Sessions in Detail
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So, to help your IT team succeed -- Storage Decisions now features 5 distinct session tracks. Each track is custom built to serve the information needs of each of the specific members of your storage team. Read on to find out more about each session and which track or tracks suit you best as you and your peers continue to face shared challenges and individual responsibilities.
Track 1: Backup Technologies ********************************************************* Track 1: Backup Technologies *********************************************************** Track 1: Backup TechnologiesData protection continues to be Job #1 for most storage managers -- a job that only gets more complex as each year companies add up to 50% more storage capacity. The good news is that newer technologies can help in this uphill battle, but you still have to determine the right tools for the job, how they will work within the context of you storage environment and whether they provide the level of protection that your company requires. Among the topics covered in this track are data deduplication, virtual tape libraries, the newly integrated backup suites, matching data protection levels to business needs and how archiving fits into a data protection scenario. Backup on a Budget Presented by W. Curtis Preston, Executive Editor and Independent Backup Expert, TechTarget Cloud services offer low-cost, pay-as-you-go backup without the need to invest in physical infrastructure. Other inexpensive backup options include products based on open-source code. Vendors such as Zmanda Inc. and Bacula Systems SA offer support contracts in much the same fashion that Red Hat Inc. does for Linux. In this session, we’ll outline some of the non-traditional alternatives that IT shops might consider when funds are tight. Topics will include
5 Things That Will Mess Up Your Backups -- and How to Avoid Them Presented by Jeff Harbert, Principal Storage Consultant, GlassHouse Technologies When it comes to backups, Murphy’s Law prevails. With so many moving parts and so much data in transit, there are amply opportunities for things to do south. Jeff Harbert describes the five most prevalent backup failures -- and tells you what you can do about them. Some of the areas that Jeff will discuss include: *
Hidden problems Protecting Data on the Edge Presented by W. Curtis Preston, Executive Editor and Independent Backup Expert, TechTarget According to industry statistics, the majority of a typical company’s data doesn’t reside on data center storage -- it lives on the “edge.” The edge may be desktop PCs, laptops or even smart phones and PDAs. Often, the data that these devices hold falls through the backup cracks and is inadequately protected, if at all. We describe the most effective techniques, tools and best practices for protecting edge or mobile data in this session, including: *
Backing up remote sites to the data center
The Deduplication Debate -- Software- vs. Hardware-based Approaches Presented by Lauren Whitehouse, Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group Several forces are converging to fuel interest in and adoption of secondary storage deduplication solutions, including unprecedented data growth, inefficiencies in data protection applications, increased use of disk for secondary storage, and the need to retain information longer on accessible media for compliance, eDiscovery, and business intelligence purposes. Data deduplication is a ground-breaking technology that changes the economics of disk-based backup and recovery, so the decision to adopt it should be easy. However, there are many facets of deduplication solutions that organizations must familiarize themselves with and consider prior to deployment that can make the evaluation and selection of a solution more complicated. Deduplication is a feature of both software and hardware data protection solutions. Several backup applications have deduplication capabilities, deduplicating at the data source via the client agent technology, at the backup server or on the target storage. Target-side deduplication typically leverages powerful purpose-built storage appliances to accommodate processing of the backup load either pre- or post-ingestion. There are trade-offs with performance, storage capacity, complexity, cost and overall management that should be considered for the backup environment. Learn why it’s not a one-size-fits all scenario and what the top considerations should be for evaluating a solution. Track 2: Disaster RecoveryDisaster recovery isn’t just about being able to resume business as quickly as possible after a catastrophic incident. It’s also about avoiding the situations that could jeopardize your company’s reputation and good standing -- like the loss of customer data. But DR isn’t a one-size-fits-all affair, with different company assets requiring varying levels of protection and recoverability. We’ll look at some of the new tools for testing DR readiness, DR issues related to specific types of data and how virtualization can affect a DR plan, among other topics.
