VMware vExpert

VMware gives its vExpert award to “individuals who have significantly contributed to the community of VMware users over the past year.” This isn’t a sign of deep secret technical knowledge, only that one is committed to assisting the user community.

I personally don’t know VMware ESX all that well technically speaking. But I do know storage, and I’ve spent a few years trying to figure out the impact of server virtualization on enterprise storage. I’ve even got a section on this blog dedicated to the topic, and I’ve started a blog at VMware’s Communities site as well. I have also been documenting Storage Changes in VMware. I also join the VMware Community Roundtable discussion as often as I can, and presented a series of seminars on the topic of virtual storage in the past. Server virtualization is part of the modern datacenter landscape, and we all would be wise to include that in our gestalt!

I believe VMware is recognizing this attempted contribution with the vExpert award. Put simply, I see the value in server virtualization and want to help the storage world integrate in this new space. And I’ll continue to work toward that, regardless of my award status!

Microsoft MVP

I was also notified that my status as a Microsoft MVP in the area of File System Storage has been renewed. I first received this recognition in 2008 (see my post Storage MVP: I Feel Great!) and it was renewed again for 2009 (see Dustin Pedroia And I Have Two Things In Common!). It’s great that I’ll be able to continue my involvement with Microsoft for another year!

Again, this did not come because I have a deep understanding of NTFS, despite the “File System” moniker”. Microsoft recognized me because I spent time helping folks understand the unique world of Windows storage in articles, presentations, and on my blog. I also participated in the improvement of Microsoft’s storage features, giving feedback on the iSCSI initiator, Windows Storage Server, and other storage-related components. Today, I’m pleased to see Microsoft offering solid (though under-rated) support for many enterprise technologies. They lead the way in some areas (e.g. VSS) and lag in others (e.g. FCoE). But on the whole, Microsoft is a good storage citizen.

The MVP award includes access to product managers, other MVPs, and software (in the form of a TechNet subscription) but little else. Although we do have an NDA (the only one I’ll sign – see 5 Tips To Avoid Violating NDAs), we don’t get much insider or advance information. It’s really about engagement, and I appreciate that.

Stephen’s Stance

I’m just really honored to be considered for both of these awards. Although some call me an expert, I wouldn’t go that far. I’m more interested in sharing knowledge, helping others where I can and seeking assistance in return. Being a vExpert and MVP helps me do that, and I thank VMware and Microsoft for the opportunity.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2010. | Recognition: VMware vExpert and Microsoft MVP for 2010
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Everything, 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 really looking forward to joining the CloudCamp “unconference” movement, and will be heading to Columbus, Ohio, at the end of this month for my first Camp!

What’s an “unconference” like CloudCamp? As I discussed on the InfoSmack podcast, it’s a real revolution in the way tech conferences are held. Rather than herding attendees around like cattle and selling them to sponsors (who buy pricey booths and speaking slots), unconferences are user-driven. Think about the difference between a wiki or forum and a corporate web site and you’re getting the idea. When you attend a ‘Camp like this, you are invited to actively participate and even present!

End-user interaction was always the best source of information for me when I went to conferences and expos like Storage Decisions, and CloudCamp is the purest format for this. Many camps are presented in association with other conferences, planned either ahead or behind the main show to share attendees. In my eyes, unconferences are an ideal parallel to the development of business development events like the BD Event recently held in Boston.

If you’re interested in real cloud computing without the hype, why not head to the nearest CloudCamp? And if you happen to be near Columbus, Ohio on June 30, join me at CloudCamp Columbus!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Join Me At CloudCamp Columbus, June 30, 2009!
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.

There is still time to register and attend the Expo, and I’d love to meet up with readers and new friends. I’ll also be in New York on Saturday May 16th and London on Wednesday May 20th. Drop me a line! Sadly, this schedule means I’ll be missing everyone at EMC World, but I think they will get along without me somehow!

The Benefits of Cloud Storage

The demand for storage has increased, placing significant stress on “in house” storage infrastructures and costly overcapacity build-outs Factoring in our current economic state and the pressures of power, space, capital expenditures, global performance, and availability issues, companies are faced with an exploding challenges and costs. Cloud storage platforms enable Enterprises to cut-cost and focus on more important aspects of business, but with many competitors in the marketplace it’s hard for businesses to decide which option is best. This session will teach attendees about the uses of cloud storage within Enterprise levels of deployment and shed some light on the current solutions available today. (Monday, May 18, 5:05 PM)

How Does Virtualization Change Storage?

