ILM Library: Techniques with Tivoli Storage and IBM TotalStorage Products

6 ILM Library: Techniques with Tivoli Storage and IBM TotalStorage Products

򐂰 Longer time required to backup data, but the window keeps shrinking.

򐂰 Storage performance does not meet requirements.

򐂰 Low utilization of existing assets; for example, in open environments, storage utilization

rates of around 30 percent are quite typical.

򐂰 Manual processes causing potential business risk due to errors.

򐂰 Regulatory requirements dictate long-term retention for certain data.

򐂰 Inability to achieve backup/recovery/accessibility objectives for critical data.

򐂰 Inability to grow the support staff to keep up with the demand for storage management in

an increasingly complex environment.

򐂰 Multiple backup and restore approaches and processes.

򐂰 Storage management requirements not well defined.

In response to these, it is necessary to define specific objectives to support and improve

information management:

򐂰 Control demand for storage and create policies for allocation.

򐂰 Reduce hardware, software. and storage personnel costs.

򐂰 Improve personnel efficiency, optimizing system and productivity.

򐂰 Define and enforce policies to manage the lifecycle of data.

򐂰 Define and implement the appropriate storage strategy to address current and future

business requirements.

In the next section, we describe the major ILM solution components and how they can help

you to overcome these challenges, and propose an ILM assessment for planning and design.

1.3 ILM elements

To manage the data lifecycle and make your business ready for on demand, there are four

main elements that can address your business to an ILM structured environment, as shown in

Figure 1-3 on page 7. They are:

򐂰 Tiered storage management

򐂰 Long-term data retention

򐂰 Data lifecycle management

򐂰 Policy-based archive management

Chapter 1. Introduction to ILM 7

Figure 1-3 ILM elements

In the next four sections we describe each of these elements in detail:

򐂰 1.3.1, “Tiered storage management” on page 7

򐂰 1.3.2, “Long-term data retention” on page 9

򐂰 1.3.3, “Data lifecycle management” on page 12

򐂰 1.3.4, “Policy-based archive management” on page 14

1.3.1 Tiered storage management

Most organizations today seek a storage solution that can help them manage data more

efficiently. They want to reduce the costs of storing large and growing amounts of data and

files and maintain business continuity. Through tiered storage, you can reduce overall

disk-storage costs, by providing benefits like:

򐂰 Reducing overall disk-storage costs by allocating the most recent and most critical

business data to higher performance disk storage, while moving older and less critical

business data to lower cost disk storage.

򐂰 Speeding business processes by providing high-performance access to most recent and

most frequently accessed data.

򐂰 Reducing administrative tasks and human errors. Older data can be moved to lower cost

disk storage automatically and transparently.

Typical storage environment

Storage environments typically have multiple tiers of data value, such as application data that

is needed daily and archive data that is accessed infrequently. But typical storage

configurations offer only a single tier of storage, as in Figure 1-4 on page 8, which limits the

ability to optimize cost and performance.

“The process of managing information,

from creation to disposal,

in a manner that aligns costs

with the changing value of information”

Tiered Storage

Incorporates tiered storage and

advanced SAN technologies.

Storage ranging from enterprise disk, midrange

disk and tape to optimize costs and availability

Long-Term Data Retention

Address needs for risk and

compliance objectives;

leverages Content Management and

Records Management technologies

Data Life Cycle Management

Exploit Hierarchical Storage Management for

any data that needs to be protected and

retained for a period of time and then disposed.

Establish policies and automation to move data

among different storage systems

Policy-based Archive Management

E-mail, database and application archive.

Focused offerings driven by efficiency of major

applications

8 ILM Library: Techniques with Tivoli Storage and IBM TotalStorage Products

Figure 1-4 Traditional non-tiered storage environment

Multi-tiered storage environment

A tiered storage environment is the infrastructure needed to align storage cost with the

changing value of information. The tiers will be related to data value. The most critical data is

allocated to higher performance disk storage, while less critical business data is allocated to

lower cost disk storage.

Each storage tier will provide different performance metrics and disaster recovery

capabilities. Creating classes and storage device groups is an important step to configure a

tiered storage ILM environment. We will provide details of this in later chapters of this book.

Figure 1-5 on page 9 shows a multi-tiered storage environment.