Klebanov is a technical solutions architect with Cisco Systems. He has 15 years of network industry experience. In recent years he has been closely involved with architecting data center solutions. He can be reached at klebanov@cisco.com or on LinkedIn at http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidklebanov
Geelong Grammar School has reduced back-up and recovery time after installing a scalable storage system.
Today's workers want faster computing speeds and more storage, management wants it all under budget, and IT professionals are scrambling to save money and improve productivity. The tools of choice to achieve these goals are typically virtualization cloud computing and data center consolidation, but IT may be overlooking a simple but effective fix: storage area network (SAN) and local area network (LAN) convergence.
Each year, the editors and reviewers of the InfoWorld Test Center gather to look over the list of products that earned the highest marks in stand-alone reviews or came in first in multiproduct shoot-outs. We then determine which ones were particularly praiseworthy and present the very best with Technology of the Year awards. These awards inherently reflect the changes in technology that have occurred during the past year and serve to highlight emerging trends.
Plagued with “exorbitant” maintenance costs due to out of control data growth, Queensland’s James Cook University (JCU) has overhauled its storage area network (SAN) in a $1 million upgrade to IBM’s XIV system.
Most <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/010710-cios-tweet.html">CIOs</a> have started considering virtual desktop infrastructure and other types of <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2009/021909-desktop-virtualization-faq.html">desktop virtualization</a>, but only a minority has reached the deployment stage. (See related story, <a href="http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/040110-destop-virtualization-windows7.html">"As Windows 7 gains steam, VDI set to rise"</a>.) Virtual desktops can potentially provide more flexibility for users, make it easier to apply patches and reduce IT help desk calls, but there are still numerous problems that keep desktop pros up at night. Here are five pitfalls to watch out for.
In just a few short years, storage virtualization, also known as block virtualization, has proven its worth in the large enterprise and traveled that well-worn path from pricey boutique solution to affordable commodity. As a standard feature in all but the most modest mid-tier storage arrays, storage virtualization soothes a wide range of storage management woes for small and mid-size organizations. At the same time, dedicated solutions from top-tier vendors deliver the greatest ROI to large shops managing large SANs with intense data availability requirements.
Opportunities to truly innovate are rare. Yet today, Flash technology has created the opportunity to not only deliver massive I/O performance, but to transform ease-of-use, array capabilities and business value. Welcome to the 100% Flash Enterprise Storage Array – where unimaginable performance is only the start.
