!

"#$%
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Max|m|z|ng r|vate C|oud 8enef|ts w|th
an Lff|c|ent Storage Ioundat|on


!" $%&&' ()*+,&%- .%/'0& 1/2+"34


Cctober 2012
















1hls LSC WhlLe aper was commlssloned by neLApp
and ls dlsLrlbuLed under llcense from LSC.


2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon :
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
Contents
1he rlvaLe Cloud: CpporLunlLy Lo CpLlmlze .............................................................................................. 3
SLorage CpLlmlzaLlon and Lfflclency: key Lo rlvaLe Cloud Success ........................................................... 4
neLApp's SLorage Lfflclency orLfollo for Cloud SLorage ............................................................................ 7
1he 8lgger 1ruLh ....................................................................................................................................... 10

















































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56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon ;
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
!"# %&'()*# +,-./0 122-&*.3'*4 *- 12*'5'6#
Change has been one of Lhe only consLanLs ln Lhe l1 world over Lhe years. 8uL change ls now happenlng aL an
acceleraLed raLe and nowhere ls LhaL more evldenL Lhan ln Lhe adopLlon of prlvaLe cloud Lechnology. rlvaLe cloud
Lechnology allows l1 organlzaLlons Lo augmenL Lhelr exLenslve server vlrLuallzaLlon deploymenLs wlLh orchesLraLlon
and cenLrallzed managemenL sofLware ln order Lo dellver Lhe fundamenLal LeneLs of cloud compuLlng lnLernally Lo
Lhelr own end-users.
A prlvaLe-cloud-servlces dellvery model can help l1 dellver agalnsL lLs Lop buslness requlremenLs, such as lmproved
aglllLy and flexlblllLy Lo respond Lo changlng buslness needs, as well as reducLlon ln Lhe overall cosL of dolng
buslness. lor example, enLerprlses frequenLly make daLa cenLers larger Lhan necessary and procure exLra capaclLy
Lo accommodaLe poLenLlal growLh or achleve Lhe aglllLy requlred Lo respond Lo new buslness opporLunlLles. 1hls
exLra capaclLy may help Lhem respond somewhaL Lo changlng buslness needs, buL aL a blg cosL because of poor
uLlllzaLlon, greaLer Lhan necessary fooLprlnL, and hlgher power and coollng requlremenLs. 1he exlsLlng
lnfrasLrucLure may sLlll be an lnhlblLor Lo change lf lL ls based on a LradlLlonal physlcal appllcaLlon/server/sLorage
model. Powever, by vlrLuallzlng Lhe lnfrasLrucLure and LranslLlonlng Lo a prlvaLe-cloud-servlces dellvery model,
companles achleve beLLer uLlllzaLlon, reduclng noL [usL Lhe l1 fooLprlnL buL also anclllary cosLs, whlle enabllng
greaLer aglllLy wlLh fasLer responslveness Lo changlng buslness requlremenLs.
SLorage ln parLlcular ls ofLen plagued by very low uLlllzaLlon raLes because of lLs hlsLorlcally dlfflculL and lengLhy
provlslonlng cycles, whlch cause l1 Lo overprovlslon as a safeLy neL." SLorage has also been burdened wlLh falrly
lnflexlble conflguraLlon parameLers LhaL lnhlblL Lhe sharlng of resources and reduce lnfrasLrucLure aglllLy. 1o
supporL Lhese underuLlllzed resources, companles ofLen overlnvesL ln Lhe lmplemenLaLlon of more sophlsLlcaLed
neLworklng lnfrasLrucLure (Lhlnk llbre Channel), someLlmes wlLhouL really reaplng any beneflLs.
Many l1 organlzaLlons recognlze Lhese challenges, buL have noL had much cholce ln how Lhey've archlLecLed Lhelr
lnfrasLrucLures, Lhey have been capLlve Lo Lhe llmlLaLlons of Lhelr legacy Lechnology. lL ls no wonder LhaL cosL-
reducLlon lnlLlaLlves remaln a Lop l1 prlorlLy for nearly half of Lhose l1 declslon makers surveyed ln LSC's 2012 l1
spendlng lnLenLlons research.
1

