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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News
17 Apr 2025
Google Cloud storage offerings bolstered for AI apps
Storage for Google Cloud now supports many features akin to AWS' catalog for AI app development, but could lead to cloud lock-in as best practices and strategies emerge. Continue Reading
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News
08 Apr 2025
Dell storage lines get refresh for AI workloads
Dell Technologies rolls out PowerEdge, ObjectScale and PowerScale hardware updates, alongside new capabilities for the PowerProtect and PowerStore software. Continue Reading
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News
25 Nov 2019
With Time on its hands, Meredith drives storage consolidation
Following an acquisition of Time Inc., Meredith Corp. dumped most of its traditional IT gear and added newer technology developed around virtualization, convergence and the cloud. Continue Reading
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Guide
20 Nov 2019
Unstructured data storage showdown: Object storage vs. scale-out NAS
Object storage and scale-out NAS are both highly scalable and built to handle large amounts of unstructured data. Which one is best suited for your environment? Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2019
Infinidat storage plans NVMe-oF driver in 2020
Infinidat CTO Brian Carmody says NVMe protocol is a 'perfect match' for hybrid InfiniBox disk arrays. Customers are beta testing Infinidat NVMe drivers, starting with RoCE 4. Continue Reading
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News
30 Oct 2019
Storage admins 'unleashed' in age of cloud
Storage professionals should feel 'unleashed' and empowered in the age of cloud to avoid the tedious admin work and hit the reset button by modernizing data center storage. Continue Reading
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Quiz
29 Oct 2019
Test your unstructured data storage knowhow
Do you know how to manage and store unstructured data? Take our quiz to see what's required for enterprise-scale data storage, how machine learning and metadata can help and more. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
25 Oct 2019
How to monitor NetApp quotas for disks with PowerShell
NetApp's PowerShell module provides a fast and easy way to automate and monitor NetApp quotas for disks. Learn how with this step-by-step tutorial. Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2019
New Dell infrastructure chief talks midrange, HCI, VMware
EMC veteran Jeff Boudreau takes control of Dell Infrastructure Solutions Group, with plans to 'out-innovate' hyper-converged and software-defined storage competitors. Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2019
MAMR tech fuels mammoth 20 TB hard drives
Age-old hard disk drives get a new twist as energy-assisted technologies fuel Western Digital's upcoming new 20 TB HDDs and rivals Seagate and Toshiba work on product plans. Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2019
We need more storage speed, Synology America CEO says
Alex Wang, CEO of Synology America, says as customers demand more data protection, privacy and reuse, they will need faster storage to power all of it. Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2019
Visual effects studio puts Panasas ActiveStor in the movies
Streaming media presents storage challenges for studios. After trying to build storage in-house, Whiskytree decided to implement Panasas ActiveStor scale-out NAS. Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Sep 2019
RAID 50: How to select the right RAID level
RAID 50 combines striping with distributed parity for reduced data loss and better performance. Is RAID 50 the right configuration for your organization? Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Sep 2019
Worried about storing unstructured data? You're not alone
Most data being created today is unstructured, and storage pros often find themselves struggling to keep up. Luckily, efficient unstructured data storage is still possible. Continue Reading
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Infographic
13 Sep 2019
Object-based storage gains primary storage traction
This infographic illustrates why most IT leaders believe object storage is ready to support leading IT initiatives. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2019
IBM Storage syncs new DS8900F array to z15 mainframe launch
New IBM DS8900F all-flash storage arrays conform to industry-standard rack size, boost performance and enhance security over DS8880 predecessors for mainframe and high-end systems. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2019
Cisco MDS 9700 switches prep for 64G Fibre Channel NVMe-oF
Cisco's MDS 9000 networking products include SAN directors and switches. SAN Analytics adds support for NVMe over FC protocol and Ansible automation modules for storage tasks. Continue Reading
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Answer
04 Sep 2019
What's the role of metadata in unstructured data management?
