Flash storage and solid-state drives (SSDs)
Find the latest information on flash storage and solid-state drive (SSD) technology options and learn strategies for successfully implementing flash and SSDs.
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Feature
19 Dec 2024
Top 10 AI and storage stories of 2024
In this 2024 review, we look at the impact of AI on data storage, what’s needed to support AI during training and inference, and storage suppliers’ responses to the rise of AI Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Dec 2024
Google Cloud Platform: Key storage options in the Google Cloud
We survey the key cloud storage offers available from GCP, which include Cloud Storage, Persistent Disk and Filestore, with a range of service levels and app-specific options Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Sep 2023
Cloud NAS, what is it good for?
We look at NAS file access storage, how it works, what it’s good for and the possibilities to access storage for files and unstructured data in the public cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Sep 2023
IBM reorients to offset historic storage hardware decline
Storage profile: We look at IBM and the strategic shifts it has made towards the cloud, cloud-native and as-a-service offerings that aim to reverse a long-term decline in revenues Continue Reading
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News
11 Sep 2023
Huawei launches OceanStor Pacific 9920 entry-level NAS
Huawei adds to its OceanStor Pacific NAS family, offering entry-level 9920 with up to 92TB per node which can be combined into clusters and also used as a SAN device Continue Reading
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Feature
07 Sep 2023
CXL in the datacentre: Boosting memory for hungry workloads
We look at CXL, how it revolutionises connectivity between memory components, potentially saves energy, and adds oomph to heavily memory-dependent workloads such as AI analytics Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Sep 2023
HPE storage comes with full IT stack, hybrid cloud and as a service
Storage profile: We look at HPE, its Alletra storage refresh, and Greenlake and the ways the company is re-branding as a full-stack provider across on-prem and hybrid cloud Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2023
VMware builds vSAN Max, consolidates multicloud and online deployment
VMware launches new iteration of vSAN Max with up to 8.6PB of independently scalable storage, NSX gets a “+” as it unifies networks and Ransomware Recovery ups efficiency Continue Reading
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E-Zine
05 Sep 2023
Met Police data platform goes £64m over budget
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we reveal a £64m cost over-run for the Metropolitan Police’s new record management system – and the thousands of support requests it’s caused. Our latest buyer’s guide looks at the issues around integrating software-as-a-service applications. And a leading flash storage firm says the age of spinning disk drives is almost over – are they right? Read the issue now Continue Reading
- 01 Sep 2023
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News
21 Aug 2023
Simplyblock targets ‘complex’ Ceph with software-defined NVMe
German startup Simplyblock aims to deliver low-cost high-performance flash and NVMe-over-TCP storage for service provider customers, and has Ceph deployments in its sights Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Aug 2023
Huawei a big storage hitter despite international troubles
Huawei is a leading storage player with an enterprise product offer across file, block and object storage, and the cloud, despite controversy and trading difficulties Continue Reading
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Podcast
08 Aug 2023
Podcast: HDDs have a long life ahead in certain workloads
Spinning disk hard drives are far from dead, and with data volumes set to explode, there are use cases that suit them well. That’s the view of Rainer Kaese of Toshiba in this podcast Continue Reading
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News
07 Aug 2023
HPE’s Alletra MP marries storage to cloud and software-defined choices
HPE’s Alletra was launched in April with an architecture that ties in with GreenLake consumption purchasing, SaaS configuration and addition of software-defined storage services Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Aug 2023
Computational storage SSD options vary in benefit level
Computational storage SSDs come in two major formats: programmable and fixed-function. They have stark differences in feature set and market acceptance. Continue Reading
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News
01 Aug 2023
Vast Data Platform aims at storage everywhere for AI/ML workloads
Vast Data to offer storage with data lake and warehouse functionality built in natively, in anticipation of a huge surge in AI/ML workloads and a need for ever-larger data stores Continue Reading
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Podcast
24 Jul 2023
Podcast: Sizing data storage for AI/ML workloads
Artificial intelligence and machine learning workloads come with I/O profiles of different shapes and sizes. We talk to Curtis Anderson of Panasas about how best to procure and size storage for them Continue Reading
- 17 Jul 2023
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Feature
07 Jul 2023
SAS vs. NVMe: The future of 2 key storage interfaces
In SAS vs. NVMe, both interfaces play significant roles in enterprise storage. See how they stack up in terms of performance, scalability, flexibility and manageability. Continue Reading
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Tip
29 Jun 2023
QLC vs. TLC SSDs: Which is best for your storage needs?
