Storage Consolidation Gets the LXI Update

Published: August 29, 2006

by Dan Burger

Storage devices have a way of taking over a data center like weeds in a garden. At some point you have to get a handle on the problem. Centralization of hardware and the management of that hardware typically become the focal point of a new storage strategy and disaster recovery and performance-related discussions quickly follow. LXI, a company with experience in the iSeries backup and recovery field, has a revamped plan for improving the value of the iSeries asset.

LXI has developed products for OS/400-based customers for years, and its Media Management System (MMS) for backup and recovery is in place at companies of all sizes. Many of those companies are familiar with the idea of consolidating Windows database storage on iSeries via an LXI product known as Universal Client. That was the original LXI offering for centralized backup and recovery product of Windows on iSeries. It was introduced nearly three years ago.

After an investment in modernizing that application with new functionality as well as a modern interface, LXI is reintroducing it as Client for Windows. The consolidation idea is the same, but the features and functionality have taken a giant step forward from those green-screen days. In order to make use of the management features in Client for Windows, however, the LXI MMS must be deployed. That's not a deterrent. It's a reason for a closer look.

"Our customer base numbers in the hundreds," explains Lon Gretillat, vice president in charge of business development at LXI. "Many are among the top 50 companies in the world. You don't walk into a data center without having Windows servers there with the iSeries, so our MMS users are very interested in Client for Windows."

Gretillat says the investment in modernizing Universal Client and renaming it Client for Windows resulted in a more user friendly product with increased functionality with regard to how updates are done, the distribution of the updates are done, and how management of the client is done across a distributed environment.

To deploy Client for Windows first involves installing a client application on Windows servers. Gretillat says that may be the most difficult aspect of the implementation process. Companies with dozens of Windows servers may have a distribution program that automates software installation. Otherwise it's a server-by-server operation. After it's installed, Windows storage management is controlled through the iSeries or System i. This a major step forward compared to the Universal Client that required all configuration changes to be done on the individual Windows servers.

Gretillat describes the Media Management System as "the traffic cop for the data" because it passes data through the iSeries and catalogs the information--where that data is going and on which tape. The cataloged information is stored in the MMS database, which is an application running on the iSeries. That directory is an index file for the data. It locates files on tapes and tapes within libraries and catalogs so users know where things are when circumstances require a restore.

"It is backing up the data from the Windows servers, through the iSeries and whatever tape library is attached to the iSeries," Gretillat says. "The iSeries is the most reliable and most powerful tape library in most data centers. It can also handle the increased workload, which isn't much. In addition to safe keeping and ease of management, Client for Windows saves money by eliminating tape libraries for each platform."

From the LXI perspective, this allows better utilization of the iSeries investment as well as the eliminated maintenance expense on the Windows libraries plus a reduction of administrative expenses. It eliminates the requirement of two types of media, and is managed in one location by one administrator, who controls the client and tells it where the data needs to go, Gretillat says. "I've heard from many people who say 'I never knew you could do that' when we're talking about consolidating. The main emphasis we put on it is centralization is key. The amount of investment on the Windows side is insignificant compared to benefits of centralization in the data center."

All of this overrides the cost of iSeries disk and tape libraries, he says, especially when factoring in the LXI options to the notoriously expensive IBM tape libraries. LXI tape libraries support SCSI and Fibre Channel devices and are worth considering whether Client for Windows is part of your plan or not.

DASD utilization is another factor that will come up in discussions about expenses involved with tape backup. LXI has averted this topic because Windows Client only catalogs the records of the data as opposed to the data files. It does require enough DASD to store catalog data, but that is tiny compared to copying entire libraries.

Two other considerations when backing up Windows data on iSeries involve permissions and locked files. According to Gretillat, LXI has designed Client for Windows so that permissions are maintained when a restore is completed and that prevents unauthorized access to information. He also noted that his product can backup locked files, an obstacle to some backup and recovery efforts.

LXI has tested Client for Windows through two beta customers, and is ready for general release of the product by the end of August.

The pricing for Client for Windows for companies that do not already have LXI's Media Management Suite--which provides backup and recovery management, tape management, and vaulting management--varies from $8,000 to about $28,000, depending on the size of the system. Tiers P5 through P30 make up the majority of LXI customers and is the basis for this price range.

Customers that already have MMS should expect to spend between $2,500 and $10,000 depending on where their equipment falls on the P5 to P30 range. LXI products are designed for and priced to include iSeries and System i boxes up to the P60 category; so if your organization is operating that type of equipment, check with LXI for pricing.

LXI plans to add platforms to the management product line. So Linux and Unix clients, similar to the Windows client are in the pipeline, at least from a conceptual standpoint.