Problem solve

Problem solve

Get help with specific problems with your technologies, process and projects.

• Is clustered NAS for SMBs?

  Clustered storage is not just for large enterprises. This tips explores how clustered network-attached storage (NAS) can be leveraged in the small-midsized business (SMB) market. Continue Reading

• What you need to know before implementing NAS clusters

  Now that we've examined the reasons why clustered NAS is getting more popular with storage managers and dispelled the biggest myths about clustered NAS, you're almost ready to deploy a clustered NAS solution. But first you have to know what ... Continue Reading

• How to plan for a disaster before a software upgrade

  Jeff Pelot at the Denver Health Hospital and Medical Center treats upgrades carefully after a simple software change disrupted his DR plan. In addition, read more about how big files can mean big backup problems, and how to keep your data locked ... Continue Reading

• Five ways to control RAID rebuild times

  Hard disk capacities are rapidly increasing, and so are RAID rebuild times. This article offers five tips for keeping RAID rebuilds reasonable. Continue Reading

• Top considerations when buying a NAS array

  Purchasing a NAS platform for your organization requires careful consideration. This article outlines the most important things to consider before making a decision. Continue Reading

• How many bytes for...

  This page provides tables and other information about how many bytes are required (how much computer storage) for various information objects or purposes; it also summarizes some facts that have been gathered about how much information exists in the...Continue Reading

• Tips for creating LUNs

  LUNs are the cornerstone of a server's relationship with its attending storage platform. This article details what you need to consider when creating LUNs.Continue Reading

• How to create an RFP for NAS

  Creating an RFP will help you boil your NAS vendor choices down to a manageable few. And your NAS RFP should include one technology: thin provisioning.Continue Reading

• Seven ways to get better storage tech support

  Tech support is often a pain point for SMBs. Marc Staimer discusses best practices for getting good tech support from storage vendors.Continue Reading

• NAS system planning strategies

  Implementing a NAS environment requires a lot of planning. This tip tells you why location, power and allocation are vital to consider when installing a NAS.Continue Reading

• RAID tutorial: Picking the right RAID level

  While there are multiple variations of RAID available today, only six levels actually matter for SMBs. Marc Staimer discusses how to choose the right RAID level for your business based on the application data type, the criticality of that data and ...Continue Reading

• How to size a SAN

  If your DAS storage infrastructure has reached its limits, or your existing SAN is out of date or just plain end-of-life, your first step will be to know what your storage requirements are.Continue Reading

• SAN or NAS?

  Determine whether implementing a storage area network or network-attached storage is right for your business.Continue Reading

• Five questions to ask a VAR before buying an iSCSI storage array

  Here's five questions you should ask a value added reseller before purchasing an iSCSI storage array.Continue Reading

• Understanding NAS interconnects: Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet

  Understanding interconnects like Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, which are used to integrate NAS devices into networks, can help you make better decisions on NAS deployments.Continue Reading

• Five steps to calculate data storage capacity requirements

  This tip offers five best practices for controlling storage costs with effective storage capacity planning.Continue Reading

• How to evaluate policy manager software

  Storage administrators need to know how to use policy management software, which dictates what data to store, where to store it, when to move it and when to dispose of aged data.Continue Reading

• Why NAS protocols are the language of NAS

  NAS protocols are the language of your NAS system, and understanding how they work is the key to operating a storage network. The main NAS protocols are CIFS and NFS, but iSCSI is gaining ground, and FCoE may be just around the corner.Continue Reading

• Data centers and synchronous replication

  SAN/NAS expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question regarding synchronous replication for data centers.Continue Reading

• Upgrading operating systems for two fabrics

  SAN/NAS expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question regarding fabrics for an operating system.Continue Reading

• NAS devices remain simple and cost effective

  Despite the lack of some features, NAS continues to gain in popularity because users like the concept of just plugging a device into their Ethernet network and having storage available a few minutes later.Continue Reading

• How can companies get internal sponsorship for an email archiving project?

