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If your organization has been waiting to explore Kubernetes containers for your apps, an upgrade may be the right time to start. Your team can deploy and manage apps from this open-source platform, utilizing its scalability, flexibility, and ability to burst to cloud. While getting up and running with Kubernetes might present a challenge with limited IT resources, VMware vSphere 7 with Tanzu can enable your team to manage containers natively with the VMware tools and interfaces they are already familiar with.
For a hands-on perspective on exploring Kubernetes with Tanzu after upgrading, we put the AMD EPYC™ 7543P processor-powered Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 servers to the test once more. After running the mixed-workload tests with only OLTP and VDI applications against the legacy PowerEdge R630 cluster, we added another workload for the PowerEdge R6515 cluster: a multi-tier web app running in Kubernetes containers. We used Weathervane, a benchmark tool that uses a containerized real-time auction app to measure the number of simulated users (WvUsers) that can access and interact with it while maintaining the benchmark’s quality-of- service requirements.13 Our scenario targeted 2,500 WvUsers, which the Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 cluster supported in addition to the other mixed workload applications.
Comparing the Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 servers running VMware vSphere with Tanzu and supporting 2,500 WvUsers—while also running the OLTP and VDI workloads—we saw that its transactional database performance was still an improvement over that of the legacy PowerEdge R630 servers running just the two OLTP and VDI workloads (see Figure 4).
Figure 4: The number of OLTP database orders per minute each cluster achieved with the DVD Store 3 benchmark. The legacy PowerEdge R630 cluster simultaneously ran the OLTP workload and a 100-user VDI workload. The newer-generation PowerEdge R6515 cluster simultaneously ran the OLTP workload and a 100-user VDI workload while also supporting 2,500 WvUsers. Higher is better. Source: Principled Technologies.
Additionally, compared to our first tests with just the OLTP and VDI workloads, we found that the added Weathervane workload had a minimal impact on the Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 cluster’s OLTP performance, reducing OPM by only 2.6 percent.
The latest offering from AMD, 3rd Gen EPYC processors offer increased I/O with up to 32MB L3 cache per core, 7nm x86 hybrid die core, and AMD Infinity Guard security features. According to AMD, the EPYC 7543P model is well suited for workloads such as VDI, ERM/SCM/CRM apps, and value data management with NR/RDBMS.14 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors work with Dell EMC PowerEdge servers to secure data with an integrated security processor, enabling features such as Secure Root-of-Trust Technology, Secure Run Technology, and BIOS live scanning.15 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors also include Secure Encrypted Virtualization - Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP) and Encrypted State (SEV-ES).16 Learn more at https://www.amd.com/en/processors/epyc-7003-series and https://www.amd.com/en/technologies/infinity-guard..
We also saw better VDI performance from the Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 cluster simultaneously running the three workloads—OLTP, VDI, and Weathervane—than we did from the legacy cluster simultaneously running only the OLTP and VDI workloads. Figures 5 and 6 show the improved latency from the newer-generation solution.
Figure 5: Operational latency, in seconds, while performing CPU Sensitive tasks for a 100-user VDI workload with the View Planner benchmark. The legacy PowerEdge R630 cluster simultaneously ran an OLTP workload and the 100-user VDI workload. The newer-generation PowerEdge R6515 cluster simultaneously ran the OLTP workload and 100-user VDI workload while also supporting 2,500 WvUsers. Lower latency is better. Source: Principled Technologies.
Figure 6: Operational latency, in seconds, while performing Storage Sensitive tasks for a 100-user VDI workload with the View Planner benchmark. The legacy PowerEdge R630 cluster simultaneously ran an OLTP workload and the 100-user VDI workload. The newer-generation PowerEdge R6515 cluster simultaneously ran the OLTP workload and 100-user VDI workload while also supporting 2,500 WvUsers. Lower latency is better. Source: Principled Technologies.
These results indicate that compared to the legacy cluster, the Dell EMC PowerEdge R6515 server cluster’s better performance could provide the opportunity for more transactions and minimize latency for VDI users—all while enabling you to explore new possibilities for your business.
To run our Weathervane workload, we used VMware vSphere with Tanzu. According to VMware, Tanzu is a Kubernetes platform that “enables you to build, run and manage modern apps on any cloud.”17 Further, VMware aims to “help you embrace new cloud native technologies like Kubernetes by embedding them in familiar tools your team already use to manage workloads.”18 With Premium Support included with a Tanzu subscription, organizations can get up and running with training, resources, and 24/7 access to product support engineers.19
In a PT study on Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd servers, we added Tanzu to an existing vSphere environment in seven steps and with one additional license. See the report for more information: Make Kubernetes containers on Dell EMC PowerEdge R740xd servers easier to manage with VMware Tanzu.
13 Harold Rosenberg, “Weathervane 2.0: An Application-Level Performance Benchmark for Kubernetes,” accessed November 11, 2021, https://blogs.vmware.com/performance/2020/02/weathervane2-kubernetes.html.
14 “AMD EPYC 7543P,” accessed July 6, 2021, https://www.amd.com/en/products/cpu/amd-epyc-7543p.
15 “Technical White Paper: Cyber Resilient Security in Dell EMC PowerEdge Servers,” accessed December 8, 2021, https://www.delltechnologies.com/asset/en-my/products/servers/industry-market/cyber-resilient-security-with-power- edge-servers.pdf.
16 AMD EPYC 7003 Series Processors,” accessed July 6, 2021, https://www.amd.com/en/processors/epyc-7003-series..
17 “VMware Tanzu Solution Brief,” accessed November 11, 2021, https://d1fto35gcfffzn.cloudfront.net/tanzu/VMware-Tanzu-Solution-Brief-0121.pdf.
18 “For Business Leaders,” accessed November 11, 2021, https://tanzu.vmware.com/why-tanzu/business-leaders.
19 “Support,” accessed November 10, 2021, https://tanzu.vmware.com/support.