Supermicro Nebulon Cloud-Defined Storage Solution

Cloud-based & AI-Op Management, Your Data & Your App Server On Premises

Solution Overview

Cloud-Defined Storage is a SaaS-based approach for on-premises, server-based enterprise storage that automates storage operations—no external array needed.

Cloud-Defined Storage (CDS), eliminates the need for a fibre channel SAN and flash storage array with a cloud-managed, server-based enterprise storage installed in Supermicro servers.

CDS is powered by a PCIe-based card called the Nebulon Services Processing Unit (SPU) pre-installed on Supermicro’s Ultra platform and a cloud-based control plane called Nebulon ON. The SPU runs a full stack of enterprise data services for shared or local storage applications, connects directly to the SSDs inside the server, and provides all the storage services needed for VMware or Linux-based applications running on that server.

Unlike Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI), no Nebulon software is installed on the server so the OS restrictions and server overhead of HCI simply don’t exist. CDS supports any OS or hypervisor, and VMs or application loads get 100% of the server’s CPU, memory and networking.

CDS administration is done entirely from the Nebulon ON cloud control plane. Automated software updates, AI-assisted remote monitoring and administration, and fleet management are all standard with the Supermicro CDS solution.

Solution Benefits

  • Reduce operational overhead by up to 75%
    Benefit from AI-assisted analytics and administration, powerful automation at-scale and software updates as-a-service with cloud-based management
  • Reduce storage costs by up to 50%
    Eliminate the expense and complexity of storage arrays and 3-tier architectures
  • Use 100% of your server for any application, any OS
    Support critical workloads without the server CPU/memory/network overhead of HCI and SDS—run any virtualized, containerized, or bare metal applications
  • No new vendor required
    The Nebulon solution and support is available as a server option from Supermicro
Solution Diagram

Nebulon ON: single-API endpoint in the cloud

  • Application owners self-provision infrastructure with customizable application templates tailored for their application clusters
  • AI-assisted administration provided through the cloud
  • API-driven automation provides universal insights and simple automation at your fingertips
  • Always up-to-date with cloud-delivered software

Nebulon Services Processing Unit (SPU)

Unlike PCIe accelerators that only offload specific storage functions, SPUs run the entire suite of enterprise data services that external storage arrays run. SPUs connect to server storage media and do not consume any server CPU/memory or network resources to run software on the application server. This makes the SPUs an ideal fit for enterprise applications in any operating environment, including container, hypervisor and bare-metal.

Server-Based

Server-Based

An AWS Nitro-like, plug and play card in your application servers transforms internal SSD capacity to shared and local enterprise-class storage, runs all enterprise data services, is hypervisor/OS agnostic and consumes ZERO server resources.
API-Driven Automation

API-Driven Automation

A cloud-control plane with API-first, AI-assisted administration provides simple automation, at-scale management including fleet management, predictive analytics, global insights and automated software updates.
Storage Operations as a Service

Storage Operations as a Service

IT Administrators can easily deliver operations as-a-service. Initiate immediate action on predicted issues, anticipate issues and prevent service disruption. New features and enhancements are available instantly through cloud-delivered updates “as-a-service”.
Self-Service Infrastructure

Self-Service Infrastructure

App owners can finally provision their own storage. With customizable application templates tailored for customer’s application clusters, eliminate the guesswork in configuring infrastructure and produces repeatable and reliable infrastructure services for modern, mission-critical workloads.

Use Cases

Virtualization

Virtualization

Modernize VMware server-storage fleets without feature sacrifice
Containers

Containers

Deploy a simple, cloud-like platform on premises for Kubernetes
SQL

SQL

Simplify single-instance or clustered SQL databases on bare metal
NoSQL

NoSQL

Bring enterprise data services to distributed NoSQL databases or message brokers
Edge

Edge

Deploy a powerful solution for infrastructure at the edge where on-site management and space/power/cost are major concerns

Supermicro–Nebulon Reference Architecture

  SYS-1029U-E Series   SYS-2029U-E Series  
  1U X11 Ultra Qty1 2U X11 Ultra Qty2
Supermicro SKU Option
  • SYS-1029U-E1CRT
  • SYS-1029U-E1CR4
  • SYS-1029U-E1CR4T
  • SYS-1029U-E1CRTP
 1
  • SYS-2029U-E1CRT
  • SYS-2029U-E1CR4
  • SYS-2029U-E1CR4T
  • SYS-2029U-E1CRTP
 1
Storage Media Option
  • Micron 5300 Pro (480GB~7.68TB)
  • Intel S4510 (480GB~7.68TB)
 6~10
  • Micron 5300 Pro (480GB~7.68TB)
  • Intel S4510 (480GB~7.68TB)
 6~24
CPU Option3
  • Intel® Xeon® 3200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 4200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 5200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 6200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 8200 series
 2
  • Intel® Xeon® 3200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 4200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 5200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 6200 series
  • Intel® Xeon® 8200 series
 2
Nebulon SPU AOC-NB-NEBSPUSM100-3Y-1U 1 AOC-NB-NEBSPUSM100-3Y 1
Nebulon ON
Subscription Option
  • SFT-NB-NEBONSPRO1Y
  • SFT-NB-NEBONSPRO3Y
 1
  • SFT-NB-NEBONSPRO1Y
  • SFT-NB-NEBONSPRO3Y
 1

