EMC: Where it is and where it's going, Part 2

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MIKE KARP ON STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE
10/20/05
Today's focus: EMC: Where it is and where it's going, Part 2

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* What you can expect from EMC
* Links related to Storage in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Ciena

Planning for disaster recovery/business continuance is
essential, but the challenge is cost-effectively extending
storage between data centers while maintaining the security and
high performance needed for these time-sensitive applications.
Ciena's white paper discusses WAN solutions available today that
enable robust, secure, high-capacity networked remote storage
over any distance while driving costs down by up to 70 percent.

http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=117855
_______________________________________________________________
ARE X86 SERVERS THE ANSWER?

Analysts say users want to consolidate x86 systems but don't
want a move that may require a change to operating systems or
modify applications. As a result, they're looking for the
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expensive servers. Technology advances are making volume x86
servers more powerful, but are they powerful enough? More:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=117747
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: EMC: Where it is and where it's going, Part 2

By Mike Karp

Today, more on EMC. First, a non-surprise: Expect EMC to
continue to build out its core product lines, particularly the
Symmetrix DMX and several Clariion lines. The DMX3 in particular
is going to get awfully big, and the Clariion (with apologies to
Steve Martin) is trying to get small.

One point needs to be raised in connection with this. The
industry (OK, I've been as guilty as the other guys) often
refers to the Clariion as EMC's mid-range and to the Symmetrix
as the company's high-end offerings. While this is true, broadly
speaking, a more accurate view should take into consideration
that several Clariion configurations are in fact much bigger
than some of the Symmetrix boxes.

Within the crossover range, the decision will be based on system
architecture (where that crossover is actually is depends on the
drives being used, and so will shift upwards each quarter as
drives get bigger). The decision will also be based on the type
of drives (serial ATA and eventually serial-attached SCSI and
Fibre Channel) you want to use rather than just on the total
mass of storage.

Now, the new stuff. Expect EMC to grow its commitment to iSCSI,
extending iSCSI connectivity throughout most of its product
lines. Interestingly, this definitely includes the high-end
Symmetrix boxes, so the old definition of iSCSI as providing a
"storage-area network for the everyman," while perhaps still
true, becomes irrelevant. EMC's move means that iSCSI is now a
high-end solution as well.

This is good news for IT for two reasons. First, it is another
validation of iSCSI from a major storage player. Second, it
means that choosing high-performance SAN storage no longer
requires managers to line up behind Fibre Channel because that
is the only choice they have. In doing this, EMC is recognizing
a trend that has been underway for more than a year now:
Managers want to make SAN buys based on which deals are most
suitable for their needs and not because there is only a single
technology choice available to them. (This is why at an
increasing number of sites you can now find both SAN
infrastructures running right next to one another.)

Expect to be able to do in-the-box tiering with the high-end
DMX3, which will take advantage of the new low-cost Fibre
Channel drives. Ditto for SAS in most of the existing SATA
boxes. EMC will naturally have to upgrade the products' midplane
from SATA to SAS, but that should be fairly straightforward and
should not add to the cost of those products.

Next time: EMC looks beyond its comfort zone and begins to come
to grips with some of the non-storage aspects of enterprise IT.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco finally brings security push to LAN
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage8987>
2. Skype: Hazardous to network health?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage7888nlstoragealert8062>
3. WiMAX just around the corner
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage9249>
4. McAfee, Omniquad top anti-spyware test
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstoragealert6931>
5. Sourcefire discloses buffer-overflow vulnerability in Snort
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage9250>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Mike Karp

Mike Karp is senior analyst with Enterprise Management
Associates, focusing on storage, storage management and the
methodology that brings these issues into the marketplace. He
has spent more than 20 years in storage, systems management and
telecommunications. Mike can be reached via e-mail
<mailto:mkarp@enterprisemanagement.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Ciena

Planning for disaster recovery/business continuance is
essential, but the challenge is cost-effectively extending
storage between data centers while maintaining the security and
high performance needed for these time-sensitive applications.
Ciena's white paper discusses WAN solutions available today that
enable robust, secure, high-capacity networked remote storage
over any distance while driving costs down by up to 70 percent.

http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=117854
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Storage newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/stor/index.html Breaking
storage news and analysis:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/storage.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE

Network World New Data Center: Spotlight on Advanced IP

Piecing Together the Next Generation IT Architecture. This 5th
installment in a 6 part series takes a look at at On-demand
services, automated management, and management technologies.
PLUS, see how two IT Execs are plotting their way to an all
IP-world. This NDC issue has it all, click here to read now:

<http://www.networkworld.com/supp/2005/ndc5/>
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