Abstract. DSA White Paper

Transcription

1 + DSA White Paper An examination of Dell ASEAN Software Defined Storage Strategy Abstract DSA have been working closely with the Dell Storage Team in ASEAN to assist them in the launch of some of their Software Defined Storage (SDS) Product Launches. We have taken this opportunity to take a critical look at Dell s plans in the region. We also collaborated with Dell to survey IT professionals across the region in order to gauge how software defined ready IT departments in the ASEAN region seem to be.

2 Software Defined Storage (SDS) What you need to know As with many emerging technologies, vendors can at times confuse the market rather than give clarity to these as definitions get skewed to fit a particular technology being offered. For the purposes of clarity we have outlined what we believe are key aspects of SDS. SDS technology Key Components Orchestration Defined as a control and management layer that is removed from the physical storage, orchestration enables the management of numerous types of storage products from different vendors. The type of hardware itself becomes less important than the performance and features of the storage. Orchestration enables management by service level and function rather than storage hardware. Encapsulation Think of encapsulation as the Storage Hypervisor that sits over the storage array creating a virtual rather than physical view of the storage. The concept behind encapsulation is very similar to the idea of Virtual Volume Management such as the Foundation Suite pioneered by Veritas. For some vendors their SDS solution is really nothing more than encapsulation (the virtualising of storage). In reality, it is better to think of encapsulation as a component of a total SDS implementation. Separation Management or control should be separated from the data path. This is a key element for truly scalable SDS. By moving control out of the data path, performance is not compromised. Applications still get direct connection to the physical storage without the Orchestration layer becoming an extra layer between the data and the application or server. Intelligence Another key feature differentiating SDS from virtualised volumes is its inherent level of intelligence or understanding of the storage hardware that it is abstracting and orchestrating. This is critical to managing storage by service level. By understanding the characteristics of the hardware it is abstracting the SDS platform can pool together different hardware based on criteria like performance. These are then made available to applications or servers based on the required performance characteristics. Elasticity SDS is a critical development in support of cloud-based computing. Whilst you do not need to be a cloud provider or build a private cloud to benefit + 50 Words Definition of SDS SDS is a data storage methodology in which the management and function of the storage, usually controlled by software, is completely separated from the actual physical storage hardware including media and controllers. More than this SDS is an approach to managing storage by function and service rather than by hardware from SDS, it is true that cloud and XaaS is a key driver behind SDS. Essentially every aspect of cloud-based computing should be as elastic as possible. This means you grow and shrink your consumption of IT resources based on your needs minute to minute or hour to hour. Compute, networking and storage needs are never needed in a linear fashion (e.g. your need for compute resources may decrease whilst storage increases). SDS needs to integrate seamlessly into the cloud infrastructure but enable administrators to effortlessly grow and shrink allocated (continued) 3

3 storage by user or application or business as required. Simplification SDS should provide a single platform that enables complex tasks to be managed effortlessly. An analogy we can use to explain this is that of a fighter pilot. The technology they control to make the plane function is incredibly complex. However it has been abstracted and automated so that the pilot does not need to make any complex calculations to control the plane. SDS is the same. Administrators need only to define the class of storage they want to provide and the SDS platform should have the intelligence to mobilise the underlying hardware to deliver. The skill and training required to manage a complex storage infrastructure is reduced by implementing SDS. Application API s Another critical feature of a fully rounded SDS implementation is that it can communicate effectively with the applications it support. Application APIs ensure that applications can still access data directly from the underlying storage via hypervisors. Predictive Capability It makes sense for an SDS platform to be able to calculate and predict future storage requirements. This capability is currently not commonly found in many existing SDS solutions, but the nature of SDS means building in predictive capability is eminently possible. By predicting storage requirements SDS can automatically re-allocate resource based on analysis of what is going to be required. Utilise Commodity Hardware SDS should be able to incorporate commodity hardware into the pooled abstracted storage. This should include not just storage hardware but commodity servers with built-in storage in order to deliver enterprise class performance from commodity components. Storage Functions In addition to managing and provisioning storage, SDS can become a platform for delivering storage functions. Over time the SDS platform you implement should provide storage-centric application functionality. This could include but is not limited to: Archiving Backup and DR Big Data Services Data Migration Storage Tiering Current Status of SDS At present it is difficult to pin point a single SDS technology that meets all of the criteria outlined above. In our view we see three major types of Software Defined Storage which are being implemented today that meet some but not all of these criteria. We describe these types as follows: Control Layer This type of implementation is focused very much on Orchestration and managing different storage hardware from one abstracted management interface. Virtual Storage Appliance This type of implementation is a Storage Controller that runs in a VM. It creates shared storage from internal and direct attached disks, 4

