In Depth

In Depth

Cloud storage

• Key choices in Docker container storage deployment

  Containers often need persistent storage, but how do you achieve that? We look at the key options, including Docker volumes versus bind mounts, and Docker Volume Plugins  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged infrastructure and disaster recovery

  Hyper-converged infrastructure products merge server, storage and hypervisor in scale-out nodes, so how can functionality in HCI products help deliver disaster recovery?  Continue Reading

• OpenStack vs hyper-converged: Open-source cloud in the datacentre

  We look at how to deploy OpenStack on hyper-converged infrastructure and how HCI suppliers’ products can support deployment of the open-source cloud in the datacentre  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: The IoT’s impact on storage

  The internet of things will have a huge impact on storage – the sheer volume of data, the radically different types of data created and the storage needed, from flash to object to cloud  Continue Reading

• Q&A: NetApp’s storage play in the age of cloud

  Storage supplier’s Asia-Pacific general manager reveals the changes that are taking place within the company to keep up with the changing tech landscape  Continue Reading

• Rethinking storage in the age of big data

  The volume, variety and velocity of data are challenging organisations such as insurance giant IAG to reassess the way storage architectures are designed  Continue Reading

• Managing data in a multi-cloud world

  Asia-Pacific organisations that are hopping onto the multi-cloud bandwagon need to overcome potential data management issues in order to succeed  Continue Reading

• Backup product survey: Cloud and VM integration now table stakes

  For enterprise backup, cloud integration and the ability to backup and be deployed in virtual machines as well as be controlled from the hypervisor are table stakes, along with data reduction and app-specific backup  Continue Reading

• Why immutable buckets are a worthy risk management tool

  Immutable buckets offer businesses benefits in terms of data compliance, backup, archiving and security  Continue Reading

• CW500: Lessons learned on how to get cloud implementations right

  Experts share their advice, tips and lessons learned on how to avoid pitfalls and ensure you gain the full benefits of using cloud services  Continue Reading

• Cloud data portability: Obstacles to it and how to achieve it

  Cloud providers are very keen to get your data into their systems but sometimes it can be difficult or costly to move it elsewhere. We look at solutions to cloud portability  Continue Reading

• All-flash storage ready for primetime in Australia

  On-premise and cloud-based flash arrays that offer big improvements over spinning disks are making a splash down under  Continue Reading

• Australian startups find their way in the cloud

  Public cloud services have empowered Australian startups to scale up and go global from day one  Continue Reading

• Q&A: From backup to data management

  Beyond data backup, extracting more metadata to improve business processes and data management will become more important, says a senior Veritas executive  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Object storage vs block vs file

  We recap the key attributes of file and block storage access and the pros and cons of object storage, a method that offers key benefits but also drawbacks compared with SAN and NAS  Continue Reading

• Private cloud: Orchestration, storage and containers

  We look at the key requirements and components of private cloud – including the use of container platforms – and the impact of private cloud on storage in the datacentre  Continue Reading

• DevOps done right: Creating a collaborative and supportive business culture

  Cultivating a supportive and collaborative business culture is considered central to getting DevOps to take hold in an organisation. We take a look at what this entails  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud 101: Using the cloud as a storage tier

  We look at what’s possible when it comes to hybrid cloud, what types of data and what hybrid cloud architectures can combine on-premise and cloud storage capacity  Continue Reading

• There is no shortage of open data. The question is, is anyone using it?

  The UK government’s data portal, Data.gov.uk, currently shows 36,552 published datasets available, but how usable are they, and is anyone downloading them?  Continue Reading

• Shining a light on the enterprise appeal of multi-cloud deployments

  With market watchers predicting that enterprises will increasingly favour the use of multiple cloud providers, we take a look at what is driving the trend, and its drawbacks  Continue Reading

• Open source storage hits the mainstream

  Open source storage has gained mainstream acceptance in high performance computing, analytics, object storage, cloud (OpenStack) and NAS use, but can it crack the enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Blockchain and the promise of cooperative cloud storage

  Blockchain technology allows distributed retention of encrypted data and is at the heart of cooperative cloud storage  Continue Reading

• Interview: Google cloud chief Diane Greene talks enterprise strategy and taking on AWS

  Computer Weekly talks to Google cloud chief Diane Greene about how it intends to win over the enterprise market and give AWS a run for its money  Continue Reading

• Object storage product survey 2016: The big six

  In the first of a two-part series we run the rule over the big six storage suppliers’ solutions for object storage, an increasingly popular protocol for unstructured data  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged infrastructure product survey: The challengers

