In Depth
In Depth
IT suppliers
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Green storage: Savings to be made but tricky to achieve
Storage upgrades can bring energy savings. New hardware, the cloud and as-a-service procurement models all cut costs, but can need careful tweaking to get right Continue Reading
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IT’s shift to the cloud: Veeam’s data protection report in detail
With half of servers in the cloud, most backup and nearly all disaster recovery cloud-centric, the shift to the cloud is significant – but container backup is one area that is yet to settle down Continue Reading
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Cloud egress costs: What they are and how to dodge them
We look at how cloud providers charge to move data from their cloud, including to other providers and between storage in the same cloud, and what you can do to mitigate “bill shock” Continue Reading
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Securing low Earth orbit represents the new space race
The barriers to launching satellites into low Earth orbit are falling fast, and that brings new cyber security challenges Continue Reading
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High tech meets agriculture in Denmark
Thanks to a few strategic investments, Denmark may one day become a major exporter of farming technology Continue Reading
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How Finland develops its national plan for investment in innovation
A small country with limited resources, Finland carefully chooses strategic technologies to lead it into the future Continue Reading
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Cyber security professionals share their biggest lessons of 2022
In the run-up to 2023, cyber security professionals are taking the time to reflect on the past few months and share their biggest lessons of 2022 Continue Reading
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Storage hardware shortage causes and how to mitigate them
We look at the IT supply chain shortages that have hit data storage equipment, their causes and what organisations can do to work more smartly to mitigate them Continue Reading
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Top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022 Continue Reading
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From capex to opex: Storage procurement options bloom
We look at the growing list of possibilities when it comes to paying for storage infrastructure, ranging from upfront purchases with upgrades to pure pay-as-you-go options Continue Reading
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How gamifying cyber training can improve your defences
Security training is the cornerstone of any cyber defence strategy. With ever-escalating online threats, it is now more important than ever that this training is an engaging experience Continue Reading
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Indefinite storage: What it is and why you might need it
Indefinite storage addresses the issue that archived data may need to be kept well beyond the lifespan of the technology it was written for Continue Reading
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Cloud storage: Key storage specifications
We look at the key specs in cloud storage, including availability – such as five nines – bandwidth, IOPS and latency, capacity and tiering functionality, egress charges and security Continue Reading
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Ransomware, storage and backup: Impacts, limits and capabilities
We look at the impact of ransomware on storage and backup, how storage and data protection can best be used to combat ransomware, and how they fit in the fight against it Continue Reading
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How to get structure from unstructured data
We look at how to gain structure from unstructured data, via AI/ML analytics to create new records, selecting object data via SQL and storing unstructured files in NoSQL formats Continue Reading
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The next decade in enterprise backup
Backup set to adapt to deliver more security, ransomware protection and flash-speed restores, and deal with the complexity of multi-, hybrid cloud and container-based operations Continue Reading
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An encouraging new conversation around sustainable IT, says Nordic CIO
What started as a whisper a decade ago has become distinctly audible chatter among IT leaders sharing best practices on how to protect the environment Continue Reading
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AI experts question tech industry’s ethical commitments
The massive proliferation of ethical frameworks for artificial intelligence has done little to change how the technology is developed and deployed, with experts questioning the tech industry’s commitment to making it a positive social force Continue Reading
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Cloud bursting: Six key steps in planning and decision-making
We explore the key stages in a cloud bursting project: assessing the data and workflows, variants in the mechanism, application suitability, having the right resources, and planning and testing Continue Reading
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Is object storage good for databases?
We look at object storage vs block access SAN storage and ask if object storage can be used for database workloads, or is it just good for bulk storage of analytics datasets? Continue Reading
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Cloud bursting: What is it, what workloads, what technologies?
