Power and Cooling Archives

January 25, 2018November 26, 2023

Data Infrastructure Resource Links cloud data protection tradecraft trends

Data Infrastructure Resource Links Server Storage I/O Network

By Greg Schulz – www.storageioblog.com April 28, 2018

Various data infrastructure resource links.

The following are a collection of server storageioblog data infrastructure resource links.

Where to learn more

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What This All Means

Check out the above links to data infrastructure resource links.

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2017 (vSAN and vCloud). Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO. All Rights Reserved. StorageIO is a registered Trade Mark (TM) of Server StorageIO.

November 26, 2017November 26, 2023

Data Protection Diaries Fundamental Point In Time Granularity Points of Interest

Data Protection Diaries Fundamental Point In Time Granularity

Companion to Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials – Cloud, Converged, Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft ( CRC Press 2017)

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends

By Greg Schulz – www.storageioblog.com November 26, 2017

This is Part 5 of a multi-part series on Data Protection fundamental tools topics techniques terms technologies trends tradecraft tips as a follow-up to my Data Protection Diaries series, as well as a companion to my new book Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials – Cloud, Converged, Virtual Server Storage I/O Fundamental tradecraft (CRC Press 2017).

Click here to view the previous post Part 4 Data Protection Recovery Points (Archive, Backup, Snapshots, Versions), and click here to view the next post Part 6 Data Protection Security Logical Physical Software Defined.

Post in the series includes excerpts from Software Defined Data Infrastructure (SDDI) pertaining to data protection for legacy along with software defined data centers ( SDDC), data infrastructures in general along with related topics. In addition to excerpts, the posts also contain links to articles, tips, posts, videos, webinars, events and other companion material. Note that figure numbers in this series are those from the SDDI book and not in the order that they appear in the posts.

In this post the focus is around Data Protection points of granularity, addressing different layers and stack altitude (higher application and lower system level) Chapter 10 . among others.

Point-in-Time Protection Granularity Points of Interest

SDDC SDDI Data Protection Recovery consistency points
Figure 10.1 Recovery and consistency points

Figure 10.1 above is a refresh from previous posts about the role and importance of having various recovery points at different time intervals to enable data protection (and restoration). Building upon figure 10.1, figure 10.5 looks at different granularity of where and how data should be protected. Keep in mind that everything is not the same, so why treat everything the same with the same type of protection?

Figure 10.5 shows backup and Data Protection focus, granularity, and coverage. For example, at the top left is less frequent protection of the operating system, hypervisors, and BIOS, UEFI settings. At the middle left is volume, or device level protection (full, incremental, differential), along with various views on the right ranging from protecting everything, to different granularity such as file system, database, database logs and journals, and operating system (OS) and application software, along with settings.

SDDC SDDI Different Protection Granularity
Figure 10.5 Backup and data protection focus, granularity, and coverage

In Figure 10.5, note that the different recovery point focus and granularity also take into consideration application and data consistency (as well as checkpoints), along with different frequencies and coverage (e.g. full, partial, incremental, incremental forever, differential) as well as retention.

Tip – Some context is needed about object backup and backing up objects, which can mean different things. As mentioned elsewhere, objects refer to many different things, including cloud and object storage buckets, containers, blobs, and objects accessed via S3 or Swift, among other APIs. There are also database objects and entities, which are different from cloud or object storage objects.

Another context factor is that an object backup can refer to protecting different systems, servers, storage devices, volumes, and entities that collectively comprise an application such as accounting, payroll, or engineering, vs. focusing on the individual components. An object backup may, in fact, be a collection of individual backups, PIT copies, and snapshots that combined represent what’s needed to restore an application or system.

On the other hand, the content of a cloud or object storage repository ( buckets, containers, blobs, objects, and metadata) can be backed up, as well as serve as a destination target for protection.

Backups can be cold and off-line like archives, as well as on-line and accessible. However, the difference between the two, besides intended use and scope, is granularity. Archives are intended to be coarser and less frequently accessed, while backups can be more frequently and granular accessed. Can you use a backup for an archive and vice versa? A qualified yes, as an archive could be a master gold copy such as an annual protection copy, in addition to functioning in its role as a compliance and retention copy. Likewise, a full backup set to long-term retention can provide and enable some archive functions.

Where To Learn More

Continue reading additional posts in this series of Data Infrastructure Data Protection fundamentals and companion to Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press 2017) book, as well as the following links covering technology, trends, tools, techniques, tradecraft and tips.

Part 1 – Data Infrastructure Data Protection Fundamentals
Part 2 – Reliability, Availability, Serviceability ( RAS) Data Protection Fundamentals
Part 3 – Data Protection Access Availability RAID Erasure Codes ( EC) including LRC
Part 4 – Data Protection Recovery Points (Archive, Backup, Snapshots, Versions)
Part 5 – Point In Time Data Protection Granularity Points of Interest
Part 6 – Data Protection Security Logical Physical Software Defined
Part 7 – Data Protection Tools, Technologies, Toolbox, Buzzword Bingo Trends
Part 8 – Data Protection Diaries Walking Data Protection Talk
Part 9 – who’s Doing What ( Toolbox Technology Tools)
Part 10 – Data Protection Resources Where to Learn More
Data Protection Diaries series
Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading List Book Shelf
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC 2017) Book

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What This All Means

A common theme in this series as well as in my books, webinars, seminars and general approach to data infrastructures, data centers and IT in general is that everything is not the same, why treat it all the same? What this means is that there are differences across various environments, data centers, data infrastructures, applications, workloads and data. There are also different threat risks scenarios (e.g. threat vectors and attack surface if you like vendor industry talk) to protect against.

Rethinking and modernizing data protection means using new (and old) tools in new ways, stepping back and rethinking what to protect, when, where, why, how, with what. This also means protecting in different ways at various granularity, time intervals, as well as multiple layers or altitude (higher up the application stack, or lower level).

Get your copy of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials here at Amazon.com, at CRC Press among other locations and learn more here. Meanwhile, continue reading with the next post in this series, Part 6 Data Protection Security Logical Physical Software Defined.

Ok, nuff said, for now.

October 30, 2017November 26, 2023

Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading #blogtober

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends recommended reading list

Updated 7/30/2018

The following is an evolving recommended reading list of data infrastructure topics including, server, storage I/O, networking, cloud, virtual, container, data protection and related topics that includes books, blogs, podcast’s, events and industry links among other resources.

Various Data Infrastructure including hardware, software, services related links:

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

In addition to my own books including Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press 2017), the following are Server StorageIO recommended reading list items . The recommended reading list includes various IT, Data Infrastructure and related topics.

Intel Recommended Reading List (IRRL) for developers is a good resource to check out.

Duncan Epping (@DuncanYB), Frank Denneman (@FrankDenneman) and Neils Hagoort (@NHagoort) have released their VMware vSphere 6.7 Clustering Deep Dive book available at venues including Amazon.com. This is the latest in a series of Cluster and deep dive books from Frank and Duncan which if you are involved with VMware, SDDC and related software defined data infrastructures these should be on your bookshelf.

Check out the Blogtober list of check out some of the blogs and posts occurring during October 2017 here.

Preston De Guise aka @backupbear is Author of several books has an interesting new site Foolsrushin.info that looks at topics including Ethics in IT among others. Check out his new book Data Protection: Ensuring Data Availability (CRC Press 2017) and available via Amazon.com here.

Brendan Gregg has a great site for Linux performance related topics here.

Greg Knieriemen has a must read weekly blog, post, column collection of whats going on in and around the IT and data infrastructure related industries, Check it out here.

Interested in file systems, CIFS, SMB, SAMBA and related topics then check out Chris Hertels book on implementing CIFS here at Amazon.com

For those involved with VMware, check out Frank Denneman VMware vSphere 6.5 host resource guide-book here at Amazon.com.

Docker: Up & Running: Shipping Reliable Containers in Production by Karl Matthias & Sean P. Kane via Amazon.com here.

Essential Virtual SAN (VSAN): Administrator’s Guide to VMware Virtual SAN,2nd ed. by Cormac Hogan & Duncan Epping via Amazon.com here.

Hadoop: The Definitive Guide: Storage and Analysis at Internet Scale by Tom White via Amazon.com here.

Systems Performance: Enterprise and the Cloud by Brendan Gregg Via Amazon.com here.

Implementing Cloud Storage with OpenStack Swift by Amar Kapadia, Sreedhar Varma, & Kris Rajana Via Amazon.com here.

The Human Face of Big Data by Rick Smolan & Jennifer Erwitt Via Amazon.com here.

VMware vSphere 5.1 Clustering Deepdive (Vol. 1) by Duncan Epping & Frank Denneman Via Amazon.com here. Note: This is an older title, but there are still good fundamentals in it.

Linux Administration: A Beginners Guide by Wale Soyinka Via Amazon.com here.

TCP/IP Network Administration by Craig Hunt Via Amazon.com here.

Cisco IOS Cookbook: Field tested solutions to Cisco Router Problems by Kevin Dooley and Ian Brown Via Amazon.com here.

I often mention in presentations a must have for anybody involved with software defined anything, or programming for that matter which is the Niklaus Wirth classic Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs that you can get on Amazon.com here.

Seven Databases in Seven Weeks including NoSQL

Another great book to have is Seven Databases in Seven Weeks (here is a book review) which not only provides an overview of popular NoSQL databases such as Cassandra, Mongo, HBASE among others, lots of good examples and hands on guides. Get your copy here at Amazon.com.

