Virtualized Tiered Storage Solutions. A Blueprint for Lowering Capital and Operational Costs for Storage Infrastructure

Transcription

1 S l u t i n P r f i l e Virtualized Tiered Strage Slutins A Blueprint fr Lwering Capital and Operatinal Csts fr Strage Infrastructure Unprecedented data grwth, new applicatin demands, regulatry requirements fr data archival and greater business cntinuity needs are straining IT budgets and expsing inefficiencies in cnventinal strage architectures. One f the mst pressing issues facing rganizatins tday is the need t reduce strage csts. Simultaneusly, single vendr management tls and islated pls f strage fragment the infrastructure, making it difficult t share resurces, imprve peratinal efficiency and migrate nline data. By implementing a virtualized tiered strage architecture, an IT rganizatin can dramatically imprve strage capacities and lwer capital and peratinal expenses. Virtualized tiered strage better aligns data n strage systems by allwing yu t efficiently match strage attributes with the service level needs f individual business applicatins. The Cst and Cmplexity f Strage Strage envirnments large and small face increasingly sphisticated demands frm business applicatins and requests t maintain data nline fr lnger perids f time. As a result, ttal capacity being managed by IT strage administratrs has explded and the cmplexity f the strage infrastructure has grwn enrmusly. These factrs are raising the ttal cst f the strage wnership and significantly affect the IT budget. Regulatry cmpliance effrts ffer an example. The Health Insurance Prtability and Accuntability Act (HIPAA), SEC rule 17a-4, Sarbanes-Oxley and New Basel Capital Accrd (Basel II), alng with ther legislatin, are setting mandatry guidelines fr data prtectin and data retentin, with financial and legal penalties fr nncmpliance. Like business resilience measures, ensuring yur rganizatin is in cmpliance with gvernment regulatins implies increased capacity and cmplexity in the strage envirnment. Meeting the need fr enhanced data prtectin, greater regulatry cmpliance and escalating demand fr applicatin strage capacity inevitably drives up the cst f strage. Hitachi Data Systems

2 S l u t i n P r f i l e 2 The Hitachi virtualized tiered strage architecture cnslidates hetergeneus strage slutins in a single managed pl and establishes strage tiers. The result? Yu can strategically align yur strage infrastructure with yur business requirements. Figure 1. The Hitachi Virtualized Hetergeneus Strage Envirnment Hardware Csts Fragmentatin f the strage envirnment, caused by discnnected islands f strage and interperability prblems, creates stranded capacity and duplicates strage netwrking equipment, cntributing t escalating hardware csts. Eliminating barriers t sharing, strage recvery and imprving capacity utilizatin rates can deliver sustainable lng term savings by allwing future purchase f strage assets t be deferred. Sftware Csts With hetergeneus cnfiguratins the nrm in enterprise data centers, managing strage requires the use f many sftware tls frm different vendrs. These tls frequently d nt cmmunicate well with each ther, cmplicating the prcess f prvisining, ptimizing, mving and prtecting data, and increasing training csts. Labr Csts Labr expenses represent as much as 40 percent f the ttal cst f strage wnership. The best meaningful way t lwer strage labr csts is t reduce the peratinal management cmplexity f the strage envirnment. Maintenance Csts Hardware and sftware maintenance csts crrelate directly with the amunt f capacity deplyed in the envirnment and the number f tls in use by strage administratrs. Imprvements that simplify strage administratin and reduce the number f tls required als benefit maintenance csts. Sft Csts Sft csts include strage system perfrmance, scalability, dwntime and regulatry cmpliance. Fr example, if inadequate data

