CCS367-STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES

PREPARED BY

DHANASEKAR S AP/CSE
 UNIT I STORAGE SYSTEMS
• Introduction to Information Storage: Digital data and its
types, Information storage, Key characteristics of data center
and Evolution of computing platforms. Information Lifecycle
Management.
• Third Platform Technologies: Cloud computing and its
essential characteristics, Cloud services and cloud deployment
models, Big data analytics, Social networking and mobile
computing, Characteristics of third platform infrastructure and
Imperatives for third platform transformation.
• Data Center Environment: Building blocks of a data center,
Compute systems and compute virtualization and Software-
defined data center.
UNIT II INTELLIGENT STORAGE SYSTEMS AND RAID

• Components of an intelligent storage system,

Components, addressing, and performance of hard
disk drives and solid-state drives, RAID, Types of
intelligent storage systems, Scale-up and scale out
storage Architecture.
Components of an intelligent storage system,
Components, addressing, and performance of hard
disk drives and solid-state drives, RAID, Types of
intelligent storage systems, Scale-up and scale out
storage Architecture.
• Block-Based Storage System, File-Based Storage
System, Object-Based and Unified Storage. Fibre
Channel SAN: Software-defined networking, FC
SAN components and architecture, FC SAN
topologies, link aggregation, and zoning,
Virtualization in FC SAN environment.
• Internet Protocol SAN: iSCSI protocol, network
components, and connectivity, Link aggregation,
switch aggregation, and VLAN, FCIP protocol,
connectivity, and configuration.
•
 UNIT III STORAGE NETWORKING
TECHNOLOGIES AND VIRTUALIZATION
• Fibre Channel over Ethernet SAN:
Components of FCoE SAN, FCoE SAN
connectivity, Converged Enhanced Ethernet,
FCoE architecture.
 UNIT IV BACKUP, ARCHIVE AND
REPLICATION
• Introduction to Business Continuity, Backup
architecture, Backup targets and methods,
Data deduplication, Cloud-based and mobile
device backup, Data archive,
Uses of replication and its characteristics,
Compute based, storage-based, and network-
based replication, Data migration, Disaster
Recovery as a Service (DRaaS).
 UNIT V SECURING STORAGE
INFRASTRUCTURE

• Information security goals, Storage security

domains, Threats to a storage infrastructure,
Security controls to protect a storage
infrastructure.
Governance, risk, and compliance, Storage
infrastructure management functions, Storage
infrastructure management processes.
 TEXT BOOKS

• T1. EMC Corporation, Information Storage and Management,

Wiley, India

• T2. Jon Tate, Pall Beck, Hector Hugo Ibarra, Shanmuganathan

Kumaravel and Libor Miklas, Introduction to Storage
Area Networks, Ninth Edition, IBM - Redbooks, December
2017

• T3.Ulf Troppens,Rainer Erkens, Wolfgang Mueller-Friedt,

Rainer Wolafka,Nils Haustein, Storage Networks Explained,
Second Edition, Wiley, 2009
 INFORMATION STORAGE
• Businesses use data to derive information that is
critical to their day-to-day operations.
• Storage is a repository that enables users to store and
retrieve this digital data.
 DIGITAL DATA AND ITS TYPES

DATA:
• Data is a collection of raw facts from which
conclusions may be drawn.
• Handwritten letters, a printed book, a family
photograph, a movie on video tape, printed and duly
signed copies of mortgage papers, a bank’s ledgers,
and an account holder’s passbooks are all examples
of data.
RAW DATA INTO DIGITAL FORM

Figure 1
• Before the advent of computers, the procedures and
methods adopted for data creation and sharing were
limited to fewer forms, such as paper and film.

• Today, the same data can be converted into more

convenient forms such as an e-mail message, an e-
book, a bitmapped image, or a digital movie.
• This data can be generated using a computer and
stored in strings of 0s and 1s, as shown in Figure 1.

• Data in this form is called digital data and is

accessible by the user only after it is processed by a
computer
 list of factors for growth of digital data

