By Edgardo Lopez

In our last blog we discussed the SVSP Use Case "Storage Consolidation & Centralized Management" and how it delivers value through better capacity management, improved utilization and simplified storage management.   Recently, clients have been discussing the specific uses for SVSP and the subject of non-disruptive data migrations keeps coming up in the conversation. Non-disruptive any-to-any data migrations is one of the most valuable data services provided by a modern storage infrastructure; often described as data mobility.

 So what is Data mobility and why is it important?

Data is in its essence transient and its value changes over time.   The ability to treat data according to its actual value requires data mobility. A key attribute of an adaptive infrastructure is therefore its ability to support data mobility, that is, the ability to easily place volumes on the appropriate storage device in terms of performance, capacity, availability needs and age.   Matching the value of data with the right storage asset helps firms optimize their storage investments and significantly lower the storage TCO.

Not surprisingly, one of the most important Use Cases for the SVSP is Non-disruptive Data Migration. The SVSP provides a seamless, non-disruptive, any-to-any data migration facility that helps organizations easily provide storage services such as ...

•  Data Life Cycle Management
  • Promote/demote volumes based on production cycles
• InfrastructureUpgrades
  • Adding new functionality
• Technology Refreshes
  • Replace older technology
• Tiered Storage
  • Avoid costly single tier storage infrastructure
• Consolidation
  • Reduce assets and environmental impact

 Let's further explore a couple of these examples and the implications and benefits

Tiered Storage Infrastructures

In this particular situation,  the environment moves from a single storage tier,  to a multi-tier environment managed by the SVSP,  where the migration capabilities provides seamless non-disruptive data movement across the tiers, to match the storage assets to the value of the data.    The question is how much benefits are involved in a typical scenario like this.   Let's try to quantify it:

• Single Tier
  • 200 TB = $3,000,000 @ $15,000/TB
  • @50% Utilization
  • Cost of Wasted Capacity: $1,500,000
•  Multi Tier
  • 200 TB @ Avg. 57% Utilization 

While these results are just illustrative - and actual results will depend greatly on the specific situation -  the example points to the fact that the results can be dramatic.

 Let's now look at another example

Improved Portfolio and Asset Management

As pointed out by the Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), "Data migrations using traditional methods cause application downtime and can have significant business impact"(1). The unintended consequences of systems coming off warranty and onto maintenance can be tremendous. Expenses can range into the hundreds of thousands of dollars and can become a significant disruption, especially if the situation was not considered into the operational budgets.. Improved Portfolio and Asset Management in these circumstances can actually have a huge impact to the Operating Budget.

Everyday migrations must occur so that devices can be removed, replaced, or upgraded due to lease expiration, warranty expiration or just the desire or need to extend the life of the asset.  For many customers however, all data migrations are a costly process that must take place during an outage or scheduled downtime, increasing the operational challenges and costs for IT.

Recent ESG research (1) indicates that "a majority of IT organizations can't tolerate more than four hours of downtime for their most mission critical applications before experiencing a significant impact to their business. Five percent indicate that zero downtime has been mandated".

The SVSP can be of help for these situations, where it provides seamless any-to-any migration of volumes among heterogeneous storage platforms and the rollback features that minimizes any risk of a failed attempt.   According to ESG (1),   "HP StorageWorks SVSP is solving real world problems for customers while simplifying storage provisioning and providing a centralized platform for valuable data services including online data migration ..."

For more information on the SVSP, please visit us at:  www.hp.com/go/svsp

Note #1: "Lab Validation Report: HP SVSP Simplifying Heterogeneous Storage Virtualization", ESG, Tony Palmer, Dec. 2008