  In the first of a two-part survey, we look at the hyper-converged infrastructure market and the startups providing VM-native servers and storage, and datacentre-in-a-box products  Continue Reading

• Overcoming the scale-up challenge of enterprise DevOps adoption

  CIOs and IT leaders share their advice on what enterprises can do to accelerate the spread of DevOps within their organisations  Continue Reading

• It makes sense to go hyperscale/hyper-converged

  Hyperscale computing and storage are the norm for web giants. Hyper-converged scenarios make it possible for small and medium-sized enterprises to gain the advantages of combined server/storage nodes  Continue Reading

• Amazon S3 storage 101: Object storage in the cloud

  Amazon Simple Storage Service (S3) has emerged as a de facto standard for accessing data in the cloud. We run the rule over S3, its key attributes and what you need to know to use it with your applications  Continue Reading

• [email protected]: Storage – From punched cards to flash and the cloud

  Since the launch of Computer Weekly in 1966, we have moved from a world of punched cards and paper tape to one where flash and the cloud have revolutionised data storage  Continue Reading

• Flash storage roundup 2016: Flash technology outliers

  Flash storage doesn’t just come in traditional drive format and PCIe card. There are significant outliers in the market that make use of custom flash modules, flash/Dimm and QLC  Continue Reading

• Virtualisation and the cloud aid disaster recovery in Spain

  As virtualisation and cloud services take hold, Spanish organisations can take advantage of less costly and more flexible responses to the threat of unplanned outages  Continue Reading

• Virtualisation rolls on, but still less than 50% of workloads are virtualised

  Survey finds server virtualisation is top way to upgrade datacentres, while public and private cloud storage gains serious momentum  Continue Reading

• Datacentre heat reuse: Why aren’t more operators doing it?

  With the datacentre industry’s sustainability habits coming under increasingly close scrutiny, we find out why operators are not rushing to reuse their waste heat  Continue Reading

• Hybrid flash array roundup 2016: The Big Six

  Will 2015 be remembered as the last big year of hybrid flash storage? The Big Six offer hybrid flash, mostly based on HDD-era designs, and innovation has slowed as all-flash rises  Continue Reading

• All-flash storage roundup 2016: The startups

  Computer Weekly surveys the startups and specialists in the all-flash array space and find a market in which advanced storage features are becoming the norm, while suppliers battle down to $1/GB  Continue Reading

• Microsoft’s underwater datacentre: The pros and cons of running subsea facilities

  Underwater datacentres can help providers save on land costs and cooling, but at what cost to the environment?  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage appliances: What they are and who provides them

  We look at the cloud storage appliance market – everything from local gateway presentation of the cloud, via hybrid cloud, to the new generation of cloud-resident appliances  Continue Reading

• Take-up of cloud storage in Europe affected by privacy issues

  The cloud storage narrative has been heavily US-biased, with take-up of cloud in Europe modified by concerns over privacy and responses to Safe Harbour’s nullification  Continue Reading

• NAS vs object: Which one for large volumes of unstructured data?

  Both NAS and object storage offer highly scalable file storage for large volumes of unstructured data, but which is right for your environment?  Continue Reading

• The state of all-flash versus hybrid storage in Australia and New Zealand

  Magnetic disk drives are yesterday’s technology. Soon all servers will be based on all-flash arrays – or will they?  Continue Reading

• Object storage: Cloud vs in-house

  Object storage is a rising star in data storage, especially for cloud and web use. But what are the pros and cons of cloud object storage or building in-house?  Continue Reading

• EU Data Protection Regulation: What the EC legislation means for cloud providers

  With the European Commission's data protection rules set to drop before 2016, take a look at what the changes mean for the cloud and datacentre community  Continue Reading

• Big data poses storage challenges in Australia and New Zealand

  Big data is like digging for gold, except you must keep every single rock. Computer Weekly unearths some of the main challenges facing those mining data  Continue Reading

• IT services procurement: Could G-Cloud be the answer Europe is looking for?

  With European public sector organisations looking to overhaul how they buy IT, some are wondering if the UK's G-Cloud model could be the answer they are looking for  Continue Reading

• How Asean organisations are untangling big data storage challenge

  If organisations are to benefit from the promise of big data they must get on top of a legal and regulatory minefield when it comes to storing data. How are Asean IT departments navigating this?  Continue Reading

• Russian organisations have confidence in virtual backup

  Russian organisations are content with the options available to them for backing up virtual servers  Continue Reading

• Virtualisation and storage: Five ways to do it better

  Server and desktop virtualisation bring many savings, but you have to work smart to ensure storage performs efficiently. We survey the top five pitfalls and how to avoid them  Continue Reading

• Demand for all-flash storage to accelerate in Australia and New Zealand

  Demand for all-flash storage will increase in ANZ, as a result of lower prices and greater capacities.  Continue Reading

• Automation and acceleration the Asian aspiration

  Storage infrastructures within Asean organisations are changing to support technologies designed to speed up, automate and centralize.  Continue Reading

• OpenStack Swift 101: the object store for OpenStack apps

  We run the rule over the OpenStack Swift object storage architecture, its key components, how it achieves resiliency and the data protection methods in use and development  Continue Reading

• UK datacentre growth trends: Why are users shunning inner-city facilities?

