Server and StorageIO: IT Industry Trends and Perspectives

Blog Post and Poll: What was hot in 2009 and what was not, cast your vote

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:01:23 GMT

This is the time of year when people make their predictions for the next year.

Building on some recent surveys and polls including:

Whats your take on Windows 7

Is IBM XIV still relevant

EMC and Cisco Acadia VCE, what does it mean?

What do you think of IT clouds

Whats Your Take on FTC Guidelines For Bloggers?

Not to mention those over at Storage Monkeys and the customer collective among others

Before jumping to what will be hot or a flop in 2010, what do you think were the successful as well as disappointing technologies, trends, events, products or vendors of 2009?

Click here to cast your votes along with nominations for what was hot and what was not in 2009.

Feel free to vote early and often, however be advised, you will have to be creative in doing so as single balloting per IP and cookies are enabled to keep things on the down low.

Check back soon to see how the results play out...

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC)

Blog Post: Behind the Scenes, SANta Claus Global Cloud Story

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:54:32 GMT

There is a ton of discussion, stories, articles, videos, conferences and blogs about the benefits and value proposition of cloud computing. Not to mention, discussion or debates about what is or what is not a cloud or cloud product, service or architecture including some perspectives and polls from me.

Now SANta does not really care about these and other similar debates I have learned. However he is concerned with who has been naughty and nice as well watching out for impersonators or members of his crew who misbehave.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: What do NAS, NASA and NASCAR have in common?

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:45:43 GMT

The other day it dawned on me what do NAS, NASA and NASCAR have in common?

Several things in addition to all starting with the letters NAS it turns out.

For example, they all deal with round objects, NAS or Network Attached storage involved with circular spinning disk drives, NASA or National Aeronautical Space Administration besides involved with aircraft that have tires that go round and round, or airplanes circling waiting for landing.

In the case of NASA they are also involved with sending craft or devices to circle other planets or moons and land or crash into them. Sometimes NAS along with other storage systems have disk drives that crash, similar to how NASCAR events see accidents.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Is MAID Dead? I dont Think So!

Wed, 8 Dec 2009 14:43:21 GMT

Some vendors are doing better than others and first generation MAID (Massive or monolithic Array of Idle Disks) might be dead or about to be deceased, spun down or put into a long term sleep mode, it is safe to say that second generation MAID (e.g. MAID 2.0) also known as intelligent power management (IPM) is alive and doing well.

In fact, IPM is not unique to disk storage or disk drives as it is also a technique found in current generation of processors such as those from Intel (e.g. Nehalem) and others.

Other names for IPM include adaptive voltage scaling (AVS), adaptive voltage scaling optimized (AVSO) and adaptive power management (APM) among others.

The basic concept is to vary the amount of power being used to the amount of work and service level needed at a point in time and on a granular basis.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: EMC Storage and Management Software Getting FAST

Wed, 8 Dec 2009 14:43:21 GMT

EMC has announced the availability of the first phase of FAST (Fully Automated Storage Tiering) functionality for their Symmetrix VMAX, CLARiiON and celerra storage systems.

FAST was first previewed earlier this year (see here and here).

Key themes of FAST are to leverage policies for enabling automation to support large scale environments, doing more with what you have along with enabling virtual data centers for traditional, private and public clouds as well as enhancing IT economics.

This means enabling performance and capacity planning analysis along with facilitating load balancing or other infrastructure optimization activities to boost productivity, efficiency and resource usage effectiveness not to mention enabling Green IT.

Is FAST revolutionary? That will depend on who you talk or listen to.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: SSD and Storage System Performance

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 05:43:21 GMT

Jacob Gsoedl has a new article over at SearchStorage titled How to add solidstate storage to your enterprise data storage systems.

In his article which includes some commentary by me, Jacob lays out various options on where and how to deploy solid state devices (SSD) in and with enterprise storage systems.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: StorageIO debuts at 79 in Technobabble top 400 analyst list

Mon, 7 Dec 2009 03:45:45 GMT

Following on the heals of being named one of three EcoTech warriors earlier in the year, and then number 5 in the top ten independent bloggers at StorageMonkeys earlier this year (plus appearing on InfoSmack), the momentum continues more recently being named as the 23rd out of the top 30 influential virtualization bloggers.

If that were not enough, I was also surprised to learn recently that I have also made a debut appearance at number 79 in the Technobabble top 400 analyst and independent blogger lists as well.

To say that Im honored and flattered would be an understatement and I thank all of the growing number of readers and commenters to the various blogs, twitter tweets along with other content at the different venues and events Im involved with.

Thanks to all of you and have a safe happy holiday season along with a prosperous new years, look forward to future conversations and discussions.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Green IT and Virtual Data Centers

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:34:56 GMT

Green IT and virtual data centers are no fad nor are they limited to large scale environments.

Paying attention to how resources are used to deliver information services in a flexible, adaptable, energy efficient, environmentally, and economically friendly manner to boost efficiency and productivity are here to stay.

Read more here in the article I did for the folks over at Enterprise Systems Journal.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: The other Green Storage: Efficiency and Optimization

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:34:56 GMT

Some believe that green storage is specifically designed to reduce power and cooling costs.

The reality is that there are many ways to reduce environmental impact while enhancing the economics of data storage besides simply booting utilizing.

These include optimizing data storage capacity as well as boosting performance to increase productivity per watt of energy used when work needs to be done.

Some approaches require new hardware or software while others can be accomplished with changes to management including reconfiguration leveraging insight and awareness of resource needs.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Is IBM XIV still relevant?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:54:32 GMT

That is a question I get asked quite a bit and based on discussions in other blogs and twitter tweets; it appears that Im not alone.

A little over a year ago I did a blog post about IBM and XIV, now seems like a good time to revisit, look back and look forward.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: What is the Future of Servers?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:54:32 GMT

Recently I provided some comments and perspectives on the future of servers in an article over at Processor.com.

In general, blade servers will become more ubiquitous, that is they wont go away, rather become more common place with even higher density processors with more cores and performance along with faster I/O and larger memory capacity per given footprint.

While the term blade server may fade giving way to some new term or phrase, rest assured their capabilities and functionality will not disappear, rather be further enhanced to support virtualization with VMware vsphere, Microsoft HyperV, Citrix/Zen along with public and private clouds, both for consolidation and in the next wave of virtualization called life beyond consolidation.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Justifying Green IT and Home Hardware Upgrades with EnergyStar

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:54:32 GMT

Have you seen the TV commercials or print advertisements where an energy star washer is mentioned as so efficient that the savings from reduced power consumption are enough to pay for the dryer? If not, check out the EPA Energy Star website for information about various programs, savings and efficiency options to learn more

What does this have to do with servers, storage, networking, data centers or other IT equipment?

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: ILM = Has It Losts its Meaning

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:54:32 GMT

Disclaimer, warning, be advised, heads up, disclosure, this post is partially for fun so take it that way.

Remember ILM, that is, Information Lifecycle Management among other meanings.

