Evaluate

Evaluate

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

• Samsung unveils 2nd-generation 3-D NAND technology

  Samsung begins production of its second generation of 3-D NAND flash, called Vertical NAND, which improves write endurance, consumes less power. Continue Reading

• Violin 6000 arrays feature proprietary flash modules, memory fabric

  Violin 6000 Series all-flash storage arrays use proprietary flash modules, memory fabric architecture and RAID to improve performance and latency. Continue Reading

• When hybrid drives make more sense than solid-state drives

  Greg Schulz discusses why hybrid drives are a good compromise for users who want the functionality of solid-state drives without the cost. Continue Reading

• All-flash storage arrays offer choice between performance, function

  George Crump of Storage Switzerland explains how shopping in the all-flash array market may mean getting function over performance. Continue Reading

• IBM N Series dropped from NetApp OEM deal, E Series stays

  IBM says it will stop selling NetApp FAS arrays as the IBM N Series to concentrate on its own branded systems; keeps OEM deal for NetApp E Series. Continue Reading

• Skyera all-flash arrays draw attention on price, capacity, hardware

  Skyera's skyHawk and upcoming skyEagle all-flash arrays are drawing attention based on low price per gigabyte, high capacity and hardware innovation.Continue Reading

• SolidFire flash arrays built for cloud providers

  SolidFire started out selling all-flash arrays to service providers but is adding features that will make the arrays more appealing for enterprises.Continue Reading

• Weigh private vs. public cloud for cold data storage

  The private cloud versus public cloud decision for cold data storage hinges on data amounts, length of storage and access needs, consultant advises.Continue Reading

• Pure Storage all-flash array touts maturity as market space expands

  Pure Storage's third-generation flash array doubles capacity and continues to hold down costs via data reduction as competition heated up.Continue Reading

• Nimbus Data's Gemini all-flash arrays poised to boost capacity limits

  Nimbus Data pledges enterprise storage features in a new X-series array with a 1 PB clustered configuration and potential to store several petabytes.Continue Reading

• Know how persistent VDI, project size affect storage

  VDI expert Brian Madden explains why it's important to pick a storage vendor that's scalable and can support persistent VDI before buying.Continue Reading

• X-IO ISE provides health insurance firm with affordable VDI care

  AvMed turns to X-IO ISE hybrid array to resuscitate sluggish virtual desktop infrastructure, which had been too much for its primary storage.Continue Reading

• NetApp has one all-flash array with mainstream FlashRay on the way

  NetApp still hasn't delivered FlashRay -- its flagship all-flash array -- but has two EF all-flash models for high performance.Continue Reading

• Kaminario K2 all-flash array adds enterprise storage features

  Latest Kaminario K2 all-flash array adds enterprise features such as thin provisioning, inline deduplication/compression.Continue Reading

• Making sense of VDI storage requirements

  VDI expert Brian Madden explains how virtual desktops and virtual servers differ -- and why that means the storage should differ too.Continue Reading

• IBM targets two market segments with FlashSystem platform

  IBM has a FlashSystem all-flash array built for speed and another with traditional storage features as it attempts to appeal to two use cases.Continue Reading

• Hitachi's custom-built flash modules accelerate HUS VM all-SSD version

  Hitachi Data Systems turned its HUS VM unified storage system into an all-flash array by loading it with its custom-build flash modules.Continue Reading

• HP tailors CPU, memory for all-flash 3PAR StoreServ 7450

  HP's 3PAR platform has a spinning disk legacy, but the StoreServ 7450 was modified with a different CPU and memory to support flash.Continue Reading

• EMC XtremIO, VNX-F all-flash arrays offer scale-out, scale-up choice

  EMC XtremIO all-flash array targets customers seeking predictable low-latency performance, scalability; EMC VNX-F focuses on price/GB, price/IOPS.Continue Reading

• Compellent, EqualLogic arrays highlight Dell all-flash strategy

  Dell's Compellent and EqualLogic arrays were originally built for hard disk drives only, but features have been added to take advantage of flash.Continue Reading

• Navigate the complex world of all-flash arrays

  Many early implementations of solid-state storage were hybrid arrays making use of hard disks as well as flash. Today, there are a number of vendors offering all-flash arrays as the price of flash continues to drop. This handbook takes a look at how...Continue Reading

• Interest in block and object OpenStack storage picks up

  All signs point to increased momentum for OpenStack Swift and Cinder storage at the semiannual summit.Continue Reading

• Does it matter if cloud providers use erasure codes or MCM?

