R E P A P E T I H W
Optimizing and managing File StOrage in WindOWS envirOnmentS
A Powerul Solution Based on Microsot DFS and Brocade Tapestry StorageX.
The Microsot Distributed File System (DFS) is a storage service that can help solve many complex problems in Windows environments. Organizations that deploy DFS can achieve immediate and signifcant fle management benefts. In addition to making it easier to manage fles, DFS provides a core set o capabilities on which powerul enterprise storage management solutions can be built. Brocade® Tapestry™ StorageX® is a solution or managing distributed fle storage in Windows environments. Built on DFS, Tapestry StorageX enables the integrated management o logical and physical storage elements, making it the most comprehensive Windows storage management solution available. InTRoducTIon
Organizations in every industry are experiencing exper iencing explosive grow growth th in their requirements or le storage capacity. The prolieration o application data and user-generated documents—such as presentations, spreadsheets, graphics, and scanned documents— is driving continued expansion o network storage requirements. As a result, Windows storage congurations are growing in both size and complexity. This growth and complexity creates challenges or storage administrators as well as users. And it is a direct cause o increased storage management costs, as well as sub-optimal storage utilization and data availability. EnTERPRIsE sToRAgE MAnAgEMEnT cHAllEngEs
Storage requirements are outpacing most organizations’ ability to eciently manage them. There are our key challenges relative to the growing requirements or le storage, described in the ollowing sections: Explosive Explosive growth in enterprise storage: Many actors are contributing to an enormous increase in network storage requirements, including the pervasiveness o wide area networking and users’ ability to create and duplicate huge volumes o data.
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Underutilization Underutilization o distributed storage: According to a Gartner Group study, only 30 to 40 percent o storage in distributed environments is utilized, which is low compared to 80 percent storage utilization in mainrames. Complexity in distributed storage s torage management: Another Gartner Group study ound that storage and storage-related management consumes as much as 75 percent o corporate IT budgets, and or every dollar spent on storage hardware, much more is spent on administrative costs. Given the act that storage requirements are increasing as much as 100 percent annually, organizations cannot aord to continue “throwing hardware” at the problem or hiring more administrators to handle the additional workload. Achieving cost-eective high availability availability or distributed storage: Organizations ace a daunting task tr ying to make data that is spread throughout throughout the enterprise enterpr ise highly available. Doing so requires a well-planned, well-designed network storage architecture that can be centrally managed. Until now, it has not been possible to centrally manage distributed storage in Windows Windows environments, so organizations have have ound it very dicult to create and manage distributed le storage environments. environments.
DFS and Tapestry StorageX provide a means or addressing and solving many o these storage management problems. Based on DFS, Tapestry StorageX is the most powerul automated storage management sotware or Windows Windows environments. It can signicantly enhance storage availability availability and scalability while reducing the cost and complexity o storage management. lAyIng THE FoundATIon FoR FIlE sToRAgE MAnAgEMEnT WITH dFs
R E P A P E T I H W
Historically, with the Universal Naming Convention (UNC), a user or application was required required to speciy a physical server and share in order to access le inormation (that is, the user or application had to speciy \\Server \Share \Path\Filename ). ). A UNC is typically mapped to a drive letter where x: might be mapped to \\Server \Share. Users must know the physical name/location o the machines and shares they want to access. And users must map to many drive letters (d:, e:, :, g:, h:, etc.) to access inormation stored on dierent servers. As a result, users can be overwhelmed by complicated share names and the number o places where data can be stored. This storage management paradigm creates major problems or both users and administrators. The administrator must orever maintain the server name once it is published to users. Changing a \\servername\share name requires the administrator to notiy each user (perorm “desktop touches”) so that their machines can be recongured to access the renamed server and shares. With this approach, administrators have very little fexibility in the way they manage users and storage. Machine name dependencies lead to inecient administration and underutilized storage, both both o which increase costs and reduce the eectiveness o storage management. However, DFS services in Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 provide a signicant change to the traditional storage management paradigm. A Patfrm fr fr ditribte Fie Maaemet
Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 include DFS, a storage service that can help solve many storage management challenges. DFS enables the creation o a logical le system that can uniy multiple physical le systems. As a result, organizations can use it to improve storage-related unctionality, reduce costs, and provide more comprehensive storage management. DFS also is a strategic le server virtualization inrastructure on which sotware vendors can build value-added storage management solutions. DFS consists o a client and a server component. The client component is included with all Windows clients, and allows the client to make requests to the DFS server. The server component is included with Windows NT, NT, Windows 2000, 2 000, and Windows Ser Server ver 2003. The DFS server component receives a client request and redirects or reers it to a physical target, similar to the way a browser receives a DNS call and reers the client to a Web site. DFS does or servers and shares what le systems do or hard disks. File systems provide uniorm named access to collections o sectors on disks. Likewise, DFS provides a uniorm naming convention and mapping or collections o servers, shares, and les. Another way o thinking about it is that DFS is to le storage what DNS is to networking or Active Active Directory is to users and computers.
