News

Integration software and middleware

June 01, 2007 01 Jun'07
AOL sidelines major virtualisation tools

America Online rolls out appliances from YottaYotta for storage virtualisation, preferring its scalability and design over EMC's Invista and HDS' USP.
May 24, 2007 24 May'07
Symantec, Huawei form joint storage, security company

Symantec has formed a joint venture with storage and networking hardware company Huawei and indicated jointly developed products are coming to the US
May 21, 2007 21 May'07
EMC users push for better power consumption

EMC announces a 1.8 PB VTL, deduplication for VMware and bare-metal restore for servers as users caution the company to stay focused on everyday problems, such as power consumption.
May 10, 2007 10 May'07
EMC buys Indigo Stone for bare-metal restore

EMC has been hush-hush about adding Indigo Stone, a bare-metal restore software company, to its stack of acquisitions.

May 07, 2007 07 May'07
Is RAID in general an obsolete technology today?

This is a technology that is so commonly used, so transparent, that we really don't even think about it...
April 25, 2007 25 Apr'07
NetApp VP says storage virtualization overrated

NetApp's vice president of emerging products, Jay Kidd, discusses storage virtualization, competition with Isilon and NetApp's current identity crisis.
April 24, 2007 24 Apr'07
Scaling storage networks demands careful consideration

In the Fibre Channel world, scaling often means adding more and faster switch ports to extend the fabric's bandwidth and connectivity. But IP storage (mainly iSCSI) is a growing area of SAN expansion, using ubiquitous Ethernet network technology to ...
April 23, 2007 23 Apr'07
Weekly compilation of storage news:Dell LTO-4 drive, new Sun array

Dell is first out of the gate with the new LTO-4 drive, which offers native encryption; Sun unveils new array and deepens its relationship with FalconStor.
April 17, 2007 17 Apr'07
Storage consolidation: Disks and disk subsystems overview

Any storage consolidation effort must involve a serious consideration of disk subsystems and the specific disk types that those systems will contain
April 17, 2007 17 Apr'07
What are some file archiving policy examples?

For file archiving, a typical policy might instruct the storage system to copy all files from one location to another...

April 10, 2007 10 Apr'07
Capacity planning software specifications

Gauging storage needs over time is one of the biggest challenges faced by IT administrators, and a new generation of capacity planning tools is emerging to help forecast growth and utilisation of storage resources.
April 03, 2007 03 Apr'07
Erewash trims data management costs

Erewash Borough Council in Derbyshire expects to reduce the cost and physical storage space requirements of its paper documents and files with the introduction of an electronic document and records management (EDRM) system from Tower Software.
March 27, 2007 27 Mar'07
Storage newcomers fight uphill battle

Gresham is newly marketing its VTL product to mixed U.S. reviews, and Australian file management player Moonwalk is inching its way onto U.S. radar screens.
March 26, 2007 26 Mar'07
Should I use data deduplication to manage unstructured data?

Absolutely; there are two areas where data deduplication, or single-instance storage, can help...
March 26, 2007 26 Mar'07
What are some of the other options available to help manage unstructured data?

Eliminate unnecessary data from your production storage. This typically involves moving the unnecessary data to a different tier or deleting the data entirely...
March 22, 2007 22 Mar'07
Midrange storage array purchase considerations

A Buying Guide focusing on specific considerations for midrange disk array systems. Also find a series of specifications to help make on-the-spot product comparisons between v
March 22, 2007 22 Mar'07
Midrange storage array specifications

Product snapshots highlighting key specifications for a cross section of midrange storage array products.
March 14, 2007 14 Mar'07
Emulex launches storage virtualization appliance

Emulex has packaged a chip from its Aarohi acquisition into an appliance that could be a lower cost hardware platform for storage virtualization software products.
March 14, 2007 14 Mar'07
Land Registry speeds up legacy kit ahead of huge data collection push

The Land Registry is to update mainframe integration software to get more from its legacy systems in support of a key new business project.
March 13, 2007 13 Mar'07
NEC reveals HydraStor grid storage

NEC announces its HydraStor array for secondary storage, touting its grid storage architecture, automated policies for data management and scalable deduplication.
February 19, 2007 19 Feb'07
When security firms merge, some users are losers

Some users see their services improve when IT security vendors merge with other companies or get acquired. Others say they've been left out in the cold.
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
Do all the vendors offer unified storage?

No. Some vendors are moving in that direction and others have a limited number of OEM product offerings now. However, several vendors currently offer established products...
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
Is there any reliability difference with unified storage?

There are a few minor differences, but usually not a significant difference...
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
What are the disadvantages of unified storage over independent block and file systems?

There are some compromises that you'll need to make; there are certainly some control granularity issues. The pattern of access for file-based data and block-based data is significantly different...
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
What is the advantage of having unified storage?

There is debate about that. Many customers may prefer to have just one storage system, avoiding specialized storage systems, like NAS for file-based access or a complicated block-based storage system...
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
What will be the impact on performance when mixing block and file in the same system?