  Many admins may not care whether their cloud provider uses erasure coding or multicopy mirroring, but one approach has a bigger impact on protection.Continue Reading

• Pure Storage flash gets arrays bigger, smaller, cheaper

  Pure Storage expands its all-flash array platform with an entry-level model, enterprise system and replication software.Continue Reading

• Tintri VMstore appliance adds Hyper-V support

  After making its name as storage for VMware hypervisors, Tintri VMstore adds Microsoft Hyper-V support for multi-hypervisor customers.Continue Reading

• Is primary data a good fit for the cloud or object technologies?

  Expert Marc Staimer explains how object storage and cloud technologies have evolved into options that can be a good fit for primary data.Continue Reading

• McClure on Syncplicity: EMC file sharing is right on track

  Analyst Terri McClure gives her take on the integration and security upgrades to EMC's file-sharing product Syncplicity at EMC World 2014.Continue Reading

• EMC Hybrid Cloud architecture taps into federation

  EMC's hybrid cloud reference architecture blends technology from EMC, VMware and Pivotal -- but more pieces will be required.Continue Reading

• Red Hat acquisition of Inktank beefs up its storage play

  Red Hat's Inktank acquisition draws praise, but it's unclear when the open source software vendor will become a major player in enterprise storage.Continue Reading

• EMC World 2014: DSSD aims to close PCI flash, DRAM latency gap

  George Crump discusses EMC's acquisition of DSSD at EMC World 2014, says it likely sits between PCI-attached flash and DRAM in terms of performance.Continue Reading

• EMC cloud storage appliance designed to thwart Amazon, Google

  George Crump of Storage Switzerland discusses EMC's new Elastic Cloud Storage Appliance in this video from EMC World 2014 in Las Vegas.Continue Reading

• EMC World 2014 conference coverage

  Get the latest storage news, product announcements and video straight from the showroom floor of this year's EMC World conference.Continue Reading

• SageCloud rebrands as Storiant, launches product for cold data storage

  SageCloud changed its name to Storiant before the launch of its first product, object storage software for low-cost cold storage.Continue Reading

• SanDisk flashes first 4 TB SSD, promises 8 TB soon

  SanDisk delivers first 4 TB SSD, pledges 8 TB SSDs by end of 2014. But, is there a market for $8,000 SSDs?Continue Reading

• Storage budget plans still coping with capacity and performance

  Non-stop data growth and the need for speed are still the driving forces behind storage budget plans for 2014.Continue Reading

• The critical role of archiving systems

  Archiving data is more important than ever; it ensures proper data retention, saves space and eases the backup burden.Continue Reading

• Making sense of the alphabet soup of server-attached storage

  There's been plenty of talk about software-defined storage and how it creates networks from DAS, SAN and NAS. See if it's right for your shop.Continue Reading

• Think beyond simple sync and share

  Providing an alternative to public cloud-based file sync-and-share services is a good idea, but be prepared to expand services to other processes.Continue Reading

• Next-generation data storage will help IT managers do their jobs

  When storage managers are asked about their challenges, data growth always tops the list. Next-generation storage technology could make a difference.Continue Reading

• Stop the data storage presses, flape is here!

  Musing over a new acronym, we can see how, once again, what's new is really what's old.Continue Reading

• Enterprise flash usage centers on hybrid arrays

  Enterprise flash usage centers on hybrid arrays and servers as all-flash arrays gain a foothold; workloads include virtual environments, databases.Continue Reading

• EMC rolls out VNXe3200 array, unveils 'Project Liberty'

  EMC brings out the newest entry-level VNX unified storage array and reveals its next software-defined storage initiative, code-named 'Project Liberty'.Continue Reading

• Object-oriented storage performance improves to handle primary data

  Consultant Marc Staimer explains how vendors have improved the performance of object storage so it can be considered a viable option for primary data.Continue Reading

• Has Cluster Shared Volume support changed in Windows Server 2012 R2?

  Support for Cluster Shared Volumes has improved since its original release. Windows expert Brien Posey explains some of the most important upgrades.Continue Reading

• Ethernet advances haven't pushed FC SANs into retirement

  Ethernet has made advances with packet dropping and speed in recent years, but Fibre Channel remains the SAN protocol of choice for performance.Continue Reading

• All-flash storage arrays: Performance vs. function

  George Crump offers criteria to help IT pros decide whether performance or function is most important when choosing all-flash storage arrays.Continue Reading

• VirtualWisdom adds storage probe for NetApp NAS array

  VirtualWisdom now monitors NAS as well as SAN, as long as your NAS array is NetApp.Continue Reading

• VMware hypervisor swap-out means loss of data storage features

  Switching from VMware's hypervisor to a commercial or open source alternative might necessitate third-party tools to replace storage features.Continue Reading

• Online file-sharing apps seek to balance security with usability

  For IT, online file-sharing products represent a battle between the usability that makes them popular and lock-down features that make them secure.Continue Reading

• PernixData FVP aims to cache RAM, as well as flash

  PernixData extends the read of its Flash Virtualization Platform (FVP) software to work with a wider set of servers and storage.Continue Reading

• What scaling and protection issues exist in virtual server technology?

