Network Support Library/RoseWare - Network Support Library.iso/pressgen/tapest.txt

Text File | 1993-06-24 | 18KB | 385 lines

               Enterprise Storage Management:
                 A Blueprint for the Future









By:       Michael Wehrs
     Director of Business Development
     Conner Software, Lake Mary, Florida










Enterprise Storage Management:

A Blueprint for the Future



Data  storage technology has been one of the driving  forces
in the proliferation in personal computer technology. In the
past  ten  years  we have seen PCs make the  move  from  the
desktop   to  the  backbone  of  enterprise  wide  computing
solutions . With that change came a shift in the way data is
stored  and  managed.  In  the early,  first  generation  of
personal  computers when data storage was still personal  --
all  storage  resided  in the system on  the  desktop.  Data
management  consisted  largely of  periodically  backing  up
critical  data files to floppy disk or some low  cost   tape
drive.


The  second generation of network computing systems extended
data storage throughout the enterprise. Data resided on  the
local desktop and also on the network server. The concept of
data management was extended to include full featured backup
software  that  allowed  network managers  to  automate  the
backup  process during off hours when the network  load  was
minimal.  The  process became easier, but  conceptually  the
data  management function was the same -- make  a  duplicate
copy of the hard disk files in case of a failure.


We  are  now on the verge of the third wave in the  personal
computing revolution, one that will bring significant change
to  the way users work and the way information is stored and
managed.


The  concept of "backup" will be eliminated as we  know  it.
Instead,  the  requirement will be for a new  generation  of
intelligent    software   that   will   automatically    and
transparently  move  data  to the most  appropriate  storage
medium based on cost and access requirements.  The framework
of  this  new  era  is  provided by Microsoft  Corporation's
concept  of  information at your fingertips.   In  the  data
storage   world,  it  will  become  "information  where   it
belongs,  when  you  need it." Simply  put,  these  software
solutions   will  address  the  growing  user  and   network
administrator storage requirements of networks by automating
protection,  storage and retrieval of data in  an  efficient
and cost effective manner.


The  cost  of managing information is often overlooked  when
configuring  storage systems. The cost of  the  hardware  is
easily   identifiable. But as the amount and the  complexity
of   storing  data  increases,  the  costs  associated  with
managing  that  information are  also  skyrocketing.  It  is
estimated that by 1995,  80 percent of all business PCs will
be  connected to LANs -- double what it is today.  And,  the
storage capacity of LANs is doubling annually. According  to
a  Dataquest report, it takes an average of 1200  hours  per
year  to  administer  a  single network  server.  Obviously,
without  dramatic improvement in the administrator's ability
to manage information, it will soon become cost prohibitive.


The  objective then is to create a storage environment  that
provides LAN administrators with a robust set of tools  that
will  simplify and automate their  job.  Storage  management
encompasses a full range of services, providing capabilities
far  beyond simple backup and restore. Indeed, backup is not
the  issue  any  longer. The fundamental objective  of  this
technology  is  to  develop  the most  effective  method  of
storing, protecting and retrieving critical information.


This  new  storage management model dictates the development
of  software and hardware components to address the need for
automated   data  storage  and retrieval.  The  goal  is  to
migrate data to the most cost effective storage medium  that
meets  the  access  speed requirements  of  the  user.  That
information will be automatically re-located onto  the  most
appropriate  storage medium through a variety  of  processes
and  storage  services transparent to the  user.  The  model
includes   a  hardware  storage  server,  and  the  software
component  that  Conner  Software  has  designated  "Storage
Manager."


To  the  user,  the  hardware storage  server  can  best  be
understood  not as a single device, but as a single  virtual
device,  composed  of  multiple storage  devices  physically
located  anywhere throughout the enterprise, indeed anywhere
in  the world if required. The location is irrelevant. It is
also  irrelevant to the user on which medium the information
is  stored  and  the physical location of that  device.   In
conjunction with the intelligent
Storage  Manager application, when a save command is issued,
the  storage system will automatically write the file to the
appropriate medium based on a set of pre-defined guidelines.
The  information  will then be saved to hard  disk  storage,
some  type  of  near-line medium such as rewritable  optical
disk, or off-line storage on an automated tape library.


While  this  hierarchical  structure to the  storage  server
hardware  is  a critical piece of the solution,  it  is  the
advanced  software  technology  that  is  the  key  enabling
technology required to make this vision a reality.   Storage
Manager   will  deliver  a  variety  of  services   to   LAN
administrators and create a storage and retrieval  hierarchy
that    maximizes  utilization  of  the  available  hardware
devices.


