Symantec Storage Foundation update to manage private clouds

Symantec plans to release a full refresh of its Storage Foundation and Veritas Operations Manager software, which will include features allowing end-to-end management of private cloud infrastrutures.

Veritas Operations Manager (VOM) 4.0 is due out in May. Storage Foundation 6.0 is planned for release in the second half of the year.

One upcoming feature Symantec is planning is called Enterprise Object Store, which will use a global name space to offer a heterogeneous, enterprise-wide abstraction of all file data.

According to Don Angspatt, vice president of product management for Symantec's storage and availability management group, the file system will be able to scale to petabytes in size and will be accessible through HTTP. "So this creates one common global repository. You can access data the same way you would [from a workstation] through your cell phone," he said.

Symantec is also planning to include a hybrid cloud storage feature in its release of Storage Foundation 6.0 through its existing Smart Tier for Oracle utility. Today, Smart Tier dynamically migrates data to higher or lower performing hardware based on use patterns and preset configurations.

The hybrid cloud storage feature will allow data to be simultaneously backed up locally and automatically archived to a public cloud service provider. It will also enable automatic failover to the cloud, in the event that local access to backups goes down.

Symantec released its last refresh of Storage Foundation 5.1 last November. In that release, the company included the option for gold, silver or bronze service levels that allow administrators to automate the type of storage, based on performance and protection level, allocated to applications.

In its next release, Symantec is offering a utility called "Virtual Business Services" that gives admins the ability to manage a private cloud infrastructure - servers, business applications and storage, through a single user interface.

According to Angspatt, through the use of APIs already contained in Symantec's VCS software, Storage Foundation 6.0 will pool resources under a single management interface, from a company's web front end through its business applications, databases and backend storage.

VCS is Symantec's high availability software that automates failover of applications and databases within a data centre or to multiple remote locations.

"The cloud is made up by a heterogeneous infrastructure. This gives you end-to-end visibility," Angspatt said. "If you manage an entire cloud today, you need sysadmins for each tier. Our view is to mask the complexity."

Symantec's Storage Foundation already has reporting and chargeback features. They will will now extend beyond only the storage infrastructure to all of the business applications, Angspatt said.