Simplified. Software-Defined Storage INSIDE SSS

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1 Software-Defined Storage INSIDE SSS Overcome SDS Challenges Page 2 Simplified Choose the Right Workloads for SDS Using Microsoft Storage Spaces Page 7 The need for agility, scalability, and cost savings is driving many organizations to investigate software-defined storage solutions, but they sometimes experience difficulties with SDS in large-scale deployments. Deploying a validated reference architecture is one way to eliminate the guesswork while maximizing cost savings and other benefits. Product Spotlight: Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces Page 11 SPONSORED BY UBM Tech, a division of United Business Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

2 Overcome SDS Challenges The advent of software-defined storage has given large organizations a new option for meeting their storage needs. Traditional storage appliances combine hardware and management software in a single box. By contrast, software-defined storage (SDS) separates storage management software from storage hardware, enabling users to build storage solutions with any hardware they choose. One of the main attractions of SDS is the potential cost savings. Using industry-standard hardware rather than relying on expensive and complex proprietary storage appliances ideally lets organizations save money on both capital and operational expenditures. In addition, SDS promises to offer more flexibility and scalability than some other options. Hoping to capitalize on these benefits, a growing number of organizations have been investigating and deploying SDS. 2 SSS UBM Tech

3 Researchers from MarketsandMarkets predict that the SDS market will grow to $6.2 billion in 2019 from $1.4 billion in 2014, an annual growth rate of 34.6 percent. With an eye on meeting this demand, a number of enterprise software vendors have released SDS products. One of those vendors is Microsoft, which has built SDS capabilities into Windows and Windows Server through a feature called Storage Spaces. Storage Spaces provides a distinct advantage for organizations with Windows-based servers. Because it is included in Windows Server 2012 R2, it lets them use SDS technology without purchasing any new software. And because it s from Microsoft, it integrates with the other tools they are using and leverages their existing staff knowledge and expertise. However, SDS technology is relatively new, and organizations sometimes run into challenges when trying to deploy it at scale. One way to simplify the deployment process and avoid the challenges associated with SDS solutions is to deploy a tested, prevalidated, and supported reference architecture. A prevalidated solution eases the product selection and deployment processes, ensures outcomes, and maximizes cost savings. The Promise of Software-Defined Storage Several technology and business trends are driving organizations to consider SDS. Over the past decade, virtualization and cloud computing have transformed the enterprise data center and become commonplace. In fact, InformationWeek s 2014 State of Cloud Survey found that less than a quarter (22%) of enterprises had no plans to use cloud computing. And in a separate study, 99 percent of large organizations expected to have at least some servers virtualized by the end of Organizations that are already virtualizing their servers or deploying private clouds often find that the next logical step is to virtualize their storage systems in order to achieve greater resource utilization, agility, and cost savings. Bearing this out, in InformationWeek s 2014 State of Storage report, fully half of the $6.2 billion Size the SDS market is expected to grow to in 2019, from $1.4 billion in MarketsandMarkets 3 SSS UBM Tech

