Don’t miss your chance to attend the SNIA’s 7th Annual Persistent Memory Summit, co-located with the SNIA Annual Members’ Meeting on January 24, 2019 at a new location – Hyatt Regency Santa Clara CA.  This innovative one-day event brings together industry leaders, solution providers, and users of technology to understand the ecosystem driving system memory and storage into a single, unified “persistent memory” entity. Agenda topics include Enabling Persistent Memory through the Operating System and Interpreted Languages; PM Solutions, Interfaces, and Media; and the NVM Programming Model in the Real World.  The final agenda will be live later this month so stay tuned!

Many thanks to SNIA member Intel Corporation and the SNIA Solid State Storage Initiative for underwriting the Summit.  New to the Summit in 2019 is an evening networking reception and a new, expanded demonstration area. Gold and Demonstration sponsor opportunities are now available.  Complimentary registration is now open – visit www.snia.org/pm-summit to sign up, check out videos of 2018 sessions, and learn how to showcase your PM solutions at the event.

In the storage world, NVMe is arguably the hottest thing going right now. Go to any storage conference – either vendor-related or vendor-neutral, and you’ll see NVMe as the latest and greatest innovation. It stands to reason, then, that when you want to run NVMe over a network, you must understand NVMe over Fabrics (NVMe-oF). Meanwhile, TCP is by far the most popular networking transport protocol both for storage and non-storage traffic. TCP – the long-standing mainstay of networking – is the newest transport technology to be approved by the NVM Express® organization, enabling NVMe/TCP. This can mean really good things for storage and storage networking – but what are the tradeoffs? With any new technology, though, there can still be a bit of confusion. No technology is a panacea; and with any new development there will always be a need to gauge where it is best used (like a tool in a toolbox). Learn more on January 22^nd when the SNIA Networking Storage Forum hosts a live webcast, What NVMe/TCP Means for Networked Storage. In this webcast, we’ve brought together the lead author of the NVMe/TCP specification, Sagi Grimberg, and J. Metz, member of the SNIA and NVMe Boards of Directors, to discuss:

• What is NVMe/TCP
• How NVMe/TCP works
• What are the trade-offs?
• What should network administrators know?
• What kind of expectations are realistic?
• What technologies can make NVMe/TCP work better?
• And more…

Obviously, we can’t cover the entire world of NVMe and TCP networking in an hour, but we can start to raise the questions – and approach the answers – that must be addressed in order to make informed decisions. Speaking of questions, bring yours. Sagi and J. will be answering them on the 22^nd. Register today to save your spot.    

Whether you’re a software provider or a hardware vendor, it’s a good time to check out the latest updates to the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA’s) Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) standard. The latest version SMI-S 1.8 v3 is now a SNIA Technical Position that meets your current needs and offers enticing new enhancements for you and your potential new customers. This version will also be sent to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval, making it a valuable asset worldwide if accepted.

“IT system administrators who demand a choice in storage vendors and infrastructure while ensuring advanced feature enablement through interoperability, have long benefitted from SMI-S,” says Don Deel, chairman, SMI Technical Work Group and SMI Governing Board. “The standard streamlines storage management functions and features into a common set of tools that address the day-to-day tasks of the IT environment.”

Since it was first defined, SMI-S has been continuously updated with new storage management functionality and is now incorporated into over 1,000 storage products. Version 1.5 of the specification received approval by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 2015 and is designated as ISO/IEC 24775.

SMI-S 1.8 v3 represents a significant effort to update the standard. The new version includes a number of editorial changes, clarifications and corrections. It also contains functional enhancements such as new indications, methods, properties and profiles.

Users of SMI-S are being urged to move directly to SMI-S 1.8 v3 since v1.6.1 was the last version that was officially tested. In preparation for submission to ISO, SMI-S 1.8 v3 has been thoroughly reviewed and a number of corrections have been incorporated.

The SMI-S specification is divided into six books which cover the autonomous profiles and component profiles used to manage storage physical and virtual storage area network equipment.

The main new functions since 1.6.1 are in SMI-S 1.8 v3, summarized as follows:

• Fabric Book (Fabric and Switch)
  • Peer zoning enhancements
  • Enhancements to port speed
• Block Book
  • New indications for component health and space management
  • Storage Pool Diagnostics
  • New method in Block Services
  • New methods in Group Masking and Mapping
  • Enhancements to Replication Services
  • New method in Volume Composition
  • Advanced Metrics in Block Server Performance
• Common Profiles Book
  • New profile for WBEM Server Management
  • New method in iSCSI Target Ports Profile
• Host Book
  • New profiles for memory configuration
• Filesystem Book
  • New indications for component health and space management

If you would like to hear more details on the recent changes, I recently covered the topic in-depth in a webcast, available as an archived version on the free BrightTALK platform here.

