Tony Asaro will contribute a monthly blog to
searchStorage.com, as well as a number of webcasts. Asaro is also
featured as one of our "Ask the Experts" writers. Here's his most
recent blog entry:
Blogs
NEW!
Storage systems and virtualisation - your
fate is to disaggregate (05 Sept 2006)
The value of a storage system is in its software and controller
architecture. The most important thing to customers is that the
storage is reliable, so their data is well-protected and accessible
when needed. Performance is also important, since the user
experience and/or application needs to be efficient and productive.
If not, operations, productivity and revenue can all be adversely
impacted. Data replication is essential in the event of data
corruption, accidental deletions or major disasters. Increasingly,
being able to move data between different tiers of storage is
becoming critical in order to improve IT efficiencies. And yet,
there are many customers who buy as well as many vendors who sell
storage based on the cost per GB. While there are some vendors
trying to position their value based on their software and not disk
capacity, this is more the exception and not the rule. Continue
with
storage systems and
virtualisation>>
Clustered storage will win (26 June
2006)
Most storage systems today support some level of clustering.
Leading storage system vendors support dual-controller node
configurations with active-active or active-passive architectures.
However, storage systems that support N-way active architectures
scale well beyond dual-node systems. In addition, storage systems
with no theoretical limit to how large they can scale have been
implemented with 80 or more controller nodes in a single
cluster.
More on
clustered storage >>
D2D2D -- Disaster recovery for the rest of
your data (08 May 2006)
Its no surprise that disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is being embraced by
companies of all sizes. The most common method is using a storage
system, either NAS or SAN, and setting up a policy for your backup
application to back up to a disk target. A large number of
companies have leveraged their existing storage systems using
ATA/SATA drives to perform D2D backup. Additionally, appliances
that are specifically designed for D2D backup are available from
various vendors (e.g., Data Domain, Exagrid and NetApp). More on
disaster recovery>>
VTLs: What's the big deal? (27 March
2006)
Nearly every leading storage vendor now has a virtual tape library
product, and nearly every customer I talk to is interested in VTL
or has already implemented it. Okay, so a VTL system emulates a
tape library… but what else does it do?
iSCSI vs. FC performance: A closer
look (26 Jan 2006)
Think that FC is faster than iSCSI? Vice versa? Storage expert Tony
Asaro explains why the real answer may surprise you.
Storage: Getting closer to cake (19
Dec 2005)
The storage system landscape is diverse, competitive and rapidly
growing. While the fundamentals haven't changed, the technology is
constantly moving forward. There are pockets of innovation that are
game-changing, and we are on the edge of making great leaps
forward.
An introduction to thin provisioning
(17 Oct 2005)
One of the more important but often misunderstood advancements
within data storage is thin provisioning. This article defines and
discusses thin provisioning, its economic impact and how it
works.
Approaching storage-virtualisation
products (16 Sept 2005)
You know you want to implement some sort of storage virtualisation,
but where do you start? Tony Asaro lays out a number of different
approaches to storage virtualisation that will help you choose
which product or products are best for you.
Storage virtualisation -- V is for
victory (15 Aug 2005)
Virtualisation gives you the ability to utilise the total capacity
of all of your storage systems despite their locations or
dedication specifications. Read why Tony Asaro says that moving
away from discrete storage...
The athlete vs. the geek: Block vs. file
storage (08 July 2005)
Having difficulty deciding whether to implement SAN, NAS or CAS
into your business…and life? Read what Asaro says you should be
looking out for, and which storage system may offer the most
advantages for you.
Hitchhiker's guide to storage
networking (03 June 2005)
This is the first part of a discussion on these important
differences between SAN, NAS and most recently CAS, as well as the
far-reaching implications for the future of storage networking.
Also by Tony Asaro
Webcasts
Storage Decisions Preview: Innovations in
Storage: What's next in storage? ESG's Tony Asaro takes a
look at the burgeoning storage technologies.
Solving Problems with Storage
Virtualisation: Need a Storage solution that delivers
high-end capabilities across multiple operating and storage
systems? Attend this webcast and learn how to consolidate
diverse application type...
ESG Enterprise Storage Seminar Series: Benefits
of NAS and File Virtualisation: The management of storage
devices can be demanding. Attend this webcast and learn how
customers can address their management challenges of these
complex environments by using file ...
IP SAN: An effective alternative to Direct
Attached Storage: Learn how NetApp IP SANs have proven
themselves in both ESG's test lab and the corporate data center—
supporting key business applications.
About Tony Asaro:
Tony Asaro is a senior analyst for the Enterprise Strategy Group
responsible for the management of the ESG Lab service. Asaro brings
extensive experience and expertise on storage systems, including
primary, secondary, archival and backup to disk. Asaro works with
both storage vendors and end-user customers evaluating storage
solutions, assisting with strategic directions and pricing
strategies. Asaro was a co-founder of I/O Integrity (IOI)
developing a high-performance storage controller as a system on a
chip (SOC). Prior to IOI, he ran product management for a data
management software company responsible for product requirements,
interfacing with customers and strategic directions. Asaro has
worked in the high-tech industry for over 17 years as a systems
engineer, product manager, marketing and business development
professional.
Other searchStorage.com Blogsters
Interested in reading what our other blogsters have to say? These
links will direct you the blog pages of our other
contributors.
Steve Duplessie
Jerome M. Wendt
Marc Staimer
Arun Taneja
Jon William Toigo
Stephen Foskett
W. Curtis Preston