Additional Data Infrastructure and related topic sites

In addition to those mentioned above, other sites, venues and data infrastructure related resources include:

aiim.com – Archiving and records management trade group

apache.org – Various open-source software

blog.scottlowe.org – Scott Lowe VMware Networking and topics

blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/virtual_pc_guy – Ben Armstrong Hyper-V blog

brendangregg.com – Linux performance-related topics

cablemap.info – Global network maps

CMG.org – Computer Measurement Group (CMG)

communities.vmware.com – VMware technical community and resources

comptia.org – Various IT, cloud, and data infrastructure certifications

cormachogan.com – Cormac Hogan VMware and vSAN related topics

csrc.nist.gov – U.S. government cloud specifications

dmtf.org – Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF)

ethernetalliance.org – Ethernet industry trade group

fibrechannel.org – Fibre Channel trade group

github.com – Various open-source solutions and projects

Intel Reading List – recommended reading list for developers

ieee.org – Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

ietf.org – Internet Engineering Task Force

iso.org – International Standards Organizations

it.toolbox.com – Various IT and data infrastructure topics forums

labs.vmware.com/flings – VMware Fling additional tools and software

nist.gov – National Institute of Standards and Technology

nvmexpress.org – NVM Express (NVMe) industry trade group

objectstoragecenter.com – Various object and cloud storage items

opencompute.org – Open Compute Project (OCP) servers and related topics

opendatacenteralliance.org – Open Data Center Alliance (ODCA)

openfabrics.org – Open-fabric software industry group

opennetworking.org – Open Networking Foundation (ONF)

openstack.org – OpenStack resources

pcisig.com – Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) trade group

reddit.com – Various IT, cloud, and data infrastructure topics

scsita.org – SCSI trade association (SAS and others)

SNIA.org – Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA)

Speakingintech.com – Popular industry and data infrastructure podcast

Storage Bibliography – Collection of Dr. J. Metz storage related content

technet.microsoft.com – Microsoft TechNet data infrastructure–related topics

thenvmeplace.com – various NVMe and related tools, topics and links

thevpad.com – Collection of various virtualization and related sites

thessdplace.com – various NVM, SSD, flash, 3D XPoint related topics, tools, links

tpc.org – Transaction Performance Council benchmark site

vmug.org – VMware User Groups (VMUG)

wahlnetwork.com – Chris Whal Networking and related topics

yellow-bricks.com – Duncan Epping VMware and related topics

Additional Data Infrastructure Venues

Additional useful data infrastructure related information can be found at BizTechMagazine, BrightTalk, ChannelProNetwork, ChannelproSMB, ComputerWeekly, Computerworld, CRN, CruxialCIO, Data Center Journal (DCJ), Datacenterknowledge, and DZone. Other good sourses include Edtechmagazine, Enterprise Storage Forum, EnterpriseTech, Eweek.com, FedTech, Google+, HPCwire, InfoStor, ITKE, LinkedIn, NAB, Network Computing, Networkworld, and nextplatform. Also check out Reddit, Redmond Magazine and Webinars, Spiceworks Forums, StateTech, techcrunch.com, TechPageOne, TechTarget Venues (various Search sites, e.g., SearchStorage, SearchSSD, SearchAWS, and others), theregister.co.uk, TheVarGuy, Tom’s Hardware, and zdnet.com, among many others.

Where To Learn More

Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What This All Means

The above is an evolving collection of recommended reading including what I have on my physical and virtual bookshelves, as well as list of web sites, blogs and podcasts worth listening, reading or watching. Watch for more items to be added to the book shelf soon, and if you have a suggested recommendation, add it to the comments below.

By the way, if you have not heard, its #Blogtober, check out some of the other blogs and posts occurring during October here as part of your recommended reading list.

Ok, nuff said, for now.

October 18, 2017November 26, 2023

Cloud Conversations AWS Azure Service Maps via Microsoft

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends

Updated 1/21/2018

Microsoft has created an Amazon Web Service AWS Azure Service Map. The AWS Azure Service Map is a list created by Microsoft looks at corresponding services of both cloud providers.

Image via Azure.Microsoft.com

Note that this is an evolving work in progress from Microsoft and use it as a tool to help position the different services from Azure and AWS.

Also note that not all features or services may not be available in different regions, visit Azure and AWS sites to see current availability.

As with any comparison they are often dated the day they are posted hence this is a work in progress. If you are looking for another Microsoft created why Azure vs. AWS then check out this here. If you are looking for an AWS vs. Azure, do a simple Google (or Bing) search and watch all the various items appear, some sponsored, some not so sponsored among others.

Whats In the Service Map

The following AWS and Azure services are mapped:

Marketplace (e.g. where you select service offerings)
Compute (Virtual Machines instances, Containers, Virtual Private Servers, Serverless Microservices and Management)
Storage (Primary, Secondary, Archive, Premium SSD and HDD, Block, File, Object/Blobs, Tables, Queues, Import/Export, Bulk transfer, Backup, Data Protection, Disaster Recovery, Gateways)
Network & Content Delivery (Virtual networking, virtual private networks and virtual private cloud, domain name services (DNS), content delivery network (CDN), load balancing, direct connect, edge, alerts)
Database (Relational, SQL and NoSQL document and key value, caching, database migration)
Analytics and Big Data (data warehouse, data lake, data processing, real-time and batch, data orchestration, data platforms, analytics)
Intelligence and IoT (IoT hub and gateways, speech recognition, visualization, search, machine learning, AI)
Management and Monitoring (management, monitoring, advisor, DevOps)
Mobile Services (management, monitoring, administration)
Security, Identity and Access (Security, directory services, compliance, authorization, authentication, encryption, firewall
Developer Tools (workflow, messaging, email, API management, media trans coding, development tools, testing, DevOps)
Enterprise Integration (application integration, content management)

Down load a PDF version of the service map from Microsoft here.

Where To Learn More

Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.

What’s a data infrastructure? (Via NetworkWorld)
Introduction to Azure Files (Microsoft Docs)
Public preview of Virtual Network service endpoints for Azure storage and SQL database
Azure debuts Availability Zones for high availability and resiliency (Azure)
Azure and AWS
comparison (Docs Microsoft)
Cloud Storage Considerations (via WServerNews)
Microsoft Windows Server, Azure, Nano Life cycle Updates
Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) book companion page
Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Updates
AWS S3 Storage Gateway Revisited (Part I)
Cloud conversations: AWS EBS, Glacier and S3 overview (Part II S3)
Microsoft September 2017 Updates

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What This All Means

On one hand this can and will likely be used as a comparison however use caution as both Azure and AWS services are rapidly evolving, adding new features, extending others. Likewise the service regions and site of data centers also continue to evolve thus use the above as a general guide or tool to help map what service offerings are similar between AWS and Azure.

By the way, if you have not heard, its Blogtober, check out some of the other blogs and posts occurring during October here.

Ok, nuff said, for now.

August 24, 2017November 26, 2023

Travel Fun Crossword Puzzle For VMworld 2017 Las Vegas

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends

Some of you may be traveling to VMworld 2017 in Las Vegas next week to sharpen, expand, refresh or share your VMware and data infrastructure tradecraft (skills, experiences, expertise, knowledge). Here is something fun to sharpen your VMware skills while traveling. Most of these should be pretty easy meaning that you do not have to be a Unicorn, full of vCertifications, vCredentials or a 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1st time vExpert or top 100 vBlogger. However if you need the answers they are below.

Note that you can also click here to get a PDF version that is larger (or click on the image) that also has the answers.

For those of you who will be in Las Vegas at VMworld next week, stop by the VMworld Book Store at 1PM on Tuesday (the 29th) where I will be doing a book signing event for my new book Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), stop by and say hello. Note there are also Kindle and other electronic versions of my new SDDI Essentials Book on Amazon.com and other venues if you need something to read during your upcoming travels.

Where To Learn More

Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.

Whats a data infrastructure? (Via NetworkWorld)
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) book companion page (includes various images, sample figures and added content)
Object and Cloud Storage Center (www.objectstoragecenter.com)
www.thessdplace.com – NVM, flash, SSD, SCM and related topics
www.thenvmeplace.com – NVM Express (NVMe) related topics
Answers to the crossword puzzle (PDF)
VMworld 2017 site

Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including Data Infrastructures

What This All Means

Have a safe and fun trip on your way to Las Vegas for next weeks VMworld, enjoy the crossword puzzle, and if you need the answers, they are located here (PDF), see you at VMworld 2017 in Last Vegas.

Ok, nuff said, for now.
Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2017 (and vSAN). Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio.

Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on https://storageioblog.com any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.

August 23, 2017November 26, 2023

Announcing Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book by Greg Schulz

New SDDI Essentials Book by Greg Schulz of Server StorageIO

Cloud, Converged, Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends

Update 1/21/2018

Over the past several months I have posted, commenting, presenting and discussing more about Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials aka SDDI or SDDC and SDI. Now it is time to announce my new book (my 4th solo project), Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book (CRC Press). Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials is now generally available at various global venues in hardcopy, hardback print as well as various electronic versions including via Amazon and CRC Press among others. For those attending VMworld 2017 in Las Vegas, I will be doing a book signing, meet and greet at 1PM Tuesday August 29 in the VMworld book store, as well as presenting at various other fall industry events.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book Announcement

(Via Businesswire) Stillwater, Minnesota – August 23, 2017 – Server StorageIO, a leading independent IT industry advisory and consultancy firm, in conjunction with publisher CRC Press, a Taylor and Francis imprint, announced the release and general availability of “Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials,” a new book by Greg Schulz, noted author and Server StorageIO founder.

The Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book covers physical, cloud, converged (and hyper-converged), container, and virtual server storage I/O networking technologies, revealing trends, tools, techniques, and tradecraft skills.

Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including Data Infrastructures

From cloud web scale to enterprise and small environments, IoT to database, software-defined data center (SDDC) to converged and container servers, flash solid state devices (SSD) to storage and I/O networking,, the book helps develop or refine hardware, software, services and management experiences, providing real-world examples for those involved with or looking to expand their data infrastructure education knowledge and tradecraft skills.

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book topics include:

Cloud, Converged, Container, and Virtual Server Storage I/O networking
Data protection (archive, availability, backup, BC/DR, snapshot, security)
Block, file, object, structured, unstructured and data value
Analytics, monitoring, reporting, and management metrics
Industry trends, tools, techniques, decision making
Local, remote server, storage and network I/O troubleshooting
Performance, availability, capacity and economics (PACE)

Where To Purchase Your Copy

Order via Amazon.com and CRC Press along with Google Books among other global venues.

What People Are Saying About Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book

“From CIOs to operations, sales to engineering, this book is a comprehensive reference, a must-read for IT infrastructure professionals, beginners to seasoned experts,” said Tom Becchetti, advisory systems engineer.

"We had a front row seat watching Greg present live in our education workshop seminar sessions for ITC professionals in the Netherlands material that is in this book. We recommend this amazing book to expand your converged and data infrastructure knowledge from beginners to industry veterans."

Gert and Frank Brouwer – Brouwer Storage Consultancy

"Software-Defined Data Infrastructures provides the foundational building blocks to improve your craft in several areas including applications, clouds, legacy, and more. IT professionals, as well as sales professionals and support personal, stand to gain a great deal by reading this book."

