4 Storage Virtualization Products That Offer Thin Provisioning

As a buy-as-you-grow storage device, the automation makes administration much more seamless. The PS3900XV can turn thin provisioning on and off as needed for any volume.

The storage array uses 15,000 RPM Serial Attached SCSI disk drives to deliver high performance. The 16-drive chassis is an iSCSI SAN with 4.8 Tbytes of storage. EqualLogic's architecture supports mixing and matching storage arrays into one storage pool and administering them from one console application. The user interface is the same Java application found on other EqualLogic arrays. Configuration rules can be defined to decide which volumes exist on which array. This way, physical space can be easily added as needed.

EqualLogic, which is being acquired by Dell, offers complete SAN virtualization, automatic load balancing, automatic online storage pools, snapshots and replication, multi-path I/O, consistency sets and automatic storage tiering. The software management tool can set up group managers and offers rapid provisioning. The role-based management is a good feature to consider. From the management interface, user-defined threshold alarms can be defined to monitor the physical space. The interface also allows setting controls on automatic space allocation to reduce the risk of overprovisioning.

With a list price of $67,000, the EqualLogic PS3900XV storage array is the most expensive solution on this short list. However, EqualLogic doesn't have license fees or any other hidden costs. Partners can expect 37-percent margins on the pure-play software appliance. Some partners have developed disaster-recovery solutions and other advanced solutions on top of the platform for additional revenue opportunities.

EqualLogic had the best warranty offering of the four vendors: All PS Series arrays are sold with a limited warranty that includes two years telephone support, one year software maintenance and updates, and two years hardware warranty.

While there are no entry requirements for the two-tier program, preferred business partners must have a certified sales engineer and a technical support person, and achieve at least $200,000 in annual revenue. EqualLogic preferred partners have access to a 90-day deal registration site. The protected access portal provides the same information to partners as it does to EqualLogic's sales representatives.

Hitachi Universal Storage Platform V
The Universal Storage Platform V from Hitachi Data Systems features software capable of managing a pool of virtualized storage capacity up to 247 Pbytes. This kind of capacity eliminates customer worries over storage constraints when consolidating data centers into a single geographic location.

Hitachi also supports large logical storage pools, which enable hundreds of disk drives to simultaneously operate on a single input/output request. At this time, the USP-V is a Fibre Channel system.

Unlike striped logical devices on other storage systems, Hitachi Dynamic Provisioning software ensures that disk array groups may be of RAID levels 10, 5 and 6, providing customers with maximum flexibility across their storage deployments. The Universal Volume Manager software enables greater capacity using virtualization. The system can be configured to send Phone Home or e-mail notification messages about the unit's health, such as storage space running low.

Hitachi's solution is not tied exclusively to its physical storage system. The software recently added external vendor support, which is unlocked by purchasing a software license key. Hitachi's USP-V high-end disk array can thin-provision volumes on competitors' disk arrays as long as they are attached to its controller as external storage. Thin provisioning on competitors' volumes works the same way as heterogenous virtualization. To external storage systems, the controller looks like a Windows host, so it's allowed to provision and control LUNs on that array. Because it's not dependent on competitors' APIs, this method works with any third-party system the USP-V can already virtualize, including EMC's Symmetrix and Clariion lines, and Hewlett-Packard's EVAs.

The channel program has three tiers and there are no fees for joining. However, partners do have to meet annual revenue commitments and maintain the necessary technical certifications. Partners also should have a technology specialty and vertical market expertise. Hitachi offers partners low-interest financing, spiffs, rebates, loaner and demo units, and discount promotions. There is a deal registration site. MDF and cooperative marketing is also available.

Next: Compellent Storage Center