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April 2016 Issue

           
In this Issue:
Tech Updates   Hot News
Speaking Opportunity   Upcoming Webcasts
Education/Certification   Featured Article
White Papers/Articles   Featured Event
Upcoming Events   New SNIA Policy
Tech Updates

Swordfish Makes its First Splash

The SNIA Scalable Storage Management (SSM) Technical Work Group, formed this past December, just named its new technical specification “Swordfish” and released version 0.5 of the API for public review on March 17, 2016.  It is available here. SNIA SSM members can submit feedback directly; other SNIA members can submit feedback through the SNIA portal.
 
The Swordfish customer-centric interface extends the DMTF’s Redfish API specification to enable a seamless, holistic storage and system management experience across servers, storage and fabric. It is simple to use, accessible, and compatible with existing tool chains and the latest transports.
 
Dip your toe in the water and provide your feedback today.
 
Note: Work-in-Progress DRAFTS are not endorsed by the SNIA for commercial shipping product implementation, but rather for review/feedback and prototyping work to ensure the work, when completed, will meet the needs of the industry.  Work-in-Progress DRAFTS are subject to change. The Work-in-Progress DRAFT may be updated, replaced, or made obsolete at any time. Some of the intellectual property protections for users of SNIA software and specifications are not applicable to users of Work-in-Progress DRAFTs.
 

New Specifications and Program Updates for Energy Efficiency Testing

Updated and new Data Center Storage Test Specification and the underlying SNIA Emerald™ Power Efficiency Measurement Specification

This April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is releasing an update to the latest version of the Data Center Storage Test Specification and the underlying SNIA Emerald™ Power Efficiency Measurement Specification.
 
ENERGY STAR Data Center Version 1.0 Updated Program Requirements – April 2016

Storage Product Family Variation Allowances
3.6.1 Storage Product Performance Improvement Cap
3.6.2 Replacement Storage Devices in As-Shipped Configurations
 
With the April 2, 2016 update, all testing of new products and new models will now use SNIA Emerald Power Efficiency Measurement Specification SNIA Emerald V2.1.1, December 2, 2015, along with Vdbench V5.04.03, and new SNIA COM test tool v1.17. For products/models already submitted or tests underway but not completed and submitted with ENERGY STAR V1.0 March 6, 2014, using SNIA Emerald version 2.0.2, testers can continue to use 2.0.2, only as outlined in the ENERGY STAR specification sections 3.6.1 and 3.6.2.
 
The April 2016 revised ENERGY STAR Data Center Specification can be downloaded here. Note: this newsletter may precede the April posting by a few days.

The new SNIA Emerald Program V2.1.1 specifications, associated test tools and scripts, documentation and training can be accessed from the SNIA Emerald site, including V2.1.1 download, V2.1 Training, and V2.02 -V2.1 Changes Overview.
 
These changes further align with testing experiences and evolving storage components. A tester’s effort may find nominal time-savings for a few of the procedural steps. These revisions do not result in any major structural or policy changes within the program requirements. For questions, contact the EPA or SNIA.

Upcoming SNIA Green Storage Stakeholder Meetings and New Industry Work

SNIA is working on V2.2 of the SNIA Emerald test specification. The major new addition is the inclusion of NAS system testing based on SPEC SFS2014 Workload toolset. The test methodology has been validated and the TWG is writing the specification. Mid-year and into the fall, the EPA and SNIA will foster industry stakeholder meetings to review the ENERGYSTAR Specification that will reference the SNIA Emerald specification.  At either the October Technical Symposium or January 2017 Symposium, SNIA will hold a training workshop for testers, as well as kick-off the launch of NAS testing, whereby test results can be submitted and posted with the EPA. 
 
SNIA is planning to host a ½ day virtual workshop during the May 2016 Technical Symposium for testers to share best practices, learned lessons, and discuss their experiences with the V2.1.1 test tools and test results.
 
During the month of April, SNIA is collecting storage vendor product and model taxonomy information, in support of the EPA/SNIA/IDC project to measure the year over year total unit shipment increases. 

To stay informed about SNIA Green Storage, join the TWG, join GSI, or sign-up for the SNIA Emerald newsletter, contact Dave Thiel.

Hot News

Agenda for Data Storage Innovation Conference Now Available

SNIA’s Data Storage Innovation Conference (DSI), taking place in San Mateo, CA, June 13-15, 2016, is for systems administrators, technical managers, systems engineers, and implementers from both the enterprise customer and vendor communities who are seeking a storage and IT solutions–focused conference.
 
DSI sessions will identify challenges you frequently face while offering practical solutions from leading and innovative end users, vendors, and consultants. The agenda covers a range of topics including Big Data Infrastructure, Cloud Storage, Data and Storage Management, Data Security and Identity Management, Distributed Storage, Free/Open Source Software, Green and Energy Efficient IT, Memory Class Storage, Object Storage, Storage Security and more. Preview the DSI agenda here.
 

SNIA Announces the Storage Developer Conference Podcast Series

Every week the Storage Developer Conference (SDC) podcast series presents important technical topics to the Storage Developer community. Each episode is hand selected by the SNIA Technical Council from the presentations at SDC.
 
