I've posted before about the spot where most successful enterprise storage arrays sit: The "fat middle" between performance and capacity. But software is driving a wedge into the SAN, and I see radical architectural change on the horizon. There are so many storage virtualization technologies sneaking into server architecture that it's impossible to think one won't take hold. … [Read more...] about Virtualized and Distributed Storage: This Time For Sure!
Avere
Making a Case For (and Against) Software-Defined Storage
Everyone is talking about “software-defined” everything lately, so it was only a matter of time before industry buzz turned to software-defined storage. VMware and EMC really stoked the flames with a constant barrage of marketing directed in this direction. But how exactly do you software-define storage? And what does this mean? It’s always amusing to see how others react … [Read more...] about Making a Case For (and Against) Software-Defined Storage
Scaling Storage At The Client
All three of the array-scaling approaches I discussed last week preserve traditional client protocols for connectivity, an admirable goal to be sure. But the inflexibility of these protocols holds the storage industry back, often requiring extreme efforts to achieve simple goals like continuous availability. Attempts to evolve protocols to be more flexible have met with a great … [Read more...] about Scaling Storage At The Client
Scaling Storage In Conventional Arrays
It is amazing that something as simple-sounding as making an array get bigger can be so complex, yet scaling storage is notoriously difficult. Our storage protocols just weren’t designed with scaling in mind, and they lack the flexibility needed to dynamically address multiple nodes. Data protection is extremely difficult and data movement is always time-consuming. This is … [Read more...] about Scaling Storage In Conventional Arrays
Storage Field Day 4: Live This Week!
It's time once again for Storage Field Day! As most of my blog readers are aware, I run the Tech Field Day event series, bringing together experts in various IT fields with key companies for a few days of deep technical discussion. This week it's our fourth event focused on enterprise storage, and it's going to be big! Storage Field Day 4 Over the years, we have continually … [Read more...] about Storage Field Day 4: Live This Week!