SNIA Developer Conference September 15-17, 2025 | Santa Clara, CA
SNIA Cloud Technology Community
For more information on Cloud, visit the Cloud Storage Initiative
Educate - Influence - Standardize |
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Object-based storage systems are fast becoming one of the key building blocks for a cloud storage infrastructure addressing shortcomings of traditional file- and block-based storage for unstructured data and providing much-needed control over managing the tremendous growth of unstructured data. An object storage system design must accommodate growth, flexible provisioning, support multiple geographies, and cope with failure. How the data on these systems is organized and managed is key to performance and SLAs. In this Webcast, experts from the SNIA Cloud Storage Initiative will discuss:
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On-Demand Webcast: The State of Cloud Standards in 2014: Interoperability, Portability and Security
The cloud computing market continues to grow as rapidly as ever and yet, only a small portion of the true value of cloud has been realized.
Interoperability, portability and security are some of the biggest roadblocks slowing down the advancement of the cloud. The ability to port data, applications and share cloud services across multiple environments, while ensuring data protection and transparency is on top of every organization’s wish list today. A standardized set of principles can assist these organizations in utilizing the offerings of the cloud to the fullest.
In this roundtable discussion, hear about the current state of cloud standards, the latest developments and how these changes affect your organization and the industry as a whole.
On-Demand Webcast on new CDMI CTP Program
Learn about the features of the new Conformance Testing Program for Cloud Data Management Interface.
List of CDMI Implementations
The CSI has published a list of projects and vendors that have announced their CDMI server implementations.
As of early 2014, we have over 20 different implementors.
Any vendor can add their product to this page by following the instructions at the bottom of that page.
Acheiving Cloud Storage Interoperability to Benefit Enterprise Storage Clouds
- What should you be requiring from your cloud vendors?
- How can you expect standards to roll out in implementations?
Learning Objectives
- How this cloud storage standard can achieve interoperability and what this interoperability means to you.
- How you can use the cloud storage standard both internally for private clouds as well as for public clouds.
SPDEcon Cloud Preview
SNIA’s storage industry event, the Storage Plumbing and Data Engineering Conference (SPDEcon, pronounced “Speedy-con”), has been discontinued in favor of the Data Storage Innovation (DSI) conference.
Summarizing over 7 hours of content on cloud, this BrightTalk session gave attendees a sneak peak into this topic by the actual SPDEcon speakers. The SPDEcon Cloud talk slides are available for download.
Storage Virtualization in the Cloud
Storage Virtualization is used both on premise and in the public cloud, but what standards come into play? How can customers avoid being locked into proprietary interface? This talk will detail which interfaces are commonly used and what standards are emerging to ensure interoperability and data portability in the cloud.
About the Presenter: Mark A. Carlson, Principal Cloud Strategist at Oracle, has more than 30 years of experience with Networking and Storage development and more than fifteen year's experience with Java technology. Mark was one of the authors of the CDMI Cloud Storage standard. He has spoken at numerous industry forums and events. He is the chair of the SNIA Cloud Storage, NDMP and XAM SDK technical working groups, chairs the DMTF Policy working group, serves on the SNIA Technical Council, and represents Oracle on the DMTF Technical Committee and serves as DMTF VP of Alliances.
SNIA Cloud Data Management Interface Specification Earns ISO/IEC Designation as an International Standard
SNW Fall 2012, Oct. 16, 2012 - The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) today announced that its Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) specification, the first industry-developed open standard specifically for data storage as a service as part of cloud computing, has been designated an International Standard (IS) by the Joint Technical Committee 1 (JTC 1), a joint effort of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) for the purpose of standardization in the field of Information Technology. The specification received the necessary support from participating National Members under the JTC 1 Publicly Available Specification (PAS) Process and has been designated ISO/IEC 17826.
“There is strong demand for Cloud Computing standards and to see one of our most active consortia partners contribute this specification in such a timely fashion is very gratifying,” said Karen Higginbottom, Chair of ISO/IEC JTC 1. “The standard will improve cloud interoperability and is a great result of the cooperation that exists between JTC 1 and SNIA.”
Michael Hogan, of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and co-chair of NIST's public Cloud Computing Standards Roadmap Working Group, stressed the importance of the international voluntary consensus standards to the U.S. Government stating, “A high priority to further USG cloud computing technology adoption is the availability of international voluntary consensus-based standards for interoperability, performance, portability, security, etc.. We’re glad to see the JTC 1 PAS Transposition process working as intended to quickly gain consensus and approval of an international voluntary consensus standard.”