We look at cloud bursting, its benefits and how to deploy it, as well as the limitations in terms of suitable workloads, the technologies needed and the skills to make it happen Continue Reading
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IT sustainability strategies: Why enterprises need to start with the datacentre when going green
Enterprises are under pressure to curb their carbon emissions and become more environmentally friendly entities on multiple fronts, including in the datacentre Continue Reading
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Clickwork and labour exploitation in the digital economy
Often ignored or assumed to be work conducted by machines rather than people, Computer Weekly explores the hidden human impact of the ‘clickwork’ that underpins the global digital economy Continue Reading
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Air gaps for backup and how they help against ransomware
The air gap is a basic of backups and storage. We look at what’s meant by an air gap, the rise of the logical air gap, and its place in the fight against ransomware Continue Reading
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NFS vs SMB vs CIFS: File storage protocols defined
We take a close look at NFS and SMB – the key file storage access protocols – and weigh up their pros, cons and suitability to differing datacentre environments Continue Reading
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AIOps for storage: Potential huge benefits, but lots of lock-in
Applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to storage can help to predict bottlenecks, diagnose I/O issues and recommend upgrades, but suppliers’ products are largely limited to their own hardware Continue Reading
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AI Sweden connects the dots to keep the country competitive
How and why a centre dedicated to accelerating the adoption of artificial intelligence technology has been created in Sweden Continue Reading
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Cloud bursting: What it is and what it’s good for
We look at cloud bursting, which allows organisations to meet demand by bursting compute and storage to the cloud Continue Reading
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Unstructured vs semi-structured data: Order from chaos
We look at alternatives to relational databases that have emerged to help bring some structure to unstructured data and gain valuable insight by making it semi-structured Continue Reading
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Cloud storage TCO: Key pitfalls and how to avoid them
Cloud’s flexibility is part of the attraction, but it can also lead to costs that spiral. We look at key elements in cloud TCO and how to intelligently make use of the cloud Continue Reading
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Bfloat16: What it is and how it impacts storage
Bfloat16 is an emerging way to handle very large numbers, developed by Google for its machine and neural learning and prediction. We look at what it means for IT and storage Continue Reading
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Luxembourg taps into innovation for better government tech
With a diverse population and a digital inclusion and open innovation strategy, Luxembourg has developed a way of using technology to improve government services Continue Reading
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Ransomware and backup: Overcoming the challenges
Ransomware attacks that exfiltrate data don’t nullify the value of backups to restore from, but the challenges – such as not restoring corrupted data – require careful planning Continue Reading
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Accountability in algorithmic injustice
Computer Weekly looks at the growing number of injustices involving algorithms and automated decision-making, and what can be done to hold governments and companies accountable for the failures of computer systems they deploy Continue Reading
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File, block and object: Storage fundamentals in the cloud era
We look at the three basic ways that storage accesses data – via file, block and object – as well as the ways in which the rise of the cloud and distributed systems have brought changes to them Continue Reading
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Tech sector efforts to root out forced labour are failing
Digitally mapping supply chains to identify forced labour and slavery is no longer a technology problem for the IT sector, but a lack of government enforcement and corporate inaction are major barriers to effective change Continue Reading
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Backup maintenance: Five key points to consider
Effective backups need to ensure all data is protected, and to track media and software changes. We look at five key things to consider Continue Reading
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CEA-Leti and the Silicon Valleys of Grenoble, France
At the intersection of three valleys in the French Alps lies the city of Grenoble, a hotbed of microelectronics, where much of the innovation is fuelled by CEA-Leti Continue Reading
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The cyber security impact of Operation Russia by Anonymous
The campaign against the Russian government by Anonymous surprised many with the depth and scale of the cyber attacks. What can we learn from this online war? Continue Reading
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Global file systems: Hybrid cloud and follow-the-sun access
We look at global distributed file systems that put enterprise data under a single file access namespace so that enterprises and branch offices can get to data from anywhere Continue Reading
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Data gravity: What is it and how to manage it
Data gravity can attract increasing amounts of data, and brings with it onerous management overheads. We look at how to mitigate data gravity in datacentre and cloud Continue Reading
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Unified file and object storage: Three suppliers and their approaches
We look at unified file and object storage products from NetApp, Pure Storage and Scality, the differences, the workloads aimed at, and how unified they actually are Continue Reading
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Cloud-to-cloud backup: When native cloud protection is not enough
There is a certain amount of protection built into cloud services, but it has its limits and full data protection requires that cloud data is secured with cloud-to-cloud backup Continue Reading
