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F E A T U R E

2003 Survivor's Guide to Storage & Server Technology

December 15, 2002
By Steven Schuchart Jr.

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More Storage--Less Space

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	In this article
	Introduction
	More Storage--Less Space
	Challenging the Chip
	Companies to Watch
	Linux in 2003
	Web Links

Is it any wonder that savvy realtors point out closet, attic and basement space to prospective buyers? The same reasons home buyers want to look in the darkest corners of the castle are the same you need to consider when selecting ancillary storage technologies. In high tech, DVD is replacing the CD, and the price of the hot rewriteable and write-once DVD will continue to drop even as the standards war between DVD-RW, -R and DVD+RW, +R continues unabated. There is also the possibility of new DVD formats next year using blue lasers to achieve up to a 27-GB DVD disc. In all likelihood this will be the mere formalizing of the standard toward the end of 2003, and I predict product won't be offered any earlier than 2004, that is, if the DVD industry doesn't succumb to brutal infighting again.

Corporate buyers will be pleased to see DVD readers as standard equipment on corporate workstations, and corporate servers are not far behind. Due to the seemingly endless increases in hard disk densities, the 650-MB CD format will reach the end of its useful life in the next couple of years as DVD ascends the throne.

Champions of the disk will be happy to finally see the Serial ATA disk format hit the market. Priced the same as ATA, Serial ATA, the replacement for ATA (IDE), is sometimes called Parallel ATA. With data rates of 150 MB per second, it outstrips ATA's capacity of a maximum of 133 MBps as well as the aging PCI bus' bandwidth capacity, a paltry 33 MBps. Serial ATA is software-compatible with ATA, so no Serial ATA-specific changes will be necessary to implement in Windows or other operating systems.

On the SCSI front, the new Ultra320 SCSI, the top speed provider at 320 MBps, will be more readily available in 2003. Serial Attached SCSI will provide a new format for SCSI, as the current Parallel SCSI specifications are beginning to run up against voltage and frequency limitations. Using the same physical layer and electrical specifications as Serial ATA, Serial Attached SCSI will be attractive for adoption by hardware manufacturers by giving them a common physical connector. No specific action is needed on your part in 2003, other than to keep on eye on the progress of Serial Attached SCSI for long-range planning.

Reinforcements

2003 will see an increase in disk and ATA-based device backup although faster tape drives from major vendors will keep these storage options on the front lines. Cost is a major consideration, but companies looking to invest in storage also need to look at backup time and reliability. After all, less downtime for backups equals better adherence to service commitments.

Top Spending Priorities for 2003

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Like the French peasantry charging the Bastille, disk-based backup has been storming the hill of traditional tape backup. Disk won't replace tape altogether, but it will continue to replace it in certain situations and supplement it in others.

Consider also the bourgeois of storage--high-capacity, inexpensive ATA-based devices that perform quick backups for the purpose of restoration. Snapshots of disks can be quickly and efficiently restored off of a second-tier disk system, whereas restoration off of tape can be a long and arduous process. One popular and common use for these devices is disk-to-disk-to-tape backup. Using these devices for that purpose makes the backup window smaller, particularly when tape drives and automation are older and have slower throughput.

Expect to see larger and faster tape drives in the next year. Your job, should you venture into this market, is to weigh capacity versus price to determine which solution is right for you. Quantum has already released the Super DLT320 drive, and the next generation of Ultrium (LTO 2) tape from the LTO consortium of Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Seagate is on its way. Sony is also planning on releasing Super AIT to compete at this level, with similar capacity and speeds to Super DLT320 and LTO 2. In short, it's the same story as last year; faster and larger capacity.