In Depth
In Depth
Virtualisation and storage
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Pure Storage: Flash ‘startup’ that brings late entrant advantage
Storage profile: We look at Pure Storage, the youngest of the array makers, which comes to market with well-developed flash, hybrid cloud and consumption purchasing models Continue Reading
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Dell EMC: Storage giant shifts gear to cloud operating models
Storage profile: We look at Dell EMC, the result of the biggest tech acquisition ever, and find a company well set for ubiquitous cloud operating models and as-a-service Continue Reading
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IBM reorients to offset historic storage hardware decline
Storage profile: We look at IBM and the strategic shifts it has made towards the cloud, cloud-native and as-a-service offerings that aim to reverse a long-term decline in revenues Continue Reading
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HPE storage comes with full IT stack, hybrid cloud and as a service
Storage profile: We look at HPE, its Alletra storage refresh, and Greenlake and the ways the company is re-branding as a full-stack provider across on-prem and hybrid cloud Continue Reading
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Software-defined storage: What’s available from key players
What’s available in software-defined storage from the big storage players, software-defined storage specialists, and SDS options focused on cloud, virtualisation and containers Continue Reading
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Container storage platforms: Big six approach starts to align
Container storage is a complex but vital task. We survey the big six storage makers and see methods are starting to align around management platforms 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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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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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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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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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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How open source is shaping data storage management
Open source data storage offers a great deal of flexibility, but unlocking its benefits will require strong technical resources to meet requirements such as stability, high availability and security 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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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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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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APAC expert guide to storage management
In this expert guide to storage management in Asia-Pacific, we unpack the developments shaping storage management and key strategies to extract business value from data 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
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What digital transformation means for data storage
We survey the key planks of digital transformation and look at the storage technologies emerging to support it, such as NVMe and QLC flash, hyper-converged infrastructure and cloud storage Continue Reading
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Backup failure: Four key areas where backups go wrong
We look at the key ways that backups can fail – via software issues, hardware problems, trouble in the infrastructure and good old human error – and suggest ways to mitigate them Continue Reading
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Five reasons to look at hyper-converged infrastructure
HCI promises easy setup, purchasing flexibility, low procurement and operation costs, reliability and all in one box – but there are challenges too Continue Reading
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Where now for storage? Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE
Part I: Storage supplier strategy in the cloud era: Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE. We snapshot the big six hardware makers, as they take things to the cloud and as-a-service models Continue Reading
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The 3-2-1 backup rule: Has cloud made it obsolete?
The 3-2-1 backup rule was made for small-scale use in the pre-cloud era when tape still ruled. Is it relevant in the 2020s, or can we repurpose its fundamental principles? Continue Reading
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Ski firm dumps ‘motley’ storage for DataCore software-defined
Eurogroup cuts power usage by 70% and rackspace from 84U to 7U as it consolidates multiple physical servers and storage protocols onto SANsymphony software-defined storage Continue Reading
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Five key questions about Kubernetes backup answered
We look at when to back up containers, what to protect, the main methods of backup for Kubernetes and the main Kubernetes backup products available in the market Continue Reading
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Robin.io aims its Kubernetes storage at databases and big data
Cloud-native storage runs in Kubernetes and pools storage media to present it to application persistent storage needs, including snapshots and backup on top Continue Reading
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Five hyper-converged infrastructure use cases to watch
We look at workloads ripe for hyper-converged infrastructure deployment. These include virtual servers and desktops, SMEs/remote offices, Kubernetes, and analytics and machine learning Continue Reading
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RAID, flash and erasure coding: What works best with solid state?
We look at RAID and flash to highlight key choices when it comes to drive data protection. What RAID levels work best with solid state and when is erasure coding a good choice? Continue Reading
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Intel Optane Persistent Memory aims to fill the gap DRAM can’t
We look at Optane and its PMem product that Intel believes will fill a big gap between memory and storage that DRAM technology just cannot deal with Continue Reading
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Cloud storage 101: File, block and object storage in the cloud
We run the rule over file, block and object storage from the big three public cloud providers: AWS, Azure and GCP. We look at what’s on offer and the use cases they are aimed at Continue Reading
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Storage 101: Replication vs backup, and synchronous vs asynchronous
Storage 101: Can replication replace backup? What are the pros and cons of synchronous and asynchronous backup? What’s the best way to mix backup and replication? Continue Reading
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Snapshots 101: Array vs backup software
We run the rule over snapshots in storage arrays and backup software and find a range of capabilities that go from mere support to fully snapshot-centric approaches Continue Reading
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Container storage 101: What is CSI and how does it work?
