B. Stephen Brunner's IT Storage Blog

EMC to aquire Data Domain

My new Data Domain colleagues, please call me / email anytime.  I love working here.  I've been at start up's and large tech companies like this for many years.  And its so great being here.  I can tell you more details why. PRESS RELEASE Data Domain Agrees to be Acquired by EMC for $33.50 per share, Terminates Merger Agreement with NetApp, and Cancels Special Meeting of Stockholders Scheduled for August 14, 2009

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 8, 2009-- Data Domain, Inc. (NASDAQ:DDUP) announced today that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) providing for the acquisition of Data Domain by EMC. Pursuant to the definitive merger agreement with EMC and consistent with the tender offer previously commenced by EMC, EMC will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Data Domain common stock for $33.50 per share in cash.

Read more

http://ir.datadomain.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=211053&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1305776&highlight=

http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2009/20090708-02.htm

Simple iSCSI Best Practices (Top 3)

Setting the stage and expectations of iSCSI.
A lot of conversations on this topic seem to arise when talking about data center architecture.  Most of my brethren in the enterprise, never dip their toes into these waters, because of legacy architecture standards, fabric technology investments, and team skills.  A lot of people would go as far to say that Fibre Channel is actually easier to use. 

Nonetheless, in the commercial sector where 80% of the business market exists, iSCSI many times is the way to go.  Especially when throughput does not dictate more than real world iSCSI capabilities… and when your data center communication backbone is TCP/IP… and the team skills are primarily TCP/IP.  Then iSCSI is arguably easier to use.

Real World statistics… iSCSI’s best use is when throughput is below (<60MBps). While higher performance is possible with iSCSI, the increased cost (iSCSI HBAs) and complexity (dependence on load balancing) offsets the normal iSCSI “simplicity/cost” benefits, at least with today’s Gigabit Ethernet. Generally speaking, many servers are usually below this 60MBps limit and are good candidates for iSCSI connectivity.  The best way to find out are by collecting statistics through IOSTAT, Perfmon, or other built in tools that measure the OS and the applications.  Email me to find out the mathmatic formulas to crunch the numbers.

The net of this if course is, make sure your architect or consultant is recommending iSCSI when it is appropriate for you.  Not just because it is the only protocol his or her storage can leverage.  That’s like me going to ask a Ford dealer if he has any Chevy autos on the lot for sale.  What do you think he will say?

With that being said… here are the nuts and bolts behind iSCSI best practices.  Top 3 best practices.

#1 Use a Private Network for an iSCSI SAN (see diagram)

How I Slashed Backups by 50% (costs) and 90%+ (FTE hours)

So by now, you are thinking I have to be some kind of hero... but not really.  It really is very simple if you can do some basic math, and invest a little time doing some research on your data with me (I'd say maybe 5 hours or so total, this includes the team meetings).  Many of my colleagues (partners and competitors) keep asking me how and why has my company at large and locally done so well despite the recent events in the economy.

The answer is really simple.  EMC (especially me) is all about making you more money, slashing costs, and eliminating unnecessary expenses.  There are a TON of solutions that can do that, but I would say the crowd favorite is by far NEXT GENERATION BACKUP and RECOVERY.

In this article I will explain

• Why data deduplication is important.
• The various methods (we help you choose the best fit for you, with a scientific and financial approach)
• A local customer profile
• Customer quotes sent to me in emails this past 6 months

Data deduplication is important because it save you money.  You can slash your existing budget, and use it for more important things.  You can reduce the mass storage footprint in your data center.  And best of all, its really easy to use -because it basically manages itself.

Next Generation Backup and Recovery is data-deduplication.  What’s great is the fact, that EMC has had the very first presence in the market with all the industry standards first.  So be sure when you are speaking with someone about their “features” …understand, they are selling you their product that has only one way of doing it.

When considering which data-deduplication methods (or mixture of methods) are best for your environment, trust only those who help you determine which method is best.  Not just the one that they sell.  At EMC, we actually can de-duplicate structured data, unstructured data, and object based (single instance at the file level)… AND show you how and why a specific solution will work by scientifically studying your actual data in advance.

Here is a local medium to small sized health care customer profile & how we slashed their IT costs with a awesome solution.  We did this...

A “Multivendor” article to help our mutual iSCSI customers using VMware

One of my resources at EMC, and friend, Chad Sakac, posted a great article on using iSCSI on VMware, and how it works.  This is a technical write up, and be really good to forward onto anyone who you know is a VMware or SAN storage engineer.  There are of course many advantages to using just about any connection type (FC, IP/NFS, or iSCSI) and my company offers all.  This is a unique opportunity to hear what all the major vendors are saying on iSCSI on a joint effort.

From Chad's introduction... "Today’s post is one you don’t often find in the blogosphere, see today’s post is a collaborative effort initiated by me, Chad Sakac (EMC), which includes contributions from Andy Banta (VMware), Vaughn Stewart (NetApp), Eric Schott (Dell/EqualLogic), and Adam Carter (HP/Lefthand), David Black (EMC) and various other folks at each of the companies.

Together, our companies make up the large majority of the iSCSI market, all make great iSCSI targets, and we (as individuals and companies) all want our customers to have iSCSI success."

Click here, to continue...

Perspectives From Two Local C-level Innovators, On Making IT a Business Investment

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Lev Gonick, CIO at CaseWesternReserveUniversity.  He joined us with his friend and colleague, Bill Bradfield, CEO at PerceptIS.  Lev and Bill met with my team and I to discuss C-level perspectives on technology –how it is managed and evaluated as an investment.

