Survey says…. and an important VMworld session announcement…

For the last two years, I hold an open (but anonymous) survey on this blog – and try to do it before VMworld.  The answers I get are enlightening, and help provide context to me as I prep content for VMworld.   

This year’s survey is here: Customers – with VMworld 2010 around the corner… what’s on your mind? .  There are many respondents already, more are welcome.   

I’ll be closing the survey THIS FRIDAY (8/20) , so if you want your opinion heard, do it now… it takes only minutes.

While I’m sure that the responses are partially skewed since it’s a blog (skews towards “the community”) and I openly and proudly work for a vendor (EMC).   That said, I try to keep the stuff on the blog pretty applicable to non-EMC customers also (sometimes I fail), so I’m happy that the survey has loads of non-EMC customers, and even some EMC haters in the mix.  Reasonable (even negative, just not malicious) input is always welcome!

I wanted to share some preliminary data, and highlight how it has made me make some last minute changes to a VMworld session (including opening it up to co-present with an EMC competitor)… Read on…

Some interesting stuff to share (these are preliminary):

Interesting point here (to me) in this one is the ratios of the “love it/hate it” results and the correlation to the architectural model (vStorage API for Data Protection = good :-).

In this one, of course HP and Dell are the lion’s share, but interesting to see how much Cisco there is (again, small sample, and likely some sample bias).

Here’s a perennial crowd pleaser (particularly for protocol passionistas)

Interesting point on this one is that the majority of the survey respondents were using a mix of protocols (excluding DAS).   Also relative to last year, iSCSI and NFS growth continues.   While FC isn’t going anywhere fast, trends are explicity – the future of storage is definitely Ethernet connected (I’m glad we’re a leader in all these categories, though I think we need to do more, and strive down that path every day)

Some of the questions ones I like the most are the open-ended questions, like “Q: What's something about the virtualization space in general that frustrates you and you think the vendor community could do better?”.   Those questions – well, you never know what you’re going to get :-)

Here are the responses so far to that questions (typos and all) – they highlight areas I (and the industry at large) need to work on…

• Make block based storage as easy to manage as File
• VMware need to partner to help build scale.  Otherwise the skills wont be avaiable for wide system adoption
• Storage management standardisation (what happened to SMI?)
• Costs, support and integrations
• more plugs wiht vcenter
• VCE support could be better and more up to date on version testing
• Release finals sooner to 3rd parties
• Actually FIX problems. Stop selling a 'solution', and FIX the DAMN PROBLEM!
• Apart from marketitecture / FUD, bundling cloud infrastructure as a unit of sale.  It's not about the stack, it's about the service. That's even speaking as a VCE guy.
• I guess I'm curious why using distributed switches is better.  I could understand if your whole environment was virtual, but we still need to have a physical switching architecture for our physical stuff.
• Help us beat management over the head with a big stick
• chargeback, capacity planning
• the virtual appliance adaption rate.  VMware needs to lead the way (with EMC) in providing virtual appliances of vCenter.  This could be done with a linux based server version (was announced in 06, never materialized) or by handing it off to spring now to develop.
• Backup/Disaster recovery is too complex
• Dunno
• The push to virtuilze desktops. Ths should only be used in specific use cases (Nurse workstations, Call center, etc).
• EMC and Netapp stop fighting like little kids.
• More in GUI...less command line
• Too much marketing and not enough facts.
• At last - you're finally asking: "Figuring out how much we're GOING to use" :-)
• Tired of Vaughn Stewart bitching
• Need tools to provide end to end view
• not sure
• BACKUP AND RECOVERY
• provide complete packages
• lack of solutions and high cost
• VMware being the leader and coming up shorter on every release, Bugs that is.
• Standards ... All vendors should folow the same
• VMWqare licenses
• I think that the only major step to be addressed from a cost based perspective is proper backup for vm's, at a decent price tagg for SMB's. Avamar is great but lavishly expensive for SMB's.
• For some reason, even though EMC talks about NFS as a viable protocol (as does the rest of the world)  nobody really seems to want us to use file based protocols for VMWare.  I can't figure out why.  There's no question it's easier to manage a file than it is to manage a datastore on a LUN...but why the reluctance to really embrace NFS in a hard core manner like your competitors?
• virtualization is easy, doing it right is hard
• Tie it all together.  All the arrays (single or multi-vendor), fabric, vCenters, SRM, replication strategy, etc.
• Addressing the SMB space
• ESXi support
• solution tiering (small to large)
• Lack of information/support with focus on SMB's that have the 1-guy-does-it-all.  I think vBlock is a great idea, and I wish there was more SOLUTIONS provided than components.
• capacity forcasting
• Quit fuding other vendors products
• Storage performance information, should have a dashboard similar to the cpu and memory