Caching difficulties are one concern since caching patterns may not be optimized for block-based storage...
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
What does unified storage really mean?

This can often be confusing once you read vendors' marketing materials. Simply stated, unified storage [or multiprotocol storage] refers to a single storage system that can support both file and block access...
February 05, 2007 05 Feb'07
What about the system features, like snapshot and remote replication?

At this point in time, most customers expect to have these features in both block- and file-based storage products...
February 04, 2007 04 Feb'07
HP fills in gaps with product updates

HP announced updates to several of its products, but analysts are wondering what its ultimate strategy will be for storage virtualisation.
January 29, 2007 29 Jan'07
Hybrid drives hit NAS boxes

DNF will be making hybrid drives available in all of its storage products, but it doesn't recommend them for IP SANs.
January 23, 2007 23 Jan'07
IBM announces Notes and Domino Beta

IBM has announced that the IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino 8 public beta will start next month.
January 08, 2007 08 Jan'07
What has been the impact of storage virtualization on SAN deployments?

I really have not seen storage virtualization driving storage area network (SAN) deployment...
January 04, 2007 04 Jan'07
Weekly compilation of storage news including Hitachi unveils 1 TB drive for retail

Hitachi has announced that its 1 TB SATA drive, aimed initially at the retail market, will ship this quarter. The enterprise version, however, will not ship until the second quarter.
December 04, 2006 04 Dec'06
Positive outlook for large storage systems

A new report from IDC has revealed encouraging growth in the worldwide external disc storage systems in the third quarter (Q3) 2006.
November 30, 2006 30 Nov'06
Symantec blames piracy for Veritas licensing snafu

Weekly compilation of storage news: Symantec says that software counterfeiting is throwing a wrench in tech support ; FRCP rules take effect.
November 27, 2006 27 Nov'06
SAN overview: Chapter 1 - SAN management

If you're new to SAN technology, or just need to refresh the basics, this guide covers the essential concepts of configuration, provisioning, performance and capacity management, and monitoring and troubleshooting.
November 26, 2006 26 Nov'06
Storage management tools get more flexible

After a decade of proprietary storage management tools, vendors are finally giving users more choices and freeing them up to buy only what they need.
November 20, 2006 20 Nov'06
Backup software: BakBone upsets in Quality Awards

This year's Diogenes Labs-Storage magazine Quality Awards for backup software had a come-from-behind winner: BakBone's NetVault.
November 09, 2006 09 Nov'06
IBM announces 'bulletproofed' midrange arrays

New additions to the DS4000 line will feature built-in batteries and sealed enclosures to be in compliance with the telecom industry's NEBS standard.
November 08, 2006 08 Nov'06
Storage virtualization acquisitions need careful consideration

Storage virtualization alleviates traditional storage growth problems by implementing a layer of abstraction between applications and physical storage, allowing storage to be combined and treated as a ubiquitous resource, regardless of location. ...
November 07, 2006 07 Nov'06
NetApp to acquire Topio

Six months after EMC acquired heterogeneous replication provider Kashya, NetApp jumps on the bandwagon by announcing plans to acquire Topio for $160M.
October 26, 2006 26 Oct'06
What storage managers are buying and why

The second installment of the 2006 edition of Storage magazine's exclusive Purchasing Intentions Survey reveals key storage technology purchasing decisions by storage managers across all industries.
October 23, 2006 23 Oct'06
SATA boosts RAID 6 use

High-capacity SATA disks are driving up the use of RAID 6, which has prompted vendors to create new ways of overcoming the performance hit incurred with dual-parity protection.
October 11, 2006 11 Oct'06
Virtual tape library specifications

VTL systems use disk storage to improve backup and restore processes, allowing many organizations to move from tape to disk backups without disrupting current practices. High-end VTL systems can utilize almost 1,000 SATA drives, offering hundreds of...
October 04, 2006 04 Oct'06
Enterprise-class disk array specifications

Key specifications for a cross-section of enterprise-class disk array systems.
September 14, 2006 14 Sep'06
Three ways to create clustered storage

Clustered storage systems run on storage servers, NAS gateways and hosts. Here's how to determine which clustered file-system architecture is best for your needs and storage environment.
September 11, 2006 11 Sep'06
IT integration is the key to public safety phone plan

A project to create a single non-emergency telephone number for accessing public safety services has prompted a spate of systems integration in local government.
September 11, 2006 11 Sep'06
Data storage compliance's impact on storage product choices

Data storage compliance is having a tremendous impact on the storage organization, as well as the management practices employed to retain, search, certify and destroy data. It's not just regulations like SOX or HIPAA that influence storage -- there ...
August 30, 2006 30 Aug'06
Document management is jewel in crown of Derby's IT transformation

Greater integration enables collaboration and call centre efficiencies
August 21, 2006 21 Aug'06
IBM spruces up storage line

IBM floated a raft of announcements across its storage line, but analysts say they are still waiting for the updates stuck in the research phase.