EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems

Transcription

1 Carolyn DiCenzo, April Adams Product Report 10 October 2002 EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Summary EMC s Symmetrix 8000 Series faces strong competition from the HDS Lightning 9900/9900V, Hewlett- Packard StorageWorks XP Series, Sun Microsystems StorEdge 9900s and IBM s new ESS 800 storage subsystem. Table of Contents Overview Analysis Storage Software Symmetrix-Focused Software Tools Software Targeting the Multivendor Storage Management Market Software Pricing WideSky Pricing Competitors Strengths Limitations Insight List Of Tables Table 1: Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Table 2: Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Table 3: Competitive Analysis: EMC Symmetrix 8530/8830 Gartner Reproduction of this publication in any form without prior written permission is forbidden. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of such information. Gartner shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in the information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The reader assumes sole responsibility for the selection of these materials to achieve its intended results. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

2 Corporate Headquarters EMC Corporation 35 Parkwood Avenue Hopkinton, MA 01748, U.S.A. Tel: Internet: Overview EMC s Symmetrix product line currently consists of three models the 8230, 8530 and 8830 which are designed for the enterprise and are supported in mainframe, open systems and networked storage environments. The high-end Symmetrix 8830 has a triple-cabinet design and is targeted for use in the data center for consolidation and information infrastructures. The 8530 comes in a single six-foot cabinet and is targeted for use with multiple applications. The 8230 is configured in a half-bay rack designed to give Symmetrix class functionality in a small footprint. It represents the low end of the Symmetrix line. The current Symmetrix 8000 products offer several enhancements over previous models. They use faster PowerPC microprocessors than the older models (333MHz instead of 266MHz). Global cache was increased from 32MB to 64MB on the full-size models (Symmetrix 8530 and 8830), though the half-bay Symmetrix 8230 still uses 32MB cache. Support for a 12-port Fibre Channel director was added, which increased the number of Fibre Channel ports supported on all models. The Symmetrix 8230, 8530 and 8830 now support 24, 72 and 96 Fibre Channel ports, respectively, using the 12-port director. And Fibre Channel throughput was improved with the introduction of 2Gb Fibre Channel directors. Finally, the current Symmetrix models support up to 512 Enterprise Systems Connection (ESCON) logical paths (up from 32) and fiber connection (FICON) connectivity (also 512 logical paths per port). The FICON connectivity is backward-compatible with the earlier Symmetrix 8430 and 8730 systems. Drive Capacities Supported EMC s Symmetrix line offers full support for the higher-capacity (181GB) disk drives. The 8830 therefore scales up to 69.5TB of raw storage using 384 of the 181GB drives. The 8530 supports up to 96 disk drives or 17.4TB of raw capacity using 181GB drives. The half-bay Symmetrix 8230 supports up to 48 of the 36GB or 73GB drives, but only 24 of the 181GB drives. Therefore, the 8230 scales up to a maximum raw capacity of 4.3TB using 24 of the 181GB drives or up to 3.5TB using 48 of the 73GB drives. On all models, 12GB of the total raw capacity is reserved for internal Symmetrix file use, according to EMC. See the table Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems for more detail on usable capacities for each model. Architecture The EMC Symmetrix storage systems are based on EMC s modular Mosaic architecture, the same architecture that EMC used with its first Symmetrix storage systems in the early 1990s, though of course there have been multiple enhancements since then. While some competitors attack EMC for continuing to use a shared-bus architecture instead of moving to an internal switch fabric design, EMC argues that its current quad-bus design is more than sufficient for today s storage requirements and touts its backward compatibility, noting that manufacturers that change architectures can lose this ability to guarantee backward compatibility. Each subsystem features channel directors on the front end that support 10 October

3 connections to mainframe, Unix, Windows NT and AS/400 systems (all simultaneously if Enterprise Storage Platform software is installed). The channel directors are individual boards that connect directly to the host processor or storage area network (SAN) switch. Symmetrix systems support from two to eight channel directors (depending on the model and configuration), and each channel director supports up to 12 channel connections with the 12-port Fibre Channel (FC) channel director. The FC connectivity option also allows users to front-end the storage system with hub and switch devices and to provide 2Gb connectivity. Cache Memory With the introduction of the Symmetrix 8230, 8530 and 8830, EMC also announced a new cache system that it calls CacheStorm Technology. EMC s global cache directors with CacheStorm technology work to reduce bottlenecking in cache memory in three ways. First, the new cache can be partitioned into 16 independent and concurrently accessible memory regions (four per director). Second, it has enhanced buffering to reduce latency issues. And third, it features an intelligent engine to dynamically manage cache resources. Other cache-enhancing features on the Symmetrix subsystems include: Dynamic Intelligent Prefetch A function that moves data into cache based on patterns observed during the input/output (I/O) monitoring process. If there are several sequential I/O requests to a track, the following data is automatically read into cache as well, in anticipation of a future request. This is a self-tuning algorithm on the Symmetrix that is designed to constantly adjust the amount of data that is prefetched to optimize performance and cache usage. Locality of Reference A function that moves data into cache based on the premise that if a given piece of data is used, there is a high probability that a nearby piece of data will also be requested soon. Data Reuse A function that retains data in cache under the premise that once a piece of data is used, there is a high likelihood that it will be needed again shortly. PermaCache A function that retains certain data in cache so it is available for faster access, even if it is not frequently requested. The data can be assigned to cache explicitly by the user or whenever the Symmetrix system can predict that certain data is likely to be accessed extensively in the future. Product Support Product support is provided by EMC s Customer Service and Support division. Critical to the vendor s service response time is the Symmetrix phone-home capability, whereby the Symmetrix system automatically transmits a notification to EMC via an external modem connected to the integrated service processor when conditions exceed certain preset thresholds. This enables support engineers with system control, query and diagnostic capabilities to begin immediate problem identification and corrective action procedures. EMC can also provide software upgrades via this connection without interrupting ongoing operations. Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) The Symmetrix 8000 models offer three levels of RAID support: RAID 1 (mirroring), RAID-S (EMC s own version of RAID 5 parity) and RAID 10 (a hybrid RAID level that combines RAID 1 mirroring with RAID 0 striping). RAID 10, which was previously only supported in open systems environments, is now also supported in OS/390 and z/os operating environments. However, RAID 10 is not currently supported in mainframe environments concurrently with Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) and Symmetrix Data Migration Services (SDMS), though EMC states that it expects that restriction to be lifted at some point in the future. 10 October

