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Problem solve

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

• Storage basics: RAID striping in detail

  How RAID striping improves performance and how parity fits in. Continue Reading

• How data deduplication eases storage requirements

  Storage administrators are struggling to handle spiraling volumes of documents, audio, video, images and large email attachments. Adding storage is not always the best solution, and many companies are turning to data reduction technologies such as ... Continue Reading

• Justifying your storage staffing

  Three things to consider when calculating staffing levels to get beyond staffing per terabyte. Continue Reading

• Choosing a file virtualization appliance

  Five items to consider before you select and implement a file virtualization appliance. Continue Reading

• Storage switches: Five tips in five minutes

  SearchStorage.com readers frequently ask questions about switches. This article offers a collection of expert responses to recent reader questions. Continue Reading

• How do data classification and file indexing manage unstructured data? 2

  Well, data classification itself is not really a technology, but rather a policy-driven practice of data categorization based on...Continue Reading

• What is unstructured data and how is it different from structured data in the enterprise?

  Expert Pierre Dorion talks about unstructured data and its impact on the data enterprise.Continue Reading

• How do data classification and file indexing manage unstructured data?

  Well, data classification itself is not really a technology, but rather a policy-driven practice of data categorization based on an understanding of the data on hand...Continue Reading

• How can a company set retention policies with such a glut of unstructured data?

  It depends; there are no easy answers to this. There are a number of initiatives that a company should undertake, including disaster recovery, business continuity planning, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and data security...Continue Reading

• How is unstructured data affecting storage administrators and other staff?

  There is absolutely an effect. Additional data volume translates into...Continue Reading

• FCID on two separate fabrics

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question, "Is it possible to have the same FCID appear on two separate fabrics?"Continue Reading

• Offsite vs. onsite storage

  Storage expert Greg Schulz discusses offsite vs. onsite storage.Continue Reading

• SAN server accommodation

  Storage expert Greg Schulz discusses a reader's question: "How many servers can a SAN accommodate?"Continue Reading

• SATA on a Dell Dimension 4400

  Storage expert Greg Schulz discusses using SATA on a Dell Dimension 4400.Continue Reading

• Five ways to get faster restores

  Never forget that backups don't mean a thing if you can't restore your data. In a rapid-paced environment, a slow restore might not be an option. Rick Cook outlines how to get faster restores.Continue Reading

• Connecting an MSA 1500 to an EVA 4000

  Storage expert Greg Schulz discusses how to connect an MSA 1500 to an EVA 4000.Continue Reading

• Ports changing from fabric to loop mode

  Storage expert Greg Schulz explains why a reader's ports are changing from fabric to loop mode.Continue Reading

• SAN performance

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question about SAN performance.Continue Reading

• RAID configuration with three hard drives

  Storage expert Greg Schulz discusses the possibility of configuring a RAID-1 with 3 total hard drives.Continue Reading

• Double drive failures in a RAID-10 configuration

  Storage expert Greg Schulz discusses the possibility of recovering data after a double drive failure.Continue Reading

• Ten questions to increase storage efficiency

  Rick Cook offers 10 things to consider in order to make the best use of your storage, from simply reviewing your storage strategy to standardizing your hardware.Continue Reading

• SATA controllers

  Storage expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "Is a dual-channel SATA controller the same as a two-port SATA controller?"Continue Reading

• Will SAS and SATA replace SCSI technology?

  Learn where to use SCSI, SAS and SATA drives.Continue Reading

• How many servers can a SAN accommodate?

  SAN expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "How many servers can a SAN accommodate?"Continue Reading

• How can I get a handle on unstructured information in my environment?

  This interesting topic is often overlooked, but I see it increasingly in my security assessment work today. Unstructured information is difficult to secure because...Continue Reading

• Scale capacity with clustered NAS gateways

  Jerome Wendt explains what clustered NAS gateways are, how they work and compares various products on the market today.Continue Reading

• Why and how your storage environment will be attacked

  Learn where storage security vulnerabilities exist and how your systems are likely to be attacked.Continue Reading

• NAS vs. PC-based file server

  Business continuity expert Pierre Dorion discusses NAS vs. a PC-based file server.Continue Reading

• Manage heterogeneous NAS devices with virtualization

  NAS virtualization is emerging to solve issues that have cropped up as NAS has moved into enterprise environments. Learn what NAS virtualization is, its potential benefits and what you need to consider when implementing NAS virtualization.Continue Reading

