Take charge of

your ever-growing
mound of file data!

Use DFS technology for

File Vir tualiz atio n
management now
Demystify file data
your file virtualization
needs

Consolidate and
migrate your files and Ma nag em en t
With this book, you find out how a virtualized file system,
better known as Microsoft® Distributed File System (DFS), Get replication power
can really power up your infrastructure. Just check off all with Brocade StorageX ®
the goodies — reliability, availability, and more — that and other management
will not only manage, back up, and make your data tools
accessible, but will also take you into file management
nirvana. Work with tiered file
storage with the Brocade
File Management Engine

ition
Brocade Special Ed Get a virtualized
file system and
rock your world!
Explanations in pl
ain English
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Brocade provides the industry’s leading platforms, solutions,
and services for intelligently connecting, managing, and
optimizing IT resources in networked storage environments.
These offerings help organizations manage their computing
resources and data assets more efficiently to reduce costs,
simplify management, and implement strategic business
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Brocade leads the SAN market and is pioneering the
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01_395158-ffirs.qxp 5/19/08 10:27 AM Page i

File Virtualization
and Management
FOR

DUMmIES
‰

BROCADE SPECIAL EDITION

by David Dalan and Ian Evans

01_395158-ffirs.qxp 5/19/08 10:27 AM Page ii

File Virtualization and Management For Dummies®, Brocade Special Edition

Published by
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01_395158-ffirs.qxp 5/19/08 10:27 AM Page iii

Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
How This Book Is Organized...................................................................1
Icons Used in This Book..........................................................................3
Where to Go from Here............................................................................3

Chapter 1: Dude, Where’s My File?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Virtually Demystified ...............................................................................5
Are You a FAN?..........................................................................................8
File Virtualization Tools That Rule ......................................................10
Get Some ‘Wheeeee’ . . . with Brocade FME........................................11
Applicable Applications ........................................................................12

Chapter 2: All about DFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Distributed File System (DFS)...............................................................15
DFS Made Easy .......................................................................................16
How Do We Do This?..............................................................................16
Turbo Charging DFS ...............................................................................17

Chapter 3: Files in Motion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Let’s Get Together ..................................................................................19
Migrate Those Files!...............................................................................21
Can’t We All Get Along? .........................................................................23
Automatically Cool ................................................................................24

Chapter 4: Disaster, Oh No! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery ......................................27
Staying Alive ...........................................................................................29
Make the Best of What You Have .........................................................29

Chapter 5: Tiering Your Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Tiers for Fears ........................................................................................31
How Does Brocade FME Work? ............................................................35

Chapter 6: Ten Reasons Why File Virtualization Rocks!. . . . 37

It Plays Well with Others .......................................................................37
You Can Tame Your Files .......................................................................37
It’s Like Family ........................................................................................38
Talk about Reliability.............................................................................38
It’s a DYNAMO! .......................................................................................38
Save Some Dough, Yo.............................................................................38
Users Don’t Care ....................................................................................39
Your Boss Does Care..............................................................................39
Meet Your Family ...................................................................................39
You Can Give Your Network a Break....................................................39
01_395158-ffirs.qxp 5/19/08 10:27 AM Page iv

Publisher’s Acknowledgments
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02_395158-intro.qxp 5/19/08 10:28 AM Page 1

Introduction
I n the modern data center, managing file storage is a full-
time job. It’s very likely that you face an ever-growing
mound of file data. That mound probably gets bigger and
uglier every day. Users produce files at break-neck speeds.
And those files have to be centrally managed, backed up, and
accessed. This file data also happens to be the most impor-
tant asset any company owns. Long gone is the day when
storing files on a user’s hard drive was an acceptable solution.

It’s a good thing that the C-level executives realize the impor-
tance of comprehensive file management solutions (which
they provide funding for). Yeah, right! Sure enough, some
organizations make this a priority, but there’s only so much
money to go around and getting buy-in is sometimes a real
challenge. Simply stated, you have to make the most of the
tools you can get your hands on.

In File Virtualization and Management For Dummies, Brocade

Special Edition, you see how a virtualized file system — a la
Microsoft Distributed File System (DFS) — can really get your
infrastructure rocking. Mobility. Reliability. Availability.
Performance-ability. Probably some other abilities too!

How This Book Is Organized

In the pages of this book, we demystify file virtualization and
management for you. Your journey to file virtualization and
management nirvana is broken down into these six chapters:

Chapter 1: Dude, Where’s

My File?
Builds the back story. You get a brief tale about the evolution
and the reasons to implement file virtualization. Brocade
StorageX and Brocade File Management Engine (FME) are
02_395158-intro.qxp 5/19/08 10:28 AM Page 2

2 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

introduced in this chapter, so you’ll just have to read it to find

out why these products are set to change the way you manage
your files.

Chapter 2: All about DFS

Dives into the world of DFS. It’s the entry point into file virtu-
alization. You get simple tips and ideas sure to make your life
easier with DFS.

Chapter 3: Files in Motion

Examines a brave new world of migration and consolidation.
File virtualization changes the game by automating all those
mundane manual tasks.

Chapter 4: Disaster, Oh No!

Reduces your anxiety level about disasters with an overview
of disaster recovery and file replication a la Brocade. Are you
ready?

Chapter 5: Tiering Your Files

Blasts you into the world of tiered storage. How can you make
the most of your new and legacy storage gear? With tiered
storage.

Chapter 6: Ten Reasons Why

File Virtualization Rocks!
This is the infamous For Dummies Part of Tens chapter. Ten
reasons you should care about DFS and virtualization.
02_395158-intro.qxp 5/19/08 10:28 AM Page 3

Introduction 3

Icons Used in This Book

Even though you may fly through this book, we use a few
icons to draw you to the side of the road from time to time.
These icons key you in on some especially useful or interest-
ing tidbits. Here’s the list of icons in this book:

Stuff you want to keep in mind as you ponder the topic being
discussed.

Extra information that helps tie together some of the gibber-

ish you just read in the chapter.

Something you may find handy in the future, as you go about

working with DFS in one form or another. At least we think so!

Where to Go from Here

Simply turn the page, or leaf through the pages to see what
interests you most. After all, it’s your book so feel free to dive
in anywhere you please.
02_395158-intro.qxp 5/19/08 10:28 AM Page 4

4 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 5

Chapter 1

Dude, Where’s My File?