The use of the CDMI standard by cloud computing and cloud storage providers enhances the types of storage services they can offer their customers and allows interoperability and portability between service providers. Based on a RESTful HTTP protocol, CDMI provides both a data path and control path for cloud storage and standardizes a common interoperable data exchange format for securely moving data and its associated data requirements from cloud to cloud. The standard is applicable to public, private and hybrid deployment models for storage clouds.
The CDMI standard and a CDMI Reference Implementation (CDMI RI) are developed by the SNIA Cloud Storage Technical Work Group (TWG) which today includes more than 230 members from more than 60 different organizations around the world. The SNIA Cloud Storage Initiative promotes the standard to advance the adoption and educates the IT communities about cloud storage. CSI member companies represent a variety of segments in the IT industry and include Basho Technologies, CA Technologies, Cisco Systems, Cleversafe, EMC, Evaluator Group, Hewlett Packard, Hitachi Data Systems, Huawei, IBM, LSI Corporation, Mezeo Software, NetApp, Oracle, Scality, Sepaton, SpectraLogic, SwiftTest, Terremark Worldwide, XIO, Xyratex, and ZTE Corporation.
Mark Carlson and Alex McDonald, co-chairs of SNIA's Cloud Storage Initiative added, “Recognition by the ISO/IEC community is confirmation that the many thousands of hours put into development of CDMI by SNIA member volunteers has produced a high quality international specification on which vendors and customers can depend. We are pleased storage vendors and cloud providers have already announced implementations and we expect recognition as an ISO/IEC standard will further accelerate adoption.”
Well regarded in the industry, SNIA standards provide an array of benefits to both vendors and end users. Vendors gain the benefits of quicker time to market, reduced costs, and greater customer acceptance than if each company were to attempt to create its own unique process for every technical interaction, while end users of products that comply with SNIA standards enjoy greater interoperability, reduced training, and ultimately lower total cost of ownership.
Ben Woo, Managing Director of Neuralytix, a New York City-based strategy consultancy specializing in the information industry added, “Standards from industry consortia such as SNIA are absolutely key to removing the roadblocks that customers are seeing in cloud computing. CDMI makes it not only possible for customers to move data from one cloud to another, it makes it secure and easy. Adoption of the CDMI standard by Cloud Storage service providers should pick up significantly now that ISO and IEC have adopted it.”
The standard will be available for purchase from the ISO Store website when JTC 1 completes its administrative and publication processes. For more information on the CDMI standard please visit the SNIA web site at http://www.snia.org/cdmi.
About the SNIA Cloud Storage Initiative
Educate - Influence - Standardize
SNIA’s Cloud Storage Initiative (CSI) promotes cloud storage adoption with open standards that provide vendors and end users with choice, interoperability, and portability. CSI leads as an industry neutral authority on cloud storage environments and is committed to educating vendor and end user communities on cloud storage & industry standardization benefits. Whether you are interested in public clouds, private clouds or hybrid clouds the CSI is interested in hearing from you and invites you to join our growing list of members.
The CSI leads as an industry-neutral authority on storage in cloud environments with a goal of educating vendor and end-user communities on the benefits of cloud storage and industry standards.
The CSI advocates and support work items of the Cloud Storage TWG, including: providing external advocacy and support of the Cloud Storage TWG; elevating the collaboration and underwriting of certain technical resources for the Cloud Storage TWG and performing interoperability plugfests (cloud fests) as necessary in support of standards development
To get involved with the Cloud Storage Initiative as a member, please complete the membership form.
About the SNIA
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) is a not–for–profit global organization, made up of some 400 member companies spanning virtually the entire storage industry. SNIA’s mission is to lead the storage industry worldwide in developing and promoting standards, technologies, and educational services to empower organizations in the management of information. To this end, the SNIA is uniquely committed to delivering standards, education, and services that will propel open storage networking solutions into the broader market. For additional information, visit the SNIA web site at http://www.snia.org.
On October 16,2012, the SNIA announced that the SNIA Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) specification earned the ISO/IEC designation as an international standard. The specification received the necessary support from participating National Members under the JTC 1 Publicly Available Specification (PAS) Process and has been designated ISO/IEC 17826.
