Data Center Infrastructure Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Data Center Infrastructure Module 1.3

Data Center Infrastructure Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Data Center Infrastructure Upon completion of this module, you will be able to: List the five core elements of a Data Center infrastructure. Describe the role of each element in supporting business activities. Describe the requirements of storage systems for optimally supporting business activities. Describe the challenges and activities in managing the storage systems of a data center. So far, we’ve looked at The importance of data and information to the business (competitive advantage). The proliferation of data that needs to be stored efficiently. The storage alternatives (tape, optical and disk). Disk solutions (DASD, JBOD) and Interconnected disk systems (DAS, NAS, SAN). Now, we will discuss the elements of the Data Center and the challenges of managing a complex storage systems environment. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. The Core Elements Applications Databases – Database Management System (DBMS) and the physical and logical storage of data Servers/Operating Systems Networks Storage Arrays The five core elements include: Applications – specialized and dedicated software to manipulate data typically stored in databases. Databases – more commonly, Database Management Systems (DBMS), provide a structured way of storing data in logically organized tables with an interrelation between them. They optimize the storage and retrieval of data. Servers/Operating Systems – provide the computing platform required to run the applications and databases. Networks – provide the data communication paths between clients and servers or between servers and storage. Storage Arrays – this is where data and information lives. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example Storage Array Server Client Storage Area Network Local Area Network Application User Interface Database Consider an order processing system consisting of: Application for order entry. Database Management System (DBMS) to store customer and product information. Server/Operating System on which the Application and Database programs are run. Networks that provide Connectivity between Clients and the Application/Database Server Connectivity between the Server and the Storage system. Storage Array. This example identifies the 5 core elements of a data center and how they may relate to an actual business activity. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example ..Closer Look Storage Array Server Client Storage Area Network Local Area Network Application User Interface A customer order is entered via the Application User Interface on a client. A customer order is entered via the Application User Interface, typically from a Client machine on the order processing personnel’s desk. An Application accesses the Database to update the relevant information – Customer name/address/payment method, products ordered, quantity ordered etc. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example ..Closer Look Storage Array Server Client Storage Area Network Local Area Network A customer order is entered via the Application User Interface on a client The client accesses the Server over a Local Area Network. A customer order is entered via the Application User Interface, typically from a Client machine on the order processing personnel’s desk. The client accesses the Server over a Local Area Network. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example ..Closer Look Storage Array Server Client Storage Area Network Local Area Network O/S and DBMS A DBMS uses the operating system on the server to read and write this data to the physical location on a disk. A DBMS uses the Operating System to read and write this data to the physical location on a disk. A Network provides the communication link between the Client and the server, and transports the read/write commands and data between the Server and the Storage Array. A Storage Array receives the read/write commands and data from the Server and performs the necessary operations to store the data on physical disks. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example ..Closer Look Storage Array Server Client Storage Area Network Local Area Network A DBMS uses the operating system on the server to read and write this data to the physical location on disk. A Network provides the communication link between the server and the storage array, and transports the read/write commands and data between the server and the storage array. A DBMS uses the Operating System to read and write this data to the physical location on disk. A Network provides the communication link between the Client and the server, and transports the read/write commands and data between the Server and the Storage Array. A Storage Array receives the read/write commands and data from the Server and performs the necessary operations to store the data on physical disks. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example ..Closer Look Storage Array Server Client Storage Area Network Local Area Network Database A DBMS uses the operating system on the server to read and write this data to the physical location on disk. A Network provides the communication link between the client and the server, and transports the read/write commands and data between the server and the storage array. A storage array receives the read/write commands and data from the server and performs the necessary operations to store the data on the physical disks. A DBMS uses the Operating System to read and write this data to the physical location on disk. A Network provides the communication link between the Client and the server, and transports the read/write commands and data between the Server and the Storage Array. A Storage Array receives the read/write commands and data from the Server and performs the necessary operations to store the data on the physical disks. Data Center Infrastructure

An Example.. Optimal Order Processing Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example.. Optimal Order Processing The Application should be optimized for fast interaction with the DBMS. The tables in the Database should be constructed with care so that the number of read/write operations can be minimized. The Server should have sufficient CPU and memory resources to satisfy Application and DBMS needs. The Networks should provide fast communication between Client and Server, as well as Server and Storage Array. The Storage Array should service the read/write requests from the Server for optimal performance. If any one of the five elements is not available, the order entry process cannot be completed. For example, if the data is not available due to a disk failure, the order cannot be completed. The speed with which the order entry process can be completed depends on optimizing each of the five elements. Data Center Infrastructure

