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November 2008

Outsourcing clouds the green issue: Storage Bin 2.0
by Steve Duplessie
If you think shipping everything offsite is the best way to go green, you should think again.

A turning point for storage networking: Hot Spots
by Bob Laliberte
By 2010 to 2011, most data centers should be onboard with converged networks. Will you be ready? If not, here's why you need to be.

It's time to pay attention to storage power use: Best Practices
by James Damoulakis
Power and cooling isn't just a problem for the data center. According to Gartner Inc., storage managers place power consumption in a three-way tie for last place in terms of their concerns, a clear example of organizational misalignment.

The year of iSCSI storage--finally! (Editorial)
by Rich Castagna

October 2008

Storage Bin 2.0 The color of money
by Steve Duplessie
If your actions will help meet the company's overall green objectives of making more money faster, you'll probably find your status growing along with your budget.

Hot Spots: Don't let SaaS costs sneak up on you
by Lauren Whitehouse
There are plenty of good reasons to opt for backup storage as a service, but there are also plenty of questions you should ask before green lighting any move to online backup.

Best Practices: Why you can't go it alone
by Ashish Nadkarni
Most IT departments are split into islands of expertise, like storage, servers and networks. But the time is coming when those disparate groups will have to learn to work together. Network consolidation is just one of the technologies forcing storage pros to build stronger interdisciplinary IT teams.

Editorial
by Rich Castagna
End in sight for Fibre Channel?

September 2008

Backup by the numbers: Backup Purchasing
by Rich Castagna
Results from Storage magazine's most recent Purchasing Intentions survey reveal that respondents will have to expand or alter their backup systems to protect ever-growing data stores.

Gen2 virtual tape libraries: Hot Spots
by Lauren Whitehouse
From disaster recovery to capacity optimization and dedupe, the next phase of VTL products promises change.

Break those backup bottlenecks: Best Practices
by Jeff Harbert
Backup performance tuning is an art, but identifying infrastructure bottlenecks is more of a strict mathematical exercise once you know the important numbers. And understanding the source of existing and potential bottlenecks makes it easier to find and resolve them.

Connecting the backup dots: Editorial
by Rich Castagna

September 2008

Keep it simple, stupid: Part deux: Storage Bin 2.0
by Steve Duplessie
Are you one of those companies that leaves inactive data on the most expensive architecture and applies stringent (expensive) processes to that same data? If so, wise up!

Migration projects need automation boost: Hot Spots
by Bob Laliberte
If you have a data migration project in the works, challenge your storage vendor, storage software vendor or third-party consulting firm to deliver a solution that reduces the time, risk and cost of your project.

Don't get stuck with old backup ideas: Best Practices
by Jim Damoulakis
The time has come to shed your traditional, compartmentalized view of backup and embrace a recovery-centric data management focus.

Coping with cloud storage: Editorial
by Rich Castagna

August 2008

Storage Bin 2.0: The life and death of information
by Steve Duplessie
We sometimes complicate our processes to create a perception of increased value. Forget information lifecycle management and tiered storage; concentrate on the four simple stages of life for any kind of information.

Backup gets a boost: Hot Spots
by Lauren Whitehouse
Snapshots, continuous data protection and deduplication are making their way into traditional backup products. By capturing, transferring and storing less data in the backup process, organizations can back up more data to disk--retaining data on disk for longer periods of time or enabling disk-to-disk backup for more sets of data than before.

Get your iSCSI game on: Best Practices
by Ashish Nadkarni
iSCSI is a mature protocol for accessing storage and a solid alternative to Fibre Channel. Technologies such as blade servers and server virtualization benefit from iSCSI as it lets you minimize the number of connections required. And because everything is IP-based, there's no more need to waste slots for host bus adapters, which simplifies your configuration.

The big pipe: Editorial
by Rich Castagna

July 2008

What's red hot this summer? Common sense:Storage Bin 2.0
by Steve Duplessie
Information security, data deduplication and virtualization are booming. But as we finally put some of these common-sense themes into practice, we'll invariably expose the next set of weaknesses we'll have to contend with.

FCoE: Coming to a data center near you: Hot Spots
by Bob Laliberte
Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) has the potential to reduce data center complexity and make the world a little greener by decreasing the number of cards, cabling and network devices in the data center.

Change that stands the test of time: Best Practices
by James Damoulakis
We're embarking on a period of significant market segmentation, with vendors creating offerings to target price points and specific feature-set combinations for various audiences.

Dedupe and virtualization don't solve the real problem: Editorial
by Rich Castagna

June 2008

Storage Bin 2.0: Bridging the gap with just one word
by Steve Duplessie
Do you want to once again rise to hold a prominent seat at the table of corporate glory? All you have to do is learn one simple word: "Yes."