Recovery Site Configurations Presented by Bill Peldzus, Vice President of Data Center Services, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery, GlassHouse Technologies The type and configuration of a recovery site will determine how quickly and effectively your company will be able to recover from a disaster. But the terminology used for recovery sites -- hot, warm, cold, etc. -- can be confusing, and the services available at the various types of sites can be even more perplexing. In this session, you’ll learn how: *
To determine the recovery site configuration you need
Replication Alternatives for DR Presented by Marc Staimer,
CDS, Dragon Slayer Consulting
Remote replication has become the method of choice for maintaining up to date, restorable data replicas at remote DR sites. There are a variety ways of implementing replication, each with its own advantages and disadvantages, and within a wide range of costs. This session will focus on replication architectures and administration, including: *
Host-based vs. switch or appliance-based vs. array-based replication
Server Virtualization, Business Continuance and Disaster Recovery Presented by Greg Schulz, Founder and Senior Analyst, StorageIO Server virtualization has the potential to bring sophisticated business continuance (BC) and disaster recovery (DR) techniques to organizations that previously didn't have the means to adopt them. Likewise, virtualized as well as cloud environments need to be included in a BC/DR plan to enable application and data availability. Learn tips and tricks on building an accessible BC/DR strategy and plan using server virtualization and the storage products that enable efficient, flexible green and virtual data centers. Topics include: *
Cross technology domain data protection management Stuff Happens -- How to Assess Risks and Set Objectives for Business Continuity Plans Presented by Jon Toigo, CEO and Managing Principal, Toigo Partners International, and Chairman of the Data Management Institute Many disaster recovery planning efforts get bogged down when planners become preoccupied with identifying all of the risk scenarios that might impact company operations. Truth be told, enumerating natural and man-made hazard potentials, then assigning quantitative values to their likelihood of occurrence, is a fool's errand. What is needed is a straightforward assessment of assets -- data and infrastructure -- to determine what needs to be protected, supplemented by an estimation of the cost of an interruption of access to assets (from whatever the cause) for 24, 48 and 72 hours. The sources for collecting this information are business stakeholders: so, yes, you will need to talk to end users (audible groans expected.) In this session, DR planning veteran Jon Toigo will walk you through the process for doing a good job with upfront analysis. Track 3: Data Retention and RetrievalCall it regulatory compliance, legal vigilance, good disk management or just plain common sense -- regardless of your company’s motivation, a sound system for retaining and disposing of data is one of the modern requirements of storage management. Developing a consistent, repeatable and practical set of data retention policies is the first step in the process. Tools such as data classification applications can help automate the process of sorting through the reams of structured and unstructured data to determine its appropriate disposition. While storage managers may consider this a business unit function, as keepers of company’s data they are very much in the mix. And, as such, they need to know about the legal implications, the types of systems best suited for retained data and how encryption can help ensure that data is kept intact in its original form. New Trends in Content-addressed Storage (CAS) Presented by Bill Mottram, Founder and Managing Partner, Veridictus Associates Disk based archival storage is increasingly becoming identified as a class of storage specifically designed to meet the storage characteristics of long term, fixed content data storage (persistent data). CAS, (Content Addressable Storage) is a mechanism that can store and retrieve information based on its content, not its storage location. New and innovative online storage array technologies s are increasing the cost, performance advantage of CAS solutions such that many vendors are claiming that their solutions are now positioned to satisfy most production archive applications and will increasingly replace tape and optical as the broader archive storage solution of choice. While EMC is the market leader, much of the innovation is coming from less established vendors who are making the claim that they offer a more attractive value position. Building a Service-oriented Data Protection Strategy Presented by Jon Toigo, CEO and Managing Principal, Toigo Partners International, and Chairman of the Data Management Institute Data protection is not a one-size-fits-all strategy. Different data protection methods, ranging from WAN-based data replication and clustering to tape backup and restore, are available to provide the data recovery capability that a business process or application requires. Matching data protection service levels to business requirements is not only a rational approach, but also a cost effective one. The challenge, however, to service level-based data protection provisioning is the multiplicity of data protection methods that must be monitored and managed. How can we integrate tape backup and disk to disk replication services under a common monitoring umbrella, simplifying the management role? How can we facilitate the on-going testing of recovery scenarios – through a combination of simulated and real time testing – to ensure that service levels can be met even as the volume of data being protected changes? How can we wrangle third party hardware- and software-based data protection schemes into a coherent facility for centralized monitoring and management? Toigo sets out the challenge and examines potential solutions. Cloud-based Archiving Services Presented by Ron Scruggs, Senior Consultant, GlassHouse Technologies For most companies some form of data archiving -- email, database, application or file system -- is the key element in their data retention operations. Archivers do a great job of helping to ensure that information is available when needed to respond to ediscovery or regulatory compliance requirements. But archivers require considerable management and administration, and can also gobble up significant disk capacity. Online -- or "cloud" -- archiving services can relieve companies of many of these headaches while providing similar capabilities. In this session, we assess online archiving, rating their advantages/disadvantages compared to deploying your own archivers. Topics include: *
Do online services really provide comparable features
