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Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX), introduced in Microsoft Windows Server 2012, is designed to offload operations from the Hyper-V host to the Dell Unity storage system. Moving data using traditional methods for tasks such as migrating virtual machines, backing up data, or copying large data files can be a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. By offloading these functions, ODX lowers the Hyper-V server’s CPU and network utilization to nearly zero during copy or move operations.
ODX accelerates copy operations using a token-based mechanism for reading and writing data within the Dell Unity system. Because only the small token is transferred between the hosts, all of the actual data movement is accomplished by the Dell Unity system. When the data movement is complete, the Dell Unity system sends the acknowledgment to the host to confirm the operation is complete. Figure 37 shows how ODX works.