November 2015INSIDE SSS

©2015 UBM Tech, a division of United Business Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Overcome SDS Challenges

Page 2

Choose the Right Workloads for SDS Using Microsoft Storage Spaces

Page 7

Product Spotlight: Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces

Page 11

1503123

The need for agility, scalability, and cost savings is driving many organizations to investigate software-defined storage solutions, but they sometimes experience difficulties with SDS in large-scale deployments. Deploying a validated reference architecture is one way to eliminate the guesswork while maximizing cost savings and other benefits.

Software-Defined Storage

Simplified

SPONSORED BY

UBM Tech2 SSS

The advent of software-defined storage has given

large organizations a new option for meeting their

storage needs. Traditional storage appliances combine

hardware and management software in a single box.

By contrast, software-defined storage (SDS) separates

storage management software from storage hardware, enabling

users to build storage solutions with any hardware they choose.

One of the main attractions of SDS is the potential cost sav-

ings. Using industry-standard hardware rather than relying on

expensive and complex proprietary storage appliances ideally lets

organizations save money on both capital and operational ex-

penditures. In addition, SDS promises to offer more flexibility and

scalability than some other options.

Hoping to capitalize on these benefits, a growing number

of organizations have been investigating and deploying SDS.

November 2015

SDS ChallengesOvercome

UBM Tech3 SSS

Researchers from MarketsandMarkets predict

that the SDS market will grow to $6.2 billion

in 2019 from $1.4 billion in 2014, an annual

growth rate of 34.6 percent.

With an eye on meeting this demand, a

number of enterprise software vendors have

released SDS products. One of those vendors is

Microsoft, which has built SDS capabilities into

Windows and Windows Server through a fea-

ture called Storage Spaces.

Storage Spaces provides a distinct advantage

for organizations with Windows-based servers.

Because it is included in Windows Server 2012

R2, it lets them use SDS technology without

purchasing any new software. And because

it’s from Microsoft, it integrates with the other

tools they are using and leverages their exist-

ing staff knowledge and expertise.

However, SDS technology is relatively new,

and organizations sometimes run into chal-

lenges when trying to deploy it at scale. One

way to simplify the deployment process and

avoid the challenges associated with SDS solu-

tions is to deploy a tested, prevalidated, and

supported reference architecture. A prevalidated

solution eases the product selection and de-

ployment processes, ensures outcomes, and

maximizes cost savings.

The Promise of Software-Defined StorageSeveral technology and business trends are

driving organizations to consider SDS. Over

the past decade, virtualization and cloud com-

puting have transformed the enterprise data

center and become commonplace. In fact,

InformationWeek’s 2014 State of Cloud Survey

found that less than a quarter (22%) of enter-

prises had no plans to use cloud computing.

And in a separate study, 99 percent of large

organizations expected to have at least some

servers virtualized by the end of 2015.

Organizations that are already virtualizing

their servers or deploying private clouds often

find that the next logical step is to virtual-

ize their storage systems in order to achieve

greater resource utilization, agility, and cost

savings. Bearing this out, in InformationWeek’s

2014 State of Storage report, fully half of the

$6.2 billionSize the SDS market is

expected to grow to in 2019, from $1.4 billion in 2014.

— MarketsandMarkets

November 2015

UBM Tech4 SSS May 2015

enterprises surveyed had virtualized some or

all of their storage systems, and another third

(33%) were either investigating storage virtual-

ization or were planning to implement it within

12 months.

Enterprise IT is also increasingly being driven

toward standardization and commoditization.

Large organizations, like Facebook with its

Open Compute Project, are leading the way

with open infrastructure that can help reduce

costs, reduce energy consumption, and simplify

management.

On the business side, there is increasing pres-

sure to innovate and respond quickly to market

changes. InformationWeek’s 2014 iT Reputation

Survey asked enterprise workers to name the

single biggest thing that would improve the IT

department’s business value. Two of the top vote

getters were delivering projects faster (21%) and

coming up with more innovative ideas (17%).

As always, IT is also under pressure to control

costs. In InformationWeek’s 2014 State of the

Data Center study, more than a third (34%) of

enterprises said budget constraints would have

Why Not Use Commodity Hardware for Your SDS Solution?