Mark McSherry- Oracle Regional Sales Manager

"Greg Schulz has provided a complete ‘toolkit’ for storage management along with the background and framework for the storage or data infrastructure professional (or those aspiring to become one)."
Greg Brunton – Experienced Storage and Data Management Professional

“Software-defined data infrastructures are where hardware, software, server, storage, I/O networking and related services converge inside data centers or clouds to protect, preserve, secure and serve applications and data,” said Schulz. “Both readers who are new to data infrastructures and seasoned pros will find this indispensable for gaining and expanding their knowledge.”

More About Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials
Software Defined Data Infrastructures (SDDI) Essentials provides fundamental coverage of physical, cloud, converged, and virtual server storage I/O networking technologies, trends, tools, techniques, and tradecraft skills. From webscale, software-defined, containers, database, key-value store, cloud, and enterprise to small or medium-size business, the book is filled with techniques, and tips to help develop or refine your server storage I/O hardware, software, Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC), Software Data Infrastructures (SDI) or Software Defined Anything (SDx) and services skills. Whether you are new to data infrastructures or a seasoned pro, you will find this comprehensive reference indispensable for gaining as well as expanding experience with technologies, tools, techniques, and trends.

This book is the definitive source providing comprehensive coverage about IT and cloud Data Infrastructures for experienced industry experts to beginners. Coverage of topics spans from higher level applications down to components (hardware, software, networks, and services) that get defined to create data infrastructures that support business, web, and other information services. This includes Servers, Storage, I/O Networks, Hardware, Software, Management Tools, Physical, Software Defined Virtual, Cloud, Docker, Containers (Docker and others) as well as Bulk, Block, File, Object, Cloud, Virtual and software defined storage.

Additional topics include Data protection (Availability, Archiving, Resiliency, HA, BC, BR, DR, Backup), Performance and Capacity Planning, Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper-Converged, NVM and NVMe Flash SSD, Storage Class Memory (SCM), NVMe over Fabrics, Benchmarking (including metrics matter along with tools), Performance Capacity Planning and much more including whos doing what, how things work, what to use when, where, why along with current and emerging trends.

Book Features

ISBN-13: 978-1498738156
ISBN-10: 149873815X
Hardcover: 672 pages
(Available in Kindle and other electronic formats)
Over 200 illustrations and 70 plus tables
Frequently asked Questions (and answers) along with many tips
Various learning exercises, extensive glossary and appendices
Publisher: Auerbach/CRC Press Publications; 1 edition (June 19, 2017)
Language: English

SDDI and SDDC toolbox

Where To Learn More

Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.

Whats a data infrastructure? (Via NetworkWorld)
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) book companion page (includes various images, sample figures and added content)
Click here to view (PDF) table of contents (TOC)
Click here to view (PDF) Preface, who should read, how organized and related material
Search and see whats inside Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials using this link to Google Books
Do you have an IT trade craft skills gap? (Via NetworkWorld)
Ensure your data infrastructure remains available and resilient (Via NetworkWorld)
Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its Whats Inside The Data Center)
Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O Tradecraft Trends
Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview
Some server storage I/O benchmark workload scripts (Part I)
Server Storage I/O Benchmarking Performance Resource Tools
Server Storage I/O Converged (CI) Hyper-converged (HCI) overview
Data Infrastructure industry links page – Various Data Infrastructure related links
Welcome to the Data Protection Diaries – Data protection related topics
Time to restore your backups, do you know where is your data is?
Object and Cloud Storage Center (www.objectstoragecenter.com)
www.thessdplace.com – NVM, flash, SSD, SCM and related topics
www.thenvmeplace.com – NVM Express (NVMe) related topics
Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press) "Intel Recommended Reading" book companion page
The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) "Intel Recommended Reading" book companion page
Resilient Storage Networks – Designing Flexible Scalable Data Infrastructures (Elsevier) book companion page
Other books, articles, tips, blog posts, news, events, webinars, videos by Greg Schulz and Server StorageIO (portfolio page)

Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including Data Infrastructures

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What This All Means

Data Infrastructures exist to protect, preserve, secure and serve information along with the applications and data they depend on. With more data being created at a faster rate, along with the size of data becoming larger, increased application functionality to transform data into information means more demands on data infrastructures and their underlying resources.

Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials: Cloud, Converged, and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft is for people who are currently involved with or looking to expand their knowledge and tradecraft skills (experience) of data infrastructures. Software-defined data centers (SDDC), software data infrastructures (SDI), software-defined data infrastructure (SDDI) and traditional data infrastructures are made up of software, hardware, services, and best practices and tools spanning servers, I/O networking, and storage from physical to software-defined virtual, container, and clouds. The role of data infrastructures is to enable and support information technology (IT) and organizational information applications.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

Everything is not the same in business, organizations, IT, and in particular servers, storage, and I/O. This means that there are different audiences who will benefit from reading this book. Because everything and everybody is not the same when it comes to server and storage I/O along with associated IT environments and applications, different readers may want to focus on various sections or chapters of this book.

If you are looking to expand your knowledge into an adjacent area or to understand whats under the hood, from converged, hyper-converged to traditional data infrastructures topics, this book is for you. For experienced storage, server, and networking professionals, this book connects the dots as well as provides coverage of virtualization, cloud, and other convergence themes and topics.

This book is also for those who are new or need to learn more about data infrastructure, server, storage, I/O networking, hardware, software, and services. Another audience for this book is experienced IT professionals who are now responsible for or working with data infrastructure components, technologies, tools, and techniques.

Learn more here about Software Defined Data Infrastructure (SDDI) Essentials book along with cloud, converged, and virtual fundamental server storage I/O tradecraft topics, order your copy from Amazon.com or CRC Press here, and thank you in advance for learning more about SDDI and related topics.

Ok, nuff said, for now.

August 11, 2017November 26, 2023

Like IT Data Centers Do You Take Trade Show Exhibit Infrastructure For Granted?

Do You Take Trade Show Exhibit Infrastructure For Granted?

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends

Think about this for a moment; do you assume that Information Technology (IT) and Cloud based data centers along with their associated Data Infrastructure supporting various applications will be accessible when needed. Likewise, when you go to a trade show, conference, symposium, user group or another conclave is it assumed that the trade show, exposition (expo), exhibits, booths, stands or demo areas will be ready, waiting and accessible?

Fire Disrupts Flash Memory Summit Conference Exhibits

This past week at the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) conference trade show event in Santa Clara California, what normally would be taken for granted (e.g. expo hall and exhibits) were disrupted. The disruption (more here and here) was caused by an early morning fire in one of the exhibitor’s booths (stand) in the expo hall (view some photos here via Toms Hardware.com).

Fortunately, nobody was hurt, at least physically, and damage (physically) appears to have been isolated.

However while the key notes, panels, and other presentations did take place as part of the show must go on, the popular exhibit expo hall did not. Granted for some people who only attend conferences or seminar events for the presentation content, lack of the exhibition hall simply meant no free giveaways.

On the other hand, for those who attend events like FMS mainly for the exhibition hall experience, the show did not go on, perhaps resulting in a trip in vain (e.g. how you might be able to recoup some travel costs in some scenarios) for some people. For example, those who were attending to meet with a particular vendor, see a product technology, conduct some business or other meetings, do an interview, video, podcast, take some photos, or simply get some free stuff were disrupted.

Likewise those behind the scenes, from conference organizers, event staff not to mention the vendor’s sponsors who put resources (time, money, people, and equipment) into an exhibit were disrupted. Vendors were still able to issue their press releases and conduct their presentations, keynotes, panel discussions, however what about the lack of the expo.

Do We Take Data and Event Infrastructures For Granted

This begs the question of if trade show exhibits still have value, or can an event function without one?

I am not sure as some events can and do stand on their merit with presentation content being the primary focus, others the expo is the draw, many are hybrid with a mix of both.

A question and point of this piece is that how many people take conferences in general, and exhibits along with their associated Infrastructure for granted?

How many know or understand the amount of time, money, people resources and various tradecraft skills across different disciplines go into event planning, staging, coordination, the execution, so they occur?

This also ties into the theme of how many people only think and assume that IT data centers and clouds along with their data Infrastructure resources, services are available supporting applications along with data access to give information?

The same holds true for your telephone (plain old telephone system [POTS] and cellular or mobile) service, gas, electric, sewer, water, waste (garbage), traditional or network based television, internet provider, highways, railroads, airports, the list goes on.

Where To Learn More

Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.

If Answer is NVMe, then what are (or were) the questions?
NVMe Wont Replace Flash By Itself They Complement Each Other
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press)
The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press)
Cloud conversation, Thanks Gartner for saying what has been said
www.thessdplace.com and www.thenvmeplace.com

What This All Means

The good news is that nobody physically was injured this past week.

Granted some may have incurred emotional, monetary or public and marketing related injuries, however, those can be dealt with over time.

My point is, do we assume too much (perhaps rightfully so) that events, exhibits and other trade show conference related items are always on, always available, accessible open on time? With IT data center and clouds, you have different expectation levels of access, availability, durability, survivability for a given cost to meet service expectations.

Next time you attend a webinar, seminar, conference, symposium, trade show, presentation, exhibit or expo, take a moment and look around at what you see, as well as what you do not see. Having been in involved in and around conferences, conventions, seminars, expos across different industries, both behind the scenes as well as on the public side, I do not take these events for granted.

Knowing what goes into the planning, coordination, scheduling, promotion, logistics, all the things behind the scenes, next time you go to an event, look around. What you can see that perhaps are not meant to be seen as part of their Infrastructure. In event venue exhibit halls as well as data centers, there are those things you see such as data infrastructure resources including racks of servers, storage, I/O networking, monitors, displays, work areas, heating ventilation air conditioning (HVAC) along with those you might not see.

What you might not see and take for granted are the smoke and fire detection along with suppression systems which at the Santa Clara convention center appeared to have done their job. There are also the electrical power and distribution systems; perhaps battery backed uninterruptible power systems (UPS) along with standby alternate generator power.

How about a big round of applause, thank you, Atta boy and Atta girl, acknowledgment and other signs of appreciation for all those involved behind the scenes who do the planning, preparation, coordination, setup, tear down and in person what you see at events.

Thank you to all who have, and continue to enable trade shows, conferences, seminars, exhibits, road shows among other events to take place, after all, the show must go on. In other words, like IT and cloud Data Centers, do you take trade show exhibit infrastructures for granted?