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Swedish entrepreneurs capture the world’s attention with eye-tracking technology
A growing number of killer apps are driving the uptake of eye-tracking systems – and Sweden is positioned to play a leading role Continue Reading
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Kubernetes backup products and 10 key players
We look at 10 key players in Kubernetes backup, why they are needed, what they offer and why you need to watch out for duplication between application teams and the IT department Continue Reading
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IT departments need holistic circular economies to fight climate change
With sustainability moving up the boardroom agenda, IT managers should revamp procurement strategies to align with the principles of the circular economy, but what does this mean for managing the IT lifecycle? Continue Reading
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Four obstacles to hybrid cloud storage – and possible solutions
We look at obstacles to hybrid cloud storage, such as complexity, a need for object storage, application suitability, and cost, with potential ways to mitigate the problems Continue Reading
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Tech companies join UK four-day work week trial
Computer Weekly speaks with tech companies taking part in the UK’s upcoming four-day work week trial, which will measure the impact of shorter working weeks on productivity, wellbeing and the environment Continue Reading
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The limits and risks of backup as ransomware protection
Backups can provide a sound means of recovery from ransomware infection, but they are not 100% certain to foil attackers. We look at the limits and risks of depending on backups Continue Reading
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Disaster recovery is an essential service for EDF with Phenix-IT
EDF has built disaster recovery tracking, planning and testing software on a six-month upgrade cycle based on governance, risk and compliance functionality in Mega’s Hopex platform Continue Reading
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Snapshots vs backup: Use both for optimum RPOs
We look at snapshots and backup, the key difference, their pros and cons and how best to use the two approaches in an integrated data protection strategy for optimal RPO Continue Reading
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Enterprises shore up supply chain resilience with data
Using data to gain better visibility over their supply chains and forge closer connections between disparate links is helping organisations respond to disruptions faster Continue Reading
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Storage requirements for AI, ML and analytics in 2022
We look at what is needed for artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the pros and cons of block, file and object storage to store and access very large amounts of often unstructured data Continue Reading
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Snapshots best practice: Five key things you need to know
We look at snapshots best practice, including the way they work, why they are not the same as backups, how to avoid heavy processing overheads and key user permissions tweaks Continue Reading
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Backup types explained: Full, incremental, differential, synthetic
We look at backup – on-prem and cloud – and the key variants available, from full backup to synthetic full, via incremental, differential, incremental forever and reverse incremental Continue Reading
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Recruitment risks: Avoiding the dangers of fraudulent candidates
Tech companies are seeing an increase in fraudulent job applications, with associated impacts on risk and cyber security. So how can organisations protect themselves from fraudulent applicants while ensuring they recruit the best talent? Continue Reading
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Storage suppliers put Kubernetes platforms centre stage
How to orchestrate the orchestrator? Storage suppliers’ Kubernetes management platforms aim to meet storage and data protection challenge in containerised application environments Continue Reading
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How can I avoid an exodus of cyber talent linked to stress and burnout?
Cyber security professionals have played a crucial role during the pandemic, yet many feel like their employers aren’t providing adequate mental health support and have considered quitting their jobs as a result. What can employers do to help them? Continue Reading
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Five key points on file locking vs object locking
We look at file vs object storage locking mechanisms, how different forms of storage ensure data consistency, and especially how object storage is tackling the challenge Continue Reading
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English Channel surveillance used ‘to deter and punish migrants’
Instead of opening safe and legal routes to the UK, the country’s border control ecosystem is deploying surveillance technologies in the English Channel to deter migrant crossings, it is claimed Continue Reading
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Software firm saves storage array costs with Nutanix hyper-converged
Banking SaaS provider Vialink needed more IOPS when its NetApp arrays slowed up, but Nutanix hyper-converged proved a better package than Pure Storage and Dell EMC, too Continue Reading
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Cloud storage cost challenges and how to tackle them
We look at cloud capacity procurement pitfalls, forecasting challenges, the danger of over-buying, supplier lock-in, deciphering billing and resizing capacity when projects finish Continue Reading
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Define RPO and RTO tiers for storage and data protection strategy
We look at RPO and RTO in defining data protection and disaster recovery strategies and how to specify tiers that reflect the importance of different systems in your organisation Continue Reading
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Storage and 5G: Big impacts likely as wide-area topologies evolve
Enterprise 5G will boost the need for storage generally. It will also push capacity needs closer to the edge and create new locations for processing and storage Continue Reading
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Posix vs object storage: How much longer for Posix?