In This Chapter

Getting a virtualization overview

Understanding file virtualization

Discovering the reasons to virtualize files

Managing files with a FAN

Extending DFS with products like Brocade StorageX and Brocade
File Management Engine

T here’s a good chance that you’re fairly familiar with virtu-

alization. However, it’s possible that you may have some
misconceptions about what file-level virtualization is, how it
works, and (specifically) how to use Microsoft Distributed File
System (DFS) technology to make the most of your file virtual-
ization goodies. In this chapter, you have the opportunity to get
your feet wet exploring file virtualization and techniques for
implementing it, and to get a quick snapshot of DFS and how
products like Brocade StorageX and Brocade File Management
Engine (FME) leverage and extend DFS capabilities.

Virtually Demystified
So, what is this madness called “file virtualization”? Well, “file
virtualization” is really much like any other form of virtualized
resource. Virtualization can take on many forms but is always
the action of making diverse physical resources appear to the
user as a single logical resource.

Servers are the current king of the virtualization movement.

One physical server can run multiple logical instances of a
virtual machine. Each virtual machine thinks it’s running on
a real box, when in reality it’s sharing the server resources
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 6

6 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

(CPU, memory, network, and so on) with other virtual

machines. These virtual machines can run different operating
systems regardless of the actual physical server. On top of all
this, you can move these virtual machines (essentially files) to
other physical servers by simply migrating the files. What
does all this mean to you? Massive consolidation into fewer
boxes. Your job just got easier. Fewer boxes to manage means
big cost savings and fewer headaches. That’s good stuff.

Second in popularity to virtualized servers is virtualized stor-

age. The disconnection of physical storage from logical stor-
age really frees systems administrators to work magic. Now,
your servers can leverage storage from a dizzying array of
hardware, located anywhere a useful network link can reach.
Do you feel the power? Oh yeah, you feel it!

Déjà vu all over again . . .

Virtualization may be newly on the minds of many IT folks,
but it has a long and illustrious story. In the 1960s, IBM pio-
neered the virtual world on its mainframe computers. The
general idea was to leverage the large, powerful, and expen-
sive mainframes to do more than one thing at a time. IBM
wanted its customer to get the biggest bang for the buck.
Incidentally, virtualization also allowed IBM to sell additional
services and applications for a single mainframe, which
wasn’t previously possible.

With the advent of the desktop computer, the dynamics

changed. Why use virtualized resources on big expensive
computers when x86 servers and cheap desktops could be
made to handle the load? That’s a good question, and during
this (still ongoing) boom, virtualization took a back seat.

But then things began to change, again! IT administrators

began to notice a couple of things. First, they had server
rooms filled with single-purpose servers that often were
grossly underutilized. This was killing the A/C units, requiring
gross amounts of power and a small mint in vendor mainte-
nance fees.

As the grumblings began, those in the business of selling

systems resources also took notice. Basically, the forces
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 7

Chapter 1: Dude, Where’s My File? 7

came together to once again take advantage of large-scale
processing resources. In addition, there was the belief that
virtualization could address another set of issues, including

 Better utilization of existing resources

 Improved resiliency (more uptime)
 Lower administration costs
 Reduced facility costs

This resulted in a boom of virtualized resources. Of course,

one of the newest strategies is file virtualization. File virtual-
ization creates a logical view of files and file systems that’s
independent of actual physical file servers or storage devices.
Translated, that means that users get their files without any
hassles, and administrators can move stuff around without
headaches or fire drills.

Users should be able to remain blissfully unaware of your

work on the file data they depend on. File virtualization
shields them from the impacts of any physical changes to
the server or storage resources.

Why go virtual?
So, as an IT guru, what’s your motivation to implement file vir-
tualization? There are two broad categories of benefits: higher
availability and improved efficiency.

Higher availability comes from transparently migrating and

moving files or replicating files across multiple locations. The
higher availability takes several forms:

 Zero-downtime migrations for managing your file server

or storage performance or capacity
 Graceful recovery from hardware failures or disasters
 Shorter backup and recovery windows using lifecycle
management policies
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 8

8 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

In addition to the improved availability of your file resources,

you get the added zest of having a more efficient environment.
A virtualized file environment can help optimize data center
resources by:

 Saving you time (fewer resources to manage) and money

(smaller power bills and lower hardware maintenance
costs)
 Eliminating outages during migrations by accelerating
the deployment and retirement of servers and storage
(get stuff off lease faster)
 Classifying and placing files on cost-appropriate storage
to help contain hardware costs

Are You a FAN?

The File Area Network (FAN) concept was first introduced in
June 2006 and described as a “systematic approach to organ-
izing the multitude of file-related technologies existing in
today’s enterprise. The goal of a FAN is to provide enterprises
with a scalable, flexible, and intelligent platform for the cost-
effective delivery of enterprise file information. An appropri-
ately architected FAN will provide an enterprise with previously
impossible levels of file control and economic returns.”

Some of the capabilities that define a FAN include

 Enterprise-wide, pervasive controls of all file information

and management of file attributes based on metadata and
content values
 Ability to establish user file visibility and access rights
based on business values
 Non-disruptive, transparent movement of file data across
all geographical boundaries
 Creation of file management services that are deployed
as true “services” to the entire infrastructure
 Measurable return on investment (ROI) for file manage-
ment due to consolidation of redundant file resources

File virtualization is the core technology required for a well-

architected FAN. The term “FAN” was coined to give you a
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 9

Chapter 1: Dude, Where’s My File? 9

point of reference for discussing file virtualization from a
unique vantage point. FANs help you get file- and network-
centric in terms of how you handle your files.

FANs (the concept anyway) merge the idea of file management

and business need. This function is a change from the much
geekier perspective that looks at file management in terms of
bits and bytes. But why should you bother to consider this
newfangled perspective? Because it makes life better!

The really cool thing about this FAN-tastic perspective is that

user file visibility and access rights get determined based on
business needs and not on what piece of hardware the files
reside on. File services are dedicated to the whole company
and not restricted to application-specific sandboxes.

Meaningful ROI for file management practices can come from

a well-planned FAN deployment. Consolidation of resources
leads to better utilization and easier cost savings.

Six key elements make up any FAN.

 Connectivity: How you get your packets from A to B is

entirely up to you. For your FAN solution to truly deliver,
your network will need to have capacity, low latency, and
some resiliency. Since reliability is crucial across the
entire network, you’ll probably make use of QoS (Quality
of Service), intelligent routing, and some kind of solid
design taking into account the need of the network’s core,
as well as users that hide on the margins of your WAN.
 Control Services: These include migration, replication,
classification, load balancing, data placement, and reten-
tion services. You might find them integrated directly
with file servers or in network hardware (switches).
Sometimes they are implemented as standalone services,
via some kind of appliance. If you really want to keep
things rocking, you need your services to operate in real
time, supporting the needs of the business.
 Endpoints: Call ’em nodes, call ’em workstations . . .
endpoints can be anything. These are the places where
file access is needed.
 File Serving Interface: The part of the storage infrastruc-
ture capable of surfacing file-level information in the form
of standard protocols such as SMB or NFS.
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10 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

 Hardware: From SAN to NAS, as long as the solution is

high performance, scalable, and networked, you have the
right base to begin.
 Namespaces: Used to organize and present file content
for their authorized end clients. Namespaces are the
center pin that holds the FAN together. Each of the vari-
ous types of Namespaces gives you the power to imple-
ment varying types of data-sharing across multiple
systems. No Namespace means no FAN.

