by Justin Braun, Microsoft Product Specialist — December 12, 2008

This week we announced the availability of the Storage Center Command Set for Windows PowerShell as a free download for Compellent customers.

PowerShell is the powerful, new scripting interface from Microsoft with support for Windows Server 2008 (including Hyper-V), Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Vista.  We’ve integrated PowerShell automation with our Command Set scripting shell. From Command Set, IT pros can  automate administration tasks on the Windows platforms for their Compellent Storage Center.

We’ve integrated PowerShell automation with our Command Set scripting shell. From Command Set, IT pros can automate administration tasks on the Windows platforms for their Compellent Storage Center.

We’ve exposed over 60 cmdlets that you can use to manage different objects within Storage Center including the controllers, servers, volumes, and alerts in addition to features like Copy-Mirror-Migrate (CMM). With the installation of the Command Set, we also include a few samples scripts to get you started in your scripting endeavors.

What types of scenarios are the Storage Center Command Set useful for?

Exchange Volume Provisioning

With Exchange Server 2007, you can have up to 50 storage groups. In a scenario where you need to deploy 50 storage groups with one database each, you’ll probably deploy with an individual volume for each database and each storage group for the transaction logs totally 100 volumes.

Although the Storage Center web management tool is very easy to use, it can be time consuming to complete the process of creating the volume, mapping it to the server, and then assigning a drive letter or mountpoint server-side for the volume. With the Command Set, you can automate this process from start to finish and complete your provisioning process in minutes instead of hours or days.

To augment this process, you can leverage the Exchange 2007 cmdlets to create your storage groups and databases all in the same pass after the volumes are created.

Windows Failover Cluster Deployment

Taking the same principles from above, you can handle mapping the same volume on the Storage Center to multiple servers at the same time including multiple paths for scenarios that require Multipath I/O (MPIO).  You can also leverage CLUSTER.EXE (part of MSCS) to automate the creation of your cluster and the individual cluster resources including details like dependencies.

Virtual Machine Deployment

Using a combination of the Storage Center Command Set and cmdlets that are available within Hyper-V, you can automate the process of provisioning storage as well as deploying virtual machines in literally minutes!

Use Replays for Backups

Instead of backing up each individual volume, how about using the replays for each volume as the source for a backup? Included with the Storage Center Command Set is sample script called “Push2Tape”. This script will take the name of the volume on the Storage Center, retrieve a list of available replays for that volume, and then create a view of the latest replay map that to a tape or media server as either a drive letter or mountpoint. With the replays mounted on the tape or media server, that server is then the sole point for all your backups. This process will take the overhead that is typically associated with running backups on a production server, and put that on the tape or media server.

The possibilities are endless. Login to Knowledge Center today and download your copy of the Storage Center Command Set for Windows PowerShell. You can also register to join our secure online group and share best practices with other Compellent PowerShell users.

by Justin Braun, Microsoft Product Specialist — November 5, 2008

Compellent is participating in the Microsoft Failover Cluster Configuration Program (FCCP), which is a vendor partnership program that promotes validated hardware configurations for use with Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering. Instead of having to search Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility List and select individual components that have been tested, simply select a solution that we've validated through the Failover Cluster Configuration Program.

As we validate different failover cluster configurations, we'll post them on our Qualifications and Validations page.

by Justin Braun, Microsoft Product Specialist — June 11, 2008

Being with all these Microsoft experts at Tech Ed reminds me of the time I used to work for Microsoft several years ago. I spent a lot of time with my customers working on solutions around Systems Management Server (SMS), Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM), and even had some early adopters of Data Protection Manager (DPM). SMS is now known as Configuration Manager and DPM is stronger than ever with its new version which protects advanced application data (SQL and Exchange) as well as your existing files and folders.Those technologies have all changed and evolved all underneath one umbrella. Enter Microsoft System Center.