4 EMC s RAID-S implementation is a combination of hardware and software functionality that stores redundant parity information on the disk array itself (EMC s parity RAID protection option). While the other RAID levels (RAID 1 and RAID 10) are supported with all drive sizes, the RAID-S implementation is not currently supported on Symmetrix models using 73GB or 181GB drives. This limits the maximum capacities supported on the Symmetrix models when parity RAID protection is required since it can only be achieved using 36GB drives. The 8830, for example, supports up to 69.5TB of raw storage capacity, but only 10.4TB of RAID-S capacity. In a mirrored configuration, the Symmetrix 8830 supports up to 34.8TB of mirrored-protected data. Heterogeneous Storage EMC s Symmetrix storage systems are marketed as providing multihost heterogeneous storage. It is important for the user to understand that in this context at this point in time, heterogeneous still means that one storage system can be plugged into several different servers. Users do not need to have one Symmetrix system for their Windows NT storage and another for their Unix storage. Today, Symmetrix products can coexist on a SAN with EMC s CLARiiON products, as well as with products from Hitachi Data Systems and Hewlett-Packard (StorageWorks). Symmetrix also supports multiple heterogeneous servers on a single FC adapter. While EMC and other storage vendors are making strides toward heterogeneous storage management, none of them are able to offer any-server-to-any-storage connectivity yet. Today, each operating system must still be segmented in its own storage zone. Mainframe vs. Open Systems Symmetrix systems can support both mainframe and open system connectivity simultaneously on the same system, but cannot share data directly between the two environments. Users who require such accessibility can, however, copy the data using TimeFinder and move it to the other environment with InfoMover to get around the problem. Other features available for the mainframe environment include: FICON channel directors for native FICON connectivity FICON is a combination of Fibre Channel and ESCON that allows S/390 and mainframe I/O protocols to be run over Fibre Channel media, giving mainframe users faster throughput, increased connectivity and more addressability to storage data than with ESCON alone. ESCON 4-Port Serial Channel Director Provides four concurrent I/Os between the host and the Symmetrix system per director, up to 32 per Symmetrix systems (with eight channel directors). Peer-to-peer remote copy (PPRC) Emulation for Geographically Dispersed Parallel Sysplex (GDPS) Allows customers to implement IBM s GDPS mainframe clustering solution on Symmetrix. Increased Logical Path Support Up to 512 per ESCON port and 512 per FICON port. Dynamic Parallel Access Volume (PAV) and Multiple Allegiance (MA) Support in IBM z/os and OS/390 environments. RAID 10 Support In OS/390 and z/os environments. 10 October

5 Table 1: Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Model Symmetrix 8230 Symmetrix 8530 Symmetrix 8830 Date Announced Configuration Maximum Raw Storage Capacity, Open Systems (bytes) Maximum Raw Storage Capacity With All Expansion, Open Systems (bytes) Maximum Mirrored Capacity, Open Systems/Mainf rame (bytes) Maximum SRDF Capacity, Open Systems/Mainf rame (bytes) Maximum RAID-S Capacity, Open Systems/Mainf rame (bytes) Maximum Drives per Subsystem Maximum Drives With All Expansions Channel Directors September 2001 September 2001 September 2001 Half-bay Cabinet Triple cabinet cabinet 4.3T 17.4T 69.5T 4.3T 17.4T 69.5T 2.2T/2.1T 8.7T/8.6T 34.8T/34.3T 4.3T/4.3T 17.4T/17.2T 69.5T/68.6T 1.3T/1.3T 2.6T/2.6T 10.4T/10.3T 48 (1) (1) (2Gb) 6 (2Gb) (2) 8 (2Gb) 10 October