Sometimes organizations attempt to use low-cost commodity hardware to build

their SDS solutions because they want to save money. This strategy often backfires

for three key reasons:

1. Lack of support. Organizations frequently run into difficulties when deploying

SDS on commodity hardware. When they call the hardware vendor for support, the

manufacturer often directs them to the software vendor. When they call the software

vendor, they’re told it’s a hardware problem. By contrast, with a validated, supported

reference architecture, organizations save time and get knowledgeable assistance

from technical support personnel who know how the entire solution works.

2. Lack of continuity. When organizations purchase commodity hardware, they

have no way of knowing how long a given hardware profile will be available. When

they need to expand the SDS solution in the future, they may have to purchase differ-

ent hardware, increasing data center complexity.

3. Lack of reliability. Will you get reliable components if you purchase commod-

ity hardware? Maybe, or maybe not. The only way to make sure that you are getting

hardware that will last is to purchase from a reputable vendor with a proven track

record of providing enterprises with the performance they need.

Organizations often find that their total cost of ownership is much lower if they use

a validated reference architecture instead of generic commodity hardware for their

SDS solutions.

UBM Tech5 SSS

the biggest impact on their data centers over

the coming year.

And increasing data volumes are also play-

ing a role. In the same report, more than a

third (37%) of respondents said that storage

growth would be the factor that had the larg-

est impact on their enterprise data centers in

the next 12 months.

SDS fits in neatly with the industry trends

toward virtualization, cloud computing, com-

moditization, and standardization while meet-

ing real business needs. It also can offer cost

savings through reduced capital outlays and

simplified management. In addition, SDS sup-

ports innovation and the rapid pace of busi-

ness change by allowing organizations to se-

lect the storage components that provide the

best fit for their needs and by making it easy to

scale or modify the storage solution over time.

The Challenge of Deploying Software-Defined StorageDriven by these trends and hoping to

capitalize on the benefits of SDS, many

enterprises have begun to investigate the

technology only to discover that it isn’t al-

ways as easy to implement as they’d hoped.

In reality, not every piece of hardware works

well in an SDS solution. While it can be fairly

easy to get small deployments up and running,

it is much more challenging at scale.

In an ideal world, any SDS solution would work

on any storage hardware; in the real world, orga-

nizations often find that a particular SDS solu-

tion won’t run on a particular piece of hardware

unless they have exactly the right version of the

November 2015

UBM Tech6 SSS

software and the right model of hardware with

the required BIOS and firmware. Issues like this

are often just the tip of the iceberg.

Without help from a knowledgeable partner,

IT can spend days or even weeks troubleshoot-

ing hardware, firmware, BIOS, and other compo-

nents before getting an SDS solution to work.

Large-scale deployments are particularly tricky,

requiring even more time. That costs money,

easily negating SDS’s promised cost savings.

A Solution: Validated Reference ArchitectureTo solve these problems, organizations can

deploy a validated reference architecture that

is known to work with their SDS solution. With

a reference architecture, organizations deploy

hardware and software components that are

known to work together, eliminating the guess-

work they would otherwise face when purchas-

ing components and deploying the solution.

One good example of this type of reference

architecture is Dell Storage with Microsoft

Storage Spaces, which includes the award-

winning Dell PowerEdge 13G servers. Dell

and Microsoft have worked together to verify

hardware components that will work with

the Storage Spaces feature in Windows Server

2012 R2.

In this case, not only does the reference archi-

tecture simplify purchasing and installation,

Dell also offers related services that can further

streamline deployment. For example, adminis-

trators can call Dell for specialized technical as-

sistance and talk to a support professional who

understands the intricacies of Microsoft Stor-

age Spaces. In addition, customers can opt to

outsource deployment to Dell experts, which

can further speed the process and let IT staff

stay focused on other important projects.

With the right help, enterprises can deploy

SDS at scale without running into problems.

Using a validated, tested reference architecture

can help enterprises minimize costs by steer-

ing them to purchase the right hardware for

the solution the first time and minimizing the

amount of staff time it takes to deploy the solu-

tion. Related services and support can further

reduce operational expenses and ensure that

the SDS technology stays up and running.

By making smart choices, organizations can

realize all of the promised benefits of SDS with-

out burdening IT. With a knowledgeable outside

partner, SDS becomes much easier to deploy

and maintain, allowing organizations to reduce

their storage costs and achieve the flexibility and

agility they need to support innovation. p

November 2015

A validated, tested reference architecture can help an enterprise

buy the right hardware for its solution, minimizing costs and staff time

devoted to deployment.