File Virtualization
Tools That Rule
In the name of getting work done efficiently, Brocade StorageX
and Brocade File Management Engine provide mature tools for
virtualizing your files leveraging the DFS Namespace. Brocade
StorageX (far and away the leader in DFS management) and
Brocade FME are compatible with all versions of DFS, includ-
ing Windows Server 2008.

Brocade StorageX leverages DFS to improve Namespace man-

ageability, implement disaster recovery with file replication
and failover, and simplify file data management with policy-
based automation, among other things. When you use Brocade
StorageX to implement and/or manage DFS, you really do max-
imize the return on your DFS implementation. Table 1-1 shows
you the five key value areas where Brocade StorageX really
delivers.

Table 1-1 Five Powers of Brocade StorageX

Value Return to Your Organization
Management Creates, organizes, and manages Namespaces
from a single management interface.
Flexibility Works with a large number of storage tech-
nologies. Multiple vendors, multiple operating
systems, and file storage protocols.
Continuity Replicates files to survive a hardware failure or
even a disaster. Failover the Namespace to
maintain continuous access to your files.
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 11

Chapter 1: Dude, Where’s My File? 11

Value Return to Your Organization
Scalability Supports virtually unlimited expandability of
Namespaces and storage infrastructure.
ROBO Protection Replicates those pesky remote office files for
centralized backup.

Get Some ‘Wheeeee’ . . .

with Brocade FME
Your storage systems are seeing more files than ever before.
On top of this, your users are probably under the assumption
that those files will be there when they need them and want
them. To master this mountain of data, you need tools. No one
wants to work weekends, but sometimes you don’t have a
choice. Or, do you?

Fortunately, Brocade has a new appliance to help reduce the

number of weekends you work and the vending machine
meals you eat. The Brocade File Management Engine is a file
virtualization appliance that enables an infrastructure for
online management and movement of files. Brocade FME com-
plements and extends the capabilities of Brocade StorageX
beyond DFS links (shares or directory) all the way down to
the actual file level. Brocade FME leverages your network to
dynamically manage that ever-growing pile of files for which
you care. Online movement and file-level granularity enable a
ton of great features, including those outlined in Table 1-2.

Table 1-2 Brocade FME Features

Feature
Migrates the most difficult files:
open or application-locked files
How It Saves Your Weekend
Don’t want to schedule migrations
during the weekend? Brocade FME
can move files any time, including
open or locked files. Locked Outlook
PST file? No problem. Open MS
Access MDB file? Done deal!
(continued)
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 12

12 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Table 1-2 (continued)

Feature How It Saves Your Weekend
Shares, directories, Create polices to manage file data
and files, oh my! at any level in the Namespace hier-
archy. You tell the system what goes
where, and it does it for you while you
do other things. Okay, nothing is quite
that simple, but policies will save you
serious time with automation.
Plays traffic cop Brocade FME makes the connection
(logical to physical) between users
and their files, ensuring no disrup-
tion during any migration.
Transparency Regardless of what it’s doing,
Brocade FME does it under the
hood. Brocade FME doesn’t alter
access to resources while you use
it to manage resources and build
your DFS-enabled paradise.
Millions and billions of files Brocade FME cuts management
down to size with tools to manage
billions of files and petabytes of data
at the share, directory, or file level.
Everyone gets to play Heterogeneous environments wel-
come and encouraged. Brocade
FME slices off the differences by
abstracting resources (hardware,
protocols) for easier management.

Basically, Brocade FME allows you to non-disruptively manage

your files when you need to. Since Brocade FME also allows you
to implement policies, you don’t even have to be there when
the change is made. Now, you can go back to your favorite
online gaming site on the weekends instead of working.

Applicable Applications
Together, Brocade StorageX and Brocade FME compose a
portfolio of solutions and capabilities, which greatly extends
beyond DFS for powerful file virtualization.
03_395158-ch01.qxp 5/19/08 10:40 AM Page 13

Chapter 1: Dude, Where’s My File? 13

With Brocade StorageX, you get a centralized view of your files
across all your locations, controlling access, replicating between
sites, and in general impressing your super-geek friends with the
greatest of ease. Throw Brocade FME into the mix and you’ll be
moving files online 365 days a year with zero downtime or out-
ages. Imagine actually getting your work done during the week
and spending more time with those super-geek friends.

Using Brocade StorageX, you can take advantage of auto-

mated file data services in mixed environments (with DAS,
SAN, or NAS on Windows, UNIX, or Linux). This flexibility
really increases the surface area of technology you can con-
trol. In addition to the automated Namespace management,
Brocade StorageX provides comprehensive, device-agnostic
file data management services, including

 Offline share or directory migration and consolidation

 Replication and failover for disaster recovery
 Replication of remote office files for backup
 File data reporting

Using Brocade FME, you can take file virtualization to the next
level. Everything happens online without disruption or down-
time. Brocade FME provides file data management services for
use in Windows environments, including

 Online, non-disruptive share, directory, and file migration

and consolidation
 File classification and online placement and archiving
 Non-disruptive asset deployment and retirement
 Capacity and performance optimization

If only one thing sticks in your mind about Brocade StorageX,

it should probably be the fact that this product allows you to
seamlessly manage your file data from across your organiza-
tion, regardless of location. Brocade StorageX is intended to
provide a broad range of management capabilities to get you
started on the path toward virtualizing your files.

The one thing to remember about Brocade FME is that it adds

the online non-disruptive file-movement capability. It’s the
technology that completes the file-virtualization picture.
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14 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Getting the most out of your gear

In addition to Brocade StorageX and Brocade and its partners offer com-
Brocade FME, the family of Brocade plete solutions to meet a wide range
File Management Solutions and of technology and business require-
Services include ments. These solutions include edu-
cation and training, support, and
 Brocade File Lifecycle Manager
professional services to help you
(FLM) for automated archiving of
optimize technology investments. For
file data for NetApp storage to
more information, contact an author-
reduce overall storage costs
ized Brocade sales partner or visit
 Brocade MyView for policy- www.brocade.com.
based file access/reporting
 Brocade UNCUpdate for repair-
ing broken UNC links that occur
during migration

The creation of classification criteria is an excellent opportu-

nity to involve non-technical folks in the process. This could
include department, location, project, user group, file age, file
size, and last access time. Because the way that file data is
classified is more of a business issue than a technical one, get-
ting other departments involved is really advantageous.

