Chuck's Blog

EMC Information Infrastructure for VMware

Even though I work for EMC, I’ve always thought of VMware as a separate company.  We’ve always used the same alliance model that we use with Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, SAP, et. al.

Given the recent IPO news from EMC, I guess that was the right approach.

We’ve been very busy behind the scenes preparing our portfolio for advanced VMware users.  Most of the pieces have fallen into place, so I think it’s time to start painting the picture.

I’ve written about infrastructure issues for VMware ESX 3.0 (or VMware Virtual Infrastructure) before.  But there’s more to say.

So, in the spirit of my Microsoft and SAP post, here’s the EMC landscape for VMware.  There’s a lot to digest, so I hope you’ll patiently wade through it with me.

Security Advice From A Non-Expert

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m no security expert.

I jealously guard my non-expert status.  I have published no security white papers, attended no security conferences, and hold no basic patents in security technology.

I believe my qualifications as an industry-leading non-expert are somewhat useful.

Why? 

Because I tend to focus more on the pragmatic than the theoretical.  I look for simple things people can do to improve the situation that are quick hits, and tend to avoid big strategies with long journeys involved.

Ever since EMC acquired RSA, I’ve found myself drawn into more and more customer discussions where my non-expert qualifications appear to be in demand.

And I’ve found myself making the same recommendations over and over again.

Seduced By Scale Out

For decades, we’ve all been intrigued by the potential of scale-out architectures.

Can low-cost computing and storage components be lashed together in some fashion to deliver the advantages of a big machine with reduced costs?

I was first exposed to this line of thinking in the server business maybe 20 years ago.  It has come and gone in different forms, but in the last few years has re-emerged as a potentially better way to build storage farms.

Is it?  Or is it not?

It depends on what you’re looking for, so let’s dive in …

My Way Or The Highway

Some of us in the technology community get pretty passionate about our views.  That’s a good thing, right?

But we’re all better served by – at least attempting – a somewhat dispassionate view that there are reasonable alternatives to a given issue.

We, as vendors, should state the problem, talk about alternatives, and then go on to why we think our particular answer is better than the other guys.

Customers should ideally be exposed to the thinking, and not just shown the end result. 

I saw a pointed response from IBM regarding Hu Yoshida’s post regarding storage virtualization. 

Of course, I don’t agree with Hu.  Going farther, I don’t think many people outside of HDS would share his particular point of view.

But the real issue here – in my mind – is a framing of the discussion, rather stating the answer.  Nothing is cut-and-dried in IT, even though we would like it to be.

That’s why we have real smart people working in IT.  If it was obvious, they wouldn’t need us, right?

DMX Evolved

OK, I admit it.  Part of me likes big iron.

Ever since I saw my first mainframe as a young pup, I've been impressed by big IT machines. 

The bigger and the more blinking lights, the better.  A loud roar coming out the back is cool, too.

Is this a guy thing?

I've had the privilege of being associated with EMC's Symmetrix business for over twelve years.  I think high-end storage architectures are an interesting lens on what's coming in the broader storage landscape. 

EMC just finished a set of announcements that extend the core DMX in some interesting ways.

In this post, I'll try and give you a bit of context behind the announcements, and why they might (or might not) be important.

IT As Change Agent

I think there’s continual turmoil in most IT industry workers regarding the inevitable friction between the way things are, and the way they could be.

All of us who love technology are passionate about the potential we see around new and existing technologies. 

But most of us work in a world where little of that promise seems to be ever realized, or takes too long to bring vision to reality.

Which brings up the central question stated above – how does IT drive change?

I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’m a knowledgeable observer. 

I have the privilege of meeting with literally hundreds of IT thinkers, and I’ve been able to piece together elements that seem to work.

I wouldn’t call it a recipe, more of a list of ingredients that are common themes that I’ve seen in IT organizations that have been successful in driving change.

How Green Is Your Data Center?

Ideas and trends come and go on the IT landscape.  Some stick, some don't.

Usually the trends are measured in quarters and years, and not just short months.

What's really caught me by surprise is just how much visceral momentum has built around the need for green data centers.  And just how quickly it's gone from vision to mandate.

It's a hot topic (pardon the pun) in almost every conversation with large customers.  And -- to be honest -- it's caught me a bit by surprise in terms of intensity and urgency.

I'd like to use this post to look at some of the reasons why, and -- of course -- what people are doing about it.

The Digital Big Bang

One of the things I like to do is to occasionally zoom the lens way back, and look at things from as broad a perspective as possible.

It helps me create context, and with context, I can connect the dots in a better way, make better decisions and generally feel that I’ve figured out a thing or two.

I’d like to take this post and try and do this for what we are all going through with the current hyper-expansion of digital information. 

I think it’s creating fundamental ripples in the fabric of society that we’re just now starting to realize, let alone deal with.

EMC Information Infrastructure for SAP

A few months ago, I wrote an extended post regarding all the things we’ve been able to do in a Microsoft environment; applying information infrastructure concepts to the entire Microsoft landscape.

Turned out it was a pretty popular post.  Few realized the breadth and the impact of the portfolio of capabilities we had put together in this important space.

So today, I’d like to try and do that again for SAP. 

From my perspective, SAP is at the cutting edge of enterprise functionality.  They’ve pretty much defined the landscape for the industry.  But, at the same time, customers face significant challenges exploiting all that great stuff, which is where EMC fits in.

It too is a pretty broad, impactful story, and worth telling.

I also think it’s a great lens on a broader discussion – customers run their core business processes on SAP, so it’s at the heart of any information infrastructure discussion.