ASSIGNMENT - 3

STORAGE TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION

PART A Q1. Discuss the CAS benefits? How CAS evolved? Ans . CAS technology continues to be particularly useful in addressing two problems: the longterm retention of content for compliance and/or regulatory purposes, and the archiving of massive amounts of records, images or other information that rarely (if ever) change. One reason CAS is so effective is its use of a hashing algorithm to assign a unique identifier, or digital fingerprint, to each stored object. That process, coupled with storage best practices, ensures that whatever goes into the system is exactly what comes out. If a data element changes, it receives a new unique identifier, aka content address CAS offerings are primarily targeted at environments that require guaranteed authenticity and/or long term archiving. Vendors employ proprietary and/or open standards to provide robust features such as self healing, authenticity and single instance data storage. CAS is not necessarily a category of storage, like SAN or NAS. It is a mechanism which allows you to do a number of things much more efficiently than would be possible using traditional techniques like file systems When data is stored on a CAS solution the intelligence embedded in the solution performs an operation to generate a unique identifier. This identifier can guarantee authenticity and facilitate single-instancestorage. When data is stored on a CAS solution the intelligence embedded in the solution performs an operation to generate a unique identifier. This identifier can guarantee authenticity and facilitate single-instance storage. Reduce network traffic Speed up all levels of data retrieval Reduce off-site bandwidth for disaster recovery applications Reduce storage hardware costs content addressable storage minimizes replication of files by assigning each file a unique digital fingerprint using advanced MD5 and SHA1 hashing algorithms. If the data within the file is unchanged, the fingerprint also remains unchanged even if the file name is altered. Q2 Under what conditions will you prefer Different types of Zoning? Formulate some of the benefits of using Soft Zoning , Hard Zoning and mixed Zoning. Ans. Following are the conditions prefer for different types of Zoning: Soft zoning is zoning which is implemented in software. Hard zoning is zoning which is implemented in hardware. Soft zoning and Hard zoning are used for controlling access and implementing a form of security so that all devices in a Fibre Channel switched (FC-SW) SAN fabric do not have to see each other. Hard and soft zoning are further differentiated by name and port zoning. If you do Hard zoning on your Zone configuration, it physically blocks access to a zone from any device outside of the zone. Soft zoning uses filtering implemented in Fibre channel switches to prevent ports from being seen from outside of their assigned zones. The security vulnerability in soft zoning is that the ports are still accessible if the user in another zone correctly guesses the Fibre channel address. Soft zoning controls what devices are accessible to each other by using the Fibre Channel name service where hard zoning restricts communication across a fabric. Hard Zoning is when your zones are made using Port numbers instead of WWNs, It is quite useful if youre zoning the switch in advance, so if you do not know the WWNs yet you can label the ports and instruct the field technician to just plug the right connectors in the right ports, it is also

useful to reduce the number of zones when you use N-Port virtualization (NPIV) where multiple N-Ports (Node Ports) are presented to a single physical Port. Soft Zoning instead is a zoning made with WWNs instead of physical ports, its currently the preferred type of zoning by most people in the industry, It is the most granular type of zoning, and the one we will cover here in this post. Theres also Mixed Zoning, discouraged by everyone, and it consist of a zone with a mix of Ports and WWNs, its currently the worst choice because normally the ASICs of the switch cannot segment the traffic this way and they need to resort using the switch main CPU, resulting in very bad performances Q3 explain the concept of virtualized -SAN and NAS? Ans. storage virtualization, also known as block virtualization, has proven its worth in the large enterprise and traveled that well-worn path from pricey boutique solution to affordable commodity. As a standard feature in all but the most modest mid-tier storage systems, storage virtualization soothes a wide range of storage management woes for small and mid-size organizations.

Storage network virtualization addresses the increasing complexity of managing storage and will reduce the associated costs dramatically. Its main purpose is the full exploitation of the benefits promised by a SAN like data sharing, higher availability, disaster tolerance, improved performance, consolidation of resources, and many more, which do not automatically result from the SAN hardware components and which were so far only partially addressed by the available software that are often limited to a subset of supported platforms.

