the storage anarchist

5.005: who said it couldn't be done?

They said "it" couldn't be done. They said nobody else's array could do "it" – that only their array architecture could handle "it." They said all kinds of things about how "it" was going to bring the demise of Symmetrix, because Symmetrix would never do "it." Even if we could do “it,” they said we wouldn’t – but they said we can’t. 

But they were wrong. VERY wrong.

Today EMC announced "it" is now available on VMAX. And then EMC went one better than they ever imagined – EMC took "it" further than they have been able to, even after all the (8+) years they have been shipping "it."

And of course, they will try to undermine the fact that they now have DIRECT competition from another array vendor who has implemented "it" - highlighting the history of EMC bashing "it", as if that matters any more. As I have noted before, being "first" is only important until there is a second - then all that matters is which implementation is better. And so they will childishly act like first means best perpetually.

Have you guess what "it" is yet?

More importantly, do you know who “they” are?

Read on to see what they never expected…and should have feared...

4.001: when you say tiering, do you mean degradation?

(Wow, has it really been 4 years since I started blogging?)

Hu Yoshida posted yesterday a perspective on the evolving meaning of the word "Tiering," presumptively as a context for making a cost- and performance-benefit argument for Hitachi Dynamic Tiering (HDT), as implemented on the VSP.

After the usual Hitachi riff about external storage and thin provisioning pools, Hu turns to a discussion of "Page level Dynamic Tiering with HDT." Here he highlights that HDT moves data in 42MB pages, allowing for relocation at the sub-device level based on utilization of the page(s).

Hu then makes a not-so-subtle attempt at asserting superiority against competitive implementations (e.g. VMAX FAST VP, I suppose), with this claim:

The VSP was architected to address this additional load with a global pool of quad core Intel processors that is tightly coupled across an internal switch matrix to a global cache and front/back end processors. Storage systems that do not have this extra processing power will suffer some performance degradation when they do sub LUN level tiering. (emphasis mine)

Folks, permit me to inject a dose of reality…if anything suffers degradation when auto-tiering, it is the VSP…

 

3.020: reality check - vsp vaai support

I've seen lots of bluster lately from the Hitachi PR machine about VSP being the first virtualization platform to support VMware's vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI).

When you're next to last delivering something, I guess you gotta try something (I note that IBM has yet to deliver VAAI on either DS8K or on XIV – not surprising, since both seem to be on life support, if for different reasons).

Hitachi have spared no blather in their messaging. If you were to believe their PR proclamations, you would expect to gain all the benefits of VAAI without waiting for your existing storage platform to be upgraded with VAAI support. Just tuck it behind a spanking new VSP and forget all your troubles, they seem to say.

Reality Check time.

As Stephen Foskett essentially explains in his post VMware VAAI Storage Array Support in Plain English, VAAI was developed by VMware in cooperation of industry storage suppliers to address TWO issues:

1. Copy and Erase operations place a huge load on the servers, network and storage arrays
2. The SCSI reservation locking mechanism does not scale efficiently for large LUNs nor for large number of hosts sharing the same LUN(s)

What the Hitachi PR machine fails to mention is that moving the Bulk Zero and Bulk Copy workloads off of the server CPU is not the only benefit of a good VAAI implementation. In fact, with Done Right implementations like VMAX, moving these operations into the array allows the array to optimize the operations to further reduce the overhead and impact.
 

3.019: fast vp - world's smartest storage tiering (part 2)

In Part 1 of this article, I discussed how the new VMAX FAST VP is highly differentiated when it comes to implementation, architecture, algorithms and simplicity. In Part 2 I focus on differentiation in the granularity of data management and in the advanced controls for FAST VP.