4 enterprises surveyed had virtualized some or all of their storage systems, and another third (33%) were either investigating storage virtualization or were planning to implement it within 12 months. Enterprise IT is also increasingly being driven toward standardization and commoditization. Large organizations, like Facebook with its Open Compute Project, are leading the way with open infrastructure that can help reduce costs, reduce energy consumption, and simplify management. On the business side, there is increasing pressure to innovate and respond quickly to market changes. InformationWeek s 2014 it Reputation Survey asked enterprise workers to name the single biggest thing that would improve the IT department s business value. Two of the top vote getters were delivering projects faster (21%) and coming up with more innovative ideas (17%). As always, IT is also under pressure to control costs. In InformationWeek s 2014 State of the Data Center study, more than a third (34%) of enterprises said budget constraints would have Why Not Use Commodity Hardware for Your SDS Solution? Sometimes organizations attempt to use low-cost commodity hardware to build their SDS solutions because they want to save money. This strategy often backfires for three key reasons: 1. Lack of support. Organizations frequently run into difficulties when deploying SDS on commodity hardware. When they call the hardware vendor for support, the manufacturer often directs them to the software vendor. When they call the software vendor, they re told it s a hardware problem. By contrast, with a validated, supported reference architecture, organizations save time and get knowledgeable assistance from technical support personnel who know how the entire solution works. 2. Lack of continuity. When organizations purchase commodity hardware, they have no way of knowing how long a given hardware profile will be available. When they need to expand the SDS solution in the future, they may have to purchase different hardware, increasing data center complexity. 3. Lack of reliability. Will you get reliable components if you purchase commodity hardware? Maybe, or maybe not. The only way to make sure that you are getting hardware that will last is to purchase from a reputable vendor with a proven track record of providing enterprises with the performance they need. Organizations often find that their total cost of ownership is much lower if they use a validated reference architecture instead of generic commodity hardware for their SDS solutions. 4 SSS UBM Tech May 2015

5 5 SSS UBM Tech the biggest impact on their data centers over the coming year. And increasing data volumes are also playing a role. In the same report, more than a third (37%) of respondents said that storage growth would be the factor that had the largest impact on their enterprise data centers in the next 12 months. SDS fits in neatly with the industry trends toward virtualization, cloud computing, commoditization, and standardization while meeting real business needs. It also can offer cost savings through reduced capital outlays and simplified management. In addition, SDS supports innovation and the rapid pace of business change by allowing organizations to select the storage components that provide the best fit for their needs and by making it easy to scale or modify the storage solution over time. The Challenge of Deploying Software-Defined Storage Driven by these trends and hoping to capitalize on the benefits of SDS, many enterprises have begun to investigate the technology only to discover that it isn t always as easy to implement as they d hoped. In reality, not every piece of hardware works well in an SDS solution. While it can be fairly easy to get small deployments up and running, it is much more challenging at scale. In an ideal world, any SDS solution would work on any storage hardware; in the real world, organizations often find that a particular SDS solution won t run on a particular piece of hardware unless they have exactly the right version of the

6 software and the right model of hardware with the required BIOS and firmware. Issues like this are often just the tip of the iceberg. Without help from a knowledgeable partner, IT can spend days or even weeks troubleshooting hardware, firmware, BIOS, and other components before getting an SDS solution to work. Large-scale deployments are particularly tricky, requiring even more time. That costs money, easily negating SDS s promised cost savings. A Solution: Validated Reference Architecture To solve these problems, organizations can deploy a validated reference architecture that is known to work with their SDS solution. With a reference architecture, organizations deploy hardware and software components that are known to work together, eliminating the guesswork they would otherwise face when purchasing components and deploying the solution. One good example of this type of reference architecture is Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces, which includes the awardwinning Dell PowerEdge 13G servers. Dell and Microsoft have worked together to verify hardware components that will work with the Storage Spaces feature in Windows Server 2012 R2. A validated, tested reference architecture can help an enterprise buy the right hardware for its solution, minimizing costs and staff time devoted to deployment. In this case, not only does the reference architecture simplify purchasing and installation, Dell also offers related services that can further streamline deployment. For example, administrators can call Dell for specialized technical assistance and talk to a support professional who understands the intricacies of Microsoft Storage Spaces. In addition, customers can opt to outsource deployment to Dell experts, which can further speed the process and let IT staff stay focused on other important projects. With the right help, enterprises can deploy SDS at scale without running into problems. Using a validated, tested reference architecture can help enterprises minimize costs by steering them to purchase the right hardware for the solution the first time and minimizing the amount of staff time it takes to deploy the solution. Related services and support can further reduce operational expenses and ensure that the SDS technology stays up and running. By making smart choices, organizations can realize all of the promised benefits of SDS without burdening IT. With a knowledgeable outside partner, SDS becomes much easier to deploy and maintain, allowing organizations to reduce their storage costs and achieve the flexibility and agility they need to support innovation. p 6 SSS UBM Tech

