James Dean Edit

 Web References

1. 1. Integrated Solutions - Scaling Up In Servers? Back Up To A SAN

   www.integratedsolutionsmag.com - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/18/2005   Last Visited: 7/18/2005

   Says James Dean, director of enterprise backup systems at USi, "What we had at the time couldn't handle 100 to 200 application servers per master backup server.
   ...
   According to Dean, backup in a SAN is enhanced by zoning based on platforms rather than on applications. This approach allows USi to send data from applications on different platforms in separate zones to the same storage frame. Grouping each customer's servers in their own pod is another key to efficient zoning. "Even though our customer pods are on a shared network, they function as though each is in its own virtual data center," Dean explains. He notes that the topology of a USi data center SAN ensures seamless zoning. The primary storage devices, the backup servers, and the tape drives are connected to the core of the SAN, made up of multiple Brocade switches. Additional Brocade switches on the outside of the core make up the customer pod connections. "Having each customer pod connected to its own switch for connecting to the SAN makes it easier to zone data for storage and backup," Dean says.
   
   Not all of USi's customers are connected to the SAN environment. Those clients with storage demands of less than 50 GB per server have their data routed to and from IP (Internet protocol)-based direct attached drives. In the original Maryland data center, additional Quantum/ATL libraries provide non-SAN-based backup. "We try to limit the load on the IP-based backup process because it's somewhat slower," Dean says.
   
   For all customers, USi offers a backup window between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. To ensure that all customers stay up and running during that time, USi monitors performance and capacity on the backup system. If an application demonstrates a high I/O (input/output) rate, USi either adds more processing power or limits the bandwidth the customer can use for backups. "In the entire time we've been monitoring backups, we've had to throttle back only a couple of servers during backup," Dean asserts.
   
   For Dean, the major benefit of performing most customers' tape backup over a SAN is the relief it brings to the network on which the server pods run. "Because we do backup across Fibre Channel SANs, we are able to enhance performance and move more data without clogging up the primary network," says Dean.

2. 2. Integrated Solutions - Scaling Up In Servers? Back Up To A SAN

   www.integratedsolutionsmag.com - [Cached]

   Published on: 12/5/2004   Last Visited: 12/5/2004

   Says James Dean, director of enterprise backup systems at USi, "What we had at the time couldn't handle 100 to 200 application servers per master backup server.
   ...
   According to Dean, backup in a SAN is enhanced by zoning based on platforms rather than on applications. This approach allows USi to send data from applications on different platforms in separate zones to the same storage frame. Grouping each customer's servers in their own pod is another key to efficient zoning. "Even though our customer pods are on a shared network, they function as though each is in its own virtual data center," Dean explains. He notes that the topology of a USi data center SAN ensures seamless zoning. The primary storage devices, the backup servers, and the tape drives are connected to the core of the SAN, made up of multiple Brocade switches. Additional Brocade switches on the outside of the core make up the customer pod connections. "Having each customer pod connected to its own switch for connecting to the SAN makes it easier to zone data for storage and backup," Dean says.
   
   Not all of USi's customers are connected to the SAN environment. Those clients with storage demands of less than 50 GB per server have their data routed to and from IP (Internet protocol)-based direct attached drives. In the original Maryland data center, additional Quantum/ATL libraries provide non-SAN-based backup. "We try to limit the load on the IP-based backup process because it's somewhat slower," Dean says.
   
   For all customers, USi offers a backup window between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m. To ensure that all customers stay up and running during that time, USi monitors performance and capacity on the backup system. If an application demonstrates a high I/O (input/output) rate, USi either adds more processing power or limits the bandwidth the customer can use for backups. "In the entire time we've been monitoring backups, we've had to throttle back only a couple of servers during backup," Dean asserts.
   
   For Dean, the major benefit of performing most customers' tape backup over a SAN is the relief it brings to the network on which the server pods run. "Because we do backup across Fibre Channel SANs, we are able to enhance performance and move more data without clogging up the primary network," says Dean.

3. 3. Teamstudio's Global Expansion Continues

   biz.yahoo.com/bw/050525/255732 - [Cached]

   Published on: 5/25/2005   Last Visited: 5/25/2005

   James Dean, Solutions Consultant
   
   Lives in Cambridge, UK.