Packing It In

Posted by Mary Jander on August 2, 2006

Tags: Backup & Recovery,  Infrastructure,  Other,  Virtualization

Channel: Backup & Recovery, Data Center, Other, Virtualization

Today's storage managers face the packrat predicament -- namely, where and how to fit it all in.

The issue is not just finding more storage space for data. It's also vital to improve the quality of that space. After all, oodles of data are being saved not only because there's more of it, but because regulators and others are keeping a closer watch on it. That means data archives must have better searchability, faster retrieval, and the assurance of recovery after disasters.

Solutions are multiplying with the data. There are new tools for "data forensics" that organize information in corporate archives, ensuring that if some item is needed, it will be an easily found needle in a burgeoning haystack. (See De-Classifying Data Classification, Vendors Fire Up Data Forensics, A Hex On You, and Lawyers Urge Doc Management.)

Mountains of data can also saturate existing storage, so another crop of wares is aimed at addressing performance problems. This is the space that HP, Applimation, Solix, and Princeton Softech are looking to address with database archiving tools. There are similar products for use with unstructured data. (See Archivers Prepare for Upgrades .)

More data is also being saved across distributed networks, highlighting the importance of having faster, more reliable links to and from remote sites. In this vein, we see a burgeoning of schemes for WAN optimization and WAFS (wide area file services). (See F5 Hits Accelerator.)