Archive How To Choose an HBA Look for Features That Boost Performance, Cut Long-Term Management Costs Posted September 18th Achieving Practical Gains from Continuous Data Protection (CDP) in Microsoft Environments Traditional solutions periodically copy data and therefore leave the user vulnerable to protection gaps Posted September 11th Encrypting Data in Storage: Businesses Need to Think Beyond Storage Encryption Appliances The real question these days is not "should we encrypt our data?", but "where should we encrypt our data?" Posted September 5th NAS Gateways Provide Web Firms with Solutions for Explosive Storage Growth In this storage model, any server can access data from any device, eliminating inflexible resource mapping Posted August 28th Using the Mainframe as a Centralized Storage Source Unifying the Business Continuance Strategy Posted August 14th Streamlining Data Storage Management with SMI-S Taking inventory of a standardization effort Posted August 7th Selecting the Right Tape Drives for Backup In the face of exploding data growth and increasingly complex data management issues, enterprises are considering several alternatives to traditional data storage Posted July 24th Calculating Your Disaster Recovery Plan How do you know what the right protection and recovery option is for your company? Posted July 17th Holographic storage: the market opportunity is now Costs must drop; advantages over tape must be exploited Posted June 5th The convergence of VoIP and storage Multiple mail types complicate data management Posted May 15th The challenges and opportunities of HIPAA Safe data is key Posted April 24th Extend storage life by engaging end users Everyone should work toward the same goal Posted April 3rd The unique value of Data Lifecycle Management DLM promises to greatly reduce the expense and complexity of achieving dynamic, cost-optimized tiered storage Posted March 6th Information classification and management systems enhance data management Technology includes content-aware data classification and migration solutions Posted February 27th Creating alternatives for offsite enterprise backup Resellers implement Backup Service Provider solutions to provide cost-efficient answers Posted February 13th Evaluating managed DR service providers Pricing, security and replication issues are key Posted January 23rd How VARs can profit from storage consolidation Keys: Plan carefully, focus on business benefits. Posted January 9th Enterprise storage trends and Fibre Channel Long-time SAN technology looks strong going forward. Posted December 19th EUC survey indicates conservative user base Respondents cite many barriers to technology adoption. Posted November 21st Sidebar: 'Reliability' number one priority in EUC survey Preliminary results also highlight importance of business continuity and security. Posted November 7th Users seek myriad solutions at SNW Fall Attendees look for everything from SLAs to hot backup. Posted November 7th Sidebar: Volunteer extraordinaire Terry Yoshii drives hands-on classes Joined by many fellow volunteers, he helps SNIA offer a premier learning experience. Posted October 31st Financial organizations embrace iSCSI over Fibre Channel Advantages include reduced costs, decreased complexity and enhanced manageability. Posted October 17th Double duty for remote sites may mean major benefits Backup sites can do a lot more than wait for a disaster. Posted September 5th "Long fat networks" and high-speed TCP make a good pair The combination enables full utilization of high-speed WAN links. Posted August 22nd Advantages of multithreading and 64-bit processing in storage New technologies drive higher performance, streamline processing. Posted July 25th Interview: Utility storage helps Priceline achieve high availability CIO Ron Rose credits his flexible storage environment for multiple benefits. Posted July 18th A simple solution for lost tapes Unencrypted backup tapes and common carriers are a bad combination, according to SNW columnist W. Curtis Preston. Posted June 27th What are the keys to reliable, robust storage systems? User requirements are preeminent. Posted June 13th "Grid" storage is in the eye of the beholder (and vendor) Clustered and virtualized capabilities also touted as grid-like. Posted May 30th How to choose a storage VAR Be thorough and methodical. Posted May 2nd The Windows archive bit is evil and must be stopped Loophole allows any user to squelch backup systems, says SNW Online columnist W. Curtis Preston. Posted March 28th ILM: The real deal When it comes to actual companies using ILM, it's intelligent planning — not a silver bullet — that leads to success. Posted February 14th Today is Storage Administrator Appreciation Day Predictive change management software can make the storage team's lives easier. Posted January 24th Creating a strong platform for integrated customer data Traditional data tools fail to offer a meta-data framework for the management tasks required by customer data integration solutions. Posted December 20th Second-hand storage: Not just for penny pinchers anymore Big benefits available in this small market. Posted October 25th Rich Simon calls 'em as he sees 'em Senior systems administrator praises — and pans — backup products. Posted October 4th Deciding between SATA and SAS? Compare their behind-the-scenes command queuing techniques Although SAS's TCQ may be slightly more feature-rich, SATA's NCQ enhances performance with some interesting capabilities. Posted September 13th Exploring switchless SAN technology This intermediate solution fills the void between DAS and SAN, while reducing costs and increasing performance along the way. Posted August 23rd Building backup from the ground up The more you know about your data, the better you can use it. Posted August 2nd The market still awaits a true FCIP solution FCIP problem areas include bandwidth