In Depth

In Depth

Computer storage hardware

• Would the real flash storage successor please stand up?

  Flash storage will hit a wall in development terms by around the end of the decade. But which successor is best placed to replace it: Memristor, MRAM or phase-change memory?  Continue Reading

• Flash hits the motherboard with memory channel storage

  Memory channel storage puts flash storage into the DIMM slots on servers, offering unprecedented speed of access to hot data. Who’s making it and what are the pros and cons?  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

• Big data storage in the Benelux

  Organisation in the Benelux countries are turning to big data analytics, but big data storage options can vary significantly between the lab and production environments  Continue Reading

• Converged stacks: What they are and the benefits they bring

  We survey the converged stacks market: Servers, storage and networking in pre-configured product bundles for specific virtualisation and application use cases.  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

• Flash storage: What it is and where to deploy it

  A guide to the key decisions in flash storage: MLC vs SLC, all-flash vs hybrid, whether to add flash to an existing SAN, flash as a tier vs cache, and more  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

• 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

• How to navigate the IT supplier jungle

  Being a CIO is interesting and satisfying, but there is a relentless pressure on them to improve  Continue Reading

• VDI storage basics and persistent versus non-persistent desktops

  A look at the fundamentals of VDI storage and how to specify storage for likely workloads and persistent versus non-persistent desktops.  Continue Reading

• SMB 3.0 brings enterprise-class storage to Hyper-V deployments

  SMB 3.0 is Microsoft’s replacement for the “chatty” CIFS file access storage protocol that offers enterprise-class storage to Hyper-V deployments  Continue Reading

• Optimising application performance with flash storage

  At a Computer Weekly roundtable, IT leaders heard how Cancer Research UK achieved a 30% improvement in application performance  Continue Reading

• PCIe SSD flash storage roundup: The few become fewer

  The PCIe flash storage, or server-side flash, market is one dominated by a few in which the big six array makers don’t get a look-in  Continue Reading

• Make a high-performance computing and high-availability datacentre

  High performance computing and high availability systems are no longer limited to engineers and scientists. But is your datacentre ready?  Continue Reading

• Big storage turns the tide in the hybrid flash array market

  The hybrid flash array market has been all about startups, but has the tide turned with EMC’s re-architecting of its VNX line for flash?  Continue Reading

• Flash caching software market roundup

  Flash storage cuts latency and boosts IOPS, but can’t do the job alone; flash caching software is needed to target the blocks that need it most  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

• VMware and Hyper-V virtual machine disaster recovery

  VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V have a number of features aimed at virtual machine disaster recovery. Computer Weekly surveys some of the key hypervisor features for data protection  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

• iSCSI switch selection and configuration

  iSCSI switch selection means looking out for the type of features that matter to iSCSI SAN traffic. We run the rule over the iSCSI switch market to see what’s available  Continue Reading

• Flash array market roundup: The startups

  Startups have led the flash array fray, despite the efforts of the big suppliers. We examine the startup vanguard in the flash storage revolution  Continue Reading

• Big data storage choices

  Big data storage demands capacity and processing/IOPS performance and a range of choices exist such as scale-out NAS, object storage, hyperscale and hyper-converged storage  Continue Reading

• LUN storage management for vSphere and Hyper-V

  LUN storage partitioning has been transformed with the advent of virtualisation. Find out how it differs between VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V implementations  Continue Reading

• What’s wrong with flash storage: And what will come after?

  Flash storage has taken the enterprise by storm, but its days are numbered due to an unfavourable combination of technological obstacles and manufacturing economics  Continue Reading

• Virtualisation and the LUN: Storage configuration for VMs

  Virtualisation and the LUN: Storage admins used to match LUNs to physical servers, but that’s all changed. Find out how in this guide to the basics of VM storage  Continue Reading

• Big storage takes two routes in flash array shakedown

  The big storage companies have responded differently to the advent of the flash array. Here we survey the responses so far by the incumbent suppliers to the flash revolution  Continue Reading

• Sweating your datacentre’s IT assets - is it a good idea?

