In Depth

In Depth

IT hardware

• Cloud storage 101: Specifying for cloud storage

  We run through key questions to ask when specifying cloud storage, such as disk type, performance, availability and the possible hidden cost of getting data out of the cloud  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage 101: Cloud gateways for hybrid cloud connectivity

  Two of the big three public cloud providers – Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure – offer gateway on-ramps that can speed the deployment of hybrid cloud operations for SME and remote office locations  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Object storage in the big three public clouds

  We look at the object storage services of the big three cloud providers – Amazon S3, Microsoft Azure Blob and Google Cloud Storage – and how customers can achieve compatibility between them  Continue Reading

• Enterprise and midrange SAN survey 2019: Hitachi, IBM and NetApp

  Part two of two: While all-flash is mainstream, NVMe is an option as disk replacement for most suppliers, while NetApp leads the way with NVMe end-to-end to hosts  Continue Reading

• Enterprise and midrange SAN survey 2019: Dell and HPE

  Part one of two: All-flash is mainstream, with NVMe also offered. Dell offers NVMe drives while HPE reserves it for use as storage-class memory as a cache layer  Continue Reading

• Backup product approaches vary as they take aim at the cloud

  Use of the public cloud for backup data is something all the backup software suppliers provide, but implementations range from simple S3 connections to expansive software offerings  Continue Reading

• NVMe startups’ different routes to flash performance gains

  NVMe offers huge flash performance benefits, but no one is quite sure how to overcome the challenges that brings and startups are trying several different approaches  Continue Reading

• Career choices for storage admins as technologies converge

  There is collateral damage in datacentre convergence, and it is becoming increasingly difficult for storage administrators to stick with storage-centric skillsets. Two solutions exist  Continue Reading

• Cloud the rising star of storage: Eight years of text analysis

  Tracking word frequency in nearly a decade’s worth of storage content shows how cloud has come of age, flash has gone mainstream and how we don’t talk about virtualisation any more  Continue Reading

• Compute strategies for AI applications

  Devising compute strategies for AI applications can be challenging. Find out about the hardware, network and software frameworks available  Continue Reading

• A cloud compliance checklist for the GDPR age

  The cloud is supposed to make things simpler, but when it comes to compliance, things can get complex. Here is a look at the essential elements of a cloud compliance strategy  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Structured data and its storage needs

  Structured data is declining as a proportion of all data but its importance to business applications and its organised nature make its storage requirements very specific  Continue Reading

• Top 10 cloud storage stories of 2018

  Top trends in cloud storage in 2018 included key enablers of hybrid- and multi-cloud such as native cloud storage, array makers’ cloud appliances and distributed file systems  Continue Reading

• Ready, headset, go: Retailers racing ahead with VR for staff training

  Has virtual reality found its prime retail user case as a staff training tool? Recent moves from Costa Coffee and Walmart suggest it has  Continue Reading

• What does the 802.11ax wireless standard mean for your network?

  The publication of the 802.11ax standard will pave the way for the next generation of wireless technology, but what does it mean for enterprise networks?  Continue Reading

• NVMe is fast flash storage, but big five suppliers take it slowly

  NVMe flash offers blistering performance gains but so far the big five storage array makers have tended to opt for gradual implementations rather than radical new architectures  Continue Reading

• What is storage-class memory and what is it used for?

  HPE has announced the availability of storage-class memory in its products and other array makers are expect to follow. So what does SCM do for analytics-centred workloads?  Continue Reading

• Data protection, backup and replication in the age of the cloud

  A data protection and backup strategy has to take account of the expansion of the sphere of IT, from the datacentre to the public cloud to devices and locations at the edge  Continue Reading

• How to build SME storage using public cloud storage

  Small companies can often take advantage of public cloud storage offerings to supplement or replace on-premise infrastructure. We look at key options in file, block and object storage  Continue Reading

• Cloud clearance: Working out the best way forward

  Making sense of who does what in the cloud, and which providers are the best fit for your business, can be a difficult process for enterprises to work through  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Unstructured data and its storage needs

  Unstructured data exists in huge volumes, but often it is semi-structured with metadata. We lift the lid on unstructured data and key approaches to its storage  Continue Reading

• Fortunes of storage vary in big five led by Dell EMC and NetApp

  The big five take 50% of the enterprise storage market, with Dell EMC and HPE dominating. But some struggle with successive quarters of shrinkage while others see storage shine  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged backup appliances bring flexibility benefits

