Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are possibly the most substantive and meaningful change to modern business. The ability to process large amounts of data with varying degrees of structure and form enables giant leaps in insight to drive revenue and profit. Likewise, governments and society have significant opportunity for improvement of the lives of the populace through AI. However, with the power that AI brings comes the risks of any technology innovation. The SNIA Cloud Storage Technologies Initiative (CSTI) will explore some of the ethical issues that can arise from AI at our live webcast on March 16, 2021 “The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.” Our expert speakers, Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst at The Enderle Group and Eric Hibbard, Chair of the SNIA Security Technical Work Group, will join me for an interactive discussion on:

• How making decisions at the speed of AI could be ethically challenging
• Examples of how companies have structures to approach AI policy
• The pitfalls of managing the human side of AI development
• Potential legal implications of using AI to make decisions
• Advice for addressing potential ethics issues before they are unsolvable

It’s sure to be an enlightening discussion on an aspect of AI that is seldom explored. Register today. We look forward to seeing you on March 16^th.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies are possibly the most substantive and meaningful change to modern business. The ability to process large amounts of data with varying degrees of structure and form enables giant leaps in insight to drive revenue and profit. Likewise, governments and society have significant opportunity for improvement of the lives of the populace through AI. However, with the power that AI brings comes the risks of any technology innovation. The SNIA Cloud Storage Technologies Initiative (CSTI) will explore some of the ethical issues that can arise from AI at our live webcast on March 16, 2021 “The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence.” Our expert speakers, Rob Enderle, President and Principal Analyst at The Enderle Group and Eric Hibbard, Chair of the SNIA Security Technical Work Group, will join me for an interactive discussion on:

• How making decisions at the speed of AI could be ethically challenging
• Examples of how companies have structures to approach AI policy
• The pitfalls of managing the human side of AI development
• Potential legal implications of using AI to make decisions
• Advice for addressing potential ethics issues before they are unsolvable

It’s sure to be an enlightening discussion on an aspect of AI that is seldom explored. Register today. We look forward to seeing you on March 16^th.

How does the Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) International Standard work? Is it possible be to both S3 and CMDI compliant? What security measures are in place with CDMI? How, and where, is CDMI being deployed? These are just some of the topics we covered at our recent SNIA Cloud Storage Technologies (CSTI) webcast, “Cloud Data Management & Interoperability: Why A CDMI Standard Matters.” CDMI is intended for application developers who are implementing cloud storage systems, and who are developing applications to manage and consume cloud storage. Q. Can you compare CDMI to S3? Is it possible to be both CDMI and S3 compliant? Is it too complicated? A. Yes, this is possible, and is relatively straightforward. Both protocols are HTTP-based, and while S3 is primarily a data access protocol, CDMI provides both management functionality and standardized access to object data. Many companies that implement CDMI allow management of data namespaces that are accessible via multiple protocols, including NFS, CIFS, and S3. CDMI has several capabilities that ease integration with S3:

• CDMI is designed so that any S3 URL can be used as a CDMI URL by specifying an Accept header with a CDMI content type.
• CDMI allows S3 header-style metadata to be accessed, queried, and managed through CDMI.
• CDMI supports S3 signed header authentication.

CDMI is also commonly used as a serialization representation for objects, files and LUNS, which eases transport between different storage systems and clouds. Q: With the new CDMI Object Encryption feature is it possible to use it with the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP)? A: CDMI does not directly use KMIP, but some organization have successfully used CDMI and KMIP together. At a basic level, KMIP can be used for the key management by a client and this client can then use the key material in its interactions with CDMI. Also noteworthy, both CDMI and KMIP use RESTful interfaces and have dependencies on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol to support communications securities. Q: Do any existing security standards provide guidance on the use of CDMI? A: ISO/IEC 27040 (Information security – Security techniques – Storage security) does provide security guidance on cloud storage, and CDMI specifically. An important aspect of the CDMI security guidance is to use the capability queries to determine what security capabilities have been implemented and then to make a risk-based decision on whether the implementation offers adequate security protections. Q. When users interact with each other, in real-time, how can we guarantee the information request comes from the safe end? Would you like to explain it in details, please? A. If this question is about user authentication, then the use of TLS can provide some measure of protection; however, user authentication in CDMI will provide the best protection in this situation. See the next question for more details on TLS. Q: HTTP is not a stateful protocol, but TLS is. Does this create problems? A: When TLS is used with CDMI, it is important for the client to consistently use the same connection, especially when any load balancing is being employed with the CDMI servers. Unless pre-shared keys (PSK) are being used, switching between servers causes TLS to tear down the connection and to start a new session that imposes needless loads on the servers. TLS startups can involve significant calculations as part of the negotiations to establish a session key. There are multiple CDMI implementations. CDMI is open source and anyone can get involved in its development. You don’t need to be a SNIA member. To learn more visit https://www.snia.org/cdmi.

