BlueXP™ workload factory for AWS is an intelligent optimization and automation service that uses industry best practices to design, set up, and deploy FSx for ONTAP specified to meet key workloads’ demands. Workload factory automates and simplifies storage management tasks, including calculating the potential storage costs and savings of running your workloads on the AWS Cloud.
In this post, I’ll provide a step-by-step walkthrough for using workload factory to estimate the storage cost benefits of FSx for ONTAP compared to other AWS storage services.
Read on below, where we’ll cover:
- Calculate FSx for ONTAP cost savings using workload factory
- Step-by-step walkthrough
- Cost-effective storage with FSx for ONTAP and workload factory
Calculate FSx for ONTAP cost savings using workload factory
Before diving into using workload factory to calculate cost savings, let us look at some of the necessary permissions you’ll need to carry out the analysis and cost estimation.
Workload factory offers various trust models—basic mode, read mode and automate mode—allowing you to gradually increase permissions as needed. Aligning with zero-trust principles, the initial setup requires no invasive permissions to do analysis and cost estimations. You can use read-only permissions or configure parameters without credentials to get started. This granular approach enhances security and control.
Additionally, workload factory automatically assigns configuration parameters based on best practices for different use cases. This simplifies the setup process and ensures that your environment is configured optimally for performance, security, and cost. It also doesn't require you to be an AWS or FSx for ONTAP expert, making it easy for administrators to get started. Workload factory guides you through the process, automates complex configurations that adhere to best practices, all the while providing you with a preview of your expected total cost of ownership (TCO) so you can gauge the costs before you actually deploy.
Step-by-step walkthrough
Let’s take a look at the steps involved in the discovery process that will allow you to explore savings:
- Once you log in to the workload factory console, find the Storage workload widget on the Home page and select “Go to Storage Inventory” at the bottom right.
- Click on the “Explore savings” tab in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
In this view, workload factory can explore savings using FSx for ONTAP in comparison with Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS), FSx for Windows File Server, or Amazon Elastic File System (Amazon EFS). In this walkthrough, we will select Amazon EBS.
Next, we will select the FSx for ONTAP instance to compare. This instance can either be selected from the list of existing instances or you can define a new configuration. In this walkthrough, we will select an existing instance.
To continue, click the blue “Explore savings” button.
- You’ll now be in the “Storage savings calculator” screen. In the “Use Cases” drop-down menu, select the use case that best matches your workload’s needs. The use case you select will determine the FSx for ONTAP configuration, optimized following the best practices for that use case.
For this example, we will select the “Self managed file systems” use case.
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Workload factory will now show you the costs of deploying the “Self managed file systems” workload using FSx for ONTAP compared to the costs of running that workload on Amazon EBS. The cost savings and the savings percentage using FSx for ONTAP are displayed at the top-right.
- The cost breakdown of the monthly charges is shown below the total costs. Here you can see the cost breakdown comparison based on capacity, IOPS, and throughput.
- Scroll down to see the recommended configuration details for the selected use case. These details will include:
- Region
- The deployment type (single Availability Zone)
- Total storage capacity
- Storage layout across SSD and capacity tiers
- Provisioned SSD IOPS
- Throughput capacity
- Savings from ONTAP efficiency features (65% in this case)
Workload factory adds value here, both by showing the storage cost breakdown and also by creating an FSx for ONTAP configuration that’s optimized for the target workload. This capability makes it easier for less-experienced users to set up an FSx for ONTAP instance that’s aligned with best practices right out of the box.
Next, click the “View the Calculations” button to see how these cost calculations were derived.
- In the “View the calculations” window, you can see the cost components of FSx for ONTAP and how the final cost was determined by workload factory.
- If you scroll down, you can also see the reasoning behind the cost calculations for Amazon EBS.
- Going back to the “Explore Savings” screen, you can find the option to export the savings report as a PDF. This is useful for reporting purposes and interdepartmental communication.
For example, this report can help build a compelling case for migrating to FSx for ONTAP to management or to the IT team itself.
Here is how the exported PDF will look:
- After reviewing the cost components and calculations, if you are satisfied, you have the option to save the FSx for ONTAP configuration or create a template of this configuration for future use.
To do this, click on the “Save configuration” or “Create template” buttons, respectively.
- Provide a name for the FSx for ONTAP configuration and Save.
- You can use the saved configuration to repeatedly deploy FSx for ONTAP based on that recommended configuration. Browse to the Storage workload screen, then click on “Create file system.”
- Next, click on “Load configuration” at the upper right.
- Choose the saved configuration file and then click “Load.”
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After the load completes, you'll be brought to the “Create an FSx for ONTAP file system” screen. On the right hand side here, you’ll see the workload factory Codebox. This feature generates code to automatically deploy your saved FSx for ONTAP configuration using API request, CloudFormation, or Terraform.
Here you can choose to either continue your configuration with the workload factory interface or copy and paste the generated code to execute it in the tool of your choice.
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You can also start over and do similar cost comparisons with FSx for Windows or Amazon EFS.
Here we’ll switch to a different, less demanding workload, such as backup/DR.
See that the configuration recommendations and the cost calculations change accordingly.
Cost-effective storage with FSx for ONTAP and workload factory
In this post we explored how to use workload factory to automatically estimate potential cost savings with FSx for ONTAP, from analyzing your current storage setup and exploring potential savings for different workloads.
Workload factory provides detailed projected cost comparisons between FSx for ONTAP and other storage services, while recommending optimized FSx for ONTAP configurations tailored to target workloads. These recommendations cover capacity, performance, deployment type, and the benefits of built-in efficiency features such as data compression and deduplication.
Using workload factory allows you to confidently evaluate the cost impact of migrating to FSx for ONTAP, enabling informed decisions and maximizing your cloud storage ROI. With workload factory, you gain a clear understanding of your total cost of ownership before migrating, leading to better planning and resource allocation.
Maximize FSx for ONTAP cost efficiency and simplify management with BlueXP workload factory. Learn more or get started now.
