NAScent Leader: Storage Networking

Jargon Buster Escon: Mainframe channel devised by IBM that supports data rates of 200 Mbit/s over fiber. Depending on configuration, Escon can reach distances from about 3 to 10 kilometers, depending on fiber quality and product features. FCIP: Fibre Channel over IP. A proposal advanced by the IETF's IP Storage Working Group for mapping Fibre Channel traffic directly onto IP, in order to facilitate WAN connectivity for SANs. More information is available at http://www.ietf.org/ internet-drafts/ draft-ietf-ips-fcovertcpip-12.txt Fibre Channel: A network technology that sets up block-oriented streams of data over fiber at rates to 1 Gbit/s and distances up to 500 meters over multimode fiber and 1 km over singlemode fiber. Fiber Channel networks can be configured in switched or redundant loop topologies. Standards are governed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and groups that support it, including the InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS, formerly the National Committee for Information Technology Standards). Ficon: Mainframe channel devised by IBM that supports data rates of 1 Gbit/s at distances from about 10 to 20 kilometers over fiber. Host bus adapter: The card that fits into a computer, server, or mainframe that links it via Fibre Channel or SCSI to a storage device or storage network. iFCP: Internet Fibre Channel Protocol. A proposed IETF protocol for connecting Fibre Channel devices over an IP network. IFCP, which uses the same frame-encapsulation technique as FCIP, relies on TCP (transmission control protocol) to control congestion and handle error detection and recovery. Where necessary, iFCP also intercepts and emulates the fabric services required by a Fibre Channel device. For more detail, see http://www.ietf.org/internet- drafts/draft-ietf-ips-ifcp-14.txt iSCSI: A proposal advanced by the IETF's IP Storage Working Group for mapping SCSI onto the TCP (transmission control protocol) in order to allow storage links to be extended greater distances over IP networks. For more detail, see http://www.ietf.org/internet- drafts/draft-ietf-ips-iscsi-20.txt JBOD: Just a bunch of disks. Disk drives stacked together in a rack with a single attachment to a server or mainframe. NAS: Network-attached storage. The setup in which a high-end server, typically a filer, is attached directly to the network that's making use of the backup, instead of to a separate SAN. SANs and NAS are often combined in today's storage networks. RAID: Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks. A technology in which data is stored in distributed fashion across multiple disk drives to achieve redundancy and improved data transfer rates. SAN: Storage-area network. A network dedicated to providing and managing storage and backup for business or carrier networks. Because they're dedicated networks, SANs offer greater capacity and better performance than traditional storage and backup techniques, in which mainframes, servers, or other host computers are attached directly to disk and tape drives and managed via special software. Most SANs today are based on Fibre Channel switches and hubs, configured to occupy the "back end" portion of a network, behind the data center or server farm. SCSI: Small computer systems interface (pronounced "scuzzy"). A short-range (25 meters or less) protocol designed to link host computers with storage devices such as disk drives. Typically implemented over copper cabling, SCSI is the most widely used and the oldest method of connecting computers to storage devices. Its distance limitations and lack of support for fiber helped launch the migration to SANs. Storage director: A switch designed to link elements of a SAN or NAS across multiple sites. Storage directors are meant to act as a kind of switch of switches and are typically provided by makers of Fibre Channel switches.

N JAYALAKSHMI

nother IT summit has come and gone; with some promises, CIO soul-searching, corporate hard-sells and data-spouting laptop presentations. But those who were present at the Global Storage Networking Summit, the first of its kind in India, held at Hotel Leela Palace in Bangalore recently would have had a lot to chew on. To begin with, there was the basic surmise of the summit which was-Storage networking is increasingly becoming indispensable to organisations/enterprises. If September 11 ushered in changing dynamics in international politics, it has done even more to businesses around the world and the IT industry in particular. What it has done, in the midst of throwing up new technology necessities, is make storing of data sacrosanct. Not surprising, considering that more than a bunch of Wall-Streeters, among others, found themselves with their entire database wiped out after the Twin Towers collapsed. But IT experts will tell you that you don't need a September 11-like catastrophe to realise the importance of data storage and storage networking. In the increasingly changing and uncertain business environment, it becomes mandatory to store, network and manage your data using robust technologies so that business can continue in the event of a disaster striking.

In fact, in terms of dollar revenue forecasts for 2003, storage services are being projected as being the biggest earner and this would include consultancy, outsourcing and systems integration. What's more, storage management software and integration services are being tipped to be the next big potential areas for growth in this segment. Also, the next three years will see progress in the storage area that has not been seen in the last 30 years! These observations were made by Raam Gopalan, Entrepreneur, and Adviser, Satyam Storage Practice, during his presentation at the Storage Networking Summit. "In India use of computers has gone up tremendously in the last few years. So data overload will definitely happen pretty soon. And because there is not enough awareness, many are still waiting before going in for theses storage solutions. But bigger companies, like big banks and stock exchanges, will definitely need these storage technologies. Whether you are BSE or NYSE, you will still need to protect and store your data," says he.

Says Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Consultant, Satyam, "IDC has projected that the storage networking industry will grow to a $110 billion industry by the end of this year and I think the industry will definitely grow at least close to that level. This is because people are becoming more and more cautious about their storage needs, especially after September 11. Previously only companies active in this area were putting storage solutions in place. But now client companies and organisations across segments are coming to vendors with their storage needs and are also making active suggestions on the kind of solutions to be implemented." Phil Sargeant of Gartner writes in ZDNet India, "Today's organizations operate in an ever changing, 24-hour a day, 365 day per year environment. Organizations require storage topologies that provide enhanced levels of availability and can be rapidly scaled, where additional capacity can be added without affecting normal operation. They also require topologies that can enable storage to be shared or be rapidly moved between servers. And most important of all, they require storage topologies where ever growing amounts of storage can be maintained and administered, not by increasing numbers of staff but by the number of staff they have today. Storage Networking is seen as a way to achieve many of these goals."

