Resilient Storage Networks: Designing Flexible Scalable Data Infrastructures

by Greg Schulz

Overview

A resilient storage network is an environment where data is always available for the needs of the business. This book explains the components, as well as how to design and implement a resilient storage network for workgroup, departmental, and enterprise environments. Storage networks are an enabling capability combining technology and best practices to provide the foundation to support information technology systems and applications. Storage networks can be of various sizes, shapes, and technologies. This book shows you how to implement a resilient storage network infrastructure using different technologies including ATM, DWDM, FCIP, Fibre Channel, FICON, iFCP, InfiniBand, IP, iSCSI, Life Cycle Management, NAS, Object Based Storage, RAID, RDMA, Remote Mirroring, Replication, SAN, SCSI, SMI-S, SONET/SDH, Storage Services, Tape, Virtualization, and Volume Managers.


*Important information is clarified and put into context to separate myths and realities *Covers storage networking technologies (hardware, software, networks) and practices
*Numerous tips and recommendations allow the reader to quickly understand best practices
*Checklists, templates and examples show potential solutions

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555583118
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	04/21/2004
Series:	Digital Press Storage Technology Series
Pages:	443
Product dimensions:	0.94(w) x 7.50(h) x 9.25(d)

About the Author

Greg Schulz is currently a Senior Analyst at The Evaluator Group, Inc. Greg has over 25 years experience with UNIX, Windows, IBM mainframe, OpenVMS, and other environments. He started his professional carrier in information technology while in school, working as an operator, loading tapes, key punching (cards and floppy disks), and printing reports. Greg has worked as a programmer (systems and end-user applications), systems administrator, disaster recovery and storage planner, and performance and capacity planning analyst. He has worked at various firms and in several industries, including Cooperative Power Electric Utility, DCA Benefits, BNSF Railroad, MTI, INRANGE, and CNT. Greg works with large and small customers from different industries involving storage and storage networking. He has been involved with various storage-related organizations, including the Computer Measurement Group (CMG), Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), RAID Advisory Board (RAB), and vendor-specific user groups. He is the author of numerous published papers and articles on storage, storage networking, I/O, capacity planning, virtualization, security, backup, database, and related topics. Greg has also contributed material to other projects, and he was a coauthor for the Veritas book The Resilient Enterprise. As a well regarded and popular speaker, he has lectured throughout the world on storage and storage networking topics. Greg has a B.A. in computer science, M.Sc. in software engineering from the University of St. Thomas, and is an aspiring chef.

Table of Contents

Part I: Why Storage and Storage Networks? Importance of Information; Data Storage Fundamentals; Part II: Resilient Storage Networks: Networking Your Storage; Storage Network Design; Performance and Capacity Planning; Storage Management; SMIS; Storage and Storage Networking Virtualization; Part III: Networking with Your Storage: Storage and I/O Networks; Storage Networking Devices; Resilient Infrastructures; Securing Information; Part IV: Putting It All Together: Small SANs; Consolidation Examples; Metro and Wide Area; High Performance; Heterogeneous SANs; Wrap-up; Appendices: Storage Networking Information; RAID and Storage Information; Fiber Optic and Cabling Information; Glossary

Editorial Reviews

"Greg Schulz has written the most authoritative and definitive book on storage networking. It is must reading for anyone considering procurement of storage or currently has a network and requires storage that will be accessible across the network. His insights on configuring and managing storage make this a truly invaluable reference for not only those entering the storage arena but also for seasoned storage managers."
—Peter Doob – Storage Professional


"A few years ago, Greg Schulz contributed to a book on enterprise resiliency for which I was the editor. I observed at the time that he had such a wealth of material on storage network resiliency that a whole book on that subject would make sense. Now, he's done it. "Resilient Storage Networks" is the most thorough exposition of the subject I've seen to date. It includes material on justification, technology, implementation, management, and concludes with examples of storage networks optimized for particular purposes or situations. As an independent analyst with an extensive background in both the storage and network industry segments, Greg is uniquely qualified to speak on this subject. Enterprise storage architects, designers, and managers, as well as executives will find "Resilient Storage Networks" both interesting and informative."
—Paul Massiglia – Author & Technical Director, Veritas Software


"Resilient Storage Networking” is the most complete picture I have seen of this complex and business relevant area of technology. It objectively presents the issues and possible solutions so the reader can make decisions appropriate to their business and technology needs with a clear understanding of the implications of those decisions. It is an excellent choice for the unexercised as an education tool and for the very experienced as a reference source."
— Greg Brunton – EDS Australia


"Greg’s vast knowledge, his clear concise writing style and excellent use of diagrams, makes it easy to comprehend the complex topics of storage networking."
—Tom Becchetti – Blue Cross Blue Shield

“Schultz’s book is an excellent primer for network administrators who need a concise yet thorough entry into the field of storage, and should be a must-have on any storage administrator’s library shelf.” – Storage Networks Industry Association, April 2006

From the Publisher