Expanding Role Of Data Deduplication
Posted by
Behzad Behtash
May 25, 2010
One survey finding that's not completely unexpected--we were tipped off by similar findings in previous InformationWeek Analytics State of Storage reports--but is nonetheless puzzling is the poor showing by iSCSI SANs, which are the main Tier 1 storage platform for just 16% of respondents. That's less than half the number who report using NAS, our third-place response. Seems most IT pros didn't get the memo that iSCSI would force Fibre Channel into early retirement.
In all seriousness, the continued dearth of interest in iSCSI is mystifying given the current economic backdrop, the widespread availability of iSCSI initiators in recent versions of Windows (desktop and server) and Linux, and the declining cost of 1-GB and 10-GB connectivity options. We think the slower-than-predicted rate of iSCSI adoption--and the continued success of Fibre Channel--is attributable to a few factors. First, the declining cost of Fibre Channel switches and host bus adapters improves the economic case for the technology. Second, we're seeing slower-than-expected enterprise adoption of 10-Gbps Ethernet, leaving iSCSI at a performance disadvantage against 4-GB Fibre Channel.
However, iSCSI's performance future does look bright thanks to emerging Ethernet standards such as 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps that will not only increase the speed limit, but also accelerate adoption of 10-Gbps Ethernet in the short term. In our practice, we also see a reluctance among CIOs to mess with a tried-and-true technology such as Fibre Channel, particularly for critical applications like ERP, e-mail, and enterprise databases. Sometimes, peace of mind is worth a price premium.
Tier 2 comprises the less expensive storage, such as SATA drives, NAS, and low-cost SANs, suitable for apps like archives and backups, where high capacity and low cost are more important than blazing speed. Our survey shows that NAS is the Tier 2 architecture of choice, used by 41% of respondents. DAS is the main Tier 2 storage of 34% of respondents. Once again, iSCSI SAN finished last, with a mere 17% of respondents using the technology primarily for Tier 2 storage. This is an even more surprising result than for Tier 1--we expected iSCSI's low cost relative to Fibre Channel SANs to result in a healthy showing here.
Tier 3 storage typically consists of the lowest-cost media, such as recordable optical or WORM (write once, read many) disks, and is well suited for historical archival and long-term backups.
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