  This is always a difficult question, but the answer goes back to the three reasons why we believe companies should...Continue Reading

• Storage startup Ocarina Networks reduces primary NAS storage data

  Storage startup Ocarina claims a tenfold reduction of file data on primary storage with a split-band appliance and maintains it can work with files that before were not reducible.Continue Reading

• Top three free storage tools for SMBs

  Here are three very useful free software tools that solve data storage problems facing nearly every storage administrator.Continue Reading

• Dispelling myths about clustering NAS and file servers

  This article dispels some of the myths that have sprouted up about clustered storage because the term is used to describe so many different kinds of vendor offerings.Continue Reading

• How to move from DAS to a SAN

  Here's how to move your data from direct-attached storage to your brand-new storage area network.Continue Reading

• How to purchase SAN upgrades

  Every storage area network will inevitably grow to keep pace with the changing needs of enterprise storage. Growth implies more storage capacity, but raw capacity is just the beginning. Growth also means meeting the demand for improved SAN ...Continue Reading

• Network File Sharing vs. Common Internet File System

  Storage expert Greg Schulz explains what you need to know when choosing between Network File Sharing and Common Internet File System.Continue Reading

• Can a NAS filer work for your small business?

  NAS filers are a good option for a small business or department that's not worried about expandability and has fairly simple storage management needs.Continue Reading

• Clustered NAS gaining in popularity

  While clustered storage is often associated with high performance computing, the reality is that mainstream commercial environments are adopting clustered storage, particularly clustered NAS servers, at a rapid rate. These businesses are attracted ...Continue Reading

• Leveraging storage replication for VM disaster recovery

  When you're sizing up storage solutions for DR in a virtual environment, you should consider the issues of vendor support; storage architecture; replication options; deduplication; and recovery options.Continue Reading

• Server virtualization may have big disaster recovery payoff

  The biggest impact of server virtualization may be in disaster recovery, specifically in improving the recovery time of applications that you wouldn't dedicate a standby server to.Continue Reading

• SATA vs. SCSI in RAID

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "How does SCSI in RAID compare to SATA in RAID?"Continue Reading

• How to make your storage greener

  Rick Cook explains how to evaluate your storage energy demands and reduce the cost of power consumption.Continue Reading

• How to purchase an email archiving tool

  This chapter of the Tiered Storage Buying Guide focuses on the purchase considerations for email archiving tools.Continue Reading

• How to purchase an e-discovery tool

  E-discovery tools provide powerful search capabilities that can quickly process and index billions of files based on keywords and other common metadata. The tools can also present search results in forms that are compatible with litigation ...Continue Reading

• LUN basics

  Greg Schulz outlines what a LUN is and how it is used.Continue Reading

• Implementing LUNs

  Greg Schulz explains how to create and implement LUNs.Continue Reading

• How to replace a failed drive in an array

  Rick Cook explains how to avoid replacing the wrong drive in an array.Continue Reading

• Advanced LUN topics

  LUN migration and other data management topics are addressed in this tip.Continue Reading

• LUN management

  Expanding and partitioning LUNs is explained.Continue Reading

• Why RAID rebuilds obstruct data migration

  The best way to migrate data from 400 GB SATA disks to 750 GB SATA disks calls for a consolidated mid-tier storage solution. If your company does not have a significant enough storage management to justify the purchase of such a solution, your data ...Continue Reading

• Top 5 storage management tips of 2007

  Here are the top five storage management tips of 2007, based on readers' interest, covering storage security, thin provisioning and LTO-4 tapes.Continue Reading

• Don't let NAS consolidation impair performance

  Learn how to avoid some common NAS upgrade mistakes.Continue Reading

• Creating half a mirror out of 3 drives totaling 300 GB

  Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question: "Can I create a logical array from my disk bay, which has two disks totaling 300 GB by installing RAID 0?"Continue Reading

• Comparing different backup strategies

  Review the primary options for backup including direct, network and SAN, and determine which solution is best for your backup strategy.Continue Reading

• Companies try green storage strategies to reduce power consumption

  Storage administrators are trying to mitigate the growing problems of power cost and availability by turning to green storage -- a broad mix of technologies and tactics intended to reduce power consumption not only in the data center but across the ...Continue Reading

• Using global spare drives to increase SAN reliability

  Here's a checklist for storage administrators using global spare drives to create a more reliable SAN.Continue Reading

• Growing a RAID group by adding old drives

  Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question: "Can I add old RAID parts I've collected in my repair shop to my existing server?"Continue Reading

• How do 'preemptive rebuilds' work? What else can accelerate disk rebuild times?

  On one front, rebuild times are actually getting better...Continue Reading

• How can RAID address green IT issues and power and cooling challenges?