Clven Lhe global economlc envlronmenL, ln whlch success requlres boLh lnnovaLlon and laser focus on Lhe boLLom
llne, l1 organlzaLlons have every reason Lo conslder newer, game-changlng sLraLegles such as prlvaLe cloud. 1hese
new lnlLlaLlves have Lhe poLenLlal Lo help l1 escape crlppllng budgeL pressures, creaLe greaLer aglllLy and
responslveness, and Lake a leadershlp role when lL comes Lo buslness enablemenL. noL surprlslngly, nearly 2/3 of
organlzaLlons surveyed sald Lhey wlll lncrease prlvaLe cloud spendlng ln 2012 compared Lo 2011 (see llgure 1) and

prlvaLe cloud was a Lop Len overall l1 prlorlLy chosen by more Lhan one ln flve respondenLs Lo LSC's l1 spendlng
lnLenLlons research survey.
2


1
Source: LSC 8esearch 8eporL, :<=: >$ .8%/?'/@ >/4%/4'0/3 .,&A%", !anuary 2012.
2
lbld.
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon B
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
C'@,&% =D >$ .8%/?'/@ *62/@%3 E0& :<=: F%+24'A% 40 :<==

.0,&)%9 G/4%&8&'3% .4&24%@" H&0,8- :<=:D

PlsLorlcally, lL would be hard Lo flnd a more compleLe and rapld change ln lndusLry pracLlce, only Lhe cllenL-server
paradlgm shlfL of Lhe 1990s comes close. And lL ls no wonder Lhls change ls happenlng so fasL. vlrLuallzaLlon, and
Lhe cloud servlces dellvery model LhaL lL enables, can help wlLh some lmporLanL Lhlngs LhaL l1 has sLruggled wlLh for
a long Llme-overall cosL cuLLlng vla reduced floor space, manpower, power and coollng expenses, and buslness
aglllLy vla a more flexlble and responslve l1 archlLecLure.
!"#$%&' )*"+,+-%"+#. !"# !""#$#%&$'( *%' +, -.#/0+% 12,34 53$$%66
Whlle cloud sLraLegles can help dellver l1 servlces ln a more efflclenL fashlon, Lhe underlylng Lechnology chosen Lo
bulld a prlvaLe cloud ls crlLlcal. MosL companles focus on opLlmlzlng Lhe server lnfrasLrucLure, buL sLorage musL also
be opLlmlzed Lo fully reallze Lhe beneflLs of server vlrLuallzaLlon and prlvaLe cloud lnlLlaLlves.
SLorage ofLen has a larger fooLprlnL and consumes more overall resources Lhan almosL any oLher hardware
Lechnology ln Lhe daLa cenLer, and )2/ 2)4,2++" 60+? I2)J )+0,? '/'4'24'A%3 'E /04 2&)6'4%)4%? '/ )0/K,/)4'0/ L'46
3%&A%& A'&4,2+'M24'0/. SLorage sysLems encompass a number of concepLs and funcLlons. lL ls worLh rememberlng LhaL
sLorage sysLems lnclude noL only dlsk drlves, buL also speclal purpose hardware and sofLware Lo provlde block-
36
37
43
43
49
31
38
60
60
62
63
76
30
42
39
42
38
33
29
29
30
34
27
19
34
21
16
13
13
13
13
11
11
4
8
3
0 20 40 60 80 100
l1 professlonal servlces / ouLsourclng (n=179)
lnfrasLrucLure managemenL soware (n=142)
lnformauon managemenL soware (n=130)
uaLabases (n=232)
Server lnfrasLrucLure (n=323)
8uslness lnLelllgence / daLa analyucs (n=138)
neLwork lnfrasLrucLure (n=301)
8uslness appllcauons (n=233)
SLorage lnfrasLrucLure (n=294)
SecurlLy (n=236)
vlrLuallzauon / prlvaLe cloud lnfrasLrucLure soware
(n=170)
Cloud compuung servlces (n=239)
1o the best of your know|edge, to what extent w||| your organ|zanon's 2012 I1 spend|ng
for each techno|ogy ||sted be|ow change re|anve to 2011? (ercent of respondents)
2012 spendlng wlll lncrease 2012 spendlng wlll sLay aL 2012 spendlng wlll decrease
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon N
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
and/or flle-based sLorage Lo sLore, reLrleve, and LransmlL daLa. SLorage dellvered vla a prlvaLe cloud model musL
lnclude funcLlons LhaL are Lhe sLorage equlvalenL of server vlrLuallzaLlon-namely Lhe ablllLy Lo vlrLuallze daLa ln
correspondlng ways and Lo provlde equal or beLLer funcLlonallLy. Speclflcally, vlrLuallzaLlon musL dellver block-Lype
absLracLlon (block vlrLuallzaLlon) so LhaL daLa can be accessed based on lLs loglcal raLher Lhan lLs physlcal locaLlon.
vlrLuallzaLlon also needs Lo lncorporaLe flle vlrLuallzaLlon-ellmlnaLlng dependencles beLween Lhe daLa accessed aL
Lhe flle level and Lhe physlcal locaLlon where Lhe flles are malnLalned. 1ogeLher, Lhese vlrLuallzaLlon Lechnlques can
provlde for much hlgher sLorage opLlmlzaLlon, and can speed flle mlgraLlons ln supporL of server vlrLuallzaLlon,
parLlcularly when coupled wlLh a prlvaLe cloud deploymenL. 1hls ls why mulLlproLocol sLorage ls such a good flL for
prlvaLe cloud lnfrasLrucLures: lL allows l1 Lo sLandardlze on one sLorage archlLecLure Lo meeL boLh needs.
AlLhough Lhe beneflLs of sLorage vlrLuallzaLlon are numerous, Lhe cholces LhaL musL be made Lo achleve success can
seem daunLlng. Achlevlng sLorage opLlmlzaLlon and efflclency whlle reduclng cosL ls noL a glven and, ln facL,
depends on several facLors.
Storage |atform Conso||dat|on. Securely consolldaLlng workloads onLo a shared sLorage plaLform reduces
boLh managemenL overhead and fooLprlnL, enabllng responslveness and aglllLy. 1he ablllLy Lo consolldaLe
