Storage management and strategy

Top 10 storage stories of 2013

Users tackle virtualisation and growth of data and suppliers battle over flash storage and software-defined storage, while big data and hyperscale emerge into the mainstream Continue Reading

What’s new in ISO 27001: 2103 for storage and backup?

This year, ISO 27001: 2013 was published, putting more emphasis on mapping risk to an ever-expanding and mobile IT infrastructure. But what is new in ISO 27001: 2013? Continue Reading

Business-defined storage will help reconnect businesses with IT, says Forrester

Business-defined storage and datacentres will make IT more business-centric, according to Forrester Continue Reading

Big data storage: Hadoop storage basics

Hadoop changes the game for enterprise storage. We look at how Hadoop crunches big data, its key storage requirements and survey the vendors Continue Reading

Nirvanix failure – a blow to the cloud storage model?

Cloud storage firm Nirvanix has given customers a deadline to retrieve their data. Are the reasons for its failure specific to Nirvanix or a real blow to cloud storage overall? Continue Reading

Cloud file-sharing for enterprise users

Cloud file-sharing services have become near-ubiquitous among enterprise users. We survey the risks, benefits and alternatives to Dropbox Continue Reading

The data fragmentation challenge

Few organisations have policies to guide where data should and should not be stored. The result: data fragmentation Continue Reading

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

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

Inadequate datacentre infrastructure is a barrier to big data analytics

Inadequate datacentre infrastructure and siloed work practices are preventing UK enterprises from benefiting from big data analytics, shows study Continue Reading

Users’ top datacentre pain points

Storage, network bandwidth, cost and scalability are among the biggest datacentre concerns, say users at Dell Enterprise Forum US Continue Reading

UCL turns to private cloud to solve its data storage woes

University College London is building a storage infrastructure in the cloud that will scale up to 100PB Continue Reading

Big data security: getting a grip on multiple data sources

Big data analyses multiple data points, but how do you ensure that ecosystem is secure? In this podcast, Mathieu Gorge, CEO of Vigitrust, outlines the key steps in achieving big data security Continue Reading

Storage Through the Looking Glass

This analyst report aims to help you take a much needed step away from the technical detail of storage to create some strategic perspective. Continue Reading

Big data storage: Defining big data and the type of storage it needs

Big data storage: What is big data, what compute/storage system configurations are used for big data analytics, and what type of storage infrastructure does it require? Continue Reading

Best practice in enterprise storage

Sean Sadler, head of infrastructure solutions at Kings College London, gives best practice advice on enterprise storage for big data. Continue Reading

How to tackle big data from a security point of view

Before leaping into big data, companies must be clear what they are trying to achieve, otherwise their investment will be wasted Continue Reading

Businesses wasting billions storing unnecessary data

CIOs are urged to rethink their backup strategies following warnings that companies are wasting billions on unnecessary storage Continue Reading

Top 10 storage stories of 2012

Top storage stories from 2012 reflect the rapid pace of virtualisation, big data, the proliferation of mobile devices and new twists on storage technologies such as tape and RAID Continue Reading

Data to grow more quickly says IDC’s Digital Universe study

IDC’s annual Digital Universe study finds data set to expand to 40 Zettabytes by 2020. Emerging markets and machine-generated data will account for increasing proportions of it. Continue Reading

Digitising the BFI National Archive

The BFI has the largest film archive in the world, with 200,000 films and nearly 900,000 TV shows in its collection. Of that, 75% is British. The institute is undergoing a major digitisation programme in under to preserve its wealth of social history and bring the archive’s treasures to millions. Continue Reading

Software-defined datacentres demystified

As datacentre managers increasingly rely on software and automation, what can a software-defined datacentre bring to the enterprise? Continue Reading

Cheshire Constabulary polices network with SolarWinds

Police force in Cheshire uses SolarWinds’ infrastructure monitoring tools to keep its IT out of trouble Continue Reading

Big Data Analytics

IDC explores the initial impact that Big Data is having on organisations, its impact on IT architectures, delivery models and future roadmaps. Continue Reading

The future of computing at IBM Zurich research labs

Chips powered by the sun and cooled by water are just some of the long-term research projects at IBM's Zurich labs Continue Reading

Tune Raid performance to get the most from your HDDs

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

Guide to Windows Azure: Part 3 - How to configure local storage resources

Our Windows Azure tutorial series continues with an explanation of usage of local storage in Azure cloud services. Learn how to best configure local storage. Continue Reading

