Teaching Network Storage Technology-

Assessment Outcomes and Directions

ABSTRACT potential supply for years to come even if trends in enrolment
The paper presents academic content, delivery and assessment reverse this year it would take several years before students
mechanisms used, available resources including initial lessons graduate. Given a substantial body of knowledge regarding
from teaching Networked Storage Technology as a special topics sophisticated network storage technologies, simply adding weeks
course to students enrolled in two specific programs - IT and CS. to existing coursework say in Databases (Backups), Networks
The course is based on the EMC’s vendor-neutral Storage (Storage Networking Protocols like FC, iSCSI etc.), Computer
Technology Fundamentals course. Furthermore, this manuscript Architecture (I/O, Disks arrays- RAID etc.) and Servers OS (esp.
provides a detailed review of how the course fits into our virtualization aspect) while highly recommended, does not look
curriculum, particularly, how it helps achieving the 2008 ABET convincing to industry, nor is it academically sufficient for the
assessment requirements. amount of new knowledge accumulated. An alternative in the form
of a completely new course on Storage Technology seems more
viable. The EMC, a leading player in SAN storage technology
Keywords arena, provided its Storage Technology Fundamentals course via
NST - Network Storage Technology, VSA – virtual SAN appliance free-of-charge Academic Alliance to universities worldwide [22].
This paper reveals on how such a course can be used and fitted into
1. INTRODUCTION technically oriented curricula in CS and IT. While our experience
We are witnessing ascendance of storage technology into a does not cover delivery to IS students after a trial run with IT and
position of a major part of IT infrastructure. After almost ten years CS students we do not see many impediments to serve even larger
of double digit increases in fielded storage [13, 23] pace seems to body including students of IS, SE, and CE, that is any and all of
be increasing, see the upward revised estimate in march 2008 [2]. the established program types under general umbrella of
This is happening despite the relative stagnation in most other IT Computing or the IT in a broad sense, possibly even reaching some
related investments in US after the burst of dot net economy specialized, telecommunication oriented, degrees.
excesses. Demand for new video (such as media imaging and This paper presents our specific efforts on establishing such a
surveillance) and audio data fuel the insatiable expansion of course and properly situating it into our respective curricula in
storage requirements beyond traditional corporate data bases and order to maximally contribute to the fulfillment of program
data warehouses. E-mails, e-commerce, etc. are just a few of the expectations and preparations of our students to enter into NST
obvious business drivers, not to forget support for social profession in particular. The paper is organized as follows:
networking and file sharing. Other related trends such as 1) Introduction presenting the case for teaching a course on
proliferation of analytical Intelligence systems and regulatory storage technology,
(Sarbanes-Oxley) requirements, combine with essential need to 2) Course outcomes and their mappings to program
minimize downtime in order to assure business continuity. expectations (outcomes and objectives in ABET
Modern disaster recovery strategies opened up reconsideration of terminology [1] and assessment instruments with student
tapes as media of choice for backups and archival storage, resources).
contributing to massively increased demand for online backups 3) Course topical schedule, clearly indicating expanded
needed for quick restore and to explosive growth of demand for coverage of academically required background topics,
network disk storage in particular. 4) Conclusion, addressing lessons learned from course
Technologically, gap between processors’ speed and access time delivery, alternative delivery formats and directions for
on individual disks is widening and network access to combined future course improvement, and
disk storage with its promise of high bandwidth to mask latency, 5) References.
lead to the rapid development of a set of distinct storage
technologies commonly named Networked Storage Technology
[6,7,11,13]. The Networked Storage Technology (NST) is 2. STORAGE TECHNOLOGY COURSE
becoming the most important resource in IT [13,17,24]. OUTCOMES AND ASSESSMENT
The Network Storage Industry specifically, EMC with its Storage PROCEDURES
Technology Certification and Academic Alliance Program [18] Short course description:
and NST related associations standardization efforts (SNIA with Course covers fundamentals of modern storage infrastructure
SMIS, DMTF with CIM, VMware), provided fair amount of technology including NAS, SAN, DAS and CAS, in its application
shared common knowledge base for training of professionals and for Backups and Disaster Recovery.