• Difference between parity groups

  SAN expert Greg Schulz discusses the differences between parity groups.Continue Reading

• Sharing LUNs

  SAN expert Greg Schulz discusses the effectiveness of shared LUNs to speed up a NFS.Continue Reading

• SATA port multiplier vs. SATA multilane

  What is the difference between a SATA port multiplier and SATA multilane?Continue Reading

• FC-AL topology in a SAN environment

  SAN expert Greg Schulz describes the FC-AL topology in a SAN environment.Continue Reading

• Balancing act -- Match your data to the correct disk

  Learn how to match your data to the correct disk or storage system to meet different service requirements.Continue Reading

• SAN security benefits

  SAN expert Greg Schulz discusses the security benefits of SAN technology.Continue Reading

• Networked storage vs. direct attached storage

  SAN expert Greg Schulz describes the benefits of networked storage to a reader.Continue Reading

• Block and file access unite with multiprotocol storage

  This tip looks at the pros and cons, as well as when and where to deploy multiprotocol storage, which is also referred to as "unified" storage.Continue Reading

• Easing I/O bottlenecks with Microsoft Scalable Network Pack

  Microsoft's SNP is designed to improve performance by easing network and I/O bottlenecks. This tip explains how this new offering works, and what it means for your storage environment.Continue Reading

• How far apart can SAN locations be?

  Storage locations can potentially be very far apart, separated by thousands of miles, even around the globe. The real consideration in selecting distance is that of latency...Continue Reading

• How are switches changing the way SANs are designed and managed?

  There is more granularity in the device options today, allowing for more versatile device configuration...Continue Reading

• How does IP storage differ from iSCSI, NAS and Fibre Channel?

  Generically, IP storage involves any storage functionality that is leveraging TCP/IP as a network transport...Continue Reading

• Choosing the right storage solution

  Business continuance expert Pierre Dorion assists a reader in choosing a storage solution.Continue Reading

• Optimum storage configuration for OLTP mode

  SAN expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "How would I set up a storage configuration for optimum performance when in OLTP mode?"Continue Reading

• Storage security and the firewall DMZ problem

  Firewalls are often relied upon too much for network security -- especially when it comes to locking down the storage environment. Learn how this firewall demilitarized zone (DMZ) security misconception unnecessarily exposes many critical storage ...Continue Reading

• Hard zoning vs. soft zoning

  SAN expert Greg Schulz explains the difference between hard and soft zoning.Continue Reading

• Managing growing SANs

  SAN expert Greg Schulz explains how to manage a growing SAN.Continue Reading

• Migrating data in NAS gateway configurations

  There are four approaches for migrating data between NAS gateway systems. For storage administrators, the problem is how to maintain data availability during the migration.Continue Reading

• Network connectivity for megastream Ethernet

  SAN expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question: "Which type of network connectivity will work with a megastream Ethernet?"Continue Reading

• EMC DMX vs. Centera

  SAN expert Greg Schulz answers a reader's question regarding EMC DMX vs. Centera storage devices.Continue Reading

• Storage provisioning best practices

  Storage provisioning can be a tricky practice, especially when you factor in that it needs to be done manually. List here are eight best practices when it comes to provisioning.Continue Reading

• Top 10 SAN tips 2006

  Here are the top 10 SAN tips of 2006, based on our readers' interest, covering such topics as iSCSI SANs, RAID striping, SAN performance tuning, balancing SATA and SCSI and more. Check them out now.Continue Reading

• Top 5 iSCSI tips 2006

  Here are the top five iSCSI tip of 2006, based on readers' interest, covering such topics as iSCSI vs. FC, iSCSI security, and iSCSI SAN options.Continue Reading

• Top 10 storage management tips 2006

  Below are the top ten storage management tips of 2006, based on our readers' interest, covering such topics as SRM software evaluation, storage provisioning, security, storage capacity planning and more.Continue Reading

• NAS security 2

  NAS expert Randy Kerns answers a reader's question: How do I secure a network attached storage (NAS) box from physical attacks as well as network based attacks? I have found that disk encryption is useful where there is a physical insecurity like ...Continue Reading

• Top 5 NAS tips 2006

  Here are the top five NAS tips of 2006, based on our readers' interest, covering such topics as NAS consolidation, NAS for SMBs, top products and more.Continue Reading

