Sizer FY25 Roadmap can be found under Xcelerate Suite – FY25 Roadmap & Priorities
Storage Calculator
Storage Calculator is both a standalone tool as well as a Sizer feature. Either way it is used to determine the Extent Store and Effective Capacity of a configuration the user defines. It is NOT tied to the workloads or the recommendation in the sizing scenario.
Access as a Standalone Tool
This is available on the Internet without login. The same as DesignBrewz.
https://services.nutanix.com/#/storage-capacity-calculator
Access as a Sizer Feature
This is accessed by clicking on Storage Calculator in upper right corner of Sizer user interface
Storage Calculator
Here is Storage Calculator.
The purpose of Storage Calculator is to determine either the Extent Store or the Effective Capacity of a configuration. As mentioned it is not tied to a sizing scenario.
- Extent Store is the amount of storage remaining after discounting for CVM. This is amount available for customer workloads.
- Effective Capacity is then Extent Store * Storage Efficiency + Erasure Coding savings you expect. Storage Efficiency is either none, 1.5:1, or 2:1. Examples of storage efficiency is compression and dedupe.
Defining the Configuration and Input Settings
Here are the inputs
- SSD Size – Pulldown with common SSDs currently available in various vendor models
- SSD is downstroked – If selected each drive loses 80GB for downstroking. Sizer does that in its sizing for regular SSDs but assumes no downstroking is needed for encrypted drives
- SSD quantity – This is the number of SSDs you expect in model you are sizing. Minimum is 1 as always need a SSD for parts of CVM
- HDD Size – Pulldown with common HDDs currently available in various vendor models
- HDD quantity – This is the number of HDDs you expect in model you are sizing. Min is 0 in case of All Flash
- Node Count – Number of nodes you expect
- Replication Factor – Can be RF2 or RF3
- ECX – If selected then see the % of Cold Data input
- % of Cold Data – If select ECX then this input appears and is the percentage of cold data you are expecting
- Storage Efficiency – This is the factor you expect for storage efficiency and can be none, 1.5:1, or 2:1.
- Calculate Button – NOTE: must click on calculate when make any changes above
Storage Calculator Charts
Total Usage
- The left donut chart shows the Extent Store and the CVM. Extent Store is adjusted for either RF2 or RF3 depending on the input selection. So here the extent store is adjusted for RF2 and is 7.26 TiB. The total amount of Extent Store is 2x that amount or 14.52 TiB. The adjustment was made so the customer sees amount of storage they have given the Replication Factor they prefer.
- The right donut breaks out all the CVM pieces be it stored on HDD or SSD
- Effective Capacity is above the charts. It is Extent Store * Storage Efficiency Factor + ECX savings. Again we adjust for RF level. This capacity then represents the storage available to customers at their preferred RF level and including expected benefits from storage efficiency as as well as ECX.
SSD Usage
This is a supplemental graph from Total Usage. It breaks out just the SSD portion of the Total Usage.
- Top graph shows SSD CVM and SSD Extent Store adjusted for either RF2 or RF3
- Lower graph shows all the SSD CVM elements.
HDD Usage
This is a supplemental graph from Total Usage. It breaks out just the HDD portion of the Total Usage.
- Top graph shows HDD CVM and HDD Extent Store adjusted for either RF2 or RF3
- Lower graph shows all the HDD CVM elements.
What do the letters in the SSD drive indicate?
The letters indicate different levels of endurance in terms of Drive Writes per Day (DWPD). For example, 3DWPD means you can rewrite all the data on the drive 3 times a day for its entire life that it is warranted for.
Login Information and Vendor Support
This is a common concern with various users as they will see different login approaches and vendor support
Login Approaches
My Nutanix Login – This is for registered partners and for all Nutanix employees. Most sizings will be done using this login approach. You can do a complete sizing including generating a BOM or budgetary quotes. You can not attach a BOM to a SFDC opportunity or generate a quote in SFDC.
Salesforce Login – This is for Nutanix employees with SFDC Account. This is used by Nutanix field who has access to SFDC. You can do a complete sizing including generating a BOM or budgetary quotes. You also can attach a BOM to a SFDC opportunity or generate a quote in SFDC.
Vendor Support
When you create a scenario you select what vendor the scenario should use, meaning their models. Nutanix employees have access to all current vendors.
Partners often have to be registered partners with a given vendor. When a partner logs in via My Nutanix their roles are retrieved and only those vendors are allowed.
