Features
Features
Primary storage devices
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AI to drive storage media demand in 2024
HDD and NAND-based storage media makers saw revenue and sales drop this year, but experts expect this to turn around in 2024, thanks in part to the demand for AI. Continue Reading
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Lack of new data storage hardware in 2023 unsurprising
While software development and partner integrations sped up in 2023, data storage hardware innovation appeared to slow down. Industry experts weigh in on why. Continue Reading
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Comparing RAID levels: 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and 50 explained
RAID protects data and improves storage performance and availability, but it can be confusing. Read about the different levels of RAID, the pros and cons, and where they work best. Continue Reading
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TD Securities chooses Dell PowerMax to grow with it
Looking at high-end block storage systems for high transactional needs, a Canadian wholesale bank decided to tap Dell PowerMax as an investment for current and future business. Continue Reading
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Storage in space? The data's already there
As research and businesses become more established in space, data storage needs are growing. Vendors are building for the otherworldly conditions and keeping an eye on the moon. Continue Reading
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Storage vendors look to make case for sustainability
Energy costs are rising, and sustainability is all the rage. But storage vendors may struggle convincing customers to combat climate change during an economic downturn. Continue Reading
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Data growth to help storage vendors weather slowing economy
The economy may be slowing down, but reliance on data isn't -- a reality that might help enterprise storage vendors wade through economic turbulence in 2023. Continue Reading
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Automation company swaps Isilon for software-defined storage
The Swedish automation company Hexagon needed super scale and performance for its files. The new SDS upgrade speeds up customer response times. Continue Reading
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School district sheds Dell EqualLogic for DDN
Simsbury Public Schools brought in two DDN arrays that helped the district speed up its VDI environment and reduce its IT footprint at a better cost. Continue Reading
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SSD vs. SSHD vs. HDD: Which one is best?
Hybrid drives promise fast, cost-effective performance for primary and secondary storage. Here's what you need to know about the benefits and drawbacks compared to SSDs and HDDs. Continue Reading
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Composable infrastructure providers tackle modern workloads
Composable infrastructure vendors include titans in IT like Dell and HPE, but also startups such as Fungible and Liqid. Explore product features and the tech's pros and cons. Continue Reading
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The best enterprise storage arrays of 2021
Tintri, Infinidat and Dell EMC enterprise arrays win top honors in the Products of the Year disk and disk subsystems category for their use of flash and automation. Continue Reading
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Hard disk drives to remain dominant storage media in 2022
Hard disk drives are increasing in density and maintaining a lower price point than alternatives, but flash is gaining ground. Here, experts sound off on the fate of HDDs in 2022. Continue Reading
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Build a cloud-ready, global distributed file system
Organizations that want to extend traditional network file shares across data centers, branch offices and public cloud infrastructure have many options. Continue Reading
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A primer on DNA data storage and its potential uses
DNA storage isn't just a futuristic concept -- many companies are actively involved in its development and promotion. There's a major use case in data archiving. Continue Reading
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Quobyte CEO says customers need a scale-out mindset
In order to tackle AI, machine learning and other demanding workloads, enterprises need to break out of their appliance-centric approach to storage, according to Quobyte's CEO. Continue Reading
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The best enterprise storage arrays of 2020
Vast Data, Dell EMC and Infinidat show that flash storage rules the data center in the 'Storage' magazine and SearchStorage Products of the Year 2020 disk and disk subsystems category. Continue Reading
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Hyperscale shift to 18 TB, SMR HDDs top '21 hard disk trends
New 20 TB energy-assisted and SMR hard disk options are starting to ship, but experts predict the top 2021 trend in data center hard drives will be the transition to 18 TB HDDs. Continue Reading
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How the computational storage drive is changing computing
Take a closer look at computational storage technology and products, and how localized computation is changing storage architecture and the compute-storage dynamic. Continue Reading
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Managing unstructured data to boost performance, lower costs
Is unmanaged, unstructured data clogging up your primary storage? Get control of this costly, performance-sapping situation and start managing unstructured data cost-effectively. Continue Reading
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NVMe key-value storage vs. block and object storage
