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Assessment of Storage Transformation for Virtual Environments


 

Objective:

Evaluate and Assess the Risks and benefits of emerging storage technologies to fit the needs of Virtual Environments.


 

Scenario:


 

Tradition Enterprise SAN Storage arrays have been a platform of choice for deploying Virtualization in the last decade.


 

These platforms are reaching their End-of-Life and are up for a refresh.


 

There is a latent need to transform storage environments into Software-Defined Storage Architecture to meet the new capacity, availability and performance needs.

Approach:


 

There Several approaches to Software-Defined Storage Architecture:


 

  1. Factory Built Convergence Platforms with VMware Converged Storage Stack (e.g. HP EVO:RAIL)
  2. Flash Virtualization Platforms(e.g. PernixData) - Extend the Life of traditional storage Server side flash to provide increased performance and capacity.
  3. Server Hardware with Bundle Storage Virtual Appliances (HP StorVirtual)
  4. Commodity Hardware with Converged Software (e.g.  Quanta)
  5. Purpose-Built Storage Appliances (e.g. Nutanix)

The following comparison will help you to protect your initial investment by assisting you to select the most suitable storage option for your firm.

 

Key Choices

 

Converged Storage

HP/Dell

Flash Virtualization

Pernix

Software-Only

HP etc

Commodity HW

Quanta

Purpose Built

Nutanix


 

Criteria

Converged Storage

EVO:RAIL

Flash Virtualization

Pernix Data

Software-Only

HP StorVirtual VSA

Commodity HW

Quanta + VSAN

Purpose-Built

Nutanix

Ease of Configuration

Very High

High

Medium

Low

Very High

Ease of Administration

Very High

High

High

Low

Very High

Performance

High

Very High

Medium

Medium

Very High

VMWare Integration

Very High

Very High

Medium

Low

Very High

High Availability

Very High

High

Medium

Medium

Very High

Backup and Restore

Low

Low

Low

Low

High

Remote Replication

Medium

Low

Low

Low

Very High

Capacity Planning/Reporting

High

Medium

Low

Low

Very High

Operational Expenditure

Low (better)

Low (better)

Medium

High

Low (better)

Capital Expenditure

High

Low (better)

Medium

Low (better)

High

Risk of Obsolescence

Low (better)

Low (better)

High

Medium

Low (better)

Security Risk

Low (better)

Medium

Medium

High

Low (better)

Skill Availability Risk

Low (better)

Medium

High

Medium

Low (better)

Organization Longevity Risk

Low (better)

High

Low

Low

High

Technology Early adopter Risk

Low (better)

Medium

High

High

Low (better)


 

We need to perform a detailed assessment to that best describe the condition of your storage infrastructure before you begin your storage transformation. Your may want to corroborate your assessment with our findings and decide on the final storage strategy.

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