Partners that feel they should be registered for a given vendor can send email request to: partnerhelp@nutanix.com
Prospect Sizer
For customers we do have Prospect Sizer. Same Sizer which is updated when we post a new sprint but with limitations
- Intended for a prospect to get an initial sizing for a Nutanix solution
- Not intended to be the final configuration to get a quote
- Not intended to provide full sizer capability where competitors can see what Nutanix partner will most likely bid
- What it can do
- Get a sizing for VDI, RDSH/XenApp, Server Virtualization, RAW
- Allow the prospect to do some sizings within 3 day period
- What it can not do
- No financial analysis or financial assumptions.
- No sizing details
- Set to homogenous sizing only (no mixed or manual)
- Standard sizing only (not aggressive or conservative)
- No BOM
- Limited to 3 scenarios and 3 workloads per scenario maximum
- List pricing used for determining recommendation (not margin)
- No customization allowed
- No Resiliency and Availability section
To access Prospect Sizer the customer should go here
https://productsizer.nutanix.com
If they have not registered or need to re-register they will be directed to the registration page
Workload Modules Overview
To add a workload simply click on the Add Workload link. That will pop up the Add Workload page.
As shown below there are several workload options
- VDI – This is a virtual desktop environment for different user profiles
- Xenapp – This is a virtual desktop environment for different user profiles.
- Server Virtualization – This is for users wanting to deploy web applications
- SQL Server – This is for users wanting to deploy SQL Server
- RAW Input – This is to simulate other workloads
- File Services (AFS). – This is for customers that want to store files on our infrastructure
- Once the workload type is selected you can make edits as necessary
One thing that is nice in 3.0, is that all the workload parameters are all on one page. Thus it is easier to make edits and see all the parameters at once
How to change a profile?
Many of the workloads have profiles like small, medium, large VM or SQL server. VDI has different user profiles which can be edited
How to define snapshots and Disaster Recover?
If Data Protection is set to Yes than can have following options
- Local snapshots – here snapshots are kept locally
- Local and remote snapshots – Here snapshots are in both clusters
- Disaster Recovery and Local and Remote snapshots – Here in addition to snapshots we duplicate the resources required to run the workload on the remote cluster to support asynchronous disaster recovery.
If either Remote snapshots or Disaster Recovery is expected then a Remote Cluster needs to be specified. Also Sizer needs to know the snapshot frequency in minutes, amount of change expected within a snapshot period, and number of snapshots retained. Same policy is applied to local and remote snapshots.
Scenario Page Overview
Though it looks like a complicated page it is organized neatly into different parts. Looking from upper right and going clockwise
- Sizing Options – This shows current specification on how you want Sizer to do a sizing like Automatic with All Flash, Manual, etc.
- Hardware summary. Shows the model that was recommended. Mulntiple rows cover mixed clusters with different types of nodes.
- Sizing Summary. This shows the current results for the recommendation. The dials show the utilization for cpu, RAM, HDD, SSD for all clusters combined. Later Sizer will allow for a per-cluster view
- Sizing Details. Here all the workloads are summarized and the total required resources are summed for all the workloads. In the larger table the recommendation’s sizing details are shown in terms of cpu, ram, hdd, ssd usage to cover the workloads, RF2, CVM, etc
- Workloads. In the left panel are the list of workloads in the scenario
- Actions button. Here various actions can be performed on the scenario such as downloading a BOM.
Sizing Details
Sizing Detail Video
Sizing Details:
First of all you can look at Sizing Details for each cluster or All clusters.
In the top part are the resource requirements (Cores, RAM, HDD, SSD) from one or more workloads. These numbers are computed by the workload modules. Here we have a couple workloads and the resources are totaled under Total
The bottom section is the Capacity calculations for the recommendation.
- The Raw Capacity row is the total available resources (cores, RAM, HDD, SSD) in the cluster(s). A few things need to be explained
- Cores is adjusted by specint weight and if there are memory issues like unbalanced DIMMS
- here is the tooltip which shows the adjustment. There are total of 72 physical cores in the recommendation. This is number of models * number of cpu’s per model * number of cores per cpu
- Sizer needs to adjust different core speeds as they can vary widely and SpecINt2006 is the standard used. Here it is -2.23 vs baseline processor. More information on how Applied Weight is calculated here Sizing Approaches and Logic
- Sizer does test for unbalanced dimms and here there is no issue and so adjustment = 0. More information on how Unbalanced DIMMs is accounted for is here Sizing Approaches and Logic
- Cores is adjusted by specint weight and if there are memory issues like unbalanced DIMMS
- So for Sizer in this example it assumes there are 69.77 “baseline” cores.
