Join me in New York for Storage Decisions, September 19 & 20

Tomorrow, I will be in San Francisco for TechTarget’s Storage Decisions conference. This show does a good job on the editorial side, suggesting timely topics and bringing in folks like Dennis Martin, Mark Staimer, and Jon Toigo. I will have two presentations on data reduction and storage virtualization in the main conference track – both are updated from my New York sessions. Registration is free for qualified end-users, and I urge you to attend.

Reclaim Capacity with Data Reduction for Primary Storage

I have updated the session with additional information on thin provisioning and compression, as well as expanding the slides to reflect many of the questions and comments I received in New York. The end result remains the same: I’m not sold on data reduction for primary storage as a product and recommend tackling data growth if at all possible. If it’s completely impractical to delete data, there are a few products that work well.

Depending on which industry study you read, most companies are wasting anywhere from 30% to 50% of their installed disk capacity, which translates into thousands of dollars spent with no effective return on investment. Storage vendors are beginning to provide tools that can help storage managers make the most of the disk they have installed. For example, data reduction for primary storage borrows data deduplication technology developed for backup and classic compression algorithms to help squeeze the air out of nearline and primary data and reduce its footprint. This session’s topics will include an overview of data reduction technologies and where they will have the greatest impact, what key storage vendors are offering in data reduction and an update on the major players, and the consequences of using primary data dedupe along with dedupe for backups. We’ll also look at the potential for vendor lock-in and consider why we’re reducing data in the first place.

Topics include:

• Introducing data reduction technologies
  • Compression: How it works and where it’s found
  • Deduplication: From single-instancing to variable block
  • Application-specific: Cracking open files
• Overview of data reduction products
• Where to use them
  • The capacity conundrum: Store less and reduce utilization
  • Ideal applications: Justifying the cost of data reduction
  • Side effects: Considering the impact on backup, replication, I/O workload and vendor lock-in

Storage Virtualization: Who’s Doing It and Why

My storage virtualization session has been massively tweaked, including updated information on standalone virtualization products as well as a more in-depth discussion of successful and failed use cases. This session presents the conundrum of why server virtualization has been so successful while storage virtualization has failed for over a decade. I believe this is due to the problems these products try to solve. Consolidation of resources and reduction of administrator effort are noble goals, but not really compelling in the long term. Unless some real is this value can be extracted, storage virtualization will continue to be a failed product.

Storage virtualization has been around for decades and, although research indicates that 70% of companies have already virtualized at least some of their installed block or file storage, most remain unaware of this technology. Grandiose schemes for comprehensive virtual SANs have given way to more practical host- and array-based virtualization technologies, and server virtualization has created a new opportunity to create a pool of storage. This session will look at the current state of storage virtualization, how to quantify its benefits and describe which approaches are best for particular environments, and also cover how storage virtualization compares to private storage clouds.

Topics include:

• Defining storage virtualization: What it is and where to find it
  • Abstraction of storage resources
  • Tiered storage
  • Flexibility
• Popular approaches to storage virtualization
  • SAN controllers
  • File virtualization
  • Volume managers
• The pool, the hypervisor and the cloud
  • The impact of server virtualization
  • Is this a private cloud?

Registration

You can see the future from here!

To register for Storage Decisions San Francisco, just go to the TechTarget registration page.

Disclosure: TechTarget pays my expenses to attend and present at Storage Decisions, and has for many years. But they don’t pay me to present and I own the copyright on my session content. Happily, I license it all CC-by-NC-SA so I can give it out freely!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Storage Decisions San Francisco 2011: Optimization and Virtualization
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Join me in New York for Storage Decisions, September 19 & 20

Later this month, I will be heading to New York for TechTarget’s Storage Decisions conference. This show does a good job on the editorial side, suggesting timely topics and bringing in independent voices like Howard Marks. I will have two presentations on data reduction and storage virtualization in the main conference track. Registration is free for qualified end-users, and I urge you to attend on September 19 and 20, 2011.

