Connecting stranded servers.No man is an island--and no server should be either. Despite the growing acceptance of Fibre Channel Storage Area Networks (SANs) as the preferred method for consolidating stored data, many organizations still are struggling to find an affordable way to connect stranded islands of workgroup and departmental servers. The high cost and additional complexity of Fibre Channel (FC) SANs have limited deployments to high-end servers in top-tier corporate data centers and large departments. At the edge of the enterprise, storage typically has been added one server at a time, resulting in fragmented resource management and inefficient storage utilization. When expanding the storage of an individual server, the tendency is to increase capacity well beyond the initial requirement. This aggressive method of expanding storage on an adhoc, distributed basis leads to substantial inefficiencies and utilization levels that often fall below 50%. Fortunately, the advent of Internet Protocol See Internet and TCP/IP. (networking) Internet Protocol - (IP) The network layer for the TCP/IP protocol suite widely used on Ethernet networks, defined in STD 5, RFC 791. IP is a connectionless, best-effort packet switching protocol. (IP)-based SANs is leveling the storage landscape, making it easy and economical to connect stranded servers while leveraging existing investments in FC storage networking technologies. Bridging FC SANs Currently, Fibre Channel is the prevalent technology used to transport data between mission-critical computer systems and storage devices, primarily due to its high availability Also called "RAS" (reliability, availability, serviceability) or "fault resilient," it refers to a multiprocessing system that can quickly recover from a failure. There may be a minute or two of downtime while one system switches over to another, but processing will continue. and performance. Bridging FC SANs traditionally has meant mirroring between data centers at connecting vital systems and devices up to 10 kilometers over dedicated, point-to-point fiber links. Emerging IP standard such as Internet Fibre Channel Protocol Internet Fibre Channel Protocol (iFCP) is a gateway to gateway network protocol standard, officially ratified by the Internet Engineering Task Force, which provides Fibre Channel fabric functionality to fibre channel devices over an IP network. (iFCP) and Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP (Fibre Channel over IP) A protocol for tunneling Fibre Channel data across an IP network. Fibre Channel was designed for local storage area networks (SANs), but FCIP extends the distance to remote locations via any IP network. See Fibre Channel, iFCP and IP storage. ), address Fibre Channel SAN-to-Fibre Channel SAN interconnections over an IP network, but don't efficiently address the multitude of other servers isolated from the SAN. The pervasiveness of IP and the availability of a new class of iSCSI-based storage provisioning appliances can bridge the gap between FC SANs and servers on the IP network. Because iSCSI is a native IP-based protocol, data can be transported over the existing Ethernet infrastructure rather than through Fibre Channel or SCSI SCSI in full Small Computer System Interface Once common standard for connecting peripheral devices (disks, modems, printers, etc.) to small and medium-sized computers. SCSI has given way to faster standards, such as Firewire and USB. cabling. IP SANs enable data transfers using readily available infrastructures in local-, metropolitan- and wide-area networks Wide-area networks Communication networks that are regional, nationwide, or worldwide in geographic area, with a minimum distance typical of that between major metropolitan areas. Smaller networks include metropolitan and local-area networks. . IP SANs also can connect to FC SANs using an IP storage router See data mover. or switch that handles the conversion between the Fibre Channel protocol and iSCSI. This arrangement lets organizations bridge the IP SAN to the FC SAN and cost effectively link departmental servers while still taking advantage of centralized cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. data stores. There are several inherent benefits to utilizing existing Ethernet infrastructures. Most IT personnel are well versed in Ethernet technology, significantly reducing the need for specialized skills or additional training. In addition, the cost to add IP SAN equipment is significantly less compared to the cost associated with Fibre Channel. In many existing FC SAN environments, cost is the underlying reason that up to half the servers and their associated direct-attached storage Direct-attached storage (DAS) refers to a digital storage system directly attached to a server or workstation, without a storage network in between. It is a retronym, mainly used to differentiate non-networked storage from SAN and NAS. still aren't connected. Implementing a blended storage network, incorporating both IP and Fibre Channel SAN technologies, can change all that by bringing the benefits of the SAN to disconnected servers without the expense of FC connectivity. As a result, all dispersed storage can be consolidated into a single storage resource, delivering centralized storage management, more reliable and efficient data protection and higher data availability Refers to the degree to which data can be instantly accessed. The term is mostly associated with service levels that are set up either by the internal IT organization or that may be guaranteed by a third party datacenter or storage provider. to isolated servers without significant expenditures and new personnel. By simplifying and centralizing cen·tral·ize v. cen·tral·ized, cen·tral·iz·ing, cen·tral·iz·es v.tr. 1. To draw into or toward a center; consolidate. 