This week’s highlighted Podcast: Preparing Applications for Persistent Memory, by Doug Voigt, Distinguished Technologist, HPE (MP3PDF of slides). We encourage you to check back often to listen to each week’s Podcast.
 
The Podcast can be downloaded at iTunes. Download a copy of the original presentation slides as well.
Speaking Opportunity

Deadline Approaching to Speak at Storage Developer Conference 2016

The 2016 Storage Developer Conference (SDC) will take place in Santa Clara, CA on September 19-22, 2016. SDC is now seeking storage development professionals willing to share their knowledge and experience by submitting a presentation proposal. The deadline is May 5th.
 
Download the 2015 SDC presentations to gain an understanding of the type of content presented at SDC. You can also view recordings of some of the sessions here.
Upcoming Webcasts

SNIA Innovation Conference - Spotlight on Enterprise Data Storage and Cloud
April 20, 2016
Wayne Adams, SNIA Chair Emeritus

This Webcast will feature an interactive discussion with the experts who have organized this year’s Data Storage Innovation Conference (DSI). Get a preview of the most pressing data storage and cloud trends that will be covered at DSI including, storage class memory, data security, data protection, cloud development and management, new hyper-converged storage systems, big data and analytics, storage networks and protocols, file-systems, technology standards, software defined storage and best practices.

Evolution of iSCSI including iSER, iSCSI over RDMA Ethernet
May 24, 2016
Fred Knight, Principal Standards Technologist, NetApp
Andy Banta, Engineer, NetApp
David Fair, Chair, SNIA Ethernet Storage Forum, Intel
 
iSCSI is an Internet Protocol standard for transferring SCSI commands across an Ethernet network, enabling hosts to link to storage devices wherever they may be. In this Webcast, we will discuss the evolution of iSCSI including iSER, which is iSCSI technology that takes advantage of various RDMA fabric technologies to enhance performance. Register now to hear:

  • A brief history of iSCSI
  • How iSCSI works
  • IETF refinements to the specification
  • Enhancing iSCSI performance with iSER
Education and Certification

Training for the SNIA Storage Foundations exam (S10-110)

June 16-17, San Mateo, CA (2-day class)
July 25-29, Portland, OR (4 ½ day class)
For more information about the instructor-led training, please visit here

Practice Exam Now Available for SNIA Storage Foundations Certification

For storage professionals interested in obtaining the new SNIA Certified Storage Professional Certification, SNIA has developed a practice exam that will help determine if you have the skill set to pass the Certification exam. The practice exam is free of charge, and is available here
 
Other training options for SNIA’s Foundations Certification are available here.

Featured Article
White Papers and Articles
Featured Event

Open Server Summit  - Santa Clara, CA – April 13-14, 2016 

Join SNIA and the Solid State Storage Initiative April 13-14 at the Santa Clara Convention Center for Open Server Summit 2016, the industry's premier event that focuses on the design of next-generation servers with topics on data center efficiency, SSDs, core OS, cloud server design, the future of open server and open storage, and other efforts toward combining industry-standard hardware with open-source software.
 
The SNIA NVDIMM Special Interest Group (SIG) will host a panel on NVDIMM technology, featuring SIG members Diablo Technology, Netlist, and SMART Modular. SNIA’s Solid State Storage Initiative will also be in booth 401-403 featuring demonstrations by the NVDIMM SIG, discussions on SSD data recovery and erase, and updates on solid state storage performance testing. SNIA board member Rob Peglar of Micron Technology will deliver a keynote on April 14.  SNIA members and colleagues can receive a $100 conference discount by using code SNIA when registering. Register today.   
Find SNIA at these Events
Open Server Summit – Santa Clara, CA – April 13-14, 2016
Interop – Las Vegas, NV – May 2-6, 2016
Storage Developer Conference India – Bangalore, India – May 26-27, 2016
Data Storage Innovation Conference – San Mateo, CA - June 13-15, 2016
Flash Memory Summit – Santa Clara, CA – August 9-11, 2016
Storage Developer Conference – Santa Clara, CA – September 19-22, 2016
New SNIA Policy

SNIA Revised IP Policy V4.0

The SNIA Board of Directors approved revised IP Policy V4.0 this past January. With the completion of the 60-member review period, the policy went into effect April 4, 2016.

The extent of the policy revisions were to further clarify the IP Policy for reasonableness, injunctive relief, and patent exchange and transfer, to further specify SNIA’s policies and reflect recent case rulings and best practices for IP licensing arrangements within the information communication technology (ICT) industries. The policy and supporting materials including the V4.0 Policy, Redlined v3.0-v4.0 policy, a Frequently Asked Questions document, and a document summarizing the changes are located on the SNIA web site.
 
The SNIA IP Policy is a legal document that binds the SNIA Member/Participant to the conditions specified within it. If you have questions or need additional information regarding this new IP Policy, please contact the SNIA Secretary, Thomas Rivera
We value your feedback. Please send any comments or suggestions to the SNIA Matters editor, Diane Marsili.
Copyright © 2016 SNIA, All rights reserved.


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Copyright © 2016 SNIA, All rights reserved.


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