We look at the container storage interface, which provides an interface to persistent storage in the products of storage array makers, and how it relates to Kubernetes Continue Reading
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Rook 101: Building software-defined containerised storage in Kubernetes
Rook – think castles, not birds – uses the principles of containerisation and the methods used in Kubernetes to build storage that’s abstracted from the hardware it lives on Continue Reading
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Kubernetes storage 101: Container storage basics
We look at the basics of creating storage and specifying it for applications in container storage using Kubernetes Persistent Volumes and Persistent Volume Claims Continue Reading
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Caribbean island hospital rebuilds after hurricane with DataCore
Hurricane Irma tore the roof off a server room and flooded IT hardware, but that was an opportunity to rebuild redundant IT using DataCore’s SANsymphony software-defined storage Continue Reading
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Spread of Kubernetes spurs backup and disaster recovery products
Growth of containerised applications brings with it the need to back up and provide disaster recovery. But what do you need to protect, and who provides the products? Continue Reading
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Five ways that backup has changed since the days of tape
Back in the day, all this was tape, but times have changed, with cloud-to-cloud backup, cloud storage, virtual and physical backup appliances and myriad endpoint hardware Continue Reading
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Top 10 storage deployment stories of 2019
Here are ComputerWeekly’s top 10 storage deployment stories for 2019, which see quite a move away from traditional SAN and NAS to hyper-converged, software-defined storage and object storage Continue Reading
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How to buy hyper-converged infrastructure
Simplicity, high availability, scalability and reduced cost are among the benefits of hyper-converged infrastructure. We survey the benefits, pitfalls and the key suppliers Continue Reading
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Figeac Aero manages growth with DataCore software-defined storage
Global roll-out sees DataCore software-defined storage deployed on Huawei hardware to HQ and 14 worldwide sites as aero parts maker copes with acquisition and expansion Continue Reading
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SME disaster recovery made easy with cloud, hybrid and HCI
Disaster recovery is a lot easier for small businesses than it used to be, with use of the cloud, hybrid cloud, physical and virtual appliances, and hyper-converged infrastructure all among the choices on offer Continue Reading
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Data storage: The top five storage deployment pitfalls
Key pitfalls in data storage include silos, under-utilisation, backup and disaster recovery, plus neglect of skills and application requirements. We ask analysts how to avoid them Continue Reading
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Storage and DevOps: What is required for agile development?
DevOps brings continuous and agile application. Storage has to fit in and make itself just as responsive to development that does away with the inertia of stifling hierarchies Continue Reading
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How APAC firms can slay the storage management beast
The data deluge and compliance requirements are shaping how Asia-Pacific firms are approaching storage management issues in the age of cloud Continue Reading
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French national research centre insources with Rubrik backup
France’s national research organisation wanted to insource IT back from Atos and built its private cloud on VMware across two locations with Rubrik appliances for backup Continue Reading
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Hop jumps to Pure Storage to avoid big storage complexity
Air France short-haul and regional brand Hop jumps to Pure Storage after coming up against Dell EMC, NetApp and HPE, which all tried to sell it solutions ill-suited to its needs Continue Reading
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The pitfalls of hyper-converged infrastructure and how to avoid them
Hyper-converged infrastructure can be an easy win when it comes to datacentre infrastructure upgrades, but there are pitfalls. We discuss how best you can sidestep them Continue Reading
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French baby store modernises backup as Veeam handles 150TB a night
France-based maternity, baby and children’s store Orchestra needed to share IT resources between 700 points of sale across multiple time zones, and backup for 100 applications Continue Reading
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SAN vs NAS vs hyper-converged for virtual machine storage
The pros and cons of file and block access storage arrays vs the new breed of all-in-one server/storage architecture for storage of virtual machine systems and data Continue Reading
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Software-defined storage vs NAS/SAN: What are the options?