  Amid economic uncertainties, businesses want to get more from existing IT assets. But does it make sense from an IT point of view?  Continue Reading

• VMware storage: SAN configuration basics

  For VMware storage basics start here – the fundamentals of configuring SAN storage for VMware, such as VMFS, VMDKs, connectivity options and VMware storage features  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

• IBM fleshes out flash and looks to the next solid state technologies

  As IBM announces a $1bn bet on flash, UK-based ‘master inventor’ looks beyond flash and its shortcomings to the next wave of solid state storage  Continue Reading

• LTFS tape NAS: A great idea stuck in a niche

  LTFS tape NAS: Linear Tape File System offers the potential to build nearline storage at the cost of tape but with NAS-like file access. Sounds great, but when will it catch on?  Continue Reading

• Sizing VDI storage for I/O performance in flash arrays

  Flash arrays are increasingly being used for VDI storage. But how do customers size flash storage for the I/O requirements of virtual desktops?  Continue Reading

• CW500: Thinking outside the big storage box

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

• Dedicated VM storage emerges to meet virtualisation demands

  Virtual machine (VM) storage built to serve the large and random I/O needs of virtual servers and desktops is a key new trend in storage and a departure from existing SAN and NAS  Continue Reading

• Configure datacentres with green tech to save costs

  The current driver for green technology is to save money through optimising energy use, rather than a desire to be seen to be green.  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

• BYOD policy and the data protection products that can help

  We look at BYOD data protection in backup apps and specialist products as BYOD policy demands backup and remote wipe capabilities  Continue Reading

• Entry-level SAN products target SME virtualisation projects

  Virtual machines need shared storage. Sometimes that means block access via an entry-level SAN. We survey the entry-level SAN market  Continue Reading

• Deduplication and single instance storage cut primary data storage costs

  Data deduplication and single instance storage can cut costs in primary data environments, but implementations vary between suppliers.  Continue Reading

• Top 10 supplier profiles 2012

  Download in-depth reports on leading IT suppliers from Computer Weekly  Continue Reading

• Lack of cloud standards holds up enterprise progress

  Problems with management, portability and interoperability are preventing firms realising the benefits of infrastructure on demand.  Continue Reading

• How IBM researchers hope to change the world

  IBM's Zurich research labs opened its doors to reveal some of the technologies we can expect to be using in 10 to 15 years  Continue Reading

• Tune Raid performance to get the most from your HDDs

  Tune Raid performance at the storage controller to match application I/O demands to optimal hard drive (HDD) performance  Continue Reading

• SMEs: Optimising IT assets

  A full lifecycle management approach to hardware can help small businesses extract the greatest value from their IT purchases.  Continue Reading

• Interview: Angela Tucci, chief strategy officer, Symantec

  Angela Tucci, chief strategy officer at Symantec, talks to Computer Weekly about the company's strategic plans  Continue Reading

• Forrester: Derive maximum value from storage

  Forrester analysts Andrew Reichman and Vanessa Alvarex identify the top trends in the storage market  Continue Reading

• Mandatory carbon reporting: Indirect emissions guidelines for IT managers

  As the UK government announces mandatory carbon reporting for listed companies, how are IT managers to interpret guidelines on indirect emissions?  Continue Reading

• Delivering value from desktop virtualisation

  IT leaders met at a recent Computer Weekly roundtable event to discuss the implications of desktop virtualisation on their technology infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• How will storage infrastructure change with VDI deployments?

  The benefits of virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) are well-documented but firms implementing VDI may have to re-appraise their storage options  Continue Reading

• Forrester: The next wave of virtualisation

  Virtualisation is evolving. IT departments now have a raft of products to deploy within their infrastructure, optimised for virtualisation.  Continue Reading

• Computer Weekly / TechTarget IT priorities survey 2012

  Learn which IT priorities are at the top of UK IT managers lists for 2012. Coverage from across our network includes cloud, budget cuts, networking, security, disaster recovery and more.  Continue Reading

• Buyer's Guide: What next for virtualisation?

  You’d be forgiven for thinking that virtualisation is a done deal, but research shows its uptake is still not moving at the speed many would like.  Continue Reading

• Self-encrypting drives: What's holding back SED hard drive encryption security?