Reclaim Capacity with Data Reduction for Primary Storage

Depending on which industry study you read, most companies are wasting anywhere from 30% to 50% of their installed disk capacity, which translates into thousands of dollars spent with no effective return on investment. Storage vendors are beginning to provide tools that can help storage managers make the most of the disk they have installed. For example, data reduction for primary storage borrows data deduplication technology developed for backup and classic compression algorithms to help squeeze the air out of nearline and primary data and reduce its footprint. This session’s topics will include an overview of data reduction technologies and where they will have the greatest impact, what key storage vendors are offering in data reduction and an update on the major players, and the consequences of using primary data dedupe along with dedupe for backups. We’ll also look at the potential for vendor lock-in and consider why we’re reducing data in the first place.

Topics include:

• Introducing data reduction technologies
  • Compression: How it works and where it’s found
  • Deduplication: From single-instancing to variable block
  • Application-specific: Cracking open files
• Overview of data reduction products
• Where to use them
  • The capacity conundrum: Store less and reduce utilization
  • Ideal applications: Justifying the cost of data reduction
  • Side effects: Considering the impact on backup, replication, I/O workload and vendor lock-in

Storage Virtualization: Who’s Doing It and Why

Storage virtualization has been around for decades and, although research indicates that 70% of companies have already virtualized at least some of their installed block or file storage, most remain unaware of this technology. Grandiose schemes for comprehensive virtual SANs have given way to more practical host- and array-based virtualization technologies, and server virtualization has created a new opportunity to create a pool of storage. This session will look at the current state of storage virtualization, how to quantify its benefits and describe which approaches are best for particular environments, and also cover how storage virtualization compares to private storage clouds.

Topics include:

• Defining storage virtualization: What it is and where to find it
  • Abstraction of storage resources
  • Tiered storage
  • Flexibility
• Popular approaches to storage virtualization
  • SAN controllers
  • File virtualization
  • Volume managers
• The pool, the hypervisor and the cloud
  • The impact of server virtualization
  • Is this a private cloud?

Registration

You can see the future from here!

To register for Storage Decisions New York, just go to the TechTarget registration page.

Disclosure: TechTarget pays my expenses to attend and present at Storage Decisions, and has for many years. But they don’t pay me to present and I own the copyright on my session content. Happily, I license it all CC-by-NC-SA so I can give it out freely!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Storage Decisions New York: Capacity Optimization
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

I'm updating my slides and preparing for another seminar!

The next date in my Storage for Virtual Environments seminar series is rapidly approaching, and I hope to see my Pacific Northwest readers there! I’ve made even more changes to the seminar content, adding more about vSphere 5 and including new VAAI and partition alignment info. There’s never enough time for everything I want to cover, of course.

As always, I’ll be presenting three one-hour sessions:

1. The first hour focuses on virtualization and hypervisors in general, including a discussion of storage features in VMware and Microsoft’s products
2. The second hour dives into these hypervisor features, including storage presentation, thin provisioning, and VAAI
3. The final hour is all about storage outside the hypervisor, including protocols (iSCSI, NFS, and FC/FCoE), convergence on Ethernet, SSD, and specialized storage for virtualization

I’ll be tweeting live from the seminar using the #VirtualStorage hashtag, including “virtual footnotes” providing additional details on what I’m covering.

If you’re in the area, you can probably still get into the event. Head over to the TechTarget site to register, or just show up at the Westin Seattle. But beware: TechTarget only allows end-users to attend and have been known to turn away vendors and consultants at the door!

Notes From Cleveland

One of the most interesting topics of conversation in Cleveland was the “layer cake” of storage virtualization present in VMware environments. In other words, since the hypervisor is a storage array and the storage array is (of course) a storage array, where do you manage storage? It seems to break down to a simple choice:

1. Users of homogenous “all virtualized” infrastructure likely want to remove the storage array from the equation altogether. They would be better served buying automated but simple storage and managing everything in the hypervisor or above.
2. More diverse environments, especially those that are not fully virtualized, are likely to be more interested in moving intelligence into the storage array. They like automation and integration functions like VAAI but are less enthusiastic about thin provisioning and storage DRS in the hypervisor.

