What elements remain unresolved to make FCoE truly world-class? What should the vendors be prioritizing?
The Terrifying True Story Of Virtual Machine Mobility
December 22, 2011 By 4 Comments
Virtualization of server, network, and storage services illuminates the link between physical resources and functional applications. A running virtual machine can instantly move from one server, network adapter, HBA, or LUN to another. And when it happens, traditional components have no idea how to react.
Interop NYC and The Great Debate: ISCSI Beats Fibre Channel
October 3, 2011 By 2 Comments
The battle lines are drawn between 8 Gb Fibre Channel and 1 Gb or 10 Gb iSCSI and NFS. This is the baseline for my Interop debate. I am not arguing about the future of SAN, or even iSCSI versus NFS. Rather, I am arguing that most businesses would be best served by implementing an iSCSI SAN rather than purchasing Fibre Channel today.
FCoE vs. iSCSI – Making the Choice
May 20, 2011 By 15 Comments
iSCSI is an excellent choice in situations where Fibre Channel investment is nonexistent or badly in need of wholesale upgrade. FCoE, on the other hand, is likely to take over in high-end enterprise shops. It is relentlessly promoted by major vendors, and it seems that they will force the upgrade eventually.
Infographic: Real-World Port Throughput Relative To Light Peak
February 21, 2011 By 2 Comments
Just how fast is 10 gigabits per second anyway? To help out, I’ve prepared another napkin-tastic infographic!
The Best Network Card For VMware ESX Home Lab Machines
January 31, 2011 By 11 Comments
I’m building a home/lab server to run a variety of workloads, but VMware ESX is chief among these. Sadly, VMware ESX is especially picky about network interface cards (NICs): Although many are supported, most are intended for servers and thus very expensive and difficult to find at retail. So I set out browsing through the VMware ESX HCL, Newegg, and Amazon to find the best network card for my home lab machine. Here’s what I’ve found out so far.
The Three Requirements To Overcome Inertia
January 12, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In Philosophiæ Naturalis, Sir Isaac Newton defined inertia. Although he was referring to physical objects, the power of inertia affects companies, markets, and relationships in the same manner. Humans are creatures of habit, and change is challenging. When faced with a choice of continuing along the same road or branching off in a new direction, most will choose familiarity.
Light Peak + USB 3.0 = Awesome!
December 9, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Yesterday I talked about Light Peak, the new optical interconnect being developed by Apple, Intel, and others. Today I’m continuing that theme, suggesting a possible productization that would really take Light Peak to the next level: Integrating it with USB 3.0.
Eleven Tech Trends To Watch In 2011
November 30, 2010 By 1 Comment
Prognostication is a perilous business, but pundits are drawn to the topic in the month of December. The fact that most predictions fall on their faces demonstrates the intoxicating mix of hope, dreams, and irrationality that mark both geniuses and fools. I am neither, so I like to make predictions after the fact! But this year I’ve been asked to look to the future, so I’ll stick with the safe road and pick current trends rather than guessing what I hope will come.
How Fast Is It? A Storage Infographic
October 29, 2010 By 6 Comments
How fast is a hard disk drive? How about the various flavors of SATA and Fibre Channel? Check out this handy Pack Rat infographic to answer the question, “how fast is it?”
