How To Get High Performance Cloud Storage

One of the challenges with cloud storage is the connection between you and the storage. For almost everyone it is going to be slower than what is available within the data center. This performance difference does not mean a more limited use of cloud storage, it means that greater intelligence is needed to load data into the cloud. With that intelligence cloud storage could be leveraged for even the most demanding of applications.

In almost all use cases, but especially cloud storage as part of a primary storage solution, it is going to require some sort of local presence to cache the active data sets. This local presence can come in the form of a stand alone appliance, a virtual appliance or can be integrated into the storage system itself. The goal of the local presence is to store the active data subset on local high speed storage and then as the data ages push it out to the cloud storage service but do so transparently.

This hybrid type of deployment does mean that the data set does have to be something that can be segregated by access dates. It also means that the ideal data set is one where it has a short create and edit cycle, then is rarely accessed in the future. A file server is an obvious example but messaging and group collaboration tools are as well.

No matter what the local data set is you are always going to need to copy data to the cloud. Most of these hybrid type of solutions will want to copy all new or modified data the moment that the change occurs, this provides a level of redundancy from a data protection perspective but means that the WAN bandwidth utilization is upfront as well. Most of these hybrid type of devices can trickle data to your cloud provider so bandwidth can be throttled back. More importantly most of them have some form of WAN optimization either compression or deduplication that reduces the data set before it is sent and after it lands. For example in the solution we are currently testing, while we have placed 77GB's of data in the cache device only 27GB's of that data has been actually transferred and stored thanks to compression and deduplication.

Even with this intelligent use of the available bandwidth there are some practical steps you will want to take. First you need to have a decent connection to the internet. When we began our testing we immediately found our connectivity to be a little lacking. We doubled our bandwidth for about 15% extra per month and it made the application significantly more usable.

Second you also want to select a data set that can be gradually migrated to the cloud, net new projects are ideal or data that can be easily isolated by age, migrating the oldest data sets one at a time. In our case if we used it for hosting our various projects and simply decided that all new projects would go on the cloud storage appliance. As a result we have seen almost no impact from having all of our data be on the cloud storage device and we have seen a performance improvement in local response time since our appliance is on high speed storage,

With these considerations in mind cloud storage can be a viable option for many applications and data sets. As the hybrid technology continues to improve and the cost of bandwidth continues to come down even more applications and data sets will be deemed cloud appropriate, but the time to develop a cloud storage strategy is now. We will be answering questions like this in more detail in tomorrow's live webinar "What's Your Cloud Strategy, Answering The Top Ten Questions".

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Popular Dropbox Store-Sync-Share Cloud Service Morphing Into Middleware

3. Use Cloud Storage As a Backup Target
If you are using a local PC, you can’t stop local storage from growing. However, you can backup important data to cloud storage. There are plenty cloud storage services around, such as Amazon S3, AT&T Synaptic Storage and so on. You will need to find a cloud backup solution with your cloud storage service.

4. Use Cloud Storage As Tier 2 Storage
You may have a local file server shared by everyone in the office. Over time, the file server will grow old and run our of disk space. You need to be prepared to replace it every 2-3 years. One of the best practice is to have cloud storage attached to it as tier 2 storage. After you take care of the email storage, collaboration storage and backup storage, the file server storage will not grow as fast so it will last longer. With cloud storage attached as tier2, you now have a second copy of the data in case anything goes wrong with the file server. It is more of a business continuity and disaster recovery solution.
5. Look into the Future

The best could be that there is no local storage where your desktop is in the cloud too. Everything else is online application delivered through a web browser. This way, instead of having a physical IT infrastructure, you have a virtual infrastructure. Cloud storage will still be around, the only difference is the access point changed from local desktop to cloud desktop and online applications.

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http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/1544049


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Grow Your SMB with Cloud Storage

The basic principle of growing the business is finding the best person to get the job done, with reasonable cost. That is why the payroll is outsourced to ADP; In-house Email Server replaced by Google Apps Premier; Business contacts are managed by Salesforce.com.
Your in-house data storage will grow as your business grow. Over time, it will become expensive. For example, it may take a couple of days to backup 50G data to a FTP server. It will take 200 days to do the same thing for 5 Terabytes of data.  Your business premise usually is the slowest link to the Internet. It will not be a good idea to have local storage grow to a level that it is difficult to transfer to a different location over Internet.

1. Move Your Email Server Out First
People don’t typically think of email as storage but it is with all the messages and attachments. If you keep it local, over time you will have to upgrade the email servers. It is best to move it out early.  Google Apps or Microsoft Windows Live could be good choices.

