Problem solve
Get help with specific problems with your technologies, process and projects.
Problem solve
Get help with specific problems with your technologies, process and projects.
Storage 101: Using a director switch
This tip outlines the features of a director switch and details the reasons a director could be advantageous to your particular SAN system. Continue Reading
Wavelength vs. dark fiber for SAN
SAN expert Chris Poelker compares connecting a SAN with wavelength cabling and dark fiber and discusses the pros and cons of each. Continue Reading
LUN expansion with Microsoft cluster server
SAN expert Chris Poelker discusses how to change the size of a LUN in a Microsoft cluster server environment. Continue Reading
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Why do HBAs in a SAN have same base?
Storage expert Chris Poelker outlines WWN basics in order to answer the question: "Why do HBAs in a SAN have same base?" Continue Reading
SATA and SCSI compatibility
Storage expert Chris Poelker discusses SATA/SCSI compatibility issues in this expert advice article. Continue Reading
How to minimize I/O latency
Storage expert Greg Schulz details how to minimize the latency between a server and a storage device.Continue Reading
DWDM, SONET/SDH or IP based technologies for SAN extension?
Storage expert Greg Schulz offers advice on how to choose the right SAN extension technology for your environment.Continue Reading
How many disk drives do you need for RAID 10?
What is the minimum number of disk drives you can have in a RAID 10 array? I have read you must have at least four, but our server admin said it is HP's default, and he can do it on just two drives. This is on a Window Server 2003 with a total of ...Continue Reading
RAID striping or concatenation: Which has better RAID performance?
Designing storage for performance can be difficult, but these tips from our expert will help you compare RAID striping or concatenation based on RAID performance.Continue Reading
Better performance -- RAID striping or concatenation?
Designing storage for performance is a very esoteric effort by nature. There are quite a few variables that need to be taken into account.Continue Reading
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Software vs. hardware RAID
Storage expert Evan Marcus compares software and hardware RAID and outlines the benefits and drawbacks of each.Continue Reading
Which RAID configuration offers the best price-to-performance ratio?
SAN expert, Christopher Poelker addresses a reader's concerns about the way we explained the relationship between RAID price and performance in a 2003 SAN quiz.Continue Reading
Using iSCSI for clustering
Storage expert Christopher Poelker offers insight on setting up clustered storage with iSCSI.Continue Reading
Storage security 101 -- A checklist of practical safeguards
There are some commonly overlooked storage security issues that every storage administrator needs to consider. In this tip, information security expert Kevin Beaver outlines a set of solid storage security basics you can use as a guide to check your...Continue Reading
RAID striping or concatenation
Designing storage for performance is a very esoteric effort by nature. There are quite a few variables that need to be taken into account.Continue Reading
How to convince management to upgrade
Learn how to effectively convince your boss or other management of the need for an upgrade or technology acquisitions.Continue Reading
Checklist: First steps for limiting your downtime
Keeping downtime to a minimum requires forethought, preparation and practice. This checklist covers what you need to do to win the downtime battle.Continue Reading
Five tips for forecasting storage resource needs
Here are five ways to forecast your storage resource needs more accurately.Continue Reading
Calculator for disks per usable space or how much space from each disk
Which is the best platform for a storage subsystem management tool?
RAID 10 and RAID 01: Same or different?
The differences between RAID 10 and RAID 01 are explained.Continue Reading
Can multiple people work against the same NAS?
What is block I/O?
Most popular NAS apps
What does I/O stand for?
Zoning 101: Why zone?
