InformationWeek Storage Weblog

Why Stop At Automated Storage Tiering?

George Crump — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:29:58 -0500

Automated tiering, the transparent movement of data based on activity or type, is quickly proving itself to be a hot consideration for storage managers but why stop at automated tiering? Can�t we make the entire storage ecosystem respond automatically based on environmental conditions and its available resources?

When Controllers Fail

George Crump — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:05:08 -0500

What are the chances of a controller failing in a storage system? I don�t know the exact statistic but its safe to assume that its pretty low. When they do fail, the ramifications can be extreme, especially in the increasingly virtualized data center that counts on shared storage. Active-Active controllers provide the protection from controller failure but they are a bit of a misnomer. Both controllers are being used but they are assigned to specific workloads.

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Failure To Move

George Crump — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 15:46:28 -0500

Don MacVittie in his blog over at F5 commented recently on an article that we have written �What is File Virtualization?� indicating that we missed a key issue in dealing with how to handle it when your virtualization box goes down. While my defense could be that the subject is beyond the scope of a primer, it is not beyond the scope of this blog. If you are considering a tiered storage model then what do you do when your data mover fails?

The Case For Specialized Hardware

George Crump — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 11:59:52 -0500

As we described in the last few entries, adding storage software to standard servers or even to virtual servers is making more sense for a variety of data centers because of the increased performance capabilities of the Intel processor family. Despite this there may still be times in certain environments where there is a need for specialized storage hardware.

Cloud Storage Now

George Crump — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 10:11:50 -0500

Cloud storage is constantly being discussed in the IT media today. When you get right down to it, what can businesses really use cloud storage for now? The small office, individual user has embraced cloud storage for backups and for collaboration, but what can larger businesses use these services for?

The Future Of Storage As A Virtual Machine

George Crump — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:49:40 -0500

In our last few entries we looked at what can be done today with storage software running as virtual machines. In this entry we will consider what the future holds for storage as a virtual machine. Storage as a virtual machine may be the only way you apply data services in the future.

Storage As A Virtual Machine Details - Part Two

George Crump — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:09:28 -0500

Completing our storage as a virtual machine re-interviews were conversations we had with EMC and Nexenta. While our last entry focused on systems that leveraged virtual machines to deliver block I/O storage services these two companies are delivering something a little different, NAS services and backup services.

Don�t Just Manage Your Data -- Know it

George Crump — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:11:32 -0500

There are countless ways to manage data available to the storage manager today but most of these solutions look at data as a problem. Few take an asset view of data, understanding that it is something to be cultivated and leveraged for future use. Storage managers should do more than just manage their data, they should know it.

Storage As A Virtual Machine Part Two - Details

George Crump — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:15:00 -0500

As we dive deeper into the storage as a virtual machine concept we went back and re-interviewed some of the players in the storage as a virtual machine market, focusing specifically on what they provide. The first two conversations were with DataCore and HP. We will cover more suppliers as the series unfolds.

Data Thinkage

George Crump — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:45:52 -0500

Data storage capacity is cheap. For most environments obtaining enough capacity is no longer a challenge, it is managing that capacity that becomes the problem. Growth, especially in unstructured data, continues unabated. Deciding what data should be where is one of the biggest challenges that the storage manager has to face today. Users don�t want to think about where data should be stored and storage managers don�t have the time to think about it.

Storage Services As A Virtual Machine

George Crump — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:36:45 -0500

Traditionally storage systems and other storage related services have been delivered as customized systems. This was done to maintain performance and to reduce support costs to the manufacturers. As server technology continues to increase in performance, the concept of providing storage services as a standalone application installed on your own server hardware is becoming increasingly popular. Now with virtualization the storage as an application concept is being applied to virtual machines.

What To Do With Too Much Storage Performance

George Crump — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:37:13 -0500

I recently concluded a series that examined the components of the storage environment that can impact overall storage I/O performance. There was storage I/O bandwidth, controllers and drives. What if you are like many data centers and you don�t need to wring out every drop of storage I/O performance from your storage infrastructure? What should you do with too much storage performance?