2. Leverage Online Storage Suites
If you don’t use an online storage suite, employees typically will just send email attachments around for sharing and collaboration. You may have a Sharepoint server in house for that purpose but over time, you will run into storage problems again. There are plenty online storage suites around, such as Google Docs, Windows Live SkyDrive, Box.net. You can easily share files with your co-workers with these online services. All that you need is a quick and easy desktop access tool to Google Docs, SkyDrive or Box.net.

3. Use Cloud Storage As a Backup Target
If you are using a local PC, you can’t stop local storage from growing. However, you can backup important data to cloud storage. There are plenty cloud storage services around, such as Amazon S3, AT&T Synaptic Storage and so on. You will need to find a cloud backup solution with your cloud storage service.

4. Use Cloud Storage As Tier 2 Storage
You may have a local file server shared by everyone in the office. Over time, the file server will grow old and run our of disk space. You need to be prepared to replace it every 2-3 years. One of the best practice is to have cloud storage attached to it as tier 2 storage. After you take care of the email storage, collaboration storage and backup storage, the file server storage will not grow as fast so it will last longer. With cloud storage attached as tier2, you now have a second copy of the data in case anything goes wrong with the file server. It is more of a business continuity and disaster recovery solution.

5. Look into the Future
The best could be that there is no local storage where your desktop is in the cloud too. Everything else is online application delivered through a web browser. This way, instead of having a physical IT infrastructure, you have a virtual infrastructure. Cloud storage will still be around, the only difference is the access point changed from local desktop to cloud desktop and online applications.

Read the original blog entry...

http://cloudcomputing.sys-con.com/node/1552468


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Cloud Storage Lives Up to the Hype

Pay-as-you-go cloud-based storage can be inexpensive and fast. Check out the pros and cons of five cloud-based storage services, tested under real-world conditions.

We tested five cloud-based storage services under real-world conditions. We set up accounts, connected with the vendor storage network, uploaded and downloaded files, measured performance and analyzed cost structures. Our conclusions are that cloud-based storage can save you money. And cloud-based storage can be fast. However, there are still security concerns that you need to be aware of. And since pricing is based on a variety of variables, it may be tricky to determine in advance what your total costs will be.

Cloud Computing: Today's Four Favorite Flavors, Explained
Cloud Storage to the Rescue?

[ For complete coverage of the Cloud Apps Wars -- including a complete guide to the business war, the competing products including Google (GOOG) Docs and Office 2010, the implications for users and IT, and more -- see CIO.com's Cloud Apps Wars Bible. ]

http://www.cio.com/article/605733/Cloud_Storage_Lives_Up_to_the_Hype?source=rss_cloud_computing


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Trend Micro Acquires U.K. Cloud Storage Vendor Humyo

Trend Micro has acquired humyo, an online storage and data synchronization company, to enhance its cloud security offerings.

Friday announced it has acquired humyo, an online storage and data synchronization company, for an undisclosed price.

"Their online storage -- basically a cloud technology -- fits into our strategy of providing security from and for the cloud," says Trend Micro CEO Eva Chen.

"The growth in mobile devices, iPad and Internet-enabled televisions means people want access to what they want, when they want it, and on whatever device they have with them," says Dan Conlon, co-founder and managing director of humyo, which is based in Leeds, U.K. "Online storage with synchronization makes that happen."

Trend Micro will discuss its plans for humyo later today in a conference call with analysts and press.
Read more about data center in Network World's Data Center section.

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Keep Your Business Files Synced Between the Desktop and the Cloud [APPS]

Cloud-based storage and collaboration platform Box.net is launching Box Sync for Business, a new tool that will make it easy for businesses and organizations to keep their files on the desktop always in line with files on the cloud. Think of it as Dropbox for the Enterprise

Using the new Box Sync client (available for Windows now and Mac by the end of the summer), users can selectively sync files and folders to make collaboration easier between colleagues. Like Dropbox, folders you choose to sync with Box Sync will be accessible both on the cloud and on your desktop, and changes made in one folder will automatically be updated in the other.

This is a big step for Box, who over the last 18 months has really transitioned from a consumer-facing online storage company into a SMB-centric competitor to higher-level file server and storage systems, like Microsoft’s SharePoint. The desktop sync client completes that circuit, so to speak, by making the physical location of files less of a consideration.

Box Sync will be free for business and enterprise customers, and will be rolled out to users over the next few weeks. Later this year, individual and “Lite” users will get the feature too.

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Intercept Chooses 3PAR Utility Storage for High Performance Server

3PAR, the leading global provider of utility storage, announced today that Intercept, a leading UK provider of IT services and hosting, has deployed both 3PAR InServ T-Class and InServ F-Class Storage Server models to support its online and virtualization offerings.