UBM TechSSS

UBM Tech7 SSS

You can extend the benefits of your existing initiatives using SDS. In the case of Microsoft Storage Spaces, enterprises are likely

to see the biggest benefit in the following situations:

Microsoft-Based Private CloudAccording to data from InformationWeek’s Private Cloud Survey, 47

percent of organizations with 50 or more employees have a private cloud in pro-

duction, and another 30 percent are testing private cloud technology. Nearly half

(46%) of those with a private cloud said they were using Microsoft cloud comput-

ing technology.

Using Microsoft Storage Spaces

Choose the Right Workloads forSDS

November 2015

UBM Tech8 SSS

For organizations that are already running

Windows Server 2012 in their cloud environ-

ments, deploying Microsoft Storage Spaces lets

them leverage their existing investments and

keep costs low. Many of the benefits Microsoft

Storage Spaces offers overlap with those of a

private cloud, including flexibility, improved

resource utilization, scalability, improved man-

agement, and resiliency. And because their

staff is already familiar with Microsoft technolo-

gies, there’s a short learning curve for organiza-

tions that use Microsoft Storage Spaces in their

Windows-based private cloud environments.

Virtualization With Microsoft Hyper-VEven if they aren’t deploying a full private

cloud, the vast majority of organizations are

virtualizing at least some of their servers. Mi-

crosoft has included advanced virtualization

capabilities based on its Hyper-V hypervisor

in Windows Server 2012. Organizations us-

ing Hyper-V have many of the same incen-

tives for using Microsoft Storage Spaces as

September 2015

Key Features of Microsoft Storage Spaces

Tiering: Microsoft Storage Spaces allows users to create separate tiers for “hot” data that is accessed frequently and “cold” data that is accessed less frequently. It can move the hot data to high-performance flash-based solid state drives (SSDs) and the cold data to low-cost hard disk drives (HDDs).

Write-back cache: Closely related to tiering, this feature allows users to designate some SSD capacity for small random writes before they are moved to HDDs. This caching capability can greatly improve performance for many enterprise workloads.

Data deduplication: Deduplication is built into Windows Server 2012 and can be used with or without Storage Spaces. In Microsoft’s tests, the Windows Server 2012 deduplication capabilities increased storage efficiency between 30 and 90 percent, depending on the type of workload.

Resiliency: With Microsoft Storage Spaces, storage administrators have the option of using mirroring or parity technology to help ensure data availability in case of disk failure. It also includes features like failover clustering, parallel rebuild, background scrubbing, and intelligent error correction in order to provide continuous availability.

Storage pooling: This technology allows storage administrators to pool together many different physical disks, simplifying storage management. Within a pool, they can create different virtual disks if they choose.

Inclusion in Windows Server 2012 R2: Because Microsoft Storage Spaces is includ-ed with the operating system, organizations that are already running Windows Server 2012 don’t incur extra costs for the technology. By some estimates, organizations can save as much as 75 percent using Storage Spaces instead of traditional SANs.

those with Windows-based private clouds:

cost savings, staff familiarity with Microsoft

tools, and the ability to access benefits like

flexibility, improved resource utilization, and

improved management.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)In a VDI environment, each user’s desktop is

stored centrally on a virtualized server. This

gives users the ability to access their desktops

from any device at any time, and it can simplify

management, security, and data backup for IT.

But as you might expect, VDI requires a great

deal of storage capacity in order to hold every-

one’s files and applications, and performance

can become an issue if the storage and net-

working technology aren’t up to the job.

Microsoft Storage Spaces is a good option

for VDI because it enables companies to use

industry-standard hardware for their VDI stor-

age needs. In addition, the built-in deduplica-

tion capabilities of Storage Spaces minimizes

the amount of capacity needed, and the

tiering and write-back cache capabilities can

help speed performance.

Microsoft SQL ServerThe most recent version of Microsoft SQL

Server integrates with Storage Spaces. Utilizing

Storage Spaces simplifies the process of add-

ing storage to Microsoft SQL Server deploy-

ments, particularly with very large databases.

And again, because it is another Microsoft

UBM Tech9 SSS November 2015

Video: Maximizing Storage Efficiency with Dell and Microsoft Storage Spaces

UBM Tech10 SSS

tool, integration is easy, and staff members can

leverage their existing Microsoft skills.

