Greg Schulz's Posts - The Data Center Professionals Network2024-03-29T10:41:33ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulzhttp://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/363362197?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1http://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profiles/blog/feed?user=2e124tlyfxupb&xn_auth=noHot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors and Service Providers to Watchtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-07-23:2336802:BlogPost:1498492018-07-23T21:52:55.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p align="justify">Here is the 2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch which includes startups as well as established vendors doing new things. This piece follows <a href="https://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">last year’s</a> hot favorite trending <a href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">data infrastructure</a> vendors to watch…</p>
<p align="justify">Here is the 2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch which includes startups as well as established vendors doing new things. This piece follows <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/">last year’s</a> hot favorite trending <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> vendors to watch list (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/">here</a>), as well as who will be top of storage world in a decade piece <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/top-storage-world-decade/">here</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors to Watch" style="width: 500px; height: 244px; border: 0px;"/></a><br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a> Support Information Systems Applications and Their Data</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures are what exists inside physical data centers and cloud availability zones (AZ)</a> that are defined to provide traditional, as well as cloud services. Cloud and legacy data infrastructures are combined by hardware (server, storage, I/O network), software along with management tools, policies, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-tradecraft-overview/">tradecraft techniques (skills)</a>, best practices to support applications and their data. There are different types of data infrastructures to meet the needs of various environments that range in size, scope, focus, application workloads, along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmark-resources/">Performance</a> and capacity.</p>
<p align="justify">Another important aspect of data infrastructures is that they exist to protect, preserve, secure and serve applications that transform data into information. This means that availability and Data Protection including archive, backup, business continuance (BC), business resiliency (BR), disaster recovery (DR), privacy and security <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-security-logical-physical-software-defined/">among other related topics, technology, techniques, and trends</a> are essential data infrastructure topics.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Book4_15_2_TrendTimeline.png" alt="2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors to Watch"/><br/>Different timelines of adoption and deployment for various audiences</p>
<h3>2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors to Watch</h3>
<p align="justify">Some of those on this year’s list are focused on different technology areas, while others on size or types of vendors, suppliers, service providers. Others on the list are focused on who is new, startup, evolving, or established which varies from if you are an industry insider or IT customer environment. Meanwhile others new and some are established doing new things, mix of some you may not have heard of for those who want or need to have the most current list to rattle off startups for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/industry-adoption-vs-industry-deployment-is-there-a-difference/">industry adoption</a> (and deployment), as well as what some established players are doing that might lead to customer <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/industry-adoption-vs-industry-deployment-is-there-a-difference/">deployment</a> (and adoption).<br/> <br/>AMD – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.amd.com/en/products/epyc-7000-series">The AMD EPYC family</a> of processors is opening up new opportunities for AMD to challenge Intel among others for a more significant share of the general-purpose compute market in support of data center and data infrastructure markets. An advantage that AMD has and is playing to in the industry speeds feeds, slots and watts price performance game is the ability to support more memory and PCIe lanes per socket than others including Intel. Keep in mind that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/pcie-fundamentals-server-storage-io/">PCIe</a> lanes will become even more critical as NVMe deployment increases, as well as the use of GPU's and faster Ethernet among other devices. Name brand vendors including Dell and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hpe-announces-amd-powered-gen-10-proliant-dl385-software-defined-workloads/">HPE</a> among others have announced or are shipping AMD EPYC based processors.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.aperion.com/">Aperion</a> – Cloud and managed service provider with diverse capabilities.<br/> <br/>Amazon Web Services (AWS) – Continues to expand its footprint regarding regions, availability zones (AZ) also known as data centers in regions, as well as some services along with the breadth of those capabilities. AWS has recently announced a new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/new-ec2-compute-instances-for-aws-snowball-edge/">Snowball Edge (SBE)</a> which in the past has been a data migration appliance now enhanced with on-prem <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-ebs-glacier-and-s3-overview-part-i/">Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2)</a> capabilities. What this means is that AWS can put on-prem compute capabilities as part of a storage appliance for short-term data movement, migration, conversion, importing of virtual machines and other items.</p>
<p align="justify">On the other hand, AWS can also be seen as using SBE as a first entry to placing equipment on-prem for hybrid clouds, or, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-infrastructure-hci-overview/">converged infrastructure (CI), hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI)</a>, cloud in a box similar to Microsoft Azure Stack, as well as CI/HCI solutions from others.</p>
<p align="justify">My prediction near term, however, is that CI/HCI vendors will either ignore SBE, downplay it, create some new marketing on why it is not CI/HCI or fud about vendor lock-in. In other words, make some popcorn and sit back, watch the show.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup-ad.html">Backblaze</a> – Low-cost, high-capacity cloud storage for backup and archiving provider known for their <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.backblaze.com/blog/hard-drive-stats-for-q1-2018/">quarterly disk drive reliability ratings (or failure) reports</a>. They have been around for a while, have a good reputation among those who use their services for being a low-cost alternative to the larger providers.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://barefootnetworks.com/">Barefoot networks</a> – Some of you may already be aware of or following Barefoot Networks, while others may not have heard of them outside of the networking space. They have some impressive capabilities, are new, you probably have not heard of them, thus an excellent addition to this list.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloudian.com/">Cloudian</a> – Continue to evolve and no longer just another object storage solution, Cloudian has been expanding via organic technology development, as well as acquisitions giving them a broad portfolio of software-defined storage and tiering from on-prem to the cloud, block, file and object access.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.cloudflare.com/">Cloudflare</a> – Not exactly a startup, some of you may know or are using Cloudflare, while to others, their role as a web cache, DNS, and other service is transparent. I have been using Cloudflare on my various sites for over a year, and like the security, DNS, cache and analytics tools they provide as a customer.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.cobaltiron.com/">Cobalt Iron</a> – For some, they might be new, Software-defined Data protection and management is the name of the game over at Cobalt Iron which has been around a few years under the radar compared to more popular players. If you have or are involved with IBM Tivoli aka TSM based backup and data protection among others, check out the exciting capabilities that Cobalt can bring to the table.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ctera.com/company/">CTERA</a> – Having been around for a while, to some they might not be a startup, on the other hand, they may be new to others while offering new data and file management options to others.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.datacore.com/products/maxparallel/">DataCore</a> – You might know of DataCore for their software-defined storage and past storage hypervisor activity. However, they have a new piece of software <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.datacore.com/products/maxparallel/">MaxParallel</a> that boost server storage I/O performance. The software installs on your Windows Server instance (bare metal, VM, or cloud instance) and shows you performance with and without acceleration which you can dynamically turn off and off.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ddn.com/press-releases/ddn-storage-acquires-tintri/">DataDirect Networks</a> (DDN) - Recently acquired <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/june-2018-server-storageio-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">Lustre assets from Intel</a>, now picking up the storage startup <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ddn.com/press-releases/ddn-storage-acquires-tintri/">Tintri pieces</a> after it ceased operations. What this means is that while beefing up their traditional High-Performance Compute (HPC) and Super Compute (SC) focus, DDN is also expanding into broader markets.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/index.htm">Dell Technologies</a> – At its recent Dell Technology World event in Las Vegas during late April, early May 2018, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-technology-world-2018-announcement-summary/">several announcements were made</a>, including some tied to emerging <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iv-dell-technology-world-2018-poweredge-mx-gen-z-composable-infrastructure/">Gen-Z along with composability</a>. More recently, Dell Technologies along with VMware announced business structure and finance changes. Changes include VMware declaring a dividend, Dell Technologies being its largest shareholder will use proceeds to fund restricting and debt service. Read more about VMware and Dell Technology business and financial changes <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-technologies-vmware-dividend/">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.densify.com/">Densify</a> – With a name like Densify no surprise they propose to drive densification and automation with AI-powered deep learning to optimize application resource use across on-prem software-defined virtual as well as cloud instances and containers.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://flur.ee/">FlureDB</a> – If you are into databases (SQL or NoSQL), as well as Blockchain or distributed ledgers, check out FlureDB.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.innovium.com/">Innovium.com</a> – When it comes to data infrastructure and data center networking, Innovium is probably not on your radar, however, keep an eye on these folks and their TERALYNX switching silicon to see where it ends up given their performance claims.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.komprise.com">Komprise</a> – File, and data management solutions including tiering along with partners such as IBM.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://kubernetes.io/">Kubernetes</a> – A few years ago <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.openstack.org/">OpenStack</a>, then Docker containers was the favorite and trending discussion topic, then Mesos and along comes Kubernetes. It's safe to say, at least for now, Kubernetes is settling in as a preferred open source industry and customer defecto choice (I want to say standard, however, will hold off on that for now) for container and related orchestration management. Besides, do it yourself (DiY) leveraging open source, there are also managed AWS Elastic Kubernetes Service (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/eks/">EKS</a>), Azure Kubernetes Services (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/services/kubernetes-service/">AKS</a>), Google Kubernetes Engine (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/">GKE</a>), and VMware Pivotal Container Service (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/pivotal-container-service">PKS</a>) among others. Besides Azure, Microsoft also includes Kubernetes support (along with Docker and Windows containers) as part of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/kubernetes/getting-started-kubernetes-windows">Windows Servers</a>.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/">ManageEngine</a> (part of Zoho) - Has data infrastructure monitoring technology called OpManager for keeping an eye on networking.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.nasdaq.com/article/marvell-closes-cavium-buyout-boosts-foothold-in-chip-market-cm988565">Marvel</a> – Marvel may not be a familiar name (don’t confuse with comics), however, has been a critical component supplier to partners whose server or storage technology you may be familiar with or have yourself. Server, Storage, I/O Networking chip maker has closed on its acquisition of Cavium (who previously bought Qlogic among others). The combined company is well positioned as a key data infrastructure component supplier to various partners spanning servers, storage, I/O networking including Fibre Channel (FC), Ethernet, InfiniBand, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe (and NVMeoF)</a> among others.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.mellanox.com/page/products_overview">Mellanox</a> – Known for their InfiniBand adapters, switches, and associated software, along with growing presence in RDMA over Converged Ethernet (RoCE), they are also well positioned for NVMe over Fabrics among other growth opportunities following recent boardroom updates, along with technology roadmap's.<br/> <br/>Microsoft – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com">Azure public cloud</a> continues to evolve similarly to AWS with more region locations, availability zone (AZ) data centers, as well as features and extensions. Microsoft also introduced about a year ago its hybrid on-prem CI/HCI cloud in a box platform appliance <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Azure Stack</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii/">read about my test drive here</a>). However, there is more to Microsoft than just their current cloud first focus which means Windows (desktop), as well as Server, are also evolving. Currently, in public preview, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/microsoft-windows-server-2019-insiders-preview/">Windows Server 2019 insiders build</a> available to try out many new capabilities, some of which were covered in the recent free <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/announcing-windows-server-summit-virtual-online-event/">Microsoft Virtual Summit held in June</a>. Key themes of Windows Server 2019 include security, performance, hybrid cloud, containers, software-defined storage and much more.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.microsemi.com/">Microsemi</a> – Has been around for a while is the combination of some vendors you may not have heard of or heard about in some time including PMC-Sierra (acquired Adaptec) and Vitesse among others. The reason I have Microsemi on this list is a combination of their acquisitions which might be an indicator of whom they pick up next. Another reason is that their components span data infrastructure topics from servers, storage, I/O and networking, PCIe and many more.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.nvidia.com">NVIDIA</a> – GPU high performance compute and related compute offload technologies have been accessible for over a decade. More recently with new graphics and computational demands, GPU such as those NVIDIA are in need. Demand includes traditional graphics acceleration for physical and virtual, augmented and virtual reality, as well as cloud, along with compute-intensive analytics, AI, ML, DL along with other cognitive workloads.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ngdsystems.com/">NGDSystems</a> (NGD) – Similar to what NVIDIA and other GPU vendors do for enabling compute offload for specific applications and workloads, NGD is working on a variation. That variation is to move offload compute capabilities for the server I/O storage-intensive workloads closer, in fact into storage system components such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">SSDs</a> and emerging <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9yhmd4l">SCMs and PMEMs</a>. Unlike GPU based applications or workloads that tend to be more memory and compute intensive, NGD is positioned for applications that are the server I/O and storage intensive.</p>
<p align="justify">The premise of NGD is that they move the compute and application closer to where the data is, eliminating extra I/O, as well as reducing the amount of main server memory and compute cycles. If you are familiar with other server storage I/O offload engines and systems such as Oracle Exadata database appliance NGD is working at a tighter integration granularity. How it works is your application gets ported to run on the NGD storage platform which is SSD based and having a general-purpose processor. Your application is initiated from a host server, where it then runs on the NGD meaning I/Os are kept local to the storage system. Keep in mind that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/what-is-the-best-kind-of-io-the-one-you-do-not-have-to-do/">the best I/O is the one that you do not have to do</a>, the second best is the one with the least resource or user impact.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.opvizor.com/vsan-what-is-vmware-vsan">Opvisor</a> – Performance activity and capacity monitoring tools including for VMware environments.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://paviliondata.com/company/">Pavillon</a> – Startup with an interesting NVMe based hardware appliance.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.quest.com/products">Quest</a> – Having gained their independence as a free-standing company since divestiture from Dell Technologies (Dell had previously acquired Quest before EMC acquisition), Quest continues to make their data infrastructure related management tools available. Besides now being a standalone company again, keep an eye on Quest to see how they evolve their existing data protection and data infrastructure resource management tools portfolio via growth, acquisition, or, perhaps Quest will be on somebody else’s future growth list.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.retrospect.com/">Retrospect</a> – Far from being a startup, after gaining their independence from when EMC bought them several years ago, they have since continued to enhance their data protection technology. Disclosure, I have been a Retrospect customer since 2001 using it for on-site, as well as cloud data protection backups to the cloud.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.rubrik.com/">Rubrik</a> – Becoming more of a data infrastructure household name given their expanding technology portfolio and marketing efforts. More commonly known in smaller customer environments, as well as broadly within industry insider circles, Rubrik has potential with continued technology evolution to move further upmarket similar to how Commvault did back in the late 90s, just saying.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.skyscale.com/">SkyScale</a> – Cloud service provider that offers dedicated bare metal, as well as private, hybrid cloud instances along with GPU to support AI, ML, DL and other high performance, compute workloads.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.snowflake.net">Snowflake</a> – The name does not describe well what they do or who they are. However, they have an interesting cloud data warehouse (old school) large-scale data lakes (new school) technologies.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://strongboxdata.com/">Strongbox</a> – Not to be confused with technology such as those from Iosafe (e.g., waterproof, fireproof), Strongbox is a data protection storage solution for storing archives, backups, BC/BR/DR data, as well as cloud tiering. For those who are into buzzword bingo, think cloud tiering, object, cold storage among others. The technology evolved out of Crossroads and with David Cerf at the helm has branched out into a private company with keeping an eye on.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.storbyte.com/">Storbyte</a> – With longtime industry insider sales and marketing pro-Diamond Lauffin (formerly Nexsan) involved as Chief Evangelist, this is worth keeping an eye on and could be entertaining as well as exciting. In some ways it could be seen as a bit of Nexsan meets NVme meets NAND Flash meets cost-effective value storage dejavu play.<br/> <br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.talonstorage.com/">Talon</a> – Enterprise storage and management solutions for file sharing across organizations, ROBO and cloud environments.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ubnt.com/">Ubitqui</a> – Also known as UBNT is a data infrastructure networking vendor whose technologies span from WiFi access points (AP), high-performance antennas, routing, switching and related hardware, along with software solutions. UBNT is not as well-known in more larger environments as a Cisco or others. However, they are making a name for themselves moving from the edge to the core. That is, working from the edge with AP and routers, firewalls, gateways for the SMB, ROBO, SOHO as well as consumer (I have several of their APs, switches, routers and high-performance antennas along with management software), these technologies are also finding their way into larger environments. </p>
<p align="justify">My first use of UBNT was several years ago when I needed to get an IP network connection to a remote building separated by several hundred yards of forest. The solution I found was to get a pair of UBNT NANO Apps, put them in secure bridge mode; now I have a high-performance WiFi service through a forest of trees. Since then have replaced an older Cisco router, several Cisco, and other APs, as well as the phased migration of switches.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://updraftplus.com/">UpdraftPlus</a>– If you have a WordPress web or blog site, you should also have a UpdraftPlus plugin (go premium btw) for data protection. I have been using Updraft for several years on my various sites to backup and protect the MySQL databases and all other content. For those of you who are familiar with Spanning (e.g., was acquired by EMC then divested by Dell) and what they do for cloud applications, UpdraftPlus does similar for lower-end, smaller cloud-based applications.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.vexata.com/">Vexata</a> – Startup scale out NVMe storage solution.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.vmware.com/">VMware</a> – Expanding their cloud foundation from on-prem to in and on clouds including AWS among others. Data Infrastructure focus continues to expand from core to edge, server, storage, I/O, networking. With recent Dell Technologies and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-technologies-vmware-dividend/">VMware declaring a dividend</a>, should be interesting to see what lies ahead for both entities.</p>
<h3>What About Those Not Mentioned?</h3>
<p align="justify">By the way, if you were wondering about or why others are not in the above list, simple, check out last year’s list which includes Apcera, Blue Medora, Broadcom, Chelsio, Commvault, Compuverde, Datadog, Datrium, Docker, E8 Storage, Elastifile, Enmotus, Everspin, Excelero, Hedvig, Huawei, Intel, Kubernetes, Liqid, Maxta, Micron, Minio, NetApp, Neuvector, Noobaa, NVIDA, Pivot3, Pluribus Networks, Portwork, Rozo Systems, ScaleMP, Storpool, Stratoscale, SUSE Technology, Tidalscale, Turbonomic, Ubuntu, Veeam, Virtuozzo and WekaIO. Note that many of the above have expanded their capabilities in the past year and remain, or have become even more interesting to watch, while some might be on the future where are they now list sometime down the road. View additional vendors and service providers via our <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-storageio-data-infrastructure-related-links/">industry links and resources page here</a>.</p>
<h3>What About New, Emerging, Trending and Trendy Technologies</h3>
<p align="justify">Bitcoin and Blockchain storage startups, some of which claim or would like to replace cloud storage taking on giants such as AWS S3 in the not so distant future have been popping up lately. Some of these have good and exciting stories if they can deliver on the hype along with the premise. A couple of names to drop include among others Filecoin, Maidsafe, Sia, Storj along with services from AWS, Azure, Google and a long list of others.</p>
<p align="justify">Besides Blockchain distributed ledgers, other technologies and trends to keep an eye on include compute processes from ARM to SoC, GPU, FPGA, ASIC for offload and specialized processing. GPU, ASIC, and FPGA are appearing in new deployments across cloud providers as they look to offload processing from their general servers to derive total effective productivity out of them. In other words, innovating by offloading to boost their effective return on investment (old ROI), as well as increase their return on innovation (the new ROI).</p>
<p align="justify">Other data infrastructure server I/O which also ties into storage and network trends to watch include Gen-Z that some may claim as the successor to PCIe, Ethernet, InfiniBand among others (hint, get ready for a new round of “something is dead” hype). Near-term the objective of Gen-Z is to coexist, complement PCIe, Ethernet, CPU to memory interconnect, while enabling more granular allocation of data infrastructure resources (e.g., composability). Besides watching who is part of the Gen-Z movement, keep an eye on who is not part of it yet, specifically Intel.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> and its many variations from a server internal to networked NVMe over Fabrics (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMeoF</a>) along with its derivatives continue to gain both industry adoption, as well as customer deployment. There are some early NVMeoF based server storage deployments (along with marketing dollars). However, the server side NVMe customer adoption is where the dollars are moving to the vendors. In other words, it's still early in the bigger broader NVMe and NVMeoF game.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> and related topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/june-2018-server-storageio-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">June 2018 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/may-2018-server-storageio-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">May 2018 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Welcome to the Data Protection Diaries</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">Which Enterprise HDD for Content Server Platform</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1/">Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same (Part I)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Primer Overview (Its Whats Inside The Data Center)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">If NVMe is the answer, what are the questions?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-overview-and-primer-part-i/">NVMe Primer</a> (or refresh), <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place,</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmark-resources/">Server Storage I/O Benchmark Performance Resource Tools</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" style="width: 162px; height: 240px; border: 0px;"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">Let's see how those mentioned <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/">last year</a> as well as this year, along with some new and emerging vendors, service providers who did not get said end up next year, as well as the years after that.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Book4_15_2_TrendTimeline.png" alt="2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors to Watch"/><br/>Different timelines of adoption and deployment for various audiences</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that there is a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/industry-adoption-vs-industry-deployment-is-there-a-difference/">difference between industry adoption and customer deployment</a>, granted they are related. Likewise let’s see <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/top-storage-world-decade/">who will be at the top</a> in three, five and ten years, which means some of the current top or favorite vendors may or may not be on the list, same with some of the established vendors. Meanwhile, check out the 2018 Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors to Watch.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Cheers Gs</p>Dell Technology World 2018 Part I Announcement Summarytag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-05-10:2336802:BlogPost:1486412018-05-10T15:32:34.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Dell Technology World 2018 Part I Announcement Summary</h2>
<p align="justify"><img alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Announcement Summary" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img> <br></br>This is part one of a five-part series about Dell Technology World 2018 announcement summary. Last week (April 30-May 3) I traveled to Las Vegas <u>Nevada</u> (LAS) to attend <a href="https://www.delltechnologiesworld.com/live.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dell Technology World 2018</a> (e.g., DTW 2018) as a guest of Dell (that is a disclosure btw). There were several announcements along with…</p>
<h2>Dell Technology World 2018 Part I Announcement Summary</h2>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Announcement Summary"/><br/>This is part one of a five-part series about Dell Technology World 2018 announcement summary. Last week (April 30-May 3) I traveled to Las Vegas <u>Nevada</u> (LAS) to attend <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologiesworld.com/live.htm">Dell Technology World 2018</a> (e.g., DTW 2018) as a guest of Dell (that is a disclosure btw). There were several announcements along with plenty of other activity from sessions, meetings, hallway and event networking taking place at Dell Technology World DTW 2018.</p>
<p>Major <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> technology announcements include:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/storage/powermax.htm">PowerMax</a> all-flash array (AFA) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">solid state device (SSD)</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> storage system</li>
<li>PowerEdge four-socket 2U and 4U rack servers</li>
<li>XtremIO X2 AFA SSD storage system updates</li>
<li>PowerEdge MX preview of future composable servers</li>
<li>Desktop and thin client along with other VDI updates</li>
<li>Cloud and networking enhancements</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Besides the above, additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> related announcements were made in association with Dell Technology family members including VMware along with other partners, as well as customer awards. Other updates and announcements were tied to business updates from Dell Technology, Dell Technical Capital (venture capital), and, Dell Financial Services.</p>
<h3>Dell Technology World Buzzword Bingo Lineup</h3>
<p align="justify">Some of the buzzword bingo terms, topics, acronyms from Dell Technology World 2018 included AFA, AI, Autonomous, Azure, Bare Metal, Big Data, Blockchain, CI, Cloud, Composable, Compression, Containers, Core, Data Analytics, Dedupe, Dell, DFS (Dell Financial Services), DFR (Data Footprint Reduction), Distributed Ledger, DL, Durability, Fabric, FPGA, GDPR, Gen-Z, GPU, HCI, HDD, HPC, Hybrid, IOP, Kubernetes, Latency, MaaS (Metal as a Service), ML, NFV, NSX, NVMe, NVMeoF, PACE (Performance Availability Capacity Economics), PCIe, Pivotal, PMEM, RAID, RPO, RTO, SAS, SATA, SC, SCM, SDDC, SDS, Socket, SSD, Stamp, TBW (Terabytes Written per day), VDI, venture capital, VMware and VR among others.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_LeavingLAS.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Venue"/><br/>Dell Technology World DTW 2018 Event and Venue</p>
<p align="justify">Dell Technology World 2018 was located at the combined <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.palazzo.com/">Palazzo and Venetian hotels along with adjacent Sands Expo center</a> kicking off Monday, April 30th and wrapping up May 4th.</p>
<p align="justify">The theme for Dell Technology World DTW 2018 was make it real, which in some ways was interesting given the focus on virtual including virtual reality (VR), software-defined data center (SDDC) virtualization, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> topics, along with artificial intelligence (AI).</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_VirtSky.png" alt="Virtual Sky Dell Technology World 2018"/><br/>Make it real – Venetian Palazzo St. Mark’s Square on the way to Sands Expo Center</p>
<p align="justify">There was plenty of AI, VR, SDDC along with other technologies, tools as well as some fun stuff to do including VR games.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_Common1.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Commons Area"/><br/>Dell Technology World Village Area near Key Note and Expo Halls</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_Drone2.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Commons Area Drones"/><br/>Dell Technology World Drone Flying Area</p>
<p align="justify">During a break from some meetings, I used a few minutes to fly a drone using VR which was interesting. I Have been <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.tv">operating drones (See some videos here)</a> visually without dependence on first-person view (FPV) or relying on extensive autonomous operations instead flying heads up by hand for several years. Needless to say, the VR was interesting, granted encountered a bit of vertigo that I had to get used to.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_VirtVillage.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Commons Area Virtual Village"/><br/>More views of the Dell Technology World Village and Commons Area with VR activity</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_VirtVillage2.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Commons Area Virtual Village"/><br/>Dell Technology World Village and VR area</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_VirtVillage3.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 Commons Area Virtual Village"/><br/>Dell Technology World Bean Bag Area</p>
<h3>Dell Technology World 2018 Announcement Summary</h3>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff with the AI, ML, DL, VR fun, time to move on to the business and technology topics of Dell Technologies World 2018.</p>
<p>What was announced at Dell Technology World 2018 included among others:</p>
<ul>
<li>Dell Technologies World 2018 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/michael-dell-kicks-off-dell-technologies-world-2018.htm">keynote kick off by Michael Dell</a></li>
<li>Partner business growth for Dell Technologies with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/dell-technologies-accelerates-partner-business-growth-with-broader-offerings-and-increased-incentives.htm">broader offerings and incentives</a></li>
<li>Dell Technologies Capital (venture capital) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/dell-technologies-capital-announces-strong-exit-investment-momentum-in-its-first-year-out-of-stealth.htm">first year out of stealth progress</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/dell-technologies-announces-customer-award-winners.htm">Customer award winners</a> of Dell Technologies</li>
<li>Dell <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/storage/powermax.htm">PowerMax</a> next-generation enterprise-class tier 0 and tier 1 storage system</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/storage/xtremio-all-flash.htm">XtremIO X2</a> native replication and new lower cost entry model</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2018/20180213-01.htm">Dell EMC VxBlock System 1000</a> with PowerMax and XtremIO X2</li>
<li>Dell <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-v-dell-technology-world-2018-server-converged-announcement-details">PowerEdge R840 and R940xa</a> rack servers</li>
<li>Dell <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/dell-technologies-updates-vdi-complete-solutions-and-unveils-its-most-versatile-thin-client-ever.htm">Wyse 5070</a> thin clients and new <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/dell-technologies-updates-vdi-complete-solutions-and-unveils-its-most-versatile-thin-client-ever.htm">VDI solutions</a></li>
<li>Microsoft <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/press/dell-technologies-and-microsoft-collaborate-to-help-customers-simplify-delivery-of-iot-solutions.htm">Azure IoT, VMware Pulse IoT Center, and Dell edge</a> solutions</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_DTW_PowerMaxFront.png" alt="Dell Technology World 2018 PowerMax"/><br/>Dell PowerMax Front View</p>
<p align="justify">Subsequent posts in this series take a deeper look at the various announcements as well as what they mean.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about Dell Technology World 2018 and related topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li>Dell Technology World 2018 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-technology-world-2018-announcement-summary">Part I</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-ii-dell-technology-world-2018-modern-data-center-announcement-details">Part II</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iii-dell-technology-world-2018-storage-announcement-details">Part III</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iv-dell-technology-world-2018-poweredge-mx-gen-z-composable-infrastructure">Part IV</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-v-dell-technology-world-2018-server-converged-announcement-details">Part V</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability/">Application Data Availability 4 3 2 1 Data Protection</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1/">Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same (Part I)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Primer Overview (Its Whats Inside The Data Center)</a></li>
<li>Dell EMC Expands Server Capabilities for Software-defined, Edge and High-Performance Computing (e.g., <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2018/20180206-01.htm">AMD EPYC</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-world-2017-day-news-announcement-summary/">Dell EMC World 2017 Day One news announcement summary</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/new-cloud-act-data-regulation/">Have you heard about the new CLOUD Act data regulation?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hpe-announces-amd-powered-gen-10-proliant-dl385-software-defined-workloads/">HPE Announces AMD Powered Gen 10 ProLiant DL385 For Software Defined </a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">If NVMe is the answer, what are the questions?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/family-intel-xeon-scalable-processors-enable-software-defined-data-infrastructures-sddi-sddc/">New family of Intel Xeon Scalable Processors enable software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and SDDC</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-overview-and-primer-part-i/">NVMe Primer</a> (or refresh) and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (e.g., <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">https://thenvmeplace.com</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/pcie-fundamentals-server-storage-io/">PCIe Fundamentals Server Storage I/O Network Essentials</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (e.g., <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">https://thessdplace.com</a>) nand flash, SCM, and related topics</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/news/252440347/Dell-EMC-all-flash-PowerMax-replaces-VMAX-injects-NVMe">Via SearchStorage</a>: Dell EMC all-flash PowerMax replaces VMAX, injects NVMe</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/news/252440516/Dell-EMC-midrange-storage-keeps-its-overlapping-arrays">Via SearchStorage</a>: Dell EMC midrange storage keeps its overlapping arrays</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/blog/Storage-Soup/Dell-EMC-storage-IPO-VMware-merger-plans-still-unclear">Via SearchStorage</a>: Dell EMC storage IPO, VMware merger plans still unclear</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/news/252439896/Dell-EMC-storage-strategy-talk-buzzes-Dell-Tech-World">Via SearchStorage</a>: Dell EMC storage strategy talk buzzes Dell Tech World</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://searchstorage.techtarget.com/news/252434543/How-a-Dell-and-VMware-merger-could-affect-EMC-storage">Via SearchStorage</a>: How a Dell and VMware merger could affect EMC storage</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/vmware-continues-cloud-construction-march-announcements/">VMware continues cloud construction with March announcements</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/vmware-vsphere-vsan-vcenter-version-6-7-summary/">VMware vSphere vSAN vCenter version 6.7 SDDC Update Summary</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/">Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What’s Inside of Data Centers</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">On the surface it may appear that there was not much announced at Dell Technology World 2018 particular compared to some of the recent Dell EMC Worlds and EMC Worlds. However turns out that there was a lot announced, granted without some of the entertainment and circus like atmosphere of previous events. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-ii-dell-technology-world-2018-modern-data-center-announcement-details">Continue reading here Part II</a> Dell Technology World 2018 Modern Data Center Announcement Details in this series, along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iii-dell-technology-world-2018-storage-announcement-details">Part III here</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iv-dell-technology-world-2018-poweredge-mx-gen-z-composable-infrastructure">Part IV here</a> (including PowerEdge MX composable infrastructure leveraging Gen-Z) and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-v-dell-technology-world-2018-server-converged-announcement-details">Part V (servers and converged) here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Cheers Gs</p>
<p align="justify">Greg Schulz - Microsoft MVP Cloud and Data Center Management, VMware vExpert 2010-2017 (vSAN and vCloud). Author of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC Press), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book3.html">Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking</a> (CRC Press), <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book2.html">The Green and Virtual Data Center</a> (CRC Press), <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book1.html">Resilient Storage Networks</a> (Elsevier) and twitter <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://twitter.com/storageio">@storageio</a>. Courteous comments are welcome for consideration. First published on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com">https://storageioblog.com</a> any reproduction in whole, in part, with changes to content, without source attribution under title or without permission is forbidden.</p>
<p align="justify">All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2018 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO. All Rights Reserved. StorageIO is a registered Trade Mark (TM) of Server StorageIO.</p>Do you know about the new CLOUD Act data regulation?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-04-06:2336802:BlogPost:1485832018-04-06T18:07:41.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Have you heard about the new CLOUD Act data regulation?</h2>
<p><img alt="new CLOUD Act data regulation" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">Have you heard about the new CLOUD Act data regulation?</p>
<p align="justify">The new CLOUD Act data regulation became law as part of the recent $1.3 Trillion (USD) omnibus U.S. government budget <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/22/17131004/cloud-act-congress-omnibus-passed-mlat" rel="noopener" target="_blank">spending bill passed by Congress</a> on March 23, 2018 and signed by…</p>
<h2>Have you heard about the new CLOUD Act data regulation?</h2>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="new CLOUD Act data regulation"/></p>
<p align="justify">Have you heard about the new CLOUD Act data regulation?</p>
<p align="justify">The new CLOUD Act data regulation became law as part of the recent $1.3 Trillion (USD) omnibus U.S. government budget <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/22/17131004/cloud-act-congress-omnibus-passed-mlat">spending bill passed by Congress</a> on March 23, 2018 and signed by President of the U.S. (POTUS) Donald Trump in March.</p>
<p align="justify">CLOUD Act is the acronym for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=fc2bbb3f-832f-4cc3-b9b6-2585d4c11c34">Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data</a>, not to be confused with initiatives such as U.S. federal governments <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.cio.gov/fed-it-topics/modernization/cloud/">CLOUD First</a> among others which are focused on using cloud, securing and complying (e.g. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/compliance/fedramp/">FedRAMP</a> among <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-government-extends-lead-in-the-cloud-another-leap-in-fedramp-coverage/">others</a>). In other words, the new CLOUD Act data regulation pertains to how data stored by cloud or other service providers can be accessed by law environment officials (LEO).</p>
<p><img src="https://www.supremecourt.gov/images/courtroom_sm.jpg" alt="U.S. Supreme court" width="321" height="213"/><br/>Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) Image via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/">https://www.supremecourt.gov/</a></p>
<h3>CLOUD Act background and Stored Communications Act</h3>
<p align="justify">After the signing into law of CLOUD Act, the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/381325-doj-asks-supreme-court-to-dismiss-case-again-microsoft">US Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the Supreme Court of the U.S. (SCOTUS) to dismiss</a> the pending case against Microsoft (e.g., Azure Cloud). The case or question in front of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/">SCOTUS</a> pertained to whether LEO can search as well as seize information or data that is stored overseas or in foreign counties.</p>
<p align="justify">As a refresher, or if you had not heard, SCOTUS was asked to resolve if a service provider who is responding to a warrant based on probable cause under the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/cloud-act-bridging-gap-between-technology-and-law">1986 era</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-121">Stored Communications Act</a>, is required to provide data in its custody, control or possession, regardless of if stored inside, or, outside the US.<br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/"></a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/global-infrastructure/services/"><img src="https://azurecomcdn.azureedge.net/cvt-8efd50c617ae2a512e0e084105e16e030ebe42305c0e7bc7ece951fb57e33112/images/page/global-infrastructure/regions/understand-regional-architecture.png" alt="Microsoft Azure Regions and software defined data infrastructures" width="543" height="446" border="0"/></a><br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/">Microsoft Azure Regions</a> via Microsoft.com</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/supreme-court-grapples-with-access-to-globalized-data-in-us-investigations/2018/02/27/d6f9af08-1be5-11e8-ae5a-16e60e4605f3_story.html">This particular case</a> in front of SCOTUS centered on <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/2/26/17052946/microsoft-email-supreme-court-case-law-enforcement">whether Microsoft</a> (a U.S. Technology firm) had to comply with a court order to produce emails (as part of an LEO drug investigation) even if those were stored outside of the US. In this particular situation, the emails were alleged to have been stored in a Microsoft Azure Cloud Dublin Ireland data center.</p>
<p>For its part, Microsoft senior attorney Hasan Ali said via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://fcw.com/articles/2018/04/05/cloud-act-in-practice.aspx">FCW “This bill is a significant step forward in the larger global debate on what our privacy laws should look like, even if it does not go to the highest threshold"</a>. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2018/02/27/a-problem-congress-should-solve/">Here are some additional perspectives</a> via Microsoft Brad Smith on his blog along with a video.</p>
<h3>What is CLOUD Act</h3>
<p>Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data is the new CLOUD Act data regulation approved by Congress (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4943/text">House</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2383/text">Senate</a>) details can be read <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4943/text">here</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2383/text">here</a> respectively with additional perspectives <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=fc2bbb3f-832f-4cc3-b9b6-2585d4c11c34">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">The new CLOUD Act law allows for POTUS to enter into executive agreements with foreign governments about data on criminal suspects. Granted what is or is not a crime in a given country will likely open Pandora’s box of issues. For example, in the case of Microsoft, if an agreement between the U.S. and Ireland were in place, and, Ireland agreed to release the data, it could then be accessed.</p>
<p align="justify">Now, for some who might be hyperventilating after reading the last sentence, keep this in mind that if you are overseas, it is up to your government to protect your privacy. The foreign government must have an agreement in place with the U.S. and that a crime has or had been committed, a crime that both parties concur with.</p>
<p align="justify">Also, keep in mind that is also appeal processes for providers including that the customer is not a U.S. person and does not reside in the U.S. and the disclosure would put the provider at risk of violating foreign law. Also, keep in mind that various provisions must be met before a cloud or service provider has to hand over your data regardless of what country you reside, or where the data resides.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about CLOUD Act, cloud, data protection, world backup day, recovery, restoration, GDPR along with related data infrastructure topics for cloud, legacy and other software defined environments via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/aws-cloud-application-data-protection-webinar/">AWS Cloud Application Data Protection Webinar</a></li>
<li>U.S. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/4943/text">House</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/2383/text">Senate</a> versions of CLOUD Act data regulations</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=fc2bbb3f-832f-4cc3-b9b6-2585d4c11c34">CLOUD (Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data) Act</a> data regulation became law</li>
<li>$1.3 Trillion (USD) omnibus U.S. government budget <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/3/22/17131004/cloud-act-congress-omnibus-passed-mlat">spending bill passed by Congress</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/381325-doj-asks-supreme-court-to-dismiss-case-again-microsoft">US DOJ has asked SCOTUS to dismiss</a> pending case against Microsoft</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.natlawreview.com/article/cloud-act-bridging-gap-between-technology-and-law">1986 era</a> regulations and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/part-I/chapter-121">Stored Communications Act</a></li>
<li>Microsoft Azure Cloud <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/global-infrastructure/regions/">regions</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-recovery-world-backup-day/">Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2018/02/27/a-problem-congress-should-solve/">Additional perspectives</a> via Microsoft Brad Smith on his blog along with a video.</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/march-2018-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">March 2018 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1/">Application Data Value Characteristics</a> Everything Is Not the Same (five-part mini-series)</li>
<li>Application Data Availability <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability/">4 3 2 1 Data Protection</a> (part of the mini-series)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA, Replication, Security)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/veeam-gdpr-experiences-walking-talk/">Veeam GDPR preparedness experiences Webinar walking the talk</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What’s Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/garbage-data-in-garbage-information-out-big-data-or-big-garbage/">Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Resources Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li>Object Storage Center resources (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://objectstoragecenter.com/">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com/">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com/">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p align="justify">Is the new CLOUD Act data regulation unique to Microsoft Azure Cloud?</p>
<p align="justify">No, it also applies to Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, IBM Softlayer Cloud, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the long list of other service providers.</p>