Storage networking emerged when companies realised it was not enough to merely store data, but it had to be networked too so it can be shared online and in a real-time environment. There are emerging technologies in storage networking that include SANs (storage attached networking), NAS (network attached storage), ethernet etc. Fibre channel is one popular technology that enables easier storage networking, according to many. Fibre Channel is a block-level transport technology and facilitates packet delivery on a SAN. In the case of NAS data is transmitted on a file basis (instead of on a block basis) and therefore data transmission is slower, feel experts. Fibre Channel is run on a separate network and therefore helps address congestion and security issues.

According to an IDC finding quoted in a report, fibre channel will continue to be interconnect of choice for SANs through 2005 to 2006. `SCSI' is the block-based protocol that transmits data to and from SAN storage arrays. While many companies still use the DAS (direct attached storage) system, networked storage, and SAN in particular, is tipped to be the next big thing. "According to IDC, SAN would grow to occupy 60 per cent of the space in 2005," says Mr Raam Gopalan. The promises inherent in this segment for an enterprise were significant and by now pretty obvious to most - Unlimited, real-time, online scalability, single unified view of the entire storage and policy-based management capability. According to Curtis Preston, founder, The Storage Group, an independent consulting firm based in California, SAN ensures access to expensive peripherals besides facilitating LAN-free, client-free and server-free backups of data. Says Kumar Malavalli, founder of Brocade Communications, a major player in the storage networking area and considered a SAN guru, "The SAN industry will be worth over $30 billion by 2005 and a large chunk of this will be infrastructure." Mr Malavalli, it may be added here, plans to form a SAN ecosystem with Brocade at the core. Incidentally, he is also one of the pioneers of the fibre channel technology.

So how is the Indian market placed in the scheme of things? Says Girish Baliga, vice president, SAN Solutions, Apara Enterprise Solutions, a leading Indian player in the field, "The last quarter has been great for most of the Indian companies in this segment and this fiscal also looks promising because many large customer companies are looking at deploying disaster recovery plans. A year ago they were only looking at. But today they are actually deploying it, which is encouraging. " Another encouraging news, according to him, is that more than 50 per cent of a large enterprise's IT investments today centre around storage. "Yes, there are directions that the market is growing, especially in terms of volumes," he adds. Many also agree that the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), or rather the small and medium environment in a large enterprise, as some would clarify it, are the potential markets for SANs.

But there are also many concerns as far as the Indian market is concerned. To begin with, cost is a major deterrent for many user companies as far as deploying SAN is concerned. Besides, lack of enough awareness is also perceived as a stumbling block in the Indian market. Says Ashish Sinha, business development manager, Network Solutions, "As of now, we still have to mature as an industry. But the new patterns will emerge as we are also part of the global economy and can't be de-linked from it. SMEs will play a greater role once there is greater maturity in the industry and prices come down. But we are still in the early adoption period as far as this industry is concerned. Connectivity is also a big problem in India and needs to be addressed if this industry has to grow." Says Mr Raam Gopalan, "SAN is not happening in India may be because of lack of awareness. But there is tremendous opportunity. There are so many client companies who have heard of it and want to go for it but don't know how. Even the IT guys in many of these companies are not very clear about how to go about it. So that's where big software companies come in." According to Pratap Mudhol of Frontier Business Systems, "The Indian industry has still a long way to go in this area. I don't see a rapid growth here but there will be a steady growth. India will get a small chunk of the global growth. I think it is the biggest thing happening in IT today. Challenges here are more to do with interoperability, skill-sets, awareness, cost etc. But these can be overcome. Companies for whom brand building is critical and who cannot afford to lose data will be increasingly coming forward to deploy these storage solutions."

User companies deploying SAN and other storage networking technologies have their own woes to narrate. For one, there is a grouse that vendors (of these solutions) do not understand a client company's needs completely. Also, it is felt that there are too many vendors with too many different offerings and it is difficult to sift through them. This is besides the cost factor, of course. In this context, Munish Mittal, Head, Technology Group, HDFC Bank, which has implemented this technology, has some interesting observations to make. "It is important to anticipate roadblocks. Do not expect any immediate returns on investments in this case. Also, simulation is not possible on production systems and it is important to have alternative testing systems for SANs. Expecting infinite scalability, again, is not realistic and one can only look at a scalability for say 12 -18 months. Many of the cutting-edge technologies are still a long way off and it is easier than done to implement them. Finally, vendors need to work closely with the user companies while implementing these technologies and solutions." These were his words to potential users and vendors of these technologies as he shared his experiences in a presentation. In this context, the words of Paul Massiglia of Veritas, another important player in the segment, also hold significance: "We need to press our corporate egos and come out with more products that can be easily deployed by customers."

In fact, the growing need for better understanding between user companies and vendors is likely to usher in a new pattern in this segment, with greater role for systems integrators and consultants, feel many. Finally, for those bitten by the entrepreneur bug in this area, Mr Gopalan of Satyam has some insight to offer: "While it is a promising area for startup ventures, it has to be noted that there has been an avalanche of storage startups recently. About $2 billion has already been invested in the US alone in this segment and about 165 startups in the US have already received funds. Also, Fortune 500 companies - the typical users of storage solutions - are more comfortable with big companies. So startups would have to think up really smart and unique ideas to carve out a niche for themselves." A thought to store up and indeed.

(N Jayalaksmi is a freelance writer, who writes for dailies like Times of India)

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