Zoning can offer a number of benefits for your SAN. This tip details the advantages of zoning and offers an explanation of the different methods. (This tip is part of our Storage 101 tip series.)Continue Reading
Creating LUNs to allocate storage on a SCSI target
This advice explains the purpose of creating LUNs and details reasons for creating multiple LUNs.Continue Reading
CIFS benchmarks, please
Learn more about why there isn't a good benchmark tool to measure CIFS performance in a meaningful manner like IOPS over the network and what currently is being done to develop CIFS benchmarks.Continue Reading
LUN sharing
This advice discusses whether a LUN actually be used by two or more servers and a common application like Oracle at the same time and maintain data integrity.Continue Reading
Questions to ask before building a NAS system
Questions and considerations when building a NAS system.Continue Reading
Data classification: Getting started
Classifying data and knowing how its value changes over time will improve service levels, create a better working relationship with business units and reduce costs. (This tip is part of our Storage 101 tip series.)Continue Reading
SCSI vs. iSCSI -- features, functionality and architecture
Securing data at rest vs. data in transit
Kevin Beaver offers insight on why transit is not where the security risk lies and provides recommendations on what you should focus your time, money and effort on instead.Continue Reading
Controlling the storage sprawl
Consolidation, automation and cost control are key to managing storage across multiple data centers.Continue Reading
FC or iSCSI for SAN-based backups?
SATA disk drive duty cycle
Encrypting tape: Software vs. hardware and key management
Encrypting data is a high priority for businesses these days. This tip will help you become familiar with the formats of encryption and the importance of key management.Continue Reading
How DBAs view storage
Storage magazine's exclusive poll gives you the lowdown on how DBAs and storage pros view storage. We detail each group's areas of concern, spotlight their differences and find some common ground.Continue Reading
How to troubleshoot SATA drive connection problems
Use this checklist to help troubleshoot your SATA drive connection problems, and find out what to do with the jumpers and how to check the SATA BIOS drive.Continue Reading
Hot-hot replication with EMC's SRDF?
Storage expert Evan Marcus offers an answer to the question: "Is hot-hot replication possible with EMC's SRDF?"Continue Reading
What is NAS gateway?
RAID groups and parity groups
FC-AL port protocol for storage
Connecting a SAN in the DMZ
Sharing a LUN between windows and making it a cluster
SATA vs. SCSI performance
Is SATA disk better than SCSI disk? Which has better performance? This reader is given an answer by storage expert Greg Shulz.Continue Reading
Incremental and differential backup
This tip details the differences between incremental and differential backups and the benefits and drawbacks of each type.Continue Reading
Boot from the SAN with iSCSI
This tip details the advantages of booting from the SAN instead of locally.Continue Reading
RAID-53: RAID by any other name
RAID 53 has a much higher transaction rate than RAID 3, which is achieved by striping the data across multiple RAID 3 arrays.Continue Reading
IDE NAS solution for home network
NAS box data movers
Disk space for data snapshots
Backup expert Pierre Dorion offers advice about how much disk space is necessary for data snapshots.Continue Reading
How many backup administrators?
Replication of OS and applications
Backup expert Pierre Dorion offers advice on setting up a DR site for existing critical servers at a remote place using Legato's Replistor.Continue Reading
Differences between a two-switch fabric and a full fabric
Storage expert Arun Taneja discusses the differences between a two-switch fabric and a full fabric.Continue Reading
Checklist: Zone your SAN in five steps
Learn how to develop an effective zoning plan and implement it with a minimum of hassle.Continue Reading
CAS vs. Snaplock Volume
This advice details the difference between content addressed storage (CAS) and storage on NetApp's SnapLock Volume.Continue Reading
How to select storage management tools
This tip offers information about various types of storage management tools, and how to choose the right ones for your needs.Continue Reading
SAN disaster recovery planning
Disaster recovery expert Pierre Dorion offers advice to a reader looking for a feasible and cost effective disaster recovery plan for a SAN environment.Continue Reading
RAID-3: What is it good for?
You don't hear much about RAID-3, but it has its uses. Find out when to use RAID-3 and why.Continue Reading
SAS disk drive advantage?
Five ways to secure iSCSI
Storage expert Stephen Foskett outlines five specific ways to secure an iSCSI SAN.Continue Reading
SATA connectivity issues
The business case for storage networks
The business case for storage networksContinue Reading
Checklist: How to troubleshoot your LUN
LUN issues are difficult to diagnose, because they usually arise from specific features of a specific system's hardware and software.Continue Reading
Moving database from SAN to NAS
Storage and memory: What is their relationship?