QLC flash memory is best for most read-intensive workloads, while TLC is suited to write-dominant workloads. Discover how QLC vs. TLC NAND are coexisting in the data center. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Jun 2023
Hitachi Vantara: Small part of a big corp and analytics focus
We look at Hitachi Vantara, its storage, its cloud offer, the workloads it targets, and its efforts in containerisation and consumption models of storage purchasing Continue Reading
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Feature
28 Jun 2023
A primer on SSD response time, other performance benchmarks
Consider several SSD performance benchmarks, including SSD response time, as key units of measurement. Also, note the difference between benchmarks and load generators. Continue Reading
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E-Zine
20 Jun 2023
How to keep network costs affordable
In this week’s Computer Weekly, as demands for networking performance and speed increase, we examine how to keep a handle on costs. Chip makers are investing in PLC technology – the next generation of flash storage – but some think it won’t be worth the effort; we investigate. And we listen in as tech industry leaders and politicians discuss the regulation of AI. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jun 2023
Charge trap technology advantages for 3D NAND flash drives
Flash drive cells based on charge trap technology have several advantages over older floating gate cells. However, take note of potential reliability issues. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Jun 2023
5 NAND flash manufacturers balance performance, reliability
NAND flash manufacturers Kioxia, Micron, Samsung, SK Hynix and Western Digital offer varying levels of capacity. They also provide an assortment of uses. Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Jun 2023
Pure Storage: HDDs dead by 2028 and our flash will replace it
Pure Storage says spinning disk is doomed, and only it can provide a replacement. We look at the rationale behind its bold message, and the possible impacts of such a scenario Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2023
Pure adds FlashArray//E for QLC capacity option in performance arrays
Flash storage specialist allows customers lower entry point to less costly quad-level cell flash in file and block access FlashArray//E as part of move towards all-flash in the datacentre Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Jun 2023
How to purchase SSDs during a NAND flash price drop
Although NAND prices are collapsing, that doesn't mean they will pop back up at some future date. It's rarely a good idea to purchase SSDs well before they are needed. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Jun 2023
write endurance
Write endurance is the number of program/erase (P/E) cycles that can be applied to a block of flash memory before the storage media becomes unreliable. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Jun 2023
SSD form factor
An SSD form factor is the size, configuration or physical arrangement of solid state storage media. The form factor determines the media's physical compatibility and interchangeability with other computer components or devices. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Jun 2023
Evaluate flash memory advantages and disadvantages
Flash memory and solid-state devices have revolutionized storage, but to deploy them effectively, you must understand their advantages and disadvantages. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Jun 2023
Software-defined storage: What it is and variants available
SDS is available in numerous variants. It is usually cheaper, flexible to deploy and brings storage efficiencies, but there are pitfalls in complexity, management and performance Continue Reading
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News
06 Jun 2023
ESA uses NetApp as-a-service for space data ‘hot’ archive
The European Space Agency collects data from millions of miles away. It must get storage right when there’s no chance of a u-turn to take more photos or re-record data Continue Reading
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News
31 May 2023
Panasas to add S3 support to edge storage and cloud moves
Scale-out NAS maker – which specialises in large capacity for AI/ML and HPC – has come out of its on-prem shell and now plans further moves towards cloud-friendly object storage Continue Reading
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Definition
24 May 2023
3D NAND flash
3D NAND is a type of non-volatile flash memory in which the memory cells are stacked vertically in multiple layers. Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2023
Aston Martin gets F1 pole position with NetApp storage
AMF1 race team tracks hundreds of car sensor metrics for raceday and post-event analysis that has seen it surge forward in recent Formula One rankings with NetApp NVMe storage Continue Reading
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News
16 May 2023
NetApp to promise ransomware warranty payout
NetApp will recover data hit by ransomware or pay a warranty, and has added entry-level SAN arrays and full access to all NetApp software across its hardware families Continue Reading
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Feature
12 May 2023
PLC flash: The next generation or a mirage?