6 Table 1: Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Model Symmetrix 8230 Symmetrix 8530 Symmetrix 8830 Controller 32G 64G 64G Cache, Maximum for Subsystem (bytes) Mainframe Connectivity Up to eight ESCON or Up to 24 ESCON or 12 FICON connections Up to 32 ESCON or 16 FICON connections four FICON connections Open Systems Connectivity Up to eight Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) or 24 Fibre Channel connections Up to 24 SCSI or 72 Fibre Channel connections Up to 32 SCSI or 96 Fibre Channel connections (1) Twenty-four-drive maximum with 181GB drives. (2) With enhanced channel connectivity option. Table 2: Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Model Host System Interface RAID Levels Supported RAID Type Disk Capacities Supported (bytes) Drive Interface Operating Systems Supported Storage Management Framework Standard Warranty Fault-Tolerance Features Supported Redundant, Hot-Swappable Disk Drives Redundant, Hot-Swappable Fans Redundant, Hot-Swappable Power Supplies Redundant Hot-Swappable Channel Directors Redundant Hot-Swappable Head Disk Assemblies (HDAs) Redundant Hot-Swappable Cache Memory Cards Symmetrix 8000 Series Fibre Channel (1Gb or 2Gb), Ultra2 SCSI, Ultra SCSI, Fast Wide SCSI, ESCON, FICON 1, 10, RAID-S (EMC s parity-based approach) Hardware/software combination 36G, 73G, 181G Ultra2 SCSI Windows NT, Windows 2000, IBM AIX, HP-UX, HP Tru64, DG-UX, SGI IRIX, SCO Unix, Sun Solaris, Open VMS, OS/390, OS/400, IBM z/os, DYNIX, Open VME, MVS/ESA, MVS/XA, VMS/SP, MVT/VSE, VM/ESA EMC ControlCenter Two years on-site, , four-hour response 10 October

7 Table 2: Features and Functions: EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Information Storage Systems Model Symmetrix 8000 Series Redundant Data Paths Dual Power Cords Cache/Disk Scrubbing Mirrored Cache No Battery Backed-Up Cache No (1) Full System Battery Backup Hot Standby Spares High-Availability Features Supported Automatic Failover/Failback Alternate Pathing Environmental Monitoring Point-In-Time Copy Remote Copy Phone Home Capability Nondisruptive Microcode Replacement Logical Unit Number (LUN) Masking Cluster Support (N+1) (1) Instead of having a separate battery backup specifically for cache, the EMC Symmetrix architecture uses redundant power supplies and full system battery backup to maintain power to the system long enough for cache to destage to disk before gracefully shutting down. Analysis Historically, EMC s software announcements were targeted at helping to sell more Symmetrix or CLARiiON arrays, or Celerra or CLARiiON Network Attached Storage (NAS) file servers. While recent software announcements have that as one of the goals, software has taken on a larger charter to support not only EMC devices, but also the other equipment often found in customer storage environments. Storage Software Although EMC s competitors have made significant progress in the area of array-based replication software, EMC has managed to continue to raise the bar and is now extending its reach to support the management of the extended storage environment. EMC continues to change its design from a Symmetrix-centered approach to one that works in an environment that has CLARiiON and other vendor storage devices. EMC made its first step into the heterogeneous-array support direction with the release of its StorageScope product at the end of 2001 and has continued to add support for non-emc arrays to other products in The Symmetrix-focused tools will continue to help EMC differentiate its array, but all eyes are on the new heterogeneous management software products as the company looks to build the open software business to 30 percent of total revenue. For this reason, the software section below is divided into two segments, Symmetrix-Focused Software Tools and Software Targeting the Multivendor Storage Management Market. Symmetrix-Focused Software Tools Although positioned as a management framework product, EMC s ControlCenter offering announced in October 1999 was really an upgrade to its Symmetrix Manager product, which added the ability to launch other Symmetrix management tools from a common graphical user interface (GUI) running on a Windows 10 October

8 NT console connected to multiple Symmetrix arrays. Updates to other Symmetrix management tools included the ability to be launched from this new GUI and increased integration between the modules. With the release of the ControlCenter/Open Edition in early 2001, the Symmetrix management products continued to integrate with each other and also began to participate in the new broader family of EMC software products. Since Symmetrix Manager is now a ControlCenter product, all customers with this product have the GUI, repository and base functions of ControlCenter. Added Symmetrix or third-party support modules are seamlessly integrated once licensed. The Symmetrix specific applications come as a suite plus independent plug-in modules that allow the user interface to be customized to a storage administrator s specific needs as new modules are added. Performance of all Symmetrix systems in the enterprise can be monitored on a topology map from a Windows or Solaris console (agents reside on MVS, Unix or NT systems connected to the storage systems). In 2002, EMC packaged key Symmetrix products into a suite called the EMC ControlCenter/Open Edition Symmetrix Management Package. The suite includes products that are most commonly purchased for Symmetrix management: ControlCenter Symmetrix Manager, SRDF/TimeFinder Manager, Symmetrix Data Mobility Manager and Workload Analyzer. Configuration Manager and Resource View are no longer available as separate products. Their functions are now part of Symmetrix Manager. Fastrax Data Movement has been retired. A portfolio of complementary products is also available to support the Symmetrix environment and is outlined below. EMC ControlCenter for Symmetrix Management Package Symmetrix Manager monitors, automates operations and provisions storage for Symmetrix platforms. Windowing capabilities allow for the simultaneous display of multiple views and management of multiple Symmetrix systems from a single console. The product also provides a concise view of the current storage resources and their channel director assignments, enabling users to reallocate current, or deploy new, resources to the necessary servers with a drag-and-drop action. How users configure the server to see the new disks depends on the operating system being used (Windows NT will require a reboot, for example). Users can make certain configuration changes in open systems environments (but not in mainframe environments) without involving EMC service personnel. These changes include: Creating new Symmetrix logical volumes (define size, RAID protection, type). Modify logical volume type (covert between standard, business continuance volume [BCV], Remote Data Facility [RDF] and Device Reconfiguration Volume [DRV]). Create, modify or delete meta volumes. Perform or automate disk reallocation. Swap SRDF source and target volumes. Set front-end attributes (SCSI or fiber, host names of port connections). Add or remove mirrors. SRDF/TimeFinder Manager provides local and remote management of business continuity and disaster recovery operation via a command-line or a graphical user interface. SRDF/TimeFinder Manager allows users to monitor TimeFinder or SRDF status (including dynamic status information while an operation is in progress), as well as perform TimeFinder and SRDF operations. Symmetrix Data Mobility Manager (SDMM) is a relatively new component of the SRDF/TimeFinder Manager added at the end of SDMM is designed to simplify the setup and shorten the time required to configure SRDF or TimeFinder. 10 October

