{"id":141,"date":"2006-11-15T07:10:13","date_gmt":"2006-11-15T15:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.formtek.com\/blog\/?p=141"},"modified":"2006-11-15T07:10:13","modified_gmt":"2006-11-15T15:10:13","slug":"storage-xam-powering-content-management-with-content-aware-hardware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/formtek.com\/blog\/storage-xam-powering-content-management-with-content-aware-hardware\/","title":{"rendered":"Storage: XAM! Powering Content Management with Content Aware Hardware"},"content":{"rendered":"

Content Aware Storage (CAS<\/a>) are specialized storage devices for managing information.\u00a0 CAS was popularized by EMC with their Centura-branded product line.\u00a0 Standard storage is able to refer to stored data by adressing location on a disk, usually a physical location on the disk drive.\u00a0 CAS uses a technique that allows information to be stored and referred to via a content address.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Software communicating to\u00a0a CAS\u00a0device needs to refer to content identifiers when addressing stored data.\u00a0 The CAS device then maps the content id into the physical location on the disk where the information is stored.\u00a0 Any change or updates to the information on CAS will cause new content ids to be created.\u00a0 Often CAS devices do not allow information to be edited or deleted, only for new information to be added, a useful feature in applications targeting compliance because once information is stored, it can’t be tampered with.<\/p>\n

CAS is particularly well suited for applications that house fairly static information.\u00a0 The technology is slow and wastes space in applications when frequent updates are performed and versioning of information is not a requirement.<\/p>\n

When information is added to the CAS, a hash algorithm is run across the data set, producing a unique address for that component of information.\u00a0 If you were to attempt to store the identical data set for the information, the same hash would be produced, and that content id would be returned.\u00a0 In that case a single copy of the information resides on the disk, a useful feature if archiving, for example, emails for an entire organization that may contain large attachments that were replicated when sent to many of the same users in the organization.<\/p>\n

CAS has been around for a while now, and as you’d expect, the industry is evolving yet another technology from these roots, XAM (eXtensible Access Method).\u00a0 Like anything else, CAS products have been introduced by various vendors that are unique and incompatible.\u00a0 XAM is an attempt by the industry as a whole to define a standard interface to addressing information stored across CAS products from competing vendors.<\/p>\n

The goal of XAM\u00a0is to provide a universal way to address information and metadata across CAS devices.\u00a0 XAM started in late 2005 by the SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association).\u00a0 But not only will XAM provide interoperability of devices, it also standardizes the defintions and semantics related to retention, archival, and discovery.\u00a0 Standard techniques for handling metadata will assist with ensuring long-term archivals.<\/p>\n

The XAM working group is staffed by 95 individual members and 34 companies from storage vendors, application providers and end users.\u00a0 The initial specification is expected to be published in late 2006.\u00a0 It is expected that introduction and acceptance of XAM will increase the popularity of CAS products because of the device interoperability that it will provide.<\/p>\n

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Content Aware Storage (CAS) are specialized storage devices for managing information.\u00a0 CAS was popularized by EMC with their Centura-branded product line.\u00a0 Standard storage is able to refer to stored data by adressing location on a disk, usually a physical location…<\/span><\/p>\n

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