How Oracle ZS3 Stacks Up
September 20, 2013 17:03 PM
The new ZFS-based storage systems feature new capabilities designed to boost performance.
Data Protection In The Cloud Era
September 18, 2013 14:06 PM
Organizations need to review security policies and procedures before implementing newer technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization.
Hardware Vs. Software: Storage Vendors Go Head-to-Head
September 13, 2013 17:12 PM
Don't count hardware storage vendors out as the industry shifts to software-based infrastructure. Hardware and software vendors are making moves that promise storage innovation in both traditional infrastructure and SDI.
New Technologies Target OpenStack Private Clouds
August 16, 2013 14:05 PM
Companies like Druva aim to address data center and private cloud storage and data management challenges using the OpenStack framework.
NAS Options for Public and Private Clouds
August 15, 2013 02:16 AM
Public and private clouds can present challenges for file-based applications that use NAS. Here's how several vendors are helping companies meet those challenges.
Open Source Poised for Innovation Explosion
August 06, 2013 19:16 PM
Cost pressures and the fast feedback of open source's development model will spur new levels of innovation in open software in the next ten years.
Clouds Cannot Be Contained In A Box
November 28, 2011 13:45 PM
A big part of the value proposition of cloud is to ensure that you have continuous access to your data, and that you've moved beyond the physical limitations of a single box or a single data center or a single geography. While the move to the cloud can allow greater leverage of compute servers and storage, it also provides the ability to move away from aging, monolithic storage and servers, and gives cloud customers access to their data irrespective of any technical issues that may be going on and irrespective of their physical location. Cloud is supposed to be always on, with resources available on-demand, 24 by seven. However, how do you deliver all of this with a cloud that's been imprisoned in a box? Clouds cannot be contained in a box.
IBM SONAS On Life Support As BlueArc Goes To HDS
September 09, 2011 17:12 PM
You may have heard of an oddly named storage product from IBM called SONAS. It stands for Scale-Out NAS. I’m concerned that, like with so many other monolithic products, SONAS may be out of gas--as Hitachi Data Systems fills up its tank with higher octane from BlueArc. As always, there’s more to the story of the BlueArc acquisition than meets the eye.
Health Care Providers Shifting to the Cloud
July 26, 2011 17:37 PM
With the unstoppable growth of medical imagery, many health care providers are realizing that trying to do a data migration to a new storage system every few years is becoming next to impossible. Some providers I spoke with say that unless they shift to the cloud, they'll never be able to even fathom catching up with their data growth as they'll be stuck in a never-ending cycle of rebuying their next storage system and migrating data.
Monolithic Scale-Out NAS Is Out Of Gas
June 03, 2011 14:00 PM
The cloudwashing that’s running rampant throughout the storage industry has clearly got to stop. My latest observation is that traditional monolithic scale-out NAS vendors are so aggressively selling their offerings for the cloud that their claims are completely out of control.
Building A Sustainable Cloud (And More Predictions)
May 13, 2011 14:20 PM
I thought that the cloud was supposed to be about the aggregation of thousands of low-cost servers and disk drives, integrated together with a web services layer and a robust object store, all accessed as a pay-as-you-go service. Wasn't that how cloud service providers were supposed to make money--by using commodity components with their own "secret sauce" software on top? High-cost legacy infrastructure products are not congruent with building a long-term sustainable cloud.
Iron Mountain Digital Steps Out Of Cloud Storage; Nirvanix Steps In
April 12, 2011 08:49 AM
Well, it appears again that companies that are good at one thing won't necessarily be good at trying other things. Iron Mountain Digital, the public cloud offshoot from Iron Mountain--the company that stores papers in caves and giant vaults and drives around in vans all the time--has collapsed.
Forecast: Shakeups Looming in the Cloud
March 18, 2011 11:28 AM
There are a number of rumblings in the cloud. One IT behemoth is believed to be eying a strategic acquisition of a powerful cloud software and storage offering, another seems to be repositioning an existing product, and VCs sharpen their focus on what really adds value in the cloud. There are a number of pivotal events that I believe will transpire over the next year in this rapidly changing and expanding market. From start-ups to behemoths, there will be significant changes that will shake up the cloud.
Could EMC Become The Amdahl of Cloud Storage?
