Primary storage devices
Primary storage devices refer to storage hardware for data in active use, in contrast to storage used for backup purposes. They include SAN and NAS primary storage devices, non-volatile flash storage and other types of storage media. Find resources about primary storage and storage hardware, including RAID arrays and storage arrays, on this topic page.
Top Stories
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Tip
31 Oct 2025
How to choose between scale-up vs. scale-out storage
Scaling up and scaling out are both approaches to increase storage capacity. To decide which approach to take, consider short- and long-term requirements. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Oct 2025
NAS vs. cloud storage: Which is better for your business?
On-site NAS and cloud-based NAS are the two main file storage options. Organizations need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each to make the best choice. Continue Reading
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Feature
15 Nov 2023
Comparing RAID levels: 0, 1, 5, 6, 10 and 50 explained
RAID protects data and improves storage performance and availability, but it can be confusing. Read about the different levels of RAID, the pros and cons, and where they work best. Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2023
DDN Infinia expands storage around HPC, AI
DDN has created a new software-defined object storage product, Infinia, for AI and HPC secondary storage. The tech can also be applied to some enterprise storage use cases. Continue Reading
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News
02 Nov 2023
New IBM Storage Scale focuses on AI, HPC
Adding to the growing list of storage for AI, IBM Storage Scale System 6000 brings the vendor's parallel file system as well as nearly a ronnabyte of capacity to a single cluster. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2023
Western Digital to split flash, HDD business units in two
Western Digital will spin off its flash storage business into a separate company by the second half of 2024, leaving hard drives under the WD banner. Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2023
NetApp adds new flash hardware, debuts VMware DR service
The enterprise storage vendor continues its hybrid cloud portfolio push with capacity flash for the ASA hardware family and bolts a VMware DR service to its BlueXP console. Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2023
Dell PowerMaxOS 10.1 targets operational, energy efficiency
The latest Dell PowerMaxOS update brings greater data reduction and power usage monitoring to its top-of-the-line storage array. The update also keyed in on cyber-resilience. Continue Reading
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Definition
02 Oct 2023
RAID controller
A RAID controller is a hardware device or software program used to manage hard disk drives or solid-state drives in a computer or storage array so they work as a logical unit. Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Sep 2023
RAID 4 (redundant array of independent disks)
RAID 4 (redundant array of independent disks) is a RAID configuration that uses a dedicated parity disk and block-level striping across multiple disks. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Sep 2023
TD Securities chooses Dell PowerMax to grow with it
Looking at high-end block storage systems for high transactional needs, a Canadian wholesale bank decided to tap Dell PowerMax as an investment for current and future business. Continue Reading
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News
30 Aug 2023
StorCentric winds down, Nexsan stands out
StorCentric's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing pushed the storage conglomerate and the companies it acquired into limbo. Now one of those companies might find new footing. Continue Reading
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Opinion
31 Jul 2023
Lenovo's latest heavy on flash, security for enterprise storage
Lenovo's concentration on QLC flash, hybrid cloud and ransomware protection in its latest hardware and software offerings should aid enterprise buyers. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Jul 2023
floating gate transistor (FGT)
A floating gate transistor (FGT) is a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology capable of holding an electrical charge in a memory device that is used to store data. Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Jul 2023
slack space (file slack space)
Slack space, or file slack space, is the leftover storage space on a computer's hard disk drive when a file does not need all the space it has been allocated by the operating system. Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Jul 2023
flash memory card
A flash memory card -- sometimes called a storage card -- is a small storage device that uses non-volatile semiconductor memory to store data on portable or remote computing devices. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jul 2023
Storage in space? The data's already there
As research and businesses become more established in space, data storage needs are growing. Vendors are building for the otherworldly conditions and keeping an eye on the moon. Continue Reading