  Backup appliances in scale-out format allow data protection to be scaled easily by simply adding extra nodes. But is it an idea that’s ready for the enterprise?  Continue Reading

• Chromebooks and G Suite: a good working alternative

  We look at Chromebooks as collaboration clients, both in Google-oriented and mixed-platform environments  Continue Reading

• How to implement a multicloud storage strategy

  We look at how to build a multicloud storage strategy and benefits such as performance, availability and features, as well as potential limitations such as data mobility  Continue Reading

• OpenStack storage update 2018: After Rocky

  Snapshots and container storage support are among recently added functionality in the open source private cloud platform, but vendor driver support for OpenStack is not universal  Continue Reading

• Flash storage in the cloud from the big cloud providers

  We survey the big three cloud providers – AWS, Azure and Google – and find a range of mostly block storage flash storage options with performance choices available  Continue Reading

• How the big five storage array makers tier data to the cloud

  We look at the big five storage array makers' efforts to connect on-premise hardware with cloud storage and find automated tiering, on-ramps, and backup and archive capability  Continue Reading

• Match cache and storage tiers to app needs with new storage media

  How to match cache and storage tier needs to the dizzying array of solid state media now available, including flash, QLC/TLC, NVMe, storage-class memory, NVMDimm and MRAM  Continue Reading

• When networks collide: how M&A brings infrastructure together

  Enterprise IT runs on networking, so fixing up the network should be a priority issue during mergers and acquisitions – but that’s not always the case. Find out how the pros manage it  Continue Reading

• Virtual storage appliances in the cloud from the big five

  We survey the big five storage hardware makers’ cloud offerings. Virtual storage appliances available range from storage and backup/data protection to nothing at all  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud a key milestone on the road to cloud storage

  The cloud seems to lend itself to use as a storage location. There are lots of bumps in the road, however, and hybrid cloud should be a key medium-term aim for organisations  Continue Reading

• Sustainability and the smartphone: How to give your old device a second life

  Find out what happens to your smartphone after you’re finished with it and why you should commit to the circular economy  Continue Reading

• The value of unified endpoint management

  Given the diversity of devices people can use for work, IT needs to look at how it can unify device security  Continue Reading

• How to make sense of desktop as a service

  Does it make sense to move the desktop to the cloud? We look at DaaS and VDI  Continue Reading

• PCs shape up for the digital workplace

  The digital workplace demands increasing functionality, mobility and connectivity. We look at how desktop IT is changing  Continue Reading

• Container storage: Docker in flash, HCI and software-defined

  We look at what flash array, hyper-converged infrastructure and software-defined storage makers are doing to provide persistent storage for container-based deployments  Continue Reading

• Data protection for containers: Why and how to do Docker backup

  Containers such as those from Docker are agile, lightweight and can be short-lived, but they and their data often need to be protected. We look at the key options available  Continue Reading

• Cloud HCI survey: Cloud functionality in hyper-converged infrastructure

  We look at how you can use hyper-converged infrastructure to build private clouds and link up with public cloud services to develop hybrid and multi-cloud working  Continue Reading

• Containers and storage: Array suppliers’ container capabilities

  We look at what the big five storage array makers – Dell EMC, Hitachi, HPE, IBM and NetApp – are doing to provide persistent storage for container-based deployments  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage: Amazon vs Azure vs Google vs IBM Softlayer

  Computer Weekly looks at the biggest four cloud storage providers, how they stand in the market, the products they offer, and which offers the widest range of products and features  Continue Reading

• NVMe over Fabrics brings benefits of NVMe to shared storage

  NVMe over Fabrics – with NVMe carried over Fibre Channel, Ethernet, Infiniband and other protocols – could revolutionise shared storage. We look at how the market is shaping up  Continue Reading

• Intel Optane DIMM aims at persistent storage on the motherboard

  Intel to make 3D Xpoint flash available to applications in a tier below RAM and above storage, with in-memory databases, analytics and high performance computing set to benefit  Continue Reading

• Cloud NAS offers file access across on-site and in-cloud

  We run the rule over cloud NAS products that allow customers to build single-namespace file systems, including between in-house datacentres and public cloud storage  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: The final flash generation? QLC vs MLC, TLC, SLC

  QLC flash products have arrived in the market, but with a limited performance profile, has NAND flash come up against the realities of the physics that make it possible?  Continue Reading

• GDPR compliance: Addressing the overlooked in enterprise IT infrastructures

  As the GDPR compliance deadline approaches, enterprises need to ensure they have looked beyond the headline-grabbing aspects of the regulation so they do not fall foul of the incoming data protection regulations  Continue Reading