1 Minimum cluster size: 3x nodes.

2 Minimum cluster size: 3x nodes.

3 Please contact nebulon-pm@supermicro.com for details on CPU limitation & configuration.

Certified Servers for Supermicro-Nebulon Reference Architecture

Supermicro Ultra

Supermicro Ultra Servers are designed to deliver the highest performance, flexibility, scalability and serviceability to demanding IT environments, and to power mission-critical Enterprise workloads. With Redundant Titanium Level (96%+) Power Supplies (1000W), Supermicro Ultra Servers are able to provide green computing solutions to our customers while delivering unrivaled performance, flexibility, scalability, and serviceability for demanding Enterprise workloads.

Ultra SuperServers support up to: 6TB DDR4 2933MHz in 24 DIMMs; SATA3 with optional SAS3 and NVMe support for increased storage bandwidth; a variety of Ultra Riser options, including built-in 1G, 10GBASE-T, 10G SFP+, and 25G Ethernet options; support for add-on SAS3 HW/SW RAID controllers and additional PCI-E 3.0 slots. Supermicro Ultra Servers is the best fit for diverse workloads and applications and can be easily reconfigured for multiple Enterprise and Data Center applications in Virtualization, Big Data, Analytics and Cloud Computing.

Ultra Benefits

  • Support for new generation X11 Solutions with Dual Intel® Xeon® Scalable processor up to 205W
  • Up to 6TB DDR4 2933MHz in 24 DIMM slots
  • 100/40/25/10G Ethernet
  • NVMe/SAS3/SATA3 Drive Bays
  • Up to 8/4 PCI-E 3.0 Expansion Slots
  • Redundant Titanium Level (96%+) Power Supplies
SYS-1029U-E1CRT/E1CR4T/E1CRTP
10x 2.5" SAS3 Flexible Network Opt.
  • Virtualization, Cloud Computing, High End Enterprise Server
  • Dual Socket P (LGA 3647) support: 2nd Gen. Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors; dual UPI up to 10.4GT/s
  • 24 DIMMs; up to 6TB 3DS ECC DDR4-2933 MHz RDIMM/LRDIMM
  • Supports Intel® Optane™ DCPMM*
  • 10 Hot-swap 2.5" drive bays; 10 SAS3 via optional AOC
  • 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16, 2 PCI-E 3.0 x8 slots (1 LP, 1 internal LP)
  • 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16 (FH, 10.5" L), 1 PCI-E 3.0 x8 (1 LP), 1 PCI-E 3.0 x16 (internal LP) - SYS-1029U-E1CR25M
  • Networking Options:
    • SYS-1029U-E1CRT - 2x 10GBase-T ports
    • SYS-1029U-E1CR4 - 4x 1GbE ports
    • SYS-1029U-E1CR4T - 4x 10GBase-T ports
    • SYS-1029U-E1CRTP - 2x 10G SFP+ ports
  • 1 Dedicated IPMI port, 2 VGA (1 rear, 1 onboard), 1 COM/Serial
  • 5 USB 3.0 (2 rear, 2 front, 1 Type A)
  • 8 heavy duty fans w/ optimal fan speed control
  • 750W Redundant Platinum Level Power Supplies

*Contact your Supermicro sales rep for more info.

SYS-2029U-E1CRT/E1CR4T/E1CRTP
24x 2.5" SAS3 Opt. 4 NVMe Flexible Network Opt.
  • Dual Socket P (LGA 3647) support: 2nd Gen. Intel® Xeon® Scalable processors; dual UPI up to 10.4GT/s
  • 24 DIMMs; up to 6TB 3DS ECC DDR4-2933 MHz RDIMM/LRDIMM
  • Supports Intel® Optane™ DCPMM*
  • 24 Hot-swap 2.5" drive bays; optional 20 SAS3 + 4 NVMe/SAS3, 2 rear Hot-swap 2.5" drive bays
  • Expansion Slots:
    • 8 PCI-E Slots: 1 PCI-E 3.0 x16, 6 PCI-E 3.0 x8, 1 Internal PCI-E 3.0 x8
    • 7 PCI-E Slots (SYS-2029U-E1CR4T): 2 PCI-E 3.0 x16, 5 PCI-E 3.0 x8
  • Networking Options:
    • SYS-2029U-E1CRT – 2x 10GBase-T ports
    • SYS-2029U-E1CR4 – 4x 1GbE ports
    • SYS-2029U-E1CR4T – 4x 10GBase-T ports
    • SYS-2029U-E1CRTP – 2x 10G SFP+ ports
  • 1 Dedicated IPMI port
  • 2 VGA (1 rear, 1 onboard), 1 Serial, 3 USB 3.0 (2 rear, 1 Type A)
  • 4 heavy duty 8cm PWM fans
  • 1000W Redundant Titanium Level (96%) Power Supplies

*Contact your Supermicro sales rep for more info.

Resources

Learn more at our Partner Site:

Nebulon logo

Global SKU