Mark's Blog

Episode 26: Flat IT Part 4 - Think SOA!

As I was reading the latest debates about the adoption/evolution of iSCSI, I had to laugh (well maybe just grin a bit). I grew up on SCSI, one of many low-level storage protocols that evolved over the years. Not the best one, by far, but the one that made it – kind of like VHS.

The interesting thing is that some folks think iSCSI will somehow make a big difference for customers. The fact is – it won’t. OK, maybe you can now buy all your networking gear from one vendor and reuse some cables you have laying around but little really changes. Not in terms of the BIG cost factors – like how you manage your information.

And yet, the industry treats iSCSI like some kind of revolution. I find it about as exciting as watching a screen saver.

So, what is exciting in storage? SOA. Yes, storage is now all about SOA. If you are in “storage” and aren’t thinking about the implications of SOA and Web 2.0 then you may want to think again. SOA changes how we construct applications by changing how application services interact. The interesting thing is that SOA can be applied to “Information Services” as well.

So, what if, applications “stored” information in a whole new way? Instead of storing bits using tightly-coupled low-level protocols, they would simply interact with an information service. The information service would do all of those little things like storage, protection, security, compliance based on the policies and the whole interaction between the application and information would now be loosely coupled in a Web-service like operation.

Once information is liberated from a “SCSI” attachment to a single application it can then be leveraged by many applications (securely of course). The “value” of the information multiplies. With a common “Service-Oriented Information Infrastructure” (SOII) one can build a single set of information management policies and apply them across hundreds or even thousands of applications. Now that is value!

The fact is, we have been progressing that way for some time. File systems (NAS) gives you more knowledge/capabilities but we can still do much more. Object storage like CAS (Content Addressable) takes it a step further giving applications a greater ability to specify service levels. Enterprise Content Management takes it to an even higher level by interacting directly at the web-services layer.

So, will iSCSI happen -- sure. Will Fiber Channel go away – not likely. Will the adoption ratio between iSCSI and FC matter much in the big picture -- not really. I believe that the value will ultimately come from moving to a SOII construct within an overall set of SOA capabilities. Sure, I bet SCSI will still be embedded in there somewhere but maybe not – maybe it will be ATA. What I do know is that it is not something that is going to keep me up at night.

For folks like EMC, we will just sell all of major interface options - take your pick. Just like selecting colors for a car – it is hard to say there is one right choice here. One year it will be green cars, and the next it will be blue cars (I think black never goes out of style). The revolution to watch, however, will be how the interaction between applications and information services changes, driven especially by the rapid adoption of SOA-based architectures. This will fundamentally change the role of and value from “storage” as we know it.

Mark…

 

 

 

Episode 20: Flat IT Part 3 – Virtual Reality

 

I view it as critical to maintain as close of touch with “trends” and new ideas as possible so I try out many of the new web-based applications that my kids are using. All but Match.com of course as my wife thought experimentation there went just a bit too far…. 

As an Information-centric IT company, I am pleased to report that we are creating new information like crazy. One of the more interesting sites is “Second Life” which now has over a million accounts. In short, Second Life, let’s you create a “virtual” you (Avatar) and explore a virtual world and interact just like you would in the “real” one - almost. What is interesting is that a “real” economy is evolving around this virtual community in terms of buying virtual land (for real $), setting up businesses (with virtual and real products), etc.

You can see for yourself if you need more detail (Second Life). The simple fact is the virtualization is expanding what we can do. With any technology there are ways in which it can go awry. 

 

One short riff on privacy and anonymity – One of the largest problems I believe we have created with much of this new technology is that we actually allow too much anonymity – in the name of “privacy.” To me, this has inhibited the full exploitation of many facets of new technology for business uses. For example, I would like to participate and leverage lots of technology like this but, even in a virtual world (for business), there is little value if you can’t identify the person on the other end of the interaction.

A simple example, I am sick of getting anonymous emails where the spammer, marketer or company says “please do not reply to the Email” or simply hides who they are. I always want to send back a note saying, if you don’t think there is enough value in listening to me, how you could possibly think there is any value in me listening to you! The other problem with anonymity, is that it generally puts people in a position of doing things they wouldn’t (or shouldn’t) normally do. 

I really hope that we do create more versions of technology that let us use this technology in ways to conduct real business.

OK, back to the story. Virtualization relative to IT infrastructures has been huge success. We are effectively separating the Software from the Hardware which can provide a multitude of benefits. One of the early benefits has been consolidation. As IT had evolved to a “one application, one server” mentality – server virtualization offers a way to radically consolidate HW resources. Virtual networks let use share resources without building new infrastructures.

Yes I know we have done this on Mainframes for decades. The point is that we now can do it on HW that is affordable, scaleable, and where little is required in terms of fault tolerance. 

Virtualization, I believe however, will go well beyond it beginnings and become a key base unpinning within the Flat IT world. Utilization will be a part of it but, more importantly, virtualization allows us to create a completely fluid and dynamic IT environment. This fluidity is the lynchpin in terms of how we really build IT Utilities.

