MODULE 1-

INTRODUCTION TO
INFORMATION
STORAGE

PARTICIPANT GUIDE

PARTICIPANT GUIDE
 Module 1-Introduction to Information Storage

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Table of Contents

Module Objectives ............................................................................................................... 1

Introduction to Information Storage ......................................................................... 2

Data Storage: Ever Changing and Ever Growing ................................................................. 3
Why Information Storage and Management ......................................................................... 4
Data and Information ........................................................................................................... 5
Information Storage ............................................................................................................. 7
Data Center ......................................................................................................................... 8
Key Characteristics of a Modern Data Center ...................................................................... 9
Digital Transformation ........................................................................................................ 11
Business Drivers of Digital Transformation......................................................................... 12

Knowledge Check .................................................................................................... 14

Knowledge Check .............................................................................................................. 15
Knowledge Check .............................................................................................................. 16

Module 1-Introduction to Information Storage - Appendix................................... 17

Appendix: Data Storage: Ever Changing and Ever Growing .............................................. 18
Appendix: Why Information Storage and Management? .................................................... 19
Appendix: Data and Information ......................................................................................... 20

Module 1-Introduction to Information Storage

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 Introduction to Information Storage

Module Objectives

The main objectives of the module are to:

→ Understand the importance of information storage and management.

→ Describe digital data and information.
→ Explain data center characteristics.
→ Define digital transformation.

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Introduction to Information Storage

Introduction to Information Storage

Module 1-Introduction to Information Storage

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 Introduction to Information Storage

Data Storage: Ever Changing and Ever Growing

• The digital universe is created and defined by software.

− Digital data is continuously generated, collected, stored, and analyzed
through software.
• IDC report predicts worldwide data creation grows to an enormous 175
zettabytes (ZB) by 2025.
• Technologies driving digital transformation add to data growth.

Data growth prediction by IDC (Click image to enlarge)

Click here to learn more about data storage.

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Introduction to Information Storage

Why Information Storage and Management

• Organizations have become increasingly

information-dependent in the 21st century, and
information must be available whenever and
wherever it is required.
• Organizations seek to store, protect, process,
manage, and use information.
• Businesses can leverage this data to:

− Identify new customers.

− Retain existing customers.
− Predict sales volumes.
− Improve customer service.
Click here to learn more about information storage and
management.

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 Introduction to Information Storage

Data and Information

Laptop
Video

Digital Data

Desktop Text

Storage

Tablet/Mobile Photos

Storing digital data (Click image to enlarge)

Digital data is transmitted and stored in electronic form, and processed through
software.

• Devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and electronic

sensors generate digital data.
• Two types of data are structured1 and unstructured2 data.

• Information is processed data that enables useful interpretation and decision-

making.

1 Structured data is organized in fixed fields within a record or file. To structure the
data, you require a data model. A data model specifies the format for organizing
data, and also specifies how different data elements are related to each other. For
example, in a relational database, data is organized in rows and columns within
named tables.
2 Unstructured data does not have a data model and is not organized in any

particular format. Some examples of unstructured data include text documents,

PDF files, email messages, presentations, images, and videos.

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Introduction to Information Storage

− Example: Annual sales data processed into a sales report

Click here to learn more about data and information.

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Information Storage

Examples of volatile and non-volitile storage devices.

• Information is stored on various types of volatile and non-volatile media such

as:
− Magnetic storage devices (Hard disk drive and magnetic tape drive).
− Optical storage devices (Blu-ray, DVD, and CD).
− Flash-based storage devices: Solid-state drive (SSD), memory card, and
USB thumb drive.
• Storage devices can be assembled within a storage system or “array”.
− Storage systems provide high capacity, scalability, performance, availability,
reliability, and security.
• Storage systems along with other IT infrastructure are housed in a data center.

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Introduction to Information Storage

Data Center

Example of a data center and its equipment.

• A data center typically consists of:

− Facility: The building and floor space where the data center is constructed.
− IT equipment: Compute system, storage, and network components.
− Support infrastructure: Power supply, fire detection, HVAC, and security
systems.
• A data center may be constructed in-house, located in an organization’s own
facility.

− The data center may also be outsourced, with equipment being at a third-
party site.

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Key Characteristics of a Modern Data Center

Data centers are designed and built to fulfill the key characteristics as shown in the
figure.

Click each of the seven characteristics for more information.

6 2

1: A data center should ensure 24x7x365 availability of resources to provide

anytime, anywhere data access.

2: A data center should adopt the IT resource delivery as-a-service paradigm. It

enables the IT department to function as a utility to the business. The as-a-service
model delivers IT resources as services for convenient consumption by business

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Introduction to Information Storage

units. IT services are maintained in a service catalog. Users select and provision
resources from the catalog in a self-service manner.