9 Workload Analyzer is the performance analysis tool that collects, archives, graphs and analyzes Symmetrix, CLARiiON, switch and host performance data (including MVS hosts). It enhances and complements the real-time reporting available with ControlCenter Symmetrix Manager and ControlCenter SAN Manager. Workload Analyzer provides graphical and tabular representations of key performance variables that allow a storage or system administrator to tune, troubleshoot, report or plan storage infrastructure performance. Symmetrix Optimizer The Symmetrix Optimizer resides on the Symmetrix storage system and is designed to optimize performance of disk spindles as resources and usage patterns change. Using a profile defined by the user and an algorithm from EMC, Symmetrix Optimizer gathers data on activity levels for a specified time frame, analyzes it to identify any hot spots and then re-balances the workload, distributing highly active logical volumes across the disks to optimize performance. All this is done in a protected fashion within the storage system itself so that the server, operating system and applications are not disrupted and users have continual access. Enhancements made in late 2001 include adding an approval option, rollback capability and the ability to perform up to four simultaneous swapping operations. Also included was the addition of quality-of-service controls for SRDF, TimeFinder and Optimizer, which include enabling customers to select potential volumes, adjust pace of copy settings, apply present settings and save preset settings. Symmetrix Optimizer 5.1 adds the capability for users to specify volumes for swapping and to create rules that restrict swapping within specified groups. EMC SRDF and SRDF Data Mobility Symmetrix Remote Data Facility is EMC s host-independent, mirrored data storage solution. Originally released in 1994, it was updated in April 2000 so that it runs over Fibre Channel on the Symmetrix 8000s (with the Enginuity Operating Environment), as well as over IP, asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), T1/T3 and E1/E3. With this latest release of new Symmetrix models, it was further enhanced to support nondisruptive microcode upgrades and GDPS (that is, it will convert PPRC commands for use with SRDF). SRDF is a business-continuance product that allows rapid duplication of data from one Symmetrix system to another and provides application restart using current data from the mirrored (disaster recovery) site in the event of a major system disaster at the source location. SRDF uses synchronous writes to the remote mirror Symmetrix. Because the software resides on the Symmetrix storage system and does not require server cycles to operate, SRDF installations can function bunker style, with no host at the backup site, reducing the total cost of ownership. In March 2001, EMC announced SRDF/Data Mobility (DM), a subset of the full SRDF application that allows rapid duplication of data between two Symmetrix products. SRDF/DM is primarily used for moving static content to one or more sites for nondisaster recovery purposes. Movement is in Adaptive Copy Mode only. This can also be done with the full SRDF application, though its primary role is to provide protection of dynamic data. SRDF and SRDF/DM also enable replication to two volumes, so a second copy can be made available for local purposes along with a copy at a disaster recovery site. Both SRDF and SRDF/DM can be configured in campus configurations (0-60 kilometers), extended campus configurations with Fibre Channel or dense wave division multiplexer (DWDM) (0-100 kilometers), or long-distance VPN configurations with ATM, T1/T3 and E1/E3 and over public or private IP networks using a Computer Network Technology UltraNet Storage Director Switch to convert SRDF data frames to standard IP packets. EMC has also qualified a Fibre Channel-to-IP channel extender source. It already has multiple ESCON-to-IP channel extender sources. In addition, SRDF s new Farpoint feature allowsstreamingofdatawithnointerruptionunlessanerroroccurs. 10 October

10 SRDF is controlled through ControlCenter via the SRDF/TimeFinder Manager product, which adds a GUI as well as the command-line interface. On the OS/390 and z/os platforms, SRDF is managed via a started task that offers both a command-line and Interactive System Productivity Facility (ISPF) panel interface. It can now also be managed with SDMM, which runs on a Solaris workstation and has a similar GUI management interface. EMC TimeFinder TimeFinder is a multiple-mirror software product that allows mirroring of a disk, separate from any RAID protection. EMC calls this a BCV. A BCV gets a separate address, so it can be split and then used or backed up independently of the other copies. Complete data protection is therefore maintained during the backup process, and backup windows are reduced. Incremental updates can be made to the BCV, or the data on the BCV can be copied back to the source disk. EMC offers the ability for a standard volume to support relationships with up to eight BCVs. With the introduction of the new Symmetrix models, EMC also announced some enhancements to TimeFinder. Before, users had to split out two BCVs from the mirrored pair at the same time. With the new release, they can make the two splits independently, staggering them to provide two independent checkpoints. EMC also added support for EMCSNAP in open systems environments at the logical volume level. EMCSNAP at both the dataset and logical volume level is also available for the mainframe (OS/390 and z/os) space. TimeFinder split has been enhanced with instant split capability at the volume level for both mainframes on open systems. This instant split capability is designed to eliminate any wait time that could potentially have been encountered previously when splitting large numbers of volumes. TimeFinder also supports a consistent split capability at the volume level for mainframe and open systems storage. This means that the split volumes contain a consistent, restartable image of data that can be propagated remotely using SRDF to create an asynchronous disaster restart solution or used as input to a local backup and recovery process without quiescing the application. DBMS support is required for this usage, however. Like SRDF, TimeFinder can be controlled through a command-line interface or with the EMC ControlCenter SRDF/TimeFinder Manager graphical user interface. It can also now be controlled by SDMM. ResourcePak Extended for OS/390 and z/os EMC ResourcePak Extended is a set of OS/390- and z/os-based utilities designed to augment the functionality of the Symmetrix in OS/390 and z/os mainframe environments and increase productivity and operational efficiencies. This solution automates routine processes, manages PAVs and simplifies the sizing of SRDF links. It also works to reduce and compress cycle times. EMC InfoMover InfoMover facilitates high-speed, bulk file transfers between mainframe, open systems and Windows NT environments without impacting network resources. It supports bi-directional movement of data between any combination of mainframe, Unix and Windows NT systems and, in the latest version, supports switched fabric for both local and extended distances as well, through EMC s Enterprise Storage Network (ESN). InfoMover enables read access of mainframe data from a Unix environment and support for switched fabric. Symmetric Enterprise Storage Platform (ESP) ESP is an array-based software product that allows a Symmetrix system to be simultaneously shared between open systems and mainframe hosts. 10 October