base of publicly available state of the art content to support
educational programs. The expected demand for storage CS NST course specific outcomes, upon completion of the course,
professionals by far outstrips [15] supply coming from academe. students should be able to:
The situation in academe is not particularly favorable, specifically 1. Describe storage technology solutions such as SAN,
in US, where it still seems to be shrinking the supply of talent (for NAS, DAS and CAS,
example a compounded 14% annual decline in CS enrollments 2. Understand technologies and articulate available
since 2000). The Computing Research Association states that CS solutions to support an IT infrastructure including
majors continue to decline at a rapid rate [27]. This will limit Business Continuity, Information Availability, Local and
 Remote Replication, Backup and Recovery and Disaster Identify and analyze user needs to
Recovery needs of an organization, design effective and usable IT- Final Exam,
2, 4
3. Understand key tasks in successfully planning, based solutions and integrate them Quizzes
deploying, managing, and monitoring a modern large into the user environment
data storage infrastructure, Demonstrate an understanding of
4. Work in a team and quickly get up to speed with various Group
best practices and standards and
proprietary technologies. 1, 2, 3, 6 Projects,
their application to the user
5. Identify contemporary storage virtualization Labs
environment
technologies. Identify, evaluate and use current
and emerging technologies and Labs, Cases,
Table 1. CS course objectives mapped to CS Program 1, 2, 3, 5
assess their applicability to address Final Exam
outcomes individual and organizational needs
Course How Create and implement effective
CS Program Mission Objectives 2, 3 Labs, Cases
Outcomes Measured project plans for IT-based systems
Provide a foundation in design,
Jeopardy- Work effectively in project teams Group
implementation, integration and
1, 2, 3, 5 Quizzes, to develop and/or implement IT- 1, 2, 4 Projects,
testing of software systems
Cases based solutions Cases, Labs
integration
Promote the understanding of Communicate effectively and Group
concepts that underlie computer 1, 2, 3, 5 Labs, Cases efficiently with clients, user and 4 Projects,
science peers, both orally and in writing Cases, Labs
Final Group
Provide experience with computer Project Demonstrate independent critical Projects,
1, 2, 3, 5 2, 3, 4, 6
hardware systems Exam, thinking and problem solving skills Cases, Labs,
Cases, Labs Final Exam
Labs
Teach communication and Note that course was cross-listed and offered to CS and IT groups
Reports,
interaction skills necessary for 4
Presentation simultaneously1.
teamwork
of Cases
Provide experience with practical Labs, Besides traditional lectures, delivery mechanisms include the
and applied information 5 Cases, Final following:
technology Exam a) Invited Speakers (EMC, Oracle, Lefthand Networks,
etc.)
Labs,
Prepare for jobs in the field of 1, 2, 3, 4, b) Case Studies (Microsoft Project Real, etc.)
Cases, Final
specialization 5 c) Hands on Labs (RAID, FreeNAS, NFS/SMB shares)
Exam
Industry relevant cases and technology product data sheets are
presented in unbiased manner using a fairly large sample including
IT NST course specific outcomes are:
references [in random order here] from IBM, Hitachi, HP, EMC,
1. Understand and have a working knowledge of storage
Isslion, ONStar, SUN, Brocade, Dell, Compliant, Pillar, Oracle,
technologies such as SAN, NAS, DAS and CAS,
Microsoft, NetApp, CA, Coraid, etc. etc. The main concentration
2. Identify leading storage technologies that provide cost-
of references was drawn following up from reviews published by
effective IT solutions for medium to large scale
Storage magazine and extensive researching of the key terms on
businesses and data centers,
the internet, Storage Decisions 2007 conference attending vendors
3. Understand important storage technologies’ features
and background study of references listed at the end of this paper.
such as availability, replication, scalability and
performance,
Assignments/Assessment Instruments include besides daily
4. Work in project teams to install, administer and upgrade
discussions and observations, and a supervised laboratory work,
popular storage solutions,
also take home exercises:
5. Identify and install current storage virtualization
1. Best six out of eight Labs-Cases with presentations (team):
technologies,
60%
6. Manage virtual servers and storage between remote
Lab-1: RAID Lab report
locations.