<p align="justify">What about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-recovery-world-backup-day/">GDPR</a>?</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that the new Global Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) go into effect May 25, 2018, that while based out of the European Union (EU), have global applicability across organizations of all size, scope, and type. Learn more about GDPR, Data Protection and its global impact <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-recovery-world-backup-day/">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Thus, if you have not heard about the new CLOUD Act data regulation, now is the time to become aware of it.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview Initial Test Drive Installtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-04-02:2336802:BlogPost:1486452018-04-02T21:54:27.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview</h2>
<p><img alt="Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview has been <a href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/03/20/announcing-windows-server-vnext-ltsc-build-17623/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">announced.</a> Windows Server 2019 in the past might have been named 2016 R2 also known as a Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release. Microsoft recommends LTSC…</p>
<h2>Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview</h2>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same"/></p>
<p align="justify">Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview has been <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/03/20/announcing-windows-server-vnext-ltsc-build-17623/">announced.</a> Windows Server 2019 in the past might have been named 2016 R2 also known as a Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release. Microsoft recommends LTSC <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-server">Windows Server</a> for workloads such as Microsoft SQL Server, Share Point and SDDC. The focus of Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview is around hybrid cloud, security, application development as well as deployment including containers, software defined data center (SDDC) and software defined data infrastructure, as well as converged along with hyper-converged infrasture (HCI) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/manage/honolulu/honolulu-manage-hci">management</a>.</p>
<h3>Windows Server 2019 Preview Features</h3>
<p align="justify">Features and enhancements in the Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview span HCI management, security, hybrid cloud among others.</p>
<ul>
<li>Hybrid cloud - Extending active directory, file server synchronize, cloud backup, applications spanning on-premise and cloud, management).</li>
<li>Security - Protect, detect and respond including shielded VMs, attested guarded fabric of host guarded machines, Windows and Linux VM (shielded), VMConnect for Windows and Linux troubleshooting of Shielded VM and encrypted networks, Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) among <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/03/20/announcing-windows-server-vnext-ltsc-build-17623/#bjCHqxPvzDHV4KsD.97">other enhancements</a>.</li>
<li>Application platform - Developer and deployment tools for Windows Server containers and Windows Subsystem on Linux (WSL). Note that Microsoft has also been reducing the size of the Server image while extending feature functionality. The smaller images take up less storage space, plus load faster. As part of continued serverless and container support (Windows and Linux along with Docker), there are options for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://blog.kubernetes.io/2018/01/kubernetes-v19-beta-windows-support.html">deployment orchestration including Kubernetes</a> (in beta). Other enhancements include extending previous support for <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.windows.com/buildingapps/2017/08/08/windows-subsystem-linux-windows-server/#GOSbUzCit2pcpUXc.97">Windows Subsystem for Linux</a> (WSL).</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Other enhancements part of Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview include cluster sets in support of software defined data center (SDDC). Cluster sets expand SDDC clusters of loosely coupled grouping of multiple failover clusters including compute, storage as well as hyper-converged configurations. Virtual machines have fluidity across member clusters within a cluster set and unified storage namespace. Existing failover cluster management experiences is preserved for member clusters, along with a new cluster set instance of the aggregate resources.</p>
<p align="justify">Management enhancements include S2D software defined storage performance history, project <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/manage/honolulu/honolulu-manage-hci">Honolulu</a> support for storage updates, along with powershell cmdlet updates, as well as system center 2019. Learn more about <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/manage/honolulu/honolulu">project Honolulu hybrid management here</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/manage/honolulu/deployment-guide">here</a>.</p>
<h3>Microsoft and Windows LTSC and SAC</h3>
<p align="justify">As a refresher, Microsoft Windows (along with other software) is now being released on two paths including more frequent semi-annual channel (SAC), and less frequent LTSC releases. Some other things to keep in mind that SAC are focused around server core and nano server as container image while LTSC includes server with desktop experience as well as server core. For example, Windows Server 2016 released fall of 2016 is an LTSC, while the 1709 release was a SAC which had specific enhancements for container related environments.</p>
<p align="justify">There was some confusion fall of 2017 when 1709 was released as it was optimized for container and serverless environments and thus lacked storage spaces direct (S2D) leading some to speculate S2D was dead. S2D among other items that were not in the 1709 SAC are very much alive and enhanced in the LTSC preview for Windows Server 2019. Learn more about Microsoft LTSC and SAC <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/semi-annual-channel-overview">here</a>.</p>
<h3>Test Driving Installing The Bits</h3>
<p align="justify">One of the enhancements with LTSC preview candidate server 2019 is improved upgrades of existing environments. Granted not everybody will choose the upgrade in place keeping existing files however some may find the capability useful. I chose to give the upgrade keeping current files in place as an option to see how it worked. To do the upgrade I used a clean and up to date Windows Server 2016 data center edition with desktop. This test system is a VMware ESXi 6.5 guest running on flash SSD storage. Before the upgrade to Windows Server 2019, I made a VMware vSphere snapshot so I could quickly and easily restore the system to a good state should something not work.</p>
<p>To get the bits, go to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewserver">Windows Insiders Preview Downloads</a> (you will need to register)<br/> <br/> Windows Server 2019 LTSC build 17623 is available in 18 languages in an ISO format and require a key.</p>
<p>The keys for the pre-release unlimited activations are:<br/> Datacenter Edition 6XBNX-4JQGW-QX6QG-74P76-72V67<br/> Standard Edition MFY9F-XBN2F-TYFMP-CCV49-RMYVH</p>
<p>First step is downloading the bits from the Windows insiders preview page including select language for the image to use.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019a.png" alt="Getting the windows server 2019 preview bits"/><br/> Select the language for the image to download</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019b.png" alt="windows server 2019 select language"/><br/> Starting the download</p>
<p align="justify">Once you have the image download, apply it to your bare metal server or hypervisors guest. In this example, I copied the windows server 2019 image to a VMware ESXi server for a Windows Server 2016 guest machine to access via its virtual CD/DVD.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019c.png" alt="pre upgrade check windows server version"/><br/> Verify the Windows Server version before upgrade</p>
<p>After download, access the image, in this case, I attached the image to the virtual machine CD, then accessed it and ran the setup application.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019d.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview download"/><br/> Download updates now or later</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019e.png" alt="license key"/><br/> Entering license key for pre-release windows server 2019</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019f.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview datacenter desktop version"/><br/> Selecting Windows Server Datacenter with Desktop</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019g.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview license"/><br/> Accepting Software License for pre-release version.</p>
<p align="justify">Next up is determining to do a new install (keep nothing), or an in-place upgrade. I wanted to see how smooth the in-place upgrade was so selected that option.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019h.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview inplace upgrade"/><br/> What to keep, nothing, or existing files and data</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019i.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview confirm selections"/><br/> Confirming your selections</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019j.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview install start"/><br/> Ready to start the installation process</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019k.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview upgrade in progress"/><br/> Installation underway of Windows Server 2019 preview</p>
<p>Once the installation is complete, verify that Windows Server 2019 is now installed.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Win2019l.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview upgrade completed"/><br/> Completed upgrade from Windows Server 2016 to Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview</p>
<p align="justify">The above shows verifying the system build using Powershell, as well as the message in the lower right corner of the display. Granted the above does not show the new functionality, however you should get an idea of how quickly a Windows Server 2019 preview can be deployed to explore and try out the new features.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview, Windows Server Storage Spaces Direct (S2D), Azure and related software defined data center (SDDC), software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/fixing-windows-10-1709-post-upgrade-restart-loop/">Fixing the Microsoft Windows 10 1709 post upgrade restart loop</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/introducing-windows-subsystem-for-linux-wsl/">Introducing Windows Subsystem for Linux WSL Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/microsoft-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/">Microsoft Azure September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrastructure Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/november-2017-server-storageio-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">November 2017 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/october-2017-server-storageio-update-newsletter/" title="Permanent Link: October 2017 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter">October 2017 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/03/20/announcing-windows-server-vnext-ltsc-build-17623/">Via Microsoft:</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2018/03/20/announcing-windows-server-vnext-ltsc-build-17623/">Announcing Windows Server 2019 Insider Preview Build 17623</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://insider.windows.com/en-us/for-business-getting-started-server/">Via Microsoft:</a> Getting Started Windows Server Insiders</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloudblogs.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2018/03/20/introducing-windows-server-2019-now-available-in-preview/">Via Microsoft:</a> Introducing Windows Server 2019 – now available in preview</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/windows-server-pricing">Via Microsoft:</a> Pricing and licensing for Windows Server 2016</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Windows-Server/ct-p/Windows-Server">Via Microsoft:</a> Windows Server Community</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewserver">Via Microsoft:</a> Windows Server Insider Preview Downloads</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">Part 1</a> - Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/aws-cloud-application-data-protection-webinar">AWS Cloud Application Data Protection Webinar</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/march-2018-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter">March 2018 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA,Replication, Security)</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview gives a glimpse of some of the new features that are part of the next evolution of Windows Server as part of supporting hybrid IT environments. In addition to the new features and functionality that convey not only support for hybrid cloud, also hybrid applications development, deployment, devops and workloads, Microsoft is showing flexibility in management, ease of use, scalability, along with security as well as scale out stability. If you have not looked at Windows Server for a while, or involved with serverless, containers, Kubernetes among other initiatives, now is a good time to check out Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Insiders Preview.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>Data Protection Recovery Life After World Backup Day, Pre GDPR and Beyondtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-04-02:2336802:BlogPost:1486442018-04-02T21:38:27.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR</h2>
<p><img alt="Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">It's time for Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR Start Date.</p>
<p align="justify">The annual <a href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">March 31 world backup day</a> focus has come and gone once again.</p>
<p align="justify">However, that does not mean data protection including…</p>
<h2>Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR</h2>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">It's time for Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR Start Date.</p>
<p align="justify">The annual <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">March 31 world backup day</a> focus has come and gone once again.</p>
<p align="justify">However, that does not mean data protection including backup as well as recovery along with security gets a 364-day vacation until March 31, 2019 (or the days leading up to it).</p>
<p align="justify">Granted, for some environments, public relations, editors, influencers and other industry folks backup day will take some time off while others jump on the ramp up to GDPR which goes into effect May 25, 2018.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NeedForProtect.png" width="600" height="239"/></p>
<h3>Expanding Focus Data Protection and GDPR</h3>
<p align="justify">As I mentioned <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">in this post here</a>, world backup day should be expanded to include increased focus not just on backup, also recovery as well as other forms of data protection. Likewise, May 25 2018 is not the deadline or finish line or the destination for GDPR (e.g. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">Global Data Protection Regulations</a>), rather, it is the starting point for an evolving journey, one that has global impact as well as applicability. Recently I participated in a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/veeam-gdpr-experiences-walking-talk/">fireside chat discussion</a> with Danny Allan of Veeam who shared his GDPR expertise as well as experiences, lessons learned, tips of Veeam as they started their journey, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/veeam-gdpr-experiences-walking-talk/">check it out here</a>.</p>
<h3>Expanding Focus Data Protection Recovery and other Things that start with R</h3>
<p align="justify">As part of expanding the focus on Data Protection Recovery Life Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR, that also means looking at, discussing things that start with R (like Recovery). Some examples besides recovery include restoration, reassess, review, rethink protection, recovery point, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enabling-data-protection-rpo-archive-backup-cdp-pit-copy-snapshots-versions/">RPO, RTO</a>, reconstruction, resiliency, ransomware, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-acess-availabity-raid-erasure-codes/">RAID</a>, repair, remediation, restart, resume, rollback, and regulations among others.</p>
<h3>Data Protection Tips, Reminders and Recommendations</h3>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none"><ul>
<li>There are no blue participation ribbons for failed recovery. However, there can be pink slips.</li>
<li>Only you can prevent on-premise or cloud data loss. However, it is also a shared responsibility with vendors and service providers</li>
<li>You can’t go forward in the future when there is a disaster or loss of data if you can’t go back in time for recovery</li>
<li>GDPR appliances to organizations around the world of all size and across all sectors including nonprofit</li>
<li>Keep new school 4 3 2 1 data protection in mind while evolving from old school 3 2 1 backup rules</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig9_4.png" alt="4 3 2 1 backup data protection rule" width="600"/></p>
<ul>
<li>A Fundamental premise of data infrastructures is to enable applications and their data, protect, preserve, secure and serve</li>
<li>Remember to protect your applications, as well as data including metadata, settings configurations</li>
<li>Test your restores including can you use the data along with security settings</li>
<li>Don’t cause a disaster in the course of testing your data protection, backups or recovery</li>
<li>Expand (or refresh) your data protection and data infrastructure education tradecraft skills experiences</li>
</ul>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about data protection, world backup day, recovery, restoration, GDPR along with related data infrastructure topics for cloud, legacy and other software defined environments via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/aws-cloud-application-data-protection-webinar/">AWS Cloud Application Data Protection Webinar</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/march-2018-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">March 2018 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1/">Application Data Value Characteristics</a> Everything Is Not The Same (five-part mini-series)</li>
<li>Application Data Availability <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability/">4 3 2 1 Data Protection</a> (part of the mini-series)</li>
<li>World Backup Day: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://infogoto.com/world-backup-day-best-practices-for-a-hybrid-approach">Best Practices for a Hybrid Approach</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-fundamentals/">Data Protection Diaries Fundamental Topics Tools Techniques Technologies Tips</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-fundamentals/">Data Protection Fundamental Topics Tools Techniques Technologies Tips</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA,Replication, Security)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/veeam-gdpr-experiences-walking-talk/">Veeam GDPR preparedness experiences Webinar walking the talk</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What’s Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">4 3 2 1 and 3 2 1</a> data protection best practices</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/garbage-data-in-garbage-information-out-big-data-or-big-garbage/">Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Resources Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li>Object Storage Center resources (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p>Data protection including business continuance (BC), business resiliency (BR), disaster recovery (DR), availability, accessibility, backup, snapshots, encryption, security, privacy among others is a 7 x 24 x 365 day a year focus. The focus of data protection also needs to evolve from an after the fact cost overhead to proactive, business enabler Meanwhile, welcome to Data Protection Recovery Post World Backup Day Pre GDPR Start Date.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>
<p>b</p>Everything Is Not The Same With Application Data Type Characteristicstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-03-14:2336802:BlogPost:1483202018-03-14T17:04:12.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p align="justify">Application Data Characteristics Types Everything Is Not The Same</p>
<p align="justify">This is part three of a five-part <a href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mini-series looking at Application Data Value Characteristics</a> everything is not the same as a companion excerpt from chapter 2 of my new book <a href="http://storageio.com/book4.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Software Defined Data…</a></p>
<p align="justify">Application Data Characteristics Types Everything Is Not The Same</p>
<p align="justify">This is part three of a five-part <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">mini-series looking at Application Data Value Characteristics</a> everything is not the same as a companion excerpt from chapter 2 of my new book <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials – Cloud, Converged and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft (CRC Press 2017).</a> available at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon.com</a> and other global venues. In this post, we continue looking at application and data characteristics with a focus on different types of data. There is more to data than simply being big data, fast data, big fast or unstructured, structured or semistructured, some of which has been touched on in this series, with more to follow. Note that there is also data in terms of the programs, applications, code, rules, policies as well as configuration settings, metadata along with other items stored.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Application Data Value Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>Various Types of Data</h3>
<p align="justify">Data types along with characteristics include big data, little data, fast data, and old as well as new data with a different value, life-cycle, volume and velocity. There are data in files and objects that are big representing images, figures, text, binary, structured or unstructured that are software defined by the applications that create, modify and use them.</p>
<p align="justify">There are many different types of data and applications to meet various business, organization, or functional needs. Keep in mind that applications are based on programs which consist of algorithms and data structures that define the data, how to use it, as well as how and when to store it. Those data structures define data that will get transformed into information by programs while also being stored in memory and on data stored in various formats.</p>
<p align="justify">Just as various applications have different algorithms, they also have different types of data. Even though everything is not the same in all environments, or even how the same applications get used across various organizations, there are some similarities. Even though there are different types of applications and data, there are also some similarities and general characteristics. Keep in mind that information is the result of programs (applications and their algorithms) that process data into something useful or of value.</p>
<p>Data typically has a basic life cycle of:</p>
<ul>
<li>Creation and some activity, including being protected</li>
<li>Dormant, followed by either continued activity or going inactive</li>
<li>Disposition (delete or remove)</li>
</ul>
<p>In general, data can be</p>
<ul>
<li>Temporary, ephemeral or transient</li>
<li>Dynamic or changing (“hot data”)</li>
<li>Active static on-line, near-line, or off-line (“warm-data”)</li>
<li>In-active static on-line or off-line (“cold data”)</li>
</ul>
<p>Data is organized</p>
<ul>
<li>Structured</li>
<li>Semi-structured</li>
<li>Unstructured</li>
</ul>
<p>General data characteristics include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Value = From no value to unknown to some or high value</li>
<li>Volume = Amount of data, files, objects of a given size</li>
<li>Variety = Various types of data (small, big, fast, structured, unstructured)</li>
<li>Velocity = Data streams, flows, rates, load, process, access, active or static</li>
</ul>
<p>The following figure shows how different data has various values over time. Data that has no value today or in the future can be deleted, while data with unknown value can be retained.</p>
<h3>Different data with various values over time</h3>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig2_3.png" alt="Application Data Value across sddc"/><br/> Data Value Known, Unknown and No Value</p>
<p align="justify">General characteristics include the value of the data which in turn determines its performance, availability, capacity, and economic considerations. Also, data can be ephemeral (temporary) or kept for longer periods of time on persistent, non-volatile storage (you do not lose the data when power is turned off). Examples of temporary scratch include work and scratch areas such as where data gets imported into, or exported out of, an application or database.</p>
<p align="justify">Data can also be little, big, or big and fast, terms which describe in part the size as well as volume along with the speed or velocity of being created, accessed, and processed. The importance of understanding characteristics of data and how their associated applications use them is to enable effective decision-making about performance, availability, capacity, and economics of data infrastructure resources.</p>
<h3>Data Value</h3>
<p>There is more to data storage than how much space capacity per cost.</p>
<p>All data has one of three basic values:</p>
<ul>
<li>No value = ephemeral/temp/scratch = Why keep it?</li>
<li>Some value = current or emerging future value, which can be low or high = Keep</li>
<li>Unknown value = protect until value is unlocked, or no remaining value</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">In addition to the above basic three, data with some value can also be further subdivided into little value, some value, or high value. Of course, you can keep subdividing into as many more or different categories as needed, after all, everything is not always the same across environments.</p>
<p align="justify">Besides data having some value, that value can also change by increasing or decreasing in value over time or even going from unknown to a known value, known to unknown, or to no value. Data with no value can be discarded, if in doubt, make and keep a copy of that data somewhere safe until its value (or lack of value) is fully known and understood.</p>
<p align="justify">The importance of understanding the value of data is to enable effective decision-making on where and how to protect, preserve, and cost-effectively store the data. Note that cost-effective does not necessarily mean the cheapest or lowest-cost approach, rather it means the way that aligns with the value and importance of the data at a given point in time.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about Application Data Value, application characteristics, PACE along with data protection, software-defined data center (SDDC), software-defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and related topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">Part 1</a> - Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability">Part 2</a> - 4 3 2 1 Data Protection Application Data Availability</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-characteristics-types-part3">Part 3</a> - Application Data Characteristics Types Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-volume-velocity">Part 4</a> - Application Data Volume Velocity Variety Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-access-life-cycle">Part 5</a> - Application Data Access life cycle Patterns Everything Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What's Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">4 3 2 1 and 3 2 1</a> data protection best practices</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/garbage-data-in-garbage-information-out-big-data-or-big-garbage/">Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Resources Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">Which Enterprise HDD to use for a Content Server Platform</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA,Replication, Security)</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="SDDC Data Infrastructure" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p align="justify">Data has different value at various times, and that value is also evolving. Everything Is Not The Same across various organizations, data centers, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> spanning legacy, cloud and other software defined data center (SDDC) environments. Continue reading the next post (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-volume-velocity">Part IV Application Data Volume Velocity Variety Everything Not The Same</a>) in this series <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-volume-velocity">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>4 3 2 1 Application Data Protection Availabilitytag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-03-14:2336802:BlogPost:1484162018-03-14T15:50:29.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p align="justify">This is part two of a five-part <a href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mini-series looking at Application Data Value Characteristics</a> everything is not the same as a companion excerpt from chapter 2 of my new book <a href="http://storageio.com/book4.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials – Cloud, Converged and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O…</a></p>
<p align="justify">This is part two of a five-part <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">mini-series looking at Application Data Value Characteristics</a> everything is not the same as a companion excerpt from chapter 2 of my new book <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials – Cloud, Converged and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft (CRC Press 2017).</a> available at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon.com</a> and other global venues. In this post, we continue looking at application <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">performance, availability, capacity, economic</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">PACE</a>) attributes that have an impact on data value as well as availability.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="4 3 2 1 data protection Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>Availability (Accessibility, Durability, Consistency)</h3>
<p align="justify">Just as there are many different aspects and focus areas for performance, there are also several facets to availability. Note that applications performance requires availability and availability relies on some level of performance.</p>
<p align="justify">Availability is a broad and encompassing area that includes data protection to protect, preserve, and serve (backup/restore, archive, BC, BR, DR, HA) data and applications. There are logical and physical aspects of availability including data protection as well as security including key management (manage your keys or authentication and certificates) and permissions, among other things.</p>
<p align="justify">Availability = accessibility (can you get to your application and data) + durability (is the data intact and consistent). This includes basic Reliability, Availability, Serviceability (RAS), as well as high availability, accessibility, and durability. “Durable” has multiple meanings, so context is important. Durable means how data infrastructure resources hold up to, survive, and tolerate wear and tear from use (i.e., endurance), for example, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://thessdplace.com/">Flash SSD</a> or mechanical devices such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">Hard Disk Drives (HDDs)</a>. Another context for durable refers to data, meaning how many copies in various places.</p>
<p>Server, storage, and I/O network availability topics include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Resiliency and self-healing to tolerate failure or disruption</li>
<li>Hardware, software, and services configured for resiliency</li>
<li>Accessibility to reach or be reached for handling work</li>
<li>Durability and consistency of data to be available for access</li>
<li>Protection of data, applications, and assets including security</li>
</ul>
<p>Additional server I/O and data infrastructure along with storage topics include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Backup/restore, replication, snapshots, sync, and copies</li>
<li>Basic Reliability, Availability, Serviceability, HA, fail over, BC, BR, and DR</li>
<li>Alternative paths, redundant components, and associated software</li>
<li>Applications that are fault-tolerant, resilient, and self-healing</li>
<li>Non disruptive upgrades, code (application or software) loads, and activation</li>
<li>Immediate data consistency and integrity vs. eventual consistency</li>
<li>Virus, malware, and other data corruption or loss prevention</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">From a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">data protection</a> standpoint, the fundamental rule or guideline is <em>4 3 2 1<strong>,</strong></em> which means having at least four copies consisting of at least three versions (different points in time), at least two of which are on different systems or storage devices and at least one of those is off-site (on-line, off-line, cloud, or other). There are many variations of the <em>4 3 2 1</em> rule shown in the following figure along with approaches on how to manage technology to use. We will go into deeper this subject in later chapters. For now, remember the following.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig9_4.png" alt="large version application server storage I/O" width="600" border="0"/></a><br/> <em>4 3 2 1</em> data protection (via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a>)</p>
<p><em>1</em> At least four copies of data (or more), Enables durability in case a copy goes bad, deleted, corrupted, failed device, or site.<br/> <em>2 </em> The number (or more) versions of the data to retain, Enables various recovery points in time to restore, resume, restart from.<br/> <em>3 </em> Data located on two or more systems (devices or media/mediums), Enables protection against device, system, server, file system, or other fault/failure.</p>
<p><em>4 </em> With at least one of those copies being off-premise and not live (isolated from active primary copy), Enables resiliency across sites, as well as space, time, distance gap for protection.</p>
<h3>Capacity and Space (What Gets Consumed and Occupied)</h3>
<p align="justify">In addition to being available and accessible in a timely manner (performance), data (and applications) occupy space. That space is memory in servers, as well as using available consumable processor CPU time along with I/O (performance) including over networks.</p>
<p align="justify">Data and applications also consume storage space where they are stored. In addition to basic data space, there is also space consumed for metadata as well as protection copies (and overhead), application settings, logs, and other items. Another aspect of capacity includes network IP ports and addresses, software licenses, server, storage, and network bandwidth or service time.</p>
<p>Server, storage, and I/O network capacity topics include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Consumable time-expiring resources (processor time, I/O, network bandwidth)</li>
<li>Network IP and other addresses</li>
<li>Physical resources of servers, storage, and I/O networking devices</li>
<li>Software licenses based on consumption or number of users</li>
<li>Primary and protection copies of data and applications</li>
<li>Active and standby data infrastructure resources and sites</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/more-data-footprint-reduction-dfr-material/">Data footprint reduction (DFR)</a> tools and techniques for space optimization</li>
<li>Policies, quotas, thresholds, limits, and capacity QoS</li>
<li>Application and database optimization</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">DFR includes various techniques, technologies, and tools to reduce the impact or overhead of protecting, preserving, and serving more data for longer periods of time. There are many different approaches to implementing a DFR strategy, since there are various applications and data.</p>
<p align="justify">Common DFR techniques and technologies include archiving, backup modernization, copy data management (CDM), clean up, compress, and consolidate, data management, deletion and dedupe, storage tiering, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/revisiting-raid-remains-relevant-resources-context-matters/">RAID</a> (including parity-based, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/revisiting-raid-remains-relevant-resources-context-matters/">erasure codes</a> , <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/LRC-Erasure-Coding-in-Windows-Storage-Spaces.pdf">local reconstruction codes [LRC]</a> , and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~guyb/realworld/reedsolomon/reed_solomon_codes.html">Reed-Solomon</a> , Ceph <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://tracker.ceph.com/projects/ceph/wiki/Shingled_Erasure_Code_(SHEC)">Shingled Erasure Code (SHEC</a> ), among others), along with protection configurations along with thin-provisioning, among others.</p>
<p align="justify">DFR can be implemented in various complementary locations from row-level compression in database or email to normalized databases, to file systems, operating systems, appliances, and storage systems using various techniques.</p>
<p align="justify">Also, keep in mind that not all data is the same; some is sparse, some is dense, some can be compressed or deduped while others cannot. Likewise, some data may not be compressible or dedupable. However, identical copies can be identified with links created to a common copy.</p>
<h3>Economics (People, Budgets, Energy and other Constraints)</h3>
<p align="justify">If one thing in life and technology that is constant is change, then the other constant is concern about economics or costs. There is a cost to enable and maintain a data infrastructure on premise or in the cloud, which exists to protect, preserve, and serve data and information applications.</p>
<p align="justify">However, there should also be a benefit to having the data infrastructure to house data and support applications that provide information to users of the services. A common economic focus is what something costs, either as up-front capital expenditure (CapEx) or as an operating expenditure (OpEx) expense, along with recurring fees.</p>
<p>In general, economic considerations include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Budgets (CapEx and OpEx), both up front and in recurring fees</li>
<li>Whether you buy, lease, rent, subscribe, or use free and open sources</li>
<li>People time needed to integrate and support even free open-source software</li>
<li>Costs including hardware, software, services, power, cooling, facilities, tools</li>
<li>People time includes base salary, benefits, training and education</li>
</ul>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about Application Data Value, application characteristics, PACE along with data protection, software defined data center (SDDC), software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and related topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">Part 1</a> - Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability">Part 2</a> - 4 3 2 1 Data Protection Application Data Availability</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-characteristics-types-part3">Part 3</a> - Application Data Characteristics Types Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-volume-velocity">Part 4</a> - Application Data Volume Velocity Variety Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-access-life-cycle">Part 5</a> - Application Data Access life cycle Patterns Everything Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What's Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">4 3 2 1 and 3 2 1</a> data protection best practices</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/garbage-data-in-garbage-information-out-big-data-or-big-garbage/">Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Resources Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">Which Enterprise HDD to use for a Content Server Platform</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA,Replication, Security)</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="SDDC Data Infrastructure" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that with Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same across various organizations, data centers, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> spanning legacy, cloud and other software defined data center (SDDC) environments. All applications have some element of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">performance, availability, capacity, economic</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">PACE</a>) needs as well as resource demands. There is often a focus around data storage about storage efficiency and utilization which is where data footprint reduction (DFR) techniques, tools, trends and as well as technologies address capacity requirements. However with data storage there is also an expanding focus around storage effectiveness also known as productivity tied to performance, along with availability including 4 3 2 1 data protection. Continue reading the next post (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-characteristics-types-part3">Part III Application Data Characteristics Types Everything Is Not The Same</a>) in this series <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-characteristics-types-part3">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>Everything Is Not The Same Application Data Value Characteristicstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-03-14:2336802:BlogPost:1484152018-03-14T15:14:38.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p align="justify">Everything Is Not The Same Application Data Value Characteristics</p>
<p align="justify">This is part one of a five-part <a href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mini-series looking at Application Data Value Characteristics</a> Everything Is Not The Same as a companion excerpt from chapter 2 of my new book <a href="http://storageio.com/book4.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Software Defined Data…</a></p>
<p align="justify">Everything Is Not The Same Application Data Value Characteristics</p>
<p align="justify">This is part one of a five-part <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">mini-series looking at Application Data Value Characteristics</a> Everything Is Not The Same as a companion excerpt from chapter 2 of my new book <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials – Cloud, Converged and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft (CRC Press 2017).</a> available at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon.com</a> and other global venues. In this post, we start things off by looking at general application server storage I/O characteristics that have an impact on data value as well as access.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Application Data Value Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Everything is not the same across different organizations including Information Technology (IT) data centers, data infrastructures along with the applications as well as data they support. For example, there is so-called big data that can be many small files, objects, blobs or data and bit streams representing telemetry, click stream analytics, logs among other information.</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that applications impact how data is accessed, used, processed, moved and stored. What this means is that a focus on data value, access patterns, along with other related topics need to also consider application <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">performance, availability, capacity, economic</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">PACE</a>) attributes.</p>
<p align="justify">If everything is not the same, why is so much data along with many applications treated the same from a PACE perspective?</p>
<p align="justify">Data Infrastructure resources including servers, storage, networks might be cheap or inexpensive, however, there is a cost to managing them along with data.</p>
<p align="justify">Managing includes data protection (backup, restore, BC, DR, HA, security) along with other activities. Likewise, there is a cost to the software along with cloud services among others. By understanding how applications use and interact with data, smarter, more informed data management decisions can be made.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" border="0" alt="IT Applications and Data Infrastructure Layers"/></a><br/>IT Applications and Data Infrastructure Layers</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that everything is not the same across various organizations, data centers, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a>, data and the applications that use them. Also keep in mind that programs (e.g. applications) = algorithms (code) + data structures (how data defined and organized, structured or unstructured).</p>
<p align="justify">There are traditional applications, along with those tied to Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Big Data and other analytics including real-time click stream, media and entertainment, security and surveillance, log and telemetry processing among many others.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that there are many different application with various character attributes along with resource (server compute, I/O network and memory, storage requirements) along with service requirements.</p>
<h3>Common Applications Characteristics</h3>
<p align="justify">Different applications will have various attributes, in general, as well as how they are used, for example, database transaction activity vs. reporting or analytics, logs and journals vs. redo logs, indices, tables, indices, import/export, scratch and temp space. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/pace-your-server-storage-io-decision-making-its-about-application-requirements/">Performance, availability, capacity, and economics (PACE)</a> describes the applications and data characters and needs shown in the following figure.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Figure_2_8.png" border="0" alt="Application and data PACE attributes"/></a><br/>Application PACE attributes (via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a>)</p>
<p>All applications have PACE attributes, however:</p>
<ul>
<li>PACE attributes vary by application and usage</li>
<li>Some applications and their data are more active than others</li>
<li>PACE characteristics may vary within different parts of an application</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Think of applications along with associated data PACE as its personality or how it behaves, what it does, how it does it, and when, along with value, benefit, or cost as well as quality-of-service (QoS) attributes.</p>
<p align="justify">Understanding applications in different environments, including data values and associated PACE attributes, is essential for making informed server, storage, I/O decisions and data infrastructure decisions. Data infrastructures decisions range from configuration to acquisitions or upgrades, when, where, why, and how to protect, and how to optimize performance including capacity planning, reporting, and troubleshooting, not to mention addressing budget concerns.</p>
<p align="justify">Primary <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">PACE</a> attributes for active and inactive applications and data are:</p>
<p><strong>P -</strong> Performance and activity (how things get used)<br/> <strong>A</strong> - Availability and durability (resiliency and data protection)<br/> <strong>C</strong> - Capacity and space (what things use or occupy)<br/> <strong>E</strong> - Economics and Energy (people, budgets, and other barriers)</p>
<p align="justify">Some applications need more performance (server computer, or storage and network I/O), while others need space capacity (storage, memory, network, or I/O connectivity). Likewise, some applications have different availability needs (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">data protection</a>, durability, security, resiliency, backup, business continuity, disaster recovery) that determine the tools, technologies, and techniques to use.</p>
<p align="justify">Budgets are also nearly always a concern, which for some applications means enabling more performance per cost while others are focused on maximizing space capacity and protection level per cost. PACE attributes also define or influence policies for QoS (performance, availability, capacity), as well as thresholds, limits, quotas, retention, and disposition, among others.</p>
<h3>Performance and Activity (How Resources Get Used)</h3>
<p align="justify">Some applications or components that comprise a larger solution will have more performance demands than others. Likewise, the performance characteristics of applications along with their associated data will also vary. Performance applies to the server, storage, and I/O networking hardware along with associated software and applications.</p>
<p align="justify">For servers, performance is focused on how much CPU or processor time is used, along with memory and I/O operations. I/O operations to create, read, update, or delete (CRUD) data include activity rate (frequency or data velocity) of I/O operations (IOPS). Other considerations include the volume or amount of data being moved (bandwidth, throughput, transfer), response time or latency, along with queue depths.</p>
<p align="justify">Activity is the amount of work to do or being done in a given amount of time (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks), which can be transactions, rates, IOPs. Additional performance considerations include latency, bandwidth, throughput, response time, queues, reads or writes, gets or puts, updates, lists, directories, searches, pages views, files opened, videos viewed, or downloads. <br/> <br/>Server, storage, and I/O network performance include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Processor CPU usage time and queues (user and system overhead)</li>
<li>Memory usage effectiveness including page and swap</li>
<li>I/O activity including between servers and storage</li>
<li>Errors, retransmission, retries, and rebuilds</li>
</ul>
<p>the following figure shows a generic performance example of data being accessed (mixed reads, writes, random, sequential, big, small, low and high-latency) on a local and a remote basis. The example shows how for a given time interval (see lower right), applications are accessing and working with data via different data streams in the larger image left center. Also shown are queues and I/O handling along with end-to-end (E2E) response time.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Figure_2_9.png" border="0" alt="fundamental server storage I/O"/></a><br/>Server I/O performance fundamentals (via <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a>)</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Figure_2_9a.png">Click here</a> to view a larger version of the above figure.</p>
<p align="justify">Also shown on the left in the above figure is an example of E2E response time from the application through the various data infrastructure layers, as well as, lower center, the response time from the server to the memory or storage devices.</p>
<p align="justify">Various queues are shown in the middle of the above figure which are indicators of how much work is occurring, if the processing is keeping up with the work or causing backlogs. Context is needed for queues, as they exist in the server, I/O networking devices, and software drivers, as well as in storage among other locations.</p>
<p>Some basic server, storage, I/O metrics that matter include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Queue depth of I/Os waiting to be processed and concurrency</li>
<li>CPU and memory usage to process I/Os</li>
<li>I/O size, or how much data can be moved in a given operation</li>
<li>I/O activity rate or IOPs = amount of data moved/I/O size per unit of time</li>
<li>Bandwidth = data moved per unit of time = I/O size × I/O rate</li>
<li>Latency usually increases with larger I/O sizes, decreases with smaller requests</li>
<li>I/O rates usually increase with smaller I/O sizes and vice versa</li>
<li>Bandwidth increases with larger I/O sizes and vice versa</li>
<li>Sequential stream access data may have better performance than some random access data</li>
<li>Not all data is conducive to being sequential stream, or random</li>
<li>Lower response time is better, higher activity rates and bandwidth are better</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Queues with high latency and small I/O size or small I/O rates could indicate a performance bottleneck. Queues with low latency and high I/O rates with good bandwidth or data being moved could be a good thing. An important note is to look at several metrics, not just IOPs or activity, or bandwidth, queues, or response time. Also, keep in mind that metrics that matter for your environment may be different from those for somebody else.</p>
<p align="justify">Something to keep in perspective is that there can be a large amount of data with low performance, or a small amount of data with high-performance, not to mention many other variations. The important concept is that as space capacity scales, that does not mean performance also improves or vice versa, after all, everything is not the same.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about Application Data Value, application characteristics, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">PACE</a> along with data protection, software defined data center (SDDC), software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and related topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-value-characteristics-part1">Part 1</a> - Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability">Part 2</a> - 4 3 2 1 Data Protection Application Data Availability</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-characteristics-types-part3">Part 3</a> - Application Data Characteristics Types Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-volume-velocity">Part 4</a> - Application Data Volume Velocity Variety Everything Is Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/application-data-access-life-cycle">Part 5</a> - Application Data Access Life cycle Patterns Everything Not The Same</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What's Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">4 3 2 1 and 3 2 1</a> data protection best practices</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/garbage-data-in-garbage-information-out-big-data-or-big-garbage/">Garbage data in, garbage information out, big data or big garbage?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Resources Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">Which Enterprise HDD to use for a Content Server Platform</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA,Replication, Security)</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="SDDC Data Infrastructure" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that with Application Data Value Characteristics Everything Is Not The Same across various organizations, data centers, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> spanning legacy, cloud and other software defined data center (SDDC) environments. However all applications have some element (high or low) of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">performance, availability, capacity, economic</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yblnkuwu">PACE</a>) along with various similarities. Likewise data has different value at various times. Continue reading the next post <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability">(Part II Application Data Availability Everything Is Not The Same</a>) in this five-part mini-series <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/4-3-2-1-data-protection-availability">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>With March announcements VMware continues cloud constructiontag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-03-07:2336802:BlogPost:1481472018-03-07T21:42:10.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>VMware continues cloud construction with March announcements</h2>
