Lenovo ThinkServer TD340 StorageIO lab Review

Storage I/O trends

Lenovo ThinkServer TD340 Server and StorageIO lab Review

Earlier this year I did a review of the Lenovo ThinkServer TS140 in the StorageIO Labs (see the review here), in fact I ended up buying a TS140 after the review, and a few months back picked up another one. This StorageIOlab review looks at the Lenovo ThinkServer TD340 Tower Server which besides having a larger model number than the TS140, it also has a lot more capabilities (server compute, memory, I/O slots and internal hot-swap storage bays. Pricing varies depending on specific configuration options, however at the time of this post Lenovo was advertising a starting price of $1,509 USD for a specific configuration here. You will need to select different options to decide your specific cost.

The TD340 is one of the servers that Lenovo has had prior to its acquisition of IBM x86 server business that you can read about here. Note that the Lenovo acquisition of the IBM xSeries business group has begun as of early October 2014 and is expected to be completed across different countries in early 2015. Read more about the IBM xSeries business unit here, here and here.

The Lenovo TD340 Experience

Lets start with the overall experience which was very easy other than deciding what make and model to try. This includes going from first answering some questions to get the process moving, agreeing to keep the equipment safe, secure, insured as well as not damaging anything. Part of the process also involved answering some configuration related questions and shortly there after a large box from Lenovo arrived.

TD340 is ready for use
TD340 with Keyboard and Mouse (Monitor and keyboard not included)

One of the reasons I have a photo of the TD340 on a desk is that I initially put it in an office environment similar to what I did with the TS140 as Lenovo claimed it would be quiet enough to do so. I was not surprised and indeed the TD340 is quiet enough to be used where you would normally find a workstation or mini-tower. By being so quiet the TD340 is a good fit for environments that need a server that has to go into an office environment as opposed to a server or networking room.

Welcome to the TD340
Lenovo ThinkServer Setup

TD340 Setup
Lenovo TD340 as tested in BIOS setup, note the dual Intel Xeon E5-2420 v2 processors

TD340 as tested

TD340 Selfie of whats inside
TD340 "Selfie" with 4 x 8GB DDR3 DIMM (32GB) and PCIe slots (empty)

TD340 disk drive bays
TD340 internal drive hot-swap bays

Speeds and Feeds

The TD340 that I tested was a Machine type 7087 model 002RUX which included 4 x 16GB DIMMs and both processor sockets occupied.

You can view the Lenovo TD340 data sheet with more speeds and feeds here, however the following is a summary.

  • Operating systems support include various Windows Servers (2008-2012 R2), SUSE, RHEL, Citrix XenServer and VMware ESXi
  • Form factor is 5U tower with weight starting at 62 pounds depending on how configured
  • Processors include support for up to two (2) Intel E5-2400 v2 series
  • Memory includes 12 DDR3 DRAM DIMM slots (LV RDIMM and UDIMM) for up to 129GB.
  • Expansion slots vary depending on if a single or dual cpu socket. Single CPU socket installed has 1 x PCIe Gen3 FH/HL x8 mechanical, x4 electrical, 1 x PCIe Gen3
  • FH/HL x16 mechanical, x16 electrical and a single PCI 32bit/33 MHz FH/HL slot. With two CPU sockets installed extra PCIe slots are enabled. These include single x PCIe GEN3: FH/HL x8 mechanical, x4 electrical, single x PCIe GEN3: FH/HL x16 mechanical, x16 electrical, three x PCIe GEN3: FH/HL x8 mechanical, x8 electrical and a single PCI 5V 32-bit/33 MHz: FH/HL
  • Two 5.25” media bays for CD or DVDs or other devices
  • Integrated ThinkServer RAID (0/1/10/5) with optional RAID adapter models
  • Internal storage varies depending on model including up to eight (8) x 3.5” hot swap drives or 16 x 2.5” hot swap drives (HDD’s or SSDs).
  • Storage space capacity varies by the type and size of the drives being used.
  • Networking interfaces include two (2) x GbE
  • Power supply options include single 625 watt or 800 watt, or 1+1 redundant hot-swap 800 watt, five fixed fans.
  • Management tools include ThinkServer Management Module and diagnostics

What Did I do with the TD340

After initial check out in an office type environment, I moved the TD340 into the lab area where it joined other servers to be used for various things.

Some of those activities included using the Windows Server 2012 Essentials along with associated admin activities as well as installing VMware ESXi 5.5.

TD340 is ready for use
TD340 with Keyboard and Mouse (Monitor and keyboard not included)

What I liked

Unbelievably quiet which may not seem like a big deal, however if you are looking to deploy a server or system into a small office workspace, this becomes an important considerations. Otoh, if you are a power user and want a robust server that can be installed into a home media entertainment system, well, this might be a nice to have consideration ;). Speaking of IO slots, naturally I’m interested in Server Storage I/O so having multiple slots is a must have, along with the processor that is multi-core (pretty much standard these days) along with VT and EP for supporting VMware (these were disabled in the BIOS however that was an easy fix).

What I did not like

The only thing I did not like was that I ran into a compatibility issue trying to use a LSI 9300 series 12Gb SAS HBA which Lenovo is aware of, and perhaps has even addressed by now. What I ran into is that the adapters work however I was not able to get the full performance out of the adapters as compared to on other systems including my slower Lenovo TS140s.

Summary

Overall I give Lenovo and the TD340 an "B+" which would have been an "A" had I not gotten myself into a BIOS situation or been able to run the 12Gbps SAS PCIe Gen 3 cards at full speed. Likewise the Lenovo service and support also helped to improve on the experience. Otoh, if you are simply going to use the TD340 in a normal out of the box mode without customizing to add your own adapters or install your own operating system or Hypervisors (beyond those that are supplied as part of the install setup tool kit), you may have an "A" or "A+" experience with the TD340.

Would I recommend the TD340 to others? Yes for those who need this type and class of server for Windows, *nix, Hyper-V or VMware environments.

Would I buy a TD340 for myself? Maybe if that is the size and type of system I need, however I have my eye on something bigger. On the other hand for those who need a good value server for a SMB or ROBO environment with room to grow, the TD340 should be on your shopping list to compare with other solutions.

Disclosure: Thanks to the folks at Lenovo for sending and making the TD340 available for review and a hands on test experience including covering the cost of shipping both ways (the unit should now be back in your possession). Thus this is not a sponsored post as Lenovo is not paying for this (they did loan the server and covered two-way shipping), nor am I paying them, however I have bought some of their servers in the past for the StorageIOLab environment that are companions to some Dell and HP servers that I have also purchased.

Ok, nuff said

Cheers
Gs

Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
twitter @storageio

All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

September October 2014 Server and StorageIO Update Newsletter

September and October 2014

Hello and welcome to this joint September and October Server and StorageIO update newsletter. Since the August newsletter, things have been busy with a mix of behind the scenes projects, as well as other activities including several webinars, on-line along with in-person events in the US as well as Europe.

Enjoy this edition of the Server and StorageIO update newsletter and watch for new tips, articles, StorageIO lab report reviews, blog posts, videos and podcasts along with in the news commentary appearing soon.

Cheers gs

Industry Trends and Perspectives

Storage trends

In September I was invited to do a key-note opening presentation at the MSP area CMG event. Theme for the September CMG event was "Flash – A Real Life Experience" with a focus of what people are doing, how testing and evaluating including use of hybrid solutions as opposed to vendor marketing sessions. My session was titled "Flash back to reality – Myths and Realities, Flash and SSD Industry trends perspectives plus benchmarking tips and can be found here. Thanks to Tom Becchetti an the MSP CMG (@mspcmg) folks for a great event.

There are many facets to hybrid storage including different types of media (SSD and HDD’s) along with unified or multi-protocol access. Then there are hybrid storage that spans local and public clouds. Here is a link to an on-line Internet Radio show via Information Week along with on-line chat about Hybrid Storage for Government.

Some things I’m working with or keeping an eye on include Cloud, Converged solutions, Data Protection, Business Resiliency, DCIM, Docker, InfiniBand, Microsoft (Hyper-V, SOFS, SMB 3.0), Object Storage, SSD, SDS, VMware and VVOL among others items.

Commentary In The News

StorageIO news

A lot has been going on in the IT industry since the last StorageIO Update newsletter. The following are some StorageIO industry trends perspectives comments that have appeared in various venues. Cloud conversations continue to be popular including concerns about privacy, security and availability. Here are some comments at SearchCloudComputing: about moving on from cloud deployment heartbreak.

Nand flash Solid State Devices (SSD) continue to increase in customer deployments, over at Processor, here are some here are some comments on Incorporating SSD’s Into Your Storage Plan. Also on SSD, here are some perspectives making the Argument For Flash-Based Storage. Some other comments over at Processer.com include looking At Disaster Recovery As A Service, tips to Avoid In Data Center Planning, making the most of Enterprise Virtualization, as well as New Tech, Advancements To Justify Servers. Part of controlling and managing storage costs is having timely insight, metrics that matter, here are some more perspectives and also here.

Over at SearchVirtualStorage I have some comments on how to configure and manage storage for a virtual desktop environment (VDI) while over at TechPageOne there are perspectives on top reasons to switch to Windows 8. 