11 PAVs/Multiple Allegiance (PAV/MA) Added to the portfolio in the second quarter of 2001, PAV/MA allows mainframe users to take advantage of these performance-enhancing features. This product improves the performance of mainframe environments by allowing multiple I/O operations per storage volume. CopyPoint First shipped in May 1999, CopyPoint enables AS/400 systems to read secondary copies of production system data. The product works in conjunction with TimeFinder or SRDF. Prior to the BCV split, the production AS/400 applications are quiesced, and then the AS/400 main storage is flushed to clear all active data from the AS/400 memory so that TimeFinder or SRDF can create a copy of the data. Once completed, normal production work on the AS/400 can continue. The CopyPoint software then allows the target system to access the source system s data to offload backups. CopyCross EMC CopyCross copies mainframe tape data to Symmetrix disk storage, simulating IBM 3480/3490 cartridge devices consistent with a real tape device and with full transparency to the host. Simulated tapes are maintained as direct access storage device (DASD) datasets. One goal in this product may be to eliminate the bottleneck of tape in applications that might need fast restarting. When tape I/Os are issued by the application, CopyCross emulates the entire tape process. While the created tape datasets are stored on disk, the application and the tape management system continue to interact with them as tape datasets. This is accomplished with no changes to the application. HighRoad Software for Celerra Symmetrix-based Celerra NAS file servers running HighRoad (announced 5 December 2000) provide a convergence of NAS and SAN for sharing large files in high-bandwidth, collaborative environments. Its multipathing feature allows clients to take advantage of both the TCP/IP and the SAN connections to deliver files in the most efficient manner. Celerra HighRoad delivers larger files over the SAN and smaller files and control information over the TCP/IP network. If the requesting server is only attached via the TPC/IP network, then Celerra HighRoad moves the data in standard Network File System (NFS) and Common Internet File System (CIFS) fashion. EMC sees this technology as providing an edge for it in environments with large text, streaming video and rich media files used in applications for advertising, publishing, satellite imaging, oil and gas seismic data, medical imaging and computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM). The product now supports IBM AIX, Sun Solaris, HP- UX, SGI IRIX, Windows NT and Windows 2000 servers. Packaging With Third Parties to Create Solution Sets EMC has worked with several of its key partners to create software to enhance performance in Symmetrix environments. In some cases, EMC packages its software with the partner and serves as reseller and service provider. In other cases, the products provide a layer of integration as a value-added product from EMC. Current products include: EMC GeoSpan for Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) and EMC GeoSpan for VERITAS Cluster Server (VCS) are high-availability packages of cluster software integrated with SRDF sold through EMC and with EMC support. EMC ResourcePak for Windows offers seven capabilities for improving the availability, mobility and manageability of Windows data when working with TimeFinder: TimeFinder CheckPoint Manager, TimeFinder/SQL Server Integration Module, TimeFinder/Exchange Integration Module, Data 10 October

