NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: ANNE SKAMAROCK on
STORAGE
01/08/02
Today's focus: Storage resolutions

Dear Wincenty Kaminski,

In this issue:

* Storage-related resolutions for 2002
* Featured reader resource

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THE NETWORK POWER: 2001

Despite the roller coaster ride the economy has put us on this
year, networking remains a thriving, vital industry. In Network
World's Annual Signature Series POWER ISSUE, you'll find
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Today's focus: Storage resolutions

By Anne Skamarock

Most of us are resolving not make the same mistakes we did last
year. In that vein, let me be so bold as to suggest several New
Year's resolutions for IT management regarding storage and
management of that storage.

1. I resolve to actively deter all thought of IT being merely a
   cost center and promote the value of the IT organization as a
   vital part of the business revenue stream.

Information is key to business. Efficient management of that
information and the applications that utilize it transforms IT
from a cost center that must be maintained into a vital part of
the revenue chain.

2. I will not buy one more gigabyte of storage until I have a
   complete understanding of the capacity I currently have as well
   as the data stored therein.

With the drop in cost of disks, it has become easy to "just
throw more storage at the problem." Of course, most of us have
learned that the storage is, relatively speaking, the easy
part. It's the ripple effect that's strangling IT today:

More storage = More data = Longer backup windows + More
personnel = Higher costs

Being proactive within IT means understanding the current
environment and both current and future requirements. To
understand the current environment, look to storage resource
management (SRM) software available today from companies like
Sun, WQuinn, or NTP Software. These can discover and report on
your current storage capacity. Some of the more sophisticated
SRM tools can tell you where data duplication is occurring and
flag specified file types.

3. Once I have an understanding of the current storage
   environment, I will develop a comprehensive strategy to manage
   the storage, the data and the people using and managing that
   storage.

Understanding the environment is the first step toward
proactive management. The second step is to have a plan. Many
SRM tools provide trend information to help evaluate capacity
run-rates and allow for better planning.

However, capacity is only one of the costs associated with
storage management. Personnel performing tasks like
provisioning, backup and recovery are part of the costs of
running the business. Once there is a plan for storage growth,
it's easier to assign people to the tasks.

Finally, any storage strategy must include policies that direct
user behaviors. Being a user myself, without limits I will
consume all available storage. It's not because I'm evil (some
may challenge that statement); it's because I am not forced to
manage my own capacity. Also, SRM software can help determine
if users are downloading MP3 files and also can show if there
is massive duplication of certain files.

4. I understand that the data stored on those many disk drives
   is one of my company's most important resources that must be
   protected from human error, hardware failure, both internal and
   external attacks (from viruses, hackers and disgruntled
   employees) and catastrophes. I resolve to create a data
   protection strategy that spans my business.

What is the survivability of my business if data are lost? This
is the question we all must ask ourselves. Every company will
answer this differently and will formulate different plans.
Companies such as StorageNetworks and SunGard provide offsite
backup and recovery for companies that require this level of
protection but don't want to develop and run their own offsite
facilities. With bandwidth prices dropping, there has never
been a better time to consider these options. Even if you don't
have the money for automatic offsite recovery, it is prudent
for every business to put together a data protection strategy,
starting with regular backups.

5. I will investigate solutions beyond those available from my
   server vendor if for no other reason than to validate the
   solution my server vendor has recommended.

Our market data suggest that most storage and storage
management products continue to be purchased from server
vendors. This is understandable, as it simplifies the many
choices and gives IT management one throat to choke when things
go wrong. However, there are many storage hardware and storage
management software companies today that can provide broader
storage capabilities than server vendors can. Understanding
those capabilities and the tradeoffs of going strictly with a
server vendor allow you to make informed decisions.

With these five suggestions for managing storage, I bid you all
a successful and prosperous New Year!

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To contact Anne Skamarock:

Anne Skamarock is an analyst with Enterprise Management
Associates (http://www.enterprisemanagement.com).  She has
worked with networked storage for the last 15 years and is
currently focused on the storage practice within EMA. She
can be reached at mailto:askamarock@enterprisemanagement.com
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RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

SONET provides high-performance SAN extension
Network World, 01/07/02
http://www.nwfusion.com/news/tech/2002/0107tech.html
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