PLC could be productised within two years, but chip makers might not think it worth the effort. Will managing multiple voltages be more hassle than adding layers to existing flash? Continue Reading
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News
10 May 2023
Nebulon aims Tripline at ransomware detection in storage
Tripline claims ransomware detection from samples every 30 seconds and works in conjunction with snapshots to deliver recovery from an attack in four minutes Continue Reading
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News
02 May 2023
Seagate launches 22TB IronWolf straight into QNAP NAS partnership
Seagate’s 22TB IronWolf Pro HDD equals Western Digital for capacity. Of the big drive makers, only Toshiba now lags behind. QNAP NAS to offer petabyte capacities with new Seagate drive Continue Reading
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Podcast
02 May 2023
Podcast: No more hard disks in five years, says Pure
We talk to Shawn Rosemarin of Pure Storage, who argues there will be no more hard drive sales in five years because energy costs and capacity needs can only be fulfilled by flash Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2023
Veritas shows off software SAN for Kubernetes at KubeCON 2023
Veritas InfoScale aims to provide high-performance block access storage despite limitations such as a maximum node count of 16 per cluster Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2023
IT Priorities 2023: Cloud and disaster recovery top storage and backup plans
Cloud storage still the biggest project planned in data storage in 2023, with disaster recovery the most important area in data protection cited by TechTarget/Computer Weekly survey respondents Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Apr 2023
Choose between NAND vs. NOR flash memory
When comparing NAND flash memory to NOR, it's important to examine the structural differences to understand which type of non-volatile memory is best suited for some applications. Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2023
HPE launches GreenLake for File and Block, and unified arrays
HPE upgrades its storage-as-a-service offer with Greenlake for File and for Block, configurable via the cloud but deployable on-prem. Meanwhile it shows new Alletra MP arrays Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
IBM Storage launched with backup appliance plan
Prosaically named brand will replace Spectrum products, while IBM rationalises offer for AI/ML, hybrid cloud and malware, which it sees as the backdrop to contemporary IT Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Mar 2023
Compare DRAM vs. DRAM-less SSDs for cost, performance
Are DRAM-less SSDs the way of the future? While they're a great fit for hyperscale data centers, other organizations may also find benefits, such as cost. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Mar 2023
HDD specs: Assess SATA vs SAS, sustained data rates and block size
In part two of a two-part series, we look at sustained data rates in hard disk drive specs, SATA versus SAS, drive security, and how HDD makers pack density into products by shingling Continue Reading
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Feature
22 Mar 2023
Understand how the CXL SSD can aid performance
Although CXL SSDs are only in the research phase, their performance shows promise. When used as simple memory extensions, they should improve programs that manage large data sets. Continue Reading
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Feature
21 Mar 2023
HDD specs: Assess MTTF, AFR and UER to get the drives you need
In part one of a two-part series, we look at key hard disk drive specs, including mean time to failure, annual failure rate and unrecoverable error rate, and how they relate to each other Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Mar 2023
Vast Data’s ‘Act 2’ builds data management layer on QLC flash
Vast Data offers QLC flash bulk storage with a rapid cache I/O layer. Now, it has embarked on offering big data, analytics and application access to highly available data stores Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Mar 2023
QLC edges into mainstream, but what are its advantages?
QLC flash offers high density but has lifecycle limitations. But what does it really cost compared with TLC and MLC, and how are suppliers implementing it and getting around durability issues? Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2023
FlashBlade//E to open up new opportunities in Australia
Pure Storage’s FlashBlade//E will enable the storage supplier to target medical imaging and remote backup workloads and attract new customers in Australia Continue Reading
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News
28 Feb 2023
Pure Storage aims FlashBlade//E at unstructured data capacity
But not the ones that need super high performance. FlashBlade//E will target use cases that need large amounts of QLC flash without the most-demands for rapid access Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Feb 2023
Unstructured data and the storage it needs
We look at unstructured and semi-structured data and find increasing amounts of production workloads that have their own storage hardware – file and object – needs, including flash Continue Reading
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News
27 Feb 2023
How Dell is future-proofing its business
Dell Technologies is building a more resilient supply chain, investing in growth areas like edge and multicloud, and responding to shifts in consumption models to position itself for long-term growth Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2023
Porsche revs up Formula E team with NetApp hybrid cloud
Porsche’s electric car racing team has to set up on city street courses in short order, and does it with a portable server setup and hybrid cloud storage managed by NetApp GFC Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2023
NetApp adds QLC C-series, new A-series and subscription upgrades
NetApp C-series QLC-based array family offers flash speed with capacity, while Advance adds subscription upgrades to owned hardware, as well as a new entry-level A-series array Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jan 2023
Green storage: Savings to be made but tricky to achieve
Storage upgrades can bring energy savings. New hardware, the cloud and as-a-service procurement models all cut costs, but can need careful tweaking to get right Continue Reading
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News
23 Jan 2023