Hot Spots: Data deduplication drama
by Lauren Whitehouse
Deduplication is one of those influential, crucial technologies that comes along every few years. But the vendor landscape is changing quickly, with new entrants and a recent spate of acquisitions. Cut through the vendor hype by requesting real-world references and proof points.

Best Practices: Planting seeds of green
by Ashish Nadkarni
Adopting green storage practices is all about being a good corporate citizen, trying to save storage operational costs and perhaps making a positive impact on the environment.

One throat to choke
by Rich Castagna

May 2008

Storage Bin 2.0: Virtualization: It's not just for breakfast anymore
by Steve Duplessie
Storage has never received the glory for all of its virtualization efforts because the server side of the shop always seemed sexier, even though forms of storage virtualization have been around for years. But server virtualization and consolidation efforts might push storage virtualization into the limelight.

Hot Spots: Just say "Yes" to a new IT strategy
by Bob Laliberte
Software will increasingly transcend the self-imposed technology barriers that have evolved in larger data center environments. The ability to create policy-based programs that not only automate processes, but empower others to help themselves, will dramatically improve efficiency.

Best Practices: Storage provisioning steps to keep your infrastructure healthy
by James Damoulakis
To avoid inefficiency, the storage provisioning function must be brought into balance. Users must consider changes to process, responsibility and ownership, and identify areas where newer technologies can help.

Pivotal time for storage (Editorial)
by Rich Castagna

April 2008

Storage Bin 2.0: Winds of change push storage into a new era
by Steve Duplessie
The transactional computing era is over. The Internet computing era is dragging data into the "cloud," and this new era will rain more files--and bigger files--down on you than you can ever imagine.

Hot Spots: Step one for DR: Server virtualization
by Lauren Whitehouse
Server virtualization technology reduces the cost and complexity traditionally associated with remote replication for disaster recovery (DR) and DR testing, enabling organizations of all sizes to introduce DR where it didn't exist before.

Best Practices: High hopes for thin provisioning
by Ashish Nadkarni
Thin provisioning is a promising way to address allocation and performance. One of the biggest challenges when using the technology is knowing where your data lives, and whether it can be tracked or recovered if there's a catastrophic component failure.

Cloudy future for storage? (Editorial)
by Rich Castagna

March 2008

Storage Bin 2.0: A perfect time to return
by Steve Duplessie
Infrastructure 3.0 has lured Steve Duplessie out of "retirement." Read his thoughts about the third era of data and how all of this "brand-spanking-new stuff" will affect the market.

Hot Spots: Tap virtual servers, storage for all they're worth
by Bob Laliberte
To keep pace with changes in the server and storage domains, organizations need to ensure that the I/O path doesn't become a bottleneck. Automated patch panels, N_Port ID Virtualization, Fibre Channel over Ethernet and InfiniBand are just some of the technologies that might resolve this issue.

Best Practices: Foolproof DR is still a moving target
by James Damoulakis
Do you want to establish more predictable disaster recovery? We've outlined eight necessary elements that will help you coordinate and synchronize the various parts of your environment so they function together.

Blue in the face about green: Editorial
by Rich Castagna

February 2008

Hot Spots: A new level of backup reporting
by Lauren Whitehouse
Backup success rates are improving, but reliable data recovery can still be a nightmare. The good news is that backup reporting tools can give you more insight than ever into the sometimes mysterious process of data protection.

Best Practices: The year ahead: Green power, weak dollars and more apps
by Ashish Nadkarni
Tighter budgets could mean some belt-tightening in your storage shop. To save money, you might have to spend a little to take advantage of some of the key trends for 2008: virtualization, green storage and storage as a service.

Storage Bin 2.0: Time for RAID to die
by Tony Asaro
Storage has changed radically since the invention of RAID. Some storage systems are reducing their RAID use, while others are moving away from the technology. And this is a good thing.

Editorial: Whaddaya mean you can't find it?
by Rich Castagna
Whaddaya mean you can't find it?

January 2008

Hot Spots: New Year's resolution: Get my storage organized
by Bob Laliberte
Storage resource management (SRM) software can be one of the most effective ways to optimize your storage environment. But when it comes to SRM, you'd better look before you leap.

Best Practices: Unraveling tape encryption
by Jim Damoulakis
With the emergence of new generations of tape drives featuring onboard hardware encryption, companies are revisiting their tape security practices in the hope that this new technology will solve security concerns at an affordable price.

Storage Bin 2.0: Ringing in a new storage market
by Tony Asaro
The world of storage is complicated and diverse. But sophisticated users, armed with better research and networking tools than ever before, are finding they don't need one-stop shopping for storage technology.

Editorial: Welcome to archiving hell
by Rich Castagna
Welcome to archiving hell

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