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Definition
28 Jun 2023
M.2 SSD
An M.2 SSD is a small form factor solid-state drive (SSD) that internally mounted storage expansion cards use. Continue Reading
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Definition
21 Jun 2023
logical block addressing (LBA)
Logical block addressing (LBA) is a technique to specify the addresses of blocks of data on a storage device, such as a hard disk. 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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News
14 Jun 2023
Pure takes aim at HDDs with FlashArray for colder storage
Pure Storage added a new, cost-efficient model to its FlashArray line expanding potential uses cases. It's also rolling out new controller upgrades and data protection SLAs. Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2023
NetApp rolls out new ASA block storage, recovery guarantee
NetApp's latest update includes a new line of all-flash SAN, an expansion of its OnTap software to all storage systems and a ransomware recovery guarantee. Continue Reading
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News
18 May 2023
DDN launches all-QLC ExaScaler
The all-QLC ExaScaler scale-out parallel file system from DDN slots in between performance and costs. It comes at a time when AI workloads are on the rise. Continue Reading
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Definition
17 May 2023
commodity hardware
Commodity hardware in computing is computers or components that are readily available, inexpensive and easily interchangeable with other commodity hardware. Almost all PCs use commodity hardware. Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2023
Dell PowerStore zeros in on security, energy efficiency
Dell has added a handful of security features and integrations to PowerStore through an OS update, while obtaining Energy Star certification for two of its PowerStore models. Continue Reading
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News
27 Apr 2023
Pure unifies block, file storage on single FlashArray
Pure Storage expanded the unified storage market by granting native file, block and VM support on a FlashArray, which could reduce complexity and costs for some customers. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2023
A fine, earnings and new tech for Seagate
Seagate faces a $300 million fine for selling HDDs to Huawei and reported less than stellar earnings, but it continues to press forward on HDD technology. Continue Reading
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News
20 Apr 2023
HPE brings multi-protocol Alletra storage to GreenLake
HPE's newest addition to its Alletra portfolio supports block, file and object protocols. It reflects a shift toward simplification and commoditization in storage hardware. Continue Reading
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News
11 Apr 2023
Quantum containerizes file, object storage
In a shift for Quantum Corp., the vendor is now competing in the file and object storage market with its all-flash, software-defined, scale-out Myriad offering. Continue Reading
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News
30 Mar 2023
Toshiba's $15B buyout won't affect storage businesses
The acquisition, pending shareholder approval, would take Toshiba private, a move experts say could help stabilize the company, which has been searching for a path forward. Continue Reading
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Answer
29 Mar 2023
NFS vs. CIFS vs. SMB: What are the differences?
There are stark differences among file sharing protocols NFS, CIFS and SMB. Compare access, application deployment, configuration and security, among other key features. Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Feb 2023
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory) is a type of compact disc that can only be read, not written to. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2023
Western Digital releases dual-actuator HDDs
WD has quietly released a dual-actuator HDD, bringing dense drives with higher transfer rates, but customers can't reap the full benefits just yet. Continue Reading
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News
07 Feb 2023
NetApp adds storage buying options, arrays
NetApp introduces a myriad of buying options and hybrid cloud capabilities for VMware workloads on Google Cloud. Soon-to-come: new QLC all-flash arrays. Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2023
Hard drives fall on hard times
Hard drive manufacturers have had a couple of bad quarters due to the lingering effects of the pandemic and supply chain issues, but see a turning point on the horizon. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jan 2023
Storage vendors look to make case for sustainability
Energy costs are rising, and sustainability is all the rage. But storage vendors may struggle convincing customers to combat climate change during an economic downturn. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jan 2023
Fibre Channel vs. iSCSI: What are the differences?
