Does the number of disks in a RAID-5 array affect the performance ?

Let’s be honest, the reason File Virtualization is hot is because every compute environment is running into the unavoidable realities of exploding data growth in all directions - spreading like a virus across the network and in the data center.

Let’s face it… finding the “right” data is hard, but there is an answer.

If some of the new indexing applications live up to the hype …. ILM may actually have a chance…

The problem is all in the math. Most of us that have been in the storage industry know that the way the hard drive vendors “market” the drive capacities is fundamentally inaccurate.

…in my opinion this is a prime example of people being lazy or stupid!

Storage Management in Rough Waters

SAS, RAID, Virtualization & Storage Management

Who has your data?

Storage Managment at the Show

After all of the efforts over the years to agree on a standard with really no end result that the end users can see, hear, feel and touch – how could we really think that a standard could ever possibly prevail?

In an effort to insight a riot with one of my fellow Storage Advisors I want to talk about “Virtual” Tape Library (VTL) options.

Storage Management - The next wave for SMBs

I have asked many IT mangers this question: “What is the rate of change of your companies data” Most cannot answer this question. Surprisingly, some big companies with larger IT shops don’t even know this, but it isn’t really on the minds of the small business with limited IT staff.

Why is this number so important? First off, if you are considering implementing any kind of ILM (Information Lifecycle Management) program, you will need to know this. Mainly, the rate of change of your data tells you how much storage you are currently using and how and where it is growing. If you are considering using a remote backup strategy for your remote offices, and want to replicate the data back to a central spot, your rate of change of data is critical. If you have a lot of data, and the data changes too frequently you might not have the CPU cycles to process or the network bandwidth to transfer all of that data. Even with a replication program that transfers ONLY differential byte-level data. More on this in another blog I am working on…

I remember when all you had to do was choose which tape drive or library you were going to use to backup your data. Media capacity and speed had to be considered – and, of course your budget. Now with all the options for disk-based backup; snapshots, replication and mirroring techniques, Virtual Tape Libraries (VTL), and the latest three letter acronym in storage (CDP – Continuous Data Protection), does that old archaic tape technology still have a place? I think so… doesn’t it?

Let’s dig a little deeper. With disk-based backup techniques you can replicate data asynchronously on a scheduled basis; you can mirror data real-time; you can migrate older data to lower cost storage based on policies; or you can simply make the disk look just like a tape. There are even some products out there that let you remove disk drives after backup just like tape media for offsite storage…