SNIA SMI also offers a comprehensive SMI-S Conformance Testing Program (CTP) to test adherence to the standard. This program offers independent verification of compliance that customers can view directly on the SNIA website at http://www.snia.org/ctp/. Storage buyers can use this information to make sure they are getting software which complies to the latest version of the specification and contains the latest features such as important security functions.

Don’t delay. Update to SMI-S 1.8 v3 today. The specification can be found here. Your one-stop shop for all SMI-S information is: https://www.snia.org/smis.

Get engaged! You can ask and answer questions on the SMI-S Developers Group here

Whether you’re a software provider or a hardware vendor, it’s a good time to check out the latest updates to the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA’s) Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) standard. The latest version SMI-S 1.8 v3 is now a SNIA Technical Position that meets your current needs and offers enticing new enhancements for you and your potential new customers. This version will also be sent to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval, making it a valuable asset worldwide if accepted.

“IT system administrators who demand a choice in storage vendors and infrastructure while ensuring advanced feature enablement through interoperability, have long benefitted from SMI-S,” says Don Deel, chairman, SMI Technical Work Group and SMI Governing Board. “The standard streamlines storage management functions and features into a common set of tools that address the day-to-day tasks of the IT environment.”

Since it was first defined, SMI-S has been continuously updated with new storage management functionality and is now incorporated into over 1,000 storage products. Version 1.5 of the specification received approval by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 2015 and is designated as ISO/IEC 24775.

SMI-S 1.8 v3 represents a significant effort to update the standard. The new version includes a number of editorial changes, clarifications and corrections. It also contains functional enhancements such as new indications, methods, properties and profiles.

Users of SMI-S are being urged to move directly to SMI-S 1.8 v3 since v1.6.1 was the last version that was officially tested. In preparation for submission to ISO, SMI-S 1.8 v3 has been thoroughly reviewed and a number of corrections have been incorporated.

The SMI-S specification is divided into six books which cover the autonomous profiles and component profiles used to manage storage physical and virtual storage area network equipment.

The main new functions since 1.6.1 are in SMI-S 1.8 v3, summarized as follows:

• Fabric Book (Fabric and Switch)
  • Peer zoning enhancements
  • Enhancements to port speed
• Block Book
  • New indications for component health and space management
  • Storage Pool Diagnostics
  • New method in Block Services
  • New methods in Group Masking and Mapping
  • Enhancements to Replication Services
  • New method in Volume Composition
  • Advanced Metrics in Block Server Performance
• Common Profiles Book
  • New profile for WBEM Server Management
  • New method in iSCSI Target Ports Profile
• Host Book
  • New profiles for memory configuration
• Filesystem Book
  • New indications for component health and space management

If you would like to hear more details on the recent changes, I recently covered the topic in-depth in a webcast, available as an archived version on the free BrightTALK platform here.

SNIA SMI also offers a comprehensive SMI-S Conformance Testing Program (CTP) to test adherence to the standard. This program offers independent verification of compliance that customers can view directly on the SNIA website at http://www.snia.org/ctp/. Storage buyers can use this information to make sure they are getting software which complies to the latest version of the specification and contains the latest features such as important security functions.

Don’t delay. Update to SMI-S 1.8 v3 today. The specification can be found here. Your one-stop shop for all SMI-S information is: https://www.snia.org/smis.

Get engaged! You can ask and answer questions on the SMI-S Developers Group here

Whether you’re a software provider or a hardware vendor, it’s a good time to check out the latest updates to the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA’s) Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) standard. The latest version SMI-S 1.8 v3 is now a SNIA Technical Position that meets your current needs and offers enticing new enhancements for you and your potential new customers. This version will also be sent to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval, making it a valuable asset worldwide if accepted.

“IT system administrators who demand a choice in storage vendors and infrastructure while ensuring advanced feature enablement through interoperability, have long benefitted from SMI-S,” says Don Deel, chairman, SMI Technical Work Group and SMI Governing Board. “The standard streamlines storage management functions and features into a common set of tools that address the day-to-day tasks of the IT environment.”

Since it was first defined, SMI-S has been continuously updated with new storage management functionality and is now incorporated into over 1,000 storage products. Version 1.5 of the specification received approval by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 2015 and is designated as ISO/IEC 24775.