3 S l u t i n P r f i l e 3 prtectin raises the risk f revenue and prductivity lsses frm an utage, actual lsses experienced during dwntime are attributable t the strage infrastructure, even if the failure ccurred elsewhere. Slutin: Virtualized Tiered Strage Tday's enterprise data centers feature strage systems and strage netwrk infrastructures frm many vendrs. In rder t supprt this, the Hitachi virtualized tiered strage architecture cnslidates hetergeneus strage slutins in a single managed pl (see Figure 1). Within this pl different strage tiers are established. Hitachi virtualizatin technlgies enable the separatin f lgical views frm physical assets, enabling an architecture that prvides the right cst, perfrmance, reliability and availability characteristics f strage, as needed, matched with applicatin requirements (see Table 1). This means rganizatins can strategically align strage infrastructure with business requirements. ffers an excellent example f hw tiered strage architectures lwer csts. Nt all data has the same value. Typically, Missin Critical Data Mst valuable t an enterprise, high access High perfrmance, high availability, near zer dwntime, highest cst Business Critical Data Imprtant t the enterprise, average cst Reasnable perfrmance, gd availability, less than eight hur recvery Accessible Online Data Cst sensitive, lw access, large vlumes Online perfrmance, high availability, less than eight hur recvery Nearline Data Cst sensitive, lw access, large vlumes Less than ne hur access time, autmated retrieval Offline Data Archived data, backup r cmpliance related Very cst sensitive, limited access, ~72-hur seek time Table 1. IDC Tiered Strage Data Classificatins

4 S l u t i n P r f i l e 4 nly relatively recent messages have the high-end requirements assciated with tpf-the-line strage systems. As messages age and are archived, access frequency declines and needs change. String all data n high perfrmance, highly available strage is wasteful. In a tiered strage envirnment, the IT administratr can establish plicies where nly new messages are stred n tier ne, high-end, enterprise-class strage. Older messages can be hsted n tier tw strage, ffering perfrmance and availability slightly belw tier ne at a much lwer cst. And archival messages, the bulk f all technlgy. It prvides thin prvisining, advanced replicatin, lgical partitining, virtual cnnectins, supprt fr hetergeneus strage and the sheer perfrmance and scalability needed t truly deliver strage services n demand. At the same time, it eliminates vendr lck-in. Tiered strage can be scaled ut using hardware apprpriate t the tier. This dramatically simplifies strage prvisining and management and helps rganizatins achieve: Management simplicity thrugh the use f cmmn strage services thrughut an entire hetergeneus strage infrastructure Tier Name Missin Critical Business Critical Accessible Online Nearline Offline Availability % % 99.99% 99.90% Offline Perfrmance Maximum Backup Time (hurs) N/A Maximum Lcal Recvery Time (hurs) Lcal Recvery Pint (hurs) N/A Remte Recvery Time (hurs) Remte Recvery Pint (days) N/A Offering Cst/GB (relative) 100% 80% 60% 40% 10% Pint-in-time Snapshts Yes Yes Yes N N Table 2. Metrics f a Tiered Strage Implementatin strage, can be stred n cst-efficient midrange systems using SATA disk, ffering nline access but with lesser perfrmance. This tiered cnfiguratin frees large amunts f high-end strage capacity fr use by ther applicatins and lwers the cst f prviding strage fr the applicatin (see Table 2). The Hitachi virtualized tiered strage architecture leverages superir Hitachi cntrller A radically mre efficient IT envirnment that ges beynd cnslidatin int dynamically allcated tiered strage Asset value prtectin by supprting the virtualizatin f hetergeneus strage systems frm leading vendrs Strage reclamatin and imprved utilizatin f physical assets Seamless, nndisruptive data migratin between hetergeneus strage resurces withut affecting access t data by business applicatins