Backup and Archive Are Not the Same Thing! Does your compliance team think retaining everything forever is easy or that your existing backup application makes a good archive utility? If you’ve ever had to try to recover backup data from a retired backup application or an out-dated media format, then this session is for you. During this hour, Jeff Harbert will discuss some of the challenges you'll face when compliance mandates a retention policy that doesn't make sense. Jeff will also provide answers to questions including: Track 4: Storage Systems & Storage ManagementWith spiraling capacities the norm, managing storage systems has become a challenging task. Traditional SRM tools are often adept on keeping tabs on the state of your storage infrastructure, but more focused applications are becoming increasingly available. Storage virtualization also promises to ease storage management and improve disk usage, but there are inherent issues that need to be fully understood before embarking on a virtualization project. Traditional methods of operational data protection such as RAID tend to be complex and difficult to configure and manage, but some storage vendors are offering compelling alternatives. In this track, we’ll also examine power conservation for storage systems, a new requisite for most storage shops struggling to balance increased capacity and soaring energy costs. New Developments in Scale-out vs. Scale-up Storage Presented by Brian Greenberg, President and CEO, General System Dynamics Scale-out disk storage systems are built using nodes or modules that, when linked together, act as a single system. They allow companies to start small and grow incrementally, adding nodes as they need them, without having to worry about the limits of a single standalone storage system. They offer the advantage of cost-effective manageability, high availability, and reliability. Predictions are that the new wave of scale-out systems could mount a more serious challenge to traditional scale-up systems, now that major vendors are standing behind them. Topics will include : *
Distinctions between scale-out and scale-up systems
Deep Dive Into Solid State Storage Technology Presented by Mark Peters, Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group This is an in-depth look at the architectures and technologies of solid state storage devices. The presentation will describe solid state in detail, and compare solid state with traditional magnetic media. Among the topics discussed are: *
MLC vs. SLC
Radical Tiered Storage to Reduce Cost and Expand Service "Do more with less" is the slogan of the year, but storage pros have been doing exactly this for years. From HSM to tiered storage, data is moving away from simple disks and landing on flash memory, tape, and cloud services. Adopting an expansive tiered storage policy will not only reduce costs but can also improve performance and introduce new capabilities. Topics include: *
Expanding the scope of storage: Archiving, HSM, ILM, tiered storage, and the cloud
Tools to Help You Manage Capacity Presented by Brian Greenberg, President and CEO, General System Dynamics Knowing how much disk capacity you have allocated, how much is actually being used and what’s left and available are basics for disk system management. But the tools you get with your storage arrays are often inadequate or simply don’t provide all the details you need to make smart and effective decisions. In this session, we’ll cover the tools and best practices that are key to managing disk capacity. Topics include: *
How to determine what’s allocated and what’s really used Right-sizing Primary Data Presented by Anne Skamarock, Research Director, FOCUS Most companies allow far too much data to reside on expensive primary storage, often the result of business units or government compliance regulations insisting that the data is always available. However, there are ways to reduce the amount of data on Tier 1 (and Tier 2) storage systems while providing adequate access for users. In this session, the most effective methods for reducing and managing the data footprint on primary storage will be described -- including tools and techniques. Topics include: * Compression and deduplication The Truth about Virtualizing Storage Presented by Marc Staimer, Founder and CDS, Dragon Slayer Consulting This session is a “roll up your sleeves” look at the technical details of implementing storage virtualization. The practical benefits of storage virtualization will be discussed, including how to assess your environment to determine the cost-effectiveness of virtualization. Topics include: * How to determine where virtualization should occur * Best practices for implementing, maintaining and managing storage virtualization Using Thin Provisioning to Your Best Advantage in the Data Center Presented by Jeff Byrne, Senior Analyst and Consultant, Taneja Group and Christine Taylor, Analyst, Tenaja Group Thin provisioning is not new, but there is still confusion about how it works and how to best use it in the data center. One reason is that no two vendors accomplish thin provisioning in the same way. Another reason is that thin provisioning serves disparate business needs ranging from capacity management to virtualization support to the green data center – and more. This variety of usages makes for a powerful technology but a confusing message. This session will outline the various approaches and technologies behind thin provisioning. We will discuss the major business needs that thin provisioning meets and will review the major vendors in the space. Finally, we will position thin provisioning in the context of meeting multiple needs in the data center. Track 5: Managing Storage NetworksThe core of any networked storage infrastructure is the basic hardware components: storage arrays and the fabric that links them to client servers and other services. Over the past few years, the trend has been to networks built around director-class switches -- but how those directors are used is the key to whether they’re just consolidation points to replace core-edge architectures or if they actually put more intelligence into the network. Storage systems, too, have undergone considerable change. iSCSI storage arrays have steady increased their presence in data centers and remote locations, and as iSCSI technology and implementations mature, their impact is certain to become more profound. And on the leading edge of storage are systems that eschew or greatly reduce the role of spinning disks, replacing them with solid state devices that run cool, use far less power and take up less space. In this track, we’ll look at the implications of these recent developments. The Five Myths of Storage Management for Distributed Systems and Mainframe Environments Presented by Jon Toigo, CEO and Managing Principal, Toigo Partners International, and Chairman of the Data Management Institute With increasing pressure to do more with fewer staff, renewed focus has been placed on infrastructure manageability, especially storage infrastructure. Those with mainframes may believe their management story to be superior to the distributed crowd, but changes including consolidation of X86 systems into LPARs are creating new challenges that the distributed computing administrators already know. Bottom line: storage management remains a huge and growing problem in most organizations, contributing to cost, compliance, continuity and carbon issues. Toigo examines the five myths that have developed around contemporary storage management and outlines a service-oriented strategy for bringing storage under better control. Not "Just a Switch" Anymore -- Data Center "Backbone" Architectures Presented by Dennis Martin, Founder and President, Demartek The leading switch vendors have revealed their visions of a unified data center network infrastructure. It sound good, but what are the ramifications for the storage networking infrastructures you have in place. This session will cover: *
The technologies that are available now—and what’s still needed FCoE -- Happiness or Hype? Presented by Howie Goldstein, Founder, Howard Goldstein Associates Inc. Industry efforts to promote and update Ethernet have been taking shape over the last year. This includes both enhanced performance and function as Fibre Channel vendors look towards Ethernet as the physical transport for the future of Fibre Channel in the data center and the convergence to a unified datacenter fabric. This session will look at the issues surrounding the marketing and development of Fibre Channel over Ethernet as well as some viable alternatives to that approach. Topics include: *
What is Fibre Channel over Fibre Channel (FCoFC)?