Some other comments and perspectives are over at EnterpriseStorageForum including Top 10 Ways to Improve Data Center Energy Efficiency. At InfoStor there are comments and tips about Object Storage, while at SearchDataBackup I have some perspectives about Symantec being broken up.

View other industry trends comments at the here

Tips and Articles

Recent Server and StorageIO tips and articles appearing in various venues include over at SearchCloudStorage a series of discussion often asked question pieces:

Are you concerned with the security of the cloud?
Is the cost of cloud storage really cheaper?
What’s important to know about cloud privacy policy?
Are more than five nines of availability really possible?
What to look for enterprise file sync-and-share app?
How primary storage clouds and cloud backup differ?
What should I consider when using SSD cloud?
What is difference between a snapshot and a clone?

View other recent as well as past tips and articles here

StorageIOblog posts

Recent StorageIOblog posts include:

View other recent as well as past blog posts here

In This Issue

  • Industry Trends Perspectives
  • Commentary in the news
  • Tips and Articles
  • StorageIOblog posts
  • Events & Activities

    September 25, 2014
    MSP CMG – Flash and SSD performance

    October 8-10, 2014
    Nijkerk Netherlands Brouwer Seminar Series

    November 11-13, 2014
    AWS re:Invent Las Vegas

    View other recent and upcoming events here

    Webinars

    November 13 9AM PT
    BrightTalk – Software Defined Storage

    November 11 10AM PT
    Google+ Hangout Dell BackupU

    November 11 9AM PT
    BrightTak – Software Defined Data Centers

    October 16 9AM PT
    BrightTalk – Cloud Storage Decision Making

    October 15 1PM PT
    BrightTalk – Hybrid Cloud Trends

    October 7 11AM PT
    BackupU – Data Protection Management

    September 18 8AM CT
    Nexsan – Hybrid Storage

    September 18 9AM PT
    BrightTalk – Converged Storage

    September 17 1PM PT
    BrightTalk – DCIM

    September 16 1PM PT
    BrightTalk – Data Center Convergence

    September 16 Noon PT
    BrightTalk – BC, BR and DR

    September 16 1PM CT
    StarWind – SMB 3.0 & Microsoft SOFS

    September 16 9AM PT
    Google+ Hangout – BackupU – Replication

    September 2 11AM PT
    Dell BackupU – Replication

    Videos and Podcasts

    Docker for Smarties
    Video: Docker for Smarties

    StorageIO podcasts are also available via and at StorageIO.tv

    From StorageIO Labs

    Research, Reviews and Reports

    Enterprise 12Gbps SAS and SSD’s
    Better Together – Part of an Enterprise Tiered Storage Strategy

    In this StorageIO Industry Trends Perspective thought leadership white paper we look at how enterprise class SSD’s and 12Gbps SAS address current and next generation tiered storage for virtual, cloud, traditional Little and Big Data environments. This report includes proof points running various workloads including Database TPC-B, TPC-E, Microsoft Exchange in the StorageIO Labs along with cache software comparing SSD, SSHD and HDD’s. Read the  white paper  compliments of Seagate 1200 12Gbs SAS SSD’s.

    Seagate SSD White Paper

    Resources and Links

    Check out these useful links and pages:
    storageio.com/links
    objectstoragecenter.com
    storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/
    storageio.com/ssd
    storageio.com/ssd

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers
    Gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    VMware Cisco EMC VCE Zen and now server storage I/O convergence

    Storage I/O trends

    VMware Cisco EMC VCE Zen and now server storage I/O convergence

    In case you have not heard, the joint initiative (JV) founded in the fall of 2009 between Intel VMware Cisco and EMC called VCE had a change of ownership today.

    Well, kind of…

    Who is VCE and what’s this Zen stuff?

    For those not familiar or who need a recap, VCE was created to create converged server, storage I/O networking hardware and software solutions combing technologies from its investors resulting in solutions called vBlocks.

    The major investors were Cisco who provides the converged servers and I/O networking along with associated management tools as well as EMC who provides the storage systems along with their associated management tools. Minority investors include VMware (who is majority owned by EMC) who provides the server virtualization aka software defined data center management tools and Intel whose’s processor chip technologies are used in the vBlocks. What has changed from Zen (e.g. yesterday or in the past) and now is that Cisco has sold the majority (they are retaining about 10%) of its investment ownership in VCE to EMC. Learn more about VCE, their solutions and valueware in this post here (VCE revisited, now and Zen).

    Activist activating activity?

    EMC pulling VCE in-house which should prop up its own internal sales figures by perhaps a few billion USDs within a year or so (if not sooner) is not as appealing to activists investors who want results now such as selling off parts of the company (e.g. EMC, VMware or other assets) or the entire company.

    However EMC has been under pressure from activist shareholder Elliot Management to divest or sell-off portions of this business such as VMware so that the investors (including the activist) can make more money. For example there have been the recent stories about EMC looking to sell or merge with the likes of HP (who is now buying back shares and splitting up its own business) among others which certainly must make the activist investors happy.

    However to the activist investors who want to see things sold to make money they are not happy with EMC off buying or investing it appears.

    Via Bloomberg

    “The last thing on investors’ minds is the future of VCE,” Daniel Ives, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets, wrote in a note today. “EMC has a fire in its house right now and the company appears focused on painting its bedroom (e.g. VCE), while the Street wants a resolution on the strategic ownership situation sooner rather than later.”

    Read more at Bloomberg

    Whats this EMC Federation stuff?

    Note that EMC has organized itself into a federation that consists of EMC Information Infrastructure (EMCII) or what you might know a traditional EMC based storage and related software solutions, VMware, Pivotal and RSA. Also note that each of those federated companies have their own CEO as well as have holdings or ownership of other companies. However all report to a common federated leadership aka EMC. Thus when you hear EMC that could mean depending on the context the federation mother ship which controls the individual companies, or it could also be used to refer to EMCII aka the traditional EMC. Click here to learn more about the EMC federation.

    Converging Markets and Opportunities

    Looking beyond near-term or quick gains, EMC could be simply doing something others do to take ownership and control over certain things while reducing complexities associated with joint initiatives. For example with EMC and Cisco in a close partnership with VCE, both parties have been free to explore and take part in other joint initiatives such as Cisco with EMC competitors NetApp, HDS among others. Otoh EMC partners with Arista for networking, not to mention via VMware acquired virtual network or software defined network Nicira now called NSX.

    server and storage I/O road map to convergence

    EMC is also in a partnership with Lenovo for developing servers to be used by EMC for various platforms to support storage, data and information services while shifting the lower-end SMB storage offerings such as Iomega to the Lenovo channel.

    Note that Lenovo is in the process of absorbing the IBM xSeries (e.g. x86 based) business unit that started closing earlier in October (will take several months to completely close in all countries around the world). For its part Cisco is also partnering with hyper-converged solution provider Simplivity while EMC has announced its statement of direction to bring to market its own hyper-converged platform by end of the year. For those not familiar, Hyper-converged solutions are simply the next evolution of converged or pre-bundled turnkey systems (some of you might have just had a Dejavu moment) that today tend to be targeted for SMBs and ROBOs however used for targeted applications such as VDI in larger environments.

    Storage I/O trends

    What does this have to do with VCE?

    IF EMC is about to release as it has made statement of direction statements of a hyper-converged solution by year-end to compete head-on with those from Nutanix, Simplivity and Tintri as well as perhaps to a lesser extent VMwares EVO:Rail, by having more control over VCE means reducing if not eliminating complexity around vBlocks which are Cisco based with EMC storage vs. what ever EMC brings to market for hyper-converged. In the past under the VCE initiatives storage was limited to EMC and servers along with networking from Cisco, hypervisors from VMware, however what happens in the future remains to be seen.

    Does this mean EMC is moving even more into servers than just virtual servers?

    Tough to say as EMC can not afford to have its sales force lose focus on its traditional core products while ramping up other business, however, the EMC direct and partner teams want and need to keep up account control which means gaining market share and footprint in those accounts. This also means EMC needs to find ways to take cost out of the sales and marketing process where possible to streamline which perhaps brining VCE will help do.

    Will this perhaps give the EMC direct and partner sales teams a new carrot or incentive to promote converged and hyper-converged at the cost of other competitors or incumbents? Perhaps, lets see what happens in the coming weeks.

    What does this all mean?

    In a nut shell, IMHO EMC is doing a couple of things here one of which is cleaning up some ownership in JVs to give it self more control, as well as options for doing other business transactions (mergers and acquisitions (M&A), sales or divestiture’s, new joint initiatives, etc). Then there is streamline its business from decision-making to quickly respond to new opportunities as well as routes to markets and other activities (e.g. removing complexity and cost vs. simply cutting cost).

    Does this signal the prelude to something else? Perhaps, we know that EMC has made a statement of direction about hyper-converged which with VCE now more under EMC control, perhaps we will see more options from under the VCE umbrella both for lower-end and entry SMB as well as SME and large enterprise organizations.

    What about the activist investors?

    They are going to make noise as long as they can continue to make more money or get what they want. Publicly I would be shocked if the activist investors were not making statements that EMC should be selling assets not buying or investing.

    On the other hand, any smart investor,  financial or other analyst should see though the fog of what this relatively simple transaction means in terms of EMC getting further control of its future.