- Here there are 3 nodes and each node has 32GB x 8 Dimms for a total of 768GB of RAM in the recommendation
- A note of trivia, RAM is sold as GB but in reality is GiB. Since 32GB is less than 32 GiB there is no issue in marketing them in GB as customer is getting more than they expected. Sizer is very exact though and so we acknowledge its full potential of 32 GiB per DIMM and so here there are 768 GiB in the recommendation
- Converting to TiB it is 768 GiB/1024 = 0.75 TiB ( there are 1024 GiB in 1 TiB, while 1000 GB in 1 TB)
- Here there are 3 nodes and each node has 4x2TB drives for a total of 24TB of HDD in the recommendation
- Converting to TiB it is 24TB * 0.909494702 TiB/TB = 21.83 TiB
- Here there are 3 nodes and each node has 2x960GB drives for a total of 5760GB of SSD in the recommendation
- We do allocate space for downstroking (80GB per drive) for regular SSDs but no downstroking if Encrypted drives
- so here need to discount downstroking for 6 drives or 480GB. Now the net is 5760 GB – 480 GB = 5280 GB. This is 5.28 TB as there are 1000 GB per TB.
- Converting to TiB it is 5.28TB * 0.909494702 TiB/TB = 4.80 TiB
- HDD Usable Remaining Capacity = (Raw + Compression Savings + Dedupe Savings + ECX Savings – RF Overhead – CVM overhead ) / 2
- SSD Usable Remaining Capacity = (Raw + Compression Savings + Dedupe Savings + ECX Savings – RF Overhead – CVM overhead + Oplog ) / 2
- Notes:
- If All Flash, Compression Savings, Dedupe Savings , ECX Savings, RF Overhead, and CVM overhead that would be attributed to HDD’s is applied to SSDs
- For SSD Capacity,Oplog is included as part of CVM overhead for SSDs but also added back into Usable capacity as it is a Write log and so is available for user data.
- HDD Usable Remaining Capacity = (Raw + Compression Savings + Dedupe Savings + ECX Savings – RF Overhead – CVM overhead ) / 3
- SSD Usable Remaining Capacity = (Raw + Compression Savings + Dedupe Savings + ECX Savings – RF Overhead – CVM overhead + Oplog ) / 3
- Notes:
- If All Flash, Compression Savings, Dedupe Savings , ECX Savings, RF Overhead, and CVM overhead that would be attributed to HDD’s is applied to SSDs
- For SSD capacity, Oplog is included as part of CVM overhead for SSDs but also added back into Usable capacity as it is a Write log and so is available for user data.
Extent Store (Assuming RF2)
- As the tooltip indicates Extent Store is RAW less CVM. It represents the amount of storage left after CVM . Put another way it is amount storage available to the customer before workloads are added. Here workloads are not included. The workload RF copies are not included. Storage efficiencies such as compression or dedupe is not included. Extent store is a concept in the Nutanix Bible.
- HDD Extent Store (Assuming RF2) = (RAW – CVM)/2 = (21.83 – 2.63)/2 = 9.6 TiB
- SSD Extent Store (Assuming RF2) = (RAW – CVM)/2 = (4.8 – 2.03)/2 = 1.38 TiB
Extent Store (Assuming RF3)
-
What are the details on CVM overheads?
- HDD numbers can be seen by clicking the “I” button
- SSD numbers can be seen by clicking the “I” button
- In case of AF all the CVM components are applied to SSD CVM
- In this example here is the HDD
- In this example here is the SSD
Refer to Sizing Approaches and Logic for information on how these numbers are calculated
Sizing Charts
The point of Sizing Charts is simply to give exact presentation of the Sizing Details in charts. Any value in Sizing Charts is reflected in Sizing Details. Sizing Details being thorough is frankly a table with a lot of numbers. Sizing Charts then puts it in nice charts if user wants to see it. Also good to capture in proposals
Separate is Storage Calculator which allows you to enter your own set of nodes and see extent store and a derived effective capacity. That is NOT tied to the scenario in terms of workloads, recommendation, sizing details. More info on different page.
Here is the Sizing Details for a Scenario
This is sample scenario that is used to describe the charts.
Here is the Sizing Charts for this scenario
There is an option to view all charts at once. You can see there is a 1:1 coorespondance between the Sizing Details and the charts for Cores, Ram, HDD, and SSD. Also shown is the breakout for SSD CVM and HDD CVM. Maybe a technical customer wants to see the details but in graphical form and this would cover it
Each of these can be looked at individually so you can just look at what interests you
Cores
Here you see the sizing elements for Core. The tooltip shows the applied weight adjustment and memory adjustments. The donut shows the CVM, workload requirement and usable remaining cores.