Thanks again for the feedback, and I look forward to meeting you all at future seminars!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Storage for Virtual Environments Seminar, Seattle, WA
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

The view from my Toronto hotel was awesome, but not as great as the conversation with the seminar attendees

The next date in my Storage for Virtual Environments seminar series is rapidly approaching, and I hope to see my Ohio readers there! I’ve made major changes to the seminar content recently, updating it with vSphere 5 news and rearranging the whole thing. I still feel like there’s not enough time to get to everything, but it’s a start!

As always, I’ll be presenting three one-hour sessions:

1. The first hour focuses on virtualization and hypervisors in general, including a discussion of storage features in VMware and Microsoft’s products
2. The second hour dives into these hypervisor features, including storage presentation, thin provisioning, and VAAI
3. The final hour is all about storage outside the hypervisor, including protocols (iSCSI, NFS, and FC/FCoE), convergence on Ethernet, SSD, and specialized storage for virtualization

I’ll be tweeting live from the seminar using the #VirtualStorage hashtag, including “virtual footnotes” providing additional details on what I’m covering.

If you’re in the area, you can probably still get into the event. Head over to the TechTarget site to register, or just show up at the Ritz-Carlton. But beware: TechTarget only allows end-users to attend and have been known to turn away vendors and consultants at the door! Happily, the Avengers movie shoot shouldn’t interfere with getting to the Terminal Tower.

Notes From Toronto and Denver

The last two weeks have been seriously busy. In addition to Tech Field Day in Austin, I presented this same content in Denver, CO and Toronto, ON. These sessions generated some great questions and comments!

• Lots of discussion in Denver about partition alignment. I’ll be adding content to the seminar about this, but am not sure if it’ll make Cleveland. In the mean time, read this whitepaper and this blog post.
• I got great feedback from the Denver audience (Rated 4.92 out of 5.0? Seriously? Thanks!) but some wanted better slide colors (including me!), more time (me too!), and more focus on alignment and dedupe. Thanks for the feedback!
• Toronto discussion dove a bit into the VMware VSA in more detail, and we also talked a bit about best practices for justifying consolidation generally. How do you justify putting all your eggs in one basket?

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Seminar: Storage for Virtual Environments, Cleveland OH
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Join me in Chicago for Storage Decisions, June 21

Next month, I will be heading to Chicago for TechTarget’s Storage Decisions conference. This show does a good job on the editorial side, suggesting timely topics and bringing in independent voices like Howard Marks. I will have three presentations to give: Sessions on data reduction and storage virtualization in the main conference track, as well as a dinner discussion focusing on controlling the growth of data. Registration is free for qualified end-users, and I urge you to attend on June 21, 2011.

Reclaim Capacity with Data Reduction for Primary Storage

Depending on which industry study you read, most companies are wasting anywhere from 30% to 50% of their installed disk capacity, which translates into thousands of dollars spent with no effective return on investment. Storage vendors are beginning to provide tools that can help storage managers make the most of the disk they have installed. For example, data reduction for primary storage borrows data deduplication technology developed for backup and classic compression algorithms to help squeeze the air out of nearline and primary data and reduce its footprint. This session’s topics will include an overview of data reduction technologies and where they will have the greatest impact, what key storage vendors are offering in data reduction and an update on the major players, and the consequences of using primary data dedupe along with dedupe for backups. We’ll also look at the potential for vendor lock-in and consider why we’re reducing data in the first place.