See how this modern approach simplifies the data storage process compared with block and object storage, and learn about the various potential advantages of key-value storage. Continue Reading
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Managed SAN services aim to ease storage chores
Offloading SAN management to an MSP partner could free IT admins from an infrastructure component that sometimes gets short shrift among other data center priorities. Continue Reading
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7 leading storage area network products and vendors
Before selecting a SAN product, learn which features seven market-leading storage vendors provide organizations of all sizes and how they distinguish their products. Continue Reading
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Data center storage adoption reacts to pandemic pressures
Read on to learn how data center and storage administrators use cloud services, remote management and automation to overcome today's COVID-19 challenges. Continue Reading
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On-premises STaaS shifts storage buying to Opex model
Storage as a service enables organizations to access on-premises storage in various ways, such as pay as you go, subscription buying and metered payments. Learn the pros and cons. Continue Reading
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Modern HDD technologies that are bringing hard disks back
Don't write off HDDs just yet. Energy-assisted technologies such as MAMR and HAMR may keep hard disk drives competitive in an evolving secondary storage market. Continue Reading
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HAMR vs. MAMR, and the future of high-capacity hard drives
Energy-assisted hard drive technology is here, and heat-assisted and microwave-assisted magnetic recording technologies are about to bring even more changes to the HDD market. Continue Reading
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5 consumption models help simplify storage buying options
Consumption-based pricing offers organizations flexible options to purchase storage and other infrastructure on-premises, just like they would cloud services. Continue Reading
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6 basics of storage automation, predictive analytics and AI
AI and predictive analytics are included in many storage offerings. See how this functionality helps automate storage, which features are useful and which products have them. Continue Reading
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Pros and cons of composable architecture vs. traditional storage
If traditional storage isn't meeting your organization's needs, composable infrastructure may be the answer. Get to know the pros and cons of both approaches. Continue Reading
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Computational storage fundamentals explained
Computational storage is an emerging technology, but it isn't too soon to develop an understanding of how it can be used to address storage latency and performance issues. Continue Reading
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SNIA's NVM Programming Model and how it works
The Storage Networking Industry Association spec provides a standardized approach to building a non-volatile memory-based storage system architecture. We take an in-depth look. Continue Reading
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Computational storage terminology explained
Computational and edge storage are changing the way we manage data at the network edge. Understanding the terminology around this technology can help clarify how it works. Continue Reading
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Top 2019 enterprise storage arrays win Products of the Year
Winners of the 2019 Products of the Year signal a shift from disk to flash storage arrays. Vast Data takes gold, NGD Systems wins silver and DataDirect Networks captures bronze. Continue Reading
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Slowdown, cloud, as-a-service products top 2019 storage news
Find out what storage industry news resonated with readers this year, including signs of a slowdown, cloud and consumption-based products, new storage arrays and technologies. Continue Reading
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Worried about storing unstructured data? You're not alone
Most data being created today is unstructured, and storage pros often find themselves struggling to keep up. Luckily, efficient unstructured data storage is still possible. Continue Reading
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Discover the best NAS products for your organization
Explore some of the top NAS products on the market -- based on features, cost and implementation -- to help you make the right buying decision. Continue Reading
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Discover the benefits of a network-attached storage device
Find out what's new with NAS technology today, including how it differs from SAN and DAS and where a NAS device might fit into your enterprise's storage plan. Continue Reading
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9 enterprise NAS features and purchase considerations
If you're in the market for enterprise NAS, pay close attention to the system's form factor, the media it supports and how easy it is to increase capacity, among other features. Continue Reading
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8 NAS appliance features to consider for small business
There are a growing number of options for small business users purchasing a NAS appliance. Look through the list of eight enterprise-like features and the advantages they provide. Continue Reading
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Compare and assess 4 top small-business NAS devices
