Multimedia

Video Interviews

vCatchup with… Stephen Foskett (Feb 2013)
Virtualization a Game Changer in Legacy-Burdened Data Centers, Says Stephen Foskett (Dec 14, 2012)
Edge2012: Stephen Foskett on the state of enterprise storage and server virtualization (June 6, 2012)
The Cube – IBM Edge 2012 – Stephen Foskett (June 6, 2012)

Podcasts

VM-aware storage provides better migration, performance and more (Jan 16, 2013)
Speaking in Tech #38 — Hunger Games meets IT (Dec 12, 2012)
RunAs Radio – Stephen Foskett Builds Virtual Data Centers! (Feb 2, 2012)
RunAs Radio – Stephen Foskett Talks Storage (Jul 12, 2011)
Niketown588: Coffee With Thomas Episode 12 – The Founder of Gestalt IT (Oct 26 2010)
Packet Pushers Show 12 – Get On The Ring! (Jul 18 2010)
Runt Packet — Tech Field Day — What’s That All About? (Jul 12 2010)
Steve Foskett and Lee Johns Explains Unified Storage – Geekazine … (June 29 2010)
Infosmack 40 – HP Blades Day Wrap Up (Feb 28 2010)
Infosmack Episode 35 – I’m with Paco (Jan 24 2010)
Infosmack Episode 22 – HP Tech Day Wrap Up (Oct 5 2009)
Infosmack Episode 15 – VMworld, VMware and storage stories from the dark side (August 16 2009)
Infosmack Episode 6 – HDS USP-V announcement, EMC non-competes and changes at VMworld (May 31 2009)
Infosmack Episode 3 – Sun, Oracle and Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS) (May 11 2009)
Infosmack Episode 2 – EMC, David Donatelli and Non-Compete Agreements (May 3 2009)
SAN School Lesson One: Building a SAN (Apr 2008) In this first lesson of Advanced SAN School, Stephen Foskett, Director of Data Practice for Contoural discusses the different types of storage arrays, switches, and software that make up a storage network.
SAN School Lesson Two: SAN Architecture and Topology (Apr 2008) In lesson two, Stephen discusses the evolution of SANs from standalone entities, to islands and beyond. Discover techniques that can make a substantial difference in the way data is moved and processed, as well as in your company’s consolidation plans.
SAN School Lesson Three: SAN Management and Security (Apr 2008) In this Podcast, expert Stephen Foskett, Director of Data Practice for Contoural explains what the options are for management tools. He’ll dissect array management, change management, virtualization and more to help you manage your environment.

Webcasts

The Deletion Dilemma (April 2011) How should your organization deal with the issue of data deletion?
Webcast: Improve your actual storage utilization (Oct. 09, 2003) Join Stephen Foskett, senior consultant, storage management strategies and integration at Glasshouse Technologies for a webcast on how to “Improve your actual storage utilization.”…
Digging into iSCSI : Learn about: 10 Gigabit Ethernet, Continuous Data Protection, Disk Backups (Dec. 21, 2007) This expert Videocast features Stephen Foskett of Contoural. View this presentation as Stephen digs into iSCSI and answers the most pressing questions surrounding this technology.
Business and technical considerations for email archiving (Apr 2008) Because email archiving systems vary in features, the process of matching a solution to an individual company’s architectural, business and legal requirements is very complex. In this webcast, Foskett offers an overview of architectural considerations and major email archiving methods, ranging from managed and hosted solutions to hardware and software combinations. He also provides key questions to ask when sizing and pricing an archiving system.

Videocasts

The Next Wave of Virtualization (June 2008) The next generation of virtualization will have a big impact on storage infrastructures.View this Videocast, featuring storage expert, Stephen Foskett — Director of Data Practice at Contoural to find out the chief storage management challenges associated with a virtualized environment, and get practical tips on how to deal with them.
Where the SAN Stands (May 2008) As SANs grow and expand, understanding the right architecture can be critical in making sure SANs are available and properly utilized. In this expert Videocast, Stephen Foskett dives into the nuts and bolts of SAN architecture and topology.

GPS Time Rollover Failures Keep Happening (But They’re Almost Done)

This is week “1111111111” in the GPS system. Tomorrow morning it will roll over to week “0000000000”. How well will various systems handle this change? Not well, judging by what we’ve seen so far!

Ranting and Raving About the 2018 iPad Pro

I remain enthusiastic about the iPad Pro, despite getting a scratched screen and my concerns about durability. It’s a worthy successor to the original and offers enough improvements that I’d recommend the upgrade for just about anyone who uses their iPad for serious work. It’s still not yet a laptop replacement, but this is due more to a lack of desktop-class software for iOS than anything in Apple’s control.

Generation 3 drobo: Fall In Love All Over Again

April 9, 2015

I remain a huge fan of drobo generally, and the third-generation drobo remains the best choice for home storage. It’s the perfect storage device for the long haul, and the performance improvements make it a no-brainer. Get one.

It’s Fine To Mount Hard Drives On Their Side Or Even Upside-Down

August 13, 2016

Have you ever wondered if mounting a hard disk drive on its side or even upside-down affects its lifespan or reliability? According to every drive manufacturer, it’s perfectly acceptable to mount a hard disk drive in any orientation as long as it’s not tilted and has sufficient cooling.

Nimble Storage Rolls Out an All-Flash Array

February 24, 2016

It took longer than I expected for Nimble Storage to introduce an all-flash array, but their AF7000 looks to be a very credible offering. They’re targeting XtremIO and Pure with their marketing, but I expect HP, Dell, and especially NetApp to be cross-shopped more frequently. In that fight, I expect the Nimble AF7000 to be very attractive indeed!

What is VMware VASA? Not Much (Yet)

November 11, 2011

VMware is adding storage integration features to their flagship vSphere server virtualization product line at a rapid pace. From backup to enterprise array offload, VMware is staking their claim. But information about one new storage feature in vSphere 5 has been scarce: The true nature of the Storage API for Storage Awareness (VASA) is only just beginning to be revealed.

How Smart Is the Mondaine Helvetica Smart Watch?

December 30, 2015

I love watches and technology, so I was thrilled to hear about the creation of a “horological smart watch” base by the Swiss watchmaking industry. One of the first examples of this new breed is the just-released Mondaine Helvetica Smart. I purchased one of these watches, the limited-edition “1 of 1957” variety, and have had a chance to evaluate it both as a watch and a gadget.

Thoughts on the Modern Miracle of 3D Printing

July 28, 2015

Although I enjoy my AIO Robotics Zeus 3D printer, I’m under no illusions that it’s an economical or practical device. It’s a toy that takes me into the future, and I love being there!

What’s the Difference Between a Jailbroken and an Unlocked Phone?

May 5, 2012

If you’ve traveled much, you’ve probably run across â€œunlockedâ€ mobile phones and devices. If you own an Android or iPhone smart phone, you probably also heard about â€œjailbreakingâ€. It seems like lots of people are confused about these two things, so I decided to write down a quick post explaining them.

Mac OS X Lion Adds CoreStorage, a Volume Manager (Finally!)

August 4, 2011

Mac OS X was majorly deficient in that it lacked a volume manager. This wouldn’t seem like a big deal to the average user, but held back the operating system in so many ways. A volume manager brings storage virtualization to an operating system, allowing storage capacity efficiently to be managed and manipulated. But all this has changed in Mac OS X 10.7 â€œLionâ€ with CoreStorage.