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Greg Schulz – Multi-year Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert (and vSAN). Author of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press), as well as Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio.

July 11, 2017November 26, 2023

New family of Intel Xeon Scalable Processors enable software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and SDDC

Intel Xeon Scalable Processors SDDI and SDDC

server storage I/O data infrastructure trends

Today Intel announced a new family of Xeon Scalable Processors (aka Purely) that for some workloads Intel claims to be on average of 1.65x faster than their predecessors. Note your real improvement will vary based on workload, configuration, benchmark testing, type of processor, memory, and many other server storage I/O performance considerations.

Intel Scalable Xeon Processors
Image via Intel.com

In general the new Intel Xeon Scalable Processors enable legacy and software defined data infrastructures (SDDI), along with software defined data centers (SDDC), cloud and other environments to support expanding workloads more efficiently as well as effectively (e.g. boosting productivity).

Some target application and environment workloads Intel is positioning these new processors for includes among others:

Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced analytics, deep learning and big data
Networking including software defined network (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV)
Cloud and Virtualization including Azure Stack, Docker and Kubernetes containers, Hyper-V, KVM, OpenStack VMware vSphere, KVM among others
High Performance Compute (HPC) and High Productivity Compute (e.g. the other HPC)
Storage including legacy and emerging software defined storage software deployed as appliances, systems or server less deployment modes.

Features of the new Intel Xeon Scalable Processors include:

New core micro architecture with interconnects and on die memory controllers
Sockets (processors) scalable up to 28 cores
Improved networking performance using Quick Assist and Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK)
Leverages Intel Quick Assist Technology for CPU offload of compute intensive functions including I/O networking, security, AI, ML, big data, analytics and storage functions. Functions that benefit from Quick Assist include cryptography, encryption, authentication, cipher operations, digital signatures, key exchange, loss less data compression and data footprint reduction along with data at rest encryption (DARE).
Optane Non-Volatile Dual Inline Memory Module (NVDIMM) for storage class memory (SCM) also referred to by some as Persistent Memory (PM), not to be confused with Physical Machine (PM).
Supports Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (AVX-512) for HPC and other workloads
Optional Omni-Path Fabrics in addition to 1/10Gb Ethernet among other I/O options
Six memory channels supporting up to 6TB of RDIMM with multi socket systems
From two to eight sockets per node (system)
Systems support PCIe 3.x (some supporting x4 based M.2 interconnects)

Note that exact speeds, feeds, slots and watts will vary by specific server model and vendor options. Also note that some server system solutions have two or more nodes (e.g. two or more real servers) in a single package not to be confused with two or more sockets per node (system or motherboard). Refer to the where to learn more section below for links to Intel benchmarks and other resources.

Software Defined Data Infrastructures, SDDC, SDX and SDDI

What About Speeds and Feeds

Watch for and check out the various Intel partners who have or will be announcing their new server compute platforms based on Intel Xeon Scalable Processors. Each of the different vendors will have various speeds and feeds options that build on the fundamental Intel Xeon Scalable Processor capabilities.

For example Dell EMC announced their 14G server platforms at the May 2017 Dell EMC World event with details to follow (e.g. after the Intel announcements).

Some things to keep in mind include the amount of DDR4 DRAM (or Optane NVDIMM) will vary by vendors server platform configuration, motherboards, several sockets and DIMM slots. Also keep in mind the differences between registered (e.g. buffered RDIMM) that give good capacity and great performance, and load reduced DIMM (LRDIMM) that have great capacity and ok performance.

What about NVMe

It’s there as these systems like previous Intel models support NVMe devices via PCIe 3.x slots, and some vendor solutions also supporting M.2 x4 physical interconnects as well.

Image via Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC)

Note that Broadcom formerly known as Avago and LSI recently announced PCIe based RAID and adapter cards that support NVMe attached devices in addition to SAS and SATA.

server storage data infrastructure sddi

What About Intel and Storage

In case you have not connected the dots yet, the Intel Xeon Scalable Processor based server (aka compute) systems are also a fundamental platform for storage systems, services, solutions, appliances along with tin-wrapped software.

What this means is that the Intel Xeon Scalable Processors based systems can be used for deploying legacy as well as new and emerging software-defined storage software solutions. This also means that the Intel platforms can be used to support SDDC, SDDI, SDX, SDI as well as other forms of legacy and software-defined data infrastructures along with cloud, virtual, container, server less among other modes of deployment.

Image Via Intel.com

Moving beyond server and compute platforms, there is another tie to storage as part of this recent as well as other Intel announcements. Just a few weeks ago Intel announced 64 layer triple level cell (TLC) 3D NAND solutions positioned for the client market (laptop, workstations, tablets, thin clients). Intel with that announcement increased the traditional aerial density (e.g. bits per square inch or cm) as well as boosting the number of layers (stacking more bits as well).

The net result is not only more bits per square inch, also more per cubic inch or cm. This is all part of a continued evolution of NAND flash including from 2D to 3D, MCL to TLC, 32 to 64 layer. In other words, NAND flash-based Solid State Devices (SSDs) are very much still a relevant and continue to be enhanced technology even with the emerging 3D XPoint and Optane (also available via Amazon in M.2) in the wings.

server memory evolution
Via Intel and Micron (3D XPoint launch)

Keep in mind that NAND flash-based technologies were announced almost 20 years ago (1999), and are still evolving. 3D XPoint announced two years ago, along with other emerging storage class memories (SCM), non-volatile memory (NVM) and persistent memory (PM) devices are part of the future as is 3D NAND (among others). Speaking of 3D XPoint and Optane, Intel had announcements about that in the past as well.

Where To Learn More

Learn more about Intel Xeon Scalable Processors along with related technology, trends, tools, techniques and tips with the following links.

Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its What’s Inside The Data Center)
Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) information via Intel
Get in the NVMe Game, Using the Intel 750 series
Intel and Micron Unveil new 3D XPoint NVM, SCM, Persistent Memory
Intel Data Center Performance (Intel site)
Intel Xeon Processors information (Intel)
Intel Xeon Scalable Processor Launch Event (Intel), announcement (Intel), family summary (Intel), and Benchmark information (Intel) with more Intel information here including world records (Intel).
Omni-Path fabric overview via Intel
Optane information (Intel) and overview (Intel)
QuickAssist technology overview via Intel
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC) Book via Amazon.com
www.thessdplace.com, www.thenvmeplace.com, and www.objectstoragecenter.com

What This All Means

Some say the PC is dead and IMHO that depends on what you mean or define a PC as. For example if you refer to a PC generically to also include servers besides workstations or other devices, then they are alive. If however your view is that PCs are only workstations and client devices, then they are on the decline.

However if your view is that a PC is defined by the underlying processor such as Intel general purpose 64 bit x86 derivative (or descendent) then they are very much alive. Just as older generations of PCs leveraging general purpose Intel based x86 (and its predecessors) processors were deployed for many uses, so to are today’s line of Xeon (among others) processors.

Even with the increase of ARM, GPU and other specialized processors, as well as ASIC and FPGAs for offloads, the role of general purpose processors continues to increase, as does the technology evolution around. Even with so called server less architectures, they still need underlying compute server platforms for running software, which also includes software defined storage, software defined networks, SDDC, SDDI, SDX, IoT among others.

Overall this is a good set of announcements by Intel and what we can also expect to be a flood of enhancements from their partners who will use the new family of Intel Xeon Scalable Processors in their products to enable software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and SDDC.

Ok, nuff said (for now…).

Cheers
Gs

Greg Schulz – Multi-year Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert (and vSAN). Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Watch for the spring 2017 release of his new book "Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials" (CRC Press).

May 4, 2017November 26, 2023

Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review

server storage I/O trends

Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review

Perhaps you are aware or use Microsoft Azure, how about Azure Stack?

This is part one of a two-part series looking at Microsoft Azure Stack providing an overview, preview and review. Read part two here that looks at my experiences installing Microsoft Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3).

For those who are not aware, Azure Stack is a private on-premises extension of the Azure public cloud environment. Azure Stack now in technical preview three (e.g. TP3), or what you might also refer to as a beta (get the bits here).

In addition to being available via download as a preview, Microsoft is also working with vendors such as Cisco, Dell EMC, HPE, Lenovo and others who have announced Azure Stack support. Vendors such as Dell EMC have also made proof of concept kits available that you can buy including server with storage and software. Microsoft has also indicated that once launched for production versions scaling from a few to many nodes, that a single node proof of concept or development system will also remain available.

Software-Defined Data Infrastructures (SDDI) aka Software-defined Data Centers, Cloud, Virtual and Legacy

Besides being an on-premises, private cloud variant, Azure Stack is also hybrid capable being able to work with public cloud Azure. In addition to working with public cloud Azure, Azure Stack services and in particular workloads can also work with traditional Microsoft, Linux and others. You can use pre built solutions from the Azure marketplace, in addition to developing your applications using Azure services and DevOps tools. Azure Stack enables hybrid deployment into public or private cloud to balance flexibility, control and your needs.

Azure Stack Overview

Microsoft Azure Stack is an on premise (e.g. in your own data center) private (or hybrid when connected to Azure) cloud platform. Currently Azure Stack is in Technical Preview 3 (e.g. TP3) and available as a proof of concept (POC) download from Microsoft. You can use Azure Stack TP3 as a POC for learning, demonstrating and trying features among other activities. Here is link to a Microsoft Video providing an overview of Azure Stack, and here is a good summary of roadmap, licensing and related items.

In summary, Microsoft Azure Stack is:

A onsite, on premise, in your data center extension of Microsoft Azure public cloud
Enabling private and hybrid cloud with strong integration along with common experiences with Azure
Adopt, deploy, leverage cloud on your terms and timeline choosing what works best for you
Common processes, tools, interfaces, management and user experiences
Leverage speed of deployment and configuration with a purpose-built integrate solution
Support existing and cloud native Windows, Linux, Container and other services
Available as a public preview via software download, as well as vendors offering solutions

What is Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3)

This version of Azure Stack is a single node running on a lone physical machine (PM) aka bare metal (BM). However can also be installed into a virtual machine (VM) using nesting. For example I have Azure Stack TP3 running nested on a VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5 systems with a Windows Server 2016 VM as its base operating system.

