The most impressive aspect of EMC World is the broad range of products and solutions based on the integration of multiple products. A key question is how to best integrate different storage solutions within the data center.
The most successful approach is to set up storage domains for different types of computing, and optimize the storage solution within those domains. The definition of domain will differ by company; some define the domains by business group supported, others by type of computing. Type of computing domains that might be established include tier one mission critical computing, tier 2 computing, windows virtual server computing and tier three archiving and retention among others. The number of domains would vary by size and complexity of business.
Within each domain start with the storage technology that is right for your business requirements. Then integrate solutions from one vendor within that domain. If storage should be virtualized then use a virtualized storage solution that spans just that storage domain (using the number of instances of that solution commensurate with risk).
Action Item: Break storage into domains and integrated solutions from that selected vendor/product within that domain. Where possible, avoid solutions that cross domains.
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