<p><img alt="VMware continues cloud construction sddc" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">VMware continues cloud construction with March <a href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing" rel="noopener" target="_blank">announcements</a> of new features and other enhancements.</p>
<p><a href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img alt="VMware continues cloud construction SDDC data infrastructure strategy big picture" border="0" src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_VMW_Cloud_2_030718.png"></img></a> <br></br> VMware Cloud Provides Consistent Operations and Infrastructure Via: VMware.com…</p>
<h2>VMware continues cloud construction with March announcements</h2>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="VMware continues cloud construction sddc"/></p>
<p align="justify">VMware continues cloud construction with March <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing">announcements</a> of new features and other enhancements.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_VMW_Cloud_2_030718.png" border="0" alt="VMware continues cloud construction SDDC data infrastructure strategy big picture"/></a><br/> VMware Cloud Provides Consistent Operations and Infrastructure Via: VMware.com</p>
<p align="justify">With its recent <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing">announcements</a>, VMware continues cloud construction adding new features, enhancements, partnerships along with services.</p>
<p align="justify">VMware continues cloud construction, like other vendors and service providers who tried and test the waters of having their own public cloud, VMware has moved beyond its <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.vmware.com/cloud-services/infrastructure.html">vCloud Air initiative</a> selling that to OVH. VMware which while being a public traded company (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/VMW?p=VMW">VMW</a>) is by way of majority ownership part of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/index.htm">Dell Technologies</a> family of company <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/emc-dell-emc-part-dell-technologies-updates/">via the 2016 acquisition of EMC by Dell</a>. What this means is that like Dell Technologies, VMware is focused on providing solutions and services to its cloud provider partners instead of building, deploying and running its own cloud in competition with partners.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_VMW_Cloud_1_030718.png" border="0" alt="VMware continues cloud construction SDDC data infrastructure strategy layers"/></a><br/> VMware Cloud Data Infrastructure and SDDC layers Via: VMware.com</p>
<p align="justify">The <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing">VMware Cloud message</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing">strategy</a> is focused around providing software solutions to cloud and other data infrastructure partners (and customers) instead of competing with them (e.g. divesting of vCloud Air, partnering with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/vmware/">AWS</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://www.ibm.com/cloud/info/softlayer-is-now-ibm-cloud">IBM Softlayer</a>). Part of the VMware cloud message and strategy is to provide consistent operations and management across clouds, containers, virtual machines (VM) as well as other software defined data center (SDDC) and software defined data infrastructures.</p>
<p align="justify">In other words, what this means is VMware providing consistent management to leverage common experiences of data infrastructure staff along with resources in a hybrid, cross cloud and software defined environment in support of existing as well as cloud native applications.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/"><img src="https://media.amazonwebservices.com/blog/2017/vmware_aws_wide_slide_2.png" alt="VMware continues cloud construction on AWS SDDC" border="0" width="450"/></a><br/> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/vmware/">VMware Cloud on AWS</a> Image via: AWS.com</p>
<p align="justify">Note that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/">VMware Cloud services run on top of AWS</a> EC2 bare metal (BM) server instances, as well as on BM instances at IBM softlayer as well as OVH. Learn more about AWS EC2 BM compute instances aka Metal as a Service (MaaS) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/new-amazon-ec2-bare-metal-instances-with-direct-access-to-hardware/">here</a>. In addition to AWS, IBM and OVH, VMware claims over 4,000 regional cloud and managed service providers who have built their data infrastructures out using VMware based technologies.</p>
<h3>VMware continues cloud construction updates</h3>
<p align="justify">Building off of <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/">previous announcements</a>, VMware continues cloud construction with enhancements to their <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/">Amazon Web Services (AWS)</a> partnership along with services for IBM Softlayer cloud as well as OVH. As a refresher<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2017/04/04/vmware-sells-off-cloud-services-business-to-ovh">, OVH is what formerly was known as VMware vCloud air before it was sold off</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Besides expanding on existing cloud partner solution offerings, VMware also announced additional cloud, software defined data center (SDDC) and other <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/announcing-software-defined-data-infrastructure-sddc-book/">software defined data infrastructure</a> environment management capabilities. SDDC and Data infrastructure management tools include leveraging <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.vmware.com/management/2017/05/vmware-completes-wavefront-acquisition.html">VMwares acquisition of Wavefront</a> among others.</p>
<p>VMware Cloud Updates and New Features</p>
<ul>
<li>VMware Cloud on AWS European regions (now in London, adding Frankfurt German)</li>
<li>Stretch Clusters with synchronous replication for cross geography location resiliency</li>
<li>Support for data intensive workloads including data footprint reduction (DFR) with vSAN based compression and data de duplication</li>
<li>Fujitsu services offering relationships</li>
<li>Expanded VMware Cloud Services enhancements</li>
</ul>
<p>VMware Cloud Services enhancements include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Hybrid Cloud Extension</li>
<li>Log intelligence</li>
<li>Cost insight</li>
<li>Wavefront</li>
</ul>
<h4>VMware Cloud in additional AWS Regions</h4>
<p align="justify">As part of service expansion, VMware Cloud on AWS has been extended into European <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/">region</a> (London) with plans to expand into Frankfurt and an Asian Pacific location. Previously VMware Cloud on AWS has been available in US West Oregon and US East Northern Virginia regions. Learn more about AWS Regions and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9wctbk6">availability zones</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9wctbk6">AZ</a>) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/global-infrastructure/">here</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_VMW_Cloud_5_030718.png" alt="VMware Cloud Stretch Cluster" border="0"/></a><br/> VMware Cloud on AWS Stretch Clusters Source: VMware.com</p>
<h4>VMware Cloud on AWS Stretch Clusters</h4>
<p align="justify">In addition to expanding into additional regions, VMware Cloud on AWS is also being extended with stretch clusters for geography dispersed protection. Stretched clusters provide protection against an AZ failure (e.g. data center site) for mission critical applications. Build on vSphere HA and DRS automated host failure technology, stretched clusters provide <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yde46594">recovery point objective</a> zero (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yde46594">RPO</a> 0) for continuous protection, high availability across AZs at the data infrastructure layer.</p>
<p align="justify">The benefit of data infrastructure layer based HA and resiliency is not having to re architect or modify upper level, higher up layered applications or software. Synchronous replication between AZs enables RPO 0, if one AZ goes down, it is treated as a vSphere HA event with VMs restarted in another AZ.</p>
<h4>vSAN based Data Footprint Reduction (DFR) aka Compression and De duplication</h4>
<p align="justify">To support applications that leverage large amounts of data, aka data intensive applications in marketing speak, VMware is leveraging <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/vmware-vsan-v66-part-vsan-evolution-summary/">vSAN</a> based <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ydeartvr">data footprint reduction</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ydeartvr">DFR</a>) techniques including compression as well as de duplication (dedupe). Leveraging DFR technologies like compression and dedupe integrated into vSAN, VMware Clouds have the ability to store more data in a given cubic density. Storing more data in a given cubic density storage efficiency (e.g. space saving utilization) as well as with performance acceleration, also facilitate storage effectiveness along with productivity.</p>
<p align="justify">With VMware vSAN technology as one of the core underlying technologies for enabling VMware Cloud on AWS (among other deployments), applications with large data needs can store more data at a lower cost point. Note that VMware Cloud can support 10 clusters per SDDC deployment, with each cluster having 32 nodes, with cluster wide and aware dedupe. Also note that for performance, VMware Cloud on AWS leverages <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> attached <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">Solid State Devices (SSD)</a> to boost effectiveness and productivity.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_VMW_Cloud_7_030718.png" alt="VMware Hybrid Cloud Extension" border="0"/></a><br/> Extending VMware vSphere any to any migration across clouds Source: VMware.com</p>
<h4>VMware Hybrid Cloud Extension</h4>
<p align="justify">VMware Hybrid Cloud Extension enables common management of common underlying data infrastructure as well as software defined environments including across public, private as well as hybrid clouds. Some of the capabilities include enabling warm VM migration across various software defined environments from local on-premise and private cloud to public clouds.</p>
<p align="justify">New enhancements leverages previously available technology now as a service for enterprises besides service providers to support data center to data center, or cloud centric AZ to AZ, as well as region to region migrations. Some of the use cases include small to large bulk migrations of hundreds to thousands of VM move and migrations, both scheduling as well as the actual move. Move and migrations can span hybrid deployments with mix of on-premise as well as various cloud services.</p>
<h4>VMware Cloud Cost Insight</h4>
<p align="justify">VMware <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cost-insight">Cost Insight</a> enables analysis, compare cloud costs across public AWS, Azure and private VMware clouds) to avoid flying blind in and among clouds. VMware Cloud cost insight enables awareness of how resources are used, their cost and benefit to applications as well as IT budget impacts. Integrates vSAN sizer tool along with AWS metrics for improved situational awareness, cost modeling, analysis and what if comparisons.</p>
<p align="justify">With integration to Network insight, VMware Cloud Cost Insight also provides awareness into networking costs in support of migrations. What this means is that using VMware Cloud Cost insight you can take the guess-work out of what your expenses will be for public, private on-premises or hybrid cloud will be having deeper insight awareness into your SDDC environment. Learn more about V<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cost-insight">VMware Cost Insight here</a>.</p>
<h4>VMware Log Intelligence</h4>
<p align="justify">Log Intelligence is a new VMware cloud service that provides real-time data infrastructure insight along with application visibility from private, on-premise, to public along with hybrid clouds. As its name implies, Log Intelligence provides syslog and other log insight, analysis and intelligence with real-time visibility into VMware as well as AWS among other resources for faster troubleshooting, diagnostics, event correlation and other data infrastructure management tasks.</p>
<p align="justify">Log and telemetry input sources for VMware Log Intelligence include data infrastructure resources such as operating systems, servers, system statistics, security, applications among other syslog events. For those familiar with VMware Log Insight, this capability is an extension of that known experience expanding it to be a cloud based service.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_VMW_Cloud_10_030718.png" border="0" alt="VMware Wavefront SaaS analytics"/></a><br/> Wavefront by VMware Source: VMware.com</p>
<h4>VMware Wavefront</h4>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/wavefront">VMware Wavefront</a> enables monitoring of cloud native high scale environments with custom metrics and analytics. As a reminder Wavefront was acquired by VMware to enable deep metrics and analytics for developers, DevOps, data infrastructure operations as well as SaaS application developers among others. Wavefront integrates with VMware vRealize along with enabling monitoring of AWS data infrastructure resources and services. With the ability to ingest, process, analyze various data feeds, the Wavefront engine enables the predictive understanding of mixed application, cloud native data and data infrastructure platforms including big data based.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about VMware, vSphere, vRealize, VMware Cloud, AWS (and other clouds), along with data protection, software defined data center (SDDC), software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and related topics via the following links:</p>
<ul>
<li>VMware Cloud Briefing <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloudbriefing">site</a></li>
<li>VMware <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cloud-management">vRealize Cloud Management</a> Platform (Application delivery and operations automation across clouds)</li>
<li>VMware <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/cost-insight">Cost Insight</a> (Analyze and compare cloud costs across public AWS, Azure and private VMware clouds)</li>
<li>VMware <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/network-insight">Network Insight</a> (Accelerate application security and networking across public, private, hybrid clouds)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/wavefront">VMware Wavefront</a> (Monitor cloud native high scale environments with custom metrics and analytics</li>
<li>VMware <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/community/">Cloud Community</a> resources</li>
<li>VMware <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://blogs.vmware.com/partner/">Cloud Partner</a> resources</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/vmware-vsan-v66-part-vsan-evolution-summary/">VMware vSAN V6.6 Part V (vSAN evolution and summary)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-world-2017-day-news-announcement-summary/">Dell EMC World 2017 Day One news announcement summary</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/september-2017-server-storageio-data-infrastructure-update-newsletter/">September 2017 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">Getting Caught Up What Happened In September 2017</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/travel-fun-crossword-puzzle-vmworld-2017-las-vegas/">Travel Fun Crossword Puzzle For VMworld 2017 Las Vegas</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/">Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/">Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrastructure Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates/">Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrastructure Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/emc-dell-emc-part-dell-technologies-updates/">EMC is now Dell EMC, part of Dell Technologies and other server storage Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/world-backup-day-2018-data-protection-readiness-reminder/">World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What's Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">4 3 2 1 and 3 2 1</a> data protection best practices</li>
<li>Software Defined, Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">resources</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data Protection Diaries</a> (Archive, Backup/Restore, BC, BR, DR, HA, RAID/EC/LRC, Replication, Security)</li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">CRC Press 2017</a>) including SDDC, Cloud, Container and more</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="SDDC Data Infrastructure" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What this all means and wrap-up</h3>
<p align="justify">VMware continues cloud construction. For now, it appears that VMware like Dell Technologies is content on being a technology provider partner to large as well as small public, private and hybrid cloud environments instead of building their own and competing. With these series of announcements, VMware continues cloud construction enabling its partners and customers on their various software defined data center (SDDC) and related data infrastructure journeys. Overall, this is a good set of enhancements, updates, new and evolving features for their partners as well as customers who leverage VMware based technologies. Meanwhile VMware continues cloud construction.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>How to use Intel Optane NVMe U.2 SFF 8639 SSD drive in a PCIe slottag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-02-11:2336802:BlogPost:1479112018-02-11T16:07:38.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Use NVMe U.2 SFF 8639 disk drive form factor SSD in PCIe slot</h2>
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">Need to install or use an Intel Optane NVMe 900P or other Nonvolatile Memory (NVM) Express <a href="https://thenvmeplace.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">NVMe</a> based U.2 SFF 8639 disk drive form factor <a href="https://thessdplace.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Solid State Device</a> (SSD) into…</p>
<h2>Use NVMe U.2 SFF 8639 disk drive form factor SSD in PCIe slot</h2>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">Need to install or use an Intel Optane NVMe 900P or other Nonvolatile Memory (NVM) Express <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> based U.2 SFF 8639 disk drive form factor <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">Solid State Device</a> (SSD) into <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/pcie-fundamentals-server-storage-io/">PCIe</a> a slot?</p>
<p align="justify">For example, I needed to connect an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2ByCy3Q">Intel Optane NVMe 900P U.2 SFF 8639 drive form factor SSD</a> into one of my servers using an available <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/pcie-fundamentals-server-storage-io/">PCIe slot</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">The solution I used was an carrier adapter card such as those from <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2FoYW1U" rel="noopener">Ableconn (PEXU2-132 NVMe 2.5-inch U.2 [SFF-8639] via Amazon.com</a> among other global venues.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVMeU2Carrier3.png" alt="xxxx"/><br/> Top Intel 750 NVMe PCIe AiC SSD, bottom Intel Optane NVMe 900P U.2 SSD with Ableconn carrier</p>
<p align="justify">The above image shows top an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2GwVAen">Intel 750 NVMe PCIe Add in Card (AiC)</a> SSD and on the bottom an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2ByCy3Q">Intel Optane NVMe 900P 280GB U.2 (SFF 8639) drive</a> form factor SSD mounted on an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2FoYW1U">Ableconn</a> carrier adapter.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_NVMeBasic.png" alt="NVMe server storage I/O sddc" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>NVMe Tradecraft Refresher</h3>
<p align="justify">NVMe is the protocol that is implemented with different topologies including local via PCIe using U.2 aka SFF-8639 (aka disk drive form factor), M.2 aka Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF) also known as "gum stick", along with PCIe Add in Card (AiC). NVMe accessed devices can be installed in laptops, ultra books, workstations, servers and storage systems using the various form factors. U.2 drives are also refereed to by some as PCIe drives in that the NVMe command set protocol is implemented using PCIe x4 physical connection to the devices. Jump ahead if you want to skip over the NVMe primer refresh material to learn more about U.2 8639 devices.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVM_NVMe.png" alt="data infrastructure nvme u.2 8639 ssd" border="0"/></a><br/> Various SSD device form factors and interfaces</p>
<p align="justify">In addition to form factor, NVMe devices can be direct attached and dedicated, rack and shared, as well as accessed via networks also known as fabrics such as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ycthnuv9">NVMe over Fabrics</a>.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com"><img src="https://i2.wp.com/storageio.com/images/SIO_NVMeBasic_NVMeFront.png" alt="NVMeoF FC-NVMe NVMe fabric SDDC" border="0"/></a><br/> The many facets of NVMe as a front-end, back-end, direct attach and fabric</p>
<p align="justify">Context is important with NVMe in that fabric can mean NVMe over Fibre Channel (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yakb8dyo">FC-NVMe</a>) where the NVMe command set protocol is used in place of SCSI Fibre Channel Protocol (e.g. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yaslbkp4">SCSI_FCP</a>) aka FCP or what many simply know and refer to as Fibre Channel. NVMe over Fabric can also mean NVMe command set implemented over an <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ycc2f239">RDMA over Converged Ethernet</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ycc2f239">RoCE</a>) based network.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-wont-replace-flash-compliment/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_NVMe_and_NVM_together.png" alt="NVM and NVMe accessed flash SCM SSD storage" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Another point of context is not to confuse <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-wont-replace-flash-compliment/">Nonvolatile Memory (NVM)</a> which are the storage or memory media and NVMe which is the interface for accessing storage (e.g. similar to SAS, SATA and others). As a refresher, NVM or the media are the various <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7hlhurw">persistent memories</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7hlhurw">PM</a>) including NVRAM, NAND Flash, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage/">3D XPoint</a> along with other <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9yhmd4l">storage class memories</a> (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9yhmd4l">SCM</a>) used in SSD (in various packaging).</p>
<p align="justify">Learn more about 3D XPoint with the following resources:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage/">Intel and Micron unveil new 3D XPoint Non Volatile Memory (NVM) for servers and storage</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-ii-intel-and-micron-new-3d-xpoint-server-and-storage-nvm/">Part II – Intel and Micron new 3D XPoint server and storage NVM</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iii-3d-xpoint-new-server-storage-memory-from-intel-and-micron/">Part III – 3D XPoint new server storage memory from Intel and Micron</a></li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Learn more (or refresh) your NVMe server storage I/O knowledge, experience tradecraft skill set with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-overview-and-primer-part-i/">this post here.</a> View <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-wont-replace-flash-compliment/">this piece here looking at NVM vs. NVMe</a> and how one is the media where data is stored, while the other is an access protocol (e.g. NVMe). Also visit <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a> to view additional NVMe tips, tools, technologies, and related resources.</p>
<h3>NVMe U.2 SFF-8639 aka 8639 SSD</h3>
<p align="justify">On quick glance, an NVMe <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/NVMe-PCIe-card-vs-U2-and-M2">U.2 SFF-8639</a> SSD may look like a SAS small form factor (SFF) 2.5" HDD or SSD. Also, keep in mind that HDD and SSD with SAS interface have a small tab to prevent inserting them into a SATA port. As a reminder, SATA devices can plug into SAS ports, however not the other way around which is what the key tab function does (prevents accidental insertion of SAS into SATA). Looking at the left-hand side of the following image you will see an NVMe SFF 8639 aka U.2 backplane connector which looks similar to a SAS port.</p>
<p align="justify">Note that depending on how implemented including its internal controller, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8crmqvp">flash translation layer (FTL)</a>, firmware and other considerations, an NVMe U.2 or 8639 x4 SSD should have similar performance to a comparable NVMe x4 PCIe AiC (e.g. card) device. By comparable device, I mean the same type of NVM media (e.g. flash or 3D XPoint), FTL and controller. Likewise generally an PCIe x8 should be faster than an x4, however more <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/pcie-fundamentals-server-storage-io/">PCIe lanes</a> does not mean more performance, its what's inside and how those lanes are actually used that matter.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVM_Drive2.png" alt="NVMe U.2 8639 2.5" 1.8" SSD drive"/><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVM_Drive.png" alt="NVMe U.2 8639 2.5 1.8 SSD drive slot pin"/><br/> NVMe U.2 SFF 8639 Drive (Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials CRC Press)</p>
<p align="justify">With U.2 devices the key tab that prevents SAS drives from inserting into a SATA port is where four pins that support PCIe x4 are located. What this all means is that a U.2 8639 port or socket can accept an NVMe, SAS or SATA device depending on how the port is configured. Note that the U.2 8639 port is either connected to a SAS controller for SAS and SATA devices or a PCIe port, riser or adapter.</p>
<p align="justify">On the left of the above figure is a view towards the backplane of a storage enclosure in a server that supports SAS, SATA, and NVMe (e.g. 8639). On the right of the above figure is the connector end of an 8639 NVM SSD showing addition pin connectors compared to a SAS or SATA device. Those extra pins give PCIe x4 connectivity to the NVMe devices. The 8639 drive connectors enable a device such as an NVM, or NAND flash SSD to share a common physical storage enclosure with SAS and SATA devices, including optional dual-pathing.</p>
<p align="justify">More PCIe lanes may not mean faster performance, verify if those lanes (e.g. x4 x8 x16 etc) are present just for mechanical (e.g. physical) as well as electrical (they are also usable) and actually being used. Also, note that some PCIe storage devices or adapters might be for example an x8 for supporting two channels or devices each at x4. Likewise, some devices might be x16 yet only support four x4 devices.</p>
<h3>NVMe U.2 SFF 8639 PCIe Drive SSD FAQ</h3>
<p align="justify">Some common questions pertaining NVMe U.2 aka SFF 8639 interface and form factor based SSD include:</p>
<p align="justify">Why use U.2 type devices?</p>
<p align="justify">Compatibility with what's available for server storage I/O slots in a server, appliance, storage enclosure. Ability to mix and match SAS, SATA and NVMe with some caveats in the same enclosure. Support higher density storage configurations maximizing available PCIe slots and enclosure density.</p>
<p align="justify">Is PCIe x4 with NVMe U.2 devices fast enough?</p>
<p align="justify">While not as fast as a PCIe AiC that fully supports x8 or x16 or higher, an x4 U.2 NVMe accessed SSD should be plenty fast for many applications. If you need more performance, then go with a faster AiC card.</p>
<p align="justify">Why not go with all PCIe AiC?</p>
<p align="justify">If you need the speed, simplicity, have available PCIe card slots, then put as many of those in your systems or appliances as possible. Otoh, some servers or appliances are PCIe slot constrained so U.2 devices can be used to increase the number of devices attached to a PCIe backplane while also supporting SAS, SATA based SSD or HDDs.</p>
<p align="justify">Why not use M.2 devices?</p>
<p align="justify">If your system or appliances supports NVMe M.2 those are good options. Some systems even support a combination of M.2 for local boot, staging, logs, work and other storage space while PCIe AiC are for performance along with U.2 devices.</p>
<p align="justify">Why not use NVMeoF?</p>
<p align="justify">Good question, why not, that is, if your shared storage system supports NVMeoF or FC-NVMe go ahead and use that, however, you might also need some local NVMe devices. Likewise, if yours is a software-defined storage platform that needs local storage, then NVMe U.2, M.2 and AiC or custom cards are an option. On the other hand, a shared fabric NVMe based solution may support a mixed pool of SAS, SATA along with NVMe U.2, M.2, AiC or custom cards as its back-end storage resources.</p>
<p align="justify">When not to use U.2?</p>
<p align="justify">If your system, appliance or enclosure does not support U.2 and you do not have a need for it. Or, if you need more performance such as from an x8 or x16 based AiC, or you need shared storage. Granted a shared storage system may have U.2 based SSD drives as back-end storage among other options.</p>
<p align="justify">How does the U.2 backplane connector attach to PCIe?</p>
<p align="justify">Via enclosures backplane, there is either a direct hardwire connection to the PCIe backplane, or, via a connector cable to a riser card or similar mechanism.</p>
<p align="justify">Does NVMe replace SAS, SATA or Fibre Channel as an interface?</p>
<p align="justify">The NVMe command set is an alternative to the traditional SCSI command set used in SAS and Fibre Channel. That means it can replace, or co-exist depending on your needs and preferences for access various storage devices.</p>
<p align="justify">Who supports U.2 devices?</p>
<p align="justify">Dell has supported U.2 aka PCIe drives in some of their servers for many years, as has Intel and many others. Likewise, U.2 8639 SSD drives including 3D Xpoint and NAND flash-based are available from Intel among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Can you have AiC, U.2 and M.2 devices in the same system?</p>
<p align="justify">If your server or appliance or storage system support them then yes. Likewise, there are M.2 to PCIe AiC, M.2 to SATA along with other adapters available for your servers, workstations or software-defined storage system platform.</p>
<h3>NVMe U.2 carrier to PCIe adapter</h3>
<p align="justify">The following images show examples of mounting an Intel Optane NVMe 900P accessed U.2 8639 SSD on an Ableconn PCIe AiC carrier. Once U.2 SSD is mounted, the Ableconn adapter inserts into an available PCIe slot similar to other AiC devices. From a server or storage appliances software perspective, the Ableconn is a pass-through device so your normal device drivers are used, for example VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5 recognizes the Intel Optane device, similar with Windows and other operating systems.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVMeU2Carrier1.png" alt="intel optane 900p u.2 8639 nvme drive bottom view"/><br/> Intel Optane NVMe 900P U.2 SSD and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2FoYW1U">Ableconn</a> PCIe AiC carrier</p>
<p align="justify">The above image shows the Ableconn adapter carrier card along with NVMe U.2 8639 pins on the Intel Optane NVMe 900P.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVMeU2Carrier2.png" alt="intel optane 900p u.2 8639 nvme drive end view"/><br/> Views of Intel Optane NVMe 900P U.2 8639 and Ableconn carrier connectors</p>
<p align="justify">The above image shows an edge view of the NVMe U.2 SFF 8639 Intel Optane NVMe 900P SSD along with those on the Ableconn adapter carrier. The following images show an Intel Optane NVMe 900P SSD installed in a PCIe AiC slot using an Ableconn carrier, along with how VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5 sees the device using plug and play NVMe device drivers.</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVMeU2Installed.png" alt="NVMe U.2 8639 installed in PCIe AiC Slot"/><br/> Intel Optane NVMe 900P U.2 SSD installed in PCIe AiC Slot</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVMeU2VMW.png" alt="NVMe U.2 8639 and VMware vSphere ESXi"/><br/> How VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5 sees NVMe U.2 device</p>
<h3>Intel NVMe Optane NVMe 3D XPoint based and other SSDs</h3>
<p align="justify">Here are some Amazon.com links to various Intel Optane NVMe <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage/">3D XPoint based</a> SSDs in different packaging form factors:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2FoYcKa">Intel SSDPED1D280GASX Optane SSD 900P 280GB AiC form factor</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2ByCy3Q">Intel SSDPE21D280GASM Optane SSD 900P 280GB U.2 8639 form factor</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2DHVq1W">Intel Optane SSD P4800X Series (375GB, 1/2 Height PCIe x4, 20nm, 3D XPoint) AiC form factor</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Here are some Amazon.com links to various Intel and other vendor <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">NAND flash based</a> NVMe accessed SSDs including U.2, M.2 and AiC form factors:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2GwVAen">Intel 750 NVMe 400GB PCIe AiC SSD</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2GwRP8Q">Intel 750 NVMe 1.2TB SSD</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2FvBosj">Intel 750 NVMe 800GB U.2 SSD</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2FvYajs">Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 SSD</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2DPmIDB">Samsung 960 PRO Series - 512GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 SSD</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2DPnzbB">Samsung 960 EVO Series - 1TB PCIe NVMe - M.2</a></li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Note in addition to carriers to adapt U.2 8639 devices to PCIe AiC form factor and interfaces, there are also M.2 NGFF to PCIe AiC among others. An example is the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2E23U7w">Ableconn M.2 NGFF PCIe SSD to PCI Express 3.0 x4 Host Adapter Card</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">In addition to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2FoYcKa">Amazon.co</a>m, Newegg.com, Ebay and many other venues carry NVMe related technologies. The Intel Optane NVMe 900P are newer, however the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://amzn.to/2DKBPhP">Intel 750 Series</a> along with other Intel NAND Flash based SSDs are still good price performers and as well as provide value. I have accumulated several Intel 750 NVMe devices over past few years as they are great price performers. Check out this related post <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-ssd-game-intel-750/">Get in the NVMe SSD game</a> (if you are not already).</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">View additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">SSD, NVM, SCM,</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure</a> and related topics via the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-overview-and-primer-part-i/">NVMe overview and primer – Part I</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-ii-nvme-overview-and-primer-different-configurations/">Part II – NVMe overview and primer (Different Configurations)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iii-nvme-overview-and-primer-need-for-performance-speed/">Part III – NVMe overview and primer (Need for Performance Speed)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iv-nvme-overview-and-primer-where-and-how-to-use-nvme/">Part IV – NVMe overview and primer (Where and How to use NVMe)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-v-nvme-overview-and-primer-where-to-learn-more-what-this-all-means/">Part V – NVMe overview and primer (Where to learn more, what this all means)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/family-intel-xeon-scalable-processors-enable-software-defined-data-infrastructures-sddi-sddc/">New family of Intel Xeon Scalable Processors enable software defined data infrastructures and SDDC</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://storageioblog.com/pcie-server-storage-io-network-fundamentals-blogtober" rel="noopener">PCIe Server I/O Fundamentals</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-ssd-game-intel-750/">Get in the NVMe SSD game (if you are not already) with Intel 750 among others</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions">If NVMe is the answer, what are the questions?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://storageioblog.com/nvme-wont-replace-flash-compliment" rel="noopener">NVMe Wont Replace Flash By Itself</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/NVMe-PCIe-card-vs-U2-and-M2">Via Computerweekly – NVMe discussion: PCIe card vs U.2 and M.2</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage/">Intel and Micron unveil new 3D XPoint Non Volatile Memory (NVM) for servers and storage</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-ii-intel-and-micron-new-3d-xpoint-server-and-storage-nvm/">Part II – Intel and Micron new 3D XPoint server and storage NVM</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-iii-3d-xpoint-new-server-storage-memory-from-intel-and-micron/">Part III – 3D XPoint new server storage memory from Intel and Micron</a></li>
<li>Server storage I/O benchmark tools, workload scripts and examples <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-benchmark-workload-scripts-part/">(Part I)</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/part-ii-server-storage-io-benchmark-workload-scripts-results/">(Part II)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its What's Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-resource-links-tradecraft-trends">Data Infrastructure Resource Links cloud data protection tradecraft trends</a></li>
<li>Software Defined, Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">resources</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">NVMe accessed storage is in your future</a>, however there are various questions to address including exploring your options for type of devices, form factors, configurations among other topics. Some NVMe accessed storage is direct attached and dedicated in laptops, ultrabooks, workstations and servers including PCIe AiC, M.2 and U.2 SSDs, while others are shared networked aka fabric based. NVMe over fabric (e.g. NVMeoF) includes RDMA over converged Ethernet (RoCE) as well as NVMe over Fibre Channel (e.g. FC-NVMe). Networked fabric accessed NVMe access of pooled shared storage systems and appliances can also include internal NVMe attached devices (e.g. as part of back-end storage) as well as other SSDs (e.g. SAS, SATA).</p>
<p align="justify">General wrap-up (for now) NVMe U.2 8639 and related tips include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Verify the performance of the device vs. how many PCIe lanes exist</li>
<li>Update any applicable BIOS/UEFI, device drivers and other software</li>
<li>Check the form factor and interface needed (e.g. U.2, M.2 / NGFF, AiC) for a given scenario</li>
<li>Look carefully at the NVMe devices being ordered for proper form factor and interface</li>
<li>With M.2 verify that it is an NVMe enabled device vs. SATA</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Learn more about NVMe at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a> including how to use Intel Optane NVMe 900P U.2 SFF 8639 disk drive form factor SSDs in PCIe slots as well as for fabric among other scenarios.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>Reminder World Backup and Data Protection Day is March 31 Remember Restorestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2018-02-11:2336802:BlogPost:1479092018-02-11T15:25:24.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</h2>
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">It's that time of year again, World Backup Day 2018 <a href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-data-protection-fundamentals" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Data Protection</a> Readiness Reminder.</p>
<p align="justify">In case you have forgotten, or were not aware, this coming Saturday March 31 is <a href="http://www.worldbackupday.com/en/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">World…</a></p>
<h2>World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder</h2>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">It's that time of year again, World Backup Day 2018 <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-data-protection-fundamentals">Data Protection</a> Readiness Reminder.</p>
<p align="justify">In case you have forgotten, or were not aware, this coming Saturday March 31 is <a target="_blank" href="http://www.worldbackupday.com/en/" rel="noopener">World Backup (and recovery day)</a>. The annual day is a to remember to make sure you are protecting your applications, data, information, configuration settings as well as data infrastructures. While the emphasis is on Backup, that also means recovery as well as testing to make sure everything is working properly.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-fundamentals/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="data infrastructure data protection" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Its time that the focus of world backup day should expand from just a focus on backup to also broader <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-data-protection-fundamentals">data protection</a> and things that start with R. Some data protection (and backup) related things, tools, tradecraft techniques, technologies and trends that start with R include readiness, recovery, reconstruct, restore, restart, resume, replication, rollback, roll forward, RAID and erasure codes, resiliency, recovery time objective (RTO), recovery point objective (RPO), replication among others.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-fundamentals/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NeedForProtect.png" alt="data protection threats ransomware software defined" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that Data Protection is a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yaz52fd8">broader focus than just backup and recovery</a>. Data protection includes disaster recovery DR, business continuance BC, business resiliency BR, security (logical and physical), standard and high availability HA, as well as durability, archiving, data footprint reduction, copy data management CDM along with various technologies, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-tradecraft-trends/">tradecraft</a> techniques, tools.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enabling-data-protection-rpo-archive-backup-cdp-pit-copy-snapshots-versions/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig9_4.png" alt="data protection 4 3 2 1 rule and 3 2 1 rule" width="590" height="185" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>Quick Data Protection, Backup and Recovery Checklist</h3>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none"><ul>
<li>Keep the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">4 3 2 1</a> or shorter older <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y8ou4b8z">3 2 1</a> data protection rules in mind</li>
<li>Do you know what data, applications, configuration settings, meta data, keys, certificates are being protected?</li>
<li>Do you know how many versions, copies, where stored and what is on or off-site, on or off-line?</li>
<li>Implement data protection at different intervals and coverage of various layers (application, transaction, database, file system, operating system, hypervisors, device or volume among others)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><br/><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enabling-data-protection-rpo-archive-backup-cdp-pit-copy-snapshots-versions/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig10_3.png" alt="data infrastructure backup data protection" width="555" height="257" border="0"/></a><br/><br/></p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none"><ul>
<li>Have you protected your data protection environment including software, configuration, catalogs, indexes, databases along with management tools?</li>
<li>Verify that data protection point in time copies (backups, snapshots, consistency points, checkpoints, version, replicas) are working as intended</li>
<li>Make sure that not only are the point in time protection copies running when scheduled, also that they are protected what's intended</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><br/><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enabling-data-protection-rpo-archive-backup-cdp-pit-copy-snapshots-versions/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig10_2.png" alt="data infrastructure backup data protection" border="0"/></a><br/><br/></p>
<ul>
<li>Test to see if the protection copies can actually be used, this means restoring as well as accessing the data via applications</li>
<li>Watch out to prevent a disaster in the course of testing, plan, prepare, practice, learn, refine, improve</li>
<li>In addition to verifying your data protection (backup, bc, dr) for work, also take time to see how your home or personal data is protected</li>
<li>View additional tips, techniques, checklist items in this <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yaz52fd8">Data Protection</a> fundamentals <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-data-protection-fundamentals">series of posts here</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_ToolBox.png" alt="storageio data protection toolbox"/></p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">View additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yaz52fd8">Data Protection</a> and related tools, trends, technology and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-tradecraft-trends/">tradecraft</a> skills topics via the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li style="list-style-type: none"><ul>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main">Data Protection Diaries</a> series</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-data-protection-fundamentals">Part 1</a> – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yaz52fd8">Data Protection</a> Fundamentals</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/reliability-availability-serviceability-ras-data-protection-fundamentals">Part 2</a> – Reliability, Availability, Serviceability ( <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ybzghvkm">RAS</a>) Data Protection Fundamentals</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-acess-availabity-raid-erasure-codes">Part 3</a> – Data Protection Fundamental Access Availability <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y95j2dxn">RAID</a> <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7kakz4o">Erasure Codes</a> ( <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7kakz4o">EC</a>) including <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9a58set">LRC</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enabling-data-protection-rpo-archive-backup-cdp-pit-copy-snapshots-versions">Part 4</a> – Data Protection <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ycs4yznh">Recovery Points</a> (Archive, Backup, Snapshots, Versions)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/point-time-data-protection-granularity-points-interest">Part 5</a> – Point In Time Data Protection <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ydgj99bq">Granularity</a> Points of Interest</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-security-logical-physical-software-defined">Part 6</a> – Data Protection <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y9gp2m6n">Security</a> Logical Physical Software Defined</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-tools-technologies-toolbox-buzzword-bingo-trends">Part 7</a> – Data Protection Tools, Technologies, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ycb3je39">Toolbox</a>, Buzzword Bingo Trends</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/walking-data-protection-talk">Part 8</a> – Data Protection Diaries Walking <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yc3jzvb9">Data Protection</a> Talk</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/whos-toolbox-technology-tools">Part 9</a> – who’s Doing What ( <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ycs4yznh">Toolbox</a> Technology <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ybk7pm99">Tools</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-protection-resources-learn">Part 10</a> – <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yc3jzvb9">Data Protection</a> Resources Where to Learn More</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/revisiting-raid-remains-relevant-resources-context-matters/">Revisiting RAID storage remains relevant and resources</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Time-to-restore-from-backup-Do-you-know-where-your-data-is" rel="noopener">Time to restore from backup: Do you know where your data is?</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><br/><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig9_8.png" alt="data protection rto rpo"/><br/><br/></p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/february-2017-server-storageio-update-newsletter/" rel="noopener">February 2017 Server StorageIO Update Newsletter</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/aws-announces-new-s3-cloud-storage-security-encryption-features/">AWS Announces New S3 Cloud Storage Security Encryption Features</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-tradecraft-trends/" rel="noopener">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O Tradecraft Trends</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/" rel="noopener">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html" rel="noopener">What’s a data infrastructure?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Overview</a>, Its Whats Inside of Data Centers</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.networkworld.com/article/3175037/cloud-computing/ensure-your-data-infrastructure-remains-available-and-resilient.html" rel="noopener">Ensure your data infrastructure remains available and resilient</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-general-data-protection-regulation-resources-areyou-ready/">GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Resources Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-effect-25-2018-ready/">GDPR goes into effect May 25 2018 Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/part-iii-focus-expands-data-protection-action/" rel="noopener">Until the focus expands to data protection – Taking action</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/backup-big-data-big-data-protection-cmg-tom-becchetti-podcast/" rel="noopener">Backup, Big data, Big Data Protection, CMG & More with Tom Becchetti Podcast</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-data-center-software-defined-management-dashboard-tools/" rel="noopener">Six plus data center software defined management dashboards</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.infostor.com/blogs_new/greg_schulz/cloud-storage-concerns-considerations-and-trends-1.html" rel="noopener">Cloud Storage Concerns, Considerations and Trends</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/zombie-technology-life-death-tape-alive/">Zombie Technology Life after Death Tape Is Still Alive</a></li>
<li>Data Infrastructure server storage I/O network <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-networking-recommended-reading-book-shelf-blogtober/">Recommended Reading List Book Shelf</a></li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC 2017) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Book</a></li>
<li>All You Need To Know about Remote Office/Branch Office Data Protection Backup (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/10/veeam-nov9.aspx?partnerref=veeam">free webinar with registration</a>)</li>
<li>Software Defined, Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI) <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">resources</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thessdplace.com">The SSD Place</a> (SSD, NVM, PM, SCM, Flash, NVMe, 3D XPoint, MRAM and related topics)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://thenvmeplace.com">The NVMe Place</a> (NVMe related topics, trends, tools, technologies, tip resources)</li>
<li>Various Data Infrastructure related <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/events.html">events, webinars and other activities</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://https://storageioblog.com/cloud-bulk-object-storage-fundamentals/">Software Defined, Cloud, Bulk and Object Storage Fundamentals</a></li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Additional <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7v2ovmz">learning experiences</a> along with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/yacor4py">common questions</a> (and answers), as well as <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7w4tq5x">tips</a> can be found in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book SDDC" width="162" height="240" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">You can not go forward if you can not go back to a particular point in time (e.g. recovery point objective or <a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/ydxb2jl5">RPO</a>). Likewise, if you can not go back to a given RPO, how can you go forward with your business as well as meet your recovery time objective (<a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://tinyurl.com/y7yxuhgx">RTO</a>)?</p>
