Storage Technology

2nd Lecture
Evolution of Storage Architecture
follow Evolution of Storage Architecture
follow Evolution of Storage Architecture
• In earlier implementations of open systems, the storage was typically internal to the server. These storage devices
could not be shared with any other servers.
• This approach is referred to as server-centric storage architecture (see Figure 1-4[a]). In this architecture, each
server has a limited number of storage devices, and any administrative tasks, such as maintenance of the server or
increasing storage capacity, might result in unavailability of information. The proliferation of departmental servers in
an enterprise resulted in unprotected, unmanaged, fragmented islands of information and increased capital and
operating expenses..
• To overcome these challenges, storage evolved from server-centric to information-centric architecture (see Figure
1-4 [b]). In this architecture, storage devices are managed centrally and independent of servers. These centrally-
managed storage devices are shared with multiple servers. When a new server is deployed in the environment,
storage is assigned from the same shared storage devices to that server. The capacity of shared storage can be
increased dynamically by adding more storage devices without impacting information availability. In this
architecture, information management is easier and cost-effective. Storage technology and architecture continue to
evolve, which enables organizations to consolidate, protect, optimize, and leverage their data to achieve the highest
return on information assets.
2-Data Center Infrastructure
a) Core Elements of a Data Center
Five core elements are essential for the functionality of a data center:
1. Application: A computer program that provides the logic for computing operations
2. Database management system (DBMS): Provides a structured way to store data in logically organized tables
that are interrelated
3. Host or compute: A computing platform (hardware, firmware, and software) that runs applications and databases
4. Network: A data path that facilitates communication among various networked devices
5. Storage : A device that stores data persistently for subsequent use
b) Key characteristics of a data center
• follow Key Characteristics of a Data Center
Uninterrupted operation of data centers is critical to the survival and success of a business. Organizations must have a reliable infrastructure
that ensures that data is accessible at all times. Although the characteristics shown in Figure 1-6 are applicable to all elements of the data
center infrastructure, the focus here is on storage systems.
1. Availability: A data center should ensure the availability of information when required. Unavailability of information could cost millions
of dollars per hour to businesses, such as financial services, telecommunications, and e-commerce.
2. Security: Data centers must establish policies, procedures, and core element integration to prevent unauthorized access to information.
3. Scalability: Business growth often requires deploying more servers, new applications, and additional databases. Data center resources
should scale based on requirements, without interrupting business operations.
4. Performance: All the elements of the data center should provide optimal performance based on the required service levels.
5. Data integrity: Data integrity refers to mechanisms, such as error correction codes or parity bits, which ensure that data is stored and
retrieved exactly as it was received.
6. Capacity: Data center operations require adequate resources to store and process large amounts of data, efficiently. When capacity
requirements increase, the data center must provide additional capacity without interrupting availability or with minimal disruption.
Capacity may be managed by reallocating the existing resources or by adding new resources.
7. Manageability: A data center should provide easy and integrated management of all its elements. Manageability can be achieved through
automation and reduction of human (manual) intervention in common tasks.
 Managing a Data Center
• Monitoring: It is a continuous process of gathering information on various elements and services running in a data
center. The aspects of a data center that are monitored include security, performance, availability, and capacity.

• Reporting: It is done periodically on resource performance, capacity, and utilization. Reporting tasks help to establish
business justifications and chargeback of costs associated with data center operations.

• Provisioning: It is a process of providing the hardware, software, and other resources required to run a data center.
Provisioning activities primarily include resources management to meet capacity, availability, performance, and security
requirements.
Virtualization and Cloud Computing

• Virtualization is a technique of abstracting physical resources, such as compute, storage, and network, and
making them appear as logical resources. Common examples of virtualization are virtual memory used on
compute systems and partitioning of raw disks.
• Virtualization enables pooling of physical resources and providing an aggregated view of the physical
resource capabilities. For example, storage virtualization enables multiple pooled storage devices to appear as
a single large storage entity. Similarly, by using compute virtualization, the CPU capacity of the pooled
physical servers can be viewed as the aggregation of the power of all CPUs (in megahertz). Virtualization
also enables centralized management of pooled resources.
• Virtual resources can be created and provisioned from the pooled physical resources. For example, a virtual
disk of a given capacity can be created from a storage pool or a virtual server with specifi c CPU power and
memory can be configured from a compute pool. These virtual resources share pooled physical resources,
which improves the utilization of physical IT resources. Based on business requirements, capacity can be
added to or removed from the virtual resources without any disruption to applications or users. With
improved utilization of IT assets, organizations save the costs associated with procurement and management
of new physical resources. Moreover, fewer physical resources means less space and energy, which leads to
better economics and green computing