7 Choose the Right Workloads forsds Using Microsoft Storage Spaces You can extend the benefits of your existing initiatives using SDS. In the case of Microsoft Storage Spaces, enterprises are likely to see the biggest benefit in the following situations: Microsoft-Based Private Cloud According to data from InformationWeek s Private Cloud Survey, 47 percent of organizations with 50 or more employees have a private cloud in production, and another 30 percent are testing private cloud technology. Nearly half (46%) of those with a private cloud said they were using Microsoft cloud computing technology. 7 SSS UBM Tech

8 Key Features of Microsoft Storage Spaces For organizations that are already running Windows Server 2012 in their cloud environments, deploying Microsoft Storage Spaces lets them leverage their existing investments and keep costs low. Many of the benefits Microsoft Storage Spaces offers overlap with those of a private cloud, including flexibility, improved resource utilization, scalability, improved management, and resiliency. And because their staff is already familiar with Microsoft technologies, there s a short learning curve for organizations that use Microsoft Storage Spaces in their Windows-based private cloud environments. Virtualization With Microsoft Hyper-V Even if they aren t deploying a full private cloud, the vast majority of organizations are virtualizing at least some of their servers. Microsoft has included advanced virtualization capabilities based on its Hyper-V hypervisor in Windows Server Organizations using Hyper-V have many of the same incentives for using Microsoft Storage Spaces as Tiering: Microsoft Storage Spaces allows users to create separate tiers for hot data that is accessed frequently and cold data that is accessed less frequently. It can move the hot data to high-performance flash-based solid state drives (SSDs) and the cold data to low-cost hard disk drives (HDDs). Write-back cache: Closely related to tiering, this feature allows users to designate some SSD capacity for small random writes before they are moved to HDDs. This caching capability can greatly improve performance for many enterprise workloads. Data deduplication: Deduplication is built into Windows Server 2012 and can be used with or without Storage Spaces. In Microsoft s tests, the Windows Server 2012 deduplication capabilities increased storage efficiency between 30 and 90 percent, depending on the type of workload. Resiliency: With Microsoft Storage Spaces, storage administrators have the option of using mirroring or parity technology to help ensure data availability in case of disk failure. It also includes features like failover clustering, parallel rebuild, background scrubbing, and intelligent error correction in order to provide continuous availability. Storage pooling: This technology allows storage administrators to pool together many different physical disks, simplifying storage management. Within a pool, they can create different virtual disks if they choose. Inclusion in Windows Server 2012 R2: Because Microsoft Storage Spaces is included with the operating system, organizations that are already running Windows Server 2012 don t incur extra costs for the technology. By some estimates, organizations can save as much as 75 percent using Storage Spaces instead of traditional SANs. 8 SSS UBM Tech September 2015

9 those with Windows-based private clouds: cost savings, staff familiarity with Microsoft tools, and the ability to access benefits like flexibility, improved resource utilization, and improved management. Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) In a VDI environment, each user s desktop is stored centrally on a virtualized server. This gives users the ability to access their desktops from any device at any time, and it can simplify management, security, and data backup for IT. But as you might expect, VDI requires a great deal of storage capacity in order to hold everyone s files and applications, and performance can become an issue if the storage and networking technology aren t up to the job. Microsoft Storage Spaces is a good option for VDI because it enables companies to use industry-standard hardware for their VDI storage needs. In addition, the built-in deduplication capabilities of Storage Spaces minimizes the amount of capacity needed, and the Video: Maximizing Storage Efficiency with Dell and Microsoft Storage Spaces tiering and write-back cache capabilities can help speed performance. Microsoft SQL Server The most recent version of Microsoft SQL Server integrates with Storage Spaces. Utilizing Storage Spaces simplifies the process of adding storage to Microsoft SQL Server deployments, particularly with very large databases. And again, because it is another Microsoft 9 SSS UBM Tech