limitations, packet loss and higher latency. Posted July 5th Weighing agent-less vs. agent-based data collection Each method has strengths and weaknesses, so why not choose a system that does both? Posted June 14th Grid storage: The topology of choice for scalable systems? Old technology takes on new tricks. Posted June 7th Storage Networking Strategies: Slow down those streaming tape drives If you have more than one state-of-the-art tape drive behind your LAN-based backup server, says SNW Online columnist W. Curtis Preston, chances are you have too many. Posted May 10th Remote backup options abound Possibilities include increased bandwidth, synthetic and local automated strategies. Posted April 26th Interview: Jerry Duggan is working to bring SMI-S into everyday life SNW Online talks with the SMI Lab chair about exposing SMI-S as a practical vehicle and the adventures of getting 23 competitors into the Interop Lab at Spring SNW. Posted March 29th SNW Spring showcases user case studies Sessions describe wide range of real-life user experiences. Posted March 15th Grassroots SNUGs target storage end-user needs User-led groups to align themselves with academic and research institutions. Posted February 23rd Computerworld report covers storage hot buttons "Storage Gets Strategic" provides users with the information they need to formulate their ongoing storage strategies. Posted January 26th Intelligently deploying intelligence in the SAN Defining and delivering value-added second-generation SAN services. Posted January 26th All storage is not created equal Seven factors that can help storage administrators build best-of-breed storage infrastructures Posted January 5th Why a business continuance program should be in your future Business continuance programs are no longer solely the domain of large global corporations. Posted December 8th W. Curtis Preston on the myth of Fibre Channel interoperability Waiting for the day when Fibre Channel vendors can be chosen based on price, functionality and performance, rather than who can plug into whom. Posted November 10th On the shoulders of a SAN: Intelligent storage networks Intelligent storage networks are being driven by the desire to ease the management, deployment and consolidation of small SANs. Posted October 13th Yankee Group's Gruener speaks his mind on user trends, industry events New SNW Online columnist Jamie Gruener has his finger on the pulse of virtualization, disaster recovery, SAN management and more. Posted September 22nd Moving networked storage farther and faster You can't make light move faster, but you can minimize the impact of latency on long-distance storage. Posted September 1st The thinking person's guide to iSCSI technology iSCSI users have a wide range of deployment options to consider. Posted August 4th Windows-powered NAS market maturing Microsoft provides a jolt with Windows Storage Server 2003. Posted July 7th SMI-S successor to Bluefin on fast track First customers could be using storage management spec by year-end. Posted June 16th Is storage automation right for your company? Everything you need to know about implementing storage automation, including a great checklist. Posted May 12th Users improve SNIA status, SMI is hailed, and compliance comes to fore At the Storage Networking World conference in Phoenix, users had a chance to present their issues to SNIA, get a peak at SMI-S and learn about storage compliance. Posted April 21st Interview: Taking a world view of storage In an interview, Pierre Baudet at New Balance Athletic Shoe tells SNW Online how much you can learn about vendors when developing and installing a storage utility backbone. Posted April 14th How to achieve a storage networking ROI An investment in SRM software is a prerequisite to a successful consolidation project and provides a near-immediate ROI. Posted March 10th Automated networked storage: A configuration for consolidation Many IT organizations are turning to automated networked storage to significantly reduce the number of storage devices they must buy and manage in order to gain control over valuable corporate data. Posted February 24th Data encryption promises SAN security A raft of new security vendors is hoping to help SAN users sleep better at night. Posted January 27th Provisioning on automated fast track Properly deployed policy management and automation can enhance provisioning while reducing problem resolution times. Posted January 20th Storage vendors must move to the middle What happens when you move storage management to the middle of the network? You get a level of visibility that has not existed before. Posted December 16th Interview: SMI Chair Reich says SNW Interoperability and Solutions Demo will solve business problems Roger Reich is chairman of the Storage Management Initiative within the SNIA and senior technical director at Veritas. He recently spoke with Bruce Hoard, SNW Online Executive Editor, about highlights of the SNW Interoperability and Solutions Demo at the upcoming SNW show in Orlando, October 27-30. Posted October 14th Interview: SMI Chair Reich says SNW Interoperability and Solutions Demo will solve business problems Roger Reich is chairman of the Storage Management Initiative within the SNIA and senior technical director at Veritas. He recently spoke with Bruce Hoard, SNW Online Executive Editor, about highlights of the SNW Interoperability and Solutions Demo at the upcoming SNW show in Orlando, October 27-30. Posted October 14th Despite Microsoft and Intel defections, InfiniBand backers still hopeful The beleaguered I/O standard is counting on IBM support, new products to gain more visibility on corporate radar screens. Posted September 16th Storage consolidation saves money, increases efficiency Denver International Airport and Texas Children's Cancer Center are two examples of organizations benefiting from storage consolidation. Posted August 19th The