Discover how four small-business NAS appliances stack up against one another regarding their available features to help determine which product is right for your organization. Continue Reading
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Your QLC NAND flash questions, answered
Curious about QLC NAND? From addressing capacity benefits to taking a look ahead at its uncertain future, we answer four common questions concerning the technology. Continue Reading
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The best enterprise storage products of 2018
Get to know the 15 top enterprise storage products selected from a field of more than 100 in the 'Storage' magazine and SearchStorage annual Products of the Year competition. Continue Reading
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Dell EMC PowerMax
Formerly VMAX, PowerMax flash from Dell EMC is rated to deliver 10 million IOPS. All-flash PowerMax maintains the VMAX multicontroller, but replaces SAS SSDs with NVMe. Continue Reading
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The top 5 data storage questions we answered in 2018
As storage continues to evolve, many readers still are curious about the basics. In 2018, common data storage concerns included RAID, capacity and different storage architectures. Continue Reading
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Data storage industry trends revealed in top 2018 news stories
AI, NVMe over fabrics and the cloud were must-read data storage stories in 2018, as were Tintri's struggles and Dell EMC's product moves. See the news that mattered as the year closes. Continue Reading
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DNA data storage developments demonstrate serious potential
As futuristic as it may sound, writing to DNA-based data storage is well on its way to becoming a possibility. Mainstream use may be a ways away, but development has been steady. Continue Reading
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New memory technologies challenge NAND flash dominance
Cost and scaling limits mean planar NAND flash as we know it will slowly cede its pre-eminent place in the memory hierarchy to emerging technologies such as 3D XPoint. Continue Reading
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How NVMe technology will rock the enterprise storage boat
NVMe flash speeds up storage and radically alters server connectivity. How will enterprises adopt NVMe storage and how well will it work with existing technologies? Continue Reading
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Adoption of 32 Gbps Fibre Channel being driven by flash
Flash, along with more and bigger workloads and more demanding applications, is driving businesses to switch from 8 Gbps and 16 Gbps FC to 32 Gbps FC storage environments. Continue Reading
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Molecular memory could boost HDD density
Researchers working with molecular storage have discovered a way to create smaller hard drives with more density. But don't expect to see the technology on the market anytime soon. Continue Reading
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Latest data storage technology takes application-centric approach
These data storage strategies support the use cases customers want without breaking the bank or forcing them to buy technology they don't really need. Continue Reading
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SAN purchase and deployment criteria by the numbers
Capacity and application needs drive businesses to deploy new storage area network systems, while criteria such as number of LUNs and multipathing are key to purchasing decisions. Continue Reading
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Learn storage techniques for managing unstructured data use
Rearchitect storage to maximize unstructured data use at the global scale for larger data sets coming from big data analytics and other applications. Continue Reading
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Primary storage optimization overcomes a range of challenges
Enterprises turn to different products, technologies and tools to optimize primary storage, overcome data storage challenges and make networked storage deployments more efficient. Continue Reading
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Datrium DVX 3.0
Datrium impresses judges and wins top honors with its DVX storage architecture, designed to sidestep latency and deliver performance and speed at scale. Continue Reading
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Infinidat InfiniBox 3.0
InfiniBox 3.0 stores data on disk, deploying a small amount of flash as an acceleration tier. Its caching algorithm ensures the hottest data is on the fastest storage media. Continue Reading
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Pure FlashBlade
Pure Storage FlashBlade is optimized for unstructured data analytics. Its system-on-a-chip architecture uses custom NAND flash blades to accelerate data and its metadata. Continue Reading
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Eight data storage startup vendors to watch in 2018
Even as other storage startup companies fail, newcomers have appeared to take on established enterprise vendors. Can they ride the momentum for flash, hybrid cloud and SDS? Continue Reading
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Buying NAS: Do you want performance and scalability?
Although SANs still rule the modern the data center, the NAS array maintains a position high up on tech buyers' shopping lists for new primary storage. Continue Reading
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A year later: Pros and cons of the Dell and EMC merger
Our experts take measure of the Dell EMC acquisition, the storage and technology merger of the century, a little more than 12 months after the deal closed. Continue Reading
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HDD vs. SSD: Is there room for disk in a solid-state world?