• Increase in data processing capabilities: Modern-day

computers provide a significant increase in processing and
storage capabilities. This enables the conversion of various
types of content and media from conventional forms to digital
formats.
• Lower cost of digital storage: Technological advances and
decrease in the cost of storage devices have provided low-cost
solutions and encouraged the development of less expensive
data storage devices. This cost benefit has increased the rate at
which data is being generated and stored.
Affordable and faster communication
technology:
The rate of sharing digital data is now much faster than
traditional approaches.
A Handwritten letter may take a week to reach its
destination, whereas it only takes a few seconds for an
e-mail message to reach its recipient.
• Inexpensive and easier ways to create, collect, and
store all types of data, coupled with increasing
individual and business needs, have led to accelerated
data growth, popularly termed the data explosion.
• The importance and the criticality of data vary with
time. Most of the data Created holds significance in
the short-term but becomes less valuable over time.
• Individuals store data on a variety of storage devices,
such as hard disks, CDs, DVDs, or Universal Serial
Bus (USB) flash drives.
 Example of Research and Business data
• Seismology: Involves collecting data related to
various sources and parameter earthquakes, and other
relevant data that needs to be processed to derive
meaningful information.
• Product data: Includes data related to various
aspects of a product, such as inventory, description,
pricing, availability, and sales.
• Customer data: A combination of data related to a
company’s customers, such order details, shipping
addresses, and purchase history.
Example of Research and Business data
• Medical data: Data related to the health care
industry, such as patient history, radiological images,
details of medication and other treatment, and
insurance information.
• Businesses generate vast amounts of data and then
extract meaningful information from this data to
derive economic benefits. Therefore, businesses need
to maintain data and ensure its availability over a
longer period.
• Furthermore, the data can vary in criticality and may
require special handling.
• For example, legal and regulatory requirements
mandate that banks maintain account information for
their customers accurately and securely.
• Some businesses handle data for millions of
customers, and ensures the security and integrity of
data over a long period of time. This requires high
capacity storage devices with enhanced security
features that can retain data for a long period.
 TYPES OF DATA
• Data can be classified as structured or unstructured
(see Figure 1-3) based on how it is stored and
managed.
• Structured data is organized in rows and columns
in a rigidly defined format so that applications can
retrieve and process it efficiently. Structured data is
typically stored using a database management system
(DBMS).
• Data is unstructured if its elements cannot be stored
in rows and columns, and is therefore difficult to
query and retrieve by business applications.
• For example, customer contacts may be stored in
various forms such as sticky notes, e-mail messages,
business cards, or even digital format files such
as .doc, .txt, and .pdf.
• Due its unstructured nature, it is difficult to retrieve
using a customer relationship management
application.
• Unstructured data may not have the required
components to identify itself uniquely for any type of
processing or interpretation.
• Businesses are primarily concerned with
managing unstructured data because over 80
percent of enterprise data is unstructured and
requires significant storage space and effort to
manage
Types of Data
 INFORMATION

• Data, whether structured or unstructured, does not fulfill any

purpose for individuals or businesses unless it is presented in a
meaningful form. Businesses need to analyze data for it to be
of value.
• Information is the intelligence and knowledge derived from
data.
• On the basis of these trends, a company can plan or modify its
strategy. For example, a retailer identifies customers’ preferred
products and brand names by analyzing their purchase
patterns and maintaining an inventory of those products.
• Effective data analysis not only extends its
benefits to existing businesses, but also
• creates the potential for new business
opportunities by using the information in
creative ways.
• Job portal is an example.
• In order to reach a wider set of prospective
employers, job seekers post their resumes on
various websites offering job search facilities
.
• Effective data analysis not only extends its
benefits to existing businesses, but also creates
the potential for new business opportunities by
using the information in creative ways.
• Job portal is an example.
• In order to reach a wider set of prospective
employers, job seekers post their resumes on
various websites offering job search facilities
.
• In addition, companies post available positions on job
search sites. Job-matching software matches
keywords from resumes to keywords in job postings.

• In this manner, the job search engine uses data and

turns it into information for employers and job
seekers.
 DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE
• Organizations maintain data centers to provide
centralized data processing capabilities across the
enterprise. Data centers store and manage large
amounts of mission-critical data.
• The data center infrastructure includes computers,
storage systems, network devices, dedicated power
backups, and environmental controls (such as air
conditioning and fire suppression).
 DATA CENTER INFRASTRUCTURE
• Large organizations often maintain more than
one data center to distribute data processing
workloads and provide backups in the event of
a disaster.
• The storage requirements of a data center are
met by a combination of various storeage
architectures.
 CORE ELEMENTS
Five core elements are essential for the basic functionality of
a data center:
• Application: An application is a computer program that
provides the logic for computing operations. Applications,
such as an order processing system, can be layered on a
database, which in turn uses operating system services to
perform read/write operations to storage devices.
• Database: More commonly, a database management system
(DBMS) provides a structured way to store data in logically
organized tables that are interrelated.
A DBMS optimizes the storage and retrieval of data.
• Server and operating system: A computing platform that
runs applications and databases.
 CORE ELEMENTS
• Network: A data path that facilitates communication
between clients and servers or between servers and
storage.
• Storage array: A device that stores data persistently
for subsequent use.
• These core elements are typically viewed and
managed as separate entities, but all the elements
must work together to address data processing
requirements.
CORE ELEMENTS
CORE ELEMENTS
 REQUIREMENTS FOR DATA CENTER
ELEMENTS
• Uninterrupted operation of data centers is critical to
the survival and success of a business. It is necessary
to have a reliable infrastructure that ensures data is
accessible at all times.
KEY CHARACTERISTICS OF DATA
CENTER ELEMENTS
Availability:
All data center elements should be designed to ensure
accessibility. The inability of users to access data can
have a significant negative impact on a business.
Security:
Polices, procedures, and proper integration of the data
center core elements that will prevent unauthorized
access to information must be established.
In addition to the security measures for client access,
specific mechanisms must enable servers to access
only their allocated resources on storage arrays.
Scalability:
• Data center operations should be able to allocate
additional processing capabilities or storage on demand,
without interrupting business operations.
• Business growth often requires deploying more servers, new
applications, and additional databases. The storage solution
should be able to grow with the business.
Performance:
• All the core elements of the data center should be able to
provide optimal performance and service all processing
requests at high speed.
• The infrastructure should be able to support performance
requirements.
Data integrity:
• Data integrity refers to mechanisms such as error
correction codes or parity bits which ensure that data
is written to disk exactly as it was received.
• Any variation in data during its retrieval implies
corruption, which may affect the operations of the
organization.
Capacity:

• Data center operations require adequate resources to

store and process large amounts of data efficiently.

