Storage Efficiencies Redefined
by Hu Yoshida on Feb 1, 2012
If you Google storage efficiencies, eventually you will get a Wikipedia definition, which describes storage efficiency as “the ability to store and manage data that consumes the least amount of space with little or no impact on performance, resulting in a lower total operational cost.” Wikipedia also references the SNIA definition, which notes:
storage efficiency = (effective capacity + free capacity)/raw capacity
However, as I noted in my last post, the definition of storage efficiency has expanded beyond capacity.
Since that last post on storage efficiency being more than capacity, I have discovered more tweets and blogs around this topic. Randy Kerns posted this week at IT Knowledge Exchange on storage efficiencies and data center optimization.
Randy identifies storage efficiencies around data reduction, allocation of capacity reduction, performance efficiency, data protection efficiency,
scalability efficiency, and increasing automation for administrative efficiency. This matches very well to the list of efficiencies that Jon Toigo provided in the blog that I recently referenced. One new twist may be the scalability efficiency, in which scaling of capacity and performance is done in equal proportion to support greater consolidation and growth. I think he makes a very good point, so I am adding it to my list of storage efficiencies.
Expanding on Jon Toigo’s base list of efficiencies, I would add Randy’s contribution along with my “storage management efficiency”:
- Capacity Allocation Efficiency
- Capacity Utilization Efficiency
- Performance Efficiency
- Data Protection Efficiency
- Energy Efficiency
- Storage Management Efficiency
- Scalability Efficiency
Does anyone have other efficiency consideration for storage? In my next few blogs I plan to expand on each of these bullets.
For other posts on maximizing storage and capacity efficiencies, check these out: http://blogs.hds.com/capacity-efficiency.php
Comments (1)
David Merrill on 03 Feb 2012 at 1:19 pm
You have to always consider cost efficiencies. This can be another y-dimension to your categories outlined, but in todays world we have to balance costs against all other efficiencies.
I recall a discussion years ago when the chief storae architect argued it was cheaper to waste disk capacity compared to the management effort and skills to effectively manage the waste. For his point, he dollarized the cost of waste compared to the cost of managing the waste. Back then (5-6 years ago) his argument held true. It might not be so today, but then our economy has changed.
http://blogs.hds.com/david/2007/02/the_cost_of_storage_waste.html
Dave