3: Virtualization is the process of abstracting physical resources, such as compute,

storage, and network, and creating virtual resources from them. A virtualized data
center provides the flexibility to create and reclaim virtual resources dynamically.

4: The data center IT infrastructure should be designed for scalable computing. It

enables the IT resources to scale-up, and down dynamically as the demand for
resources grows and shrinks.

5: Multiple layers of security help mitigate the risk of security threats in case one
layer is compromised. An attacker must breach each layer to be successful. This
approach provides additional time to detect and respond to an attack.

6: A software-defined data center supports software-centric control of data center

resources. A software-based controller that is decoupled from the hardware sends
instructions to the hardware components to perform the required operations.

7: Orchestration of management operations helps to improve business agility.

Orchestration uses a predefined workflow to enable automated arrangement and
coordination of various component functions.

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 Introduction to Information Storage

Digital Transformation

To view the video about digital transformation imperatives, click here.

Today, people live in a digital world, and organizations must deliver exceptional
customer experiences with their products and services to meet customer
expectations.

To best meet the needs of the customers and be competitive in the market place,
organizations must adopt digital transformation.

Digital Transformation can be achieved using smarter products, data analytics, and
continuous improvement of products and services using software. For businesses,
it is now critical to digitally transform to meet the demands of their customers.

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Introduction to Information Storage

Business Drivers of Digital Transformation

• In this digital world, organizations must develop new applications using agile
processes and new tools to achieve rapid time-to-market. Simultaneously, the
business still expects the IT department to operate and manage the traditional
applications that provide revenue.

Big Data

Cloud Computing

IoT

5G Telecommunications
Machine Learning

Edge Computing

Key technologies that enable digital transformation. (Click image to enlarge)

• Organizations are also under pressure to manage the enormous growth of

digital data and derive new values from the data. To survive, the organization
must transform and adopt modern technologies to support the digital
transformation.
• Some of the key technologies that enable digital transformation are:

− Cloud computing
− Big data
− Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

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− Internet of Things (IoT)

− Edge computing
− 5G cellular telecommunications

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Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

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Knowledge Check

1. Which modern data center characteristic helps improve business agility by

using a predefined workflow to automate the arrangement and coordination of
various component functions?
a. Continuous availability
b. On-demand scalability
c. Orchestrated management
d. Virtualization

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Knowledge Check

Knowledge Check

2. Why are businesses undergoing digital transformation?

a. To eliminate security threats
b. To meet regulatory requirements
c. To innovate more quickly
d. To eliminate management costs

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Module 1-Introduction to Information Storage -
Appendix

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Appendix: Data Storage: Ever Changing and Ever Growing

We live in a digital universe where a massive amount of digital data is continuously

generated, collected, stored, and analyzed through software.

The data in the digital universe comes from diverse sources, including both
individuals and organizations. Individuals constantly generate and consume
information through numerous activities, such as web searches, email messages,
uploading and downloading content and sharing media files. In organizations, the
volume and importance of information for business operations continue to grow at
astounding rates. Technologies driving digital transformation including Internet of
Things (IoT) have contributed to the growth of the digital data.

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Appendix: Why Information Storage and Management?

It is critical for users and applications to have continuous, fast, reliable, and secure
access to information for business operations to run efficiently.

Data is the lifeblood of a rapidly growing digital existence, opening new

opportunities for businesses, and gain a competitive edge.

Overall, data helps business leaders make smarter decisions about how to direct
companies.

It is essential for organizations to store, protect, process, and manage information

in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Legal, regulatory, and contractual
obligations regarding the availability, retention, and protection of data further add to
the challenges of storing and managing information.

To meet all these requirements, organizations are increasingly undertaking digital

transformation initiatives and implement intelligent storage solutions. These
solutions enable efficient and optimized storage and management of information.
The solutions also enable greater, and more meaningful value extraction from
business information.

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Appendix: Data and Information

A generic definition of data is that it is a collection of facts, typically collected for

analysis or reference. Data can exist in various forms such as facts stored in a
person's mind, photographs, a bank ledger, and tabled results of a scientific survey.

Devices such as desktops, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and electronic sensors
generate digital data. Digital data is stored as strings of binary values on a storage
medium. Examples of digital data are electronic documents, text files, email
messages, ebooks, digital images, digital audio, and digital video.

Information is data that is processed to enable useful interpretation and decision-

making. For example, annual sales data is processed into a sales report to provide
useful information. The sales report can reveal the average sales volume for a
product, indicating product demand and popularity, and a comparison of the actual
sales to the projected sales.

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