How does the Cloud Data Management Interface (CDMI) International Standard work? Is it possible be to both S3 and CMDI compliant? What security measures are in place with CDMI? How, and where, is CDMI being deployed? These are just some of the topics we covered at our recent SNIA Cloud Storage Technologies (CSTI) webcast, “Cloud Data Management & Interoperability: Why A CDMI Standard Matters.” CDMI is intended for application developers who are implementing cloud storage systems, and who are developing applications to manage and consume cloud storage. Q. Can you compare CDMI to S3? Is it possible to be both CDMI and S3 compliant? Is it too complicated? A. Yes, this is possible, and is relatively straightforward. Both protocols are HTTP-based, and while S3 is primarily a data access protocol, CDMI provides both management functionality and standardized access to object data. Many companies that implement CDMI allow management of data namespaces that are accessible via multiple protocols, including NFS, CIFS, and S3. CDMI has several capabilities that ease integration with S3:

• CDMI is designed so that any S3 URL can be used as a CDMI URL by specifying an Accept header with a CDMI content type.
• CDMI allows S3 header-style metadata to be accessed, queried, and managed through CDMI.
• CDMI supports S3 signed header authentication.

CDMI is also commonly used as a serialization representation for objects, files and LUNS, which eases transport between different storage systems and clouds. Q: With the new CDMI Object Encryption feature is it possible to use it with the OASIS Key Management Interoperability Protocol (KMIP)? A: CDMI does not directly use KMIP, but some organization have successfully used CDMI and KMIP together. At a basic level, KMIP can be used for the key management by a client and this client can then use the key material in its interactions with CDMI. Also noteworthy, both CDMI and KMIP use RESTful interfaces and have dependencies on the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol to support communications securities. Q: Do any existing security standards provide guidance on the use of CDMI? A: ISO/IEC 27040 (Information security – Security techniques – Storage security) does provide security guidance on cloud storage, and CDMI specifically. An important aspect of the CDMI security guidance is to use the capability queries to determine what security capabilities have been implemented and then to make a risk-based decision on whether the implementation offers adequate security protections. Q. When users interact with each other, in real-time, how can we guarantee the information request comes from the safe end? Would you like to explain it in details, please? A. If this question is about user authentication, then the use of TLS can provide some measure of protection; however, user authentication in CDMI will provide the best protection in this situation. See the next question for more details on TLS. Q: HTTP is not a stateful protocol, but TLS is. Does this create problems? A: When TLS is used with CDMI, it is important for the client to consistently use the same connection, especially when any load balancing is being employed with the CDMI servers. Unless pre-shared keys (PSK) are being used, switching between servers causes TLS to tear down the connection and to start a new session that imposes needless loads on the servers. TLS startups can involve significant calculations as part of the negotiations to establish a session key. There are multiple CDMI implementations. CDMI is open source and anyone can get involved in its development. You don’t need to be a SNIA member. To learn more visit https://www.snia.org/cdmi.

When it comes to selecting the right NVMe over Fabrics™ (NVMe-oF™) solution, one should look beyond test results that demonstrate NVMe-oF’s dramatic reduction in latency and consider the other, more important, questions such as “How does the transport really impact application performance?” and “How does the transport holistically fit into my environment?”

To date, the focus has been on specialized fabrics like RDMA (e.g., RoCE) because it provides the lowest possible latency, as well as Fibre Channel because it is generally considered to be the most reliable.  However, with the introduction of NVMe-oF/TCP this conversation must be expanded to also include considerations regarding scale, cost, and operations. That’s why the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) is hosting a webcast series that will dive into answering these questions beyond the standard answer “it depends.”

