Technology
HA-AP Appliance
The Loxoll technology advantages are derived from a combination of: hardware speed, and reliability; software automation of labor-intensive operations; and fabric-based virtualization that eliminates need for labor-intensive, system configuration.
Mirroring Appliance
HA-AP mirroring appliance solutions are built around the HA engine, a high-speed, independent, SAN data mover. A patented design combines real-time OS, embedded hardware, and proprietary drivers to create an enterprise-hardened SAN appliance offering scalability, high-speed, and low-latency in a single SAN device. To achieve seamless interoperability, Loxoll's block-level virtualization technology creates a SAN connection platform that transparently mirrors stored data regardless of make, model or version of storage system, attached hosts, or operating system platform and drivers. This all-hardware hardware design also enables HA-AP appliances to protect and move SAN data at FC line speeds without affecting server or storage performance.
Fabric-based Appliance
HA-AP appliances use clustered engine pairs to form an "unbreakable," high-availability SAN device to deliver data mirroring services. Built-in block-level virtualization enables seamless connection of systems and storage of any make. No agents, additional software, or system changes are needed, greatly simplifying appliance installation and usage.
Built to Enable Enterprise-grade HA SAN
Clustering and modular redundancy create an appliance that delivers high availability with no single point of failure. In the event of power outage, the HA-AP engine re-boots in ten seconds or less. Mirroring engines are clustered to provide high-performance, enterprise-level availability, and optional disaster-recovery configuration. Embedded, all-hardware mirroring design also offers significantly higher reliability than software mirroring and RAID-based appliances.
All-Loxoll Design
Interoperability among different SAN components requires the ability to handle subtle differences in communication protocols, timing, and device behavior from countless combinations of vendors and versions – one of the reasons that most high-performance SAN solutions come from a single, rather than multiple vendors. With mirroring, failover between different RAID systems can be complicated by incompatible behavior and timing – often introduced by new drivers and software. Not only does this complicate installation and operation, but it also makes the maintenance task more difficult. Loxoll has developed software, drivers, and hardware for the HA engine that have undergone years of testing and operation in the field. The result: Loxoll delivers proven open-SAN interoperability that has withstood the test of years of different software and system releases from established vendors to startups. Bottom line: transparent, problem-free appliance operation.
How HA-AP Works
HA-AP is designed for easy operation with any mix of third-part storage systems. Each HA-AP appliance uses SAN-attached, mirroring engine clusters to provide high availability and continuous data protection while also creating redundant paths between host and storage system. Should outage occur anywhere on one of the data paths, one of two hardware-mirroring engines fails over instantly to alternate data path and storage without host interruption --- a key requirement for availability-critical environments.
Mirroring and failover is managed automatically by HA-AP, which is made transparent to system and storage via built-in SAN virtualization. To the connected host systems, HA-protected RAID appears as an "unbreakable" volume that is impervious to component outages. Data is also mirrored synchronously, ensuring continuous protection of data. No host software or drivers are needed for host systems, simplifying administration and eliminating CPU overhead.
As viewed from the host system over a FC connection, a dual-engine HA-AP appliance connects to two sets of RAID systems to create a single, active-active storage system. From a physical standpoint, HA-protected RAID arrays can also be placed in different physical locations, providing additional an added benefit of disaster protection. In the unlikely event a storage volume fails, failover from primary to mirrored storage volume proceeds by reading from the alternate data path. Failover is nearly instantaneous and, with appropriately configured systems, happens without interruption to the host applications.
Performance-wise, HA-AP dramatically raises streaming rates by alternately reading from each data path (yellow and blue above). HA-AP reads from both mirrored disk sets and effectively doubles sustained throughput.