Chuck's Blog

Where Does Grid Go From Here?

All of us in the IT industry have a peculiar behavior. 

A buzzword spontaneously appears, we all echo it fervently, but we're not really 100% sure what it all means. 

At some point, we remember that customers buy solutions to business problems, and don't spend a lot of money on buzzwords, so we get down to brass tacks and figure out what this stuff might really mean, and what business problem it might solve.

Grid is a reasonable case in point.  Just getting to a common definition is difficult.  And trying to figure out "OK, exactly what problem does this solve?" gets even more interesting.

So let me try and wade in.

NetApp Gateway and IBM SVC -- When More Isn't Necessarily Better

I try to refrain from poking at other vendors in my work, and in this blog.  But sometimes, just sometimes, you hear about something that's so wacky, it just deserves a moment of appreciation by all of us in the industry.

I refer to the recent announcement that the NetApp gateways were now qualified for use with IBM's SVC.  See here and here.  One way to accurately describe the announcement would be that you now can buy one storage virtualization device (the NetApp gateway) on top of another (IBM's SVC).

I don't think we'll get a replay of the Sony PS3 situation with long lines at retailers near you.  So why did they do this?

Raison d’Etre for Information Infrastructure

In past posts, I’ve mentioned that EMC’s thinking is around information infrastructure.  I thought I’d take a post or two to explain exactly what I mean by that phrase.

 

The case for information infrastructure is built on a few core beliefs.  You either agree with these points, or you don’t.

IT Archaeology and the Case for Model-Based Management

We all speak loftily of IT architectures.  But I think the reality is more IT archaeology -- layers upon layers of systems and interfaces, built on top of each other over time, each dependent on the layers below it.

Whether this is happens through natural evolution, or by explicit intent (e.g. SOA), the resulting landscape is the same -- it's damnably complex. 

And today, I'd like to try and make a case that the fundamental technology required to manage service levels in these environments must take -- and is taking -- a big step forward.

Replication Redux

One of the most basic things you can do with information is move it or copy it.

It goes by many names: replication, backup, recovery, migration, cloning ... the list is endless. 

In the spirit of Eskimos having many words for "snow", we in IT have many words to describe the same basic process -- making a copy of information.

The landscape here has changed dramatically in just a few months -- there are entirely new categories of functionality -- and use cases -- springing up.  And there's convergence going on -- what were once separate discussions are now getting intermingled and combined in very tangled ways.

Since EMC has always had a strong capability in replication (and growing rapidly!), I thought I'd use this post to unpack some of the big themes and ideas, and describe how many of the conversations are merging.

Are You An Informationist? Part III Web Resource

In past posts, I floated the idea that many of us were in the process of becoming informationists rather than technologists. 

If you're interested, you can see the background here and here.

One of the arguments behind this thought is simple: over time, there will be more business value in optimizing, protecting and enhancing the value of our information portfolios than our technology portfolios. 

Ultimately, businesses care more about the information than the plumbing that got it there.  And I'm always on the lookout for resources, discussions, etc. that help to support this thesis.

SOA and Information Infrastructure

IT is an industry that runs on Big Ideas. 

And, without a doubt, one of the biggest ones today is SOA -- service-oriented architectures.

But most of the discussion seems to be on why this is such a good idea for building the next generation of applications.  Not much discussion is focused on what this will mean for the infrastructure guys -- and how this will change their world in a very big way.

Today, I'm going to wade in and offer some thoughts as to why some fundamental approaches to IT infrastructure are going to need to change in a SOA world, and -- not surprisingly -- what EMC is doing to help people get ready.

Towards Information Security

Definition of an expert -- someone who's read the next chapter in the textbook, and knows what's coming. 

Hopefully I can share with you my thoughts about what's coming next in security.

Microsoft and Novell -- A Good Thing

I'm probably going to get blasted from the radical Linux fundamentalist movement for this one. 

But I honestly believe that -- from a customer perspective -- Microsoft and Novell have forged a very productive construct that bodes well for corporate IT users.

Are You An Informationist? Part II and FRCP

In the last post, I floated the concept that many of us in IT were in the process of becoming more informationists, and less technologists. 

Most of IT's historical investment has been focused around managing the technology portfolio; going forward I would predict more focus would be put on managing the information portfolio.

Since I'm an ardent debater, I like to establish corroborating evidence for my positions, especially the esoteric ones.  And today, I'd like to talk a bit about the new FRCP (Federal Rules on Civil Procedure) that go into effect this Dec 1st.