Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat

This is part of an ongoing series of longer articles I will be posting every Sunday as part of an experiment in offering more in-depth content.

Many storage challenges focus on correlating high-level uses of data (such as applications) with the nuts and bolts of storage infrastructure. These discussions often revolve around the conflict between data management, which demands an ever-smaller unit of management, and storage management, which benefits most from consolidation. Developing data management capability that is both granular enough for applications and scalable enough for storage is one key to the future of storage.

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Paul Maritz of VMware dropped a bomb on Las Vegas today, introducing their Virtual Datacenter Operating System concept. But is VDC-OS a nuclear strike at the heart of the data center, scattering everyone from Microsoft to Cisco to (big daddy) EMC? Or is it just more hot air, conflating the latest big thing into a mirage of an operating system rather than a real challenger?

It could be big. There is no denying the effect VMware has had on the modern data center - nearly everyone I talk to in the IT industry considers server virtualization a fundamental element of modern infrastructure strategy. And server virtualization has done more for the deployment of enterprise storage and other high availability technologies, than any other movement, from green computing to services-based infrastructure. And it has encompassed these movements, becoming the way, not just a technology.

But is VDC really an OS? And will it conquer the data center? And would this be a good thing? There’s the rub.

First, the obligatory description. Virtual Data Center effectively re-badges lots of things VMware (and the server virtualization industry in general) have been working on as “vServices”. They divide these up into Application vServices, Infrastructure vServices, Cloud vServices, and Management vServices.

These four elements, in fact, do sound like a post-modern definition of an operating system, much more so than Google Chrome. VMware includes the ability to share resources, execute applications, and store data in a managed way. And the cloud component is reminiscent of how the old client/server architecture has evolved into our modern connected world. In this way, VDC really is an operating system for the enterprise data center, and extends it into a cloud beyond those doors.

This is the most compelling and realistic post-datacenter world I have heard of, thoroughly trouncing shared infrastructure, the (Amazon/Google) cloud, SaaS, Java or Linux everywhere, Sun’s containers, and Microsoft’s world of Windows. For the first time, we are talking about an infrastructure that could actually be built, wouldn’t require a forklift (or shipping container) or the migration to an entirely new software environment, and reflects the diversity of modern IT systems.

Certainly, VMware has heavyweights in their corner. Cisco provides the connectivity, EMC provides the storage, Intel provides the CPU, Dell provides the servers, and so on. But it’s not that simple. Like Microsoft, VMware will have to manage the “input” from every networking, storage, CPU, and server provider, not to mention the vast ecosystem of software components. It’s much more like Windows than Macintosh in this respect, with VDC being a loosely-federated OS rather than a closed monoculture.

I predict that how well VMware handles the divergent parties trying to play in their OS will determine the future not just of VDC, but of VMware itself.

Oh, and VMware also introduced View, perhaps the future of the desktop.

This is a follow-up to my story, De-Duplication Goes Mainstream

Although deduplication of storage is nothing new, with Data Domain and other making hay with the technique for years, it has never been ready for prime time - reduction of active primary storage applications like email and databases. Instead, deduplication has been relegated to second- or third-tier status, deduplicating archives and backup data. But change is in the air, and deduplication vendors are starting to bustle towards the bright lights of primary storage.

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Confirming my observation of longish Windows boot times, Microsoft engineer Michael Fortin today blogged about the booting improvements scheduled for Windows 7.

He rightly points out that there are really three different “boot times” to consider:

1. Boot
2. Resume from sleep
3. Resume from hibernate

Note that the Microsoft definition of “boot (1)” only gets us through desktop launch and background task execution. It does not include my number one boot annoyance, namely “what the heck is Windows doing for two minutes after booting that makes it still totally unusable?!?”

According to Microsoft’s analysis, my “boot (1)” time of 80 seconds is longish, but within the standard deviation from the mean of 30-40 seconds. I’m glad, though, that Microsoft is working on this, and doubly glad that they recognize the “other perceptions that users deem as reflecting boot time, such as when the disk stops, when their apps are fully responsive, or when the start menu and desktop can be used.”

And I’m glad they’re considering resume time, too - this morning it took my PC 16 minutes to be usable after I woke it up! Seriously - there’s the desktop, now let’s listen to the disk chug and get nothing done for over a quarter of an hour at the start of my day! While waiting, I turned on the Mac and read my mail in Entourage - not exactly the outcome Microsoft would have wanted, I bet. Here’s hoping Windows 7 brings the improvements that Mr. Fortin is clearly working on!

With Windows Server 2008 appearing in (surprisingly) 2008, and Windows 7 (client) scheduled for 2010, some folks grew mighty confused about the possibility of a Windows 7 Server appearing shortly thereafter. Even Microsofties talked about something called “Windows 7 Server” in blogs, newsgroups, and conferences.