Mainstreaming SSD

George Crump — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:43:23 -0500

Most of the major Solid State Disk (SSD) manufacturers and providers are reporting record sales both in terms of units and capacity being purchased. Much of this success is being driven by cost reductions in the technology and an increased understanding of how to best implement the technology. Mainstreaming SSD is going to require more than just price drops, its going to require intelligent leveraging of the technology.

File Virtualization, The Ultimate Cloud Gateway?

George Crump — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 10:24:46 -0500

In our last entry we talked about the use of cloud storage as a backup target, but another ideal use case for cloud storage is to use it as an archive area. Almost every IT organization has old data that they want or must keep, but are struggling with where to keep it. Its ability to identify, automatically move and transparently recall data could make file virtualization the ultimate cloud gateway.

Cloud Based Backup, Ready For Business?

George Crump — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:59:09 -0500

Cloud based backup services have been successful in the consumer space. Companies like Mozy, Carbonite and others are protecting thousands of laptops and home desktops, but can cloud based backups services move beyond protecting consumer or prosumer data and into the data center? Are cloud based backups ready for business?

Reducing Storage Complexity In Server Virtualization

George Crump — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:35:08 -0500

The storage component of a virtualized server infrastructure has been labeled as complex and expensive. In our prior entries about selecting a storage foundation we discussed what systems and protocols are available that might help simplify and reduce costs for storage in a virtualized environment. Beyond physical hardware you need software tools that can link the abstract virtual machine to the physical storage.

Understanding Hard Drive Performance

George Crump — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:43:46 -0500

In the last performance entries we discussed understanding storage bandwidth and understanding storage controllers. Next up is to understand the performance characteristics of the hard drive itself and how the mechanical hard drive can be the performance bottleneck.

InformationWeek SMB Virtual Event: Dealing With Data Centers

Fredric Paul — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:04:00 -0500

Whether your company's data center is a couple of servers stashed in a closet or a gleaming, state-of-the-art climate-controlled facility, you're still facing the same set of challenges: how to keep the IT lights on while controlling costs, take advantage of new technologies to stay competitive, and position your company for an economic recovery in the midst of the toughest times for IT that many of us can remember.

On Wednesday, October 21, 2009, help is on the way.

Here Comes Automated Storage Tiering

George Crump — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:24:35 -0500

At Storage Networking World, at least one new category in storage is coming to the forefront; Automated Storage Tiering. These are typically devices that can sit in front of your existing storage platform and allow some of it to leverage a high speed solid state front end without you manually having to move data to a Solid State Disk (SSD).

Understanding Storage Controller Performance

George Crump — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 08:52:27 -0500

Storage controllers are the engine that drives the storage system you own. They are essentially a compute engine for storage arrays. Understanding storage controller performance and what can impact storage controllers is an important step in the optimization of your storage environment. It is also something that many storage managers assume is good enough.

Hitachi Data Systems Reaches For The Cloud

Andrew Conry-Murray — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:02:27 -0500

HDS announces a move into public and private cloud storage, primarily through rebranding

Understanding Storage Bandwidth Performance

George Crump — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:06:57 -0500

Storage bandwidth is the connectivity between servers and the storage they are attached to. When it comes to understanding storage bandwidth performance you have two challenges to deal with. The first and most obvious is can the storage get the data to the application or user fast enough? The second and less obvious is can the applications and hardware those applications run on take advantage of that bandwidth?

Understanding Storage Performance

George Crump — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:50:13 -0500

For most storage managers improving storage performance is an endless loop of upgrades that are taken until the problem goes away. Understanding where to look and how to configure the environment is often a series of "best guesses" instead of a thorough understanding of it. In today's economy best guesses are not allowed. Making the right move, the first time, is critical.

Selecting A Storage Protocol For Virtualized Servers

George Crump — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:36:29 -0500

In our last entry we discussed selecting the right storage foundation and I advised that you may want to initially ignore what protocol to use. That said, part of building a storage foundation for server virtualization is selecting the protocol.

Selecting A Storage Foundation for Virtualized Servers

George Crump — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 10:13:36 -0500

The storage component of a virtualized server infrastructure has been labeled as complex. The storage and server virtualization suppliers have both tried to deliver solutions that reduce storage complexity in server virtualization projects. The challenge for virtual infrastructure administrators is that there are so many options that it can be confusing. There are several steps to take when selecting a storage foundation for virtualized servers and our next series of entries will cover these steps.