It was a popular buzzword de jour a few years ago similar to how cloud is being tossed around lately, or in the recent past, virtualization, clusters, grids and SOA among others.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: How to win approval for upgrades: Link them to business benefits

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:54:32 GMT

Drew Rob has another good article over at Processor.com about various tips and strategies on how to gain approval for hardware (or software) purchases with some comments by yours truly.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Going Rouge or Rogue in IT

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:23:45 GMT

Given all of the hype and buzz lately around Sarah Palins new book Going rogue, how long until we see the term or phrase used in IT? After all, we saw some jump on the cash for clunkers theme. I wonder who will be the first to jump on the Going rogue or rouge theme bandwagon. Here are a few ideas that might stimulate some thought, or, to keep an eye out to see who jumps on the bandwagon.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Did HP respond to EMC and Cisco VCE with Microsoft HyperV bundle?

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:43:21 GMT

Last week EMC and Cisco along with Intel and VMware created the VCE collation along with a consumption model based service joint venture called Acadia.

In other activity last week, HP made several announcements including:

Improvements in sensing technologies
StorageWorks enhancements (SVSP, IBRIX, EVA and HyperV, X9000 and others)

EMC and Cisco were relatively quiet this week on announcement front, however HP unleashed another round of announcements that among others included:

Quarterly financial results
SMB server, storage, network and virtualization enhancements (here, here, here and here)
Acquisitions of 3COM (see related blog post here)

The reason I bring up all of this HP activity is not to simply re-cap all of the news and announcements which you can find on many other blogs or news sites, rather I see as a trend.

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: HP Buys one of the seven networking dwarfs and gets a bargain

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:48:37 GMT

HP Buys one of the seven networking dwarfs and gets a bargain

Last week EMC and Cisco announced their VCE collation and Acadia.

The other day, HP continued its early holiday shopping by plucking down $2.7B USD and bought 3COM, one of the networking seven dwarfs (e.g. when compared to networking giant Cisco). Some of the other so called networking dwarfs when compared to Cisco include Brocade, Ciena and Juniper among others.

Why is 3COM a bargain at $2.7B

Click here to read more.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Poll: EMC and Cisco Acadia VCE, what does it mean?

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 23:22:33 GMT

EMC and Cisco recently announced their new Acadia VCE coalition along with Intel and VMware.

As part of the VCE the collation or joint venture is also providing to market pre-acted vblocks that include Cisco servers power by Intel and network switches, EMC storage and management tools (Inonx and RSA for security), VMware vsphere virtualization along with pre-post sales services.

How does this move from a technology, packaging, integration as well as business or alliance perspective change the server, storage, networking, hardware, software and services game?

Click here to cast your vote and see results.

Cheers gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Acadia VCE: VMware Cisco EMC Virtual Computing Environment

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 3:15:15 GMT

Was today the day the music died? (click here or here if you are not familar with the expression)

Add another three letter acronym (TLA) to your IT vocabulary if you are involved with server, storage, networking, virtualization, security and related infrastructure resource management (IRM) topics.

That new TLA is Virtual Computing Environment (VCE), a coalition formed by EMC and Cisco along with partner Intel called Acadia that was announced today. Of course, EMC who also happens to own VMware for virtualization and RSA for security software tools bring those to the coalition (read press release here).

With Cisco, EMC and VMware announcing their new VCE coalition, has this signaled the end of servers, storage, networking, hardware and software for physical, virtual and clouding computing as we know it?

Does this mean all other vendors not in this announcement should pack it up, game over and go home?

The answer in my perspective is NO!

No, the music did not end today!

NO, servers, storage and networking for virtual or cloud environments has not ended.

Also, NO, other vendors do not have to go home today, the game is not over!

However a new game is on, one that some have seen before, for others it is something new, exciting perhaps revolutionary or an industry first.

What was announced?
Figure 1 shows a general vision or positioning from the three major players involved along with four tenants or topic areas of focus. Here is a link to a press release where you can read more.

Figure 1: Source: Cisco, EMC, VMware

General points include:

A new coalition (e.g. VCE) focused on virtual compute for cloud and non cloud environments
A new company Acadia owned by EMC and Cisco (1/3 each) along with Intel and VMware
A new go to market pre-sales, service and support cross technology domain skill set team
Solution bundles or vblocks with technology from Cisco, EMC, Intel and VMware

Click here to read more.

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Saving Money with Green IT: Time To Invest In Information Factories

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 5:01:23 GMT

There is a good and timely article titled Green IT Can Save Money, Too over at Business Week that has a familiar topic and theme for those who read this blog or other content, articles, reports, books, white papers, videos, podcasts or in-person speaking and keynote sessions that I have done..

I posted a short version of this over there, here is the full version that would not fit in their comment section.

Short of calling it Green IT 2.0 or the perfect storm, there is a resurgence and more importantly IMHO a growing awareness of the many facets of Green IT along with Green in general having an economic business sustainability aspect.

While the Green Gap and confusion still exists, that is, the difference between what people think or perceive and actual opportunities or issues; with growing awareness, it will close or at least narrow. For example, when I regularly talk with IT professionals from various sized, different focused industries across the globe in diverse geographies and ask them about having to go green, the response is in the 7-15% range (these are changing) with most believing that Green is only about carbon footprint.

On the other hand, when I ask them if they have power, cooling, floor space or other footprint constraints including frozen or reduced budgets, recycling along with ewaste disposition or RoHS requirements, not to mention sustaining business growth without negatively impacting quality of service or customer experience, the response jumps up to 65-75% (these are changing) if not higher.

That is the essence of the green gap or disconnect!

Click here to read more.

Poll: Whats Your Take on Windows 7

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 9:33:33 GMT

Microsoft finally officially released Windows 7 recently, whats your take?

Have you already taken the jump to be the first on the block or neighbored to be on Windows 7, getting ready to make the leap, have it on the back burner for next year, no plans, or perhaps already dumped Windows for Mac or Linux or getting ready to pull the plug?

Click here to read more.

Cheers - gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: Optimize Data Storage for Performance and Capacity Efficiency

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 9:33:33 GMT

This post builds on a recent article I did that can be read here.

Even with tough economic times, there is no such thing as a data recession! Thus the importance of optimizing data storage efficiency addressing both performance and capacity without impacting availability in a cost effective manner to do more with what you have.

What this means is that even though budgets are tight or have been cut resulting in reduced spending, overall net storage capacity is up year over year by double digits if not higher in some environments.

Consequently, there is continued focus on stretching available IT and storage related resources or footprints further while eliminating barriers or constraints. IT footprint constraints can be physical in a cabinet or rack as well as floorspace, power or cooling thresholds and budget among others.

Constraints can be due to lack of performance (bandwidth, IOPS or transactions), poor response time or lack of availability for some environments. Yet for other environments, constraints can be lack of capacity, limited primary or standby power or cooling constraints. Other constraints include budget, staffing or lack of infrastructure resource management (IRM) tools and time for routine tasks.

Click here to read more.

Blog Post: EPA Energy Star for Data Center Storage Update

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 06:54:32 GMT

Following up on a recent post about Green IT, energy efficiency and optimization for servers, storage and more, here are some additional thoughts, perspectives along with industry activity around the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Energy Star for Server, Data Center Storage and Data Centers.

First a quick update, Energy Star for Servers is in place with work now underway on expanding and extending beyond the first specification. Second is that Energy Star for Data Center storage definition is well underway including a recent workshop to refine the initial specification along with discussion for follow-on drafts.