The CDMI standard and a CDMI Reference Implementation (CDMI RI) are being developed by the SNIA Cloud Storage Technical Work Group (TWG) which today includes more than 230 members from more than 60 different organizations around the world. For the full release, please visit www.snia.org/media and for more information on the CDMI standard, please visit www.snia.org/cloud.
Industry Support for the CDMI Standard
Dennis Martin, Demartek:
“Since starting the storage cloud work less than a year ago, the SNIA has delivered a string of very important educational and technical assets to the industry. Being able to deliver the Cloud Data Management Interface specification in such a short amount of time will reset the market dynamics for current and emerging service providers. By establishing this concise standard within the industry, the SNIA continues to deliver both the technology and the education to help accelerate the acceptance and adoption of Cloud Storage.”
Joseph Martins, Data Mobility Group:
“The SNIA has delivered on its promise, made a year ago, to deliver a Data Storage as a Service standard. With the availability of the CDMI specification, providers and storage vendors can augment their current interfaces to enable data portability across clouds. Cloud customers should now start demanding their cloud vendors and equipment providers show plans for implementing this important SNIA standard.”
Arun Taneja, Taneja Group:
“The SNIA CDMI enables the development of rich storage clouds and realizes those benefits in a standard fashion. Anytime a standard such as this is utilized, the winner is the end user, as the functionality and added value can be the differentiating factor among providers. With broad CDMI adoption, the cloud market can reach its fullest potential.”
Geoffrey Moore, noted author of 'Crossing the Chasm' and 'Dealing with Darwin':
“SNIA’s Cloud Data Management Standard CDMI is playing two key roles in the storage industry. It tackles the complex data stores surrounding multiple decades of systems of record, streamlining their management and making them more amenable to cloud environments. At the same time, CDMI looks forward to next–generation systems of engagement, whose data store requirements are orders of magnitude larger than conventional systems but need much simpler interfaces. As more and more enterprises find themselves committed to both architectures, appreciation and support for CDMI can only grow.”
Richard Soley, Executive Director, Cloud Standards Customer Council:
“Cloud standards will increase adoption, interoperability and portability of cloud solutions. Recognition by ISO of SNIA's important work in cloud computing is a recognition of the importance of open, neutral, international standards for end-user adoption.”
Russ Kennedy, Vice President of Product Strategy, Marketing and Customer Solutions, Cleversafe:
“Cloud for storage represents a vast opportunity. CIOs and IT managers are trying to survive the avalanche of new data being created by users and companies and they need more cost effective solutions. The adoption of the CDMI standard by the International Standards Organization represents a significant milestone in our industry. We strongly believe in and are committed to supporting industry standards that further the growth of cloud solutions for storage.”
Russ Fellows, Senior Partner, Evaluator Group:
“The SNIA has been actively driving standards for nearly a decade. They have gained a reputation for vendor neutral collaboration, while developing and promoting standards that benefit the entire storage community. The release of the CDMI specification provides a critical building block for the cloud storage industry. This specification provides the interoperability needed to enable vendors and users alike to take the next step towards widespread cloud computing.”
Todd Moore, Director of Infrastructure Standards and Partnerships. IBM:
“With CDMI reaching the significant milestone of becoming an ISO standard, implementations appearing in the Cloud community (e.g. support for Openstack's Swift), we're seeing the momentum of Cloud standards for interoperability continuing to build. As customer demands for interoperable and portable solutions increase, specifications such as CDMI are playing a crucial role in meeting their needs.”
John Eastman, CTO, Mezeo Software:
“Mezeo Software’s vision has always been to support open, industry standard interfaces – which is one of the reasons we selected CDMI for our cloud storage and data management platform two years ago. Mezeo is pleased to see the recent adoption of the CDMI standard by other leading software and hardware vendors. The formal acceptance of CDMI as an international standard begins the next phase for enabling service providers and enterprises to seamlessly implement a non-proprietary industry standard interface, allowing them to benefit from interoperability and a variety of leading partners and solutions.”
Gary Lyng, Senior Director, Product Management, NetApp:
“Using the CDMI open standard, NetApp enables end-users to reduce risk, drive efficiencies in the cloud, and realize data as a business asset. When NetApp released StorageGRID 9.0 earlier this year, we became the first major storage management company to implement CDMI and reaffirmed our commitment to providing standard access to, and interoperability with, Cloud based data. NetApp believes that CDMI will become the standard protocol for Big Data and enable our customers to manage extremely large data sets across distributed and cloud environments.”