The virtualization of servers destroys everything that storage folks thought they knew about I/O and throws in a new layer of abstraction to boot. Creating storage for virtualization is not the same as storage for most other apps, and storage virtual servers on a SAN or NAS is not the same as using internal disk. There is synergy between the two fields, though, if we look for it. This sesskion will walk through what virtualization changes about storage, the various storage options, pros and cons, and what the future looks like with FCoE, UCS, 10 GbE, and VMware vStorage APIs. (Tuesday, May 19, 6:30 PM)

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Preparing For Cloud and Virtualization Expo in Prague
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.

My presentation on Monday evening focuses on the emergence of cloud storage in the enterprise space: Why it’s important, what it is, and how to act on it. I start by talking about the drivers, including the unexpectedly high cost of storage and the failures of tiered storage so far. I then suggest a new paradigm for the enterprise, leveraging solid state disks and the cloud. I reality check this against McKinsey’s recent cloud model and demonstrate some TCO goodness. Finally, I talk about the reasons folks might be concerned about bringing cloud storage into their environments.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | My Cloud Slam Topic: Enterprise Storage (Predictable?)
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.

The podcast is now available on iTunes!

Although the topic is an open roundtable, I thought I might give my readers a peek into the areas I plan to bring up:

• Why storage is so critical to VMware admins: It’s all about the IOPS!
• EMC’s new Symmetrix V-Max and why it’s important to VMware shops
• The great FCoE/CNA debate and Cisco’s UCS home run
• Super low-end storage for the small business or lab

Of course, what will actually get discussed is anyone’s guess, but it’s good to go in with a list of topics to avoid dead air!

So dial in or listen online, and let the discussion start!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Interested in VMware and Storage? Tune In to the VMware Communities Podcast!
This post was categorized as Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT, Personal, Terabyte home, 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!
This post was categorized as Everything. Each of my categories has its own feed if you'd like to filter out or focus on posts like this.

Storage Magazine has returned with an online edition

Although the dead-tree version of TechTarget’s excellent Storage Magazine is no more, the company today released the premiere issue of its online counterpart! Available as both a web-based magazine and a PDF download, Storage Magazine Online continues with many of the same editors and writers, including Rich Castagna at the helm.

You can still subscribe to the online edition too, so you needn’t miss an issue! Existing qualified subscribers should receive an email today outlining the shift from paper to bits.

One article I’d personally like to highlight is my own piece on consolidated archiving. I put a great deal of effort into the article, and I welcome your comments!

I wish the TechTarget all the best with this transition, and urge you all to check out their work. Now if they would only add all of the back issues as downloadable PDFs as well!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Introducing Storage Magazine Online!
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.

Register online at Contoural’s web site!

E-mail Archiving 101: A Non-Technical Person’s Overview of How E-mail Archiving Works and How to Pick the Right Tool
Thursday, January 8, 2009
10:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Faculty: Independent expert Stephen Foskett, Principal Consultant, Contoural, Inc.

E-mail archiving systems are becoming an important component of many organization document retention and litigation preparedness strategy. Nevertheless, to the non-technical person, understanding what these systems do and how they are different can be bewildering or even downright confusing. A good idea sometimes gets lost in technical translation. In this webinar, industry expert and independent Contoural Principal Consultant Stephen Foskett will walk through a high-level overview of how these systems work in simple terms aimed at the non-technical person.

Topics include:

• What do e-mail archiving products do and how do they support litigation readiness?
• High-level description of how different products work and are used
• What are some of the real differences between systems?
• How to evaluate which features are best for your organization

This webinar will also provide time for questions from the audience.

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2009. | Email Archiving 101 Webinar, January 8
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.

Although I doubt Canada is much different from the US in terms of adoption of particular technologies, I am sure that the different governmental and litigation drivers will affect certain infrastructure and organizational practices. Here in lawsuit-happy USA, for example, it is easy to justify the cost of advanced archiving and e-discovery infrastructure to reduce the risk and impact of legal action. But Canada has a very different corporate environment, and information privacy is much more the focus.

I’ll report back on what I find after the trip. In the mean time, if you can get to Toronto tomorrow, there are still spots for qualified attendees! We’ll be at the Westin Harbour Castle, a beautiful location right on the water. I’ll also be in Louisville, Kentucky this week, and would be happy to meet any fellow Pack Rats in the land of bluegrass, bourbon, and thoroughbreds!

© sfoskett for Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat, 2008. | Toronto Seminar: Do Canadians Virtualize?
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.