So would there be a major Windows Server update just two or three years after the last major version? And what impact would this have on the masses that still haven’t moved from Windows Server 2003 (or even 2000)?

Thankfully, the Group Product Manager for Windows Server, Ward Ralston, has clarified the issue. There will be no Windows 7 Server. Instead, we will see an update to Windows Server 2008 called (unsurprisingly) Windows Server 2008 R2 which will incorporate any server-side enhancements needed for Windows 7 clients. Ralston’s comments about a 2/4 schedule of minor/major updates leads me to assume that the next major Windows Server update will come in 2012 at the earliest and will probably share whatever the post-Windows 7 client codebase becomes.

See the official Microsoft Windows Server Roadmap for more details, and note that Windows Storage Server 2008 is noted for release this year. I can’t wait to get my hands on that!

Although it’s been available for a while now, Windows Server 2008’s storage changes aren’t widely reported. TechTarget’s Dave Raffo wrote a piece about it today, Windows Server 2008’s hidden storage features, including some quotes from me, but it’s still less than clear.

So let me sum up:

1. Server Message Block (SMB) 2.0 is probably the biggest news.  Microsoft re-worked this protocol for Vista and 2008 to reduce chattiness, combine multiple commands in a single packet, and allow larger packets.  This should improve performance for just about everyone, but is only in those two operating systems right now.
2. The excellent multi-path I/O (MPIO) driver from Microsoft is also included right out of the box, including device-specific modules for both iSCSI and Fibre Channel.  This is the first version of Windows to come with MPIO, though it’s available with the iSCSI initiator and OEM drivers for other versions.
3. As in Vista, Server 2008 allows you to shrink NTFS filesystems on the fly.  It’s not quite as flexible or forgiving as some third-party tools, but it’s certainly easy to use!  Just go into the disk administrator snap-in and try it for yourself.
4. Windows finally has the option to leave new LUNs alone instead of trying to mount them.  This was one of those things that gave Windows a rep as a bad neighbor in SAN environments.
5. NTBackup is gone, replaced by a new Server Backup MMC snap-in.  I haven’t tried it, but I hope it’s better than the one that comes in Vista!  I ended up keeping NTBackup around on my laptop…
6. A new MMC snap-in called Storage Explorer lets you manage WMI-compliant SAN devices.
7. The Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and DFS interfaces are improved and are now scriptable.
8. Server 2008 now automatically aligns filesystem boundaries with storage, which was one of those dark and secret skills us storage guys used to share amongst ourselves.  This can increase performance in high-I/O environments.
9. NTFS (in both Server 2008 and Vista) now has symbolic link support, just like UNIX and Mac OS X.  Note that this got mangled in the TechTarget article.
10. NTFS was also tuned and tweaked a bit for better stability and crash recovery.

One of the things that surprised me about iPhone 2.0 was the introduction of multiple calendars.  I figured that the device couldn’t handle more than one calendar, since syncing to Exchange meant you lost all other calendars.  But the exact opposite is true:  Everyone who uses Exchange ActiveSync will suddenly see a number of different calendars appear, and this can cause much confusion.

After experimenting with my iPhone, Outlook 2007, and Entourage, I think I’ve figured out how to work with these new mult-colored calendars.  Read on for the dirt!

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I just got an email from Microsoft - they’ve given me the MVP award for the area of File System Storage!  Great news - so how do I feel?  Not quite as good as the “Steve” in this video, but pretty good…

So what does this mean?  Am I now a shill, beholden forever to Redmond?  Should I return the Mac? Hardly!

In fact, the program materials all stress that, since we were nominated for what we did in the past, we should go right on doing just what we were doing.  For me, this means remaining non-partisan in the storage wars - I’m on the side of what works and delivers results, not what one vendor or the other decides is best.  Microsoft has done some really great things in the storage arena, and has given much of it away for free, and that’s the simple truth.  If they change their stance, expect me to call them on it, MVP or not.

I believe in maintaining the best possible relationship with everyone in the business, from vendors to analysts, so I can make great things happen for my clients, the end users of technologies.  This award gives me exceptional access to Microsoft resources, and I intend to call on them when my clients need help.  Simply put, being a Microsoft MVP means I can step up the level of service I can deliver.

Only one thing bugs me about this: The name.  Seriously, “MVP”?  I’m not A-Rod!  And “File System Storage”?  I guess they had to tie the award to some product area, so “storage technologies” or “enterprise storage” wouldn’t have worked.  So, yeah baby, I hit home runs with NTFS!

Even though storage virtualization technologies have been on the market for 20 years or more, and numerous companies have tried to sell it as a product in its own right for at least half that long, many are still unsure of what to do with the technology.  A great new piece by Dave Raffo, News Director at SearchStorage.com, discusses the wide variety of virtualization solutions and the real impact they can have.