Topics include:

• Introducing data reduction technologies
  • Compression: How it works and where it’s found
  • Deduplication: From single-instancing to variable block
  • Application-specific: Cracking open files
• Overview of data reduction products
• Where to use them
  • The capacity conundrum: Store less and reduce utilization
  • Ideal applications: Justifying the cost of data reduction
  • Side effects: Considering the impact on backup, replication, I/O workload and vendor lock-in

Storage Virtualization: Who’s Doing It and Why

Storage virtualization has been around for decades and, although research indicates that 70% of companies have already virtualized at least some of their installed block or file storage, most remain unaware of this technology. Grandiose schemes for comprehensive virtual SANs have given way to more practical host- and array-based virtualization technologies, and server virtualization has created a new opportunity to create a pool of storage. This session will look at the current state of storage virtualization, how to quantify its benefits and describe which approaches are best for particular environments, and also cover how storage virtualization compares to private storage clouds.

Topics include:

• Defining storage virtualization: What it is and where to find it
  • Abstraction of storage resources
  • Tiered storage
  • Flexibility
• Popular approaches to storage virtualization
  • SAN controllers
  • File virtualization
  • Volume managers
• The pool, the hypervisor and the cloud
  • The impact of server virtualization
  • Is this a private cloud?

Cutting Off Data Growth at the Disk

In this special dinner presentation, Stephen Foskett will discuss how to apply key data management technologies to arrest the growth of data. You’ll learn how capacity optimization technologies such as data deduplication and compression can reduce the trajectory of data growth as well as how tiering can reduce the cost of storage. Finally, Stephen will explore why the time may have finally come for active archiving and will leave you with practical ways to help your corporation better manage its data.

Note that space is limited for the dinner, which is sponsored by my friends at Dell.

Registration

To register for Storage Decisions Chicago, just go to the TechTarget registration page. Dinner guests will apparently be selected from that same pool of attendees.

Disclosure: TechTarget pays my expenses to attend and present at Storage Decisions, and has for many years. I also get a speaker fee for the dinner session.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Storage Decisions Chicago: All About Capacity Optimization
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Servers, storage, and networks may be interconnected, but most large IT organizations keep the administrative teams from mixing. But the next-generation virtual data center might change that!

Lots of my IT infrastructure management clients are talking about how the advent of Ethernet/IP and virtualization is changing the roles of storage, server, and network administrators. The evolution of the storage role in particular in enterprise IT organizations has been a topic of particular interest to me for a while: I definitely remember thinking about this as iSCSI and Cisco came on the scene a few years back, but the question of integration of storage, server, network, and application management areas is as old as IT.

Back in 2005, I wrote a column in Storage magazine, asking Who Watches the SAN? Although there were (and still are) reasons one might consider handing SAN management over to the network team, such as the use of iSCSI, Cisco FC, or (soon) FCoE, I concluded that many network teams just aren’t ready to take on SAN management. Storage is different – extremely sensitive to latency and outages and burdened with interconnect concepts that are similar, but not identical, to their network cousins. So most people are better off leaving SAN management in the hands of storage people, regardless of whether their SAN is made up of FC or iSCSI.

The Virtual Data Center

Things are changing, however. The modern data center is evolving to virtualize all three major IT infrastructure components: Servers, storage, and networks. Over the last year or so, we’ve seen the first fully-virtual infrastructure built, with all three areas combined in a single box, soup-to-nuts. Consider a VMware ESX server with virtual servers talking over virtual networks to a virtual storage array from FalconStor or LeftHand – it’s an entire data center in a box!

Server admins are normally tasked with everything “in the box”, including VMFS and virtual network connectivity, just as they always had to manage volume managers and path management software back in the “physical server” world. I doubt this will change. So we could see not just storage but network folks excluded entirely from the next-generation virtual datacenter!

This doesn’t have to be how things end up, though. I strongly believe that network and storage pros have critical insight into their areas, and cutting them out would be a tragic loss akin to what happened when open systems folks decided not to pay attention to the lessons of the mainframe generation. We would effectively repeat a decade of experience and learning that could, with minor modifications, be brought right into the modern world.