    Of course the question will stay does EMC remain in control of its current federation of EMC, VMware, Pivotal, RSA along each of their respective holdings, does EMC doe a block buster merger, divestiture or acquisition?

    server and storage I/O road ahead

    Take a step back, look at the big picture!

    Some things to keep an eye on:

    • Will this move help streamline decision-making enabling new solutions to be brought to market and customers quicker?
    • While there is a VMware focus, don’t forget about the long-running decades old relationship with Microsoft and how that plays into the equation
    • Watch for what EMC releases with their hyper-converged solution as well as where it is focused, not to mention how sold
    • Also watch the EMC and Lenovo join initiative, both for the Iomega storage activity as well as what EMC and Lenovo do with and for servers
    • Speaking of Lenovo, unless I missed something as of the time of writing this, have you noticed that Lenovo is not yet part of the VMware EVO:Rail initiative?

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers
    Gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    Seagate has shipped over 10 Million storage HHDD’s, is that a lot?

    Seagate has shipped over 10 Million storage HHDD’s, is that a lot?

    Recently Seagate made an announcement that they have shipped over 10 million Hybrid Hard Disk Drives (HHDD) also known as Solid State Hybrid Drives (SSHD) over that past few years. Disclosure Seagate has been a StorageIO client.

    I know where some of those desktop class HHDD’s including Momentus XTs ended up as I bought some of the 500GB and 750GB models via Amazon and have them in various systems. Likewise I have installed in VMware servers the newer generation of enterprise class SSHD’s which Seagate now refers to as Turbo models as companions to my older HHDD’s

    What is a HHDD or SSHD?

    The HHDD’s continue to evolve from initially accelerating reads to now being capable of speeding up write operations across different families (desktop/mobile, workstation and enterprise). What makes a HHDD or SSHD is that as their name implies, they are a hybrid combing a traditional spinning magnetic Hard Disk Drive (HDD) along with flash SSD storage. The flash persistent memory is in addition to the DRAM or non-persistent memory typically found on HDDs used as a cache buffer. These HHDDs or SSHDs are self-contained in that the flash are built-in to the actual drive as part of its internal electronics circuit board (controller). This means that the drives should be transparent to the operating systems or hypervisors on servers or storage controllers without need for special adapters, controller cards or drivers. In addition, there is no extra software needed to automated tiering or movement between the flash on the HHDD or SSHD and its internal HDD, its all self-contained managed by the drives firmware (e.g. software).

    Some SSHD and HHDD industry perspectives

    Jim Handy over at Objective Analysis has this interesting post discussing Hybrid Drives Not Catching On. The following is an excerpt from Jim’s post.

    Why were our expectations higher? 

    There were a few reasons: The hybrid drive can be viewed as an evolution of the DRAM cache already incorporated into nearly all HDDs today. 

    • Replacing or augmenting an expensive DRAM cache with a slower, cheaper NAND cache makes a lot of sense.
    • An SSHD performs much better than a standard HDD at a lower price than an SSD. In fact, an SSD of the same capacity as today’s average HDD would cost about an order of magnitude more than the HDD. The beauty of an SSHD is that it provides near-SSD performance at a near-HDD price. This could have been a very compelling sales proposition had it been promoted in a way that was understood and embraced by end users.
    • Some expected for Seagate to include this technology into all HDDs and not to try to continue using it as a differentiator between different Seagate product lines. The company could have taken either of two approaches: To use hybrid technology to break apart two product lines – standard HDDs and higher-margin hybrid HDDs, or to merge hybrid technology into all Seagate HDDs to differentiate Seagate HDDs from competitors’ products, allowing Seagate to take slightly higher margins on all HDDs. Seagate chose the first path.

    The net result is shipments of 10 million units since its 2010 introduction, for an average of 2.5 million per year, out of a total annual HDD shipments of around 500 million units, or one half of one percent.

    Continue reading more of Jim’s post here.

    In his post, Jim raises some good points including that HHDD’s and SSHD’s are still a fraction of the overall HDD’s shipped on an annual basis. However IMHO the annual growth rate has not been a flat average of 2.5 million, rather starting at a lower rate and then increasing year over year. For example Seagate issued a press release back in summer 2011 that they had shipped a million HHDD’s a year after their release. Also keep in mind that those HHDD’s were focused on desktop workstations and in particular, at Gamers among others.

    The early HHDD’s such as the Momentus XTs that I was using starting in June 2010 only had read acceleration which was better than HDD’s, however did not help out on writes. Over the past couple of years there have been enhancements to the HHDD’s including the newer generation also known as SSHD’s or Turbo drives as Seagate now calls them. These newer drives include write acceleration as well as with models for mobile/laptop, workstation and enterprise class including higher-performance and high-capacity versions. Thus my estimates or analysis has the growth on an accelerating curve vs. linear growth rate (e.g. average of 2.5 million units per year).

     Units shipped per yearRunning total units shipped
    2010-20111.0 Million1.0 Million
    2011-20121.25 Million (est.)2.25 Million (est.)
    2012-20132.75 Million (est.)5.0 Million (est.)
    2013-20145.0 Million (est)10.0 Million

    StorageIO estimates on HHDD/SSHD units shipped based on Seagate announcements

    estimated hhdd and sshd shipments

    However IMHO there is more to the story beyond numbers of HHDD/SSHD shipped or if they are accelerating in deployment or growing at an average rate. Some of those perspectives are in my comments over on Jim Handy’s site with an excerpt below.

    In talking with IT professionals (e.g. what the vendors/industry calls users/customers) they are generally not aware that these devices exist, or if they are aware of them, they are only aware of what was available in the past (e.g. the consumer class read optimized versions). I do talk with some who are aware of the newer generation devices however their comments are usually tied to lack of system integrator (SI) or vendor/OEM support, or sole source. Also there was a focus on promoting the HHDD’s to “gamers” or other power users as opposed to broader marketing efforts. Also most of these IT people are not aware of the newer generation of SSHD or what Seagate is now calling “Turbo” drives.

    When talking with VAR’s, there is a similar reaction which is discussion about lack of support for HHDD’s or SSHD’s from the SI/vendor OEMs, or single source supply concerns. Also a common reaction is lack of awareness around current generation of SSHD’s (e.g. those that do write optimization, as well as enterprise class versions).

    When talking with vendors/OEMs, there is a general lack of awareness of the newer enterprise class SSHD’s/HHDD’s that do write acceleration, sometimes there is concern of how this would disrupt their “hybrid” SSD + HDD or tiering marketing stories/strategies, as well as comments about single source suppliers. Have also heard comments to the effect of concerns about how long or committed are the drive manufactures going to be focused on SSHD/HHDD, or is this just a gap filler for now.

    Not surprisingly when I talk with industry pundits, influencers, amplifiers (e.g. analyst, media, consultants, blogalysts) there is a reflection of all the above which is lack of awareness of what is available (not to mention lack of experience) vs. repeating what has been heard or read about in the past.

    IMHO while there are some technology hurdles, the biggest issue and challenge is that of some basic marketing and business development to generate awareness with the industry (e.g. pundits), vendors/OEMs, VAR’s, and IT customers, that is of course assuming SSHD/HHDD are here to stay and not just a passing fad…

    What about SSHD and HHDD performance on reads and writes?

    What about the performance of today’s HHDD’s and SSHD’s, particular those that can accelerate writes as well as reads?

    SSHD and HHDD read / write performance exchange
    Enterprise Turbo SSHD read and write performance (Exchange Email)

    What about the performance of today’s HHDD’s and SSHD’s, particular those that can accelerate writes as well as reads?

    SSHD and HHDD performance TPC-B
    Enterprise Turbo SSHD read and write performance (TPC-B database)

    SSHD and HHDD performance TPC-E
    Enterprise Turbo SSHD read and write performance (TPC-E database)

    Additional details and information about HHDD/SSHD or as Seagate now refers to them Turbo drives can be found in two StorageIO Industry Trends Perspective White Papers (located here and another here).

    Where to learn more

    Refer to the following links to learn more about HHDD and SSHD devices.
    StorageIO Momentus Hybrid Hard Disk Drive (HHDD) Moments
    Enterprise SSHD and Flash SSD
    Part of an Enterprise Tiered Storage Strategy

    Part II: How many IOPS can a HDD, HHDD or SSD do with VMware?
    2011 Summer momentus hybrid hard disk drive (HHDD) moment
    More Storage IO momentus HHDD and SSD moments part I
    More Storage IO momentus HHDD and SSD moments part II
    New Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid drive (SSD and HDD)
    Another StorageIO Hybrid Momentus Moment
    SSD past, present and future with Jim Handy
    Part II: How many IOPS can a HDD, HHDD or SSD do with VMware?

    Closing comments and perspectives

    I continue to be bullish on hybrid storage solutions from cloud, to storage systems as well as hybrid-storage devices. However like many technology just because something makes sense or is interesting does not mean its a near-term or long-term winner. My main concern with SSHD and HHDD is if the manufactures such as Seagate and WD are serious about making them a standard feature in all drives, or simply as a near-term stop-gap solution.

    What’s your take or experience with using HHDD and/or SSHDs?