  Research suggests inner cities are falling out of favour with datacentre developers, with cost-sensitive users willing to look further afield for co-location services  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery in Russia: Critical sectors play it safe

  Disaster recovery methods in Russia span tape backup to cloud disaster recovery, but for businesses in the most critical sectors in-house provision is the favoured method  Continue Reading

• OpenStack Cinder: Block storage on the open-source cloud platform

  OpenStack Cinder 101: The fundamentals of Cinder, how it is implemented, how to provision it, how it works with third-party storage arrays, its features and more  Continue Reading

• VMware vs OpenStack: How they handle storage

  The opportunities and challenges presented by the two virtualisation environments when it comes to storage, backup and disaster recovery.  Continue Reading

• OpenStack Manila: File access storage for the open source cloud

  OpenStack Manila is the file level access method in development by the open source cloud platform. What is it, how does it work and when will it be ready?  Continue Reading

• Flash storage in Benelux: Service providers kick-start flash adoption

  Demand for quick response times and non-stop availability has pushed use of flash – particularly hybrid flash – storage in Benelux, a region with a high presence of service providers  Continue Reading

• Benelux: Cloud storage grows as traditional storage alternative

  In Benelux countries cloud storage is increasingly seen as an alternative to traditional storage and backup  Continue Reading

• OpenStack storage options are not the only ones available

  OpenStack and its Swift and Cinder object and block storage lead the way, but are not the only options for building open-source cloud platforms  Continue Reading

• VM backup drops off as DR motors on: what’s behind the survey figures?

  We look behind the storage and backup headlines in the ComputerWeekly.com IT spending priorities survey  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage: The top five things that go wrong – and how to avoid them

  Cloud storage provides cost savings and ease of management, but there are pitfalls – and here are the top five things that can go wrong  Continue Reading

• Software-defined datacentres a work in progress

  IT managers need to adopt interim SDDC offerings and build on them as the technology matures  Continue Reading

• Software defined everything: Throwing more software into the mix

  In theory, the move to software-defined everything makes sense. What are the practicalities of the "SD" approach?  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud storage: What it is and how to deploy it

  Hybrid cloud storage optimises the opportunities provided by the cloud while recognising and working with its limitations  Continue Reading

• Big storage hybrid cloud moves show limits of cloud storage

  Cloud storage has its limits, but also its opportunities, shown by the hybrid cloud storage offerings recently announced by EMC and NetApp  Continue Reading

• All-flash array startups overview 2014

  All the big storage suppliers have all-flash array products – some designed from the ground up, others HDD arrays retrofitted with flash  Continue Reading

• Private cloud storage: What it does and how to build it

  Private cloud storage is an increasingly popular option for organisations that want to provide flexible, easy-to-manage storage with chargeback to departments and business units  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage makes steady progress in Poland

  In Poland cloud storage and cloud services arouse concerns over control and security but businesses are discovering the benefits in cost and customer service  Continue Reading

• Object storage specialist suppliers: Market round-up

  Object storage from specialist vendors aims at cloud, archiving, HPC and big data with products that vary by features and between hardware and software-only products  Continue Reading

• Big players target object storage at cloud and archive

  All but one of the big six storage vendors have object storage products that target public and private cloud environments and/or archiving use cases  Continue Reading

• Enterprises, scientists and academics turn to public cloud for HPC

  Organisations are starting to use supercomputers on demand via public cloud to access HPC capabilities  Continue Reading

• OpenStack storage: Cinder and Swift explained

  is a rising star in private cloud infrastructures. But what about OpenStack storage? We run the rule over OpenStack Cinder and Swift  Continue Reading

• Keeping your corporate data in sync

  For collaboration to thrive, the appropriate tools need to be in place, and perhaps the most important is data synchronisation  Continue Reading

• Can telcos tap into the datacentre business?

