Virtual Storage

SSD: So Close and Yet So Far

October 15, 2008 by Stephen 6 Comments

Solid state (NAND flash) storage is all the rage right now, but there are many lingering questions regarding its true performance, reliability, and cost. But no question is more important in determining its ultimate usefulness than that of location: Where should flash storage be placed to maximize return on investment? Storage companies have argued that […]

Compellent Does Enterprise SSD Right

October 13, 2008 by Stephen 8 Comments

Yes! Compellent has just announced at Storage Networking World that they’ll be adding enterprise solid state drives (SSDs) to their excellent fully-virtualized storage arrays. Why is this worth shouting about? Simply because their automated block-based tiered storage architecture ought to be able to really take full advantage of the performance offered by SSDs. If you’ll […]

Storage Decisions New York 2008 Presentations Now Available

October 13, 2008 by Stephen 2 Comments

My pal, Greg Schulz, just pointed out that TechTarget has posted the presentations from Storage Decisions New York 2008. If you were there, you might have tried to figure out how to download the presentations at the kiosk/table in the lobby. I couldn’t figure it out, myself, though! So you might want to head over […]

The Storage Utilization Waterfall: Raw, Usable, and Used

October 1, 2008 by Stephen 3 Comments

My February 2003 column for Storage magazine focused on the surprising difficulty of measuring storage utilization. I wrote: “A true measurement of utilization would reflect every layer of usage metrics – from raw disk in a shared array to used storage within files. Raw storage for each new frame of reference is contained within […]

Is Deduplication Ready for Prime Time?

September 25, 2008 by Stephen Leave a Comment

Deduplication is here for backup, but it is not yet ready for prime time in primary storage applications

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The 2018 iPad Pro is a Beast!

The third-generation iPad Pro is a great machine but also a bellwether of change at Apple. It will be very hard for the rest of the mobile and client computing industry to keep up with this kind of progress!

Co-Processors, GPGPU, and Heterogeneous Computing

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about microprocessors, from the many-core CPUs that AMD and Intel introduced recently to the massively scalable GPGPU processing that’s taking machine learning by storm. After years of consolidation on commodity x86 CPUs, it seems that the computing paradigm is turning again to specialized offload processors. This trend towards heterogeneous computing will change the face of hardware, from mobile devices to the datacenter.

What’s the Deal with Containers?

October 21, 2016

Lately, it seems like everyone just can’t stop talking about containers. But I’m sensing a distinct lack of real understanding of the technology from many people, not to mention lots of confusion about what containers really mean for today’s datacenter folks. So I set about learning more and figuring out for myself what the deal is with containers. Here’s where I’m at.

Regarding My Symbolic Links and Good Reads

April 16, 2015

I’ve been told that my shares drive traffic to the blogs I read. I’m thrilled that I can share great writing with you in this way, and I hope you find it valuable! But just in case you don’t, I hope you’ll take advantage of the fact that I filter these posts for you into “Symbolic Links” and “Good Reads” so you’ll find it easier to ignore them.

My Core i7 Macintosh SE

May 25, 2017

I recently built the biggest, clunkiest iPad mini case ever, transforming my old Macintosh SE case into an iPad stand. But what to do with that empty case? Why, it’s the perfect size for a custom Mini-ITX PC! Introducing my liquid-cooled Core i7 monster Mac SE!

Defining Failure: What Is MTTR, MTTF, and MTBF?

July 6, 2011

Most computer industry vendors use the term â€œMTBFâ€ rather indiscriminately. But IT pros know that systems do not magically repair themselves, at least not yet, so MTTR and MTTF are just as important!

A High-Tech Water Heater? Yep! Introducing the A. O. Smith Vertex

November 15, 2012

I justify spending six times more on the Vertex 100 for a simple reason: It’ll keep up with the heavy water use in my house. I’m hoping I’ll never have to worry about hot water as long as I live here. The fact that it saves over $100 per year due to energy-efficient design is just icing on the cake.

10 Mysteries The Lost Finale Definitively Settled

May 25, 2010

The series finale of Lost didn’t settle every question, but it did settle many of the long-running questions raised by fans. Although my live viewing was frustratingly complicated by failed transmission equipment at ABC affiliate, WEWS, I was able to watch the entire episode thanks to iTunes. So let’s settle the things that can be settled regarding Lost.

Preserving Your Credibility Is Your Prime Directive

June 4, 2012

I hope this post isn’t too “out in left field” but I thought it needed to be said. Independent social media has evolved into a powerful mechanism to influence belief, behavior, and (yes) buying. I take my little dollop of influence very seriously, and feel an incredible responsibility to live up to the trust placed in me by others. I will try every day not to let you all down!

Fasting to Mitigate Jet Lag: Surprise! It Works!

February 11, 2013

I’m a frequent traveler, and thus a frequently suffer from moderate jet lag. It’s just so hard to adjust to a new time zone! But I recently stumbled on a simple method many claim helps your internal clock re-calibrate to travel. After trying it out on my trip to Australia last week, I’m convinced it can help!