Storage Tiering

This is another topic I’ve been reading a lot about lately.  Storage tiering uses expensive faster access drives for frequently used data and slower less expensive  access drives for older archive type data. 

Typical fastest level tiers in a data center will use an optically connected fiber channel disk array, followed by Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) attached drives, followed by Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) drives followed sometime even by tape drives. Tape drives – I know – but yes they are still used - typically to take content completely offline and store.

Mechanical drives have been historically used for the fastest tier but as prices drop and operating systems include better support , we’re seeing a lot of much faster solid state memory devices (solid-state drives (SSDs) and I/O accelerator cards (sometimes referred to as solid-state accelerators [SSAs]) used for the faster level  tiers now.

What’s the difference between a SSD and an SSA? They both basically do the same thing – the only difference is the data interface. 

• SSD’s look like a mechanical hard drive and the server operating system uses standard BIOS calls to access. 
• SSA’s are a little different and use a PCI Express (PCIe) interface. The operating system must use a unique set of software drivers specific to the SSA device being used. 

Because SSA’s use drivers that have been tuned specific to the device, they tend to be a little faster. Both SSD and SSA devices can work together on the same server.

Checking Available Disk Space on a Mac

I get asked this question lots - here's how to check your available space step-by-step when running Apple Operating System  OSX 10.7 or greater.

Step 1
Click the Apple icon in the upper left hand corner of your screen and this drop-down menu will appear.

Step 2
Click About This Mac from the drop-down menu. The following dialog box will appear.

If you are not sure which OS version you are running you can see it here. Notice I'm currently running OS X Version 10.8.4

Step 3
Click the More Info... button and the following will appear (note: I've covered up my serial number).

Step 4
Click the Storage (top of dialog box between Displays and Memory) option for the following.

There you have it broken down nicely into Audio, Movies, Photos, Apps and Other categories.

So..... this is a little embarrassing..... I've only got a little over 1.7 GB free..... looks like I need to do a little drive housekeeping or I'm going to be out of space soon :)

Verizon, Terremark and Academic ICT Programs

Over the past few days the $39 billion AT&T / T-Mobile deal has been getting a lot of press. There's another deal that happened last month for a little less money - $1.4 billion - that has the potential for significant impact over the next few years. The purchase of Terremark by Verizon.

Terremark provides collocation in the Internet cloud - basically space, power and a secure place for a company's infrastructure and value adds by offering managed services to their customers - what is commonly referred to as IaaS or Infrastructure as a Service. There are significant advantages to IaaS for a customer - no worries about redundancy, backups, updates and 24/7 support are just a few.

Verizon already has a cloud business along with AT&T and Qwest so there's been some speculation on this deal - is is a good or a bad move for Verizon? Long term I think it is a good one as the company continues to rapidly shift away from legacy landline-based voice delivery systems. It's a move for Verizon to get further "into the cloud", controlling both infrastructure and the customer connections (wireless, fiber, copper - the "pipes"!) connected to the infrastructure.

Cloud based services will continue to expand, especially as connected devices become smaller, faster, more portable, and more ubiquitous. In the education world we need to think about how this is going to impact our courses, curriculum, programs and students as we prepare people for the modern workplace.

If you are an educator, you should be taking a close look at a couple of industry programs that are relatively new (especially to the community college world) from EMC and VMWare.

The EMC Academic Alliance with a focus on storage linked here http://education.emc.com/academicalliance/faculty.aspx

The VMWare IT Academy Program with a focus on virtualization linked here http://www.vmware.com/partners/programs/vap/

Both programs are excellent and offer access to the latest technology, high quality curriculum, courses that can be integrated into existing curriculum, course paths that lead to certification, and faculty development opportunities.

Will I Ever Buy Mechanical Storage Again In An End-Device?

I recently ordered an 11 inch MacBook Air. The machine uses flash memory for storage - there is no mechanical hard drive which makes it a lot thinner, lighter and quicker. It also makes the battery last longer. The optical drive (also mechanical) is also missing. If I need one of those I can purchase an external drive or share a drive on another machine.

