IP Storage

Russ Johnson predicts what the storage industry can expect from IP storage in 2005.

Businesses and organisations throughout Europe are generating, managing and storing exponentially growing volumes of data in order to retain their competitive advantage.  And throughout 2005 we can expect to see even more of the same.

Of course, the incumbent technology at the top end of the storage pyramid has been fibre channel (FC).  While sometimes seen as an expensive and complex technology to learn and deploy, FC has been successfully used by larger organisations with the resources, money and business necessity to implement a storage area network (SAN).  To that end, FC has become the established and proven choice, especially where speed and low latency are prerequisites.

However, for many smaller to mid-sized enterprises (SME), it’s been a challenging task matching their ballooning storage capacity with the lower-cost, but ultimately unwieldy and inefficient, direct-attached storage (DAS) alternative.  The recent emergence of IP storage, especially around iSCSI, promises to deliver many of the benefits and features of a SAN but at a much lower cost. 

Fortunately for the storage channel, customers are becoming aware of the benefits of IP storage.  They understand that IP storage solutions broaden their options and enable them to address the cost, availability, performance, and manageability issues caused by continual data growth. 

At the same time, larger organisations recognise that IP storage solutions can complement and extend their existing SAN environments, or provide affordable new SAN storage solutions in parts of the IT infrastructure still dominated by direct-attached storage. 

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Complimentary co-existence?

However, there are challenges to the adoption of IP storage.  Early on, the uptake of IP storage was thwarted by misconceptions, such as that an IP SAN requires a specialised iSCSI switch when, as we all know, any Ethernet switch will do.

It is important to stress that there is no need for IP storage vendors or their resellers to be anti-FC, and vice versa. In fact, most storage vendors already offer both FC and iSCSI solutions, or they offer solutions that are compatible between the two technologies. 

On the one hand, FC offers speed and low latency designed for heavy-duty users. On the other, iSCSI brings similar benefits but in a low-cost, lower performance environment.  It’s finding a comfort zone within this trade-off that is so valuable, and a great opportunity for resellers who now have a much wider and more affordable technology choice to offer. And let’s not ignore that FC and IP storage can happily co-exist together in a number of different scenarios, perhaps connecting FC SANs over an IP infrastructure using iFCP. 

Throughout 2005, IP storage will expand the market for networked storage by giving resellers affordable and manageable alternatives to direct-attached storage to sell to their customers.  Clearly, education on when and where each technology fits best is essential, especially since many organisations might need any combination of FCIP, FC, iSCSI and iFCP to meet all their specific networked storage needs. And, finally, the fundamental point to remember when talking about storage to end users is that it isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ philosophy.  Instead, networked storage solutions must be, and now can be, adapted as much as possible to meet each customer’s unique requirements.

Russ Johnson is General Manager and Vice President of Adaptec Europe, www.adaptec.co.uk

Convergent Expertise

Howard Hines explains how multi-vendor expertise will help drive convergence forward.
As the telecoms industry migrates to a single IP-based infrastructure, the integration of solutions from multiple vendors is becoming increasingly important. Although putting together a converged voice and data solution invariably involves installing equipment from more than one supplier, end users often choose individual systems from a range of vendors without considering how these can be best combined to deliver maximum benefit.  

To integrate the various network components and applications requires access to the services of a company with expertise in a broad range of technology environments and with an independent vendor-agnostic approach. Such companies are in short supply.

Many integrators are aligned to one particular vendor or only have experience in one technology area. As such, they are poorly placed to implement a comprehensive, fully integrated solution incorporating best-of-breed systems from different suppliers.

BT is an exception to this rule. Its multi-vendor heritage in data and voice applications and in WAN environments coupled with its growing market share in the LAN arena, enables it to address the sophisticated requirements of today’s converged voice and data customers.

The secret of success in this arena is a strong focus on the end user. At BT, we select vendor partners on their ability to deliver customised solutions to meet the non-standard needs of our customers in terms of reach, features and speed. We then work with them to develop complex offerings tailored to individual users’ precise needs.

Over the last few years in particular, the company’s organisational strategy has been driven by the need to bring together teams of people to create expert groups that can manage the need to provide multi-vendor solutions to customers. So within the technical services division of BT Global Services for example, there are a broad range of engineers and technicians that have expertise with a range of technology vendors including Nortel, Cisco Systems, Avaya and Microsoft. 

