The Crystal Ball of Storage Utopia
In the 26 years I have been involved in the Data Storage industry, 99.9% of companies are continually fire fighting. By this I mean companies are continually buying more servers, larger disk arrays, bigger tape libraries, speeding up networks and investing in a variety of software applications.
In the ideal scenario all information would be identifiable and automatically moved to designated storage pools, for example a long term project where files are normally distributed around the network on various disk drives. Files have a lifespan depending on file type, name, regulatory rules and organisational requirements. This information would be available 7x24, use minimal disk space, be stored securely depending on rule criteria, and allow for replication to different media devices, once aged would be migrated to slower storage technologies, disk space allocated would be on demand, easy to find, track, manage and audit.
The systems that enable all these technologies should not be complicated to use, manage or install and should not affect the way users work. Ideally they should automate all these processes, grow and be added to like Lego®, utilise legacy storage solutions where applicable. Be proven and available today!
Solving the storage conundrum
Everything discussed in this document is available and working today, none of these technologies are on the horizon or are vapourware.
The problem is rather than carry out a phased approach to managing storage by reviewing key business areas that need addressing first. We normally tend to carry out storage reviews based on current and historical knowledge and which department is shouting the loudest. Many of the technologies discussed here do not even require a server re-boot, they are that unobtrusive that users need not know what is going on.
Software today solves many of the issues covered in this white paper. Both File and Email Archiving software remove information from the primary storage servers to secondary or tiered storage devices which are more affordable and easier to deploy.
Introducing a file archiving and email archiving system has many additional benefits providing the IT department implement the solution correctly.
This data could be identified for:
- Regulatory and legal compliance
- Identify / prevent offensive material being stored and sent across business networks
Once file information has been determined, rules can be applied that:
- Store information for a specific period and then automatically be deleted
- Store information in designated storage pools
- Help plan and predict storage growth area’s of the business
- Identify storage hot spots
- Determine the best storage media to retain information
This data could be deleted if:
- Redundant data could be easily identified.
- You could predict which items would be required for future reference.
- Data retention was not essential for corporate management or regulatory purposes.
Because it is impossible to know what data we may need in the future, many companies retain all files indefinitely on primary storage. As a consequence, online data volumes are spiralling out of control and storage management has become an ever-increasing challenge. Server performance and data access is diminishing and increased user demands are requiring companies to increase disk space to alleviate the problem. In addition, data management puts high overheads on network and backup windows, ultimately putting stress on daily management routines and workloads.
Summary
Hopefully by reading this document you are now more aware of how much information an organisation produces and how to tactically approach the way storage is backed up, managed, stored, retrieved and archived.
Business leaders and executives need to understand the necessity to protect and store information based on data growth, rules and regulations. The idea to decouple the storage of vital data - for example, image files, scanned documents and attachments, from the applications and systems that generate the data is a step in the right direction to achieving a true information management solution. Furthermore, it has become clear that centralising the storage of data gathered by various systems benefits not only IT management but also users, mobile workers, customers and business managers, and streamlines the operations of the entire organisation, and prepares the business to meet the demands of regulatory/compliance controls and business needs.
For many organisations, our solutions provide a logical point at which to begin the process of managing and centralising data storage, because the benefits and cost advantages of this consolidation are clearly understood and demonstrable. As applications and business requirements drive the storage requirements of many organisations.
It should be noted that in a truly managed storage environment, the electronic archiving and distribution of information should be simple, fast, and secure. The solution also must be designed to be scalable, since implementations can grow to support many users and terabytes of data.
Deploying a data management and centralised SAN solution can be the foundation of a successful implementation, meeting the storage and regulatory compliance of both business leaders and business requirements today and into the future. By providing reliable, efficient storage, recoverability and access to the many types of data generated throughout the organisation, data management and storage area networks provide much needed operational flexibility, support compliance with regulations such as Sarbanes Oxley, Basel II, Freedom of information and Data Protection acts, and enable IT staff to provide users the very best levels of data availability and access.