This configuration certainly has me thinking. I remember buying a 10MB hard drive before I got married in 1985 for over $1000, figuring I would have enough storage to last me through the end of the millennium. So much for that theory - I think I upgraded to a 20MB drive the following year.

I’m now pretty sure my mechanical drive purchases in end-devices (laptops, tablets, etc) are over though and think this theory will hold, much like my move away from desktop machines. I gave up on desktop computers a few years ago and now run off a primary notebook that I attach to a mouse, keyboard and large monitor in my office. Very nice. I will likely continue to purchase external mechanical hard drives for backups for the next couple of years.

As far as optical computer disks go - I rarely use them and can’t remember the last time I purchased one. Apple just launched their Mac App Store and we’re going to see an explosion of all kinds of App stores, Software As A Service (SAAS), etc this year. This is likely the way I’ll be purchasing my Apps. It's the way I prefer to purchase them actually.

Blue-ray movie discs are a different story of course - at least for the time being.

CloudCamp Western Mass Invitation

On April 20 the ICT Center and Springfield Technical Community College will be hosting CloudCamp Western Mass.

Never heard of CloudCamp? Here's some info from CloudCamp.org CloudCamp is an unconference where early adapters of Cloud Computing technologies exchange ideas. With the rapid change occurring in the industry, we need a place we can meet to share our experiences, challenges and solutions. At CloudCamp, you are encouraged you to share your thoughts in several open discussions, as we strive for the advancement of Cloud Computing. End users, IT professionals and vendors are all encouraged to participate.

We're fortunate to have some great sponsors for the event including Microsoft, TNR Global, intuit, tropo and the UMass Amherst Computer Science Department.

Here's details on the event:

Date/Time: April 20, 2010, 2:30pm-7pm

Location: 1 Federal St, ICT Center, STCC, Springfield, MA 01105 Directions

Price: Free, food will be served at registration

Who should come: Developers, managers, faculty, students, etc from Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, and surrounding states, who are working with or are interested in working with cloud technologies.

Schedule:

2:30pm Registration & Networking, Food

3:00pm Welcome and Thank yous

3:15pm Lightning Talks (5 minutes each) Sponsors TBD

3:45pm Unpanel (in the same room with lightning talks)

4:15pm Organize the Unconference Sessions

4:30pm Unconference Session 1

5:30pm Food break and Networking

5:45pm Unconference Session 2

6:45pm Wrap-up Session

The event will be technically very interesting and it will also be a great opportunity to network and connect with both national and regional high-tech people and companies.

We'll also be streaming portions of the event out to the web.

Register for the free event by following this link http://www.cloudcamp.org/westernmass/2010-04-20

If there are any questions feel free to email me at gordonfsnyder@gmail.com or call at 413-755-6552

10 Random Thoughts On 12-24-08

Here's my thoughts for this week:

1. Will 2009 be the last year of the mechanical hard drive ?
2. Every year is some sort of a milestone but 2009 will be special - my 30 year college (UMass Amherst ) graduation anniversary and my oldest graduating from high school - time flies doesn't it?
3. How long will it be before we are calling ADSL legacy technology?
4. Still no word from Obama on who his FCC chairman will be.
5. Let's see - a Patriots win combined with either a Miami or Baltimore loss means playoffs for New England.
6. Will 2009 be the year of Android?
7. Have you tried Chrome yet? You should.
8. Can we crawl out of this economic meltdown? We always have and I believe we always will.
9. My heart and prayers go out to a colleague and family who lost their 12 year old this past fall.
10. Happy Holidays - wishing lots of enjoyment with family and friends.
11. Number 11 because it is Christmas Eve - if you do nothing else today.... read Tom Friedman's December 23 NYT Column Time to Reboot America
    

Have fun. Take time. Be safe.