As a result, a ‘virtual’ team can be quickly created to address all the problems presented by a specific business opportunity.

Such an approach also allows the integrator to provide a one-stop solution to end users, enabling the customer to benefit from cost-savings, added convenience and more rapid support response times.

Another valuable quality that integrators can provide in this new complex environment is the ability to deliver high-quality service and management for the lifetime of the solutions. This has become more important largely because of the increased interdependency of infrastructure components from different vendor companies.

However, as the industry’s migration to fully converged solutions continues, one of the key challenges it faces is a growing skills deficit. Historically, suppliers have encouraged the development of silos of expertise – in LANs, voice technology or VPNs – and equally in technologies from one specific vendor.

At BT, we feel there is an urgent need for sales and technical consultants from vendors, resellers and distributors alike to follow our lead, adopt a vendor-agnostic approach and become experts in the multiple technologies from different OEMs that combine to deliver full end-to-end solutions.  

Such an industry-wide programme should complement rather than compete against existing vendor programmes. Also, it should help drive the migration to convergence and multi-vendor platforms by alleviating concerns about the risks involved in upgrading legacy infrastructures.  

Howard Hines is General Manager of Technical Services, Convergent Solutions, at BT Global Services, www.bt.com

Unified Threat Management

 

Bob Jones describes a new class of Internet security that offers resellers an initial sale and ongoing revenue opportunity.

 

Progress in the world of IT always seems to focus on technology breakthroughs and revolutions. ‘Must have’ technologies come along that are a trigger for users to re-equip and upgrade. The broadband revolution is the most recent case in point, with businesses, large and small, feeling they will be left behind and disadvantaged, if they don’t use this new medium. Along with the benefits of broadband have come threats – the ‘always on’ nature of broadband making businesses always vulnerable to a range of Internet-borne threats from hackers, virus writers, spammers, and the like.

 

This in itself is not news, but two significant changes in customer attitudes are making this an area of real focus for resellers. Firstly, grouping all these and other threats together under the term Unified Threat Management, UTM, a term coined by market researcher IDC, recognises that rather than treating each threat individually, a comprehensive approach not only gives the right level of protection but is also acknowledged to be the best and practical solution for small and medium-sized businesses and branch offices.

 

UTM products cannot deal only with today’s issues, but can evolve to keep pace with new threats as they emerge. Secondly, the problem is compounded for non-technical users (the bulk of smaller businesses), who are in no position to make solution and product judgements for individual Internet threats. Moreover, Internet security is a technology where the customer generally cannot judge whether the chosen solution is working effectively – who knows how to test the security of a firewall? – and they therefore need to rely on independent verification from organisations such as Checkmark.

 

UTM devices are defined as products, which act as a firewall, include intrusion detection and protection, and also deal with viruses. From a technology point of view that’s fine, but from a business perspective it’s not enough. The time wasting aspect of spam is a real business issue and misuse of web browsing either deliberately for personal reasons in business hours or unwittingly exposing employees to undesirable sites. That latter point has resulted in legal action being taken against employers, and the remedy of URL filtering is straightforward and effective.

 

For me, Unified Threat Management is all about dealing with Internet threats pretty much invisibly. Businesses focussing on their own issues, particularly smaller ones, just want it dealt with, making it the ideal candidate for managed services. These services deal effectively with email and email attachments but are ineffective against downloads, hence the focus by virus writers on this newer delivery method. The ideal situation is comprehensive and automatically upgradeable protection at the gateway, coupled with the ability for experts remotely to manage the gateway product for those businesses.

 

So enter the reseller, armed with an independently validated UTM product that covers all issues, and the experience to recommend, install and manage, on an ongoing basis, the security solution for that business – an initial sale and ongoing revenue – definitely the big reseller opportunity for 2005 and beyond.

 

Bob Jones is Managing Director of Equiinet,  www.equiinet.com   

 

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A MATTER OF CONTROL

 

Andy White says that data visibility is the key to effective compliance.

 

Compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley and other regulatory imperatives are without doubt pushing corporate governance up the agenda, but there arguably is a much more immediate need to get control of your customers’ business.

 

How many senior executives, for example, constantly struggle to access the data they need to make informed decisions?  In the area of knowledge management, you have probably heard the phrase: “If only we knew what we know, we would be ten times more profitable.”  In the light of Sarbox, perhaps that should now be changed: “If only we knew what we know, we’d have kept our boss out of jail.” 