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers
    Gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    Docker for Smarties (e.g. non-dummies) from VMworld 2014

    Docker for Smarties (e.g. non-dummies) from VMworld 2014

    In this Industry Trends Perspectives video pod cast episode (On YouTube) I had a chance to visit with Nathan LeClaire of docker.com at the recent VMworld 2014 in San Francisco for a quick overview of docker and containers are about, what you need to know and where to find more information. Check out this StorageIO Industry Trends Perspective episode "Docker for Smarties" aka not for dummies via YouTube by clicking here or on the image below.

    storage i/o video

    StorageIO docker for smarties from VMworld 2014

    For those not familiar with docker.YouTube videos about server and storage I/O

    Server storage I/O docker for non-dummies
    Docker overview

    What to know about docker
    Three things to know about docker

    key points and where to learn more about docker

    Checkout the Docker for non-dummies storage i/o videovideo here.

    What’s your take, is docker in your future or are you already using it?

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    SNIA announces Cloud Data Management Initiative (CDMI) V1.1

    SNIA announces Cloud Data Management Initiative (CDMI) V1.1

    In case you missed it, the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) recently released their version 1.1 of its Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) specification.

    Highlights of CDMI version 1.1 include:

  • New functionality to ease CDMI implementation with other cloud API’s (e.g. AWS S3, OpenStack Swift, etc.)
  • Expanded cloud data services along with backwards compatible to earlier versions among other enhancements.
  • Check out the full specification here.

    Speaking of SNIA and CDMI, check out this pod cast post of CDMI in a conversation with Wayne Adams and David Dale of SNIA.

    Ok, nuff said

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    CompTIA needs input for their Storage+ certification, can you help?

    CompTIA needs input for their Storage+ certification, can you help?

    The CompTIA folks are looking for some comments and feedback from those who are involved with data storage in various ways as part of planning for their upcoming enhancements to the Storage+ certification testing.

    As a point of disclosure, I am member of the CompTIA Storage+ certification advisory committee (CAC), however I don’t get paid or receive any other type of renumeration for contributing my time to give them feedback and guidance other than a thank, Atta boy for giving back and playing it forward to help others in the IT community similar to what my predecessors did.

    I have been asked to pass this along to others (e.g. you or who ever forwards it on to you).

    Please take a few moments and feel free to share with others this link here to the survey for CompTIA Storage+.

    What they are looking for is to validate the exam blueprint generated from a recent Job Task Analysis (JTA) process.

    In other words, does the certification exam show real-world relevance to what you and your associates may be doing involved with data storage.

    This is opposed to being aligned with those whose’s job it is to create test questions and may not understand what it is you the IT pro involved with storage does or does not do.

    If you have ever taken a certification exam test and scratched your head or wondered out why some questions that seem to lack real-world relevance were included, vs. ones of practical on-the-job experience were missing, here’s your chance to give feedback.

    Note that you will not be rewarded with an Amex or Amazon gift card, Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts certificates, free software download or some other incentive to play and win, however if you take the survey let me know and will be sure to tweet you an Atta boy or Atta girl! However they are giving away a free T-Shirt to every 10 survey takers.

    Btw, if you really need something for free, send me a note (I’m not that difficult to find) as I have some free copies of Resilient Storage Networking (RSN): Designing Flexible Scalable Data Infrastructures (Elsevier) you simply pay shopping and handling. RSN can be used to help prepare you for various storage testing as well as other day-to-day activities.

    CompTIA is looking for survey takers who have some hands-on experience or involved with data storage (e.g. can you spell SAN, NAS, Disk or SSD and work with them hands-on then you are a candidate ;).

    Welcome to the CompTIA Storage+ Certification Job Task Analysis (JTA) Survey

  • Your input will help CompTIA evaluate which test objectives are most important to include in the CompTIA Storage+ Certification Exam
  • Your responses are completely confidential.
  • The results will only be viewed in the aggregate.
  • Here is what (and whom) CompTIA is looking for feedback from:

  • Has at least 12 to 18 months of experience with storage-related technologies.
  • Makes recommendations and decisions regarding storage configuration.
  • Facilitates data security and data integrity.
  • Supports a multiplatform and multiprotocol storage environment with little assistance.
  • Has basic knowledge of cloud technologies and object storage concepts.
  • As a small token of CompTIA appreciation for your participation, they will provide an official CompTIA T-shirt to every tenth (1 of every 10) person who completes this survey. Go here for official rules.

    Click here to complete the CompTIA Storage+ survey

    Contact CompTIA with any survey issues, research@comptia.org

    What say you, take a few minutes like I did and give some feedback, you will not be on the hook for anything, and if you do get spammed by the CompTIA folks, let me know and I in turn will spam them back for spamming you as well as me.

    Ok, nuff said

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    August 2014 Server and StorageIO Update newsletter




    Welcome to the August 2014 edition of the StorageIO Update (newsletter) containing trends perspectives on cloud, virtualization, software defined and data infrastructure topics. This past week I along with around 22,000 others attended VMworld 2014 in San Francisco. For those of you in Europe, VMworld Barcelona is October 14-16 2014 with registration and more information found here. Watch for more post VMworld coverage in upcoming newsletters, articles, posts along with other industry trend topics. Enjoy this edition of the StorageIO Update newsletter and look forward to catching up with you live or online while out and about this fall.

    Greg Schulz Storage I/OGreg Schulz @StorageIO

    August 2014 Industry trend and perspectives

    StorageIO Industry Trends and Perspectives

    The following is a synopsis of some StorageIOblog posts, articles and comments in different venues on various industry trends, perspectives and related themes about clouds, virtualization, data and storage infrastructure topics among related themes.

    StorageIO comments and perspectives in the news

    StorageIO in the news

    Virtual Desktop Infrastructures (VDI) remains a popular industry and IT customer topic, not to mention being one of the favorite themes of Solid State Device (SSD) vendors. SSD component and system solution vendors along with their supporters love VDI as the by-product of aggregation (e.g. consolidation) which applies to VDI is aggravation. Aggravation is the result of increased storage I/O performance (IOP’s, bandwidth, response time) from consolidating the various desktops. It should not be a surprise that some of the biggest fans encouraging organizations to adopt VDI are the SSD vendors. Read some of my comments and perspectives on VDI here at FedTech Magazine.

    Speaking of virtualizing the data center, software defined data centers (SDDC) along with software defined networking (SDN) and software defined storage (SDS) remain popular including some software defined marketing (SDM). Here are some of my comments and perspectives moving beyond the hype of SDDC.

    FCIA Fibre Channel Industry Association

    Recently the Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) who works with the T11 standards body of both legacy or classic Fibre Channel (FC) as well as newer FC over Ethernet (FCoE) made some announcements. These announcements including enhancements such as Fibre Channel Back Bone version 6 (FC-BB-6) among others. Both FC and FCoE are alive and doing well, granted one has been around longer (FC) and can be seen at its plateau while the other (FCoE) continues to evolve and grow in adoption. In some ways, FCoE is in a similar role today to where FC was in the late 90s and early 2000s ironically facing some common fud. You can read my comments here as part of a quote in support of the announcement , along with my more industry trend perspectives in this blog post here.

    Buyers guides are popular with both vendors, VAR’s as well as IT organizations (e.g. customers) following are some of my comments and industry trend perspectives appearing in Enterprise Storage Forum. Here are perspectives on buyers guides for Enterprise File Sync and Share (EFSS), Unified Data Storage and Object Storage. EMC has come under pressure as mentioned in earlier StorageIO update newsletters to increase its shareholder benefit including spin-off of VMware. Here are some of my comments and perspectives that appeared in CruxialCIO. Read more industry trends perspectives comments on the StorageIO news page.

    StorageIO video and audio pod casts

    StorageIOblog postStorageIOblog post
    StorageIO audio podcasts are also available via
    and at StorageIO.tv

    StorageIOblog posts and perspectives

    StorageIOblog post

    Despite being declared dead, traditional or classic Fibre Channel (FC) along with FC over Ethernet (FCoE) continues to evolve with FC-BB-6, read more here.

    VMworld 2014 took place this past week and included announcements about EVO:Rack and Rail (more on this in a future edition). You can get started learning about EVO:Rack and RAIL at Duncan Epping (aka @DuncanYB) Yellow Bricks site. VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN) is at the heart of EVO which you can read an overview here in this earlier StorageIO update newsletter (March 2014).

    VMware VSAN
    VMware VSAN example

    Also watch for some extra content that I’m working on including some video podcasts articles and blog posts from my trip to VMworld 2014. However one of the themes in the background of VMworld 2014 is the current beta of VMware vSphere V6 along with Virtual Volumes aka VVOL’s. The following are a couple of my recent posts including primer overview of VVOL’s along with a poll you can cast your vote. Check out Are VMware VVOL’s in your virtual server and storage I/O future? and VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals (Part 1) along with (Part 2).

    StorageIO events and activities

    Server and StorageIO seminars, conferences, web cats, events, activities

    The StorageIO calendar continues to evolve including several new events being added for September and well into the fall with more in the works including upcoming Dutch European sessions the week of October 6th in Nijkerk Holland (learn more here). The following are some upcoming September events. These include live in-person seminars, conferences, keynote and speaking activities as well as on-line webinars, twitter chats, Google+ hangouts among others.

