July 04, 2008

Ironclad Windows backup on a budget

Creating an effective backup for Windows is a challenge -- largely because the OS lacks a powerful, simple tool like Linux's dd, for example. However, there are many options for establishing a worthwhile backup system for Windows, some of which are free or rather inexpensive. I mention this because a friend -- I'll call her Laura -- recently asked for help setting up a backup system for her two Windows XP machines. A freelance writer by trade, Laura uses a desktop and a laptop, both of which are connected to a LAN and, via router, to the Internet. Laura had... more

TAGS: Data protection

June 27, 2008

Dell delivers eco-friendly SAS server for SMBs

As the old saying goes, "When you're holding a hammer, everything looks like a nail." For me, this means more than just seeing a storage angle everywhere I look. Lately, it also means seeing the environmental impact of every product I review. Both hammers -- storage and green tech -- saw a worthwhile nail in the PowerEdge T300, an entry-level server recently launched by Dell. Why both hammers? For starters, Dell "gets" storage. In a few short years, the company has moved from a bit player in the storage industry to one capable of holding down a prominent role. Don't... more

TAGS: SAS

June 20, 2008

Resilient storage requires worthwhile testing tools

Taking the latest technologies for a test spin isn't my only reward as a reviewer. Learning how to use slick testing tools is a thrill all its own. Sometimes those two overlap -- which was the case recently when I put Cisco's new Nexus 5000 to the test using technology from Ixia, a vendor that specializes in IP testing. You may be wondering what storage has to do with IP testing. Well, let me set the stage. Cisco's Nexus 5000 is a revolutionary switch that implements Fibre Channel over Ethernet. FCoE, as I've discussed before, shepherds Ethernet to never drop... more

TAGS: Protocols and Technologies

June 13, 2008

How green is your provisioning?

Reaping the fat savings of thin provisioning may have gotten a little easier, as IBM this week announced new features for managing SVC (SAN Volume Controller). And depending on your strategy for implementing SVC's new thin-provisioning capabilities in your storage environment, the news could come with a green lining. As the acronym suggests, SVC is all about block virtualization. SVC boxes sit between hosts and storage arrays, allowing admins to carve logical volumes and present them to application servers over FC connections. In addition to provisioning, SVC offers the ability to create snapshots and volume replicas both locally and remotely.... more

TAGS: Thin provisioning

June 06, 2008

SSDs: Perfect fit for mobile computing?

There aren't many products I review that I can test for traveling. In fact, most are large enough for me to hide behind, if not inside. But the Lenovo ThinkPad T61 with a 64GB Samsung SSD (solid state drive) I am currently testing offered a rare opportunity to take my work with me on the road. Testing SSDs has given rise to some intriguing scenarios. For example, an imaginative person at memory solutions vendor Super Talent came up with the idea of using a paint shaker to put together a torture test scenario for SSDs (movie clip with ActiveX control).... more

TAGS: Solid State Drives

May 30, 2008

On the fast track to tiered storage

Companies leave data on primary silos well beyond the time when they should migrate it to a less expensive tier. This is one of the few truisms on which all storage vendors seem to agree. Of course, that agreement fades away when it comes time to define how to address the problem. Every vendor offers its own proprietary approach to facilitating allocation between storage tiers, and this variety poses one of the most formidable challenges storage administrators face as data volumes continue to increase drastically year after year. One approach that a number of vendors are taking is to inject... more

TAGS: Tiered Storage

May 23, 2008

EMC's bold solid-state bet

Judging from the blogosphere's post-EMC World buzz, EMC's recent passion for SSDs (solid state drives) is no fly-by-night affair. In fact, at the event, which I was unable to attend, EMC suggested that by 2010, SSDs could reach price parity with, and eventually replace, FC (fibre channel) drives. EMC is showing more than a superficial interest in SSD -- quite surprising from a company that doesn't usually jump on new technologies (remember iSCSI or, better yet, RAID 6?) and, instead, waits for other vendors to taste how sharp the cutting edge is. In SSDs, EMC sees competitive advantage -- enough... more

TAGS: Solid State Drives

May 16, 2008

An unblinking look at disaster recovery

I recently received a message in my inbox reminding me of the importance of disaster recovery: The Atlantic hurricane season begins on June 1 -- setting the stage for heavy losses and damage. ... Yet, most real-world problems -- while potentially devastating -- are much less spectacular. Unforeseen problems, like unidentified software bugs, can cause big problems when servers shut down or decentralized software fails. While I do agree that computer hiccups can be very disruptive, images from the terrible earthquake that recently hit China and those from the devastating cyclone that swept Myanmar put disaster recovery into grave perspective.... more

TAGS: Disaster Recovery

May 09, 2008

Solid-state upgrades: Risky business

Hardware upgrades can be a blast. Slide 2GB more RAM in your machine and everything just works faster and smoother. Updating a laptop or desktop with an SSD (solid-state drive), however, can be tricky and not so rewarding, as I am finding. I haven't tested any enterprise-class SSDs yet, but I want to share some of my findings testing flash SSD devices on laptops and desktops. In short, your machines may not be able to keep up with the drives' speed, and unfortunately there is no easy way to tell beforehand what will happen with your specific system. What I... more

TAGS: Solid State Drives

May 02, 2008

Storage that takes care of itself

I've said it before, but I'll say it again: SFF (small form factor) drives allow you to squeeze more spindles into the same rack space, giving you better performance in the same real estate. As an bonus, using 2.5-inch drives reduces the amount of electricity you use and creates less heat than using their larger cousins, essentially making your storage array less demanding on your wallet and on the electric grid. Naysayers will object that SFF drives cannot compete when capacity is the main objective. True, with a maximum capacity of 500GB, SFF drives deliver half of what 3.5-inch drives... more

