Internet Research Group’s White Paper on Storage Virtualization Software: The Cornerstone for Affordable Business Continuity

http://www.datacore.com/Libraries/Document_Library/IRG_brief_Storage_Virtualization_and_Business_Continuity_Final.sflb.ashx

Find out what other Analysts are saying about DataCore on our Analyst and Opinions Page

http://www.datacore.com/Testimonials/What-Others-are-Saying/Analyst-Reports.aspx

So here’s the question raised by VMware’s demonstration that is disrupting the storage market. If business continuity can be supplied as part of a software virtualization platform (with all the convenience and flexibility that implies), what future do hardware-specific storage virtualization solutions have? After all, just as server virtualization eliminates the need for specialized server hardware, shouldn’t storage virtualization eliminate the need for specialized storage hardware or appliances? In fact, doesn’t the fundamental logic of virtualization eventually demand a hardware-agnostic storage management solution that can itself run in a virtual machine in one of the general-purpose x86 servers that make up today’s ideal data center?

IRG brief Storage Virtualization and Business Continuity

Cloud Infrastructures For MSPs

http://www.crn.com/news/cloud/229219171/os33-avazpour-combine-to-automate-cloud-infrastructures-for-msps.htm;jsessionid=JV282X7ggXxBY9kz5aGh1Q**.ecappj03

OS33, a provider of cloud portal management technology to MSPs, unveiled a new Infrastructure-as-a-Service platform it says will increase the performance and flexibility and simplify the management of cloud infrastructures.

The OS33 Grid provides a full range of integrated cloud resources to MSPs who might otherwise have to work with multiple cloud service providers, said Jim Avazpour, president and CEO of Avazpour Networking Services and president of OS33's Infrastructure Division.

As an example of OS33's attempt to provide a consistent SLA to its MSP customers, Avazpour said that the OS33 Grid integrates storage technologies from two long-term partners.

The first is CommVault, which provides a complete data backup solution suitable for companies ranging from small businesses to large enterprises facing regulatory concerns. "For companies that require high availability, CommVault can provide data snapshots on an hourly basis," he said.

For tiered storage to the cloud, OS33 works with DataCore Software. DataCore's storage virtualization technology can tie multiple SANs together for high availability and performance, and automate the migration of data to the cloud, he said.

MSPs looking to implement disaster recovery can use the CommVault and DataCore offerings to replicate backups to offsite data centers, including OS33 data centers in Secaucus, N.J., Overland Park, Kansas, and Santa Clara, Calif.

"We can provide cold, warm, and hot disaster recovery, depending on the customer's budget," he said.

Virtualization Review and Jon Toigo Webcast on DataCore SANsymphony-V, February 22, 2011 at 11:30am EST

DataCore Software announced that it has partnered with Virtualization Review to host a live webcast entitled “Overcome the ‘Big Problem’ Stalling Server and Desktop Virtualization Projects.” This webcast, which takes place on February 22 at 11:30am Eastern Standard Time, will be recorded and it will address how IT organizations can eliminate the storage-related barriers preventing them from realizing the financial and operational goals of their virtualization initiatives.

Included will be a brief product demonstration introducing key functionality inherent to SANsymphony-V, a new generation of storage virtualization software designed to simplify and automate the three most important storage functions – Capacity Management, Performance Management, and Data Protection Management – needed to create a dynamic storage infrastructure for the virtual world.

Who: Moderator – Jon Toigo, CEO Toigo Partners International, Chairman Data Management Institute. Storage expert Jon Toigo is a columnist for Enterprise Systems and contributing writer for Virtualization Review. He is a consultant, blogger and author of 15 books on business technology, disaster recovery and data storage.

Presenter #1 – Augie Gonzalez, director of product marketing, DataCore Software.

Presenter #2 – George Teixeira, president and CEO, DataCore Software.

What: Webcast: “Overcome the ‘Big Problem’ Stalling Server and Desktop Virtualization Projects”
Unanticipated storage hardware investments and inefficient storage use are often the most critical factors that bring server consolidation and desktop virtualization projects to a standstill. During this webcast, attendees will learn:

•The root, storage-related causes behind the “big problem” stalling virtualization projects;
•A proven, cost-effective way to overcome the "big problem" using storage virtualization software;
•Contrasts between software-based approach and expensive “rip and replace” hardware proposals;
•How simple it is to manage a virtual shared storage infrastructure in concert with your virtual servers and virtual desktops using the newest DataCore™ product, SANsymphony™-V; and
•How data centers can use existing equipment and conventional storage devices to achieve the robust and responsive shared storage environment necessary to support highly dynamic virtual IT environments.

