Tips

Tips

Data center storage

• 5 signs it's time for a NAS or SAN upgrade

  It's easy to tell when it's time to modernize your storage infrastructure if you know the warning signs. Find out what they are and how Liberty Mutual Insurance handled its upgrade.  Continue Reading

• 4 causes of SSD failure and how to deal with them

  Although NVMe SSDs are a highly reliable storage technology, they are still prone to occasional failure. Here are some best practices to keep your SSDs humming along.  Continue Reading

• SAN vs. HCI: 5 questions to ask

  SAN or hyper-converged infrastructure? Which one will become your organization's on-premises technology choice? Discover which approach may ease complexity and control costs.  Continue Reading

• Choose the right storage management interface for you

  While older storage interfaces were created to meet international standards at the time, storage has evolved, and updated interfaces may be required to manage your infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• When traditional data center technology trumps hyper-converged

  Committing to a conventional data center rather than a hyper-converged approach is sometimes the smarter move. We take a look at some reasons to steer clear of HCI.  Continue Reading

• PATA and SATA: The evolution of disk standards

  Disk standards have evolved over time, and while PATA and IDE may have reliability on their side, growing support and advancements for SATA may make it the preferred option.  Continue Reading

• Repurpose legacy storage systems for reliability and savings

  Planning to move to a new data storage platform? Before kicking your older legacy storage hardware to the curb, consider the benefits of repurposing your existing technologies.  Continue Reading

• Storage Spaces Direct builds on Windows Storage Spaces

  With the new Direct feature, Windows Storage Spaces can use local storage for failover clusters. It also supports JBOD storage.  Continue Reading

• Commercial Hadoop distributors bring HDFS improvements

  These three commercial distributions of Hadoop are alternative options for big data storage that can bypass data protection and performance problems common with HDFS.  Continue Reading

• Object storage vs. file storage for cloud applications

  Object storage systems have several advantages over file systems when it comes to storing cloud applications, including data protection, cost and scalability.  Continue Reading

• Software-defined storage market: Custom vs. commodity hardware

  One of the allures of software-defined storage is that commodity hardware can be used to lower costs. But a custom hardware vendor's offer may sometimes be a better option.  Continue Reading

• Storage for server virtualization: Available options

  Every storage type has its benefits and drawbacks, but what is the best storage for server virtualization? Brien Posey discusses the different options for virtual environments.  Continue Reading

• Docker storage and virtual storage requirements differ

  Docker containers and virtualization present some of the same challenges when it comes to storage, but identical Docker storage and virtual storage systems might not be the answer.  Continue Reading

• Why a cloud storage architecture is a good virtual server option

  A cloud storage architecture can provide the virtual server connection your organization wants with fewer upfront costs and more flexibility.  Continue Reading

• Evaluating storage protocols for your virtual server environment

  The storage networking protocols available for virtual servers differ from those available for physical servers. Here's how to weigh your options.  Continue Reading

• Pick the best LUN size

  Is it better to create one large LUN or many smaller LUNs? The following guidelines can help you to pick the most appropriate LUN size.  Continue Reading

• Three reasons why object storage is a good HDFS alternative

  HDFS manages data across dispersed nodes, but an object storage system that leverages commodity storage can be a compelling alternative.  Continue Reading

• Archiving methods: Smart meta tags, archive in place and FLAPE

  Jon Toigo outlines several archiving techniques, the technologies that make them run smoothly, and explains why data classification is crucial.  Continue Reading

• Learn the benefits of converged infrastructure systems

  Converged infrastructures bundle compute, storage and networking into a single offering that can be deployed quickly. Find out what else they can do.  Continue Reading

• Three considerations to ensure data storage efficiency

  Vendors often claim their products cut out storage inefficiency, but administrators can make a difference as well with some planning.  Continue Reading

• Implementing new technology: Software-defined storage

  Jon Toigo explains how to set up software-defined storage products in an environment so users can achieve the best performance and capacity.  Continue Reading