mulLl-proLocol sLorage under one managemenL scheme Lo address boLh sLrucLured and unsLrucLured daLa
wlll be crlLlcal Lo provlde Lhe plaLform flexlblllLy Lo respond Lo Lhe unpredlcLablllLy of a vlrLual server
envlronmenL.
Secure Mu|t|-1enancy. Lnsurlng LhaL vlrLual servers and Lhelr workloads remaln lsolaLed from each oLher
can be slgnlflcanL for cerLaln organlzaLlons. unforLunaLely, percelved uncerLalnLy abouL Lhe ablllLy Lo
securely lsolaLe Lhe daLa for Lhese workloads has Lended Lo slow Lhe adopLlon of cloud-based sLorage and
even Lhe deploymenL of prlvaLe clouds, where no publlc asseLs are used. 1he reallLy ls LhaL secure, mulLl-
LenanL daLa cenLers are posslble and deslrable. lmplemenLed wlLh approprlaLe securlLy, mulLl-Lenancy
means LhaL daLa ls securely malnLalned and workload performance ls noL compromlsed.
Storage Automat|on. SLorage auLomaLlon ls Lhe process by whlch complex and/or repeLlLlve sLorage
managemenL Lasks become governed by pollcles and besL pracLlces, and can elLher be fully auLomaLed or
easlly lnlLlaLed under human conLrol. Lxamples lnclude Lhe provlslonlng of sLorage Lo hosLs based on
performance needs, or Lhe lnLelllgenL use of solld-sLaLe Lechnology Lo lncrease performance by
auLomaLlcally cachlng hoL daLa. 1hese Lasks are all vlLal lf prlvaLe cloud ls Lo llve up Lo lLs poLenLlal for savlng
money and supporLlng aglle and flexlble buslness pracLlces.
Lnhanced Storage Lff|c|ency. lor a cloud Lo funcLlon opLlmally, Lhe underlylng sLorage should be as
efflclenL as posslble. Cne way Lo reduce hardware requlremenLs (and cosLs!) ln elLher a LradlLlonal daLa
cenLer or ln a prlvaLe cloud ls Lo opLlmlze capaclLy uLlllzaLlon. CapaclLy lLself lncludes a number of sub-
concepLs such as raw capaclLy, whlch ls Lhe LoLal addressable capaclLy of a sysLem, usable capaclLy, whlch ls
whaL remalns avallable afLer a sysLem ls seL up and daLa proLecLlon overhead ls accounLed for, and
avallable capaclLy, whlch ls whaL remalns as space ls gradually allocaLed Lo users.
1echnlques such as dedupllcaLlon and compresslon can help expand Lhe avallable capaclLy of a prlvaLe
cloud. uedupllcaLlon, as Lhe word lmplles, can ellmlnaLe mulLlple coples of ldenLlcal daLa aL Lhe flle or block
level. lor example, when sysLem users pass coples of a owerolnL flle around an organlzaLlon, Lhe sysLem
wlll acLually sLore only one copy of LhaL flle whlle Lhe resL of Lhe coples are represenLed by polnLers (Lhough
loglcally seen by users as Lhe full flle). 1hese polnLers consume mlnlmal sLorage capaclLy and refer requesLs
for LhaL flle Lo Lhe orlglnal, full copy. 1hls Lechnlque ls even more powerful when dedupllcaLlon can be
applled aL Lhe block level because Lhe granularlLy of dedupe Lhen exLends Lo Lhe consLlLuenL parLs of a flle
such as common words or even common leLLers ln words, corporaLe logos, eLc., and furLher reduces space
requlremenLs.
Slmllarly, compresslon relles on varlous schemes Lo encode daLa more conclsely Lhrough sLaLlsLlcal meLhods
and shrlnk LhaL daLa down. lmporLanLly, dedupllcaLlon and compresslon acLually ampllfy Lhe beneflLs of
cachlng daLa aL boLh Lhe server and sLorage layers. ln a dedupllcaLlon scenarlo, Lhe orlglnal full copy of Lhe
daLa ls accessed by mulLlple users LhaL loglcally see Lhe daLa as dlfferenL flles. lnLelllgenL cachlng wlll ensure
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon O
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
LhaL Lhe ofLen-accessed daLa llves ln cache, and all of Lhe sysLems accesslng LhaL slngle flle wlll reap Lhe
beneflLs of solld-sLaLe performance. And compresslon can ensure LhaL more daLa flLs lnLo cache because lL
shrlnks daLa seL slzes. 1ogeLher, dedupllcaLlon and compresslon can slgnlflcanLly lncrease avallable capaclLy
and go a long way Lowards opLlmlzlng Lhe cloud sLorage envlronmenL.
Clven Lhe lmporLance of an efflclenL sLorage archlLecLure, lL ls vlLal Lo LreaL sLorage efflclency noL as an
afLerLhoughL, buL as a sLraLeglc opporLunlLy Lo hone and lmprove Lhe overall cloud envlronmenL.
So||d-state Lechnologles, wheLher deployed as cache or solld-sLaLe drlves (SSus), offer obvlous advanLages
over splnnlng medla ln Lerms of access Llmes, rellablllLy, and power cosLs. 1hls ls especlally lmporLanL ln
cloud envlronmenLs where workloads can be unpredlcLable Lhanks Lo Lhe consolldaLlon of many Lypes of
workloads onLo a shared lnfrasLrucLure. ln addlLlon, Lhey have Lhe poLenLlal Lo be wrlLe-locked, whlch can
ensure Lhe perslsLence of daLa, reduclng Lhe LhreaL of corrupLlon. lurLhermore, solld-sLaLe Lechnology can
help drlve efflclency. ln facL, more Lhan half, or 33, of Lhe early adopLers of solld-sLaLe sLorage Lechnology
surveyed by LSC sLaLed LhaL lmproved power and coollng efflclency and Lhe ablllLy Lo consolldaLe dlsk
drlves were Lwo of Lhe key facLors ln Lhelr declslon Lo deploy solld-sLaLe Lechnology.
3

