Getting Ready for the Show

I am currently working with F5 on a technology demonstration for SNW Spring using the F5 ARX file virtualization appliances to integrate Data Domain systems as a cost effective secondary storage tier. For those not familiar with the F5 ARX (formerly Acopia) file virtualization technology, what it does is make multiple heterogeneous filesystems look like one big one. What takes it far beyond tools like Microsoft DFS is the ability to define policies that identify candidate files (e.g. based on file type or time since last access) and automatically migrate them from one physical storage location (expensive primary NAS filers) to another (Data Domain deduplication storage) without the clients ever knowing about it.

For many organizations, a significant majority of filesystem data, as much as 90%, does not change, yet it still needs to be accessible and online - archiving the data to tape is not an option. Like Data Domain, the F5 ARX appliance is simple to use and just works - it was cool to watch a file copied into a drive mapped to the virtual namespace first appear on the primary filer, and then be automatically migrated to Data Domain storage after a defined period of time. Files with specific extensions were directed to Data Domain storage without ever consuming capacity on the filer.

This year at SNW in Orlando, Florida, we will be running this demonstration in our Platinum Galleria booth in the main conference center hallway. Seeing it first-hand is the best way to get the "ahh-ha" moment that our users have when they realize the profound impact that innovative technology can have on how they do their job. Come by and check it out - I look forward to meeting you.

Comments

[Rich Colbert]

F5 has a great tool that end users can download for a 45-day free trial called 'data manager', found here:

http://www.f5.com/products/data-manager/trial.html

This tool can produce reports showing IT administrators exactly what percentage of their NAS-stored data has been untouched over a given time period.

When 90% of all the data living on primary NAS storage goes untouched for six months or more, does a company really need more primary NAS storage, or do they need a better NAS storage strategy?