News

posted on 07 May 2008 10:24

3PAR has announced that it's InServe arrays meet the Taneja Group's criteria for next-generation Fibre Channel (FC) storage arrays, sales of which are forecast to grow significantly.

Next-generation FC arrays means, for Arun Taneja, an alternative to Symmetrix-style arrays: "We have a situation where a new class of storage systems designed to provide a simpler, more efficient, high-performance alternative to traditional monolithic and dual-controller arrays are posing a serious challenge to the status quo. This new breed of storage systems directly addresses the needs of the virtualised atacentre - something that traditional storage systems were never designed to do."

(However, it is probable that no storage array designed more than three or more years ago has been designed from the ground up to respond to virtualised data centre needs as that concept didn't really exist then.)

The characteristics of next-generation FC arrays Taneja identifies are:-

- Clustered controller design,
- Sub-disk virtualisation,
- Self-configuring and self-tuning storage,
- Automated storage tiering,
- Use of "thin technologies."

Thin technologies are defined as features that enable capacity to be dedicated on write, not on allocation. This includes support for "reservationless" snapshots, where only a single copy of changed volume data is stored for all snapshots associated with a given volume.

Storage array vendors meeting these criteria include 3PAR, Compellent and Pillar Data.

The market drivers encouraging the emergence of the new-style FC arrays include:-

- The rise of storage consolidation initiatives based on ROI optimisation,
- Prioritisation of green storage in purchasing decisions,
- Use of virtualisation and automated management to reduce OPEX,
- The need for a more agile and dynamic infrastructure to support service-oriented IT.

The report states that "Server virtualisation and consolidation, green storage initiatives, and the need to contain OPEX costs associated with storage management are forcing users to rethink their traditional storage solutions."

It segments next-generation Fibre Channel storage systems into two main markets:-

- high-end storage
- mid-range systems.

High-end systems are defined as those suited for the most demanding I/O workloads and the most mission-critical datacentre applications.

Compellent, Pillar and 3PAR (Inserve E-slass) are in the next-generation mid-range with 3PAR and IBM's XIV in the high-end.

The report forecasts revenue growth for next-generation Fibre Channel storage systems for the period between 2007 and 2011 and is available on 3PAR's web site.

^{[Chris Mellor, editor.]}