Is anyone using Nimble Storage Adaptive Flash Arrays for their ArcGIS Platform?

Question

Hi Everyone,

We are currently in the process of rebuilding our virtual ArcGIS Servers on a Nimble Storage Adaptive Flash Array and I am seeing random performance problems.  At this stage our SQLServer has been migrated to this storage and we have seen a decline in performance, and when comparing rendering times of imagery between the new and the old infrastructure there is an initial massive performance hit.

I know that there are lots and lots of other underlying networking hardware and OS configuration issues that could also be contributing to the issue, but at this stage I am just looking to track down any other ArcGIS Server users that are running ArcGIS Server on a Nimble so that we can start to get an idea if there any other factors that could be causing the performance issues or whether the Nimble isn't capable of handling this type of use case.

Also, as of this afternoon I am on leave for a few weeks so if any comments are left, it will be a few weeks before I can come back with any additional info etc.

Regards

Steve

GISAdmin9 · Answer

Hi Chris,

The IT guys tell me that it has 124Tb of disk storage and there is a 6Tb SSD cache in front of that.  They have said that there is no way to allocate what is in cache and what isn't.  My theory is that on the initial hit to the imagery the data is not in cache so it takes ages to drag it off the disk into cache and then serve it out.  Once it is in cache it is faster than the NetApp.  If you then run the test again it is quick.  If you don't touch the imagery for a period of time it seems to get flushed from cache so the next time it is hit it takes a long time to drag it off the disk again and into cache.  This was confirmed when running the tests 24hrs apart.  Here are some bench marks that I have done.  Some in PerfQA and some as raw disk benchmarks outside of any ArcGIS software.

In the PerfQA runs, look at the test iteration duration.

PerfQA - NetApp

---------------------------------------

RENDERING RESULTS

PerfQA Analyzer (Standalone) 10.3.0.168

---------------------------------------

Test Machine:

User:

ArcGIS Product: Desktop

ArcGIS Version: 10.3.1.4959

Map: H:\StorageSpeedTesting\NetAppSource.mxd

Date/Time: 19/05/2016 4:28:35 PM

---------------------------------------

Hardware Acceleration: Disabled

---------------------------------------

--- Iteration #1 ---

Extent #1  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 332183.623, 7187094.172, 463014.145, 7288313.999)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:35,316]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00047, 0.48561, 0.00125, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.48784

Extent #2  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 388704, 7255838, 434159, 7282970)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:35,847]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.40605, 0.00124, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.40795

Extent #3  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432883, 7247799, 436236, 7249800)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:36,283]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 1.15738, 0.00128, 0.00047, 0.00002, 1.15932

Extent #4  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 393566, 7226441, 448302, 7259111)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:37,469]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.35397, 0.00127, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.35591

Extent #5  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 409338, 7229189, 441658, 7248480)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:37,859]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.98752, 0.00127, 0.00050, 0.00002, 0.98948

Extent #6  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 322807, 7245887, 377543, 7278557)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:38,873]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.39867, 0.00123, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.40057

Extent #7  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432344, 7248328, 435018, 7249924)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:39,310]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.37011, 0.00129, 0.00059, 0.00003, 0.37217

Extent #8  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 437788, 7251023, 439102, 7251807)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:39,715]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 1.37626, 0.00129, 0.00049, 0.00002, 1.37823

Extent #9  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 434807, 7252405, 434974, 7252505)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:41,119]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.54258, 0.00128, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.54453

Extent Minimum: 0.356, Maximum: 1.378, Average: 0.677

Test iteration duration: 00:00:06.403

--- Iteration #2 ---

Extent #1  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 332183.623, 7187094.172, 463014.145, 7288313.999)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:41,712]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00017, 0.32611, 0.00131, 0.00047, 0.00002, 0.32809

Extent #2  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 388704, 7255838, 434159, 7282970)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:42,086]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.35109, 0.00129, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.35304

Extent #3  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432883, 7247799, 436236, 7249800)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:42,508]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00017, 0.31580, 0.00126, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.31773

Extent #4  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 393566, 7226441, 448302, 7259111)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:42,866]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.33235, 0.00126, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.33427

Extent #5  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 409338, 7229189, 441658, 7248480)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:43,241]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.34847, 0.00126, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.35039

Extent #6  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 322807, 7245887, 377543, 7278557)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:43,631]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.32566, 0.00126, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.32758

Extent #7  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432344, 7248328, 435018, 7249924)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:44,021]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.31893, 0.00122, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.32081

Extent #8  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 437788, 7251023, 439102, 7251807)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:44,380]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.32969, 0.00127, 0.00049, 0.00003, 0.33164