  Learn scalability and protection factors to consider when trying to identify if a virtual server product you're assessing meets your enterprise needs.Continue Reading

• Lessons in virtual technology: Evaluating hypervisor-aware storage

  Expert Jacob Gsoedl outlines some key areas of hypervisor-aware support to help you align vendors' virtual roadmaps with your requirements.Continue Reading

• How hypervisor-aware are today's virtualized server environments?

  New virtualized server environments created hypervisor-aware storage systems. But some products are more hypervisor-aware than others.Continue Reading

• When should you consider the purchase of an all-flash storage array?

  The decision to buy an all-flash storage array depends on finances; use case; and needs for performance, functionality and scalability.Continue Reading

• Load DynamiX Inc. broadens its validation testing capabilities

  Load DynamiX test suite supports VDI and data reduction; adds a multiprotocol device and virtual appliance.Continue Reading

• Seven questions to ask a potential public cloud storage provider

  Use these seven questions from analyst Arun Taneja to help you in your quest to choose the right cloud provider for your environment.Continue Reading

• Avere Systems helps planetarium accelerate file servers on DAS

  A California planetarium relieves the I/O stress its large digital content repository places on its file servers with Avere Edge Filers.Continue Reading

• Public cloud storage options: Determining what data to move

  Analyst Arun Taneja explains how to establish suitable workloads and use cases for a public cloud environment.Continue Reading

• Working with OpenStack storage: Tips on Cinder, Swift and the cloud

  This guide explores the block, object and cloud storage offerings from OpenStack, one of the most sought-after open source storage platforms.Continue Reading

• What options exist when placing storage in the cloud?

  Object storage is a popular choice for moving storage to the cloud, but it can present a number of challenges. This tip presents three alternatives.Continue Reading

• Rise in cloud-based file sync-and-share services grabs IT's attention

  Does your company's IT department have the tools to support file sync-and-share services?Continue Reading

• Five top new Windows Server 2012 R2 features for storage management

  The latest version of Microsoft's flagship server OS offers a bevy of new storage management features.Continue Reading

• How moving data to the cloud can replace all, or most, onsite storage

  Cloud storage is cheaper, expands endlessly and needs little attention; but how much data can a company realistically park in the cloud?Continue Reading

• How to evaluate and deploy flash storage technology

  Your apps might be begging for flash storage performance, but you'll have to decide where to put it, how much you'll need and how it should be used.Continue Reading

• FC technology use still leads despite Ethernet nipping at its heels

  Some have predicted the demise of Fibre Channel for years, but no networking tech has risen above it for mission-critical apps.Continue Reading

• All flash technology, no substance

  Enthusiasm over flash technology has many being swept along in the inevitable wave of solid-state storage products coming to market.Continue Reading

• The yin and yang of data storage technologies

  I feel like that little girl in "The Exorcist" whose head spins around; it's hard to keep an eye on where storage is headed these days.Continue Reading

• Five top new Windows Server 2012 R2 features for storage management

  Continue Reading

• SanDisk CloudSpeed gets 19 nm upgrade

  SanDisk brings out CloudSpeed 19 nm MLC SATA solid state drives (SSDs) for read-intensive, write-intensive and mixed workloads.Continue Reading

• How can Atlantis ILIO USX be used to optimize VMware vSAN storage?

  Atlantis Computing's ILIO USX could be offered as a joint offering with VMware's Virtual SAN. Find out how it can improve capacity and performance.Continue Reading

• All-flash array helps senior community keep pace with electronic records

  While upgrading to electronic records, St. Ann's Community picked Astute Networks ViSX G4 all-flash array to speed performance.Continue Reading

• Planning and management for a software-defined storage architecture

  Jon Toigo offers implementation tips to help users avoid vendor lock-in and get top performance from their software-defined storage environments.Continue Reading

• production data

  Production data is data that is persistently stored and essential to completing day-to-day business tasks and processes.Continue Reading

• To address limitations of today's NAND chips, 3-D NAND emerging

  In this Q&A, learn more about 3-D NAND, how different vendors' architectures compare and contrast, and when we'll see 3-D-NAND-based products.Continue Reading

• HP upgrades MSA, other SMB storage products

  Hewlett-Packard unveils entry-level MSA shared storage system; HP upgrades StoreEasy NAS quality of service and expands capacity for StoreOnce 4500.Continue Reading

