Data Center iSCSI: Building next generation storage networks

Data Center iSCSI – Building next generation storage networks

ExecutiveSummary

InformationTechnologyhasmovedintoanexcitingnewphasethatallowstheDataCentertoseparate

applicationworkloadsfromtheunderlyinghardware,deliveringbetterutiliza tion,fasterapplication

deploymentandworkloadbalancing. Datacentershaveamixofapplications;somerequirededicated

systems,althoughagrowingnumberofapplicationsareabletole veragedynamicnextgeneration

infrastructure.

DespitetheemergenceofnewITtechnologies,administratorscontinuetoseeincreaseddemandfor

resources,higheravailabilityrequirementsandlowerbudgets.Inordertosolvethesechallenges,IT

organizationsshouldadoptinfrastructurethatsupportsseveralobjectives,whichinclude:

• Open–supportedbymultiplevendorsdedicatedtocompatibilityandinnovation

• Flexible–anarchitecturethatscalesfromsmalltolargeenvironments

• Efficient–deliveringhighperformancewithoutcompromisingoncostorpowerneeds

Manycompanieslookingtoleveragethenewvirtualinfrastructurewhilestillaccommodatingthelegacy

deploymentsareturningtoiSCSIstorageandEthern etSANinfrastructuretomeettheserequirements.

Thispaperoutlinesthemo stimportantdevelopmentsinstoragenetworks,alongwithconsiderations

forexecutivesandITstaffstaskedwithcreating,andimplementingarchitecturesthatrequireSAN

connectivity.

Virtualization–thenew“KillerApp”

Inordertobuildthenextgenerationdata‐center,ITinfrastructuremustsupportdynamicconfiguration,

andprovidetheabilitytotransparentlymigrateworkloadswithoutphysicallimitations.ITusersand

applicationsdemandadynamicinfrastructure,whileITadministratorsrequirethea bilitytomanage

multiplecomponentsasonevirtualsystem.Allofthesegoalsmustbemetwhilethenumberof

businessapplicationsisincreasing,theiravailabilitydemandsareincreasingandbudgetsremainflat.

Theseseeminglyimpossiblegoalsarenowpossibleduetoseveralnewdevelopments.Virtualization

technologyisnowabletoallowadministratorsanduserstoviewITresourcesasavirtualsystem.This

providesbetterutilizationofthecomputing,networkingandstorageresources.Asaresult,

administratorsandbusinessesareabletosimplifythemanagementwhileimprovingperformanceand

loweringcosts.

ThenewVirtualInfrastructure

ThenewvirtualITdata‐centermustsupportmultipleapplicationanddataworkloads,efficiently.IT

administratorsarelookingtodeliveronlytheresourcesnecessary,withoutover‐provisioningequipment

orexperiencingperformancebottlenecks.

Thesametrendsthathavebeendrivingserverconsolidationarenowplacingdemandsonstorage

networksandstoragesubsystems.JustasstandardizationonX86serverhardwareallowsconsolidation, 

standardizationonIPnetworkswillenablesimilargainsthroughstoragenetworkconsolidationonto

Ethernetbasedinfrastructure.

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