• Software-defined storage: Startups bring innovation to SDS

  We survey the startup suppliers pioneering new approaches to software-defined storage, including block, file and object, and VM and container-oriented approaches  Continue Reading

• Storage class memory set to upset hardware architectures

  Storage class memory and persistent memory products are set to add a layer of superfast storage media between bulk drives and memory, pushing performance to five million IOPS  Continue Reading

• SSD Raid 101: The essentials of flash storage and Raid

  Flash storage is mainstream, but what do storage professionals need to know about Raid when used with SSDs? We look at Raid fundamentals, and supplier implementations  Continue Reading

• How to find the right mobility strategy for your SME

  Small businesses still need a strategy to make the most of mobility, so what should business owners look out for?  Continue Reading

• DR 101: The disaster recovery plan and disaster recovery strategy

  We walk through the key steps and essential building blocks required to develop a disaster recovery strategy and how to write a disaster recovery plan  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud file and object pushes the frontiers of storage

  A single environment across on-premise and cloud environments is possible with a new class of product that builds file systems and object stores with hybrid cloud  Continue Reading

• Why the browser is the computer

  When he was CEO of Sun Microsystems, Scott McNealy once said that the network is the computer. Today, users spend most of their time in a browser  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: How to create, share and manage a LUN in SAN storage

  Despite pronouncements from some, the days of the logical unit number (LUN) are not over. We look at the LUN in SAN management: How to create, share, provision and manage a LUN  Continue Reading

• Disaggregated systems try to unlock the NVMe conundrum

  NVMe can unlock the true potential of flash, but storage controllers put a bottleneck back in the I/O path. We look at how suppliers are trying to solve the problem  Continue Reading

• Cloud DR: Key choices in cloud disaster recovery

  Flexibility and low cost make the cloud well-suited to disaster recovery, but there is no one-size-fits-all route to cloud disaster recovery. We look at the key choices  Continue Reading

• The great 5G bake-off: where are we and where are we going?

  With Mobile World Congress 2018 a week away, early 5G network standards formalised and tests up and running at the Winter Olympics, we assess the state of 5G, and what's needed to kick-start commercial roll-outs  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged infrastructure 2018 technology and market survey

  We look at the latest in hyper-converged infrastructure – server and storage hardware nodes that can be built into scale-out clusters – and the players in the market  Continue Reading

• Smart speakers: How to give apps a voice

  Experts discuss how to go about creating compelling voice-enabled user interfaces for smart speakers  Continue Reading

• Developers at the mobile edge

  We look at the challenges and opportunities to be found in creating mobile apps for an expanding array of devices  Continue Reading

• Storage in containers: The answer to persistent storage needs?

  With compute requirements often fragmented, short-lived and bursty, traditional storage architectures can struggle to cope – so is storage in containers the solution?  Continue Reading

• Storage briefing: The evolution of software-defined storage

  The evolution of software-defined storage, from simple software products to those that offer scale-out, hyper-converged, NVMe, public cloud and container functionality  Continue Reading

• NVMe: The flash storage standard in search of a form factor

  NVMe can unleash flash by doing away with the built-for-disk SCSI protocol. But so far there’s no consensus between suppliers about how to build products around NVMe  Continue Reading

• Cloud-to-cloud backup: What it is and why you need it

  Applications that run in the cloud are protected, but only so much. For full protection of data generated by cloud-based apps you need cloud-to-cloud backup  Continue Reading

• The death of the mainframe is greatly exaggerated, says CA

  With mainframe software tools forming a key part of its overall growth strategy, CA Technologies remains proud of its mainframe heritage  Continue Reading

• UK sale of surveillance equipment to Macedonia raises questions over export licence policy

  The UK approved an export licence for the sale of surveillance equipment to Macedonia – while the country was engaged in an illegal surveillance programme against its citizens. A senior minister was consulted on the decision  Continue Reading

• Hyper-convergence + backup software = scale-out backup nodes

  Hyper-converged infrastructure with built-in backup software brings scale-out capabilities to provide data protection nodes via pre-configured appliances that can build into clusters  Continue Reading

• 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

• ASEAN firms warming up to enterprise mobility amid roadblocks

  From startups to postal companies, organisations across the ASEAN region see mobility as strategic to their businesses, even as they face headwinds such as security and talent shortages  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

