Able-One Blog

by Todd Cox, Chief Technology Officer and Lead IT Architect 

Recently, I've been getting a lot of questions on IBM's new announcement regarding the Storwize V3700... essentially the little brother to the Storwize V7000. While at first glance, the products seem very similar in terms of functionality, there are several important issues to consider when evaluating the two solutions:

External Virtualization

While the V3700 has the concept of internal virtualization and disk pools like it's older brother, there is no external virtualization capability with the V3700. This means that I cannot front end older fibre channel based disk subsystems like I can with the V7000. This functionality really sets the V7000 apart from the competition, allowing my customers to extend the useful life of their aging storage assets already on the floor. Even if you don't buy into virtualizing older storage subsystems, this capability greatly aids in the migration of data through built in migration wizards.

Unified Option

One of the best features of the V7000 is the unified option which combines block and file-based subsystems into one full-function solution. With the V7000 unified comes Active Cloud Engine; functionality that allows me to tier my files across multiple media types based on straightforwardpolicies. ACE allows me to reduce the 

cost of my overall storage footprint by storing files on the right type of media based on file type or usage pattern. The V3700 does not have a unified option and is block-based storage only. So no Active Cloud Engine either.

by Todd Cox, Chief Technology Officer and Lead IT Architect

When I ask Chief Information Officers what their biggest source of frustration is around storage and storage management, clearly it involves managing the growth of storage and really getting to the "true" price per terabyte on the floor. The true cost of enterprise disk has nothing to do with the price of the hardware, as most storage vendors are buying their disk drives from the same manufacturers. The real value of storage in the data center today is the software functionality that is built into their offerings, allowing for truly efficient management of their storage environment. Functionality like compression, de-duplication and storage tiering become critical strategies when looking to drive down the price per usable terabyte.

Big Data

Unstructured file system data, sometimes called "big data" is driving many of our customers' expanding storage needs. Often I see clients storing information that has not been accessed for 12 months or more, yet it is sitting on very expensive disk. Why do companies do this? Simply, they have neither the tools to identify obsolete or orphaned data, nor policies in place for dealing with this dilemma. There must be a better way, you say? You're right, there is. Through technologies like tiering and information lifecycle management (ILM) data can live on the appropriate media type, which ultimately drives down the overall cost of storage on the floor.

Virtualization

Virtualization is a common theme in the server space and certainly internal virtualization is not new to the storage world; the concept of external virtualization is much less common however. What if you could "front-end" your existing storage with all of the new functionality and availability of your new enterprise storage purchase, thereby increasing the useful life of assets that you already own? Sounds too good to be true, right?

These concepts and technologies will be discussed in much more detail next Wednesday, December 12th as I present #TheFutureofStorage webinar. We will examine storage trends in the industry and talk frankly about driving costs out of enterprise storage. I hope you can join me!!

Click here to register for the Future of Storage Webinar Invitation