Discover how Fibre Channel and iSCSI compare when it comes to meeting SAN performance, ease of use, manageability, total package and TCO requirements. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jan 2023
HPE expands Alletra with focused storage servers
HPE released new storage servers for container and software-defined storage with the Alletra 4000. The new servers bring high compute with new Intel CPUs in a denser package. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Jan 2023
Data growth to help storage vendors weather slowing economy
The economy may be slowing down, but reliance on data isn't -- a reality that might help enterprise storage vendors wade through economic turbulence in 2023. Continue Reading
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News
22 Dec 2022
RackTop Systems, Seagate deepen partnership for secure NAS
RackTop Systems and Seagate are offering more in turnkey storage appliances and private cloud integration, combining security software into primary storage devices. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Dec 2022
Automation company swaps Isilon for software-defined storage
The Swedish automation company Hexagon needed super scale and performance for its files. The new SDS upgrade speeds up customer response times. Continue Reading
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News
22 Nov 2022
Scality's Ring9 adds NVMe storage tier, new APIs
Scality Ring introduces its ninth major update, bringing an all-NVMe tier for better performance and new APIs for tighter integration to tools and third-party applications. Continue Reading
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News
18 Nov 2022
Seagate quietly expands multi-actuator HDD product line
Seagate has added to its multi-actuator line of Exos 2X HDDs, now offering up to 18 TB in capacity in its attempt to start paving the way for future use cases. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Nov 2022
A comparison of distributed file systems
There are many different distributed file systems available, so careful analysis of the options, as well as good project management, helps ensure a successful installation. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Oct 2022
Stay organized with 6 file storage best practices
File storage can quickly become disorganized without organizational planning. Use best practices like retention policies and naming conventions to easily manage file storage. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Oct 2022
7 NAS encryption best practices to protect data
Data storage security is as important now as it's ever been. Encryption is one way to make NAS devices more secure against such threats as ransomware. Continue Reading
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News
20 Oct 2022
IBM introduces Diamondback tape library for cloud providers
IBM's Diamondback tape library delivers 27 PB of capacity in a single rack space. The technology is geared to cloud and service providers as cheap, efficient storage. Continue Reading
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News
04 Oct 2022
IBM integrates Red Hat storage for hybrid cloud
IBM storage has integrated Red Hat OpenShift Data Foundation and Ceph into its new hybrid cloud data storage offering. Analysts said the move is good for both vendors. Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Sep 2022
What is network-attached storage (NAS)? A complete guide
Network-attached storage (NAS) is dedicated file storage that enables multiple users and heterogeneous client devices to retrieve data from centralized disk capacity. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2022
HPE expands Alletra with lower prices and more options
HPE added the hybrid Alletra 5000 to its block storage portfolio and GreenLake, giving customers more capacity and more consumption options while lowering costs. Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2022
Lenovo launches entry-level block storage arrays
Lenovo has released to the entry-level market new all-flash and hybrid arrays, which provide companies with a boost in previous performance, and has unified hardware management. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Sep 2022
Consider the advantages and disadvantages of NAS
NAS devices provide file sharing that is easy to manage but may be harder to scale than other storage types. Get to know the advantages and disadvantages of NAS. Continue Reading
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Answer
07 Sep 2022
NAS vs. object storage: What's best for unstructured data storage?
There are advantages and disadvantages to using NAS or object storage for unstructured data. Find out what to consider when it comes to scalability, performance and workload type. Continue Reading
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Tip
23 Aug 2022
7 guidelines to secure network storage
These practices, including firmware and VPN guidance, protect NAS devices. Use these steps as standalone procedures or incorporate them into your overall security process. Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2022
Infinidat guarantees 1-minute restore of primary storage
Infinidat has several guarantees around availability and performance, as well as the ability to recover and restore an immutable snapshot on primary storage in less than a minute. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jul 2022
A primer on disaggregated storage
Disaggregated storage enables organizations to scale compute and storage separately for high-performance, low-latency workloads. Some benefits are cost savings and flexibility. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2022
Biotech company saves on data management through software
Biotech maker PacBio gleaned big savings and organized a mountain of data when it added data management tools for its local hardware and data silos. Continue Reading
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News
13 Jul 2022