Discover how to expand your organization's use of metadata to improve the management and storage of unstructured data to make it more organized and accessible. Continue Reading
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Tip
21 Aug 2019
3 key unstructured data storage challenges and how to resolve them
Volume, variety and value make storing unstructured data difficult. We look at how some vendors are helping enterprises get control of their burgeoning data stores. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Aug 2019
4 QLC workloads and why they're a good fit for QLC NAND flash
Find out about the read-intensive applications that work best with QLC NAND. Analytics, data archiving, streaming media and database workloads are all good options. Continue Reading
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Tip
06 Aug 2019
3 key problems computational storage devices can solve
This emerging technology brings stored data closer to compute processes, solving latency and performance issues. Discover the three potential advantages of computational storage. Continue Reading
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News
30 Jul 2019
Oscar-winning studio tames file data with Oracle, Igneous
Making movies is a file-intensive business, and Hollywood studios must give their artists the right storage technologies to store, manage and protect business-critical data. Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2019
Mini XL+, Mini E added to iXsystems FreeNAS Mini series
Open source storage hardware provider iXsystems added two new models to its FreeNAS Mini lineup: the FreeNAS Mini XL+ for professionals and FreeNAS Mini E for small offices. Continue Reading
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News
18 Jul 2019
Infinidat storage wants to rescue stranded IBM customers
Infinidat storage takes direct aim at IBM with Data Rescue Program. IBM users can trade in IBM XIV and FlashSystem A9000 gear for Infinidat InfiniBox disk arrays. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Jul 2019
Discover the best NAS products for your organization
Explore some of the top NAS products on the market -- based on features, cost and implementation -- to help you make the right buying decision. Continue Reading
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News
28 Jun 2019
Super Micro storage server refresh homes in on NVMe flash
Product revamp includes new BigTwin SuperServer and launch of 1U Petascale line. Super Micro storage servers are optimized for EDSFF NVMe SSDs and Intel Optane DC Persistent Memory. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Jun 2019
Discover the benefits of a network-attached storage device
Find out what's new with NAS technology today, including how it differs from SAN and DAS and where a NAS device might fit into your enterprise's storage plan. Continue Reading
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Tip
20 Jun 2019
HPE Memory-Driven Flash targets AI and real-time analytics
HPE's memory-driven approach addresses DRAM and NAND limitations by incorporating storage class memory technology into the storage infrastructure. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Jun 2019
9 enterprise NAS features and purchase considerations
If you're in the market for enterprise NAS, pay close attention to the system's form factor, the media it supports and how easy it is to increase capacity, among other features. Continue Reading
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Tip
19 Jun 2019
Kubernetes CSI volume plugin and the products that support it
Several volume drivers support the Kubernetes Container Storage Interface volume plugin, making it easier to connect containerized workloads with storage systems. Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Jun 2019
8 NAS appliance features to consider for small business
There are a growing number of options for small business users purchasing a NAS appliance. Look through the list of eight enterprise-like features and the advantages they provide. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
07 Jun 2019
Pure Storage up, IBM down in external storage systems revs
Despite a recent earnings miss, Pure Storage has cracked the IDC enterprise storage tracker for the first time to grab a share of fifth place in external storage systems revenue to tie IBM Storage. ... Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2019
Rollout of 16 TB HDDs targets hyperscale data centers
The drive to 16 TB HDDs is underway. Seagate kicked it off with three new hard disk drives, and Toshiba and Western Digital are poised to follow in 2019. Continue Reading
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News
06 Jun 2019
Seagate 16 TB hard drives amplify storage for Exos, IronWolf
Seagate has introduced a collection of 16 TB HDDs to its Exos, IronWolf and IronWolf Pro lines that can store massive amounts of data, while maintaining a small footprint. Continue Reading
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News
29 May 2019
HPE storage OEMs help anchor vendor's enterprise strategy
HPE storage revenue grew 3% last quarter, helping to offset a decline in servers. The vendor said using OEMs helps it bring new storage products to market faster at reduced cost. Continue Reading
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Feature
28 May 2019
Your QLC NAND flash questions, answered
Curious about QLC NAND? From addressing capacity benefits to taking a look ahead at its uncertain future, we answer four common questions concerning the technology. Continue Reading
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News
28 May 2019
NetApp, Pure misses raise all-flash storage questions
NetApp said 'execution challenges' cut into earnings last quarter due, in part, to changing data center buying patterns. All-flash vendor Pure Storage's losses grew to $100 million. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 May 2019
Why storage tiering is necessary now more than ever
Tiered storage is making a comeback by incorporating AI machine learning to take advantage of the cost and performance benefits of new SSD and storage class memory technologies. Continue Reading
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Answer
15 May 2019
What is Kubernetes CSI and how is it being used?