There  are  three  critical objectives in  developing  truly
useful storage management software:

1.  provide the administrator with a robust set of automated
    management tools;
2.  provide  the  user  with  transparent  access  to  any
    information  in the enterprise, regardless of  its  physical
    storage medium;
3.  and,  create  a  hierarchical storage  environment  that
    maximizes  existing  hardware  investments  by  utilizing  a
    software  environment based on intelligent storage  software
    and "storage aware" operating systems.


Management Tools

Improving  storage  management is based on  two  cornerstone
objectives -- giving the administrators enough tools, and to
then  automate the process to the highest level possible  in
order to reduce the administrative burden. Ideally, it  will
evolve  to  a self-administering storage system,  where  the
parameters  regarding  backup,  file  migration   and   disk
grooming  would  be set when the system is installed.  After
that,  the  storage management software would do  the  rest,
including   analyzing  problems  and   choosing   the   best
alternative to address those problems.


For  example, in order to minimize administrative  overhead,
network  processes such as backup -- which includes  servers
and  remote  workstations -- will be centrally administered.
In  fact,  we will soon be at the point where backup will be
eliminated as an application altogether. Rather, it will  be
integrated   into  the  Storage  Manager  functionality   by
continuously   monitoring  file   usage   and   proactively,
transparently  and intelligently,  ensuring a  copy  of  the
data  is  stored on a medium and in a place to  provide  for
disaster protection.


Administrators will also need access to tools that  monitor,
analyze   and  adjust  network  storage  operations.    This
component  will  continuously monitor  and  analyze  network
storage performance and communicate this information to  the
storage server. This network "agent" identifies and notifies
the  administrator of bottlenecks and the status of critical
components that affect system integrity and performance,  as
well  as  projecting  additional  system  requirements   and
solutions to maintain high-performance storage objectives.


User Transparency

In  most  cases today when a user requests a file,  he  must
know  which server  or subdirectory  the file is stored  on.
As storage systems become more complex, this process becomes
a   cumbersome  and  unnecessary  burden  for  users.   User
transparency  is  a  fundamental  piece  of  future  storage
models.  Features such as data cataloging will assist  users
in   searching  for  specific  files  by  supporting  search
criteria  beyond filenames, creation or modification  dates.
Data cataloging provides this capability by  enabling highly
customized and intelligent categorization of data.


These  advanced  features will be enabled  by  more  capable
operating systems. Applications such as Storage Manager,  in
turn, will empower users, allowing them to take advantage of
sophisticated  storage functions without  changing  the  way
they work.  From the user perspective, they will continue to
save  and  open  documents just as  they  always  have.  The
changes in the way the information is stored and where it is
stored  will  be isolated from the user by Storage  Manager.
The  user  does  not know, and has no need  to  know,  which
physical  device the information is stored on. It is  really
irrelevant  to the user. Different pieces of the  same  file
may be scattered on multiple physical storage devices across
the  network.   The  user will simply  request  a  document.
Storage Manager will take that request, look up all linkages
and references to determine where all of the required pieces
of  that document are stored and retrieve it for the user as
a  single  document.   The user is  spared  from  having  to
specify which drive, subdirectory or server the document  is
stored  on.  In fact, the user won't know where it  is.  The
document  could  be  stored across the hall  or  across  the
county; it doesn't matter.


Cost Effective Storage

Effective  data  management is dependent on  a  hierarchical
storage  system  that  has  the ability  to  easily  migrate
inactive  files  off  the hard disk to  removable  secondary
storage;  in  effect, creating unlimited  storage  capacity.
This design is analogous to moving paper files off your desk
to  a  file cabinet when they aren't needed for the  current
project you are working on. Only  active information is kept
on  the  desktop.  When  that project  is  concluded,  those
folders  are  relocated to the file cabinet until  they  are
needed  again.  Files are not moved off  the  desktop  as  a
backup  copy.  They  are simply moved  because  it  is  more
efficient    and  productive  to  keep  only   the   current
information on the desktop. Otherwise, the work environments
become too cluttered and difficult to manage.


The  same concepts apply to electronic data storage.  It  is
far  too  costly  to  keep all network  data  on  hard  disk
storage.  Files  that  are  not regularly  accessed  can  be
migrated off the disk to secondary storage, a much more cost
effective  solution.  Even though  the  cost  of  hard  disk
storage  has fallen dramatically in recent years,  it  still
cannot compete with magnetic tape where several gigabytes of
data can be stored on a single tape cassette that costs less
than  $20.  However, one must again factor in the management
and  administrative cost of such a storage architecture.  If
the  network managers have to continually examine  the  disk
and manually select and migrate the files, the effectiveness
of  this  solution is negated. The requirement then  is  for
some  type  of intelligent software agent that monitors  the
file  activity  on  the disks, and based on  the  parameters
established  by  the  LAN administrator,  removes  files  to
secondary storage as required.