 

Is this simply a case of scaremongering?  I don’t think so.  Even in the wake of former head of WorldCom, Bernie Ebbers’ recent fraud conviction there remains a distinct lack of awareness as to what individual companies should be doing to comply with specific legal requirements applicable to their business.  Some companies erroneously think the rules only apply to North American businesses, some will wait until they are forced to spend money on compliance, and others are simply looking for help in understanding what they need to do.

 

Perhaps this will change after 13 June when Ebbers is sentenced – he faces a maximum 85-year jail term – and businesses will start to wake up to what is needed to stay on the right side of the law.  Much of this is common sense.  In business, you need the facts – together with the policy and systems that can trap, report and analyse data – in order to make informed decisions that will control corporate compliance.

 

Here is a real opportunity for the reseller community to provide consultancy and advice in helping those businesses that are ‘flying blind’.  The key here is visibility: by making the organisation more transparent, the business will be better placed to achieve compliance quickly, easily and cost-effectively.   

 

And, whatever the size of business, the technology is now available to deliver just that. FrontRange’s HEAT and IT Service Management software, for example, provides automated ways of enforcing established business processes and procedures and will report exceptions and deficiencies to management on a real-time basis, so that senior managers have a comprehensive and up-to-the-minute picture of their assets and data.  

 

This responds directly to the new regulatory demands: in the case of Sarbox, for example, control of most IT systems is placed in the hands of business managers rather than IT managers, a significant shift for many companies.  Section 302 addresses the requirement for accurate financial reporting and Section 404 deals with IT infrastructure issues around internal controls and processes. As a result, company officers are now liable for ensuring the financial systems are properly managed, access is tightly controlled, and changes are only made after proper approvals.       

 

In taking a step-by-step approach to providing compliance advice to end-user companies, a good place to start is workflow.  Firstly, it is essential to trap and report any transaction – phone call, email, service request or other – coming in or out of your business. All this data must then be captured, controlled and made available in a regular management report.  And the regulator must be equally satisfied that all of this is managed securely, with authorised-only access.

 

A final aside: any such investment should not be seen just in the narrow terms of compliance.  By making the business more transparent – through the adoption, say, of a common architecture, reducing the number of administration points and establishing end-to-end processes – it will become more responsive and competitive.

 

Andy White is business development director of FrontRange Solutions, www.frontrange.com 

 

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Document Compression Technology

Irish Local Government adopts LizardTech document compression technology.

LizardTech, Inc., whose software solutions make it significantly easier to manage, distribute and access digital content such as aerial photography, satellite imagery and scanned colour documents, has announced that the Irish Local Government Computer Services (LGCSB) will standardise their document image file format using LizardTech's Document Express with DjVu, a highly compressed file format for document images. The solution is being implemented by LizardTech's business partner, Irish Mapping & GIS Solutions Ltd., (IMGS) based in Dublin, Ireland. The implementation project includes software implementation support and consultancy, and the supply of the DjVu software licences over the next three years, which is the expected duration of the project.

All scanned imagery and digital documents will be converted to DjVu using the LizardTech Document Express products. These documents will be stored in DjVu, a revolutionary open file format, in the Local Government's document and case management solution. Using DjVu ensures the highest possible image quality with the smallest document file size, delivering reduced file storage requirements and improved access whilst not compromising image integrity.

Over the next few years, the LGCSB will rollout Document Express with DjVu in combination with LizardTech's Express Server to 34 municipal customers across Ireland.

"We are thrilled that the LGCSB have decided to implement our DjVu compression technology to help them overcome the technical challenges that they face of making very large documents accessible to the general public over slow Internet connections," said Carlos Domingo, LizardTech's President and CEO.

"We were delighted to have been awarded this contract by the LGCSB, and we believe that the implementation of LizardTech's DjVu technology will enable them to achieve their e-Government objectives. We look forward to continuing to build upon our existing business relationship with the LGCSB," said Bob Stuart, Irish Mapping & GIS Solutions Limited's managing director.

The business driver for selecting LizardTech's document compression and distribution software is that the Irish Local Authorities face increasing demand by the general public to provide access to high-quality scanned documents, but were faced with the technical challenge that the majority of the population have slow Internet connections and broadband connectivity is still very expensive. The efficient document image compression of Document Express with DjVu, and the rapid access enabled by Express Server, solved these problems.