TAGS: Small form factor drives

April 28, 2008

An interview with the real McCoy

There is a growing appetite for  storage performance in the data center  that old fashioned disk drives don't seem to be able to satisfy. Solid state drives are becoming the new stars of performance hungry applications, but with so many vendors and no unifying  product standard  is there a common ground for those drives? In an exclusive e-mail interview with Jim McCoy, chairman of Pliant Technology, a new company that will soon begin shipping their own SSD products, we try to find an answer to that question.  InfoWorld: What is Pliant Technology? McCoy: Pliant Technology is developing a new class... more

TAGS: Solid State Drives

April 25, 2008

No easy green strategy for storage

I find it ironic that Seagate chose Earth Day to celebrate the shipment of its billionth disk drive. After all, increased drive dependency in the datacenter is fast transforming into an unsustainable energy demand. Of course, the blame does not fall entirely on drive vendors. For the most part, they are simply responding to opportunity. But this Earth Day billionth-drive milestone can't help but remind me of oil companies feasting on record profits while consumers struggle with high prices at the pump. Think I'm exaggerating the environmental impact of the electricity used in the datacenter? Consider this: According to an... more

TAGS: Green Storage

April 18, 2008

Smart array may signal storage shift

Although you often find statements that seem critical of disk drives in this column, I never criticize disk drives per se, but rather how we use them. As of late, I've been interested in the innovative use of disk drives in storage arrays. The latest news from Xiotech fits right into this discussion, providing further proof that the storage industry is fast turning evolution into revolution in rethinking its approach to disk drives. [ For recent disk drive commentary, see "Upgrading to solid state," "Time to bury big-drive 'diskosaurs'," and "Diskosaurs bite back." ] As you may have read, Xiotech... more

TAGS: Protocols and Technologies

April 11, 2008

FCoE catches fire at SNW

Storage Networking World came and went this week, and judging from the hype, FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) is coming out of the conference with a head full of steam. Understandably so, I may add, because this technology, which only a year ago was little more than a jot on a napkin, is poised to make its mark on the storage market. Of course, running FC transport over Ethernet has never been impossible from a technical perspective. Politics, as this rather animated discussion proves, have played a large role in ensuring the two technologies have grown up in isolation. Fast-forward... more

TAGS: Protocols and Technologies

April 04, 2008

"Diskosaurs" bite back

In last week's Storage Adviser, I argued in favor of reducing your enterprise storage footprint, championing the energy and space consumption benefits of replacing 3.5-inch "diskosaurs" with SFF (small form factor) drives. Well, it appears the diskosaurs are biting back, as four Seagate 1TB Barracuda ES.2 drives landed in my lab. The 3.5-inch drives, which Seagate will make available next week, are packed with features that remind you why large-form-factor drives still have a significant role to play when capacity and manufacturing flexibility are the major concerns. The new large Barracuda Similarly to other members of the family, this new... more

TAGS: Small form factor drives

March 28, 2008

Time to bury big-drive "diskosaurs"

The EonStor B12 from Infortrend represents an intriguing proposition: an enterprise-class storage solution in miniature, built on 2.5-inch SAS drives. One look at this small-form-factor vision of the future, and you'll be reconsidering the long-term viability of behemoth arrays. When I first heard about the B12, I was drawn to its potential to reduce power consumption, as well as its small footprint. I have since had the opportunity to begin putting the EonStor B12S through its paces. I will publish the results of my testing in a future review. Here, however, are some initial impressions. First, the array and the... more

TAGS: Small form factor drives

March 21, 2008

Upgrading to solid state

Now that loose SSDs (solid state drives) are available, you may be wondering how best to take advantage of the technology. Here's a breakdown of where retrofitting current machines with solid state could reap worthwhile rewards. Imation, one of the first vendors to market loose SSDs, is currently offering two SSD lines. One, a 2.5-inch drive with either 16GB or 32GB capacity; the other, a 3.5-inch device that stores up to 64GB. Both offer SATA connectivity. Of the two offerings, the 2.5-inch format finds a natural home in laptops, allowing you to exploit one of solid state's major advantages over... more

TAGS: Solid State Drives

March 14, 2008

Infiniband: Back from the dead again?

The need for I/O virtualization and lack of practical short-term alternatives breathes new life into Infiniband For many IT managers, Infiniband immediately brings HPC (high-performance computing) to mind. In fact, this much-snubbed connectivity protocol has found vindication in HPC, where its minimal latency, sustained transfer rate, and gentle impact on CPU cycles have found much appreciation. It's not that Infiniband is unknown among the lower tiers of enterprise computing, but vendors have predominantly favored other protocols, such as FC (Fibre Channel) and, more recently, the controversial newcomer, iSCSI. Which is a pity, because Infiniband could very well be the ultimate... more

TAGS: Protocols and Technologies

March 07, 2008

Sleeping laptops leave encryption at risk

Equipped with a can of air spray and sophisticated data hunting techniques, attackers can rebuild disk encryption keys from fragments of data in memory Just when you thought you could sleep easy with disk encryption, here comes a wake-up call from the Center for Information Technology Policy at Princeton University. In just a few pages, the center's research team proves that disk encryption is easy to defeat if your attacker is skilled and determined enough.When the laptop is in sleep mode, whatever is stored in memory remains in memory, including encryption keys. Big deal, you might think, the laptop asks... more

TAGS: Data protection