Storage Radio: Symantec CEO switch, Proximal Data releases AutoCache

In our latest Storage Radio podcast, join SearchStorage.com’s executive editor Ellen O’Brien and senior news editor Dave Raffo as they discuss the future of Symantec. Continue Reading

HPC storage requirements: Massive IOPS and parallel file systems

We survey the key vendors in HPC storage, where huge amounts of IOPS, clustering, parallel file systems and custom silicon provide storage for massive number crunching operations. Continue Reading

Virtual machine storage optimisation methods explained

Virtual machine storage for virtual desktops and servers has to deal with heavy and random I/O patterns. We survey the key methods of optimising storage for virtual machines. Continue Reading

Big data storage management challenges and how to deal with them

Big data storage management is becoming an important concern. This tip will help you deal with your big data storage management challenges. Continue Reading

Richard Gere loves EMC, so it probably isn’t worried about NetApp haters

Our monthly wade through the slime of the storage blogosphere has found an EMC Symmetrix making Richard Gere look animated, and some rather odd Spam in NetApp’s back yard Continue Reading

Bad Sectors – Dell, HP refresh storage ranges

Dell has announced new EqualLogic products, HP has announced a ‘storage federation’ and the VCE alliance has received a boost from a global partner. Continue Reading

NetApp trials University alliance to tackle skills shortage

NetApp will try to introduce certifications in its products to the curricula of nine Australian universities, to address a shortage of people skilled in operating its products. Continue Reading

EMC’s caveman creed, HP says FAST is its idea, Pillar crumbles

The storage blogosphere has thrown up a fascinating EMC video explaining how cave painting is like social media. Seriously. Also HP says EMC’s FAST is its idea. Continue Reading

Dell and EMC "Still get together when the kids are around"

EMC and Dell have reached an "amicable separation rather than a nasty divorce" and still get together when it's important, says EMC's marketing CTO Chuck Hollis. Continue Reading

Five types of tape for backup or archive

There are plenty of tape formats to choose from when you are looking for a backup or archival medium. Here are five of the most common formats to consider. Continue Reading

How Google runs its storage and more from the storage blogs

Google has posted a paper that outlines its storage architecture, and that’s the choicest morsel in a month when the usual blogosphere protagonists have gone easy on each other. Continue Reading

SMB storage: What can you outsource to cloud storage and backup services?

SMB storage: Cloud storage and backup offer many cost-saving advantages to SMBs, but drawbacks too, so what exactly can you outsource to the cloud right now? Continue Reading

HDS, NetApp and EMC all agree on big data

HDS, EMC and NetApp have all picked up on the same ‘Big Data” theme in recent blogs, but is NetApp struggling to ship enough FAS 3200 units to meet demand? Continue Reading

Data migration projects: Avoid data migration errors with automation, orphaned storage remediation

Learn the top three things users should do when planning a data migration project, what data migration tools you should have, describe some of the most common data migration errors, and describe some storage environment challenges when migrating data. Continue Reading

Geoscience Australia selects IBM 3592 cartridges as its tape migration extends beyond ten years

Geoscience Australia selects IBM 3592 cartridges as its tape migration extends beyond ten years Continue Reading

Performance metrics: Evaluating your data storage efficiency

Learn how performance metrics can evaluate the efficiency of your enterprise data storage resources in terms of capacity utilization, performance and data protection. Continue Reading

Managing enterprise data storage more efficiently: Part 1

Storage managers must learn to improve storage efficiency though smarter spending, while taking steps to reduce operating expenditures during budget crunches. Continue Reading

Green storage best practices control costs, increase energy efficiency

Green storage best practices control power and cooling costs, and increase energy efficiency in your data center. Tiered storage, consolidating storage arrays, solid-state drives (SSDs) and MAID can help. Continue Reading

Sectors - NetApp says EMC Centera loses data, gets slapped by blogosphere

NetApp has tried to smear EMC, starting a blogosphere brawl which embroiled Symantec but may have left egg on its face. Continue Reading

Clariion array update blurs line between EMC platforms

A bigger, faster Clariion with advanced features, which first appeared in the Symmetrix line, has industry observers wondering about the increasing overlap between EMC systems. Continue Reading

SNW Roundup: Sun adds data deduplication to VTL

Sun comes out with VTL Prime, a virtual tape library with FalconStor's data deduplication; Attune gets into file archiving; and SGI, Fujitsu and Dot Hill launch storage systems. Continue Reading

Isilon reveals turnaround plan

Clustered storage vendor vows to continue to spend on product development, sales and marketing, despite losing nearly $27 million (£13.5m) in its first year as public company. Continue Reading