12 Relocation Utility, TimeFinder Setup Wizard, Symmetrix Integration Utilities and DeltaFile. Users of TimeFinder in a Windows environment will need to also purchase ResourcePak. SymmEnabler is a software application designed to increase the functionality and performance of select partner applications in Symmetrix environments. SymmEnablers are available for Computer Associates Alexandria, HP OpenView OmniBack II, Information Builders CopyManager, Legato NetWorker and Veritas NetBackup. Double Checksum provides an extra layer of protection against data corruption originating from any layer between the Oracle database and the Symmetrix system. Software Targeting the Multivendor Storage Management Market EMC ControlCenter/Open Edition (ControlCenter/OE) The EMC ControlCenter/Open Edition is a set of common services shared by a family of EMC storage management products. The products leverage this shared services infrastructure to simplify and automate storage device, storage network and storage resource management. The common services are included with each ControlCenter product and when more than one product is present, the common services link together to provide integration. Common services include alert management, a policy engine, and discovery and mapping of devices in the storage environment. The product will also discover resources such as databases, catalogs, file systems and applications. Established EMC products will need to move to the new user interface defined by ControlCenter/OE and support the new WideSky application programming interfaces (APIs) and repository products that make up the ControlCenter Family of products, which include resource management products such as StorageScope, SAN Manager, Replication Manager, PowerPath and DBTuner. Also managed under the umbrella of ControlCenter are device resource management products such as Symmetrix Manager, Navisphere, Connectrix Manager and Common Array Manager. This new ControlCenter architecture allows EMC to deploy storage management software in non-emc environments. EMC ControlCenter Common Array Manager The Common Array Manager adds multivendor storage array support to the ControlCenter environment. It adds the ability to discover HP StorageWorks MA8000 and EMA12000 arrays, HDS 7700E/9900/9970V/9980V arrays, HP XP256/512/128/1024 arrays, Sun StorEdge 9900/9970/9980 series arrays, IBM ESS arrays, Network Appliance filers and StorageTek Shared Virtual Array (SVA) arrays. The product can monitor the status of these arrays, the disks and other subcomponents. The Common Array Manager discovers and displays the relationship between host logical objects (file systems and databases) and storage. EMC ControlCenter SAN Manager (formerly known as ESN Manager) EMC ControlCenter SAN Manager was first shipped in December It is an integrated SAN management application, which has evolved from the Symmetrix volume-configuration management software application, Volume Logix. SAN Manager provides the ability to manage zoning, volume access and autopathing in a heterogeneous SAN environment. SAN Manager provides sophisticated correlation, showing users a complete graphical view of their SAN topology, including the connected hosts, host bus adapters, switches and arrays. Command-line operation is also available for running scripts to perform both LUN masking and zoning operations. In addition to the advanced views, LUN masking and call-level interfaces (CLIs), SAN Manager also provides management of QLogic, McData, Brocade and EMC Connectrix Fibre Channel switches and directors. Because path management can be complicated with SAN implementations, SAN Manager is often used with PowerPath in these environments. 10 October

13 The January 2002 release of the product (version 2.0) added the following features: CLARiiON LUN discovery and storage device LUN masking for CLARiiON FC4500 and CLARiiON FC4700. Discovery, zoning and LUN configuration information for HP StorageWorks Arrays and LUNs includes StorageWorks arrays using the HSG80 controller. Switch performance and error statistics. Hard (port) zoning support. 2Gb Fibre Channel support. The newest release (version 5.1 to align with ControlCenter versioning) was announced in September 2002 and is now fully integrated with the ControlCenter GUI and repository. This integration allows for support of the centralized data store for data correlation use. Also added: Remote SAN management, allowing administrators to control and monitor from remote PCs running the ControlCenter console. The ability to do LUN masking for HP/Compaq HSG80 controller-based arrays. Advanced security and control, with the ability to define user roles and management privileges and enhanced audit trail features. Zoning and discovery of HP/Compaq StorageWorks MA8000 and EMA arrays, HDS 7700E/9900/9970V/9980V, HP XP 256/512/128/1024, Sun StorEdge 9900/9970/9980 series arrays, IBM ESS arrays and StorageTek SVA arrays. The addition of health and status monitoring for the elements in the SAN, including the ability to automate corrective actions based on alerts received. Access Logix, as well as what used to be Volume Logix, is now included in the ControlCenter SAN Manager product. Volume Logix is no longer available separately, but Access Logix continues to be offered for customers who do not have SANs or ControlCenter SAN Manager. Connectrix Manager Connectrix Manager provides a common, consistent way to deploy fabric-side management of multiple Connectrix directors. It can control up to eight devices from one central point and provides elementspecific management and control. From a graphical representation of the physical layout of the director, clicking the appropriate device component allows for password and access privilege management, monitoring of performance and error statistic displays at the port level, and management of system events and configuration changes. It allows for the creation and modification of multiple zones across multiple fabrics. EMC ControlCenter Replication Manager Replication Manager facilitates disk-based replications. This host-based software automates many of the procedures necessary to complete a replication, freeing up staff for other activities and making the diskreplication process more efficient. The initial release of the product in the fourth quarter of 2001 supported Oracle database replication with TimeFinder in the Symmetrix environment. With the September 2002 announcement, support was expanded to include IBM Universal Database (UDB), Microsoft SQL Server and Exchange databases. 10 October

