Design Decisions and Repercussions of Compression and Data Reduction in a Storage Array

All flash arrays incorporate a number of data reduction techniques to increase effective capacity and reduce overall storage costs. Compression and deduplication are two commonly employed techniques, each with multiple different strategies for implementation. Because compression and data reduction are only part of a greater data reduction strategy, one must also understand their codependent interactions with the rest of a storage system. This talk presents a structured overview of multiple different compression and deduplication technologies. The basics of each technique are presented alongside their benefits, drawbacks and impact on overall system design. This talk then augments that understanding by applying these various techniques to a sample real-world workload, demonstrating the impact of these decisions in practice.

Learning Objectives

Gain a deeper understanding of compression, deduplication and storage layout
Benefits and drawbacks of using data reduction techniques in a flash storage array
Examination of co-dependent interactions between various data reduction techniques and workload
Supplementing theory with practice via analysis of a sample workload