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Data Storage Handbook:

Learn all about self-service storage

SearchStorage.com

One of the biggest burdens for storage administrators today is provisioning storage. The amount of time it takes to get storage provisioned to an application continues to grow, with wait times of 30 days and longer becoming more common. One solution to this problem, self-service storage, can make any storage admin's job much easier. This handbook will teach you what you need to know before venturing into self-service storage.

Self-service storage gains ground

Self-service storage is the ability to delegate volume provisioning of storage to business units in the organization. Learn how this technology can make your life easier.

Thin provisioning explained

Traditional storage management introduces a lot of waste. Your customers may leave anywhere from 30% to 50% of their allocated space unused. This is hardly trivial -- for every 10 TB purchased, 3 to 5 TB are left unused because of inefficient provisioning. Thin provisioning overcomes these problems, improving storage utilization and saving money.

Best practices: High hopes for thin provisioning

Is thin provisioning truly a miracle technology? Not really. It's not a tool that can magically provide you with more capacity than you purchased. However, it does let you allocate only what's accessed while allowing the host to think it has access to everything it sees.

Thin provisioning pros and cons

Learn how thin provisioning works, as well as its benefits and drawbacks, so you can decide whether it is right for your storage environment.

09 Jul 2008