Re: Storage systems evolution
Thanks for your kind words. One more point on NAS, SAN, and storage systems evolution. It is important to remember that just as storage demand is growing at an explosive rate, so too the technology of storage systems is evolving very rapidly. The terms 'NAS' and 'SAN' hardly existed two years ago and while the desire to categorize is very human, it would be a mistake to believe that these terms are the last word in storage architecture. I'm quite confident that 3-5 years out we'll look back at the NAS/SAN 'divide' as simply the early stages of storage-centric computing. This is understandable because despite the inexorable ascent of storage as the dominant force in IT, most organizations are very much still in the embrace of the old processor-centric mindset (encouraged, of course, by processor vendors who are highly motivated to cling to this worldview for as long as possible).
For this reason EMC tends to use the more general term Enterprise Storage Network (ESN) rather than NAS or SAN. I believe this is because EMC, more than any other company, is completely focused on the new paradigm and how it will unfold over the next decade. It was difficult to believe in 1989 that history would sweep away the Soviet Union in as little as two years. Even today, it is difficult for many to believe that the long reign of the central processor is ending. But those aligned with the new paradigm will reap the reward of being on the correct side of history. Which, of course, is why EMC remains an essential core holding. |