A strae sti devepmet devepmet Patfrm Patfrm
Because DFS is a component o Microsot Server, vendors can easily build storage solutions based on open standards with DFS at the oundation. Vendors such as Brocade signicantly leverage leverage the DFS plator m to create solutions that address critical storage issues such as disaster recovery, data migration, server consolidation, storage reconguration, and storage optimization. The cmpei cae fr depi dFs
DFS lays the oundation or enterpr ise le storage management by providing a core set o capabilities. In particular, DFS: Eliminates Eliminates machine name name dependencies: dependencies: DFS removes the “once-published, orever-maintained” requirement or server names, which creates tremendous fexibility or administrators to add or move move les and users without having to touch or recongure the desktop. Removing machine name dependencies enables the creation o a logical storage layer, which in turn enables the creation o strategic enterprise le storage solutions.
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Enables Enables a logical view view o physical physical storage: storage: DFS separates the logical and physical aspects o storage to enable the creation o a logical layer. This means that administrators can create logical views o physical storage that match what users and applications want to see instead o how and where les are physically stored.
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Protects investments i nvestments in Windows sotware: Because DFS is already included in all Windows clients and every Windows server product since Windows NT 4.0, organizations can take advantage o DFS without having to purchase, load, or deploy additional operating system sotware. Protects investments in storage hardware: DFS supports le storage across multiple storage types—NAS, DAS, server-attached SAN—rom various vendors. This means that organizations can use DFS to aggregate and increase the utilization o their existing storage devices, which can signicantly reduce hardware costs.
Enables Enables the the development development o enterprise storage solutions solutions that are are easy to deploy: With DFS as the oundation, vendors can develop storage solutions that reside above the operating system and that do not require kernel-level sotware. This means that organizations can quickly and easily deploy these new storage solutions, as they will not have to retest applications or load new system-level sotware.
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Tapetr straeX A Vae t dFs
DFS is an immensely valuable service, but it is not a complete solution. Tapestry StorageX adds value to DFS because it: •
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Is a complete le virtualization solution that integrates management o the logical and physical layers layers Provides comprehensive DFS management Makes DFS enterprise-ready by enabling its use in complex, large-scale Windows environments Uses DFS to deliver a storage management solution
TAPEsTRy sToRAgEX Is A coMPlETE MAnAgEMEnT soluTIon
Tapestry StorageX is a complete solution or managing large-scale le storage in Windows environments. Built on DFS, Tapestry StorageX enables organizations to solve some o their most pressing storage management problems, such as aggregating heterogeneous heterogeneous NAS devices so that they can be managed as a single storage pool, managing user storage throughout its liecycle, migrating data, consolidating servers and storage, and providing near-continuous access to les in the event o a disaster.
R E P A P E T I H W
strae Trapare: What de It Mea?
In the simplest terms, transparency is achieved by separating the logical and physical aspects o storage and enabling them to be scaled and managed separately. In other words, Tapestry StorageX breaks the hard dependencies between le access and physical le locations. The goals o this transparency are to shield users rom the complexities o the storage architecture, and to enable administrators to manage the physical layer without aecting users’ access to data. In storage management ter ms, this this is the act o “pooling” distributed storage so that it can be viewed and managed as a single unit. Tapestry StorageX enables pooling o le storage across multiple, heterogeneous storage types (DAS, server-attached SAN, or NAS) rom various vendors—increasing the fexibility to manage data. It also enables the administrator to manage both the logical and physical layers layers in an integrated ashion. Iterate Maaemet
Although the benets o separating logical and physical storage components are well documented, the creation o a logical layer adds administrative burden. The key to solving storage management problems problems is to enable their integrated management. This means automatic synchronization between the logical and physical layers so that changes to physical les are automatically updated in all the logical links that reerence those les. This integration reduces the administrator’s burden and increases the fexibility to manage users and les. Tapetr straeX ue dFs t deiver a Eterprie strae sti Patfrm
Tapestry StorageX adds several key services and applications to DFS to deliver an enterprise storage solution plator m. Tapestry StorageX includes the ollowing: ollowing: •
DFS management
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Windows storage management
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Enterprise namespace creation
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Data migration services
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Replication services
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Disaster recovery management
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Active Directory integration
By combining these services ser vices with DFS,Tapestry StorageX provides a complete platorm or storage solutions that can increase data availability, improve storage utilization, and reduce storage costs (see Figure 1).