NGX: Turkish arrays to challenge US mainstream storage vendors
Ankara-based NGX offers block, file and unified storage with use of cache and RAM to speed access. Software-defined storage, cloud and NVMe-over-fabrics are also coming Continue Reading
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News
20 Jan 2023
DataCore software-defined storage helps car firm avoid breakdowns
Bontaz used to face regular IT outages that took too long to recover from. Then it got DataCore software-defined storage and the ability to rapidly recover from downtime Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Dec 2022
Storage hardware shortage causes and how to mitigate them
We look at the IT supply chain shortages that have hit data storage equipment, their causes and what organisations can do to work more smartly to mitigate them Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Dec 2022
Top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022
Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 storage and backup customer stories of 2022 Continue Reading
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Feature
30 Nov 2022
From capex to opex: Storage procurement options bloom
We look at the growing list of possibilities when it comes to paying for storage infrastructure, ranging from upfront purchases with upgrades to pure pay-as-you-go options Continue Reading
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E-Zine
29 Nov 2022
How to stop data retention from killing the planet
In this week’s Computer Weekly, there’s a hidden environmental cost to the vast volumes of data being generated – we examine what can be done to address it. We talk to the CISO of consumer reviews site Trustpilot, about building trust in IT security. And we look at what IT leaders can do if they inherit a toxic team environment. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2022
Pure aims at near bare metal I/O with Portworx PX-Fast
PX-Fast is driven by customer need for scale and high performance in containerised environments and sees reworking of Portworx data architecture to slash storage access time Continue Reading
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E-Zine
22 Nov 2022
Cyber criminals target World Cup Qatar 2022
In this week’s Computer Weekly, as the FIFA World Cup opens in Qatar, we examine the cyber security threats from criminals targeting the event. We report from the Gartner Symposium on the latest predictions for enterprise software development. And we talk to the CIO of Kyiv City Council about managing IT in the shadow of war. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2022
Genome lab puts Vast Data’s rapid I/O to work on patient data
French government-backed SeqOIA ditched its Lustre-based storage after it reached performance limits and files got corrupted. That got fixed by a Vast Data QLC flash-based array Continue Reading
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News
17 Nov 2022
Scality Ring 9 brings Storage Accelerator enhanced flash tiers
Scality upgrade to Ring 9 of its object (and file) storage software sees enhancements to tiering, the introduction of Prometheus-based monitoring and hooks into VMware vCloud Director Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Nov 2022
The next decade in enterprise backup
Backup set to adapt to deliver more security, ransomware protection and flash-speed restores, and deal with the complexity of multi-, hybrid cloud and container-based operations Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2022
NetApp launches BlueXP as single console across on-prem and cloud
BlueXP gives customers monitoring and control over all NetApp storage on-site and in multiple clouds. Meanwhile, its Ontap OS has added S3 object storage access Continue Reading
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News
01 Nov 2022
Huawei pushes OceanStor’s Arm chip benefits at Paris love-in
Chinese giant trumpets green benefits on its Arm processor hardware with OceanStor Dorado V6 range, which offers huge capacities and performance at the high end Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2022
SoftIron’s HyperCloud to ease private cloud deployments
SoftIron claims its technology stack fully automates the provisioning of storage, compute, networking and infrastructure services, providing a fully functioning, multi-tenant cloud Continue Reading
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Definition
21 Oct 2022
EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory)
EPROM (erasable programmable read-only memory) is memory that does not lose its data when the power supply is cut off. Continue Reading
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News
17 Oct 2022
GRAID puts RAID on a GPU for cut-price disk protection and rebuilds
US startup puts its software on Nvidia graphics cards to offload RAID processing and throughput of 110GBps throughput across up to 32 NVMe solid-state drives Continue Reading
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Feature
13 Oct 2022
Is object storage good for databases?
We look at object storage vs block access SAN storage and ask if object storage can be used for database workloads, or is it just good for bulk storage of analytics datasets? Continue Reading
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News
13 Oct 2022
Bowled out: NVMe flash pioneer Pavilion Data ceases business
Last of the pioneer NVMe flash storage array makers, Pavilion made multiprotocol highs-speed boxes – but it seems to have run out of sources of investment and gone out of business Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Oct 2022
Edge storage: What it is and the technologies it uses
Storage is moving from the datacentre to the edge. We define edge storage, look at the characteristics of edge computing that shape it and the technologies it requires Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2022
VMware’s vSAN 8 gets a rebuild for the solid-state storage era
At VMware Explore 2022, we interview VMware’s John Gilmartin about the new, faster vSAN, plans to use DPUs, the vSAN+ cloud offering, and VMware Ransomware Recovery Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2022
NetApp storage goes GA for VMware Cloud on AWS
Move will bring up to 50% decrease in TCO for customers running VMware apps in the Amazon cloud, says NetApp. No date yet for extension of the service across other public clouds Continue Reading
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Blog Post
24 Aug 2022
Flash - Aha - Saviour Of The Universe?