14 Replication product and array support was expanded to include CLARiiON SnapView and HP StorageWorks MA8000 and EMA SANworks EVM cloning software. EMC ControlCenter StorageScope StorageScope, which began shipping in November 2001, now leverages the ControlCenter common services for discovery, monitoring and data gathering. StorageScope focuses on reporting of storage resources in a heterogeneous storage environment that could include local and remote direct-attached storage (DAS), SAN, just a bunch of disks (JBOD) and NAS. The product can report by line of business or application and allows authorized Web clients to analyze and act on historical capacity and resource trends. It provides information to feed chargeback reporting programs. StorageScope currently supports storage subsystems from the following manufacturers: EMC (Symmetrix, CLARiiON, Celerra), Dell/EMC (FC Series), HP (including StorageWorks), HDS (including HP and Sun versions of the Hitachi array), IBM ESS and Network Appliance. StorageScope targets storage administrators and higher-level managers with its detailed and enterprise-level reports. EMC PowerPath PowerPath is a multipathing and load-balancing application that resides on the server below the application level but above the drivers. It is designed to optimize I/O traffic between the servers and Symmetrix and CLARiiON storage systems. PowerPath ensures that connections from the server to the storage are uniformly and fully utilized by directing I/O requests to free channels. It also provides automatic failover to another host bus adapter switch port, or Fibre Channel adapter, in the event of an I/O path failure. With PowerPath, a storage administrator can give certain devices priority, allowing applications within the same server to be tuned for performance. Several load-balancing policies are available to choose from, including one that optimizes the performance of the Symmetrix or CLARiiON array. If no policy is established, path selection is based on which channel has the least amount of load and overhead while providing preference to higher-importance applications. PowerPath can be used in both static and nonstatic environments. It also provides channel failover in a clustered environment. PowerPath is an open systems product only (Windows NT, Windows 2000, HP-UX, IBM AIX, Sun Solaris, Tru64 Unix, Novell NetWare and Linux). EMC Database Tuner Database Tuner is ControlCenter product that provides the information to optimally tune Symmetrix or CLARiiON storage for the Oracle or Database 2 Universal Database (DB2 UDB)-based application and, in turn, tunes the database for best performance with Symmetrix or CLARiiON arrays. It is a databasespecific application that EMC developed in partnership with Precise Software. It performs real-time performance sampling with minimal impact on the server running Oracle. Database Tuner focuses on resource consumption rather than runtime when looking for tunable applications. It integrates the information it gathers from the database applications, operating system and Symmetrix storage system to provide an end-to-end view of the Oracle environment s performance, with alerts provided through ControlCenter. A modeling feature allows users to assess the performance impact of various changes (such as adding or removing an index or optimizing SQL statements) using a what if scenario before actually implementing them. In October 2001, EMC enhanced this product by adding support for IBM DB2 UDB on Symmetrix and for EMC CLARiiON storage systems in Oracle database environments. The product also supports 64-bit Oracle file mapping on Veritas file systems. Although EMC has partnered with Precise Software Solutions for this product, it retains exclusive sales and support responsibilities. The product offers the following functions: 10 October

15 Provides one view of the environment that the database administrator (DBA), system administrator and storage administrator can use for more effective communication to get at the root cause of problems. Relates historical information. Allows for what-if scenarios. Assists with tuning SQL statements. Correlates host, database and Symmetrix information for UDB and Oracle. Correlates host, database and CLARiiON information for Oracle. Supports Symmetrix application programming interface (SYMAPI) file mapping of 64-bit Oracle instances when used in conjunction with the Veritas file system. ControlCenter DBTuner also supports third-party storage from IBM, HDS and HP. EMC ControlCenter Automated Resource Manager (replacement for and an update for current Resource Availability customers) In September 2002, EMC announced a major re-engineering, and replacement, of its Resource Availability product. The new product is called ControlCenter Automated Resource Manager (ARM). Resource Availability provided centralized management of multivendor hosts, databases, backup software and mainframe tape devices/tape management systems. ARM extends that management functionality and automates the physical provisioning of storage as well as the logical provisioning of file systems, volumes, zoning and LUN making. ARM leverages storage device managers and other ControlCenter products in its execution of provisioning requests. ARM enables the user to define storage policies based on business requirements, such as type of storage, RAID level, replication class, number of paths and backup. ARM also enables the user to establish thresholds (utilization levels, for example), and once the threshold is exceeded, ARM automatically provisions additional storage according to the defined policies. The product, at first release, supports Sun Solaris and Microsoft Windows servers and provisions Symmetrix, CLARiiON and HP HSG80-based StorageWorks arrays. It also works with Connectrix, Brocade and McData switches. Availability of this new product is the fourth quarter of EMC Data Manager (EDM) EDM is a centralized, high-performance backup and restore system optimized for Symmetrix-based and distributed Unix and Windows NT database environments. It is targeted at the backup and restore needs of large enterprise databases. The system combines software, hardware and services, providing multiple ways to back up information: EDM Symmetrix Connect, EDM Symmetrix Path and EDM Network Backup. EDM can support all of these types of backup simultaneously. As of July 2001, EDM also supports simultaneous Unix and Windows NT backups and now supports EMC Celerra HighRoad software for optimal path selection between the Symmetrix storage system and an EDM-managed tape device. EMC Catalog Solution Catalog Solution is a catalog management utility for OS/390 and z/os. It is designed to aid in the management and maintenance of the catalog environment through backup, diagnosis, repair and recovery. It allows users to back up multiple catalogs to a single data set. User catalog aliases are included with the catalog backups and can be restored independently for user catalogs attached to multiple master catalogs. Catalog Solution allows users to dump a catalog and reload it (reorganized) into 10 October

