Storage Smarts: Improving IT Efficiency with Dell Equallogic

Storage optimization

ollowing the resounding success of the first Dell Storage Forum: EqualLogic User Conference in March 2010, Dell hosted an Fexpanded October conference in San Diego, California. This weeklong invitation-only event focused on a key area of concern for over 25,000 users in the Dell™ EqualLogic™ storage community: how EqualLogic Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage area network (SAN) arrays and software tools can advance organizational goals to increase IT efficiency and flexibility in the Virtual Era. Conference attendees explored best practices and storage optimization techniques as they networked with peers, technology solution partners, and Dell engineering, support, and service experts. The event offered more than 40 technical breakout sessions ranging from introductory discussions to deep-dive tutorials, as well as hands-on instructor-led lab training by the Dell Education Storage smarts: Services (DES) team with EqualLogic technical support. The hands-on courses included a half- Improving IT day basic configuration and management course tailored for users new to EqualLogic storage, and two-day intensive courses that covered efficiency with advanced management and data protection as well as VMware® vSphere™ integration. (For more Dell EqualLogic information on training available from DES, see the “Continuing education” sidebar.)

Storage optimization in the Virtual Era At the recent Dell Storage Forum: EqualLogic The conference offered three content tracks. User Conference, attendees learned best practices The core product track started with the basics of EqualLogic storage, then moved on to topics for optimizing virtualized storage, networked with such as EqualLogic Host Integration Tools, the peers, experienced hands-on lab training, and picked SAN HeadQuarters (SAN HQ) tool, storage tiering, the brains of Dell experts and technology partners. and SSDs in a SAN. From there, it delved into an engineering tutorial on emerging storage array offloads such as the VMware vStorage Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for Array Integration (VAAI). The most popular single breakout session at the conference—not surprisingly—was the Engineering Innovation session, where attendees were treated to demonstrations of upcoming features and products that combine EqualLogic technology with other areas of the Dell portfolio and with solutions from virtualization partners. In addition to best-practices sessions for iSCSI deployments with server and desktop virtualization,

32 2010 Issue 04 | dell.com/powersolutions Reprinted from Dell Power Solutions, 2010 Issue 4. Copyright © 2010 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. the Accelerating Virtualization track included in-depth sessions on application best practices. One great session, presented by a storage Continuing education engineer from Dell’s internal IT operations team, In addition to conducting popular hands-on labs at Dell Storage Forum: detailed Dell’s own deployments of EqualLogic EqualLogic User Conference events, the Dell Education Services (DES) storage for Microsoft® Exchange services, as well team offers many other online self-paced and instructor-led classes as the team’s future plans. worldwide focusing on Dell storage. Current EqualLogic storage In the Networking Infrastructure track, courses cover topics such as basic configuration and management, attendees followed a learning path starting with the advanced features, and business continuity and disaster recovery, and basics of iSCSI networks and how the important elements of IP and Ethernet networking apply to can benefit those new to EqualLogic arrays as well as experienced IT SANs. Other sessions looked at iSCSI initiators, professionals. To learn more about DES training for EqualLogic storage, EqualLogic multipath I/O tools, scaling iSCSI switch visit learndell.com/equallogic. fabrics to meet heavy workload demands, and migrations to 10 Gigabit Ethernet storage networks. In response to suggestions from March at a time when IBM® PCs came only with floppy conference attendees, Dell established formal drives. Fast-forwarding to today, he said that since feedback sessions on future products, technical the acquisition of EqualLogic in 2008, the company support services, and current product features, has added more than 22,000 customers (now more and hosted numerous networking events than 25,000 at press time). He also shared that Dell that fostered informal conversations between is installing petabyte EqualLogic configurations, EqualLogic engineers and customers. These planning to expand the Dell storage portfolio to networking sessions notably included an Ask-the- include combined block and file services based Expert evening reception and a closing party on on acquired Exanet technology, and furthering the flight deck of the USS Midway aircraft carrier its development in IP-based storage with lossless floating museum. Many ideas were swapped, and Ethernet based on Data Center Bridging. at least one enhancement discussed with the EqualLogic team is already planned for a major Attendance on demand 2011 software release. For conference feedback EqualLogic users who were unable to attend and comment postings from conference attendees the conference can access the presentations and Dell experts, visit twitter.com/equallogic and and other information by logging onto the follow #eqlconf. EqualLogic support site at equallogic.com/ support and going to the Resources tab. Executive highlights Monthly Dell educational Webcasts, available by Darren Thomas, vice president and general requesting an invitation through the EqualLogic manager of Dell Storage, welcomed conference support site, also leverage content from the participants and shared Dell’s vision for building an conference. Planned future Webcast topics efficient data structure through deduplication, wide include using SAN HQ to understand storage Learn more area network (WAN) optimization, thin provisioning, performance and using Microsoft SharePoint® EqualLogic User and intelligent data management. He also software with EqualLogic storage. Conference: bit.ly/edy4fJ touched on how solutions such as Dell Advanced Dell storage teams have already begun Infrastructure Manager (AIM) can help transform an planning for the next conference, expected in enterprise’s data management strategy. the first half of 2011. EqualLogic users interested The next day, chairman and CEO Michael Dell in attending should be sure to reserve their opened his keynote with a little-known story about travel budgets: the next event promises to have how Dell actually started out as a storage company, more sessions on a broader set of storage and and entered the PC market accidentally—basing its enterprise technologies, more seats, and more original business model on hard drive upgrade kits flexible options for hands-on lab training.