As organlzaLlons proceed along Lhe prlvaLe cloud [ourney and consolldaLe capaclLy onLo fewer, beLLer
uLlllzed sysLems, solld-sLaLe becomes a key enabllng Lechnology for scallng efflclenLly as lL reduces Lhe
number of dlsk drlves ln use. Leveraglng SSu enables more daLa Lo be sLored on dense dlsk drlves,
speclflcally LhaL 80 plus of daLa LhaL ls rarely accessed, whlle acLlve daLa resldes on fasLer solld-sLaLe
sLorage. 1hls overall reducLlon ln Lhe number of splnnlng dlsks helps reduce floor space, and power and
coollng cosLs. Leveraglng solld-sLaLe Lechnology also enables organlzaLlons Lo meeL Lhe demandlng mlx of
performance requlremenLs LhaL come from consolldaLlng many workloads onLo a shared lnfrasLrucLure.
1h|n prov|s|on|ng leverages vlrLuallzaLlon Lo sLreLch physlcal resources and allocaLe vlrLual" capaclLy. lor
example, a Lhln provlslonlng approach can enhance Lhe lnLelllgenL sharlng of sLorage resources by allocaLlng
requesLed resources wlLh Lhe awareness LhaL 2)4,2+ &%P,'&%Q%/43 E0& 2 @'A%/ ,3%& 0& 288+')24'0/3 2&%
E&%P,%/4+" +0L%& 462/ 46% &%P,%34%? )282)'4". users are provlsloned a vlrLual sLorage pool LhaL reflecLs
requesLed capaclLy, buL sLorage ls really only allocaLed Lo Lhe appllcaLlon as lL ls acLually consumed-freelng
up Lhe dlfference. 1hln provlslonlng can lmprove capaclLy uLlllzaLlon, flrsL and foremosL, by ellmlnaLlng Lhe
allocaLed buL unused sLorage overhead LhaL ofLen plagues daLa cenLers. Powever, because lL supporLs rapld
reconflguraLlon by freelng up more sLorage capaclLy, Lhln provlslonlng also plays an lmporLanL role ln
lmprovlng aglllLy and responslveness. ln shared cloud envlronmenLs LhaL may supporL many appllcaLlons,
Lhls ablllLy Lo allocaLe vlrLually raLher Lhan physlcally ls of uLmosL lmporLance as physlcal provlslonlng would
resulL ln masslve amounLs of allocaLed buL unused splnnlng dlsks, locklng Lhem Lo speclflc appllcaLlons. 1he
ablllLy Lo qulckly respond and bulld aglllLy onLo Lhe lnfrasLrucLure ls Lhe core Lo bulldlng any cloud
lnfrasLrucLure, and Lhln provlslonlng ls a core requlremenL Lo aLLaln aglllLy on Lhe sLorage fronL.
Space-eff|c|ent c|ones of volumes and Luns can qulckly enable LesL and developmenL acLlvlLles wlLhouL
slgnlflcanLly lmpacLlng capaclLy requlremenLs. 1hls can be a boon Lo rapld LesLlng and developmenL wlLhouL
rlsk Lo a producLlon envlronmenL. lL ls an approach LhaL can also play a role ln provlslonlng vlrLual servers
and deskLops, and lmplemenLlng paLches. An advanLage of Lhls approach ls LhaL Lhe clone requlres no
addlLlonal dlsk space. Llke Lhln provlslonlng, new blocks are allocaLed only when daLa ls wrlLLen. 8apld LesL
and dev capablllLy ls key Lo keeplng Lhe cloud lnfrasLrucLure healLhy, whlle space-efflclenL clones help
mlnlmlze Lhe overhead, reduce Lhe Llme lL Lakes Lo bulld Lhese envlronmenLs, and deploy paLches and new
code qulckly and efflclenLly.
Capac|ty-opt|m|zed data protect|on ls anoLher key elemenL for sLorage opLlmlzaLlon. CapaclLy opLlmlzaLlon
refers Lo meLhods whlch reduce Lhe consumpLlon of space requlred Lo sLore a daLa seL and lncludes
snapshoL coples ln addlLlon Lo Lechnologles we've already dlscussed, such as dedupllcaLlon, Lhln

