New unified storage platform delivers maximum flexibility for virtualized data centers, simplifying data management to increase IT efficiency and reduce capital and operating costs.
IT managers are using unified storage to improve storage efficiency as well as improve business flexibility and lower the total cost of storage. According to research firm IDC, the benefits of unified storage include unified block- and file-level storage, increased utilization with no stranded capacity, pooled storage flexibility, and increased support for server virtualization initiatives.
EMC Isilon is bringing these benefits to its scale-out storage platform by integrating the iSCSI protocol into its OneFS operating system. With EMC Isilon’s unified scale-out storage, users can consolidate file- and block-based applications onto a single, shared pool of storage, simplifying data management to increase resource utilization and efficiency for virtualized and non-virtualized environments.
“The adoption of virtualization and the need to consistently reduce costs are currently significant factors in enterprise IT strategy, making data storage solutions that simplify management, consolidate applications and minimize expenses key to IT efficiency going forward,” said Pushan Rinnen, Research Director, Gartner. “Unified scale-out storage is a compelling solution for both virtualization and general-purpose IT, as it enables simplified data management, file- and block-level access, and keeps costs in-line with business needs.”
“FusionStorm is uniquely positioned to help customers take advantage of EMC Isilon’s unified scale-out storage technology,” said Vince Conroy, CTO, FusionStorm. “FusionStorm was by far Isilon’s largest partner, and is among the largest EMC partners. EMC’s recent acquisition of Isilon creates new synergies for customers seeking engineering expertise in the design and build-out of a unified storage platform.”
Smarter Storage
EMC Isilon’s new iSCSI functionality integrates with its suite of enterprise-class data management and protection applications, providing a simple yet powerful scale-out solution that supports industry standard file-based protocols, including CIFS, NFS, HTTP and FTP, as well as the block-based iSCSI protocol, in a single, shared pool of storage. With EMC Isilon, enterprises can easily configure, manage, clone, thin provision, snapshot, tier, replicate and secure LUNs, eliminating the cost and complexity of traditional scale-up SAN and NAS to drive increased application performance and business agility.
EMC Isilon’s data management applications, SmartPools and InsightIQ, deliver a powerful yet simple approach to solving complex data management challenges, enabling enterprise IT departments to easily manage data, consolidate applications and scale out a single storage resource in lockstep with evolving business needs. SmartPools enables users to unify multiple Isilon storage tiers into a single file system, providing simplified data management and automated data movement. Using SmartPools in combination with InsightIQ, administrators can optimize workflow performance by closely aligning application demands with storage resources, improving resource utilization and reducing both capital and operating expenses.
“Scale-out storage is changing the face of enterprise IT by displacing large, costly enterprise storage equipment with flexible, simple solutions that will be the cornerstone of cost-effective, demand-driven data management going forward,” said Terri McClure, senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “With its sixth-generation operating system and new data management applications, Isilon continues to be a leader in the enterprise shift to scale-out, delivering mainstream functionality with next-generation performance, efficiency and cost-reduction benefits.”
Increasing Efficiency
Isilon’s SmartPools data management application creates a single file system and single point of management for all storage tiers, automatically aligning application needs with performance, capacity and cost to drive increased simplicity and efficiency across enterprise IT operations. With SmartPools, users can consolidate a wide range of applications onto a single storage resource, eliminating the need for manual data migration between multiple systems and accelerating data access for mission-critical business processes, while reducing storage costs and management.
Isilon’s InsightIQ provides an innovative analytics platform that enables administrators to easily identify and eliminate performance bottlenecks, maximizing system efficiency, while minimizing high-performance storage requirements. InsightIQ delivers actionable insight into data usage trends, enabling immediate and effective response to changes in workflow requirements and user demand, improving resource utilization and business agility.
“Isilon’s ease of use is a key selling point, as its ability to create a single file system for a variety of workflows and applications has the potential to dramatically simplify customers’ IT environments,” said Conroy. “Isilon’s new data management applications further extend this potential, providing additional flexibility and cost control, while still being very easy to use.”