critical role of the host bus adapter in SANs HBAs are an important link in SAN systems, enabling load balancing, fail-over, administration and storage management. Posted July 22nd Good security ideas come from thinking out of the box With network storage growing rapidly and more businesses experiencing network security breaches, it's time for some out-of-the-box thinking. Posted June 10th Storage-area management tools ease management burden, enable rules and allow for operational integration SAM solutions hide the complexity of the underlying storage network infrastructure and allow IT staffers to manage based on applications, not devices. Posted May 20th iSCSI developments bode well for commercial acceptance Now that a group of vendors have demonstrated iSCSI traffic running at wire speeds over a full-duplex Gigabit Ethernet link, many observers feel the technology is on the cusp of challenging Fibre Channel for storage networking supremacy. Posted April 15th Interview: Inside the SNIA Interoperability Lab with Tom Mancuso SNW Online talks with interop lab coordinator Tom Mancuso about how this huge effort is put together. Posted March 25th In extreme cases, data recovery services can save the day — and a lot of money When companies suddenly lose data or experience a data emergency such as a server crash, they need very specialized knowledge and experience to resolve the situation. Posted March 11th The ROI of virtualization There are plenty of incorrect and expensive ways to deal with the burgeoning growth of data — but virtualization is not one of them. Posted February 4th Storage administrators face headaches and heartbreak Storage administrators – who until recently didn't even exist in many companies – are faced with the daunting task of bringing storage management under control. Posted January 28th Virtualization still on the horizon for most users The jury is out on whether virtualization delivers promised benefits, such as better utilization of storage space and improved manageability. Posted December 17th Three storage networking newcomers fight the uphill battle to success Three up-and-coming storage networking vendors – GiantLoop Network, Pirus Networks and YottaYotta – are hoping that their cutting-edge technology and deep financial pockets will help them become established market forces. Posted November 12th How do you know which consultant to hire for your SAN implementation? Implementing a SAN is a daunting task—so complex, in fact, that many IT staffs turn to storage consultants for help. But with the wide range of consultants available, you need to arm yourself with the right questions before determining which one will work best for you. Posted October 22nd Before your next storage upgrade, consider SRM A storage resource management system can help maximize your SAN potential — and save you from spending too much on new hardware or networking gear. Posted October 8th Integrator says European users want better storage management, more virtualization Rupert Beeby is business development manager with Sagitta Performance Systems, a European-based integrator. According to him, European storage networking users are every bit as much on the cutting edge of technology as their American counterparts. Posted September 10th SAN heterogeneity still causes some troubleshooting problems As multi-vendor SANs grow larger and larger, the diverse mix of components they employ can lead to incompatibility problems and costly downtime. In an effort to preclude such problems and mollify customers, vendors are working to ensure their products work with a wide range of technology. Posted August 13th Supported Solutions Forum laying groundwork for true SAN compatibility Even though some prominent storage networking vendors are still on the sidelines, at least six heavy hitters have joined forces under the auspices of the SNIA to enable SAN interoperability where before there were proprietary barriers. Posted July 9th MTI executive VP Rick Ruskin says applications should drive technology According to Rick Ruskin, executive vice president of MTI Technology, what users want are reliable, interoperable storage networking systems that will grow along with their future needs. What they don't want are underpowered systems that are dedicated to a single application and have to be replaced when business demands expand. Posted June 4th SANs transforming from cost centers to profit centers Despite their many functional advantages, SANs are still widely viewed as infrastructure investments that may or may not provide ROI. What will it take to change their financial fortunes? Posted May 25th SAN management: Are the benefits worth the hassles? Users are increasingly moving to SANs in an effort to upgrade their storage networking capabilities. The problem is managing and maintaining these SANs once they are in place. Posted April 30th IP storage standards: Still too early to determine a winner There are plenty of nascent IP storage standards to choose from, but none are mature enough or strong enough to claim victory. In the mean time, Fibre Channel remains the de facto leader in the eyes of most storage networking users. Posted April 23rd Vendors make a flurry of announcements at Storage Networking World At last week's Storage Networking World (SNW) storage vendors released an array of new products and made a variety of announcements in areas such as, enterprise messaging, partnerships, storage resource management and Fibre Channel. Posted April 16th Storage steps into the limelight Myriad challenges and opportunities face both vendors and users of storage networking technology. In this overview article, we take a look at the major trends shaping the industry and the way people and companies are reacting to them. Posted April 9th Feedback: feedback@snwonline.com Questions: questions@snwonline.com Technical difficulties: webmaster@snwonline.com