Access "Cloud storage: Just another storage tier?"
This article is part of the Vol. 8 Num. 9 January 2010 issue of How vSphere is easing storage burdens of server virtualization
If you dig a little deeper, you'll find cloud storage has been adopted in some sectors as a data archive tier, and has been delivering cost-saving benefits for quite some time. Every few years a technology comes along that gets hyped to the point that no one is truly sure what it means anymore. In the storage world, storage virtualization and information lifecycle management (ILM) are two of those technologies that received a lot of vendor buildup and held a lot of promise for reducing the cost and complexity of the storage infrastructure but never really played out. The latest and greatest technology to hit the peak of the hype cycle is cloud storage. Data storage vendors aren't doing themselves any favors with all the hype and cloudy (forgive the pun) long-term vision around cloud storage, but it doesn't appear to be headed down the same road as ILM and storage virtualization. Unlike with ILM and the original vision (2001-2002 timeframe) of storage virtualization, there are some real and immediate benefits that can be derived for adopting a cloud storage ... Access >>>
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Everything you need to know about vSphere and data storage
With vSphere, VMware addresses many of the past storage-related shortcomings that created headaches for storage pros.
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Ford's storage ledger balances capacity decisions
Storage shops often struggle with anticipating new capacity requirements and ensuring that business needs can be met. After virtualizing its storage, Ford Motor Co. took a unique approach to allocation issues and made capacity planning as simple as balancing a checkbook.
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Quality Awards IV: HP and IBM unseat NetApp
NetApp, winner of all three previous Quality Awards for midrange NAS systems and one for enterprise NAS products, gets nudged aside as Hewlett-Packard and IBM prevail in our latest survey.
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Everything you need to know about vSphere and data storage
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SAS challenges Fibre Channel drives
In their 3 Gbps incarnation, SAS drives have proved popular in low-end and nearline data storage systems, but at 6 Gbps, SAS-2 poses a serious threat to Fibre Channel interface drives and could change the landscape of high-end storage arrays.
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Remote-office backup not getting much easier
Our monthly survey shows that backing up remote and branch offices is still a tough nut to crack for some companies. But newer tools -- like data dedupe -- are helping to ensure that remote data is protected.
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SAS challenges Fibre Channel drives
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Cloud storage: Just another storage tier?
by Terri McClure
Storage vendors have become so enamored of the term "cloud storage" that it's hard to tell what it means anymore. But if you can get past the marketing hype, you'll find cloud storage has been adopted in some sectors as a data archive tier, and has been delivering cost-saving benefits for quite some time.
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Storage should get more interesting in 2010
Despite the buzz about solid state and storage for VMware environments, 2009 wasn't a particularly banner year for standout storage technologies. Here's hoping the real storage innovations will come in 2010.
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Cloud storage: Just another storage tier?
by Terri McClure
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