Click here or on the above image to view list of VMs and other services (Image via Microsoft.com)

The TP3 POC Azure Stack is not intended for production environments, only for testing, evaluation, learning and demonstrations as part of its terms of use. This version of Azure Stack is associated with a single node identity such as Azure Active Directory (AAD) integrated with Azure, or Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) for standalone modes. Note that since this is a single server deployment, it is not intended for performance, rather, for evaluating functionality, features, APIs and other activities. Learn more about Azure Stack TP3 details here (or click on image) including names of various virtual machines (VMs) as well as their roles.

Where to learn more

The following provide more information and insight about Azure, Azure Stack, Microsoft and Windows among related topics.

Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review

Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview Review Part II

Azure Stack Technical Preview (get the bits aka software download here)

Azure Stack deployment prerequisites (Microsoft)

Microsoft Azure Stack troubleshooting (Microsoft Docs)

Azure Stack TP3 refresh tips (Azure Stack)

Here is a good post with a tip about not applying certain Windows updates to Azure stack TP3 installs.

Configure Azure stack TP3 to be available on your own network (Azure Stack)

Azure Stack TP3 Marketplace syndication (Azure Stack)

Azure Stack TP3 deployment experiences (Azure Stack)

Frequently asked questions for Azure Stack (Microsoft)

Deploy Azure Stack (Microsoft)

Connect to Azure Stack (Microsoft)

Azure Active Directory (AAD) and Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)

Azure Stack TP2 deployment experiences by Niklas Akerlund (@vNiklas) useful for tips for TP3

Deployment Checker for Azure Stack Technical Preview (Microsoft Technet)

Azure stack and other tools (Github)

How to enable nested virtualization on Hyper-V Windows Server 2016

Dell EMC announce Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Azure Stack (Dell EMC)

Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack (Dell EMC)

Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack Data Sheet (Dell EMC PDF)

Dell EMC Cloud Chats (Dell EMC Blog)

Microsoft Azure stack forum

Dell EMC Microsoft Azure Stack solution

Gaining Server Storage I/O Insight into Microsoft Windows Server 2016

Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links

Via WServerNews.com Cloud (Microsoft Azure) storage considerations

Via CloudComputingAdmin.com Cloud Storage Decision Making: Using Microsoft Azure for cloud storage

www.thenvmeplace.com, www.thessdplace.com, www.objectstoragecenter.com and www.storageio.com/converge

What this all means

A common question is if there is demand for private and hybrid cloud, in fact, some industry expert pundits have even said private, or hybrid are dead which is interesting, how can something be dead if it is just getting started. Likewise, it is early to tell if Azure Stack will gain traction with various organizations, some of whom may have tried or struggled with OpenStack among others.

Given a large number of Microsoft Windows-based servers on VMware, OpenStack, Public cloud services as well as other platforms, along with continued growing popularity of Azure, having a solution such as Azure Stack provides an attractive option for many environments. That leads to the question of if Azure Stack is essentially a replacement for Windows Servers or Hyper-V and if only for Windows guest operating systems. At this point indeed, Windows would be an attractive and comfortable option, however, given a large number of Linux-based guests running on Hyper-V as well as Azure Public, those are also primary candidates as are containers and other services.

Continue reading more in part two of this two-part series here including installing Microsoft Azure Stack TP3.

Ok, nuff said (for now…).

Cheers
Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert (and vSAN). Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Watch for the spring 2017 release of his new book "Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials" (CRC Press).

May 2, 2017December 31, 2022

Broadcom aka Avago aka LSI announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAID

server storage I/O trends

Broadcom aka Avago aka LSI announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAID

In case you missed it, Broadcom formerly known as Avago who bought the LSI adapter and RAID card business announced shipping new SAS, SATA and NVMe devices.

While SAS and SATA are well established continuing to be deployed for both HDD as well as flash SSD, NVMe continues to evolve with a bright future. Likewise, while there is a focus on software-defined storage (SDS), software defined data centers (SDDC) and software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) along with advanced parity RAID including erasure codes, object storage among other technologies, there is still a need for adapter cards including traditional RAID.

Keep in mind that while probably not meeting the definition of some software-defined aficionados, the many different variations, permutations along with derivatives of RAID from mirror and replication to basic parity to advanced erasure codes (some based on Reed Solomon aka RAID 2) rely on software. Granted, some of that software is run on regular primary server processors, some on packaged in silicon via ASICs or FPGAs, or System on Chips (SOC), RAID on Chip (RoC) as well as BIOS, firmware, drivers as well as management tools.

For some environments cards such as those announced by Broadcom are used in passthru mode effectively as adapters for attaching SAS, SATA and NVMe storage devices to servers. Those servers may be deployed as converged infrastructures (CI), hyper-converged infrastructures (HCI), Cluster or Cloud in Box (CiB) among other variations. To name names you might find the above (or in the not so distant future) in VMware vSAN or regular vSphere based environments, Microsoft Windows Server, Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) or Azure Stack, OpenStack among other deployments (check your vendors Hardware Compatibility Lists aka HCLs). In some cases these cards may be adapters in passthru mode, or using their RAID (support various by different software stacks). Meanwhile in other environments, the more traditional RAID features are still used spanning Windows to Linux among others.

Who Is Broadcom?

Some of you may know of Broadcom having been around for many years with a focus on networking related technologies. However some may not realize that Avago bought Broadcom and changed their name to Broadcom. Here is a history that includes more recent acquisitions such as Brocade, PLX, Emulex as well as LSI. Some of you may recall Avago buying LSI (the SAS, SATA, PCIe HBA, RAID and components) business not sold to NetApp as part of Engenio. Also recall that Avago sold the LSI flash SSD business unit to Seagate a couple of years ago as part of its streamlining. That’s how we get to where we are at today with Broadcom aka formerly known as Avago who bought the LSI adapter and RAID business announcing new SAS, SATA, NVMe cards.

What Was Announced?

Broadcom has announced cards that are multi-protocol supporting Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), SATA/AHCI as well as NVM Express (NVMe) as basic adapters for attaching storage (HDD, SSD, storage systems) along with optional RAID as well as cache support. These cards can be used in application servers for traditional, as well as virtualized SDDC environments, as well as storage systems or appliances for software-defined storage among other uses. The basic functionality of these cards is to provide high performance (IOPs and other activity, as well as bandwidth) along with low latency combined with data protection as well as dense connectivity.

Specific features include:

Broadcom’s Tri-Mode SerDes Technology enables the operation of NVMe, SAS or SATA devices in a single drive bay, allowing for endless design flexibility.
Management software including LSI Storage Authority (LSA), StorCLI, HII (UEFI)
Optional CacheVault(R) flash cache protection
Physical dimension Low Profile 6.127” x 2.712”
Host bus type x8 lane PCIe Express 3.1
Data transfer rates SAS-3 12Gbs; NVMe up to 8 GT/s PCIe Gen 3
Various OS and hypervisors host platform support
Warranty 3 yrs, free 5×8 phone support, advanced replacement option
RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60

Note that some of the specific feature functionality may be available at a later date, check with your preferred vendors HCL

Specification	9480 8i8e	9440 8i	9460 8i	9460 16i
Image
Internal Ports	8		8	16
Internal Connectors	2 x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643	2 x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643	2 x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643	4 Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643
External Ports	8
External Connectors	2 x Mini-SAS HD SFF8644
Cache Protection	CacheVault CVPM05		CacheVault CVPM05	CacheVault CVPM05
Cache Memory	2GB 2133 MHz DDR4 SDRAM		2GB 2133 MHz DDR4 SDRAM	4GB 2133 MHz DDR4 SDRAM
Devices Supported	SAS/SATA: 255, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*	SAS/SATA: 63, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*	SAS/SATA: 255, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*	SAS/SATA: 255, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*
I/O Processors (SAS Controller)	SAS3516 dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC)	SAS3408 I/O controller (IOC)	SAS3508 dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC)	SAS3516 dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC)

In case you need a refresher on SFF cable types, click on the following two images which take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more, as well as order various cable options. PC Pit Stop has a good selection of cables (See other SFF types), connectors and other accessories that I have used, along with those from Amazon.com and others.

Left: SFF 8644 Mini SAS HD (External), Right SFF-8643 Mini SAS HD (internal) Image via Amazon.com

Available via Amazon.com sff 8644 8642 sas mini hd cable
Left: SFF 8643 Mini SAS HD (Internal), Right SFF-8642 SATA with power (internal) Image via Amazon.com

Wait, Doesnt NVMe use PCIe

For those who are not familiar with NVMe and in particular U.2 aka SFF 8639 based devices, physically they look the same (almost) as a SAS device connector. The slight variation is if you look at a SAS drive, there is a small tab to prevent plugging into a SATA port (recall you can plug SATA into SAS. For SAS drives that tab is blank, however on the NVMe 8639 aka U.2 drives (below left) that tab has several connectors which are PCIe x4 (single or dual path).

What this means is that the PCIe x4 bus electrical signals are transferred via a connector, to backplane chassis to 8639 drive slot to the drive. Those same 8639 drive slots can also have a SAS SATA connection using their traditional connectors enabling a converged or hybrid drive slot so to speak. Learn more about NVMe here (If the Answer is NVMe, then what were and are the questions?) as well as at www.thenvmeplace.com.

Left NVMe U.2 drive showing PCIe x4 connectors, right, NVMe U.2 8639 connector

Who Is This For?

These cards are applicable for general purpose IT and other data infrastructure environments in traditional servers among others uses. They are also applicable for systems builders, integrators and OEMs whom you may be buying your current systems from, or future ones.

Where to Learn More

The following are additional resources to learn more about vSAN and related technologies.

Read the Broadcom announcement here
SSD, flash, Non-volatile memory (NVM) storage Trends, Tips & Topics
Get in the NVMe SSD game (if you are not already) with Intel 750 among others
InfoStor – SSD Trends, Tips and Topics
Server and Storage I/O Benchmarking and Performance Resources
If the Answer is NVMe, then what were and are the questions?
Announcing SAS SANs for Dummies book, LSI edition
Thessdplace.com and Thenvmeplace.com
Server StorageIO CI and HCI microsite landing page www.storageio.com/converge

What this all means

Even as the industry continues to talk and move towards more software-defined focus, even for environments that are serverless, there is still need for hardware somewhere. These adapters are a good sign of the continued maturing cycle of NVMe to be well positioned into the next decade and beyond, while also being relevant today. Likewise, even though the future involves NVMe, there is a still a place for SAS along with SATA to coexist in many environments. For some environment there is a need for traditional RAID while for others simply the need for attachment of SAS, SATA and NVMe devices. Overall, a good set of updates, enhancements and new technology for today and tomorrow, now, when do I get some to play with? ;).