The first in this series will be on March 25, 2021 “NVMe-oF: Looking Beyond Performance Hero Numbers” where SNIA experts with deep NVMe and fabric technology expertise will discuss the thought process you can use to determine pros and cons of a fabric for your environment, including:

• Use cases driving fabric choices  
• NVMe transports and their strengths
• Industry dynamics driving adoption
• Considerations for scale, security, and efficiency

Future webcasts will dive deeper and cover operating and managing NVMe-oF, discovery automation, and securing NVMe-oF. I hope you will register today. Our expert panel will be available on March 25^th to answer your questions.

When it comes to selecting the right NVMe over Fabrics™ (NVMe-oF™) solution, one should look beyond test results that demonstrate NVMe-oF’s dramatic reduction in latency and consider the other, more important, questions such as “How does the transport really impact application performance?” and “How does the transport holistically fit into my environment?” To date, the focus has been on specialized fabrics like RDMA (e.g., RoCE) because it provides the lowest possible latency, as well as Fibre Channel because it is generally considered to be the most reliable. However, with the introduction of NVMe-oF/TCP this conversation must be expanded to also include considerations regarding scale, cost, and operations. That’s why the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) is hosting a webcast series that will dive into answering these questions beyond the standard answer “it depends.” The first in this series will be on March 25, 2021 “NVMe-oF: Looking Beyond Performance Hero Numbers” where SNIA experts with deep NVMe and fabric technology expertise will discuss the thought process you can use to determine pros and cons of a fabric for your environment, including:

• Use cases driving fabric choices
• NVMe transports and their strengths
• Industry dynamics driving adoption
• Considerations for scale, security, and efficiency

Future webcasts will dive deeper and cover operating and managing NVMe-oF, discovery automation, and securing NVMe-oF. I hope you will register today. Our expert panel will be available on March 25^th to answer your questions.

So much of what we discuss within SNIA is the latest emerging technologies in storage. While it’s good to know about what technology is coming, it’s also important to understand the technologies that should be sunsetted.

It’s the topic of our next SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) webcast on February 3, 2021, “Storage Technologies & Practices Ripe for Refresh.”  In this webcast, you’ll learn about storage technologies and practices in your data center that are ready for refresh or possibly retirement. Find out why some long-standing technologies and practices should be re-evaluated. We’ll discuss:

• Obsolete hardware, protocols, interfaces and other aspects of storage
• Why certain technologies are no longer in general use
• Technologies on their way out and why
• Drivers for change
• Justifications for obsoleting proven technologies
• Trade-offs risks: new faster/better vs. proven/working tech

Register today and bring your questions for our panel of experts. 

So much of what we discuss within SNIA is the latest emerging technologies in storage. While it’s good to know about what technology is coming, it’s also important to understand the technologies that should be sunsetted. It’s the topic of our next SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) webcast on February 3, 2021, “Storage Technologies & Practices Ripe for Refresh.”  In this webcast, you’ll learn about storage technologies and practices in your data center that are ready for refresh or possibly retirement. Find out why some long-standing technologies and practices should be re-evaluated. We’ll discuss:

• Obsolete hardware, protocols, interfaces and other aspects of storage
• Why certain technologies are no longer in general use
• Technologies on their way out and why
• Drivers for change
• Justifications for obsoleting proven technologies
• Trade-offs risks: new faster/better vs. proven/working tech

Register today and bring your questions for our panel of experts.

2020 brought new developments in persistent memory and computational storage. SNIA Compute, Memory, and Storage Initiative was pleased to sponsor two tracks at the recent Flash Memory Summit where industry leaders captured the advances.  Videos and presentations are now available.

In the Persistent Memory Track, Dave Eggleston of Intuitive Cognition Consulting and Chris Petersen of Facebook combine to deliver a state of the union address for the industry effort underway to deliver persistent memory. They examine industry advances of persistent memory media, the new devices and form factors for persistent memory attachment, remote and direct-attached PM with low latency interfaces like CXL, and describe the best fit applications and use cases for persistent memory.