Bye, bye RAID? Storage moves into networked information services
The storage game has undergone a radical change, with storage hardware and software now being transformed into a networked information service.Continue Reading
Pros and cons of remote mirroring for DR
Remote mirroring takes place over MAN or WAN distances. It's usually between storage arrays or storage appliances, and can be synchronous or asynchronous.Continue Reading
Industry standards for data retention
Checklist: How to set up HBAs
Host bus adapters are one of the most time-consuming parts of a SAN to install.Continue Reading
Evaluating hardware: Price, capacity, port count and more
How to choose the best SAN or LAN switch
Looking to buy a SAN or LAN switch? Here are key questions to ask before you make a product choice.Continue Reading
RAID-10: Two great RAIDs that go great together
Learn about the differences between RAID1+0 and RAID0+1.Continue Reading
How many devices can be attached to an IDE cable?
Finding the WWN for a storage device
Daily data volatility rates
File-based replication vs. volume-based replication
Backup expert Pierre Dorion offers advice about the pros and cons of file-based replication vs. volume-based replication.Continue Reading
Does Veritas NetBackup support BCV backup?
How to plan for I/O-intensive environments
I/O-intensive environments with large, sustained workloads of various I/O sizes have their own special management challenges.Continue Reading
How to plan for a firmware upgrade
Many storage administrators don't manage drivers or firmware until something happens, such as an upgrade or new hardware implementation.Continue Reading
Checklist: Five ways to boost iSCSI performance
There are several things you can do to boost the performance of your iSCSI storage system -- some are easy, and fairly inexpensive.Continue Reading
Calculating available disk space in a RAID-5 set
Learn how to calculate disk space availability for five 36 GB disks using RAID-5.Continue Reading
Calculating space for parity in RAID-5
Brett Cooper offers advice to a reader who asked: "What are the calculations for RAID-5 in regards to the amount of space parity will consume? For instance, if I have a RAID-5 with 10 146 GB drives, what is the percent factor of space used for ...Continue Reading
Checklist: Ten steps to troubleshooting SAN/NAS performance problems
Learn how to isolate the cause of performance problems in your storage system, fix what's broken and learn from your mistakes.Continue Reading
Checklist: How to design LUNs for high performance
If you want the best performance, you need to design your LUNs so they map effectively onto storage devices.Continue Reading
Overhead for RAID 0+1 is too high ... should I use RAID-5?
HSM products from Veritas, Legato and HP
How to choose the right RAID level for your disk array
Cut through vendor hype and determine which RAID level (or levels) is right for your disk array.Continue Reading
Mysterious formatting on a NAS hard drive
SAN vs. LAN network integrity
How to design a core/edge SAN
Use the SPICE algorithm to simplify the process of designing a large core/edge SAN.Continue Reading
Heterogeneous vs. homogeneous SANs
Storage expert Greg Schulz explains the differences between heterogeneous and homogeneous SANs.Continue Reading
Pros and cons of iSCSI arrays
ISCSI arrays will save you a pretty penny, but at a slight cost in terms of performance.Continue Reading
A quick and dirty way to increase a RAID 5 array
You can quickly and easily increase the storage capacity of a RAID 5 array in Windows by using RAID 5's redundancy to sequentially add larger disks.Continue Reading
Preventing common RAID errors
There's a reason we still make backups of data stored in RAID arrays: Things can still go wrong that can cost you all or most of the data stored on the array.Continue Reading
How do you defrag a hard drive on NAS?
There are some situations when you need to defrag a hard drive, but it depends what type of NAS you are using. Learn more in this expert tip.Continue Reading
Ten best practices for moving data files to a SAN
How to defrag a hard drive on NAS to fix unusual hard drive formatting
If a drive is used in a NAS device, you should never have to defrag it. Read one expert's take on why and how to fix unusual hard drive formatting.Continue Reading
Selecting database archiving tools