Flexible storage architecture for the modular world

Computer Technology Review, June, 2004 by Mike McNamara

In today's systems environments, there are only two constants: change and growth. Applications are expanding at a dramatic rate, and systems are evolving to keep pace. Key drivers behind this constant, rapid change are the explosive impact of the World Wide Web and media-intensive applications, as well as the emergence of compliance regulations (Sarbanes-Oxley, HIPAA, etc). The Web is emerging as the source of first resort for information, entertainment and even communications, placing tremendous demands on the systems that store and serve up that data to hundreds, thousands or millions of users. As rich media content--including streaming audio and video--becomes commonplace on the Web, these demands are compounded at an incredible rate.

In the corporate environment, enterprise-wide information access via company intranets and the rise of new "e-business" models is driving a proliferation of media-intensive, server-based applications--from imaging to data warehousing. The deployment of these types of applications is driving companies to increase their demand for storage each year.

The Storage Challenge

While these trends are driving rapid evolution throughout the IT environment, nowhere are they being felt more than in the area of network storage. In some applications, demand for storage capacity is doubling every few months. Once only a "peripheral" concern, storage is today an issue of strategic importance.

To address this critical issue, many companies are turning to network storage topologies, from Storage Area Networks (SANs) to Network Attached Storage (NAS) to IPSAN storage solutions. They are looking to these topologies to help reduce the burden on the server network created by the tremendous increase in data volumes, while facilitating access to data information faster and more reliably. Companies are looking for solutions that enable them to expand as their storage requirements grow without affecting the existing systems or application processes. At the same time, companies are looking to centralize the management of their storage network and reduce the overall cost of managing their storage resources.

A New Approach

Regardless of the storage topology they choose to keep pace with their rapidly changing storage requirements, companies need a new, more flexible storage architecture that addresses scalability in multiple dimensions. They need networked storage solutions that are versatile enough to change rapidly in response to changing business requirements--solutions that drive down the immense cost of managing complex storage infrastructures, while enabling cost-effective growth and expansion. Flexibility is even more critical for OEMs, VARs and distributors. To compete effectively, they need a common storage solution that can be configured to meet a variety of application requirements, minimizing the number of specialized components required to meet the diverse needs of their customers.

To respond to this need, subsystem vendors are focusing on modular, flexible storage frameworks that increase flexibility, while reducing cost and technology risk. Storage solutions are created from flexible, modular "building blocks" based on open standards. This approach is fundamentally different than some existing storage architectures, which are based on application-specific designs that limit their flexibility.

The modular architecture enables network storage solutions that are scalable in all four key dimensions: functionality, interface, capacity and performance. The result is a highly cost-effective "all-in-one" solution that meets the full range of storage needs today--while enabling rapid scaling or reconfiguration to meet the needs of tomorrow.

Functional Flexibility

The modular architecture provides an unprecedented degree of configuration flexibility. Control functionality is provided by hot-swappable modules based on a compact, industry-leading form factor such as 2U. The platforms can be configured for virtually any storage configuration--including JBOD, RAID, SAN, and other network storage topologies such as iSCSI--simply by sliding in the appropriate module(s). This modular design also provides a cost-effective "single card" migration path to the best-of-breed technologies in the future--including emerging intelligent networking technologies that place application intelligence within the storage platform.

This design offers the tremendous advantage of a single, modular platform able to satisfy virtually any network storage need. This dramatically simplifies stocking and sparing for OEMs--reducing their overall costs, while greatly increasing their responsiveness to customers' needs. For end users, modular functionality enables companies to reconfigure existing storage platforms as their needs change, without costly "forklift" upgrades. For example, a JBOD platform can be transformed into a RAID platform by swapping a single module. The JBOD module can be retained for use in another platform or as a spare, protecting the entire technology investment. This modular approach also enables cost-effective redundancy with hot-swappable components to meet the availability requirements of demanding enterprise, transaction processing, and Web commerce environments.