Next month, I will be heading to Chicago for TechTarget’s Storage Decisions conference. This show does a good job on the editorial side, suggesting timely topics and bringing in independent voices like Howard Marks. I will have three presentations to give: Sessions on data reduction and storage virtualization in the main conference track, as well as a dinner discussion focusing on controlling the growth of data. Registration is free for qualified end-users, and I urge you to attend.
Virtual Storage
What Exactly Is Symantec V-Ray?
Data is getting bigger, virtualization is expanding, and data protection applications are ill-prepared to deal with it. This much we can all agree on. But Symantec’s introduction of “V-Ray,” which the company describes as “X-Ray vision into … virtual environments” has just left me puzzled. Is this “marketecture” or some sort of technology or product?
FCoE vs. iSCSI – Making the Choice
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.
IBM Adds VAAI Support to XIV and SVC
VMware’s vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI) is one of the most-important storage technology advances of the decade, allowing the ESX to integrate and coordinate operations with supported enterprise storage arrays. IBM was notably absent from the party, but they’ve turned on the VAAI heat, releasing full support for the XIV and SVC and promising DS8000 in the near future.
Iomega StorCenter PX Series Preview
The StorCenter PX line is a major step forward for Iomega. The BYOD option is welcome, as is SSD performance and improved specs. With official Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Windows Server, and VMware ESX support, the PX is finally up to the task of business computing. We look forward to putting these new devices through their paces in the future!