We look at Posix compliance in storage and why it is being challenged by object storage and the need to scale much further than Posix-oriented storage was ever intended to Continue Reading
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Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Staff training, incident and media management
In the third in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we set out the key components of DR staff awareness and training programmes, as well as incident management and dealing with the media Continue Reading
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What neurodivergent people really think of working in cyber security
Many firms are filling cyber security skills gaps by hiring neurodivergent talent – but more support is needed for neurodivergent cyber security professionals, writes autistic tech journalist Nicholas Fearn Continue Reading
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Refrigeration firm freezes legacy backup for one Cohesity cluster
France-based Clauger had reached limits of capacity and complexity with multi-supplier legacy backup, so moved to one Cohesity cluster and gained restores that took mere minutes Continue Reading
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EDSFF brings built-for-NVMe connectivity to the datacentre
Aimed at enterprise use cases, EDSFF offers incredible flash density in shared storage and hyperscale deployments, but storage products that use it are still thin on the ground Continue Reading
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Object storage: How research institute got 850TB for €150,000
French scientific research institute had its budgets cut and to meet the new cost constraints, it settled on Swarm software-defined object storage from DataCore Continue Reading
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How Forensic Architecture uses tech to protect human rights
Forensic Architecture speaks to Computer Weekly about how it uses various digital technologies to investigate human rights abuses around the globe, including the pushback of migrants over the Greek border and the killing of Mark Duggan by London ... Continue Reading
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Cloud-era disaster recovery planning: Assessing risk and business impact
In the first in a series on cloud-era disaster recovery, we provide a step-by-step guide to building firm foundations for the disaster recovery plan, with risk assessment and business impact analysis Continue Reading
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New supercomputer opens doors for researchers in Sweden
More than twice as powerful as its predecessor, a new supercomputer ushers in new opportunities for researchers who rely on artificial intelligence and machine learning Continue Reading
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Is the IT sector beset by fear-mongering?
The arms race between hackers and security teams has led to a plethora of new technologies, but it can be hard to differentiate between sensible cyber purchases and those that are promoted by exaggerating risk Continue Reading
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Scale-up vs scale-out: Horizontal vs vertical scaling for storage
We look at the differences between scale-up and scale-out in storage – or horizontal vs vertical scaling – and the key ways it can be carried out on-prem and in the cloud Continue Reading
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Edge storage: Four key points
Edge storage is driven by rapidly emerging edge computing and data gathering use cases. We look at why it makes sense to store data at the edge and the key challenges involved Continue Reading
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Retailers as tech firms: Next, The Very Group and others see power in the platform
Gap and Reiss are set to utilise Next’s end-to-end e-commerce service, Total Platform, in 2022, as more retailers carve out a future as part tech company Continue Reading
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Swedish researchers are patiently developing a useful quantum computer
By 2028, the Wallenberg Centre for Quantum Technology in Sweden expects to have a useful quantum computer Continue Reading
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Cloud repatriation: Five reasons to repatriate data from cloud
We look at key drivers of cloud repatriation, including cost, compliance, issues around latency and data gravity, reversing poorly planned moves to the cloud, and supplier failure Continue Reading
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Social value not yet fully embedded in procurement practices
Social value procurement rules are designed to diversify the public sector’s supplier base while providing society with wider collective benefits, but are yet to be fully introduced Continue Reading
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Digital surveillance of remote workers may increase enterprise risk
From productivity tools to security threats, we explore how digital surveillance is forcing remote workers towards shadow IT Continue Reading
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How to manage endpoint security in a hybrid work environment
The future of the workplace is clearly hybrid, but this has untold implications around endpoint security. How can businesses overcome these? Continue Reading
