Tips

Tips

• Cloud-based archiving: Is it right for your environment?

  Cloud-based archiving is becoming popular due to its data accessibility features and price point. Find out what you need to consider before moving to a cloud archive.  Continue Reading

• When using SSD is a bad idea

  As with most technologies, it’s as important to know when to use SSD as it is when not to use it. Here are some cases when using SSD is a bad idea.  Continue Reading

• Citrix StorageLink integrates SAN with virtualization environment

  Find out what benefits Citrix StorageLink delivers to Citrix XenServer, such as access to advanced features on the storage array, offloading of storage operations to the array, and more.  Continue Reading

• Understanding data movement in Tier 0 storage

  Knowing how SSD tiering software works will help storage managers match data access characteristics of applications.  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

• A guide to moving applications to the cloud

  When considering moving applications to the cloud, it's important to understand which applications will perform well, and which aren't a good fit.  Continue Reading

• Various cloud gateway options and use cases

  Arun Taneja explains why a cloud gateway is essential for cloud storage, and drills into the various types of cloud gateways on the market today.  Continue Reading

• Dealing with cloud storage service providers: Avoiding vendor lock-in

  Vendor lock-in remains a top-of-mind issue for cloud users. Arun Taneja explains what precautions can be taken when committing to cloud storage service providers.  Continue Reading

• Addressing VDI challenges with a WAN optimizer

  Find out how to use a WAN optimizer to address VDI challenges, including details on WAN optimization techniques and vendors, such as F5, Riverbed, Citrix and Silver Peak.  Continue Reading

• The state of SSD TRIM today

  SSD TRIM cleans up deleted data blocks from your storage media. Find out the role it plays in solid-state storage devices.  Continue Reading

• Four use cases when SSD arrays are the right solution

  SSD arrays offer optimized data location and device-independent deployment. SSD arrays also solve the I/O problem of aggregate throughput.  Continue Reading

• FC technology still dominates enterprise storage networking

  FC technology will likely remain the dominant storage networking technology in enterprise IT for at least two years, as 10 Gigabit Ethernet options mount a stiffer challenge.  Continue Reading

• RAID with SSD: A primer

  While RAID is still a storage standard, questions remain about RAID’s relevance with SSDs. This tip will explore the basics of using RAID with SSD.  Continue Reading

• Step by step: Implementing Profile-Driven Storage in vSphere 5

  The process of implementing Profile-Driven Storage in vSphere 5 is not intuitive. Find out how it can ease your storage management chores, and then follow these step-by-step instructions to deploy.  Continue Reading

• Configuring SSD storage for virtual desktops

  Learn what value can be gained from combining SSD storage with virtual desktop infrastructures in this tip from Mark Peters.  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

• Implementing a network-based storage virtualization appliance

  In the fourth installment of our series on storage virtualization, we examine network-based storage virtualization appliances.  Continue Reading

• How SSD software can improve SSD cache performance

  SSD software vendors claim an improvement in performance over using SSD cache alone. This tip will help you choose the right SSD software.  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

• Scale-out network-attached storage: Options in today’s market

  Scale-out NAS systems are gaining interest due to rapid growth of file data and “big data” analytics. Here’s a look at the scale-out NAS vendors.  Continue Reading

• What you should know before choosing a desktop or laptop solid state drive

  Desktop and laptop solid state drives are now widely available at affordable prices. Learn what you should consider before adding an SSD to your PC.  Continue Reading

• How to implement storage virtualization technology at the server level

  Learn about storage virtualization technology at the server-, or host, level, including info on products from Virsto, VMware, DataCore, LeftHand and FalconStor.  Continue Reading

• VMware’s vSCSI filter: What it does and how it works

  Find out how VMware’s vSCSI filter tool operates upon iSCSI data to handle data loss prevention as well as to offload replication tasks from the host and save money on replication.  Continue Reading

• Block-level storage virtualization: Reasons to implement it

  Learn about the reasons to implement block-level storage virtualization, in Part 1 of a four-part series.  Continue Reading

• Primary storage deduplication options expanding

  Primary storage dedupe seems to be on the rise as startups and major vendors extend the technology to arrays, appliances and solid-state storage.  Continue Reading

• vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness improve view into arrays in VMware environments

  The new vStorage APIs for Storage Awareness (VASA) improve visibility into storage arrays that support VMware environments. In this tip, find out how VASA can help admins better manage storage.  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

• Cloud storage review: Cloud storage requirements to know

  In this cloud storage review, learn what differentiates storage in the cloud from cloud storage and the technology requirements associated with cloud storage.  Continue Reading

• SSD architecture: Three deployment options

  Learn about the three main ways to deploy an SSD architecture, and the pros and cons associated with each approach.  Continue Reading

• Weighing the pros and cons of a hybrid cloud model

  The hybrid cloud model holds a number of benefits and risks. Read about which ones may be the most valuable, as well as the most concerning, to your company.  Continue Reading

• Server virtualization storage performance metrics: Which ones matter?