  Telcos have always run datacentres, but now many are hoping to give commercial providers a run for their money  Continue Reading

• BAFTA nominates cloud to boost web performance

  Arts organisation moves to Rackspace to handle awards-season peaks and help meet the ever-growing demand for rich media content  Continue Reading

• Blackrock: measuring risk in a datacentre

  How the investment giant handles the risk of managing $13 trillion of other people’s money  Continue Reading

• Opportunities and threats to cloud storage adoption in Turkey

  Turkish organisations are taking up cloud storage and other services, but adoption is tempered by concerns over privacy, latency, lack of internet provision and regulatory issues  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage options in Scandinavia

  It has never been faster or cheaper to store data in the cloud and Scandinavian businesses have taken up cloud storage with gusto  Continue Reading

• How to select the best hybrid cloud provider for your firm

  A successful shift towards a hybrid cloud corporate environment requires a new approach to trust throughout the organisation.  Continue Reading

• Human factors in the datacentre

  Whether to ensure business continuity or maximise returns, everyone from the finance director to the facilities manager needs further datacentre education  Continue Reading

• The UK’s problem with power

  Datacentre power buyers say Britain’s deregulated energy market is as complex as trading in derivatives  Continue Reading

• Virtualisation and cloud ubiquitous in midrange backup software

  Midrange backup software supports virtual environments and the cloud as a target, but like enterprise products support for mobile devices is largely absent  Continue Reading

• Enterprise backup embraces VMs and cloud, but lags on mobile

  We survey enterprise backup products and find the top five tightly meshed with hypervisors and integrated with cloud, but lacking mobile device support  Continue Reading

• Storage startup survey: Funding tops $1.2bn in 2013

  IPOs are in the air and storage startups are magnets for investors, with $1.2bn of funding flung at flash arrays, hybrid flash, converged storage, cloud and object storage  Continue Reading

• Get ready for the datacentre storm

  With a wave of innovations rolling ever faster towards the datacentre, analysts say 2014 is the year organisations must plot their course through choppy waters  Continue Reading

• How to choose a file sync and share tool that fits

  Forrester analysts Rob Koplowitz and Ted Schadler document the experiences of early adopters of file sync and share services.  Continue Reading

• Being able to collaborate in the cloud is vital for business

  Cloud-based storage systems offer all employees the chance to work on a ‘live’ document but carry their own security risks.  Continue Reading

• Cloud file-sharing for enterprise users

  Cloud file-sharing services have become near-ubiquitous among enterprise users. We survey the risks, benefits and alternatives to Dropbox  Continue Reading

• EMC ViPR software-defined storage: Why, and can it succeed?

  EMC’s ViPR software-defined storage aims to provide a multi-vendor management layer with cloud and big data capabilities. But can it convince other storage companies to play ball?  Continue Reading

• Can hyperscale computing eclipse enterprise storage?

  Pioneered by Facebook and Google, hyperscale computing and storage is built on cheap commodity parts with redundancy at device level  Continue Reading

• CW500: Thinking outside the big storage box

  Big data doesn’t necessarily mean big storage infrastructure  Continue Reading

• In-house tape vs cloud archiving: What are the pros and cons?

  Have cloud archiving services reached a tipping point that makes them cheaper and easier to manage than in-house tape archives?  Continue Reading

• SMEs see the benefits of cloud disaster recovery

  Cloud disaster recovery cuts costs and puts effective DR provision within reach of SMEs. We talk to two SMEs that opted for it  Continue Reading

• CW500: Inside the government's CloudStore

  The government's cloud store means an end to the big four to five-year IT projects of the past, says the CloudStore lead of the G-Cloud programme  Continue Reading

• CW500: The legal risks of migrating to the cloud

  Experts from the public and private sectors discuss the legal challenges of moving to the cloud  Continue Reading

• Is cloud data storage right for your organisation?

  Find out if cloud data storage is a serious option for you with this evaluation of its suitability for primary, nearline, backup and archive data  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud storage product comparison

  Hybrid cloud storage products are, with certain provisos, up to the task of providing primary or nearline storage to organisations that want to offload working data to the cloud.  Continue Reading

• Cloud archive: The most mature of the cloud storage services

  Cloud archive: The cloud is an ideal fit for long-term remote service provider data retention. We list the key benefits of cloud archive services and some UK providers.  Continue Reading

• Cloud backup options: Pure cloud vs hybrid cloud backup

  Cloud backup is increasingly being seen as a flexible and cost-effective option by many organisations, but what are the pros and cons of pure cloud backup and hybrid cloud backup?  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud storage product roundup

  Read this survey of hybrid cloud products that combine access to remote storage with local resources that mitigate cloud issues such as latency.  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud solutions address cloud data storage’s three key challenges

  Hybrid cloud storage addresses the three key challenges of cloud storage—latency, security and reliability—by building in local cache storage and hardware security.  Continue Reading