NetApp beats WekaIO

Well, this fun Two can play at the node addition game. NetApp beat WekaIO in the SPEC SFS 20i4 software build benchmark.

WekaIO had cleanly swept the SPEC SFS 2014 results and continually topped the popular SW build test part by adding nodes to its Matrix scale-out parallel file system.

NetApp is using the same tactic, and adding nodes to its all-flash A800 array, with a 12-node system scoring 6,200 SW builds at an overall response time of 0.83 msecs. That beats WekaIO’s 5,700 and its 0.26 msecs ORT, which had beat an 8-node A800’s 4,200 SW builds at an 0.78 mess ORT.

Blocks & Files would suggest that, in price/performance terms, WekaIO with its Supermicro BigTwin server hardware, is much more cost-effective than NetApp. But NetApp has its mature software environment to offer in turn.

SPEC SFSing is turning into a duopoly, game dominated by NetApp and WekaIO. Both can keep on adding nodes to leapfrog each other.