Modern data storage architectures finally defined

Data storage technologies, which have become something of a minefield for the unwary, should become easier to navigate following today’s publication of the Shared Storage Model by the not-for-profit Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) at the Storage Expo, in Birmingham. The model was developed by the SNIA Technical Council, and differentiates the roles played by different types of storage applications, the underlying infrastructure and auxiliary services that work together to provide comprehensive storage solutions. It provides a useful foundation for IT users and vendors alike to make better informed choices in building and managing complex storage networks involving multiple layers of modern hardware and software technology. They get a common vocabulary that should take a lot of the ambiguity, hype and misunderstanding out of products, and instead show how they fit into a ‘good practice’ overall architecture. Terms, for example, like ‘SAN’ (storage area networking) and ‘NAS’ (networked attached storage) have become loaded with artificial and sometimes arbitrary meaning. But the SNIA framework deals with all that and captures the functional layers and properties of a storage system, regardless of the underlying design, product, or installation. It can be used to describe common storage architectures graphically, also exposing what services are provided, where interoperability is required and the pros and cons of different architectures. It’s not judgemental, neither ca n it be used as a specification or for ‘request for a bid’ purposes, but it does make it possible to compare apples with apples in a common vocabulary. According to John Taylor, chairman of UK committee of SNIA Europe, “The publication was a major advancement for storage networking understanding.” He adds that the model is “an essential tool for defining relationships and the functions of a wide variety of storage networking technologies, similar to the OS seven-layer model for networking.” SNIA members previewing products in the Shared Storage Model at the show include: ADIC, Auspex Systems, Bakbone Software, CNT, EMC, FalconStor, Fujitsu Siemens, Hitachi Data Systems, Inrange Technologies, StorageTek, Veritas and Xyratex. “We are delighted that so many European members are showing products within the Shared Storage Model for the first time at Storage Expo,” says Taylor.