STORAGE EFFICIENCY: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED WITH EMC ISILON

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1 STORAGE EFFICIENCY: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED WITH EMC ISILON Mission-critical storage management for military and intelligence operations EMC PERSPECTIVE

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 3 THE PROBLEM 3 THE EMC ISILON APPROACH 5 IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES 5

3 To be effective and reliable, today s defense and intelligence environment needs a storage infrastructure that is not only sound and scalable, but also enables fast, secure data retrieval. INTRODUCTION Storage requirements are increasing exponentially in every industry, but perhaps no faster than in government. And when it comes to military and intelligence operations, extensive growth is only part of the problem. In addition to handling massive storage growth, military and intelligence agencies must be able to access and reprovision data stores quickly, securely, and cost-effectively. But for mission-critical operations, that s only the tip of the iceberg. Storage must also be eminently scalable, reliable, and dynamic, with robust performance and multiprotocol access and value. It must be able to handle everything from imagery, streaming media, and full-motion video, to satellite data, biometrics, and other large file-based data. And it must be able to allow agencies to operate in the field as well as the office, with unparalleled uptime. Today s storage technologies aren t able to keep pace with these requirements. What s needed is a new approach to storage one that abstracts storage hardware and presents it as a single volume that adapts to changes in resource requirements. THE PROBLEM In the military world, data is growing extremely fast due to an increase in the use of state-of-the art technology, such as streaming media, digital imagery, and fully searchable documents. This is particularly true in the defense and intelligence community, where the use of full-motion video, satellite data, digital imagery, raster and vector data, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is experiencing rapid growth. In military hospitals and research centers, the shift to electronic health records can increase patient data by a factor of three or more, and storage of MRI and other digital medical images is skyrocketing. What s more, much of the new storage growth is in unstructured data satellite images, objects, sounds, fingerprints, and text. According to many industry analysts, unstructured data will grow at about twice the rate of structured data held in databases. Unstructured data is traditionally more difficult to identify, categorize, and store effectively. Government regulations and compliance mandates also force agencies to keep digital data, including , instant messages, audio, and video, for longer periods of time. In addition, some areas of the government have their own retention requirements. For example, the military requires keeping personnel records for 67½ years, and health-focused agencies must retain Electronic Healthcare Records (EHR) in accordance with HIPAA regulations. Storage needs are growing so fast as fast as 30 percent per year at some agencies that current storage infrastructures often can t keep up. To be effective and reliable, today s defense and intelligence environment needs a storage infrastructure that is not only sound and scalable, but also enables fast, secure data retrieval. Further complicating the equation is the increasing complexity of storage. No longer is it a simple disk-to-tape exercise; today, many agencies have a mix of older and newer storage technologies and procedures and have added labor-intensive activities, like adding volumes and reprovisioning. Server virtualization has also added complexity to the storage equation, and can result in bottlenecks with traditional storage paradigms. This complexity, compounded by data centers that often have a mix of older and newer equipment, multiple operating systems, and proprietary tools, creates a highly intricate environment that becomes more complicated with time and increased storage requirements.

4 EMC Isilon SyncIQ software enables agencies to easily replicate data (entire files, directories, or specific subsets of volumes) asynchronously between clusters for backup and disaster recovery. Finally, storage is expensive both on the capital expenditure (CAPEX) or acquisition side, and on the operational expenditure (OPEX) side. Even with the cost per gigabyte decreasing over time, the sheer amount of storage growth makes the traditional storage infrastructure an expensive proposition. THE TRADITIONAL APPROACH TO STORAGE IS OUTDATED As storage needs grow, organizations are finding that the storage infrastructure they have in place may not be able to keep pace. The traditional storage area network (SAN) approach, which focuses on block-level storage, becomes much more difficult to manage as storage volumes grow. Not only do they have difficulty scaling fast enough, but availability also becomes a serious issue. What s more, the SAN environment quickly becomes expensive and inefficient, taking up more time than the IT staff can afford. For example, the number of UAVs gathering data since 9/11 has skyrocketed, both in the United States and abroad. While the UAVs are critical to our nation s security, they create massive amounts of data much more than the average SAN can handle. A scale-out, file-based storage infrastructure would enable storing, accessing, and sharing video and images from UAVs, and make them quickly accessible from the field. For data spikes, this environment also enables lightning-fast storage growth and provisioning. Today, keeping pace with storage growth and cost requires a new approach one that can synchronize data and scale to meet growing storage needs easily with better performance, lower costs, and more efficient overall storage utilization. In many ways, it s similar to the approach organizations have taken by virtualizing applications, servers, and PCs; by doing so, they become quick and simple to reprovision and manage. The same requirements are true of storage. Using a scale-out storage architecture facilitates the consolidation of file-based applications into a single, shared pool of storage. This approach to storage also handles the increasingly virtualized server environments organizations have implemented. A comprehensive scale-out, file-based approach to storage should include the ability to: Add capacity on the fly Scale capacity and throughput simultaneously Move data transparently Enable rapid storage provisioning Support virtualization Support multiple protocols Simplify data management Provide very high utilization rates Provide storage tiering in a single namespace Adapt to new technologies without replacing the storage infrastructure Provide enhanced levels of data protection

