Emulex unleashes a FibreSpy
I have to confess one of my weaknesses: Small, compact products based on advanced technologies fascinate me.
I have to confess one of my weaknesses: Small, compact products based on advanced technologies fascinate me.
It was difficult to miss the important announcements that Sun Microsystems made November 15. The company announced a new OS, Solaris 10; a new file system, ZFS (zettabyte file system); plus a handful of storage-specific products, including management software, two new storage arrays, and a new tape library.
I have been traveling more than usual lately. Although my schedule has been hectic, it has given me the opportunity to meet new people and exchange ideas. One notion I keep hearing about is how easy it has become to set up a SAN, which is good news -- especially considering that I keep hearing it from normal people with solid IT backgrounds, not from storage gurus.
The idea of comparing the iSCSI and FC (Fibre Channel) transport protocols as if they were opposing thoroughbreds at the Kentucky Derby may sound childish, but it's a temptation often difficult to resist.
I should be used to it by now, but the dynamic nature of the storage market never fails to surprise me. Really, there are no persistent realities in a universe in which unrelenting change is the only constant.
Perhaps it's because of my past life as a mainframe sys admin, but I couldn't help noticing that this month IBM is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its HSM (Hierarchical Storage Management).
It may sound obvious, but the larger a storage network gets, the more difficult it is to keep it well documented and, more importantly, well tuned. Sooner or later, administrators in charge of large storage structures will welcome -- and actually ask for -- an expert opinion on configuration, topology, and performance of their SAN.
There are exceptions, but it seems to be an established rule that startups will come up with the most innovative and daring solutions to various IT problems.
New high-end storage solution challenges competitors and gives ammunition to partners.
If you thought IBM was running behind its competitors with storage products for SMBs, think again. The latest announcements from Big Blue target the entry-level segment, proposing two new TotalStorage arrays, the DS300 with iSCSI (Internet SCSI) connectivity, and the DS400 with FC (Fibre Channel).
Nothing has been more exciting in storage than following the constant evolution of SATA disk drives, watching their capacity grow and prices per megabyte shrink, thus easing deployment of SATA drives in the once forbidden realm of enterprise SANs.
How to better use new technologies is one of the most debated topics in the storage world, which is not surprising because often a new technology opens doors that were previously locked and forces potential users to walk away from the familiar beaten path.
As networked storage solutions take on more of a multivendor shine, end-users stand to benefit.
Between Adaptec's acquisition plans and rivalries between Quantum and Sony, storage news shows no sign of slowing.
Are storage devices becoming too intrusive? It sure seems that way, doesn't it? Especially when you consider that even in our private life we interact with numerous storage devices -- from listening to our favorite tunes while jogging, to relaxing before our home entertainment center -- that make our day more productive and more enjoyable.