  The self-encrypting drive (SED) provides a high level of data security, is invisible to the user, does not affect workflow or performance and cannot be turned off, yet SED technology has been adopted by relatively few organisations – so what's ...  Continue Reading

• Self-encrypting drives: SED the best-kept secret in hard drive encryption security

  The SED solves many common data loss problems and is easy to use and manage with minimal impact on system performance – yet relatively few businesses and governments use SEDs.  Continue Reading

• How to measure the value of a green IT infrastructure

  Although 'green' slid down the list of priorities during the recession, it has not disappeared completely thanks to the advent of government-driven green initiatives  Continue Reading

• Buyers guide to IT infrastructure

  Best practice in datacentre design dictates that as much IT infrastructure as possible should be virtualised. Doing so improves agility, allowing the IT department to flex resources up and down to meet the demands of the business.  Continue Reading

• Scotmid readies for expansion by consolidating with an IBM solution

  As one of Scotland’s leading retailers,the Scottish Midland Co-operativeSociety, or Scotmid, has roots that go back almost a century and a half.  Continue Reading

• Murray Goulburn solves growth and flexibility challenges with IBM

  Farmers’ co-operative Murray Goulburn wanted to introduce faster and more reliable business reporting across its nine manufacturing sites in Australia.  Continue Reading

• Baylor College of Medicine finds an IBM Power Systems solution

  By consolidating their legacy servers onto three Power servers and successfully virtualizing a range of critical applications, Baylor was able to reduce their data center footprint from eight racks to three.  Continue Reading

• How to resell old storage when you upgrade

  Reselling old storage devices when upgrading to newer platforms can be a complex issue, particularly when it comes to the content stored on it.  Continue Reading

• Features: Storage (October 2009)

  Content synopses and information about the storage features that will run through October 2009 at Computer Weekly.  Continue Reading

• SMI-S storage standard breaks supplier lock-in

  There is work to be done, but the Storage Management Initiative - Specification (SMI-S) standard promises best-of-breed storage systems, easily provisioned by informed users.  Continue Reading

• Has the time come for solid state discs?

  IBM's recent launch of solid state disk storage products for the enterprise was an endorsement of a much misunderstood technology. Could it be time to take this seriously?  Continue Reading

• End users 'biggest winners' from HP's acquisition of EDS

  End users could be the big winners following Hewlett-Packard's announcement that it is to acquire outsourcing company EDS for £7.13bn.  Continue Reading

• San in tune for BRIT School

  Centralised storage brings famous music school increased archival security plus added flexibility.  Continue Reading

• Supercomputers help Exeter reach for the stars

  Are we alone in the universe? Could life exist on other planets? Questions like these have inspired countless science fiction stories, but at the University of Exeter's Astrophysics department, these queries are at the forefront of research. The ...  Continue Reading

• Storage for virtual environments learning guide

  Storage considerations for the virtualised environment are outlined in this guide. Learn about storage options and strategies for storage for virtualisation in the datacenter in three categories: architecture, operations and back-up.  Continue Reading

• Tape encryption purchase considerations

  Storage administrators who use tape-based won't slow up their backups and will have peace of mind knowing that the tape content is secure. However, LTO-4 tape drives have specific encryption issues.  Continue Reading

• Disk-based backup overview

  Implementing a backup scheme that is fast, safe and cost-effective remains a serious challenge for storage administrators. Here's how to do it  Continue Reading

• Data Storage Management Survival School

  All of the aspects of managing storage and how to optimise your environments to minimise the data management crunch  Continue Reading

• Tiered storage tool purchases demand careful consideration

  The practice of tiered storage has emerged as a way to mitigate expense by keeping mission-critical data on the fastest disc platforms,  Continue Reading

• Data migration product specifications

  Part of the Tiered Storage Buying guide focusing on product specifications for data migration tools.  Continue Reading

• Storage guide, 2:conventional drives and semiconductor memory

  Will conventional electromechanical hard drives eventually become extinct and the changing role of semiconductor memory on hard drives  Continue Reading

