FCoE (Fibre Channel over Ethernet) provides the convergence of LAN and Fibre Channel storage traffic on a single lossless 10 Gigabit Ethernet link. This enables the network to provide the flexibility to either run FCoE, Fibre Channel (FC), IP-based storage such as NAS & iSCSI or combination of these technologies on a single converged network referred to as Unified Fabric.



FCoE is the logical step for converging LAN and Storage networks and has no downside. FCoE provides the…

Server and desktop virtualization has become the new normal in the majority of IT departments. Companies can no longer ignore the benefits of virtualization, and a key component to virtualization of servers and desktops is to use a shared storage appliance. Virtualization combined with data increasing at an increasingly rapid pace means IT managers face huge problems when it comes to investing in high-performance storage environments that are cost effective. SAN’s are one of the biggest…

1. Vendors often update systems to address known issues (RFCs) which means updating servers contributes to operational reliability

2. Given security vulnerability issues, many patches and releases address address known vulnerabilities that may be exploitable – updates thereby can reduce security risks

3. Depending on regulatory and industry compliance standards and service level commitments, system integrity and maintenance may be required – updates support…

Data is constantly at risk from hackers that launch advanced, automated, and large scale attacks as well as from malicious and privileged insiders that may abuse their access for economic or personal gain. Data Security has also become subject to intense regulatory scrutiny – so much so that any viable Data Security solution must be able to address the requirements imposed by auditors and regulators.

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Data center managers today know that they need to measure and monitor their power usage. It’s the first step to knowing what they need to do to improve efficiency – to save money and to act on their green initiatives. As the old saying goes – you can’t manage or control what you’re not measuring. We know that monitoring and reporting on energy consumption will be expected by 2012, so data center managers today need to implement tools to prepare for that. Our Sentry Power Manager (SPM)…

Tape remediation is quickly becoming a key concern for organizations. Do you hold on to everything or not? Backup tapes are created by enterprise organizations in order to protect enterprise data assets. Yet, most organizations do not have a policy in place to purge backup tapes once they outlived their disaster recovery purpose. As a result stockpiles of old backup tapes quickly amass. 



Why not recycle or destroy all these old tapes? That’s not as simple as it…

A high-performance network infrastructure is useful in today’s enterprise because of the trends of consolidation, virtualization and convergence. All three require a high-performance infrastructure, because it can provide not only high bandwidth but low latency as well. From an application perspective, the operations of high-performance computing, virtualization and cloud computing will be optimized if a high-performance network infrastructure is provided.

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Most IT managers are aware of the benefits that cloud storage can bring them, but up until now the cloud was not widely available for practical business use by organizations. The Nasuni Filer is transformative technology challenging traditional storage practices and perceptions. It allows organizations to leverage the cloud’s benefits of scalability, on demand capacity and…

Common remote management issues.

Cost to configure (i.e., you may need a consultant to deploy and configure). Most smaller companies don't have the money to pay or don't want to. Additionally, many companies charge for a management console (which is required to use remote management) separately. This makes it more difficult for companies to afford data encryption…

The optimal ROI for Cloud bursting is a highly cyclical business model, which cannot afford to build the data structures required for peak load, and as a result, lose potential business. Cloud bursting allows highly cyclic businesses to apply “Kanban” methodology to trigger additional capacity to meet “just in time” demand. Scaling both up and down maximizes the utilization of…

Cloudbursting means that applications and services are dynamically provisioned in the cloud based on need, consumed in the cloud by users, and then de-provisioned after the need goes away. Cloudbursting a compelling model and driver for cloud computing. It is a true use case for a real-world hybrid cloud architecture. One key area to consider before building a burst-able cloud…

Data centers are large facilities that include a huge assortment of servers and other computer hardware. Keeping this equipment operating and the facility up and running 24/7 is certainly of the utmost importance, but meeting the power requirements to accomplish this can be incredibly expensive. …

Have you added yourself to our member map? 

It's a great way to discover fellow professionals around the world. The MemberMap is found on a sub-tab of the 'Members' menu and here's how it looks:…

I am not quite sure if this organization has reliazed all the issues that the actual DCs have to take in consideration, more than a bycicle booth for storage (by the way I like to biking).



At least six different systems are included in the DCs



*  Architecture  (well described in the draft)



* Cooling (not only natural -free cooling- but liquid and of course electromechanical -HVAC- have to be considered)



* Energy ( I think renewable and electric load have…

Identify a use case before starting. 

A common mistake that we see is the extraordinary focus on the technology as opposed to a focus on your cloud storage use case and the business case that surrounds the use case. The project should start with an analysis of the use case and it’s resulting impact on the business, and operate on the assumption you can source a cloud of…