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Forsythe Expert Q & A


2007 Q & A

How Virtualization Impacts HBA Drivers and Zoning Switches
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 12.13.2007
How much does virtualizing a server environment impact zoning switches and upgrading HBA drivers?

VSANs vs. SANs
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 12.12.2007
We're evaluating using VSANs for the large part of our data center that is now virtualized. What are the pros and cons of VSANs compared to other SAN segmenting schemes? Are there VSAN deployment, implementation or management gotchas?

Migrating to a Virtual Server: The Effect on Storage
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 12.12.2007
When you migrate a physical server to a virtual server, what do you have to do about the storage?

The Future of the Fibre Channel and ISCSI
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 12.04.2007
What's going to happen to the fibre channel, now that iSCSI and VMware (and iSCSI and Microsoft) have joined hands? Will the fibre channel become outdated?

Virtualization and ISCSI: Match Made in Heaven?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 12.01.2007
In the second half of this interview on virtualization, iSCSI and blade servers, a Virtual Iron rep says that iSCSI and virtualization are a great match, because iSCSI technology allows for quick integration of production and development servers. Do you agree? Can you suggest some ways to use iSCSI in our data center, in which we have consolidated a couple of dozen servers down to six servers running VMware Server-based virtual machines?

iSCSI SANs Management Tools
James E. Geis, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 11.20.2007
What management tools can be used on iSCSI SANs in a virtual environment? I've heard that management tools and processes are the big barrier to implementing storage virtualization on iSCSI.

How Are RAID Level Choices Made?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 10.19.2007
RAID levels not only apply the appropriate level of protection for data, they also have a tremendous effect on the performance of most applications. There are some effective practices guidelines, but each application in each organization must be analyzed to ensure adherence to business impact and performance metrics developed by the business and technical groups.

How Can I Use Thin Provisioning Safely?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 10.19.2007
Thin provisioning is a great new technology that promises to increase storage utilization and lower both capital and operational costs. However, there are some dangers inherent to thin provisioning that storage and server administrators should be aware of.

Should I Use Two Non- Synchronized/Distinctive Servers for Redundancy?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServer Virtualization.com 09.21.2007
Would you consider the use of two non-synchronized/distinctive servers an efficient means to provide redundancy? I have a vendor who claims that such a configuration represents most optimal solution. As far as I can see, it causes an administrative nightmare. It adds field equipment.

How Can I Get Backup Data Under Control?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 08.22.2007
As most storage administrators are painfully aware, business units and application owners typically dictate retention periods for their data. We are all also very much aware of the headaches and additional expense that accompany long-term retention of backup data -- the capacity and logistical costs associated with this process can be staggering.

What to Consider When Creating Storage to Support Exchange?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 08.22.2007
Microsoft Exchange (2003 especially) is a very unique application from an enterprise storage perspective. Exchange can be I/O intensive, but it is definitely a response-time sensitive application.

ISCSI, Fibre Channels and Virturalization
SearchServerVirtualization.com 06.18.2007
Is iSCSI ready for virtualization deployments? What are the deciding factors between using iSCSI over fibre channel, and vice-versa?

How Can I Best Measure Performance in My Storage Environment?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 06.07.2007
IOPS (input/output operations per second) is an industry-standard way of measuring disk performance. Every storage administrator should have a documented process in place to monitor and track IOPS metrics.

Should I Set Benchmarks for My Storage Environment?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
Byteand Switch.com 06.07.2007
Infrastructure benchmarks are an important metric to develop, understand, and maintain in an enterprise environment. Benchmarking for storage can be complex, since the data path for large enterprise applications is typically comprised of multiple systems, each with its own contributions to performance, bandwidth, and latency. Having a repeatable process to create storage environment benchmarks enables you to maintain a successful tiered-storage environment.

What is NPIV and Why Is It Important?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 05.29.2007
NPIV is an extension to a standard already defined in the fibre channel protocols that allows one to get past single initiator/single target design limitations. In order for you to take advantage of this...

Virtual Machines and Fibre Channel LUNs
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 05.09.2007
How do virtual machines connect to fibre channel devices?

Can I Use a Backup Disk from One VM in Another VM?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 04.23.2007
Answer: Yes, if you backup a virtual disk with standard backup software, you can use the disk in another VM. To eliminate the file…

What Is the Best Way to Implement File Virtualization?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 04.17.2007
Virtualization has been quite the buzzword in the storage industry recently. There are several virtualization mechanisms available to the storage consumer today. These options span not only operational platforms but also storage platforms and storage types. Are you prepared to implement? There are several concerns that should be addressed.

How Do I Boost Response Time?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 04.17.2007
Simply adding storage capacity is rarely a successful solution for disk response time issues. Most often, response time problems are caused by volume configuration issues and lack of bandwidth. However, in some cases, adding additional disks can improve response time due to the additional spindle count.

How Do I Convince My Business Unit to Virtualize a Server?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 03.27.2007
This question is coming up more often than not. I would first ask do you use a chargeback to that business unit and does it include wide encompassing data resources?

Vendor Won’t Support Virtualized Software
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 03.27.2007
Ouch. First of all, in most cases, this is hogwash. Second, they most likely haven’t thought too far into the future if they are telling a paying customer that they won’t support their own software. Third, ask if they would prefer that you go to their competitor for the software.

The Best Way to Back Up a Virtual Machine
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 03.27.2007
There is no single “best” method of backing up a VM, so the best way to determine the answer to your question is to thoroughly review the restore requirements of the data; i.e. what file-level granularity and file-restore speed do you need?

How Do I Know If a Server Can Be Virtualized?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 03.27.2007
While a significant portion of your x86 servers can be virtualized, not every server or application can or should be. If an application requires large amounts of memory, access to a lot of processing power (CPU), or specialized hardware that cannot or should not be managed by the virtual machine software, it should not be virtualized.

Why Shouldn’t I Use Freeware Virtual Servers?
James E. Geis, Director, Integrated Solutions Development
SearchServerVirtualization.com 03.27.2007
As the adage goes, you get what you pay for! Many of the free software versions don’t have: integration with storage; management software integration; 24x7x365 support; or the growing number of main, third party and application support.

Which Data Protection Is Best?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 03.16.2007
There are certainly a plethora of data protection options available, running the gamut from tape backup to intra-array cloning and snapshotting. The cost and complexity of these technologies varies widely.

Archiving: When & How?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 03.16.2007
The question facing the storage manager today is not “Should I archive data?” but “How do I archive data?” There are a range of options, but as with every strategic infrastructure decision, the true solution is a combination of policy, process, and infrastructure.

What’s the Buzz I’m Hearing About RAID 6?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 02.07.2007
Raid 6 is a relatively new data protection architecture becoming more readily available from mainstream storage vendors. Raid 6 is another implementation of the long-standing method of configuring disks in redundant “arrays”.

Are Certifications Valuable for Storage Administrators?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 02.07.2007
Certifications have been a controversial subject for IT professionals. Are they badges of honor won through hard work and expert knowledge? Or are they meaningless pieces of paper used to bolster resumes in the eyes of recruiters?

Is the Time Right for Virtualization?
Tim Arland, Principal Consultant, Storage Solutions
ByteandSwitch.com 01.03.2007
From servers to networking to storage, development and introduction of virtual environments is spreading like wildfire. Storage virtualization can be tempting, but be sure to execute a detailed cost-benefit analysis to fully understand how much your current environment and data management policies can leverage storage virtualization.