Fire 1. DFS and Tapestry StorageX provide an integrated solution.
Windows File Servers Servers and NAS Devices Devices CIFS
CIFS
CIFS
Multivendor File Storage Administration n o i t u l o S
Data Lifecycle Management Rapid Disaster Recovery and Cost-effective High Availability
d e t a r g e t n I
Intelligent Data Movement Global Namespace CIFS
CIFS
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DFS-enabled Windows Clients
Tapetr straeX Prvie simpe, cmpreheive dFs Maaemet
Tapestry StorageX increases the management and usability o DFS in signicant ways. It provides provides a single point o management or distributed roots and enables logical visualization o an entire distributed storage environment. Tapestry StorageX also includes powerul powerul graphical tools or DFS server conguration and has a point-and-click, drag-and-drop interace to enhance DFS usability. Tapestry StorageX includes sophisticated management tools to monitor, diagnose, troubleshoot, and manage distributed DFS roots. And Tapestry StorageX management reporting and Web-based administration make it easy to administer and monitor DFS networks. Organizations that want to deploy DFS oten nd Tapestry StorageX invaluable because it makes DFS implementation, conguration, and management simple and reliable. Tapetr straeX Make dFs Eterprie-Rea
Tapestry StorageX includes powerul eatures that enable DFS scalability and centralized management: Enterprise Enterprise view view o a namespa namespace: ce: Tapestry StorageX provides provides an enterprise-wide enterpr ise-wide view o le storage. It discovers and displays all DFS roots that exist in one or more namespaces and correlates logical views with physical machines or the entire enterprise.
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Easy Easy namespace namespace creation: creation: Administrators Administrators can easily create a namespace with Tapestry StorageX by using its graphical interace to dene how logical links tie to physical storage. With the ease o dragging dragg ing and dropping inormation inor mation rom Windows Explorer and Tapestry StorageX utilities such as Share Finder, an administrator can dene an entire namespace in just minutes.
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One-to-many management o DFS confgurations: Tapestry StorageX provides a single point o management or multiple distributed DFS roots, which means that an entire namespace can be managed rom a single, centralized location. Powerul eatures in Tapestry StorageX enable an administrator to perorm a single action simultaneously on groups o DFS roots, which provides scalability and reduces the amount o time required to set up and manage namespaces.
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Cross-reerence o logical views and physical storage: Tapestry StorageX provides a graphical view o DFS roots and links, and logical-to-physical as well as physical-to-logical physical-to-logical views. The administrator can see which users and applications are dependent on specic machines. This ability to visualize logical views correlated with physical congurations gives the administrator the fexibility to change/manage physical storage without disrupting users’ access to les. Data migration and integrated management: management: The Tapestry StorageX Data Migration Wizard Wizard allows the administrator administrator to migrate les rom one storage device to another with all o the le attributes intact. In addition, it automatically updates the namespace and synchronizes the logical and physical layers.
R E P A P E T I H W
sAMPlE TAPEsTRy sToRAgEX soluTIons
DFS and Tapestry StorageX can solve critical enterprise storage management problems. For example, an organization that is preparing or disaster recovery can use Tapestry StorageX replication and disaster recovery recovery management services in conjunction with DFS to address its need or business continuity. The ollowing examples show how Tapestry StorageX can be deployed deployed in the enterprise. Mtiver Fie server (nAs) Areati Areati
The goal with NAS aggregation is to enable the seamless addition o new NAS devices without having to set up new shares or server names, inorm users, or recongure client machines. Tapestry StorageX can be used to aggregate les across multiple heterogeneous heterogeneous (and geographically distributed) storage devices so that the les appear as a single “pool” o storage. When storage is pooled in this manner, all storage is available to all users and applications, which enables the administrator to allocate storage eciently and transparently. Using Tapestry StorageX, an administrator can create multiple logical views o a le system without having to move or recongure physical les. This is especially benecial in the event o a corporate merger or reorganization, as it allows aggregated views o data to be created quickly.