5 S l u t i n P r f i l e 5 Key Cmpnents Hitachi virtualized tiered strage slutins are designed t prvide gvernment, enterprise and midsize businesses with scalable, csteffective strage slutins with hetergeneus strage supprt, tier-riented prvisining and built-in nndisruptive data mbility. Detailed belw are a number f Hitachi prducts that are specific t virtualized tiered strage slutins. They are built fr Hitachi Virtual Strage Platfrm, Hitachi Universal Strage Platfrm V and Hitachi Universal Strage Platfrm VM strage systems. In additin, they are cmplementary t the Hitachi NAS Platfrm, pwered by BlueArc, and t cntent archiving and data resilience prducts frm Hitachi Data Systems. These specific prducts are: Hitachi Basic Operating System The Hitachi Basic Operating System sftware package is used t cnfigure and manage Virtual Strage Platfrm, Universal Strage Platfrm V and Universal Strage Platfrm VM systems. It supprts virtualizing frnt-end cntrller prts and dynamic partitining f cache and system resurces thrugh up t fur virtual strage partitins. It als includes basic reprting, perfrmance mnitring and management tls. Hitachi Basic Operating System V The Hitachi Basic Operating System V sftware package is an upgrade t the Hitachi Basic Operating System that adds the slutin s unique external strage virtualizatin capabilities t the Virtual Strage Platfrm, Universal Strage Platfrm V and Universal Strage Platfrm VM. It als expands the virtual strage partitin supprt t 32. These capabilities enable rganizatins t take advantage f Hitachi strage management, replicatin and data mbility capabilities acrss an entire hetergeneus strage pl and add significant value t their strage systems. Hitachi Tiered Strage Manager Accrding t the Enterprise Strategy Grup, data migratin is a frequent task perfrmed by data center strage administratrs. Whether managing the replacement, relcatin, cnslidatin r lease renewal f servers and strage r balancing wrklads fr perfrmance, data migratin is a fact f life fr the strage administratr. Data migratin is als a fundamental cmpnent f a tiered strage strategy. As the cst, quality f service and functinality demands f applicatin data change ver time, data must be migrated between tiers. This is hw a tiered strage architecture maintains an ptimal match f strage system characteristics and data requirements. Hitachi Tiered Strage Manager data management sftware enables IT administratrs t easily and interactively match applicatin quality f service requirements t hetergeneus strage assets. Tiered Strage Manager enables easy strage tier creatin and the nndisruptive mvement f data

6 S l u t i n P r f i l e 6 Virtualized Tiered Strage Benefits Business Benefits Capital expense savings and lwer peratinal csts Centralized management and better strage visibility Increased utilizatin Higher availability Reduced applicatin service interruptins Strage infrastructure aligned with business requirements vlumes t match applicatin-driven price, perfrmance and availability characteristics. Hitachi Dynamic Prvisining Hitachi Dynamic Prvisining sftware uses thin prvisining t simplify and add agility t the applicatin strage prvisining prcess and can save significant mney n strage purchases. This is imprtant fr cmpanies faced with nging rapid grwth f their Technical Benefits Simplified prvisining and strage management Precise strage service level management Leverage f lwer cst strage resurces Nndisruptive data migratin New functinality extended t lder assets Enhanced perfrmance and autmated perfrmance ptimizatin Thin prvisining Imprved security frm lgical partitining, rle-based access, audit lgging and ther security features data strage requirements and escalating strage and strage management expenses. Dynamic Prvisining als can reclaim existing previusly allcated strage within the virtualized pl, and n externally attached hetergeneus systems. And t imprve perfrmance and simplify perfrmance management, Hitachi Dynamic Prvisining sftware autmates ptimizatin f spindle usage and prvides dynamic lad balancing. Hitachi Dynamic Tiering Available nly n the Virtual Strage Platfrm, Hitachi Dynamic Tiering sftware autmates the cmplexity f using tiered strage efficiently. It delivers tp tier perfrmance t infrmatin stred largely n less expensive tiers. Dynamic Tiering uses Hitachi Dynamic Prvisining and inherits its advantages f simplified prvisining, capital savings and self-ptimizing perfrmance. Dynamic Tiering virtual vlumes are an enhanced, tiered type f Dynamic Prvisining vlume with up t three internal tiers. Dynamic Tiering autmatically mves data in the vlume at a fine grain, page-based level within these tiers. It mves data accrding t wrklad, t the mst apprpriate media, t maximize service levels and minimize ttal cst f strage. University f Utah Sees Success and a Psitive Return n Investment The University f Utah Health Sciences Center (UUHSC) Infrmatin Technlgy Services (ITS) grup prvides technical resurces and supprt fr a wide range f departmental, hspital, research grup and clinic-based facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah. With demand fr strage capacity grwing at arund 200 percent per year, and mre UUHSC departments signing up t share resurces managed by the ITS grup, the existing strage infrastructure was beginning t shw signs f stress. ITS supprts several SANs frm a number f different vendrs. But, as deplyed capacity increased, strage administratrs nted several prblems. Each vendr's SAN requires its wn set f tls and strage management prcedures. This frustrated attempts by administratrs t crss train n

