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SmartConnect is a software module of the PowerScale OneFS operating system that optimizes network-throughput performance and availability by enabling intelligent client connection load-balancing and failover capabilities.
Through a single host name, SmartConnect enables client connection load balancing, as well as protocol level failover of client connections across storage nodes to provide optimal utilization of the cluster’s available network connections. By leveraging an organization’s existing DNS infrastructure, SmartConnect provides universal compatibility with all client types, eliminating the need for complicated connection management on the client side. With SmartConnect, in the event of a node or path failure, file-system stability and availability are maintained for clients that support automatic path failover.
To a client system, the cluster appears as a single network element. SmartConnect automatically balances incoming client connections across all available interfaces on the PowerScale storage cluster, improving performance on the cluster by distributing the workload evenly across multiple network paths and multiple nodes.
Finally, for a PowerScale storage cluster that hosts multiple concurrent workloads in addition to end-user home directories, SmartConnect provides administrators the ability to partition workloads by type across the available node interfaces in a cluster. By maintaining multiple SmartConnect pools and minimizing the number of pools that overlap on a particular node interface, administrators can maintain sufficient network bandwidth for critical workloads on dedicated interface connections.