A recently released CSI-compliant plugin from Kubernetes could help simplify the process of connecting containerized workloads with storage systems. Continue Reading
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Tutorial
10 May 2019
Managing NetApp CIFS shares with PowerShell
NetApp provides a feature-rich PowerShell module to manage CIFS shares. Find out how it works, as well as how to set up a new share and establish permissions. Continue Reading
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News
08 May 2019
Infinidat storage fabric sews disk arrays to hybrid cloud
Infinidat hasn't followed the storage array crowd into all-flash storage, but it is following the trends of adding flexible consumption pricing and storage analytics. Continue Reading
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Quiz
02 May 2019
Test yourself on Fibre Channel basics and the latest updates
Are you up to speed on Fibre Channel? Take our quiz to find out if you know how the storage networking technology works and the latest updates. Continue Reading
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News
25 Apr 2019
How EHT's black hole image data is stored and protected
The Event Horizon Telescope team had to find a way to capture, store, process and back up petabytes of radio signal data to create the world's first black hole image. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
23 Apr 2019
Cisco, Dell Technologies renew VxBlock dalliance
Cisco and Dell Technologies may be rivals in the server business, but when it comes to converged infrastructure, the two vendors remain strong partners. Cisco, EMC and VMware in 2009 formed VCE, a ... Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2019
Qumulo storage IPO possible, CEO says
Qumulo's scale-out storage is available as branded NAS appliances and as a software-only license. An integrated NAS fabric replicates data from local arrays to the public cloud. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Apr 2019
Key QLC NAND challenges in the enterprise and how to tackle them
Limited durability and degrading performance are issues with QLC NAND. These challenges limit where the technology can be used, making it best for read-intensive workloads. Continue Reading
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Tip
05 Apr 2019
2 storage tiering strategies for modern media
Storage tiering makes a comeback as businesses aim to get the most out of their storage systems. Discover the rules for optimizing both intrasystem and intersystem tiering. Continue Reading
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News
02 Apr 2019
Pure Storage buys Compuverde, expands file storage
Pure Storage's second acquisition builds on its unstructured data focus, as Compuverde's file system software runs in virtual NAS or hyper-converged modes. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
25 Mar 2019
NAS vendor RackTop Systems gets first funding haul
RackTop Systems has racked up its first round of outside capital, six years after launching its “cyber-converged" BrickStor NAS appliances. The Fulton, Md.-based vendor received $15 million in a ... Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2019
At Dell Technologies World, Dell will put its stamp on EMC
Dell EMC storage has taken on more of a 'Dell' feel over the past year, thanks in part to reliance on PowerEdge Servers and spinning out Pivotal Software into a public company. Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2019
Infinidat InfiniBox preps SMB protocol nodes for Windows
All-flash arrays command most of the attention, but Infinidat claims its InfiniBox arrays deliver the performance of flash on commodity-priced spinning disk. Continue Reading
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News
19 Feb 2019
Lenovo TruScale adds twist to cloud infrastructure on demand
With TruScale Infrastructure Services, Lenovo tries to catch up with Cisco, Dell and HPE, customizing TruScale to a customer's workload and helping customers avoid capital expenditures. Continue Reading
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News
13 Feb 2019
New Dell EMC all-flash Isilon hardware compresses NAS data
Dell EMC Isilon F810 all-flash NAS array and ClarityNow software tackle unstructured file data through increased performance and data reduction over previous versions. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Feb 2019
The best enterprise storage products of 2018
