Reducing Risk with Cloud Storage

Dells’ Definition of Cloud Provision of information resources that are dynamically scalable and virtualized - as a highly available service. Demand driven scalability: up or down, just happens Metered: usage-based billing Highly Automated: policy driven controls minimal need for intervention Robust: protects against systems failure Virtual Resources: abstracted and pooled

Assumptions and Definitions Cloud Storage matters because it solves real business problems Cloud Storage shifts storage cost from CAPEX to OPEX Nice when both are reduced Computing and Storage go together as Information Services are virtualized Cloud Storage demands effective resource planning requires management Can effectively use advanced services like: optimization, archiving, replication Nice to have features of Cloud Storage No capacity limits No data loss or theft No data corruption/degradation No unplanned costs No systems outages

What is Dell DX Object Storage? Objects are files stored as a single data stream together with content-rich metadata Namespace is flat & efficient using 128-bit UUID Metadata enables storage policies and data protection Dell DX Object Store is a Cloud Storage technology platform

Measures of Risk Reduction Dell DX Object Storage reduces storage risks: No Traditional file systems limits: Number of files, File Size, Naming semantics Reduced Data Loss: No Obsolescence, Data protection, Improved security High Up Time: Management, Data Replication Avoid Unplanned Costs

Dell DX Object Storage Value Points Modular Design Flexibility Add capacity as needed Massively scalable Node capacity in 4 or 12 drive units 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12, or 24 TB nodes Storage capacity easy to manage Add, replace, retire through a simple console interface Quick and automatic No provisioning, No LUNs Self-Managing Storage policies Cluster-wide default policy Per object policy over-rides Implemented as a background process Compliance management Driven by object header metadata Capable of full background processing Efficient Design Intelligently stores data objects Reliable storage Peer scaling Each storage node is an intelligent storage server Designed Integrity Management Self healing Assures integrity of stored data Built-in data replication facilities Easy to deploy DR sites Robust Infrastructure Designed for rapid recovery from hardware and node failure without impacting cluster operation Designed for to remain current Easy to update to new generations Seamless upgrade process

Cloud Storage Protocol: HTTP Open standard protocol enabling ubiquitous access Basic HTTP methods Create with POST (write) Retrieve with GET (read) Update with PUT (update any part of an immutable object) Update with COPY (update object metadata) Update with APPEND (update object with appended content on the end of the existing stream) Retrieve metadata with HEAD (info) Remove with DELETE (delete)

Cloud Use Cases: For Verticals Media: Allow professionals as well as non-technical experts to quickly and efficiently produce new media-rich content, re-purpose existing content and distribute content through multiple channels, for consumption by users on multiple types of end devices. Telco: Enable large numbers of mobile end-users to safely access content on heterogeneous devices. Enhance the efficiency of content-rich applications by allowing fast adaptation to change in user context (e.g., location and device). Healthcare: Access healthcare data based on its content and its relationships, and automatically extract metadata from large volumes of medical data. Enterprise: Support multi-tenant cloud-native business applications, leveraging the advanced data model to provide database-like capabilities and efficiently migrate tenant data.

Cloud Storage is shared! Multiple tenants share the same Storage Cloud: What about security?

Multi-Tenancy: Essential for Cloud Storage Secure infrastructure isolates data and the consumption of system resources between tenants. Storage Network Layer Network separation - Zoning, VLANS Data Storage Layer Control storage access between tenants for security Traditional techniques: LUN masking, SAN zoning Physical partitioning of resources for quality of service Examples: Assigning CPU’s, cache, disks, interfaces to VM’s Private Cloud = shared resources is main concern (QoS) Public Cloud = data isolation is main concern (Security) This is how …

Dell DX Object Storage Multi-tenancy DX Cloud Storage To enable a new tenant define a new Domain in the cluster: Buckets: Users can create containers for named objects Domains and Buckets have associated Security Realms containing authorization lists - list of users and credentials Maintenance and administration of these Security Realms can be delegated to administrators who own a Domain Individual Objects can have authorization lists attached as well

Intelligent Distribution Enabled by Metadata Disaster Recovery Site Affiliate Branch Office Regional Data Center Metadata filter Object Routing Primary Dell DX Object Store Policy-based replication to geographically distributed site(s) Policies driven by defined rules based on object metadata Multiple replication and distribution topologies supported 1:1, 1:M, M:1, M:M Customize to meet specific needs Replicate some or all files Fully automated Extensible for use in other post-process functions

Traditional storage an obstacle? The ability to leverage Cloud Storage when presently committed to traditional storage technologies can be a challenge. Issues include: Vendor lock-in Proprietary infrastructure High retooling cost Costs of retraining

Dell DX Object Storage Migration Strategies Some ways to take advantage of Dell DX Object Storage technologies: Write or modify applications to use HTTP directly Change exiting software architecture to direct data I/O through middleware Connector abstracts I/O implementation Application becomes independent of the storage technology Use of a Gateway solution Use gateway to provide a “temporary” interface Looks like a block-storage system to redirect data to DX Object Storage Capture metadata separately Also store in DX Object Store Later migrate metadata to stored objects

Dell DX Object Storage tangible Cloud Storage benefits: Conclusion Dell DX Object Storage tangible Cloud Storage benefits: Risk reduction Consolidation Improved information systems integration Improved data manageability Partnerships provide a broad solutions value to the Cloud Storage spectrum