3
Source: LSC 8esearch 8eporL, .0+'?R3424% .40&2@% (2&J%4 $&%/?3, november 2011.
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon S
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
provlslonlng, compresslon and space efflclenL clones. ln a daLa proLecLlon scenarlo, capaclLy opLlmlzaLlon ls
of greaLer lmporLance, slnce mulLlple coples of daLa are creaLed Lo recover from loglcal or physlcal daLa loss
or corrupLlon lssues, or even full slLe fallure. lor lnsLance, wlLhouL Lhln provlslonlng, allocaLed buL unused
space ls creaLed for boLh Lhe prlmary daLa seL and Lhe copy (or maybe many coples). And wlLhouL
compresslon and dedupllcaLlon, boLh Lhe prlmary daLa seL and each copy consume much more overall
capaclLy. Comblnlng capaclLy opLlmlzaLlon and daLa proLecLlon drlves furLher efflclencles by reduclng
unnecessary capaclLy allocaLlon and dupllcaLlon wlLhln Lhe proLecLed daLa seL, where dupllcaLe lnformaLlon
ofLen consumes a large percenLage of Lhe overall sLorage capaclLy. MosL organlzaLlons are already
sLruggllng wlLh managlng daLa growLh. When bulldlng a prlvaLe cloud lnfrasLrucLure and consolldaLlng onLo
a scalable, always-on shared lnfrasLrucLure, Lhese daLa growLh challenges are magnlfled, and capaclLy
opLlmlzaLlon across prlmary and daLa proLecLlon Llers ls crlLlcal Lo keeplng growLh ln check.
Dep|oy a cont|nuous |mprovement strategy. 1he [ob ls never done, and every change has rlpple effecLs.
Modellng and analysls Lo deLermlne how effecLlve Lhe currenL lnfrasLrucLure '3 /0L and how effecLlve lL )2/
I%)0Q% ls core Lo keeplng l1's cusLomers happy and conLlnually opLlmlzlng resources whlle drlvlng down
cosLs.

