Extreme Tiered Storage: Flash, Disk, and Cloud
Posted by Stephen in Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT, Personal, Virtual Storage on 03. Feb, 2010 | View Comments
In this video, I present the shortcomings of traditional tiered storage and propose a solution: Although merely using different disk types will never deliver the goods, adding flash and cloud to an integrated, automated solution will be truly revolutionary. I look forward to the day when all of today’s buzz-worthy technologies (flash, cloud, thin provisioning, automated tiering, post-RAID) are mixed together to form a really revolutionary storage system.
Ramdisks: Back From the Brink of Extinction
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Computer history, Enterprise storage, Virtual Storage on 15. Jan, 2010 | View Comments
Using system memory for storage is something of a lost art these days. But many of today’s I/O intensive tasks can still benefit from the untouchable quickness provided by a ramdisk. Happily, most operating systems are still capable of creating and using ramdisks.
My 2009 IT Industry Predictions
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Computer history, Enterprise storage, Everything, Personal, Terabyte home, Virtual Storage on 24. Dec, 2009 | View Comments
Predictions are perilous: Get it right and you look like a mere trend-watcher; get it wrong and you look like a fool. So I’m doing something different this year: I’m going to make predictions for 2009 now that it’s over, and reflect on just how smart I am (not) to have made them.
EMC V-Max FAST: Coming in December … And 2010!
Posted by Stephen in Enterprise storage, Everything, Gestalt IT, Virtual Storage on 17. Aug, 2009 | View Comments
EMC’s Fully Automated Storage Tiering (FAST) was one of the most welcome annoucements made during the Symmetrix V-Max introduction. It would be a significant modernization of EMC’s Symmetrix line, and would be one of the first unique features of the Symmetrix V-Max line. But many, including me, were disappointed to learn in May that FAST [...]
Back From the Pile: Interesting Content From the Week of May 9, 2009
Posted by Stephen in Everything on 11. May, 2009 | View Comments
It was an interesting week, with a cloud computing summit in Washington DC, the release of Windows Storage Server 2008, and discussions of best practices and non-compete agreements.
Apple
MacBook Users: Turn off This Bluetooth Default Setting Now – Now I know what turned on my MacBook Pro in the bag: My BlueTooth mouse!
Enterprise Computing
Windows Storage Server-Based [...]
My Cloud Slam Topic: Enterprise Storage (Predictable?)
Posted by Stephen in Enterprise storage, Personal on 19. Apr, 2009 | View Comments
I am pleased to be part of Cloud Slam ‘09, the cloud computing virtual conference!
My presentation on Monday evening focuses on the emergence of cloud storage in the enterprise space: Why it’s important, what it is, and how to act on it. I start by talking about the drivers, including the unexpectedly high cost of [...]
Storage Changes in VMware ESX 3.5 Update 4
Posted by Stephen in Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT, Virtual Storage on 31. Mar, 2009 | View Comments
Like clockwork, VMware has cranked out another update to their flagship enterprise product, ESX 3.5. The last update came out in early November, 2008, and included some major new functionality. What’s in store this time to intrigue storage folks? Not much.
For more information on earlier updates, see my articles:
Storage Fixes in VMware ESX Server 3.5 [...]
Does Hitachi+SimpleTech = EMC+Iomega?
Posted by Stephen in Apple, Enterprise storage, Everything, Gestalt IT, Terabyte home on 24. Feb, 2009 | View Comments
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (HGST) just bought Fabrik (SimpleTech and G-Technology). So is Hitachi’s combination with SimpleTech a response or challenge to EMC’s acquisition of Iomega? In a word, no.
How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Storage Automation
Posted by Stephen in Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT, Virtual Storage on 09. Feb, 2009 | View Comments
The first storage performance horseman is spindles: If you don’t have enough disk units, performance will suffer. I have been laying out storage on enterprise arrays since the dark ages, and one of the first lessons I learned was allocating data to avoid hotspots. I remember spending hours back in the 1990’s hunched over custom Excel spreadsheets [...]
The Difference Between “Integration” and “Frankenstein”
Posted by Stephen in Enterprise storage, Gestalt IT on 05. Feb, 2009 | View Comments
When is a solution integrated and when is it a Frankenstein-like mashup of tangled tech? Apparently, that line is crossed when it’s your competitor’s offering…
In my time in the storage industry, I’ve seen enough franken-storage come and go to make me skeptical whenever a new “integrated” solution is announced. But a lot of this stuff [...]
