 |
According to award-winning poet, author, and activist Robin Morgan, "Information is power". but according to many IT managers, "Knowledge consumes too much power." It also generates too much heat, takes up too much space, and adds too much to operating costs. As data and information grow within an organization, so too do the problems associated with power, heat, and space. To get these issues under control, consider how the following might help attain green storage best practices:1. Small Is SmartDisks and arrays have become more efficient over the last few years due to disk capacity increases and the scaling down of arrays. If you're running direct-attached storage (DAS) or older arrays, you can expect power, heat, and space savings by upgrading to newer technologies such as the Magnitude® family of storage systems. Such replacement will often address green storage initiatives by cutting power consumption by 50 percent and, at times, as much as 80 percent for any given amount of data (i.e., watts consumed per terabyte of available data).2. Vive La Virtualization!DAS and nonvirtualized storage area network (SAN) systems are inherently inefficient at utilizing disk storage because storage is specifically dedicated to a single server. If one server has 10 percent utilization, the additional 90 percent of storage can't be made available for other servers that may need it.With Xiotech's virtualized SAN systems, all disk storage is aggregated into a single virtual pool from which capacity is allocated to servers or applications whenever and wherever it is needed to better address green storage initiatives. 3. Granular is Great for Green StorageOne way to avoid the waste of unused spinning disks is to own systems that allow disks to be added in small increments. Some manufacturers may require adding disks in increments as high as eight or more. Xiotech enables you to add drives as you need them-even one at a time-helping keep utilization rates as beneficial as possible.4. Ability to AdaptThe flexibility to move less critical data from higher-performance drives to more efficient green storage drives (lower watts per terabyte) can significantly reduce power and cooling costs. For this to be practical, you must be able to move data without disruption to the system.With Xiotech's storage systems, you can easily move data across various tiers of storage to maximize performance and minimize costs-all without any disruption of operations. And with Xiotech's ability to virtually link clusters together, you can even dynamically move data from one system to another. 5. Make the MoveSpace in data centers is always at a premium, and any flexibility to move components from an over-loaded data center to a less crowded one helps accommodate growth and change. Xiotech offers Distributed Cluster Interconnect (DCI), which uniquely enables you to physically separate a single storage cluster up to 10 km without sacrificing access, reliability, or availability.Xiotech's DataScale™ GeoRAID™ software takes full advantage of the geographically distributed storage cluster, by writing each storage volume across two locations within the system. If one site goes down, your servers will be automatically redirected to the volume at the surviving location. Unlike traditional volume mirroring capabilities, which force you to manage two separate volumes, GeoRAID gives you this high availability with only one volume to manage. So tap into the power of information without being overwhelmed by power, cooling, and space constraints. Xiotech's SAN systems can help provide the granularity, virtualization, and flexibility that make green storage possible, resulting in lower storage costs. |
