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News and Analysis
AppSense Unveils Smartphone Encryption
DataLocker, which will enable smartphone users to encrypt sensitive information in personal cloud services like Dropbox, is the first product to come out of the new research arm created by virtualization technology provider AppSense. Intended to create new computing technologies geared at both end users and IT, the focus of AppSense Labs will be "to research technologies that include cloud, mobile and data, and to build prototype products that bring a consumer experience to IT," the company says.
More News and Analysis
- Annual e-Discovery Demands, Expenses Skyrocket
- Virtual Backup Challenges Enterprise IT
- Cloud Security: No Guarantees
- FileTrek Debuts Cloud-Based File Tracking, Sharing And Management Tool
More News and Analysis in Data Protection Channel »
Architectures
Are We Lagging In SLAs?
Nearly 80% of the cloud service providers I have spoken with have told me that they either have very generic SLAs in place for their customers or that they don't have any formally stated SLAs for customers at all. On the other side of this equation, businesses engaging cloud services have also reported that, by and large, they simply sign and accept the contracts that the cloud service providers present to them. This begs the questions of whether SLA definition and adoption is lagging cloud services.adoption—and whether it is OK if it does.
More Architectures
- An SMB Masters Business Intelligence
- Bank Invests In Dedupe To Shrink Backup Windows
- Minnesota DoJ Uses Biometrics Streamlining Security, Paperwork
- Schumacher Uses SSO To Cure Login Woes
More Architectures in Data Protection Channel »
Reviews & Workshops
The Challenge Of Making Business Intelligence And Analytics Work
Introducing "smart" systems and business analytics into an organization is an IT challenge. Historically, IT has supported online transaction processing for internal operations and customer-facing systems, and then used batch processing to wrap up all of the activities at the end of a processing period. But increasingly, businesses are beginning to incorporate smart systems that go beyond isolated enclaves of automation built into computers and networks and tap directly into the critical thinking behind mission-critical business processes.
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Blogs
FAST Paper Casts Doubt on SSD Future
February 21, 2012 11:00 AM
Posted by Howard Marks
At last month's FAST (File and Storage Technologies) conference researchers from UCSD and Microsoft Research presented a paper, titled The Bleak Future of NAND Flash Memory, that's put the rosy all-flash-all-the-time future predicted by some in doubt for the long term. The gist of the paper's argument is that the physics of flash, and the researcher's testing, indicate that as flash density increases, the life and performance of flash will degrade to the point that by 2024 flash will no longer be a viable solution.
See all blogs by Howard Marks
Nimbus Sets The Stage For Mainstream Enterprise SSD
February 13, 2012 09:00 AM
Posted by Howard Marks
Solid-state array pioneer Nimbus Data's new E-Class array system is a sign that solid-state storage is moving from the high-performance fringe to the mainstream of the enterprise data center. Most first-generation, all-solid-state arrays, including Nimbus Data's own S-class, were best suited to targeted applications where high performance with single points of failure was acceptable. The new asset class, like most midrange disk arrays, has a dual-controller design to satisfy my enterprise reliability requirements.
See all blogs by Howard Marks
EMC VFCache: Project Lightning Strikes
February 13, 2012 09:00 AM
Posted by David Hill
EMC's recent announcement of the culmination of the code-named Project Lightning resulted in the new VFCache solution, a server-based flash cache, which may be used as a complement or alternative to flash storage that appears as if it were a disk drive. This lightning strikes twice, though not in the same spot. The first is dramatically improved I/O performance for customers and the second is the challenge that VFCache brings to competitors trying to distinguish their own flash storage solutions.
See all blogs by David Hill
EMC's Lightning Strikes
February 07, 2012 09:00 AM
Posted by Howard Marks
The storage cognoscenti have been all atwitter this morning as EMC announces the details of Project Lightning, the flash-based server cache solution it previewed last May at EMCworld. The first version of the renamed VFCache is now available, and it's clearly a version 1.0 product. Hopefully, EMC will get some of the road map items out the door, as well as the just announced Thunder, soon.
See all blogs by Howard Marks
Dell Moves Ahead Fluidly in Storage
January 20, 2012 12:32 PM
Posted by David Hill
The IT industry is always adapting to new trends, from client-server and the PC revolution of the '80s and '90s to cloud computing and big data today. These trends inspire successful new vendor entrants, but they can also be problematic for established IT vendors. Over time, some leaders don't adapt and die (see Digital Equipment Corporation), while others swoon and survive in a reduced state by being acquired by larger saviors (see Sun Microsystems).
See all blogs by David Hill
Thai Flooding Drives Disk Prices Up, Warranties Down
January 17, 2012 11:00 AM
Posted by Howard Marks
The effects of fall's record-setting flooding in Thailand continue to reverberate throughout the storage industry. The flooding put several factories that made both completed disk drives for Seagate and Western Digital and components like platters, spindle motors and heads under several feet of water for weeks. The estimated production shortfall of 20 to 50 million drives in the fourth quarter has had a significant impact on the storage industry.
See all blogs by Howard Marks
Best of the Web
VXLAN termination on physical devices
VXLAN is an Experimental IETF draft of protocols to enable the creation of a large overlay, multi-tenant network.
ONF Deadly Serious About OpenFlow-Based SDNs
: OpenFlow is poised to reach over-hyped status, yet there are practical, useful reasons for keeping an eye on Openflow. The biggest cloud players are involved and driving the feature creation.
Practical Introduction to Applied OpenFlow
Get a primer on the Openflow protocol and what it can do for networking.
On Resilience of Spit-Architecture Networks
This research papers investigates the practical issues in split-architecture networks and the placement of the controllers, such as Openflow controllers, in the network.
