Demystifying the Fibre Channel SAN Protocol

John Kim Leave a comment

Every wonder how Fibre Channel (FC) hosts and targets really communicate? Join the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) on September 23, 2021 for a live webcast, “How Fibre Channel Hosts and Targets Really Communicate.” This SAN overview will dive into details on how initiators (hosts) and targets (storage arrays) communicate and will address key questions, like:

  • How do FC links activate?
  • Is FC routable?
  • What kind of flow control is present in FC?
  • How do initiators find targets and set up their communication?
  • Finally, how does actual data get transferred between initiators and hosts, since that is the ultimate goal?
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Storage for Applications Webcast Series

John Kim Leave a comment

Everyone enjoys having storage that is fast, reliable, scalable, and affordable. But it turns out different applications have different storage needs in terms of I/O requirements, capacity, data sharing, and security.  Some need local storage, some need a centralized storage array, and others need distributed storage—which itself could be local or networked. One application might excel with block storage while another with file or object storage. For example, an OLTP database might require small amounts of very fast flash storage; a media or streaming application might need vast quantities of inexpensive disk storage with extra security safeguards; while a third application might require a mix of different storage tiers with multiple servers sharing the same data. This SNIA Networking Storage Forum “Storage for Applications” webcast series will cover the storage requirements for specific uses such as artificial intelligence (AI), database, cloud, media & entertainment, automotive, edge, and more. With limited resources, it’s important to understand the storage intent of the applications in order to choose the right storage and storage networking strategy, rather than discovering the hard way that you’ve chosen the wrong solution for your application.

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Q&A: Security of Data on NVMe-oF

John Kim Leave a comment

Ensuring the security of data on NVMe® over Fabrics was the topic of our SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) webcast “Security of Data on NVMe over Fabrics, the Armored Truck Way.” During the webcast our experts outlined industry trends, potential threats, security best practices and much more. The live audience asked several interesting questions and here are answers to them.

Q. Does use of strong authentication and network encryption ensure I will be compliant with regulations such as HIPAA, GDPR, PCI, CCPA, etc.?

A. Not by themselves. Proper use of strong authentication and network encryption will reduce the risk of data theft or improper data access, which can help achieve compliance with data privacy regulations. But full compliance also requires establishment of proper processes, employee training, system testing and monitoring. Compliance may also require regular reviews and audits of systems and processes plus the involvement of lawyers and compliance consultants.

Q. Does using encryption on the wire such as IPsec, FC_ESP, or TLS protect against ransomware, man-in-the middle attacks, or physical theft of the storage system?

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A Storage Debate Q&A: Hyperconverged vs. Disaggregated vs. Centralized

John Kim 1 Comment

The SNIA Networking Storage Forum recently hosted another webcast in our
Great Storage Debate webcast series. This time, our SNIA experts debated three competing visions about how storage should be done: Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI), Disaggregated Storage, and Centralized Storage. If you missed the live event, it’s available on-demand. Questions from the webcast attendees made the panel debate quite lively. As promised, here are answers to those questions.

Q. Can you imagine a realistic scenario where the different storage types are used as storage tiers? How much are they interoperable?

A. Most HCI solutions already have a tiering/caching structure built-in.  However, a user could use HCI for hot to warm data, and also tier less frequently accessed data out to a separate backup/archive.  Some of the HCI solutions have close partnerships with backup/archive vendor solutions just for this purpose.

Q. Is there a possibility where two or more classifications of storage can co-exist or be deployed? Examples please?

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Storage Technologies & Practices Ripe for Refresh – Part 2

Alex McDonald Leave a comment

So much of what we discuss in SNIA is the latest emerging technologies in storage. While it’s good to know all about the latest and greatest technologies, it’s also important to understand those technologies being sunsetted. In this SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) webcast series “Storage Technologies & Practices Ripe for Refresh” we cover technologies that are at (or close to) being past their useful life.

On June 22, 2021, we’ll host the second installment of this series, Storage Technologies & Practices Ripe for Refresh – Part 2 where we’ll discuss obsolete hardware, protocols, interfaces and other aspects of storage.

We’ll offer advice on how to replace these older technologies in production environments as well as why these changes are recommended. We’ll also cover protocols that you should consider removing from your networks, either older versions of protocols where only newer versions should be used, or protocols that have been supplanted by superior options and should be discontinued entirely.

