1. technology and computing
2. data centers

The Why, When and How of
Storage Convergence
Zeus Kerravala
March 2012
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 1
The Era of Virtual Computing is Here
Each era of computing:
• Raised the strategic value of the network
• Lowers the cost of computing
• Increases the level of integration between network and
computing
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 2
Drivers of Virtual Computing
• Server virtualization and beyond
• Resource efficiency
• Cloud computing
• Computing and network convergence
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 3
The Data Center is the Backbone of the Enterprise
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Consumerization, mobility and
virtualization has transformed the
way we work
Information needs to be available on
any device no matter where a
worker is
Local information that has to be
moved between user devices,
backed up and continually
synchronized does not scale today
Delivering information from the data
center has become the most cost
effective, scalable method.
Data center transformation needs to
be among the most crucial IT
initiatives today
Application optimization is best done
in the data center
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 4
Limitations of Current Data Center Network
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Three tier architecture has too
much latency to support real
time and large workloads
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)
leads to inefficient network
infrastructure usage
Traditional technology is not
designed for virtual or cloud
environments
Poor management tools and
high up front cost drive up
TCO
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 5
Defining a Network Fabric
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Flat network
Every port virtually connected
to every other
Active / active switching
High speed network; 10 GigE, roadmap to 40 Gig-E and
100 Gig-E
Operationally simple
Optimized for virtual traffic
and east west traffic flows
Optimized packet processing
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 6
Why Storage Convergence Will Occur
• Current architecture is
inefficient
• Infrastructure
consolidation and
green IT will be easier
to attain
• IT better aligns with the
vision of virtual IT
• Creates fluid, efficient
IT
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 7
Why Convergence Will Not Happen Overnight
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Storage is mission critical
IT silos and separation of
responsibility
Unclear ROI
Lack of a de facto standard
Slow adoption of high speed
Ethernet
Complexity of convergence
Lack of IT skills
Requires forklift upgrade
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 8
Converged Storage Decision Criteria
• Choice of migration path
• Support for iSCSI and FCoE
• High density 10 Gig-E,
upgradeable to 40 and 100
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
•
•
•
Fabric architecture
Designed for the virtual data
center era
Optimized for east-west and
north-south traffic
Storage Convergence
Page 9
Steps to Storage Convergence
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Consolidate Data
Centers
Migrate to a network
fabric
Move to advanced use
of virtualization
Implement lossless
Ethernet
Migrate to a converged
environment over time
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 10
Conclusion
Virtualization has transformed every part of IT – its
now time for the network to evolve
• Migration to a virtualized network and converged data
center are necessary components of the virtual data
center
• Journey to a converged network is not trivial – stick to
a structured, multi step process
• Evaluate at least three solution providers
• Start with a small deployment and grow at a
manageable pace
• Roll up data center operations to a single owner
•
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Storage Convergence
Page 11
Read analyst blogs at
blogs.yankeegroup.com
Thank You
Watch analyst videos at
youtube.com/yankeegroup
Follow us on Twitter:
@YankeeGroup
Zeus Kerravala
Fan Yankee Group
at facebook.com
www.yankeegroup.com
© Copyright 2010. Yankee Group Research, Inc. All rights reserved.
Distinguished Research Fellow
zkerravala@yankeegroupo.com
Storage Convergence
Page 12
Application Fluency in the Data Center
A New Approach to Data Center Fabrics
Cliff Grossner, Ph.D.
COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ENTERPRISE
CONVERSATIONS
Application
Fluent Network
COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Architecture
Control
Operations
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise
Data Center Switching Solution
Management
Data Center Connect
Optical Connect
[DWDM 1830]
WAN
Visibility
[VitalSuite]
Service Routers
[7750 SR]
Service Aware Mgr
[5620 SAM]
Network Management
[OmniVista ]
Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise Mesh
10 GigE Core
[OS10K]
Address Mgt
[Vital QIP]
Authentication,Authorization
& Accounting [8950]
1 GigE Top Of
Rack [OS6850E]
10 GigE Top Of
Rack [OS6900]
Virtual Machine Mgr
[OmniVista 2500]
Data Center Hypervisor
Rack Mounted servers
Blade servers
Fiber Chanel Storage
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
iSCSI storage
Data Center Switching Solution: Mesh
Alcatel Lucent
Enterprise Mesh
OS10K
Architecture
OS10K
Control
Operations
Pod
6900
6900
240
6900
Pod
6900
6900
6900
6900
6900
6900
6900
2 μs Latency
6900
6900
Max Server Ports
(2 Core Switches)
14,400
Max Switching
Capacity
169 Tbps
Over Subscription Rate*
1.8 :1
Power per Server Port
5 Watts
# 48U Racks
10 Racks
5 μs Aggregate Latency*
• Any to Any 10/40 GigE connectivity
• Virtual Network Profile (vNP)
• iSCSI, FCoE, FC
*Assuming Server to Server Traffic 70% within a Pod, 20% between Pods and 10% Via Core
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
• Network virtualized with SPB
• Multi-site private Cloud
• Hybrid Cloud services
One Pod: a Fully Featured Data Center Fabric
Flattened Network
Pod
• Redundant attachment of servers
6900
• Redundant attachment of storage
• Multi-Path Ethernet with MC-LAG, Shortest Path
Bridging, Virtual Chassis
• Automated Virtual Machine mobility (vNP)
• Managed as a single unit with Virtual Chassis
technology
6900
6900
6900
6900
6900
• Lossless Ethernet with Data Center Bridging
(DCB)
• Edge virtual bridging with Virtual Ethernet
Bridging (VEB)
• Storage Convergence: iSCSI, FCoE, FC
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Storage
Servers
(iSCSI, FCoE, FC)
Applications Managed as a Service
The Network Understands
Each Application
Virtual Network Profile
• Provisioning requirements
Network
Provisioning
• Security profile
• Expected quality of service levels
• Priority of the application for the corporation
• Latency and jitter requirements
Security
Requirements
Application
Quality of
Service
The Network Automatically
Manages Applications
Priority
• Automated binding of vNP to virtual machine
• Automatic discovery of virtual machine location
• Automatic provisioning of applications
vNP
• Network follows virtual machine moves
• Dynamic tuning of QoS parameters
Data Center Fabric
• Network requested VM moves to minimize latency
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
The Cloud Ready Enterprise Data Center
Key Element of AFN Vision
•Server Farms
•Application
•Optimization
Private Cloud
•Storage Arrays (SAN)
CloudBand
• Fabric is one logical structure
• Can be physically spread across several sites
• Can define separate departmental data centers
Cloud Data Center
WAN
Public Cloud Services
• Service provider services seamlessly delivered
from Cloud onto the fabric
• End to end visibility on service quality
Service
Router
Alcatel-Lucent
Mesh
Enabling Technology
• Shortest Path Bridging cloud compatible
protocol
• Virtual Network Profile vNP for orchestration
and elasticity
Corporate Data
Center Site 1
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Corporate Data
Center Site 2
Multi-Site
Private Cloud
Data Center Partner Eco-system
Management
Ionix
Virtualization
Server
Storage
READY
Hh
Data Center Hypervisor
Rack Mounted
servers
Blade
servers
Fiber Chanel
Storage
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
iSCSI
storage
Data Center Switching Blueprint
Wins Best of Interop 2011
Key Elements Recognized by Judges
• Provides an innovative edge network mesh and
companion switch
• Provides an MPLS-compatible core coupled with
management software
• Designed for today's virtualized workloads
• Incremental, modular architecture is one
important distinguishing factor eliminating need
for forklift
Finalists included Juniper and Mellanox
“Alcatel-Lucent had the most
compelling design and
supporting products for
building extremely scalable,
high-performance, cloud-like
data center networks suitable
for today's virtualized
applications.“
Kurt Marko - Judge
For More Information: http://www.bestofinterop.com/winners/
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www.alcatel-lucent.com/enterprise
twitter.com/ALUEnterprise
facebook.com/ALUEnterprise
youtube.com/user/AlcatelLucentCorp
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COPYRIGHT © 2011 ALCATEL-LUCENT ENTERPRISE. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.