NoSQL databases like Cassandra and Couchbase are quickly becoming key components of the modern IT infrastructure. But this modernization creates new challenges – especially for storage. Storage in the broad sense. In-memory databases perform well when there is enough memory available. However, when data sets get too large and they need to access storage, application performance degrades dramatically. Moreover, even if enough memory is available, persistent client requests can bring the servers to their knees. Join Storage Switzerland and Plexistor where you will learn: 1. What is Cassandra and Couchbase? 2. Why organizations are adopting them? 3. What are the storage challenges they create? 4. How organizations attempt to workaround these challenges. 5. How to design a solution to these challenges instead of a workaround.

1. Overcoming the Storage Challenges Cassandra
and Couchbase Create
A live panelist discussion on solving Cassandra and Couchbase
storage challenges
● Learn the Cassandra/Couchbase storage challenges
● Learn the problems with typical workarounds
● Design a cost effective, high performance solution
On Demand Webinar
For audio playback and Q&A go to:
http://bit.ly/OvercomeCass

2. Our Speakers
George Crump is the founder of Storage
Switzerland, the leading storage analyst focused on
the subjects of big data, solid state storage,
virtualization, cloud computing and data protection.
He is widely recognized for his articles, white papers,
and videos on such current approaches as all-flash
arrays, deduplication, SSDs, software-defined
storage, backup appliances, and storage networking.
He has 25 years of experience designing storage
solutions for data centers across the US.

3. ● Analyst firm focused on storage, cloud
and virtualization
● Knowledge of these markets is gained
through product testing and interaction
with end users and suppliers
● The results of this research can be
found in the articles, videos, webinars,
product analysis and case studies on
our web site:
http://storageswiss.com
Who Is Storage Switzerland?

4. Our Speakers
Sharon Azulai – CEO
Sharon is an experienced entrepreneur with a proven track
record in leading strategy, market positioning and go-to-
market for startup companies.
Dr. Amit Golander – CTO
Amit leads IT infrastructure innovations for the past decade
and a half. This includes research and development, across
storage, servers and networks.

5. Plexistor brings enterprise grade storage features such as high
availability and snapshots to big data applications like Cassandra,
Couchbase, and Spark enabling massive server consolidation and
fast recovery time.

6. What Is Cassandra And Couchbase?
● Cassandra is essentially a wide-row/column store NoSQL
database management system
● Couchbase is essentially a document NoSQL database
management system
Distributed Databases
Highly Scalable
High Performance

7. Why Are Organizations Adopting
Them?
• Changing needs - The era of now
• Traditional databases cannot deliver the
required performance
• Support NoSQL as well as SQL and are
expanding to built in support for indexing,
graphs, streams and the like
• Horizontal scale on commodity hardware
• Execute code next to the data

8. How Is Their Internal Storage Architecture
Different From Traditional Databases?

9. Distributed Architecture

10. Node Failure
Take over by other machines in the cluster

11. Cluster In Rebuild State

12. • Assumes that the active data set fits into the
aggregated memory
• Expensive
• Finite resource per machine
• Memory is volatile
• Data at temporal risk
• Long warm-up time on failure
What Are The Storage Challenges That
Cassandra And Couchbase Create?

13. What Happens When It Runs Out Of
Memory
• Spill to storage via Linux POSIX
• Storage is the bottleneck
• SSD is faster than HDD, but still
x1000 times slower than memory

14. • Over-provision servers
• High aggregated Memory budget
• Cover the peak working set size
• Use Flash storage
• At least for the CommitLog
• Data must still go through Linux I/O Stack
• Poor latency under heavy IOPS load
• Expensive
How Organization Attempt To
Workaround These Challenges

15. • Replace I/O Stack with one that can perform at
near-memory speed
• Low-latency storage can reduce server count
• Persistent storage can reduce recovery time in
case of a node failure
• In Couchbase we can eliminate the local
persistency and the transaction log to further
improve performance
How To Design A Solution To These
Challenges Instead Of A Workaround

16. Plexistor Solution

17. Product Overview

18. Memory & Storage Convergence

19. Product Architecture

21. Performance is highly sensitive to persistency/durability requirements
Replication between nodes without persistency is vulnerable to Power Failures
Data loss risk is often not well explained. Confusion leads to wasteful behavior
(#copies, Network)
Zero Cost Persistency

22. How Fast is Fast Storage?
Measured on the same SCM Hardware & Kernel
Software is the differentiator!

23. How Fast is Fast Storage?
Note that each Database use case is unique, so table rows are incomparable

24. QoS and Efficiency Comparison

25. Visit for the latest
downloads, white papers, SDM blogs and
Tech Field Day videos
Additional Resources

26. Thank you!
Storage Switzerland
http://www.storageswiss.com
georgeacrump@storageswiss.com
StorageSwiss on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/storageswiss
StorageSwiss on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/storageswiss
Plexistor
http://www.plexistor.com
Plexistor on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/plexistor
Plexistor on LinkedIN:
http://www.linkedin/company/plexistor

27. Overcoming the Storage Challenges Cassandra
and Couchbase Create
For Complete Audio and Q&A please register
for the On-Demand Version at
http://bit.ly/OvercomeCass