Artful Intelligence: Creation and Composition of Distributed Storage Services

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Artful IntelligenceCreation and Compositionof
Distributed Storage Services

• Gary Orenstein
• Author, IP Storage Networking Straight to the
  Core
• thecore_at_amplio.net

Minneapolis / St. Paul SNUG Meeting ? August
10th, 2004 CPU Options, Brooklyn Park, MN
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www.StraightToTheCore.com
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Network Storage Tectonic Shifts

• Migration of storage services
• From the host and subsystems layers
• To storage fabrics
• Change in the playing field
• From closed, proprietary hardware architectures
• To open, standards-based systems
• Shift most evident in block-based storage

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Presentation Topics

• Forces at work
• Technical and Economic
• First playing field, then services
• Why they are taking place
• What you need to know for future planning

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The IP Storage Access Grant

• SCSI gt FCP (Fibre Channel Protocol)
• Enter networked storage
• Still behind protective walls
• SCSI gt iSCSI (Internet SCSI)
• Ubiquitous network storage
• Protective walls dismantled

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Evolution of the Storage Transport
Command Set
SCSI
SCSI
SCSI
SCSI
Serialization
N/A
FCP
iFCP/FCIP
iSCSI
Transport
SCSI
FC
IP
IP
ParallelSCSI
FibreChannel
IP Storage(FC to IP)
IP Storage (iSCSI)
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New Storage Transport Placement

• Device Interconnect
• Host Bus Adapters, Network Interface Cards,
  Software Initiators
• Target devices, subsystems
• Storage Area Network
• Switches, routers, hubs, directors
• SAN/Remote Interconnect
• Routers

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Areas of IP Storage Deployment
Device Interconnect
SAN / RemoteInterconnect
Storage Area Network
Device Interconnect
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IP Storage Benefits

• Economic
• Lower equipment cost ? IP based
• Reduced staff training ? Familiarity
• Less expensive bandwidth ? Remote
• Technical
• Advanced features and functionality
• Market Effects
• Separating device and network dependence

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Breaking device and network dependence
Parallel SCSI Bus
SCSI
Fibre Channel Network
FC
IP Network
iSCSI
Breaking device and network dependence with IP
storage
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Fostering Unrestricted Growth
Unrestricted market growth
Co-mingling constrains market growth
Devices
Networks
Devices
Networks
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Setting the Framework for IP Storage

• Fit new IP storage applications
• Remote mirroring
• iSCSI access to Fibre Channel
• Pure iSCSI storage networks
• Fit additional network storage mechanisms
• Network-attached storage
• Object-based storage

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The IP Storage Networking Model
IP Core / Backbone
Storage Distribution
Access
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Remote Mirroring over IP
FC SAN
FC SAN
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Intelligent Storage Node
Intelligent Storage Node
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IP/iSCSI Access to Fibre Channel
Native IP/iSCSI devices
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Intelligent Storage Node
FC devices
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Pure iSCSI Storage Networks
Native IP/iSCSI devices
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Native IP/iSCSI devices
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IP Storage Application Deployments
Native IP devices
FC SAN
FC SAN
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Intelligent Storage Node
Intelligent Storage Node
Native IP devices
FC devices
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Fluidity in the IP Storage Model
Platform Convergence Drivers(NAS, SAN, Object)
Layered Model

• Ethernet and IP networks, IP Storage protocols
• PCs and Servers
• PCI-X, PCI-Express
• Serial ATA, IDE

• IP Core / Backbone
• Storage Distribution Layer
• Intelligent Storage Nodes
• Distributed Services
• Access
• End Device Aggregation

IP Core / Backbone
Intelligent Storage Nodes
Servers
Storage Distribution
Storage
Access
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Distributed Storage Intelligence
Native IP devices
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Intelligent Storage Nodes
Native IP devices
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From Platforms to Storage Services

• Playing field is now open
• Enough flexibility in network architectures
• Storage services can freely migrate
• What to put where and why

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Basic Enterprise Storage Services
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Primary Locations for Storage Services

• Servers
• Mainframes

Host based

• Switches
• Directors
• Appliances

Fabric based

• Disks/RAIDs/Controllers
• Filers
• Tape libraries

Device based
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Areas of Storage Intelligence
Access
Host
Storage Distribution
IP Core /Backbone
Fabric
Subsystem
Storage Distribution
Access
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Network Optimization of Fabric Replication
Replication location
Host
Subsystem
Fabric
Network segments used
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4
3
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Optimal Locations for Storage Services
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Benefits of Using an IP Storage Fabric
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Inherent Global Namespace with IP
FC SAN
IP core
FC SAN
FC SAN
IP storage distribution
Access layer
FC SAN
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Inherent Zoning of IP Addressing
FC fabric
IP fabric
Sub-net A
Sub-net B
Zone A
Zone B
Zoning through vendor-specific management software
Zoning through subnet assignment no additional
software required
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Inherent Failover Capabilities of IP
Advantage of iSCSI Redirect
Fibre Channel clustering
IP storage clustering
Host interaction required for failover
Host-independent failover with iSCSI redirect
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Services Require Multiple Technologies

• IP core and distribution
• Global Domain
• Flexibility
• Access layer
• Local domain channel efficiency
• Speed and performance

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Quickest Route to An Intelligent Fabric

• Make use of IP networking conventions
• Allow for integration with other technologies
• Prepare for multiple storage platforms

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Broad-based IP Storage Consolidation
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Other Things to Consider

• Future market battles
• New software/hardware models
• Smarter Storage

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Future Network Storage Battles
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New software/hardware models
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Smarter Storage

• You cant replace or repurchase your entire data
  set at the store or on buy.com
• Keeping storage safe means being smart
• Smart storage offers complete services
• Manageability, Performance, Capacity
• Security, Recovery, Availability
• Certain platforms make services easier

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Additional Resources

• IP Storage Networking Straight to the Core
• www.straighttothecore.com
• Byte and Switch reports
• IP SANs Coming of Age
• Artful Intelligence
• www.byteandswitch.com