Microsoft’s place in the datacenter is secure, and Windows Server really hums with SMB 2/3 storage. The enterprise storage industry needed an alternative to Samba and do-it-yourself SMB servers, and it’s good to see Visuality Systems step up with NQ Storage. Although I have not seen it in action, their OEM claims sound good and their roadmap looks right.
Faster Ethernet Gets Weird
“One size fits all” doesn’t work for Ethernet, but this proliferation of speed options sounds like trouble without automatic capability negotiation. It’s nice to have options, but the IEEE must remain focused on interoperability and rein in the interests of the various companies proposing next-generation Ethernet technologies.
Musing: Could We Replace Ethernet With PCIe?
Greg “EtherealMind” Ferro recently “mused” that it might be a good idea to replace PCI Express (PCIe) inside servers or rack-scale infrastructure with Ethernet. But this seems to be the exact opposite of the direction the industry is headed. Rather than replacing PCIe with Ethernet, companies like Intel seem set on replacing short-range Ethernet (in rack-scale systems) with PCIe!
EMC Redefine Possible (TL;DR Edition)
EMC made quite a few announcements today at their “Redefine Possible” event in London. There’s a lot of coverage out there already, so I decided to present a summary of the whole thing in “too long; didn’t read” (TL;DR) fashion.
Truth in Storage: The Next Generation – Announcing My 2014 Seminar Series
This year for my Truth in IT seminars, I’m shifting away from virtualization to focus on enterprise storage once again. But this won’t be any ordinary “storage 101†seminar. Rather than trying to talk about every element, I’m focused on what’s new!
Scaling Storage Is Hard To Do
Data storage isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially at enterprise or cloud scale. It’s simple enough to read and write a bit of data, but much harder to build a system that scales to store petabytes. That’s why I’m keenly focused on a new wave of storage systems built from the ground up for scaling!
Samba 4.0 is Released with Full Active Directory and Updated SMB Support
Samba is becoming more and more important. Windows servers will increasingly use SMB 3.0 as their networked storage protocol in Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V 3. And EMC’s purchase of Likewise means the rest of the storage industry is looking for an SMB stack. But I’m most interested to see what Active Directory support means for future home and business devices.
Qumulo: An Enterprise Storage Startup Focused on Scale, Simplicity, and Efficiency
Enterprise storage is perhaps the most innovative area of IT these days, with exciting startups springing up right and left. Today, that scene welcomes Qumulo, who are building a new storage platform focused on scalability, efficiency, and simplicity. Qumulo catches my eye for two reasons: The team is heavy with Isilon experience, and CTO Aaron Passey really impressed me with his work at Clustrix.
Storage Developer Conference, Santa Clara CA
If you’re a real storage geek like me, you simply must attend SDC. If you’re there this year, come say hi! If not, you should start making plans for next year. Be there!
Building Virtual Infrastructure Seminar, San Jose CA
I’m heading back to San Jose at the end of August for another Building Virtual Infrastructure seminar presented by Truth in IT. These all-day events are a chance for end-users to learn more about next-generation servers, networks, and storage.