• Connecting a hard drive to NAS

  Our NAS expert Randy Kerns answers this question, posed by one of our readers: "How would I take an ordinary hard drive and create a network attached storage (NAS) hard drive instead of buying an external hard drive?"Continue Reading

• How to compare Fibre Channel (FC) and SCSI

  Storage expert Greg Schulz offers advice on how to compare Fibre Channel (FC) and SCSI technology.Continue Reading

• Automated data migration: Choosing technology for ILM

  This tip looks at automated data movement in a tiered storage environment to support ILM; performance and capacity load balancing; compliance; and technology upgrades or replacements. Learn what you need to be aware of when implementing automated ...Continue Reading

• How to better connect storage to the business

  We can learn from manufacturing processes and use a supply chain to storage to better align it with strategic business goals. To implement this model, a storage services plan needs to be multidimensional and encompass performance, availability, data...Continue Reading

• The pros and cons of portable storage

  Find out what you should be looking for when it comes to portable storage devices. As they become smaller and more powerful, security risks and backup issues can become a real problem.Continue Reading

• Multipath I/O: Guarantee redundancy during HBA failure (almost!)

  Microsoft's Multipath I/O (MPIO) is designed to mitigate the effects of a HBA failure, by providing an alternate data path between devices. Learn why MPIO doesn't completely eliminate the possibility of problems if an HBA fails and what you can do ...Continue Reading

• Keep end-user storage under control

  With free email services offering up to 2 GB of storage, it's tough to convince corporate email users that mailbox limits are needed. But companies are realizing that user storage quotas are a necessary evil.Continue Reading

• Get fault resiliency with NAS clustering

  Learn some of the possibilities for fault resiliency with NAS systems using clustering.Continue Reading

• IP storage: Five tips in five minutes

  SearchStorage.com readers frequently ask questions about IP storage. This article offers a collection of expert responses to recent reader queries.Continue Reading

• Capacity planning: Reclaim orphaned storage

  This tip takes a look at how to maximize your storage capacity utilization by finding orphaned data and storage that can in turn be re-allocated for another productive use.Continue Reading

• Network disaster recovery: What to consider

  David Davis provides a checklist to prepare you with all the right questions to ask and topics to consider when creating a disaster recovery plan for your network.Continue Reading

• Director vs. switch

  Storage expert Greg Schulz outlines things to consider when choosing switches for a SAN.Continue Reading

• Balancing SATA and SCSI

  Selecting the right combination of SATA and SCSI disk drives in your system is critical. This tip offers suggestions on how you can strike an effective balance.Continue Reading

• Dealing with backup server instability

  Rick Cook outlines common causes of backup failure and suggests tips for avoiding backup server instability.Continue Reading

• Five must-have storage security testing tools

  You know that your storage systems need to be secured and there are plenty of tools to find general security vulnerabilities. But, what about tools that look specifically at storage security vulnerabilities? There are a handful of these tools that ...Continue Reading

• Five ways to add capacity to a NAS system

  NAS expert Randy Kerns offers some actions to take in order to find more space on your NAS system.Continue Reading

• Email archiving implementation: What you need to consider

  Selecting an email archiving application based solely on functionality may result in unexpected administration costs. Considering the following 10 points before deploying an email archive can help you hang onto your loot.Continue Reading

• How to improve SAN utilization

  Improve the utilization of your SAN in terms of performance, capacity and availability. These tips can be applied in principal to FC, iSCSI or InfiniBand block-based SANs, as well as NFS or CIFS file-based NAS environments.Continue Reading

• Records retention: How to avoid recovery headaches

  Traditional backups are rarely adequate for records retention, but many are still relying on them. Rick Cook outlines four things to consider when setting up a records retention policy that can save you a lot of trouble in the long run.Continue Reading

• Multipath I/O and failover: The differences

  Storage expert Rick Cook discusses the major differences between failover and multipath I/O and clears up common misconceptions about each.Continue Reading

• The rising cost of cheap storage

  The commoditization of storage has been driving acquisition cost down for quite some time. However, hidden costs are now starting to surface as organizations struggle to manage hundreds of terabytes of data. This tip discusses the some of the ...Continue Reading