Storage Network Performance -- The Weakest Link Presented by Howie Goldstein, Founder, Howard Goldstein Associates Inc. People often point to performance as a major benefit of a Storage Network infrastructure. But performance means many things to many people in the IT world. This session identifies just what aspects of performance are or are not critical to the successful deployment of these storage network technologies. We will show what is and is not important as a focus item and look at the systems, the networks and the bstorage involved in levying information flow requirements. We’ll examine where is the best place to invest for performance and dispel some performance myths at the same time. We will examine the role of multiplexing, load balancing and load sharing in storage networks and look at some of the traditional and non-traditional trade-offs that should be understood. Topics include: *
Interrupts & Offload Engines Integrating Solid State Storage Presented by Dennis Martin, Founder and President, Demartek In this session, we’ll look at the advantages/disadvantages of integrating solid state drives in traditional storage systems. The presentation will also describe new techniques that solid state vendors or using to make this integration more effective. Topics will include: Track 6: Management/ExecutiveSometimes technology alone won’t solve storage-related issues. You also need to be adept about the business of acquiring storage systems. As a storage manager, you will be called on to develop storage solutions to satisfy evolving business needs -- always with an eye on the key financial acid tests for any storage purchase: ROI and TCO. This track addresses the essential parts of the storage system procurement process, including how to craft an RFP, negotiating from a position of strength, evaluating systems and getting the support of your company’s management. The Other Green -- Storage Efficiency and Optimization Presented by Greg Schulz, Founder and Senior Analyst, StorageIO Throw out the "green“: buzzword, and you're still left with the task of saving or maximizing use of space, power, and cooling while stretching available IT dollars to support growth and business sustainability. For some environments the solution may be consolation while others need to maintain quality of service response time, performance and availability necessitating faster, energy efficient technologies to achieve optimization objectives. To accomplish these and other related issues, you can turn to the cloud, virtualization, intelligent power management, data footprint reduction and data management not to mention various types of tiered storage and performance optimization techniques. The session will look at various techniques and strategies to optimize either on-line active or primary as well as near-line or secondary storage environment during tough economic times, as well as to position for future growth, after all, there is no such thing as a data recession! Topics include: *
Energy efficiency (strategic) vs. energy avoidance (tactical)
How Virtualization Can Make IT the Good Guys Presented by Barb Goldworm, President and Chief Analyst, FOCUS This Executive keynote session gives a broad view of virtualization, including storage and server virtualization, and storage optimization for the whole virtual infrastructure (server, storage, desktop, network). It offers insights into the drivers, trends, adoption, technologies, pain points and actual benefits that can be achieved through a shift to a virtual infrastructure. Learn how virtualization can increase IT agility and efficiency and improve service delivery, while reducing costs – making IT the good guys again. Topics include: *
Virtualization Drivers & Benefits
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Storage Decisions Chicago Home
Event-At-A-Glance
Track 1: Backup Technologies
Track 2: Disaster Recovery
Track 3: Data Retention and Retrieval
Track 4: Storage Systems & Storage Management
Track 5: Managing Storage Networks
Track 6: Management/
Executive
Registration
Storage Decisions Seminars
Backup School Hits the Road with W. Curtis Preston
Data Deduplication
with W. Curtis Preston
Disaster Recovery Planning with Jon William Toigo
E-Mail and File Archiving with Mark Diamond
Storage Virtualization with Marc Staimer
Vendor Events
Infrastructure Optimization with Greg Schulz; sponsored by CDW
Optimizing Virtualized Environments with Greg Schulz, sponsored by Datalink
DR/Business Continuity
Planning with Bill Peldzus;
sponsored by CDW
