• Overview
  • SchoonerSQL
  • Membrain
    • Benchmarking NoSQL
    • Reducing TCO through Dramatic Server Consolidation
    • Minimizing Downtime with Schooner Replication and Failover
    • 100% Memcapable Memcached
    • Using the Same Server for a Transient Cache and a Persistent Data Store
  • Supported Platforms
  • Pricing and Licensing

Reducing TCO through Dramatic Server Consolidation

Membrain™ — the smart memcached, optimized for flash memory — includes the standard memcached protocol implemented for maximum concurrency. That's how we fully exploit flash memory, DRAM, and multi-core processors to deliver unmatched performance and savings on any properly-configured x86 server from HP, Dell, or IBM (learn more about supported platforms).

Membrain lets you replace lots of traditional x86 Linux-based servers with far fewer Schooner-powered x86 Linux-based servers. We let you handle way bigger loads with way fewer nodes.

Here's a typical example of consolidation and the lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) seen by a customer with a 2-TB memcached requirement. Consolidation drives the number of servers from 32 traditional servers to 4 Membrain-powered servers, coupled with a reduction in power consumption from 18 kW to 2.5 kW. TCO is reduced by 50% over three years with the Schooner solution, when the customer buys new servers and SSDs. If you already have servers, you can install Membrain and insert flash drives, and see even more compelling economics.

The TCO comparison includes initial capital expense, maintenance, and the cost of "rack, power, and pipe" over a three-year period. The "rack, power, and pipe" estimates use rates from a typical web hosting site. The TCO computation only includes tangible costs; it does NOT include any cost savings due to the simplified administration for an 8:1 server reduction.

This analysis is based on a configuration of 32 typical x86-based Memcached servers with 32 GB of memory each. It uses a standard client workload with 1-kB average object size (randomized), 128-kB average key size (randomized), 95% gets (with 1 object per get) and 5% sets. Typical servers running Memcached, limited by DRAM capacity, use only about 1 Gb of network bandwidth and only a small fraction of the power of the available multi-core processors. The high utilization made possible by Schooner's balanced system approach enables the server consolidation; the much lower power usage of SSDs compared to DRAM yield the eight-fold improvement in throughput per watt.