  Get advice on which storage performance metrics you should pay attention to when monitoring and assessing your server virtualization storage environment.  Continue Reading

• How to set up an iSCSI connection in Windows Server 2008

  Frequent SearchSMBStorage.com contributor and Microsoft MVP Brien Posey offers a crash course in how to set up an iSCSI connection in Windows Server 2008.  Continue Reading

• VDI best practices: Making VDI cost-effective for SMBs

  Learn how to make VDI cost effective for your company and get VDI best practices in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Storage performance management: 10 storage system performance tips

  Need some help with your storage performance management? These 10 effective, but often overlooked, tips will help you get the most out of your storage arrays and networks.  Continue Reading

• Creating a private cloud: Architecture and building blocks

  Creating a private cloud can lead to considerable benefits. In this tip, learn the important steps to take when building a private cloud architecture.  Continue Reading

• vSphere Storage I/O Control: What it does and how to configure it

  vSphere’s Storage I/O Control enables segmentation of I/O demands by data store, to enable finer-grained I/O prioritization. Find out how Storage I/O Controls works.  Continue Reading

• vStorage APIs for Multipathing: How the APIs work

  While using vStorage APIs for Multipathing improves storage efficiency, improper configuration and compatibility problems can affect their operation. Find out how the APIs work.  Continue Reading

• Tips for implementing an automated storage tiering strategy

  Learn about the different vendors that offer inter-array tiering in their products, and determine if it is the right automated storage tiering strategy for your environment.  Continue Reading

• Automated storage tiering options for your environment

  Automated storage tiering (AST) is an integrated feature in many appliances, but there are several different options to choose from.  Continue Reading

• Should you bypass the hypervisor for storage I/O?

  Passing storage I/O through a hypervisor can seem inefficient, so does it make sense to bypass the hypervisor and allow virtual machines to mount data storage directly?  Continue Reading

• Cloud service-level agreement shields data from outages

  With cloud outages still frequent and unpredictable, a cloud service-level agreement provides added protection for organizations looking to safeguard their data.  Continue Reading

• VMware’s vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI): How they work and which arrays support them

  The vStorage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) offload storage tasks from the virtual server host to the storage array. Find out which vendors support them and how to disable them.  Continue Reading

• Storage vMotion: Application and performance

  In this tip, learn how Storage vMotion operates, its uses, its system requirements and the steps to take to perform a Storage vMotion.  Continue Reading

• Storage thin provisioning benefits and challenges

  Storage thin provisioning requires transparency into your storage environment and an understanding of how the technology works. We detail the benefits and challenges.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V P2V conversion process and storage considerations

  Learn how to perform a Hyper-V P2V conversion, and find out how to best handle iSCSI- and Fibre Channel-based storage for Hyper-V guest machines  Continue Reading

• Using SSD technology to support memory overcommitment in vSphere

  Using SSD in a vSphere environment helps with memory overcommitment. Find out how memory overcommitment works and why SSD is better at supporting it than mechanical disk.  Continue Reading

• SAN booting alternatives for data storage managers

  SAN booting and server virtualization are fueling the trend toward diskless servers. Learn about the move from internal to external storage, as well as other booting alternatives.  Continue Reading

• FCoE SAN multi-hop technology primer

  FCoE SAN is growing in popularity, but the lack of multi-hop switching support remains a problem. Find out what vendors and users are doing to improve FCoE performance.  Continue Reading

• The impact of SSD technology on the network and CPU

  SSD technology can have a noticeable effect on the network and CPU utilization. Learn how increased traffic loads can change the bottlenecks in your environment.  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

• SSD caching vs. primary storage for data placement

  SSD caching and primary storage are the two main ways to implement solid-state storage technology with respect to data placement. We explain both strategies.  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage options: Public vs. private vs. hybrid cloud storage