Let’s think about some simple examples. If you have ever configured a server, think about the time it takes to change a server from a Web server to a database server, to an Email server. Even with the best tools, it is not easy and it is definitely not dynamic. With virtualization the fluidity of change will simply move to a completely new level, allowing IT resources to be applied (leveraging other technologies like Grid) almost instantaneously to meet changing needs. 

For most IT Managers, I believe they would just be happy not having to plan downtime when the want to migrate a server or storage system. Yes, in ten years we might have a fully autonomous dynamic self-managing IT environment but, there is huge value is just the first basic step – separating the Software from the Hardware.

Mark…

Episode 13: Flat IT Part 2

Greetings,

In this installment, I would like to outline some of the key changes that will/would occur in a “Flat IT” environment. Here are the some of the key principles.

Infrastructures become Virtual – Virtualization has been a hot trend for some time now and I believe the technology (virtualization) will exist wherever there is Hardware. Virtualization is important for utilization but also ultimately critical for building a truly dynamic IT environment. Virtualization will simply free IT from any specific coupling to HW.

All Functions exist as Services (SOA) – You may think there is nothing new here but this is where I see a major new change coming. We have always considered applications services as a part of this construct but I also believe that all interaction with data/information will occur at the SOA layer. Applications and users will receive and store their information by interacting with Information Services. These services will provide the protection, archiving, compliance, security, and other capabilities as a service. A single application will no longer “own” data. Information will exist as an independent element that can be managed independently and used by any authorized application. Combined with delivering resources, this creates what I call a Services Oriented Infrastructure.

Composite Applications are built without code – Within the services framework complete applications are simply connected with workflow (BPM) tools just like working with Visio. Composite applications are built by coupling information, security, application, and other services together in a prescribed way.

IT becomes Information-Centric - In the existing IT environments, I believe we moved from being Server-centric to OS-centric to Application-centric. In the next generation, we become more network-centric but fundamentally (for the first time I might note) start building Information Technology actually around the Information. This is powerful. It means that Information is no longer captive to a single application but can be leveraged across any number of applications.

Virtual Appliances become the preferred delivery model for Application Services - As all interaction and communications between application services and information services will operate at the SOA layer, many of the complex, driver-centric functions that exist within today’s operating systems will simply no longer be utilized. Base operating environments will exist principally to provide a compute environment for applications. Hence, we will start to see more Applications embed base OS and other base capabilities directly with their offerings. This will simplify integration, test, security, delivery and support. We are seeing major examples of this today – for example with Oracle’s recent embedded Linux announcement.

Model-Based Management Provides Orchestration or Resources and Services – To pull all of these capabilities together we need management. Traditional framework-centric management is just not going to cut it, however. Today’s management technologies simply can’t handle the virtual, dynamic, and complex environments that will be constructed. This is where model-based management comes in; it will transform how we think about management. Simply, model-based management will provide the orchestration necessary to deliver highly reliable and scaleable systems across these complex environments.

These are the key constructs to the Flat IT concept. I will spend some time discussing some these principles in more detail in future episodes.

Mark…

Episode 10: Flat IT Part I

OK - this was a tough one to start because there is simply so much I want to discuss.

As a prerequisite, I would ask that you do two things. First, read Thomas Freidman’s book “The World is Flat” and second, understand the prevailing concepts behind Web 2.0. If you do that, this is going to be easy.

From a technology perspective, I found the Thomas Friedman book “The World is Flat” to be one of the most interesting reads in a long while. While he clearly was looking at the people side implications, I found the technology aspects of a “Flat World” intriguing.

Could there be a complete analogy of the “Flat” World to IT? Obviously, I think so. Some of you may have heard me speak of the concept of “Flat IT.” I believe that Flat IT will ultimately change the way we design and build IT for business.

----

It its simplest form, the concept of Flat IT is that the traditional IT “Stack” (HW, Drivers, OS, Database, Applications, etc) essentially disappears. Capabilities (Business Services) are simply stitched together from a collection of smaller “services” that provide specific functions or information.  The “stack” as we know it disappears; it crumbles. IT is turned on its side!

Sound familiar, it should. Much of how we interact with the Web today uses a similar model – Web Services. In a Web Services model, developers (good ones) do not waste time doing what has already been done; they seek to add value by adding their service to the overall process.

The key tenants of Flat IT are:

• SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) comprised of Application, Information, and Resource Services
• Information-centric IT and Business Processes
• Loose “Orchestration” of infrastructure resources, application services to form highly customized and flexible business processes
• Dynamic and tiered infrastructures that are virtual and loosely coupled
• An environment built around collaboration and the concept that all information can have multiple uses

In some ways one could look at this as many of the Web 2.0 concepts applied to Data-center IT operations but the concept goes much further. Flat IT is about decomposing and creating a modular set of services (Software Services that is) to build composite applications.

Over the next weeks/months I will write additional installments detailing specific aspects of the Flat IT concept. Hopefully it will provide for some thought-provoking debate (or at least fodder) for your IT strategy.

Mark…