Do you remember when you could tell where your data resided just by looking at the array?

It wasn’t that long ago when storage purchases went hand-in-hand with major application deployments. You had a fairly clear idea of where your data was stored for a particular application.

Then, along came virtualization and an abstraction between the application layer and storage. The relationship became less a marriage and more like group dating. Everything was cordial but it was no longer clear what the specific relationships were between application and storage. Next, cloud computing and automated storage tiering further redefined the rules and it became about getting the best out of all available resources and the best possible relationships among all parties involved.  

Now, with the EMC VMAX announcement today, EMC Federated Tiered Storage (FTS) extends these relationships for new possibilities with third-party storage not previously part of the pack. Add to this capability the ability to manage this extended storage with EMC ProSphere and combine it with other products through the also just-announced EMC DataBridge. Suddenly, there are new relationship possibilities above and below the storage management layer. Continue reading →