  Cloud storage options include public cloud, private cloud and hybrid cloud storage. We weigh their scalability, security, performance, reliability and cost.  Continue Reading

• Using NAS storage devices in a virtualized server environment

  Are NAS storage devices a fit for a virtual server environment? We list factors in choosing these devices, and explain their impact on your storage systems.  Continue Reading

• Storage area network basics you need to know before you buy a SAN

  Before you buy a SAN for your SMB, be sure to review these storage area network basics first.  Continue Reading

• Hybrid clouds: Three routes to implementation

  Are you implementing hybrid clouds in your firm? Find out whether cloud storage software, cloud storage gateways or application integration is the best bet.  Continue Reading

• Thin provisioning storage benefits

  This tip provides an overview of thin provisioning storage, some of its benefits, and potential downsides.  Continue Reading

• SAN performance best practices: More ways to avoid bottlenecks

  There are several ways you can fine-tune and improve your SAN performance. Follow our five tips to avoid data storage bottlenecks and improve SAN efficiency  Continue Reading

• Five ways to improve your storage networks

  These five tips will help you fine-tune your storage networks. Learn what you can do to improve your storage network performance, efficiency and resiliency.  Continue Reading

• Top five tips for managing storage in a virtual server environment

  Server virtualization and virtual desktops can make managing data in a virtual server environment hard. These five tips can help you manage virtual servers.  Continue Reading

• RAID technology advances with wide striping and erasure coding

  Discover why technology like wide striping, storage virtualization and erasure coding is changing our assumptions about RAID technology and data protection.  Continue Reading

• Data storage best practices: Top five storage management answers

  We've collected our top five Ask the Expert answers of 2010 to help you learn about data storage best practices for data storage management.  Continue Reading

• Is PCIe SSD right for you? Deploying PCI Express SSD devices

  Learn about the PCI Express (PCIe) solid-state drive (SSD) market, how and where to deploy PCIe SSD in your environment, and challenges with the technology.  Continue Reading

• Getting started with an iSCSI storage system: An iSCSI primer

  A lot of SMBs are realizing that iSCSI is a good fit for them. Find out what you need to get started with your first iSCSI storage system.  Continue Reading

• Unified storage plays important role in data storage environments

  Find out how unified storage works, benefits of the technology, possible challenges with a unified storage architecture and the future of unified networking  Continue Reading

• Six tips for buying a used storage system

  Are you thinking of buying second-hand data storage equipment to save money? Read these six tips before you buy a used storage system.  Continue Reading

• How to increase your iSCSI SAN's performance

  Read this tip to learn about how to increase your iSCSI SAN's performance and learn other iSCSI SAN troubleshooting tips.  Continue Reading

• Records retention management: Arm yourself against regulatory scrutiny

  Learn how to build a records retention management system that protects you against regulatory scrutiny, satisfies e-discovery requests and manages capacity.  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

• Understanding storage performance metrics

  Learn how to accurately measure storage performance metrics in your data storage system, and discover why your results may differ from vendor benchmark numbers.  Continue Reading

• Incorporating an iSCSI storage system into your Ethernet network

  iSCSI storage systems have many benefits for SMBs. Here's what you need to know before incorporating iSCSI into your existing Ethernet network.  Continue Reading

• Choosing a SAN technology: Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI

  In part three of our series, we examine several misconceptions about FC vs. ISCSI SANs and how to choose the right SAN technology for your SMB.  Continue Reading

• iSCSI storage area networks explained

  In part two of our series, we examine the features of an iSCSI SAN to help you decide if it's the best SAN technology for your SMB.  Continue Reading

• Understanding data deduplication for primary storage

  When applying data deduplication to primary storage should you use inline deduplication or post-processing deduplication? What data selection criteria should you use when deciding to apply deduplication technology to your primary storage?  Continue Reading

• The anatomy of a SAN: Fibre Channel SAN explained

  In part one of our series, we examine the features of a Fibre Channel SAN to help you decide if it's the best SAN technology for your SMB.  Continue Reading

• Erasure codes: The foundation of RAID 6 arrays

  RAID 6 arrays offer users better data protection because they utilize erasure codes that make them more reliable than current conventional parity solutions.  Continue Reading

