Linux 2.6.6 to utilize multiple virtual processors, based on a single physical processor. This is done using simultaneous multi-tasking threading technology (SMT). Hyper-threading allows Linux to increase the number of transactions that can be processed, provide faster server response time and enable servers to handle larger workloads. This is especially beneficial when working with SD and HD content, or other rich media content, such as high resolution images or other graphical files.

Overall I/O improvements for the MediaVault array also results from other improvements to the Linux 2.6.6 kernel. The Block I/O Layer in the 2.6.6 kernel has been rewritten to improve scalability and performance.

"Many of the latest high performance server motherboards from Intel, Tyan and SuperMicro support U320 SCSI without needing a costly external host adapter," explained Anderson. "With 60 percent higher bandwidth than 2 Gb Fibre Channel, it's also a great option for cost conscious IT managers."

Anderson concluded, "We will of course continue to support all our Mac and Windows-based users, as we always have. But the availability of such impressive read/write rates for a Linux-based system makes the MediaVault U-320 RX Dual Max a compelling option. We look forward to users in the Linux arena discovering what is possible with Huge Systems."