After your organization has the classification criteria ham-

mered out, you can run customizable reports. These reports
help determine data-migration requirements and facilitate
sometimes-novel tasks, such as departmental chargeback,
based on actual storage usage.

As a non-proprietary software solution, Brocade StorageX fits

seamlessly into existing file data environments. As an appli-
ance solution, Brocade FME is just as easily deployed into the
network. Both products work with existing file systems, use
standard file-serving and management protocols, and require
no client software or server agents. That’s hot!
04_395158-ch02.qxp 5/19/08 10:41 AM Page 15

Chapter 2

All about DFS

In This Chapter

Explaining Microsoft DFS

Implementing DFS

Getting started with DFS

S o, you’re no doubt dying to hear 101 reasons why you

should involve yourself in this file virtualization and
Distributed File System (DFS) madness, right? We knew it!
In this chapter, you take a look at what DFS can bring to the
table for any organization. In other words, you get exposed
to DFS in more detail.

When it comes to leveraging existing infrastructure (your

servers, software, and networks), DFS really shines. You can
take advantage of products such as Brocade StorageX and
Brocade File Management Engine to deploy and manage your
DFS environment for even greater returns.

Distributed File System (DFS)

As of this writing, Windows Server (up to and including 2008)
DFS has become a critical core component of the Windows
server architecture. Sure, DFS was around before, but now it’s
supercharged. The core component that enables DFS to work
magic with your virtualized files is the DFS Namespace.

DFS Namespaces (DFS-N) are like DNS for file virtualization.

All the users need to know is where in the tree (called the
“Namespace”) their file share resides. They don’t need to
know that some files are on server X and the rest on server Y.
They can remain blissfully unaware when you bring server Z
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16 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

online, move files from X to Z, and send file server X to the

junkyard. Why? Because Namespaces provide a uniform
environment for your overworked users.

A Namespace provides a user-friendly way of organizing and

presenting share files, as well as an admin-friendly environ-
ment to manage files and storage. Like Tony the Tiger says,
“Sounds Greaat!”

DFS Made Easy

Regardless of the tools you use to kick your DFS solution into
overdrive, you need to keep some basics in mind. Good plan-
ning makes for good results. When planning your DFS deploy-
ment, you need to consider a number of variables.

Microsoft Active Directory (AD) needs to be one of your biggest

concerns. You also need to keep tabs on the usual suspects,
including network option, file-share settings, backup processes
(hardware and policies), and any needs for scalability. If you
keep all these items in mind, you can make DFS work smoothly.

While DFS-N can operate with or without AD, several features

(including replication) are dependent on AD to operate.

Windows Server 2008 doesn’t have any set limits on domain-

based DFS links. If you want the reliability of domain-based
DFS and need to have more than 5,000 link targets in a single
DFS root, consider upgrading to Windows Server 2008.

How Do We Do This?
In this section, we take a quick look at the steps involved in
getting your DFS project moving. For the moment, assume that
DFS is running on your servers and that you’re ready to build
your configuration. Step one is to build your Namespace.

Designing the Global Namespace is more art than science.

You want to make sure that the Namespace directory struc-
ture supports the needs of the organization and is intuitive
to users. That last part is critical. If the users can’t figure out
where you’ve placed files, what’s the point?
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Chapter 2: All about DFS 17

Consider organizing your Namespace based on company struc-
ture. A great place to start is the existing Active Directory (AD)
Organizational Unit (OU) structure as the foundation for a
Global Namespace design. During the design phase, an overview
of the existing AD company structure may help the Namespace
reflect the structure of your organization.

It’s a very good idea to use domain-based DFS roots (Active

Directory integrated) and take advantage of your DNS server
architecture. This provides a useful guideline for where to
place DFS root servers. To keep things running smoothly in a
WAN environment, you would be wise to implement DFS roots
alongside each remote DNS server.

If for some reason you must implement a standalone DFS root

server, you need to be careful. If that DFS root goes down, you’re
out of business. You can build redundant DFS roots in several
ways, including Microsoft Cluster Service or a hardware-based
server-mirroring solution. With one of these options in place,
the death of a server doesn’t mean the death of your file access.

Back up your DFS Namespace! Although AD can replicate your

DFS database, mistakes do happen. To help recover from fat-
finger mistakes, Brocade StorageX can back up your DFS roots
on a scheduled basis. If you ever need to restore a DFS root to
a point in time, Brocade StorageX can do that for you with a
few mouse-clicks.

Turbo Charging DFS

To make file virtualization as useful (and easy) as possible,
you have a better road to take than straight DFS on Windows.
Brocade StorageX builds a Global Namespace to take all your
disparate storage systems and combine them into one big
happy family. Brocade StorageX also automates DFS manage-
ment tasks. This automation helps you create and manage
Namespaces, from super-simple setups to the most obscenely
layered, tiered, and diabolically complex Namespaces, all with
drag-and-drop goodness. Specifically, Brocade StorageX
automation allows a wealth of really cool stuff to happen.

 Consistent Namespace Creation: You can use Brocade

StorageX policies to automate the creation of the
Namespace, as well as all the links you can handle.
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18 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Policies are like the fast-food chain of the DFS world. You
can have it your way, right away. Automation via policy
allows you to identify available resources based on a
variety of AD properties.
 Painless Generation of DFS Links: You’ll love the simpli-
fication of this routine task. Using Brocade StorageX, you
can create large Namespaces in seconds by dragging and
dropping shares from a Windows Explorer window into
the Brocade StorageX interface to instantaneously create
DFS links. Feel the power!
 Timely Backup and Restoration: Nothing makes you
more resilient than a good backup. You make sure that
you have what you need with scheduled and manual
backups for both standalone and AD-integrated roots.
These tools also allow you to restore or merge
Namespaces.
 Simplified Reporting and Monitoring: If you want to
stay on top of things, you need to know what’s going on.
Enter, reporting. With Brocade StorageX, you can generate
HTML reports on a ton of variables, including Namespace
status, lists dependencies, root properties, and share
properties. You can get instant notification if something
goes offline.
 Identification of Dependencies: Using Brocade StorageX,
you can easily see information about both physical and
logical resources affecting your Namespace and all
related interdependencies. You get to see how any
changes might impact your existing setup.
 Action Auditing: You can audit who’s changing what in
terms of your Namespaces. If you have lots of administra-
tors working together, it’s very handy to have a record of
who’s been doing what. Sometimes you have to fix stuff
and the last person to make changes is nowhere around.
Auditing can save real time and help avoid headaches.
 Sharing Shares: Say you need to divide a single DFS link
pointing to a share and split it across multiple machines?
Brocade StorageX lets you do just that.
05_395158-ch03.qxp 5/19/08 10:41 AM Page 19

Chapter 3

Files in Motion
In This Chapter

Consolidating your stuff for success

Getting those files from point A to point B

Using automation to make the world go round

Building locomotion with Brocade StorageX and Brocade FME

I n this chapter, we dig deeper into how you actually use vir-
tualization to make life easier. We get into two of the main
driving forces for file virtualization: file consolidation and migra-
tion. (If you haven’t already done so, check out Chapters 1 and 2
to get the file virtualization basics and DFS under your belt.)