    Sep 25 2014MSP CMGServer and StorageIO SSD industry trends perspectives and tipsTBA
    9:30AM CT
    Sep 18 2014InfoWorldHybrid Storage In GovernmentWebinar
    2:30PM ET
    Sep 18 2014Converged Storage and Storage ConvergenceWebinar
    9AM PT
    Sep 17 2014Data Center ConvergenceWebinar
    1PM PT
    Sep 16 2014Critical Infrastructure and Disaster RecoveryWebinar
    Noon PT
    Sep 16 2014Starwind SoftwareSoftware Defined Storage and Virtual SAN for Microsoft environmentsWebinar
    1PM CT
    Sep 16 2014Dell BackupUExploring the Data Protection Toolbox – Data and Application ReplicationGoogle+
    9AM PT
    Sep 2 2014Dell BackupUExploring the Data Protection Toolbox – Data and Application ReplicationOnline Webinar
    11AM PT

    Note: Dates, times, venues and subject contents subject to change, refer to events page for current status

    Click here to view other upcoming along with earlier event activities. Watch for more 2014 events to be added soon to the StorageIO events calendar page. Topics include data protection modernization (backup/restore, HA, BC, DR, archive), data footprint reduction (archive, compression, dedupe), storage optimization, SSD, object storage, server and storage virtualization, software defined, big data, little data, cloud and object storage, performance and management trends among others.

    Vendors, VAR’s and event organizers, give us a call or send an email to discuss having us involved in your upcoming pod cast, web cast, virtual seminar, conference or other events.

    Server and StorageIO Technology Tips and Tools

    Server and StorageIO seminars, conferences, web cats, events, activities

    In addition to the industry trends and perspectives comments in the news mentioned above, along with the StorageIO blog posts, the following are some of my recent articles and tips that have appeared in various industry venues.

    Storage Acceleration

    Over at the new Storage Acceleration site I have a couple of pieces, the first is What, When, Why & How to Accelerate Storage and the other is Tips for Measuring Your Storage Acceleration.
    Meanwhile over at Search Storage I have a piece covering What is the difference between a storage snapshot and a clone? and at Search Cloud Storage some tips about  What’s most important to know about my cloud privacy policy?. Also with Software Defined in the news and a popular industry topic, I have a piece over at Enterprise Storage Forum looking at  Has Software Defined Jumped the Shark? Check out these and others on the StorageIO tips and articles page.

    StorageIO Update Newsletter Archives

    Click here to view earlier StorageIO Update newsletters (HTML and PDF versions) at www.storageio.com/newsletter. Subscribe to this newsletter (and pass it along) by clicking here (Via Secure Campaigner site). View archives of past StorageIO update news letters as well as download PDF versions at: www.storageio.com/newsletter

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    VMware VVOLs and storage I/O fundementals (Part 2)

    VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals (Part II)

    Note that this is a three part series with the first piece here (e.g. Are VMware VVOL’s in your virtual server and storage I/O future?), the second piece here (e.g.VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 1) and the third piece here (e.g. VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 2).

    Picking up from where we left off in the first part of the VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals, lets take a closer look at VVOL’s.

    First however lets be clear that while VMware uses terms including object and object storage in the context of VVOL’s, its not the same as some other object storage solutions. Learn more about object storage here at www.objectstoragecenter.com

    Are VVOL’s accessed like other object storage (e.g. S3)?

    No, VVOL’s are accessed via the VMware software and associated API’s that are supported by various storage providers. VVOL’s are not LUN’s like regular block (e.g. DAS or SAN) storage that use SAS, iSCSI, FC, FCoE, IBA/SRP, nor are they NAS volumes like NFS mount points. Likewise VVOL’s are not accessed using any of the various object storage access methods mentioned above (e.g. AWS S3, Rest, CDMI, etc) instead they are an application specific implementation. For some of you this approach of an applications specific or unique storage access method may be new, perhaps revolutionary, otoh, some of you might be having a DejaVu moment right about now.

    VVOL is not a LUN in the context of what you may know and like (or hate, even if you have never worked with them), likewise it is not a NAS volume like you know (or have heard of), neither are they objects in the context of what you might have seen or heard such as S3 among others.

    Keep in mind that what makes up a VMware virtual machine are the VMK, VMDK and some other files (shown in the figure below), and if enough information is known about where those blocks of data are or can be found, they can be worked upon. Also keep in mind that at least near-term, block is the lowest common denominator that all file systems and object repositories get built-up.

    VMware ESXi basic storage I/O
    VMware ESXi storage I/O, IOPS and data store basics

    Here is the thing, while VVOL’s will be accessible via a block interface such as iSCSI, FC or FCoE or for that matter, over Ethernet based IP using NFS. Think of these storage interfaces and access mechanisms as the general transport for how vSphere ESXi will communicate with the storage system (e.g. their data path) under vCenter management.

    What is happening inside the storage system that will be presented back to ESXi will be different than a normal SCSI LUN contents and only understood by VMware hypervisor. ESXi will still tell the storage system what it wants to do including moving blocks of data. The storage system however will have more insight and awareness into the context of what those blocks of data mean. This is how the storage systems will be able to more closely integrate snapshots, replication, cloning and other functions by having awareness into which data to move, as opposed to moving or working with an entire LUN where a VMDK may live. Keep in mind that the storage system will still function as it normally would, just think of VVOL as another or new personality and access mechanism used for VMware to communicate and manage storage.

    VMware VVOL basics
    VMware VVOL concepts (in general) with VMDK being pushed down into the storage system

    Think in terms of the iSCSI (or FC or something else) for block or NFS for NAS as being the addressing mechanism to communicate between ESXi and the storage array, except instead of traditional SCSI LUN access and mapping, more work and insight is pushed down into the array. Also keep in mind that with a LUN, it is simply an address from what to use Logical Block Numbers or Logical Block Addresses. In the case of a storage array, it in turn manages placement of data on SSD or HDDs in turn using blocks aka LBA/LBN’s In other words, a host that does not speak VVOL would get an error if trying to use a LUN or target on a storage system that is a VVOL, that’s assuming it is not masked or hidden ;).

    What’s the Storage Provider (SP)

    The Storage Provider aka SP is created by the, well, the provider of the storage system or appliance leveraging a VMware API (hint, sign up for the beta and there is an SDK). Simply put, the SP is a two-way communication mechanism leveraging VASA for reporting information, configuration and other insight up to VMware ESXi hypervisor, vCenter and other management tools. In addition the storage provider receives VASA configuration information from VMware about how to configure the storage system (e.g. storage containers). Keep in mind that the SP is the out of band management interface between the storage system supporting and presenting VVOL’s and VMware hypervisors.

    What’s the Storage Container (SC)

    This is a storage pool created on the storage array or appliance (e.g. VMware vCenter works with array and storage provider (SP) to create) in place of using a normal LUN. With a SP and PE, the storage container becomes visible to ESXi hosts, VVOL’s can be created in the storage container until it runs out of space. Also note that the storage container takes on the storage profile assigned to it which are inherited by the VVOLs in it. This is in place of presenting LUN’s to ESXi that you can then create VMFS data stores (or use as raw) and then carve storage to VMs.

    Protocol endpoint (PE)

    The PE provides visibility for the VMware hypervisor to see and access VMDK’s and other objects (e.g. .vmx, swap, etc) stored in VVOL’s. The protocol endpoint (PE) manages or directs I/O received from the VM enabling scaling across many virtual volumes leveraging multipathing of the PE (inherited by the VVOL’s.). Note that for storage I/O operations, the PE is simply a pass thru mechanism and does not store the VMDK or other contents. If using iSCSI, FC, FCoE or other SAN interface, then the PE works on a LUN basis (again not actually storing data), and if using NAS NFS, then with a mount point. Key point is that the PE gets out-of-the-way.

    VVOL Poll

    What are you VVOL plans, view results and cast your vote here

    Wrap up (for now)

    There certainly are many more details to VVOL’s. that you can get a preview of in the beta, a well as via various demos, webinars, VMworld sessions as more becomes public. However for now, hope you found this quick overview on VVOL’s. of use, since VVOL’s. at the time of this writing are not yet released, you will need to wait for more detailed info, or join the beta or poke around the web (for now). Also if you have not seen the first part overview to this piece, check it out here as I give some more links to get you started to learn more about VVOL’s.

    Keep an eye on and learn more about VVOL’s. at VMworld 2014 as well as in various other venues.

    IMHO VVOL’s. are or will be in your future, however the question will be is there going to be a back to the future moment for some of you with VVOL’s.?

    What VVOL questions, comments and concerns are in your future and on your mind?

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    VMware VVOLs storage I/O fundementals (Part 1)

    VMware VVOL’s storage I/O fundamentals (Part I)

    Note that this is a three part series with the first piece here (e.g. Are VMware VVOL’s in your virtual server and storage I/O future?), the second piece here (e.g.VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 1) and the third piece here (e.g. VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 2).

    Some of you may already be participating in the VMware beta of VVOL involving one of the initial storage vendors also in the beta program.

    Ok, now let’s go a bit deeper, however if you want some good music to listen to while reading this, check out @BruceRave GoDeepMusic.Net and shows here.

