Storage Basics

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Agenda

 Who uses storage products / services

 How we convert information into data we can store.
 EMC Hardware Storage products
 EMC Storage management software.

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 • EMC’s primary functions

Information Protection
Information Management
Information Sharing

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 • Within the last 20 years, the need for information storage
has proliferated so much that it is more efficient to have
data stored electronically on hard drives

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Data Storage (1) 4
 We interact with EMC Storage products
and services everyday

HOST

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 Aer Lingus
Customer requests flight Aer Lingus
over the phone. Data Center
HOST

Fare is charged to Credit Card

VISA INT’L
Data Centre
HOST

Eircom
Data Centre
HOST
Phone call is charged
by provider.
Customer billing info stored on Symmetrix
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 • EMC is the premier provider of storage systems and
solutions for numerous customers involved in diverse
businesses

Partial list of EMC customers

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How do we convert text into data?

Binary Digit = Bit Single bits

0100 0101 0100 1101 0100 0011

8 bits = 1 Byte

C
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Scientific notation – why bother?
8bits = 1byte 1

x1000 = 1kilobyte 1,000

x1000 = 1Megabyte 1,000,000

x1000 = 1Gigabyte 1,000,000,000,000

x1000 = 1Terabyte 1,000,000,000,000,000

x1000 = 1Petabyte 1,000,000,000,000,000,000

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 Storage Requirments - How much do you need?
 One character requires 8 bits or 1 Byte
 An average page contains 5000 characters, requiring 5,000
Bytes of storage, or 5 kilobytes (5kb)
 A 200 page book would require 5000 Bytes x 200 =
1,000,000 Bytes or 1Megabyte (1Mb)
 Formatting will make text files bigger, and graphics takes a
lot of storage, perhaps 1 Mb

 Video + sound can take even more, 2 hours of TV quality

video = 4Gb

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How do we convert information into electronic
data?
 Manual Data entry – Typing
 Transaction Processing facilities (TPF’s)
 Digital signals e.g. Audio / visual
 Image scanning – e.g. X-rays,
 Billing Applications.

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Classification of Computers

 Desktop – basic average PC

 Workstation – high spec desktop (better graphics card

and VDU, more RAM) usually used for engineering
purposes like CADCAM

 Server – a high spec desktop (multi processor, multi

interface) used to manage a network resource, like a
printer or database

 Mainframe / Supercomputer – very powerful

computer, able to support thousands of users at once.
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Mainframe: ESCON (Enterprise Storage CONnection)

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 • A host is a computer that services requests associated with
software applications

Word Processors
Database Programs
Web Browsers
Development Tools
Communications Programs
Drawing Programs
Image Editing Programs
Print Programs

• Application requests come from multiple users who are

normally remotely connected

SAC 101 1-14

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 •Open Systems Hosts

Hewlett Packard IBM Silicon Graphics (SGI)

Sun

Bull NEC
Fujitsu Siemens

NCR

Lucent Novell
NT

Celerra

• Even EMC manufactures a host

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Host Manufacturers 15
 How do we store DATA?

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Tape Storage

Host
Tape

Very Slow - Sequential Access

Very Cheap - €1 per Gigabyte - High Capacity

Non Volatile

Portable

Fragile – wears with repeated use

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Disk Storage

Host
Disk

Relatively Slow - Mechanical

Relatively Cheap - €4 per Gigabyte

Non Volatile

Relatively Portable

Fairly robust – sealed case, optical = non-contact

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RAM Storage

Host
DRAM

Extremely Fast - Electronic

Extremely Expensive - € 250 per GigaByte

Volatile?

Portable? R&D

Robust – No moving parts

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Integrate Cache and Disk Array

Host
DRAM

Cache
Host is still forced to
wait for the Disk
Array’s Mechanical
access time Disk Array

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