Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• Big data storage and analytics

  There are two basic types of big data analytics—synchronous and asynchronous—but both have big data storage appetites and specialized needs. Continue Reading

• Data storage strategies for virtual environments

  Howard Marks shares advice on how storage differs in virtual server, virtual desktop and cloud environments. Continue Reading

• The benefits of data archive storage

  Data archiving is firmly entrenched as a storage management best practice. SearchStorage surveys indicate that 70% of companies use some form of archiving for email, file systems, databases or other applications. Archiving yields multiple benefits, ... Continue Reading

• Comparing DIMM-connected flash vs. PCIe flash benefits

  Leah Schoeb of Evaluator Group discusses DIMM-connected flash as compared with PCIe flash benefits in this Expert Answer. Continue Reading

• How OpenStack Storage fits in the larger open source OpenStack picture

  IDC analyst Ashish Nadkarni explains how OpenStack Storage's Swift and Cinder fit into the larger open source OpenStack cloud computing platform. Continue Reading

• How OpenStack Block Storage differs from traditional block storage

  OpenStack Block Storage differs from integrated stacks of traditional block storage, says IDC analyst; it's more akin to storage virtualization.Continue Reading

• Complete guide to Hadoop technology and storage

  Learn how Apache Hadoop works, some of its benefits and drawbacks, and what it means for big data and cloud storage.Continue Reading

• Erasure coding tradeoffs include additional storage, disk update needs

  Erasure coding tradeoffs include requirement for additional data storage, need to update extra disks for redundancy purposes, UC professor cautions.Continue Reading

• Are NAND flash wear-out issues solved?

  Dennis Martin of Demartek discusses whether NAND flash wear-out is still a concern in this Expert Answer.Continue Reading

• Erasure coding brings trade-off of resilience vs. performance

  IT's decision on using erasure coding in storage rests on data importance, durability more than amount of data, says storage consultant Marc Staimer.Continue Reading

• Micron adds RPMC support to NOR flash devices for improved security

  Micron announced its Replay-Protection Monotonic Counter (RPMC) feature is now available for its serial NOR flash memory devices.Continue Reading

• What to consider when storing data in the cloud

  Storage administrators who want to keep data in the cloud need to consider collaboration regulations, cost factors and performance requirements.Continue Reading

• Amazon S3 API for cloud storage leads pack, for now

  Vendors continue to add support for Amazon's S3 API, but will alternative APIs knock it down from its current status of the de facto standard?Continue Reading

• Big data storage architecture: Categories, strengths and use cases

  We explore distributed nodes, scale-out NAS, all-SSD arrays and object storage as choices for a storage architecture for big data.Continue Reading

• SCSI controller (Small Computer System Interface controller)

  A SCSI controller, also called a host bus adapter (HBA), is a card or chip that allows a SCSI storage device to communicate with the operating system across a SCSI bus.Continue Reading

• Auto tiering vs. caching in hybrid storage systems

  Auto tiering and caching provide similar benefits in hybrid storage systems, but are different technologies with different capabilities and use cases.Continue Reading

• Choosing the correct laptop SSD

  Leah Schoeb, partner with Evaluator Group, discusses the important considerations for selecting the right laptop SSD.Continue Reading

• Use Windows Server 2012 R2's Storage QoS feature to boost performance

  Learn how the new Storage QoS feature in Windows Server 2012 R2 can boost storage performance and make the best use of capacity.Continue Reading

• FlexPod architecture: Top five things you should know

  FlexPods may seem like an easy way to implement storage and a hypervisor at once, but Brien Posey explains there are several things to consider first.Continue Reading

• Avoid VDI performance issues with monitoring, testing and tools

  Steer clear of VDI performance issues with freeware monitoring and internal testing methods, and free up storage and staff resources as well.Continue Reading

• Can object storage systems be used with file-based apps?

  Learn how to use applications such as Microsoft Exchange or SQL Server with object storage systems on the back end.Continue Reading

• EMC World 2013: EMC ViPR has vendor on software-defined storage route

  EMC ViPR, the vendor's software-defined storage technology, is designed to manage heterogeneous storage as one pool while adding cloud features.Continue Reading

• MRAM technology likely choice as post-flash solid-state storage

  NAND flash-based storage is becoming a common alternative, but NAND flash could soon be replaced by newer forms of non-volatile memory like MRAM technology.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V 3.0's virtual Fibre Channel feature explained

  Microsoft MVP Brien Posey walks users through the process of establishing virtual Fibre Channel connectivity from a virtual machine to SAN storage.Continue Reading

