Ask the Experts

Ask the Experts

• Storage and virtualizing servers: What to consider before your project

  Jon Toigo explains how virtualizing servers can affect storage and what to consider before carrying out a virtualization project.  Continue Reading

• Software-defined storage and SSDs

  Marc Staimer, independent storage expert and founder of Dragon Slayer Consulting, discusses software-defined storage and SSDs in this Expert Answer.  Continue Reading

• How is Hadoop infrastructure improving?

  John Webster describes how changes to HDFS and the NameNode can help to improve Hadoop infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Can shared storage be used with Hadoop architecture?

  Storage expert John Webster discusses three ways to use shared storage together with Hadoop architecture in this Ask the Expert answer.  Continue Reading

• How do flash caching software products differ from one another?

  Marc Staimer, independent storage expert, discusses flash caching software in this Expert Response.  Continue Reading

• Is primary storage deduplication important for SSDs?

  Independent storage expert Marc Staimer discusses the importance of primary storage deduplication in SSD and hybrid storage systems.  Continue Reading

• Choosing the right SSD application for addressing VDI boot storms

  Marc Staimer, founder of Dragon Slayer Consulting, discusses how to choose the right SSD application for VDI boot storms in this Expert Answer.  Continue Reading

• HDD vs. flash storage for virtual desktop infrastructure

  Independent storage expert and founder of Dragon Slayer Consulting Marc Staimer answers a question about comparing HDD vs. flash storage for VDI.  Continue Reading

• How to determine whether SSDs are necessary for a VDI implementation

  Independent storage expert Marc Staimer discusses how you can determine whether SSDs are necessary for a VDI implementation.  Continue Reading

• Thin provisioning space reclamation issues with vSphere

  Learn about space reclamation in a VMware environment, including how vSphere's Thin Provisioning Stun primitive works.  Continue Reading

• How to best handle storage oversubscription in a VMware environment

  Storage expert Chris Evans explains the best process for handling oversubscription in a VMware environment, to avoid running out of space.  Continue Reading

• Hard drive cost vs. SSD cost with compression and dedupe

  Dennis Martin discusses the cost of hard drives versus the cost of SSDs when using compression and deduplication in this Expert Answer.  Continue Reading

• Network performance bottlenecks and SSDs

  Dennis Martin talks about how SSDs can shift performance bottlenecks away from storage and onto the network in this Expert Response.  Continue Reading

• Process to convert thick- to thin-provisioned VMDKs

  Learn about the disk provisioning options in vSphere and the process for changing a thick-provisioned VMDK to a thin-provisioned one.  Continue Reading

• New 2.5-inch PCIe SSD form factor emerging

  Dennis Martin, independent storage expert and founder of Demartek, discusses the 2.5-inch PCIe SSD form factor in this Expert Answer.  Continue Reading