Storage Management Strategies for the CIO
Access "Best Practices: Finding the logic in volume managers"
This article is part of the Vol. 6 No. 8 October 2007 issue of Continuous data protection (CDP) and the future of backup
Forget what you might have heard about host-based volume managers. Here are seven reasons why they deserve some respect. Host-based volume managers (also known as logical volume managers or LVMs) are the most underrated or underutilized components in storage ecosystems, even though they've been around almost as long as open systems. Perhaps because they're host based or often managed by sys admins, many storage administrators don't consider LVMs part of their toolset. I'll set the record straight regarding LVMs and, hopefully, encourage storage administrators to use them to improve the performance of their storage environment. MYTH 1: LVMs aren't required for good performance or balance. Technically, volume managers aren't necessary for hosts such as Fibre Channel, iSCSI, parallel SCSI, JBOD or hardware RAID to access storage. To some extent, storage (hardware) vendors have made matters worse by creating a general dislike for the use of any host-based utilities that duplicate functions in their arrays, primarily RAID. However, as the source of all IO, a host... Access >>>
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What's Inside
Features
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- Sony retires first-generation SAIT
- Solid-state storage not just a flash in the pan
- RAID gets smaller and smaller
- Storage still lacks energy metrics
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How useful are storage benchmarks?
Most storage vendors like to tout how well their gear performed on benchmark tests, but the results may not always be as they first appear. The benchmarking process can be easily manipulated because of the large number of variables that influence performance results. To level the playing field, test results need to be categorized by product type, configuration standards need to be defined for each category and vendors must strictly adhere to the configurations.
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Storage grid pushes the envelope
What started out as a test-bed project for Network Appliance is now a good example of architecting enterprise storage systems. The vendor's Kilo-Client project showcases how SAN booting and thinly provisioned snapshots can be used in a storage grid for rapid provisioning, simplified storage management and huge disk space savings.
- Snapshot: More shops add data classification tools
- New storage systems eye video applications by Jerome Wendt
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Top 10 tips of the summer of 2006
by SearchSMB.com Staff
Storage, security and open source were the front runners in our tally of the Top 10 SMB tips for the summer of 2006.
- Top 10 tips for capacity management
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Storage grid pushes the envelope
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Columns
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Hot Spots: On-demand technology sized right for SMBs
by Lauren Whitehouse
Technology advancements such as deduplication and bandwidth optimization, as well as shrinking storage and bandwidth costs, are making online backup increasingly attractive for small- to medium-sized businesses.
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Best Practices: Finding the logic in volume managers
by Ashish Nadkarni
Host-based volume managers (also known as logical volume managers) are the most underrated or underutilized components in storage ecosystems. Here are seven reasons why they deserve some respect.
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Slow is OK
Slow is OK
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Storage Bin: Leaving you in good hands
It's time for a changing of the guard for the Storage Bin column. Steve Duplessie, whose witty and perceptive insights have graced Storage magazine from day one, is stepping aside to make room for ESG's Tony Asaro to take up residency on our end page.
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Hot Spots: On-demand technology sized right for SMBs
by Lauren Whitehouse
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