This week I am in Orlando, Florida for the IBM Edge conference. Here is a recap of Day 3.
- Data Footprint Reduction: Understanding IBM Storage Efficiency Options
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Earlier this year, I wrote a Web article titled [Data Footprint Reduction] which covered data deduplication and compression, and was asked to present this at IBM Edge. I have expanded it to include:
- Thin Provisioning
- Space-Efficient Point-in-Time copies
- Data Deduplication
- Compression
After I presented the basic concepts, Sanjay Bhikot, a Unix and Storage admin at RICOH, presented his real-world experiences with data deduplication using the IBM ProtecTIER and real-time compression Beta experience using the SAN Volume Controller (SVC).
- IBM Active Cloud Engine Implementation on IBM SONAS 1.3 and IBM Storwize V7000 Unified
John Sing (IBM) presented the latest enhancements in the v1.3.2 release of SONAS and Storwize V7000 Unified.
- Introducing VMware vSphere Storage Features
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Fellow blogger Stephen Foskett presented this session on VMware's storage features. This included VMware APIs for Array Integration (VAAI), VMware Array Storage Awareness (VASA), vCenter plug-ins, and a new concept he called "vVol" which de-multiplexes the "I/O Blender" that server hypervisors do by tagging individual requests to individual OS guests to provide added benefit. IBM is a leading reseller of VMware, so it makes sense that most of our storage meets all of Steve's requirements for recommendation.
- IBM's Storage Strategy in the Smarter Computing Era
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Last year, I presented this on the fourth day of the conference, and feedback we received from attendees was that this should have been presented sooner in the week, as it provides great context for the more detailed product presentations.
To address this concern, the IBM executives presented IBM strategy on Monday's keynote session, but allowed me to present this on Wednesday for several reasons:
- You may have missed the keynote session. For example, you may not have arrived in time to hear the executives speak due to weather or mechanical problems causing travel delays.
- You may have attended the keynote session, but want to hear it again. Maybe you were a bit hung-over, or just may have been overwhelmed with the size and scope of this event. I have read for strategic topics, audiences may have to hear the message five to seven times before they truly appreciate and understand it.
- You may want to ask questions, and explore the implications in more detail. While keynote sessions can reach a broader audience, the communication is very much uni-directional. With break-out sessions with a few hundred people, the venue is more intimate and can afford opportunties for information exchange.
This was well attended, so the plan worked!
- IBM SONAS and the Cloud Storage Taxonomy
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The title of this session rolls off the tongue nicely, much like "James and the Giant Peach", "Harold and the Purple Crayon", or "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory".
When people say they are interested in "Cloud Storage", what exactly do they mean. After discussions with hundreds of clients, IBM has worked out a "taxonomy" that identifies four distinct types of storage:
- Persistent storage
- Ephemeral storage
- Hosted storage
- Reference storage
In this session, I presented how IBM SONAS addresses all four of these categories, as well as other IBM storage products that can address specific categories in the taxonomy.
In the evening, the attendees at IBM Edge joined the attendees from Innovate2012 (focused on IBM Rational products) at SeaWorld, with BBQ dinner, rides, Shamu the whale show, and a concert featuring Foreigner!
technorati tags: IBM, Stephen Foskett, Sanjay Bhikot, Data Footprint Reduction, Compression, Deduplication, Space-Efficient, Point-in-time, RICOH, SVC, Storwize V7000, SONAS, Active Cloud Engine, Smarter Computing, Smarter Storage, Foreigner, SeaWorld, Innovate2012
Tags:
foreigner
smarter+storage
svc
stephen+foskett
data+footprint+reduction
innovate2012
ricoh
deduplication
storwize+v7000
smarter+computing
space-efficient
point-in-time
sonas
seaworld
compression
ibm
sanjay+bhikot
active+cloud+engine
Tony Pearson is a Master Inventor and Senior IT Architect for the IBM Storage product line at the
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