SMI-S 1.8 v3 represents a significant effort to update the standard. The new version includes a number of editorial changes, clarifications and corrections. It also contains functional enhancements such as new indications, methods, properties and profiles.

Users of SMI-S are being urged to move directly to SMI-S 1.8 v3 since v1.6.1 was the last version that was officially tested. In preparation for submission to ISO, SMI-S 1.8 v3 has been thoroughly reviewed and a number of corrections have been incorporated.

The SMI-S specification is divided into six books which cover the autonomous profiles and component profiles used to manage storage physical and virtual storage area network equipment.

The main new functions since 1.6.1 are in SMI-S 1.8 v3, summarized as follows:

• Fabric Book (Fabric and Switch)
  • Peer zoning enhancements
  • Enhancements to port speed
• Block Book
  • New indications for component health and space management
  • Storage Pool Diagnostics
  • New method in Block Services
  • New methods in Group Masking and Mapping
  • Enhancements to Replication Services
  • New method in Volume Composition
  • Advanced Metrics in Block Server Performance
• Common Profiles Book
  • New profile for WBEM Server Management
  • New method in iSCSI Target Ports Profile
• Host Book
  • New profiles for memory configuration
• Filesystem Book
  • New indications for component health and space management

If you would like to hear more details on the recent changes, I recently covered the topic in-depth in a webcast, available as an archived version on the free BrightTALK platform here.

SNIA SMI also offers a comprehensive SMI-S Conformance Testing Program (CTP) to test adherence to the standard. This program offers independent verification of compliance that customers can view directly on the SNIA website at http://www.snia.org/ctp/. Storage buyers can use this information to make sure they are getting software which complies to the latest version of the specification and contains the latest features such as important security functions.

Don’t delay. Update to SMI-S 1.8 v3 today. The specification can be found here. Your one-stop shop for all SMI-S information is: https://www.snia.org/smis.

Get engaged! You can ask and answer questions on the SMI-S Developers Group here

[caption id="attachment_1634" align="alignright" width="150"] Mike Walker, former chair, SNIA SMI TWG; former IBM engineer[/caption] Whether you’re a software provider or a hardware vendor, it’s a good time to check out the latest updates to the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA’s) Storage Management Initiative Specification (SMI-S) standard. The latest version SMI-S 1.8 v3 is now a SNIA Technical Position that meets your current needs and offers enticing new enhancements for you and your potential new customers. This version will also be sent to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) for approval, making it a valuable asset worldwide if accepted. “IT system administrators who demand a choice in storage vendors and infrastructure while ensuring advanced feature enablement through interoperability, have long benefitted from SMI-S,” says Don Deel, chairman, SMI Technical Work Group and SMI Governing Board. “The standard streamlines storage management functions and features into a common set of tools that address the day-to-day tasks of the IT environment.” Since it was first defined, SMI-S has been continuously updated with new storage management functionality and is now incorporated into over 1,000 storage products. Version 1.5 of the specification received approval by ISO and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 2015 and is designated as ISO/IEC 24775. SMI-S 1.8 v3 represents a significant effort to update the standard. The new version includes a number of editorial changes, clarifications and corrections. It also contains functional enhancements such as new indications, methods, properties and profiles. Users of SMI-S are being urged to move directly to SMI-S 1.8 v3 since v1.6.1 was the last version that was officially tested. In preparation for submission to ISO, SMI-S 1.8 v3 has been thoroughly reviewed and a number of corrections have been incorporated. The SMI-S specification is divided into six books which cover the autonomous profiles and component profiles used to manage storage physical and virtual storage area network equipment. The main new functions since 1.6.1 are in SMI-S 1.8 v3, summarized as follows:

• Fabric Book (Fabric and Switch)
  • Peer zoning enhancements
  • Enhancements to port speed
• Block Book
  • New indications for component health and space management
  • Storage Pool Diagnostics
  • New method in Block Services
  • New methods in Group Masking and Mapping
  • Enhancements to Replication Services
  • New method in Volume Composition
  • Advanced Metrics in Block Server Performance
• Common Profiles Book
  • New profile for WBEM Server Management
  • New method in iSCSI Target Ports Profile
• Host Book
  • New profiles for memory configuration
• Filesystem Book
  • New indications for component health and space management

