A new program for Real FC customers who want Better Than Real FC utilization

Last night I wrote about how in every recession there is one good idea (storage virtualization) and one bad idea (fine grained HSM). And in that discussion I observed that whereas HSM is a bad idea whose time should never come, storage virtualization is actually a very good idea that has been poorly executed.

Todays NetApp announcement about extending our space efficiency program should really be the time and place where everyone re-examines the value of storage virtualization.

So what was the underlying problem storage virtualization tried to solve:

• How to use storage that was purchased during the good times more efficiently.

So let's recap, the problems with Storage Virtualization Classic were:

1. The virtualization layer really didn't add any features above and beyond migration
2. The storage efficiencies obtained through pooling of storage were not that significant
3. The vendors supporting it were not able to offer the same customer experience as the underlying storage providers.

The real problem was more insidious than that. Storage virtualization isn't something that you deploy during a recession, rather it should be part of your infrastructure to begin with. But to be part of the infrastructure it had better have compelling features, provide real demonstrable efficiences beyond pooling and the vendor supporting it better have a first class global support organization. Storage virtualization to be useful has to be useful in good and bad times.

Thankfully NetApp has a such a storage virtualization layer (WAFL). Customers who have deployed this technology benefit from a layer that:

1. Adds a whole slew of features like REAL snapshots, FlexClone
2. Really saves space through things like RAID-DP and dedup
3. And is backed by a company that has the heft to provide global customer support.

For those of you who have Real FC, the good news is that you can get the benefits of Better Than Real FC as well through a NetApp v-series. And what's really interesting is this announcement by NetApp that extends our program about space efficiency to Real FC when you deploy v-series.

And why do EMC and HP etc hate this program?

Well as advocates of Real FC, and sadly the biggest provider of underutilized disk out there, this program is really targetted at them. Look the recession has left with customers with disks that are under-utilized or not utilized. How about taking advantage of this program to get some real efficiences from the sunk cost in your Real FC infrastructure?

Comments

[Calvin Zito]

Hi Kostadis,

Since you brought up HP, I think it's fair to point your readers to the concerns one of my co-workers raised regarding your guarantee. Here's that blog post: http://www.communities.hp.com/online/blogs/datastorage/archive/2008/12/11/netapp-s-shining-moment-its-capacity-guarantee-program-follow-up.aspx

My point isn't to rehash this again but rather to allow your readers to see the rest of the story from the HP perspective that you glossed over.

By the way, I do agree with you that storage virtualization is a way for customers to get more out of their existing storage investment and reduce their storage administrative costs. Where customers will get the greatest advantage is from vendors that can help them manage their entire virtual infrastructure, not just their storage. The list of vendors that can do that doesn't include NetApp or EMC.

[Geert]

Calvin,

You mean by locking customers in....?

It is not about a single source top to bottom, it is about best of breed application integration giving unprecedented efficiency and data management capabilities.

[Kostadis Roussos]

Cavin Zito said:

> Where customers will get the greatest
> advantage is from vendors that
> can help them manage their entire
> virtual infrastructure, not just
> their storage. The list of vendors
> that can do that doesn't include
> NetApp or EMC.

You make an interesting point Calvin. Is a vertically integrated vendor that can provide a holistic view-point able to provide better efficiences than a systems integrator that can combine the best of breed technologies?

The history of computing systems has
demonstrated that vertically integrated
computer vendors have gone the way of the dodo bird. Virtualization does not mandate
vertically integrated system vendors.

The fact that you are arguing this point,
validates in my mind, my belief that
the only argument for someone to buy HP
storage is because they like HP, not because
they believe it will be the best, most
cost effective technology out there.

cheers,
kostadis