Extent #9  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 434807, 7252405, 434974, 7252505)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:44,770]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014_25cm, 0.00016, 0.35147, 0.00126, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.35340

Extent Minimum: 0.318, Maximum: 0.353, Average: 0.335

Test iteration duration: 00:00:03.462

PerfQA - Nimble

---------------------------------------

RENDERING RESULTS

PerfQA Analyzer (Standalone) 10.3.0.168

---------------------------------------

Test Machine:

User:

ArcGIS Product: Desktop

ArcGIS Version: 10.3.1.4959

Map: H:\StorageSpeedTesting\NimbleSource.mxd

Date/Time: 19/05/2016 4:28:55 PM

---------------------------------------

Hardware Acceleration: Disabled

---------------------------------------

--- Iteration #1 ---

Extent #1  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 332183.623, 7187094.172, 463014.145, 7288313.999)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:55,206]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00048, 0.42842, 0.00132, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.43072

Extent #2  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 388704, 7255838, 434159, 7282970)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:55,674]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 0.15836, 0.00148, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.16050

Extent #3  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432883, 7247799, 436236, 7249800)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:55,877]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 1.32930, 0.00134, 0.00048, 0.00002, 1.33131

Extent #4  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 393566, 7226441, 448302, 7259111)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:57,234]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 0.17589, 0.00122, 0.00050, 0.00002, 0.17779

Extent #5  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 409338, 7229189, 441658, 7248480)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:57,437]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 1.31651, 0.00138, 0.00047, 0.00002, 1.31855

Extent #6  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 322807, 7245887, 377543, 7278557)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:58,778]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 0.20759, 0.00135, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.20961

Extent #7  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432344, 7248328, 435018, 7249924)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:28:59,028]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 72.45965, 0.00133, 0.00048, 0.00002, 72.46164

Extent #8  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 437788, 7251023, 439102, 7251807)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:30:11,541]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 62.00180, 0.00135, 0.00048, 0.00002, 62.00382

Extent #9  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 434807, 7252405, 434974, 7252505)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:13,582]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 8.20153, 0.00143, 0.00049, 0.00002, 8.20363

Extent Minimum: 0.161, Maximum: 72.462, Average: 16.255

Test iteration duration: 00:02:26.628

--- Iteration #2 ---

Extent #1  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 332183.623, 7187094.172, 463014.145, 7288313.999)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:21,834]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 0.13879, 0.00130, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.14076

Extent #2  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 388704, 7255838, 434159, 7282970)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:22,021]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 0.25686, 0.00129, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.25882

Extent #3  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432883, 7247799, 436236, 7249800)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:22,333]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00017, 0.31134, 0.00131, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.31333

Extent #4  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 393566, 7226441, 448302, 7259111)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:22,692]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00018, 0.21799, 0.00136, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.22003

Extent #5  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 409338, 7229189, 441658, 7248480)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:22,957]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00015, 0.15674, 0.00131, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.15871

Extent #6  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 322807, 7245887, 377543, 7278557)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:23,160]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 0.15897, 0.00133, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.16096

Extent #7  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 432344, 7248328, 435018, 7249924)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:23,363]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 0.31232, 0.00130, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.31429

Extent #8  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 437788, 7251023, 439102, 7251807)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:23,737]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00015, 0.11939, 0.00140, 0.00049, 0.00002, 0.12145

Extent #9  (XMin, YMin, XMax, YMax = 434807, 7252405, 434974, 7252505)

Rendering Start Time: [2016-05-19 16:31:23,909]

Layer, Background, Geography, Annotation, Selection, GeoSelection, Total

BRC_2014, 0.00016, 0.09907, 0.00129, 0.00048, 0.00002, 0.10102

Extent Minimum: 0.101, Maximum: 0.314, Average: 0.199

Test iteration duration: 00:00:02.236

And here is the results of the raw disk benchmark between the two.

It quite cleary shows that there is some sort of issue, but just need to find where.

So hence trying to find anyone else using Nimble to see what their performance is like and how they have the device configured.

Regards

Steve

ChrisSmith7 · Answer

I am not familiar with Nimble, but, you mentioned imagery, and I have to wonder something... When I was in the market for a Mac Mini a couple of years ago, I went with an SSD. Apple used two drives at the time, one manufactured by Samsung, and one manufactured by Toshiba - it was pretty much luck of the draw for whichever one they installed (you couldn't choose).

Problem was, the SandForce controller on the Toshiba SSD had quite a few issues and really took performance hits when dealing with encrypted or already compressed data. Not saying that's an issue for you, but there may be something in the set-up of Nimble that is causing you strife.

Can you run any benchmarks?