Before I dive in, I also wanted to re-iterate that FAST VP is not the end-game for EMC’s investments in automated tiering. As we’ve said since we introduced the concept back in April 2009, EMC’s FAST Vision (and roadmap) is laid out in 5 stages, of which FAST VP is only the 2nd. Over the coming months and years, you will see EMC extend FAST in a progression:

1. Thick: VMAX FAST V1 provided policy-based optimization at the Full LUN level
2. Thin: VMAX FAST VP provides sub-LUN automated optimization
3. Small: Next up will be the incorporation of data reduction technologies to reduce the footprint of both idle and active data
4. Green: This phase will take efficiency to another level, moving idle data to spindle groups that will be automatically spun down until the data is actually needed
5. Gone: Finally, aged data blocks will be archived out of the VMAX itself to external archive platforms (like the one announced during the Record Breakers launch today)

So, in addition to the unique value propositions offered by The World’s Smartest Storage Tiering product, EMC’s larger vision is also highly differentiated. Although I do expect others will try to copy our vision as well…

On to Part 2!

 

3.018: fast vp - world's smartest storage tiering (part 1)

With the availability of VMAX Fully Automated Storage Tiering for Virtual Pools (FAST VP), there will undoubtedly be a raft of "we were first" and "me too" claims from competitors.

I will preemptively respond to both in this post.

As I've said many times before, being "first" in the market only really matters for as long as you are also "the only." As soon as there are more than one supplier of a feature, the discussion moves on to "which implementation is better."

I hereby assert than VMAX FAST VP is the smartest, most efficient, fastest,
easiest and most affordable sub-LUN automated tiering available in the market today
(and for the foreseeable future)

Second, I contend that no other vendors' automated tiering offering even comes close to VMAX FAST VP – and thus nobody has a basis for claiming "me too."

As I hope to explain, effective automated storage tiering requires much, much more than the basic ability to relocate data across tiers at a sub-LUN granularity. To even be considered as a contender, competitors will have to address three areas of FAST VP differentiation:

1. Effective Implementation
2. Granular Data Management
3. Advanced Controls

For each of these I will propose some questions the customers may want to consider when comparing implementations, along with the specific unique advantages offered by VMAX FAST VP.

I have split this post into two parts (it got a little longer than I planned).

Part 1 follows…

3.017: vmax 2011 edition - powerful. trusted. smartest.

In the 20 months since its launch back in April of 2009, VMAX has literally redefined the storage landscape. Back then, EMC focused the messaging around how VMAX was purpose-built for the virtual data center, leveraging multi-core Intel technology to deliver a highly efficient and scalable modular and tiered enterprise storage platform. We introduced the new Virtual Matrix architecture, the first array built upon that architecture, and the first wave of automation that has simplified the whole deployment model of Symmetrix storage.

EMC also did a bit of a Babe Ruth at that launch – pointing to the bleachers where we intended to deliver, in two phases, the innovation of Fully Automated Storage Tiering. FAST v1 for VMAX began shipping just about a year ago.

On December 15th, 2010 the second phase of FAST began shipping, along with more than 50 other significant features and new products in what we now call Enginuity 5875. Included also were some new hardware updates to VMAX – a new native 10Gb Ethernet director for SRDF and iSCSI, plus a new VMAX engine that sports an encrypting back-end to support Data at Rest Encryption.

Today (January 18th, 2010), EMC publicly announces what is inarguably the largest set of new storage products ever to be simultaneously introduced on one day. With over 40 new products and scores of new features, today's launch truly lives up to its Record Breaker theme. (If by chance you've missed all the hype, there's still time to learn about it at the #EMCBreaksRecords web site.)

So, what's all the hype about? Well, for the full effect, you'll have to go see for yourself. But within the context of VMAX, there's lots of new things in this latest release of Enginuity 5875, and I thought I'd lead off my contribution to the launch day communications with a quick run through of the major ones…

 

3.013: of public and private clouds - in 98 seconds

Forbes has posted an interview with EMC's Pat Gelsinger where he is asked to explain the relationship of Public and Private clouds. It's short and simple, and you can see it here.

If you can, please try not to notice all the non-EMC advertising and product placements that have gotten wrapped around (and inside) the interview.

Perhaps just a bit more "balanced reporting" than necessary, if you ask me.