Lab-2: Present NAS Case
Lab-3: Present SAN Case
Table 2. IT course objectives mapped to IT Program outcomes
Lab-4: Present CAS Case
Course How Lab-5: Virtualization hands on Lab report plus
IT Program Objectives
Outcomes Measured Presentation Cases ***
Demonstrate expertise in the core Quizzes, Lab-6: Present Backup Case
1, 2, 3, 5, 6
information technologies Cases Lab 7: Present Replication Case
Identify and define the Lab 8: Present De-duplication Case
requirements that must be satisfied
Labs, Cases
to address the problems or 2, 3, 5
Final Exam 1
opportunities faced by an Official course listings are IT 5090 and CS 5090 Storage Network
organization or individual Technologies (Selected Topics)
2. Three Jeopardy Quizzes [with class participation]: 10%
3. Final Project- Exam (individual SAN Challenge Project): 2.3 ABET IT Specific Program Outcomes:
30% j) An ability to use and apply current technical concepts and
Student resources include over 400MB of class related practices in the core information technologies,
supplementary materials, specifically for each assignment: k) An ability to identify and analyze user needs and take them
examples of professional presentations, examples of real world into account in the selection, creation, evaluation and
implementations, and guidelines for mainly quantitative analysis. administration of computer-based systems,
Furthermore all lecture extensions and supplemental readings are l) An ability to effectively integrate IT-based solutions into user
as well as the Storage Technology Fundamentals course materials environment,
(courtesy of EMC) are provided free of charge on a CD to students m) An understanding of best practices and standards and their
eliminating cost of textbook. application,
n) An ability to assist in the creation of an effective project plan.
Table 3. Consolidated (new ABET) Outcomes by content
ABET ABET IT ABET CS
Course General programs programs 3. TOPICAL SCHEDULE2
Assessment Five weeks summer course: two professors (A-8 days and B-16
Outcome Computing specific specific
Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes days)
Part A:
1 f, i j, k, l, m j, k Labs, Cases Section 1 – Introduction and foundations
Day 1
2 a, c j, l j Labs, Cases Module 0.A- Course Orientation
Syllabus, Readings, Assignments and Grading
Quizzes,
An invited speaker to discuss: Hiring trends to support Storage
3 e n Lab, Group
infrastructure
Projects
Module 1.1 – Meeting Data Storage Needs
4 d k, l, n j, k Labs Module 1.2 – Data Center Infrastructure
Days 2 and 3
5 i j, k, l, m j, k Labs, Final Module 1.3 – Storage Technology Trends
Module 0.B Theoretical and Hardware Fundamentals for
6 i j, k, l, m j, k Labs Storage Networks
• Standardized CIM data model [required for graduate
students]
2.1 ABET General Computing Program • Logical Network Diagramming Notation
Outcomes: • Basic Elements of relevant Queuing Theory and Error
a) An ability to apply knowledge of computing and mathematics Correcting codes
appropriate to the discipline, • Performance analysis of underlining hardware
b) An ability to analyze a problem, and identify and define the technologies [I/O, cache etc.]
computing requirements appropriate to its solution, • Review of course Assignments and available
c) An ability to design, implement and evaluate a computer- cases/readings
based system, process, component, or program to meet
desired needs, Section 2 - Storage Systems Architecture
d) An ability to function effectively on teams to accomplish a Days 4 and 5
common goal, Module 2.1 – The Host Environment
e) An understanding of professional, ethical, legal, security, and Module 2.2 – Connectivity
social issues and responsibilities, Module 2.3 – Physical Disks
f) An ability to communicate effectively with a range of Module 2.4 – RAID Arrays
audiences, Lab-1 Selecting RAID
g) An ability to analyze the local and global impact of Module 2.5 – Disk Storage Systems
computing on individuals, organizations and society, Day 6
including ethical, legal, security and global policy issues, Module 0.C Review of Storage Network Protocols
h) Recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in, Module 0.D Security Considerations for Networked Storage
continuing professional development,
i) An ability to use current techniques, skills, and tools Section 3 - Introduction to Networked Storage
necessary for computing practice. Days 7 and 8
Module 3.1 – Direct Attached Storage
2.2 ABET CS Specific program Outcomes: Module 3.2 - Network Attached Storage
j) An ability to apply mathematical foundations, algorithmic Lab: NAS Case studies
principles, and computer science theory in the modeling and
design of computer-based systems in a way that demonstrates Part B:
comprehension of the tradeoffs involved in design choices, Section 3 - Introduction to Networked Storage
k) An ability to apply design and development principles in the
construction of software systems of varying complexity. 2
bolded are main expansions to the original EMC course content
 Days 9, 10 and 11 Server virtualization has rapidly advanced to the level where
Module 3.3 – Storage Area Networks network storage systems must be available at 100% of time and
Lab SAN Cases provide reliability, manageability and scalability. Highly scalable
systems save money in a long run but may require higher initial
Days 12 ,13 and 14 investments. Although many companies claim high scalability,
Module 3.4 – IP SAN SAN administrators immediately know the limitations of deployed
Lab : IP SAN Cases SANs as soon as storage space becomes inadequate. Popularity of
Module 3.5 – Content Adressable Storage [CAS] VMware’s Virtual Infrastructure 3 (VI3) enterprise solution
Lab: CAS Cases progresses the advancement of virtualization of server to the next
level – Distributed Resource Scheduling (DRS), High Availability
Section 4 – Information Availability (HA), Enhanced HA and Distributed Power Management (DMP).
