Monday, May 30, 2016

Parallel Processing and Unstructured Data Transforms Storage

(This post originally appeared on Direct2Dell, The Official Dell Corporate Blog)

Enterprise storage is trending away from traditional, enterprise managed network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks (SAN) towards a more complex environment that includes software-defined and cloud-based solutions. Spinning disks are also being replaced with flash arrays and solid state devices. These transformations are driven by challenges associated with the parallel processing of unstructured data within a near-real-time business operational tempo. Technology advances that exemplify this transition include:
  • Big Data – The analysis, capture, data curation, search, sharing, storage, transfer, visualization, querying and information privacy of extremely large, complex and unstructured data sets.
  • Enterprise Applications – Business applications characterized by their complexity, scalability requirements, distributed and component-based architecture and mission-critical nature (especially CRM and ERP).
  • Microservices – The creation and delivery of software application functionality as a suite of services instead of as a tightly coupled monolith of software code.
  • Containers – Operating system level virtualization in which the virtualization layer runs as an application within the operating system. In this approach, the operating system’s kernel runs on the hardware node with several isolated guest virtual machines installed on top of it.
  • Social Networking - web-based services that allow individuals to create a public profile, create a list of users with whom to share connections, view, and cross the connections within the system. These platforms are used to build social networks or social relations among people and organizations that share similar interests, activities, backgrounds or real-life connections.
In revolutionizing business models everywhere, these advances are also driving unimagined changes in how businesses use the underlying data. According to Forrester Research, however, 85 percent of production data is inactive and 68 percent of this data is not even accessed for over 90 days. IDC actually enhances the view of operational business data by reporting only 10-20 percent of a company's data is being actively used and the rest is “cold” data.

These statistics describes an enterprise environment that demands heavy and time-sensitive use of recently acquired data. From an economic viewpoint, storage is, in fact, one of the largest single costs in the data center. “About five years ago, storage represented about 20 percent worth of the cost of a fully loaded computing stack. Last year in 2015, it represented about 40 percent of the computing stack thanks to factors like machine-generated and mobile data.” The demands introduced by this sort of environment is why hybrid storage arrays have become popular. This approach to enterprise storage delivers a crucial “middle ground” solution between high speed/high cost solid-state storage pools and more economical hard disk based resources. In doing so, it enables the use of a more optimal 3-tier storage architecture capable of near-real-time optimization across the disparate demand of multiple enterprise application.

Figure 1- Comparative cost of storage technologies

This trend also lends credence to a belief that the 2020 IT infrastructures will be underpinned by storage technologies that can support software-defined management of multiple storage pools across a hybrid IT landscape. New approaches to application virtualization are also having a revolutionizing effect on the use of data storage. Operational requirements for big data analytics on unstructured data

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Getting Your Network in the Cloud



Join us with Virtual Newsmakers on Saturday, May 28th at 11:00am for a YouTube Livestream on cloud computing.

Virtual Newsmakers is a webcast show featuring virtual newsmakers, who are bridging traditional and digital communications and empowering human communications through technology. The show highlights people who are using technology as a conversation to bring communications to a human level and who are making things happen between traditional and digital communications. Some of the aspects of the show will be to bridge alternate communications media (digital and traditional), create a new vocabulary, and bring the world together with human interactions.

On this weekend's show, I will discuss how network management in the cloud can help you enhance your business. We will address the global and parallel nature of cloud and the importance of this new business model to human communications. 


UPDATE:  Just finished a GREAT stream!!




( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)



Cloud Musings
( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2015)



Monday, May 16, 2016

Enterprise Networking in a Cloud World




Enterprises must rethink network management in the cloud computing world. This new reality is driven by the rise of software defined networking, the virtualization of everything and a business imperative to create and deploy even newer information delivery models. With the entire infrastructure stack now fully programmable, the need to integrate the network with cloud compute services is essential. Another important environmental change is that both servers and applications have joined data with respect to mobility. This leads to an increased need to categorize those assets and apply appropriate security controls with respect to business/mission functions, data user role, location of access, legal/regulatory guidelines and user devices. In meeting the challenges of mobility and globalization, enterprises must address their lack control or complete visibility into the networks they use.

Organizations often lose the economic and operational benefits of the cloud if the network provider lacks the agility afforded by network management automation. Requirements to support cloud brokerage and to bridge services between different cloud service vendor marketplaces are also coming to the forefront. Network performance expectations that are driving more advanced network management requirements include:
  • Data-intensive analytics;
  • Parallel and clustered processing;
  • Telemedicine;
  • Remote expert consultation and collaboration; and
  • Community cloud services.
Real-time network analytics is also needed to manage user application experience. Service capabilities should include:
  • Network latency management - Acceptable response times on the web have steadily been decreasing. While 10 seconds used to be considered reasonable, a 2009 study showed that 40 percent of visitors will abandon a web page if it takes more than three seconds to load. Interactions that take 1 second or less maintain a user’s seamless flow of thought.

Friday, May 13, 2016

The Game of Clouds 2016

In the mythical, medieval land of AWS, a civil war brews between the several noble Cloud Services over rulership. Meanwhile, across the sea, the former controlling dynasty, Traditional IT, attempts to make its way back home and reclaim the throne with the help of the "Do It Yourself" old guard. While the conflict of political power ensues in the civilized world, an ancient, forgotten army of an undead race located far north of any inhabited territory begin traveling south for a chilling invasion, known fearfully by living IT professionals as the CFOs! 




Game of Clouds


( This content is being syndicated through multiple channels. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent the views of GovCloud Network, GovCloud Network Partners or any other corporation or organization.)




Cloud Musings
( Thank you. If you enjoyed this article, get free updates by email or RSS - © Copyright Kevin L. Jackson 2016)



Saturday, May 7, 2016

10 Ways to Flash Forward



Not to long ago I was honored to be included as a storage expert in the Dell ebook, “10 Ways to Flash Forward: Future-Ready Storage Insights from the Experts.” This publication provided insight into some of the most recent advances in enterprise storage and gave some excellent recommendations for your advance storage strategy.  The full document is available for free download at http://marketing.dell.com/storage-ebook-toprank-Flash-Forward

http://marketing.dell.com/storage-ebook-toprank-Flash-Forward