Tips

  • Intro to backup audits

    This tip outlines the purpose and scope of backup audits, and what you can expect to get for your money.

  • Effective SAN extension strategies

    Extending a SAN requires significant improvements to WAN support for Fibre Channel fabrics.

  • How to document a SAN

    Effective SAN documentation will keep your systems up and running even if your entire staff gets hit by a bus.

  • Are SMB HBAs good enough?

    As HBA vendors pare prices by stripping out infrequently used features, storage administrators need to ask if the next generation of less-costly HBAs will be good enough.

  • Backup budgets have it MAID

    Do you need to take a MAID approach to backup? Massive Array of Idle Disks is a cheap alternative to tape, but there is a downside in terms of retrieval time.

  • E-mail archive applications

    Systems administrators charged who manage e-mail servers are always looking for ways to improve performance. The biggest problem is how to store growing volumes of e-mail.

  • How to roll your own NAS cluster

    Having trouble finding a good out-of-the-box network-attached storage (NAS) clustering solution? Roll your own.

  • Ease into archiving through backup

    It may make sense to explore what your backup software vendor has to offer for archival software.

  • The evolving role of data replication

    Data replication may soon be viewed less as a standalone tool and more as a part of a continuum of data protection technologies.

  • Database too big for its SAN?

    Marc Staimer of Dragon Slayer Consulting says there's no way a database can saturate a SAN -- but if you're worried about performance, there are a few tricks you can try.

  • Experts pick top backup products

    Recently, one of our readers asked our backup experts to name their favorite backup products. Curtis Preston and Pierre Dorion weighed in with their lists.

  • Which comes first: SAN or backup?

    A SearchStorage.com reader recently asked our experts whether his organization should concentrate its efforts on implementing a SAN, or on improving its existing backup.

  • Windows backup application falls short

    XLink's FilePreserver, which allows users to restore files from snapshots, is a great idea but the execution is flawed.

  • The cost of data protection

    To determine how much data protection really costs, you have to take into account productivity and business losses.

  • Best fit for distributed clustering

    This series of articles compares the methods of storage clustering. This installment covers distributed clustering.

  • RFPs create savings

    There are a few steps that organizations should follow during the first phase of an RFP.

  • Exchange and NAS on again

    Microsoft has revised its "No Exchange on NAS" policy to "No Exchange on non-Microsoft NAS."

  • The importance of DR planning

    Everyone knows that disaster recovery planning is good for you, but getting companies to do the right thing is a challenge.

  • Be wary of Shadow Copy limitations

    If you're dealing with shared folders, Shadow Copy can make your life easier. But it's not a complete backup solution.

  • Non-distributed clustering

    This series of articles compares three methods of storage clustering, including examples of each. This installment covers non-distributed clustering.