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Stephen Foskett, Pack Rat

Understanding the accumulation of data

Storage Magazine Columns

I joined the crew at Storage Magazine before the first issue was published, writing many feature articles and serving as a contributing editor. I also helmed the “Best Practices” and “Integration” columns for many years!

Best Practices

  • Best Practices: From WORM to Worst (Feb 2007) Everyone thinks about online data in the same way: You write it, read it, rewrite it and keep it forever. But many organizations have far more data that’s written once, read a few times and kept alive forever. You might say this bulk data is “write once, read several times” (WORST), and it can bloat your storage environment.
  • Best Practices: Is it Really a Disaster? (Dec 2006) Was it really a disaster after all? It’s important to distinguish operational recovery from disaster recovery because the tools and techniques used in each situation can differ significantly.
  • Best Practices: Untangling the Encryption Chain (Oct 2006) In many companies, data that should be safeguarded against loss or theft isn’t getting encrypted. The main reason why so many storage managers are shying away from encryption is that they don’t understand how it functions within the storage infrastructure.
  • Best Practices: How to Count the Cost of Storage (Aug 2006) The cost of each gigabyte of storage is declining rapidly in every segment of the market. Enterprise storage today costs what desktop storage did less than a decade ago. So why are overall costs increasing?
  • Best Practices: The Rise of the Ultra-Dense Array (Jun 2006) Disk drives are getting smaller and smaller even as their capacities rise. Now storage vendors are packing more disks than ever into smaller spaces, which saves costly data center real estate. But the denser arrays also have a downside–higher power consumption and more heat.
  • Best Practices: Misplaced Priorities (Apr 2006) In this age of compliance and despite well-publicized cases of data theft, a recent security survey from GlassHouse Technologies indicates that few companies are paying much attention to storage security.
  • Best practices: A Toaster Oven in the Data Center (Feb 2006) The midrange array market may still be hot, but storage managers are wary of getting burned. While midrange vendors keep piling on the features, storage pros are becoming disenchanted with midrange systems despite their more modest price tags.
  • Best Practices: Is ILM for Real? (Dec 2005) ILM product initiatives today generally amount to little more than repackaging old products with new names, says Stephen Foskett. But you can still get ready for real ILM with tiered storage, consolidation and a service-oriented approach.
  • Best Practices: Who Watches the SAN? (Oct 2005) There’s a tug-of-war going on over the storage network. Network people want to manage it, and so does the storage staff. But who should control the SAN?
  • Best Practices: Bulletproof Windows (Aug 2005) It’s time to take Windows’ storage features seriously. Two key technologies-Multipath I/O and the Volume Shadow Copy Service-demonstrate why Windows is much more storage-friendly than people think.
  • Best Practices: The Metric System (Jun 2005) Metrics can improve your organization’s service and user satisfaction. Here are some key performance indicators that will help you hone your storage environment.
  • Best Practices: Windows and Storage: Debunking the Myths (Apr 2005) Windows often gets a bad rap when it comes to storage, but you can tap into Windows’ hidden resources to make it more enterprise-worthy.
  • Best Practices: The Storage Revolution (Dec 2004) The storage revolution
  • Best Practices: Get your storage management group up and running (Oct 2004) Follow this methodical plan to build an effective storage management group with clearly defined responsibilities.
  • Best practices: The Smartest Man in Storage (Aug 2004) Here’s how to distinguish best practices in storage from sloppy ideas and unproven methods.
  • Best practices: Five Axioms for Storage (Jun 2004) Metcalfe’s law explains how the Internet works. But what about storage? Here are five rules to help you build a storage strategy.

Integration