Dave called me for this piece, and I was pleased with the question.  Truth be told, there really are compelling benefits from virtualization, but most folks have been waiting for a real “must have” killer application for the technology.  In order for this tech to make the impact it should, we in the industry have to change some of our thinking:

• Storage virtualization means more than just Fibre Channel block aggregation.  There are great applications inside servers and arrays and in the NAS world, too.
• Speaking of NAS, Microsoft DFS is probably the most-implemented storage virtualization product, and just about every NAS array has cool aggregation and migration features.
• Virtualization is a feature, not a product.  HDS has seen the amazing potential for block virtualization in migration and storage flexibility, and this is just the tip of the iceberg.
• Storage and server virtualization go well together - so well, in fact, that ESG reports that 24% of those who have implemented the latter are also using the former!

It’s official, I am a switcher.  A splitter.  An ex-Windows user (at home, at least).  Today I bought my first Mac since the SE that still haunts our basement storage room in its cute gray carrying bag.  Come Friday, I will be an official Mac user!

How did it come to this?  It’s not really Microsoft’s fault.  I use Vista every day for work, and have come to terms with it (most of the time).  And much of my work revolves around Server 2003 and other Microsoft server and storage technologies, which I have come to respect.  No, it’s not because of Microsoft’s software; it’s all about hardware.

Attrition was the instigator.  My home machines have been slowly dying, killed off by old age.  Last to go was my home-brew Celeron 4-powered desktop, which recently ate its second power supply, and the fact that my work laptop kicked the bucket last week.  This left me with an ancient Pentium III laptop to struggle with, until Dell fixed the work lappie (it cooked its CPU!).  But I like to keep work separate from pleasure, so I saw this as a sign that I had to get busy and get a new home machine.

But what to get?  I do lots with the home PC - video editing, photo manipulation, web work, and writing.  I’ve always relied on a desktop for these things, and have built a series of them from components over the last decade.  But I’ve become less interested in tinkering with hardware lately and more interested in having something that works.  And while there are certainly hundreds of choices for sweet pre-built and supported rigs, I finally admitted to myself that I would use a laptop more than a desktop, so the field was narrowed.

But what laptop to get?  There’s such a variety these days, from the ultra-light to the budget/mainstream to the workhorse to the crazy.  I’ve always liked my Dells, but the XPS M1210 I rely on for work hasn’t been as stellar a performer as I had hoped.  I used to be an ultra-light aficionado, with original HP OmniBooks (300 and 800CT) and Toshiba Portege 3010 haunting my past, but this class could never keep up with demanding apps like video editing and encoding.

Yes, it had to be a powerful “desktop replacement” machine with fast storage, lots of RAM, and good video hardware.  Hello, MacBook Pro!  Not being totally insane, the 15-incher would have to do.  And not being made of money, I was looking for a good deal.  Although Apple just updated the line in February, the modifications were slight - a smaller and cooler Penryn CPU, a larger hard disk, and that weird too-small multi-touch trackpad.

So I decided to pick up an “outdated” mid-2007 model instead, saving 20% in the process and still getting a killer machine.  I went with the 2.2 GHz model, betting that the 4 MB of cache in its Merom core would bring it close to the performance of a 3 MB-equipped 2.4 GHz Penryn, and would certainly be good enough for my use.  I don’t think I’ll miss the additional 128 MB of VRAM in the new ‘Books either, and the old model still has the 800 MHz Santa Rosa chipset and LED backlight.

Looking around, I found that Mac Connection and Amazon both had good prices on older gear, but MacMall had the lowest price (after a $150 rebate) and wouldn’t charge sales tax.  They talked me into a $100 RAM upgrade (to 4 GB), though I balked at their $40 installation charge.  It may be harder to swap a hard drive in a Pro, but RAM is simple to install.  I’ll live with the 120 GB 5400 RPM hard drive for a while.  But I’ve already got a 160 GB drive on the shelf, and might even skip that in favor of a 320 GB or even 500 GB Samsung at some point.

And Mac OS X?  Well that will be a learning process for me. I like the idea of UNIX internals, being an old-school UNIX-head, but am concerned about just how good the OS integration is.  Is it lipstick on a warthog like so many other “desktop UNIX” systems?  It sure looks pretty, and I love the bundled applications, so we shall see.

And I can always run Vista or XP, since the machine will definitely be a dual (or triple or quad) booter.  I went ahead and picked up VMware Fusion at the same time, hedging my bets on the state of Mac applications.

So tune in over the next few months and I’ll let you all know how it progresses.  At the very least, I got a killer new laptop!

Note to subscribers:  If you’re not interested in Macs, iPhones, home media servers, and such, you can subscribe to my Enterprise Storage-only feed.  Alternately, if you’re interested in the tales of a switcher more than Fibre Channel and iSCSI, you can subscribe to my Terabyte Home feed instead.

Macintosh PowerBook Pro image courtesy of Apple.  Macintosh SE image from Wikimedia Commons, taken by Danamania.