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.