PART B

Q4 Discuss in Detail the role played by FILE SYSTEM in case of a NAS environment. List the features of NFS and CIFS. Answer: There are two types of file systems commonly used in NAS: 1. NFS (Network File System) 2. CIFS (Common Internet File System)

NFS: NFS allows a system to share directories and files with others over a network. By using NFS, users and programs can access files on remote systems almost as if they were local files. NFS, like many other protocols, builds on the (ONC RPC) system. Because the NFS protocol is designed to be operating system independent, the connection between the server and the client is stateless. Statelessness means that the server does not have to maintain state of its clients to be able to function correctly (statelessness does not mean that the server is not allowed to maintain state of its clients). In the NFS configuration the server is dumb and the client is smart, which means that the client has to convert the file access method provided by the server into a access method understood by its applications. Some of the most notable benefits that NFS can provide are: Local workstations use less disk space because commonly used data can be stored on a single machine and still remain accessible to others over the network. There is no need for users to have separate home directories on every network machine. Home directories could be set up on the NFS server and made available throughout the network. Storage devices such as floppy disks, CDROM drives, and Zip drives can be used by other machines on the network. This may reduce the number of removable media drives throughout the network. CIFS: CIFS is the "Common Internet File System" used by Windows operating systems for file sharing. CIFS uses the client/server programming model. A client program makes a request of a server program (usually in another computer) for access to a file or to pass a message to a program that runs in the server computer. The server takes the requested action and returns a response. CIFS is a public or open variation of the Server Message Block Protocol (SMB) developed and used by Microsoft, and it uses the TCP/IP protocol. Q5 In case of CAS environment a host need not to know about the physical Address (LBA) .comment? Answer: CAS environment a host need not to know about the physical Address (LBA) whereas it is required in case of SAN. This happens because of the followings: When an object is stored in CAS, the object is given a name that uniquely identifies it, and that also specifies the storage location. This type of address is called a "content address." It eliminates the need for an centralized index, so it is not necessary to track the location of stored data. Once an object has been stored, it cannot be deleted until the specified retention period has expired. In CAS, data is stored on disk, rather than on tape. This streamlines the process of searching for stored objects. A backup copy of every object is stored to enhance reliability and to minimize the risk of catastrophic data loss. In the event of a hardware failure, the system administrator is notified by a remote monitoring system. A significant advantage of CAS is the fact that it minimizes the storage space consumed by data backups and archives, preventing what some engineers call a "data tsunami" (the overwhelming buildup of information, much of which is obsolete, redundant, or unnecessary). Another advantage is authentication. Because there is only one copy of an object, verifying its legitimacy is a simple process. Technology behind the CAS environment where a host need not to know about the physical address , by taking an example with EMC Centera the following the technology is defined:

EMC's Centera is an integrated software and hardware solution purpose built to deal with the storage needs of fixed content. The vast majority of customer value comes from Centera's software. It dramatically improves the ease of use and management of fixed content. When an object is stored, Centera calculates a 128-bit claim check from the object's binary representation. Centera then translates the 128-bit result into a unique 27-character identifier, called the content address. The content address is derived from, and is unique to, that individual piece of content. Content addressing distinguishes Centera from other storage technologies (all of which are based on location addressing) because it eliminates the need to understand and manage the physical or logical location of information on the storage medium. Centera links the fixed content object to the application and user via an intermediate data structure, called a c-clip descriptor file (CDF) that contains: time-stamp information, any applicationspecified meta-data, and the content address for the stored object. It is the CDF's Content Address, not the content object's content address, that the application holds as the virtual "claim check." Q6 Formulate Some real life examples which can be Implemented using CAS environment. Answer: Followings are the examples that can be implemented using CAS environment are: Healthcare: CAS effectively eliminates the traditional barriers to widespread distribution and online availability of crucial digitized medical information such as X-rays, MRIs, and medical records. CAS enables management costs to remain flat as digitial X-rays and other large medical images accumulate, while ensuring long-term retention and authenticity of these digital images. Financial Services: CAS addresses two major needs: 1) adherence to stringent regulations that require long-term content integrity, and 2) cost-effective online access to financial information with assured content integrity allows the information to be re-purposed to improve customer services and deliver new revenue producing services/products. Film, Broadcast, and Media: Video, film, and audio content are the media and entertainment industry's key assets. But only if their reuse, and sale can be managed and protected. A CAS system is an excellent digital asset repository solution because it addresses simultaneously the issues of long-term retention, protected ease of use and verified content authenticity.