!"#$%%&' !"#$%&' )!!"#"$%#& !!"#$!%&! !"# %&"'( !"#$%&'
neLApp has long focused on sLorage efflclency and has bullL an efflclency porLfollo well maLched Lo Lhe demands of
a prlvaLe cloud LhaL ls bullL on a shared, vlrLuallzed l1 lnfrasLrucLure. ln general, neLApp's offerlngs are deslgned Lo
help organlzaLlons sLore Lhe maxlmum amounL of daLa for Lhe lowesL posslble cosL, securely reLaln daLa for long
perlods, and reduce daLa cenLer energy and space needs. lncorporaLlng Lhese elemenLs ln a prlvaLe cloud ls
essenLlal Lo maklng sure LhaL Lhe prlvaLe cloud ls acLually aglle, responslve, and efflclenL. WlLhouL Lhese elemenLs, a
prlvaLe cloud can slmply mlrror or ampllfy poor pracLlces ln LradlLlonal l1 envlronmenLs. LlemenLs ln Lhe neLApp
porLfollo lnclude:
Capac|ty opt|m|zat|on Lechnology, lncludlng:
o 8lock-level dedupllcaLlon and compresslon, whlch can be used ln elLher SAn or nAS envlronmenLs
on any sLorage Ller Lo reduce overall capaclLy consumpLlon, ln Lurn reduclng power, coollng, and
floor-space and managemenL overhead. neLApp ls one of Lhe few sLorage provlders Lo offer
dedupllcaLlon for prlmary daLa. And whlle many l1 pros clLe performance concerns when
conslderlng prlmary dedupllcaLon, mosL neLApp users reporL mlnlmal, lf any, performance lmpacL.
o 1hln provlslonlng Lo vlrLually allocaLe requesLed capaclLy buL only consume sLorage capaclLy as lL ls
acLually used. neLApp reporLs an average uLlllzaLlon lncrease of 33 and ofLen sees over 100
lncrease ln uLlllzaLlon when Lhln provlslonlng ls used.
o llexClone Lechnology, whlch can repllcaLe daLa volumes and daLa seLs as vlrLual clones LhaL only
consume acLual sLorage space as new daLa ls wrlLLen, saves sLorage space and lmproves
performance. 1hls Lechnology allows l1 Lo make LesL and dev coples of daLa wlLhouL creaLlng full
coples. 1hls ls baslcally Lhln provlslonlng of clones.
o neLApp SnapshoL Lechnology creaLes polnL-ln-Llme coples of flle sysLems uslng very llLLle space
because Lhe coples are essenLlally vlrLual. 1hese space-efflclenL coples are lnsLanLaneous and Lhere
ls vlrLually no performance lmpacL, enabllng lmporLanL daLa Lo be proLecLed frequenLly, wlLh up Lo
233 SnapshoL coples per volume, and supporL for over one-hundred Lhousand snapshoLs per
sysLem.
A rlch porLfollo of capac|ty-opt|m|zed data protect|on Lools:
o 8Alu-u provldes an exLra level of proLecLlon from mulLlple drlve fallures wlLhln a slngle 8Alu seL,
whlch ls a ma[or concern as rebulld Llmes geL exLended due Lo Lhe deploymenL of ever larger
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon T
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
capaclLy dlsk drlves. uslng a soluLlon LhaL proLecLs daLa ln Lhe evenL of a mulLlple-drlve fallure
makes lL pracLlcal Lo use less-expenslve and hlgher-capaclLy SA1A dlsk drlves, lowerlng cosLs whlle
addresslng worrles abouL daLa loss. uue Lo Lhe unlque deslgn, performance ls much beLLer Lhan
wlLh 8Alu 6 and much more cosL-effecLlve Lhan 8Alu 10 (mlrrorlng).
o SnapMlrror Lhln repllcaLlon proLecLs daLa by malnLalnlng a read/wrlLe copy of Lhe daLa whlle
mlnlmlzlng sLorage capaclLy requlremenLs by only wrlLlng Lhe changed blocks of daLa Lo Lhe LargeL
sysLem. 1hls means savlngs noL only ln Lerms of Lhe secondary sLorage, buL also on neLwork
bandwldLh.
o SnapvaulL enables fasLer backups, whlch means LhaL Lhey can be run more frequenLly and uLlllze
less capaclLy because only Lhe changes Lo Lhe lasL copy are wrlLLen.