• Farm Intelligence uses Zadara Storage to tame data growing like weeds

  Farm Intelligence moves its data to Amazon Web Services and Zadara Storage software to keep up with the growth of information to be analyzed.Continue Reading

• The evolution of virtual server technology: Hypervisor-aware storage

  As virtual server technology gradually grew to dominance in most data centers, it became apparent that many traditional storage systems weren't up to the task of serving these new virtualized server environments. Performance issues cropped up as ...Continue Reading

• Service provider wants storage defined by hardware, picks X-IO storage

  BroadAspect CTO says he picked X-IO's ISE and Hyper ISE storage systems because of their unique hardware, not any software-defined features.Continue Reading

• Examining the future of the RAID volume

  Expert Jon Toigo provides a set of tips to answer key questions regarding RAID's place in today's storage world, and whether it will be replaced.Continue Reading

• SolidFire adds Fibre Channel, replication, backup for flash arrays

  With the goal of broadening its appeal beyond cloud service providers, SolidFire adds Fibre Channel and enterprise features to its all-flash array.Continue Reading

• OCZ debuts PCIe solid-state lineup with up to 3.2 TB capacity

  OCZ's latest Z-Drive series of PCIe solid-state drives can be used as cache, storage, or to accelerate virtual machine performance.Continue Reading

• VMware Virtual SAN appeals to hyper-converged storage fans

  VMware's vSAN beta appeals to customers who like having their storage, compute and hypervisor in one box, supported by one vendor.Continue Reading

• Panasas adds Windows support to HPC file system

  Panasas replaces open source Samba components with Microsoft Windows SMB/CIFS to broaden the appeal of its high-performance NAS appliance.Continue Reading

• Hypervisor comparison: VMware vs. Microsoft vs. Red Hat

  VMware has had the dominant enterprise-class hypervisor, but there are others worth reviewing. This tip details how Microsoft and Red Hat compete.Continue Reading

• Solid-state memory channel storage takes on latency issues

  Persistent memory channel storage fits into standard DIMM form factor to solve performance and latency issues, but is years away from mainstream use.Continue Reading

• Toigo: Sub-LUN tiering is an alternative to the traditional method

  Expert Jon Toigo explains how traditional tiering has evolved to create additional methods, such as sub-LUN tiering.Continue Reading

• Top tips for software-defined storage infrastructure management

  While software-defined storage eases management of storage applications, it doesn't do much for the hardware, so effective SRM is still necessary.Continue Reading

• DDN WOS takes erasure coding global

  DataDirect Networks has expanded its WOS object storage to include global erasure coding and added a lower-cost hardware node for archiving.Continue Reading

• Object storage systems in demand for big data, archiving

  Object storage system use cases are growing, and their unique metadata capabilities are a good match for big data environments.Continue Reading

• Open source storage software adoption warms, but has yet to catch fire

  OpenStack and Hadoop fuel use of open source storage by cloud providers and large-scale Web firms, but enterprises remain cool to the idea.Continue Reading

• Fujitsu takes the Quality Award for enterprise storage arrays

  In our ninth annual Quality Awards survey for enterprise arrays, Fujitsu didn't just make the cut; it took the cake by earning top honors.Continue Reading

• Use software-defined storage to separate storage application, hardware

  According to Jon Toigo, SDS technology spreads storage functions across hardware in a way similar to that of server virtualization.Continue Reading

• The state of storage network architecture

  Storage networks are struggling with virtualized server environments and flash storage. Your company's storage network may need a major upgrade.Continue Reading

• Managing cloud storage: Tools to control your deployment

  Whether your company is using public, hybrid or a private storage cloud, you need tools to manage, monitor and keep track of the stored data.Continue Reading

• Storage for virtual servers getting smarter

  New products designed from the ground up to specifically serve storage for virtual servers can offer dramatic savings in terms of dollars and the time spent managing storage.Continue Reading

• Hybrid model offers more secure file sync and share

  The first collaboration and file-sharing services were cloud-based, but firms might be more comfortable with hybrid or on-premises implementations.Continue Reading

• Software-defined infrastructure or how storage becomes software

  Maybe there really is something behind all this "software-defined storage" talk -- but maybe it doesn't mean what I think it means.Continue Reading

• The future of data storage: Storage vendors' predictions

  It seems as if every vendor has a mystic on staff who can predict the future of the storage industry. Here's what they think we can look forward to.Continue Reading

• Cloud storage tools manage data stored in the ether

  As much as we might want to assume an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude about the data we ship to cloud storage services, the truth is that it needs nearly as much attention as data stored onsite. Some services offer basic tools to manage ...Continue Reading

• How does a scale-out NAS environment affect storage management?

  Phil Goodwin explains how scale-out NAS systems simplify storage management through a single point of control and by combating performance problems.Continue Reading