• How SMBs can select a NAS system

  The key factors an SMB should consider for making a NAS system selection and some of usage areas that may have an effect on the choice are outlined in this tip.Continue Reading

• ISCSI network configuration, design and optimization

  It's a must to consider more than just cabling when designing an iSCSI-based storage network. Learn to look at the bigger picture when configuring or optimizing an iSCSI-based storage network.Continue Reading

• Upgrading high-end arrays

  We are currently using an HDS9960 array and are planning to upgrade early next year to another enterprise array. We're in the process of evaluating solutions from Sun/HDS, IBM and EMC. Are there any other vendors of high-end arrays that we should ...Continue Reading

• The problem with unstructured information

  Information security expert Kevin Beaver highlights the problem of managing unstructured information and what you can do to keep your organization on the right track to storage security and out of hot water.Continue Reading

• Purchasing new storage

  We are looking at purchasing a new storage system for our financial application, what should we be looking for? The system needs to provide very high level of performance, be up 24x7 and mirror the information in real-time to our secondary data ...Continue Reading

• How to count the cost of storage

  The cost of each gigabyte of storage is declining rapidly in every segment of the market. Enterprise storage today costs what desktop storage did less than a decade ago. So why are overall costs increasing?Continue Reading

• SAN performance: Five tips in five minutes

  Answers to frequently asked questions about how to improve SAN performance.Continue Reading

• Managing data migration among storage tiers

  Rick Cook outlines a number of approaches to tiered data migration.Continue Reading

• Kerberos and its place in NAS authentication

  Kerberos security has been around since the 1980s, but many people are still unfamiliar with how it works. Storage expert Christopher Poelker explains how NAS environments can benefit from the use of Kerberos.Continue Reading

• SAN certifications for storage pros

  SAN expert Greg Schulz offers advice to a reader who asked: What SAN related certifications should I pursue?Continue Reading

• Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop or switched disk?

  Storage expert Greg Schulz offers advice to a reader considering buying high-end storage from two different vendors -- one uses Fibre Channel Arbitrated Loop technology and one uses a switched-disk interface.Continue Reading

• Active/active vs. active/passive arrays

  Storage expert Greg Schulz outlines the pros and cons of active/active and active/passive arrays.Continue Reading

• Testing iSCSI SAN performance with Iometer

  Iometer, a performance test tool for tuning Windows environments, can also be used to tune performance in iSCSI SANs. The tool lets you simulate the SAN's performance by setting many of the parameters and running tests. Repeated runs with different ...Continue Reading

• NAS: How does a client access files?

  NAS expert Randy Kerns offers advice to a reader who asked: "How does NAS appear to machines accessing files from it?"Continue Reading

• NICs in NAS systems

  NAS expert Randy Kerns answers the question: "Is it typical, when using a NAS appliance, that a host/server would have 2xNICs installed?"Continue Reading

• Storage compatibility: Be sure your equipment works together

  Ensuring compatibility between storage products can be tricky. This tip outlines eight things you need to consider when integrating a new storage product into your environment.Continue Reading

• Taming NAS sprawl and file management

  This tip looks at how NAS can be used to address file management woes as well as how to tame NAS and file server sprawl.Continue Reading

• HBAs: Are dual HBAs worth the investment?

  Storage networking expert Greg Schulz offers advice to a reader debating whether to invest in dual HBAs for their SAN.Continue Reading

• Performance monitoring on boot from SAN

  Networking expert Greg Schulz offers advice to a reader concerned with I/O rates when booting from a SANContinue Reading

• Fiber optics over distance

  Networking expert Greg Schulz offers advice to a reader that asked about using fiber-optic cabling over long distances.Continue Reading

• SAN fine tuning: Get the most from your storage

  The way key SAN components, principally HBAs and switches, are configured will determine overall SAN performance. If you know what to look for and how to make adjustments, performance problems can be greatly reduced.Continue Reading

• NAS vs. DAS

  NAS expert Randy Kerns offers advice to a SearchStorage.com reader who is considering whether to use NAS or DAS.Continue Reading

• Storage certification sources: What's out there for you

  This tip outlines storage certification sources and educational options for storage professionals and offers guidance about deciding on what training is right for you.Continue Reading

• How to improve your storage vendor's tech support

  A survey of Fortune 1000 companies by TheInfoPro found widespread user dissatisfaction with technical support from storage vendors. Here's how to improve that support.Continue Reading