Get to know the 15 top enterprise storage products selected from a field of more than 100 in the 'Storage' magazine and SearchStorage annual Products of the Year competition. Continue Reading
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Feature
10 Feb 2019
Dell EMC PowerMax
Formerly VMAX, PowerMax flash from Dell EMC is rated to deliver 10 million IOPS. All-flash PowerMax maintains the VMAX multicontroller, but replaces SAS SSDs with NVMe. Continue Reading
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10 Feb 2019
Best data storage products 2018: Products of the Year
For the 17th straight year, 'Storage' magazine and SearchStorage award gold, silver and bronze to the best storage hardware and software products and services of the year. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
01 Feb 2019
IBM storage revenues skid to the finish line
IBM storage hit another blue period last quarter. After pulling out of a revenue slump to start 2018, IBM last week closed an uneven year with declining sales of storage hardware, mirroring flat ... Continue Reading
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News
30 Jan 2019
University of Utah prescribes Hitachi storage for data woes
University of Utah Health extends its Hitachi Vantara storage implementation, adding the Hitachi Content Platform object storage to modernize its data center. Continue Reading
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News
09 Jan 2019
Toshiba set to launch 16 TB HDD for cloud-scale users
Toshiba will try to get a jump on rivals Seagate and Western Digital with a new 16 TB hard disk drive that targets cloud-scale users in need of low-cost, high-density storage. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 Dec 2018
The top 5 data storage questions we answered in 2018
As storage continues to evolve, many readers still are curious about the basics. In 2018, common data storage concerns included RAID, capacity and different storage architectures. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Dec 2018
See how file system structure can drag down NVMe performance
Find out what matters when it comes to file system design and how to prevent file systems from becoming bottlenecks to achieving optimal performance in NVMe-based storage systems. Continue Reading
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News
26 Dec 2018
Hitachi Pentaho integration aims to subdue unstructured data
Hitachi Pentaho data integration presents Hitachi Content Platform as an object-based data lake to send cleansed data to multiple cloud targets. Continue Reading
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News
23 Dec 2018
Broadcom Brocade launches 2 new SAN management products
Broadcom releases new Brocade SAN management software to help users visualize and optimize storage and a new Fibre Channel extension switch to speed long-distance replication. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Dec 2018
Data storage industry trends revealed in top 2018 news stories
AI, NVMe over fabrics and the cloud were must-read data storage stories in 2018, as were Tintri's struggles and Dell EMC's product moves. See the news that mattered as the year closes. Continue Reading
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News
10 Dec 2018
Broadcom Emulex flashes Gen 7 Fibre Channel adapter for NVMe
Broadcom releases new Emulex Gen 7 Fibre Channel host bus adapter designed for high-performance NVMe-based flash storage systems with support for 32GFC and 64GFC and PCIe 4.0. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
30 Nov 2018
Lagging Dell EMC midrange storage dampens upbeat earnings
Dell EMC on Thursday reported nearly $4 billion in storage revenue in its most recent quarter, marking its third consecutive positive earnings in storage. But executives refrained from sharing ... Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Nov 2018
When traditional data center technology trumps hyper-converged
Committing to a conventional data center rather than a hyper-converged approach is sometimes the smarter move. We take a look at some reasons to steer clear of HCI. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
27 Nov 2018
Newisys no longer, OEM wants to be a Viking in storage
Sanmina Corp. subsidiary Newisys recently plunged into enterprise storage with an NVMe all-flash system. In a bid to extend its presence in storage, Newisys is now called Viking Enterprise ... Continue Reading
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News