Let’s Get Together

It’s important to have a plan for your server consolidation
that DFS will enable. As we note in earlier chapters, assess-
ment is in your best interest. It will help you get going in the
right direction from the start.

Your objective for consolidation is to improve resource uti-

lization and to match the IT infrastructure (your hardware)
with the long-term, business-centric strategy for your data
center. Aside from making your business more successful,
there are some practical items that need to be evaluated as
part of the consolidation assessment. These items can cer-
tainly help your business grow and prosper, but the connec-
tion between them and the bottom line may not always be
clear. Table 3-1 examines some items that need assessment.
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20 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Table 3-1 Getting a Handle on Your Data Center

What to Assess Why It Matters
Aging storage hardware What devices are nearing the end of
their productive life? By identifying the
services they provide, you can find
immediate targets for consolidation
efforts. Instead of replacing them, you
can use DFS to spread their duties
across fewer, newer devices.
Storage capacity and needs You need to know how much storage
you’re consuming and how much you
may need in the future.
Power bill After you get a handle on how much
juice your storage servers are eating
up, you’ll have a better idea of how
much cash you can save by consoli-
dating with DFS.
Backups Assess your backup strategy. With
files being replicated across multiple
locations, you may find that you have
new, more cost-effective and efficient
options.

Unless you’re really in a unique situation, you’re going to see

continued file storage growth. This means not only do you have
to keep your eye on the problems of today, but you need to
have an eye on the future in terms of capacity. Not just raw
storage capacity, but also network bandwidth and staff ability
to keep up with the demands of an ever-growing infrastructure.

A great way to get buy-in from the company bean counters is

a quick and dirty return on investment (ROI). Calculate the
costs of maintaining and operating the current file services
infrastructure. Include all the hardware maintenance costs,
power, and cooling, as well as the cost of any downtime, and
provide an analysis against the estimated cost of maintaining
a consolidated DFS solution. You and your CFO will be pleas-
antly surprised.

Consolidation of your resources really is made easy with

Brocade file management solutions, which take the rough
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Chapter 3: Files in Motion 21

edges off moving things around. Brocade StorageX automates
all the changes required to build a consistent and easy-to-use
Namespace. Brocade FME works behind the Namespace and
eliminates downtime during the actual migration from the old
to the new. Today, data center consolidation and migration isn’t
a one-time event. When you combine the rapid changes in hard-
ware and software options with the enormous growth in file
data, it becomes clear that you need to be flexible. This crazy
pace of growth is whipping data center managers into a frenzy.

Even though file data consolidation and migration present many

challenges, you can still come out ahead. But you’ll need to:

 Accommodate file data stored in heterogeneous

environments
 Improve resource utilization and maximize ROI for storage
 Minimize downtime for your users
 Support ongoing data migration needs efficiently

File virtualization puts you into the driver’s seat by using logi-
cal aggregation of file storage from a variety of single file sys-
tems. The real winners in this arrangement are your users.
They end up with a single, logical view of their files — no
matter how wildly you have spread files across the network.

This approach allows intuitive access through multiple net-

work paths regardless of any changes to the server or storage
resources. Brocade StorageX and Brocade FME will pay you
back big time if you’re implementing, expanding, or redesign-
ing a virtualized file environment using DFS.

Migrate Those Files!

Once your DFS deployment is live, you’re ready to shuffle some
bytes around using Brocade StorageX or Brocade FME. Keep in
mind that Brocade StorageX moves offline data (can’t move
open or locked files), whereas Brocade FME moves both offline
and online data completely without any disruptions to file
access. Brocade StorageX and Brocade FME have scheduling
options to manage the impact on network and server resources.

What kinds of things should you consider? Table 3-2 gives you
some handy information that includes things to think about
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22 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

during your migration project. Okay, think about them before

you actually shove data around. You’ll be glad you did.

Table 3-2 Things to Consider

Hot Topic Lowdown Details
User experience While in the midst of your file migration, you need
to keep an eye on the users’ experience. Since
improved file management is really about provid-
ing more reliable tools for the staff that earns the
company money, keeping users running is a pri-
ority. If you have to take users offline, you need to
plan carefully and communicate clearly and
often. If downtime is out of the question, consider
a product like Brocade FME for online migrations.
Compatibility Older versions of Windows operating systems
may need to be upgraded or patched in order to
support DFS. The easiest way to make sure
everything is up to snuff is to get all your partici-
pating servers up and running with Windows 2003
Server R2 or Windows Server 2008. Client sys-
tems should be running Windows Vista, Windows
2000 SP4, or Windows XP SP2 to support all the
latest DFS functionality.
See the big picture File management may not be the only job your
target servers are doing. If file servers are per-
forming other functions in addition to serving file
shares (SQL, E-mail, Web, FTP), you need to
know. These functions must be examined to
determine how they may be affected by the
migration.
Safety first Test and then retest. Before you roll out changes,
you should lab this stuff up and make sure it
behaves the way you expect it to. At least, as
much as possible. Surely, everyone doesn’t have
unlimited budgets and spare hardware. But, any-
thing you can test before going live could save
you some serious time and headaches in the long
run. If nothing crops up during the testing, you’ll
be that much surer that the servers can be
deployed into the production environment.
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Chapter 3: Files in Motion 23

Brocade StorageX and Brocade FME provide an integrated
portfolio of applications to help you easily and cost-effectively
centralize and manage your file data in a heterogeneous,
distributed-computing environment. The heart of this process
is the use of policies (that you configure), which automate
migration and consolidation with minimal or zero disruption.
Much of the work that would have to be done in a rather
tedious and manual basis with DFS alone can be simply auto-
mated using the Brocade file management portfolio.

Avoid the migration hangover (you know, all the headaches

the morning after a migration). One of the fastest ways to
create angry users is with poor communication. Although
your migration/consolidation efforts could ultimately succeed
in technical terms, in practical terms they might fail if user
productivity is hampered. Warn users early and often of
system outages or procedural changes.

Can’t We All Get Along?