Energy Star for Data Centers is also currently undergoing definition which is focused more on macro or facility energy (notice I did not say electricity) efficiency as opposed to productivity or effectiveness, items that the Server and Storage specifications are working towards.

Click here to read more.

Blog Post: I/O Virtualization (IOV) Revisited

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 07:41:23 GMT

Is I/O Virtualization (IOV) a server topic, a network topic, or a storage topic (See previous post)?

Like server virtualization, IOV involves servers, storage, network, operating system, and other infrastructure resource management areas and disciplines. The business and technology value proposition or benefits of converged I/O networks and I/O virtualization are similar to those for server and storage virtualization.

Additional benefits of IOV include:

Doing more with what resources (people and technology) already exist or reduce costs
Single (or pair for high availability) interconnect for networking and storage I/O
Reduction of power, cooling, floor space, and other green efficiency benefits
Simplified cabling and reduced complexity for server network and storage interconnects
Boosting servers performance to maximize I/O or mezzanine slots
reduce I/O and data center bottlenecks
Rapid re-deployment to meet changing workload and I/O profiles of virtual servers
Scaling I/O capacity to meet high-performance and clustered application needs
Leveraging common cabling infrastructure and physical networking facilities

Click here to read more.

Blog Post: Should Everything Be Virtualized?

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:34:56 GMT

Should everything, that is all servers, storage and I/O along with facilities, be virtualized?

The answer not surprisingly should be it depends!

Denny Cherry (aka Mrdenny) over at ITKE did a great recent post about applications not being virtualized, particularly databases. In general some of the points or themes we are on the same or similar page, while on others we slightly differ, not by very much.

Unfortunately consolidation is commonly misunderstood to be the sole function or value proposition of server virtualization given its first wave focus. I agree that not all applications or servers should be consolidated (note that I did not say virtualized).

From a consolidation standpoint, the emphasis is often on boosting resource utilization to reduce physical hardware and management costs by boosting the number of virtual machines (VMs) per physical machine (PMs). Ironically, while VMs using VMware, Microsoft HyperV, Citrix/Xen among others can leverage a common gold image for cloning or rapid provisionment, there are still separate operating system instances and applications that need to be managed for each VM.

Click here to read more.

Blog Post: Another StorageIO Appearance on Storage Monkeys InfoSmack

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:22:33 GMT

Following up from a previous appearance, I recently had another opportunity to participate in another Storage Monkeys InfoSmack podcast episode.

In the most recent podcast, discussions were centered on the recent service disruption at Microsoft/T-Mobile Side-Kick cloud services, FTC blogger disclosure guidelines, is Brocade up for sale and who should buy them, SNIA and SNW among other topics.

Here are a couple of relevant links pertaining to topics discussed in this InfoSmack session.

If you are involved with servers, storage, I/O networking, virtualization and other related data infrastructure topics, check out Storage Monkeys and InfoSmack.

Cheers - gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: PUE, Are you Managing Power, Energy or Productivity?

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 06:54:32 GMT

With a renewed focus on Green IT including energy Efficiency and Optimization of servers, storage, networks and facilities, is your focus on managing power, energy, or, productivity?

Click here to read more.

Blog Post: Clouds and Data Loss: Time for CDP (Commonsense Data Protection)?

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:42:33 GMT

Today SNIA released a press release pertaining to cloud storage timed to coincide with SNW where we can only presume vendors are talking about their cloud storage stories.

Yet chatter on the coconut wire along with various news (here and here and here) and social media sites is how could cloud storage and information service provider T-Mobile/Microsoft/Side-Kick loose customers data?

Click here to read more.

Blog Post: Could Huawei buy Brocade?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:45:54 GMT

Disclosure: I have no connection to Huawei. I own no stock in, nor have I worked for Brocade as an employee; however I did work for three years at SAN vendor INRANGE which was acquired by CNT. However I left to become an industry analyst prior to the acquisition by McData and well before Brocade bought McData. Brocade is not a current client; however I have done speaking events pertaining to general industry trends and perspectives at various Brocade customer events for them in the past.

Is Brocade for sale?

Last week a Wall Street Journal article mentioned Brocade (BRCD) might be for sale.

Click here to read more.

Blog Post and Poll: Whats Your Take on FTC Guidelines For Bloggers?

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:45:54 GMT

If you have not heard or read yet, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week released new guidelines pertaining to blogger (or other social media) disclosure of if they are being paid, receiving free products or services, or simply had their costs covered to attend an event that they will be writing, posting or blogging about.

Not surprisingly, there are those who are up in arms, those that are cheering that its about time, and everyone else trying to figure out what the new rules mean, who they apply to and when. For some I expect to see a rash of disclosures by those not sure what it means or being safe while others continue to do what they have been doing, business or blogging or both as usual. As with many things, all bloggers do not get paid or receive renumeration (compensation in some shape or form) for what they write or blog, however there are some that do and is often the case, a few bad apples turn a good thing into a problem or black-eye for everyone else.

Click here to read more and cast your vote, see results.

Cheers - gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post and Poll: What do you think of IT clouds

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 23:45:32 GMT

IT clouds (compute, applications, storage, and services) are a popular topic for discussion with some people being entirely sold on them as the way of the future, while others totally dismissing them, meanwhile, there's plenty of thoughts in between.

I recently shared some of my thoughts in this blog post about IT clouds, now whats your take (your identity will remain confidential)?

Click here to cast your vote and see results.

Cheers - gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIO, Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: The function of XaaS Pick x ass a letter

Thu, 1 Oct 2009 23:45:32 GMT

Remember the xSP era where X was I for ISP (Internet Service Provider) or M for Managed Service Provider (MSP) or S for Storage Service Provider, part of buzzword bingo?

That was similar to the xLM craze where X could have been I for Information Lifecycle Management (ILM), D for Data Lifecycle Management (DLM) and so forth where even someone tried to register the term ILM and failed instead of grabbing something like XLM, lest I digress.

Fast forward to today, given the wide spread use of anything SaaS among other XaaS terms, lets have a quick and perhaps fun look at what some of the different usages of the new function XaaS(X) in the IT industry today.

Blog Post: Clouds are like Electricity: Dont be Scared

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:44:55 GMT

IT clouds (compute, applications, storage, and services) are like electricity in that they can be scary or confusing to some while being enabling or a necessity s to others not to mention being a polarizing force depending on where you sit or view them.

Blog Post: StorageIO aka Greg Schulz appears on Infosmack

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:44:55 GMT

If you are in the IT industry, and specifically have any interest or tie to data infrastructures from servers, to storage and networking including hardware, software, services not to mention virtualization and clouds, InfoSmack and Storage Monkeys should be on your read or listen list.

Recently I was invited to be a guest on the InfoSmack podcast which is about a 50 some minute talk show format around storage, networking, virtualization and related topics.

The topics discussed include Sun and Oracle from a storage standpoint, Solid State Disk (SSD) among others.

Blog Post: Blame IT on the UN in NYC this week

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:44:55 GMT

This week is UN week in NYC, that annual fall event that results in traffic jams that make normal traffic seem like a breeze.