Ok, nuff said (for now…).

Cheers
Gs

April 11, 2017November 26, 2023

VMware vSAN V6.6 Part III (reducing costs complexity)

server storage I/O trends

VMware vSAN V6.6 Part III (Reducing costs complexity)

In case you missed it, VMware announced vSAN v6.6 hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) software defined data infrastructure solution. This is the third of a five-part series about VMware vSAN V6.6. View Part I here, Part II (just the speeds feeds please) is located here, part IV (scaling ROBO and data centers today) found here, as well as part V here (VMware vSAN evolution, where to learn more and summary).

VMware vSAN 6.6
Image via VMware

For those who are not aware, vSAN is a VMware virtual Storage Area Network (e.g. vSAN) that is software-defined, part of being a software-defined data infrastructure (SDDI) and software-defined data center (SDDC). Besides being software-defined vSAN is HCI combining compute (server), I/O networking, storage (space and I/O) along with hypervisors, management, and other tools.

Reducing cost and complexity

Reducing your total cost of ownership (TCO) including lower capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating (OPEX). VMware is claiming CapEx and OpEx reduced TCO of 50%. Keep in mind that solutions such as vSAN also can help drive return on investment (ROI) as well as return on innovation (the other ROI) via improved productivity, effectiveness, as well as efficiencies (savings). Another aspect of addressing TCO and ROI includes flexibility leveraging stretched clusters to address HA, BR, BC and DR Availability needs cost effectively. These enhancements include efficiency (and effectiveness e.g. productivity) at scale, proactive cloud analytics, and intelligent operations.

VMware vSAN stretch cluster
Image via VMware

Low cost (or cost-effective) Local, Remote Resiliency and Data Protection with Stretched Clusters across sites. Upon a site failure, vSAN maintains availability is leveraging surviving site redundancy. For performance and productivity effectiveness, I/O traffic is kept local where possible and practical, reducing cross-site network workload. Bear in mind that the best I/O is the one you do not have to do, the second is the one with the least impact.

This means if you can address I/Os as close to the application as possible (e.g. locality of reference), that is a better I/O. On the other hand, when data is not local, then the best I/O is the one involving a local or remote site with least overhead impact to applications, as well as server storage I/O (including networks) resources. Also keep in mind that with vSAN you can fine tune availability, resiliency and data protection to meet various needs by adjusting fault tolerant mode (FTM) to address a different number of failures to tolerate.

Network and cloud friendly Unicast Communication enhancements. To improve performance, availability, and capacity (CPU demand reduction) multicast communications are no longer used making for easier, simplified single site and stretched cluster configurations. When vSAN clusters upgrade to V6.6 unicast is enabled.

VMware vSAN unicast
Image via VMware

Gaining insight, awareness, adding intelligence to avoid flying blind, introducing vSAN Cloud Analytics and Proactive Guidance. Part of a VMware customer, experience improvement program, leverages cloud-based health checks for easy online known issue detection along with relevant knowledge bases pieces as well as other support notices. Whether you choose to refer to this feature as advanced analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), proactive rules enabled management problem isolation, solving resolution I will leave that up to you.

VMware vSAN cloud analytics
Image via VMware

Part of the new tools analytics capabilities and prescriptive problem resolution (hmm, some might call that AI or advanced analytics, just saying), health check issues are identified, notifications along with suggested remediation. Another feature is the ability to leverage continuous proactive updates for advance remediation vs. waiting for subsequent vSAN releases. Net result and benefit are reducing time, the complexity of troubleshooting converged data infrastructure issues spanning servers, storage, I/O networking, hardware, software, cloud, and configuration. In other words, enable you more time to be productive vs. finding and fixing problems leveraging informed awareness for smart decision-making.

Where to Learn More

The following are additional resources to find out more about vSAN and related technologies.

VMware vSAN 6.6 Part I, Part II (just the speeds feeds please) here, part III (reducing cost and complexity) here, part IV (scaling ROBO and data centers today) located here, as well as part V here (VMware vSAN evolution, where to learn more and summary).
Launch Webcast and registration link (Registration Link for Modernize Your IT with vSAN Innovations)
VMUG Webinar: What’s New Technical Deep Dive
What’s New Blogs (VMware blogs)
Native Data-at-Rest Encryption (VMware blogs)
What’s New Page (VMware)
vSAN 6.6 Datasheet (PDF)
vSAN Customer Page
VMware Storage Hub
Whats New in VSAN 6.6? (Via ComacHogan)
VMware Security Infographic (PDF)
Via Duncan Epping (@DuncanYB) What’s new for vSAN 6.6?
Introducing vSphere 6.5 (VMware blogs)
VMware vSAN 6.5 Licensing Guide (PDF)
vSAN licensing and packaging (@DuncanYB)
Where to get VMware vSphere and related bits (e.g. VMware downloads here)
Data infrastructures primer and overview
vExpert Panel Discussion Hyper-Convergence and vSAN (Webinar)
The NVMe place (www.thenvmeplace.com) and The SSD Place (www.thessdplace.com)
Server StorageIO CI and HCI microsite landing page www.storageio.com/converge

What this all means

Continue reading more about VMware vSAN 6.6 in part I here, part II (just the speeds feeds please) located here, part IV (scaling ROBO and data centers today) found here, as well as part V here (VMware vSAN evolution, where to learn more and summary).

Ok, nuff said (for now…).

Cheers
Gs

Greg Schulz – Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert (and vSAN). Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier) and twitter @storageio. Watch for the spring 2017 release of his new book “Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials” (CRC Press).

February 22, 2017November 26, 2023

Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links F to J

IT Data Center and Data Infrastructure Industry Resources

Updated 2/20/2018

Following are some useful Data Infrastructure IT Industry Resource Links F to J to cloud, virtual and traditional IT data infrastructure related web sites. The data infrastructure environment (servers, storage, IO and networking, hardware, software, services, virtual, container and cloud) is rapidly changing. You may encounter a missing URL, or a URL that has changed. This list is updated on a regular basis to reflect changes (additions, changes, and retirement).

Disclaimer and note: URL’s submitted for inclusion on this site will be reviewed for consideration and to be in generally accepted good taste in regards to the theme of this site.

Best effort has been made to validate and verify the data infrastructure URLs that appear on this page and web site however they are subject to change. The author and/or maintainer(s) of this page and web site make no endorsement to and assume no responsibility for the URLs and their content that are listed on this page.

Send an email note to info at storageio dot com that includes company name, URL, contact name, title and phone number along with a brief 40 character description to be considered for addition to the above data infrastructure list, or, to be removed. Note that Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC (e.g. StorageIO) does not sell, trade, barter, borrow or share your contact information per our Privacy and Disclosure policy. View related data infrastructure Server StorageIO content here, and signup for our free newsletter here.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

f5.com Networking solutions
fabric7.com High speed networking
falconstor.com Storage management software
FarStone.com Backup and data protection software
fcoe.com Web site pertaining to Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)
fdr.com Aka Innovation data protection tools
fedoraproject.org Linux based operating system
Fiber Internet Center AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
FiberLight AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
fibrechannel.org Fibre Channel Trade Group
filenet.com File Management Solutions
FilesX.com Backup and data protection software (Bought by IBM)
filetek.com Data management solutions (Bought by SGI)
finisar.com Test, Diagnostic, and Optic Transceivers
firescope.com DCIM, IRM, PMDB, CMDB data solutions
First Communications AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
Firewall Technical AWS Desktop, Server and Network Support
flashsoft.com SSD cache software (Bought by SANdisk)
Flexiant Cloud management tools
flexstar.com Hardware testing equipment
FNT Software Data Center and DCIM software tools
Folder Sizes Disk Space Management software tools
force10.com High speed networking (Bought by Dell)
forsythe.com VAR
foundrynetworks.com Networking switches (Bought by Brocade)
FreeNAS ZFS based NAS storage software
frety.com Site with links to various technologies
fueleconomy.gov US Government site for energy efficiency
fujifilm.com Data storage tape media
Fujitsu.com Computers, disks, storage
fujitsu-siemens.com Storage, VTL, storage management solutions
fulcrummicro.com 10Gb and high performance chips and cross bars
fusionio.com PCIe based NAND/FLASH local SSD for internal server attachment
ioturbine.com IO optimization driver software (Bought by FusionIO)
fusionstorm.com Value added reseller (VAR)
FutureMark PC Benchmarking and testing tools (PCMark and others)
gear6.com Data performance acceleration NAS caching appliance (Bought by Violin)
Geist Global Data Center and DCIM tools
geminare.com Cloud and application migration and recovery tools
genie-soft.com Backup and data protection tools
genstor.com Storage solutions
gfi.com SMB Email security and data protection
gigaspace.com Grid application and data management middle ware
gladinet.com Cloud storage access software
Global Capacity AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
globalstor.com Data storage solutions
glodynetechnoserve.com IT Management tools
gluster.com Open source clustered file system (Bought by Redhat)
gogrid.com Cloud IaaS and hosting services
goldengate.com Data protection and management software (Bought by Oracle)
goodsync.com Data protection solutions
Google Various cloud services including Google Drive, Documents and others
graudata.com Archive software tools
Gravitant Cloud brokerage and management tools
green-bytes.com ZFS based storage management solutions
Greenfield Software DCIM software tools
greenliant.com Nand flash SSD for embedded solutions
greenplum.com Data warehouse storage solutions (Bought by EMC)
greenracksystems.com VAR
gresham-storage.com Virtual tape solutions (VTL sold to Tributary)
GridGain in memory computing
gridironsystems.com Big data and high performance appliance storage
gridstore.com Clustered NAS storage
Global Telecom Technology, Inc. (GTT) AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
Apache Hadoop Hadoop Big Data Tools
hastorage.com Value added reseller (VAR)
www.hddfiresafe.com Fire proof and water resistant storage systems
hds.com Storage sub-systems and software
hermes-softlab.com IT and virtualization software
Hibernia Atlantic AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
hifn.com Optimization technology (Bought by Exar)
high-rely.com Removable storage solutions
hi-stor.com VAR
hitachigst.com Hitachi Global Storage Technologies – Disk drives (Bought by WD)
Hotlink Data protection, cloud and virtualization management tools
hp.com Storage networking hardware and software
htch.com Hutchinson technologies – disk drive components
huawei.com Networking technologies
hydrastor.com Multi-tenant clustered storage (NEC)
hyper9.com Virtualization management tools (aka Inovawave)
hyperio.com Storage and I/O performance monitoring for Windows
hytrust.com Virtual infrastructure security tools
Hyve Solutions Open Compute Project Servers and Storage
i365.com Online cloud backup (Bought by Seagate e.g. Evault)

