Nexenta – NexentaStor: delivers high-performance, ultra-scalable, cloud- and virtualization-optimized storage solutions. Nexenta supplies the software. You leverage your hardware. Does not provide object storage. Features Delivers built-proof data integrity and unlimited scalability for Big Data- and Cloud-optimized storage solutions. Nexenta’s OpenStorage platform allows for a broader range of virtualization and cloud-computing services at a much lower cost. High-Availability Clustering. Unlimited Snapshots & Clones: NexentaStor uses copy on write (COW), this means live data is never overwritten; instead, it writes data to a new block before changing the data pointers and committing the write. Read on →

EMC ViPR will purely provide the Control Plane. It discovers storage, creates virtual storage pools, and provisions those pools to the application. Only by separating the data center from its underlying hardware can IT truly deliver resources as customizable, on-demand services. ViPR is able to support IT services in a heterogeneous storage environment while retaining and extending the value of underlying arrays. It perform functions like “in-place” analytics. Abstracting, pooling and automating the infrastructure. Read on →

The concept behind software-defined storage seems very appealing: a single point of data services, like volume management and snapshots, form a single console while using practically anyone’s disk hardware. As a pillar in the SDDC stack, Software Defined Storage (SDS) pools hardware storage resources and allows them to be programmatically defined in software. All the programming that controls storage-related tasks exists solely in software. The software could exist on a server or could be part of an operating system (OS) or a hypervisor. Read on →

Desktop Virtualization is the concept of isolating an operating system (OS) from the client that is used to access it. It is also known as client virtualization which separates a computer desktop environment from the physical computer. It is used as a new approach to the provisioning, delivery, and management of user desktops in the enterprise. The main principle behind this new approach is leveraging existing and well-proven virtualization technologies to virtualize not only servers but also user desktops (the workstations). Read on →

Set your scope and objectives. Begin the vendor selection process with specific goals and objectives. We must fully understand what we want to achieve or overcome with storage virtualization. Arrange Proper Staff Training Address skill gaps so we can properly asses different virtualization approaches. Storage virtualization requires specific training and knowledge, so it’s necessary to asses current IT staff for skills and identify potential knowledge gaps. Also consider vendor specific training once finalized. Read on →

Why do we need to implement Storage Virtualization? Increasing Storage Demands Too long to do backup and restore. Limited Space in Data Center. Need to improve DR capabilities. Approach for implementation of Storage Virtualization? Host Based: Physical drives are handled by traditional device driver, while a software layer above device driver intercepts I/O requests, looks up metadata and redirects I/O. Pros: Simple to design and code. Supports any storage type. Improves storage utilization without thin provisioning restrictions. Read on →

Storage Architecture becomes much more complicated. More complication may lead to troubleshooting problems. Problem determination and fault isolation can become complex. Arise of situations in which physical storage resources are overcommitted. Backing out of failed implementation. Interoperability. Management of Meta Data. Higher Latency

Improved Storage Management in an IT environment Better availability and estimation of downtime required with automated management. Ability to migrate data while retaining I/O access (Non disruptive data migration). Reduce the number of SAN devices. Decrease in Power consumed. Time Saving. Ease in Data Replication. Easy backup, archiving and recovery tasks. Expansion of Storage Capacity. Easy Updates Ability to increase Storage Volume Size in real time. Increased loading and backup speed.

It is the abstraction of physical media (hard disks or solid state drives etc) from the attaching servers which treats the storage as a single logical entity without regard to the hierarchy of physical media that is involved. Storage virtualization means adding an abstraction layer of software that hides the physical devices from the user and allows all devices to be managed as a single pool. It adds a new layer of software or hardware in between the storage systems and servers so that the applications would not require to know to which logical drive, partitions or storage subsystems the data resides in. Read on →

Platform as a Service (PaaS) is a way to rent hardware, operating systems, storage and network capacity over the Internet. The service delivery model allows the customer to rent virtualized servers and associated services for running existing applications or developing and testing new ones. PaaS provides complete stack of development tools which are accessed by developers via web browser to create enterprise level applications, without installing anything besides a web browser on their computers, and deploying these over the complex & heterogeneous infrastructure without any specific skills required. Read on →