Philippe Nicolas, Director of Product Strategy, Scality:
“Scality is a true supporter of SNIA CDMI since the launch of the CSI Initiative a few years ago. As a company, we believe that such a standard is the missing piece to boost the massive adoption of the Cloud and deliver real interoperability. We see more and more mentions of CDMI in the field, this is confirmed by the recent presence of large vendors at the CDMI plugfest. Scality integrates CDMI as a fundamental piece of our Open Cloud Access strategy with server, clients and various tools available.”
CDMI Reference Implementation
Source Code available under the BSD license
The CDMI Reference Implementation source code has been updated with bug
fixes and now is compatible with CDMI Version 1.0.2 (soon to be an
international standard).
Please fill out the web form at: http://www.snia.org/forums/csi/programs/CDMIportal
and the system will send you the link to download the source code.
Several companies are now shipping commercial implementations of CDMI, and
regular cloud plug fests are held to test interoperability. For more
information on these plug fests please refer to:
http://cloudplugfest.org
This working draft release is an early glimpse of the code which will be finalized as
SNIA Software in the near future. This early glimpse is being provided
for you to work with the standard even though the implementation
is not complete.
CDMI Tutorial from SNW
The CDMI Tutorial is now online. Learn the basics of this important storage standard here. Also available for download to your iDevice.
Implementing, Serving, and Using Cloud Storage Whitepaper
Organizations of all types are trying to control costs and satisfy increasing demands at the same time— demands created by explosive data growth and ever-changing regulations. To address these challenges, storage industry professionals are turning to cloud computing and cloud storage solutions.
Industry's First Cloud Standard
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) announced at SNW Spring 2010 , the formal approval of the Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) as a SNIA Architecture standard. This milestone marks the first industry-developed open standard;for cloud computing and will allow for interoperable cloud storage implementations from cloud service providers and storage vendors.
Cloud Storage Multi-Tenancy Whitepaper
This paper defines a set of requirements for storage in “multi-tenant” cloud environments in four key areas of concern for cloud adopters: security; quality of service; data protection and availability; and manageability. Where appropriate, these requirements are defined in terms of the Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI).
SNIA Cloud Blog
The members of the Cloud Storage Initiative have created a blog site with periodic posts on the activities of CSI and the Cloud Storage TWG.
Private Cloud Whitepaper Available
The SNIA Cloud Storage Initiative has released a new whitepaper on Private and Hybrid storage clouds.
Get the whitepaper on Managing Data Storage in the Public Cloud
The Storage Networking Industry Association has published a whitepaper on Managing Data in the Public Cloud.
Get the whitepaper on Cloud Storage for Cloud Computing
The Storage Networking Industry Association in conjunction with the Open Grid Forum have published a whitepaper on Cloud Storage for Cloud Computing.
SNIA Cloud Resources
The SNIA has created the Cloud Storage Technical Work Group for the purpose of developing SNIA Architecture related to system implementations of Cloud Storage technology. The Cloud Storage TWG:
- Acts as the primary technical entity for the SNIA to identify, develop, and coordinate systems standards for Cloud Storage.
- Produces a comprehensive set of specifications and drives consistency of interface standards and messages across the various Cloud Storage related efforts.
- Documents system-level requirements and shares these with other Cloud Storage standards organizations under the guidance of the SNIA Technical Council and in cooperation with the SNIA Strategic Alliances Committee
- The SNIA is participating in a group that will coordinate cloud standards across Standards Development Organizations (SDOs). SNIA has existing relationships with DMTF and OGF that have recently been expanded to include cloud standards. The new group has a Cloud Standards Coordination wiki at:
How to get involved
The TWG will also assist and cooperate with other SNIA TWGs in their efforts to incorporate Cloud Storage into their standards work.
- Join the SNIA Cloud Google Group (no membership requirements)
- Follow SNIA cloud storage activities on Twitter
- SNIA Cloud Storage Summit - Presentations (pdf & video) from SNIA Cloud Storage Summit that took place at the SNIA 2009 Winter Symposium in January.
- Join the SNIA Cloud Storage Technical Work Group (members only)
- Become a SNIA member today
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