  RAID is a tool. It's one of several tools that you should have in your 'green toolbox' or your power and cooling toolbox, if you will. RAID comes into play when dealing with data that isn't frequently accessed...Continue Reading

• How do RAID schemes and tactics work with hybrid flash drives?

  RAID can be used for availability and for redundancy, but it can also be used for performance...Continue Reading

• How come RAID still isn't a replacement for backup?

  This is something that's been talked about for quite a while. RAID is really about availability. The idea is, with RAID, you're protecting against device failure, drive failure, component failure or a failure to be able to access that storage...Continue Reading

• How to mitigate the performance penalties of data encryption software

  Learn three tactics that can help you mitigate performance penalties when dealing with data encryption software.Continue Reading

• How to evaluate hardware-based data deduplication products

  Learn about the pros and cons of hardware-based data deduplication products and which ones are proving popular, as well as in-band and out-of-band performance issues.Continue Reading

• How to create a SAN performance baseline

  To understand SAN performance and what is normal SAN behavior, you must have a performance baseline.Continue Reading

• How to integrate iSCSI and Fibre Channel, and make it work

  Although companies of every size are embracing iSCSI SAN technology because of its lower cost and relative simplicity, there are situations where iSCSI and Fibre Channel coexistence makes sense. Here are eight best practices for integrating iSCSI ...Continue Reading

• Tutorial: Creating a tiered SAN architecture

  This tip offers the pros and cons of a tiered SAN architecture, as well as a number of points to consider before creating a tiered SAN.Continue Reading

• How data deduplication works

  Chapter one of our data deduplication handbook takes you under the hood to show how data deduplication works so you can maximize the efficiency of this data reduction technology.Continue Reading

• How to calculate available disk space on a RAID 5

  Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question: "How do I calculate the disk space available on my RAID 5?"Continue Reading

• How to select a storage capacity planning tool

  To select a storage management and capacity planning tool, first calculate how much storage is available and how much of your total storage capacity is actually being used.Continue Reading

• How useful are storage benchmarks?

  Most storage vendors like to tout how well their gear performed on benchmark tests, but the results may not always be as they first appear. The benchmarking process can be easily manipulated because of the large number of variables that influence ...Continue Reading

• Why does my EMC 45 TB drive yield only 41 TB of usable storage?

  Storage expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question: "When is a 300 GB drive not a 300 GB drive?"Continue Reading

• Choosing a low-end NAS product

  Many low-end NAS products are designed for personal or home office use. However, there are some products on the market suitable for certain SMB or enterprise-level applications. Learn what you need to consider before deploying a low-end NAS product.Continue Reading

• How to purchase a data encryption product

  Data security is now a critical problem for every company, regardless of size. This buying guide explores the factors involved in purchasing data encryption hardware and software products.Continue Reading

• How to reduce response time in a SAN

  When it comes to storage area network (SAN) metrics and measurements, such as bandwith, input/output per second (IOPS) and utilization, more is usually better. However, when it comes to response time and latency (the amount of time it takes to ...Continue Reading

• Use of RAID with multiple drives

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "Please give me an example of when RAID 1 with multiple drives is used."Continue Reading

• How SANs aid backup

  The primary motivation for building a SAN is often to meet a pressing need for performance, scalability or both. But today's new SAN buyers are looking for more than performance and scalability; they're interested in better ways of protecting their ...Continue Reading

• Tutorial on solid-state disk (SSD) devices

  Solid-state disk (SSD) devices use much less power and produce less heat than hard disks. But until their prices come down, they'll at best be niche devices.Continue Reading

• How to choose and implement a NAS aggregator

  Rick Cook details network-attached storage (NAS) aggregator basics, suggests things to consider before implementing a NAS aggregator, and outlines the major players in the market.Continue Reading

• How to choose an e-discovery tool

  Here is a list of factors to consider when choosing an e-discovery tool.Continue Reading

• What you should know about iSCSI initiators

  Learn about hardware and software iSCSI initiators and when you should choose each.Continue Reading

• Ten reasons storage security is critical

  Storage expert Kevin Beaver outlines 10 reasons you need to step up your storage security game.Continue Reading

• How to write an archiving program RFP

  With so many archiving systems on the market, putting together a request for proposal (RFP) for an archiving program for structured, semistructured or unstructured data is a key step. It's equally important that your team is well-prepared to ...Continue Reading