    Taking a step back, digging deeper into Storage I/O and VVOL’s fundamentals

    Instead of a VM host accessing its virtual disk (aka VMDK) which is stored in a VMFS formatted data store (part of ESXi hypervisor) built on top of a SCSI LUN (e.g. SAS, SATA, iSCSI, Fibre Channel aka FC, FCoE aka FC over Ethernet, IBA/SRP, etc) or an NFS file system presented by a storage system (or appliance), VVOL’s push more functionality and visibility down into the storage system. VVOL’s shift more intelligence and work from the hypervisor down into the storage system. Instead of a storage system simply presenting a SCSI LUN or NFS mount point and having limited (coarse) to no visibility into how the underlying storage bits, bytes as well as blocks are being used, storage systems gain more awareness.

    Keep in mind that even files and objects still get ultimately mapped to pages and blocks aka sectors even on nand flash-based SSD’s. However also keep an eye on some new technology such as the Seagate Kinetic drive that instead of responding to SCSI block based commands, leverage object API’s and associated software on servers. Read more about these emerging trends here and here at objectstoragecenter.com.

    With a normal SCSI LUN the underlying storage system has no knowledge of how the upper level operating system, hypervisor, file system or application such as a database (doing raw IO) is allocating the pages or blocks of memory aka storage. It is up to the upper level storage and data management tools to map from objects and files to the corresponding extents, pages and logical block address (LBA) understood by the storage system. In the case of a NAS solution, there is a layer of abstractions placed over the underlying block storage handling file management and the associated file to LBA mapping activity.

    Storage I/O basics
    Storage I/O and IOP basics and addressing: LBA’s and LBN’s

    Getting back to VVOL, instead of simply presenting a LUN which is essentially a linear range of LBA’s (think of a big table or array) that the hypervisor then manages data placement and access, the storage system now gains insight into what LBA’s correspond to various entities such as a VMDK or VMX, log, clone, swap or other VMware objects. With this more insight, storage systems can now do native and more granular functions such as clone, replication, snapshot among others as opposed to simply working on a coarse LUN basis. The similar concepts extend over to NAS NFS based access. Granted, there are more to VVOL’s including ability to get the underlying storage system more closely integrated with the virtual machine, hypervisor and associated management including supported service manage and classes or categories of service across performance, availability, capacity, economics.

    What about VVOL, VAAI and VASA?

    VVOL’s are building from earlier VMware initiatives including VAAI and VASA. With VAAI, VMware hypervisor’s can off-load common functions to storage systems that support features such as copy, clone, zero copy among others like how a computer can off-load graphics processing to a graphics card if present.

    VASA however provides a means for visibility, insight and awareness between the hypervisor and its associated management (e.g. vCenter etc) as well as the storage system. This includes storage systems being able to communicate and publish to VMware its capabilities for storage space capacity, availability, performance and configuration among other things.

    With VVOL’s VASA gets leveraged for unidirectional (e.g. two-way) communication where VMware hypervisor and management tools can tell the storage system of things, configuration, activities to do among others. Hence why VASA is important to have in your VMware CASA.

    What’s this object storage stuff?

    VVOL’s are a form of object storage access in that they differ from traditional block (LUN’s) and files (NAS volumes/mount points). However, keep in mind that not all object storage are the same as there are object storage access and architectures.

    object storage
    Object Storage basics, generalities and block file relationships

    Avoid making the mistake of when you hear object storage that means ANSI T10 (the folks that manage the SCSI command specifications) Object Storage Device (OSD) or something else. There are many different types of underlying object storage architectures some with block and file as well as object access front ends. Likewise there are many different types of object access that sit on top of object architectures as well as traditional storage system.

    Object storage I/O
    An example of how some object storage gets accessed (not VMware specific)

    Also keep in mind that there are many different types of object access mechanism including HTTP Rest based, S3 (e.g. a common industry defacto standard based on Amazon Simple Storage Service), SNIA CDMI, SOAP, Torrent, XAM, JSON, XML, DICOM, IL7 just to name a few, not to mention various programmatic bindings or application specific implementations and API’s. Read more about object storage architectures, access and related topics, themes and trends at www.objecstoragecenter.com

    Lets take a break here and when you are ready, click here to read the third piece in this series VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 2.

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    Are VMware VVOLs in your virtual server and storage I/O future?

    Are VMware VVOL’s in your virtual server and storage I/O future?

    Note that this is a three part series with the first piece here (e.g. Are VMware VVOL’s in your virtual server and storage I/O future?), the second piece here (e.g. VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 1) and the third piece here (e.g. VMware VVOL’s and storage I/O fundamentals Part 2).

    With VMworld 2014 just around the corner, for some of you the question is not if Virtual Volumes (VVOL’s) are in your future, rather when, where, how and with what.

    What this means is that for some hands on beta testing is already occurring or will be soon, while for others that might be around the corner or down the road.

    Some of you may already be participating in the VMware beta of VVOL involving one of the first storage vendors also in the beta program.

    VMware vvol beta

    On the other hand, some of you may not be in VMware centric environments and thus VVOL’s may not yet be in your vocabulary.

    How do you know if VVOL are in your future if you don’t know what they are?

    First, to be clear, as of the time this was written VMware VVOL’s are not released and only in beta as well as having been covered in earlier VMworld’s. Consequently what you are going to read here is based on what VVOL material has already been made public in various venues including earlier VMworld’s and VMware blogs among other places.

    The quick synopsis of VMware VVOL’s overview:

  • Higher level of abstraction of storage vs. traditional SCSI LUN’s or NAS NFS mount points
  • Tighter level of integration and awareness between VMware hypervisors and storage systems
  • Simplified management for storage and virtualization administrators
  • Removing complexity to support increased scaling
  • Enable automation and service managed storage aka software defined storage management
  • VVOL considerations and your future

    As mentioned, as of this writing, VVOL’s are still a future item granted they exist in beta.

    For those of you in VMware environments, now is the time to add VVOL to your vocabulary which might mean simply taking the time to read a piece like this, or digging deeper into the theories of operations, configuration, usage, hints and tips, tutorials along with vendor specific implementations.

    Explore your options, and ask yourself, do you want VVOL or do you need it

    What support does your current vendor(s) have for VVOL or what is their statement of direction (SOD) which you might have to get from them under NDA.

    This means that there will be some first vendors with some of their products supporting VVOL’s with more vendors and products following (hence watch for many statements of direction announcements).

    Speaking of vendors, watch for a growing list of vendors to announce their current or plans for supporting VVOL’s, not to mention watch some of them jump up and down like Donkey in Shrek saying "oh oh pick me pick me".

    When you ask a vendor if they support VVOL’s, move beyond the simple yes or no, ask which of their specific products, it is a block (e.g. iSCSI) or NAS file (e.g. NFS) based and other caveats or configuration options.

    Watch for more information about VVOL’s in the weeks and months to come both from VMware along with from their storage provider partners.

    How will VVOL impact your organizations best practices, policies, workflow’s including who does what, along with associated responsibilities.

    Where to learn more

    Check out the companion piece to this that takes a closer look at storage I/O and VMware VVOL fundamentals here and here.

    Also check out this good VMware blog via Cormac Hogan (@CormacJHogan) that includes a video demo, granted its from 2012, however some of this stuff actually does take time and thus this is very timely. Speaking of VMware, Duncan Epping (aka @DuncanYB) at his Yellow-Bricks site has some good posts to check out as well with links to others including this here. Also check out the various VVOL related sessions at VMworld as well as the many existing, and soon to be many more blogs, articles and videos you can find via Google. And if you need a refresher, Why VASA is important to have in your VMware CASA.

    Of course keep an eye here or whichever venue you happen to read this for future follow-up and companion posts, and if you have not done so, sign up for the beta here as there are lots of good material including SDKs, configuration guides and more.

    VVOL Poll

    What are you VVOL plans, view results and cast your vote here

    Wrap up (for now)

    Hope you found this quick overview on VVOL’s of use, since VVOL’s at the time of this writing are not yet released, you will need to wait for more detailed info, or join the beta or poke around the web (for now).

    Keep an eye on and learn more about VVOL’s at VMworld 2014 as well as in various other venues.

    IMHO VVOL’s are or will be in your future, however the question will be is there going to be a back to the future moment for some of you with VVOL’s?

    Also what VVOL questions, comments and concerns are in your future and on your mind?

    And remember to check out the second part to this series here.

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    July 2014 Server and StorageIO Update newsletter


    Server and StorageIO Update newsletter – July 2014

    Welcome to the July 2014 edition of the StorageIO Update (newsletter) containing trends perspectives on cloud, virtualization and data infrastructure topics. For some of you it is mid summer (e.g. in the northern hemisphere) while for others it mid-winter (southern hemisphere). Here in the Stillwater MN area it is mid-summer which means enjoying the warm outdoor weather as well as getting ready for the busy late summer and early fall 2014 schedule of events including VMworld among others. Starting in this edition there are a couple of new and expanded sections including Technology tips and tools and the return of Just For Fun.

    Greg Schulz Storage I/OGreg Schulz @StorageIO

    Lets jump into this mid-summer, or for some of you mid-winter edition of the StorageIO Update newsletter.

    Industry and Technology Updates

    StorageIO Industry Trends and Perspectives

    Following up from our June 2014 Newsletter that included coverage of NetApp and Avago selling its newly acquired (via LSI acquisition) flash storage division to Seagate, along with other activity, here are some current industry activities. From a flash memory and solid state device (SSD) perspective, the flash memory summit (FMS) is occurring in Santa Clara the week of August 5, 2014. Having insight under NDA into some of the many announcements as well as other things occurring, keep an eye out for various news from the FMS event.