4 without requiring additional storage hardware. Server Side This implementation is about converged architecture. Essentially it is a layer of multiple virtualised controllers within a converged architecture close to the physical storage. Key to Server Side implementations is the ability to offer web-scale elasticity and scalability Today the most prevalent type of SDS is the virtual appliance approach. It is tied to server hypervisors and the ease of implementation combined with immediate benefits is what is driving the adoption. Long term we expect server side and control layer implementations to dominate the growth of SDS as together they deliver the true promise of managing storage by service level. Dell s Approach to Software Defined Storage. Dell has taken an open approach to SDS. This involves technology partnerships as well as in house development. In assessing Dell s approach we have identified their stated public intentions as well as their technology on offer today. This is important because SDS is an emerging technology area and no one company has a fully rounded, open and all encompassing SDS offering. For this reason our assessment looks at: What is available today What is promised tomorrow How likely is that promise to materialise Broadly speaking Dell already has a well-rounded SDS offering covering all three aspects of SDS. Their offerings include technologies that fit into the definitions of Control Layer, Virtual Appliance and Server Side SDS. As is the case with every other vendor in this space today, there are gaps in the offerings and technologies. However the rate at which Dell is bringing software defined storage offerings to market shows their intent to quickly build a complete software defined storage portfolio. Hardware Considerations The new 13g server launch at the end of 2014 revealed many things, particularly as regards to Dell s intent around software defined storage. The 13g puts fast performing massive storage back inside the server. It is a server designed with Software Defined Storage in mind. Dell s enterprise block storage array line are built on the Compellent and EqualLogic acquisitions. This technology continues to advance with additional management automation functions. It is our belief that Dell s enterprise array business is here to stay. However we can also see that technology developed for these external arrays is now being used and integrated within server based storage as Dell readies itself to build tightly integrated compute and storage platforms designed for a software defined world. 5

5 Partnerships Dell also understands that Software Defined Storage involves more than one approach. It also requires an open stance when it comes to cross vendor operability. Truly moving abstracting data from hardware means that orchestration across hardware from multiple vendors should be a given for a true Software Defines Storage Solution. Dell s partnership strategy suggests they already subscribe to this open approach. At the entry level Dell is partnering with VMware and Microsoft to offer a Virtual Appliance to software defined storage. This is a most common SDS implementation we see today because it is simple and cost effective to implement, and for small companies this approach will likely become the standard way they implement and manage storage into the future. As we move up the stack Dell has partnerships with Nexanta and Red Hat Inktank Ceph, that provide open storage platforms with more scalability and enhanced orchestration capabilities when compared to VSAN or Storage Spaces. In the server side software defined storage and converged architecture, Dell has built an exciting partnership with Nutanix, offering web scale expandability with enterprise class performance and storage management completely abstracted from the underlying hardware. Dell Software Defined Storage Management Software Perhaps the most exciting area of Dell s SDS strategy is in the underlying management software they are already using for their enterprise storage arrays. Dell s Fluid Cache for SAN already has software defined capabilities. Further Dell has taken a truly open approach with fluid cache for SAN which can run across up to eight servers, only three of which have to be Dell. Dell s stated aim is not only to abstract the management from the hardware but also to ultimately allow that abstracted management to orchestrate storage subsystems from vendors such as IBM, HP and EMC. Dell is not there yet, but that is the direction in which they are headed. Ultimately this will mean zero time spent on configuring hardware to accommodate changing storage requirements. Instead use software to simply allocate storage on demand based on required levels of service. Dell is well along this path, and the combination of its own storage hardware, forward looking storage in server designs, management software and partnerships shows that Dell is vying for leadership in the SDS space.