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Immutable snapshots aim to neutralise ransomware
Snapshots – usually immutable anyway – get functionality to stop ransomware intruders moving or deleting snapshots, so customers know they have clean copies of data to restore from Continue Reading
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Five ways the hyper-converged infrastructure market is changing
We look at changes in the hyper-converged infrastructure market as suppliers go cool, go soft, disaggregate HCI nodes, provide as-a-service options and look to containers Continue Reading
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French Caisse uses NetApp to move backups to object storage
State financial arm wanted to move backups held on NAS file-based storage to object storage, so stuck with NetApp StorageGRID and achieved near-seamless migration Continue Reading
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NVMe-over-fabrics: Five need-to-knows
We look at five need-to-knows about NVMe-over-fabrics, such as its implementations – RDMA, Fibre Channel and TCP – use cases, hardware and operating system support Continue Reading
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How Estonia’s country-as-a-service scheme has attracted tens of thousands of foreign entrepreneurs
Estonia has created a country-as-a-service offering which is attracting entrepreneurs and businesses from across the world Continue Reading
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HDD support and Zoned Namespaces: Key takeaways about NVMe 2.0
We look at new capabilities in the most recent iteration of the NVMe flash storage standard Continue Reading
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Five things you need to know about cloud file services
We look at cloud file services, which provide a file system-like architecture that gives users access to file data wherever they are, just as if it were a local NAS filer Continue Reading
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Dell, NetApp and Pure: Healthy results on Covid easing
Dell’s still top of the storage supplier pile with midrange arrays doing well, but meanwhile NetApp and Pure are making gains on the rise of public cloud Continue Reading
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Five key questions to ask about storage-as-a-service and consumption models
We look at important questions to ask providers of consumption-based storage procurement services, such as base costs and burst, usage measurement and upgrade paths Continue Reading
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DNA storage promises 10 million times storage capacity boost
A datacentre that fits in the palm of your hand? However, right now, DNA storage is an expensive chemical process that researchers are trying to make a practical proposal Continue Reading
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Storage-as-a-service: Consumption models from the big six
We look at the big six storage makers’ consumption model offers, which allow customers to pay for on-prem hardware and cloud storage capacity on a pay-per-use basis, within limits Continue Reading
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Briefing: Cloud storage performance metrics
We look at some of the key storage performance metrics that determine what your applications will get from cloud storage, plus cloud essentials that are beyond simple measurement Continue Reading
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Five things you need to know about NVMe over Fabrics
We look at NVMe-oF, which extends fast flash across the network – what it is, how it works, use cases, benefits and limitations, and the suppliers of NVMe-oF products Continue Reading
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Lakehouse concept aims to merge data lake and data warehouse
Data lakes are big, amorphous and difficult to access, while data warehouses are costly and aimed at structured data. The data lakehouse aims at analytics in an age of unstructured data Continue Reading
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Cloud storage APIs: What are they and what can be done with them?
We look at the kinds of application programming interfaces (APIs) available to expose cloud storage to applications, from SME-targeted solutions to higher-end hooks Continue Reading
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Storage performance metrics: Five key areas to look at
We look at the essentials in storage performance metrics: capacity, throughput and read/write capability, IOPS and latency, and hardware longevity measured by failure rates Continue Reading
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Europe’s proposed AI regulation falls short on protecting rights
The European Commission’s proposal for artificial intelligence regulation focuses on creating a risk-based, market-led approach replete with self-assessments, transparency procedures and technical standards, but critics warn it falls short of being ... Continue Reading
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Where to run containers? Bare metal vs virtual machines
We look at the key differences between running containers in virtualised environments and on bare metal servers and focus in on the main trade-offs and decision points Continue Reading