EMC gives Centera a software refresh

EMC has tweaked the software for its Centera archiving system with an emphasis on handling more pieces of data rather than sheer bulk of information stored. Continue Reading

NetApp says flagging economy could boost its sales

The current economic downturn may actually help boost NetApp's appeal to storage users, according to company officials at its US Analyst Day Continue Reading

Hot Spots: A new level of backup reporting

A bumper crop of backup reporting tools can provide invaluable insight into backup operations for you and the boss. Continue Reading

Data Domain makes remote office data deduplication push

Data Domain launches its smallest data deduplication appliance specifically built to reduce and back up data at remote offices. Continue Reading

Learn all about LUNs

A LUN is the unique address for a SCSI device or a virtual hard disk partition in a RAID configuration. This handbook tells how to manage and partition LUNs. Continue Reading

WAN/WAFS and remote offices

This overview of WAFS and remote offices looks into the role of cache and file limitations, and WAN optimisation. Continue Reading

Archiving software purchase considerations

Archiving software must be able to support a wide range of file types, as well as quickly search through vast quantities of data. Continue Reading

Archiving software product specifications

Archive software provides many of the features we take for granted in modern archive systems, including index and search, data classification and migration, retention and deletion, litigation hold and even data reduction technologies, such as data deduplication. Continue Reading

Forestry firm picks Riverbed WAFS over Cisco

Cisco shop picks Riverbed after head-to-head performance testing between Riverbed's Steelhead appliance and Cisco's wide area application services card. Continue Reading

Archiving vendors beef up integration

CA, Autonomy and Prostor look to differentiate products in a sea of archiving and e-discovery compliance players. Continue Reading

Tape encryption purchases Part Two: LTO-4 considerations

This chapter covers specific considerations for LTO-4 tape drives. After that, you'll find a series of specifications to help compare vendor products. Continue Reading

Happy Birthday to TechTarget ANZ

It's our first birthday and we offer you the rather small present of a roundup of the most-read stories across our sites over the last month. Continue Reading

Archive integration woes dog healthcare providers

Healthcare providers are getting up to speed with networked storage, but say integration of new storage systems with medical applications is still rocky. Continue Reading

Riverbed extends WAFS to laptops

Steelhead Mobile installs on workstations without an onsite appliance. Users say they'd like to see better integration between the mobile and data centre versions of the product. Continue Reading

First in, best dressed?

Telephony company Link Communications Group bought storage from EqualLogic before the vendor had opened its doors in Australia. The company's Vice-President of Global Engineering explains why the organisation took this risky-looking move. Continue Reading

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 utilization of storage resources, and even perform predictive modeling of the future storage environment based on historical data collected. The product snapshots in this chapter highlight key specifications for a cross-section of popular capacity planning software products. Continue Reading

Capacity planning tools require serious purchase consideration

Capacity costs money, and new disk acquisitions stand out as a notable part of every IT budget. The trick is to match new capacity with actual storage needs. 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 utilization of storage resources. Consequently, the selection of a capacity planning tool must include a thorough consideration of your applications. It is also important to ensure that the tool is interoperable across all of your storage systems, while still meeting all of your analytical and reporting requirements. This chapter covers the specific considerations for dedicated capacity planning software. You'll find a series of specifications to help make on-the-spot product comparisons between vendors. Continue Reading

Commentary: We've never met a "thought follower"

A couple of days back, a vendor tried to convince us that their new security consultancy services should be of interest to you, our readers. Continue Reading

Capacity planning: Reclaim orphaned storage

This tip takes a look at how to maximize your storage capacity utilization by finding orphaned data and storage that can in turn be re-allocated for another productive use. Continue Reading

Remote backup: What are the alternatives to tape?

Archiving expert Bill Tolson offers advice to a reader looking for alternatives to shipping tape offsite, including a graphical representation of the remote replication backup process. Continue Reading

Tape and disk encryption product roundup

With tape and disk encryption products becoming more popular, storage administrators have more options in how to protect sensitive information at rest in the data center and in flight across public networks. Continue Reading

Archiving unstructured data

Companies must find ways to automate and simplify the process of archiving files and e-mail messages. ECM software addresses this large pool of unstructured data. Continue Reading

Remote backup services get affordable

Remote backup services, traditionally reserved for major banks and cash-rich Fortune 500 companies, are now available to small and midsized businesses. Continue Reading

Archive: Bits & Bytes column library

Bits & Bytes column library archive -- 2003 to 2004 Continue Reading

Capacity planning in the enterprise

Capacity planning is becoming an increasingly important way to balance future hardware costs with computing needs. Continue Reading