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Published: 16 Oct 2012
Inside the new Symmetrix DMX model offerings

This article is part of the Vol. 1 No. 12 February 2003 issue of Inside the new Symmetrix DMX model offerings

Most people are familiar with the Russian Matryoshka nesting dolls. As you open each doll, it reveals another smaller one inside. Storage utilization has a parallel to these dolls: Each component in the chain of storage has its own method of capturing metrics and making improvements. If you focus only on host utilization, you could miss wasted space on the array. Furthermore, you can compound waste by inflating projections for growth or buffer space. Put all of these wasteful practices together, and you can wind up with less than 20% of actual utilization, and think you're doing fine. Measuring utilization should be simple: Divide the amount of storage used by the amount available for use, and you have your utilization percentage. But obtaining these metrics can prove tricky, and the frame of reference is key. Additionally, many systems have added overhead between the raw storage they can see and the usable storage they allow to be used. For the purposes of measurement of storage utilization, we'll focus on the following three metrics: Raw storage is the ... Access >>>

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