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Network Storage Easy Networks With ENSA

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DQI Bureau
New Update

Managing

storage




Managing the data, and the devices on which it is stored, has been
accomplished on a server-by-server basis. Typically, storage capacity

and infrastructure are purchased and added to individual systems.

Alternatives exist. Compaq offers storage subsystems that allow

consolidation of data from multiple heterogeneous servers within

a single cabinet and allow each cabinet to be managed as a storage

entity. While this approach is useful today, a more complete model

is needed to satisfy expanding business needs.




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Another extremely

important problem is protecting data. Today's RAID subsystems and

hardware redundancy help protect against loss of individual disks,

power supplies or array controllers. Properly administered backup

policies and attendant hardware and software can protect against

human errors, software errors and other loss.



A major stumbling

block today is the time it takes to restore data. This time increases

with the volume of data and can be only partially reduced with substantial

hardware and software expenditures. ENSA's instantaneous data replication

provides the means to unobtrusively backup and quickly restore data.



A

new approach




Unlike other approaches to network storage, such as storage area
networks and network-attached storage, ENSA behaves organically

while providing virtually unlimited capacity. The architecture supplies

storage as a utility, similar to conventional electric and water

utilities. Raw capacity is prepared by storage virtualization engines

for distribution to the application servers. It is then delivered,

over a distribution fabric to the application servers on demand.

Distribution is both reliable and transparent to all applications

served.




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ENSA incorporates

storage devices-components interfacing with application servers-linking

infrastructures and tools which administer the entire environment.

These elements communicate and cooperate to solve data storage and

management problems. This organic behavior is totally transparent.

Applications see only a reliable, available utility that conveniently

delivers the storage they need on demand.



Building

a Framework




As computing environments become richer and more scattered, storage
solutions must follow suit. ENSA's philosophical approach is to

distribute physical storage throughout the enterprise as needed,

affording central management as appropriate. To satisfy ongoing

computing needs, a network storage solution must incorporate several

key attributes, such as:




  • Consistent,

    reliable access to data, regardless of the status of individual

    components anywhere in the storage system.



  • Similar access

    to data for heterogeneous operating systems.



  • Performance

    required by applications whose data is stored on the system.



  • Monitoring

    capabilities that provide useful reports of factors such as storage

    and performance utilization by applications.



  • Unified,

    policy-driven, automated solutions to manage physical storage

    in increasingly distributed and complex environments.



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ENSA addresses

these needs with storage virtualization, dynamic scalability and

simplified management tools within a framework that offers maximum

investment protection.



Storage

virtualization




ENSA creates a flexible, shared storage resource by applying storage
virtualization on a new scale. It allows vast amounts of physical

capacity to be pooled across the enterprise for presentation to

application servers wherever they may be. It virtualizes storage

capacity so that disks of different capacities and data protection

levels can be created from a set of physical disks. ENSA disks are

created from a pool distributed across the storage web, cluster

or cell, as needed by applications. RAID and other techniques are

applied to provide data protection. An ENSA disk can be accessed

by more than one server, and a server can access many ENSA disks

within normal operating system compatibilities.




Virtualization

occurs either within atomic units called storage cells, or among

storage cells bound into cooperating entities called storage clusters.

Storage clusters can span the same distances as conventional storage

area networks. ENSA extends virtualization to a global scale with

the storage web. The storage web creates a single manageable entity

from a cooperating collection of storage clusters. The latest interconnect

technologies provide high-speed throughput and delivery of storage

performance to the consuming servers. Storage cells, storage clusters,

and the storage web work harmoniously with direct-attached and other

forms of storage.



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Dynamic

scalability




Unlike conventional disks, an ENSA disk's capacity is not limited
by the physical disk capacity in the storage pool. Instead, it is

designated a capacity appropriate for the application.




ENSA automatically

allocates physical storage capacity to individual applications until

its designated logical capacity is reached. This is based on the

amount of ENSA disk capacity actually used. ENSA continuously monitors

server capacity needs and projects capacity automatically from the

storage pool. This means raw capacity provided to the pool can increase

the physical capacity of an ENSA disk from the pool-dynamically

and transparently.



Since the physical

storage allocated by ENSA to its disks matches the actual need of

the server in real time, as one server's needs decline the physical

storage can be automatically recovered and returned to the pool

for reallocation to other virtual volumes.



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The distribution

and connectivity facilitated by ENSA allows addition of virtually

limitless capacity to the storage pool in any increment at any time.

This means vast ENSA disks can be created from significantly less

physical storage than they will ultimately contain. ENSA System

Managers merely need to be sure the pool has enough physical storage.

Extraneous software management tools that reveal capacity allocation

problems are no longer needed.

Investment

protection




ENSA is designed to serve enterprise needs well into the future.
Because of its farsighted approach, ENSA can take advantage of new

technologies as they become practical to deploy. In the StorageWorks

tradition, ENSA's evolution will be accomplished with maximum protection

of existing storage investments.




ENSA provides

evolutionary stages of technology deployment leading to an ultimate

vision. ENSA allows environments to develop at their own pace from

today's foundation. The evolution begins with today's Ultra SCSI

components and then grows through conventional SANs. The next stage

expands to encompass conventional enterprise networks. Finally,

the overall ENSA vision is realized as the enterprise storage networks

are united within the storage web. This allows for the planned implementation

of the ENSA vision, with unprecedented level of investment protection,

even in the early stages of deployment.



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A key feature

is that the new network storage environment is carefully designed

to coexist harmoniously with existing direct-attached and network-attached

storage. This means ENSA can be deployed incrementally as business

needs change.



Business

success




The world of enterprise computing is changing rapidly as businesses
become dependent on information-and the knowledge derived from it-for

their continued success. This is driving explosive growth and complexity

in storage as vendors strive to satisfy the demand for storage.




ENSA is designed

to evolve with the enterprise into the future. This unified vision

encompasses not only storage hardware and software, and the functionality

that integrates it, but also extends to the services and support

required to design, install and maintain it.

Courtesy:

Compaq Computer Corp

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