Adam Banks at Ars Technica has a great writeup on how cheap RAM changes storage, and in effect system architecture. Cheap RAM means the ratio of RAM to storage is changing in the database, allowing for more data to be loaded and reducing disk reads. The problem? Well volatile memory is… volatile, not necessarily something […]
Enterprise Computing
Four Pillars — Service: More On Chargeback
In the previous article I discussed the subject of Billing and Chargeback. This entry discusses some of the issues raised in that post as additional considerations.
Four Pillars — Service: Chargeback
In any system, resources are finite. There is always a limitation to what is available. However there’s also a truism that states if resources are free then they will be consumed at an infinite rate. So it is with storage. Someone has to pay for the storage resources that are placed on the floor. If customers are not charged in some way for their consumption of storage, then they will continue to consume resources ad infinitum. The solution is to implement chargeback or, to be more precise, billing.
Violin Memory Inc Release New All-SSD Array
I’m not a fan of making press releases on behalf of other companies however once in a while, a news item catches my interest. So it is with the announcement of the Violin Memory Inc. 3200 series of all-memory storage arrays. Why are these interesting? Because I think they are moving and potentially blurring the boundaries between spinning drives and memory-based permanent data storage.
Four Pillars — Service
IT has matured and we’ve mostly moved on to a service-orientated method for delivering computing (and in this case storage) resources. To effectively deliver storage resources within an organisation, it is essential to move to a service-based model where storage is provided as a service offering that is planned and managed, rather than simply on-demand.
The Benefits of Wide Striping — Avoiding A Long Tail
One of the “key features†of XIV is the wide striping of data across all spindles, a concept we’re seeing more and more. Have you ever wondered what the point is?
NetApp: The $4 Billion Product
I had a conversation last week with a PR company doing research for Netapp. This followed just after Netapp released their Q4 results, with revenue exceeding expectations at just over $1 billion. It’s amazing how in the space of less than 20 years they have developed from nothing to a company selling a single $4 billon product.
New HP P2000 and P4000 Storage Arrays
Today HP will announce two new storage arrays. Although taken from different product families, the hardware will be branded in a consistent manner, demonstrating HPs desire to bring together a range of storage technologies they’ve purchased over the last few years.
Enterprise Computing: CLARiiON; Your Mileage May Vary
As part of my work at Storage Fusion, I get to dig into the inner workings of storage arrays in a way most people don’t (either through inclination or time). Â One interesting anomaly we discovered this week was the variability in capacities of CLARiiON disks. Â What results from this is that the capacity you expect […]
Enterprise Computing: Has EMC Slipped Zero Block Reclaim Into V-Max?
I spent some time today looking at the release notes for Enginuity code 5874.207.166, which presumably is the one that brings the much lauded Fully Automated Storage Tiering (FAST) into general release on V-Max. Â Just above the FAST paragraph I found the following:
Symmetrix Virtual Provisioning Space Reclamation reduces capacity requirements and total cost of ownership […]