There are three things to do:

1. Re-combine the stovepipe IT infrastructure organizations (server, storage, network) into a single management organization with specialists in these areas and others like virtualization and cloud computing.
2. Spend the time and money to cross-train everyone to re-apply their experience and skills in this new world. Storage folks, for example, must know a good bit about server virtualization or their skills will have much less value!
3. Bring the mainframe, security, and records management folks to the party, too! They all have essential insights, and a failure to give them a seat at the table would be a critical loss.

Database and Applications

Then there are the DBAs and IT application folks. These teams have always been held at arms-length in the open systems world, and much closer on the mainframe side (especially the database people!) I think there has been a feeling that there were enough interests at the IT infrastructure planning meetings already without mixing them in as well! The current response is a service-based approach, where IT infrastructure adds an analyst role to develop SLAs and standard service offerings and act as a liaison between ITI and IT Apps.

This is probably enough for a conventional system, but there are changes here as well. Virtual appliances can step right into the apps arena, and the database/storage hybrid devices from Oracle/HP, Netezza, and the rest tromp right through the DBA world. Then there are the “webby dubby” (Web 2.0) storage services/devices like Amazon S3, Nirvanix, and EMC Atmos to consider.

Stephen’s Stance

I think we’re seeing another serious change to the status quo: Right after the data center is virtualized and IT infrastructure is recombined, applications themselves will fundamentally transform, demanding a merger of the current IT infrastructure and IT applications groups. This could all come within five years, or it could be delayed or diverted by organizational infighting and intransigence. It will be very interesting to see how it plays out!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | Changes in Technology Drive Changes in IT Organizations and Roles
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Now I have been asked to write an article for TechTarget on the very same subject: How to select a virtual server backup product. I’d like to request input for this piece, and hope we can work together to produce a useful list of recommendations. Note that this isn’t a buyer’s guide like the DCIG effort: There will be no exhaustive lists of functions and features here. Instead, I’m writing about the options available in a more general sense.

I came away from the Tech Field Day presentations by Veeam, Symantec, and others impressed by the creativity of virtual server backup approaches. Clearly, these aren’t the same old backup products! W. Curtis Preston quipped that a hypervisor sometimes seems like a little datacenter in a box, and that changes everything. Every action taken impacts the operation of the whole system, but the virtualization layer also adds new flexibility.

Virtual Server Backup Features

What would you look for in a virtual server backup product? Here’s my initial concept:

• Supported environments - What dependencies do the products have?
  • Do they require integration features like VCP or VADP? We should definitely talk more about the integration features offered by the hypervisor!
  • Some products support only virtual environments, while others work on traditional machines as well. And what about non-VMware support?
• Advantages and disadvantages – Applications designed for virtual environments certainly offer many advantages, but what about the drawbacks?
  • How important is it to use a single unified product across both virtual and non-virtual environments, as many traditional backup vendors suggest?
  • Is the whole “full-machine vs. file-level” argument worth having?
• Application integration – To what extent to they extend above the OS and hypervisor?
  • I’d like to talk about integration with common virtualized applications, but which are most prevalent?
  • We should talk about crash-consistent backup, too, especially when it comes to virtual machines.
  • Then there’s management integration: What options are there for automated deployment and setup? And what metrics and reports are important?
• Advanced features – These new products have some pretty impressive features!
  • Is deduplication a critical need in the backup app?
  • We should also talk about non-scheduled approaches like continuous data protection (CDP)
  • There are also alternative backup targets, like snapshots, disk/VTL, and the cloud
  • I’m also curious about throttling/QoS features
• Other areas
  • What about supportability of virtual machine backups – are there issues with companies not allowing advanced backup features to be used?
  • Do the “new guard” of virtual server backup companies offer any unique support and integration options?

I’d like to identify a few key features to look for in particular. What are the most-important elements for a virtual server backup product, as opposed to a traditional offering?

Finally, what about non-VMware environments. I know a bit about Microsoft DPM, having been at the introduction of that product, but what offerings are there for Hyper-V or Xen environments? How do they differ from VMware-focused products?