7 S l u t i n P r f i l e 7 the different tls. The fragmented management tls subsequently resulted in siled management practices and in administratrs themselves becming a single pint f failure fr the envirnment. In additin t strage management cncerns, backup windws started t intrude n prductin wrk hurs, and the amunt f strage capacity wasted by stranded space n SANs was grwing. Strage virtualizatin was identified as a technlgy that culd address many UUHSC grwth and management issues. ITS evaluated several appliance- and fabric-based strage virtualizatin prducts. It determined that the risk f managing anther fabric element, the necessary increase in head cunt and training, and the single pint f failure that wuld be intrduced int the system did nt warrant further investigatin. The ITS grup then decided t evaluate the Hitachi Universal Strage Platfrm. The Hitachi strage cntrller-based virtualizatin allwed UUHSC t implement a new tiered strage architecture. All fabric elements were kept the same, lder strage systems were virtualized behind the Universal Strage Platfrm, SAN management was cllapsed int a single pint f cntrl and a multitiered strage strategy was implemented. Ecnmic Impact f the Hitachi Universal Strage Platfrm The implementatin f the Hitachi Universal Strage Platfrm and a tiered strage infrastructure resulted in a dramatic range f financial savings fr the UUHSC: Reduced the number f peple needed t manage the strage infrastructure by tw (saving US$320K) Imprved capacity use, deferring planned purchase f 18TB f new capacity fr three years Remved three strage frames, with assciated reductin in hardware, sftware and maintenance csts (US$200K), as well as flr space, electricity and air cnditining expenses (US$28K) Extended the life f lder strage assets, reducing future capital prcurement expenses Remved lder Fibre Channel switches frm the SAN, further reducing hardware and maintenance csts Imprved availability, with estimated risk cst avidance fr patient and billing systems cnservatively put at US$118K, and fr ther systems at US$138K Imprved perfrmance, with an estimated US$340K savings in faster access t data Imprved access t tiered strage fr all ITS custmers Deplying Tiered Strage in Yur Infrastructure In reading this slutin prfile, Virtualized Tiered Strage Slutins, yu nw have gained a basic understanding f what is invlved in implementing a tiered strage slutin. And yu have the backgrund t determine what kind f engagement will equip yu t chse frm amng the available hardware, sftware and services t achieve a clser match between business and IT gals. In additin, we recmmend engaging the Hitachi Data Systems Glbal Slutin Services grup befre yu undertake a tiered strage strategy. Glbal Slutin Services can help yu: Prvide a framewrk fr data lifecycle management Quickly assess rganizatinal needs fr access, retentin and prtectin f data Evaluate patterns f access acrss the data's lifecycle Define cmmn strage and applicatins management envirnment services Establish an ptimized, cst-effective and lng term reference architecture t meet the needs f yur business Pertinent fferings frm Hitachi Data Systems Glbal Slutin Services include: Assessment and Planning Services Data Classificatin Service Risk Analysis Wrkshp Strage Ecnmics Strategy Service Prduct Implementatin Services External Strage Implementatin Service fr Hitachi Universal Strage Platfrm Systems Fr Mre Infrmatin T learn mre abut hw Hitachi Data Systems can help with yur tiered strage plans and t read mre abut tiered strage, please visit strage r call Hitachi Data Systems at , ext Explre an engagement that will result in the ptimal slutin fr yur tiered strage needs. (Hitachi TrueNrth Channel partners shuld cntact their Channel managers fr infrmatin.)

8 S l u t i n P r f i l e 8 Crprate Headquarters 750 Central Expressway Santa Clara, Califrnia USA Reginal Cntact Infrmatin Americas: r inf@hds.cm Eurpe, Middle East and Africa: +44 (0) r inf.emea@hds.cm Asia Pacific: r hds.marketing.apac@hds.cm Hitachi is a registered trademark f Hitachi, Ltd., in the United States and ther cuntries. Hitachi Data Systems is a registered trademark and service mark f Hitachi, Ltd., in the United States and ther cuntries. All ther trademarks, service marks and cmpany names in this dcument r website are prperties f their respective wners. Ntice: This dcument is fr infrmatinal purpses nly, and des nt set frth any warranty, expressed r implied, cncerning any equipment r service ffered r t be ffered by Hitachi Data Systems Crpratin. Hitachi Data Systems Crpratin All Rights Reserved. SP-009-C DG September 2010