Intercept replaced an inefficient, poorly performing network of six devices with these two resilient, high-performance 3PAR Utility Storage arrays. In doing so, the cloud computing service provider has simplified storage administration, reduced its storage footprint by 67%, and halved storage-related power consumption across its virtual server and desktop infrastructure. In addition, by choosing 3PAR, Intercept's storage environment now delivers 40% faster performance.

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Start-up Claims to Make Cloud Storage Actually Work

StorSimple does real-time data deduplication to minimize the footprint of the data stored

It seems it's not that easy to use the cloud for storing mainstream Microsoft applications - or other people's mainstream applications for that matter - at least according to the budding integration start-up StorSimple.

And there must be something to it because it emerged from stealth mode Wednesday with agreements in hand with Amazon Web Services (AWS), AT&T, EMC, Iron Mountain and Microsoft's Windows Azure to connect on-premise Windows and VMware apps to EMC Atmos public and private cloud storage for joint customers.

The alternative appears to be modifying the applications.

See, the problem is cloud storage uses HTTP/REST APIs. So clouds don't accept snapshots or integrate with existing backup applications; data recovery processes need to be changed. On top of which, StorSimple says, WAN latency significantly degrades app performance, WAN bandwidth can be cost-prohibitive and traditional WAN optimization doesn't work. Then there's always the security risk.

StorSimple's application-optimized storage controller is targeted at clearing these hurdles.

As a fledgling operation the outfit's limiting how much it's biting off. Just the ever-popular SharePoint and Exchange 2010, Windows User Files and Microsoft and Linux Virtual Machines for now.

Down the road it means to do home directories like CIFS and NFS; content from EMC, IBM, Interwoven and Microsoft; libraries and archives; ERP and CRM like SAP, Oracle, Siebel and PeopleSoft; OLTP; and simulation and modeling.

Pretty much all the biggies are on its roadmap.

Its iSCSI-based Armada Storage Appliance is a hybrid solution that makes cloud storage look like local data center storage and integrates with the customers' existing environment.

Armada identifies and stores all the hotspot and bottleneck data on a tier of high-performance solid state drives (SSDs) and uses lower-cost SATA storage and/or cloud storage as primary storage.

StorSimple does real-time data deduplication to minimize the footprint of the data stored and provides the WAN optimization functions for cloud storage.

The widgetry is supposed to deliver consistent storage performance at scale, simplify data protection and reduce cost by up to 90% compared to traditional enterprise storage.

The core of the StorSimple widgetry is called a Weighted Storage Layout or WSL (say whistle).

All volume data is dynamically broken into chunks, analyzed and weighted based on how frequently it's used. Frequently used data is deduped to minimize the space required and stored in the SSDs for fast access. Less frequently used data can be stored on the SATA drives or encrypted in the cloud.

All data stored in the cloud is encrypted.

StorSimple's also got a scheme called Cloud Clones to simply back up and restore using existing backup software for application object recovery. The way it works is an independent backup copy of the data volume is created in the cloud. Changes are transferred daily and clones can be mounted for data volumes for restore. Tape is eliminated.

The year-old 35-man start-up is operating on an $8.2 million A round from Redpoint Venture and Index Ventures.

It has been in beta for the last two months with eight large and mid-range sites and it's still three months away from GA. It reckons concerns with 500-10,000 users are its sweet spot. Makes for a faster close.

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Apple IPad, Other Tablets Seen Driving SaaS, Cloud Storage

Cloud storage services are likely to benefit from the popularity of tablets like the iPad, both because the devices come with limited onboard storage and because consumers will demand ubiquitous access to data no matter what mobile device they're using at the time.

The rapid spread of tablet devices like the Apple iPad and HP Slate could prove to be a boon to providers of online storage services as users seek ubiquitous data access and synchronization across multiple mobile platforms for devices that don't have much internal storage capacity.

The flexibility that comes with cloud storage "is not just a nice thing to have but a necessity when you're dealing with storage-limited devices," said Avi Greengart, a consumer devices analyst at research firm Current Analysis in Sterling, Va. "If you have a device based on flash memory, you don't want to sync everything."

Most of the mobile tablet devices today use NAND flash technology to offer limited memory capacity, typically 64GB or less.

For example, iPads are available with 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB flash drives. And Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) this week disclosed that its upcoming Slate tablet computers will be available later this year with either 32GB or 64GB flash drives.

Greengart said that he expects that future tablet computers are also unlikely to offer the high storage capacities available in netbook and desktop computers, since they will be built more to consume data than to create it.

Tablet users can choose from several providers of cloud-based storage, including Box.net , Live Mesh , JungleDisk , DropBox and SkyDrive . In addition to offering online storage services, some of those vendors let users synchronize folders and files between multiple devices.