An Example.. A Final Look at Data Access Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. An Example.. A Final Look at Data Access When the DBMS receives a request from the Application: It first searches the Server memory. If data is found there, the operation takes, perhaps, a millisecond. If not, it then uses the Operating System to request the data from the Storage Array. Dedicated high speed networks transport this request to the Storage Array. Intelligent Storage Arrays can deliver the requested data within a few milliseconds. They are also typically configured to protect data in the event of drive failures. Data Center Infrastructure

Key Requirements of Storage Systems Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Key Requirements of Storage Systems Availability Data Integrity Security Capacity Scalability Performance Manageability While the requirements listed here are applicable to all elements of the Data Center Infrastructure, our focus is on Storage Systems. This course explores how Intelligent Storage Arrays meet these critical requirements. The various techniques and technology solutions to ensure these requirements are met will be extensively examined later in the class. Availability – ensure that data is accessible at all times when needed. As seen earlier, loss of access to data can have significant financial impact on businesses. Security – prevent unauthorized access to data. Mechanisms to allow servers to access only their allocated resources on Storage Arrays. Capacity – ability to add storage capacity “on-demand”, without interruption to the business. If a Database runs out of space on physical storage, it comes to a halt, thus impacting the business. Scalability – The Storage solution should be able to grow with the business. As the business grows, more Servers will be deployed, new applications/databases will be developed. Note: Continued on next page… Data Center Infrastructure

Some Constraints to Meeting the Requirements Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Some Constraints to Meeting the Requirements Constraints include: Cost Physical Environment Maintenance and Support Compliance – Regulatory & Legal Hardware and Software infrastructure Interoperability and Compatibility The requirements are ‘tempered’ by the reality of business. These constraints put pressure on achieving the technology requirements. Data Center Infrastructure

Management Activities Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Management Activities Data Center management activities include: Provisioning/Capacity/Resource Planning Monitoring Reporting These activities are relevant to all elements of a Data Center Infrastructure. Our focus is on Storage systems and the Storage environment. Managing a modern, complex Storage environment involves many tasks. Key management activities include: Provisioning/Capacity/Resource Planning Monitoring Reporting These activities are interdependent. For example one has to monitor the utilization of storage space of a database. When the utilization reaches a critical value, more capacity has to be added or provisioned. Reports on utilization will help in understanding the business growth and anticipate future capacity requirements. The objective is to be predictive and proactive rather than reactive. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Monitoring Performance Security Data Protection Utilization Continuous monitoring is critical to ensure uninterrupted business activities. Performance – monitoring the performance of the array will help in identifying bottlenecks in the I/O chain. It gives clues for better data layout to improve performance. Security – ensure that unauthorized access of devices is not taking place. Proper security measures will leave an audit trail of any changes to the configuration and will ensure that only authorized users are performing the configuration changes. Data Protection – ensure that the data is continually protected. Monitor drive failures or other component failures. Utilization – if any component in the I/O chain reaches a saturation point, application response times will slow down. Adding new applications or servers when the existing components are already saturated will slow everybody down. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Reporting Utilization Performance Internal Chargeback system for cost recovery Reports help in trend analysis. For example, periodic reporting on disk space utilization enables predicting storage capacity requirements in the future. Many organizations use reporting as a chargeback system to recover cost of providing IT infrastructure services to their internal customers. In turn, the users may be held accountable for the resources they consume. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Provisioning Capacity Security Performance With the data available from Monitoring and Reporting activities, data center managers can reserve required resources to meet anticipated growth. These also help in justifying budgetary levels for ongoing data center operations. Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved. Module Summary Key points covered in this module: The five core elements of a Data Center Infrastructure. The role of each element in supporting business activity was explained with an example of an order entry process. The importance of an Intelligent Storage Array. Key requirements of storage systems to support business activities as well as some of the constraints. Management activities in a data center operation with focus on storage systems. This module described: The five core elements of a Data Center Infrastructure including: Applications Databases Operating Systems Networks Storage The role of each element in supporting business activity was explained with an example of an order entry process. The importance of an Intelligent Storage Array was explained in the context of High-speed servicing of I/O requests from the Server Protecting data in the event of disk failures Seven key requirements of storage systems to support business activities as well as some of the constraints. Management activities in a data center operation with focus on storage systems: Provisioning/Capacity Planning/Resource Planning Monitoring Reporting Data Center Infrastructure

Copyright © 2006 EMC Corporation. Do not Copy - All Rights Reserved.  Check Your Knowledge What are the five core technology elements of the Data Center Infrastructure? What are the seven requirements of storage technology? What are the common management activities in a Data Center? Data Center Infrastructure