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The ability to store and manage data that consumes the least amount of space with little to no impact on performance; resulting in a lower total operational cost. Efficiency addresses the real-world demands of managing costs, reducing complexity and limiting risk. The Storage efficiencyIndustry mayNetworking beAssociation measured([[SNIA]]) by a simple formula:defines Storage Efficiency = Allocated Capacity / Raw Capacity. Ultimately, efficient solutions must go beyond simple hardware and software offerings andin connectthe at[[SNIA aDictionary]] humanas level.<br>
: <math>Storage Efficiency = (Effective Capacity + Free Capacity) / Raw Capacity </math><br>
The efficiency of an empty enterprise level system is commonly in the 40%--70% range, depending on what combination of data protection technologies are deployed. As data is stored on the system, technologies such as deduplication and compression may store data at a greater than 1:1 data size:space consumed ratio, and efficiency rises.
==Technologies==
Different technologies exist at different and sometimes multiple levels:
''[[Snapshot (computer storage)|Snapshot]] technology'',--known whenformally usedas correctly,"delta contributes by far the most to efficiency. Itsnapshot technology"--gives the ability to use the same dataset multiple times for multiple reasons., Thiswhile technology isstoring most efficient inonly the hardwarechanges layer,between buteach software solutions existdataset. Some storage vendors integrate their snapshot capabilities at the operating system and/or application level, enabling access to the data the snapshot's are holding at the system and/or application management layers. Terminology around snapshots and "clones" is currently confusing, and care must be taken when evaluating vendor claims. In particular, some vendors call full point-in-time copies "snapshots" or "clones", while others use the same terms to refer to shared-block "delta" snapshots or clones. And some implementations can only do read-only snapshots, while others are able to provide writable ones as well.
''[[Data deduplication]] technology'' can be used to very efficiently track and remove duplicate blocks of data inside a storage unit. There isare a multitude of implementations, each with their separate advantages and disadvantages. Deduplication is most efficient at the shared storage layer, however, implementations in software and even databases exist. The most suitable candidates for deduplication are [[backup]] and [[platform virtualization]], because both applications typically produce or use a lot of almost identical copies. However, some vendors are now offering in-place deduplication, which deduplicates primary storage.
''[[Thin Provisioning]] technology''. This is a technique to prevent under-utilization by sharing the allocated, but not yet utilized capacity. A good example is [[Gmail]], where every Gmail account has a large amount of allocated capacity. Because most Gmail users only use a fraction of the allocated capacity, this "free space" is "shared" among all Gmail users.
==Major Advantages==
Actively increasing storage efficiency using these techniques has allthe sorts of majorfollowing advantages:
''Backup & Restore''. Using snapshot'ssnapshots, time used for both backup and restore [[Recovery time objective|RTO]] can be minimized. This willcan greatly reduce cost., Compareand reduce hours of downtime to seconds of downtime. Also,Snapshots snapshot'salso allow for better [[Recovery Point Objective|RPO]] values.
''Reducing floorspace''. When blocksless ofstorage datais canrequired beto re-used,store ultimately,a thisgiven willamount leadof todata, less floorspace.data Floorspacecenter in data centersfloorspace is gettingrequired. more and more expensive, because of power and cooling costs.
''Reducing energy use''. When fewer spindles are required to store a given amount of data, less power is required.
''Provisioning Efficiency''. Snapshot technology allows for very fast provisioning of data copies. This will reduce waiting time in processes that require that data. Examples are [[Data Mining]], [[Test data]], etc. Snapshot integration at the OS and/or application level also lead to faster provisioning, because system and/or application managers are able to manage their own snapshot's without having to wait for storage managers and/or provisioning procedures. ▼
▲''Provisioning Efficiency''. SnapshotWritable delta snapshot technology allows for very fast provisioning of writable data copies. This will reducereduces waiting time in processes that require that data. Examples are [[Data Mining]], [[Test data]], etc. Snapshot integration at the OS and/or application level also leadleads to faster provisioning, because system and/or application managers are able to manage their own snapshot'ssnapshots without having to wait for storage managers and/or provisioning procedures.
Calculating the exact storage efficiency using the formula ''Storage Efficiency = Allocated Capacity / Raw Capacity'' is a very difficult thing to do! It depends very much on what kind of data is used and in what different ways customers use it. It needs to be calculated on a case to case basis.
==Major Commercial Players==
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