<p><a target="_blank" rel="noopener" href="https://storageioblog.com/enabling-data-protection-rpo-archive-backup-cdp-pit-copy-snapshots-versions/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Book4_Fig10_1.png" alt="data protection restore rto rpo" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Backup is as important as restore, without a good backup or data protection point in time copy, how can you restore? Some will say backup is more important than recovery, however its the enablement that matters, in other words being able to provide data protection and recover, restart, resume or other things that start with R. World backup day should be a reminder to think about broader data protection which also means recovery, restore and realizing if your copies and versions are good. Keep the above in mind and this is your World Backup Day 2018 Data Protection Readiness Reminder.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Gs</p>Microsoft and Azure September Data Infrastructure Updatestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-18:2336802:BlogPost:1457452017-10-18T18:27:50.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p>Microsoft and Azure September 2017 Software Defined Data infrastructure Updates</p>
<p align="justify"><a href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/" target="_blank">September was a busy month for data infrastructure topics</a> as well as Microsoft in terms of new and enhanced technologies. Wrapping up September was Microsoft Ignite where Azure, Azure Stack, Windows, O365, AI, IoT, development tools announcements occurred, along with others from…</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p>Microsoft and Azure September 2017 Software Defined Data infrastructure Updates</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">September was a busy month for data infrastructure topics</a> as well as Microsoft in terms of new and enhanced technologies. Wrapping up September was Microsoft Ignite where Azure, Azure Stack, Windows, O365, AI, IoT, development tools announcements occurred, along with others from earlier in the month. As part of the September announcements, Microsoft released a new version of Windows server (e.g. 1709) that has a focus for enhanced container support. Note that if you have deployed Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) and are looking to upgrade to 1709, do your homework as there are some caveats that will cause you to wait for the next release. Note that there had been new storage related enhancements slated for the September update, however those were <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2017/09/25/faster-releases-for-a-faster-world-first-semi-annual-release-of-windows-server/">announced at Ignite</a> to being pushed to the next semi-annual release. <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2017/09/07/sneak-peek-2-windows-server-version-1709-hyper-converged-infrastructure/">Learn more here</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2017/09/25/faster-releases-for-a-faster-world-first-semi-annual-release-of-windows-server/">also here</a>.</p>
<h3 align="justify">Azure Files and NFS</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft made several Azure file storage related announcements and public previews during September including Native NFS based file sharing as companion to existing Azure Files, along with public preview of new Azure File Sync Service. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.netapp.com/us/forms/campaign/azureentnfsservicepreview.aspx">Native NFS based file sharing</a> (public preview announced, service is slated to be available in 2018) is a software defined storage deployment of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.netapp.com/us/products/data-management-software/ontap.aspx">NetApp OnTAP</a> running on top of Azure data infrastructure including virtual machines and leverage Azure underlying storage.</p>
<p align="justify">Note that the new native NFS is in addition to the earlier native Azure Files accessed via HTTP REST and SMB3 enabling sharing of files inside Azure public cloud, as well as accessible externally from <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-how-to-use-files-windows">Windows</a> based and <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/azure-file-storage-on-premises-access-for-ubuntu/">Linux</a> platforms including on premises. Learn more about Azure Storage and <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-files-introduction">Azure Files here</a>.</p>
<h3>Azure File Sync (AFS)</h3>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-public-preview-for-azure-file-sync/"><img src="https://azurecomcdn.azureedge.net/mediahandler/acomblog/media/Default/blog/a2c61b6f-ed72-4088-9a71-c1914ca82dd6.png" alt="Azure File Sync AFS" width="600" height="210" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-public-preview-for-azure-file-sync/">Azure File Sync (AFS) has now entered public preview</a>. While users of Windows-based systems have been able to access and share Azure Files in the past, AFS is something different. I have used AFS for some time now during several private preview iterations having seen how it has evolved, along with how Microsoft listens incorporating feedback into the solution.</p>
<p align="justify">Lets take a look at what is AFS, what it does, how it works, where and when to use it among other considerations. With AFS, different and independent systems can now synchronize file shares through Azure. Currently in the AFS preview Windows Server 2012 and 2016 are supported including bare metal, virtual, and cloud based. For example I have had bare metal, virtual (VMware), cloud (Azure and AWS) as part of participating in a file sync activities using AFS.</p>
<p align="justify">Not to be confused with some other storage related <a target="_blank" href="https://uit.stanford.edu/service/afs">AFS including Andrew File System</a> among others, the new Microsoft Azure File Sync service enables files to be synchronized across different servers via Azure. This is different then the previous available Azure File Share service that enables files stored in Azure cloud storage to be accessed via Windows and Linux systems within Azure, as well as natively by Windows platforms outside of Azure. Likewise this is different from the recently announced Microsoft Azure native NFS file sharing serving service in partnership with NetApp (e.g. powered by OnTAP cloud).</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="https://robertsmit.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/step-by-step-azure-file-sync-on-premises-file-servers-to-azure-files-storage-sync-service-afs-cloud-msignite/"></a>AFS can be used to synchronize across different on premise as well as cloud servers that can also function as cache. What this means is that for Windows work folders served via different on premise servers, those files can be synchronized across Azure to other locations. Besides providing a cache, cloud tiering and enterprise file sync share (EFSS) capabilities, AFS also has robust optimization for data movement to and from the cloud and across sites, along with management tools. Management tools including diagnostics, performance and activity monitoring among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Check out the AFS preview including planning for an Azure File Sync (preview) deployment (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-sync-files-planning">Docs Microsoft</a>), and for those who have Yammer accounts, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.yammer.com/azureadvisors/#/threads/show?threadId=955219199">here is the AFS preview group link</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/media/storage-blob-event-overview/event-grid-functional-model.png" alt="Microsoft Azure Blob Events via Microsoft" width="600" height="350"/></p>
<h3>Azure Blob Storage Tiering and Event Triggers</h3>
<p align="justify">Two other Azure storage features that are in public preview include <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/announcing-the-public-preview-of-azure-archive-blob-storage-and-blob-level-tiering/">blob tiering</a> (for cold archiving) and <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-event-overview">event triggers for events</a>. As their names imply, blob tiering enables automatic migration from active to cold inactive storage of dormant date. Event triggers are policies rules (code) that get executed when a blob is stored to do various functions or tasks. Here is an <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-event-overview">overview of blob events</a> and a <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-blob-event-quickstart">quick start from Microsoft here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that not all blob and object storage are the same, a good example is Microsoft Azure that has page, block and append blobs. Append blobs are similar to what you might be familiar with other services objects. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/blobs/storage-dotnet-how-to-use-blobs#what-is-blob-storage">Here is a Microsoft overview of various Azure blobs</a> including what to use when.</p>
<h3>Project Honolulu and Windows Server Enhancements</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft has evolved from command prompt (e.g. early MSDOS) to GUI with Windows to command line extending into PowerShell that left some thinking there is no longer need for GUI. Even though Microsoft has extended its CLI with PowerShell spanning WIndows platforms and Azure, along with adding Linux command shell, there are those who still want or need a GUI. Project Honolulu is the effort to bring GUI based management back to Windows in a simplified way for what had been headless, and desktop less deployments (e.g. Nano, Server Core). Microsoft had Server Management Tools (SMT) accessible via the Azure Portal which has been discontinued.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2017/09/22/project-honolulu-technical-preview-is-now-available-for-download/"><img src="https://msdnshared.blob.core.windows.net/media/2017/09/Project-Honolulu_thumb2.png" alt="Microsoft Project Honolulu management via Microsoft.com" width="480" height="256" border="0"/></a><br/>Project Honolulu Image via Microsoft.com</p>
<p align="justify">This is where project Honolulu comes into play for managing Windows Server platforms. What this means is that for those who dont want to rely on or have a PowerShell dependency have an alternative option. Learn more about Project Honolulu <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2017/09/14/sneak-peek-4-introducing-project-honolulu-our-new-windows-server-management-experience/">here</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/2017/09/22/project-honolulu-technical-preview-is-now-available-for-download/">here</a>, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-honolulu">download the public preview here</a>.</p>
<h3>Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) Kepler Appliance</h3>
<p align="justify">Data Infrastructure provider <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wearewvproud.com/story/36412752/dataon-announces-the-productization-of-project-kepler-47-a-two-node-hyper-converged-infrastructure-for-windows-server-2016-storage-spaces-direct-and">DataOn has announced</a> a new turnkey Windows Server 2016 Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) powered Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (e.g. productization of <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/filecab/2016/10/14/kepler-47/">project Kepler-47</a>) solution with two node small form factor servers (partner with <a target="_blank" href="http://eps.msi.com/servers/server-motherboard#category=server-motherboard">MSI</a>). How small? Think suitcase or airplane roller board carry on luggage size.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that you can get into the converged, hyper-converged software defined storage game with Windows-based servers supporting Hyper-V virtual machines (Windows and Linux) including hardware for around $10,000 USD (varies by configuration and other options).</p>
<h3>Azure and Microsoft Networking News</h3>
<p align="justify">Speaking of Microsoft Azure public cloud, ever wonder what the network that enables the service looks like and some of the software defined networking (SDN) along with network virtualization function (NFV) objectives are, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.datacenterknowledge.com/design/here-s-how-software-defined-network-powers-azure-works">have a look at this piece from over at Data Center Knowledge</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">In related Windows, Azure and other focus areas, <a target="_blank" href="https://news.microsoft.com/features/microsoft-facebook-telxius-complete-highest-capacity-subsea-cable-cross-atlantic/">Microsoft, Facebook and Telxius</a> have completed the installation of a high-capacity subsea cable (network) to cross the atlantic ocean. Whats so interesting from a data infrastructure, cloud or legacy server storage I/O and data center focus perspective? The new network was built by the combined companies vs. in the past by a Telco provider consortium with the subsequent bandwidth sold or leased to others.</p>
<p align="justify">This new network is also 4,000 miles long including in depths of 11,000 feet, supports with current optics 160 terabits (e.g. 20 TeraBytes) per second capable of supporting 71 million HD videos streamed simultaneous. To put things into perspective, some residential Fiber Optic services can operate best case up to 1 gigabit per second (line speed) and in an asymmetrical fashion (faster download than uploads). Granted there are some 10 Gbit based services out there more common with commercial than residential. Simply put, there is a large amount of bandwidth increased across the atlantic for Microsoft and Facebook to support growing demands.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li>What's a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Introduction to Azure Files (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-files-introduction">Microsoft Docs</a>)<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-files-introduction"></a></li>
<li>Azure File Sync (<a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/Zm2w8-TRn-o">YouTube Video</a>)</li>
<li>Windows Subsystem for Linux (<a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/commandline/wsl/about">MSDN</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/public-preview-virtual-network-service-endpoints-for-azure-storage-and-azure-sql/">Public preview</a> of Virtual Network service endpoints for Azure storage and SQL database</li>
<li>Azure debuts Availability Zones for high availability and resiliency (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-azure-availability-zones-for-resiliency-and-high-availability/">Azure</a>)</li>
<li>Azure and AWS comparison (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/aws-professional/services">Docs Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>What’s new in Windows Server clustering and storage: Hyper-converged SHAZAM (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/55463?source=sessions">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Windows Server: Whats new and whats next (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/54686">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Whats new in Windows Server, version 1709 for the software-defined datacenter (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/55392">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Windows Server and hybrid cloud (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/55407">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Step by Step AFS installation <a target="_blank" href="https://robertsmit.wordpress.com/2017/09/28/step-by-step-azure-file-sync-on-premises-file-servers-to-azure-files-storage-sync-service-afs-cloud-msignite/">by Robert Smit</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-windows-server-azure-nano-life-cycle-updates/">Microsoft Windows Server, Azure, Nano Life cycle Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links</a></li>
<li>Maximize storage efficiency and conquer distributed file access with Windows Server and Azure Files (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/53574">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Manage and monitor your Windows Server 2016 hyper-converged infrastructure (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/53171">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Storage Spaces Direct: Be an IT hero with software-defined storage! (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/54898">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Storage Replica: Save your job with Windows Server 2016 (<a target="_blank" href="https://myignite.microsoft.com/sessions/55464">Ignite</a>)</li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Microsoft September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">Getting Caught Up What Happened In September 2017</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft announced a new release of Windows Server at Ignite as part of its new semi-annual release cycle. This latest version of Windows server is optimized for containers. In addition to Windows server enhancements, Microsoft continues to extend Azure and related technologies for public, private and hybrid cloud as well as software defined data infrastructures.</p>
<p>By the way, if you have not heard, its <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">Blogtober</a>, check out some of the other blogs and posts occurring during October <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/> Gs</p>Dell EMC and VMware September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrastructure Updatestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-18:2336802:BlogPost:1458452017-10-18T18:07:08.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p>Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Software Defined <a href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/" target="_blank">Data Infrastructure</a> Updates</p>
<p><img alt="vmworld 2017" src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_VMWORLD2017_Welcome.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify"><a href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/" target="_blank">September was a busy month</a> including VMworld in Las Vegas that featured many Dell EMC VMware (among other) software defined…</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p>Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Software Defined <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure</a> Updates</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_VMWORLD2017_Welcome.png" alt="vmworld 2017"/></p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">September was a busy month</a> including VMworld in Las Vegas that featured many Dell EMC VMware (among other) software defined <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> updates and announcements.</p>
<p align="justify">A summary of September VMware (and partner) related announcements include:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Delivers-Industry-First-Unified-End-User-Experience,-Management-and-Security-Solution-for-All-Endpoint-Platforms.2184896.html">Workspace, security and endpoint solutions</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-and-Pivotal-Launch-Pivotal-Container-Service-(PKS)-and-Collaborate-with-Google-Cloud-to-Bring-Kubernetes-to-Enterprise-Customers.2184911.html">Pivotal Container Service (PKS)</a> with Google for Kubernetes serverless container management,</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.DXC-Technology-and-VMware-Expand-Global-Partnership-with-New-Managed-Hybrid-Cloud-Services-Enabled-by-VMware-Technologies.2184701.html">DXC partnership</a> for hybrid cloud management</li>
<li>Security enablement via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Transforms-Security-for-Applications-Running-on-VMware-vSphere(R)-Based-Virtualized-and-Cloud-Environments.2184703.html">AppDefense</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Advances-Software-to-Help-Customers-Modernize-Data-Centers.2184711.html">Data infrastructure platform enhancements</a> (integrated OpenStack, vRealize management tools, vSAN)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Helps-Enterprises-Succeed-in-the-Multi-Cloud-Era.2184714.html">Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud support</a> along with VMware on AWS</li>
<li>Dell EMC <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-and-Dell-EMC-Partner-to-Deliver-First-Data-Protection-Solution-for-VMware-Cloud-on-AWS.2184715.html">data protection for VMware and AWS environments</a>.</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/vmware-cloud-on-aws-now-available/"><img src="https://media.amazonwebservices.com/blog/2017/vmware_aws_wide_slide_2.png" alt="VMware on AWS via Amazon.com" width="590" height="264" border="0"/></a><br/> VMware and AWS <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/vmware-cloud-on-aws-now-available/">via Amazon Web Services</a></p>
<h3>VMware and AWS</h3>
<p align="justify">Some of you might recall VMware earlier attempt at public cloud with vCloud Air service (see <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/vmware-vcloud-air-server-storageiolab-test-drive-with-videos/">Server StorageIO lab test drive here</a>) which has since been depreciated (e.g. retired). This new approach by VMware leverages the large global presence of AWS enabling customers to set up public or hybrid vSphere, vSAN and NSX based clouds, as well as software defined data centers (SDDC) and software defined data infrastructures (SDDI).</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/vmware-cloud-on-aws-now-available/">VMware Cloud on AWS</a> exists on a dedicated, single-tenant (unlike <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-ebs-optimized-instances/">Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2)</a> multi-tenant instances or VMs) that supports from 4 to 16 underlying host per cluster. Unlike EC2 virtual machine instances, <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/vmware/">VMware Cloud on AWS</a> is delivered on elastic bare-metal (e.g. dedicated private servers aka DPS). Note AWS <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-ebs-optimized-instances/">EC2</a> is more commonly known, AWS also has other options for server compute including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/part-ii-revisiting-reinvent-2014-and-other-aws-updates/">Lambda</a> micro services serverless containers, as well as <a target="_blank" href="https://amazonlightsail.com">Lightsail</a> virtual private servers (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/amazon-lightsail-the-power-of-aws-the-simplicity-of-a-vps/">VPS</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">Besides servers with storage optimized I/O featuring low latency NVMe accessed SSDs, and applicable underlying server I/O networking, VMware Cloud on AWS leverages the VMware software stack directly on underlying host servers (e.g. there is no virtualization nesting taking place). This means more robust performance should be expected like in your on premise VMware environment. VM workloads can move between your onsite VMware systems and VMware Cloud on AWS using various <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/vm-import/">tools</a>. The VMware Cloud on AWS is delivered and managed by VMware, including <a target="_blank" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/vmc-aws/pricing">pricing</a>. Learn more about VMware Cloud on AWS <a target="_blank" href="https://cloud.vmware.com/vmc-aws">here</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/cloud/VMW-TO-Cloud-on-AWS-USLET-101-MED-RES.pdf">here (VMware PDF)</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/try-vmware/vmc-aws-hol-labs.html">here (VMware Hands On Lab aka HOL)</a>.</p>
<p>Read more about AWS September news and related updates <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">here in this StorageIOblog post</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/radius/developer-user-customer-experiences-vmworld-2017/"><img src="https://www.vmware.com/radius/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/PKS-Image.jpg" alt="VMware PKS" width="565" height="235" border="0"/></a><br/> VMware and Pivotal PKS <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/radius/developer-user-customer-experiences-vmworld-2017/">via VMware.com</a></p>
<h3>Pivotal Container Service (PKS) and Google Kubernetes Partnership</h3>
<p align="justify">During VMworld VMware, Pivotal and Google <a target="_blank" href="http://ir.vmware.com/overview/press-releases/press-release-details/2017/VMware-and-Pivotal-Launch-Pivotal-Container-Service-PKS-and-Collaborate-with-Google-Cloud-to-Bring-Kubernetes-to-Enterprise-Customers/default.aspx">announced</a> a partnership for enabling Kubernetes container management called <a target="_blank" href="https://pivotal.io/pks">PKS</a> (Pivotal Container Service). <a target="_blank" href="https://kubernetes.io/">Kubernetes</a> is evolving as a popular open source container microservice <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/side-slbs-server-bs-software-hardware-fud/">serverless</a> management orchestration platform that has roots within Google. What this means is that what is good for Google and others for managing containers, is now good for VMware and Pivotal. In related news, VMware has become a <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.vmware.com/cloudnative/2017/09/26/vmware-cncf-sponsorship-platinum/">platinum sponsor</a> of the Cloud Native Compute Foundation (CNCF). If you are not familiar with CNCF, add it to your vocabulary and learn more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cncf.io/">here at www.cncf.io</a>.</p>
<h3>Other VMworld and September VMware related announcements</h3>
<p align="justify">Hyper converged data infrastructure provider <a target="_blank" href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Maxta-Introduces-VMware-vSphere-Escape-Pod-1002643536">Maxta has announced</a> a VMware vSphere Escape Pod (parachute not included ;) ) to facilitate migration from ESXi based to Red Hat Linux hypervisor environments. <a target="_blank" href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/53101.wss">IBM and VMware</a> for cloud partnership, along with <a target="_blank" href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/53103.wss">Dell EMC, IBM and VMware joint cloud solutions</a>. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3222858/data-center/vmware-adds-whitelist-security-to-the-hypervisor.html">White listing</a> of VMware vSphere VMs for enhanced security combine with earlier announced capabilities.</p>
<p align="justify">Note that both VMware with vSphere ESXi and Microsoft with Hyper-V (Windows and Azure based) are supporting various approaches for securing Virtual Machines (VMs) and the hosts they run on. These enhancements are moving beyond simply encrypting the VMDK or VHDX virtual disks the VMs reside in or use, as well as more than password, ssh and other security measures. For example <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/guarded-fabric-shielded-vm/guarded-fabric-and-shielded-vms">Microsoft is adding support for host guarded fabrics</a> (and machine hosts) as well as shielded VMs. Keep an eye on how both VMware and Microsoft extend the data protection and security capabilities for software defined data infrastructures for their solutions and services.</p>
<h3>Dell EMC Announcements</h3>
<p>At VMworld in September <a target="_blank" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dell-emc-drives-new-levels-of-cross-portfolio-integration-and-support-for-vmware-customers-300510046.html">Dell EMC announcements</a> included:</p>
<ul>
<li>Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI) and Hybrid Cloud <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170828-02.htm">enhancements</a></li>
<li>Data Protection, Goverence and Management suite <a target="_blank" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dell-emc-delivers-new-levels-of-data-protection-performance-governance-and-it-management-for-vmware-environments-300510055.html">updates</a></li>
<li>XtremIO X2 all flash array (AFA) <a target="_blank" href="https://blog.dellemc.com/en-us/xtremio-x2-the-fast-path-to-a-modern-vdi-infrastructure/">availability</a> optimized for vSphere and VDI</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">HCI and Hybrid Cloud enhancements include <a target="_blank" href="https://store.emc.com/en-us/Product-Family/VxRail-Products/Dell-EMC-VxRail-Appliance/p/VCE-VxRail">VxRail Appliance</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/converged-infrastructure/vxrack-system/vxrack-sddc.htm">VxRack SDDC</a> (vSphere 6.5, vSAN 6.6, NSX 6.3) along with hybrid cloud platforms (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/enterprise-hybrid-cloud.htm">Enterprise Hybrid Cloud</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dellemc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/native-hybrid-cloud.htm">Native Hybrid Cloud</a>) along with <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/povw/virtual-san-ready-nodes">vSAN Ready Nodes</a> (vSAN 6.6 and encryption) and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/partners/tap-access/vmware-ready.html">VMware Ready System</a>. Note that Dell EMC in addition to supporting VMware hybrid clouds also previously announced solutions for <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution/">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> back in May.</p>
<h3>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials at VMworld Bookstore</h3>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_SDDI_Bookstore_VMW2017.png" alt="xx"/><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_SDDI_VMW2017.png" alt="xx"/><br/> Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) at VMworld bookstore</p>
<p align="justify">My new book <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press)</a> made its public debut in the VMware book store where I did a book signing event. You can get your copy of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials which includes Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC) along with hybrid, multi-cloud, serverless, converged and related topics at <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon</a> among other venues. <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Learn more here</a>.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li>What's a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li>Top 10 things to know about vSAN (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2017/09/19/sharing-top-10-things-know-vsan-slides/">Via Yellow Bricks</a>)</li>
<li>VMware vSAN Management Today and Future (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2017/08/30/vmworld-sto1378-vsan-management-today-future/">Via Yellow Bricks</a>)</li>
<li>Integrated Data Protection for vSAN (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2017/08/30/vmworld-sto1770bu-tech-preview-integrated-data-protection-vsan/">Via Yellow Bricks</a>)</li>
<li>VMworld 2017 Video on demand (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmworld.com/en/us/video/vmworld-on-demand.html">Via VMware</a>)</li>
<li>Top 10 VMworld 2017 hands on labs (HOL) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/try-vmware/top-hands-on-labs.html">via VMware</a></li>
<li>Top VMworld 2017 sessions <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmworld.com/en/us/video/top-sessions.html">via VMware</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Microsoft September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Getting Caught Up What Happened In September 2017">Getting Caught Up What Happened In September 2017</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">A year ago at VMworld the initial conversations were started around what would become the VMware Cloud on AWS solution. Also a year ago besides VMware Integrated Containers (VIC) and some other pieces, the overall container and in particular related management story was a bit cloudy (pun intended). However, now the fog and cloud seem to be clearing with the PKS solution, along with details of VMware Cloud on AWS. Likewise vSphere, vSAN and NSX along with associated vRealize tools continue to evolve as well as customer deployment growing. All in all, VMware continues to evolve, let's see how things progress now over the year until the next VMworld.</p>
<p align="justify">By the way, if you have not heard, its <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">Blogtober</a>, check out some of the other blogs and posts occurring during October <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/> Gs</p>AWS September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrastructure Updatestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-18:2336802:BlogPost:1458442017-10-18T16:19:23.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p>Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrasture Updates</p>
<p align="justify"><a href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/" target="_blank">September was a busy month</a> pertaining to software defined <a href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/" target="_blank">data infrastructure</a> including cloud and related AWS announcements. One of the announcements included VMware partnering to deliver…</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p>Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Software Defined Data Infrasture Updates</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">September was a busy month</a> pertaining to software defined <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> including cloud and related AWS announcements. One of the announcements included VMware partnering to deliver vSphere, vSAN and NSX data infrastructure components for creating software defined data centers (SDDC) also known as multi cloud, and hybrid cloud leveraging AWS elastic bare metal servers (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">read more here in a companion post</a>). Unlike traditional partner software defined solutions that relied on AWS Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) instances, VMware is being deployed using private bare metal AWS elastic servers.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that VMware vSphere (e.g. ESXi) hypervisor, vCenter, software defined storage (vSAN), storage defined network (NSX) and associated vRealize tools are deployed on AWS data infrastructure that can be used for deploying hybrid software defined data centers (e.g. connecting to your existing VMware environment). Learn more about VMware on AWS <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/vmware/">here</a> or click on the following image.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/vmware-cloud-on-aws-now-available/"><img src="https://media.amazonwebservices.com/blog/2017/vmware_aws_wide_slide_2.png" alt="VMware on AWS via Amazon.com" width="590" height="264" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>Additional AWS Updates</h3>
<p align="justify">Amazon Web Services (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/">AWS</a>) updates include, coinciding with VMworld, the <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/08/vmware-cloud-on-aws-is-now-initially-available-in-the-aws-us-west-oregon-region/">initial availability of VMware on AWS</a> (using virtual private servers e.g. think along the lines of Lightsail, not EC2 instances) was announced. Amazon Web Services (AWS) continues its expansion into database and table services with <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/">Relational Data Services</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/">RDS</a>) including various engines (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/aurora/">Amazon Auora</a>,<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/mariadb/">MariaDB</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/mysql/">MySQL</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/oracle/">Oracle</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/postgresql/">PostgreSQL</a>,and <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/rds/sqlserver/">SQL Server</a> along with Database Migration Service (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/dms/">DMS</a>). Note that these RDS are in addition to what you can install and run your self on Elastic Cloud Compute (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/">EC2</a>) virtual machine instances, <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/lambda/">Lambda</a> serverless containers, or <a target="_blank" href="https://amazonlightsail.com/">Lightsail</a> Virtual Private Servers (<a target="_blank" href="https://amazonlightsail.com/">VPS</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">AWS has published a guide to database testing on Amazon RDS for Oracle plotting latency and IOPs for OLTP <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/database/testing-amazon-rds-for-oracle-plotting-latency-and-iops-for-oltp-io-pattern/">workloads here</a> using SLOB. If you are not familiar with SLOB (Silly Little Oracle Benchmark) <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/kevin-closson-discusses-slob-server-cpu-io-database-performance-benchmarks/">here is a podcast</a> with its creator Kevin Closson discussing database performance and related topics. Learn more about SLOB and <a target="_blank" href="https://kevinclosson.net/2017/07/25/step-by-step-slob-installation-and-quick-test-guide-for-amazon-web-services-rds-for-oracle/">step by step installation for AWS RDS Oracle here</a>, and for those who are concerned or think that you can not run workloads to evaluate Oracle platforms, have a <a target="_blank" href="https://kevinclosson.net/2017/02/10/slob-use-cases-by-industry-vendors-learn-slob-speak-the-experts-language/">look at this here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">EC2 enhancements include <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/09/18/aws-starts-charging-for-ec2-by-the-second.html">charging by the second</a> (previous by the hour) for some EC2 instances (<a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/new-per-second-billing-for-ec2-instances-and-ebs-volumes/">see details here including what is or is not currently available</a>) which is a growing trend by private cloud vendors aligning with how <a href="http://storageioblog.com/side-slbs-server-bs-software-hardware-fud/">serverless</a> containers have been billed. New <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/general-availability-a-new-addition-to-the-largest-amazon-ec2-memory-optimized-x1-instance-family-x1e32xlarge/">large memory EC2 instances</a> that for example support up to 3,904GB of DDR4 RAM have been added by AWS. Other EC2 enhancements include updated <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/announcing-improved-networking-performance-for-amazon-ec2-instances/">network performance</a> for some instances, <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/use-opencl-development-environment-with-amazon-ec2-f1-fpga-instances-to-accelerate-your-c-c-plus-plus-applications-also-f1-instances-are-now-available-in-us-west-oregon-and-eu-ireland-regions/">OpenCL development environment</a> to leverage AWS F1 FPGA enabled instances, along with new Elastic GPU enabled instances. Other server and network enhancements include Network Load Balancer for Elastic Load Balancer <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/announcing-network-load-balancer-for-elastic-load-balancing/">announced</a>, as well as application load balancer now supports load balancing to <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/08/elastic-load-balancing-application-load-balancer-now-supports-load-balancing-to-ip-addresses-as-targets-for-aws-and-on-premises-resources/">IP address as targets for AWS and on premises</a> (e.g. hybrid) resources.</p>
<p align="justify">Other updates and announces include data protection backups to AWS via <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/backup-to-aws-with-commvault-v11-and-the-aws-storage-gateway-virtual-tape-library-vtl/">Commvault</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/aws-s3-storage-gateway-revisited-part/">AWS Storage Gateway</a> VTL announced. IBM has announced their Spectrum Scale (e.g. formerly known as SONAS aka GPFS) Scale Out Storage solution for high performance compute (HPC) <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/deploy-ibm-spectrum-scale-on-the-aws-cloud-with-new-quick-start/">quick start</a> on AWS. Additional AWS enhancements include <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/cloudfront-launching-first-location-in-boston-and-third-in-seattle/">new edge location in Boston</a> and a third Seattle site, while Direct Connect sites have been added in Boston and <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/announcing-new-aws-direct-connect-location-in-houston-tx/">Houston</a> along with <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/09/announcing-new-aws-direct-connect-location-in-canberra-australia/">Canberra Australia</a>. View more <a target="_blank" href="https://aws.amazon.com/about-aws/whats-new/2017/">AWS announcements and enhancements here</a>.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li>What's a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Microsoft September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/aws-s3-storage-gateway-revisited-part/">AWS S3 Storage Gateway Revisited (Part I)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-services-aws-and-the-netflix-fix/">Amazon Web Services (AWS) and the NetFlix Fix?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-efs-elastic-file-system-cloud-nas-preview/">Cloud Conversations: AWS EFS Elastic File System (Cloud NAS) First Preview Look</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-ebs-optimized-instances/">Cloud conversations: AWS EBS Optimized Instances</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-ebs-glacier-and-s3-overview-part-i/">Cloud conversations: AWS EBS, Glacier and S3 overview (Part I)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/s3motion-buckets-containers-objects-aws-s3-cloud-emccode/">S3motion Buckets Containers Objects AWS S3 Cloud and EMCcode</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/part-ii-revisiting-reinvent-2014-and-other-aws-updates/">Part II: Revisiting re:Invent 2014, Lambda and other AWS updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-s3-cross-region-replication-storage-enhancements/">Cloud Conversations: AWS S3 Cross Region Replication storage enhancements</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/welcome-to-the-obeject-storageio-page-www-objectstoragecenter-com/">Welcome to the Cloud, Bulk, Big Data, Software Defined and Object Storage page</a></li>
<li><a href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">Getting Caught Up What Happened In September 2017</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">AWS continues to grow and expand, both in terms of number of services, also the extensiveness of them. Likewise AWS continues to add more regions and data center availability zones, enhanced connectivity, along with earlier mentioned service features. The partnership with VMware should enable enterprise organizations to move towards hybrid cloud data infrastructures, while giving AWS an additional reach into those data centers. Overall a good set of enhancements by AWS who continues to evolve their cloud and software defined data infrastructure portfolio of solution offerings.</p>
<p>By the way, if you have not heard, its <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">Blogtober</a>, check out some of the other blogs and posts occurring during October <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/> Gs</p>Azure AWS Service Maps via Microsofttag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-18:2336802:BlogPost:1457442017-10-18T16:08:01.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p>Microsoft has created an <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/" target="_blank">Azure</a> and <a href="http://aws.amazon.com/" target="_blank">Amazon Web Service (AWS)</a> <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cloud-service-map-for-aws-and-azure-available-now/" target="_blank">Service Map</a> (corresponding services from both providers).…<br></br></p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p>Microsoft has created an <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/">Azure</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://aws.amazon.com/">Amazon Web Service (AWS)</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cloud-service-map-for-aws-and-azure-available-now/">Service Map</a> (corresponding services from both providers).<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cloud-service-map-for-aws-and-azure-available-now/"></a></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cloud-service-map-for-aws-and-azure-available-now/"><img src="https://azurecomcdn.azureedge.net/mediahandler/acomblog/media/Default/blog/38cec55f-2914-4206-8992-9768a914e370.png" alt="Azure AWS service map via Microsoft.com" width="584" height="326" border="0"/></a><br/>Image via <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/cloud-service-map-for-aws-and-azure-available-now/">Azure.Microsoft.com</a></p>
<p align="justify">Note that this is an evolving work in progress from Microsoft and use it as a tool to help position the different services from Azure and AWS.</p>
<p align="justify">Also note that not all features or services may not be available in different regions, visit <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/">Azure</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://aws.amazon.com/">AWS</a> sites to see current availability.</p>
<p align="justify">As with any comparison they are often dated the day they are posted hence this is a work in progress. If you are looking for another Microsoft created <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-vs-aws/">why Azure vs. AWS then check out this here</a>. If you are looking for an AWS vs. Azure, do a simple Google (or Bing) search and watch all the various items appear, some sponsored, some not so sponsored among others.</p>
<h3>Whats In the Service Map</h3>
<p>The following AWS and Azure services are mapped:</p>
<ul>
<li>Marketplace (e.g. where you select service offerings)</li>
<li>Compute (Virtual Machines instances, Containers, Virtual Private Servers, Serverless Microservices and Management)</li>
<li>Storage (Primary, Secondary, Archive, Premium SSD and HDD, Block, File, Object/Blobs, Tables, Queues, Import/Export, Bulk transfer, Backup, Data Protection, Disaster Recovery, Gateways)</li>
<li>Network & Content Delivery (Virtual networking, virtual private networks and virtual private cloud, domain name services (DNS), content delivery network (CDN), load balancing, direct connect, edge, alerts)</li>
<li>Database (Relational, SQL and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/seven-databases-in-seven-weeks-a-book-review-of-nosql-databases/">NoSQL</a> document and key value, caching, database migration)</li>
<li>Analytics and Big Data (data warehouse, data lake, data processing, real-time and batch, data orchestration, data platforms, analytics)</li>
<li>Intelligence and IoT (IoT hub and gateways, speech recognition, visualization, search, machine learning, AI)</li>
<li>Management and Monitoring (management, monitoring, advisor, DevOps)</li>
<li>Mobile Services (management, monitoring, administration)</li>
<li>Security, Identity and Access (Security, directory services, compliance, authorization, authentication, encryption, firewall</li>
<li>Developer Tools (workflow, messaging, email, API management, media trans coding, development tools, testing, DevOps)</li>
<li>Enterprise Integration (application integration, content management)</li>
</ul>
<p>Down load a PDF version of the service map <a target="_blank" href="http://aka.ms/awsazureguide">from Microsoft here</a>.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li>What's a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Introduction to Azure Files (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/files/storage-files-introduction">Microsoft Docs</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/updates/public-preview-virtual-network-service-endpoints-for-azure-storage-and-azure-sql/">Public preview</a> of Virtual Network service endpoints for Azure storage and SQL database</li>
<li>Azure debuts Availability Zones for high availability and resiliency (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/introducing-azure-availability-zones-for-resiliency-and-high-availability/">Azure</a>)</li>
<li>Azure and AWS comparison (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/architecture/aws-professional/services">Docs Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Cloud Storage Considerations (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.wservernews.com/newsletters/archives/cloud-storage-considerations-14162.html#EC">via WServerNews</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-windows-server-azure-nano-life-cycle-updates/">Microsoft Windows Server, Azure, Nano Life cycle Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links</a></li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/aws-s3-storage-gateway-revisited-part/">AWS S3 Storage Gateway Revisited (Part I)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversations-aws-ebs-glacier-and-s3-overview-part-ii-s3/">Cloud conversations: AWS EBS, Glacier and S3 overview (Part II S3)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Microsoft September 2017 Updates</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What this means</h3>
<p align="justify">On one hand this can and will likely be used as a comparison however use caution as both Azure and AWS services are rapidly evolving, adding new features, extending others. Likewise the service regions and site of data centers also continue to evolve thus use the above as a general guide or tool to help map what service offerings are similar between AWS and Azure.</p>
<p align="justify">By the way, if you have not heard, its <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">Blogtober</a>, check out some of the other blogs and posts occurring during October <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">here</a>.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/> Gs</p>September 2017 Server StorageIO Newsletter & Data Infrastructure Trendstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-14:2336802:BlogPost:1456662017-10-14T12:18:40.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
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<tbody><tr><td width="600"><h2 align="left" class="style9">Volume 17, Issue IX (September 2017)</h2>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Hello and welcome to the September 2017 issue of the <a href="http://storageio.com/newsletter.html" target="_blank">Server StorageIO update newsletter</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">With September being generally known as back to school month, the two September event bookends…</p>
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<tbody><tr><td width="600"><h2 class="style9" align="left">Volume 17, Issue IX (September 2017)</h2>
<p class="style3" align="justify">Hello and welcome to the September 2017 issue of the <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/newsletter.html">Server StorageIO update newsletter</a>.</p>
<p class="style3" align="justify">With September being generally known as back to school month, the two September event bookends were VMware VMworld and Microsoft Ignite with many other things in between. Needless to say, a lot has happened in and around data infrastructure topic areas since the August newsletter (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/august-2017-sddi-update-newsletter/">here if you missed it</a>). <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">Here is a post</a> covering some of the things that I participated with during September including presentations at events in Las Vegas (VMworld), New York City (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.wipro.com/microsite/sdxsummit/NYC-2017/">Wipro SDx Summit</a>), <a target="_blank" href="https://www.snia.org/events/storage-developer">SNIA SDC</a> in Santa Clara, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fujifilmsummit.com/">Fujifilm Executive Summitt</a> in Seattle, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmg.org/regions/2017-september-21-mspcmg-meeting/">Minneapolis/St. Paul CMG</a> along with <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/events.html">other activities</a>.</p>
<p class="style3" align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials SDDI SDDC" width="183" height="242" border="0"/></a></p>
<p class="style3" align="justify">One of the activities I participated in with while at VMworld in Las Vegas was a book signing event at the VMware bookstore of my new book <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press)</a> available at <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon.com</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">other global venues</a>.</p>
<p class="style3" align="justify">September has been a busy month pertaining data infrastructure including server storage I/O related trends, activities, news, perspectives and related topics, so let's have a look at them.</p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;" align="center"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;">In This Issue</span></h3>
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<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#IndustryTrends">Server StorageIO trends</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#IndustryComments">Server StorageIO News Commentary</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#StorageIOblogPosts">Server StorageIOblog posts</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#Tips">Tips and Articles</a></li>
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<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#SIORRL">Recommended Reading</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#Events">Various Events and Webinars</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#Links">Industry Resources and Links</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="#Connect">Connect and Converse With Us</a></li>
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<tr><td width="600"><p class="style3 style11 style5" align="justify"><span class="style3">Enjoy this edition of the Server StorageIO data infrastructure update newsletter.</span></p>
<p class="style3" align="justify">Cheers GS</p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;" align="center"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;"><a name="IndustryTrends" id="IndustryTrends"></a>Data Infrastructure and IT Industry Activity Trends</span></h3>