Rarely has the world of IT, regardless of the role within, been more united over the understanding that the IT landscape – from endpoint to data/application repository – has been changing out of ... Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Aug 2022
Bfloat16: What it is and how it impacts storage
Bfloat16 is an emerging way to handle very large numbers, developed by Google for its machine and neural learning and prediction. We look at what it means for IT and storage Continue Reading
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Opinion
18 Aug 2022
Understand the Intel Optane shutdown
Intel's upcoming shutdown of Optane follows multibillion-dollar losses. However, some technology benefits came out of the IT giant's effort to improve storage performance. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Aug 2022
Huawei sets out its stall for a data-rich world
Businesses need to harness data effectively while keeping carbon emissions down. We see how Huawei is setting out to cope with the strains put on organisations, while mitigating the environmental impact Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2022
Lightbits offers NVMe-over-TCP at 5x less than NVMe-over-FC et al
Lightbits builds NVMe-overTCP SAN clusters for Linux servers with Intel cards that accelerate network processing to give millions of IOPS with storage for public and private clouds Continue Reading
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Podcast
05 Aug 2022
Podcast: How storage AIOps is revolutionising hybrid cloud ops
We talk to Tintri about storage and AIOps, which is the application of AI and machine learning-based software to monitor storage infrastructure to be able to detect patterns and predict failure, the need to upgrade, and so on Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Jul 2022
What to know about SMART SSD use
This overview of SMART attributes in SSDs explains how organizations can put them to good use. SMART SSDs provide peace of mind about device life span. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jul 2022
The verdict is Pure as Scottish prosecutor upgrades high-end storage
Scotland’s prosecution service saw disk drives in the dock every week with EMC legacy storage. Now it’s got Pure all-flash and has turned over an (Evergreen) new leaf Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2022
Vast Data upgrade boosts usable capacity, adds SaaS console
With improved data reduction algorithms, Vast has boosted its unstructured data storage offer, with 25% more usable data possible Continue Reading
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News
24 Jun 2022
Weka scale-out NAS v4 goes beyond just AWS to go multicloud
Weka v4’s multicloud capability means the scale-out NAS file system can work across customer datacentres and public clouds that include AWS, Azure, GCP and Oracle Continue Reading
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Podcast
21 Jun 2022
Podcast: The legacy and modern apps that drive object storage
We talk to object (and file) storage vendor Scality about the ways the application and development environment is changing and how that is driving object storage Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jun 2022
Data gravity: What is it and how to manage it
Data gravity can attract increasing amounts of data, and brings with it onerous management overheads. We look at how to mitigate data gravity in datacentre and cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Jun 2022
Unified file and object storage: Three suppliers and their approaches
We look at unified file and object storage products from NetApp, Pure Storage and Scality, the differences, the workloads aimed at, and how unified they actually are Continue Reading
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News
13 Jun 2022
Dell server, storage, PC sales grow despite component supply chain woes
Dell executives cite the company’s use of “alternative” component supply chains as server, storage and PC sales grow despite difficulties for most of the market sourcing parts Continue Reading
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News
08 Jun 2022
Pure FlashBlade//S and Evergreen//Flex boost as-a-service push
FlashBlade//S brings two new arrays in which customers can upgrade controllers and capacity, while //Flex allows capacity to be bought and moved across any QLC or TLC Pure array Continue Reading
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Definition
03 Jun 2022
solid
A solid is a state of matter that retains its shape and density when not confined. Continue Reading
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News
26 May 2022
SoftIron readies Sydney manufacturing facility
Software-defined storage supplier SoftIron is making hardware appliances in Australia to improve supply chain resilience and address security concerns of government customers Continue Reading
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Definition
11 May 2022
EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory)
EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) is a user-modifiable ROM. Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2022
Pure to offer on-prem object storage as Snowflake data source
Pure Storage partnership with Snowflake will see the cloud data warehousing platform make use of on-prem FlashBlade fast file and object storage as a source for analytics data Continue Reading
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Definition
10 May 2022
program/erase cycle (P/E cycle)
A solid-state storage program/erase cycle (P/E cycle) is a sequence of events in which data is written to a solid-state NAND flash memory cell, such as the type found in a flash or thumb drive, and is subsequently erased and rewritten. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Apr 2022
queue depth
Queue depth, in storage, is the number of pending input/output (I/O) requests that a storage resource can handle at any one time. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Apr 2022
RAM-based solid-state drive (SSD)
A RAM-based solid-state drive (SSD) is a storage device made from silicon microchips that has no moving parts and stores data electronically instead of magnetically. Continue Reading
