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SNIA Demonstrates First Multi-Vendor Fixed-Content Solution Based on XAM
October 2007 by Marc Jacob
The Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA) announced that it is utilizing the eXensible Access Method (XAM) specification for the first time in a demonstration in the Storage Networking World Solutions Center. Four distinct information management applications based on the XAM specification are provided by EMC, HP, Sun Microsystems, and Vignette. The demonstration illustrates XAM’s ability to protect end user information from technology lock-in by decoupling storage sytems from data applications. XAM delivers unmatched interoperability and storage transparency to end users, along with the ability to assure information immutability, to meet long-term digital information retention requirements. The demonstrated storage platforms are provided by EMC, HP, and Sun, highlighting the interoperability and ease of deployment of XAM.
“This demonstration is not possible without the standard interface to fixed content that XAM provides. As increases occur in the number of solutions, applications, and end users focused on managing and retaining the ever-expanding volume of digital information for the long term, the need for a standard to help deliver information based upon Information Lifecycle Management best practices continues to increase,” said Christina Casten, Co-Chair of the SNIA XAM Initiative.
The XAM Initiative and associated specification development efforts continue to progress and build momentum. More than 45 companies, which include software providers, storage vendors, and application developers, are participating in the initiative and its two associated Technical Work Groups. XAM development efforts are on-track as the Association plans to deliver the specification in 2008 followed by its submission for ANSI and ISO accreditation. In parallel with the specification work is the development of the XAM Software Development Kit, which will be licensed to the industry.
“We are very excited to be able to demonstrate the power of XAM and show that all of our collaborative hard work is delivering a specification that provides tangible value to end users, vendors, and application developers,” said Vincent Franceschini, SNIA’s 2007 Chairman. “In our first public demonstration at Storage Networking World this week, we are able to show a records and management application, a file archiving system, a database archiving solution, and a fourth custom imaging application, all utilizing the current version 0.6 XAM Application Programming Interface to store, retrieve, query, and manage data across disparate fixed content storage systems.”
The XAM specification is aimed at delivering value to three audiences: Independant Software Vendors (ISVs), storage end users, and storage vendors. XAM as a standard interface provides a framework for the coordination of information and content metadata among applications and storage systems. The specification will help simplify the porting and testing procedures for ISVs and broaden the market for storage vendors. For storage users looking to automate their storage migration and align their efforts with compliance requirements, the XAM specification will help reduce vendor lock-in to long-term digital information retention solutions by decoupling the back-end storage from the application. The specification is also aimed at alleviating some of the challenges associated with migrating data from different storage devices within an electronic archive, which typically occurs every 3 to 5 years.
For more information on the XAM Initiative and specification, please visit _ www.snia.org/xam.
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