When: Tuesday, February 22nd at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (duration: 90 minutes)

Where: Register for the webcast at:
http://virtualizationreview.com/webcasts/2011/01/datacore-overcome-the-big-problem-stalling-server.aspx?tc=page0

The Register: DataCore Rewrites SANsymphony Score

Better caching and protection

By Chris Mellor: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/31/datacore_sansymphony_v_v8/

Storage virtualisation software supplier DataCore has revved its SANsymphony product to provide faster access to virtualised and pooled block-access storage for its mid-market customers.

The product sits in an X86 server between block storage-accessing servers and storage arrays and presents the storage in the arrays – plus storage on the server it is running on if you wish – as a single pool of virtualised storage. It is, in effect, an external storage area network (SAN) controller, in the same technological vein as IBM's SAN Volume Controller.

Version 7 was announced in April 2009 and was a 64-bit version running on Windows Server. It introduced the idea of mega caches, the use of its own server's memory as a cache for the SAN, with up to 1TB of the stuff. There was a high-availability (HA) feature so that SAN components could be upgraded and replaced without taking the SAN offline. It also supported thin provisioning to avoid wasteful allocation of storage capacity before it was actually needed to store written data.

Version 8 of SANsymphony-V adds auto-tuning of the mega cache feature, to improve cache efficiency and get data to servers faster. DataCore says it also offers infrastructure-wide thin provisioning and pooling. The pooling is now organised so that the underlying disk drives can be aggregated into virtual pools with specific performance and cost profiles, and these pools used by the accessing servers. There is, as yet, no mention of tiering pools with data moved between them as it becomes hot or cool in activity terms.

There is SAN-wide centralised management and both automated and guided workflows to make an administrator's job easier. DataCore has also added Continuous Data Protection (CDP) to enable storage admins to rollback in time and recover workloads and virtual machines.

Carla Arend, program manager for European infrastructure software research at IDC, said: "DataCore has redesigned its software for virtual server and desktop environments ... [It] makes server and desktop virtualisation affordable for the broader IT community."

DataCore has some 6,000 customers and hopes that the increased interest in datacentre virtualisation issues will work to its advantage as mid-market customers see the advantages of virtualising across SAN storage arrays. They can have a consistent level of functionality across the disparate feature sets of the virtualised arrays, says the company.

The DataCore pitch is that it can effectively upgrade legacy storage arrays to function as fast-access, thinly-provisioned and continually protected storage resources for virtualised servers and desktops. LSI has recently exited the SAN virtualisation software field, killing off its Storage Virtualisation Manager. This leaves DataCore facing less competition.

DataCore says there are five different SANsymphony-V product models and price points, based on software instances and managed disk capacity. Software licences for a fully redundant, high-availability configuration start under $10,000 and include annual 24x7 technical support.

Twitter: DataCore rewrites SANsymphony score: Better caching and protection. Storage virtualization software supplier DataCor… http://reg.cx/1MyT

Storage Virtualization Software eliminates storage barriers. 

http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/Storage-Virtualization-Software-eliminates-storage-barriers-590834

February 3, 2011 - With SANsymphony(TM)-V, datacenters can use existing equipment and conventional storage devices to achieve responsive shared storage environment necessary to support dynamic virtual IT environments. Program uses adaptive caching and performance boosting techniques to absorb variable workloads while simultaneously removing storage as single point of failure. Open software platform lets users provision, share, reconfigure, migrate, replicate, expand, and upgrade storage without slowdowns or downtime.

SNS UK: New generation of storage virtualization software

SANsymphony-V delivers the critical “third dimension” to virtualisation: software to cost-effectively shape the shared storage infrastructure required by virtual IT environments.

http://www.sns-uk.co.uk/news_full.php?id=17101

SearchStorage.co.UK: DataCore launches SANsymphony-V storage virtualization software

DataCore upgrades its storage virtualization software with SANsymphony-V, which includes a new management interface, faster asynchronous replication and built-in CDP.

http://searchstorage.techtarget.co.uk/topics/0,295493,sid181_tax308659,00.html

IT Director: DataCore Announces New Generation of Storage Virtualisation Software: SANsymphony-V

http://www.it-director.com/channels/isv/news_release.php?rel=22818

UK's The Channel Register: http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2011/01/31/datacore_sansymphony_v_v8/