We look at the pros and cons of software-defined storage and weigh up when it’s a better option than buying NAS and SAN pre-built hardware shared storage arrays Continue Reading
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APAC buyer’s guide to NVMe storage
NVMe storage is becoming popular among Asia-Pacific enterprises that want to reduce latency and speed up application performance Continue Reading
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Hyper-converged infrastructure vs NAS and SAN shared storage
Can compute, storage and networks in one box be a better option than shared storage? And which organisations can most benefit from it, and for what scale of deployment? Continue Reading
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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A guide to choosing and using all-flash array storage
We take a look at the considerations when devising an all-flash array storage strategy, and what enterprises can do to get the most out of the technology Continue Reading
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Who needs hybrid cloud object storage?
Hybrid cloud object storage products are an emerging category. But what use cases are driving their emergence? And which suppliers lead the way? Continue Reading
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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
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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
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Net gain? Why networks matter when it comes to hyper-convergence
The rise of hyper-convergence is radically changing how enterprises manage their IT estates, but its effect on the network has yet to be fully realised Continue Reading
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Private cloud storage 101: Key components and hardware options
Private cloud makes consumption of storage easier for the user and simplifies delivery for the IT department. We walk through the key components and the platform choices Continue Reading
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Disaster recovery testing: technology systems to test DR
In this concluding part of a two-part series, Computer Weekly looks at ways of testing disaster recovery plans, with methods including array-based replication and hypervisor-based approaches Continue Reading
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Disaster recovery testing: A vital part of the DR plan
Disaster recovery provision is worthless unless you test out your plans. In this two-part series, Computer Weekly looks at disaster recovery testing in virtualised datacentres Continue Reading
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Software-defined storage: The pros and cons, and what is available
Software-defined storage is a rapidly rising trend in the datacentre, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of building your own storage, and is it suitable for all organisations? Continue Reading
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Docker storage: how to get persistent storage in Docker
Docker, by default, doesn’t come with persistent storage, which presents an issue to some workloads customers that want to run in containers – however, there are ways to achieve persistent storage Continue Reading
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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
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Unaligned I/O: A storage performance killer
As the stack piles higher – with virtual servers, their virtual disks and guest operating systems – the scope for unaligned or misaligned I/O to affect performance increases Continue Reading
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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
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Disaster recovery planning: Where virtualisation can help
The disaster recovery planning process is not fundamentally technology-centric, so when can virtualisation make it quicker and easier to restore services after an unplanned outage? Continue Reading
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Snapshots: Hypervisor vs Array
Snapshots are a valuable part of the data protection toolkit, but where is it best to run them from – the hypervisor or the storage array? We look at the pros and cons Continue Reading
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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
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Virtualisation and disaster recovery: DR features in Hyper-V
We run the rule over the key functionality in Microsoft Hyper-V that can help with disaster recovery, including backup, migration, high availability and replication Continue Reading
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Virtualisation and disaster recovery: DR features in VMware
The key areas of functionality in VMware that can help with disaster recovery – including VMware backup, migration, high availability and replication Continue Reading
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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
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All-flash vs hybrid flash for virtual desktop storage
With massive random I/O and a huge bias towards writes, virtual desktop storage – especially for the more feature-rich VDI 2.0 – requires the speed of all-flash and hybrid flash storage Continue Reading
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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
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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
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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
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Docker storage 101: How storage works in Docker
Docker nails some of the shortcomings of virtualisation, but what about Docker container storage? Continue Reading
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Top five things you need to know about VMware Virtual Volumes
VMware’s Virtual Volumes (VVOLs) promise a revolution in storage for virtual machines, but what are the key things you need to know? Continue Reading
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How to combat VM sprawl
VMs are easy to create, but when unmanaged they proliferate around your infrastructure. Here, we explain VM sprawl and how to combat it Continue Reading
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Thin provisioning – hypervisor vs array
Thin provisioning can be done at the storage array or virtualisation hypervisor. We look at the pros and cons of each – or both Continue Reading