Strategies for Data Protection - Brocade

IntroductionAt every level, from entire storage sites to individual data frames, theprime directive of storage technology is to safeguard data integrity andensure availability. This objective is fulfilled by engineering the manyfacets of data protection into each component of the storage ecosystem.The challenge for storage architects is to use these buildingblocks in a coherent design that meets organizational and budgetgoals. As with any construction project, quality building materials donot guarantee a quality result. Developing a comprehensive strategy,defining the business requirements, establishing guiding principlesbased on those requirements, and creating a coherent design inadvance help ensure that all layers of protection and accessibility arefully leveraged and work in concert to safeguard your data assets.In the following chapters, we will explore the different strata of dataprotection technologies, including data center design and operations,disaster recovery, storage virtualization solutions, remote tape vaulting,SAN extension, and remote office data consolidation via filemanagement. In this process we will define the best practices applicableto each technology and explain how Brocade products and servicescan be leveraged to create a complete solution.Although storage technologies are commonly available to the entiremarket, each enterprise and institution is unique. Customizing animplementation to suit your specific needs therefore requires anunderstanding of your organization’s primary business requirements.Business requirements drive the guiding principles of what a solutionshould provide, and those principles establish the parameters of thefinal design. Characteristically, the first step is the hardest. The processof collecting business requirements from corporate stakeholdersmay result in conflicting needs, for example, the requirement to centralizestorage assets to reduce costs and management overhead andthe requirement to accommodate a rapid proliferation of remote retailsites. Fortunately, harmonizing these requirements is facilitated by themuch broader offering of technologies from the storage networkingindustry today. As will be detailed in the following chapters, Brocadeprovides a wide spectrum of solutions and cost points to fulfill a diversityof business needs.Strategies for Data Protectionv