What with the security lockdowns, sudden road closures, re-routes, news crews, security details and the like, its a wonder anything gets done. I was in NYC for about 26 hours this week at the Storage Decisions event where I presented on optimizing for performance and capacity to enable efficient and green storage as well as recording a video on cloud storage and saw or experienced first hand the delays.

This is not going to be one of those complain about how I was inconvenienced rants, rather a bit of fun

Blog Post: Storage Efficiency and Optimization - The Other Green

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:35:42 GMT

For those of you in the New York City area, I will be presenting live in person at Storage Decisions September 23, 2009 conference The Other Green, Storage Efficiency and Optimization.

Throw out the green it, green storage or simply green: buzzword, and you're still left with the task of saving or maximizing use of space, power, and cooling while stretching available IT dollars to support growth and business sustainability. For some environments the solution may be consolation while others need to maintain quality of service response time, performance and availability necessitating faster, energy efficient technologies to achieve optimization objectives.

Blog Post: Back to School Dedupe School

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:35:42 GMT

Back to School Dedupe School

Summers is over hear in the northern hemisphere and its back to school time.

This coming week I will be the substitute teacher filling in for my friend Mr. Backup in Minneapolis and Toronto for TechTargets Dedupe School. If you are in either city and have not yet signed up, check out the link here to learn more.

Blog Post: Performance = Availability StorageIOblog featured ITKE guest blog

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 17:35:42 GMT

Performance = Availability StorageIOblog featured ITKE guest blog

Recently IT Knowledge Exchange named me and StorageIOblog as their weekly featured IT blog too which Im flattered and honored. Consequently, I did a guest blog for them titled Performance = Availability, Availability = Performance that you can read about here.

Blog Post: Data Center I/O Bottlenecks Performance Issues and Impacts

Sun, 6 Sep 2009 17:26:35 GMT

This is an excerpt blog version of the popular Server and StorageIO Group white paper "IT Data Center and Data Storage Bottlenecks" originally published August of 2006 that is as much if not more relevant today than it was in the past.

Most Information Technology (IT) data centers have bottleneck areas that impact application performance and service delivery to IT customers and users. Possible bottleneck locations shown in Figure 1 include servers (application, web, file, email and database), networks, application software, and storage systems. For example users of IT services can encounter delays and lost productivity due to seasonal workload surges or Internet and other network bottlenecks bottlenecks. Network congestion or dropped packets resulting in wasteful and delayed retransmission of data can be the results of network component failure, poor configuration or lack of available low latency bandwidth.

Server bottlenecks due to lack of CPU processing power, memory or under sized I/O interfaces can result in poor performance or in worse case scenarios application instability. Application including database systems bottlenecks due to excessive locking, poor query design, data contention and deadlock conditions result in poor user response time. Storage and I/O performance bottlenecks can occur at the host server due to lack of I/O interconnect bandwidth such as an overloaded PCI interconnect, storage device contention, and lack of available storage system I/O capacity.

These performance bottlenecks, impact most applications and are not unique to the large enterprise or scientific high compute (HPC) environments. The direct impact of data center I/O performance issues include general slowing of the systems and applications, causing lost productivity time for users of IT services. Indirect impacts of data center I/O performance bottlenecks include additional management by IT staff to trouble shoot, analyze, re-configure and react to application delays and service disruptions.

Blog Post: Upcoming Out and About Events

Sun, 6 Sep 2009 17:26:35 GMT

Following up on previous Out and About updates ( here and here ) of where I have been, heres where I'm going to be over the next couple of weeks.

On September 15th and 16th 2009, I will be the keynote speaker along with doing a deep dive discussion around data deduplication in Minneapolis, MN and Toronto ON. Free Seminar, register and learn more here.

The Infrastructure Optimization and Planning Best Practices, Doing more with less without sacrificing storage, system or network capabilities Seminar series continues September 22, 2009 with a stop in Chicago. Free Seminar, register and learn more here.

On September 23, 2009 I will be in New York City at Storage Decisions conference participating in the Ask the Experts during the expo session as well as presenting The Other Green -- Storage Efficiency and Optimization.

Throw out the GREEN IT: buzzword, and you're still left with the task of saving or maximizing use of space, power, and cooling while stretching available IT dollars to support growth and business sustainability. For some environments the solution may be consolation while others need to maintain quality of service response time, performance and availability necessitating faster, energy efficient technologies to achieve optimization objectives. To accomplish these and other related issues, you can turn to the cloud, virtualization, intelligent power management, data footprint reduction and data management not to mention various types of tiered storage and performance optimization techniques. The session will look at various techniques and strategies to optimize either on-line active or primary as well as near-line or secondary storage environment during tough economic times, as well as to position for future growth, after all, there is no such thing as a data recession!

Topics, technologies and techniques that will be discussed include among others:

Energy efficiency (strategic) vs. energy avoidance (tactical)
Optimization and the need for speed vs. the need for capacity
Metrics and measurements for management insight
Tiered storage and tiered access including SSD, FC, SAS and clouds
Data footprint reduction (archive, compress, dedupe) and thin provision
Best practices, financial incentives and what you can do today

Free event, learn more and register here.

Check out the events page for other upcoming events and hope to see you this fall while Im out and about.

Cheers - gs

Greg Schulz - StorageIOblog, twitter @storageio Author "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC)

Blog Post: I/O, I/O, Its off to Virtual Work and VMworld I Go (or went)

Sat, 5 Sep 2009 19:38:27 GMT

Ok, so I should have used that intro last week before heading off to VMworld in San Francisco instead of after the fact.

Think of it as a high latency title or intro, kind of like attaching a fast SSD to a slow, high latency storage controller, or a fast server attached to a slow network, or fast network with slow storage and servers, it is what it is.

I/O virtualization (IOV), Virtual I/O (VIO) along with I/O and networking convergence have been getting more and more attention lately, particularly on the convergence front. In fact one might conclude that it is trendy to all of a sudden to be on the IOV, VIO and convergence bandwagon given how clouds, soa and SaaS hype are being challenged, perhaps even turning to storm clouds?

Blog Post: Buzzword Bingo Are you ready for fall product announcemnts?

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 3:04:05 GMT

Ever play IT buzzword bingo or perhaps you have and not realized it?

Anyone can play, its easy and you do not even need to know or understand the words or terms.

Blog Post: Out and about update, Off to VMworld next week

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 3:04:05 GMT

For those that consider summer to be over after the labor day weekend in the northern hemisphere, well, then summer is almost over, for others, there is still plenty of nice weather to enjoy and get out and about. In addition to back to school time, its also the start of the fall conferences, symposium, lunch and learns, seminars, chugs & hugs (vendor/var/partner get together's) schedule along with VMworld taking place next week in San Francisco (I will be there) in addition to many other events.

Blog Post: Blog Roll Deja Vu and Storage Monkeys

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 7:17:17 GMT

Ever have blog roll DejaVu? If not, go visit various blogs and look at the blog rolls.

While some blog owners do a good job of keeping their blog rolls up to date (for example the Storage Monkeys site) given their interests, preferences or blog objectives, there are also many who appear to simply cut and paste blog rolls from other sites (Not the Storage Monkeys) which have added StorageIOblog to their blogroll.

