I recently answered the question Does Data Gravity apply to Converged Infrastructure? The answer was Yes. (Thanks to @mccrory and @alexwilliams for pushing me along…)
In that post I explained that Vblock(tm) System standards define an architecture that makes data sticky to the Vblock, which is the first bit of gravity, and that there are five anti-patterns to break free from this gravity but because they have cost considerations this is a kind of artificial data gravity. Thanks to Dave McCrory for his original ideas on data gravity, real and artificial (gravity, not his ideas!).
So what are these anti-gravity patterns?
- Backup
- Migration
- Replication
- Federation
- Access
1. Backup
Backup pattern options are many on a Vblock and they are not specific to a Vblock: meaning, you can use any industry standard method that matches the Vblock architecture (example, using ethernet or fibre-channel).
VCE uses EMC’s Avamar and Data Domain, but also helps customers integrate with their existing/competing investments.
See – Best practices for using EMC Avamar and Data Domain with VCE Vblock
2. Migration
This is most commonly an on-boarding or off-boarding pattern at the start or end of a Vblock lifetime.
VCE uses the VMware tools vMotion and svMotion to motion applications and their data to and from a Vblock.
See – VCE Migration Service
3. Replication
This is a constant-operation pattern applied to a specific category of data that needs to be protected against the failure of a Vblock.
VCE uses EMC’s RecoverPoint to offer different replication methods to copy data to a remote Vblock (or other target).
See – Data protection considerations for Vblock workloads
4. Federation
This is another constant-operation makes two (or more!) Vblocks look like one (from the view of the application), using techniques such as virtual network and storage technology. This pattern is used to create mobility, essentially breaking free of individual Vblock gravity and spreading it across multiple Vblocks.
VCE uses Cisco’s OTV and EMC’s VPLEX.
See – Enhanced continuity with application mobility across datacenters
5. Access
What if you want to access the data in a Vblock from outside the Vblock, perhaps to copy it out, or do file upload/downloads?
You can access the storage inside a Vblock from a compute unit outside using ethernet or fibre-channel protocols, and this is achieved by working with a VCE partner to make sure the connections are possible so external clients get the access they need.
So there you have it, five ways to break free from Vblock data gravity with some useful patterns.