STORAGE ARCHITECTURE/EXECUTIVE:Virtualization

It’s not what you think you’re buying.

John BlackmanIndependent Storage Consultant

Agenda

Defining virtualization

Layers of virtualization

Storage virtualization techniques

Bringing it together

Summary

Definition of virtualization

“To virtualize”

• To separate or abstract the physical from the logical

things that mimic their “real” equivalents

Why virtualize?

• To simplify the complexities of an environment

• To create a flexible and responsive environment

Virtual examples

Virtual team

Virtual office

Virtual machine

Virtual datacenter

Layers of virtualization

Application

File system

Server

Network

Storage fabric

Storage array

Application virtualization

“Terminal Services” virtualizes the application for the user

Using “Web services” or common binaries to scale an application across multiple servers

• Writing applications at a layer so it can be executed across servers of differing operating systems

• Requires special skills to manage

File system virtualizationClusterable file systems

• Multiple servers accessing common data simultaneously

SAN file systems

• Multiple servers using a common method of “laying down” the data regardless of OS

• Not necessarily being accessible by multiple systems simultaneously

Global NameSpace

• Grouping multiple filesystems to act as a common filesystem. Not Clustering.

Is it managed by server or storage group?

Server virtualization

Running multiple instances of the same or different operating systems on a single hardware platform

• Well known on the mainframe

• Well resisted in the distributed systems groups

• Thought of as a technology decision not a business decision

• Requires special skills to manage

Network virtualization

Sometimes known as load balancing

Scales horizontally, not vertically

Enables multiple servers running same

application to act as one

• Requires special skills to manage

• Is it managed by network or application group?

SAN fabric virtualization

In-Band vs. Out-of-Band

Heterogeneous vs. homogeneous

solutions

No standardization in solutions

Greatest skill set required – Storage

group and maybe network group

Array virtualization

Traditional way of storage virtualization

Performed by point tools without

aggregation

Management stack moving up – SMI-S

Let’s bring it together

End-to-End view

• Architecture, engineering and

implementation/support groups need to work

together

• Tools need to support end-to-end views

• CIM (Common Information Model) may enable view

• Utilitarian processes need to be developed in IT

Bring it together (2)

3 C’s to standardization

• Conformance

• Consistency

• Cooperation

Vendor differentiation

• Intellectual property

• Commoditization of infrastructure

Adaptive, just-in-time and on-demand

Does your culture inhibit providing

services as you need?

Do your processes and procedures

inhibit providing services as your

customers need them?

Does your technology deployed inhibit

being flexible and scalable?

Making your storage organic

Define your services to offer

• Data protection

• Information management

• Infrastructure management

Define your processes

Standardize enterprise management first

Products fit the services

Services and processes define the

products

Simplify end-to-end

Unobtrusive to the customer

Vendors fit services to the products

Summary

Virtualization isn’t simple

There are many layers being virtualized

Not a business service

There are no standards yet

0/0

40%

30% 30%

1 2 3

How do you deploy virtualization?

1. By the service offered?

2. By the application?

3. By the infrastructure?