• How to make the right NAS gateway purchasing decisions

  NAS gateways overcome the inherent limitations of scale and flexibility by utilizing externally connected storage as external standalone disk arrays. NAS storage capacity is typically expanded by simply adding more disks to the appliance, but this ...Continue Reading

• How to purchase the right NAS appliance

  NAS appliances are frequently touted for bringing convenience and simplicity to network storage. Appliances include their own dedicated disks for storage and RAID, and most NAS appliances can be upgraded with more or larger disks for additional ...Continue Reading

• How to reduce risk with storage security policies

  This tip outlines the importance of storage security policies and offers advice on how to make sure your storage security policies reflect real-world storage needs.Continue Reading

• Achieving secure data storage for shared read/write I/O operation

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "How can we achieve concurrent write access to our SAN without corruption?"Continue Reading

• How to add more channels to a network

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "What is the best way to get more channels in my network?"Continue Reading

• How to increase your storage energy efficiency

  You can improve your storage energy efficiency by spinning down and powering off disk drives not in use, placing disk drives into a slower mode and using RAID levels and tiered storage.Continue Reading

• Why you should perform data classification

  Regardless of how daunting a task it may be, understanding the data we store is the first step in addressing data management issues. This tip outlines some of the main reasons why data classification is essential.Continue Reading

• Using SAS and SATA for tiered storage

  This podcast offers detailed information about SAS and SATA so you can strike the right balance between SAS and SATA in a tiered storage environment.Continue Reading

• How to choose the correct RAID level

  This tip offers nine things to consider when deciding which RAID level is right for your organization's needs.Continue Reading

• RAID levels defined

  This tip offers a listing of the RAID levels in use today and details the characteristics and applications of each.Continue Reading

• RAID 4 vs. RAID 5

  Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa discusses RAID 4 vs. RAID 5.Continue Reading

• What to expect from a storage audit

  This tip outlines the three main types of storage audits, what you stand to gain from each type and offers insight into the audit process.Continue Reading

• How to secure laptops in seven steps

  This tip outlines seven essential steps for protecting your company's laptops and offers practical advice on what you can do to get beyond the basics and develop a new mindset about laptop security.Continue Reading

• Laptop encryption the hard(ware) way

  This tip explains the pros and cons of hardware-based laptop disk encryption and offers an overview of products on the market today.Continue Reading

• How to adapt NAS to your needs

  How to adapt network-attached storage (NAS) by choosing the right NAS accessories for your needs. This tip outlines various approaches to customizing NAS and the variety of NAS accessories on the market today.Continue Reading

• External SATA RAID array vs. system replacement

  Storage expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question about the benefits of using an external SATA RAID array over replacing his entire system.Continue Reading

• Choosing a storage virtualization approach

  This tip outlines three approaches to storage virtualization available today, along with some benefits, caveats and some examples of each.Continue Reading

• RAID: It's alive

  RAID is still relevant today, possibly even more than in the past. However, it has become a transparent, standard feature that isn't often discussed. This tip outlines the state of RAID today.Continue Reading

• How can I minimize disk vibration?

  Any disk drive produces some level of vibration, and that vibration can then be carried to other drives through the physical drive trays or frames in an array.Continue Reading

• How are demands for drive power changing?

  Each new generation of drives offers better capacity and performance but is generally using less power -- at spin-up as well as during normal operation.Continue Reading

• RAID-5 configuration

  Storage management expert Ashley D'Costa answers a reader's question about RAID-5.Continue Reading

• Look at the big IT picture to ensure storage security

  Though storage administration and information security are often handled by two separate groups, getting storage administrators onboard with storage security can greatly help reduce risk of a breach.Continue Reading

• Storage virtualization: Where and how

  This tip outlines the various locations to implement storage virtualization functionality, the different approaches to storage virtualization and offers suggestions on how to choose the right approach for your environment.Continue Reading

• IBM Tivoli Storage Manager pitfalls to avoid

  This tip outlines some of the common issues users encounter in a TSM environment.Continue Reading

• Storage encryption: How much is enough?

  Seven steps to determine your storage security weaknesses are outlined, which can help you determine where you need storage encryption in your environment.Continue Reading

• How does file archiving differ from email and database archiving or document management systems?

  The thing they all have in common is "archiving" -- long-term storage and preservation of data that's inactive...Continue Reading