Qlogic SANbox 8200 Supplementary Manual

Weizmann Institute of Science Improving Datacenter Efficiency by Combining the Power of Virtualized Servers and Storage Challenge Reduce the cost and time needed to effectively manage heterogeneous SAN-based storage resources across a virtualized server environment Solution An affordable Integrated Business Solution featuring QLogic SANbox 8200 Storage Services Platform and StoreAge software Results: Quick and simple deployment, providing the Weizmann Institute with centralized management of its heterogeneous storage devices, while maintaining interoperability with existing SAN infrastructure. Background A growing number of companies of all sizes are using virtualization technology as a means to increase infrastructure flexibility and utilization. These companies have moved beyond the hype of virtualization and harnessed the technology into tangible results. The resulting benefits seem to be quite compelling as companies who have become comfortable with the notion of virtualization, are quickly expanding the use of virtualization technologies within their organizations. The practical usefulness of virtualization technology extends well beyond large Fortune 500 enterprises. The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science (ACWIS) is a prime example of a smaller organization reaping the rewards of combining server and storage virtualization within a single data environment. Virtualization has broad market appeal because the technology can be applied across nearly any size and type of server or storage device. For example, larger RAID arrays can be virtualized as easily as modular “Just a Bunch of Disks” (JBOD) Challenge Prior to looking at storage virtualization technology, ACWIS had already implemented VMware to reduce the number of servers needed. With VMware, a single physical server is partitioned into multiple virtual servers that run independently – even with different operating systems. Fewer physical servers are needed, meaning overall resource utilization is significantly enhanced and management is simplified Pleased with the results attained from server virtualization technology, ACWIS next focused upon it’s storage environment. ACWIS was seeking to more effectively and efficiently manage storage resources across their Storage Area Network (SAN). They were having difficulty achieving the level of control and flexibility desired in allocating and provisioning storage to various server environments. The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science is enjoying the dividends of leading the way with virtualization

Europe Headquarters QLogic (UK) LTD. Surrey Technology Centre 40 Occam Road Guildford Surrey GU2 7YG UK +44 (0)1483 295825 C A S E S T U DY Solution The required solution needed to simplify storage provisioning for all storage connected to the SAN, while supporting the various server operating environments including VMware, Windows, and Netware. In addition, the solution needed to virtualize all storage resources, including their principle RAID array. ACWIS implemented a solution based on QLogic’s Storage Service Platform running StoreAge’s management software, which provides a virtualized storage environment for easier storage management, as well as mirroring, snapshot and replication features for cost-effective replication and DR capabilities. The integrated solution offers a highperformance, highly available approach to deploying a variety of storage management and data protection capabilities within any SAN environment. The combined QLogic/StoreAge solution simplifies deployment, providing a centralized location to add and grow various storage services. Benefits Using the integrated QLogic/StoreAge solution, ACWIS was able to achieve their goal of simplifying storage management within their VMware virtual server environment. “With the SANbox 8200 platform and StoreAge SVM, adding and managing storage is more economical and simpler compared to our previous proprietary solution. We can now add storage quickly and easily to the SAN and partition it as needed to different virtual machines” said Aron Morgulis, Director of IT. Within the ACWIS environment, the solution lowered the cost of storage management by reducing the complexity and time needed to perform common and repetitive management tasks. Prior to implementing the current SANbox 8200-based solution, ACWIS would need to repeatedly bring additional physical storage capacity online as needed, and then manage the storage on each separate system independent of all other storage. By adding the QLogic/StoreAge solution, ACWIS enjoys: Fast and easy storage provisioning for virtualized server environments Single management point for storage management Capability to add complimentary data protection services such as replication, mirroring and snapshot to bolster DR and backup. ACWIS is well positioned to manage further storage and server growth needs efficiently, because storage services are deployed in the storage network independent of physical storage and server resources. This provides ACWIS exceptional flexibility to select bestof- breed storage and server assets and avoid vendor-lockin which can be common when deploying proprietary solutions. • • • Weizmann Institute of Science © 2006 QLogic Corporation. All rights reserved. QLogic, the QLogic Logo, the Powered by QLogic Logo, and SANbox are registered trademarks or trademarks of QLogic Corporation. All other brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Information supplied by QLogic is believed to be accurate and reliable. QLogic Corporation reserves the right, without notice, to makes changes in product design or specifications. SNOO30982-00 Rev A 3/06