Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking

by Greg Schulz

Overview

The amount of data being generated, processed, and stored has reached unprecedented levels. Even during the recent economic crisis, there has been no slow down or information recession. Instead, the need to process, move, and store data has only increased. Consequently, IT organizations are looking to do more with what they have while supporting growth along with new services without compromising on cost and service delivery.

Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking, by savvy IT industry veteran Greg Schulz, looks at converging IT resources and management technologies for facilitating efficient and effective delivery of information services, including enabling of Information Factories. Regardless of your experience level, Schulz guides you through the various technologies and techniques available for achieving efficient information services delivery. Coverage includes:

Information services delivery model options and best practices

Metrics for efficient E2E IT management

Server, storage, I/O networking, and data center virtualization

Converged and cloud storage services (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS)

Data protection for virtual, cloud, and physical environments

Data footprint reduction and data protection modernization

High availability, business continuance, and disaster recovery

This much-needed reference brings together technology themes and topics that are converging in IT and data center environments for enabling effective information services, in a practical and hype-free manner. When it comes to IT clouds and virtualization, you must look before you leap. This book will help you address the questions of when, where, with what, and how to leverage cloud, virtual, and data storage networking as part of your IT infrastructure.

A video of Greg Schulz discussing his new book is featured on the CRC Press YouTube channel.

Visit Slideshare to view a slide presentation based on the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781439851739
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/26/2011
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Greg Schulz is the founder of the StorageIO Group, a technology analyst advisory and consultancy firm focused on data infrastructure topics providing services to technology vendors, end users, media and financial including venture capital organizations. Greg has gained diverse industry insight from being in the trenches in IT data centers. He has held numerous positions including programmer, server and storage systems administrator, performance and capacity analyst, disaster recovery consultant, as well as a server and storage planner at companies including an electrical power generating and transmission utility, financial services and transportation firms.

Shifting gears, Greg worked for storage and networking companies including MTI, INRANGE, and CNT in a variety of roles ranging from systems engineering and sales to marketing and Sr. technologist. Before founding the StorageIO Group in 2006, Greg was a Sr. Analyst at the Evaluator group covering virtualization, SAN, NAS and associated storage management tools, techniques, best practices and technologies.

Mr. Schulz has been involved with various storage related organizations including the Computer Measurement Group, Storage Networking Industry Association, and RAID Advisory Board. Greg is extensively published on a global basis and regularly appears in print, on-line as well as in person presenting and key note speaking at conferences, seminars and private events around the world on data infrastructure and related management topics. In addition to his reports, blogs, twitter tweets, columns, articles, tips, pod casts, videos and webcasts, Greg is also the author and illustrator of the book The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press), Resilient Storage Networks - Designing Flexible Scalable Data Infrastructures (Elsevier) as well as a co-author and contributor for many other book projects including The Resilient Enterprise (Symantec/Veritas).

Greg is regularly quoted and interviewed as one of the most sought after independent advisors providing perspectives, commentary, and opinion on IT industry activity. In addition to his commentary, he has articles, columns, tips, presentations, Webcasts, and podcasts appearing in leading industry trade venues including Computerworld, Enterprise Storage Forum, Search Storage, Search 5MB, Storage Decisions, Data Center Decisions, Processor, SNW, Network world, zJournal, Byte and Switch, eWeek, eChannel, Computer weekly, CMG and many others along with having a top ranked blog and twitter site. Learn more at www.storageioblog.com or on twitter @storageio.

Table of Contents

ISSUES, TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES - SETTING THE STAGE: Data Storage and Networking Trends and Issues. Data Storage and Networking Fundamentals. DATA AND INFRASTRUCTURE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (IRM): Storing and Managing Your Data. Data Footprint Impact Reduction. Protecting, Preserving and Serving Your Data. Performance, Availability, Capacity and Energy Planning. TECHNOLOGY AND SOLUTION OPTIONS: Storage Devices: Solutions and Options. Storage Connectivity: Networking Your Servers and Storage. Data and Storage Networking Management Tools. Integrated and Unified Solutions. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: Various Topics, Issues and Opportunities. Somewhere Over the Technology Futures Rainbow.

Editorial Reviews

With all the chatter in the market about cloud storage and how it can solve all your problems, the industry needed a clear breakdown of the facts and how to use cloud storage effectively. Greg's latest book does exactly that.
-Greg Brunton, EDS, an HP Company

Cloud computing provides computation, software, data access, and storage services that do not require end-user knowledge of the physical location and configuration of the system that delivers the services. The underlying concept of cloud computing dates back to the 1960s when John McCarthy opined that ‘computation may someday be organized as a public utility.’ Numerous parallels to the concept of cloud computing are often drawn with the electricity grid: end users consume power without needing to understand the component devices or infrastructure required to provide the service. Cloud computing is a natural evolution of the widespread adoption of virtualization, service oriented architectures, and utility computing.

 

Greg Schulz is a highly regarded analyst and author in the storage industry. He is a frequently sought after speaker and source for expert level analysis and quotes for industry articles. This book is a follow-up to his 2009 book (which I also had the good fortune of reviewing) 'The Green and Virtual Data Center'. Greg’s latest book takes up right where 'The Green and Virtual Data Center' left off.

There is so much discussion about cloud computing and virtualization out today that its mind boggling. It also is enough to cause a headache. Greg’s latest book is the ibuprofen that will make these cloud computing information overload headaches go away. Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking is the single source you can read to get a clear understanding of the fundamentals of the cloud.

The book covers service delivery models, metrics, data protection, cost reduction strategies, convergence, business continuity, and server/storage/networking virtualization. It has detailed chapters on each of these topics, plus many others. The book ties all of these areas of cloud computing together in an extremely well organized and easy to follow manner. Greg’s writing style is very engaging, which is rare for IT books. Each chapter has a very good introduction and comprehensive summary.

 

This book, (along with its 2009 predecessor) makes an outstanding read and reference tome for IT professionals. I also believe the two books taken together would make an outstanding set of textbooks for college level computer science/information systems courses on virtualization and cloud computing.
—Stephen R. Guendert, PhD, on cmg.org, November 2011

From the Publisher