StorCentric files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Rapid acquisitions followed by supply chain issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic led StorCentric to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an effort to restructure. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Jun 2022
Key features of a distributed file system
Distributed file systems enable users to access file data that is spread across multiple storage servers. A DFS should uphold data integrity and be secure and scalable. Continue Reading
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News
21 Jun 2022
Weka adds multi-cloud support for AI, ML apps
With Weka 4.0, the parallel file system provider will support four major public cloud vendors while consolidating high performance workloads and adding a data reduction feature. Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Jun 2022
converged network adapter (CNA)
A converged network adapter (CNA) is a single network interface device that provides the functionality of both a Fibre Channel (FC) host bus adapter (HBA) and a TCP/IP Ethernet network interface card (NIC). Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2022
StorOne connects HDDs with NVMe-oF
StorOne extended NVMe-oF to SAS HDDs, bringing some of the NVMe benefits to the older technology before NVMe hard drives hit the market while reducing costs of NVMe-oF. Continue Reading
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Opinion
14 Jun 2022
Pure Storage's focus shines at Pure Accelerate 2022
At Pure Accelerate 2022, Pure Storage displayed its continued investment in R&D, coupled with new product releases. The vendor should continue to make a splash in flash. Continue Reading
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Definition
03 Jun 2022
volatile memory
Volatile memory is a type of memory that maintains its data only while the device is powered. Continue Reading
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News
01 Jun 2022
Nexsan introduces compact rackmount NAS for edge storage
Nexsan has introduced a new NAS for SMB edge storage use cases. One analyst believes the move is good but will present its own challenges to the vendor. Continue Reading
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News
11 May 2022
Western Digital ups the ante with 26 TB HDDs, new SSDs
Western Digital expanded its cloud storage devices with two new HDDs, a CMR drive with 22 TB and an SMR drive with 26 TB, and a new SSD form factor. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Apr 2022
School district sheds Dell EqualLogic for DDN
Simsbury Public Schools brought in two DDN arrays that helped the district speed up its VDI environment and reduce its IT footprint at a better cost. Continue Reading
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News
27 Apr 2022
Infinidat boosts its all-flash storage with InfiniBox SSA II
Infinidat released a new all-flash array with an updated operating system and added InfiniSafe data protection to all its arrays. 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
World Wide Name (WWN)
A World Wide Name (WWN) is a unique identifier that is hard-coded into each Fibre Channel (FC) device by the device's manufacturer. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Apr 2022
Fibre Channel (FC) port types
A Fibre Channel port is a hardware pathway into and out of a node that performs data communications over an FC link. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Apr 2022
N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV)
N_Port ID virtualization (NPIV) is a Fibre Channel (FC) standard that makes it possible to create multiple virtual ports on a single physical node port (N_Port), with each virtual port appearing as a unique entity to the FC network. Continue Reading
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Definition
14 Apr 2022
overprovisioning (SSD overprovisioning)
Overprovisioning, in a storage context, is the inclusion of extra storage capacity in a solid-state drive. Continue Reading
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Definition
04 Apr 2022
Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS)
Serial-Attached SCSI (SAS) is a method used to access computer peripheral devices that employs a serial -- one bit at a time -- means of digital data transfer over thin cables. Continue Reading
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Definition
31 Mar 2022
oversubscription
Oversubscription in a storage area network (SAN) is the practice of committing more network bandwidth to devices connected to that network than what is physically available. Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2022
Vast Data unveils new storage platform built on Nvidia DPUs
Vast Data's Ceres combines the vendor's Universal Storage system with data processing units, which provide denser, more efficient storage targeted at AI workloads. Continue Reading
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Feature
09 Mar 2022
Composable infrastructure providers tackle modern workloads
Composable infrastructure vendors include titans in IT like Dell and HPE, but also startups such as Fungible and Liqid. Explore product features and the tech's pros and cons. Continue Reading
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Definition
04 Mar 2022
LUN masking
LUN masking is an authorization mechanism used in storage area networks (SANs) to make LUNs available to some hosts but unavailable to other hosts. Continue Reading
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Definition
02 Mar 2022
virtual LUN (virtual logical unit number)
A virtual LUN (virtual logical unit number) is a representation of a storage area that is not tied to any physical storage allocation. Continue Reading
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News
25 Feb 2022
Performance, capacity tick up with Dell PowerVault ME5
Dell Technologies modernized its entry-level storage with the new Dell PowerVault ME5, bringing more performance, capacity and ease of use for its SMB customers. Continue Reading
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News
23 Feb 2022