Read the full post here

Blog Post: Summer Book Update and Back to School Reading

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 03:34:32 GMT

Update on book progress including what's being said and where to learn more.

Blog Post: Green IT Confusion Continues, Opportunities Missed!

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 15:35:53 GMT

New blog post about missed oppourtunities due to perception of what is Green IT.

Blog Post: Recent tips, videos, articles and more

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 15:35:53 GMT

Its been a busy year so far and there is still plenty more to do. Taking advantage of a short summer break, Im getting caught up on some items including putting up a link to some of the recent articles, tips, reports, webcasts, videos and more that I have eluded to in recent posts. Realizing that some prefer blogs to webs to tweets to other venues, here are some links to recent articles, tips, videos, podcasts, webcasts, white papers and more that can be found on the StorageIO Tips, tools and White Papers pages.

Blog Post: StorageIO in thew news

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 15:35:53 GMT

StorageIO is regularly quoted and interviewed in various industry and vertical market venues and publications both on-line and in print on a global basis. Coverage includes perspectives and commentary by StorageIO on IT industry trends including servers, storage, I/O networking, hardware, software, services, virtualization, cloud, cluster, grid, SSD, data protection, Green IT and more.

The new green data center: From energy avoidance to energy efficiency

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 04:32:10 GMT

New article looking at the next Green IT wave, shifting from energy avoidance to energy efficiency including boosting productivity among other business sustainability benefits.

Blog Post: Mirror mirror on the wall whos the greenest of them all?

Wed, 5 Aug 2009 18:51:15 GMT

Despite various claims in the quest to be the greenest vendor, you might be surprised whos is and is not on the list.

Vote for StorageIOblog in Storage Monkeys top non-vendor blog poll

Mon, 3 Aug 2009 10:31:03 GMT

My storageioblog has been nominated and you can currently vote over at the Storage Monkeys website in the non-vendor category blog. You need to be a member to vote, however membership is free and its a great independent site where various people from different areas of the IT industry share thoughts and comments. Thanks in advance should you vote for my blog.

Blog Post: All work and no play? Ok, how about an education half day?

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 6:54:32 GMT

This past week in between keynote talks and moderating panel discussions pertaining to IT infrastructure optimization (server, storage, networks, hardware, software, services, virtualization, etc.) in Seattle and Portland, I was able to take a rare couple of hours break and go on a non work related tour.

Video: Is Green IT Dead?

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 5:06:07 GMT

While green wash and green hype may have moved to the endangered species list, green IT in the form of efficiency for business sustainability via optimization and improved productivity are alive and well.

Blog Post: Clarifying Cluster Confusion

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 5:06:07 GMT

This post takes a look at some the similarities and differences that can cause confusion around clustered storage, clustered NAS, cluster filesystem along with grid, cloud and bulk storage solutions. Links to additional resources including articles, webcast, videos and other content are also provided.

New article, saving money with Green storage

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 5:06:07 GMT

In addition to Green IT being tied to environment sustainment, there are also business benefits that can be realized by optimizing storage including boosting productivty, performance in add to consolidation.

New videos, podcasts and tips added to StorageIO website

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:05:04 GMT

Several new podcasts, webcasts and videos have been added to StorageIO tools and tips page with topics including cloud computing, web infrastructure, dedupe and VTLs along with other server and and storage related topics.

Blog Post: Worried about IT M and A, dont worry here come the startups

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:50:05 GMT

With all of the recent Merger and Acquisition activity in the IT industry, worried about a lack of smaller vendors or startups? Worried about a lack of innovation? Dont worry as with previous M and A cycles, there is a new crop or corp of startups and more in the wings. See a list of some of them in this post.

StorageIO Interesting Links Page Updated

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 16:50:05 GMT

Interesting links or links page has been updated with several new vendors, vars and other entities.

Blog Post: Summer Weddings EMC and Datadomain HP and IBRIX

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Comments on recent industry activity including clustered NAS and bulk storage along with other related topics and links.

Updates to StorageIO website including events tips and in the news

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:00:00 GMT

Updates have been added to StorageIO website including new events, tips, interviews and more. Not on twitter yet or following StorageIO? Check us out at @storageio on twitter to see recent conversations and discussions on various topics.

Blog Post: SPC and Storage Benchmarking Games

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 3:24:42 GMT

Comments on SPC and Benchmarking Games.

Updates have been made to StorageIO in the News Pages

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 3:24:42 GMT

Links to recent coverage of StorageIO in the news along with StorageIO interviews, industry trends and perspective comments on various topics.

Updates have been made to StorageIO White Paper, Tips and Tools Page

Tue, 7 Jul 2009 3:24:42 GMT

Links to various articles, tips, webcasts, videos and other content.

Green Storage: StorageIO comments and feedback for EPA Energy Star for Enterprise Storage

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 22:40:41 GMT

StorageIO industry trends and perspectives comments on EPA Energy Star for Enterprise Storage draft specificaiton.

Blog Post: Green Storage is Alive and Well, ENERGY STAR Enterprise Storage Stakeholder Meeting Details

Wed, 1 Jul 2009 16:25:12 GMT

While Green hype and green washing may be on the endangered species list if not already extinct, there are many things taking place to shift the focus from talking about being green to enabling and leveraging efficiency and optimization to boost productivity and enable business sustainability.

Blog Post: Storage Effiency and Optimizaiton, Balancing Time and Space

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:51:11 GMT

Discussion about determining energy use for IT resources.

Blog Post: Determining Comptuer or Server Energy Use

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:51:11 GMT

Discussion about determining energy use for IT resources.

Visit my new Amazon authors page

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:51:11 GMT

Information about Gregs new authors page and blog at Amazon.com

New Blog Post: Big Fish or Small Fish - Fish Story or the one that did not get away

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:01:01 GMT

In pursuit of big game, or, getting into the game.

New Blog Post: Funeral for a Friend

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:01:01 GMT

A look at some recent wakes and funerals, some of which the deceased were in attendence!

New Blog Post: Introducing HR2454 - Climate Bill

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:01:01 GMT

Introduction to the climate bill in the U.S. house and senate.

New Blog Post: Shifting from energy avoidance to energy efficiency

Sat, 27 Jun 2009 17:01:01 GMT

Shifting focus of Green IT, IT Optimizaiton and more, closing the Green Gap.

Videos and Podcasts added to Tips and Tools Page

Sat, 6 Jun 2009 16:36:36 GMT

Several links have been added to videos, podcasts and other content pertaining to efficent and optimized IT environments among other topics for servers, storage, I/O networking hardware, software and services.

Items Added To Content, Tips and Tools Page

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:33:35 GMT

Several links have been added to the tips, tools and content page including links to new articles pertaining to Green IT, data centers, tiered servers and storage along with other items. Check out these and others on the news and commentary page at StorageIO.

Items Added To News Pages

Sun, 17 May 2009 16:33:35 GMT

Several links have been added to the news page including commentary on the EPA launching the Energy Star for Storage program, Storage Provisioning Tools, Tape and other Zombie Technologies that despite being declared dead remain in use and viable as part of a tiered storage model. Check out these and others on the news and commentary page at StorageIO.

R U Twittering Yet?

Sun, 10 May 2009 15:05:05 GMT

Here's a new blog link discussing twitter for those who are not yet twittering or leveraging other social networking media and mediums.