Jia Shi of Oracle and Yao Yue of Twitter then dive into a rapid-fire presentation on two examples of how persistent memory is changing the landscape – in appliances, in infrastructure, and in applications - from the perspective of a social networking company and a cloud and enterprise software provider.  They highlight the motivation for using persistent memory and the delivered results

Finally, Ginger Gilsdorf of Intel and Tom Coughlin of Coughlin Associates look ahead to how Persistent Memory technology is evolving, including maximizing performance in next-generation applications, and provide their perspective on PM market growth projections.

The track concludes with speakers reuniting in a panel to discuss the reasons that have stopped persistent memory from gaining wider usage and identifying breakthroughs that are beginning to appear.

The Computational Storage Track opens with an update by Chuck Sobey of Channel Science who discusses the shifting of compute power to the storage; use cases including database, big data, AI/ML, and edge applications; and how the framework for computational storage is driven by SNIA and the NVM Express standards groups.

Stephen Bates of Eideticom follows with an outline of the state of the nation in computational storage standards. He then describes computational storage examples already in use that illustrate ways storage challenges are being met, and comments on promising directions to explore for the future.

Andy Walls of IBM then discusses using computational storage to handle big data, allowing data to reside close to processing power, thus allowing processing tasks to be in-line with data accesses. He covers computational storage examples already in use for application distribution and other promising directions to explore for the future.

Neil Werdmuller and Jason Molgaard of Arm discuss flexible computational storage solutions, and how data-driven applications that benefit from database searches, data manipulation, and machine learning can perform better and be more scalable if developers add computation directly to storage.

A lively panel with Arm, Eideticom, NGD Systems, and ScaleFlux rounds out the track, discussing keys to making computational storage work in your applications.  

Enjoy these presentations and contact us at askcmsi@snia.org with your questions and comments!

2020 brought new developments in persistent memory and computational storage. SNIA Compute, Memory, and Storage Initiative was pleased to sponsor two tracks at the recent Flash Memory Summit where industry leaders captured the advances.  Videos and presentations are now available. In the Persistent Memory Track, Dave Eggleston of Intuitive Cognition Consulting and Chris Petersen of Facebook combine to deliver a state of the union address for the industry effort underway to deliver persistent memory. They examine industry advances of persistent memory media, the new devices and form factors for persistent memory attachment, remote and direct-attached PM with low latency interfaces like CXL, and describe the best fit applications and use cases for persistent memory. Jia Shi of Oracle and Yao Yue of Twitter then dive into a rapid-fire presentation on two examples of how persistent memory is changing the landscape – in appliances, in infrastructure, and in applications – from the perspective of a social networking company and a cloud and enterprise software provider.  They highlight the motivation for using persistent memory and the delivered results Finally, Ginger Gilsdorf of Intel and Tom Coughlin of Coughlin Associates look ahead to how Persistent Memory technology is evolving, including maximizing performance in next-generation applications, and provide their perspective on PM market growth projections. The track concludes with speakers reuniting in a panel to discuss the reasons that have stopped persistent memory from gaining wider usage and identifying breakthroughs that are beginning to appear. The Computational Storage Track opens with an update by Chuck Sobey of Channel Science who discusses the shifting of compute power to the storage; use cases including database, big data, AI/ML, and edge applications; and how the framework for computational storage is driven by SNIA and the NVM Express standards groups. Stephen Bates of Eideticom follows with an outline of the state of the nation in computational storage standards. He then describes computational storage examples already in use that illustrate ways storage challenges are being met, and comments on promising directions to explore for the future. Andy Walls of IBM then discusses using computational storage to handle big data, allowing data to reside close to processing power, thus allowing processing tasks to be in-line with data accesses. He covers computational storage examples already in use for application distribution and other promising directions to explore for the future. Neil Werdmuller and Jason Molgaard of Arm discuss flexible computational storage solutions, and how data-driven applications that benefit from database searches, data manipulation, and machine learning can perform better and be more scalable if developers add computation directly to storage. A lively panel with Arm, Eideticom, NGD Systems, and ScaleFlux rounds out the track, discussing keys to making computational storage work in your applications. Enjoy these presentations and contact us at askcmsi@snia.org with your questions and comments! The post Experts Speak at Flash Memory Summit first appeared on SNIA Compute, Memory and Storage Blog.