Space and energy-eff|c|ent so||d-state techno|ogy ln Lhe form of llash Cache and llash ools:
o llash Cache provldes read cache aL Lhe overall sysLem level, ensurlng Lhe mosL frequenLly read daLa
ls auLomaLlcally sLored on fasL and efflclenL solld-sLaLe Lechnology. llash Cache ls one of Lhe ways
neLApp achleves Lhe cache ampllflcaLlon beneflLs dlscussed prevlously-even lf users are accesslng
loglcally dlfferenL daLa seLs, lf Lhe acLual daLa ls dupllcaLed, lL ls sLored ln cache only once-and
each person accesslng LhaL daLa geLs Lhe beneflLs of solld-sLaLe performance.
o A llash ool ls a read/wrlLe solld-sLaLe drlve-based cache neLApp deploys aL Lhe aggregaLe level. lL
ls a perslsLenL sLorage Ller LhaL can be dedlcaLed Lo a speclflc workload and allows users Lo ad[usL
Lhe amounL of cache dedlcaLed Lo LhaL workload. 1hls can help achleve beLLer quallLy of servlce ln a
shared envlronmenL by acceleraLlng boLh reads and wrlLes. Llke llash Cache, daLa placemenL ls
auLomaLed, so Lhere ls vlrLually no admlnlsLraLlve overhead assoclaLed wlLh seLLlng and monlLorlng
pollcles or movlng daLa beLween Llers.
Storage v|rtua||zat|on LhaL provldes a conslsLenL vlew and meLhodology for managlng and proLecLlng a
mlxed vendor sLorage envlronmenL vla neLApp v-Serles open source conLroller. 1he v-Serles allows users Lo
exLend neLApp's sLorage efflclency porLfollo Lo Lhlrd parLy arrays, offerlng feaLures LhaL may noL be
avallable on Lhose sysLems such as repllcaLlon Lo anoLher brand or Ller of sLorage.
1oo|s to mon|tor, manage, and cont|nuous|y |mprove operat|ons, such as:
o CnCommand unlfled managemenL sofLware, whlch cenLrallzes how organlzaLlons deploy,
auLomaLe, proLecL, monlLor, and analyze Lhelr shared sLorage lnfrasLrucLure. 1hls can help
managers Lo opLlmlze uLlllzaLlon, meeL SLAs, mlnlmlze rlsk, and boosL performance.
o CnCommand lnslghL offers capablllLles Lo sLrengLhen managemenL of mulLlvendor envlronmenLs Lo
help geL Lhe mosL value from exlsLlng lnvesLmenLs. CnCommand lnslghL helps you opLlmlze whaL
you have and deLermlne whaL addlLlonal asseLs you may need. lL ls parLlcularly useful ln helplng Lo
esLabllsh and malnLaln sLorage as an end-Lo-end servlce. lL can lmprove capaclLy plannlng based on
buslness unlL acLlvlLles or Lrends wlLhln sLorage Llers. lL can provlde lnformaLlon on cosLs by LenanL,
buslness unlL, or Llers, and help provlde Lhe lnformaLlonal underplnnlngs for lmplemenLlng complex
changes and consolldaLlons whlle dellverlng C-level reporLlng for sLraLeglc declslons.
o My AuLoSupporL, a sulLe of Web-based appllcaLlons hosLed on Lhe SupporL Web slLe (formerly Lhe
nCW slLe) and cusLomer accesslble vla a Web browser. neLApp sLudles have shown LhaL some 40
of servlce lncldenLs are acLually relaLed Lo lssues such as lmproper conflguraLlon of a sysLem
upgrade or Lhe use of ouL-of-daLe flrmware. AuLoSupporL can be easlly conflgured Lo opLlmlze a
sLorage sysLem, poLenLlally savlng slgnlflcanLly on labor and reduclng poLenLlal funcLlonal lssues.
My AuLoSupporL measures resulLs and lmplemenLs a Cl sLraLegy for sysLemaLlcally and proacLlvely
drlvlng down cosLs.
Cf course, Lhere are many oLher faceLs Lo supporLlng prlvaLe cloud lnlLlaLlves-lncludlng secure mulLl-Lenancy,
whlch requlres sLrong parLnershlps across Lhe prlvaLe cloud sLack. neLApp offers a Secure MulLl-1enancy
archlLecLure LhaL lL has developed ln cooperaLlon wlLh Clsco and vMware Lo dellver a slngle shared daLa cenLer