"Our decision to choose DjVu was simple in that this file format performed better than any other format we evaluated during the lengthy tender process," said Tony Caulfield, project manager at the LGCSB. "Local Authorities can now post scanned imagery and digital documents such as planning applications, online for the public to see, without burdensome storage, bandwidth constraints or compromised visual quality."

Document Express with DjVu combines efficient compression technology, automatic document conversion, customisable workflows and an easy-to-use interface to produce a cost-effective document imaging solution that delivers the highest levels of text legibility, and vivid colour in a compact document file that conserves storage space and bandwidth, whist retaining the ability to be fully text searchable.

Express Server is a robust software for cost-effectively distributing high-resolution imagery and scanned documents via the Internet to any device without sacrificing quality, resolution, or legibility. With Express Server, images download quickly while colours, text, and details of documents and images retain visual fidelity.

LizardTech, www.lizardtech.com

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Wide Area Data Services

 

Jon Arnold says that WAN optimisation is the key to success in the WDS market.

 

IT managers are under pressure to cut costs, and one area coming under increasing focus is wide area data services (WDS). WDS optimisation enables organisations to simplify their networks, consolidate infrastructure and increase the productivity of their workers. This market is currently experiencing rapid growth and is a sector that resellers should watch more closely as it addresses the problem of distributed enterprise offices and solves both storage-oriented and networking-oriented business problems.

 

According to IDC, this market will grow by at least 16% per annum over the next three years, with revenues rising from $236m (£127m) to $427m (£230m) by 2008. One landmark that reflects this growth trend is the announcement last month by Riverbed Technology that it has already signed one hundred customers in less than a year following its launch.

 

“This company has the fastest market traction I’ve ever seen. We’re growing 50% quarter on quarter in sales to both new customers and repeat sales to our installed base,” said Jerry Kennelly, co-founder and CEO of Riverbed. “To think that after only ten months of shipping our product, we have more than one hundred paying customers – global oil companies, financial institutions, government agencies, engineering firms, manufacturers – comprising all kinds of companies, all over the world, it’s a testament to the powerful functionality that Riverbed delivers.”

 

The Wide Area Data Services market clearly represents an opportunity for resellers to enjoy substantial returns, and forge close relationships with large companies, which need the technology. Riverbed recently signed an agreement with global reseller Zycko, one of the world’s fastest growing distributors. The firm is selling Riverbed’s award-winning Steelhead device, which, according to a recent report by the third-party testing company The Tolly Group, can speed up data-transfers over the WAN by as much as 170 times.

 

WAN optimisation is a remote office concern. Therefore, distributed organisations are most likely to need optimising technology, including big multinational corporations. To reach this market, Zycko will sell the device to both storage and networking resellers. Moreover, Riverbed counts LG, EA Games, Qualcom, Gensler and Npower among its customers, and has its patented Steelhead technology under evaluation with several hundred other famous names.

 

The technology is so successful because Riverbed has managed to find clever ways of dealing with slow application response between offices. Rather than taking minutes to move from one server to the next, the files can transfer in a matter of seconds. This is because all applications rely on underlying communication protocols. Most protocols are extremely chatty, generating thousands of round trips from client to server, even for easy tasks. For example, sending a 1 MB file in Windows can trigger over 4,000 WAN round trips. By removing this chattiness and the number of round trips, companies can save thousands of hours of time when sending files, and it is extremely enticing for IT managers when they find this out.

 

Devices can perform large-scale changes to the way a firm’s operation works. For example, Gensler, one of the largest architectural firms in the world, sings the praises of the Steelhead device because of the changes it has made. The firm previously had to send large files from offices in Europe to the US by couriering it over on a DVD but with the new Riverbed device, it can now transfer the data in a few seconds. The time now saved is phenomenal and the business operations of Gensler have fundamentally changed.

 

WAN optimisation offers resellers a tremendous opportunity. Resellers who enter the market early will have the opportunity to forge long-term partnerships with the leading vendors and realise the tremendous market potential that WAN optimisation provides. IT managers and vendors alike are fast recognising the potential of WDS and now it is the turn of the reseller to acknowledge the increasing importance of this market and take action.

 

Jon Arnold is Regional Director for Northern Europe at Riverbed Technology, www.riverbed.com   

 

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