• Rackspace cloud storage features open source software, simple pricing

  Rackspace cloud storage features open source OpenStack Object Storage, Akamai Content Delivery Network and a relatively simple pricing model.Continue Reading

• NexGen Storage Inc. n5-150 Storage System

  IT admins using the NexGen Storage n5-150 Storage System can guarantee performance to each app and isolate workloads from one another on the SAN.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

• Ten questions to help compare cloud storage services

  Cloud storage expert Arun Taneja suggests 10 questions to help you successfully compare cloud storage services.Continue Reading

• Expert Video: Brien Posey on Windows Server 2012 iSCSI features

  Microsoft MVP Brien Posey discusses how to configure iSCSI using the Windows Server 2012 iSCSI Target feature in this expert video webcast.Continue Reading

• Enterprise storage system: 2012 Products of the Year finalists

  Find out the 15 product finalists in the Storage magazine/SearchStorage.com enterprise storage system category.Continue Reading

• Should you believe vendors’ jaw-dropping solid-state performance specs?

  The benefits of solid-state storage are clear -- cool running, space-saving and blistering performance. But just how “blistering” is that performance? Data storage vendors toss previously unheard of numbers around, like millions of IOPS, to show the...Continue Reading

• Hot data storage technologies for 2013

  These six storage technologies will play pivotal roles in transforming data centers in 2013.Continue Reading

• What to expect when using HDFS in Hadoop architecture

  Analyst John Webster details issues with Hadoop architecture and what users can expect from Hadoop Version 2.0.Continue Reading

• Comparing scale-out and object-based storage systems

  Scale-out and object-based storage systems are both built for scaling, but metadata characteristics are the difference maker.Continue Reading

• Understanding unified storage architecture

  Randy Kerns explains that there's more than one way to build a unified storage architecture in this Storage Decisions 2012 TechTalk.Continue Reading

• Windows Storage Server 2012 adds enterprise-grade features

  Microsoft added enterprise features to Windows Storage Server 2012, but experts say it's unlikely to result in enterprise demand for the OEM product.Continue Reading

• Understanding unified storage architecture

  Randy Kerns explains that there's more than one way to build a unified storage architecture in this Storage Decisions 2012 TechTalk.Continue Reading

• Enterprise IT shops now choose SSD storage

  Despite high costs, more enterprise IT shops now choose SSD storage for their I/O-intensive applications.Continue Reading

• DRAM SSD vs. NAND SSD: Let the FUD begin

  This tip looks at areas such as volatility, performance and longevity where buyers will want to weigh the difference between DRAM SSD and NAND SSD.Continue Reading

• PCIe SSD technology offers benefits beyond speed

  In this Q&A, expert Mark Peters looks beyond speed and talks about some of the price and performance benefits of PCIe SSDs.Continue Reading

• Server virtualization and storage management: Better integration, specialized tools

  Virtualization and storage management still presents challenges, but nowadays it provides tighter integration and more effective management tools.Continue Reading

• Despite its limitations, DAS solutions still find role in data center

  Despite limitations, DAS solutions still have a role in data centers, thanks to PCIe solid-state storage products and cloud computing requirements.Continue Reading

• VDI infrastructure and storage platform choices: SAN vs. NAS, Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI

  Read up on how SAN and NAS compare in terms of their ability to support a VDI infrastructure, and then drill down for details on Fibre Channel SAN vs. iSCSI SAN.Continue Reading

• Persistent VDI vs. non-persistent VDI and their effect on storage resources

  Learn the difference between persistent VDI and non-persistent VDI, how they affect storage and which one carries advantages in terms of capacity and backup requirements.Continue Reading

• Dell storage products roadmap includes server flash, primary dedupe

  The Dell storage products roadmap outlined at Dell Storage Forum 2012 includes server-based flash, storage virtualization and primary data reduction.Continue Reading

• vSphere file systems: VMFS 5 plus VMFS vs. NFS

  Learn what makes VMFS unique among file systems, what VMFS 5 brings to the table and how to configure it. Plus, get info on VMFS vs. NFS.Continue Reading

• Examining HDFS and NameNode in Hadoop architecture

  Be on the lookout for issues with NameNode and HDFS when using Hadoop architecture for big data storage.Continue Reading

• Scalable storage systems: Examining scale-out NAS

  Scale-out NAS systems can accommodate data growth simply by adding more capacity and processing power.Continue Reading

• What to consider when choosing a "big data" infrastructure

  As the adoption of a big data infrastructure continues in firms, understanding unstructured storage environments becomes even more important.Continue Reading