 

technorati tags: EMC,VMware,Journey to the Private Cloud,private cloud,public cloud,Pat Gelsinger,Forbes

3.012: vplex geo preview at vmworld

Last year at VMworld, Chad Sakac previewed active/active application teleportation over synchronous distances using an at-that-time preview version of what we now know as VPLEX.

This year, Chad’s done it again – he’s sneaked an early look at how VPLEX Geo will enable active/active data access over asynchronous distances. He’s snagged an early (very early) code drop from the VPLEX development team and staged a demo that should at least start to silence the doubting Thomases among us.

Sure, it’s not live (nor is it Memorex ;-). Indeed VPLEX Geo isn’t even scheduled to ship until 1H’2011, and as Chad notes there is lots of integration work yet to be completed between the VMware and VPLEX development teams. But it is still an important demonstration of the potential VPLEX has to change the way we deploy our IT applications and infrastructure in the future.

So, without further ado, I invite you over to Chad’s Virtual Geek blog to see and learn about this preview for yourself: At VMworld? Try VPLEX. Like it? Take one home :-)

Oh, yeah – I almost forgot. VMworld attendees are being offered a special 90-Day Trial of VPLEX – just stop by the EMC Booth for more information!

 

technorati tags: VMworld, VPLEX, VPLEX Geo, active/active, asynchronous, VMotion, EMC, VMware

3.003: to boldly go

Space... the Final Frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Her ongoing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before.

And so begins our journey

Today, EMC announces the introduction of another category-creating product: EMC VPLEX. Built upon unique market-proven technology and hardened for the rigors of enterprise IT, VPLEX brings forth a revolutionary new platform for building and deploying distributed virtual data centers. And whether we call it Distributed Federation, a component of Virtual Storage, the On Ramp to the Private Cloud, an application Teleporter, a Time Machine for Data, the foundational component that extends the Virtual Mainframe beyond the walls of a single data center, or even simply distributed storage virtualization, VPLEX clearly will change the way we build and deploy applications.

By tearing down the barriers of space and time, VPLEX will allow us to rethink when and where we run applications. Couple with virtual server technology, VPLEX can allow applications to be relocated not only to another server cluster, but one in a totally different location. And with its unique approach to distributed cache management, VPLEX can enable applications to begin running at their new destination before all of the application’s data has been relocated. In fact, the Access Anywhere caching technology can even present data at a remote site without any data storage at the site! This capability of VPLEX Metro portends the future where VPLEX will both extend the distance between VPLEX clusters and expand the number of clusters VPLEX supports. As the VPLEX partner and development communities expand the use cases and integration beyond the hypervisors into database and application integration with the VPLEX distributed cache capabilities, we will see the emergence of new computing models.

We are at the beginning of a new journey.

2.048: a walk through the clouds

For what may be my final post of my 3rd year of blogging (April 27th is the anniversary of my first post -- not to worry, there will be a fourth year), I present a short story written by fellow EMC employee David Meiri. David has been a member of Symmetrix development for nearly over 12 years. For most of those years he has been a key innovator and developer on EMC's world-renowned SRDF (Symmetrix Remote Data Facility). I only just recently learned he can be an artful author in languages other than C and assembler.

So, forthwith, here's David's (mildly edited) short story:

A Walk through the Clouds

A short story describing how a private cloud may look for users, at all levels.

Sometime in the near future . . .

Susan’s day started out easy enough.

As the sole Application Administrator in the IT department of Blue Sky Bank, it was her responsibility to take care of any problems related to the many applications the bank ran. So far this morning there was only one issue: traders complained that the global trading application was not performing fast enough. While on the phone with their manager at headquarters, she took a quick look at the all-green dashboard on her monitor and said: “It looks like your storage demands are exceeding the 5,000 IO/sec you have requested, and as a result the average latency is above your SLA. If you want better performance, I can move your current trading activities to a higher tier and charge you an additional $10,000 a quarter. The next-level service package in the catalog will provide you with higher IO rate, reduced response time, higher availability and better data protection through more frequent snapshots that are retained for longer periods.” The manager on the other end of the line approved the change, Susan turned to her keyboard to adjust the policy, and within minutes the application’s performance started climbing up.