16 a new, empty catalog. It provides for the generation of customized reports and offers multiple methods of catalog recovery. Software Pricing All of the aforementioned EMC software offerings, except ControlCenter/Open Edition, are sold on a lineitem basis, meaning that they are not included in the base price of a Symmetrix box. Most products are priced on a storage capacity basis. The ControlCenter/Open Edition is a set of common services included with each purchased ControlCenter product. The company declined to release pricing for these optional applications. WideSky WideSky is EMC s name for its new middleware that will help to enable the management of multivendor storage within a SAN environment. While many storage subsystems can work in multihost environments, the ability to manage heterogeneous storage resources has been somewhat more elusive. EMC s WideSky initiative aims to address that problem by providing software developers a common set of APIs to manage heterogeneous storage arrays. EMC is doing this through a combination of API sharing agreements and reverse engineering. WideSky is not a customer-billable option. Rather, it is a piece of code that comes as part of any EMC or third-party software product that has embedded the technology. Third-party software providers will pay EMC for the use of the technology in their application products. WideSky is available now and will support storage subsystems from EMC (Symmetrix CLARiiON, Celerra and Dell/EMC FC Series), HP and Network Appliance. Prior to its merger with HP, Compaq signed a limited API sharing deal with EMC (November 2001). HP extended this agreement in August 2002, signing an agreement with EMC to include HP-based arrays. EMC is looking to craft similar arrangements with other vendors. In those cases, where vendors choose not to enter into technology-sharing arrangements with EMC, or where the devices have no APIs, EMC will still be able to provide some level of support. This is already being done to support Network Appliance, Hitachi and IBM, even though there is no sharing relationship between these companies and EMC. WideSky was announced on 29 October 2001, and EMC offered its first software developer kit in February 2002, allowing developers to begin writing to the WideSky APIs. Pricing Information is not available from the vendor. GSA Pricing No. Competitors Symmetrix 8530/8830 The Symmetrix 8530 and 8830 compete against the high-end products from Hewlett-Packard, Hitachi Data Systems, IBM and Sun specifically, the HP StorageWorks xp128 and xp1024, the HDS Lightning 9970V and 9980V, the IBM Enterprise Storage Server 800 and the Sun StorEdge 9970 and Both Sun and HP partner with Hitachi Ltd./HDS to sell versions of the Lightning Series products, albeit in different ways. Sun has a distributor agreement which allows it to cobrand and resell the HDS Lightning models as the Sun StorEdge 9900 Series. Though Sun does offer some storage management software applications of its own, the company also resells all of HDS s storage management software applications that go with the HDS Lightning products, and the hardware is exactly the same. In contrast, HP has an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement with Hitachi Ltd. that allows it to take the Hitachi core 10 October

17 architecture and add its own firmware and software to create the StorageWorks XP Series disk arrays. From a pure hardware perspective, the StorageWorks xp128 and xp1024 are equivalent to the HDS Freedom Storage Lightning 9970V and 9980V disk arrays. However, HP differentiates its products via the software offerings that are enabled on the XP Series products. The primary differentiating features between these competing products are system architecture, cache design and storage capacity. The Lightning 9970V/9980V, StorageWorks xp128/xp1024 and StorEdge 9970/9980 use a nonblocking cross-bar switch architecture that supports simultaneous data traffic on multiple point-to-point data paths. The idea is that using switches to replace busses reduces the bottleneck that can occur when multiple processors need to access memory through a shared data bus. This is in contrast to the more traditional shared or common bus design used by the Symmetrix 8530/8830 and ESS 800. Both of the Symmetrix models support a large cache (64GB). The ESS 800 also supports up to 64GB of cache (32GB per processing cluster), as do the higher-end products from HDS, HP and Sun (the Lightning 9980V, StorageWorks xp1024 and StorEdge 9980). The Lightning 9970V, StorageWorks xp128 and StorEdge 9970, however, top out at 32GB of cache (similar to the Symmetrix 8230). HDS, HP and Sun do, however, supplement the data cache (either 32GB or 64GB) with a separate control cache, which is used to manage the meta data. The Symmetrix and ESS models each use a portion of their cache for processor workspace (for tables, buffer, scratch space,), while the HDS, HP and Sun models do not. The Symmetrix models also utilize their larger cache memories to balance out their slower, single-path Ultra2 SCSI interface to the disk drives. The ESS also has a separate 2GB nonvolatile storage (NVS) memory where the second copy of modified customer data (data that has not yet been written to disk) is stored. The Symmetrix 8000 models are the only ones in the competitive line-up that do not support some form of cache mirroring. Technically, that imposes a slight risk of data loss should any one of the four cache boards in the Symmetrix box fail. However, because of EMC s cache-scrubbing techniques (which reduce the possibility of errors occurring in the first place), its large cache size and CacheStorm technology (which reduces cache bottlenecking) and its full system battery backup (which powers the system long enough for any data in cache to be destaged to disk before shutting the system down in a power failure), the risk of this kind of data loss occurring is quite small. Another differentiating feature is capacity. Looking at the smaller of the two models for each competitor, the Symmetrix 8530 provides more raw capacity with 17.4TB than either the Lightning 9970V, the StorageWorks xp128 or the StorEdge 9970 (each scales to 9.3TB). This is because the Symmetrix 8530 supports 181GB drives, while the HDS, HP and Sun products do not. The ESS 800 supports more capacity than the 8530, but less than the 8830, leaving it to fall somewhere in between the two on the competitive spectrum. It also does not support 181GB drives, but because it supports more disk drives, it is able to achieve its 27.9TB of raw capacity. Potential customers should note two things, however. First, HDS has indicated that it plans to offer a larger capacity drive (147GB) before the end of 2002, which will increase the Lightning 9970 s storage capacity beyond that of the current Symmetrix 8530 (18.8TB vs. the 8530 s 17.4TB). HP and Sun are expected to follow suit on their respective products, with the result that the StorageWorks xp128 and StorEdge 9970 are also expected to exceed the 8530 s current capacity by year-end Second, EMC does not currently support RAID-S with either its 73GB or its 181GB drives. Therefore, the maximum raw capacity for a Symmetrix 8530 configured with RAID-S protection is 2.6TB (using 36GB drives). This is in contrast to the Lightning 9970V, StorageWorks xp128 and StorEdge 9970, which currently support up to 6.8TB of usable RAID 5 capacity. The ESS 800 supports up to 22.4TB of usable capacity in a RAID 5 configuration. The Symmetrix 8830 competes directly with the Lightning 9980V, StorageWorks xp1024 and StorEdge The ESS 800 can also be considered a competitor since it is the high-end product in IBM s line, 10 October