14 Nov 2018
Panasas ActiveStor chases Lustre users with portable PanFS
With ActiveStor Ultra, Panasas ports its PanFS parallel file systems to Linux. The vendor's plans include OEM server deals to sell PanFS on commodity gear for HPC customers. Continue Reading
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Opinion
05 Nov 2018
Predictive storage analytics can watch your storage for you
Don't ask if your next storage array or software will have predictive analytics. Ask what those analytics can do for your specific systems and applications. Continue Reading
- 05 Nov 2018
- E-Zine 05 Nov 2018
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Blog Post
22 Oct 2018
Quantum CEO ready to acquire to expand StorNext
Jamie Lerner’s first 90 days as Quantum CEO confirmed the idea he had about the company when he took over. Discussions with customers convinced Lerner that Quantum’s greatest strength and greatest ... Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Oct 2018
DNA data storage developments demonstrate serious potential
As futuristic as it may sound, writing to DNA-based data storage is well on its way to becoming a possibility. Mainstream use may be a ways away, but development has been steady. Continue Reading
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Answer
19 Oct 2018
Removable storage devices: Why are companies banning them?
IBM banned removable storage devices to encourage employees to use the company's internal file-sharing system. Learn how a ban like this can improve enterprise security. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Oct 2018
New memory technologies challenge NAND flash dominance
Cost and scaling limits mean planar NAND flash as we know it will slowly cede its pre-eminent place in the memory hierarchy to emerging technologies such as 3D XPoint. Continue Reading
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Infographic
03 Oct 2018
IT migration success hinges on minimizing downtime
Data, software and hardware migration projects should, but don't always, fully exploit the features and settings of the new environment and minimize application downtime. Continue Reading
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Tip
24 Sep 2018
5 tips for making flash-based SSDs work with unstructured data
Using flash storage effectively for unstructured data requires upfront analysis of cost, capacity and performance, as well as continued tracking of a rapidly changing flash market. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
21 Sep 2018
NetApp Kubernetes Service launched to orchestrate containers
NetApp launched its Data Fabric architecture to adapt its storage to manage applications built for the cloud. Container orchestration had largely been a missing aspect in Data Fabric, but the ... Continue Reading
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News
13 Sep 2018
Dell EMC PowerVault ME4 launched for entry-level SAN
While the industry watches its midrange lines, Dell EMC pushes out a new array of entry-level, flashy PowerVault systems for smaller organizations and branch offices. Continue Reading
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News
12 Sep 2018
New enterprise 14 TB HDD options cater to cloud-scale users
Enterprise-class 14 TB HDDs from Seagate, Toshiba and Western Digital target cloud-scale users in need of economical, high-density storage to cope with exponential data growth. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
06 Sep 2018
Dell EMC midrange convergence due in 2019
The long-awaited convergence of the Dell EMC midrange storage into one platform will happen in 2019, according to Dell Technologies’ chief storage honcho. Jeff Clarke, VP chairman of products and ... Continue Reading
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News
28 Aug 2018
Panasas storage roadmap includes route to software-defined
Panasas network-attached storage targets enterprises with large file workloads distributed across many users. ActiveStor hybrid arrays run the PanFS parallel file system. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Aug 2018
Why upgrading to a Gen 6 Fibre Channel network is a good idea
Upgrading to a next-gen Fibre Channel network provides the added performance needed to meet the demands of evolving technologies and workloads, along with other benefits. Continue Reading
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Answer
24 Aug 2018
Are flash workloads suited to handling unstructured data?