Days 15 and 16 These are some of the essential technologies provided by VI3. One
Module 4.1 – Business Continuity Overview of the major components for VI3 is not just ESX machines and
Module 4.2 – Back Up and Recovery Virtual Infrastructure Management; it is the networked storage
Lab: Backup Cases behind virtualization of servers. 100% availability of virtual
Days 17 and 18 servers is highly depended on the availability of SAN behind the
Module 4.3 – Business Continuity Local ESX servers. LANs are usually viewed as the “front-end” networks
Module 4.4 – Business Continuity Remote whereas SANs are considered “back-end”. Migration of virtual
Module 0.E machines “live”, without interruption of service is only possible if
• Applications of SAN RAID and other storage replication SAN is available at 100% of the time. The importance of network
technologies in BC storage has been stressed many times; however, with technologies
• Storage replication with high availability of service such as virtualization of servers, the rules of enterprise networking
• Current physical limitations of remote storage systems. are constantly changing. Various Fibre Channel (FC) technologies
Lab: Replication Cases for network storage exist today but the certain limitation such as
high cost, scalability and proprietary hardware forced further
Section 5 – Managing and Monitoring advancement of Ethernet. IP-based systems provide great
Day 19 scalability and standards. Protocols such as FCIP, iFCP provide
Module 5.1 – Monitoring In the Data Center vast benefits to enterprise network storage systems but also have
Module 5.2 – Managing In the Data Center certain limitations. FC-based SANs are great when there is no need
to extend SAN over a distance. As soon as the need for distance is
Section 6 – Security and Virtualization involved, IP-based data provisioning takes place. Perhaps for those
Days 20 and 21 reasons, iSCSI evolved a protocol that does not involve utilization
Module 6.1 – Securing the Storage Infrastructure of any FC equipment (i.e. all Ethernet-based). iSCSI simply
Module 6.2– Securing the Storage Infrastructure transports SCSI commands over TCP/IP. Ethernet-based systems
Days 22, 23 and 24 are cost-effective and highly scalable systems but they are limited
Invited speaker from Lefthand Networks: VSA, by the bandwidth of the Ethernet channel. Today, 10Gb/s standard
SAN/iQ and the future of iSCSI. Presented by John is no longer the “golden” bandwidth – 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s
Easlick (Lefthand Networks) transfer rates are soon to become new standards [9].
Module 6.3- Trends in Virtualization and the Future of
Storage 5. CONCLUSIONS
Lab: Building RAID 5 network storage. EMC Academic Alliance program is now active in seven countries
Lab: Installing, configuring and managing FreeNAS storage. - Brazil, China, India, Russia, Mexico, Ireland, and the US and
Lab: Creating NFS/SMB network shares. reaching over 4000 students by 2008. This advanced Storage
Technologies class had a tremendous success among the students
Day 25 that took the class. Many are ready to complete their storage
Final Exam: Comprehensive Case Project certifications and a well-established communication venue with
4. ADVANCED CONTENT EMC allows graduates to fully meet the demands of the IT and CS
In order to further increase students’ expertise, the content EMC job markets.
content was expanded with the following topics: An established ABET course outcomes design and their mappings
• Performance and security analysis to program outcomes allowed instructors to stay focused and create
• I/O System (Infiniband, etc.) active learning experience for students.
• Minimal elements of queuing theory
• Storage Networking Protocols (compared using OSI model) 6. ACKNOLEDGEMENTS
• Common Information Model (storage domain) Special thanks to Ed Van Sickle (EMC), Kimberly Yohannan
• Logical Network Diagramming Notation SANDS (EMC), John Easlick (Lefthand Networks).
• Standard diagramming
• Storage Area protocols – iSCSI, iFCP, FCIP 7. REFERENCES
• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery using
virtualization [1] ABET Criteria for Accrediting Computing Programs,
• Storage and server virtualization ABET, November 2007.
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2008.
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