i3-groep.nl Dutch ICT VAR
iarchive.com Value added reseller (VAR)
iBackup Online and cloud backup service
ibm.com Storage networking hardware and software
Ibrix.com Clustered and cloud storage software (Bought by HP)
Iceweb.com Data storage solutions
icorps.com IT outsourcing and consulting services
IDRIVE Cloud storage backup
idt.com Server, storage, memory, networking components
ieee.org Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
ietf.org Internet Engineering Task Force
iland Cloud and virtualization services tools
illumita.com IT Cloud solutions
Imation.com Removable media, primary and archive storage (Bought Nexsan)
imperva.com Data protection tools
imtpartners.com Storage TCO modeling tool
Inboxer.com Email and compliance risk management tools
Incentra.com VAR (Bought by Datalink)
incipient.com Storage management and virtualization (Assets bought by TMS)
indexengines.com eDiscovery, search, indexing, classification
infineta.com WAN optimization
infinibandta.org InfiniBand Trade Organization
infinicon.com InfiniBand Technology
Infinio VMware NAS I/O acceleration cache
infinityio.com Storage networking training
infocachecorp.com Data discovery solutions VAR
InfoGuard.com Data security solutions
infology.net eDiscovery
Infortrend.com RAID controllers
infostor.com Magazine focused on storage and storage networking
infostreet.com Cloud Desktop tools
Inktank Ceph services
inmage.com Data protection appliance
innovationdp.com Data management software
inoc.com Network Operations Center (NOC) service
Inovawave.com Virtualization management tools (aka Hyper9)
Inphase-technologies.com Holographic storage
inquinox.com Data, dedupe and data protection management tools
inrange.com Storage Networking Formerly Dataswitch (Bought by CNT Bought by McData Bought by Brocade)
insight.com Value Added Reseller (VAR)
insynchq.com Cloud storage, document sharing
intel.com Host adapters and chips
intelipathsolutions.com Virtual network connectivity (Aka Onpath)
intellimagic.net Server performance, resource management software
IntelliProp SAS and SATA storage
InterCloud AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
intermedia.net.com Exchange email hosting service
Intermine.com Storage management software
Internap.com Cloud, managed services, hosting and colo
interscapetech.com Cloud and storage tools / services
InterSOC.com Security management tools
intersystems.com Medical Information Technology software
intradyn.com Storage and data protection for SMB (Part of Sony)
intransa.com iSCSI storage
Intronis.com Online, managed and cloud backup solutions
iolo.com Desktop tuneup, protection tools
iomega.com SMB iSCSI, NAS and other storage (Bought by EMC, Partnering with Lenovo)
iometer.org Iometer performance benchmarking tool
Ion Computer Server, storage and data center solutions
iosafe.com Rugged and fire proof, water proof storage
IP Fabrics SDN switch
iphouse.com MSP, hosting and cloud services
iqstor.com Storage for SMB environments
iri.com Big data management tools
CoSort Company IRI Data management and protection tools
ironmountain.com Data archive, managed and cloud services
ironspeed.com Mobile database tools
iSecure Internet security and forensics services
isilon.com Shared storage – (Bought by EMC)
iso.org International Standards Organizations
iStor.com iSCSI storage
IT-ERNITY Data center and hosting services
ivivity.com Storage virtualization technology
iwavesoftware.com Heterogeneous storage automation software
ixia.com Fibre Channel test equipment
IX Reach AWS connect parter, Hosting/cloud/access services
ixsight.com IT and IRM/SRA insight and data migration
JAM Software Treesize SRM including for NAS
jdsu.com Storage networking optics
Jeda Networks Software defined network and storage management
jedec.org Joint Electron Device Engineering Council
jmr.com Storage systems
jni.com Host bus adapters
joyent.com Cloud infrasture tools
jumpbox.com VM virtual appliance hosting
jumpbox.com Virtualization solutions
jungledisk.com Cloud storage, backup file sharing
juniper.net Networking technologies

Where To Learn More

View additional NAS, NVMe, SSD, NVM, SCM, Data Infrastructure and HDD related topics via the following links.

Can we get a side of context with them IOPS and other storage metrics?
WHEN AND WHERE TO USE NAND FLASH SSD FOR VIRTUAL SERVERS
Revisiting RAID storage remains relevant and resources
NVMe overview and primer – Part I
Part 1 of HDD for content servers series Trends and Content Application Servers
Part 2 of HDD for content servers series Content application server decisions and testing plans
Part 3 of HDD for content servers series Test hardware and software configuration
Part 4 of HDD for content servers series Large file I/O processing
Part 5 of HDD for content servers series Small file I/O processing
Part 6 of HDD for content servers series General I/O processing
Part 7 of HDD for content servers series How HDD continue to evolve over different generations and wrap up
As the platters spin, HDD’s for cloud, virtual and traditional storage environments
How many IOPS can a HDD, HHDD or SSD do?
Hard Disk Drives (HDD) for Virtual Environments
Server and Storage I/O performance and benchmarking tools
Server storage I/O performance benchmark workload scripts Part I and Part II
How to test your HDD, SSD or all flash array (AFA) storage fundamentals
What is the best server storage I/O workload benchmark? It depends
I/O, I/O how well do you know about good or bad server and storage I/Os?
Big Files Lots of Little File Processing Benchmarking with Vdbench
Part II – NVMe overview and primer (Different Configurations)
Part III – NVMe overview and primer (Need for Performance Speed)
Part IV – NVMe overview and primer (Where and How to use NVMe)
Part V – NVMe overview and primer (Where to learn more, what this all means)
PCIe Server I/O Fundamentals
If NVMe is the answer, what are the questions?
NVMe Wont Replace Flash By Itself
Via Computerweekly – NVMe discussion: PCIe card vs U.2 and M.2
Intel and Micron unveil new 3D XPoint Non Volatie Memory (NVM) for servers and storage
Part II – Intel and Micron new 3D XPoint server and storage NVM
Part III – 3D XPoint new server storage memory from Intel and Micron
Server storage I/O benchmark tools, workload scripts and examples (Part I) and (Part II)
Data Infrastructure Overview, Its Whats Inside of Data Centers
All You Need To Know about Remote Office/Branch Office Data Protection Backup (free webinar with registration)
Software Defined, Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) resources
The SSD Place (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)
The NVMe Place (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)
Data Protection Diaries (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA, RAID/EC/LRC, Replication, Security)
Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press 2017) including SDDC, Cloud, Container and more
Various Data Infrastructure related events, webinars and other activities
www.objectstoragecenter.com and Software Defined, Cloud, Bulk and Object Storage Fundamentals
Server Storage I/O Network PCIe Fundamentals

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What This All Means

Visit the following additional data infrastructure and IT data center related links.

Links A-E
Links F-J
Links K-O
Links P-T
Links U-Z
Other Links

Ok, nuff said, for now.

February 11, 2017November 26, 2023

Some popular 2016 storageioblog posts

server storage I/O trends

Big Files and Lots of Little File Processing and Benchmarking with Vdbench – Need to test, validate, compare, contrast or simply apply workload to file systems, NAS or other file-based access? Want the flexibility and simplicity to software define your benchmark workload to meet various needs? For example, millions of small files or thousands of large 5GB, 10GB, 15GB (or larger) files with various read, write size and access patterns spanning a single directory, or many with various depths? Do you want the flexibility for different platforms including Windows, *NIX, bare metal, container, virtual or cloud without a bulk tool using simple scripts that produce lots of insightful results? Then you will want to check this post out.

Breaking the VMware ESXi 5.5 ACPI boot loop on Lenovo TD350 – Ever have a VMware host server go into a boot loop and purple screen of death (PSD) then displaying a message about ACPI or similar? After spending time searching and applying many filters to sift through the noise of false positive matches, finally found the simple fix (e.g. a BIOS setting) to break the VMware ESXi vSphere boot loop, or at least on a Lenovo server.

Cloud and Object Storage

Cloud conversations: AWS EBS, Glacier and S3 overview (Part I) – This is one of the perennial favorites that while new features have been added with others extended, the post series still provides a good overview, primer or refresher of various Amazon Web Services (AWS) services including how they work. Interesting in learning more about Microsoft and Azure, then check out this, this, this and this.

Cloud Conversations: AWS EFS Elastic File System (Cloud NAS) – This is a companion to the above AWS as well as other cloud post series that looks at AWS Elastic File System. Note that other cloud service providers have also added NAS file access support, some are intra (e.g. inside AWS cloud), others are inter-cloud (e.g. inside and outside cloud) such as Azure (can work with external Windows Servers using SMB3). Even OpenStack has added NAS file with Manila folders and Ceph with CephFS among others. So when some people tell you that NAS and file access are dead particular for cloud, remind them of the increasing number of services and software stacks that are adding new services to allow their solution to be compatible with existing environments or applications.

Server Storage I/O performance

Collecting Transaction Per Minute from SQL Server and HammerDB – If you have used the free tool HammerDB (e.g. Hammora) for driving database workloads, simulations or benchmarks you should recall that the resulting statistics are rather lacking. Sure there is a nice GUI chart that shows current executing transactions per second (TPS) along with some very simple counters in the log. However compared to some other tools such as sysbench, Quest Benchmark Factory and YCSB among others, the Hammer metrics are rather lacking. In this post I show how you can collect some more metrics from SQL Server if you have to use HammerDB. View more server storage I/O performance benchmark and monitoring tools resources here.

Windows Server 2016

Gaining Server Storage I/O Insight into Microsoft Windows Server 2016 – Microsoft released into general availability Windows Server 2016 and this post looks at some of the new features along with functionality including Storage Spaces Direct (S2D), Storage Replica (SR) as well as other enhancements. With these new and enhanced features Windows Servers increase their interoperability with Azure, as well as supporting aggregated hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), disaggregated converged (CI) as well as traditional workloads along with Hyper-V (and containers). One of the other new enhancements in Windows Server 2016 which now uses ReFS (Reliable File System) as its default file system that you can read more about here. RIP Windows SIS (Single Instance Storage), or at least in Server 2016 With Windows Server 2016 Microsoft removed single instance storage replacing with new capabilities that you can read more about in the this post.