So, what could be better than a fast, automated, simple file
management solution? How about one that works with almost
every file system out there? Now, that’s gnarly. To help you
bridge the divide between operating system platforms,
Brocade StorageX addresses file data translation challenges.
The net result is unparalleled flexibility for migrating file data
in heterogeneous environments. Table 3-3 shows you what
Brocade migration can do to connect different storage plat-
forms and what can go where.

Table 3-3 Getting from Here to There

From Here To There
Windows NT 4 Server Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008
Novell Netware Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008
NAS Windows Server 2000, 2003, 2008
Linux Sun Solaris
Windows File Storage NAS
UNIX File Storage (NFS) NAS
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24 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Automatically Cool
Brocade file management products have the power to help
you automate the file consolidation/migration process. You
set up and test your policies at your leisure. When you’re
ready to implement the consolidation process, you just sched-
ule it to run at the proper time, after hours in most cases. But
wait! There’s more automation sweetness:

 Large consolidation jobs can be scheduled to run auto-

matically during business hours or quiet times when
your users (and you) are at home.
 Most common migration tasks — including share cre-
ation, copying, and deletion — can be automated and
repeated via policies.
 Custom scripts can be used to interface to other file
resources.

All of this automation means you can get your job done faster
with fewer errors. Be the IT hero that gets the job done and
saves the company a bundle of money.

Time is money, and the Brocade file management portfolio

reduces the time required to design, execute, and maintain
day-to-day file migration and consolidation activities. You get
an intuitive interface to establish policies, initiate tasks, and
monitor data-movement activities. Take a look at Table 3-4,
which outlines a number of benefits of using the Brocade file
management products.

Table 3-4 Additional Benefits of Brocade

Consolidation and Migration
Benefit How It Helps You
Instant file management mojo You can quickly move large amounts
of data between physical locations
with a single mouse-click.
Clairvoyance Proactive monitoring and alerts identify
potential problems. Corrective actions
are performed automatically and man-
aged through admin-defined policies.
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Chapter 3: Files in Motion 25

Benefit How It Helps You
One policy to bind them all Migration policies enable hundreds
of migration jobs to be planned, exe-
cuted, and managed through a single
user-friendly interface.
Knowledge on tap Customized reports can be designed
and generated for your viewing
pleasure. This allows you to classify
your managed file data and determine
file data migration requirements.
Can see trouble coming You can quickly see how full the man-
aged storage is. This makes sure you
get a heads-up before your disk
space is tapped out.
Consistency By using policies, you can make sure
that all relevant migration tasks are
performed in a consistent manner.
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26 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

06_395158-ch04.qxp 5/19/08 10:41 AM Page 27

Chapter 4

Disaster, Oh No!
In This Chapter

Avoiding the “Uh oh!” — preparing for the disaster

Being able to never miss a beat with Brocade StorageX

Enjoying disaster recovery without breaking the bank

I n this chapter, you delve into the nuts and bolts of what
you can do with Brocade StorageX in terms of file replica-
tion and disaster recovery. You know, the “how you can get it
done” stuff. It’s neat stuff that really helps you leverage your
existing storage infrastructure for maximum benefit.

Business Continuity and

Disaster Recovery
Technologists seem to be generally more aware of the need to
survive a potential disaster. Could it be a growing sense of
impending doom from recent disasters or maybe just good
marketing by business continuity vendors? It doesn’t really
matter why, but it’s important to be prepared. Table 4-1 shows
you some critical components to a Business Continuity/Disaster
Recovery (BC/DR) strategy.
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28 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Table 4-1 BC/DR Key Concepts

Concept/Task What It Gets You
Assessment First off, you need to determine what resources
you have. These resources are twofold: the
resources your company depends on in its day-to-
day operations (data and applications), and staff
and existing backup hardware and software.
Basically, at the end of this assessment, you find
out what you need to make your business run in
the event of a disaster. Often, you also find out
what you don’t have, but need. This process can
be a real eye opener.
Plan design Once you know what you have, and what you
need, build a plan. What will your company do in
the event of a fire? Will you have offsite backups,
a contract with a vendor for temporary work-
space? What if you cannot get physical access to
your offices for hours, days, or weeks? Keep in
mind that many businesses suffering a prolonged
outage (even as short as a week) tend to go out of
business in the following year. Downtime kills the
best . . . you need to be prepared.
Testing So, you have a super-fantastic bulletproof backup
plan. Well, things change, and you may have
missed something initially. We know, not you,
right? Test your plans to make sure they work as
expected and continue to work as your environ-
ment changes. A good habit is to test your BC/DR
plans each quarter or after any major systems
change.
Post assessment Did the test work? Make a list of the good, the
bad, and the ugly, and revise your original plan. If
there were serious issues, retest immediately. If
only minor issues arose, make the needed
changes and test on the next cycle.
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Chapter 4: Disaster, Oh No! 29

Without going into gory details, you need to know that the
trick is getting a balance between the costs of your file repli-
cation solution and the costs of being offline. A general strat-
egy is to figure out what a minute, hour, day, and so on, will
cost your company. Then, balance that cost against the
resiliency solution to see whether your ROI is there.

One way to build a reliable IT infrastructure for file data avail-

ability and business continuity is file replication. For the
administrator who wants to avoid the 3 a.m. phone call, file
replication can prevent business disruption because your data
never goes offline (as long as you have working replicas).

Staying Alive
But what does Brocade StorageX bring to the table? Tons! It
supports file replication for heterogeneous storage environ-
ments. More important, Brocade StorageX ensures fast, seam-
less failover following an outage. In other words, Brocade
StorageX helps keep your business functioning immediately
following an outage. Centralize your replication for heteroge-
neous distributed environments without adding a ton of prod-
uct and staff.

Brocade StorageX allows you to configure multiple target file

servers for a given Namespace folder. You can configure
Brocade StorageX to monitor shares and other resources to
failover users to alternate storage devices in a time of need.
The best part is that this can all be accomplished with poli-
cies you define.

The native DFS-R protocol (part of Windows DFS) replicates

file data in a Windows-file-server-only environment. If you
have a heterogeneous environment, you’re in trouble —
without Brocade StorageX, that is! Brocade StorageX bridges
the gap and provides heterogeneous file replication.
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30 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Make the Best of

What You Have
Okay, so you can use Brocade StorageX file replication to help
your company survive a disaster. But wait! That’s not all. File
replication helps minimize network consumption while opti-
mizing other data center resources. This efficiency comes in
two forms.

