AWS AltaVault Instance Type restrictions causing performance issues to S3

[onlinedpt]

I am using an AWS AVA-c16 instance to pre-seed data from Commvault S3 bucket to Altavault S3 bucket but I am having trouble getting the performance I need.

In order to get optimized performance from an EC2 instance to a S3 bucket you need to use an instance type that supports EBS-Optimized and 10Gb network options.

I logged a case with AWS and got the following:

ME:

I tried creating a new Netapp Altavault AVA-c16 instance from the new AMI with EBS-Optimized and 10Gb network but I am restricted in the instance type I can choose for a Netapp Altavault. The only instance types available to me are c3.8xl and hs1.8xl. Neither of these support EBS-Optimized storage. So I don't know what to do to be able to launch a c4.8xl instance of a Netapp Altavault AVA-c16 appliance.

AWS:

Regarding your question about Netapp Altavalt AVA-c16 and c4.8xlarge, I've been checking the Netapp Altavalt AVA-c16 AMI and it seems c3.8xlarge is the only instance type available. Unfortunately, these AMIs are provided by NetApp and it's not possible to change the instance type, so it seems a NetApp limitation.

I logged a case with Netapp Support and got this:

With the release of the AltaVault product, NetApp is providing cloud-based offerings for Amazon and Azure. These are purchased directly from Amazon and Azure with support being available through the NetApp Community only.

What do I have to do to be allowed to launch an AVA-c16 as an c4.8xlarge instance type so I can get EBS-Optimized and 10Gb network support?

Thanks

Wayne

[chriswong]

Hi Wayne,

The AVA-c16 is a defined appliance that cannot be modified to run using a different instance type. As you've noted, c3.8xlarge is the appliance instance type used.

With regards to the performance, I would like for you to ensure that you've properly configured an AVA-c16 appliance according to the documentation, as the deployment to gain 10gbe connectivity is not available through the 1-click procedure. You can only gain access to 10gbe connectivity through a manual deployment. The documentation link:

http://mysupport.netapp.com/documentation/docweb/index.html?productID=62242&language=en-US

The Install guide for cloud appliances, Ch2, sub-section Deploying AltaVault cloud-based appliances notes:
"Manual Launch: Select this launch method if the target instance will be used in conjunction with the backup application server instance. This method provides a 10 GbE infrastructure for communication with other EC2 instances. Both the AVA-c16 and the back-up application instance should be in the same placement group."

Ensure that you are deploying the AVA-c16 to the same placement group as the CVLT server. This will provide you the 10gbe connectivity, and you should then be able to see performance improve.

If you do not see performance improve after re-deploying the AVA-c16 using the manual deployment method, please provide additional information to me as requested in the email I'll be sending you.

Regards,

Christopher

[onlinedpt]

Chris,

Thanks for the reply. This is about the 5th time I have configured the AVA-c16 for this and I haven't used the 1-click lethod as our security requirements don't allow it. I have explored all configuration options with AWS support to get the performance I need and this is what I got back.

I got this back from support and it explains the differences very well.

http://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ebs-ec2-config.html

Turns out that both c3.8xl and c4.8xl offer 10Gb interfaces but only c4.8xl offers 10Gb with EBS-optimization and that combo is the key.

The bottom line is I need the newer features of the c4 instance types to improve performance. I have already done everything possible working with AWS support to optimise the performance of the c3 instance type. The architecture of the c3 and c4 instances is the same, just the c4 offers better performance so I can't see why the AVA-c16 won't run on it fine.

Thanks

Wayne