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Protecting NVMe over Fabrics Data from Day One, The Armored Truck Way

John Kim Leave a comment

With ever increasing threat vectors both inside and outside the data center, a compromised customer dataset can quickly result in a torrent of lost business data, eroded trust, significant penalties, and potential lawsuits. Potential vulnerabilities exist at every point when scaling out NVMe® storage, which requires data to be secured every time it leaves a server or the storage media, not just when leaving the data center. NVMe over Fabrics is poised to be the one of the most dominant storage transports of the future and securing and validating the vast amounts of data that will traverse this fabric is not just prudent, but paramount.

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A Q&A on NVMe-oF Performance Hero Numbers

Alex McDonald Leave a comment

Last month, the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) hosted a live webcast “NVMe-oF: Looking Beyond Performance Hero Numbers.”It was extremely popular, in fact it has been viewed almost 800 times in just two weeks! If you missed it, it’s available on-demand, along with the presentation slides at the SNIA Educational Library. Our audience asked several great questions during the live event and our expert presenters, Erik Smith, Rob Davis and Nishant Lodha have kindly answered them all here.

Q. There are initiators for Linux but not for Windows? What are my options to connect NVMe-oF to Windows Server?

A. Correct. For many of the benchmarks, a standard Linux based initiator was used as it provided a consistent platform on which several of the compared NVMe Fabrics are supported/available.

Regarding what Fabrics are available on Microsoft Windows, it is best to check with your Microsoft representative for the most current information. As far as we are aware, Microsoft does not natively support NVMe-oF, but there are 3rd party Windows drivers available from other vendors, just search the web for “Windows NVMe-oF Initiator”.

In addition, some SmartNICs/DPU/Programmable NICs have the ability to terminate NVMe-oF and present remote NVMe devices as local, such options can be considered for your Windows deployment.

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Another Great Storage Debate: Hyperconverged vs. Disaggregated vs. Centralized

David McIntyre Leave a comment

The SNIA Networking Storage Forum’s “Great Storage Debate” webcast series is back! This time, SNIA experts will be discussing the ongoing evolution of the data center, in particular how storage is allocated and managed. There are three competing visions about how storage should be done: Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI), Disaggregated Storage, and Centralized Storage. Join us on May 4, 2021 for our live webcast Great Storage Debate: Hyperconverged vs. Disaggregated vs. Centralized.

IT architects, storage vendors, and industry analysts argue constantly over which is the best approach and even the exact definition of each. Isn’t Hyperconverged constrained? Is Disaggregated designed only for large cloud service providers? Is Centralized storage only for legacy applications?

Tune in to debate these questions and more:  

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NVMe® over Fabrics for Absolute Beginners

J Metz 1 Comment

A while back I wrote an article entitled “NVMe™ for Absolute Beginners.” It seems to have resonated with a lot of people and it appears there might be a call for doing the same thing for NVMe® over Fabrics (NVMe-oF™).

This article is for absolute beginners. If you are a seasoned (or even moderately-experienced) technical person, this probably won’t be news to you. However, you are free (and encouraged!) to point people to this article who need Plain English™ to get started.

A Quick Refresher

Any time an application on a computer (or server, or even a consumer device like a phone) needs to talk to a storage device, there are a couple of things that you need to have. First, you need to have memory (like RAM), you need to have a CPU, and you also need to have something that can hold onto your data for the long haul (also called storage).

Another thing you need to have is a way for the CPU to talk to the memory device (on one hand) and the storage device (on the other). Thing is, CPUs talk a very specific language, and historically memory could speak that language, but storage could not.

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Does this Look Outdated to You?

Tom Friend Leave a comment

Last month, the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) took a different perspective on the storage networking technologies we cover by discussing technologies and practices that you may want to reconsider. The webcast was called “Storage Technologies & Practices Ripe for Refresh.”  I encourage you to watch it on-demand.  It was an interesting session where my colleagues Eric Hibbard, John Kim, and Alex McDonald explored security problems, aging network protocols, and NAS protocols. It was quite popular. In fact, we’re planning more in this series, so stay tuned.

The audience asked us some great questions during the live event and as promised, here are our answers: 

Q. How can I tell if my SSH connections are secure?

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