Three Specific Use Cases for the Successful Implementation of Software-defined Storage

March 13, 2015

The introduction of first generation software-defined storage solutions (often implemented as appliance and storage controller-based virtualization) went terribly awry when they were originally introduced years ago for reasons that the industry probably only now fully understands and can articulate well. While the value of software-defined storage has never been disputed, best practices associated with its implementation, management and support short and long term took time to develop. We are now seeing the fruits of these efforts as evidenced by some of the successful ways in which software-defined storage solutions are packaged and shipped.

My Top 3 Reasons as to What Went Wrong with Appliance and Storage Array-based Storage Virtualization Solutions

February 25, 2015

In the early 2000’s I was a big believer in appliance and/or array-based storage virtualization technology. To me, it seemed like the most logical choice

My Top 3 Reasons as to What Went Wrong with Appliance and Storage Array-based Storage Virtualization Solutions

February 25, 2015

n the early 2000’s I was a big believer in appliance and/or controller-based storage virtualization technology. To me, it seemed like the most logical choice to solve some of the most pressing problems such as data migrations, storage optimization and reducing storage networking’s overall management complexity that were confronting the deployment of storage networks in enterprise data centers. Yet here we find ourselves in 2015 and, while appliance and storage control-based storage virtualization still exists, it certainly never became the runaway success that many envisioned at the time. Here are my top 3 reasons as to what went wrong with this technology and why it has yet to fully realize its promise.

Facebook’s Disaggregated Racks Strategy Provides an Early Glimpse into Next Gen Cloud Computing Data Center Infrastructures

January 9, 2015

Facebook is turning to a disaggregated racks strategy to create a next gen cloud computing data center infrastructure

The New Business Case for Deploying Deduplicating Backup Solutions as Virtual Appliances

October 29, 2014

Physical, purpose-built deduplicating backup appliances have found their way into many enterprise data centers as they expedite installation and simplify ongoing management of backup data. However there is a growing business case for virtual appliances that offer the benefits of deduplication without the associated hardware costs. To determine when and if a virtual appliance is the correct choice, there are key factors that enterprises must evaluate to arrive at the right decision for a specific office or environment.

Distinguishing Between the Multi-Tenancy and Virtual Storage Array Features on High End Storage Arrays

July 8, 2014

Organizations are becoming increasingly virtualized within their data center infrastructures which is leading them to aggressively virtualize the storage arrays in their infrastructure to complement their already virtualized server environment. As they do so, it behooves them to distinguish between, and have a clear understanding, of each virtual component that makes up their newly virtualized storage infrastructure. The need to clarify this terminology comes clearly into focus as organizations evaluate the multi-tenancy and virtual storage array capabilities found on many high end storage arrays.

Virtual Backup Appliances Often Do NOT Make Sense Except in Small Environments; Interview with STORServer President Bill Smoldt, Part V

May 27, 2014

Choosing the right backup appliance – physical or virtual – does not have to be complicated so long as an organization knows the right questions to ask and gathers the appropriate information. However, as organizations are gathering this information, most conclude that a virtual backup appliance is NOT the right answer in most circumstances. In this fifth and final installment of DCIG’s interview with STORServer President Bill Smoldt, he explains how to choose the most appropriate backup appliance for your environment and why a virtual backup appliance is probably not the choice you will be making.

HP ProLiant BL660c VMware VMmark Benchmark Using HP 3PAR StoreServ 7450 All-flash Array Carries Real-World VM Density and Performance Implications

May 6, 2014

VMware® VMmark® has quickly become a performance benchmark to which many organizations turn to quantify how many virtual machines (VMs) they can realistically expect to host and then perform well on a cluster of physical servers. Yet a published VMmark score for a specified hardware configuration may overstate or, conversely, fail to fully reflect the particular solution’s VM consolidation and performance capabilities. The HP ProLiant BL660c published VMmark performance benchmarks using a backend HP 3PAR StoreServ 7450 all-flash array provide the relevant, real-world results that organizations need to achieve maximum VM density levels, maintain or even improve VM performance as they scale and control costs as they grow.

The HP XP7 Storage Virtual Array Capability Marks the Beginning of the End of the Pain of Data Consolidations and Migrations

April 23, 2014

Delivering always-on application availability accompanied by the highest levels of capacity, management and performance are the features that historically distinguish high end storage arrays from other storage arrays available on the market. But even these arrays struggle to easily deliver on a fundamental data center task: migrating data from one physical array to another. The introduction of the storage virtual array feature into the new HP XP7 dramatically eases this typically complex task as it facilitates data consolidations and migrations by migrating entire storage virtual arrays from one physical array frame to another while simplifying array management in the process.

Achieving the Reality of ITaaS Requires that Organizations Put a Priority on Performance

February 6, 2014

ITaaS is the new Holy Grail with 75 percent of IT managers saying ITaaS aligns with their organization’s philosophy and needs. Accustomed to living in a world where each application had dedicated servers, networking and storage, ITaaS eliminates this issue. It aggregates these resources into a common pool that is accessible by all virtual machines (VMs) and their hosted applications that may be owned by multiple different departments or even different organizations. These resources may then be allocated to them at any time.

Category: Virtualization

Three Specific Use Cases for the Successful Implementation of Software-defined Storage

My Top 3 Reasons as to What Went Wrong with Appliance and Storage Array-based Storage Virtualization Solutions

My Top 3 Reasons as to What Went Wrong with Appliance and Storage Array-based Storage Virtualization Solutions

Facebook’s Disaggregated Racks Strategy Provides an Early Glimpse into Next Gen Cloud Computing Data Center Infrastructures

The New Business Case for Deploying Deduplicating Backup Solutions as Virtual Appliances

Distinguishing Between the Multi-Tenancy and Virtual Storage Array Features on High End Storage Arrays

Virtual Backup Appliances Often Do NOT Make Sense Except in Small Environments; Interview with STORServer President Bill Smoldt, Part V

HP ProLiant BL660c VMware VMmark Benchmark Using HP 3PAR StoreServ 7450 All-flash Array Carries Real-World VM Density and Performance Implications

The HP XP7 Storage Virtual Array Capability Marks the Beginning of the End of the Pain of Data Consolidations and Migrations

Achieving the Reality of ITaaS Requires that Organizations Put a Priority on Performance

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