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New User
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IBM (SAK)
Dell (SAK)
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lw-ct Bie ctiae
Disaster events range rom a single server to an entire site ailure, both o which can interrupt user access to data and aect business continuity. Tapestry StorageX enables multi-site ailover, including cascaded ailover rom local to remote sites in the event o a disaster. Beyond protecting data, the true test o any disaster recovery solution is in how quickly clients regain access to data ater a ailure. A Tapestry StorageX-based disaster recovery recovery solution provides provides near-continuous client access to data by shortening the restore window rom hours/days to minutes without client reconguration or network rerouting.
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One-to-One Failover
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n-dirptive sever Mirati a ciati
Ater server name dependencies are eliminated, it becomes possible or organizations organizations to add, expand, and consolidate storage seamlessly and transparently. DFS eliminates server name dependencies, and Tapestry StorageX enables data migration and load balancing without aecting users or applications. Organizations can use Tapestry StorageX to optimize utilization o existing hardware, which can lower costs by reducing the need or additional hardware.
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WindowsPowered NAS
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dami Expai f strae a uer
With Tapestry StorageX, when a le server or a NAS device is added to the network, administrators are relieved o tasks such as setting up network shares and inorming users o the new device’s existence so that they can map to it. Similarly, when a new user is added, Tapestry StorageX eliminates the need or any desktop touch, and users simply get access to the logical pool o storage. This method o managing users and storage eliminates complicated script management and avoids desktop touches when physical les are moved.
R E P A P E T I H W
In this manner, Tapestry StorageX reduces the administrative complexity involved in growing a distributed distri buted le storage environment environment and distributed di stributed Windows Windows user environment.
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IBM (SAK)
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Windows 2000
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data lifee Maaemet
Tapestry StorageX enables the creation o “tiers o storage” across heterogeneous servers and NAS appliances, while while making user access to distr ibuted data transparent across all tiers o storage through the Global Namespace. Tapestry StorageX accomplishes this by the policy-driven movement movement o data across heterogeneous devices based on cr iteria such as age, usage, and size—enabling IT to match storage policies with business priorities prior ities (placing important data on higher-cost storage and less-important data on lower-cost storage). By enhancing overall storage capacity utilization, reeing up space on higher-cost storage, and consolidating the tape backup inrastructure, administrators can signicantly reduce the liecycle costs o data storage.
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Disruptive to Users
Global Namespace Transparent to Users
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Manual Classification and Migration
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conclusIon
Tapestry StorageX is the most powerul automated storage management sotware available today or managing Windows storage. It can signicantly enhance storage availability and scalability while reducing the cost and complexity o storage ownership— thereby beneting beneting both administrators and users. user s. As a DFS-based solution or managing large-scale storage in Windows Windows environments, environments, Tapestry StorageX provides an easy way or administrators to create and manage both the logical and physical storage layers. It allows them to: •
Better utilize distributed storage capacity
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Gain fexibility by shielding users rom changes in the storage implementation
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Easily support and administer heterogeneous storage devices
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Protect users rom the complexity o the storage inrastructure
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Increase data availability
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Seamlessly accommodate growth and changes in storage requirements
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Decrease storage management costs
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© 2006 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 07/06 GA-WP-835-00 Brocade, the Brocade B weave logo, Fabric OS, File Liecycle Manager, MyView, Secure Fabric OS, SilkWorm, and Tapestry StorageX are registered trademarks and Tapestry is a trademark o Brocade Communications Systems, Inc., in the United States and/or in other countries. FICON is a registered trademark o IBM Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks o, and are used to identiy, products or services o their respective owners. Notice: This document is or inormational purposes only and does not set orth any warranty, expressed or implied, concerning any equipment, equipment eature, or service oered or to be oered by Brocade. Brocade reserves the right to make changes to this document at any time, without notice, and assumes no responsibility or its use. This inormational document describes eatures that may not be currently available. Contact a Brocade sales oce or inormation on eature and product availability. Export o technical data contained in this document may require an export license rom the United States government.