• Your guide to retrieving deleted files

  Hitting delete will not completely erase data from your systems, so how can you retrieve the data if you need it, and how can you be sure that it’s really gone?  Continue Reading

• Tiered Storage School: Table of Contents

  Get a better understanding of what tiering can do for your storage, how it works and why a tiered plan can aid in backup, DR, overall management and long-term archive  Continue Reading

• Storage consolidation: SRM tools overview

  SRM tools are an important part of storage consolidation. They allow admins to monitor the storage environment, allocate and organise available storage, and offer insights into future trends.  Continue Reading

• Disk arrays overview

  The lowdown on storage arrays that provides an independent, standalone platform where disks can be gathered into extremely large groups  Continue Reading

• Storage Decisions Session Downloads: Architecture Track (LV 2006)

  More than 70% of the attendees of Storage Decisions say they are setting up or evaluating a tiered storage architecture. Featured in this track are Tiered Storage School sessions along with other sessions that can help any manager set up or ...  Continue Reading

• Discarded hard drives can be dangerous

  A treasure trove of sensitive information can end up in the wrong hands if old hard drives aren't properly disposed of, one security expert warns.  Continue Reading

• Hybrids give sluggish PCs the boot

  Suppliers are combining flash memory with traditional hard discs to create hybrid drives with data transfer rates suitable for high-performance software  Continue Reading

• Storage: Is your company data well preserved?

  Your data is only as good as the media it is stored on and the format that it is stored in, writes Danny Bradbury – and in the long term, both are transient at best  Continue Reading

• IBM begins development work on 100Tbyte tape drive

  IBM has begun work on new technologies designed to boost the capacity of tape storage devices by 250 times. Using...  Continue Reading

• NetApp offers virtualised storage

  Network Appliance's microkernel appliance operating system, Data ONTAP, has had virtualisation added in its latest version, 7G.  Continue Reading

• Defence in depth

  Putting storage on the network has brought many benefits but it has also widened the security threat. Protecting the perimeter is...  Continue Reading

• Compliance will drive storage demand, says Veritas CEO

  Veritas Software chief executive officer Gary Bloom talks about compliance, Linux and the challenges of ILM.  Continue Reading

• Storage Management Survival School:Lesson seven

  Lesson seven of "Storage Management Survival School" helps you build a dedicated storage management group.  Continue Reading

• Storage Management Survival School: Lesson five

  In this session, Jamie Gruener examines the steps you should consider in designing a tiered storage model, what the pitfalls are and the overall benefits.  Continue Reading

• Put security policies in place for portable storage devices

  Learn from the US Department of Energy’s troubles. If you deal with sensitive information, adopt strong security policies for...  Continue Reading

• Storage Management Survival School: Lesson one

  Yankee Group senior analyst Jamie Gruener looks at how to begin your own ROI analysis of storage management tools  Continue Reading

• IBM’s new smaller mainframe and storage may lower total costs

  IBM has introduced a scaled-down version of its Enterprise Storage Server 800 (ESS 800). When matched with new mainframe options,...  Continue Reading

• Storage strategy

  Buying leading-edge products is not the best option for most businesses, but make sure you do not get caught out as your needs...  Continue Reading

• IBM will drop Windows-based storage, sources claim

  IBM plans to discontinue its line of Windows-based network-attached storage devices to focus on higher-end products, including an...  Continue Reading

• Emerging iSCSI viability depends on startups

  An emerging storage protocol, supported by industry heavyweights such as IBM, Cisco Systems and EMC, promises to make storage...  Continue Reading

• Storage software is a bigger piece of the equation

  Are the overall costs of storage changing?  Continue Reading

• Where do you keep your data?

  The onset of Internet-enabled applications has made data storage a big issue for IT managers. In this special report we examine...  Continue Reading

• Want to see the future of storage? Look to Linux

  Fashion can deceive, but backing Linux is looking a cosy fit.  Continue Reading

• Plan for future storage needs

  UK businesses are spending huge sums on storage without showing any return on their investment because they are failing to plan...  Continue Reading