Scale-Out File ServerBecause of its scalability, fast performance,

and low cost, Storage Spaces is an excellent

choice for scale-out file servers. Microsoft has

a huge list of companies that have success-

fully deployed Microsoft Storage Spaces for

this purpose. In one case, an IT services pro-

vider that replaced its storage area network

(SAN) with Microsoft Storage Spaces running

on Dell hardware stated it “gained ten times

the storage performance at one-sixth the cost,

with plenty of room to scale. [We] also trimmed

storage management work by 30 hours a

month and doubled storage redundancy.”

Backup and ArchiveStorage Spaces can also be used to set up stor-

age targets for backup and recovery. Because

it is easy to add hardware to the storage pool,

Storage Spaces can scale as necessary to accom-

modate ever-increasing data volumes. It also

keeps costs low, which is often a key consider-

ation for backup and archive environments. p

Storage Spaces can be used to set up storage targets for backup and recovery, scaling to accommodate

ever-increasing data volumes.

November 2015

UBM Tech May 201411 SSS

Product Spotlight:Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces S oon after Microsoft released Windows Server

2012 with Microsoft Storage Spaces included, orga-

nizations became interested in the SDS technology

because of the opportunity for costs savings, en-

hanced agility, improved resource utilization, scal-

ability, and high performance. Leading the way for the industry, Dell

became the first hardware manufacturer to officially support Micro-

soft Storage Spaces in early 2014.

November 2015

UBM Tech12 SSS

In order to make it easier for customers to

deploy Microsoft Storage Spaces and experi-

ence the full benefits of the technology, Dell

began working closely with Microsoft to test

and validate the product configurations that

work best with Storage Spaces. Organizations

are now reaping the benefits of this research

when they purchase Dell Storage with Micro-

soft Storage Spaces, which offers validated,

supported hardware that is known to work

well with the SDS solution.

Why Choose Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces?Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces

offers all the typical SDS benefits, such as cost

savings, scalability, flexibility, and simplified

management through automation. In addi-

tion, the Dell solution simplifies the process of

configuring and purchasing an SDS solution.

Organizations no longer have to guess which

hardware will work best with Storage Solutions

because the hardware and software providers

have already done the hard work of testing,

validating, and optimizing configurations. The

company provides a wide range of capacity

and configuration options, giving customers

the flexibility they’re seeking in an SDS solu-

tion. Dell also offers performance and capacity-

sizing guidance to help organizations select

the solutions that will best meet their needs.

In addition, Dell Storage with Microsoft Stor-

age Spaces eliminates SDS-related deploy-

ment headaches. All the pieces and parts of

the solution are known to work together, and

Dell provides detailed deployment guides to

smooth the process. For those companies that

would prefer to outsource the deployment

process, professional deployment services are

also available.

Dell also offers enhanced customer support

for the solution. This solution carries a unique

identifier that sets it apart from identical Dell

hardware used for different purposes. When

customers call and reference that identi-

fier, they are connected with knowledgeable

representatives who understand the unique

requirements of an SDS solution. This saves a

tremendous amount of time and simplifies the

troubleshooting process.

As one of the world’s leading server vendors,

Dell has built a reputation for outstanding reli-

ability, service, and support. When customers

invest in Dell hardware, they know they are

benefiting from decades of Dell enterprise ex-

perience and expertise, and that Dell will stand

behind their products for years to come.

November 2015

UBM Tech13 SSS

What’s Included in Dell Storage With Microsoft Storage Spaces?The product includes two to four Dell JBOD

storage nodes, SAS direct attach cabling, and

two to four storage enclosures. Dell Storage

with Microsoft Storage Spaces has been vali-

dated to work with six different Dell switches

and any Dell PowerEdge 13G server.

Initially, Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage

Spaces will support compute nodes that are

separate from the file server nodes, but begin-

ning in the third quarter of 2015, customers will

have convergence options that run the com-

pute workloads on the file server.

Dell also offers the assurance of on-site instal-

lation services for very large deployments, so or-

ganizations can focus on their business, not the

technical details of deployment. (This service is

optional for small deployments.)

A Proven SolutionBy purchasing Dell Storage with Microsoft Stor-

age Spaces, organizations are getting an SDS

solution that they know will work. Choosing a

validated and supported reference architecture

helps them protect their investment and mini-

mize the amount of time that will be required

to deploy and maintain the solution. It keeps

costs low while offering the choice and flexibil-

ity that attract many customers to SDS. In short,

it’s an efficient way to minimize the headaches

of SDS while reaping all of the benefits. p

About DellDell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative tech-nology and services that give them the power to do more. For more information, visit www.dell.com/SDS.

November 2015

Video: Dell Storage with Microsoft Storage Spaces