Garbage data in garbage data out

Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage? There is a classic IT expression of garbage data in results in garbage data (or information out) in that your algorithms and data structures (which equals programs e.g. Niklaus Wirth) are only as good as the data they work on. What this means then is that if there is a large amount of big data then there can also be a big garbage in and garbage out problem unless addressed.

Hard product vs. soft product – Hard product refers to something such as hardware, software or a service resource that is obtained and then joined with other resources in a particular way to create a soft product. Not to be confused with software, the soft product is the result or how resources get defined that give some ability or benefit. Think of a soft product as for how airlines can use the same airplane, serve the same coca cola, have same seats, yet their soft product is the service experience of how those are delivered, as well as how you find and buy or use them. Another way of thinking about it is hard products are the ingredients for a recipe, the recipe defines how those ingredients result in some food dish.

how many IOPs can an HDD or SSD do

Part II: How many IOPS can a HDD, HHDD or SSD do with VMware? – This is part of a multi-post series looking at how many IOPs (or bandwidth) various HDD and SSDs can do handling different workloads. Of course, your results will vary with configuration settings, tools among other considerations. However, some of the older rules of thumb (RUT) about RPM and other considerations for HDDs have changed and continue to do so. As an example of how HDDs continue to evolve check out this popular post from the 2016 list Which Enterprise HDDs to use for a Content Server Platform.

Part II: What I did with Lenovo TS140 in my Server and Storage I/O Review – This is a popular post series of some things I have done with a Lenovo TS140 including defining with various software as well as hardware. This is a great price performer value system that several years ago after testing one Lenovo sent me, I returned that to Lenovo and bought several of them to join my other systems.

Server and Storage I/O Benchmarking and Performance Resources – This is a collection of various server, storage I/O and networking hardware, software as well as services tools, techniques as well as tips for benchmarking, comparing, simulation, testing, gaining insight across cloud, virtual, container and legacy resources. Server and Storage I/O Benchmark Tools: Microsoft Diskspd (Part I) – This is one of the tools found on the server, storage I/O benchmarking and performance resources page. Diskspd is a tool developed by Microsoft as an alternative to using Iometer, vdbench, fio.exe, SQLIO among many others, plus, it is on github.

server storage I/O nvme and ssd

The NVM (Non Volatile Memory) and NVMe Place – Interesting and adoption in nand flash, nvram, 3D XPoint among other SSD and Non-volatile Memory (NVM) continues. Another popular post that you can find at thenvmeplace.com is this NVMe overview and primer – Part I. There is a growing interest, awareness and deployment adoption around NVM Express (NVMe) the new protocol for accessing NVMs and SSDs. Some of the common conversations and questions I encounter is confusion between NVM and NVMe, too which the answer is one (the former) are the media or devices, the other is the access method alternative to using AHCI/SATA or SCSI (e.g. SAS, iSCSI, FCP, SRP) among others.

VMware VVOLs and storage I/O fundamentals (Part 1) – VMware Virtual Volumes (VVOL) continue to gain adoption and this post is part of an overview and primer. If you want to go deeper into VVOL as well as see some adoption insights check out Eric Sieberts post here over at vsphere-land.com

Welcome to the Object Storage Center page – This is a micro site that has a primer and overview of cloud as well as object storage along with an expanding list of links to various resources, tips, technologies, tools, trends and industry activity.

Where To Learn More

www.storageio.com particular if you have not been there for awhile to check out the new streamlined look and navigation to various content including Server StorageIO update newsletters (free subscription) among other resources.

Additional learning experiences along with common questions (and answers), as well as tips can be found in Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book.

What this all means and wrapping up

Some of the popular posts for 2016 are perennial favorites and based on experience will probably appear on the 2017 list. However there are also several new posts that appeared in 2016 that I suspect will also appear on the 2017 version of the above list, along with new content from 2017.

Thank you to all of you who frequent StorageIOblog.com as well as StorageIO.com along with our various micro sites including server storage I/O performance and benchmarking resources, thenvmeplace.com, thessdplace.com, cloud and objectstoragecenter.com, data protection diaries among others.

Also thank you for viewing various partner venues and syndicates with extra ones appearing throughout 2017. Watch for more content in the coming weeks, months and throughout 2017 on software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) along with server, storage I/O, networking, hardware, software, cloud, container, data protection and related topics, trends, technologies, tools and tips.

Again, thank you

Ok, nuff said, for now.

January 21, 2017November 26, 2023

January 2017 Server StorageIO Update Newsletter

Volume 17, Issue I

Hello and welcome to first 2017 issue of the Server StorageIO update newsletter.

Now that we are past the holidays, year-end crunch, post new years activity including NFL football playoffs, its time to get back on track for the new year and new things.

There is a lot going on, in and around data infrastructure server, storage, and I/O networking connectivity from a hardware, software, and services perceptive. From consumer to small/medium business (SMB), enterprise to web-scale and cloud-managed service providers, physical to virtual, spanning structured database (aka “little data”) to unstructured big data and very big fast data, a lot is happening today.

Watch for more coverage involving data infrastructures as well as other related topics in future newsletters, at StorageIOblog.com as well as in different venues and events.

In This Issue

Commentary in the news

Tips and Articles

StorageIOblog posts

Events and Webinars

Industry Activity Trends

Resources and Links

Connect and Converse With Us

About Us

Enjoy this edition of the Server StorageIO update newsletter.

Cheers GS

Industry Activity Trends

Recent Industry News and Activity includes:

Broadcom buying Brocade for $5.5B USD (if you missed last fall)
Cavium QLogic expands 10GbE connectivity for server and storage I/O
HPE announces enhancements to flash-ready HPE StoreVirtual 3200
HPE buying scaleable HCI vendor Simplivity for $650 million USD (Cash)
LinBit and SUSE providing open source high availability (HA) solutions
StorageCraft (data protection software) acquires Exablox (object storage)
Teradata has launched their big data database on Azure

StorageIOblog Posts

Recent and popular Server StorageIOblog posts include:

Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its Whats Inside Data Centers)

SDx (Software Defined) Summit London UK

SSD, flash, Non-volatile memory (NVM) storage Trends, Tips & Topics

Cloud and Object storage are in your future, what are some questions?

Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links

September and October 2016 Server StorageIO Update Newsletter

StorageIO Commentary in the news

Recent Server StorageIO industry trends perspectives commentary in the news.

Via InfoStor: 10 Top Data Storage Applications
Via InfoStor: Cloud Storage Concerns, Considerations and Trends
Via InfoStor: 10 Top Data Storage Applications
Via InfoStor: SSD Trends, Tips and Topics
Via HPE: Decision guide: Public cloud versus on-prem storage
Via InfoStor: Six Ways to Boost Data Storage Performance

View more Server, Storage and I/O trends and perspectives comments here

StorageIO Tips and Articles

Recent and past Server StorageIO articles appearing in different venues include:

Via FutureReadyOEM: When to implement ultra-dense storage
Via InfoStor: Cloud Storage Concerns, Considerations and Trends
Via InfoStor: SSD Trends, Tips and Topics

Check out these resources techniques, trends and tools. View more tips and articles here

Events and Activities

Recent and upcoming event activities.

April 3-7, 2017 – Seminars – Dutch workshop seminar series – Nijkerk Netherlands

March 15, 2017 – Webinar – SNIA/BrightTalk – HyperConverged (HCI) and Storage – 10AM PT

January 26 2017 – Seminar – Presenting at Wipro SDx Summit London UK

January 11, 2017 Webinar – Redmond Magazine
Dell Software – Presenting – Tailor Your Backup Data Repositories to Fit Your Needs

December 13 VMware webinar – vSAN, HCIBench, vSAN Observer and healthcheck

December 7, 2016 11AM PT – BrightTalk Webinar: Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

See more webinars and activities on the Server StorageIO Events page here.

Server StorageIO Industry Resources and Links

Useful links and pages:
Microsoft TechNet – Various Microsoft related from Azure to Docker to Windows
storageio.com/links – Various industry links (over 1,000 with more to be added soon)
objectstoragecenter.com – Cloud and object storage topics, tips and news items
OpenStack.org – Various OpenStack related items
storageio.com/protect – Various data protection items and topics
thenvmeplace.com – Focus on NVMe trends and technologies
thessdplace.com – NVM and Solid State Disk topics, tips and techniques
storageio.com/performance – Various server, storage and I/O benchmark and tools
VMware Technical Network – Various VMware related items

Ok, nuff said, for now.

Data Infrastructure Resource Links Server Storage I/O Network

Where to learn more

What This All Means

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Data Protection Diaries Fundamental Point In Time Granularity

Point-in-Time Protection Granularity Points of Interest

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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Additional Data Infrastructure and related topic sites

Additional Data Infrastructure Venues

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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Cloud Conversations AWS Azure Service Maps via Microsoft

Whats In the Service Map

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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Travel Fun Crossword Puzzle For VMworld 2017 Las Vegas

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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New SDDI Essentials Book by Greg Schulz of Server StorageIO

Cloud, Converged, Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft

Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book Announcement

Where To Purchase Your Copy

What People Are Saying About Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book

Book Features

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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Do You Take Trade Show Exhibit Infrastructure For Granted?

Fire Disrupts Flash Memory Summit Conference Exhibits

Do We Take Data and Event Infrastructures For Granted

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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Intel Xeon Scalable Processors SDDI and SDDC

What About Speeds and Feeds

What about NVMe

What About Intel and Storage

Where To Learn More

What This All Means

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Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review

Azure Stack Overview

What is Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3)

Where to learn more

What this all means

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Broadcom aka Avago aka LSI announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAID

Who Is Broadcom?

What Was Announced?

Wait, Doesnt NVMe use PCIe

Who Is This For?

Where to Learn More

What this all means

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VMware vSAN V6.6 Part III (Reducing costs complexity)

Reducing cost and complexity

Where to Learn More

What this all means

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Data Infrastructure IT Industry Related Resource Links F to J

IT Data Center and Data Infrastructure Industry Resources

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What This All Means

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Some popular 2016 storageioblog posts

Where To Learn More

What this all means and wrapping up

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Volume 17, Issue I

In This Issue

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