Storage Networking Times

Issue 8, May 2008

Standards Update: XAM
Christina Casten and David Martin, Co-Chairs SNIA XAM Initiative, www.snia.org/xam

Public Release of XAM Coming Soon!

Organisations in every industry face the ongoing problem of preserving and managing an incredible volume of data… that will never change – otherwise known as reference data. To address this challenge, the SNIA offers the eXtensible Access Method specification, known as XAM. XAM provides a framework for standards-based information independence for applications and storage systems. As such, XAM will deliver storage transparency to end users, along with the ability to assure information immutability to meet long-term digital information retention requirements. The SNIA XAM Initiative is happy to announce that eXtensible Access Method (XAM) specification and Software Development Kit (SDK) are on-track for mid-2008 public availability and that working drafts of Version 1 of the Specification documents are now available to review by visiting www.snia.org/xam/specs.

By providing simplified porting and testing procedures for ISVs, and reducing vendor lock-in by decoupling the back-end storage from the application, to delivering a solid SDK, the XAM Initiative is delivering value to its three key constituencies – application developers, end users and storage vendors.

The XAM Initiative and associated specification development efforts continue to progress and build momentum. Fifty companies, which include storage vendors’ application developers and academia, are participating in the initiative and its two associated Technical Work Groups. The XAM specification version 1.0 release schedule is on-track, and the SNIA plans to gain member approval for the specification in mid-2008 followed by its submission for ANSI and ISO accreditation. Additionally, the development of the XAM SDK has accelerated and is on-track for mid-year availability for licensing to the industry.

Advancing the XAM SDK development effort, three active members have recently donated software in support of the initiative. EMC has contributed the C++ with Java Native Interface (JNI) Wrapper XAM Library; HP has donated a Java version of the XAM Library; and Sun added code from its Sun StorageTek 5800 (previously known as “Project HoneyComb") for the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Reference Vendor Implementation Modules (VIMs). These key donations along with support from more than 45 other companies in the development of the software and specification, represent key pieces of the XAM program coming together to deliver a powerful and effective solution for storing and accessing information in massive reference data repositories.

New XAM Demonstration

To demonstrate how next generation data centres can truly realise information independence, the XAM Initiative has developed a six-minute demonstration available on-line. The demonstration shows how applications from Vignette, HP, EMC, and Sun integrate with XAM to provide a standardised method of accessing and managing massive reference data repositories. But don’t take our word for it, view this for yourself at www.snia.org/forums/xam/demo.

For more information on the XAM Initiative and specification, please visit www.snia.org/xam.

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