Release Notes

System configuration
6 Dell EMC SC Series: Performance and Availability | 4024-BP-SC
1 System configuration
SC Series arrays are virtualized, automated, intelligent storage systems designed with optimal combinations
of flash drives and HDDs at a competitive cost. This guide introduces specific configuration recommendations
that maximize the performance and efficiency of the SC Series system.
1.1 Essential guidelines
At the highest level, optimal design follows a few simple rules. The main principles of designing an SC Series
system for performance and efficiency include the following:
• Maximize flash capacity
• Distribute workloads across available storage resources
• Simplify the configuration
• Design for resilience
• Maintain the latest release of SCOS
1.1.1 Maximize flash capacity
SC Series arrays can have flash configurations from 0% to 100% of the total capacity. This allows you to
target specific price/performance ratios with any mix of SSDs and HDDs, then modify the mix as your needs
change. You can add more flash to boost performance or add more spinning disks as cold data volumes
grow. The more hot data that is in your environment, the more you will benefit with a larger amount of flash.
SC Series arrays tier storage at both the RAID and the disk level. Using flash provides the opportunity for the
lowest latency with the most efficient use of capacity. An SC Series system should be designed to
accommodate all the bandwidth and IOPS needs in tier 1. Capacity for this tier simply needs to accommodate
the active data. Looking at historical data from thousands of SC Series systems, the space needed in tier 1
varies from 10% to 30% of the total usable space, depending on the amount of active data on the array.
1.1.2 Distribute workloads across available resources
To maximize system performance, eliminate individual bottlenecks by involving all hardware resources. This
involves spreading host connections across as many front-end ports as possible, spreading disk drives across
back-end SAS chains where possible, and balancing volumes across both controllers.
1.1.3 Simplify the configuration
Designing for simplicity also increases the system’s flexibility, and leads to higher, more consistent
performance. Standardizing on a single-capacity drive per tier, rather than using multiple drive sizes in a disk
folder, can avoid performance issues due to short stripes (see section 2.9 for more details).
When considering the impact of certain configuration options, selecting the Recommended Storage Profile
is typically the best choice. The Recommended Storage Profile takes advantage of all tiers and provide
optimal performance and capacity.
1.1.4 Design for resilience
Hardware can fail, and SC Series storage is architected to continue providing storage services under such
conditions. Understanding the hardware limitations of different system components can help you design a
solution that provides adequate performance under failure conditions. Hardware capabilities of different
components are provided later in this document.