10 Storage Spaces can be used to set up storage targets for backup and recovery, scaling to accommodate ever-increasing data volumes. tool, integration is easy, and staff members can leverage their existing Microsoft skills. Scale-Out File Server Because of its scalability, fast performance, and low cost, Storage Spaces is an excellent choice for scale-out file servers. Microsoft has a huge list of companies that have successfully deployed Microsoft Storage Spaces for this purpose. In one case, an IT services provider that replaced its storage area network (SAN) with Microsoft Storage Spaces running on Dell hardware stated it gained ten times the storage performance at one-sixth the cost, with plenty of room to scale. [We] also trimmed storage management work by 30 hours a month and doubled storage redundancy. Backup and Archive Storage Spaces can also be used to set up storage targets for backup and recovery. Because it is easy to add hardware to the storage pool, Storage Spaces can scale as necessary to accommodate ever-increasing data volumes. It also keeps costs low, which is often a key consideration for backup and archive environments. p 10 SSS UBM Tech

11 Product Spotlight: Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces S oon after Microsoft released Windows Server 2012 with Microsoft Storage Spaces included, organizations became interested in the SDS technology because of the opportunity for costs savings, enhanced agility, improved resource utilization, scalability, and high performance. Leading the way for the industry, Dell became the first hardware manufacturer to officially support Microsoft Storage Spaces in early SSS UBM Tech November May

12 12 SSS UBM Tech In order to make it easier for customers to deploy Microsoft Storage Spaces and experience the full benefits of the technology, Dell began working closely with Microsoft to test and validate the product configurations that work best with Storage Spaces. Organizations are now reaping the benefits of this research when they purchase Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces, which offers validated, supported hardware that is known to work well with the SDS solution. Why Choose Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces? Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces offers all the typical SDS benefits, such as cost savings, scalability, flexibility, and simplified management through automation. In addition, the Dell solution simplifies the process of configuring and purchasing an SDS solution. Organizations no longer have to guess which hardware will work best with Storage Solutions because the hardware and software providers have already done the hard work of testing, validating, and optimizing configurations. The company provides a wide range of capacity and configuration options, giving customers the flexibility they re seeking in an SDS solution. Dell also offers performance and capacitysizing guidance to help organizations select the solutions that will best meet their needs. In addition, Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces eliminates SDS-related deployment headaches. All the pieces and parts of the solution are known to work together, and Dell provides detailed deployment guides to smooth the process. For those companies that would prefer to outsource the deployment process, professional deployment services are also available. Dell also offers enhanced customer support for the solution. This solution carries a unique identifier that sets it apart from identical Dell hardware used for different purposes. When customers call and reference that identifier, they are connected with knowledgeable representatives who understand the unique requirements of an SDS solution. This saves a tremendous amount of time and simplifies the troubleshooting process. As one of the world s leading server vendors, Dell has built a reputation for outstanding reliability, service, and support. When customers invest in Dell hardware, they know they are benefiting from decades of Dell enterprise experience and expertise, and that Dell will stand behind their products for years to come.

13 13 SSS UBM Tech What s Included in Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces? The product includes two to four Dell JBOD storage nodes, SAS direct attach cabling, and two to four storage enclosures. Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces has been validated to work with six different Dell switches and any Dell PowerEdge 13G server. Initially, Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces will support compute nodes that are separate from the file server nodes, but beginning in the third quarter of 2015, customers will have convergence options that run the compute workloads on the file server. Dell also offers the assurance of on-site installation services for very large deployments, so organizations can focus on their business, not the technical details of deployment. (This service is optional for small deployments.) A Proven Solution By purchasing Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces, organizations are getting an SDS solution that they know will work. Choosing a Video: Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces validated and supported reference architecture helps them protect their investment and minimize the amount of time that will be required to deploy and maintain the solution. It keeps costs low while offering the choice and flexibility that attract many customers to SDS. In short, it s an efficient way to minimize the headaches of SDS while reaping all of the benefits. p About Dell Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more. For more information, visit

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