Spalding R. Storage Networks / Actionable Items

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Storage Networks
Authors: Spalding R.
Published year: 2003
Pages: 10-12/192

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Actionable Items

ITOs should undertake the following initiatives:

Rationalizing storage hardware and storage software This should encompass all aspects of storage across the server and application portfolio. Certainly, storage life cycles must be considered , yet a rationalization strategy (reducing variations both vendor and configuration) will provide significant strategic value, even in tactical times.
Creating a storage infrastructure ITOs should begin networking storage resources (SAN, NAS, and backup/recovery architectures), leverage tiered storage offerings (for example, internal storage, midrange , enterprise) and functional software (say, replication, server cluster integration, and backup/ recovery), and look to common components (such as FC switches, host bus adapters, and so on) where possible. They should also seek new elements that adhere to intensive interoperability standards and procedures to ensure maximum configuration flexibility.
Optimizing storage operations This includes rationalizing and consolidating management tools and personnel responsibilities; consistent storage management of multivendor environments is beginning to emerge and is a significant strategic directive.
Creating a data and media center of excellence ITOs should employ a center of excellence using the guidelines outlined in the previous section.

Outsourcing

From 2003 through 2006, as ITOs adopt a storage service delivery model resembling that of traditional outsourcers, accurately measuring storage services and metrics will be a critical success factor in ITOs not only gaining credibility, but also in justifying (and making an informed decision about) whether a storage and storage management sourcing strategy should be employed. ITOs can use three categories when determining measurable metrics. The initial set comprises alternatives to the traditional ROI/total cost of ownership senior management mandate and is primarily an internal benchmark of (current and future) capabilities that quantify how the strategy is providing value. The second and third sets, technical and operational, are more strategic because some of these measurements are not possible with some storage vendors . However, ITOs should keep the measurements simple, limiting the metrics to those that are the most important to the business. Often, using network-based SLAs (for example, web hosting) as a framework and mapping them to storage services provides a good starting point. The three categories available to ITOs are:

Internal benchmarking This includes storage managed per administrator, percentage of storage utilization, days storage in inventory, data life-cycle multiplier , data availability, and mean time to recovery.
Technical measures These include storage availability, storage latency, data migration/exit clause, diagnostic, capacity utilization, performance, resource utilization, and mean time and maximum time to recover/resolve.
Operational measures These include maximum time to notify, moves/adds/changes, project-specific SLAs, and vendor responsiveness.

Conclusions

ITOs are increasingly realizing the importance of storage, particularly among midsize companies that have historically not had requirements for enterprise storage capabilities. Through 2005/06, most organizations will have organized around, and created, a storage infrastructure and operations team (the data and media center of excellence). Consequently, it is imperative that ITOs begin to view storage in regards to the strategic importance it will haveeven in difficult economic environments that often, and many times incorrectly, result in solely tactical decisions. ITOs should undertake a strategic evaluation examining how daily functions can be leveraged across (and automated by) multivendor capabilities, and how tasks currently consuming significant resources can be dramatically reduced (for example, recovery, provisioning, and procurement).

Moreover, as storage technologies continue to mature and more servers participate in networked storage (SAN and NAS), ITOs will be forced into measuring delivered capabilities as storage becomes a service that is delivered to the business in business speak (such as performance, availability, flexibility to change), and associated cost tradeoffs based on their selection of tiered services is clearly understood .

Robert Spalding has been a respected authority on storage and storage management for the past 20 years . Having worked with Robert in the past, he was the first person to begin describing the need, and preparations necessary, for an adaptive storage infrastructure. In doing so in 1995, Bob began speaking about the need for a Chief Storage Officer.

Much of this thought leadership has manifested itself in Roberts published works, and specifically in this book, Storage Networks: The Complete Reference . As an industry analyst covering the entire storage and storage management market, it has been my experience that simple yet technical reference books are extremely useful. Im sure storage professionals will benefit greatly by having this as a staple manual on their desk. Enjoy.

Sean Derrington is a leading authority on storage and storage management infrastructures. He specializes in storage subsystems, Fibre Channel, Storage Area Networks, Network Attached Storage, backup/recovery, and disaster recovery architectures, with a concentration on e-business, transactional, and analytic storage infrastructures . Sean joined META Group in July, 1995. He has a B.S. degree in Material Science and Engineering as well as a B.S. degree in Engineering and Public Policy, both from Carnegie Mellon University. Sean can be reached at sean.derrington@metagroup.com.

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