Adam Couture, an analyst at Gartner Inc. (IT), agreed that growing use of tablet devices could lead to significant growth of the storage services market.

"These services to date have been used by people with notebook computers and PCs that [also] have hefty hard drives," Couture said. Cloud products could become the primary storage option for users of tablet devices, he added.

"Even to use the apps on a BlackBerry, you've got to buy incremental memory. Wouldn't it be nice instead of doing that if you could use some drive in the sky for incremental memory? I can see the world going there," Couture said.

Cloud-based storage services "have been there for a very long time, but the introduction of the iPad is making everything old new again. We're looking at it in new terms," Couture said. "It means you're not going to be synchronizing your data at cross purposes now that you can access that cloud in the sky, it doesn't matter what device you're using because you're always going to have the right file ... and you're just going to access it from different devices."

More - http://www.cio.com/article/590577/Apple_IPad_Other_Tablets_Seen_Driving_SaaS_Cloud_Storage?page=2&taxonomyId=3024

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Most Not Interested in Cloud Data Storage

Another dose of reality for the Cloud Computing industry! A new survey by Forrester says that just 3% of companies use cloud storage. Worse, the vast majority of firms don’t plan to put data in the cloud. This is the latest shot of poor showings for the cloud, and I have a theory about it. But first, read on: Forrester interviewed more than 1,200 IT decision makers at enterprises and small and mid-size businesses in North America and Europe. The research company asked IT decision makers if they had plans to adopt cloud storage services such as those offered by Amazon S3, EMC Atmos, Nirvanix, The Planet, or AT&T.

·       43% said they’re not interested in cloud storage;
·       An equal proportion were interested but have no plans to adopt;
·       3% plan to implement a cloud storage platform in the next year;
·       5% plan on it a year from now or later;
·       And, while 3% have already switched to cloud storage, only 1% are expanding an existing implementation.

To me, this reflects issues and concerns that just won’t go away on the part of IT folks and end users, chief among them the need for assurances of guaranteed service levels and security.  Forrester agrees, according to a story about the survey in SF Gate:

Forrester analyst Andrew Reichman writes in the report that “there is long-term potential for storage-as-a-service, but Forrester sees issues with guaranteed service levels, security, chain of custody, shared tenancy, and long-term pricing as significant barriers that still need to be addressed before it takes off in any meaningful way.”

One interesting finding of the survey is that companies are more interested in the cloud for back-up storage rather than general purpose storage. Why is that?

“First, it’s s a complete service offering, not just CPU or storage capacity,” Reichman writes. “You get the backup software intelligence and storage capacity in a fully managed service. Second, it’s solving a very specific pain point – the pain of bringing a costly and error-prone, but very necessary, IT function under control. This is in contrast to storage-as-a-service offerings where the user has to figure out how to put it all together.”

I’ll put my theory about this finding out there, too.  I think that companies probably feel they’re taking less of a chance backing up data on the cloud – data they own and also have access to on internal servers. Perhaps this doesn’t require such a leap of faith as it does to migrate all your data to the cloud…with a fear that you can’t recoup any information that gets lost.

This is why companies that do use cloud data storage also take safeguards to ensure their data remains safe and accessible – such as cloud monitoring services.

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Cloud storage may be main focus of Apple's Lala buyout

Apple's acquisition of Lala won't form the basis of any iTunes subscription service, but instead may help Apple quickly build a cloud-storage component into the next version of iTunes. Apple will supposedly leverage Lala's current music uploading technology to give users "anywhere access" to their music library.
Michael Robertson, guest writing at TechCrunch, cites a number of insider sources who say definitively that Apple will not offer a subscription option to the iTunes Store. Instead, it will complement the current model with cloud storage, giving iTunes users the ability to "to navigate and play their music, videos and playlists from their personal URL using a browser based iTunes experience." Robertson, formerly the CEO of MP3.com, is currently the head of MP3tunes, which offers a cloud-storage service for music files similar to what he describes as the future of iTunes.

Such a strategy is one we speculated Apple would pursue, and one that sources for the Wall Street Journal also claimed would be wrapped into iTunes in a future update. Obviously, Lala's technology and engineering expertise, combined with a giant data center, could power such a feature. Robertson suggests that doing so could make an end-run around having to negotiate additional streaming licenses from record labels, since each library would be linked to a specific customer.

"Apple will link the tens of millions of previously sold iPods, Touches, AppleTV and iTablets to mobile iTunes giving users seamless playback of their media from a wide range of Apple branded devices," Robertson said. "iTunes shoppers will be able to continue to buy music and movies as they can now, with purchases still being downloaded, but once downloaded they will be automatically loaded to their mobile iTunes area for anywhere access."