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<tr><td><p align="justify" class="style3">Some recent Industry Activities, Trends, News and Announcements include:</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">The month started out with VMworld in Las Vegas (e.g. one of the event bookends for the month). Rather than a long list of announcements in this newsletter, check out this StorageIOblog post covering VMworld, VMware and Dell EMC and related news. As part of VMworld, VMware and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced news about their partnership. AWS also had several other enhancements and new product announcements during september that can be found in this StorageIOblog post here.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">AWS, Dell EMC and VMware were not the only ones making news or announcements during September. Startup NVMe based storage startup <a target="_blank" href="http://www.einnews.com/pr_news/405057534/apeiron-data-systems-announces-dedicated-splunk-appliance-with-a-proven-10-90x-performance-advantage">Apeiron has announced</a> a Splunk appliance to boost log and analytics processing performance. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gigamon-extends-its-public-cloud-visibility-platform-to-include-microsoft-azure-300526481.html">Gigamon</a> has extended its public cloud monitoring, insight awareness and analytics capabilities including support for Microsoft Azure.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">For those looking for the latest new emerging data infrastructure vendors to watch, add <a target="_blank" href="http://news.sys-con.com/node/4163309">Vexta</a> to your list of NVMe based storage systems. Vexta talks a lot about NVMe particular for their backend (e.g. where data stored on NVM based devices accessed via NVMe), access of their storage system is via traditional Fibre Channel (FC) or emerging NVMe over fabric.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Long time data infrastructure server and storage vendor <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/hitachi-launches-newco-aims-to-target-iot-data-center-cloud-analytics/">HDS (Hitachi Data Systems)</a> is no more (at least in name) having re branded themselves as Vantara focusing on IoT and Cloud analytics besides their traditional data center focus. Vantara combines what was HDS, Hitachi Insight Group and Pentaho into a single unit effectively based in what was HDS as a new, repackaged, refocused business unit.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Another longtime data infrastructure solution and service provider <a target="_blank" href="http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/53129.wss">IBM announced a new Linux only zSeries (ZED) mainframe solution</a>. Some might think the Mainframe is dead, others that it can only run Linux as a virtual guest in a virtual machine. On the other hand some might recall that there are native Linux implementations on the ZED including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/ubuntu-16-04-lts-aka-xenial-xerus-whats-in-the-bits-and-bytes/">Ubuntu</a> among others.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Also note that while IBM zOS mainframe operating systems use FICON for storage access, native ZED Linux systems can use open systems based Fibre Channel (FC) e.g. SCSI command set protocols. Is the ZED based Linux for everybody or every environment? Probably not, however for those who have large-scale Linux needs, it might be worth a look to do a total cost of ownership analysis. If nothing else, do your homework, play your cards right and you might have some leverage with the x86 based server crowd when it comes to negotiating leverage.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Cloud storage gateway vendor <a target="_blank" href="http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/blog/Storage-Soup/Nasuni-cloud-NAS-helps-score-38-million-in-funding">Nasuni</a> has landed another $38 Million USD in funding, hopefully that will enable them to start landing some new and larger customer revenues growing their business. Meanwhile storage startup <a target="_blank" href="http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/qumulo-launches-new-qumulo-file-fabric-on-aws-bringing-universal-scale-file-storage-2234185.htm">Qumulo has announced</a> extending their global file fabric name space to include spanning AWS.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017-attalasystems/0829telcos/prweb14635697.htm">Attala Systems has announced</a> next generation software defined storage for data infrastructures for Telco environments. <a target="_blank" href="http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Percona-Delivers-MyRocks-Storage-Engine-for-MySQLFirst-Experimental-Release-of-MyRocks-with-Percona-Server-for-MySQL-Enables-Greater-Performance-at-Lower-Cost-for-High-Volume-Write-Intensive-1002569040">Percona</a> has added an experimental release of their MySQL engine enhancing performance for high volume, write intensive workloads along with improved cost effectiveness.<br/> <br/> Software defined storage vendor <a target="_blank" href="https://www.datacore.com/company/news-press-center/press-releases/2017/09/26/new-line-of-database-optimization-products-from-datacore-software-targets-high-velocity-transaction-processing-and-real-time-analytics">Datacore announced</a> enhancements to support fast databases for online transaction processing (OLTP) along with analytics. Meanwhile Linux provider SUSE continues to expand its <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zdnet.com/article/new-suse-software-defined-storage-program-on-the-way-to-release/">software defined storage story</a> based around Ceph. <a target="_blank" href="https://insidehpc.com/2017/09/panasas-upgrades-jasmin-super-data-cluster-facility-20pb/">Panasas has enhanced</a> its scale out high performance cluster file system global name space for HPC environments with 20 PByte support. Another longtime storage vendor X-IO (formerly known as Xiotech) <a target="_blank" href="http://www.prweb.com/releases/2017/09/prweb14735469.htm">announced</a> their 4th generation of their Intelligent Storage Element (ISE).</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">September wrapped up with Microsoft Ignite conference along with many updated, enhancements and new features for Azure, Azure Stack, Windows among others. Read more about those and other Microsoft September announcements here in this StorageIOblog post.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Check out other industry news, comments, trends perspectives <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/news.html">here</a>.</p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;" align="center"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;"><a name="IndustryComments" id="IndustryComments"></a>Server StorageIO Commentary in the news</span></h3>
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<tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="style3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p align="justify" class="style3">Recent Server StorageIO industry trends perspectives commentary in the news.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.cdw.com/content/digital-app/custompage.html#project/69baaa82-9926-4f9d-99f2-cc4b0f7952f9/view/Networkingessentialsoctober2017/article/36-37_MKT14M300">Via CDW:</a> Comments on Is Your Network About To Fail?<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-technology/top-10-trends-for-data-storage-with-big-data-analytics.html">Via EnterpriseStorageForum:</a> Comments on Data Storage and Big Data Analytics<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/cloud-fomo-is-real-study-confirms-c-level-and-other-it-leaders-have-fear-of-missing-out-on-cloud-advancements/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Cloud FOMO (Fear of missing out)<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/building-a-modern-data-strategy/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Building a Modern Data Strategy<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/the-future-of-multi-cloud-computing/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on the future of Multi-Cloud Computing<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/how-ai-and-machine-learning-can-help-solve-it-s-data-management-problem/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on AI, Machine Learning and Data management<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/your-riskiest-data-is-often-hiding-in-plain-sight/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Your riskiest data might be in plain sight<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/data-management-too-much-to-handle/">Via InfoGoto</a>: Comments on Data Management Too Much To Handle<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-services/google-cloud-platform-gaining-data-storage-momentum.html">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Google Cloud Platform Gaining Data Storage Momentum<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/singapore-s-green-high-rise-data-center-plans-pie-in-the-sky-features-datacenterdynamics/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Singapore High Rise Data Centers<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/team-set-new-record-for-tape-storage/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on New Tape Storage Capacity<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-management/microsoft-azure-8-ways-to-save-on-cloud-storage.html">Via EnterpriseStorageForum:</a> Comments on 8 ways to save on cloud storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-services/google-cloud-platform-gaining-data-storage-momentum.html">Via EnterpriseStorageForum:</a> Comments on Google Cloud Platform and Storage</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">View more Server, Storage and I/O trends and perspectives comments <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/news.html">here</a></p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;" align="center"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;"><a name="StorageIOblogPosts" id="StorageIOblogPosts"></a>Server StorageIOblog Posts</span></h3>
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<tr><td width="600"><p align="justify" class="style3">Recent and popular Server StorageIOblog posts include:</p>
<ul class="style11">
<li class="style3"><div align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">Getting Caught Up, What Happened to September</a><br/> Seems like just yesterday it was the end of August with the start of VMworld, now its the end of September and Microsoft Ignite in Orlando is wrapping up. Microsoft has made several announcements this week at Ignite including Azure cloud-related, AI, IoT, Windows platforms, O365 among others. More about Microsoft Azure, Azure Stack, Windows Server, Hyper-V and related data infrastructure topics in future posts. <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/getting-caught-happened-september-2017/">Read more here.</a><br/><br/></div>
</li>
<li class="style3"><div align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/amazon-web-service-aws-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Amazon Web Service AWS September 2017 Updates</a></div>
</li>
<li class="style3"><div align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Microsoft September 2017 Updates</a></div>
</li>
<li class="style3"><div align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-vmware-september-2017-software-defined-data-infrastructure-updates">Dell EMC VMware September 2017 Updates</a></div>
</li>
</ul>
<span class="style3">In Case You Missed It #ICYMI</span><br />
<ul class="style11">
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: If Answer is NVMe, what are questions?">If Answer is NVMe, what are the questions?</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/hot-popular-trending-data-infrastructure-vendors-watch/">Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/nvme-ssd-game-intel-750/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link: Get in the NVMe SSD game (if you are not already) with Intel 750 among others">Get in the NVMe SSD game (if you are not already)</a></li>
<li><span class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/nvme-wont-replace-flash-compliment/">NVMe Wont Replace Flash By Itself They Complement Each Other</a></span></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/chelsio-storage-ip-networks-enable-data-infrastructures/">Chelsio Storage over IP and other Networks Enable Data Infrastructures</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/announcing-software-defined-data-infrastructure-sddi-essentials-book-greg-schulz-server-storageio/">Announcing Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/travel-fun-crossword-puzzle-vmworld-2017-las-vegas/">Travel Fun Crossword Puzzle For VMworld 2017 Las Vegas</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/trick-or-treat-and-vendor-fun-games/">Trick or treat and vendor fun games</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/top-storage-world-decade/">Who Will Be At Top Of Storage World Next Decade?</a></li>
<li class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/june-2017-server-storageio-data-infrastructures-update-newsletter/">August 2017 Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure Update Newsletter</a></li>
</ul>
<p class="style3">View other recent as well as past <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com">StorageIOblog posts here</a></p>
<p class="style5 style11" align="justify"></p>
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<tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="style3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p align="justify" class="style3">Recent Server StorageIO industry trends perspectives commentary in the news.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-hardware/who-will-rule-the-storage-world.html">Via EnterpriseStorageForum:</a> Comments on Who Will Rule the Storage World?<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-services/google-cloud-platform-gaining-data-storage-momentum.html">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Google Cloud Platform Gaining Data Storage Momentum<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/singapore-s-green-high-rise-data-center-plans-pie-in-the-sky-features-datacenterdynamics/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on Singapore High Rise Data Centers<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://infogoto.com/team-set-new-record-for-tape-storage/">Via InfoGoto:</a> Comments on New Tape Storage Capacity<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-management/microsoft-azure-8-ways-to-save-on-cloud-storage.html">Via EnterpriseStorageForum:</a> Comments on 8 ways to save on cloud storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-services/google-cloud-platform-gaining-data-storage-momentum.html">Via EnterpriseStorageForum:</a> Comments on Google Cloud Platform and Storage</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">View more Server, Storage and I/O trends and perspectives comments <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/news.html">here</a></p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;" align="center"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;"><a name="SIORRL" id="SIORRL"></a>Server StorageIO Recommended Reading (Watching and Listening) List</span></h3>
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<tr><td bgcolor="#FFFFFF" class="style3" style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"><p align="justify" class="style3">In addition to my own <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/books.html">books</a> including <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC Press 2017), the following are Server StorageIO recommended reading, watching and listening list items. The list includes various IT, Data Infrastructure and related topics.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.de/content/dam/www/public/us/en/documents/white-papers/recommended-reading-list-1h-2013.pdf">Intel Recommended Reading List</a> (IRRL) for developers is a good resource to check out.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Its October which means that it is also <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">Blogtober</a>, check out some of the blogs and posts occurring during October <a target="_blank" href="http://tcwd.net/vblog/2017/09/06/blogtober-virtualization-edition/">here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Preston De Guise aka <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/backupbear">@backupbear</a> is Author of several books has an interesting new site <a target="_blank" href="https://foolsrushin.info">Foolsrushin.info</a> that looks at topics including Ethics in IT among others. Check out his new book <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crcpress.com/Data-Protection-Ensuring-Data-Availability/Guise/p/book/9781482244151">Data Protection: Ensuring Data Availability</a> (CRC Press 2017).</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Brendan Gregg has a great site for <a target="_blank" href="http://brendangregg.com">Linux performance related topics here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Greg Knieriemen has a must read weekly blog, post, column collection of whats going on in and around the IT and data infrastructure related industries, <a target="_blank" href="https://enterprisete.ch/enterprise-tech-sunday-reading-september-24-2017-2fcba2cc1d0f">Check it out here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Interested in file systems, CIFS, SMB, SAMBA and related topics then check out Chris Hertels book on implementing <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2xIFvhM">CIFS here</a> at Amazon.com</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">For those involved with VMware, check out <span><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Denneman/e/B004FAT41M/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1">Frank Denneman</a> </span>VMware vSphere 6.5 host resource guide-book <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2x28YWM">here at Amazon.com</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">I often mention in presentations a must have for anybody involved with software defined anything, or programming for that matter which is the Niklaus Wirth classic Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs that you can get on <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2x314b3">Amazon.com here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Another great book to have is Seven Databases in Seven Weeks which not only provides an overview of popular NoSQL databases such as Cassandra, Mongo, HBASE among others, lots of good examples and hands on guides. <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2x2IQpY">Get your copy here at Amazon.com</a>.</p>
<p align="justify" class="style3">Watch for more more items to be added to the book shelf soon.</p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;" align="center"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;"><a name="Events" id="Events"></a>Events and Activities</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><p align="justify" class="style3">Recent and upcoming event activities.</p>
<span class="style3">Nov. 2, 2017 - <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/events.html">Webinar</a> - Modern Data Protection for Hyper-Convergence<br/> Sep. 21, 2017 - <a target="_blank" href="https://www.meetup.com/CMG-MSP-Computer-Measurement-Group-Mpls-St-Paul/">MSP CMG</a> - Minneapolis MN<br/> Sep. 20, 2017 - <a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/08/veeam-sept20.aspx?tc=page0">Webinar</a> - BC, DR and Business Resiliency (BR) tips<br/> Sep. 14, 2017 - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fujifilmsummit.com/#events">Fujifilm IT Executive Summit</a> - Seattle WA<br/> Sep. 12, 2017 - <a target="_blank" href="https://sniasdc17.pathable.com/meetings/549456">SNIA Software Developers Conference (SDC)</a> - Santa Clara CA<br/> Sep. 7, 2017 - <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Wipro SDX</a> - Enabling, Planning Your Software Defined Journey<br/> August 28-30, 2017 - VMworld - Las Vegas<br/></span>
<p class="style3">See more webinars and activities on the <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/events.html">Server StorageIO Events page here</a>.</p>
<p class="style5 style11" align="justify"></p>
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<tr><td style="padding: 3px; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" bgcolor="#00AAFF"><h3 align="center" style="font-size: 14px; margin: 0px;"><span class="style15" style="color: #ffffff;"><a name="Links" id="Links"></a>Server StorageIO Industry Resources and Links</span></h3>
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<tr><td style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" bgcolor="#FFFFFF"><p align="left" class="style3"><span class="style3">Useful links and pages:<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/">Microsoft TechNet</a> - Various Microsoft related from Azure to Docker to Windows<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.storageio.com/interestinglinks.html">storageio.com/links</a> - Various industry links (over 1,000 with more to be added soon)<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">objectstoragecenter.com</a> - Cloud and object storage topics, tips and news items<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.openstack.org/">OpenStack.org</a> - Various OpenStack related items<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/downloads.html">storageio.com/downloads</a> - Various presentations and other download material<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">storageio.com/protect</a> - Various data protection items and topics<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">thenvmeplace.com</a> - Focus on NVMe trends and technologies<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">thessdplace.com</a> - NVM and Solid State Disk topics, tips and techniques<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">storageio.com/converge</a> - Various CI, HCI and related SDS topics<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/performance">storageio.com/performance</a> - Various server, storage and I/O benchmark and tools<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn">VMware Technical Network</a> - Various VMware related items</span></p>
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<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watchtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-14:2336802:BlogPost:1455792017-10-14T11:48:23.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch</h2>
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">A common question I get asked is who are the hot popular new or trending <a href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/" target="_blank">data infrastructure</a> vendors to watch.</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that there is a difference between…</p>
<h2>Hot Popular New Trending Data Infrastructure Vendors To Watch</h2>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">A common question I get asked is who are the hot popular new or trending <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> vendors to watch.</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that there is a difference between <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/industry-adoption-vs-industry-deployment-is-there-a-difference/">industry adoption</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-industry-traction-adoption/">customer deployment</a>, the former being what the industry (e.g. Vendors, resellers, integrators, investors, consultants, analyst, press, media, analysts, bloggers or other influences) like, want and need to talk about. Then there is customer adoption and deployment which is what is being bought, installed and used.</p>
<h3>Some Popular Trending Vendors To Watch</h3>
<p align="justify">The following is far from an exhaustive list however here are some that come to mind that I'm watching.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://apcera.com/">Apcera</a> – Enterprise class containers and management tools<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://aws.amazon.com/">AWS</a> – Rolls our new services like a startup with size momentum of a legacy player<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://bluemedora.com/">Blue Medora</a> – Data Infrastructure insight, software defined management<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://bluemedora.com/">Broadcom</a> – Avago/LSI, legacy Broadcom, Emulex, Brocade acquisition interesting portfolio<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chelsio.com/">Chelsio</a> – Server, storage and data Infrastructure I/O technologies<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.commvault.com/">Commvault</a> - Data protection and backup solutions<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://compuverde.com/">Compuverde</a> – Software defined storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://ddn.com/">Data Direct Networks (DDN)</a> – Scale out and high performance storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://datadoghq.com/">Datadog</a> – Software defined management, data infrastructure insight, analytics, reporting<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.datrium.com/">Datrium</a> – Converged software defined data infrastructure solutions<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://codedellemc.com/">Dell EMC Code</a> – Rexray container persistent storage management<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.docker.com/">Docker</a> – Container and management tools<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://e8storage.com/">E8 Storage</a> – NVMe based storage solutions<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.elastifile.com/">Elastifile</a> – Scale out software defined storage and file system<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://enmotus.com/">Enmotus</a> - MicroTiering that works with Windows, Linux and various cloud platforms<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.everspin.com/">Everspin</a> - storage class memories and NVDIMM<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.excelero.com/">Excelero</a> – NVMe based storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.hedviginc.com/">Hedvig</a> – Scale out software defined storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.huawei.com/us/">Huawei</a> – While not common in the US, in Europe and elsewhere they are gaining momentum<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html">Intel</a> – Watch what they do with Optane and storage class memories<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://kubernetes.io/">Kubernetes</a> – Container software defined management<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://liqid.com/">Liqid</a> – Stealth Colorado startup focusing on PCIe fabrics and composable infrastructure<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://maxta.com/">Maxta</a> – Hyper converged infrastructure (HCI) and software defined data infrastructure vendor<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://mellanox.com/">Mellanox</a> – While not a startup, keep an eye on what they are doing with their adapters<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.micron.com/">Micron</a> – Watch what they do with 3D XPoint storage class memory and SSD<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://microsoft.com/">Microsoft</a> – Not a startup, however keep an eye on Azure, Azure Stack, Window Server with S2D, ReFS, tiering, CI/HCI as well as Linux services on Windows.<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.minio.io/">Minio</a> – Software defined storage solutions<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://netapp.com/">NetApp</a> – While FAS/Ontap and Solidfire get the headlines, E series generates revenue, keep an eye on StorageGrid and AltaVault<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://neuvector.com/">Neuvector</a> – Container management and security<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://noobaa.com/">Noobaa</a> – Software defined storage and more<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://nvidia.com/">NVIDA</a> – No longer just another graphics process unit based company<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://pivot3.com/">Pivot3</a> – An original HCI software defined players, granted, some of their competitors might not think so<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://pluribusnetworks.com">Pluribus Networks</a> – Software Defined Networks for Software Defined Data Infrastructures<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://portworx.com/">Portwork</a> – Container management and persistent storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://rozosystems.com/">Rozo Systems</a> – Scale out software defined storage and file system<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.rubrik.com/">Rubrik</a> – Data Protection software, reminds me of a startup called Commvault 20 years ago.<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://scalemp.com/">ScaleMP</a> – Composable scale out software defined servers<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://storpool.com/">Storpool</a> – Scale out software defined storage<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stratoscale.com/">Stratoscale</a> – Software defined data infrastructure and hybrid solutions<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.suse.com/">SUSE</a> – Linux distribution looking to expand their offerings, gain more insight<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.tidalscale.com/">Tidalscale</a> – Composable software defined data infrastructures<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://turbonomic.com/">Turbonomic</a> – Software Defined Management, insight, analytics and automation<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ubuntu.com/">Ubuntu</a> – Known for their Linux distribution, check out their Metal as a Service (MaaS) technology<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.veeam.com/">Veeam</a> – Data protection and backup solutions<br/> technology<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://virtuozzo.com">Virtuozzo</a> – Software defined storage and data infrastructure technologies<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/">VMware</a> - AWS, vSAN, NSX, Integrated Containers and much more<br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://weka.io/">WekaIO</a> – Scale out software defined storage and file system</p>
<h3>Some Popular Trending Technology Trends</h3>
<ul>
<li>ARM, ASIC, FPGA, GPU servers among others</li>
<li>Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper Converged Infrastructure (HCI), Composable Infrastructure</li>
<li>Analytics, reporting, insight, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), automation</li>
<li>Software Defined including Cloud, Virtual, Containers, Docker, kubernetes, mesos, serverless, micro services</li>
<li>Data protection, backup/restore, archive, security, business resiliency (BR), business continuance (BC), disaster recovery (DR)</li>
<li>Non-volatile memory (NMV), NVM Express (NVMe), storage class memories (SCM), persistent memory, nand flash, SSD</li>
</ul>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storageio-data-infrastructure-related-links/">Server StorageIO IT Data Infrastructure Industry Links A to E</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">Server Storage I/O Benchmarking Performance Resource Tools</a></li>
<li>What's a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a> (includes various images, sample figures and added content)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/welcome-to-the-obeject-storageio-page-www-objectstoragecenter-com/">Object and Cloud Storage Center (www.objectstoragecenter.com)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com/">www.thessdplace.com</a> - NVM, flash, SSD, SCM and related topics</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com/">www.thenvmeplace.com</a> - NVM Express (NVMe) related topics</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="Data Infrastructures Protect Preserve Secure and Serve Information" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a><br/> Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a></p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">There are always more hot popular new or trending data infrastructure vendors to watch, which ones are you keeping an eye on?</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/> Gs</p>Is it just me or did September go by fast?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-10-14:2336802:BlogPost:1453692017-10-14T11:39:23.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p>Getting Caught Up, What Happened In September?</p>
<p align="justify">Seems like just yesterday it was the end of <a href="http://storageioblog.com/august-2017-sddi-update-newsletter/" target="_blank">August</a> with the start of <a href="https://www.vmworld.com/en/index.html" target="_blank">VMworld in Las Vegas</a>, now its the end of September and <a href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ignite/default.aspx" target="_blank">Microsoft Ignite in Orlando</a> is wrapping up.…</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p>Getting Caught Up, What Happened In September?</p>
<p align="justify">Seems like just yesterday it was the end of <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/august-2017-sddi-update-newsletter/">August</a> with the start of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmworld.com/en/index.html">VMworld in Las Vegas</a>, now its the end of September and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ignite/default.aspx">Microsoft Ignite in Orlando</a> is wrapping up. Microsoft has made several announcements this week at Ignite including <a target="_blank" href="https://news.microsoft.com/2015/09/29/microsoft-azure-delivers-market-leading-innovations/">Azure cloud</a> related, AI, IoT, Windows platforms, O365 <a target="_blank" href="https://news.microsoft.com/2017/09/25/microsoft-helps-customers-digitally-transform-their-businesses-with-cloud-ai-and-mixed-reality-while-also-advancing-the-next-frontier-of-computing/">among others</a>. More about Microsoft Azure, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-technical-preview-3-tp3-overview-preview-review/">Azure Stack</a>, Windows Server, Hyper-V and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/microsoft-windows-server-azure-nano-life-cycle-updates/">related data infrastructure topics</a> in future posts.</p>
<p align="justify">Like many of you, September is a busy time of the year, so here is a recap of some of what I have been doing for the past month (among other things).</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_VMWORLD2017_Welcome.png" alt="vmworld 2017"/></p>
<h3>VMworld Las Vegas</h3>
<p>During VMworld US VMware announced enhanced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Delivers-Industry-First-Unified-End-User-Experience,-Management-and-Security-Solution-for-All-Endpoint-Platforms.2184896.html">workspace, security and endpoint solutions</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-and-Pivotal-Launch-Pivotal-Container-Service-(PKS)-and-Collaborate-with-Google-Cloud-to-Bring-Kubernetes-to-Enterprise-Customers.2184911.html">Pivotal Container Service (PKS)</a> with Google for Kubernetes serverless container management, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.DXC-Technology-and-VMware-Expand-Global-Partnership-with-New-Managed-Hybrid-Cloud-Services-Enabled-by-VMware-Technologies.2184701.html">DXC partnership</a> for hybrid cloud management, security enablement via its <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Transforms-Security-for-Applications-Running-on-VMware-vSphere(R)-Based-Virtualized-and-Cloud-Environments.2184703.html">AppDefense</a> solutions, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Advances-Software-to-Help-Customers-Modernize-Data-Centers.2184711.html">data infrastructure platform enhancements</a> including integrated OpenStack, vRealize management tools, vSAN among others. VMware also made <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-Helps-Enterprises-Succeed-in-the-Multi-Cloud-Era.2184714.html">announcements including expanded multi-cloud and hybrid cloud support</a> along with VMware on AWS as well as Dell EMC <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-newsfeed.VMware-and-Dell-EMC-Partner-to-Deliver-First-Data-Protection-Solution-for-VMware-Cloud-on-AWS.2184715.html">data protection for VMware and AWS environments</a>.</p>
<p><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_SDDI_Bookstore_VMW2017.png" alt="xx"/><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_SDDI_VMW2017.png" alt="xx"/><br/>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) at VMworld bookstore</p>
<p align="justify">In other VMworld activity, my new book <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press)</a> made its public debut in the VMware book store where I did a book signing event. You can get your copy of Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials which includes Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC) along with hybrid, multi-cloud, serverless, converged and related topics at <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon</a> among other venues. <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">Learn more here</a>.</p>
<h3>Software Defined Everything (x)</h3>
<p align="justify">In early September I was invited to present at the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wipro.com/microsite/sdxsummit/NYC-2017/">Wipro Software Defined Everything (x) event in New York City</a>. This event follows Wipro invited me to present at in London England this past January at the inaugural SDx Summit event. At the New York City event my presentation was Planning and Enabling Your Journey to SDx which bridged the higher level big picture industry trends to the applied feet on the ground topics. Attendees of the event included customers, prospects, partners, various analyst firms along with Wipro personal.</p>
<p align="justify">At the Wipro event during a panel discussion a question was asked about definition of software defined. After the usual vendor and industry responses, mine was a simple, put the emphasis on Define as opposed to software, with a focus on what is the resulting outcome. In other words how and what are you defining (e.g. x) which could be storage, server, data center, data infrastructure, network among others to make a particular result, outcome, service or capability. While the emphasis is around defined, that also can mean curate, compose, craft, program or whatever you prefer to create an outcome.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.snia.org/events/storage-developer"><img src="https://www.snia.org/sites/default/files/SDC/2017/SDC17_WebHeader4-999x188.png" alt="Image via snia.org" height="100" width="500" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>Role of Storage in a Software Defined Data Infrastructure</h3>
<p align="justify">At the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.snia.org/events/storage-developer">Storage Network Industry Association (SNIA) Storage Developers Conference (SDC)</a> in Santa Clara I did a talk about <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/downloads.html">the role of Storage in Software Defined Data Infrastructures</a>. The theme was that not only is there a role, storage is fundamental and essential for any software defined data infrastructure (as well as legacy) from cloud to container, serverless to virtual servers, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">converged</a> and hybrid among others. Other themes included the changing role of storage along with how hardware needs software, software needs hardware, and serverless has hardware and software somewhere in the stack. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3212888/it-skills-training/do-you-have-an-it-trade-craft-skills-gap.html">Tradecraft</a> along with other related data infrastructure topics were also discussed.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="Data Infrastructures Protect Preserve Secure and Serve Information" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a><br/>Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a></p>
<p align="justify">While promoted as an event for storage developers by storage developers, based on a lot of the content presented, SNIA could easily increase attendance to a broader audience with some slight tweaks as well as messaging. If SNIA is looking to focus the event only for vendor storage developers, surprise surprise, there were developers there, however I also talked with IT customers who were there among other non developers. SDC IMHO is not a replacement for SNW, however with some simple adjustments in messaging from who shouldn't attend to who should or could attend, more attendees and sponsors might just happen appear.</p>
<p align="justify">Check out the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.snia.org/events/storage-developer/presentations17">SNIA SDC presentations here</a>, along with <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/downloads.html">my presentation from the 2017 event here</a> (among others).</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.fujifilmsummit.com/"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/SIO_Tape2017.png" alt="tape and cloud storage" width="250" height="250" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>Tape in a Software Defined and Hybrid Cloud World</h3>
<p align="justify">I was invited by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fujifilmsummit.com/">Fujifilm</a> to present at their recent 9th annual executive summit in Seattle. The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fujifilmsummit.com/">Fujifilm event</a> was attended by various partners, customers and industry folks covering a diverse set of topics. Focus areas spanned from legacy IT to hyper-scale to public cloud and High-Performance Compute (HPC) among others. <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/zombie-technology-life-death-tape-alive/">Magnetic Tape</a> (e.g. tape) may be going away from your data center, however, chances are if you are doing or storing things in the cloud, your data may end up on tape. In other words, not only does tape continue to evolve, its place and how used (as well as accessed) is also changing. Check out the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.fujifilmsummit.com/">Fujifilm site here</a> where you can scroll down and check out mine and other presentations from the event.</p>
<h3>Focus on Data Protection (and recovery)</h3>
<p align="justify">September also saw hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding, earthquakes, and acts of natural events, to man-made accidental as well as intentional including software-defined threats such as ransomware, malware, virus, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.equifaxsecurity2017.com/">Equifax</a> data information breaches, leaks, loss among other security concerns. A reminder that there are the headline-making news events, as well as those that may be more common yet not widely talked about. What this means is that big or small, full or partial damage, destruction, loss or loss of access, data protection should be proactive to enable recovery instead of an afterthought.</p>
<p align="justify">Think of data protection as an investment instead of cost overhead, however that also means finding ways to spread costs out while gaining more benefit. Also remember that if something can occur, fail or happen, it probably will. In other words, the question should not be if, rather when, with what impact. This also means evolving from backup/restore, disaster recovery to business resiliency that enables your applications and data to stay available as well as accessible. In other words, how well are you prepared?</p>
<p>Additional data protection related topics and content include:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/08/veeam-sept20.aspx?tc=page0">Free Webinar</a> (registration required) with tips for disaster recovery (DR) and business resiliency (BR)</li>
<li>Preventing Unexpected Disasters article tip <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ironmountain.com/Knowledge-Center/Reference-Library/View-by-Document-Type/General-Articles/P/Preventing-Unexpected-Disasters-Corporate-IT-and-Data-Infrastructure.aspx">via Iron Mountain</a></li>
<li>Server StorageIO data infrastructure data protection diaries (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">various tips and content</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/05/quest-jun22.aspx?tc=page0">Free webinar</a> (registration required) planning for GDPR</li>
<li>Time to recover, do you know where backup data is (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Time-to-restore-from-backup-Do-you-know-where-your-data-is">article from Computerweekly</a>)</li>
<li>Ensuring your data infrastructure remains available (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3175037/cloud-computing/ensure-your-data-infrastructure-remains-available-and-resilient.html">article from Networkworld</a>)</li>
<li>Tips on preparing for Hurricane and storm season (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.ironmountain.com/Knowledge-Center/Reference-Library/View-by-Document-Type/General-Articles/N/National-Preparedness-Month-Is-Your-Data-Infrastructure-Prepared-for-Hurricane-Season.aspx">via IronMountain</a>)</li>
</ul>
<h3>Expanding Your Data Infrastructure Tradecraft</h3>
<p align="justify">At the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cmg.org/regions/2017-september-21-mspcmg-meeting/">September Minneapolis St. Paul (MSP) Computer Measurement Group (CMG) event</a>, I gave a <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/downloads.html">presentation</a> discussing industry trends perspectives, buzzword bingo updates including software defined, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/nvme-wont-replace-flash-compliment/">NVM (the media)</a> vs. <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">NVMe (the interface)</a> benchmarking, tools, cloud, serverless and tradecraft. Tradecraft as a refresher are those skills and fundamental experiences you acquire over time including what tools, techniques to use for different scenarios.</p>
<p align="justify">As part of the CMG presentation, the discussion looked at expanding your data infrastructure tradecraft into adjacent areas around your current focus. Also discussed were the importance of context as different words have two or more meanings. For example SAS can mean <a target="_blank" href="https://www.flysas.com">Scandinavian Air System</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.sas.com/">Statistics Analysis Software</a> the original unstructured and big data tool, as well as for storage <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/announcing-sas-sans-for-dummies-book-lsi-edition/">Serial Attached SCSI</a>. However there is another meaning for SAS which spans server, storage, networking, cloud, security and other focus areas which is <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/storage-dotnet-shared-access-signature-part-1">Shared Access Signature</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">Downloads the CMG and other presentations from the Server StorageIO <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/downloads.html">website here</a>.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li>What's a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Server StorageIO Data Infrastructure and related <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/downloads.html">presentations downloads</a></li>
<li>Server StorageIO workload generator and benchmark <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-benchmark-workload-scripts-part/">scripts</a></li>
<li>Server StorageIO performance tools and benchmark <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">resources</a></li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com/">www.thessdplace.com</a> - NVM, flash, SSD, SCM and related topics</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com/">www.thenvmeplace.com</a> - NVM Express (NVMe) related topics</li>
</ul>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">The above are some of the things I was involved with during September with themes of data infrastructure, data protection, software defined cloud, virtual, serverless containers, servers, storage, I/O networking, SSD including NVMe, performance and capacity planning, metrics that matter, management among other topics. It was great meeting many new people at the various venues this past month, likewise seeing old acquaintances and friends. Also thanks to all who have ordered copies of my new book Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials along with your comments. Check out the Server StorageIO data infrastructure update newsletter for other related activity, industry trends among other topics. Now lets see how fast October and the rest of 2017 goes.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/>Gs</p>New Book by Greg Schulz Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentialstag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-08-23:2336802:BlogPost:1449612017-08-23T19:35:01.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h3>SDDC, Cloud, Converged, and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft</h3>
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">Over the past several months I have posted, commenting, presenting and discussing more about Data Infrastructures and my new book (my 4th solo project) officially announced today, <a href="http://storageio.com/book4.html" target="_blank">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC Press). Software Defined Data Infrastructure (SDDI) Essentials is now generally…</p>
<h3>SDDC, Cloud, Converged, and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O Tradecraft</h3>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">Over the past several months I have posted, commenting, presenting and discussing more about Data Infrastructures and my new book (my 4th solo project) officially announced today, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC Press). Software Defined Data Infrastructure (SDDI) Essentials is now generally available at various global venues in hardcopy, hardback print as well as various electronic versions including via <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crcpress.com/Software-Defined-Data-Infrastructure-Essentials-Cloud-Converged-and-Virtual/Schulz/p/book/9781498738156">CRC Press</a> among others. For those attending VMworld 2017 in Las Vegas, I will be doing a book signing, meet and greet at 1PM Tuesday August 29 in the VMworld book store, as well as presenting at various other fall industry <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/events.html">events</a>.</p>
<h3>Software Defined Data Infrastructure (SDDI) Announcement</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170823005368/en/Industry-Veteran-Greg-Schulz-Server-StorageIO-Reveals">(Via Businesswire) Stillwater, Minnesota – August 23, 2017</a> – <a target="_blank" href="http://www.storageio.com/">Server StorageIO</a>, a leading independent IT industry advisory and consultancy firm, in conjunction with publisher <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crcpress.com/Software-Defined-Data-Infrastructure-Essentials-Cloud-Converged-and-Virtual/Schulz/p/book/9781498738156">CRC Press</a>, a Taylor and Francis imprint, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110907005867/en/Industry-Veteran-Greg-Schulz-StorageIO-Reveals-Latest">announced</a> the release and general availability of “Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials,” a new book by Greg Schulz, noted author and Server StorageIO founder.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr"><img src="https://storageio.com/images/Book4_SDDI_K26571_v2_wide_250.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">The <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book</a> covers physical, cloud, converged (and hyper-converged), container, and virtual server storage I/O networking technologies, revealing trends, tools, techniques, and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">tradecraft skills</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="Data Infrastructures Protect Preserve Secure and Serve Information" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a><br/> Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a></p>
<p align="justify">From cloud web scale to enterprise and small environments, IoT to database, software-defined data center (SDDC) to converged and container servers, flash solid state devices (SSD) to storage and I/O networking,, the book helps develop or refine hardware, software, services and management experiences, providing real-world examples for those involved with or looking to expand their <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> education knowledge and tradecraft skills.</p>
<p>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials book topics include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Cloud, Converged, Container, and Virtual Server Storage I/O networking</li>
<li>Data protection (archive, availability, backup, BC/DR, snapshot, security)</li>
<li>Block, file, object, structured, unstructured and data value</li>
<li>Analytics, monitoring, reporting, and management metrics</li>
<li>Industry trends, tools, techniques, decision making</li>
<li>Local, remote server, storage and network I/O troubleshooting</li>
<li>Performance, availability, capacity and economics (PACE)</li>
</ul>
<h3>What People Are Saying About Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials Book</h3>
<p align="justify">“From CIOs to operations, sales to engineering, this book is a comprehensive reference, a must-read for IT infrastructure professionals, beginners to seasoned experts,” said Tom Becchetti, advisory systems engineer.</p>
<p align="justify">"We had a front row seat watching Greg present live in our education workshop seminar sessions for ITC professionals in the Netherlands material that is in this book. We recommend this amazing book to expand your converged and data infrastructure knowledge from beginners to industry veterans."<br/> <br/> Gert and Frank Brouwer - <a target="_blank" href="http://www.brouwerconsultancy.com/">Brouwer Storage Consultancy</a></p>
<p align="justify">"Software-Defined Data Infrastructures provides the foundational building blocks to improve your craft in several areas including applications, clouds, legacy, and more. IT professionals, as well as sales professionals and support personal, stand to gain a great deal by reading this book."<br/> <br/> Mark McSherry- Oracle Regional Sales Manager</p>
<p align="justify">"Greg Schulz has provided a complete ‘toolkit’ for storage management along with the background and framework for the storage or data infrastructure professional (or those aspiring to become one)."<br/> Greg Brunton – Experienced Storage and Data Management Professional</p>
<p align="justify">“Software-defined data infrastructures are where hardware, software, server, storage, I/O networking and related services converge inside data centers or clouds to protect, preserve, secure and serve applications and data,” said Schulz. “Both readers who are new to data infrastructures and seasoned pros will find this indispensable for gaining and expanding their knowledge.”</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1B.png" alt="SDDI and SDDC components" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify"><strong>More About Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</strong><br/> <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructures (SDDI) Essentials</a> provides fundamental coverage of physical, cloud, converged, and virtual server storage I/O networking technologies, trends, tools, techniques, and tradecraft skills. From webscale, software-defined, containers, database, key-value store, cloud, and enterprise to small or medium-size business, the book is filled with techniques, and tips to help develop or refine your server storage I/O hardware, software, Software Defined Data Centers (SDDC), Software Data Infrastructures (SDI) or Software Defined Anything (SDx) and services skills. Whether you are new to data infrastructures or a seasoned pro, you will find this comprehensive reference indispensable for gaining as well as expanding experience with technologies, tools, techniques, and trends.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Book4_0_0.png" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials SDDI SDDC content" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">This book is the definitive source providing comprehensive coverage about IT and cloud <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a> for experienced industry experts to beginners. Coverage of topics spans from higher level applications down to components (hardware, software, networks, and services) that get defined to create data infrastructures that support business, web, and other information services. This includes Servers, Storage, I/O Networks, Hardware, Software, Management Tools, Physical, Software Defined Virtual, Cloud, Docker, Containers (Docker and others) as well as Bulk, Block, File, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">Object, Cloud</a>, Virtual and software defined storage.</p>
