Virtualization/Applications

Jump straight to an abstract:

• Storage Virtualization I - What, Why, When, Where, How?
• Storage Virtualization II - Implementing and Managing Storage Virtualization
• Optimizing Your Storage for Server Virtualization
• Data Center Transformation

The Abstracts

Storage Virtualization I - What, Why, When, Where, How?
Rob Peglar
Download

Storage Virtualization is one of the buzzwords in the industry, especially with the near-ubiquitous deployment of Storage Networks.  But besides all hype, there is a lot of confusion, too. Companies are using the term virtualization and its characteristics in various and different forms. This tutorial describes the reasons and benefits of virtualization in a technical and neutral way. The audience will understand the various terms and will receive a clear picture of the different virtualization approaches. Links to the SNIA Shared Storage Model and the usage of the new SNIA Storage Virtualization Taxonomy will help to achieve this goal.      This tutorial is intended for IT Managers, Storage and System Administrators who have responsibilities for IT infrastructures and storage management tasks.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the definition of storage virtualization and its taxonomy
• Learn about the three categories/methods of storage virtualization and their architectures
• Understand which storage virtualization techniques apply to various new and existing infrastructures and potential benefits to storage management

Storage Virtualization II - Implementing and Managing Storage Virtualization
Rob Peglar
Download

The second part of this tutorial builds on the first one, so the audience should have visited part I or already should have a basic understanding of this subject.    Storage Virtualization part II covers practical issues of block virtualization in order to make most effective use of it. Among other topics it describes the implementation step by step and aspects of availability, performance and capacity improvements. The material discusses the role of storage virtualization within policy-based management and describes its integration in the SNIA Storage Management Initiative Specification(SMI-S).

Learning Objectives

• Understand the role of virtualization in improving storage availibility, performance and capacity management
• Learn about potential policy-based management using virtual techniques
• Understand how storage virtualization fits into the SNIA SMI-S and Web Services (SOA) architectures

Optimizing Your Storage for Server Virtualization
Chris Lionetti
Download

A frank discussion about advanced features within storage systems and how they can be used to optimize a virtual server infrastructure.   These advanced features include snapshots, flash, SSD, de-dupe, and de-dupe aware cache and how they can solve problems such as boot storms, instant Virtual Machine cloning and deployments, and space optimization.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the Advantages/Disadvantages of SAN/NAS/DAS in a Virtual Server environment.
• Understand how advanced storage features enable economies of scale and optimize assets.
• Gain an understanding of the part that Virtual Servers play to gain hardware independence for highly availability services and applications.

Data Center Transformation
Russ Fellows
Download

The data center of the future is possible today for IT environments that are willing to create an architecture that leverages technology where appropriate. This session is designed for storage administrators and storage architects. We will explore the business and technology changes necessary to transform existing data center''s into efficient, service oriented operations that leverage existing infrastructure.

All too often, new technology is sold as the solution. We will look beyond the vendor hype to help you choose the operational models and technologies best suited for your environment.

Learning Objectives

• You will gain an understanding of what technologies you should investigate, and those to ignore. This session will help you create an architecture that leverages technologies to transform your data-center, without risking your IT operations, your company or your job.
• Virtualization, Data de-duplication, Network Consolidation, Green Data-centers and Cloud Storage are all components of future data centers. The most successful organizations will use these technologies and concepts synergistically to lower costs, while meeting service and availability needs.
• Attendees will gain an understanding of how emerging technologies can help your data-center improve efficiency while lowering costs and risks including:
• IT as a Service - or ITaaS
• Public and private cloud delivery of ITaaS