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon U
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
lnfrasLrucLure LhaL provldes beneflLs such as sLrong securlLy and hlgh avallablllLy. 1he archlLecLure supporLs a full
range of enLerprlse appllcaLlons and can be scaled up or down as needed. lL ls adapLable Lo l1 as a servlce (l1aaS)
buslness requlremenLs. lor some appllcaLlons and envlronmenLs, secure mulLl-Lenancy can be a cruclal capablllLy.
lor example, envlronmenLs wlLh buslness unlL daLa LhaL may be exLremely confldenLlal, 8 & u acLlvlLy wlLh senslLlve
corporaLe l, or paLlenL care daLa LhaL musL be shlelded from unauLhorlzed access.
llnally, Lhese smarL" capablllLles llsLed above supporL lmplemenLaLlon of a conLlnuous lmprovemenL sLraLegy. WlLh
neLApp dellverlng vlslblllLy lnLo complex vlrLual envlronmenLs, parLlcularly on-demand cloud sLorage
lmplemenLaLlons, admlnlsLraLors can galn an edge ln managlng an efflclenL cloud envlronmenL.
8uslness requlremenLs for a flexlble and cosL-efflclenL l1 soluLlon are lncreaslngly llkely Lo lead Lo Lhe deploymenL
of a prlvaLe cloud. SLorage ls a key conslderaLlon for prlvaLe cloud, and Lhe Lechnologles lmplemenLed by neLApp
meeL Lhe aforemenLloned prlvaLe cloud lnfrasLrucLure requlremenLs. 1echnologles such as Lhose neLApp brlngs Lo
Lhe Lable can make all Lhe dlfference beLween a prlvaLe cloud LhaL ls cosL-efflclenL and a Lrue asseL for Lhe buslness,
versus a prlvaLe cloud LhaL only offers subLle lmprovemenL Lo l1 dellvery.
56'4% 728%&9 Maxlmlzlng rlvaLe Cloud 8eneflLs wlLh an LfflclenL SLorage loundaLlon =<
2012 by 1he LnLerprlse SLraLegy Croup, lnc. All 8lghLs 8eserved.
!"# %&''#( !()*"
1oday's challenglng economlc pressures are drlvlng organlzaLlons Lo reallze Lhe slgnlflcanL and very real value of l1.
urlven by an unforLunaLe herd menLallLy, organlzaLlons have sLampeded Loward cloud soluLlons wlLhouL fully
grasplng Lhe challenges. SLraLeglcally applylng Lhe rlghL Lechnology ln Lhe rlghL places enables Lhe full aglllLy and
efflclency promlsed by boLh vlrLuallzaLlon and prlvaLe cloud.
Cn Lhe sLorage fronL, speclflc aLLenLlon should be pald Lo capaclLy opLlmlzaLlon. uedupllcaLlon, compresslon, and
Lhln provslonlng everywhere (as neLApp has approached lLs core Lechnology) can help reduce capaclLy
requlremenLs for everyLhlng from producLlon Lo LesL and developmenL envlronmenLs, and even coples of daLa
made for daLa proLecLlon and recovery purposes. 1haL frees up capaclLy Lo be used Lo acLually supporL Lhe buslness
and qulckly spln up new appllcaLlons. 1haL doesn'L mean LhaL organlzaLlons should only look aL capaclLy
opLlmlzaLlon-lL ls [usL one of many opporLunlLles Lo opLlmlze. 8eneflLs are magnlfled when Lhese Lechnologles are
used ln con[uncLlon-such as ampllfylng Lhe beneflLs of cache wlLh dedupllcaLlon and compresslon. ueploylng Lhe
porLfollo of Lechnologles LogeLher ls a case where 1 + 1 can equal 4.
1he beneflLs of Lhls approach are lmproved responslveness Lo dynamlc and unpredlcLable workloads, and an
lmproved ablllLy Lo scale. no maLLer where Lhe sLorage llves," Lhere are slgnlflcanL opporLunlLles Lo opLlmlze, as
demonsLraLed by Lhe breadLh of Lhe neLApp sLorage efflclency porLfollo, as well as opporLunlLles Lo reduce
hardware requlremenLs, fooLprlnL, power, coollng, and sLaff requlremenLs Lo help l1 shlfL lnvesLmenLs from reacLlve
Lo proacLlve.

















































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