<p align="justify">Additional topics include <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Data protection</a> (Availability, Archiving, Resiliency, HA, BC, BR, DR, Backup), Performance and Capacity Planning, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">Converged Infrastructure (CI), Hyper-Converged</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/ssd-flash-nonvolatile-memory-nvm-storage-trends-tips-topics/">NVM</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> Flash SSD, Storage Class Memory (SCM), NVMe over Fabrics, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">Benchmarking</a> (including metrics matter along with tools), <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">Performance</a> Capacity Planning and much more including whos doing what, how things work, what to use when, where, why along with current and emerging trends.</p>
<h3>Book Features</h3>
<p align="justify">ISBN-13: 978-1498738156<br/> ISBN-10: 149873815X<br/> Hardcover: 672 pages<br/> (Available in Kindle and other electronic formats)<br/> Over 200 illustrations and 70 plus tables<br/> Frequently asked Questions (and answers) along with many tips<br/> Various learning exercises, extensive glossary and appendices<br/> Publisher: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crcpress.com/Software-Defined-Data-Infrastructure-Essentials-Cloud-Converged-and-Virtual/Schulz/p/book/9781498738156">Auerbach/CRC Press Publications</a>; 1 edition (June 19, 2017)<br/> Language: English</p>
<p align="justify"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_ToolBox1.png" alt="SDDI and SDDC toolbox" width="481" height="291"/></p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li>Whats a data infrastructure? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3171257/data-center/whats-a-data-infrastructure.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials (CRC Press) <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">book companion page</a> (includes various images, sample figures and added content)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/DownloadItems/SIO_Book4_TOC.pdf">Click here to view (PDF) table of contents (TOC)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://storageio.com/DownloadItems/SIO_Book4_PrefaceAboutWhoShouldRead.pdf">Click here to view (PDF) Preface, who should read, how organized and related material</a></li>
<li>Search and see whats inside Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials using <a target="_blank" href="http://tinyurl.com/y7yhyk4d">this link to Google Books</a></li>
<li>Do you have an IT trade craft skills gap? (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3212888/it-skills-training/do-you-have-an-it-trade-craft-skills-gap.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li>Ensure your data infrastructure remains available and resilient (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.networkworld.com/article/3175037/cloud-computing/ensure-your-data-infrastructure-remains-available-and-resilient.html">Via NetworkWorld</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its Whats Inside The Data Center)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-tradecraft-trends/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O Tradecraft Trends</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-related-tradecraft-overview/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O related Tradecraft Overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-benchmark-workload-scripts-part/">Some server storage I/O benchmark workload scripts (Part I)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">Server Storage I/O Benchmarking Performance Resource Tools</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">Server Storage I/O Converged (CI) Hyper-converged (HCI) overview</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/are-you-on-the-storageio-it-data-infrastructure-industry-links-page/">Data Infrastructure industry links page</a> - Various Data Infrastructure related links</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-protection-diaries-main/">Welcome to the Data Protection Diaries</a> - Data protection related topics</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.computerweekly.com/feature/Time-to-restore-from-backup-Do-you-know-where-your-data-is">Time to restore your backups, do you know where is your data is?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/welcome-to-the-obeject-storageio-page-www-objectstoragecenter-com/">Object and Cloud Storage Center (www.objectstoragecenter.com)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com/">www.thessdplace.com</a> - NVM, flash, SSD, SCM and related topics</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com/">www.thenvmeplace.com</a> - NVM Express (NVMe) related topics</li>
<li>Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press) "Intel Recommended Reading" <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book3.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li>The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) "Intel Recommended Reading" <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book2.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li>Resilient Storage Networks - Designing Flexible Scalable Data Infrastructures (Elsevier) <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book1.html">book companion page</a></li>
<li>Other books, articles, tips, blog posts, news, events, webinars, videos by Greg Schulz and Server StorageIO (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/portfolio.html">portfolio page</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="Data Infrastructures Protect Preserve Secure and Serve Information" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a><br/> Various IT and Cloud Infrastructure Layers including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a></p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructures</a> exist to protect, preserve, secure and serve information along with the applications and data they depend on. With more data being created at a faster rate, along with the size of data becoming larger, increased application functionality to transform data into information means more demands on data infrastructures and their underlying resources.</p>
<p align="justify">Software-Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials: Cloud, Converged, and Virtual Fundamental Server Storage I/O <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-tradecraft-trends/">Tradecraft</a> is for people who are currently involved with or looking to expand their knowledge and tradecraft skills (experience) of data infrastructures. Software-defined data centers (SDDC), software data infrastructures (SDI), software-defined data infrastructure (SDDI) and traditional data infrastructures are made up of software, hardware, services, and best practices and tools spanning servers, I/O networking, and storage from physical to software-defined virtual, container, and clouds. The role of data infrastructures is to enable and support information technology (IT) and organizational information applications.</p>
<p align="justify">Everything is not the same in business, organizations, IT, and in particular servers, storage, and I/O. This means that there are different audiences who will benefit from reading this book. Because everything and everybody is not the same when it comes to server and storage I/O along with associated IT environments and applications, different readers may want to focus on various sections or chapters of this book.</p>
<p align="justify">If you are looking to expand your knowledge into an adjacent area or to understand whats under the hood, from converged, hyper-converged to traditional data infrastructures topics, this book is for you. For experienced storage, server, and networking professionals, this book connects the dots as well as provides coverage of virtualization, cloud, and other convergence themes and topics.</p>
<p align="justify">This book is also for those who are new or need to learn more about data infrastructure, server, storage, I/O networking, hardware, software, and services. Another audience for this book is experienced IT professionals who are now responsible for or working with data infrastructure components, technologies, tools, and techniques.</p>
<p align="justify">Learn more <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">here</a> about Software Defined Data Infrastructure (SDDI) Essentials book along with cloud, converged, and virtual fundamental server storage I/O tradecraft topics, order your copy from <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2uk2wVr">Amazon.com</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.crcpress.com/Software-Defined-Data-Infrastructure-Essentials-Cloud-Converged-and-Virtual/Schulz/p/book/9781498738156">CRC Press here</a>, and thank you in advance for learning more about SDDI and related topics.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.<br/> Gs</p>Intel Announces Xeon Scalable Processors for Data Infrastructurestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-07-23:2336802:BlogPost:1450442017-07-23T15:53:38.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h3>Intel Xeon Scalable Processors SDDI and SDDC</h3>
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">Today <a href="https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-unveils-powerful-intel-xeon-scalable-processors-bringing-next-generation-business-consumer-experiences-life/" target="_blank">Intel announced</a> a new family of <a href="http://www.intel.com/xeonscalable" target="_blank">Xeon Scalable Processors</a> (aka Purely) that for some workloads Intel claims to be on average of 1.65x faster than their…</p>
<h3>Intel Xeon Scalable Processors SDDI and SDDC</h3>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">Today <a target="_blank" href="https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-unveils-powerful-intel-xeon-scalable-processors-bringing-next-generation-business-consumer-experiences-life/">Intel announced</a> a new family of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.intel.com/xeonscalable">Xeon Scalable Processors</a> (aka Purely) that for some workloads Intel claims to be on average of 1.65x faster than their predecessors. Note your real improvement will vary based on workload, configuration, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">benchmark testing</a>, type of processor, memory, and many other server storage I/O performance considerations.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.intel.com/xeonscalable"><img src="https://simplecore.intel.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/07/Intel-Xeon-Scalable-3.jpg" alt="Intel Scalable Xeon Processors" width="340" height="225" border="0"/></a><br/>Image via Intel.com</p>
<p align="justify"></p>
<p align="justify">In general the new Intel Xeon Scalable Processors enable legacy and software defined <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> (SDDI), along with software defined data centers (SDDC), cloud and other environments to support expanding workloads more efficiently as well as effectively (e.g. boosting productivity).</p>
<p align="justify"></p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="Data Infrastructures and workloads" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p>Some target application and environment workloads Intel is positioning these new processors for includes among others:</p>
<ul>
<li>Machine Learning (ML), Artificial Intelligence (AI), advanced analytics, deep learning and big data</li>
<li>Networking including software defined network (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV)</li>
<li>Cloud and Virtualization including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution/">Azure Stack</a>, Docker and Kubernetes containers, Hyper-V, KVM, OpenStack VMware vSphere, KVM among others</li>
<li>High Performance Compute (HPC) and High Productivity Compute (e.g. the other HPC)</li>
<li>Storage including legacy and emerging software defined storage software deployed as appliances, systems or server less deployment modes.</li>
</ul>
<p>Features of the new Intel Xeon Scalable Processors include:</p>
<ul>
<li>New core micro architecture with interconnects and on die memory controllers</li>
<li>Sockets (processors) scalable up to 28 cores</li>
<li>Improved networking performance using Quick Assist and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/communications/data-plane-development-kit.html">Data Plane Development Kit</a> (DPDK)</li>
<li>Leverages <a target="_blank" href="https://intel.com/content/www/us/en/embedded/technology/quickassist/overview.html">Intel Quick Assist Technology</a> for CPU offload of compute intensive functions including I/O networking, security, AI, ML, big data, analytics and storage functions. Functions that benefit from Quick Assist include cryptography, encryption, authentication, cipher operations, digital signatures, key exchange, loss less data compression and data footprint reduction along with data at rest encryption (DARE).</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html">Optane</a> Non-Volatile Dual Inline Memory Module (NVDIMM) for storage class memory (SCM) also referred to by some as Persistent Memory (PM), not to be confused with Physical Machine (PM).</li>
<li>Supports Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (AVX-512) for HPC and other workloads</li>
<li>Optional <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/high-performance-computing-fabrics/omni-path-architecture-fabric-overview.html">Omni-Path Fabrics</a> in addition to 1/10Gb Ethernet among other I/O options</li>
<li>Six <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-memory-dram-nand-flash/">memory</a> channels supporting up to 6TB of RDIMM with multi socket systems</li>
<li>From two to eight sockets per node (system)</li>
<li>Systems support PCIe 3.x (some supporting x4 based <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">M.2</a> interconnects)</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Note that exact speeds, feeds, slots and watts will vary by specific server model and vendor options. Also note that some server system solutions have two or more nodes (e.g. two or more real servers) in a single package not to be confused with two or more sockets per node (system or motherboard). Refer to the where to learn more section below for links to Intel benchmarks and other resources.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1D.png" width="500" height="216" alt="Software Defined Data Infrastructures, SDDC, SDX and SDDI"/></p>
<h3>What About Speeds and Feeds</h3>
<p align="justify">Watch for and check out the various Intel partners who have or will be announcing their new server compute platforms based on Intel Xeon Scalable Processors. Each of the different vendors will have various speeds and feeds options that build on the fundamental Intel Xeon Scalable Processor capabilities.</p>
<p align="justify">For example <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-world-2017-day-news-announcement-summary/">Dell EMC announced their 14G server platforms</a> at the May 2017 Dell EMC World event with details to follow (e.g. after the Intel announcements).</p>
<p align="justify">Some things to keep in mind include the amount of DDR4 DRAM (or Optane NVDIMM) will vary by vendors server platform configuration, motherboards, several sockets and DIMM slots. Also keep in mind the differences between registered (e.g. buffered RDIMM) that give good capacity and great performance, and load reduced DIMM (LRDIMM) that have great capacity and ok performance.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_NVMeBasic.png" alt="Various nvme options" width="600" height="326" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What about NVMe</h3>
<p align="justify">It's there as these systems like previous Intel models support <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> devices via PCIe 3.x slots, and some vendor solutions also supporting M.2 x4 physical interconnects as well.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVM_NVMe.png" alt="server storageIO flash and SSD" width="600" height="178" border="0"/></a><br/>Image via <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC)</p>
<p align="justify">Note that <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/broadcom-aka-avago-aka-lsi-announces-sas-sata-nvme-adapters-raid/">Broadcom formerly known as Avago and LSI recently announced PCIe</a> based RAID and adapter cards that support NVMe attached devices in addition to SAS and SATA.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1D.png" alt="server storage data infrastructure sddi" width="500" height="216"/></p>
<h3>What About Intel and Storage</h3>
<p align="justify">In case you have not connected the dots yet, the Intel Xeon Scalable Processor based server (aka compute) systems are also a fundamental platform for storage systems, services, solutions, appliances along with tin-wrapped software.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that the Intel Xeon Scalable Processors based systems can be used for deploying legacy as well as new and emerging software-defined storage software solutions. This also means that the Intel platforms can be used to support SDDC, SDDI, SDX, SDI as well as other forms of legacy and software-defined data infrastructures along with cloud, virtual, container, server less among other modes of deployment.</p>
<p><img src="https://simplecore.intel.com/newsroom/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2017/06/ssd-nand-2x1.jpg" alt="Intel SSD" width="500 height="/><br/>Image Via Intel.com</p>
<p align="justify">Moving beyond server and compute platforms, there is another tie to storage as part of this recent as well as other Intel announcements. Just a few weeks ago Intel announced 64 layer triple level cell (TLC) 3D NAND solutions positioned for the client market (laptop, workstations, tablets, thin clients). Intel with that announcement increased the traditional aerial density (e.g. bits per square inch or cm) as well as boosting the number of layers (stacking more bits as well).</p>
<p align="justify">The net result is not only more bits per square inch, also more per cubic inch or cm. This is all part of a continued evolution of NAND flash including from 2D to 3D, MCL to TLC, 32 to 64 layer. In other words, NAND flash-based <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com/">Solid State Devices</a> (SSDs) are very much still a relevant and continue to be enhanced technology even with the emerging <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage">3D XPoint</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html">Optane</a> (also available via Amazon in <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2t1aHJU">M.2</a>) in the wings.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_IntelMicron_History.png" alt="server memory evolution" width="450" height="238"/><br/>Via Intel and Micron (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage">3D XPoint launch</a>)</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that NAND flash-based technologies were announced almost 20 years ago (1999), and are still evolving. 3D XPoint announced two years ago, along with other emerging storage class memories (SCM), non-volatile memory (NVM) and persistent memory (PM) devices are part of the future as is 3D NAND (among others). Speaking of 3D XPoint and Optane, Intel had announcements about that in the past as well.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about Intel Xeon Scalable Processors along with related technology, trends, tools, techniques and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its What’s Inside The Data Center)</a></li>
<li>Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) information via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/communications/data-plane-development-kit.html">Intel</a></li>
<li>Get in the NVMe Game, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/nvme-ssd-game-intel-750/">Using the Intel 750 series</a></li>
<li>Intel and Micron Unveil new <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage">3D XPoint</a> NVM, SCM, Persistent Memory</li>
<li>Intel Data Center Performance (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.intel.com/performance/datacenter">Intel site</a>)</li>
<li>Intel Xeon Processors information (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/processors/xeon.html">Intel</a>)</li>
<li>Intel <a target="_blank" href="http://www.intel.com/xeonscalable">Xeon Scalable Processor</a> Launch Event (<a target="_blank" href="http://launchevent.intel.com">Intel</a>), announcement (<a target="_blank" href="https://newsroom.intel.com/news-releases/intel-unveils-powerful-intel-xeon-scalable-processors-bringing-next-generation-business-consumer-experiences-life/">Intel</a>), family summary (<a target="_blank" href="https://newsroom.intel.com/editorials/intel-xeon-scalable-processor-family-data-center/">Intel</a>), and Benchmark information (<a target="_blank" href="http://intel.com/benchmarks">Intel</a>) with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/benchmarks/intel-data-center-performance.html">more Intel information here</a> including world records (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/benchmarks/server/xeon-scalable/xeon-platinum-world-record.html">Intel</a>).</li>
<li>Omni-Path fabric overview via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/high-performance-computing-fabrics/omni-path-architecture-fabric-overview.html">Intel</a></li>
<li>Optane information (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html">Intel</a>) and overview (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/architecture-and-technology/intel-optane-technology.html">Intel</a>)</li>
<li>QuickAssist technology overview via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/embedded/technology/quickassist/overview.html">Intel</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC) Book <a target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/149873815X">via Amazon.com</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">Some say the PC is dead and IMHO that depends on what you mean or define a PC as. For example if you refer to a PC generically to also include servers besides workstations or other devices, then they are alive. If however your view is that PCs are only workstations and client devices, then they are on the decline.</p>
<p align="justify">However if your view is that a PC is defined by the underlying processor such as Intel general purpose 64 bit x86 derivative (or descendent) then they are very much alive. Just as older generations of PCs leveraging general purpose Intel based x86 (and its predecessors) processors were deployed for many uses, so to are today's line of Xeon (among others) processors.</p>
<p align="justify">Even with the increase of ARM, GPU and other specialized processors, as well as ASIC and FPGAs for offloads, the role of general purpose processors continues to increase, as does the technology evolution around. Even with so called <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/side-slbs-server-bs-software-hardware-fud/">server less</a> architectures, they still need underlying compute server platforms for running software, which also includes software defined storage, software defined networks, SDDC, SDDI, SDX, IoT among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Overall this is a good set of announcements by Intel and what we can also expect to be a flood of enhancements from their partners who will use the new family of Intel Xeon Scalable Processors in their products to enable software defined data infrastructures (SDDI) and SDDC.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/>Gs</p>Are You Ready For GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) Plus Resourcestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-07-23:2336802:BlogPost:1448442017-07-23T15:46:19.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img> <br></br> <strong>Updated 6/29/17</strong><br></br> European General Data Protection Regulation (<a href="http://www.eugdpr.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">GDPR</a>) go into effect in a year on May 25 2018 are you ready?</p>
<h3>What Is GDPR</h3>
<p align="justify">If your initial response is that you are not in Europe and do not need to be concerned about GDPR you might want to step back and review that thought. While it is possible that some organizations may not be affected by GDPR…</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/><br/> <strong>Updated 6/29/17</strong><br/> European General Data Protection Regulation (<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.eugdpr.org/">GDPR</a>) go into effect in a year on May 25 2018 are you ready?</p>
<h3>What Is GDPR</h3>
<p align="justify">If your initial response is that you are not in Europe and do not need to be concerned about GDPR you might want to step back and review that thought. While it is possible that some organizations may not be affected by GDPR in Europe directly, there might be indirect considerations. For example, GDPR, while focused on Europe, has ties to other initiatives in place or being planned for elsewhere in the world. Likewise unlike earlier regulatory compliance that tended to focus on specific industries such as healthcare (HIPPA and HITECH) or financial (SARBOX, Dodd/Frank among others), these new regulations can be more far-reaching.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://storageioblog.com/gdpr-effect-25-2018-ready/">GDPR goes into effect May 25 2018 Are You Ready?</a></li>
<li>GDPR Compliance Planning for Microsoft Environments (<a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/05/quest-jun22.aspx?tc=page0">Webinar</a>)</li>
</ul>
<h4>Acronis GDPR Resources</h4>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.acronis.com/en-us/blog/posts/acronis-your-perfect-gdpr-partner">Acronis Outlines GDPR position</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Quest GDPR Resources</h4>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.quest.com/solutions/gdpr-compliance/">Quest GDPR Compliance resources</a></li>
</ul>
<h4>Microsoft and Azure Cloud GDPR Resources</h4>
<ul>
<li>How Microsoft Azure Can Help Organizations Become Compliant with the EU GDPR (<a target="_blank" href="https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/How-Azure-Can-Help-788a4979">Microsoft PDF White Paper</a>)</li>
<li>GDPR Questions? Azure has answers (<a target="_blank" href="https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/How-Azure-Can-Help-788a4979">Azure Microsoft)</a> )</li>
<li>Microsoft and GDPR Trustcenter Resources (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/Privacy/GDPR">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Get GDPR compliant with the Microsoft Cloud (<a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/02/15/get-gdpr-compliant-with-the-microsoft-cloud/">Blogs Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Earning your trust with contractual commitments to the General Data Protection Regulation (<a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2017/04/17/earning-trust-contractual-commitments-general-data-protection-regulation/">Blogs Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft enterprise products and services and the GDPR (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/Privacy/GDPR#GDPR-requirements">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Where to Start with GDPR and Microsoft (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/Privacy/GDPR#where-start">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft related GDPR FAQ (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/trustcenter/Privacy/GDPR#General-FAQ">Microsoft</a>)</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Do you have or know of relevant GDPR information and resources? Feel free to add them via comments or send us an email, however please watch the spam and sales pitches as they will be moderated.</p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">Now is the time to start planning, preparing for GDPR if you have not done so and need to, as well as becoming more generally aware of it and other initiatives. One of the key takeaways is that while the word compliance is involved, there is much more to GDPR than just compliance as we have seen in the part. With GDPR and other initiatives data protection becomes the focus including privacy, protect, preserve, secure, serve as well as manage, have insight, awareness along with associated reporting.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>Who Will Be Top Of Data Storage World In A Decade?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-07-23:2336802:BlogPost:1448432017-07-23T15:29:07.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<h2>Who Will Be At Top Of Storage World Next Decade?</h2>
<p><img alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<p align="justify">Data storage regardless of if hardware, legacy, new, emerging, cloud service or various software defined storage (SDS) approaches are all fundamental resource components of <a href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/" target="_blank">data infrastructures</a> along with compute server, I/O networking as well as management tools, techniques, processes and…</p>
<h2>Who Will Be At Top Of Storage World Next Decade?</h2>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O data infrastructure trends"/></p>
<p align="justify">Data storage regardless of if hardware, legacy, new, emerging, cloud service or various software defined storage (SDS) approaches are all fundamental resource components of <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> along with compute server, I/O networking as well as management tools, techniques, processes and procedures.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1B.png" alt="fundamental Data Infrastructure resource components"/><br/>Fundamental Data Infrastructure resources</p>
<p align="justify">Data infrastructures include legacy along with <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">software defined data infrastructures</a> (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">SDDI</a>), along with software defined data centers (SDDC), cloud and other environments to support expanding workloads more efficiently as well as effectively (e.g. boosting productivity).</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="Data Infrastructures and workloads" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a><br/>Data Infrastructure and other IT Layers (stacks and altitude levels)</p>
<p align="justify">Various data infrastructures resource components spanning server, storage, I/O networks, tools along with hardware, software, services get defined as well as composed into solutions or services which may in turn be further aggregated into more extensive higher altitude offerings (e.g. further up the stack).</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_SDDI_Stacks1.png" alt="IT and Data Infrastructure Stack Layers" border="0"/></a><br/>Various IT and Data Infrastructure Stack Layers (Altitude Levels)</p>
<h3>Focus on Data Storage Present and Future Predictions</h3>
<p align="justify">Drew Robb (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/robbdrew">@Robbdrew</a>) has a good piece over at Enterprise Storage Forum looking at the past, present and future of <a target="_blank" href="http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/storage-hardware/who-will-rule-the-storage-world.html">who will rule the data storage world</a> that includes several perspective predictions comments from myself as well as others. Some of the perspectives and predictions by others are more generic and technology trend and buzzword bingo focus which should not be a surprise. For example including the usual <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">performance</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">Cloud and Object Storage</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/communications/data-plane-development-kit.html">DPDK</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">RDMA/RoCE</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software-Defined</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">NVM/Flash/SSD</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-storage-io-converged-ci-hyperconverged-hci-overview/">CI/HCI</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> among others.</p>
<p>Here are some excerpts from Drews piece along with my perspective and prediction comments of who may rule the data storage roost in a decade:</p>
<div><span style="color: #993300;"><em>Amazon Web Services (AWS) – AWS includes cloud and object storage in the form of S3. However, there is more to storage than object and S3 with AWS also having Elastic File Services (EFS), Elastic Block Storage (</em></span>EBS<span style="color: #993300;"><em>), database, message queue and on-instance storage, among others. for traditional, emerging and storage for the Internet of Things (IoT).</em></span></div>
<p align="justify">It is difficult to think of <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/aws-s3-storage-gateway-revisited-part/">AWS</a> not being a major player in a decade unless they totally screw up their execution in the future. Granted, some of their competitors might be working overtime putting pins and needles into <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2vLn4qn">Voodoo Dolls (perhaps bought via Amazon.com)</a> while wishing for the demise of Amazon Web Services, just saying.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2vLn4qn"><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41biqtvjUAL.jpg" alt="Voodoo Dolls via Amazon.com" width="301" height="500" border="0"/></a><br/>Voodoo Dolls and image via <a target="_blank" href="http://amzn.to/2vLn4qn">Amazon.com</a></p>
<p align="justify">Of course, Amazon and AWS could follow the likes of Sears (e.g. some may remember their catalog) and ignore the future ending up on the where are they now list. While talking about Amazon and AWS, one will have to wonder where Wall Mart will end up in a decade with or without a cloud of their own?</p>
<div><span style="color: #993300;"><em>Microsoft – With Windows, Hyper-V and Azure (including Azure Stack), if there is any company in the industry outside of AWS or VMware that has quietly expanded its reach and positioning into storage, it is Microsoft,</em></span> said <span style="color: #993300;"><em>Schulz.</em></span></div>
<p align="justify">Microsoft IMHO has many offerings and capabilities across different dimensions as well as playing fields. There is the installed base of Windows Servers (and desktops) that have the ability to leverage Software Defined Storage including <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Storage Spaces Direct (S2D), ReFS, cache and tiering</a> among other features. In some ways I'm surprised by the number of people in the industry who are not aware of Microsoft's capabilities from S2D and the ability to configure CI as well as HCI (Hyper Converged Infrastructure) deployments, or of Hyper-V abilities, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-technical-preview-3-tp3-overview-preview-review/">Azure Stack</a> to Azure among others. On the other hand, I run into Microsoft people who are not aware of the full portfolio offerings or are just focused on Azure. Needless to say, there is a lot in the Microsoft storage related portfolio as well as bigger broader data infrastructure offerings.</p>
<div><em><span style="color: #993300;">NetApp – Schulz thinks NetApp has the staying power to stay among the leading lights of data storage. Assuming it remains as a freestanding company and does not get acquired, he said, NetApp has the potential of expanding its portfolio with some new acquisitions. “NetApp can continue their transformation from a company with a strong focus on selling one or two products to learning how to sell the complete portfolio with diversity,” said Schulz.</span></em></div>
<p align="justify">NetApp has been around and survived up to now including via various acquisitions, some of which have had mixed results vs. others. However assuming NetApp can continue to reinvent themselves, focusing on selling the entire solution portfolio vs. focus on specific products, along with good execution and some more acquisitions, they have the potential for being a top player through the next decade.</p>
<p align="justify"></p>
<div><em><span style="color: #993300;">Dell EMC – Dell EMC is another stalwart Schulz thinks will manage to stay on top. “Given their size and focus, Dell EMC should continue to grow, assuming execution goes well,” he said.</span></em></div>
<p align="justify">There are some who I hear are or have predicted the demise of Dell EMC, granted some of those predicted the demise of Dell and or EMC years ago as well. Top companies can and have faded away over time, and while it is possible Dell EMC could be added to the where are they now list in the future, my bet is that at least while Michael Dell is still involved, they will be a top player through the next decade, unless they mess up on execution.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1C.png" alt="Cloud and software defined storage data infrastructure"/><br/>Various Data Infrastructures and Resources involving Data Storage</p>
<div><em><span style="color: #993300;">Huawei – Huawei is one of the emerging giants from China that are steadily gobbling up market share. It is now a top provider in many categories of storage, and its rapid ascendancy is unlikely to stop anytime soon. “Keep an eye on Huawei, particularly outside of the U.S. where they are starting to hit their stride,” said Schulz.</span></em></div>
<p align="justify">In the US, you have to look or pay attention to see or hear what Huawei is doing involving data storage, however that is different in other parts of the world. For example, I see and hear more about them in Europe than in the US. Will Huawei do more in the US in the future? Good question, keep an eye on them.</p>
<div><em><span style="color: #993300;">VMware – A decade ago, Storage Networking World (SNW) was by far the biggest event in data storage. Everyone who was anyone attended this twice yearly event. And then suddenly, it lost its luster. A new forum known as VMworld had emerged and took precedence. That was just one of the indicators of the disruption caused by VMware. And Schulz expects the company to continue to be a major force in storage. “VMware will remain a dominant player, expanding its role with software-defined storage,” said Schulz.</span></em></div>
<p align="justify">VMware has a dominant role in data storage not just because of the relationship with Dell EMC, or because of VSAN which continues to gain in popularity, or the soon to be released VMware on AWS solution options among others. Sure all of those matters, however, keep in mind that VMware solutions also tie into and work with other legacies as well as software-defined storage solution, services as well as tools spanning block, file, object for virtual machines as well as containers.</p>
<div><p><em><span style="color: #993300;">"Someday soon, people are going to wake up like they did with VMware and AWS," said Schulz. "That’s when they will be asking 'When did Microsoft get into storage like this in such a big way.'"</span></em></p>
</div>
<p align="justify">What the above means is that some environments may not be paying attention to what AWS, Microsoft, VMware among others are doing, perhaps discounting them as the old or existing while focusing on new, emerging what ever is trendy in the news this week. On the other hand, some environments may see the solution offerings from those mentioned as not relevant to their specific needs, or capable of scaling to their requirements.</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that it was not that long ago, just a few years that VMware entered the market with what by today's standard (e.g. VSAN and others) was a relatively small virtual storage appliance offering, not to mention many people discounted and ignored VMware as a practical storage solution provider. Things and technology change, not to mention there are different needs and solution requirements for various environments. While a solution may not be applicable today, give it some time, keep an eye on them to avoid being surprised asking the question, how and when did a particular vendor get into storage in such a big way.</p>
<h3>Is Future Data Storage World All Cloud?</h3>
<p align="justify">Perhaps someday everything involving data storage will be in or part of the cloud.</p>
<p align="justify">Does this mean everything is going to the cloud, or at least in the next ten years? IMHO the simple answer is no, even though I see more workloads, applications, and data residing in the cloud, there will also be an increase in hybrid deployments.</p>
<p align="justify">Note that those hybrids will span local and on-premise or on-site if you prefer, as well as across different clouds or service providers. Granted some environments are or will become all in on clouds, while others are or will become a hybrid or some variation. Also <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cloud-conversation-thanks-gartner-for-saying-what-has-been-said/">when it comes to clouds, do not be scared, be prepared.</a> Also keep an eye on what is going on with containers, orchestration, management among other related areas involving persistent storage, a good example is <a target="_blank" href="https://rexray.readthedocs.io/en/stable/">Dell EMCcode RexRay</a> among others.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1E.png" alt="Server Storage I/O resources" border="0"/></a><br/>Various data storage focus areas along with data infrastructures.</p>
<h3>What About Other Vendors, Solutions or Services?</h3>
<p align="justify">In addition to those mentioned above, there are plenty of other existing, new and emerging vendors, solutions, and services to keep an eye on, look into, test and conduct a proof of concept (PoC) trial as part of being an informed data infrastructure and data storage shopper (or seller).</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that component suppliers some of whom like Cisco also provides turnkey solutions that are also part of other vendors offerings (e.g. <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-world-2017-day-news-announcement-summary/">Dell EMC</a> VxBlock, NetApp FlexPod among others), <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/broadcom-aka-avago-aka-lsi-announces-sas-sata-nvme-adapters-raid/">Broadcom</a> (which includes Avago/LSI, Brocade Fibre Channel, among others), <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/family-intel-xeon-scalable-processors-enable-software-defined-data-infrastructures-sddi-sddc/">Intel</a> (servers, I/O adapters, memory and SSDs), Mellanox, Micron, Samsung, Seagate and many others.</p>
<p align="justify">E8, Excelero, Elastifile (software defined storage), Enmotus (micro-tiering, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/Reports/SIO_Enmotus_FuzeDrive_LabBrief_022616.pdf">read Server StorageIOlab report here</a>), Everspin (persistent and storage class memories including NVDIMM), Hedvig (software defined storage), NooBaa, Nutanix, Pivot3, Rozo (software defined storage), WekaIO (scale out elastic software defined storage, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/Reports/SIO_WekaIO_FirstWP_Final_053017.pdf">read Server StorageIO report here</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">Some other software defined management tools, services, solutions and components I'm keeping an eye on, exploring, digging deeper into (or plan to) include Blue Medora, Datadog, Dell EMCcode and <a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/codedellemc/rexray">RexRay</a> docker container storage volume management, Google, HPE, IBM Bluemix Cloud aka IBM Softlayer, Kubernetes, Mangstor, OpenStack, Oracle, Retrospect, Rubrix, Quest, Starwind, Solarwinds, Storpool, Turbonomic, Virtuozzo (software defined storage) among many others</p>
<p align="justify">What about those not mentioned? Good question, some of those I have mentioned in earlier <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/newsletter.html">Server StorageIO Update newsletters,</a> as well as many others mentioned in my new book "<a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a>" (CRC Press). Then there are those that once I hear something interesting from on a regular basis will get more frequent mentions as well. Of course, there is also a list to be done someday that is basically where are they now, e.g. those that have disappeared, or never lived up to their full hype and marketing (or technology) promises, let's leave that for another day.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<p align="justify">Learn more about related technology, trends, tools, techniques, and tips with the following links.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its What’s Inside The Data Center)</a></li>
<li>Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK) information via <a target="_blank" href="https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/communications/data-plane-development-kit.html">Intel</a></li>
<li>Get in the NVMe Game, <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/nvme-ssd-game-intel-750/">Using the Intel 750 series</a></li>
<li>Intel and Micron Unveil new <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/intel-and-micron-unveil-new-3d-xpoint-non-volatie-memory-nvm-for-servers-and-storage">3D XPoint</a> NVM, SCM, Persistent Memory</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">Software Defined Data Infrastructure Essentials</a> (CRC) Book <a target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/149873815X">via Amazon.com</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>, and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a></li>
</ul>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Book4_14_23_SDDI.png" alt="Data Infrastructures and workloads"/><br/>Data Infrastructures Resources (Servers, Storage, I/O Networks) enabling various services</p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">It is safe to say that each new year will bring new trends, techniques, technologies, tools, features, functionality as well as solutions involving data storage as well as data infrastructures. This means a usual safe bet is to say that the current year is the most exciting and has the most new things than in the past when it comes to data infrastructures along with resources such as data storage. Keep in mind that there are many aspects to data infrastructures as well as storage all of which are evolving. Who Will Be At Top Of Storage World Next Decade? What say you?</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/>Gs</p>Dell EMC Announce Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Solutiontag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-06-17:2336802:BlogPost:1437552017-06-17T16:54:03.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>Dell EMC Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Solution</h2>
<p align="justify"><a href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dell EMC have announced</a> their <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> hybrid cloud platform solutions. <a href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This…</a></p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>Dell EMC Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Solution</h2>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">Dell EMC have announced</a> their <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> hybrid cloud platform solutions. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">This announcement</a> builds upon earlier statements of support and intention by Dell EMC to be part of the Microsoft Azure Stack community. For those of you who are not familiar, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Azure Stack</a> is an on premise extension of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free">Microsoft Azure public cloud</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that essentially you can have the Microsoft Azure experience (or a subset of it) in your own data center or data infrastructure, enabling cloud experiences and abilities at your own pace, your own way with control. Learn more about Microsoft Azure Stack including <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-technical-preview-3-tp3-overview-preview-review/">my experiences with and installing Technique Preview 3 (TP3) here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructures SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What Is Azure Stack</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft Azure Stack is an on-premise (e.g. in your own data center) private (or hybrid when connected to Azure) cloud platform. Currently Azure Stack is in Technical Preview 3 (e.g. TP3) and available as a proof of concept (POC) download from Microsoft. You can use Azure Stack TP3 as a POC for learning, demonstrating and trying features among other activities. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://sec.ch9.ms/ch9/5657/9c8726ba-186e-46bf-b4fc-0ad9b3095657/WhatIsMicrosoftAzureStack_high.mp4">Here is link to a Microsoft Video</a> providing an overview of Azure Stack, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/hybrid-application-innovation-with-azure-and-azure-stack/">here is a good summary</a> of roadmap, licensing and related items.</p>
<p align="justify">In summary, Microsoft Azure Stack and this announcement is about:</p>
<ul>
<li>A onsite, on-premise, in your data center extension of Microsoft Azure public cloud</li>
<li>Enabling private and hybrid cloud with good integration along with shared experiences with Azure</li>
<li>Adopt, deploy, leverage cloud on your terms and timeline choosing what works best for you</li>
<li>Common processes, tools, interfaces, management and user experiences</li>
<li>Leverage speed of deployment and configuration with a purpose-built integrated solution</li>
<li>Support existing and cloud-native Windows, Linux, Container and other services</li>
<li>Available as a public preview via software download, as well as vendors offering solutions</li>
</ul>
<h3>What Did Dell EMC Announce</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC announced</a> their initial product, platform solutions, and services for Azure Stack. This includes a Proof of Concept (PoC) starter kit (PE R630) for doing evaluations, prototype, training, development test, DevOp and other initial activities with Azure Stack. Dell EMC also announced a larger for production deployment, or large-scale development, test DevOp activity turnkey solution. The initial production solution scales from 4 to 12 nodes, or from 80 to 336 cores that include hardware (server compute, memory, I/O and networking, top of rack (TOR) switches, management, Azure Stack software along with services. Other aspects of the announcement include initial services in support of Microsoft Azure Stack and Azure cloud offerings.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftA_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p>The announcement builds on joint Dell EMC Microsoft experience, partnerships, technologies and services spanning hardware, software, on site data center and public cloud.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftB_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC along with Microsoft have engineered a hybrid cloud platform for organizations to modernize their data infrastructures enabling faster innovate, accelerate deployment of resources. Includes hardware (server compute, memory, I/O networking, storage devices), software, services, and support.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftC_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">The value proposition of Dell EMC hybrid cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack includes consistent experience for developers and IT data infrastructure professionals. Common experience across Azure public cloud and Azure Stack on-premise in your data center for private or hybrid. This includes common portal, Powershell, DevOps tools, <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-group-overview">Azure Resource Manager</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-group-overview">ARM</a>), Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), Cloud Infrastructure and associated experiences (management, provisioning, services).<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftD_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Secure, protect, preserve and serve applications VMs hosted on Azure Stack with Dell EMC services along with Microsoft technologies. Dell EMC data protection including backup and restore, Encryption as a Service, host guard and protected VMs, AD integration among other features.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftE_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC services for Microsoft Azure Stack include single contact support for prepare, assessment, planning; deploy with rack integration, delivery, configuration; extend the platform with applicable migration, integration with Office 365 and other applications, build new services.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftF_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC Hyper-converged scale out solutions range from minimum of 4 x <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetails/poweredge-r730xd/pe_r730xd_1358_c">PowerEdge R730XD</a> (total raw specs include 80 cores (4 x 20), 1TB RAM (4 x 256GB), 12.8TB <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">SSD</a> Cache, 192TB Storage, plus two top of row network switches (Dell EMC) and 1U management server node. Initial maximum configuration raw specification includes 12 x R730XD (total 336 cores), 6TB memory, 86TB SSD cache, 900TB storage along with TOR network switch and management server.</p>
<p align="justify">The above configurations initially enable HCI nodes of small (low) 20 cores, 256GB memory, 5.7TB SSD cache, 40TB storage; mid size 24 cores, 384GB memory, 11.5TB cache and 60TB storage; high-capacity with 28 cores, 512GB memory, 11.5TB cache and 80TB storage per node.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftG_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC Evaluator program for Microsoft Azure Stack including the PE R630 for PoCs, development, test and training environments. The solution combines Microsoft Azure Stack software, Dell EMC server with Intel E5-2630 (10 cores, 20 threads / logical processors or LPs), or Intel E5-2650 (12 cores, 24 threads / LPs). Memory is 128GB or 256GB, storage includes flash SSD (2 x 480GB SAS) and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">HDD</a> (6 x 1TB SAS). and networking.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftH_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p>Collaborative support single contact between Microsoft and Dell EMC</p>
<h3>Who Is This For</h3>
