Category: Poll

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Recent tips, videos, articles and more update V2010.1

Realizing that some prefer blogs to webs to twitter to other venues, here are some recent links to articles, tips, videos, webcasts and other content that have appeared in different venues since August 2009.

  • i365 Guest Interview: Experts Corner: Q&A with Greg Schulz December 2009

  • SearchCIO Midmarket: Remote-location disaster recovery risks and solutions December 2009

  • BizTech Magazine: High Availability: A Delicate Balancing Act November 2009

  • ESJ: What Comprises a Green, Efficient and Effective Virtual Data Center? November 2009

  • SearchSMBStorage: Determining what server to use for SMB November 2009

  • SearchStorage: Performance metrics: Evaluating your data storage efficiency October 2009

  • SearchStorage: Optimizing capacity and performance to reduce data footprint October 2009

  • SearchSMBStorage: How often should I conduct a disaster recovery (DR) test? October 2009

  • SearchStorage: Addressing storage performance bottlenecks in storage September 2009

  • SearchStorage AU: Is tape the right backup medium for smaller businesses? August 2009

  • ITworld: The new green data center: From energy avoidance to energy efficiency August 2009

    • Video and podcasts include:
    December 2009 Video: Green Storage: Metrics and measurement for management insight
    Discussion between Greg Schulz and Mark Lewis of TechTarget the importance of metrics and measurement to gauge productivity and efficiency for Green IT and enabling virtual information factories. Click here to watch the Video.

    December 2009 Podcast: iSCSI SANs can be a good fit for SMB storage
    Discussion between Greg Schulz and Andrew Burton of TechTarget about iSCSI and other related technologies for SMB storage. Click here to listen to the podcast.

    December 2009 Podcast: RAID Data Protection Discussion
    Discussion between Greg Schulz and Andrew Burton of TechTarget about RAID data proteciton, techniques and technologies. Click here to listen to the podcast.

    December 2009 Podcast: Green IT, Effiency and Productivity Discussion
    Discussion between Greg Schulz and Jon Flower of Adaptec about data Green IT, energy effiency, inteligent power management (IPM) also known as MAID 2.0 and other forms of optimization techniques including SSD. Click here to listen to the podcast sponsored by Adaptec.

    November 2009 Podcast: Reducing your data footprint impact
    Even though many enterprise data storage environments are coping with tightened budgets and reduced spending, overall net storage capacity is increasing. In this interview, Greg Schulz, founder and senior analyst at StorageIO Group, discusses how storage managers can reduce their data footprint. Schulz touches on the importance of managing your data footprint on both online and offline storage, as well as the various tools for doing so, including data archiving, thin provisioning and data deduplication. Click here to listen to the podcast.

    October 2009 Podcast: Enterprise data storage technologies rise from the dead
    In this interview, Greg Schulz, founder and senior analyst of the Storage I/O group, classifies popular technologies such as solid-state drives (SSDs), RAID and Fibre Channel (FC) as “zombie” technologies. Why? These are already set to become part of standard storage infrastructures, says Schulz, and are too old to be considered fresh. But while some consider these technologies to be stale, users should expect to see them in their everyday lives. Click here to listen to the podcast.

    Check out the Tips, Tools and White Papers, and News pages for additional commentary, coverage and related content or events.

    Ok, nuff said.

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press, 2011), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press, 2009), and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier, 2004)

    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2012 StorageIO and UnlimitedIO All Rights Reserved

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    Poll: What was hot in 2009 and what was not, cast your vote!

    This is the time of year when people make their predictions for the next year.


    Building on some recent surveys and polls including:

    Whats your take on Windows 7

    Is IBM XIV still relevant

    EMC and Cisco Acadia VCE, what does it mean?

    What do you think of IT clouds

    Whats Your Take on FTC Guidelines For Bloggers?

    Not to mention those over at Storage Monkeys and the customer collective among others


    Before jumping to what will be hot or a flop in 2010, what do you think were the successful as well as disappointing technologies, trends, events, products or vendors of 2009?


    Cast your including adding in your own nominations in the two polls below.

    What technologies, events, products or vendors did not live up to 2009 predictions?



    What do you think were top 2009 technologies, events or vendors?

    Note:

    Feel free to vote early and often, however be advised, you will have to be creative in doing so as single balloting per IP and cookies are enabled to keep things on the down low.

    Check back soon to see how the results play out…


    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – StorageIO, Author The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC)

    Posted on

    Is IBM XIV still relevant?

    That is a question I get asked quite a bit and based on discussions in other blogs and twitter tweets; it appears that Im not alone.

    A little over a year ago I did a blog post about IBM and XIV, now seems like a good time to revisit, look back and look forward.

    Is IBM XIV still relevant?

    Given the time, money as well as effort IBM has poured into promoting and generating awareness around XIV, it must be relevant to someone.

    IBM recently released another round of momentum news, customer testimonials and product enhancements while making a point that there are now over 1,000 XIV systems installed around the world. 1,000 systems installed (regardless of if revenue or trial) in the just under 2 years since IBM bought XIV would be a triumph for most startups.

