The next version of Microsoft Windows Server includes integrated data deduplication technology. Microsoft is positioning this as a boon for server virtualization and claims it has very little performance impact. But how exactly does Microsoft’s de-duplication technology work?
Flash Storage and Automated Storage Tiering
September 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In recent years, a move toward automated storage tiering has begun in the data center. This move has been inspired by the desire to continue to drive down the cost of storage, as well as the introduction of faster, but more expensive storage in the form of Flash memory in the storage array marketplace.
What is VAAI, and how does it add spice to my life as a VMware admin?
December 6, 2010 By 1 Comment
SolarWinds: Live From Tech Field Day San Jose
November 15, 2010 By 1 Comment
After fighting yet more networking gremlins, Tech Field Day resumed at The Hoffman Agency wit a presentation by SolarWinds. We had come to expect quite a lot from this company after their fine presentation at Net Field Day in September, and the delegates were not disappointed. SolarWinds discussed their various management products, as well as their approach to high availability and database design.
STEC Spills the Beans on ZeusRAM SSD
May 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment
STEC may not have been quite ready to reveal their next-generation ZeusRAM solid-state disk (SSD), but they are demonstrating it anyway at EMC World in Boston this week. The ZeusRAM is a fundamentally different animal from the existing ZeusIOPS drive in one critical way: Rather than using flash memory for primary data storage, the ZeusRAM uses DRAM. This improves reliability and longevity and ought to raise the bar on performance as well.
Why Does Cloning A VM From Template Take A Long Time?
April 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Multipath: Active/Passive, Dual Active, and Active/Active
March 31, 2010 By 2 Comments
Although it’s rare in the PC world, multipath I/O is not new in enterprise IT. I’ve been juggling paths to storage and networks as long as I’ve been a systems administrator, and that’s a bit longer than I care to admit. But the proliferation of technologies has made it difficult to understand path management. What’s the difference between “dual active” and “active/active”? Is “active/passive” really that bad?
“Storage tiering is dying.” But purple unicorns exist.
March 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Benefits of Wide Striping – Avoiding A Long Tail
March 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
How Did Microsoft and Intel Get 1 Million iSCSI IOPS?
March 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Ever since Microsoft and Intel declared that the combination of Windows and Nehalem could deliver over a million iSCSI IOPS, I’ve been curious about just how they did it. What black magic could push that many I/Os over a single Ethernet connection? And what was on the other end? Now Intel has revealed all in a whitepaper, and the results are surprising!