Category Archives: Parallel NFS

Accelerated Data Paths of High Performance Storage is the Cornerstone of building AI

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It has been 2 months into my new role at DDN as a Solutions Architect. With many revolving doors around me, I have been trying to find the essence, the critical cog of the data infrastructure that supports the accelerated computing of the Nvidia GPU clusters. The more I read and engage, a pattern emerged. I found that cog in the supercharged data paths between the storage infrastructure systems and the GPU clusters. I will share more.

To set the context, let me start with a wonderful article I read in CIO.com back in July 2024. It was titled “Storage: The unsung hero of AI deployments“. It was music to my ears because as a long-time practitioner in the storage technology industry, it is time the storage industry gets its credit it deserves.

What is the data path?

To put it simply, a Data Path, from a storage context, is the communication route taken by the data bits between the compute system’s processing and program memory and the storage subsystem. The links and the established sessions can be within the system components such as the PCIe bus or external to the system through the shared networking infrastructure.

High speed accelerated data paths

In the world of accelerated computing such as AI and HPC, there are additional, more advanced technologies to create even faster delivery of the data bits. This is the accelerated data paths between the compute nodes and the storage subsystems. Following on, I share a few of these technologies that are lesser used in the enterprise storage segment.

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The All-Important Storage Appliance Mindset for HPC and AI projects

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I am strong believer of using the right tool to do the job right. I have said this before 2 years ago, in my blog “Stating the case for a Storage Appliance approach“. It was written when I was previously working for an open source storage company. And I am an advocate of the crafter versus assembler mindset, especially in the enterprise and high- performance storage technology segments.

I have joined DDN. Even with DDN that same mindset does not change a bit. I have been saying all along that the storage appliance model should always be the mindset for the businesses’ peace-of-mind.

My view of the storage appliance model began almost 25 years. I came into NAS systems world via Sun Microsystems®. Sun was famous for running NFS servers on general Sun Solaris servers. NFS services on Unix systems. Back then, I remember arguing with one of the Sun distributors about the tenets of running NFS over 100Mbit/sec Ethernet on Sun servers. I was drinking Sun’s Kool-Aid big time.

When I joined Network Appliance® (now NetApp®) in 2000, my worldview of putting software on general purpose servers changed. Network Appliance®, had one product family, the FAS700 (720, 740, 760) family. All NetApp® did was to serve NFS services in the beginning. They were the NAS filers and nothing else.

I was completed sold on the appliance way with NetApp®. Firstly, it was my very first time knowing such network storage services could be provisioned with an appliance concept. This was different from Sun. I was used to managing NFS exports on a Sun SPARCstation 20 to Unix clients in the network.

Secondly, my mindset began to shape that “you have to have the right tool to the job correctly and extremely well“. Well, the toaster toasts bread very well and nothing else. And the fridge (an analogy used by Dave Hitz, I think) does what it does very well too. That is what the appliance does. You definitely cannot grill a steak with a bread toaster, just like you can’t run an excellent, ultra-high performance storage services to serve the demanding AI and HPC applications on a general server platform. You have to have a storage appliance solution for High-Speed Storage.

That little Network Appliance® toaster award given out to exemplary employees stood vividly in my mind. The NetApp® tagline back then was “Fast, Simple, Reliable”. That solidifies my mindset for the high-speed storage in AI and HPC projects in present times.

DDN AI400X2 Turbo Appliance

Costs Benefits and Risks

I like to think about what the end users are thinking about. There are investments costs involved, and along with it, risks to the investments as well as their benefits. Let’s just simplify and lump them into Cost-Benefits-Risk analysis triangle. These variables come into play in the decision making of AI and HPC projects.

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