Additional Book Reports and Reviews Now Available

Sun, 10 May 2009 15:05:05 GMT

Several new book reports and reviews have been added to The Green and Virtual Data Center book page along with links to other supporting material including look inside at Amazon and sample chapters. Check out the new book reports and review along with other enhanced content on The Green and Virtual Data Center book page.

Several Links Added to In the News and Media Coverage Page

Sun, 10 May 2009 15:05:05 GMT

StorageIO, The Green and Virtual Data Center book along with Greg Schulz have been receiving extensive press and media coverage ranging from book reviews, interviews, quotes and perspectives on IT industry related topics and events. The News page has been updated with links to the various news, media, blog and other coverage. In addition, the Content and Tools page has also been updated with additional new content by StorageIO.

New Postings Added To StorageIO Blog

Sun, 10 May 2009 15:05:05 GMT

Several new blog postings include EPA Energy Star for Server and possible future Storage programs. Other posts include a discussion around determining server energy usage as well as a discussion around social networking and new mediums such as twitter.

Happy Earth Day 2009

Wed, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:01 GMT

See recent blog posting pertaining to Green IT and Earth Day 2009

Comments on Oracle Buying Sun

Wed, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:01 GMT

See recent blog posting with comments about Oracle buying Sun

Has SSD put Hard Disk Drives (HDDs) on the endangered list?

Wed, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:01 GMT

See recent blog posting with comments the premature demise of the HDD, or, welcome to another zombie technology, a technology declared dead yet still being enhanced, bought and used.

Closing the Green Gap: WSRADIO Interview

Wed, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:01 GMT

List to interview on WSRADIO discussing the Green IT Gap and how to address it.

Several Updates and New content added

Wed, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:01 GMT

Several enhancements to the books pages have been made along with new content added. Some of the new content includes additional book reviews, news and what people are saying about The Green and Virtual Data Center book.

News, Tips, Events, Tools and Other Items Have been Updated

Wed, 23 Apr 2009 01:01:01 GMT

Tips and Tools, Content, Events, In the News, Links, Book Pages and other content has been added and updated along with new blog posts and twitter activity.

Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal Names Greg Schulz an Eco-Tech Warrior

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 03:01:01 GMT

Author, analyst guides firms on going green through technology. Read more about the coverage and article in the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal.

The Green and Virtual Data Center Book Page Enhancements

Tue, 7 Apr 2009 02:58:11 GMT

Several enhancements have been made to The Green and Virtual Data Center Book page including tabbed sections along with more book reviews and comments on what people are saying.

Storage Decisions Spring 2009 Sessions Update

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 16:01:06 GMT

The conference lineup and details for the Spring 2009 TechTarget Storage Decisions event (June 1st and 2nd) in Chicago is coming together including two talks/presentations that I will be doing. One will be in Track 2 (Disaster Recovery) titled Server Virtualization, Business Continuance and Disaster Recovery, the other in Track 6 (Management/Executive) titled The Other Green -- Storage Efficiency and Optimization, both sessions leveraging themes and topics from my new book The Green and Virtual Data Center. See you in Chicago in June if not before then.

StorageIO @ Twitter

Sat, 4 Apr 2009 16:01:06 GMT

R U tweeting? If so, follow Greg Schulz and StorageIO at twitter.com/storageio

New Blog Post: March Mania Wrap-up

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 16:33:01 GMT

New blog post added.

Items added to in the news Page

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 16:33:01 GMT

Items have been added to the in the news page.

Comments about the Green and Virtual Data Center added to Books Page

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 7:14:15 GMT

Several news commnets, quotes and reviews have been added to The Green and Virtual Data Center book page.

News and Comments Have been Upated

Sat, 28 Mar 2009 5:34:33 GMT

Several news items have been added along with other updates at StorageIO website and StorageIOblog.

Updates to StorageIO.com include comments about Cisco entering server market

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 1:24:23 GMT

Several new items added to StorageIO.com including comments about Cisco entering the server market along with other industry trends and happenings.

New Blog Posts, Book and other News, Tips and Other Updates Are Available at StorageIO.Com

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:50:13 GMT

Updates have been added to the news, tips, blogs and other pages at Storageio.com along with updates to the privacy policy page.

Enabling a Green and Virtual Data Center

Thur, 19 Feb 2009 17:15:15 GMT

For those looking to enable a Green and Virtual Data Center, heres a new article appearing at GreenerComputing that provides a synopsis or taste of some of what is covered and included in my new book "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC). Click on the above link to learn more.

Looking for an Amazon Kindle version of The Green and Virtual Data Center?

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:25:31 GMT

For those looking for an Amazon Kindle version of "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC) click on the above link to let CRC know you are interested.

Items have been added to blog, news, events and book pages at The Green and Virtual Data Center

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 17:25:31 GMT

Updates have been made to StorageIO website including additional mentions and media coverage of the release of "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC) along with more venues to order your copy of "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC) on the books pages.

Items have been added to blog, news, tips tools, events and book pages at StorageIO

Sat, 31 Jan 2009 15:39:11 GMT

Updates have been made to StorageIO website including additional mentions and media coverage of the release of "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC) as well as other commentary on industry trends and perspectives. Additional dates have been added to events page along with more venues to order your copy of "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (CRC) on the books pages. New links have also been added to the industry links page. Check out new blog postings at www.storageioblog.com.

Do You Have Your Copy of "The Green and Virtual Data Center"?

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 6:09:01 GMT

I am pleased to share with you the news about the launch of my new book, The Green and Virtual Data Center, which is being released today by Auerbach/CRC-Press and is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, CRC Press, and other venues around the world. The book focuses on the idea that IT infrastructure resources configured and deployed in a highly virtualized manner can be combined with other techniques and technologies to achieve a simplified and cost-effective delivery of IT services in a clean, green, and profitable manner. The Green and Virtual Data Center covers these technologies and techniques that todays data centers should be considering while trying to maximize resources, such as power, cooling, floor space, storage, server performance, and network capacity. Some of the topics include Energy and data footprint reductions, Cloud-based storage and computing, Intelligent and adaptive power management, Server, storage, and networking virtualization, Tiered servers for storage, network, and data centers, Energy avoidance and energy efficiency. To learn more about "The Green and Virtual Data Center", please visit my new website www.thegreenandvirtualdatacenter.com along with my blog www.storageioblog.com.

New Blog posts and other updates at StorageIO

Mon, 26 Jan 2009 4:13:31 GMT

New blog posts have been added to Gregs StorageIOblog at www.storageioblog.com along with updates to the events page, tips and in the news page at www.storageio.com.

Happy New Year from StorageIO

Thu, 1 Jan 2009 23:31:13 GMT

New blog posts have been added to Gregs StorageIOblog at www.storageioblog.com along with updates to the events page, tips and in the news page at www.storageio.com.

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings from StorageIO

Thu, 25 Dec 2008 16:18:19 GMT

Seasons Greetings, New blog posts have been added to Gregs StorageIOblog at www.storageioblog.com along with updates to the events page, tips and in the news page at www.storageio.com.

