The simplicity in handling a virtualized environment was a significant attraction for Safeway. "We've created network-attached storage for some of our archiving using the Dell EqualLogic," Leather says. "What's interesting is that we have network-attached storage devices. One was Windows based and we just attached the SAN to that, so it's like adding storage without adding drives to the unit."
The choice of iSCSI and the Dell EqualLogic virtualized storage system has meant that Safeway has enjoyed both cost savings and performance improvements, Leather says. The cost savings came because iSCSI uses standard Ethernet infrastructure. But there's more to efficiency than just saving money on hardware. "It's really nice to have that flexibility to expand the storage at a moments notice," he says. "It's nice to have high-performance disks for your database and lower performance for file sharing."
Leather said that he's seen improvements in flexibility in other ways as well. "Were doing a little bit of tiering the high performing arrays into their own pool for mission-critical applications," he says. "With the other volumes created, we have a larger default pool. In that group, we let the system determine where to put the data for best performance. It's the best way to utilize the space without wasting it."
As far as Leather and Safeway Insurance are concerned, the move to virtualized storage and away from direct-attach storage is a win-win. The company has found the performance improvement it wanted with the cost management it needed. "When we went from direct-attached to iSCSI, we noticed a significant performance benefit. Plus, we were able to better partition the volumes for databases more along the lines of best practices," he says. "We're also making a significant gain in efficiency. We're eliminating a number of physical servers. We spend very little money on server hardware." While Safeway bought the storage system from Dell, Leather still buys his servers from HP, and most of them run Windows Server 2003.
The biggest thing Leather would do differently the next time is to not try to fit his storage network into his existing Ethernet LAN. "I probably would have spent a little more time analyzing my network infrastructure and followed best practices rather than trying to squeeze all the disks and grow it on our existing infrastructure," he says. However, things have already changed there. "We're using a separate dedicated network for storage now on really high-end Cisco 3750E switches."
Bob Friday, Chief AI Officer for Juniper Networks, explains how the advanced technology is transforming operations.
Contact center leaders from 8x8, Awaken Intelligence, and 360insight discuss the importance of agent experience.
AI may force enterprises to rewire parts of their data centers so they are fully optimized to run such workloads. The question is do you use Ethernet or InfiniBand?
