I thought IBM had decided to go with Netapp as their choice for NAS solutions. Now I read in Tony's blog this week that they have something else for people that want wall to wall NAS coverage. What's up with that?
The only thing I can think of is a lack of agreement on something between the two companies. There are so many questions. Are SOFS and N-series storage compatible? Do they integrate? If not when does a customer buy one and not the other? Is this what it means to simplify things for customers? Where does SOFS really come from? Is it the next iteration of SFS? Was SFS the bastard stepchild of GPFS? If not, will it re-appear as something else to plug a perceived hole in the N series product line? What about Netapp's plans to have super-scalable NAS? And what about iSCSI and Fibre Channel? Do they go to prison in a SOFS world?
The soap opera of storage continues.......
Comments (4)
Hi Marc,
Like Sun, HP and Dell, IBM is not limiting itself to a single partnership or single acquisition to accomplish its goals. IBM's strategy is to focus on NAS open standards, and its partnership with NetApp is just part of that equation. IBM also offers NAS interfaces on a variety of other storage solutions through other technologies.
And yes, SOFS and N series are compatible. Like Acopia and N series VFM product, the SOFS is able to attach to any NAS back-end and provide a global namespace access across locations. For cases where files do not require company-wide access, such as files only to be seen by a single department, N series is perfect solution.
SFS functionality was merged into GPFS several years ago, and this new improved GPFS is the file system inside SOFS.
I can't speak to NetApp's plans in this area. You will have to ask Dave Hitz.
-- Tony
Posted by Tony Pearson (IBM) | March 30, 2008 9:36 PM
Posted on March 30, 2008 21:36
Thanks Tony,
I guess I was wrong. I thought SFS was discontinued a couple years ago, just prior to the time the N-series deal was announced. Am I correct in assuming SOFS is a service - as opposed to a packaged product?
Posted by marc farley | March 31, 2008 12:14 AM
Posted on March 31, 2008 00:14
Marc,
I've looked into this a bit and it is an IBM Global Services-led item with pre-configured HW nodes running the GPFS software plus other stuff connecting to heterogeneous back-end storage. The ILM aspect, particularly the tape part, seems dated, as does the services aspect, and I think that Panasas, Atrato, Xiotech with its coming ISE, IBM itself with XIV, and the EMC Maui/Hulk combo will all major more on scaling out file capacity and access than ILM.
Chris.
Posted by Chris Mellor | March 31, 2008 6:16 AM
Posted on March 31, 2008 06:16
Thanks for the insights Chris. I expect there will be some additional clarification from Tony or another IBMer. What I want to know is if you are the guy who wrote this:
http://ebooks.ebookmall.com/ebook/130199-ebook.htm
Posted by marc farley | March 31, 2008 6:14 PM
Posted on March 31, 2008 18:14