RAM
This is the RAM chart. In this scenario there is 17 TiB of RAM available. CVM consumes 1 TiB, workload consumes 14.45 TiB and 2.04 TiB remaining
HDD
This shows HDD. The total amount of HDD space is RAW plus storage efficiency which in this case is just compression. Dedupe of ECX are two other technologies that save space. So because of compression savings we actually can deal with a total of 418.49 TiB. That number is the size of the donut chart. From there things that consume space would be the workload, RF overhead, and CVM. Usable remaining HDD then is 122.59 TiB. In sizing details it is reported as Usable remaining capacity (Assuming RF2) = 122.59/2 = 61.3 or Usable remaining capacity (Assuming RF3) = 122.59/3 = 40.86
SSD
This shows SSD. The total amount of SSD space is RAW plus storage efficiency which in this case is just compression. Dedupe of ECX are two other technologies that save space. For SSD (as explained in Sizing details) we do also add back oplog because being a write journal it is user space. So because of compression savings and adding back oplog we actually can deal with a total of 302.06 TiB. That number is the size of the donut chart. From there things that consume space would be the workload, RF overhead, and CVM. Usable remaining HDD then is 31.34 TiB. In sizing details it is reported as Usable remaining capacity (Assuming RF2) = 31.34/2 = 15.67 or Usable remaining capacity (Assuming RF3) = 31.34/3 = 10.45
HDD CVM
There is a chart that shows the CVM components on HDD. In case of All Flash solution all CVM components are stored in SSD
SSD CVM
There is a chart that shows the CVM components on SSD. In case of All Flash solution all CVM components are stored in SSD.
Questions
What is purpose of Storage Charts? – Simply to give a graphical picture of the numbers in Sizing Details. Here you can see Cores, RAM, HDD, SSD that is consumed and what is available for RF2 or RF3. It is tied to the scenario. Thus changing workloads or models will change the charts
What is purpose of Storage Calculator? – It is separate from the scenario in terms of workloads and recommendations. It is intended to allow user to scope amount of storage that is available for given set of nodes. It answers what is the potential storage available for those nodes.
Do I need the Storage Charts? – Since it is 100% duplicate of Sizing Details, not necessarily. It does give a graphical view though
Sizing Summary
Well the dials of course. In our user focus groups everyone loved the dials and yep we kept them. On left is the node count, power, and rack space.
What are the thresholds?
Just hover your mouse over CPU, RAM, HDD ,or SSD and can see it. However, it is 95% for CPU and RAM, 90% for HDD and 98% for SSD.
re the dials set for N+1?
Depends!! The dials show the utilization for what you configure the sizing for. So in auto, there is aggressive (n+0) , standard (n+1), conservative (n+2). In manual, you are in the driver seat and define the models (ok can only have legitimate parts for that model). So in manual the dials show you what utilization is available for the models you defined.
Cluster Views
Sizer supports multiple clusters. Each workload can be assigned to any cluster. Then in the recommendation you can view results for All Clusters or separately on a cluster by cluster basis
Here is recommendation for All Clusters, All the hardware and all the workloads are combined in one view.
The Sizing Details also reflect the sizing information for all the clusters combined.
Here is same recommendation but for just one cluster. Note just the hardware and the workloads assigned to that cluster is in the view.
The Sizing Details reflect the sizing information just for that cluster.
Alternatively can look at Rack View for All Clusters or on a cluster by cluster basis
Likewise can view Sizing Charts for All Clusters or on a cluster by cluster basis
Hardware summary
Hardware summary shows the model(s) definition of the recommendation. In a mixed cluster it may have a couple lines for different models. It also tells you what cluster the models are assigned to.
Ok show me something really cool that I’ll LOVE in Hardware Summary compared to Sizer 2.1?
Click on the “I” and you get the model details and so you DO NOT HAVE to go to MANUAL just to see the model bom !!! Ok maybe I’m a nerd but I love it ?
What do the letters in the SSD drive indicate?
The letters indicate different levels of endurance in terms of Drive Writes per Day (DWPD). For example, 3DWPD means you can rewrite all the data on the drive 3 times a day for its entire life that it is warranted for.
Do we support hybrid on non Nutanix models?
Definitely, we support all flash as well as hybrid on all vendors including Lenovo, HPE, Cisco,Dell XC, Dell PE among others..
The Hardware Compatability List [HCL] mentions the hybrid and all flash combinations supported for the different vendors.
Is Sizer aligned with Hardware Compatability List(HCL) for hardware configurations ?
Yes, Sizer, at all times is in sync with HCL on the valid configurtions for across all HW vendors. At times, certain rules that Sizer implements is mentioned as a note in HCL , so it is advisable to go through the HCL notes to avoid confusion.
For ex: In Sizer, for HPE DL380 Gen10 14LFF, using SFF SSD will show invalid configuration unless used in the rear of the server. The same is mentioned in the HPE HCL as a note in the SSD configuration section. Therefore, faced with any such situation where Sizer shows as invalid configuration, it is advisable to look through HCL notes for clarification.