Emulex Introduces OneCommand Vision Software

Emulex Corporation announced OneCommand Vision, a new enterprise-class software solution, part of its OneCommand framework.

Emulex OneCommand Vision is an intelligent application designed for proactive management of I/O within physical, virtual and cloud data center environments. Using OneCommand Vision, IT administrators will be able to monitor I/O data paths and proactively configure data center resources to solve bandwidth and contention issues within their infrastructure. This allows IT administrators to maximize I/O performance, availability and resource utilization by analyzing both physical and virtual I/O layers, including the operating system, adapters, networks and the array end-points. OneCommand Vision not only compliments existing system and storage management solutions, but can be upwardly integrated into these applications.

"Today’s data centers are growing in both size and complexity. As a result, monitoring and management of the flow of I/O as it travels through the system is critical to ensuring overall application performance, a high level of utilization and, ultimately, commitment to Service Level Agreements," said Steve Daheb, chief marketing officer and senior vice president of business development, Emulex. "OneCommand Vision will revolutionize the way IT administrators view and manage their I/O, particularly in virtualized server environments. By capturing and analyzing I/O related data throughout the entire I/O path, from the application to the LUN, Emulex’s OneCommand Vision software delivers superior scalability and a comprehensive global view of I/O health status across the data center."

OneCommand Vision centrally captures and compares past and present I/O performance data, enabling IT administrators to continuously tune and optimize I/O paths within their Fibre Channel and Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) networks. The software collects and analyzes I/O transactions and protocol errors across the data center to provide a centralized view of network size, availability, performance and utilization, arming IT administrators with data that will help them better reduce capital expenditures, decrease operational costs and improve management efficiency. OneCommand Vision’s non-intrusive software architecture integrates easily and seamlessly into existing data center environments and management frameworks. The software is designed for use in heterogeneous network environments, providing broad operating system support and interoperability with Emulex LightPulse Host Bus Adapters, OneConnect FCoE Universal Converged Network Adapters, Emulex’s OneCommand Manager application, and with non-Emulex adapters as well.

Emulex is demonstrating its new OneCommand Vision proactive I/O management software at Interop, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"We’re excited to see this type of innovative software coming from a company that knows I/O so intimately," said Steve Duplessie, founder and senior analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. "Emulex’s OneCommand Vision addresses the ‘I/O blender’ issue caused by increased utilization and the onslaught of server virtualization in the data center."

"Enterprises are focused on boosting IT asset utilization through consolidation and growing use of virtualization, but these efforts also lead to a significant concentration and increase in I/O," said Richard Villars, vice president of Storage and IT Executive Strategies at IDC. "Solutions like Emulex’s OneCommand Vision will make it possible for IT managers to detect and track down I/O problems across servers, networks and storage systems making it possible to resolve performance issues in less time than ever before."

"IT environments are becoming more complex, more virtualized and more connected to the success of the business. Microsoft is committed to delivering System Center management solutions that deliver end-to-end data center service management, monitoring for Windows and beyond, and increased efficiency and control," said JD Marymee, director of strategic alliances, Management & Services Division, Microsoft Corp. "By delivering OneCommand Vision, Emulex is offering customers a tool for proactive management of I/O within their data centers that augments and interoperates with System Center."

"Emulex is offering an entirely new class of management software for the data center that addresses a growing problem – I/O visibility and oversubscription," said Arun Taneja, founder and consulting analyst, Taneja Group. "One of Emulex’s key advantages is that they are uniquely positioned in the data center with a presence on the server and a clean line-of-sight to the storage it’s connected to."