Although SSD vs. HDD speed is vastly different, for the foreseeable future, hard disks will have a place in our increasingly solid-state and even DRAM-centered data centers. Continue Reading
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Multiprotocol unified storage systems poised for growth
With support for block, file or both types of data on the same device, unified storage architecture is a flexible storage option for the modern data center. Continue Reading
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Building an IT resiliency plan into an always-on world
A multipronged approach is the best protection against unaffordable and unacceptable downtime in today's 24/7 business cycle. Continue Reading
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Scalability drives SAN market growth
Better performing, more scalable and capacious storage area networks are required for ever-growing amounts of unstructured data, demanding applications and big data analytics. Continue Reading
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Is an all-flash data center worth it?
The elevated cost of flash technology is a reason to limit flash usage. Find out what other factors go into a flash purchase and how it's used in today's data centers. Continue Reading
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Purchase of NAS arrays driven by need for capacity, desire to expand
As unstructured data continues to lead storage growth, businesses are opting for scale-out NAS arrays to handle current and future capacity. Continue Reading
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SAN arrays maintain primary data storage dominance, for now
Solid-state flash is the most sought-after technology for primary storage, as storage area networks remain the main focus of increasing capacity for most enterprises. Continue Reading
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Zadara Storage Cloud
Zadara Storage Cloud provides block, file and object storage-as-a-service either on-premises hardware managed by Zadara, in the cloud, or both. Continue Reading
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Avere Systems Cloud-Core NAS (C2N)
Building on its NAS Edge filer technology, Avere rolled out Cloud-Core NAS (C2N) product, which puts file and object storage in one system that spans on-premises and the cloud. Continue Reading
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Future of the Ethernet drive may hinge on NVMe over Ethernet
Despite their debut two years ago, drives that connect via Ethernet have been mostly a curiosity. The Ethernet flavor of NVMe over Fabrics may change that. Continue Reading
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Seven tips to improve data storage efficiency
Storage networks, server-side flash, network cache, software-defined storage and all-flash or hybrid arrays help storage performance and efficiency. Continue Reading
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NetApp and Synology top NAS storage systems survey
A storage pioneer and relative newcomer land top honors in our 10th Quality Awards NAS storage systems survey of midrange and enterprise users. Continue Reading
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Companies use caution with cloud file sync and share
Though nearly half of companies are using cloud file sync-and-share services, those who aren't using it have taken a wait-and-see approach. Continue Reading
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Oracle ZFS Storage Appliance system overview
Oracle ZFS Storage uses mechanical and flash storage. The ZS3-2 and ZS4-4 models offer a variety of software for storage management, encryption and security. Continue Reading
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HPE StoreEasy 1000 Storage family product overview
The Hewlett Packard Enterprise StoreEasy 1000 Storage family -- formerly HP StoreEasy 1000 Storage -- has four mid-level NAS models, management tools and BitLocker Drive Encryption support. Continue Reading
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NetApp FAS2500 series: Technical overview
The NetApp FAS2500 series includes the FAS2554, FAS2552 and FAS2520. The NAS systems support hybrid flash setups for environments with mid-tier network storage needs. Continue Reading
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Hitachi NAS platform 4000 overview
The Hitachi NAS platform 4000 series consists of four product models that use a discrete controller that can be attached to almost any Hitachi storage system. Continue Reading
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EMC VNXe3200 midrange NAS system technical overview
The VNXe3200 from EMC is a NAS system for environments that require midrange network storage solutions. Continue Reading
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EMC Isilon X-Series NAS: Isilon x200, x210 and x410
The Isilon X-Series is a lineup of NAS systems that support hybrid flash setups. The products are designed for environments with mid-tier network storage needs. Continue Reading
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EMC Isilon S-Series NAS: Isilon S210 and Isilon S200
The Isilon S210 and S200 are part of the EMC Isilon S-Series line of NAS systems for data storage environments that require mid-level network storage offerings. Continue Reading