<p align="justify">This announcement is for any organization that is looking for an on-premise, in your data center private or hybrid cloud turnkey solution stack. This initial set of announcements can be for those looking to do a proof of concept (PoC), advanced prototype, support development test, DevOp or gain cloud-like elasticity, ease of use, rapid procurement and other experiences of public cloud, on your terms and timeline. Naturally, there is a strong affinity and seamless experience for those already using, or planning to use Azure Public Cloud for Windows, Linux, Containers and other workloads, applications, and services.</p>
<h3>What Does This Cost</h3>
<p align="justify">Check with your Dell EMC representative or partner for exact pricing which varies for the size and configurations. There are also various licensing models to take into consideration if you have Microsoft Enterprise License Agreements (ELAs) that your Dell EMC representative or business partner can address for you. Likewise being cloud based, there is also time usage-based options to explore.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<ul>
<li>Dell EMC <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">announce</a> Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack Data Sheet (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/collateral/solution-overview/h16047-dell-emc-cloud-for-microsoft-azure-stack-so.pdf">Dell EMC PDF</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud Chats (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://cloudchatsblog.emc.com/2017/05/04/realize-your-vision-for-hybrid-cloud-success/">Dell EMC Blog</a>)</li>
<li>Technical Preview (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/?v=try">get the bits aka software download here</a>)</li>
<li>Frequently asked questions for Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-faq">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=azurestack">AzureStack forum</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Dell EMC announce Microsoft Azure Stack solution</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-technical-preview-3-tp3-overview-preview-review/">Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview Review Part II</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">Gaining Server Storage I/O Insight into Microsoft Windows Server 2016</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links</a></li>
<li>Via WServerNews.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wservernews.com/newsletters/archives/cloud-storage-considerations-14162.html#EC">Cloud (Microsoft Azure) storage considerations</a></li>
<li>Via CloudComputingAdmin.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cloudcomputingadmin.com/articles-tutorials/windows-azure/cloud-storage-decision-making.html">Cloud Storage Decision Making: Using Microsoft Azure for cloud storage</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">www.storageio.com/converge</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">The dust is starting to settle on last falls Dell EMC integration, both of whom have long histories working with, and partnering along with Microsoft on legacy, as well as virtual software-defined data centers (SDDC), <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">software-defined data infrastructures (SDDI)</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/native-hybrid-cloud.htm">native</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/enterprise-hybrid-cloud.htm">hybrid</a> clouds. Some may view the Dell EMC VMware relationship as a primary focus, however, keep in mind that both Dell and EMC had worked with Microsoft long before VMware came into being. Likewise, Microsoft remains one of the most commonly deployed operating systems on VMware-based environments. Granted Dell EMC have a significant focus on VMware, they both also sell, service and support many services for Microsoft-based solutions.</p>
<p align="justify">What about Cisco, HPE, Lenovo among others who have to announce or discussed their Microsoft Azure Stack intentions? Good question, until we hear more about what those and others are doing or planning, there is not much more to do or discuss beyond speculating for now. Another common question is if there is demand for private and hybrid cloud, in fact, some industry expert pundits have even said private, or hybrid are dead which is interesting, how can something be dead if it is just getting started. Likewise, it is early to tell if Azure Stack will gain traction with various organizations, some of whom may have tried or struggled with OpenStack among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Given a large number of Microsoft Windows-based servers on VMware, OpenStack, Public cloud services as well as other platforms, along with continued growing popularity of Azure, having a solution such as Azure Stack provides an attractive option for many environments. That leads to the question of if Azure Stack is essentially a replacement for Windows Servers or Hyper-V and if only for Windows guest operating systems. At this point indeed, Windows would be an attractive and comfortable option, however, given a large number of Linux-based guests running on Hyper-V as well as Azure Public, those are also primary candidates as are containers and other services.</p>
<p align="justify">Overall, this is an excellent and exciting move for both Microsoft extending their public cloud software stack to be deployed within data centers in a hybrid way, something that those customers are familiar with doing. This is a good example of hybrid being spanning public and private clouds, remote and on-premise, as well as familiarity and control of traditional procurement with the flexibility, elasticity experience of clouds.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructures SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Some will say that if OpenStack is struggling in many organizations and being free open source, how Microsoft can have success with Azure Stack. The answer could be that some organizations have struggled with OpenStack while others have not due to lack of commercial services and turnkey support. Having installed both OpenStack and Azure Stack (as well as VMware among others), Azure Stack is at least the TP3 PoC is easy to install, granted it is limited to one node, unlike the production versions. Likewise, there are easy to use appliance versions of OpenStack that are limited in scale, as well as more involved installs that unlock full functionality.</p>
<p align="justify">OpenStack, Azure Stack, VMware and others have their places, along, or supporting containers along with other tools. In some cases, those technologies may exist in the same environment supporting different workloads, as well as accessing various public clouds, after all, Hybrid is the home run for many if not most legality IT environments.</p>
<p align="justify">Overall this is a good <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">announcement from Dell EMC</a> for those who are interested in, or should become more aware about Microsoft Azure Stack, Cloud along with hybrid clouds. Likewise look forward to hearing more about the solutions from others who will be supporting Azure Stack as well as other hybrid (and Virtual Private Clouds).</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review (Server StorageIOlab Review)tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-06-17:2336802:BlogPost:1437542017-06-17T16:49:22.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</h2>
<p align="justify">Perhaps you are aware or use Microsoft Azure, how about <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/" target="_blank">Azure Stack</a>?</p>
<p align="justify">This is part one of a two-part series looking at <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> providing an overview, preview and review. Read…</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</h2>
<p align="justify">Perhaps you are aware or use Microsoft Azure, how about <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Azure Stack</a>?</p>
<p align="justify">This is part one of a two-part series looking at <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> providing an overview, preview and review. Read <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">part two here</a> that looks at my experiences installing <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/">Microsoft Azure Stack Technical Preview 3</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/">TP3</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">For those who are not aware, <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Azure Stack</a> is a private on-premise extension of the <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free">Azure public cloud environment</a>. Azure Stack now in technical preview three (e.g. TP3), or what you might also refer to as a beta (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/">get the bits here</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">In addition to being available via download as a preview, <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/hybrid-application-innovation-with-azure-and-azure-stack/">Microsoft is also working with vendors</a> such as Cisco, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">Dell EMC</a>, HPE, Lenovo and others who have announced Azure Stack support. Vendors such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">Dell EMC</a> have also made proof of concept kits available that you can buy including server with storage and software. Microsoft has also indicated that once launched for production versions scaling from a few to many nodes, that a single node proof of concept or development system will also remain available.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructure SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a><br/> Software-Defined Data Infrastructures (SDDI) aka Software-defined Data Centers, Cloud, Virtual and Legacy</p>
<p align="justify">Besides being an on-premise, private cloud variant, Azure Stack is also hybrid capable being able to work with public cloud Azure. In addition to working with public cloud Azure, Azure Stack services and in particular workloads can also work with traditional Microsoft, Linux and others. You can use pre built solutions from the Azure marketplace, in addition to developing your applications using Azure services and DevOps tools. Azure Stack enables hybrid deployment into public or private cloud to balance flexibility, control and your needs.</p>
<h3>Azure Stack Overview</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft Azure Stack is an on premise (e.g. in your own data center) private (or hybrid when connected to Azure) cloud platform. Currently Azure Stack is in Technical Preview 3 (e.g. TP3) and available as a proof of concept (POC) download from Microsoft. You can use Azure Stack TP3 as a POC for learning, demonstrating and trying features among other activities. <a target="_blank" href="https://sec.ch9.ms/ch9/5657/9c8726ba-186e-46bf-b4fc-0ad9b3095657/WhatIsMicrosoftAzureStack_high.mp4">Here is link to a Microsoft Video</a> providing an overview of Azure Stack, and <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/hybrid-application-innovation-with-azure-and-azure-stack/">here is a good summary</a> of roadmap, licensing and related items.</p>
<p align="justify">In summary, Microsoft Azure Stack is:</p>
<ul>
<li>A onsite, on premise, in your data center extension of Microsoft Azure public cloud</li>
<li>Enabling private and hybrid cloud with strong integration along with common experiences with Azure</li>
<li>Adopt, deploy, leverage cloud on your terms and timeline choosing what works best for you</li>
<li>Common processes, tools, interfaces, management and user experiences</li>
<li>Leverage speed of deployment and configuration with a purpose-built integrate solution</li>
<li>Support existing and cloud native Windows, Linux, Container and other services</li>
<li>Available as a public preview via software download, as well as vendors offering solutions</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3)</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture">This version of Azure Stack is a single node</a> running on a lone physical machine (PM) aka bare metal (BM). However can also be installed into a virtual machine (VM) using nesting. For example I have Azure Stack TP3 running nested on a <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/vmware-vsan-v66-part-vsan-evolution-summary/">VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5</a> systems with a Windows Server 2016 VM as its base operating system.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture"><img src="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/media/azure-stack-architecture/image1.png" alt="Microsoft Azure Stack architecture" width="525" height="367" border="0"/></a><br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture">Click here</a> or on the above image to view list of VMs and other services (Image via Microsoft.com)</p>
<p align="justify">The TP3 POC Azure Stack is not intended for production environments, only for testing, evaluation, learning and demonstrations as part of its terms of use. This version of Azure Stack is associated with a single node identity such as <a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">Azure Active Directory</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">AAD</a>) integrated with Azure, or <a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">Active Directory Federation Services</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">ADFS</a>) for standalone modes. Note that since this is a single server deployment, it is not intended for performance, rather, for evaluating functionality, features, APIs and other activities. Learn more about Azure Stack TP3 <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture">details here</a> (or click on image) including names of various virtual machines (VMs) as well as their roles.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p>The following provide more information and insight about Azure, Azure Stack, Microsoft and Windows among related topics.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-technical-preview-3-tp3-overview-preview-review/">Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview Review Part II</a></li>
<li>Azure Stack Technical Preview (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/?v=try">get the bits aka software download here</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack deployment prerequisites (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft Azure Stack troubleshooting (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-troubleshooting">Microsoft Docs</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack TP3 refresh tips (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/04/11/azure-stack-tp3-refresh-tips/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Here is a good <a target="_blank" href="https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/fd6419d1-96ec-40ee-bc5d-936e6ec321b3/poc-tp3-refresh-notice-do-not-install-the-available-os-updates-for-the-windows-server-2016-host-or?forum=AzureStack">post with a tip about not applying certain Windows updates</a> to Azure stack TP3 installs.</li>
<li>Configure Azure stack TP3 to be available on your own network (<a target="_blank" href="https://azurestack.blog/2017/03/configure-tp3-to-be-available-on-your-own-network-internet/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack TP3 Marketplace syndication (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/06/marketplace-syndication-in-azure-stack-tp3/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack TP3 deployment experiences (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Frequently asked questions for Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-faq">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Deploy Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Connect to Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-connect-azure-stack">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">Azure Active Directory</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">AAD</a>) and <a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">Active Directory Federation Services</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">ADFS</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack <a target="_blank" href="http://vniklas.djungeln.se/2016/10/09/azurestack-tp2-deploy-experience/">TP2 deployment experiences</a> by Niklas Akerlund (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/vNiklas">@vNiklas</a>) useful for tips for TP3</li>
<li>Deployment Checker for Azure Stack Technical Preview (<a target="_blank" href="https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Deployment-Checker-for-50e0f51b">Microsoft Technet</a>)</li>
<li>Azure stack and other tools (<a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/Azure/AzureStack-Tools/tree/master/Connect">Github</a>)</li>
<li>How to <a target="_blank" href="https://scomandothergeekystuff.com/2017/02/14/how-to-enable-nested-virtualization-on-hyper-v-windows-server-2016/">enable nested virtualization on Hyper-V</a> Windows Server 2016</li>
<li>Dell EMC <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">announce</a> Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack Data Sheet (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/collateral/solution-overview/h16047-dell-emc-cloud-for-microsoft-azure-stack-so.pdf">Dell EMC PDF</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud Chats (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://cloudchatsblog.emc.com/2017/05/04/realize-your-vision-for-hybrid-cloud-success/">Dell EMC Blog</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=azurestack">Azure stack forum</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Dell EMC Microsoft Azure Stack solution</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">Gaining Server Storage I/O Insight into Microsoft Windows Server 2016</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links</a></li>
<li>Via WServerNews.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wservernews.com/newsletters/archives/cloud-storage-considerations-14162.html#EC">Cloud (Microsoft Azure) storage considerations</a></li>
<li>Via CloudComputingAdmin.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cloudcomputingadmin.com/articles-tutorials/windows-azure/cloud-storage-decision-making.html">Cloud Storage Decision Making: Using Microsoft Azure for cloud storage</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">www.storageio.com/converge</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">A common question is if there is demand for private and hybrid cloud, in fact, some industry expert pundits have even said private, or hybrid are dead which is interesting, how can something be dead if it is just getting started. Likewise, it is early to tell if Azure Stack will gain traction with various organizations, some of whom may have tried or struggled with OpenStack among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Given a large number of Microsoft Windows-based servers on VMware, OpenStack, Public cloud services as well as other platforms, along with continued growing popularity of Azure, having a solution such as Azure Stack provides an attractive option for many environments. That leads to the question of if Azure Stack is essentially a replacement for Windows Servers or Hyper-V and if only for Windows guest operating systems. At this point indeed, Windows would be an attractive and comfortable option, however, given a large number of Linux-based guests running on Hyper-V as well as Azure Public, those are also primary candidates as are containers and other services.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">Continue reading more in part two</a> of this two-part series <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">here</a> including installing Microsoft Azure Stack TP3.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>Dell EMC World 2017 Day One news announcement summarytag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-06-17:2336802:BlogPost:1435542017-06-17T16:44:41.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>Dell EMC World 2017 Day One news announcement summary</h2>
<p align="justify">This is the first day of the first combined <a href="http://www.dellemcworld.com/index.htm" target="_blank">Dell EMC World 2017</a> being held in Las Vegas Nevada. Last year’s event in Las Vegas was the end of the EMC World, while this being the first of the combined Dell EMC World events that succeeded its predecessors.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is an expanded focus because of the…</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>Dell EMC World 2017 Day One news announcement summary</h2>
<p align="justify">This is the first day of the first combined <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dellemcworld.com/index.htm">Dell EMC World 2017</a> being held in Las Vegas Nevada. Last year’s event in Las Vegas was the end of the EMC World, while this being the first of the combined Dell EMC World events that succeeded its predecessors.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is an expanded focus because of the new Dell EMC that has added servers among other items to the event focus. Granted, EMC had been doing servers via its VCE and converged divisions, however with the Dell EMC integration completed as of last fall, the Dell Server group is now part of the Dell EMC organization.</p>
<p>The central theme of this Dell EMC world is REALIZE with a focus on four pillars:</p>
<ul>
<li>Digital Transformation (Pivotal focus) of applications</li>
<li>IT Transformation (Dell EMC, Virtustream, VMware) data center modernization</li>
<li>Workforce transformation (Dell Client Solutions) devices from mobile to IoT</li>
<li>Information Security (RSA and Secureworks)</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructures SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What Did Dell EMC Announce Today</h3>
<p align="justify">Note that while there are focus areas of the different Dell Technologies business units aligned to the pillars, there is also leveraging across those areas and groups. For example, VMware NSX spans into security, and PowerEdge servers span into other pillars as a core <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructure</a> building block.</p>
<p align="justify">What Dell EMC and Dell Technologies announced today.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-01.htm">Wave of Innovations</a> to help customers realize digital transformation</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-02.htm">New 14th generation PowerEdge Servers</a> that are core building blocks for <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-03.htm">Flexible consumption models</a> (financing and more) from desktop to data center</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-04.htm">Hyper-Converged</a> Infrastructure (HCI), Converged (CI) and Cloud like systems</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-05.htm">New All-Flash (ADA) SSD Storage Systems</a> (VMAX, XtremIO X2, Unity, SC, Isilon)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-06.htm">Integrated Data Protection Appliance (IDPA)</a> and Cloud Protection solutions</li>
<li>Using Gen14 servers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-07.htm">several Software Defined Storage (SDS)</a> enhancements</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-09.htm">Open Networking</a> and software-defined networks (SDN) with 25G</li>
<li>Last week Dell EMC <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution/">announced Microsoft Azure Stack hybrid cloud solutions</a></li>
</ul>
<h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-02.htm">New 14th generation PowerEdge Servers</a> that are core building blocks for <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a></h3>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-02.htm">announced the 14th generation</a> of Intel-powered <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/servers/index.htm">Dell EMC PowerEdge server portfolio</a> systems. These includes servers that get defined with software for software-defined data centers (SDDC), software-defined data infrastructures (SDDI) for the cloud, virtual, the container as well as storage among other applications. Target application workloads and environments range from high-performance compute (HPC), and high-productivity (or profitability) compute (the other HPC), super compute (SC), little data and big data analytics, legacy and emerging business applications as well as cloud and beyond. Enhancements besides new Intel processor technology includes enhanced iDRAC, OpenManage, REST interface, QuickSync, Secure Boot among other management, automation, security, performance, and capacity updates.</p>
<p align="justify">Other Dell EMC enhancements with Gen14 include support for various NVDIMM to enable persistent memory also known as storage class memories such as <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/part-ii-intel-and-micron-new-3d-xpoint-server-and-storage-nvm/">3D Xpoint</a> among others. Note at this time, Dell EMC is not saying much about speeds, feeds and other details, stay tuned for more information on these in the weeks and months to come.</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC has also been leaders with deploying <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com/">NVMe</a> from PCIe flash cards to 8639 U.2 devices such as 2.5” drives. Thus it makes sense to see continued adoption and deployment of those devices along with SAS, SATA support. Note that Broadcom (formerly known as Avago) recently announced the release of their PCIe SAS, SATA and NVMe based adapters.</p>
<p align="justify">The reason this is worth mentioning is that in the past Dell has OEM sourced Avago (formerly known as LSI) based adapters. Given Dell EMC use of NVMe drives, it only makes sense to put two and two together.</p>
<p align="justify">Let’s wait a few months to see what the speeds, feeds, and specifications are to put the rest of the puzzle together. Speaking of NVMe, also look for Dell EMC to also supporting PCIe AIC and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">U.2 (8639)</a> NVMe devices, also leverage <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">M.2 Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF)</a> aka Gum sticks as boot devices.</p>
<p align="justify">While these are all Intel focused, I would expect Dell EMC not to sit back, instead, watch for what they do with other processors and servers including ARMs among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Increased support for more GPUs to support VDI and other graphic intensive workloads such as video rendering, imaging among others. Part of enhanced GPU support is improvements (multi-vector cooling) to power and cooling including sensing the type of PCIe card, and then adjusting cooling fans and subsequent power draw accordingly. The benefit should be more proper cooling to reduce power to support more work and productivity.</p>
<h3>Flexible consumption models (financing and more) from desktop to data center</h3>
<p align="justify">Dell Technologies has announced several financing, procurement, and consumption models with cloud-like flexible options for different IT and data center, along with mobile device technologies. These range from licensing to deployment as a service, consumption and other options via <a target="_blank" href="https://dfs.dell.com/Pages/AboutDFS.aspx">Dell Financial Services (DFS)</a>.</p>
<p>Highlights include:</p>
<ul>
<li>DFS <a target="_blank" href="http://www.emc.com/en-us/flexibleconsumption/flex-on-demand.htm">Flex on Demand</a> is available now in select countries globally.</li>
<li>DFS <a target="_blank" href="http://www.emc.com/en-us/flexibleconsumption/cloud-flex-for-hci.htm">Cloud Flex for HCI</a> is available now for Dell EMC VxRail and Dell EMC XC Series and has planned availability for Q3 2017 in Dell EMC VxRack Systems.</li>
<li>PC as a Service is available now in select countries globally.</li>
<li>Dell EMC VDI Complete Solutions are available now in select countries globally.</li>
<li>DFS Flex on Demand is available now in select countries globally.</li>
<li>DFS Cloud Flex for HCI is available now for Dell EMC VxRail and Dell EMC XC Series and has planned VxRack systems in Q3 2017.</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/04/campaigns/dell-pcaas?c=us&l=en&s=bsd">PC as a Service</a> solution is available now in select countries globally.</li>
<li>Dell EMC <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/vdicompletesolutions">VDI Complete Solutions</a> are available now in select countries.</li>
<li>Dell Technologies transformation license agreement <a target="_blank" href="http://www.emc.com/en-us/flexibleconsumption/tla.htm">(TLA</a>) is available now in select countries</li>
</ul>
<h3>Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI), Converged (CI) and Cloud like systems</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-04.htm">Enhancements</a> to VxRail system, VxRACK Systems, and XC Series leveraging Del EMC Gen14 PowerEdge servers along with other improvements. Note that this also includes continued support for VMware, Microsoft as well as Nutanix software-defined solutions.</p>
<h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-05.htm">New All-Flash (ADA) SSD Storage Systems</a> (VMAX, XtremIO X2, Unity, SC, Isilon)</h3>
<p>Storage system enhancements include from high-end (VMAX and XtremIO) to mid-range (Unity and SC) along with scale-out NAS (Isilon)</p>
<p>Highlights of the announcements include:</p>
<ul>
<li>New VMAX 950F all flash array (AFA)</li>
<li>New XtremIO X2 with enhanced software, more powerful hardware</li>
<li>New Unity AFA systems</li>
<li>New SC5020 midrange hybrid storage</li>
<li>New generation of Isilon storage with improved performance, capacity, density</li>
</ul>
<h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-06.htm">Integrated Data Protection Appliance (IDPA)</a> and Cloud Protection solutions</h3>
<p>Data protection enhancement highlights include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p align="justify">New Turnkey Integrated Data Protection Appliance (IDPA) with four models (DP5300, DP5800, DP8300, and DP8800) starting at 34 TB usable scaling up to 1PB usable. Data services including encryption, data footprint reduction such as dedupe, remote monitoring, Maintenance service dispatch, along with application integration. Application integration includes MongoDB, Hadoop, MySQL.</p>
</li>
<li><p align="justify">Enhanced cloud capabilities powered by Data Domain virtual edition (DD VE 3.1) along with data protection suite enable data to be protected too, and restored from Amazon Web Services (AWS) Simple Storage Service (S3) as well as Microsoft Azure.</p>
</li>
</ul>
<h3><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-09.htm">Open Networking</a> and software-defined networks (SDN) with 25G</h3>
<p>Dell EMC Open Networking highlights include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p align="justify">Dell EMCs first 25GbE open networking top of rack (TOR) switch including <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/networking-s-series-25-100gbe/pd">S5100-ON series</a> (With OS10 enterprise edition software) complimenting new PowerEdge Gen14 servers with native 25GbE support. Switches support 100GbE uplinks fabric connectivity for east-west (management) network traffic. Also announced is the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/networking-s-series-10gbe/pd">S4100-ON series</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/networking-n1100-series/pd">N1100-ON series</a> that are in addition to recently announce <a target="_blank" href="http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/dell4enterprise/b/dell4enterprise/archive/2017/01/10/introducing-multi-gig-and-open-networking-for-the-campus">N3100-ON and N2100-ON switches</a>.</p>
</li>
<li><p align="justify">Dell EMCs first optimized Open Networking platform for unified storage network switching including support for 16Gb/32GB Fibre Channel</p>
</li>
<li><p align="justify">New Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and IoT advisory consulting services</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Note that Dell EMC is announcing the availability of these networking solutions in Dell Technologies 2018 fiscal year which occurs before the traditional calendar year.</p>
<h3>Using Gen14 servers, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-07.htm">several Software Defined Storage (SDS)</a> enhancements</h3>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC announced <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170508-07.htm">enhancements to their Software Defined Storage (SDS)</a> portfolio that leveraging the PowerEdge 14th generation server portfolio. These improvements include <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/storage/scaleio/index.htm">ScaleIO</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/storage/ecs/index.htm">Elastic Cloud Storage</a> (ECS), IsilonSD Edge and Preview of Project Nautilus.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/index.htm">Dell EMC announcements</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-server-storage-io-tradecraft-trends/">Data Infrastructure Server Storage I/O Tradecraft Trends</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">Data Infrastructure Primer and Overview (Its Whats Inside The Data Center)</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-technical-preview-3-tp3-overview-preview-review/">Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii/">Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview Review Part II</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">Server Storage I/O Benchmarking Performance Resource Tools</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/broadcom-aka-avago-aka-lsi-announces-sas-sata-nvme-adapters-raid/">Broadcom aka Avago aka LSI announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAID</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/introducing-vsan-6-6-hyper-converged-hci-software-defined-data-infrastructure/">VMware vSAN 6.6 hyper-converged (HCI) software defined data infrastructure</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/cisco-gen-32gb-fibre-channel-nvme-san-updates/">Cisco Next-Gen 32Gb Fibre Channel NVMe SAN Updates</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">Which Enterprise HDDs to use for Content Server Platform</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a> – NVMe resources, primers, deep dive and related resources</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a> – Collection of SSD, flash, NAND, 3D XPoint resources and perspectives</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a> – Resources, tips, posts, articles, perspectives about software-defined storage, cloud, bulk and object storage.</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.storageio.com/converge">www.storageio.com/converge</a> - Various links, resources, tips, articles about CI, HCI, CiB and software-defined topics</li>
</ul>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">This is a summary of what has been announced so far on the first morning of the first day of the first new <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dellemcworld.com/index.htm">Dell EMC world</a>. Needless to say, there is more detail to look at for the above announcements from speeds, feeds, functionality and related topics that will get addressed in subsequent posts. Overall this is a good set of announcements expanding capabilities of the combined Dell EMC while enhancing existing systems as well as well as solutions.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>GDPR goes into effect May 25 2018 Are You Ready?tag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-06-17:2336802:BlogPost:1435532017-06-17T16:41:53.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>GDPR goes into effect May 25 2018 Are You Ready?</h2>
<p>The new <a href="http://www.eugdpr.org/" target="_blank">European General Data Protection Regulation</a> (<a href="http://www.eugdpr.org/" target="_blank">GDPR</a>) go into effect in a year on May 25 2018 are you ready?</p>
<h3>Why Become GDPR Aware</h3>
<p align="justify">If your initial response is that you are not in Europe and do not need to be concerned about GDPR you might want to step back and review that…</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>GDPR goes into effect May 25 2018 Are You Ready?</h2>
<p>The new <a target="_blank" href="http://www.eugdpr.org/">European General Data Protection Regulation</a> (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.eugdpr.org/">GDPR</a>) go into effect in a year on May 25 2018 are you ready?</p>
<h3>Why Become GDPR Aware</h3>
<p align="justify">If your initial response is that you are not in Europe and do not need to be concerned about GDPR you might want to step back and review that thought. While it is possible that some organizations may not be affected by GDPR in Europe directly, there might be indirect considerations. For example, GDPR, while focused on Europe, has ties to other initiatives in place or being planned for elsewhere in the world. Likewise unlike earlier regulatory compliance that tended to focus on specific industries such as healthcare (HIPPA and HITECH) or financial (SARBOX, Dodd/Frank among others), these new regulations can be more far-reaching.</p>
<h3>GDPR Looking Beyond Compliance</h3>
<p align="justify">Taking a step back, GDPR, as its name implies, is about general data protection including how information is protected, preserved, secured and served. This also includes taking safeguards to logically protect data with passwords, encryption among other techniques. Another dimension of GDPR is reporting and ability to track who has accessed what information (including when), as well as simply knowing what data you have.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that GDPR impacts users from consumers of social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Linkedin among others, to cloud storage and related services, as well as traditional applications. In other words, GDPR is not just for finance, healthcare, it is more far-reaching making sure you know what data exists, and taking adequate steps to protect.</p>
<p align="justify">There is a lot more to discuss of GDPR in Europe as well as what else is being done in other parts of the world. For now being aware of initiatives such as GDPR and its broader scope impact besides traditional compliance is important. With these new initiatives, the focus expands from the compliance office or officers to the data protection office and data protection officer whose scope is to protect, preserve, secure and serve data along with associated information.</p>
<h3>GDPR and Microsoft Environments</h3>
<p align="justify">As part of generating awareness and help planning, I’m going to be presenting a free webinar produced by <a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/05/quest-jun22.aspx?tc=page0">Redmond Magazine</a> sponsored by <a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/05/quest-jun22.aspx?tc=page0">Quest</a> (who will also be a co-presenter) on June 22, 2017 (7AM PT). The title of the webinar is <a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/05/quest-jun22.aspx?tc=page0">GDPR Compliance Planning for Microsoft Environments</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">This webinar looks at the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and its impact on Microsoft environments. Specifically, we look at how GDPR along with other future compliance directives impact Microsoft cloud, on-premise, and hybrid environments, as well as what you can do to be ready before the May 25, 2018 deadline. Join us for this discussion of what you need to know to plan and carry out a strategy to help address GDPR compliance regulations for Microsoft environments.<br/> <br/> What you will learn during this discussion:</p>
<ul>
<li>Why GDPR and other regulations impact your environment</li>
<li>How to assess and find compliance risks</li>
<li>How to discover who has access to sensitive resources</li>
<li>Importance of real-time auditing to monitor and alert on user access activity</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">This webinar applies to business professionals responsible for strategy, planning and policy decision-making for Microsoft environments along with associated applications. This includes security, compliance, data protection, system admins, architects and other IT professionals.</p>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">Now is the time to start planning, preparing for GDPR if you have not done so and need to, as well as becoming more generally aware of it and other initiatives. One of the key takeaways is that while the word compliance is involved, there is much more to GDPR than just compliance as we have seen in the part. With GDPR and other initiatives data protection becomes the focus including privacy, protect, preserve, secure, serve as well as manage, have insight, awareness along with associated reporting. Join me and Quest on June 22, 2017 7AM PT for the webinar <a target="_blank" href="https://redmondmag.com/webcasts/2017/05/quest-jun22.aspx?tc=page0">GDPR Compliance Planning for Microsoft Environments</a> to learn more.</p>
<p>Ok, nuff said, for now.</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>June 2017 Microsoft Windows Server, Azure, Nano and life cycle Updatestag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-06-17:2336802:BlogPost:1437532017-06-17T16:26:08.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>Microsoft Windows Server, Azure, Nano and life cycle Updates</h2>
<p>For those of you who have an interest in Microsoft Windows Server on-premise, on Azure, on Hyper-V or Nano <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle" target="_blank">life cycle</a> here are <a href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/hybridcloud/2017/06/15/delivering-continuous-innovation-with-windows-server/" target="_blank">some recently announced updates</a>.…<br></br></p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>Microsoft Windows Server, Azure, Nano and life cycle Updates</h2>
<p>For those of you who have an interest in Microsoft Windows Server on-premise, on Azure, on Hyper-V or Nano <a target="_blank" href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle">life cycle</a> here are <a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/hybridcloud/2017/06/15/delivering-continuous-innovation-with-windows-server/">some recently announced updates</a>.<br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/semi-annual-channel-overview"><img src="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/media/sac-release-timing.png" alt="Microsoft Windows Server Nano Lifecycle" width="653" height="367" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Microsoft has announced updates to Windows Server Core and Nano along with semi-annual channel updates (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/semi-annual-channel-overview">read more here</a>). The synopsis of this new update via Microsoft (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/semi-annual-channel-overview">read more here</a>) is:</p>
<div align="justify"><pre>In this new model, Windows Server releases are identified by the year and month of release: for example, in 2017, a release in the 9th month (September) would be identified as version 1709. Windows Server will release semi-annually in fall and spring. Another release in March 2018 would be version 1803. The support lifecycle for each release is 18 months.</pre>
</div>
<p align="justify">Microsoft has announced that its lightweight variant of WIndows Server 2016 (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/system-requirements">if you need a refresh on server requirements visit here</a>) known as nano will now be focused for WIndows based containers as opposed to being for bare metal. As part of this change, Microsoft has reiterated that Server Core the headless (aka non-desktop user interface) version of WIndows Server 2016 will continue as the platform for BM along with other deployments where a GUI interface is not needed. Note that one of the original premises of Nano was that it could be leveraged as a replacement for Server Core.</p>
<p align="justify">As part of this shift, Microsoft has also stated their intention to further streamline the already slimmed down version of WIndows Server known as Nano by reducing its size another 50%. Keep in mind that Nano is already a fraction of the footprint size of regular Windows Server (Core or Desktop UI). The footprint of Nano includes both its capacity size on disk (HDD or SSD), as well as its memory requirements, speed of startup boot, along with number of components that cut the number of updates.</p>
<p align="justify">By focusing Nano for <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/">container use</a> (e.g. Windows containers) Microsoft is providing multiple micro services engines (e.g. Linux and Windows) along with various management including Docker. Similar to providing multiple container engines (e.g. Linux and Windows) Microsoft is also supporting management from Windows along with Unix.</p>
<h3>Does This Confirm Rumor FUD that Nano is Dead</h3>
<p align="justify">IMHO the answer to the FUD rumors that are circulating around that NANO is dead are false.</p>
<p align="justify">Granted Nano is being refocused by Microsoft for containers and will not be the lightweight headless Windows Server 2016 replacement for Server Core. Instead, the Microsoft focus is two path with continued enhancements on Server Core for headless full Windows Server 2016 deployment, while Nano gets further streamlined for containers. This means that Nano is no longer bare metal or Hyper-V focused with Microsoft indicating that Server Core should be used for those types of deployments.</p>
<p align="justify">What is clear (besides no bare metal) is that Microsoft is working to slim down Nano even further by removing bare metal items, Powershell,.Net and other items instead of making those into optional items. The goal of Microsoft is to make the base Nano image on disk (or via pull) as small as possible with the initial goal of being 50% of its current uncompressed 1GB disk size. What this means is that if you need Powershell, you add it as a layer, need .Net then add as a layer instead of having the overhead of those items if you do not need tem. It will be interesting to see how much Microsoft is able to remove as standard components and make them options that you can simply add as layers if needed.</p>
<h3>What About Azure and Bring Your Own License</h3>
<p align="justify">In case you were not aware or had forgotten when you use Microsoft Azure and deploy virtual machine (aka cloud instances), you have the option of bringing (e.g. using) your own WIndows Server licenses. What this means is that by using your own Windows Server licenses you can cut the monthly cost of your Azure VMs. <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/">Check out the Azure site</a> and explore various configuration options to learn more about <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/">pricing</a> and various virtual machine instances from Windows to Linux <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/virtual-machines/linux/">here</a> as well as <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/hybrid-use-benefit/?v=17.22">hybrid deployments</a>.</p>
<h3>Where To Learn More</h3>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://insider.windows.com/ForBusiness">Windows Insider Programs for business</a> (Via Microsoft)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/system-requirements">Windows Server requirements</a> (via TechCommunity)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Windows-Server/ct-p/Windows-Server">Windows Server Spaces</a> (via TechCommunity)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/windowsserver/">Windows Server Blog updates</a> (via Technet)</li>
<li>Various Microsoft Azure, Windows, Nano, Hyper-V, S2D, ReFS <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">and related links</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What This All Means</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft has refocused Windows Server 2016 Core and Desktop as its primary bare metal including for virtual as well as Azure OS platforms, while Nano is now focused on being optimized for Windows-based containers including Docker among other container orchestration.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/>Gs</p>Broadcom announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAIDtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-05-05:2336802:BlogPost:1431442017-05-05T15:23:27.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img> <br></br>
<h2>Broadcom aka Avago aka LSI announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAID</h2>
<p align="justify">In case you missed it, Broadcom formerly known as Avago who bought the LSI adapter and RAID card business <a href="https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/04/18/961687/0/en/Broadcom-Ships-World-s-Fastest-NVMe-SAS-SATA-RAID-Solutions-to-Server-and-External-Storage-OEMs.html" target="_blank">announced shipping</a> new SAS, SATA and…</p>
<img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>
<h2>Broadcom aka Avago aka LSI announces SAS SATA NVMe Adapters with RAID</h2>
<p align="justify">In case you missed it, Broadcom formerly known as Avago who bought the LSI adapter and RAID card business <a target="_blank" href="https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/04/18/961687/0/en/Broadcom-Ships-World-s-Fastest-NVMe-SAS-SATA-RAID-Solutions-to-Server-and-External-Storage-OEMs.html">announced shipping</a> new SAS, SATA and <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> devices.</p>
<p align="justify">While SAS and SATA are well established continuing to be deployed for both <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">HDD</a> as well as <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">flash SSD</a>, NVMe continues to evolve with a bright future. Likewise, while there is a focus on software-defined storage (SDS), software defined data centers (SDDC) and software defined <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">data infrastructures</a> (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/book4.html">SDDI</a>) along with advanced parity <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/revisiting-raid-remains-relevant-resources-context-matters/">RAID</a> including erasure codes, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">object storage</a> among other technologies, there is still a need for adapter cards including traditional RAID.</p>
<p align="justify">Keep in mind that while probably not meeting the definition of some software-defined aficionados, the many different variations, permutations along with derivatives of RAID from mirror and replication to basic parity to advanced erasure codes (some based on Reed Solomon aka RAID 2) rely on software. Granted, some of that software is run on regular primary server processors, some on packaged in silicon via ASICs or FPGAs, or System on Chips (SOC), RAID on Chip (RoC) as well as BIOS, firmware, drivers as well as management tools.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_NVMeBasic.png" alt="SAS, SATA and NVMe adapters" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">For some environments cards such as those announced by Broadcom are used in passthru mode effectively as adapters for attaching SAS, SATA and NVMe storage devices to servers. Those servers may be deployed as <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">converged infrastructures</a> (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">CI</a>), hyper-converged infrastructures (<a href="http://storageio.com/converge">HCI</a>), Cluster or Cloud in Box (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">CiB</a>) among other variations. To name names you might find the above (or in the not so distant future) in VMware vSAN or regular vSphere based environments, Microsoft Windows Server, Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) or Azure Stack, OpenStack among other deployments (check your vendors Hardware Compatibility Lists aka HCLs). In some cases these cards may be adapters in passthru mode, or using their RAID (support various by different software stacks). Meanwhile in other environments, the more traditional RAID features are still used spanning Windows to Linux among others.</p>
<h3>Who Is Broadcom?</h3>
<p align="justify">Some of you may know of <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/">Broadcom</a> having been around for many years with a focus on networking related technologies. However some may not realize that Avago bought Broadcom and changed their name to Broadcom. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/company/about-us/company-history/">Here is a history</a> that includes more recent acquisitions such as Brocade, PLX, Emulex as well as LSI. Some of you may recall Avago buying LSI (the <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/announcing-sas-sans-for-dummies-book-lsi-edition/">SAS</a>, SATA, PCIe HBA, RAID and components) business not sold to <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/netapp-buying-lsis-engenio-storage-business-unit/">NetApp as part of Engenio</a>. Also recall that Avago <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.seagate.com/about-seagate/news/Seagate-to-acquire-LSI-Flash-Businesses-Avago-PR-Master/">sold the LSI flash SSD business unit to Seagate</a> a couple of years ago as part of its streamlining. That's how we get to where we are at today with Broadcom aka formerly known as Avago who bought the LSI adapter and RAID business announcing new SAS, SATA, NVMe cards.</p>
<h3>What Was Announced?</h3>
<br />
<p align="justify">Broadcom has announced cards that are multi-protocol supporting Serial Attached SCSI (SAS), SATA/AHCI as well as NVM Express (NVMe) as basic adapters for attaching storage (HDD, SSD, storage systems) along with optional RAID as well as cache support. These cards can be used in application servers for traditional, as well as virtualized SDDC environments, as well as storage systems or appliances for software-defined storage among other uses. The basic functionality of these cards is to provide high performance (IOPs and other activity, as well as bandwidth) along with low latency combined with data protection as well as dense connectivity.</p>
<p>Specific features include:</p>
<ul>
<li>Broadcom’s Tri-Mode SerDes Technology enables the operation of NVMe, SAS or SATA devices in a single drive bay, allowing for endless design flexibility.</li>
<li>Management software including LSI Storage Authority (LSA), StorCLI, HII (UEFI)</li>
<li>Optional CacheVault(R) flash cache protection</li>
<li>Physical dimension Low Profile 6.127” x 2.712”</li>
<li>Host bus type x8 lane PCIe Express 3.1</li>
<li>Data transfer rates SAS-3 12Gbs; NVMe up to 8 GT/s PCIe Gen 3</li>
<li>Various OS and hypervisors host platform support</li>
<li>Warranty 3 yrs, free 5x8 phone support, advanced replacement option</li>
<li>RAID levels 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50, and 60</li>
</ul>
<p>Note that some of the specific feature functionality may be available at a later date, check with your preferred vendors HCL<br/></p>
<br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellspacing="0">
