Abiquo Partnering With NetApp and Nexenta

Abiquo, Inc. is partnering with NetApp and Nexenta Systems to provide a single management console for multiple, industry-leading storage systems.

"The Abiquo solution increases storage utilization rates and helps deliver on the promise of cloud computing overall," said Pete Malcolm, Abiquo CEO. "Companies are only now starting to realize that storage utilization is just as important as server utilization in establishing true cloud computing, and Abiquo can deliver both from a single console."

Server Utilization Matters
There has been a lot written about the best ways to achieve the benefits of virtualization and cloud computing. For example, Kennedy Brown, marketing manager at Intel Corp., claimed in his Sept. 7, 2010 Server Room Blog post that the best way to achieve the benefits of virtualization is to maximize the utilization of servers. That’s true, and it is a critical point. But, he doesn’t go far enough. Abiquo believes the best way to maximize server utilization is to increase utilization rates for other key infrastructure resources such as networks and storage. These are equally as important to achieving IT cost savings and delivering on the promise of cloud computing.

Why Storage Utilization Matters Just as Much
Virtualization technologies fall short on delivering cost savings because they do not use smart, business policy-driven automation to increase utilization rates across all types of resources including servers, networks and storage. Many organizations are just starting to realize that increasing storage utilization is just as important as increasing server utilization rates. For example, George Crump, author of the InformationWeek storage blog, claims that most datacenters only use 25 to 35 percent of their actual capacity for storing real data, and therefore these companies can reduce their purchases, power, cooling and floor space costs by as much as 75 percent. This may justify a sooner-than-planned storage refresh. At the same time, if companies have virtualized resources, this creates an acute need for enterprise cloud management software to automate utilization through business policies across multiple server, network and storage systems.

Abiquo Extends Storage Capabilities
with NetApp and Nexenta
Through its partnership with NetApp and Nexenta, Abiquo now integrates with their respective storage systems. This integration builds on Abiquo’s integral management of storage as a cloud infrastructure resource. From its first enterprise release, Abiquo managed storage resources using popular standards such as OpenSolaris ZFS and LVM/iSCSI, allocating them to Virtual Enterprises and allowing Enterprise Administrators to perform volume management tasks as well as allocation to specific virtual machines. Abiquo provides additional storage connection and management options such as compatibility with Red Hat iSCSI targets, an ideal storage connector for small deployments or testing environments.

NetApp and Nexenta storage systems can be managed through Abiquo’s centralized cloud management console. The new, integrated solution is designed to increase storage utilization rates and deliver on the promise of cloud computing.