    EMC MegaLaunch and MegaActivist Investor

    In addition to their recent MegaLaunch series of product announcements and updates, EMC is also in the news as it comes under pressure from activist investor Hedge fund Elliot Management Corp to spin-off VMware to increase shareholder value. What would a spin-off of VMware mean for customers of the EMC federation of EMC core technologies, VMware and Pivotal labs if the activists get their way? Here are some additional comments and perspectives via CruxialCIO. Click here to view the recent (July 23, 2014) earnings announcement for a summary of how EMC is doing in the market and financially.

    Speaking of EMC MegaLaunch on July 8, 2014, EMC also announced enhancements and new models of their Isilon scale out storage, new VMAX3 models with embedded virtualization and other enhancements, XtremeIO 3.0 and new models among other enhancements. EMC also announced the general availability of some previously announced at EMCworld (May 2014) solutions including Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) and VIPR 2.0 along with SRM 2.0 among other items. For those not familiar with EMC ViPR Software Defined Storage Management you can read more here, here, here and here.

    What’s in the works?

    Several projects and things are in the works that will show themselves in the coming weeks or months if not sooner. Some of which are more proof points coming out of the StorageIO labs involving software defined, converged, cloud, virtual, SSD, cache software, data protection and more.

    Speaking of Software Defined, join me for a free Webinar on August 7 Hardware agnostic Virtual SAN for VMware ESXi Free (sponsored by Starwind Software). Other upcoming webinars include BackupU Summer Semester series (Sponsored by Dell Software) where we continue Exploring the Data Protection Toolbox. August also means VMworld in San Francisco so see you there. Check out the activities calendar below and at our main website to learn about these and other events.

    Watch for more StorageIO posts, commentary, perspectives, presentations, webinars, tips and events on information and data infrastructure topics, themes and trends. Data Infrastructure topics include among others cloud, virtual, legacy server, storage I/O networking, data protection, hardware and software.

    Enjoy this edition of the StorageIO Update newsletter and look forward to catching up with you live or online while out and about this summer.

    StorageIO comments and perspectives in the news

    StorageIO in the news

    The following is a synopsis of some StorageIOblog posts, articles and comments in different venues on various industry trends, perspectives and related themes about clouds, virtualization, data and storage infrastructure topics among related themes.

    NetworkComputing: Comments on Data Backup: Beyond Band-Aids
    StorageNewsletter: Comments on Unified Storage Appliance Buying Guide
    Forbes: Comments on Big Data and Enterprise Information Management
    Toms Hardware: Comments on Server SAN: Demystifying Today’s Newest Storage Buzzword
    CruxialCIO: Comments on EMC Bridges Cloud, On-Premise Storage With TwinStrata Buy
    ComputerWeekly: Comments on Backup vs archive: Can they be merged?
    CruxialCIO: Comments on EMC under pressure to spin-off VMware
    EnterpriseStorageForum: Comments on Unified Storage and buyers guide tips

    StorageIO video and audio pod casts

    StorageIOblog postStorageIOblog post
    StorageIO audio pod casts are also available via
    and at StorageIO.tv

    StorageIOblog posts and perspectives

    StorageIOblog post

  • AWS adds Zocalo Enterprise File Sync Share and Collaboration
  • June 2014 Server and StorageIO Update newsletter
  • Remember to check out our objectstoragecenter.com page where you will find a growing collection of information and links on cloud and object storage themes, technologies and trends from various sources.

    If you are interested in data protection including Backup/Restore, BC, DR, BR and Archiving along with associated technologies, tools, techniques and trends visit our storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/ page.

    StorageIO events and activities

    Server and StorageIO seminars, conferences, web cats, events, activities

    The StorageIO calendar continues to evolve including several new events being added for August and well into the fall with more in the works. Here are some recent and upcoming activities including live in-person seminars, conferences, keynote and speaking activities as well as on-line webinars, twitter chats, Google+ hangouts among others.

    October 10, 2014 Seminar: Server, Storage and IO Data Center Virtualization JumpstartNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    October 9, 2014 Seminar: Data Infrastructure Industry Trends and Perspectives – What’s The BuzzNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    October 8, 2014 Private Seminar – Contact Brouwer Storage ConsultancyNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    Sep. 2, 2014Dell BackupUExploring the Data Protection Toolbox – Data and Application ReplicationOnline Webinar
    11AM PT
    August 25-28, 2014VMworldVarious ActivitiesSan Francisco
    Aug. 21, 2014 BrightTalkSAN, LAN, MAN, WAN, POTS & PANs – How you CAN network your servers & storage beyond the cable?

    Webinar
    11AM PT
    Aug. 20, 2014TBASoftware Defined Data CentersTBA
    1:30PM CT
    Aug. 19, 2014Dell BackupUExploring the Data Protection Toolbox – The ABCDs of DFR (Data Footprint Reduction), part IIGoogle+ Hangout
    9AM PT
    Aug. 13, 2014 BrightTalkWhat is Your Virtualization Optimization Objective?Webinar
    1PM PT
    Aug. 7, 2014Starwind SoftwareLive webinar: Hardware agnostic Virtual SAN for VMware ESXi FreeWebinar
    1PM CT
    Aug. 5, 2014Dell BackupUExploring the Data Protection Toolbox – The ABCDs of DFR (Data Footprint Reduction), part IIOnline Webinar
    11AM PT

    Click here to view other upcoming along with earlier event activities. Watch for more 2014 events to be added soon to the StorageIO events calendar page. Topics include data protection modernization (backup/restore, HA, BC, DR, archive), data footprint reduction (archive, compression, dedupe), storage optimization, SSD, object storage, server and storage virtualization, big data, little data, cloud and object storage, performance and management trends among others.

    Vendors, VAR’s and event organizers, give us a call or send an email to discuss having us involved in your upcoming pod cast, web cast, virtual seminar, conference or other events.

    Server and StorageIO Technology Tips and Tools

    Server and StorageIO seminars, conferences, web cats, events, activities

    FedTech:  Use a VPN for More than Remote Access
    InfoStor:  Data Archiving: Life Beyond Compliance

    Just for fun and on a lighter note

    Wrapping up this edition of the StorageIO Update newsletter is the return of the Just for fun and on a lighter note section where we share something non IT related. In this edition how about summertime backyard home video taken a few weeks ago? Check out this video of a black bear and her two cubs walking in, well, my backyard. First you will see Big Mama Bear, then Yogi Jr. that appear from the left, followed by baby Boo Boo also from the left.

    Backyard Black Bears
    Video courtesy of KarenofArcola – Click on image to view

    StorageIO Update Newsletter Archives

    Click here to view earlier StorageIO Update newsletters (HTML and PDF versions) at www.storageio.com/newsletter. Subscribe to this newsletter (and pass it along) by clicking here (Via Secure Campaigner site). View archives of past StorageIO update news letters as well as download PDF versions at: www.storageio.com/newsletter

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers
    Gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)

    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    AWS adds Zocalo Enterprise File Sync Share and Collaboration

    AWS adds Zocalo Enterprise File Sync Share and Collaboration

    In case you missed it today, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Zocalo an enterprise class storage and file sharing service. As you might have guessed, by being file sync and share of cloud storage Zocalo can be seen as a competitor or option to other services including Box, Dropbox and Google among many others in the enterprise file sync and share (EFSS) space.

    Amazon Zocalo enterprise storage and sharing service

    AWS Enterprise File Sync Share (EFSS) Zocalo overview and summary:

    • Document collaboration (Comments and sharing) including available with AWS WorkSpaces
    • Central common hub for sharing documents along with those owned by a user
    • Select AWS regions where data is stored, along with set up users polices and audit trails
    • Sharing of various types of documents, worksheets, web pages, presentations, text and PDF among other files
    • Support for Windows and other PCs, Macs, tablets and other mobile devices
    • Cost effective (priced at $5 per user per month for 200GB of storage)
    • Free 30 day trial for up to 50 users each with 200GB (e.g. 10TB)
    • Secure leveraging existing AWS regions and tools (encryption in transit and while at rest)
    • Active directory credentials integration

    Learn more in the Zocalo FAQ found here

    Register for the limited free Zocalo trial here

    Additional Zocalo product details can be found here

    AWS also announced as part of its Mobile Services Cognito a mobile service for simple user identity and data synchronization, along with SNS, Mobile Analytics and other enhancements. Learn more about AWS Cognito here and Mobile Services here.

    Check out other AWS updates, news and enhancements here

    Ok, nuff said

    Cheers
    gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    June 2014 Server and StorageIO Update newsletter

    Server and StorageIO Update newsletter – June 2014

    Welcome to the June 2014 edition of the StorageIO Update (newsletter) containing trends perspectives on cloud, virtualization and data infrastructure topics. June has been busy on many fronts with lots of activities, not to mention spring and summer are finally here in the Stillwater MN area.

    Speaking of busy, the spring rains came a month or two late, or the summer storms early as we will end up with one of the, if not rainiest Junes in history here in Stillwater MN area.

