A Blueprint for Primary Storage Optimization

During the past three to four months the storage industry has seen a spike in the number of reports, white papers and news articles surrounding the evolution of primary storage technology, capacity optimization (it is 2010’s hottest technology). The reason this technology is getting a lot of ‘air play’ these days is due to the fact that this technology is so critical to help control the growth and costs of storage. In 2010 the… Read more »

Compression 101 for CFOs

CFOs have an incredibly hard job when it comes to helping IT manage a budget. Let’s face it, there have been books written (like ‘Does IT Matter, by Carr) that discuss the value of all those blinking lights in the data center.

The reality is that some of those blinking lights do matter and others are a financial sink hole. Over the past 3 years storage has crept up to be one of the higher… Read more »

The Side Effects of Backup on Server Virtualization

Server virtualization has changed the IT landscape dramatically. It has become a magic potion curing a number of ills in the physical server world such as low individual CPU utilization and excess use of space, power and cooling in the data center. However, like all potions that cure what ails you, there can be side effects. You need to be careful of what the Witch Doctor orders.

When I speak with customers who have aggressively… Read more »

A Data Protection Tribute to Michael Jackson

I was walking through the data center the other day when I heard one of my colleagues, MJ “Scream”, “I wish I had some ‘Morphine’”. Well, I have to say I was “Speechless”. I walked over to where MJ was standing, near the tape library, and when I asked him what was wrong, he replied “there was another backup tape ’Jam‘.” MJ told me he had been “Working Day and Night” on a major backup… Read more »