• Hitachi Data Systems moves into unified storage architecture with HUS

  Hitachi Data Systems combines BlueArc’s SiliconFS with block storage for its first unified storage architecture.Continue Reading

• Various cloud gateway options and use cases

  Arun Taneja explains why a cloud gateway is essential for cloud storage, and drills into the various types of cloud gateways on the market today.Continue Reading

• Dealing with cloud storage service providers: Avoiding vendor lock-in

  Vendor lock-in remains a top-of-mind issue for cloud users. Arun Taneja explains what precautions can be taken when committing to cloud storage service providers.Continue Reading

• Virtual server storage: Choosing between Fibre Channel, iSCSI and NAS

  Knowing the best virtual server storage option for your data center can be a challenge. Learn the pros and cons of Fibre Channel, iSCSI and NAS.Continue Reading

• NAND flash explained: MLC vs. SLC, part 1

  Dennis Martin discusses the major differences in price, performance and storage capacities between MLC vs. SLC solid-state drives.Continue Reading

• Storage benchmark, planning tools for VDI can help alleviate cost overruns

  VDI storage benchmarking and planning tools can give administrators a better idea of their storage requirements and costs before beginning a virtual desktop project.Continue Reading

• Showback vs chargeback: Showback new resource analysis tool of choice

  In a showback vs. chargeback comparison, showback is winning more fans than the more complex chargeback when it comes to helping businesses track storage usage.Continue Reading

• Choose an integrated stack for efficiency, easy storage implementation

  An integrated stack bundles servers, storage and networking in a preconfigured product and is easy to install and manage.Continue Reading

• Implementation choices for solid-state storage devices

  Learn how implementation choices for solid-state storage devices have exploded in the past year. Download the essential guide for handy reference.Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of using data reduction systems

  Analyst Stephen Foskett outlines the pros and cons of using data reduction systems to slim down your data center footprint.Continue Reading

• 2011 Storage Products of the Year

  These 18 enterprise data storage products rank as the best of 2011 and stand out because of their innovation, practicality and good value.Continue Reading

• 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

• 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

• Best data storage products 2011

  The 2011 Products of the Year recognizes the best storage products in backup and DR software/services, backup hardware, networking and more.Continue Reading

• What you should know before choosing a desktop or laptop solid state drive

  Desktop and laptop solid state drives are now widely available at affordable prices. Learn what you should consider before adding an SSD to your PC.Continue Reading

• Cloud gateways: Advantages and vendor offerings

  Gene Ruth, research director at Gartner, discusses the strengths of cloud gateways, the latest AWS gateway news and what specs to look for when shopping for a gateway appliance.Continue Reading

• Data storage 2011 Products of the Year finalists

  Find out which enterprise data storage products are in the running for a 2011 Products of the Year award.Continue Reading

• FAQ: What you should know before choosing a desktop or notebook SSD

  Learn how desktop and notebook SSDs compare with hard-disk drives, and how you can put the technology to work in your organization.Continue Reading

• Consumer SSDs vs. enterprise SSDs

  Dennis Martin, president of Demartek, discusses the differences between consumer and enterprise SSDs in this Expert Response.Continue Reading

• SSD caching vs. tiering

  Dennis Martin, president of Demartek, discusses SSD caching vs. tiering for SSDs in this Expert Response.Continue Reading

• SSD cost vs. traditional hard drives

  Dennis Martin, president of Demartek, discusses SSD cost vs. traditional hard drives in this Expert Response.Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization solutions at the array or in the network

  Storage virtualization adoption quickens as early barriers are overcome. There are mature solutions available for deploying storage virtualization at the array or in the network.Continue Reading

• Private cloud storage infrastructure technology options

  Enterprise IT shops designing private cloud storage infrastructures will find a plethora of commercial and open-source options.Continue Reading

• SSD Trends: Solid state addresses I/O bottlenecks for companies of all sizes

  Faster than a spinning hard disk, learn about the latest trends in solid-state storage, reliability and what SSDs can offer to enterprises.Continue Reading

• NAS technologies: Vendor landscape

  An overview of NAS technologies to help organizations make the decision between scale-up and scale-out network-attached storage.Continue Reading

• SSD architecture: Three deployment options

  Learn about the three main ways to deploy an SSD architecture, and the pros and cons associated with each approach.Continue Reading

• Weighing the pros and cons of a hybrid cloud model

  The hybrid cloud model holds a number of benefits and risks. Read about which ones may be the most valuable, as well as the most concerning, to your company.Continue Reading

• Hospital system addresses IBM SVC performance, stability problems with alternative configuration

  Spectrum Health breaks up IBM SVC eight-node cluster, taking uncommon tiered approach to improve stability and performance of storage virtualization system.Continue Reading

• Data storage startups to watch: Nimbus Data Systems Inc.