System Center ties all of these components together. From deployment of desktops and servers, to asset management, service center (help desk) management, and protecting your data. I am particularly interested in learning more about System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), Hyper-V, and DPM and how the evolution and advancement of all of these products fits together, so without further ado…

System Center Virtual Machine Manager
SCVMM has a 2007 version which allows you to manage instances of Microsoft Virtual Server from a single MMC. Those familiar with Virtual Server know that it was administrable only through the web interface. The change to the MMC seems to be mainstream and provides a lot more functionality.

Microsoft announced the beta availability of SCVMM 2008 during MMS. SCVMM 2008 brings a number of new features including the ability to manage Hyper-V hosts as well as Virtual Server. The big feature was received the most attention is it's ability to manage VMware ESX hosts. Not only can you manage ESX hosts machines and their guests, but you can also initiate VMotion right from within the SCVMM console. What a powerful feature. They hit the mark by tying these technologies together and are considering how they can tie other technologies into the mix such as Virtual Iron and Xen. A Live Migration feature similar to VMotion is also in the works. It's timing for a release at this point is unknown. The SCVMM 2008 beta is available for download on the Microsoft Connect website.

Check back later this week for some insight on Hyper-V and Data Protection Manager…

by Justin Braun, Microsoft Product Specialist — June 10, 2008

We’re back in Orlando, FL this week for Microsoft Tech-Ed 2008. For the first time, Tech-Ed has expanded from a one-week conference into two separate conferences held back-to-back. Compellent is again proud to be a sponsor for the IT Professionals conference of Tech-Ed 2008, which is being held this week, June 10–13.

Over 10,000 attendees are expected to converge on the Orange County Convention Center to get their fill of information and education on current, existing, and emerging Microsoft technologies. Tech-Ed will offer 19 technical tracks and over 390 breakout sessions that cover the large range of different roles that the typical IT Pro plays.

Representatives from Microsoft will be in the Compellent booth today, Tuesday, to discuss their new Solution Accelerator that makes offline servicing of Microsoft Virtual Machines a simple task when coupled with Compellent Storage Center.  Be sure to stop by and see us (Booth #914) to learn more about this solution and why Compellent is the best SAN for your Microsoft infrastructure.

by Justin Braun, Microsoft Product Specialist — February 27, 2008

This morning, the launch kicked off with retired NBC Nightly News anchor, Tom Brokaw addressing attendees about the role technology plays in our lives and the dependency on IT in most things we do. Brokaw then introduced Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft.

Ballmer discussed the concept of "Dynamic IT" where you enable and provide agility through new technology. Dynamic IT is seen as an overall strategic business asset versus just a cost center. Microsoft continues to focus on industry trends like software and services, developing for openness, the rich user experience, and virtualization. Microsoft sees virtualization as still being in its early stages in the industry and according to Ballmer, less than 10% of the world’s servers are virtualized.

Windows® Server 2008 has been a long time coming, but now that it's here, let's talk about some examples of the interoperability between Windows® Server 2008 and the Compellent Storage Center SAN:

Certified for Windows® Server 2008
The Compellent Storage Center 4.0 carries the "Certified for Windows® Server 2008" qualification on both the 32-bit and 64-bit platform. You can find us in the Windows® Server Catalog.

No Server Agents
We don't require any special drivers to use our storage in a Microsoft environment. Connect your server via your Fibre Channel or iSCSI infrastructure to the Compellent Storage Center and within a few minutes you're ready to go.

Thin Provisioning
With the thin provisioning capabilities of Dynamic Capacity technology we don't need to pre-allocate space for volumes or Replays (snapshots). With Windows® Server 2008, the standard installation will consume around 6GB of disk space. The recommended volume size for a boot volume is now 40GB for Windows Server 2008. You shouldn't have to consume all that space before the data is written. You can extend those capabilities by creating a "gold" image of your Windows build, take a Replay then use the Replay for the boot volumes in your environment.

Remember, on the Compellent Storage Center Replays only consume space for the deltas—that is, the changes between the snapshot and any new data that is written. With Dynamic Capacity and Data Progression (automated tiered storage), you can cut your disk space utilization and costs drastically in your Windows environment.