|
|
Enron Mail |
NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MIKE KARP on
STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE 01/17/02 Today's focus: The values of virtualization Dear Wincenty Kaminski, In this issue: * The benefits of storage virtualization * Links related to storage * Featured reader resource _______________________________________________________________ This newsletter sponsored by BMC OUR UNIQUE APPLICATION-CENTRIC APPROACH We've got two words for our competitors and their storage management solutions... NICE TRY. Only BMC Software's Application-Centric Storage Management(tm) approach intelligently links business applications with the storage assets that support them. Make more cost-efficient storage decisions. Learn how with our FREE demo CD! http://nww1.com/go/3821104a.html _______________________________________________________________ PRODUCT INFO IN ONE CONVENIENT LOCATION! Heard about a new product launch? Curious to find out if the features and benefits of this new product will meet your critical business needs? Network World Fusion's Product Central section includes all the info you need to make informed decision about new products and also includes a product finder function. Check it out at http://nww1.com/go/ad216.html _______________________________________________________________ Today's focus: The values of virtualization By Mike Karp ***** Editor's Note: The storage newsletter that was sent to you on Jan. 10 and headlined "How critical is your data?", was sent with only half of its text. The full version of the article is archived at Network World Fusion and can be viewed at http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/stor/2002/01167328.html We apologize for any incovenience caused. ***** It's evident that virtualization still hasn't captured the hearts and minds of the storage-buying public at this point. With the technology having so much to offer, it is reasonable to ask just why aren't the virtualization vendors taking a serious piece of the storage revenue that is being spent these days? Part of the reason, and we have harped on this before, is that the virtualization companies have not done a particularly good job of defining either their market space or their solutions for the world's IT managers. Another reason, a bit less obvious, is contained in the interesting relationship between the purchase of storage-area networks (SAN) and the implementation of virtualization. SANs are moving into the enterprise IT space at a steady but slow pace. A major cause of the slow adoption rate is attributable to the fact that most components in today's SANs, despite vendors' interoperability claims to the contrary, have a tough time working with products from multiple vendors. This means that implementing a SAN requires either going with products from a single vendor (or a small group of vendors designated by the prime vendor), or going through major integration and interoperability challenges every time a new device is added to the storage network. As a result, at this point many IT organizations are opting to go the homogeneous, single-vendor route, gritting their teeth as they realize that by doing so they lose a lot of financial leverage by limiting their selection of suppliers. Homogeneous SANs present a problem for the virtualization vendors, because one of the major benefits they can deliver is the ability to pool disks. More to the point, with virtualized storage the storage media can be pooled irrespective of vendors, size and configurations. And most to the point, this pooled storage is seen as a single volume and can all be managed with a single piece of management software. Applications and operating systems address the virtualized pool of data only, the individual pieces of storage hardware having become, in a sense, invisible. This opportunity for an integrated storage management console to manage the entire storage resource offers tremendous opportunities, including the ability to add, shut down or reassign individual elements within the virtualized pool without bringing down the rest of the storage system. The bottom line: with such a capability, IT managers not only save by purchasing hardware from a variety of vendors, they can achieve a more efficient operation by managing this mix-and- match collection of devices from with a single piece of software. Unfortunately, when selling into the homogeneous SAN environment, this major cost-saving benefit disappears, making it harder to achieve a quick payback on the purchase of the virtualization products. The values of virtualization are by no means limited to the single management console, nor are they limited to SANs (although that is where most of the marketing direction is placed today). It seems likely that the vendors, many of whom have quite a bit to offer, might make themselves much more viable in this turbulent marketplace if they focused on some of the other benefits they are capable of providing. In the mean time, these grey days of January and February may be just the opportunity for you to start looking into all of this. (Note to my readers in the southern hemisphere: your sunny summer days, which curiously enough come at the same time of year, are equally timely.) There are lots of players in the SAN market these days, taking a variety of different approaches to the implementation of their solutions. I've listed some here for those of you who feel you are ready to set the bit between your teeth and really start to examine these guys. Such an effort may likely be worth your while. Players in the SAN market: Compaq http://www.compaq.com Datacore http://www.datacore.com Falconstor http://www.falconstor.com Hewlett Packard http://www.hp.com StoreAge http://www.store-age.com/storeage_web/index.html Tivoli http://www.tivoli.com TruSAN http://www.truesan.com Vertias http://www.veritas.com Vicom Systems http://www.vicom.com _______________________________________________________________ To contact Mike Karp: Mike Karp is senior analyst with Enterprise Management Associates (http://www.enterprisemanagement.com) in Boulder, Colo., an analyst and market research firm focusing exclusively on enterprise management. He works out of Portsmouth, N.H., and Westboro, Mass., and can be reached via e-mail at mailto:mkarp@enterprisemanagement.com _______________________________________________________________ Get your wireless service from the carrier ranked #1 by Forbes magazine. Now get Unlimited Night & Weekend Minutes, plus up to $165 in savings when you activate on select calling plans and purchase a Nokia 3360 or 8260 from AT&T Wireless. To learn more go to http://nww1.com/go/ad207.html _______________________________________________________________ RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS Archive of the Storage newsletter: http://www.nwfusion.com/newsletters/stor/index.html _______________________________________________________________ FEATURED READER RESOURCE Network World Fusion's Net.Worker site Whether your company is growing larger or scaling back, corporate managers are looking for ways to cut costs while retaining and recruiting star employees. One smart solution - at least on paper - is to let some employees work from home. Network World's Net.Worker Web site bridges the gap between the telework concept and the hardware, software and services needed to make it happen. We bring you news and reviews, sound advice and keen insight into the technologies and solutions you need to manage a remote and mobile workforce. Visit http://www.nwfusion.com/net.worker/index.html _______________________________________________________________ May We Send You a Free Print Subscription? You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply today at http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/nl _______________________________________________________________ SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail newsletters, go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/news/scripts/notprinteditnews.asp To unsubscribe from promotional e-mail go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ep To change your e-mail address, go to: http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/news/scripts/changeemail.asp Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to this message. Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor, at: mailto:jcaruso@nww.com For advertising information, write Jamie Kalbach, Director of Online Sales, at: mailto:jkalbach@nww.com Copyright Network World, Inc., 2002 ------------------------ This message was sent to: vkamins@enron.com
|