If you would like to hear more details on the recent changes, I recently covered the topic in-depth in a webcast, available as an archived version on the free BrightTALK platform here. SNIA SMI also offers a comprehensive SMI-S Conformance Testing Program (CTP) to test adherence to the standard. This program offers independent verification of compliance that customers can view directly on the SNIA website at http://www.snia.org/ctp/. Storage buyers can use this information to make sure they are getting software which complies to the latest version of the specification and contains the latest features such as important security functions. Don’t delay. Update to SMI-S 1.8 v3 today. The specification can be found here. Your one-stop shop for all SMI-S information is: https://www.snia.org/smis. Get engaged! You can ask and answer questions on the SMI-S Developers Group here

Unlike traditional local or scale-up storage, scale-out storage imposes different and more intense workloads on the network. That's why the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) hosted a live webcast "Networking Requirements for Ethernet Scale-Out Storage." Our audience had some insightful questions. As promised, our experts are answering them in this blog. Q. How does scale-out flash storage impact Ethernet networking requirements? A.  Scale-out flash storage demands higher bandwidth and lower latency than scale-out storage using hard drives. As noted in the webcast, it's more likely to run into problems with TCP Incast and congestion, especially with older or slower switches. For this reason it's more likely than scale-out HDD storage to benefit from higher bandwidth networks and modern datacenter Ethernet solutions--such as RDMA, congestion management, and QoS features. Q. What are your thoughts on NVMe-oF TCP/IP and availability? A.  The NVMe over TCP specification was ratified in November 2018, so it is a new standard. Some vendors already offer this as a pre-standard implementation. We expect that several of the scale-out storage vendors who support block storage will support NVMe over TCP as a front-end (client connection) protocol in the near future. It's also possible some vendors will use NVMe over TCP as a back-end (cluster) networking protocol. Q. Which is better: RoCE or iWARP? A.  SNIA is vendor-neutral and does not directly recommend one vendor or protocol over another. Both are RDMA protocols that run on Ethernet, are supported by multiple vendors, and can be used with Ethernet-based scale-out storage. You can learn more about this topic by viewing our recent Great Storage Debate webcast "RoCE vs. iWARP" and checking out the Q&A blog from that webcast. Q. How would you compare use of TCP/IP and Ethernet RDMA networking for scale-out storage? A.  Ethernet RDMA can improve the performance of Ethernet-based scale-out storage for the front-end (client) and/or back-end (cluster) networks. RDMA generally offers higher throughput, lower latency, and reduced CPU utilization when compared to using normal (non-RDMA) TCP/IP networking. This can lead to faster storage performance and leave more storage node CPU cycles available for running storage software. However, high-performance RDMA requires choosing network adapters that support RDMA offloads and in some cases requires modifications to the network switch configurations. Some other types of non-Ethernet storage networking also offer various levels of direct memory access or networking offloads that can provide high-performance networking for scale-out storage. Q. How does RDMA networking enable latency reduction? A. RDMA typically bypasses the kernel TCP/IP stack and offloads networking tasks from the CPU to the network adapter. In essence it reduces the total path length which consequently reduces the latency. Most RDMA NICs (rNICs) perform some level of networking acceleration in an ASIC or FPGA including retransmissions, reordering, TCP operations flow control, and congestion management. Q. Do all scale-out storage solutions have a separate cluster network? A.  Logically all scale-out storage systems have a cluster network. Sometimes it runs on a physically separate network and sometimes it runs on the same network as the front-end (client) traffic. Sometimes the client and cluster networks use different networking technologies.        

