Users Talk File Virtualization

SAN DIEGO -- Storage Networking World -- File virtualization is opening the door to major cost savings and streamlined storage, according to CIOs and IT managers, but users should do their homework before deploying the technology. (See Storage Virtualization Edges On.)

Publishing firm Wiley has slashed its backup window from a day and a half to just one hour after deploying virtualization switches from Acopia, said James Sample, the firm's IT director, during a presentation yesterday. (See Virtually Changed Landscape, Acopia Unveils Software, and Acopia Snaps Across EMC NAS.)

Prior to virtualizing the data, Wiley used a CommVault solution to backup 25 Tybtes on four Cybernetics SCSI arrays. "What was 25 Tbytes is now 4 Gbytes," explained Sample, adding that this has cut the number of weekly backup tapes needed from 40 to just four. "That's $2,000 per week in cost savings," he added.

The exec explained that he looked at a number of file virtualization offerings, but Acopia won out on cost and security. "A lot of the one-size-fits-all solutions were too expensive for us -- I don't have the budgets that other sites have to put in a six-figure solution," he said.

Wiley rejected server-based offerings such as NeoPath for security management reasons, according to Sample. (See Cisco Nabs NeoPath and Acopia Plans NeoPath Buyback.) The exec explained that after patching 1,100 servers in the aftermath of the Blaster worms, he is keen to limit the number of servers in his infrastructure.Sample conceded that there were some teething problems with the Acopia deployment, and he had to work hard to win end-users over. "If I had not told end-users exactly what we were trying to do, I would have been lynched on the first day," he said, explaining that Acopia had to install a patch to cope with Wiley's large number of users on a single VLAN.

Another IT manager here at the SNW conference said his company is using file virtualization as a testing ground for a much broader virtualization effort. "This is a good way for us to walk and then run," said Stephen Warner, executive director of IT infrastructure at Quest Diagnostics, which has deployed Acopia switches to virtualize 11 Tbytes on EMC Clariion, DMX and Centera hardware.

Warner explained that he is now considering virtualizing 900 Tbytes of block-level data held on EMC kit elsewhere in his infrastructure, based on his experience with file virtualization. "The capital spend was below expectations," he said, although he would not reveal specific figures.

Dealing with a smaller firm such as Acopia has its benefits, according to Warner. "Acopia is a company that is small enough that we could influence it," he said.

Like Wiley's Sample, Warner agreed that planning is a key element of file virtualization. "The biggest challenge was getting an idea of what we wanted, and getting an ROI to justify it," he said.A third IT executive said he also shopped around before settling on Acopia. "We looked at Isilon, which would have required a forklift upgrade to our infrastructure that we didn't want to do," said Paul Yarborough, manager of server and storage operations at Comcast Media Center.

NetApp's GX file system was also on the table at one point, although Yarborough decided against it. (See NetApp Ships Data Ontap GX and NetApp Stokes Competitive Fires.) "It was a new technology that was out there when we were looking at this stuff, so we chose to go a different direction," he said.

Instead, Yarborough deployed Acopia switches with his existing NetApp hardware. "One of the challenges that we faced was that our Video on Demand (VOD) business started to grow," he said, explaining that he virtualized a number of NetApp 3020 filers supporting VOD.

Prior to deploying Acopia, the NetApp NAS was pushing its 16-Tbyte limit, forcing the company to manually delete up to 100 or 120 hours of content every month. With virtualization, this capacity has been pushed up to around 30 Tbytes, and Yarborough's life is a lot easier. "We don't have to delete assets from our archive any more," he said.

James Rogers, Senior Editor Byte and Switch