Items added and updated on Events, News, Tips and Blog pages at www.storageio.com

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 1:48:11 GMT

Several items including perspectives, quotes and interviews by Greg Schulz have been added to the StorageIO "In The News" page. Items have been added to the Tips and Tools also known as the portfolio page as well as new solution briefs and white papers on the white papers page. Also checkout the new blog posts at www.storageioblog.com including "Tiered Communication and Media Venues" which looks at the many different ways StorageIO is using to communicate and share information. Several new events have been added to the StorageIO events page with more to be announced for 2009.

Preliminary Events for 2009 have been added at www.storageio.com

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 1:48:11 GMT

Preliminary events for 2009 have been added on the events page at www.storageio.com including Greg Schulz delivering the industry keynote on storage trends and perspectives at the upcoming Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) symposium in January. Watch for additional events to be announced soon.

Additional items added to the "In The News" page and StorageIOblog

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:18:13 GMT

Several additional items with commentary by Greg Schulz have been added to the StorageIO "In The News" page. Checkout recent blog entries at www.storageioblog.com along with other new items recently added or enhanced at www.storageio.com

Several new posts added to StorageIOblog (www.storageioblog.com)

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:58:23 GMT

Several new blog posts have been added to the StorageIOblog at www.storaeioblog.com including comments and perspectives on Seagate changing disk drive warranties, remember the Alamo, server, storage and I/O virtualizaiton and other topics. Several new links have been added to the "News secion of the StorageIO website with comments, quotes and industry perspectives on various topics.

StorageIO can also be found on twitter for those tweet - www.twitter.com/storageio

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 18:58:23 GMT

For those who tweet on twitter, you can find and follow StorageIO at www.twitter.com/storageio. Social networking fans can also find StorageIO and Greg Schulz on Facebook, Technorati and other venues in addition to the main StorageIO website (www.storageio.com) and blog at www.storageioblog.com

Several updates have been made to StorageIO (www.storageio.com)

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 6:32:32 GMT

The news section has been updated with recent press interviews and mentions along with new items added to the events page. Additional informaiton has been updated on the books page about the new book "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (Auerbach) due to be released in January 2009. The book will be hardcopy with about 400 pages and over 100 figures and tables. Learn more on the books page at www.storageio.com/books.html include where and how to order our copy now.

New posts been added to StorageIOBlog

Sat, 6 Dec 2008 6:32:32 GMT

Some new posts have been added to the StorageIO blog at www.storageioblog.com including recent industry activity and links to recent presentations by Greg Schulz of StorageIO. Learn more at www.storageioblog.com

Check out the StorageIOblog at www.storageioblog.com

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:16:12 GMT

See what's new with industry trends, perspectives and other activities at the StorageIO blog located at www.storageioblog.com as well as learn more about the new book "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (Auerbach) at www.storageio.com

Check out the StorageIOblog at www.storageioblog.com

Sat, 8 Nov 2008 14:11:13 GMT

Industry Trends and Perspectives White Paper and Solution Briefs Page Updated www.storageio.com

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:31:12 GMT

The Industry Trends and Perspectives White Papers, Solution Briefs and Research Reports page at www.storageio.com has been enhanced to improve the look, feel and funcationality. Watch for additional content to be added in conjunction with the release of the new book by Greg Schulz titled "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (Auerbach).

Several new links have been added at www.storageio.com

Sat, 30 Aug 2008 14:11:11 GMT

In addition to the recent changes to enhance the look and feel of www.storageio.com, several new articles and links have been added including information about the new book "The Green and Virtual Data Center" (Auerbach). A new article called "Closing the Green Gap" has also been added along with updates to the events pages. Also check out the blog of Greg Schulz at www.storageioblog.com for additional related topics.

Several new links have been added at www.storageio.com

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 15:21:12 GMT

Various new links have been added to the StorageIO website.

Several new white papers and solution briefs have been added at www.storageio.com

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 15:21:12 GMT

Various new white papers and solution briefs have been added to the StorageIO website under technology trends and perspectives. These include a look at issues, challenges and options for protecting data in virtualized server environments, afordable business continuance solutions and data footprint reduciton using real-time data compression for on-line and primary NAS storage.

New posts have been added to Greg's StorageIO Blog at www.storageioblog.com

Sat, 2 Aug 2008 15:21:12 GMT

Greg's StorageIO Blog has been updated with additional posts on timely topics, trends and industry perspectives on technology and related items.

Several new links have been added to the Interesting Links Page on www.storageio.com

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 17:24:11 GMT

Various new links have been added to the StorageIO website.

A new Industry Trends and Perspective on FCoE (Fibre Channel on Ethernet) posted on www.storageio.com

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:05:08 GMT

A link to the Industry Trends and Perspective on FCoE has been added to the StorageIO website.

A link to the StorageIO blog has been added to www.storageio.com

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 16:41:01 GMT

A link to the StorageIO blog www.storageioblog.com has been added to the StorageIO website.

Several links to new articles, opinions, tips, commentary and events have been added to www.storageio.com

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 16:41:01 GMT

Links to several new articles and commentary have been added to the portfolio page along with updates and additions on the events page. Upcoming events include Greg Schulz of StorageIO speaking at SNW in April about industry trends, issues and what you can do today to address power, cooling, floorspace and environmental (PCFE) or green realted issues in your data center for storage, servers and networks today. Greg will also be speaking at Storage Decisions in Chicago in May as well as at several other events. See the StorageIO events page for additional details and informaiton.

New events, articles and reports are available at www.storageio.com

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 18:41:00 GMT

Several articles, reports, white papers and tips have been added to the StorageIO website including content pertaining to I/O Virtualizaiton (IOV), Virtual I/O (VIO), Converged networks and data center ethernet, Solid State Disk (SSD) solutoins based on RAM and/or FLASH, Grid and Cluster storage for structured and unstructured data among others. In addition, several events that StorageIO will be participating in during 2008 have been added to the events page.

Press Release - StorageIO Outlines Intelligent Power Management and MAID 2.0 Storage Techniques, Advocates New Technologies to Address Modern Data Center Energy Concerns