• Enhance RAID by leveraging storage virtualization

  According to expert Jon Toigo, RAID doesn't have to be on its way out, as long as it's supplemented with other technologies.  Continue Reading

• VM storage: Fundamental rules for efficient environments

  Brien Posey explains the aspects of virtual machine storage that it's important to be mindful of to maximize the performance of a virtual data center.  Continue Reading

• Low-cost VMware shared storage options, decision factors

  Learn about low-cost VMware shared storage options as well as the factors that should carry weight in your choice of a system.  Continue Reading

• Citrix XenServer storage: How it works and what can go wrong

  In Citrix XenServer, the connection between hosts and storage involves multiple components. Find out where problems typically arise and how to fix them.  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

• Top 10 enterprise data storage terms from SearchStorage.com

  Our list of the top 10 data storage terms allows IT pros to dig deeper into popular storage industry terminology.  Continue Reading

• Array-based storage virtualization software: How it works and what it's used for

  Learn about storage virtualization software in the storage array, including information on how Hitachi Data Systems and NetApp implement the technology.  Continue Reading

• I/O performance in need of a fix

  Despite technological advances, unacceptable I/O performance could hold the entire industry back. Here are some solutions that have materialized.  Continue Reading

• Virtual storage appliance market: Categories, capabilities

  A virtual storage appliance (VSA) enables shared storage without dedicated storage hardware. Learn about the four loose categories of VSA as well as the capabilities of each category.  Continue Reading

• How to avoid VDI boot storm problems using SSD

  Learn about the two ways to use solid-state drives (SSDs) to avoid a VDI boot storm problem, including putting certain files on SSD and using SSD as a caching layer.  Continue Reading

• Implementing ITIL: Getting started with ITIL v3 service management

  Are you implementing ITIL v3 service management? Discover five phases of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library process and the benefits of ITIL.  Continue Reading

• Data migration strategies and best practices

  Data migration can be a complicated process. Learn how to make your data migrations seamless.  Continue Reading

• Data archiving: Three key elements

  Whether you're using a consolidated or unified approach, learn why archiving software, storage hardware and management software should be part of any data archiving system.  Continue Reading

• How to select a storage automation product

  Features to look for include a configuration management database with a scalable data collection mechanism, operationally focused reporting, a service portal and task automation.  Continue Reading

• Green storage best practices control costs, increase energy efficiency

  Green storage best practices control power and cooling costs, and increase energy efficiency in your data center. Tiered storage, consolidating storage arrays, solid-state drives (SSDs) and MAID can help.  Continue Reading

• High performance computing demands special backup approach

  For storage administrators, the increasing popularity of HPC servers translates into unique backup challenges.  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

• Justifying your storage staffing

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

• 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

• Five tips in five minutes: A guide to cost management

  The following tips offer quick and easy advice on how to keep costs low while maintaining a prolific storage system.  Continue Reading

• Controlling the storage sprawl

  Consolidation, automation and cost control are key to managing storage across multiple data centers.  Continue Reading

• 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 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

• 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

• How to test your UPS

  Uninterruptible Power Supplies are extremely rugged beasts -- which is both good news and bad news for storage administrators who rely on them.  Continue Reading

• The SNIA shared storage model

  You need to know about this new standard in the market.  Continue Reading

• SD2003: The pros and cons of content-addressed storage (CAS)

  File location independence, authenticity of your files, and the elimination of redundancy are just a few of the benefits of content-addressed storage (CAS) as cited by Arun Taneja.  Continue Reading

• How data centers protect against power outages

  In the wake of Thursday's blackouts -- data center maven and SearchStorage.com contributor John Weinhoeft tells us how data centers can effectively protect against power outages.  Continue Reading

• Get the most from a storage RFP

  Considerations for a good RFP.  Continue Reading

• A brief history of storage management

  An amusing look at the history of storage with Jon William Toigo.  Continue Reading

• Retain your staff if you outsource

  Ideas to follow when your are considering outsourcing some or all of your storage.  Continue Reading

• Controlling cluster sizes to get more disk space in Windows

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• Storage pros need more than technical skills

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• Is data modeling a career path for you?

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