File  versioning is another critical element of an unlimited
hierarchical storage system. With this capability, a storage
system  can  be  established so that users do not  overwrite
previous versions of a file; instead, every time the file is
saved,  a  new version is created. If part of a file  --  or
indeed the entire file -- is inadvertently  eliminated,  the
user  still  has access to a previously saved  copy  of  the
data.  File  versioning also provides  a method of  tracking
progress of projects and establishing an audit trail of work
that is performed.


The  requirements  for  automated storage  management,  user
transparency and cost efficient storage hierarchies will  be
more  critical  as the next generation of operating  systems
and  applications emerge. The current trends are clearly  in
the  direction of object-oriented operating systems and file
systems.  The concept of a data file belonging to a specific
application  will  be  outmoded. This  scenario  offers  the
possibility   of  compound  documents  --  or   objects   --
consisting  of  text generated by a word processing  module,
pictures generated by a graphics module and numbers produced
by  a  spreadsheet module. The combination of these elements
is  treated as an object, not as an application-based  file.
It  can  also  lead  to a storage scenario  where  the  text
components  are stored on a local disk, while  the  graphics
elements  are kept on a different, remote server.  In  order
to   manage   storage  and  migration  of  files   of   this
complexity, future operating systems must implement  a  more
sophisticated,  more  intelligent file system  architecture.
The  operating system must be aware of the multiple  storage
devices, including secondary removable storage,  that are in
use  throughout the enterprise. Additionally  the  operating
system  must  offer robust interfaces to  software  such  as
Storage  Manager that will extend the capabilities  inherent
in  the operating system by automating the administration of
storage operations.


We  have already started to see small signs of the future in
some  current products. Creating compound documents  is  now
possible in both the Windows and Macintosh environments.   A
word   processing  document   can  now  include  spreadsheet
information  and  graphics data. Using Publish-and-Subscribe
in  the  Macintosh environment and OLE under  Windows,  this
information is dynamically linked. If the resulting compound
document  is offloaded to secondary storage and one  of  the
original  source documents is updated, the operating  system
must  have the intelligence to know first of all that a file
on  a  tape  may need to be updated, and secondarily,  which
tape  specifically contains that information. Resources such
as  Storage Manager cannot function unless they are  enabled
at  the  most  basic level with operating systems  that  are
aware of these considerations.  Applications such as Storage
Manager  would simply use those capabilities to do  advanced
storage  functions, including version control,  hierarchical
storage,  data migration, store and forward.


Taking this example a step further, imagine creating a blank
new  document  outside  of any specific  application.   Some
spreadsheet  numbers are added, as is some  text  using  the
word processing tools.  Then the document is saved.  Is it a
spreadsheet file or a word processing file? Actually, it  is
nothing  but a group of pointers referencing the spreadsheet
and  word  processing files that were created. The  filename
given by the user to his creation doesn't contain any of the
data that was input;  it simply contains those pointers  and
references.   The  compound document itself references  what
the  specific  name  is.   All  of  this,  of  course,    is
transparent to the user, who only sees the filename given to
the  compound  document,  without  any  awareness  of  these
distributed pieces of the file. When the file is called  up,
by  whatever  name you called it, you only see the  compound
document.  The issue is what happens and what should  happen
when the compound document is backed up.


If  the compound filename is backed up, the file on the tape
will only have the pointers; nothing was done to secure  the
actual data. That's why Storage Manager has to be enabled at
the operating system level.  So if someone makes a call to a
backup application to back up a specific file, the operating
system  in  combination with the Storage  Manager,  has  the
awareness  to  step  in  and  back  up  not  just  the  file
containing  the pointer, but the constituent pieces  of  the
word processing and spreadsheet information as well.


The  storage and management of information is, of necessity,
on  the  verge of a radical change. Traditional  methods  of
storage,  protection  and  retrieval  of  information   have
changed  little  even though the amount  and  complexity  of
information  storage have grown tremendously.  Very  simply,
the  old methods are inadequate. Developing advanced storage
hardware  and  software  architectures   that  harness   the
available computing power to manage and automate the process
is the only solution to this information storage dilemma.


Advances  in  storage  hardware have outpaced  evolution  of
storage software solutions. However, software technology  is
about  to  take a major leap ahead. The combination  of  the
next-generation of advanced operating systems  and  software
applications specifically designed to meet the challenge  of
automating  the management of vast amounts of  network  data
will  provide the foundation for future extensions that will
provide  administrators  and users alike  with  "information
where it belongs, when you need it."

* * * * * *