 Bandwidth Utilization: For an organization that supports

multiple remote offices or a large campus, it is critical to
manage the use of network bandwidth. You don’t want to
find yourself in a position where file access is hindered
by low-capacity links. Brocade StorageX scheduling
empowers you to tightly manage how and when file repli-
cation occurs, as well as the ability to restrict bandwidth
utilization. Since you can configure these settings on a
per-connection basis, you can use your high-speed links
without bandwidth restrictions while managing the uti-
lization of the slower links. The flexibility doesn’t hamper
you. Good stuff!
 Return on Investment: A ton of quantifiable and “soft
money” elements hint at the positive ROI powers of
Brocade StorageX file replication. One concrete example
is the savings on backup hardware and processing. Since
you can centrally replicate files, you can back up files
from a single location. The sky’s the limit when it comes
to using Brocade StorageX to improve data center ROI.
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Chapter 5

Tiering Your Files

In This Chapter

Implementing tiered storage architectures

Managing tiered storage with Brocade File Management Engine

I n this chapter, you take a good look at a fairly revolution-

ary concept, the tiered storage architecture. It’s neat stuff
that really helps you leverage your existing storage infrastruc-
ture for maximum benefit.

Tiers for Fears

As your storage needs continue to grow, you might need a
solution that enables proper classification of file data (by
various criteria), so storage policies can be aligned with the
needs of your organization. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to
find that you can reduce storage ownership costs by imple-
menting a tiered approach to storing your files. Basically, you
make sure the critical, frequently accessed data is stored on
your high-performance storage systems. Less-used or less-
important data is housed on more cost-appropriate storage.

The net result is that you will store less of the low-priority
files to your high-power storage systems. You end up freeing
space on premium storage systems to accommodate the
growth of more valuable file data. All this classification and
file placement can be done without disrupting users.

Brocade File Management Engine enables the management

and placement of files across multiple tiers of Windows
storage (direct-attached or SAN-attached) and Network
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32 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

Attached Storage (NAS) platforms without affecting user

access. Brocade FME does this with policies that automate
the selection, movement, and placement of files based on
business attributes you define. In the end, the appropriate tier
of storage houses the appropriate file data via this intelligent,
policy-driven, and automated file placement.

Why you love tiers

There are two basic reasons for implementing storage tiers
across your network. First, storage tiers provide a way to
manage the ever-increasing amount of file data being gener-
ated by users, and second, implementing tiers improves over-
all storage utilization and cuts costs.

It’s time to face the facts about the value of data. After 60 to
90 days, most files are approaching the end of their useful life.
But do any of your users ever delete their files? No! Meanwhile,
you are buying more storage, backing up a bunch of files
nobody cares about, and trying to figure out how to spend
less time working weekends surviving on coffee and vending
machine food.

The life of your information

The Brocade FME and tiered file- optimize capacity utilization across
optimization policies get the most the enterprise.
out of tiered storage architectures,
The real power of this solution results
an efficient approach to meeting
from the integration of your company
Information Lifecycle Management
ILM policies with your actual IT activ-
(ILM) requirements. Brocade FME
ities. So, if your company knows that
gives you the tools needed to shuffle
some data can safely be rotated to
your data from expensive primary
less-costly hardware, other data can
storage onto less-expensive second-
be purged entirely, and some must be
ary storage based on admin-defined
preserved at all costs (indefinitely),
criteria. This approach helps reduce
then Brocade FME polices are a
hardware acquisition costs while
priceless tool. Technology and oper-
enabling administrators to align
ations working in harmony, can it be?
backup policies with the business
It’s almost inconceivable.
value of data. Brocade FME can also
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Chapter 5: Tiering Your Files 33

Despite your attempts to plan for it, file data growth happens
in a fairly random manner over time. Inevitably, this leads to
random utilization of storage capacity since most of us can’t
predict the future and put out daily IT fires at the same time.
Most users ask for more storage than they will ever need,
while others simply have no idea what to ask for. The result is
predictable: viral growth in the sheer number of file servers
and NAS systems that end up in the data center and across
the network. Unfortunately, you get stuck with excess capac-
ity everywhere except where you usually need it. Lower
capacity utilization means wasted hardware expenditures, as
well as increased Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) from manag-
ing multiple independent devices.

No problem!
To solve this problem, you need a way to enhance storage
capacity utilization and optimize storage costs. By implement-
ing storage tiers, you can put to bed the more common issues
and can

 Manage ever-increasing storage needs by placing fre-

quently accessed files on primary storage and less-used
files on secondary storage
 Effectively place file data on different types of storage
based on its importance to your company
 Help manage capital costs by leveraging existing storage
more effectively
 Get relief from backup window pressures and reduce the
cost of backups by moving inactive or low-value files to
storage that is backed up less frequently

Now that you better understand the benefits of tiered storage,

it’s time to look at how it’s deployed.

Before jumping in to deploy a tiered storage solution, here’s a

look at some of the common problems in a typical environ-
ment where tiered storage is not deployed:

 High user downtime resulting from both tedious file

migration procedures and long restore intervals
07_395158-ch05.qxp 5/19/08 10:41 AM Page 34

34 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

 Administrative overhead from rebuilding access to

migrated file data
 Complexities when migrating files across varied storage
platforms and increased utilization of legacy hardware
 Lack of centralized management to ease administrative
duties
 Poor consistency in service, resulting in complaints from
users

Brocade FME overcomes all the preceding limitations to deliver

a simple and powerful solution. It allows you to implement
tiered storage across heterogeneous file servers, such as
Windows and NAS devices, independent of their performance
characteristics. Check out Table 5-1 to see a more detailed list
of the powers of Brocade FME. You’ll be impressed!

Table 5-1 How Brocade FME Makes Tiers Work

Tier-Enabling Feature
High level of automation
Management of
heterogeneous
storage
Policy-based migration of
data across storage tiers
The Skinny
Reduces administrative tasks
involved with classification of files
for migration across tiered storage
and simplifies management of
actual migration by automating pre-
and post-migration tasks through
policies. Also, minimizes errors by
reducing manual intervention in
complex data-movement processes.
Simplifies management of multiple
devices by creating a single pool of
storage. This pooling also allows
centralized monitoring, policy imple-
mentation, filters, and tiered storage
deployment.
Allows you to take action based on
the needs of your company. Since
you can reuse your policies, consis-
tency is simplified.
07_395158-ch05.qxp 5/19/08 10:41 AM Page 35

Chapter 5: Tiering Your Files 35

Tier-Enabling Feature
Intelligent data movement
Business view of data
independent of physical
storage tiers
The Skinny
Minimizes user downtime since
access to data remains unaffected
by file data transfers across
servers. This works in conjunction
with existing backup strategies,
keeping headaches to a minimum.
Enhances user access by providing
intuitive/business views of files
rather than drive letters.

How Does Brocade FME Work?