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 17:14:00 GMT

STILLWATER, MN--(Marketwire - January 23, 2008) - The StorageIO Group, a leading data storage industry research analyst firm, today outlined Intelligent Power Management (IPM) and MAID 2.0, new next-generation storage techniques that provide high energy efficiency along with the highest levels of performance in storing and rapidly accessing enterprise data. The characteristics of IPM and MAID 2.0 mark a significant evolution beyond traditional MAID (Massive/Monolithic Array of Idle Disks), the data storage technology that provides energy savings by putting unused disks into standby mode, keeping them ready for use but not requiring full power usage when they are not being accessed. IPM aligns variable performance and energy savings to different applications and data on a granular basis across different types of storage media and systems. These include general purpose on-line or primary as well as near-line storage systems. MAID 2.0, or second generation MAID, is an example of variable power and energy savings that can be used to avoid application performance bottlenecks, aligning the right level of performance and energy savings when and where needed. First-generation MAID technology delivered marked savings in energy consumption by avoiding energy usage, but in some cases has been accompanied by a significant drop in performance. MAID 2.0 implementing IPM addresses those concerns, according to Greg Schulz, founder and chief analyst of StorageIO. "As an industry, we are seeing storage technologies shift from energy avoidance to more intelligent and effective use of energy combined with best practices ultimately leading to more energy efficient data canters," Schulz said. "IPM approaches including MAID 2.0 technology provide great solutions for today's increasingly energy conscious customers without any compromises in performance. We've reached the point where it's imperative that we aggressively adopt storage technologies that address both sides of this equation, that is, balancing performance, availability, capacity and energy consumption in a more flexible and scalable manner to meet different application service level requirements." American data centers alone consumed 61 billion kilowatt hours of electricity in 2006 at a cost of about $4.5 billion. Without changes in electricity consumption and improved efficiency, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that data centers will consume more than 100 billion kilowatt hours by 2011, further stressing an already strained national electric grid and driving energy costs even higher. Spinning hard disk drives (HDDs) and their enclosures account for up to 75 percent of the power usage in commonly deployed storage solutions, according to StorageIO's research. First-generation MAID solutions have been rather binary, either the HDDs are on or they are off, not leaving a lot of flexibility to address different application service requirements. Schulz mentioned that some MAID vendors have distanced themselves from using the term MAID to avoid negative performance implications associated with first generation MAID. MAID technology is evolving and maturating similar to how early generation RAID systems did 10-15 years ago. There is a shift from purpose-built limited MAID level functionality to more flexible and adaptable multiple MAID level storage solutions taking place. These next-generation solutions offer variable energy savings based on specific application and data needs over different types of HDDs on a more granular basis. This approach will help close the gap between a solution's energy efficiency capabilities and the diverse and variable performance needs of a customer's applications. MAID 2.0 leverages IPM technology to align storage performance and variable energy consumption to match the applicable level of service being supported. For example, a storage system can implement MAID Level-0 (no real energy savings, no impact on performance) for active data. For less active data, an administrator can choose a user-selectable setting to transition the storage system or some smaller subset to MAID Level-1, which reduces power consumption by retracting HDD read/write heads. For even better power savings, HDDs, RAID groups or other units of storage granularity can be put into MAID Level-2 mode, which reduces the speed of the drive platters. The best energy savings are achieved by MAID Level-3, which puts the storage system or some smaller granularity of the storage into a suspended standby mode or powers it down completely. Schulz sees an industry shift from dedicated MAID platforms to primary and secondary storage systems implementing intelligent power management and second generation MAID 2.0. A clear industry trend is a shift from electrical power energy avoidance to intelligent and more effective power management combined with best practices, data footprint reduction including archiving, compression and de-duplication among other technologies and best practices to lead to more energy efficient IT data canters. The StorageIO Group explores these issues in detail in two new Industry Trends and Perspectives white papers entitled, "MAID 2.0: Energy Savings without Performance Compromises" and "The Many Faces of MAID Storage Technology." These and other Industry Trends and Perspectives white papers addressing power, cooling, floor space and green storage related topics including "Business Benefits of Data Footprint Reduction" and "Achieving Energy Efficiency using FLASH SSD" are available for download at www.storageio.com/xreports.htm and www.greendatastorage.com

The StorageIO Group adds new publications to their industry trends nad perspectives white paper and solution brief series"

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 16:24:00 GMT

In addition to several new tips and commentary in the portfolio section of the StorageIO Group website pertaining to server and storage virtualization, performance, power, cooling, floor space and green storage related topics, The StorageIO Group added two new industry analyst trends and perspectives reports their publicly available reference library of industry trends and perspectives white papers, solution briefs along with e-learning enabled material including pod casts, videos, webcasts and various tips and related articles. The new items include "Achieving Energy Efficiency using FLASH SSD" and "The Many Faces of MAID Storage Technology". "Achieving Energy Efficiency using FLASH SSD" takes a look at how leveraging Solid State Disk (SSD) using FLASH/NAND and RAM/DDR memories as part of a tiered storage building block to support server and storage consolidation to achieve energy efficiency also refferred to as being green storage. Another dimension of energy efficient and tiered storage to meet green storage issues is near-line, secondary and off-line storage. In "The Many Faces of MAID Storage Technology" StorageIO takes a brief look how Massive or Monolithic Array of Idle Disks (MAID) based storage technology is evolving, implemented and can be deployed to meet various tiered and green storage or application service level objective requirements. Learn more at www.storageio.com/xreports.htm and www.greendatastorage.com

The StorageIO Group announces www.greendatastorage.com

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 22:00:00 GMT

The StorageIO Group (www.storageio.com) has launched a companion web site (www.greendatastorage.com) with a focus around IT data center power, cooling and associated environmental or green topics pertaining to IT data centers including servers, storage, networks and associated management items. The site contains various primer and background information pertaining to green storage, storage management and related topics as well as links to various websites, blogs, tools, articles and webcasts among other informaiton.

The StorageIO Group featured in new TechTarget video cast "Scaling Storage with Clustering"

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:10:00 GMT

Greg Schulz looks at clustered storage as a technique to scale both I/Os to meet transaction processing and bandwidth along with other cluster storage scaling benefits for both SAN and NAS environments in this TechTarget produced video cast.

The StorageIO Group publishes report "Enabling comprehensive data protection for VMware environments"

Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:10:00 GMT

In addition to several new tips and commentary in the portfolio section of the StorageIO Group website pertaining to server and storage virtualization, the StorageIO Group has published a new industry trends and perspective report "Enabling comprehensive data protection for VMware environments" looking at issues and solutions to enable complete data protection and application availability for virtual server and storage environments. This paper looks at the issues and requirements for comprehensive data protection beyond simple server crash consistent restart in a VMware environment and addresses the importance of application aware enabling data protection technologies.

The StorageIO Group publishes report "Analysis of EPA Report to Congress (Public Law 109-431)"

Wed, 15 Aug 2007 21:30:00 GMT

The StorageIO Group (www.storageio.com) has published a new industry trends and perspective report "Analysis of EPA Report to Congress (Public Law 109-431)" that provides a perspective on the EPA Report to Congress addressing public law 109-431 pertaining to IT datacenter electrical power consumption. On August 1, 2007 the United States environmental protection agency (EPA) responding to public law 109-431 presented a 130 page report (plus 14 pages of executive summary and 67 pages of appendices and other supporting documents) to the U.S. congress addressing IT datacenter electrical energy consumption and associated issue. The EPA conducted a series of webcasts on August 9th 2007 covering the report, its findings, recommendations and plans for moving forward. This is a synopsis of the EPA report to congress with comments by the StorageIO group as to what the EPA report means.

The StorageIO Group publishes report "The Business Benefits of Reducing Your Data Footprint"

Wed, 15 Jul 2007 20:00:00 GMT

The StorageIO Group (www.storageio.com) has published a new industry trends and perspective report "The Business Benefits of Reducing Your Data Footprint" that looks at why and how reducing your data footprint provides a positive benefit to your business and application service objectives. In this free report you will read about how the information necessary to support your business in timely and effective decision making and in maintaining a competitive advantage has an impact on your data footprint. This paper looks at various techniques, and, in particular, how data compaction compression technologies can be applied to various types of data and IT functions to help reduce your data foot print to improve energy consumption and, enhance existing storage resource utilization while addressing other IT Infrastructure Resource Management (IRM) inefficiencies as well as enhancing overall application service levels.