Businesses generating vast amounts of data are demanding scalable, consolidated, host-independent storage solutions as never before. With storage area networks in the IT market's show of shows, and with Linux cited as the operating system poised for enterprise-level growth, we expected to find interesting case studies, bearing testimony by end-user managers deploying SANs in Linux environments.
Huh? Reply after reply, vendor responses were the same: We have no SAN/Linux customers-yet.
"Sorry for the wait," e-mailed one major software provider of online storage solutions. "I've checked with our sales staff. Currently, they have no customers with this specific environment."
"Funny you should send your e-mail asking about Linux and SANs," replied another contact, this time for a SAN hardware provider. "We're just starting some e-mail fires discussing opportunities for SANs and Linux."
But we were warned that we would not find much light at the end of the tunnel, according to a software executive familiar with storage-vendor heavyweights:
"I'm not surprised you're having a tough time finding customers running a SAN/Linux," he forewarned. "Most of the companies I see are in mixed environments of Linux and Solaris. Linux servers are being used for a specific purpose, such as batch processing, and it's the Solaris servers that are the machines accessing the company's SAN."
Technology talk about feasibility of SANs in Linux environments appears to be ahead of technology actions in many quarters in the all-important SAN product channels. Those observing SANs usage firsthand are the systems-integration people in the middle tiers, putting together hardware and software components (switches, routers, disk drives, software) for customers. The middle tier's bread depends on a seriously agile juggling of pockets of interest: getting along with alliance vendors, getting along with the vendors' platform strategies, and, no less important, getting along with their customers.
A straight-shooting perspective on SAN/Linux frontlines, for example, can come from people like Trent Ton-That, SAN Sales Engineer at Zzyzx Peripherals. This San Diego-based company is in the business of building storage solutions based on Fibre Channel (FC) interfaces. Zzyzx sports a commercial and government customer list that includes the FBI, Lawrence Livermore and Brookhaven National labs, banks, and other organizations with business operations spanning the U.S and the globe.
Ton-That says that his role is to apply knowledge of computing topologies to customer needs to manage their data, period. He and the Zzyzx team prefer to think of themselves as selling "macroscopic" solutions for data management, including putting together the necessary components for their customers' SAN deployments.
| VENDORS: LINUX AS COMING ATTRACTION |
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While end-user customer stories did not pan out, SAN-related software companies Legato Systems and Veritas Software reflect executive thinking about the strength of Linux as a "when," not "if," corporate equation for any software vendor targeting corporate customers.
John Maxwell, Director of Data Protection Products for Veritas, states that "Linux is a business you can't afford not to be in." If data-management software vendors don't have their feet fully in the water, they're at least waving their toes. Veritas product teams working on a variety of SAN solutions report that customers are not "heavily deploying SANs using Linux," but a Veritas source emphasizes, "We're engaged in the Linux space on a number of levels, and once our customers start deploying, we will be right there with the same broad range of availability solutions we've provided for Unix and Windows environments." The corporate-communication arm of Veritas has aggressively positioned NetBackup as now capable of supporting Linux platforms, which analysts say could help bring Linux closer into data-center environments.
Legato Systems has a similar ready-for-takeoff outlook: "Most SAN activity has centered on Unix and Windows platforms," says a Legato source; she hastens to add that as more SAN hardware device vendors (Fibre Channel bus-adapter manufacturers, for example) begin supporting products on Linux platforms and more mission-critical applications are deployed under Linux, the scene will change.
Legato's products able to support SAN solutions in Linux environments, she says, include Legato Cluster high-availability software and NetWorker, for backup and recovery. "There is clearly gathering momentum behind Linux in SAN environments," she says.
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As for any technology hurdles in SAN/Linux constructs, he says that "A SAN's very purpose is being able to stream data over a fast pipe, and that is what Fibre Channel allows you to do. Some engineers will argue that the Linux platform is not as stable as others to do that." (A SAN is designed to handle traffic independently from the LAN or WAN. The server is connected to the SAN through a back-end FC connection. FC connections provide the high-performance transfer rate and distance that remote servers need.)
A common perception, Ton-That adds, is that "Linux is great for an alpha platform. But when it is time to move away from initial testing and do final testing and certification, that usually occurs on a Sun platform."
There's the rub. SAN product vendors find that Sun offers a bright ray of hope in selling SAN solutions. It is perceived as a platform of choice.
"It's very political," says Ton-That. "If you are a customer looking for SAN solutions, the vendors you go to for advice are going to focus on the platforms they already promote, as 80% of their revenue is coming from that alliance."
It's also Business 101, he adds. SAN providers need to assess which "platform train" to ride on to bring in revenue. If the answer is Sun Solaris, that's where one goes. "Eighteen years ago," he says, "the train to ride on would have been DEC's Alpha servers. Today it is Sun's."
But: There are two wrinkles in that line of thinking that should force the graduates of Business 101 to go for further training. A course in accounting would not be a bad thing.
"Sun Solaris is an expensive platform," he says. "This is not the marketplace of the 1990s, and technology buyers are more wary about their infrastructure investments. They have their eyes on inexpensive platforms. Solaris is the preferred platform but the question is, what will be the case 10 years from now? Once a vendor grabs on to a platform that can allow customers to manage data much, much cheaper, that platform may dictate."
The other course selection for SAN vendors might be in Logical Thinking. "My father would always repeat, 'Never put all your eggs in one basket.' SAN-related vendors who stick only to Sun will be wealthy, but what if Sun falters? It would make more sense to have more than one alliance."
Politics and perceptions aside, solution providers can't gamble on customer credibility. What's an honest answer to customer queries about the technology drawbacks of SAN implementations in Linux environments? "Linux and SAN work fine," asserts Ton-That, "as long as you choose the proper hardware and software to work in that kind of environment." The power rests with solution providers who will help customers make those choices.
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