<tbody><tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Specification</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9480-8i8e#specifications">9480 8i8e</a></p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9440-8i">9440 8i</a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9480-8i8e#specifications"></a></p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9460-8i">9460 8i</a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9440-8i"></a></p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9460-16i">9460 16i</a><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9460-8i"></a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Image</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9480-8i8e#specifications"><img src="https://www.broadcom.com/media/1211190111234/9480-8i8e_angled_(1).jpg" alt="Broadcom 9480 8i83 nvme raid" width="120" height="120" border="0"/></a></p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9440-8i#specifications"><img src="https://www.broadcom.com/media/1211183942210/9400-8i_9440-8i_angled_(2).jpg" alt="Broadcom 9440 8i nvme raid" width="120" height="120" border="0"/></a></p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9460-8i#specifications"><img src="https://www.broadcom.com/media/1211183941822/mr_9460-8i_angled_(1).jpg" alt="Broadcom 9460 8i nvme raid" width="120" height="120" border="0"/></a></p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.broadcom.com/products/storage/raid-controllers/megaraid-9460-16i#specifications"><img src="https://www.broadcom.com/media/1211183941472/mr_9460-16i_angle_(1).jpg" alt="Broadcom 9460 16i nvme raid" width="120" height="120" border="0"/></a></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Internal Ports</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">8</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center">8</p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center">16</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Internal Connectors</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">2 x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center">2 x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643</p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center">2 x Mini-SAS HD x4 SFF-8643</p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center">4 Mini-SAS HD x4<br/> SFF-8643</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>External Ports</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">8</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>External Connectors</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">2 x Mini-SAS HD SFF8644</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Cache Protection</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">CacheVault CVPM05</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center">CacheVault CVPM05</p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center">CacheVault CVPM05</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Cache Memory</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">2GB 2133 MHz DDR4 SDRAM</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center"> </p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center">2GB 2133 MHz DDR4 SDRAM</p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center">4GB 2133 MHz DDR4 SDRAM</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>Devices Supported</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS/SATA: 255, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS/SATA: 63, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*</p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS/SATA: 255, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*</p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS/SATA: 255, NVMe: 4 x4, up to 24 x2 or x4*</p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td width="96" valign="top"><p>I/O Processors (SAS Controller)</p>
</td>
<td width="124" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS3516 dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC)</p>
</td>
<td width="120" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS3408 I/O controller (IOC)</p>
</td>
<td width="128" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS3508 dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC)</p>
</td>
<td width="132" valign="top"><p align="center">SAS3516 dual-core RAID-on-Chip (ROC)</p>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="justify">In case you need a refresher on SFF cable types, click on the following two images which take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more, as well as order various cable options. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.pc-pitstop.com/sas_cables_adapters/">PC Pit Stop</a> has a good selection of cables (See other SFF types), connectors and other accessories that I have used, along with those from <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/B01GPD3HWI">Amazon.com</a> and others.</p>
<br />
<p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/B01GPD3HWI"><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/61evcV5fqlL._SL1500_.jpg" alt="Available via Amazon.com sff 8644 8643 sas mini hd cable" width="300" height="300" border="border"/></a><br/> Left: SFF 8644 Mini SAS HD (External), Right SFF-8643 Mini SAS HD (internal) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/B01GPD3HWI">Image via Amazon.com</a><br/></p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/B01F378UF6"><img src="https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71kAQvlKzLL._SL1500_.jpg" alt="Available via Amazon.com sff 8644 8642 sas mini hd cable" width="300" height="300" border="border"/></a><br/> Left: SFF 8643 Mini SAS HD (Internal), Right SFF-8642 SATA with power (internal) <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://astore.amazon.com/unlimitedio-20/detail/B01F378UF6">Image via Amazon.com</a><br/></p>
<h3>Wait, Doesnt NVMe use PCIe</h3>
<p align="justify">For those who are not familiar with <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a> and in particular U.2 aka SFF 8639 based devices, physically they look the same (almost) as a SAS device connector. The slight variation is if you look at a SAS drive, there is a small tab to prevent plugging into a SATA port (recall you can plug SATA into SAS. For SAS drives that tab is blank, however on the NVMe 8639 aka U.2 drives (below left) that tab has several connectors which are PCIe x4 (single or dual path).</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that the PCIe x4 bus electrical signals are transferred via a connector, to backplane chassis to 8639 drive slot to the drive. Those same 8639 drive slots can also have a SAS SATA connection using their traditional connectors enabling a converged or hybrid drive slot so to speak. Learn more about NVMe here (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">If the Answer is NVMe, then what were and are the questions?</a>) as well as at <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>.</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVM_Drive.png" alt="NVMe U.2 8639 drive" width="300" height="275" border="0"/></a><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_NVM_Drive2.png" alt="NVMe U.2 8639 sas sata nvme drive" border="0"/></a><br/> Left NVMe U.2 drive showing PCIe x4 connectors, right, NVMe U.2 8639 connector</p>
<h3>Who Is This For?</h3>
<p align="justify">These cards are applicable for general purpose IT and other data infrastructure environments in traditional servers among others uses. They are also applicable for systems builders, integrators and OEMs whom you may be buying your current systems from, or future ones.</p>
<h3>Where to Learn More</h3>
<br />
<p>The following are additional resources to learn more about vSAN and related technologies.</p>
<ul>
<li>Read the Broadcom <a target="_blank" href="https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/04/18/961687/0/en/Broadcom-Ships-World-s-Fastest-NVMe-SAS-SATA-RAID-Solutions-to-Server-and-External-Storage-OEMs.html">announcement here</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/ssd-flash-nonvolatile-memory-nvm-storage-trends-tips-topics/">SSD, flash, Non-volatile memory (NVM) storage Trends, Tips & Topics</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/nvme-ssd-game-intel-750/">Get in the NVMe SSD game (if you are not already) with Intel 750 among others</a></li>
<li>InfoStor – <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.infostor.com/blogs_new/greg_schulz/ssd-trends-tips-and-topics-1.html">SSD Trends, Tips and Topics</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/server-and-storage-io-benchmarking-resources/">Server and <em>Storage I/O</em> Benchmarking and Performance Resources</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/answer-nvme-questions/">If the Answer is NVMe, then what were and are the questions?</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/announcing-sas-sans-for-dummies-book-lsi-edition/">Announcing SAS SANs for Dummies book, LSI edition</a></li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com/">Thessdplace.com</a> and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com/">Thenvmeplace.com</a></li>
<li>Server StorageIO CI and HCI microsite landing page <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">www.storageio.com/converge</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">Even as the industry continues to talk and move towards more software-defined focus, even for environments that are <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/side-slbs-server-bs-software-hardware-fud/">serverless</a>, there is still need for hardware somewhere. These adapters are a good sign of the continued maturing cycle of NVMe to be well positioned into the next decade and beyond, while also being relevant today. Likewise, even though the future involves NVMe, there is a still a place for SAS along with SATA to coexist in many environments. For some environment there is a need for traditional RAID while for others simply the need for attachment of SAS, SATA and NVMe devices. Overall, a good set of updates, enhancements and new technology for today and tomorrow, now, when do I get some to play with? ;).</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>Dell EMC Announce Microsoft Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Solutiontag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-05-05:2336802:BlogPost:1431432017-05-05T14:56:33.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>Dell EMC Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Solution</h2>
<p align="justify"><a href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dell EMC have announced</a> their <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> hybrid cloud platform solutions. <a href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This…</a></p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>Dell EMC Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud Solution</h2>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">Dell EMC have announced</a> their <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> hybrid cloud platform solutions. <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">This announcement</a> builds upon earlier statements of support and intention by Dell EMC to be part of the Microsoft Azure Stack community. For those of you who are not familiar, <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Azure Stack</a> is an on premise extension of <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free">Microsoft Azure public cloud</a>.</p>
<p align="justify">What this means is that essentially you can have the Microsoft Azure experience (or a subset of it) in your own data center or data infrastructure, enabling cloud experiences and abilities at your own pace, your own way with control. Learn more about Microsoft Azure Stack including <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">my experiences with and installing Technique Preview 3 (TP3) here</a>.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructures SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<h3>What Is Azure Stack</h3>
<p align="justify">Microsoft Azure Stack is an on-premise (e.g. in your own data center) private (or hybrid when connected to Azure) cloud platform. Currently Azure Stack is in Technical Preview 3 (e.g. TP3) and available as a proof of concept (POC) download from Microsoft. You can use Azure Stack TP3 as a POC for learning, demonstrating and trying features among other activities. <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://sec.ch9.ms/ch9/5657/9c8726ba-186e-46bf-b4fc-0ad9b3095657/WhatIsMicrosoftAzureStack_high.mp4">Here is link to a Microsoft Video</a> providing an overview of Azure Stack, and <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/hybrid-application-innovation-with-azure-and-azure-stack/">here is a good summary</a> of roadmap, licensing and related items.</p>
<p align="justify">In summary, Microsoft Azure Stack and this announcement is about:</p>
<ul>
<li>A onsite, on-premise, in your data center extension of Microsoft Azure public cloud</li>
<li>Enabling private and hybrid cloud with good integration along with shared experiences with Azure</li>
<li>Adopt, deploy, leverage cloud on your terms and timeline choosing what works best for you</li>
<li>Common processes, tools, interfaces, management and user experiences</li>
<li>Leverage speed of deployment and configuration with a purpose-built integrated solution</li>
<li>Support existing and cloud-native Windows, Linux, Container and other services</li>
<li>Available as a public preview via software download, as well as vendors offering solutions</li>
</ul>
<h3>What Did Dell EMC Announce</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC announced</a> their initial product, platform solutions, and services for Azure Stack. This includes a Proof of Concept (PoC) starter kit (PE R630) for doing evaluations, prototype, training, development test, DevOp and other initial activities with Azure Stack. Dell EMC also announced a larger for production deployment, or large-scale development, test DevOp activity turnkey solution. The initial production solution scales from 4 to 12 nodes, or from 80 to 336 cores that include hardware (server compute, memory, I/O and networking, top of rack (TOR) switches, management, Azure Stack software along with services. Other aspects of the announcement include initial services in support of Microsoft Azure Stack and Azure cloud offerings.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftA_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p>The announcement builds on joint Dell EMC Microsoft experience, partnerships, technologies and services spanning hardware, software, on site data center and public cloud.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftB_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC along with Microsoft have engineered a hybrid cloud platform for organizations to modernize their data infrastructures enabling faster innovate, accelerate deployment of resources. Includes hardware (server compute, memory, I/O networking, storage devices), software, services, and support.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftC_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">The value proposition of Dell EMC hybrid cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack includes consistent experience for developers and IT data infrastructure professionals. Common experience across Azure public cloud and Azure Stack on-premise in your data center for private or hybrid. This includes common portal, Powershell, DevOps tools, <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-group-overview">Azure Resource Manager</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-resource-manager/resource-group-overview">ARM</a>), Azure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service (PaaS), Cloud Infrastructure and associated experiences (management, provisioning, services).<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftD_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Secure, protect, preserve and serve applications VMs hosted on Azure Stack with Dell EMC services along with Microsoft technologies. Dell EMC data protection including backup and restore, Encryption as a Service, host guard and protected VMs, AD integration among other features.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftE_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC services for Microsoft Azure Stack include single contact support for prepare, assessment, planning; deploy with rack integration, delivery, configuration; extend the platform with applicable migration, integration with Office 365 and other applications, build new services.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftF_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC Hyper-converged scale out solutions range from minimum of 4 x <a target="_blank" href="http://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/productdetails/poweredge-r730xd/pe_r730xd_1358_c">PowerEdge R730XD</a> (total raw specs include 80 cores (4 x 20), 1TB RAM (4 x 256GB), 12.8TB <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">SSD</a> Cache, 192TB Storage, plus two top of row network switches (Dell EMC) and 1U management server node. Initial maximum configuration raw specification includes 12 x R730XD (total 336 cores), 6TB memory, 86TB SSD cache, 900TB storage along with TOR network switch and management server.</p>
<p align="justify">The above configurations initially enable HCI nodes of small (low) 20 cores, 256GB memory, 5.7TB SSD cache, 40TB storage; mid size 24 cores, 384GB memory, 11.5TB cache and 60TB storage; high-capacity with 28 cores, 512GB memory, 11.5TB cache and 80TB storage per node.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftG_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p align="justify">Dell EMC Evaluator program for Microsoft Azure Stack including the PE R630 for PoCs, development, test and training environments. The solution combines Microsoft Azure Stack software, Dell EMC server with Intel E5-2630 (10 cores, 20 threads / logical processors or LPs), or Intel E5-2650 (12 cores, 24 threads / LPs). Memory is 128GB or 256GB, storage includes flash SSD (2 x 480GB SAS) and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">HDD</a> (6 x 1TB SAS). and networking.<br/> <img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_DellEMCMsftH_050415.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/><br/>Image via Dell EMC</p>
<p>Collaborative support single contact between Microsoft and Dell EMC</p>
<h3>Who Is This For</h3>
<p align="justify">This announcement is for any organization that is looking for an on-premise, in your data center private or hybrid cloud turnkey solution stack. This initial set of announcements can be for those looking to do a proof of concept (PoC), advanced prototype, support development test, DevOp or gain cloud-like elasticity, ease of use, rapid procurement and other experiences of public cloud, on your terms and timeline. Naturally, there is a strong affinity and seamless experience for those already using, or planning to use Azure Public Cloud for Windows, Linux, Containers and other workloads, applications, and services.</p>
<h3>What Does This Cost</h3>
<p align="justify">Check with your Dell EMC representative or partner for exact pricing which varies for the size and configurations. There are also various licensing models to take into consideration if you have Microsoft Enterprise License Agreements (ELAs) that your Dell EMC representative or business partner can address for you. Likewise being cloud based, there is also time usage-based options to explore.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<ul>
<li>Dell EMC <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">announce</a> Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack Data Sheet (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/collateral/solution-overview/h16047-dell-emc-cloud-for-microsoft-azure-stack-so.pdf">Dell EMC PDF</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud Chats (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://cloudchatsblog.emc.com/2017/05/04/realize-your-vision-for-hybrid-cloud-success/">Dell EMC Blog</a>)</li>
<li>Technical Preview (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/?v=try">get the bits aka software download here</a>)</li>
<li>Frequently asked questions for Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-faq">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=azurestack">AzureStack forum</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Dell EMC announce Microsoft Azure Stack solution</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview Review Part II</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">Gaining Server Storage I/O Insight into Microsoft Windows Server 2016</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links</a></li>
<li>Via WServerNews.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wservernews.com/newsletters/archives/cloud-storage-considerations-14162.html#EC">Cloud (Microsoft Azure) storage considerations</a></li>
<li>Via CloudComputingAdmin.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cloudcomputingadmin.com/articles-tutorials/windows-azure/cloud-storage-decision-making.html">Cloud Storage Decision Making: Using Microsoft Azure for cloud storage</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">www.storageio.com/converge</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">The dust is starting to settle on last falls Dell EMC integration, both of whom have long histories working with, and partnering along with Microsoft on legacy, as well as virtual software-defined data centers (SDDC), <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/">software-defined data infrastructures (SDDI)</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/native-hybrid-cloud.htm">native</a>, and <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/enterprise-hybrid-cloud.htm">hybrid</a> clouds. Some may view the Dell EMC VMware relationship as a primary focus, however, keep in mind that both Dell and EMC had worked with Microsoft long before VMware came into being. Likewise, Microsoft remains one of the most commonly deployed operating systems on VMware-based environments. Granted Dell EMC have a significant focus on VMware, they both also sell, service and support many services for Microsoft-based solutions.</p>
<p align="justify">What about Cisco, HPE, Lenovo among others who have to announce or discussed their Microsoft Azure Stack intentions? Good question, until we hear more about what those and others are doing or planning, there is not much more to do or discuss beyond speculating for now. Another common question is if there is demand for private and hybrid cloud, in fact, some industry expert pundits have even said private, or hybrid are dead which is interesting, how can something be dead if it is just getting started. Likewise, it is early to tell if Azure Stack will gain traction with various organizations, some of whom may have tried or struggled with OpenStack among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Given a large number of Microsoft Windows-based servers on VMware, OpenStack, Public cloud services as well as other platforms, along with continued growing popularity of Azure, having a solution such as Azure Stack provides an attractive option for many environments. That leads to the question of if Azure Stack is essentially a replacement for Windows Servers or Hyper-V and if only for Windows guest operating systems. At this point indeed, Windows would be an attractive and comfortable option, however, given a large number of Linux-based guests running on Hyper-V as well as Azure Public, those are also primary candidates as are containers and other services.</p>
<p align="justify">Overall, this is an excellent and exciting move for both Microsoft extending their public cloud software stack to be deployed within data centers in a hybrid way, something that those customers are familiar with doing. This is a good example of hybrid being spanning public and private clouds, remote and on-premise, as well as familiarity and control of traditional procurement with the flexibility, elasticity experience of clouds.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructures SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Some will say that if OpenStack is struggling in many organizations and being free open source, how Microsoft can have success with Azure Stack. The answer could be that some organizations have struggled with OpenStack while others have not due to lack of commercial services and turnkey support. Having installed both OpenStack and Azure Stack (as well as VMware among others), Azure Stack is at least the TP3 PoC is easy to install, granted it is limited to one node, unlike the production versions. Likewise, there are easy to use appliance versions of OpenStack that are limited in scale, as well as more involved installs that unlock full functionality.</p>
<p align="justify">OpenStack, Azure Stack, VMware and others have their places, along, or supporting containers along with other tools. In some cases, those technologies may exist in the same environment supporting different workloads, as well as accessing various public clouds, after all, Hybrid is the home run for many if not most legality IT environments.</p>
<p align="justify">Overall this is a good <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">announcement from Dell EMC</a> for those who are interested in, or should become more aware about Microsoft Azure Stack, Cloud along with hybrid clouds. Likewise look forward to hearing more about the solutions from others who will be supporting Azure Stack as well as other hybrid (and Virtual Private Clouds).</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>Microsoft Azure Stack Hybrid Cloud TP3 Overview Preview (Part II) Install Reviewtag:www.datacenterprofessionals.net,2017-05-05:2336802:BlogPost:1431422017-05-05T14:41:01.000ZGreg Schulzhttp://www.datacenterprofessionals.net/profile/GregSchulz
<p><img alt="server storage I/O trends" src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png"></img></p>
<h2>Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview (Part II) Install Review</h2>
<p align="justify">This is part two of a two-part series looking at <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/" target="_blank">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> with a focus on my experiences installing Microsoft Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) including into a nested VMware vSphere ESXi environment.…</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/IndustryTrend.png" alt="server storage I/O trends"/></p>
<h2>Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview (Part II) Install Review</h2>
<p align="justify">This is part two of a two-part series looking at <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/">Microsoft Azure Stack</a> with a focus on my experiences installing Microsoft Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) including into a nested VMware vSphere ESXi environment. <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Read part one here</a> that provides a general overview of Azure Stack.</p>
<h3>Azure Stack Review and Install</h3>
<p align="justify">Being familiar with <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/free">Microsoft Azure public cloud</a> having used it for a few years now, I wanted to gain some closer insight, experience, expand my trade craft on Azure Stack by installing TP3. This is similar to what I have done in the past with OpenStack, Hadoop, Ceph, VMware, Hyper-V and many others, some of which I need to get around to writing about sometime. As a refresher from part one of this series, the following is an image via Microsoft showing the Azure Stack TP3 architecture, <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture">click here</a> or on the image to learn more including the names and functions of the various virtual machines (VMs) that make up Azure Stack.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture"><img src="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/media/azure-stack-architecture/image1.png" alt="Microsoft Azure Stack architecture" width="525" height="367" border="0"/></a><br/> <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture">Click here</a> or on the above image to view list of VMs and other services (Image via Microsoft.com)</p>
<h3>Whats Involved Installing Azure Stack TP3?</h3>
<p>The basic steps are as follows:</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">Read this</a> Azure Stack blog post (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Download the bits (e.g. the Azure Stack software) <a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/?v=try">from here</a>, where you access the Azure Stack Downloader tool.</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy">Planning your deployment</a> making decisions on Active Directory and other items.</li>
<li>Prepare the target server (physical machine aka PM, or virtual machine VM) that will be the Azure Stack destination.</li>
<li>Copy Azure Stack software and installer to target server and run pre-install scripts.</li>
<li>Modify PowerShell script file if using a VM instead of a PM</li>
<li>Run the Azure Stack CloudBuilder setup, configure unattend.xml if needed or answer prompts.</li>
<li>Server reboots, select Azure Stack from two boot options.</li>
<li>Prepare your Azure Stack base system (time, network NICs in static or DHCP, if running on VMware install VMtools)</li>
<li>Determine if you will be running with Azure Active Directory (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">AAD</a>) or standalone Active Directory Federated Services (<a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">ADFS</a>).</li>
<li>Update any applicable installation scripts (see notes that follow)</li>
<li>Deploy the script, then extended Azure Stack TP3 PoC as needed</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">Note that this is a large download of about 16GB (23GB with optional WIndows Server 2016 demo ISO).</p>
<p align="justify">Use the AzureStackDownloader tool to download the bits (about 16GB or 23GB with optional Windows Server 2016 base image) which will either be in several separate files which you stitch back together with the MicrosoftAzureStackPOC tool, or as a large VHDX file and smaller 6.8GB ISO (Windows Server 2016). Prepare your target server system for installation once you have all the software pieces downloaded (or do the preparations while waiting for download).</p>
<p align="justify">Once you have the software downloaded, if it is a series of eight .bin files (7 about 2GB, 1 around 1.5GB), good idea to verify their checksums, then stitch them together on your target system, or on a staging storage device or file share. Note that for the actual deployment first phase, the large resulting cloudbuilder.vhdx file will need to reside in the C:\ root location of the server where you are installing Azure Stack.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzureStack_Nested.png" alt="server storageio nested azure stack tp3 vmware"/></p>
<p>Azure Stack deployment prerequisites (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy">Microsoft</a>) include:</p>
<ul>
<li>At least 12 cores (or more), dual socket processor if possible</li>
<li>As much DRAM as possible (I used 100GB)</li>
<li>Put the operating system disk on flash SSD (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/12gb-sas-ssd-enabling-server-storage-io-performance-effectiveness/">SAS</a>, SATA, <a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">NVMe</a>) if possible, allocate at least 200GB (more is better)</li>
<li>Four x 140GB or larger (I went with 250GB) drives (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">HDD</a> or <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">SSD</a>) for data deployment drives</li>
<li>A single NIC or adapter (I put mine into static instead of DHCP mode)</li>
<li>Verify your physical or virtual server BIOS has VT enabled</li>
</ul>
<p align="justify">The above image helps to set the story of what is being done. On the left is for bare metal (BM) or physical machine (PM) install of Azure Stack TP3, on the right, a nested VMware (vSphere ESXi 6.5) with virtual machine (VM) 11 approach. Note that you could also do a Hyper-V nested among other approaches. Shown in the image above common to both a BM or VM is a staging area (could be space on your system drive) where Azure Stack download occurs. If you use a separate staging area, then simply copy the individual .bin files and stitch together into the larger <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/software-defined-virtual-hard-disk-vhd/">.VHDX</a>, or, copy the larger .VHDX, which is better is up to your preferences.</p>
<p align="justify">Note that if you use the nested approach, there are a couple of configuration (PowerShell) scripts that need to be updated. These changes are to trick the installer into thinking that it is on a PM when it checks to see if on physical or virtual environments.</p>
<p align="justify">Also note that if using nested, make sure you have your VMware vSphere ESXi host along with specific VM properly configured (e.g. that virtualization and other features are presented to the VM). With vSphere ESXi 6.5 virtual machine type 11 nesting is night and day easier vs. earlier generations.</p>
<p align="justify">Something else to explain here is that you will initially start the Azure Stack install preparation using a standard Windows Server (<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">I used a 2016 version</a>) where the .VHDX is copied into its C:\ root. From there you will execute some PowerShell scripts to setup some configuration files, one of which needs to be modified for nesting.</p>
<p align="justify">Once those prep steps are done, there is a Cloudbuilder deploy script that gets run that can be done with an unattend.xml file or manual input. This step will cause a dual-boot option to be added to your server where you can select Azure Stack or your base prep Windows Server instance, followed by reboot.</p>
<p align="justify">After the reboot occurs and you choose to boot into Azure Stack, this is the server instance that will actually run the deployment script, as well as build and launch all the VMs for the Azure Stack TP3 PoC. This is where I recommend having a rough sketch like above to annotate layers as you go to remember what layer working at. Don't worry, it becomes much easier once all is said and done.</p>
<p align="justify">Speaking of preparing your server, refer to Microsoft specs, however in general give the server as much RAM and cores as possible. Also if possible place the system disk on a flash SSD (SAS, SATA, NVMe) and make sure that it has at least 200GB, however 250 or even 300GB is better (just in case you need more space).</p>
<p align="justify">Additional configuration tips include allocating four data disks for Azure, if possible make these SSDs as well as, however more important IMHO to have at least the system on fast flash SSD. Another tip is to enable only one network card or NIC and put it into static vs. DHCP address mode to make things easier later.</p>
<p align="justify">Tip: If running nested, vSphere 6.5 worked the smoothest as had various issues or inconsistencies with earlier VMware versions, even with VMs that ran nested just fine.</p>
<p align="justify">Tip: Why run nested? Simple, I wanted to be able to use using VMware tools, do snapshots to go back in time, plus share the server with some other activities until ready to give Azure Stack TP3 its own PM.</p>
<p align="justify">Tip: Do not connect the POC machine to the following subnets (192.168.200.0/24, 192.168.100.0/27, 192.168.101.0/26, 192.168.102.0/24, 192.168.103.0/25, 192.168.104.0/25) as Azure Stack TP3 uses those.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzurestackTP3_A1_VM.png" alt="storageio azure stack tp3 vmware configuration"/></p>
<p>Since I decided to use a nested VM deploying using VMware, there were a few extra steps needed that I have included as tips and notes. Following is view via vSphere client of the ESXi host and VM configuration.</p>
<p>The following image combines a couple of different things including:</p>
<p>A: Showing the contents of C:\Azurestack_Supportfiles directory</p>
<p>B: Modifying the PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1 file if deploying on virtual machine (See tips and notes)</p>
<p>C: Showing contents of staging area including individual .bin files along with large CloudBuilder.vhdx</p>
<p>D: Running the PowerShell script commands to prepare the PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1 and related items</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzurestackTP3_A2_CloudbuilderSetup.png" alt="prepariing azure stack tp3 cloudbuilder for nested vmware deployment" width="525" height="244"/></p>
<p>From PowerShell (administrator):</p>
<pre># Variables<br/>$Uri = 'https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Azure/Azure stack/master/Deployment/'<br/>$LocalPath = 'c:\AzureStack_SupportFiles'<br/> <br/># Create folder<br/>New-Item $LocalPath -type directory<br/> <br/># Download files<br/>( 'BootMenuNoKVM.ps1', 'PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1', 'Unattend.xml', 'unattend_NoKVM.xml') | foreach { Invoke-WebRequest ($uri + $_) -OutFile ($LocalPath + '\' + $_) }</pre>
<p align="justify">After you do the above, decide if you will be using an Unattend.xml or manual entry of items for building the Azure Stack deployment server (e.g. a Windows Server). Note that the above PowerShell script created the C:\azurestack_supportfiles folder and downloads the script files for building the cloud image using the previously downloaded Azure Stack CloudBuilder.vhdx (which should be in C:\).</p>
<p align="justify">Note and tip is that if you are doing a VMware or virtual machine based deployment of TP3 PoC, you will need to change C:\PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1 in the Azure Stack support files folder. <a target="_blank" href="https://gist.github.com/trodemaster/c5005dd86af377a981d21fa20b0990cf">Here is a good resource</a> on what gets changed via Github that shows an edit on or about line 87 of PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1. If you run the PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1 script on a virtual machine you will get an error message, the fix is relatively easy (<a target="_blank" href="https://ntsystems.it/post/azure-stack-poc-tp2-on-vmware">after I found this post</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">Look in PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1 for something like the following around line 87:</p>
<pre>if ((get-disk | where {$_.isboot -eq $true}).Model -match 'Virtual Disk') { Write-Host "The server is currently already booted from a virtual hard disk, to boot the server from the CloudBuilder.vhdx you will need to run this script on an Operating System that is installed on the physical disk of this server." Exit }</pre>
<p align="justify">You can either remove the "exit" command, or, change the test for "Virtual Disk" to something like "X", for fun I did both (and it worked).</p>
<p align="justify">Note that you only have to make the above and another change in a later step if you are deploying Azure Stack TP3 as a virtual machine.</p>
<p align="justify">Once you are ready, go ahead and launch the PrepareBootFromVHD.ps1 script which will set the BCDBoot entry (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">more info here</a>).</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzurestackTP3_A3_CloudbuilderDeploy.png" alt="azure stack tp3 cloudbuilder nested vmware deployment" width="526" height="222"/></p>
<p align="justify">You will see a reboot and install, this is installing what will be called the physical instance. Note that this is really being installed on the VM system drive as a secondary boot option (e.g. azure stack).</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzurestackTP3_A4_Setupboot.png" alt="azure stack tp3 dual boot option" width="518" height="345"/></p>
<p align="justify">After the reboot, login to the new Azure Stack base system and complete any configuration including adding VMware Tools if using VMware nested. Some other things to do include make sure you have your single network adapter set to static (makes things easier), and any other updates or customizations. Before you run the next steps, you need to decide if going to use Azure Active Directory (AAD) or local ADFS.</p>
<p align="justify">Note that if you are not running on a virtual machine, simply open a PowerShell (administrator) session, and run the deploy script. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">Refer to here for more guidance on the various options</a> available including discussion on using AAD or ADFS.</p>
<p align="justify">Note if you run the deployment script on a virtual machine, you will get an error which is addressed in the next section, otherwise, sit back and watch the progress..</p>
<h3>CloudBuilder Deployment Time</h3>
<p align="justify">Once you have your Azure Stack deployment system and environment ready, including a snapshot if on virtual machine, launch the PowerShell deployment script. Note that you will need to have decided if deploying with Azure Active Directory (AAD) or Azure Directory Federated Services (ADFS) for standalone aka submarine mode. There are also other options you can select as part of the deployment discussed in the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">Azure Stack tips here</a> (a must read) and <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy#deployment-requirements-check-tool">here</a>. I chose to do a submarine mode (e.g. not connected to Public Azure and AAD) deployment.</p>
<p>From PowerShell (administrator):</p>
<pre>cd C:\CloudDeployment:\Setup<br/>$adminpass = ConvertTo-SecureString "youradminpass" -AsPlainText -Force<br/>.\InstallAzureStackPOC.ps1 -AdminPassword $adminpass -UseADFS
</pre>
<h3>Deploying on VMware Virtual Machines Tips</h3>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" href="http://www.garethjones294.com/installing-azure-stack-tp2-inside-a-nested-virtual-machine-on-server-2016-or-vmware-esxi/">Here is a good tip</a> via Gareth Jones (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/garethjones294">@garethjones294</a>) that I found useful for updating one of the deployment script files (BareMetal_Tests.ps1 located in C:\CloudDeployment\Roles\PhysicalMachines\Tests folder) so that it would skip the bare metal (PM) vs. VM tests. Another good resource, even though it is for TP2 and early versions of VMware is <a target="_blank" href="http://vniklas.djungeln.se/2016/10/09/azurestack-tp2-deploy-experience/">TP2 deployment experiences</a> by Niklas Akerlund (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/vNiklas">@vNiklas</a>).</p>
<p align="justify">Note that this is a bit of a chick and egg scenario unless you are proficient at digging into script files since the BareMetal_Tests.ps1 file does not get unpacked until you run the CloudBuilder deployment script. If you run the script and get an error, then make the changes below, and rerun the script as noted. Once you make the modification to the BareMetal_Tests.ps1 file, keep a copy in a safe place for future use.</p>
<p>Here are some more tips for deploying <a target="_blank" href="https://azurestack.eu/2016/10/azure-stack-tp2-on-vmware-esxi-6/">Azure Stack on VMware</a>,</p>
<p><a target="_blank" href="http://www.garethjones294.com/installing-azure-stack-tp2-inside-a-nested-virtual-machine-on-server-2016-or-vmware-esxi/">Per the tip mentioned about via Gareth Jones</a> (tip: read Gareths post vs. simply cut and paste the following which is more of a guide):</p>
<p>Open BareMetal_Tests.ps1 file in PowerShell ISE and navigate to line 376 (or in that area)<br/> Change $false to $true which will stop the script failing when checking to see if the Azure Stack is running inside a VM.<br/> Next go to line 453. <br/> Change the last part of the line to read “Should Not BeLessThan 0”<br/> This will stop the script checking for the required amount of cores available.</p>
<p>After you make the above correction as with any error (and fix) during Azure Stack TP3 PoC deployment, simply run the following.</p>
<pre>cd C:\CloudDeployment\Setup.\InstallAzureStackPOC.ps1 -rerun</pre>
<p align="justify">Refer to the extra links in the where to learn more section below that offer various tips, tricks and insight that I found useful, particular for deploying on VMware aka nested. Also in the links below are tips on general Azure Stack, TP2, TP3, adding services among other insight.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzurestackTP3_A5_AzurestackDeploy.png" alt="starting azure stack tp3 deployment"/></p>
<p align="justify">Tip: If you are deploying Azure Stack TP3 PoC on virtual machine, once you start the script above, copy the modified BareMetal_Tests.ps1 file</p>
<p align="justify">Once the CloudBuilder deployment starts, sit back and wait, if you are using <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">SSDs</a>, it will take a while, if using <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/enterprise-hdd-content-servers/">HDDs</a>, it will take a long while (up to hours), however check in on it now and then to see progress of if any errors. Note that some of the common errors will occur very early in the deployment such as the BareMetal_Tests.ps1 mentioned above.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Azurestack_Underway.png" alt="azure stack tp3 deployment finished" width="525" height="367"/></p>
<p align="justify">Checking in periodically to see how the deployment progress is progressing, as well as what is occurring. If you have the time, watch some of the scripts as you can see some interesting things such as the software defined data center (SDDC) aka software-defined data infrastructure (SDDC) aka Azure Stack virtual environment created. This includes virtual machine creation and population, creating the software defined storage using storage spaces direct (S2D), virtual network and active directory along with domain controllers among others activity.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_Azurestack_DeployDone.png" alt="azure stack tp3 deployment progress" width="525" height="367"/></p>
<h3>After Azure Stack Deployment Completes</h3>
<p align="justify">After you see the deployment completed, you can try accessing the management portal, however there may be some background processing still running. <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-connect-azure-stack">Here is a good tip post on connecting to Azure Stack from Microsoft</a> using Remote Desktop (RDP) access. Use RDP from the Azure Stack deployment Windows Server and connect to a virtual machine named MAS-CON01, launch Server Manager and for Local Server disable Internet Explorer Enhanced Security (make sure you are on the right system, see the tip mentioned above). Disconnect from MAS-CON01 (refer to the Azure Stack <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-architecture">architecture image above</a>), then reconnect, and launch Internet Explorer with an URL of (note documentation side to use which did not work for me).</p>
<p align="justify">Note the username for the Azure Stack system is AzureStack\AzureStackAdmin with a password of what you set for administrative during setup. If you get an error, verify the URLs, check your network connectivity, wait a few minutes as well as verify what server you are trying to connect from and too. Keep in mind that even if deploying on a PM or BM (e.g. non virtual server or VM), the Azure Stack deployment TP3 PoC creates a "virtual" software-defined environment with servers, storage (Azure Stack uses <a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">Storage Spaces Direct</a> [<a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">S2D</a>] and software defined network.</p>
<p><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_AzureStackTP3_A9_AdminPortal.png" alt="accessing azure stack tp3 management portal dashboard" width="525" height="367"/></p>
<p align="justify">Once able to connect to Azure Stack, you can add new services including virtual machine image instances such as Windows (use the Server 2016 ISO that is part of Azure Stack downloads), Linux or others. You can also go to these Microsoft resources for some <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-first-scenarios">first learning scenarios</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-manage-portals">using the management portals</a>, <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-powershell-configure">configuring PowerShell</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-troubleshooting">troubleshooting</a>.</p>
<h3>Where to learn more</h3>
<p>The following provide more information and insight about Azure, Azure Stack, Microsoft and Windows among related topics.</p>
<ul>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Azure Stack Technical Preview 3 (TP3) Overview Preview Review</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/azure-stack-tp3-overview-preview-review-part-ii">Azure Stack TP3 Overview Preview Review Part II</a></li>
<li>Azure Stack Technical Preview (<a target="_blank" href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/overview/azure-stack/try/?v=try">get the bits aka software download here</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack deployment prerequisites (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft Azure Stack troubleshooting (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-troubleshooting">Microsoft Docs</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack TP3 refresh tips (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/04/11/azure-stack-tp3-refresh-tips/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Here is a good <a target="_blank" href="https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/fd6419d1-96ec-40ee-bc5d-936e6ec321b3/poc-tp3-refresh-notice-do-not-install-the-available-os-updates-for-the-windows-server-2016-host-or?forum=AzureStack">post with a tip about not applying certain Windows updates</a> to AzureStack TP3 installs.</li>
<li>Configure Azure Stack TP3 to be available on your own network (<a target="_blank" href="https://azurestack.blog/2017/03/configure-tp3-to-be-available-on-your-own-network-internet/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack TP3 Marketplace syndication (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/06/marketplace-syndication-in-azure-stack-tp3/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack TP3 deployment experiences (<a target="_blank" href="http://www.azurestack.tips/2017/03/03/the-azure-stack-tp3-deployment-experience/">Azure Stack</a>)</li>
<li>Frequently asked questions for Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-faq">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">Azure Active Directory</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/cloud-platform/azure-active-directory">AAD</a>) and <a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">Active Directory Federation Services</a> (<a target="_blank" href="https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb897402.aspx">ADFS</a>)</li>
<li>Deploy Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-deploy">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Connect to Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" href="https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-stack/azure-stack-connect-azure-stack">Microsoft</a>)</li>
<li>Azure Stack <a target="_blank" href="http://vniklas.djungeln.se/2016/10/09/azurestack-tp2-deploy-experience/">TP2 deployment experiences</a> by Niklas Akerlund (<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/vNiklas">@vNiklas</a>) useful for tips for TP3</li>
<li>Deployment Checker for Azure Stack Technical Preview (<a target="_blank" href="https://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/Deployment-Checker-for-50e0f51b">Microsoft Technet</a>)</li>
<li>Azure stack and other tools (<a target="_blank" href="https://github.com/Azure/AzureStack-Tools/tree/master/Connect">Github</a>)</li>
<li>How to <a target="_blank" href="https://scomandothergeekystuff.com/2017/02/14/how-to-enable-nested-virtualization-on-hyper-v-windows-server-2016/">enable nested virtualization on Hyper-V</a> Windows Server 2016</li>
<li>Dell EMC <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2017/20170504-01.htm">announce</a> Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/en-us/solutions/cloud/microsoft-azure-stack.htm">Dell EMC</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack Data Sheet (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="https://www.emc.com/collateral/solution-overview/h16047-dell-emc-cloud-for-microsoft-azure-stack-so.pdf">Dell EMC PDF</a>)</li>
<li>Dell EMC Cloud Chats (<a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://cloudchatsblog.emc.com/2017/05/04/realize-your-vision-for-hybrid-cloud-success/">Dell EMC Blog</a>)</li>
<li>Microsoft <a target="_blank" href="https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/home?forum=azurestack">Azure stack forum</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/dell-emc-azure-stack-hybrid-cloud-solution">Dell EMC Microsoft Azure Stack solution</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/gaining-server-storage-io-insight-microsoft-windows-server-2016/">Gaining Server Storage I/O Insight into Microsoft Windows Server 2016</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://storageioblog.com/overview-review-microsoft-refs-reliable-file-system/">Overview Review of Microsoft ReFS (Reliable File System) and resource links</a></li>
<li>Via WServerNews.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.wservernews.com/newsletters/archives/cloud-storage-considerations-14162.html#EC">Cloud (Microsoft Azure) storage considerations</a></li>
<li>Via CloudComputingAdmin.com <a target="_blank" href="http://www.cloudcomputingadmin.com/articles-tutorials/windows-azure/cloud-storage-decision-making.html">Cloud Storage Decision Making: Using Microsoft Azure for cloud storage</a></li>
<li><a target="_blank" href="http://thenvmeplace.com">www.thenvmeplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://thessdplace.com">www.thessdplace.com</a>, <a target="_blank" href="http://objectstoragecenter.com">www.objectstoragecenter.com</a> and <a target="_blank" href="http://storageio.com/converge">www.storageio.com/converge</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>What this all means</h3>
<p align="justify">A common question is if there is demand for private and hybrid cloud, in fact, some industry expert pundits have even said private, or hybrid are dead which is interesting, how can something be dead if it is just getting started. Likewise, it is early to tell if Azure Stack will gain traction with various organizations, some of whom may have tried or struggled with OpenStack among others.</p>
<p align="justify">Given a large number of Microsoft Windows-based servers on VMware, OpenStack, Public cloud services as well as other platforms, along with continued growing popularity of Azure, having a solution such as Azure Stack provides an attractive option for many environments. That leads to the question of if Azure Stack is essentially a replacement for Windows Servers or Hyper-V and if only for Windows guest operating systems. At this point indeed, Windows would be an attractive and comfortable option, however, given a large number of Linux-based guests running on Hyper-V as well as Azure Public, those are also primary candidates as are containers and other services.</p>
<p align="justify"><a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://storageioblog.com/data-infrastructure-primer-overview/"><img src="http://storageio.com/images/SIO_Blog_SDDI_1A.png" alt="software defined data infrastructures SDDI and SDDC" width="500" height="244" border="0"/></a></p>
<p align="justify">Some will say that if OpenStack is struggling in many organizations and being free open source, how Microsoft can have success with Azure Stack. The answer could be that some organizations have struggled with OpenStack while others have not due to lack of commercial services and turnkey support. Having installed both OpenStack and Azure Stack (as well as VMware among others), Azure Stack is at least the TP3 PoC is easy to install, granted it is limited to one node, unlike the production versions. Likewise, there are easy to use appliance versions of OpenStack that are limited in scale, as well as more involved installs that unlock full functionality.</p>
<p align="justify">OpenStack, Azure Stack, VMware and others have their places, alongside, or supporting containers along with other tools. In some cases, those technologies may exist in the same environment supporting different workloads, as well as accessing various public clouds, after all, Hybrid is the home run for many if not most legality IT environments.</p>
<p align="justify">Ok, nuff said (for now...).</p>
<p>Cheers<br/> Gs</p>