February 11, 2011 17:59 PM
There is no doubt that EMC has shipped some Atmos storage since its introduction. Yes, EMC has Atmos. And the company claims that Atmos is specifically designed for the cloud. However, I believe that there are fundamental issues with the way EMC sells Atmos to customers. First of all, if Atmos is cloud storage, then it should be sold on a usage basis. Customers should be charged only for what they use--not for petabytes of capacity up front. After all, isn't that the whole premise of cloud? Lowering your capital expenditures and shifting to a utility model? It makes me wonder if EMC is slowly becoming the Amdahl of Cloud Storage.
Nirvanix Gains Increased Market Traction With Triad Of Cloud Solutions
January 14, 2011 13:18 PM
I blogged about Nirvanix here on Network Computing back in November, and opined that the time to execute with cloud offerings is now. I have been following Nirvanix closely since then, and speaking candidly with its customers. It is clear that the company is executing well, providing substantial value to its existing customers, gaining new customers and fine-tuning offerings in order to take the competition head on. Nirvanix has its sights set on the high end of the competitive spectrum. The company is making gains in market traction and turning prospects away from stalwarts like EMC and IBM.
Correlsense Makes Finding A Needle In A Haystack Easy
December 21, 2010 17:52 PM
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Correlsense, a business transaction management company, along with one of its customers, GAINSCO Insurance. We discussed Correlsense's product, SharePath, which monitors and tracks all of an application's transactions in real time, and can rapidly deliver root-cause analysis and display where transactions are slowed or stalled. In fact, SharePath can pinpoint transaction bottlenecks spanning from the discrete user client to the IT infrastructure to the number of bytes read, or written, at the disk storage level. In my opinion, this makes finding a bottleneck in real time--or the needle in a haystack--easy.
Dell And Others Still Shopping For Storage
December 15, 2010 09:00 AM
On Dec. 13, Dell announced it has "entered into a definitive agreement for Dell to acquire Compellent ... " Dell also said it expects the transaction to be accretive to Dell non-GAAP earnings in its fiscal year 2012. There is no doubt that I, along with others in the industry, have blogged and written quite a bit on this topic over recent days. There has been no bidding war, no firing of shots across the bow from one vendor to another, and no soaring stock price in this quickly executed company acquisition. In my opinion, Compellent as a brand gets a big boost now, and Dell has bolstered its storage line up. So what's next for the Compellent brand as it integrates within Dell, and is Dell finished with storage vendor acquisitions?
The Win-Win-Win Scenario Of A Compellent And Dell Merger
December 13, 2010 09:26 AM
On Dec. 9, Compellent and Dell announced that they "are engaged in advanced discussions regarding a possible business combination involving the two companies." I blogged about Compellent here on Oct. 8 and one day before the joint Compellent-Dell announcement. Some voices in the industry, not associated with Network Computing, have raised thinly veiled arguments that question the sense, and value, of an acquisition of Compellent by Dell. In my opinion, Compellent will be a strong addition to both the Dell Virtual Information System (VIS) architecture and Data Center Solutions (DCS) capabilities. Should it come to fruition, this potential acquisition is a win-win-win for customers, Compellent and Dell.
Compellent - Taking On The Enterprise Challenge
December 08, 2010 19:00 PM
On Nov. 22, Compellent announced the newest release of StorageCenter version 5.4, new Live Volume software, new Enterprise Manager multisite tool capabilities, and next-generation hardware that is faster, stores more data and connects to FCoE and 10GbE iSCSI. Back in October, I wrote that Compellent was rising to the enterprise challenge. With this announcement, it's clear to me that Compellent is taking on the enterprise challenge and may be swinging the acquisition pendulum in their direction.
Nirvanix Success Attracts Funding And New Executive Leadership
November 10, 2010 09:53 AM
Today Nirvanix announced that it has secured additional funding of $10 million dollars and has appointed Scott Genereux as President, and Chief Executive Officer. These developments are designed to fortify the company's competitive position and expand the market penetration of its Storage Delivery Network (SDN) on a massive global scale. Genereux's successful track record of building business value propositions around storage solutions bodes well for Nirvanix as the company starts to penetrate new markets and attempts to take market share from traditional storage vendors and other cloud storage providers.