Stephen’s Stance

I welcome the input of end-users, analysts and consultants, and the product vendors themselves. I want to come up with a good guide to selecting these products, and I think an open discussion is a good way to make that happen. Who knows, it might even be a worthwhile companion to the information in the DCIG guide!

I’m not sure how the final article will be released, but I believe it will be offered as a free download on BitPipe.com. Regardless, the discussion and commentary here will remain free, open, and available. Thank you!

Updates

I’ve already had some excellent feedback from Twitter. Thanks!

• @Stu suggested I read What’s Next in VMware Backup
• @ChrisDearden says “what about talking about how to get the data out of the backup system – ie to offsite / archive etc” and “I’m not sure if trap is the word I would use. no more than all the tape based providers use the same format (“
• @WGoderis says “what about scalability , what if you need to back up hundreds or thousands of vms”

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2011. | How To Select a Virtual Server Backup Product?
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Everyone is a vendor - what are you selling?

We’re All Selling Something

I’ve always been a vendor blogger, and so have you. It took me a long time to come to terms with this, but nearly everybody is a vendor of one sort or another: Regardless of whether you deliver results to your employer, sell your own services, or push a product, we’re all selling something.

I’ve been delivering enterprise IT consulting for a living for almost 15 years now. It’s easy to pretend that human services like consulting are somehow more pure than the “box pushers”, but this is simply not the case. Even internal end-user employees are trying to keep themselves employed, and the most effective way to do this is to promote their company and themselves.

It’s not a black and white scale. If we are all selling ourselves and our employers,then we are all vendors to greater or lesser extents. We all have our axes to grind, our prejudices to expose, and only our experience to draw on. So no one is perfectly credible and no one is perfectly tainted.

I’ve long labored to maintain my credibility and independence, even as I have moved from an IT outsourcer (Sprint Paranet) to a storage service provider (StorageNetworks) to strategic consulting companies (GlassHouse Technologies and Contoural) to a cloud storage provider (Nirvanix). I’ve always remained separate from any product focus, but I’ve always been part of the sales and delivery process for consulting services.

Get Out Of Jail Free?

The fact that it’s all shades of gray does not mean, however, that we are free to twist the facts with impunity or that we should object when others pass judgement on our motivations. Quite the opposite: If we are all vendors, we all had better be careful what our actions say about us!

This is the most important lesson I have learned about blogging: Credibility is our currency, and no one has yet offered me enough reward to sacrifice mine. Can I be bought? Well, in the words of Jayne Cobb, “that’ll be an interesting day!”

Because I recognize the importance of credibility, I try to keep a level head and maintain a respectable persona. This means avoiding personality-driven battles and engaging in accptable business practices I would be proud for the world to know. This isn’t always easy: As your personal profile rises, there will be outside pressure (or inside temptation) to leverage it. Our shared challenge is to keep level heads.

The Messenger Matters

One inescapable fact remains: Employees of companies known for FUD are held to a higher standard of scrutiny. No matter how personally responsible and credible you are, if you work for a marketing-driven product vendor, you will be under the microscope.

Comments that would be considered innocuous or even respectably aloof from an “independent” might seem like mud slinging from a vendor employee. Imagine reading blog posts or tweets from an end user criticizing the products of Microsoft and IBM. If the exact same statements were made by employees of EMC or HP, wouldn’t they be seen in a different light? The message is the same, but the messenger matters.

I have personally experienced the doors that close when moving from a consulting company to a managed service provider. Certain publications and event organizers have strict rules denying “vendors” the right to participate; others have no such restrictions. I was sad to say goodbye to TechTarget after 5 years, but I respect their rules. Happily, as their door closed, others opened and I was able to write and present more last year than any year previous!

If you enjoyed reading this, you’ll probably also like my Foskett Services blog!

My Approach

My new role at Nirvanix explicitly allowed me to continue my personal social media presence, including organizing Gestalt IT and Tech Field Day. Management saw that my reputation was a benefit to the company and trusted I would remain objective and keep my work and non-work roles separated.