There are a couple in there that triggered me yesterday to redouble efforts around “multivendor”, which I have always tried to espouse and will continue to do…  In particular, it highlights that people are frustrated with Vendor FUD, and the back-and-forth between NetApp and EMC was called out specifically in a couple.

so…  I’ve reached out to Vaughn from NetApp (who I don’t think is always “bitching” as per one of the more negative comments :-)  to join me in presenting in TA8133 Best Practices to Increase Availability and Throughput for VMware.   This was always going to be “multivendor” (in the sense of covering the topic of high-availability and performance storage configurations a non-EMC specific way), but now we’re collaborating on the content, and will present together.

Please – submit your feedback via the survey before it closes on Friday – do that here.   I’m looking forward to seeing you at VMworld (in TA8133, or any of the sessions/parties)!!!

Comments

[twitter.com/HPStorageGuy]

Hey Chad - looking forward to meeting you at VMworld (though we met ever so briefly last year when you stepped out of the podcast booth with Troyer).

Interesting data but I'm not sure the data on server vendor is relevant. I just attended an HP partner event (Nth Generation) and they asked a similar question and the percentage using HP servers was well over 75%.

Much of the other data is interesting so thanks for sharing it.

BTW, I keep waiting for my invite to the EMC party at VMworld and I haven't got it yet! I know we have a CX somewhere around here....

[Chad Sakac]

@HPStorageGuy (aka Calvin) - I remember meeting you well, in fact, we met last year twice (2nd time was at the top of the escalator as things were wrapping up).

I hear you, like I said, I bet my data has some sample bias (based on the fact that readers of the blog already self select for a bunch of criteria.

Don't get me wrong, it's pretty good - 100+ samples, good global cross-section, good size cross-section. Heck, I've seen paid analyst stuff with less breadth :-)

Still - there is that sample bias.

Likewise, I would say the same is likely true of an HP Partner event - likely to bias higher for HP.

I will share EVERYTHING as soon as the survey is closed, no edits, no filters.

Looking forward to seeing you again at VMworld - I will happily get you in (somehow, we're crazy overbooked) to the EMC customer appreciation party.... Though.... the one YOU really want to get into is the 2nd annual vGeekfest. Yes, there will be a more exclusive party for VMware, Cisco, EMC vGeeks like us, and I'm always a believer in being open and friends even with respected competitors... Haven't announced the details yet, but will tomorrow.

[twitter.com/HPStorageGuy]

How nice of you to remember - I wasn't even on the VMware community map until after VMworld last year so I'm surprised and honored that you even remembered meeting.

I was being flip about your customer party but since I know so many in your army, I'd love to drop in to your vGeekfest and say hi. How can I get an official invite instead of trying to crash the gates?

I'm also looking forward to the Storage Super-Heavy Weight Challenge (Wednesday at 3 PM in Moscone South Room 301). Tom and Cody had reached out to me and offered HP a seat at the table with you and Vaughn. I know you and Adam have worked together in the past so I'm looking forward to that session. Hopefully, Adam can get something into the conversation between you and Vaughn's jabs. Regardless, should be fun!

See you in about a week!