  Nimbus Data Systems Inc. is one of our data storage startup companies to watch. Find out why.Continue Reading

• Data storage startups: 10 emerging vendors worth watching

  The best of today’s storage startups stand out in the areas of solid-state storage, cloud storage, virtualization and SAN/NAS.Continue Reading

• Storage performance management: 10 storage system performance tips

  Need some help with your storage performance management? These 10 effective, but often overlooked, tips will help you get the most out of your storage arrays and networks.Continue Reading

• Storage management solutions for efficient data storage

  Numerous techs promise more efficient use of storage resources. This guide highlights storage management solutions you can use in your environment.Continue Reading

• What you need to know about SMB SANs

  Marc Staimer discusses what to look for in an SMB SANs this Q&A and recent developments in SMB SAN technology.Continue Reading

• Unified storage systems showdown: NetApp FAS vs. EMC VNX

  We compare EMC's VNX and NetApp's FAS series unified storage systems in terms of data services, autotiering and clustering. Find out what analysts and vendor reps think.Continue Reading

• Backing up virtual servers: Traditional apps and new tools

  Most IT shops rely on traditional backup apps with their server clients to back up virtual servers, but that tactic has limitations. There are alternatives for VM backup.Continue Reading

• SAN virtualization: Products and best practices for storage virtualization

  Learn how to best implement SAN virtualization in our collection of top articles on storage virtualization products and best practices.Continue Reading

• Users say choosing the best SMB NAS system has gotten a little easier

  Choosing an SMB NAS system has gotten a lot easier, thanks to a plethora of vendors offering full-featured products priced right for SMBs.Continue Reading

• Using iSCSI for virtual server environments

  In this podcast interview, Mike Laverick discusses the pros and cons of using iSCSI for virtual server environments. Learn how to implement and configure iSCSI and more.Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization products: An important niche

  Storage virtualization products help IT shops in need of non-disruptive data migration, tech refreshes and life support for aging storage assets.Continue Reading

• SSD caching vs. primary storage for data placement

  SSD caching and primary storage are the two main ways to implement solid-state storage technology with respect to data placement. We explain both strategies.Continue Reading

• Cloud storage options: Public vs. private vs. hybrid cloud storage

  Cloud storage options include public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud storage. We weigh their scalability, security, performance, reliability and cost.Continue Reading

• Virtual server tutorial: Managing a server virtualization environment

  This virtual server tutorial evaluates network storage options for virtual servers, describes the VMware vStorage APIs and discusses VMware virtual servers.Continue Reading

• Storage area network basics you need to know before you buy a SAN

  Before you buy a SAN for your SMB, be sure to review these storage area network basics first.Continue Reading

• CommVault Systems Inc. Simpana 9

  Simpana 9 builds on the previous version's broad capabilities by adding source dedupe and allowing users to schedule their hardware-based snapshots. CommVault has also updated its licensing scheme; all features are now crammed into one package ...Continue Reading

• Choosing the best virtual server storage: A tutorial

  Choosing primary storage for virtual servers involves balancing performance, capacity, features, and costs. Learn the key factors to pick the best virtual-server storage system.Continue Reading

• Getting started with an iSCSI storage system: An iSCSI primer

  A lot of SMBs are realizing that iSCSI is a good fit for them. Find out what you need to get started with your first iSCSI storage system.Continue Reading

• Solid-state storage technology: Transforming storage with NAND flash

  Solid-state storage technology is poised to revolutionize data storage with new implementations of NAND flash; discover the benefits of solid-state storage.Continue Reading

• Solid-state storage technology: App needs dictate choice of arrays, cache, appliances or servers

  Solid-state storage technology can be used in different ways. IT must decide whether to use technology in disk arrays, as cache, in appliances or in serversContinue Reading

• Six tips for buying a used storage system

  Are you thinking of buying second-hand data storage equipment to save money? Read these six tips before you buy a used storage system.Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization technology benefits and drawbacks

  We outline the benefits and drawbacks of storage virtualization technology, and tell you how to implement data storage virtualization into your environment.Continue Reading

• VDI technology: What you need to know to implement VDI at your company

  Our VDI technology assessment helps users construct a VDI project plan, provides VDI licensing info and discusses the challenges of implementing VDI storageContinue Reading