• When capacity requirements increase, the data center

must be able to provide additional capacity with- out
interrupting availability, or, at the very least, with
minimal disruption.

• Capacity may be managed by reallocation of existing

resources, rather than by adding new resources.
Manageability:
• A data center should perform all operations and
activities in the most efficient manner.
• Manageability can be achieved through automation
and the reduction of human (manual) intervention in
common tasks.
 MANAGING STORAGE INFRASTRUCTURE

• Managing a modern, complex data center involves

many tasks. Key management Activities include:
• Monitoring is the continuous collection of information
and the review of the entire data center infrastructure.
The aspects of a data center that are monitored include
security, performance, accessibility, and capacity.
• Reporting is done periodically on resource
performance, capacity, and utilization. Reporting tasks
help to establish business justifications costs
associated with data center operations
• Provisioning is the process of providing the
hardware, software, and other resources needed to run
a data center. Provisioning activities include capacity
and resource planning.
• Capacity planning
Ensures that the user’s and the application’s future
needs will be addressed in the most cost-effective and
controlled manner.
• Resource planning
Is the process of evaluating and identifying required
resources, such as personnel, the facility (site), and
the technology.
EVOLUTION OF STORAGE TECHNOLOGY
AND ARCHITECTURE :
Historically, organizations had centralized computers
(mainframe), storage devices (tape reels and disk packs) in their
data center.

In earlier implementations of open systems, the storage was

typically internal to the server.
The proliferation of departmental servers in an enterprise
resulted in unprotected, unmanaged, fragmented islands of
information and increased operating cost.

To overcome these challenges, storage technology evolved from

non-intelligent internal storage to intelligent networked storage
Highlights of this technology evolution include:
Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID):
• This technology was developed to address the cost,
performance, and availability requirements of data.
• It continues to evolve today and is used in all storage
architectures such as DAS, SAN,and so on.

Direct-attached storage (DAS):

This type of storage connects directly to a server (host)
or a group of servers in a cluster. Storage can be either
internal or external to the server.
Storage area network (SAN):
This is a dedicated, high-performance Fibre Channel
(FC) network to facilitate block-level communication
between servers and storage. Storage is partitioned
and assigned to a server for accessing its data.
• SAN offers scalability, availability,
performance, and cost benefits compared to DAS.
Network-attached storage (NAS):
• This is dedicated storage for file serving applications. Unlike a
SAN, it connects to an existing communication network (LAN)
and provides file access to heterogeneous clients.
• It offers higher scalability, availability, performance, and cost
benefits compared to general purpose file servers.
Internet Protocol SAN (IP-SAN):
• One of the latest evolutions in storage architecture, IP-SAN is a
convergence of technologies used in SAN and NAS.
• IP-SAN provides block-level communication across a local
or wide area network (LAN or WAN), resulting in greater
consolidation and availability of data.
 INFORMATION LIFECYCLE
MANAGEMENT
• INFORMATION LIFECYCLE
• The information lifecycle is the “change in the value
of information” over time.
• When data is first created, it often has the highest
value and is used frequently. As data ages, it is
accessed less frequently and is of less value to the
organization.
• Understanding the information lifecycle helps to
deploy appropriate storage infrastructure, according
to the changing value of information.
 LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT
• Today’s business requires data to be protected and
available 24 × 7.
• Information lifecycle management (ILM) is a
proactive strategy that enables an IT organization to
effectively manage the data throughout its
lifecycle, based on predefined business policies.
 An ILM strategy should include the
following characteristics
• Business-centric: It should be integrated with key processes,
applications, and initiatives of the business to meet both
current and future growth in information.

• Centrally managed: All the information assets of a business

should be under the purview of the ILM strategy.

• Policy-based: The implementation of ILM should not be

restricted to a few departments. ILM should be implemented
as a policy and encompass all business applications, processes,
and resources.
• Heterogeneous: An ILM strategy should take into account all
types of storage platforms and operating systems.

• Optimized: Because the value of information varies, an ILM

strategy should consider the different storage requirements and
allocate storage resources based on the information’s value to
the business.
 ILM IMPLEMENTATION
• The process of developing an ILM strategy
includes four activities—
• classifying, implementing, managing, and
organizing:
• Classifying data and applications on the basis
of business rules and policies.
• Implementing policies by using information
management tools, starting from the
creation of data and ending with its disposal
• Managing the environment by using integrated tools
to reduce operational complexity
• Organizing storage resources in tiers to align the
resources with data classes, and storing information
in the right type of infrastructure based on the
information’s current value.