It was a great way to listen to a very insightful set of perspectives on driving business value through the vehicle of technology.  You may want to check out Lev’s blog site, here, for a glimpse of his vision and perspectives on “Top 10 IT Trends for Higher Education in 2009.”This is a very good insight, and I notice some of these trends already as well with local universities. We probably asked about 20+ questions until we finally ran out of time.  Hopefully, Lev will let me conduct a blog interview with him –to post more responses for you.  I wrote down at least 9 more questions I wanted to ask today –but of course topics from my colleagues kept things moving so fast we did not have enough time for every one of them.

 

The one point he made that resonated most with me today, was not even about the business or the technology.  Here's what he had to say… people working together in business and realizing success need two things…

Confidence Building and Trust.

  Lev continued, “We all work and live in a community.  Always find meaningful ways to give back and be involved in your community [together].”  What if we each took the time to intentionally do these things with those we create solutions with?  Co-workers, partners, clients, vendors... etc.  I think we would begin to see stronger synergies in more places.  Thanks for the insight today Lev and Bill!  ...To my readers... what are your thoughts?

Is Your Data Center Like a 3 Ring Circus?

Next Generation Data Center –Requires Next Generation Leadership, Guided by Principles, to Manage the Transition of Change.

One of my favorite journals is the Harvard Business Review.  There are so many insightful articles on leadership, happenings within various market segments, and especially authentic interviews with leaders.  These interviews always take the most simple day to day experiences in life –and relate them into making our complex professional goals easy to attain.

For example in the November issue of 2008, an interview with John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco –explains ways that he reads market trends several years in advance –by relating it back to a childhood memory of a fishing trip with his father.

How does this relate to taking the data center into the next generation?  Recently in the January 2009 issue, Julia Kirby interviews Chuck Wagner –Ringmaster for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.  Imagine this… Wagner is tasked with directing the attention of 20K+ people during a modern day show while balancing 138 years of tradition for the organization.  Do you ever feel like that you share this type of burden within your organization?

Roll The Credits!

How often is it that you see EMC play a role on the big screen or on TV?  Let’s see if you can recognize your favorite storage arrays in these supporting roles.

Ridley Scott’s Body of Lies, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe with the CLARiiON systems (far right)

Eagle Eye with the Symmetrix DMX.

 

RSA Secure ID in the Sum of All Fears, with Ben Affleck.

RSA Secure ID again, this time in the series, Fringe.

Look for more great appearances coming soon in 2009!  Are there other movies or television spotlights that you know about?  List them here...

When Disaster Hits Close To Home

It was with great sadness that I received this information from one of my friends in Champaign, IL last week.  A little over a week ago, the beautiful downtown Metropolitan building was ravaged by a blaze.  This is a picture of the great building in its recent prime.

When I heard of this news, I instantly wondered if anyone was hurt, and which (if any / how many) of my colleagues and friends were affected personally or professionally.  Some of the horrific photos I have seen show street lamps and lights literally melted down, even from across the street. 

On this video link provided below, you can hear a guy in the background stating, "I ran inside, grabbed my computer bag, and got out to call 911."  Can you imagine what had to be going through his mind?  What steps are you taking to prepare for the worst?  Where is all that new customer information you are storing?  How does your staff continue working after a disaster?  Does everyone just go home, forever?  Or is there a recovery plan -and place to resume your business?  Makes me wonder what I am doing to safe guard my business.

A Way to Save $ In 2008 for Your IT Purchases (both Hardware and Software)

Have you heard of this stimulus given to companies that the IT division can leverage?  I am surprised by not hearing more customers aware of this.  President Bush signed into law the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008.  As one of its provisions, the Act allows for additional first-year bonus depreciation of 50% of the adjusted basis of "qualified property" for the year in which the property is placed in service.  The legislation covers investments made in both Hardware and Software.  The Depreciation Bonus pertains to Tax Accounting (not Book Accounting).  Customers that purchase Capital equipment in 2008 will be able to depreciate (on a tax basis only) 50% of the equipment cost in year 1.  The equipment needs to be in use by December 31, 2008.  The Act expires at the end of 2008.  This is important if you already made IT purchases (or plan to before Dec 31, 2008).

The Benefits to you will be as follows:

1. The Act enables a company to accelerate Tax depreciation in 2008 - thus reducing 2008 tax obligations.  Larger upfront depreciation translates into initial lower tax obligations – this is the perceived value of the legislation.
2. Free Cash Flow: There is a second benefit for companies that place an emphasis on Free Cash Flow (FCF).  FCF is a metric used to gives investors a much clearer view of a company's ability to generate cash (and thus profits).
3. The Stimulus Act will not be attractive to all organizations – i.e. Non Profits are not candidates.

With only two months left in the year –you will find the fact that the Act will expire this quarter.

Here is an example of enhanced cash-flow for the acceleration of depreciation deduction on hardware placed in service date of 2008 vs 2009. The cash flow savings is calculated using a 35% federal tax rate.

The Future of Virtualization?

If there was one aspect of your life that you could virtualize, what would it be?

1> Your spouse?
2> To have the ability to vMotion yourself from one country to another?
3> The ability to snapshot conversations you have with your wife?  That way when you say something stupid, you roll it back, wipe out what you said, and pretend it never happened.

Way too funny!  These are three opening quotes from this "Future of Virtualization" clip.  Basically, after that opening – I was hooked.  What follows is about 3 minutes of what customers are asking virtualization to do in their business... what are the future things you would ask for?