• Clustered NAS: How to choose the right clustered NAS system

  Finding the right clustered NAS (or scale-out NAS) system means knowing your storage needs. Learn the questions to ask when evaluating your requirements and the latest offerings.  Continue Reading

• Dynamic storage tiering options

  Find out why you should deploy dynamic storage tiering, and learn about the various DST product categories and how to choose the right one for your environment.  Continue Reading

• Data reduction techniques for primary data storage systems

  Learn about the most popular data reduction techniques for your primary data storage systems.  Continue Reading

• Self-healing systems and RAID technology

  Find out how Atrato, DataDirect Networks, Panasas and Xiotech use RAID technology in self-healing systems and also deal with hard disk drive (HDD) failures.  Continue Reading

• Affordable shared storage options for VMware vSphere

  In order to use many of the advanced features in VMware vSphere, you need a shared storage device. This tip offers a list of the most common shared storage options from different vendors.  Continue Reading

• SRM tools: Choosing the right storage resource management tool for storage provisioning

  SRM tools offer capacity reporting, including change management and chargeback, but can be pricey and complicated. Here's what you should know before you invest in SRM tools.  Continue Reading

• Unified storage benefits, implementation and challenges

  Unified storage, or multiprotocol systems, enable block and file data to be stored in a single system. Learn how to implement, deploy and manage a unified storage system.  Continue Reading

• Data storage capacity planning: How to estimate your storage requirements

  SMBs should ask themselves these five questions to help them get started with their data storage capacity planning.  Continue Reading

• The components that make up a well-balanced data storage system

  Learn about the various components in your data storage system including server architecture, HBAs, SAN components and external disks and disk controllers.  Continue Reading

• iSCSI in VMware environments: Best practices

  Learn why you should treat iSCSI as a storage network, consider using only software initiators in iSCSi and why VMware vSphere 4 is a perfect fit for iSCSI.  Continue Reading

• Getting started with cloud archiving: Tips for smaller businesses

  Data archiving should be implemented into all data storage environments, and cloud archiving may be the best cost-effective ways for SMBs to go about doing this.  Continue Reading

• Solid-state drives vs. hard disk drives: How to justify the cost of an SSD

  Learn about the best use cases for solid-state drives (SSDs) and why applications that directly impact revenue are a perfect fit for the technology.  Continue Reading

• Data storage management strategies: Managing logical unit numbers (LUNs)

  This tip explores the background of LUNs in an SMB data storage environment, the different LUN features vendors have to offer and how to determine what type of LUN is best for you.  Continue Reading

• How to use flash-based SSDs in your environment

  We tell you how the combination of flash memory and SSDs can help your organization achieve higher performance levels, cut storage costs and improve green storage initiatives.  Continue Reading

• Choosing a NAS filer for small and medium-sized businesses

  Learn what a NAS filer is, if it's suitable for your SMB and how to choose the right one for your data storage environment.  Continue Reading

• Director switch comparison: Brocade DCX Backbone versus Cisco Systems MDS 9500

  Are you looking for director switch for your SAN? We compare the Brocade DCX Backbone and Cisco Systems MDS 9500 offerings in terms of latency, throughput and FCoE support.  Continue Reading

• Cloud storage pricing revealed: Hidden costs include data migration and access fees

  Learn more about the hidden costs of cloud storage, including data migration costs, storage and access fees, portable device handling fees and more.  Continue Reading

• Creating a data center migration plan

  Your five-step data center migration plan should include an IT assessment, relocation analysis and design, a data migration plan, risk identification and a relocation strategy.  Continue Reading

• Data protection and data security for corporate laptops in SMBs

  As more people travel with corporate data in their laptops, how can you be sure that data in your SMB environment is secure? Follow these tips to ensure data security in laptops.  Continue Reading

• Building a private storage cloud: Essential components

  A NAS cluster, commodity servers and an object/metadata management layer are just some of the essential components needed to build your own private storage cloud.  Continue Reading

• Avoid data migration project failure: Five best practices

  Learn why data migration projects can fail, and how five best practices, such as deduplicating data and documenting the process, can help you avoid cost overruns or delays.  Continue Reading

• Performance metrics: Evaluating your data storage efficiency

  Learn how performance metrics can evaluate the efficiency of your enterprise data storage resources in terms of capacity utilization, performance and data protection.  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

• Factors to consider when implementing Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE)

  Learn the differences between implementing Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) and iSCSI, the costs of upgrading to FCoE and more.  Continue Reading