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EMC Isilon NL400 NAS platform
The EMC Isilon NL400 is a midrange NAS platform with a maximum raw capacity of 210 TB per node. The array is designed specifically for environments that require near-line storage. Continue Reading
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HUS VM SAN array platform
The Hitachi Unified Storage VM is a storage array designed for enterprise SAN environments requiring high storage capacities. Continue Reading
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HP MSA 2040 storage array
The HP MSA 2040 is a rack-mountable modular storage array for SAN environments that includes increased support for virtualization. Continue Reading
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EMC VMAX Series storage arrays
The EMC VMAX is a family of SAN arrays designed for enterprise environments requiring large amounts of storage. Continue Reading
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A closer look at cloud storage use cases, strategies
Find out how primary storage vendors are closely integrating with cloud storage providers in ways that enable new uses for cloud storage. Continue Reading
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Hewlett-Packard 3PAR StoreServ 7000 Series Storage Arrays
The HP 3PAR StoreServ 7000 series is a line of storage arrays designed for enterprise SAN environments. Continue Reading
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Nimble CS700
Nimble Storage adds a higher-capacity model to its iSCSI hybrid arrays, plus an all-flash shelf to bulk up performance. Continue Reading
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SAN storage systems purchases driven by capacity, performance
Anticipated year-over-year capacity growth of 24% and the need to boost the performance of existing applications is driving new SAN storage systems. Continue Reading
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Figuring out when 16 Gbps Fibre Channel storage networking makes sense
Moving to 16 Gbps FC makes sense for IT shops with new and heavily virtualized servers, solid-state storage and test firm president advises. Continue Reading
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Networking server-based storage
Direct-attached or server-based storage is gaining renewed attention as emerging techs offer ways to pool and share this scalable storage resource. Continue Reading
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Brocade Communications Systems Inc. 1860 Fabric Adapter
The Brocade 1860 Fabric Adapter can partition individual physical adapters into as many as 16 virtual HBAs or virtual NICs with flexible bandwidth allocation. Continue Reading
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Brocade Communications Systems Inc. 6510 SAN Switch
The Brocade 6510 SAN Switch has industry-first 16 Gbps Fibre Channel (FC) support, flexible port configuration and full-duplex 768 Gbps aggregate port throughput. Continue Reading
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NetGear ReadyNAS review: A look at the ReadyNAS 2100
This NetGear ReadyNAS review takes an in-depth look at the ReadyNAS 2100. Learn about the ReadyNAS 2100 features, setup and configurations to determine if it's right for your environment. Continue Reading
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Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) implementation case studies
Learn how three firms tackled management issues in a Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) implementation; case studies detail potential turf wars, restructuring. Continue Reading
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10 Gigabit Ethernet for iSCSI storage, NAS storage still hinges on cost
While 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) offers greater bandwidth for iSCSI storage or NAS storage, IT shops still have to justify upgrade costs with their needs. Continue Reading
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ISCSI SAN FAQ
ISCSI storage area networks (SANs) are frequently touted as a solution for small-midsized businesses (SMBs) moving to networked storage. But, why not just use Fibre Channel? Terri McClure, analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group, discusses the pros ... Continue Reading
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A guide to storage virtualization
Few technologies are more confusing than storage virtualization. Without a guide to explain the different storage virtualization solutions, storage administrators who want to deploy this technology will be lost. Continue Reading
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Host bus adapter (HBA) architecture explained
HBAs are integral pieces of a SAN environment -- they connect the server to the SAN -- but few storage administrators know how to configure them. Continue Reading
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LUN management at the heart of SAN configuration
LUNs are the basic vehicle for delivering storage, but provisioning SAN storage isn't just a matter of creating LUNs or volumes; the SAN fabric itself must be configured so that disks and their LUNs are matched to the appropriate servers. Proper ... Continue Reading