|
I have a question on tiered storage and its benefits. Growing
data is one thing we need to grapple with. Will tiered storage be the best
option?
-Venkateshwaran, Dowell Consultants, Chennai
Yes, tiered storage is becoming an option for
effective storage and retrieval of data. Tiered storage is nothing but basic
re-organization of enterprises digital assets on diverse storage media. A
typical tiered storage encompasses aspects like selection and deploying storage
systems, and SRM solution to manage the storage. Just like the way IT is aligned
with business, tiered storage aligns your core and critical data with the
diverse device types. For instance, more mission critical data goes into one
tier and data of public domain goes into another. The emphasis here is on
managing different storage media and its dynamics. The tiered storage
architecture should be agile enough to be accessible 24x7, and at the same time
have proactive and controlled access points at various tiers.
So typically, on a tiered storage you need to factor speed,
reliability, prioritization of data and accessibility. For instance, the core
mission critical data should be based on a fast I/O storage, such as the FC
drives. The not so frequent data can go into devices like SATA and tape drives.
In terms of benefits, tiered storage brings in definite cost advantages. Since
it is a mix and match of storage media where investments are being made, one
takes an informed need-based storage buying, and also differentiates between
current critical and archive data to arrive at control and access at every
level.
In terms of issues, there has always been a debate on data
classifications and tiered storage, though both appear connected at first. But
if you take a closer look, data classification is different from tiered storage.
For instance, in a typical data classification exercise, you classify the value
of the data to your organization. Once you have classified your data, you adopt
various storage technologies. Tiered storage is thus, a technology that stores
hardware and software and puts them in a tier as per the criticality of the data
As an IT organization, we need to constantly look at various
forms of data sharing methods. Can you tell us about offsite storage?
-M Naqvi, M&S Travels, New Delhi
Offsite storage is used mainly for DR and business continuity
needs. But one of the key requirements in offsite storage is having a reliable
back up technologies. For instance, the mode used to transfer the storage to
another location is critical like in the case of tape or transfer over high
bandwidth network. Offsite storage needs to be carefully planned, select the
right vendor and look at cost involved, like removable media, secured transfer,
bandwidth among others.
As an emerging enterprise, we do not have the luxury of
hiring consultants hence go by our own wisdom when making IT decisions. Storage
per se, we are overwhelmed by the technologies and the standards. Can you
demystify technologies like iSCSI, FCIP and iFCP?
-Visjal Kalucha, Pine Cone Hill, NOIDA
The three IP-based technologies mentioned are used for
transporting block level storage. But they are different, with each one having
its individual characteristics. The Internet Small Computer Systems Interface (iSCSI)
is a.protocol that defines and creates rules and processes to send and receive
block level storage apps over TCP/IP. You do this through SCSI commands over
TCP/IP. Meanwhile, Fibre channel over TCP/IP (FCIP) is used to tunnel FC over
IP-based networks. By doing this, one enables inter-connection of FC SAN's
with TCP/IP. On the other hand, the Internet Fibre Channel Protocol (iFCP) is a
gateway protocol where TCP/IP based switching components coexists and enhances
the overall FC environment. All three technologies are aimed at delivering
maximum storage, expand the reach, optimize on existing storage resources and
bringing in an IP-based storage infrastructure that is easier to manage. Page(s) 1
| 
Print
Comment
Email
Digg
Del.icio.us
Reddit
Twitter