• Where the device hits the network – a mobile device management update

  As business becomes increasingly mobile, we look at the latest trends in mobile device management to give businesses the edge  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

• SAS CEO Jim Goodnight: Today’s AI turbo-charged with MPP

  SAS co-founder and CEO Jim Goodnight says the value of the vogue for artificial intelligence lies in massively parallel computing, as well as cheaper storage  Continue Reading

• Formula 1: Mercedes team turns to big data in quest for victory in Grand Prix

  Data analytics could help Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport team gain an edge on rival Ferrari during the 2017 and 2018 Grand Prix season. Its head of IT, Matt Harris, reveals the team’s plans  Continue Reading

• Hyper-converged choices: DIY HCI software deployments

  What are the advantages of do-it-yourself hyper-converged infrastructure deployment and who are the key suppliers of HCI software? We run the rule over the DIY hyper-converged market  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

• Assessing the appeal of AMD’s EPYC server processor family for IT buyers

  Find out how AMD's EPYC server processor family compares to what Intel has to offer datacentre hardware buyers  Continue Reading

• GDPR brings serious implications for data storage

  New European Union data protection regulations put tough requirements on organisations that store “personally identifiable data”. We look at what is needed to achieve compliance  Continue Reading

• How hyper-convergence is changing the shape of IT

  Computer Weekly looks at how the hyper-converged market is hotting up, pulling together the latest analyst research findings  Continue Reading

• Datacentre decisions: Converged vs hyper-converged infrastructure

  Converged and hyper-converged infrastructure are ready-tested ways to put compute and storage into the datacentre. But which should you choose for your deployment?  Continue Reading

• Hyper-convergence: the good, the bad and the ugly

  Hyper-converged technologies are gaining traction, but what can they do for your organisation  Continue Reading

• NVMe flash storage: What are the deployment options?

  NVMe offers to unleash performance potential of flash storage that is held back by spinning disk-era SAS and SATA protocols. We run through the key NVMe deployment options  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

• Understanding analytics and storage performance

  Analytics workloads place specific demands on storage. We take a look at the workload profiles of analytics use cases and the storage platforms available to support them  Continue Reading

• Bring the cup home: mobile holds key to UK’s America’s Cup challenge

  Computer Weekly visited the Land Rover BAR sailing team in Portsmouth to find out how mobile innovation may help bring the America’s Cup back to the UK for the first time since 1851  Continue Reading

• Backup testing: What to test, when to test, how often to test

  We run the rule over what’s involved in backup testing in virtual and physical server environments, how often you should test and the key pitfalls to avoid  Continue Reading

• How to tune storage performance for different workloads

  We run the rule over what’s needed to get the best storage performance for databases, virtual servers and desktops, web and email servers and analytics use cases  Continue Reading

• Enterprise wireless: trends and developments in 2017

  What will be the main developments in wireless this year and what challenges will this bring to enterprises?  Continue Reading

• How will the network manager’s role change in the SDN world?

  We explore how traditional network managers are changing the habits of a lifetime as SDN remakes the enterprise network  Continue Reading

• Time to restore from backup: Do you know where your data is?

  Making a backup is only the start of the process. You must be sure you can restore, that backups contain what you need, and that they will work with the applications that need them  Continue Reading

• Storage systems evolve to meet need for speed

  The race is on to develop revolutionary storage-class memory products to meet rocketing data processing requirements  Continue Reading

• Storage performance 101: Server, array and fabric/network basics

  We look at the key performance attributes of storage media in use today, and the choices and basic tuning steps you can take to get the most from your storage  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

• At IBM’s Watson lab, customers marry the power of AI with the IoT

  IBM formally inaugurated its Watson Internet of Things headquarters in Munich, Germany in February, and Computer Weekly went to meet the customers and partners who are using Watson AI to deliver on the promise of the IoT  Continue Reading

• RAID vs erasure coding for flash storage

  Flash storage needs array data protection. We run the rule over RAID for flash storage and look at erasure coding, which will become more attractive as drive sizes increase  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

• New model datacentres require hybrid approach

  CIOs must marry legacy datacentre infrastructure with the agility of public and private cloud environments  Continue Reading

• Storage 101: Queue depth, NVMe and the array controller

  We look at queue depth and fan-out and fan-in ratios. With NVMe they could become a thing of the past, but for now there’s still a bottleneck at the storage array controller  Continue Reading

• Moore’s Law is running out – but don’t panic

  Can system performance continue to improve to cope with the burgeoning needs of datacentres  Continue Reading