    Greg Schulz Storage I/OGreg Schulz @StorageIO

    Industry and Technology Updates

    There has also been plenty of activity in the Information Technology (IT) and in particular the data infrastructure sector (databases, file systems, operating systems, servers, storage, I/O networking, cloud, virtualization, SSD, data protection and DCIM among others). SANdisk announced their intention to buy SSD vendor Fusion IO for a $1.1 Billion dollars as part of a continued flash consolidation trend For example Cisco buys Whiptail, WD buys Virident, Seagate buys Avago/LSI Flash division among others (read more about flash SSD here). Even with flash SSD vendor and technology consolidation, this is in no way an indication of the health of the market. Quite the opposite in that flash SSD has a very bright future and we are still in the relative early phase or waves and flash will be in your future. The question remains how much, when, where, with what and from whom. Needless to say there is plenty of SSD related hardware and software activity occurring in the StorageIO labs as well as StorageIO.com/SSD;).

    StorageIO Industry Trends and Perspectives

    NetApp Updates

    In early June I was invited by NetApp to attend their annual analyst summit along with many others from around the world for a series of briefings, NDA updates and other meetings. Disclosure NetApp has been a client in the past and covered travel and lodging expenses to attend their event.

    While the material under NDA naturally can not be discussed, there was discussion around NetApp previously announced earnings, their continued relationship with IBM (for the E Series) along with the June product updates. Shortly after the NetApp event they announced enhancements to there ONTAP FAS based systems that followup to those released earlier this year. These recent enhancements NetApp claims as being their fastest FAS based systems ever.

    Given the success NetApp has had with their ONTAP FAS based systems including with FlexPod, it should not be a surprise that they continue to focus on those as their flagship offerings. What was clear from listening to CEO Tom Georgens is that NetApp as a company needs to offer, promote and sell the entire portfolio including E Series (disk, hybrid and all flash EF), StorageGrid (bycast), FlexPod and FAS among other tools (software defined storage management) and services (for legacy, virtual and cloud). Watch for some interesting updates and enhancements for the above and other things from NetApp in the future.

    Staying busy is a good thing

    What have I been doing during June 2014 to stay busy besides getting ready for summer fun (as well as preparing for fall industry events) including in and around the water?

    • Presented several BrightTalk Webinars (see events below) with more coming up
    • Release of new ITP white paper and StorageIO lab proof points with more in the works
    • More videos and pod casts, technology reviews including servers among other things
    • Moderated a software defined panel discussion at MSP area VMUG
    • Providing industry commentary in different venues (see below)
    • Not to mention various client consulting projects

    What’s in the works?

    Several projects and things are in the works that will show themselves in the coming weeks or months if not sooner. Some of which are more proof points coming out of the StorageIO labs involving software defined, converged, cloud, virtual, SSD, data protection and more.

    Speaking of Software Defined, join me for a free Spiceworks Webinar on July 2, Do More with Less Hardware Using Software Defined Storage Management (sponsored by Starwind Software). The webinar looks at the many faces and facets of virtualization and software defined storage and software defined storage management for Hyper-V environments. Learn more about the Hyper-V event here or here.

    In addition to the upcoming July 2 Hyper-V software defined storage webinar ( a recording for replay will be posted to the StorageIO.com/events page after the event), I also did a webinar on BrightTalk a few weeks covering software defined storage management. View the BrightTalk webinar replays by clicking the following links The Changing Face and Landscape of Enterprise Storage (June 11), The Many Facets of Virtual Storage and Software Defined Storage Virtualization (June 12), Evolving from Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity (BC) to Business Resiliency (BR) recorded Jun 19.

    Watch for more StorageIO posts, commentary, perspectives, presentations, webinars, tips and events on information and data infrastructure topics, themes and trends. Data Infrastructure topics include among others cloud, virtual, legacy server, storage I/O networking, data protection, hardware and software.

    Enjoy this edition of the StorageIO Update newsletter and look forward to catching up with you live or online while out and about this spring.

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers gs

    June 2014 Industry trend and perspectives

    Tips, commentary, articles and blog posts

    StorageIO Industry Trends and Perspectives

    The following is a synopsis of some StorageIOblog posts, articles and comments in different venues on various industry trends, perspectives and related themes about clouds, virtualization, data and storage infrastructure topics among related themes.

    StorageIO comments and perspectives in the news

    StorageIO in the news

    Toms Hardware: Comments on Selecting the Right Type, Amount and Location of Flash SSD to use 
    TechPageOne: Comments on best practices for virtual data protection
    SearchAWS: Comments on Google vs. AWS SSD which is better
    InfoStor: Comments on Cloud Appliance Buying Guide

    StorageIO video and audio pod casts

    StorageIOblog postStorageIOblog post
    StorageIO audio podcasts are also available via
    and at StorageIO.tv

    StorageIOblog posts and perspectives

    StorageIOblog post

  • Is there an information or data recession, are you using less storage (with polls)
  • April and May 2014 Server and StorageIO Update newsletter
  • StorageIO White Papers, Solution Briefs and StorageIO Lab reports

    White Paper

    New White Paper: StarWind Virtual SAN:
    Hardware Agnostic Hyper-Convergence for Microsoft Hyper-V
    Using less hardware with software defined storage management There is no such thing as an information recession with more data being generated, processed, moved, stored and retained longer. In addition, people and data are living longer as well as getting larger.

    Key to support various types of business environments and their information technology (IT) / ITC applications are cost effective, flexible and resilient data infrastructures that support virtual machine (VM) centric solutions. This StorageIO Industry Trends Perspective thought leadership white paper looks at addressing the needs of Microsoft Hyper-V environments to address economic, service, growth, flexibility and technology challenges.

    The focus is on how software defined storage management solutions unlock the full value of server-based storage for Hyper-V environments. Benefits include removing complexity to cut cost while enhancing flexibility, service and business systems resiliency along with disaster recovery without compromise. Primary audiences include Small Medium Business (SMB), Remote Office Branch Office (ROBO) of larger organizations along with managed service providers (Cloud, Internet and Web) that are using Hyper-V as part of their solutions. Read more in this StorageIO Industry Trends and Perspective (ITP) white paper compliments of StarWind Software Virtual SAN (VSAN) for Microsoft Hyper-V.

    Remember to check out our objectstoragecenter.com page where you will find a growing collection of information and links on cloud and object storage themes, technologies and trends from various sources.

    If you are interested in data protection including Backup/Restore, BC, DR, BR and Archiving along with associated technologies, tools, techniques and trends visit our storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/ page.

    StorageIO events and activities

    Server and StorageIO seminars, conferences, web cats, events, activities

    The StorageIO calendar continues to evolve, here are some recent and upcoming activities including live in-person seminars, conferences, keynote and speaking activities as well as on-line webinars, twitter chats, Google+ hangouts among others.

    October 10, 2014 Seminar: Server, Storage and IO Data Center Virtualization JumpstartNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    October 9, 2014 Seminar: Data Infrastructure Industry Trends and Perspectives – Whats The BuzzNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    October 8, 2014 Private Seminar – Contact Brouwer Storage ConsultancyNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    October 7, 2014 Seminar: Data Movement and MigrationNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    October 6, 2014 Seminar: From Backup and Disaster Recovery to Business Resiliency and ContinuanceNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    August 25-28, 2014VMworldTBASan Francisco
    August 7, 2014TBATBATBA
    July 2, 2014Starwind SoftwareLive webinar: Live Webinar: Do More with Less Hardware Using Software Defined Storage ManagementWebinar
    1PM CT
    June 26, 2014MSP VMUGModerate Live Panel Software Defined DiscussionPanel
    12:45PM CT
    June 17, 2014Dell BackupUExploring the Data Protection Toolbox – Data Footprint ReductionDell BackupU
    Online Webinar
    May 14, 2014 Seminar: Vendor Neutral Archiving for HealthcareNijkerk Holland
    Netherlands
    May 5-7, 2014EMC WorldLas Vegas
    April 23, 2014SNIA DSI EventKeynote: Enabling Data Infrastructure Return On Innovation – The Other ROIbackup, restore, BC, DR and archiving
    April 22, 2014SNIA DSI EventThe Cloud Hybrid “Homerun” – Life Beyond The Hypebackup, restore, BC, DR and archiving
    April 16, 2014
    Open Source and Cloud Storage – Enabling business, or a technology enabler?Webinar
    9AM PT
    April 9, 2014
    Storage Decision Making for Fast, Big and Very Big Data EnvironmentsWebinar
    9AM PT

    Click here to view other upcoming along with earlier event activities. Watch for more 2014 events to be added soon to the StorageIO events calendar page. Topics include data protection modernization (backup/restore, HA, BC, DR, archive), data footprint reduction (archive, compression, dedupe), storage optimization, SSD, object storage, server and storage virtualization, big data, little data, cloud and object storage, performance and management trends among others.

    Vendors, VAR’s and event organizers, give us a call or send an email to discuss having us involved in your upcoming pod cast, web cast, virtual seminar, conference or other events.

    StorageIO Update Newsletter Archives

    Click here to view earlier StorageIO Update newsletters (HTML and PDF versions) at www.storageio.com/newsletter. Subscribe to this newsletter (and pass it along) by clicking here (Via Secure Campaigner site). View archives of past StorageIO update news letters as well as download PDF versions at: www.storageio.com/newsletter

    Ok, nuff said (for now)

    Cheers
    Gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)

    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved