the interface that applications use to create, retrieve, update and delete data elements from the cloud. “CDMI also functions as a management framework,” said Kern, “so that users can query the storage container and request that so many objects migrate from one content repository to another.” Kern believes that CDMI, which is an open source technology, will facilitate big data solutions. He added that increasing numbers of early adopters of CDMI are beginning to appreciate its value for big data solutions. NetApp offers turnkey products for big data storage and processing which include pre-packaged analytics, bandwidth solutions and content repositories. NJVC provides vendor-neutral storage management recommendations and integrated solutions. “We integrate total solutions into the customer environment. We collaborate with our customers to come up with the best solution based on performance and cost for large scale enterprises,” said Tabino, noting that the company is
supporting the intelligence community in these efforts. “The forward-leaning approach at this point is to go to storage-as-a-service,” said Tabino. “This is an approach that seeks to satisfy customer requirements as opposed to the customer specifying a solution. The solution gets turned on like electricity. You don’t care where it comes from as long as it works. With storage, you don’t have to care what the storage medium is or which vendor is providing it as long as it meets your needs. It’s the same with cloud computing. It’s all about providing a service and not having to worry about the kind of environment the applications are running on.” Customers and potential customers are beginning to feel comfortable with the notion of storage-as-a-service, according to Tabino. “The capability exists, the opportunity exists,” said Tabino. “Bidding on winning contracts and performing in those types of environments is the next critical step.” Storage media continues to evolve to provide greater capacity at lower costs.
BIG DATA
IT’S ON ISILON
Hard disk drives and Blu-ray optical media are getting denser, allowing more data to be stored on each disk and drive in an environment that will be dealing not merely with terabytes and petabytes of information, but with exabytes. Not only does this development increase the capacity of the medium, but “the costs will be coming down as well,” according to Humm. Solid state storage, with its speed and stability, is also coming down in price, a development which is motivating companies like Cleversafe to begin to introduce solid state as part of its storage offerings. The challenge for military and intelligence agencies, according to Kern, is to develop partnerships with the big data community to incorporate the technologies that are being developed. “Government,” he said, “needs to take advantage of and ingest these new technologies.” O For more information, contact GIF Editor Harrison Donnelly at harrisond@kmimediagroup.com or search our online archives for related stories at www.mmt-kmi.com.
GAme-chAnGinG technoloGieS for iSr • Store & AnAlyze your DAtA • Protect your DAtA • Secure your network
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