Unlike traditional local or scale-up storage, scale-out storage imposes different and more intense workloads on the network. That’s why the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) hosted a live webcast “Networking Requirements for Ethernet Scale-Out Storage.” Our audience had some insightful questions. As promised, our experts are answering them in this blog. Q. How does scale-out flash storage impact Ethernet networking requirements? A. Scale-out flash storage demands higher bandwidth and lower latency than scale-out storage using hard drives. As noted in the webcast, it’s more likely to run into problems with TCP Incast and congestion, especially with older or slower switches. For this reason it’s more likely than scale-out HDD storage to benefit from higher bandwidth networks and modern datacenter Ethernet solutions–such as RDMA, congestion management, and QoS features. Q. What are your thoughts on NVMe-oF TCP/IP and availability? A. The NVMe over TCP specification was ratified in November 2018, so it is a new standard. Some vendors already offer this as a pre-standard implementation. We expect that several of the scale-out storage vendors who support block storage will support NVMe over TCP as a front-end (client connection) protocol in the near future. It’s also possible some vendors will use NVMe over TCP as a back-end (cluster) networking protocol. Q. Which is better: RoCE or iWARP? A. SNIA is vendor-neutral and does not directly recommend one vendor or protocol over another. Both are RDMA protocols that run on Ethernet, are supported by multiple vendors, and can be used with Ethernet-based scale-out storage. You can learn more about this topic by viewing our recent Great Storage Debate webcast “RoCE vs. iWARP” and checking out the Q&A blog from that webcast. Q. How would you compare use of TCP/IP and Ethernet RDMA networking for scale-out storage? A. Ethernet RDMA can improve the performance of Ethernet-based scale-out storage for the front-end (client) and/or back-end (cluster) networks. RDMA generally offers higher throughput, lower latency, and reduced CPU utilization when compared to using normal (non-RDMA) TCP/IP networking. This can lead to faster storage performance and leave more storage node CPU cycles available for running storage software. However, high-performance RDMA requires choosing network adapters that support RDMA offloads and in some cases requires modifications to the network switch configurations. Some other types of non-Ethernet storage networking also offer various levels of direct memory access or networking offloads that can provide high-performance networking for scale-out storage. Q. How does RDMA networking enable latency reduction? A. RDMA typically bypasses the kernel TCP/IP stack and offloads networking tasks from the CPU to the network adapter. In essence it reduces the total path length which consequently reduces the latency. Most RDMA NICs (rNICs) perform some level of networking acceleration in an ASIC or FPGA including retransmissions, reordering, TCP operations flow control, and congestion management. Q. Do all scale-out storage solutions have a separate cluster network? A. Logically all scale-out storage systems have a cluster network. Sometimes it runs on a physically separate network and sometimes it runs on the same network as the front-end (client) traffic. Sometimes the client and cluster networks use different networking technologies.        

If you’re a storage professional you are likely familiar with the many certifications available to prove competency in a given technical area. Many of the certification options are offered by major IT vendors as a natural extension of their product and service offerings. In fact, if you work with any of the major players it is likely that at some point you will be required to prove your technical skills by acquiring specific credentials through certification. The component that is missing from these product certifications is vendor-neutrality. That’s where the SNIA Storage Networking Certification Program (SNCP) comes in. SNIA certifications provide storage professionals with credentials that demonstrate industry expertise with a broad, big picture skillset that enhance individual product certifications. Continuing our history of offering globally recognized storage certifications, SNIA is excited to announce its newest advanced storage certification – the SNIA Certified Information Architect (SCIA). Earning the SCIA credential is an advanced storage certification that demonstrates the student has an industry accepted knowledge of how to design, plan, and architect a storage infrastructure of storage transport, back-end storage targets and best practices within an efficient total cost of ownership. Why Should I Become SNIA Certified?

1. Credibility

Certifications in the IT market are a validation of your skills and proficiency in a certain technology area. Both clients and prospective employers will understand that you have breadth and depth in storage technologies.

2. Personal Marketability

There are certain certifications that will drive your career in a particular direction, may give you an edge for a new job or assignment, or even increase your salary. IT certifications make career advancement more likely.

3. Personal and Professional Development

New technologies are constantly introduced and most IT professionals are avid consumers of technology news and updates in order to stay current with trends and directions. Certifications are a way of testing that knowledge and demonstrating expertise. A career in data storage Data volumes continue to increase at exponential rates and that data has to be efficiently stored, managed and protected somewhere. An increasing degree of orchestration and automation is applied to solving storage problems with demands from the business to make data more accessible to the application, yet at the same time more private and secure, the fundamental knowledge of how data storage technology works remains a highly valuable asset. The only industry association providing independent, vendor-neutral education and worldwide certification is SNIA. Gaining the SNCP and SCIA credentials form the basis of a sound, industry backed, recognition of storage technology skills. Learn how you can become SNIA certified.      

Ever make a mistake configuring a storage array or wonder if you're maximizing the value of your virtualized environment? With all the different storage arrays and connectivity protocols available today, knowing best practices can help improve operational efficiency and ensure resilient operations. That's why the SNIA Networking Storage Forum is kicking off 2019 with a live webcast "Virtualization and Storage Networking Best Practices." In this webcast, Jason Massae from VMware and Cody Hosterman from Pure Storage will share insights and lessons learned as reported by VMware's storage global services by discussing:

• Common mistakes when setting up storage arrays
• Why iSCSI is the number one storage configuration problem
• Configuring adapters for iSCSI or iSER
• How to verify your PSP matches your array requirements
• NFS best practices
• How to maximize the value of your array and virtualization
• Troubleshooting recommendations

Register today to join us on January 17^th. Whether you've been configuring storage for VMs for years or just getting started, we think you will pick up some useful tips to optimize your storage networking infrastructure.