The storage of unstructured data is a hurdle for many organizations. Object storage keeps it organized but lacks speed thanks to hard disks. Luckily, a better way is on the rise. Continue Reading
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Opinion
22 Aug 2018
Why Intel Optane SSDs have 'failed'
Why haven't SSDs built on 3D XPoint taken off yet? Don't blame the technology; blame the marketing behind Intel Optane. New Optane NVDIMMs could fare better. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Aug 2018
Pure Storage all-flash beats street, adds StorReduce dedupe
Pure Storage all-flash sales helped the vendor close a strong quarter in July, generating $309 million to beat its top-end guidance. The revenue figure represents a 37% increase from the $224.7 ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
21 Aug 2018
Drobo, Nexsan HDD arrays merged in new holding company
If you’re a struggling niche disk array vendor, what's the next step you take to survive? You combine your HDD arrays with another disk vendor in the same boat. That's what low-end NAS vendor Drobo ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
16 Aug 2018
Revenue from NetApp all-flash spikes on strong demand
Demand for NetApp all-flash storage surged last quarter, part of strong growth across its cloud portfolio that helped it beat guidance on earnings, margins and revenue. And the storage vendor has ... Continue Reading
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Blog Post
10 Aug 2018
Dell EMC Isilon, ECS gain ClarityNow for unstructured data
Dell EMC on Thursday picked up file software to help project teams access, control and manage unstructured data on heterogeneous storage. The deal for Agoura Hills, Calif.-based DataFrameworks is ... Continue Reading
- 03 Aug 2018
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Opinion
03 Aug 2018
Understanding data storage and its import eludes younger IT folks
Jon Toigo has a lot to say about the consistent disparagement and disregard many young people in the IT industry show toward data storage technology and management. Continue Reading
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Feature
03 Aug 2018
How NVMe technology will rock the enterprise storage boat
NVMe flash speeds up storage and radically alters server connectivity. How will enterprises adopt NVMe storage and how well will it work with existing technologies? Continue Reading
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Tip
31 Jul 2018
Storage networking technologies explained
Make sure you know the differences among network fabrics, such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel and InfiniBand, before making decisions about your storage network infrastructure. Continue Reading
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Tip
30 Jul 2018
PATA and SATA: The evolution of disk standards
Disk standards have evolved over time, and while PATA and IDE may have reliability on their side, growing support and advancements for SATA may make it the preferred option. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
27 Jul 2018
Gartner: all-flash array market ‘visionaries’ include Tintri
Several vendors with spotty fiscal histories made Gartner’s list of competitors angling for all-flash array market share. Gartner listed Tintri as a “visionary” in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for ... Continue Reading
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Tip
26 Jul 2018
Repurpose legacy storage systems for reliability and savings
Planning to move to a new data storage platform? Before kicking your older legacy storage hardware to the curb, consider the benefits of repurposing your existing technologies. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jul 2018
Dell EMC midrange storage systems nudge a little closer
Dell EMC keeps its Unity and SC midrange storage arrays on separate tracks, but shows early signs of eventually merging the platforms. Both get OS upgrades. Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Jul 2018
Adoption of 32 Gbps Fibre Channel being driven by flash
Flash, along with more and bigger workloads and more demanding applications, is driving businesses to switch from 8 Gbps and 16 Gbps FC to 32 Gbps FC storage environments. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
03 Jul 2018
New HPE SAN switch is based on Cisco Gen 6 FC technology
It may not set off fireworks, but Hewlett Packard Enterprise heads into the July 4 break with a finalized portfolio of Cisco-based StoreFabric Fibre Channel switching gear for its all-flash arrays. ... Continue Reading
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News
27 Jun 2018
Qumulo storage parts the clouds with its K-Series active archive
Qumulo introduces the K-144T archive appliance to complement its scale-out NAS systems. The K-Series starts with six nodes, and customers can scale storage in 144 TB increments. Continue Reading
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Feature
19 Jun 2018
Molecular memory could boost HDD density
Researchers working with molecular storage have discovered a way to create smaller hard drives with more density. But don't expect to see the technology on the market anytime soon. Continue Reading