5 With Isilon, security is much more than an afterthought it s built into every part of the infrastructure. Isilon technology is in wide use in classified networks throughout the government. THE EMC ISILON APPROACH The EMC Isilon file-based, scale-out storage platform consolidates file-based applications and data into a single, shared pool of storage. Based on the EMC Isilon OneFS operating system, the Isilon approach to storage emphasizes flexibility to grow and change with user needs. Its storage infrastructure allows organizations to quickly provision, share, and scale storage capacity within a matter of seconds. Isilon OneFS provides the intelligence behind the storage, combining three layers of traditional storage architectures file system, volume manager, and data protection into a single software layer. OneFS serves as a single point of management for large and rapidly growing data repositories. Speed and flexibility are the hallmarks of the Isilon approach to storage. It provides: Scalability up to 20 petabytes of capacity in a single file system More than 100 gigabytes per second of throughput 60-second scaling of both performance and capacity Built-in automatic load balancing No performance degradation as capacity is increased Industry-leading high availability Powerful, easy-to-use Web-based management Seamless integration with virtualized environments, simplifying data and virtual server management, as well as improving resource utilization Pay-as-you-go cost structure EMC Isilon SmartPools software allows organizations to create a single file system and single point of management for multiple performance tiers, eliminating the need to manually migrate data between tiers. With this software, moving files to different storage tiers as their value to the organization changes is simple. EMC Isilon SyncIQ software enables agencies to easily replicate data (entire files, directories, or specific subsets of volumes) asynchronously between clusters for backup and disaster recovery. This software allows organizations to fine-tune exactly which data is being moved depending on the value of the data and the urgency of the transfer. With Isilon, security is much more than an afterthought it s built into every part of the infrastructure. Isilon technology is in wide use in classified networks throughout the government. As such, it is accredited for many government networks, including NIPRNet, SIPRNet, and JWIG. The technology also incorporates an information assurance certification and vulnerability scan, and will help any government agency through the process to gain clearance. IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES Here are just a few examples of what s possible: Due to an edict to consolidate personnel functions at offices throughout one branch of the military, the storage requirements for personnel records have skyrocketed. By implementing the Isilon Storage Platform and SyncIQ replication software for all digitized documents, the military would gain the ability to scale quickly without adding staff, while gaining immediate access to documents via a secure Internet connection.

6 Law enforcement agencies today must deal with a quickly growing store of larger files, higher-resolution images, and an ever-expanding library of fingerprints. By implementing Isilon scale-out storage, agencies can consolidate disparate file-based applications onto a single file system, thus simplifying management, increasing productivity, eliminating scalability concerns, and enabling intelligent search. Advanced technology has benefited the military significantly, but that means larger files, higher-resolution images, and a growing library of fingerprints. With Isilon technology, the agency would have a single, shared pool of storage with global access to its vast library of images without worries about reliability or scalability. The images also would be available for editing, distribution, markups and notes, and long-term archiving, with appropriate permission. In tactical situations, being able to access the right information quickly can mean the difference between a good outcome and a bad outcome. Getting the right information to the right people at the right time requires reliability, accessibility, and security. By consolidating disparate repositories of missioncritical data drawn from different sources into one shared storage pool, access is immediate, enabling quick analysis and action. Isilon, a division of EMC, is the global leader in scale-out storage. We deliver powerful yet simple solutions for governmental agencies that want to manage their data, not their storage. Isilon products are simple to install, manage, and scale at any size. And, unlike traditional storage, Isilon stays simple no matter how much storage is added, how much performance is required, or how business needs change in the future. We re challenging governmental agencies to think differently about their storage, because when they do, they ll recognize there s a better, simpler way. Learn what we mean at CONTACT US To learn more about how EMC products, services, and solutions can help solve your business and IT challenges, contact your local representative or authorized reseller or visit us at EMC 2, EMC, the EMC logo, Isilon, OneFS, SmartPools, and SyncIQ are registered trademarks or trademarks of EMC Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2013 EMC Corporation. All rights reserved. Published in the USA. 06/13 EMC Perspective H EMC believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.