2. storage management through a blended storage network solution, organizations can lower storage management costs, increase utilization efficiency and improve provisioning while leveraging existing technology investments. Blended SANs By connecting departmental servers to the FC SAN, all Fibre Channel storage becomes accessible to connected servers via iSCSI across the Ethernet IP network. Connecting servers to the iSCSI SAN has minimal cost and little impact on IT administration since these servers are bridged to the existing Fibre Channel storage, which already features backup and administration processes. It's highly desirable to deploy an IP SAN solution that facilitates access to both SCSI and FC storage to provide universal connectivity to all storage regardless of the interconnection. Before implementing a converged SAN, it's important to develop an accurate profile of storage needs for the next 12 to 18 months, taking into consideration existing and planned application requirements. Operating system operating system (OS) Software that controls the operation of a computer, directs the input and output of data, keeps track of files, and controls the processing of computer programs. profiling tools can forecast CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. utilization and I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output bandwidth demands to plan the IP SAN deployment. The existing giga-bit Ethernet infrastructure is normally sufficient for connecting workgroup IP SANs to the core Fibre Channel SAN. If bandwidth or security is an issue, however, it's relatively easy to use standard Ethernet technologies such as virtual LANs (VLANs) or subnetting to segment the existing network and separate the storage and a data traffic. This approach protects a company's investment IP networking while maximizing the efficiencies of both types of traffic over a common infrastructure. Connecting Servers on the IP Network to FC Storage Implementing a blended SAN is a straightforward process involving the configuration of Fibre Channel RAID storage, the Fibre Channel switch In a computer storage field, a Fibre Channel switch is a network switch compatible with Fibre Channel (FC) protocol. It allows the creation of a Fibre Channel fabric, that is currently the core component of most storage area networks. and an IP SAN appliance such as a StoneFly stonefly, any insect of the order Plecoptera. North American species, of which there are more than 200, are yellowish, greenish, or brownish in the adult stage and have transparent wings, usually two pairs, but seldom fly. Networks Storage Concentrator, which consists of an iSCSI router and bridge combined with a storage provisioning engine. In most cases, IP SAN solutions such as these require no specialized installation expertise and are fully interoperable with leading iSCSI initiators and storage arrays. Once in place, the IP SAN allows existing Fibre Channel and direct-attached storage to be aggregated and managed centrally as a single resource, thus simplifying management and eliminating numerous, previously duplicate efforts. Logical Volume Management Using an IP SAN to control storage provisioning removes many media-management problems from host computers and FC devices, giving administrators the tools to create and connect logical volumes to application hosts, regardless of the type of storage devices or network locations of the physical storage devices involved. In addition, logical volume management lets IT administrators isolate secondary storage from high-volume data center storage while delegating management authority to personnel at the workgroup or departmental level. Implementing a blended SAN is a straightforward process given the following parameters: * A Fibre Channel SAN is installed and operational, with an available switch port on the FC switch for the storage provisioning appliance * FC Storage is attached to the SAN and operational, with available resources for use by the IP SAN * The Fibre Channel RAID storage LUNs (Logical Unit Numbers representing individual partitions of the RAID storage) intended for use with the IP SAN will not be shared with another host or storage provisioning appliance * The IP SAN system settings and host configuration have been completed using the management software offered with products such as StoneFly's Storage Concentrators Before beginning an implementation, it is important to define which FC SAN switch port(s), Fibre Channel RAID host port(s) and LUN(s) will be assigned to the IP SAN. Due to the potential for conflicts, it is recommended that you do not use Fibre Channel RAID host port(s) that have been previously assigned for use with other existing or planned FC hosts utilizing path failover solutions such as ATF ATF Molecular virology Activating transcription factor A cellular protein that stimulates transcription of adenovirus E4 transcription unit, which acts early in infection at any of several 'enhancer' binding sites (Application Transparent Failover, a product of EMC Corporation EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is an American Fortune 500 and S&P 500 manufacturer of software and systems for information management and storage. It is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA. ) or RDAC RDAC Redundant Disk Array Controller RDAC Report of the Department of Antiquities, Cyprus RDAC Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (India) RDAC Remote Data Acquisition and Control RDAC Robust Dynamic Admission Control (Redundant Disk Array Controller A disk array controller is a device which manages the physical disk drives and presents them to the computer as logical units. It almost always implements hardware RAID, thus it is sometimes referred to as RAID controller. It also often provides additional disk cache. ). Upon completion, each server attached to the IP SAN via the IP network will now "see" its new storage located on the Fibre Channel RAID storage system, transparently accessed through the storage provisioning appliance over the Fibre Channel SAN. Bottom Line Benefits IP SANs make it possible to scale storage for all connected servers as a whole, rather than one server at a time. They bring the benefits of the SAN to disconnected servers without the high cost of Fibre Channel connectivity. All dispersed storage may now be consolidated into a single storage resource, bringing centralized storage management, more reliable and efficient data protection, and higher data availability to isolated servers without significant expenditures and new personnel. By simplifying and centralizing storage management, IP SANs reduce the effort required by IT administration to maintain dispersed storage, ultimately expediting return on investment. www.stoneflynetworks.com Bob Preston is vice president of marketing at StoneFly Networks (San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , CA) |
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