Brocade FME resides in the data path between the user and
the file server(s) it manages. It is typically deployed in a clus-
ter configuration that is in the path of all file access, so it can
manage your files and provide a high level of availability as
well. Brocade FME leverages DFS to virtualize access, so if you
use DFS today, you are well on your way to understanding
how simple it is to deploy in your environment.

Because Brocade FME is in the data path, it can enable tiered

storage at any time without users even being aware of it. Since
Brocade FME runs on a Windows server, it understands all
aspects of how Windows security works. So, authentication,
authorization, and all mechanisms of file access are handled
natively in the Windows environment. This provides a level of
integration and compatibility that is unique to Brocade FME.

Since Brocade FME leverages DFS to enable file virtualization,

it’s very easy to have it manage your file data. By simply
updating a DFS link on a single share, Brocade FME begins
to manage all file access to that share. That means you can
deploy it at a very granular share level and you can control
how fast or slowly you want to deploy Brocade FME in your
environment.
07_395158-ch05.qxp 5/19/08 10:41 AM Page 36

36 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

08_395158-ch06.qxp 5/19/08 10:42 AM Page 37

Chapter 6

Ten Reasons Why File

Virtualization Rocks!
In This Chapter

Understanding the reasons you need file virtualization

W hether you’ve read every page of this book or just

jumped around, you likely know now why file virtual-
ization is the bees-knees. But just in case you’re still on the
fence (or you need to explain this to your boss), here are ten
mostly useful reasons that file virtualization rocks!

It Plays Well with Others

Virtualization of resources is becoming more common across
the board. If your shop is looking at (or already using) server,
storage, router, or other forms of virtualization, you’re in luck.
File virtualization is a great tool to leverage your other virtual-
ization investments.

You Can Tame Your Files

File virtualization allows you to freely manage how and where
files are stored without impacting user or application access
to their files. DFS allows you to use a massive range of storage
configuration. Need more space? No problem! You can do all
your management work in the background and users can
remain blissfully unaware.
08_395158-ch06.qxp 5/19/08 10:42 AM Page 38

38 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

It’s Like Family

File virtualization is agnostic about what physical devices you
use to store your bits and bytes on. SAN, NAS, RAID server
array, or disk carousel . . . it doesn’t matter. File virtualization
treats everyone like kin.

Talk about Reliability

If you want to make sure your users can get to their files when
they need them most, file virtualization, coupled with replica-
tion and automated failover (or redirection), is the way to go.
As a component of a comprehensive Business Continuity and
Disaster Recovery solution, virtualization can really help save
the day.

It’s a DYNAMO!
If you’re in a constant struggle between the powers of file
management bliss and an evil tidal wave of user data, then
you need a real workhorse on your side. Virtualized resources
float like a butterfly and sting like a bee. They rock when stuff
starts to roll. Easily move resources where they’re needed?
Check. Easily take advantage of new storage options? Check.

Save Some Dough, Yo

Need to make the most of what you have? Most of us do. By
being able to take a bit of space here, a slice of storage there,
you can up the utilization of a wide range of devices to accom-
modate growing storage needs. Now you get more done with
what you already have and you’re better prepared to make
the best of what you plan to get. Sweetness.
08_395158-ch06.qxp 5/19/08 10:42 AM Page 39

Chapter 6: Ten Reasons Why File Virtualization Rocks! 39

Users Don’t Care

Thank goodness. With a properly implemented virtualized file
system, they shouldn’t have to. If users are not calling you up
fussing about slow file access and absent disk space, you can
get back to better things. Like good old solitaire.

Your Boss Does Care

Save money, quiet the restless cubicle gnomes, and proclaim
an IT victory for your boss. Should work out for you come
annual review time.

Meet Your Family

Now that you’re not in the office 70 hours a week trying to
keep on top of storage demands, maybe you can hang out
with those folks you live with. Might be nice to see who it is
that lives in the home you’re working so hard to pay for!

You Can Give Your

Network a Break
New file virtualization features can really ease the load, partic-
ularly on your slower WAN links. Since today’s WAN is piping
VoIP, data, multicast video, and a garbage truck full of other
stuff, efficient utilization is ideal. This will help keep your
remote office users from paying you an unwelcome visit.
08_395158-ch06.qxp 5/19/08 10:42 AM Page 40

40 File Virtualization and Management For Dummies

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 I think we’ve
ignored this file
data problem a
little too long.

FEEL LIKE YOU’RE STORING EVERYTHING AND MANAGING NOTHING?

BROCADE FILE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS HELP YOU TAKE BACK CONTROL.
With Brocade File Management Solutions, you can automatically and
transparently migrate files to the optimum types of media based on your
rules. So you can dramatically lower data management costs and gain more
control of your file environment without compromising users’ needs. And get
a lot more breathing room. Get your free eBook on File Data Management at:
www.brocade.com/take_control

© 2008 Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Brocade is a registered trademark, and
the B-wing symbol is a trademark of Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.
 Where do I begin?
For those of you who haven’t even
begun thinking about reining in
control of your unruly files, a good
place to start is to utilize a free utility
called Brocade File Insight. File
Insight is a free, Windows-based
reporting utility for administrators
who need a quick and simple way to
get an overview of the files in their
networked SMB/CIFS environment.
To download a copy of this free
utility, visit www.brocade.com/
fileinsight.
Brocade provides the industry’s leading platforms, solutions,
and services for intelligently connecting, managing, and
optimizing IT resources in networked storage environments.
These offerings help organizations manage their computing
resources and data assets more efficiently to reduce costs,
simplify management, and implement strategic business
initiatives.
Brocade leads the SAN market and is pioneering the
development of innovative file management solutions for
distributed global enterprises. As a result, Brocade solutions
provide a reliable, secure, and interoperable foundation for
next-generation data centers — delivering unprecedented
levels of scalability, performance, and investment protection.
Together with a wide range of Brocade services, these
solutions maximize the value of technology investments
across the enterprise.

www.brocade.com
 Take charge of
your ever-growing
mound of file data!

Use DFS technology for

File Vir tualiz atio n
management now
Demystify file data
your file virtualization
needs

Consolidate and
migrate your files and Ma nag em en t
With this book, you find out how a virtualized file system,
better known as Microsoft® Distributed File System (DFS), Get replication power
can really power up your infrastructure. Just check off all with Brocade StorageX ®
the goodies — reliability, availability, and more — that and other management
will not only manage, back up, and make your data tools
accessible, but will also take you into file management
nirvana. Work with tiered file
storage with the Brocade
File Management Engine

ition
Brocade Special Ed Get a virtualized
file system and
rock your world!
Explanations in pl
ain English
” formation
“Get in, get out in
A Reference
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ISBN: 978-0-470-39515-8
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Ian Evans
Brocade Part #GA-BK-996-00 Principle Strategist, Brocade