Flash-based data caching is a popular choice for cost effectively improving application performance in many different environments, but where that cache is located is a central part of any decision to use flash caching. Host-based caching (also called “server-side” caching)…
In a recent column we talked about what exactly object storage is, a storage software architecture that puts data into discrete ‘containers’ (called objects) and accesses them through an ID number and a simple index. We also discussed what object…
Object storage has been around for a number of years but is now getting more attention. This is due to a couple of factors: the amount of data, especially file data, is continuing to grow and the length of time…
Most IT professionals, at least those over thirty, were probably introduced to tape as part of the backup system. For years tape drives and libraries have been the primary repositories for backup data, most recently with the LTO (Linear Tape…
Ever since NAND flash made the jump from consumer memory sticks to enterprise storage devices the idea of simply filling up a storage array with SSDs has been out there. It certainly makes sense from a logical perspective as server-side…
STORServer was one of the first companies to come out with a backup appliance for the mid-market over 10 years ago. Their product used IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) as the backup software loaded onto server hardware with a tape…
Data sets are growing, but so are the periods of time that they’re being saved. Once primarily driven by regulatory compliance, companies are now finding that there are other factors pushing data retention to seemingly unlimited duration. The repurposing of…
Grand River Conservation Authority is a Canadian watershed management agency, similar to the Tennessee Valley Authority in the US. They’re responsible for an area the size of Delaware with a population of almost 1 million people. GRCA has 150 FT…
It happened again, another industry veteran has dismissed tape as an obsolete technology. This time it was an EMC executive responding to the tired question “is tape dead yet?”, posed in a recent TechTarget interview. His response was “There is…
Strictly speaking, object storage refers to a system where data is stored in discrete buckets or “objects”, in contrast to the directories and subdirectories of a traditional file system. It can be implemented in any storage architecture, but is usually…
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