Hitachi Vantara simplifies hybrid cloud storage
Hitachi Vantara is now providing customers a path to the hybrid cloud with software-defined storage and colocation. It also unveiled a new midrange storage offering. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Feb 2022
The best enterprise storage arrays of 2021
Tintri, Infinidat and Dell EMC enterprise arrays win top honors in the Products of the Year disk and disk subsystems category for their use of flash and automation. Continue Reading
- E-Zine 14 Feb 2022
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News
14 Feb 2022
Ruggedized storage takes autonomous vehicle research to edge
Mississippi State University's Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems selected Quantum Corp.'s R-Series SSDs to collect sensor data at the edge. Continue Reading
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Definition
01 Feb 2022
RAIN (redundant/reliable array of inexpensive/independent nodes)
A reliable array of independent nodes (RAIN) is a heterogeneous cluster of compute and storage nodes connected in a fault-tolerant network topology that incorporates multiple interfaces and redundant hardware. Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Jan 2022
Hard disk drives to remain dominant storage media in 2022
Hard disk drives are increasing in density and maintaining a lower price point than alternatives, but flash is gaining ground. Here, experts sound off on the fate of HDDs in 2022. Continue Reading
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News
19 Jan 2022
Dell Apex introduces new multi-cloud management tools
Dell is adding more capabilities to its Dell Apex cloud as-as-service portfolio, which are billed as tools to simplify and manage a multi-cloud infrastructure. Continue Reading
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Tip
17 Dec 2021
Best options for video data storage include cloud, tape
Video data storage presents some challenges, such as dealing with large file sizes and compliance. Here's what to consider when assessing storage options for video data. Continue Reading
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Tip
16 Dec 2021
5 tips for primary storage ransomware protection
Explore the steps storage administrators can take to safeguard against ransomware. Dive deep into tips on access control, vulnerabilities and storage monitoring. Continue Reading
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News
14 Dec 2021
Nexsan Unity 7.0 boosts security, performance
StorCentric's unified storage product line, Nexsan Unity, hits version 7.0 and brings more protocol support, security features and performance for existing hardware. Continue Reading
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News
03 Dec 2021
Seagate's 20 TB hard drives ship
Seagate has pumped its max-capacity hard drive up to 20 TB, with a version for the enterprise, Exos X20, and another for SMBs, IronWolf Pro 20 TB. Continue Reading
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News
12 Nov 2021
Seagate debuts NVMe HDD technology at OCP
Seagate demonstrated NVMe HDD technology, showing off its stability and its potential benefits. Customers can see a reduction in complexity and a step toward composability. Continue Reading
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Definition
02 Nov 2021
IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics)
IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) is an electronic interface standard that defines the connection between a bus on a computer's motherboard and the computer's disk storage devices. Continue Reading
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Definition
02 Nov 2021
host bus adapter (HBA)
A host bus adapter (HBA) is a circuit board or integrated circuit adapter that connects a host system, such as a server, to a storage or network device. Continue Reading
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News
28 Oct 2021
Upgrades to Vast Data OS emphasize simplicity, security
Vast Data released VastOS 4, which includes security features such as indestructible data snapshots and visualization tools aimed at making storage simpler to use and manage. Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Oct 2021
storage volume
A storage volume is an identifiable unit of data storage. It can be a removable hard disk, but it does not have to be a unit that can be physically removed from a computer or storage system. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Oct 2021
What is SAN zoning and what are the different types of zoning?
Zoning can be set up according to server, storage and SAN switch. Discover what type of zoning to use, how zone sets extend SAN segmentation and the various zoning schemas. Continue Reading
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Guest Post
30 Sep 2021
Computational storage: Go beyond computation offloading
Computational storage proponents include academia and the Storage Networking Industry Association. While there's behind-the-scenes work still to do, the tech could bring benefits. Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Sep 2021
optical storage
Optical storage is any storage type in which data is written and read with a laser. Continue Reading
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Definition
20 Sep 2021
JBOD (just a bunch of disks)
JBOD, which stands for 'just a bunch of disks,' is a type of multilevel configuration for disks. Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2021
Western Digital OptiNAND stretches HDD capacity, performance
Western Digital unveiled a new storage drive architecture for hard drives that improves capacity, performance and reliability via an embedded flash drive to store metadata. Continue Reading
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Opinion
12 Jul 2021
Next-generation PCIe key to composable infrastructure progress
High-performance computing and AI environments are just two strong uses for composable architecture. Explore benefits and drawbacks of PCIe in composable systems. Continue Reading