I’ve endeavored to do just that, launching a new blog, Enterprise Storage Strategies, specifically for cloud storage strategy and restricted crossover between the two domains. In the interest of objectivity, I’ve also “recused” myself from discussions of cloud storage on the Gestalt IT web site and at Tech Field Day.

I don’t want to say that this is the correct approach for everyone, but it’s worked well for me. What do you think? How can vendor bloggers remain credible in the increasingly social world?

Hot dog cart image by rollingrck

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | What I’ve Learned From Vendor Blogging
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Although my dislike for certain aspects of trade shows (especially booth babes and chotchkies) are well documented, I’ll be trying some new ideas:

• I’ve been working on a concise overview of cloud storage for my in-stage presentation (Tuesday at 11:30 in the main ballroom)
• Being a cloud vendor, we will have a very plain booth – what better way to represent reduction in data center footprint than demoing our offering from an empty table?
• Rather than giving away some cheap flashy-light junk, we will be offering attendees a free tree. Seriously! Everyone who visits our booth will get a tree planted in their name, doing a bit to offset the massive environmental impact of the show and demonstrating the positive environmental impact of cloud computing.
• We will have three technical experts, one CEO, and two salespeople on the show floor, matching my suggested 50-50 ratio of tech and sales.
• We will be offering a free cloud computing strategy workshop to interested and qualified attendees following the show to facilitate deeper discussion.
• We are also hosting a CIO-level roundtable discussion in New York with some of the City’s top companies in October.

This is a major test, in my opinion, of substance over flash. Although cheap gimmicks might attract short-term attention, I believe that they do nothing to deliver real results. Instead, we’ll be applying our best people and ideas and demonstrating both our values and our value. Wish me luck, and I’ll see you in New York!

As many folks know, I wear two hats: I work full-time as Director of Consulting for Nirvanix, where I help customers realize the strategic value of cloud storage. In my off-hours I also write, speak, and generally gad about the industry as a sort of non-analyst. If you or your company will be at Storage Decisions New York 2009, drop me a line and let’s meet up!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | What’s All This About Cloud Storage? Ask Me At Storage Decisions
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Personal, Virtual Storage. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

I'm pleased to have been invited to write and speak on storage topics for a decade

I’m pleased to announce that I will be presenting at all four of TechTarget’s excellent end user-focused 2009 Storage Decisions conferences in North America! I’m also very excited to be developning two entirely new sessions for the show:

1. Tools and Tricks to Manage Capacity – Knowing how much disk capacity you have allocated, how much is actually being used, and what remains are basics for disk storage management. But it can be difficult to measure and describe storage capacity and make smart and effective decisions. In this session, we’ll cover the tools and best practices that are key to managing disk capacity.
2. Radical Tiered Storage to Reduce Cost and Expand Service – “Do more with less” is the slogan of the year, but storage pros have been doing exactly this for years. From HSM to tiered storage, data is moving away from simple disks and landing on flash memory, tape, and cloud services. Adopting an expansive tiered storage policy will not only reduce costs but can also improve performance and introduce new capabilities.

The 2009 show dates have been released, with more information at the official Storage Decisions site. Admission is free for qualified attendees, so register now for the session near you!

• Chicago – June 1-2, 2009
• Toronto – June 16, 2009
• New York – September 22-23, 2009
• San Francisco – November 17, 2009

Long-time readers of this blog know that both topics are top of mind for me, and I’ll be updating this blog and Gestalt IT with content on both capacity management and tiered storage over the coming year as I progress through the development and presentation of this content.

I spent the last two years presenting on the topics of storage virtualization and email archiving, and previously presented a two-hour “storage 101″ session. Although I loved that content, I’m never satisfied with my own work, so I’ll be happy to develop these two new presentations from scratch!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Two New Storage Decisions Sessions for 2009: Capacity Management and Radical Tiered Storage!
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