    However for a major player with the resources of IBM, I would have expected the number of installed systems to be more in the 5,000 to perhaps 10,000 systems when looking at the progress of Dell (EqualLogic), HP (LeftHand) or others.

    Now granted, XIV is not IBMs only storage solution focus as there is the high-end DS8000 series, mid-range DS5000/DS4000/DS3000, NAS based N-Series, SVC for SAN virtualization, DR550 for archiving not to mention the TS series of virtual tape systems (VTS) and virtual tape libraries (VTLs) including the Diligent based technologies.

    Ok, fair enough, good job for IBM in placing 1,000 XIV systems in just under two years.

    Another trend I regularly see is that of an approach of if you are not on the XIV bandwagon, that is not in love with their message, then you are against it with no room in between.

    However, are these successes at the expense of other IBM storage solutions being placed?

    The reason I bring this up is in discussions, I regularly hear stories where XIVs competition is not only 3PAR, Dell, EMC, Fujitsu, HDS, HP, NetApp or Sun among others, its also IBMs other products, those with five or six digit installed bases being targeted.

    Im continually amazed when I talk with XIV prospects along with vars who have either not been told about other IBM products, or, provided with apples to oranges comparison as well as even FUD against its own solutions.

    Does this mean that Im against XIV?

    Die hard XIV believers will say yes to which I will respond, ok fine if that is what you believe.

    However to everyone else, I also say look before you leap as well as checkout alternatives from others include IBM, not to mention being careful of the possible hangover from drinking too much cool aid.

    To everyone else, give XIV a look; however as with any solution, do your due diligence, ask tough questions along with talking to others.

    As to the long term future of XIV, given all of the money and marketing effort that has been put into it, I don’t see it going away near-term. However, Im still on the fence as to its long term future and if it might join other IBM storage solutions in the holding pen such as the DS6000.

    Would I recommend XIV to IT customers?

    What I tell those that I talk to is due your homework regarding XIV, ask tough questions including asking about other or alternative IBM products, where they fit and their caveats as you would do with any other vendor.

    I do believe that IBM storage in general is still very relevant.

    I think that IBM has some great storage and data management solutions.

    I think that IBM needs to take the blinders off or at least take the ropes off, remove the fences and let their teams and vars sell the whole solution set letting the customer decide perhaps in the course growing their storage business instead of helping their competitors.

    Is IBM XIV still relevant?

    Bottom line, I probably wont be getting any holiday cards from many IBM or XIV folks along with some of their die hard supporters, however it is what it is and I have said what I have to say for now while continuing to listening as well as following the progress of the solution.

    Ultimately you will be the judge of if XIV is still relevant, cast your vote here.

    Here are some additional resource links:

    https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/InsideSystemStorage/entry/ibm_acquires_xiv?lang=en

    Ok, nuff said.

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

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    Poll: EMC and Cisco Acadia VCE, what does it mean?

    EMC and Cisco recently announced their new Acadia VCE coalition along with Intel and VMware.

    As part of the VCE the collation or joint venture is also providing to market pre-acted vblocks that include Cisco servers power by Intel and network switches, EMC storage and management tools (Inonx and RSA for security), VMware vsphere virtualization along with pre-post sales services.

    How does this move from a technology, packaging, integration as well as business or alliance perspective change the server, storage, networking, hardware, software and services game?

    Whats your take?

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – StorageIO, Author “The Green and Virtual Data Center” (CRC)

    Posted on

    Poll: Whats Your Take on Windows 7


    Microsoft finally officially released Windows 7 recently, whats your take?

    Have you already taken the jump to be the first on the block or neighbored to be on Windows 7, getting ready to make the leap, have it on the back burner for next year, no plans, or perhaps already dumped Windows for Mac or Linux or getting ready to pull the plug?

    Cheers – gs

    Greg Schulz – StorageIO, Author “The Green and Virtual Data Center” (CRC)

    Posted on

    Poll: Whats Your Take on FTC Guidelines For Bloggers?

    If you have not heard or read yet, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last week released new guidelines pertaining to blogger (or other social media) disclosure of if they are being paid, receiving free products or services, or simply had their costs covered to attend an event that they will be writing, posting or blogging about.

    Not surprisingly, there are those who are up in arms, those that are cheering that its about time, and everyone else trying to figure out what the new rules mean, who they apply to and when. For some I expect to see a rash of disclosures by those not sure what it means or being safe while others continue to do what they have been doing, business or blogging or both as usual. As with many things, all bloggers do not get paid or receive renumeration (compensation in some shape or form) for what they write or blog, however there are some that do and is often the case, a few bad apples turn a good thing into a problem or black-eye for everyone else.

    Here’s a couple of links for some background:
    Discussion over at StorageMonkeys.com pertaining to IT/Storage Analysts
    Discussion at Blogher.com what the FTC guides mean to you
    FTC blogger guidelines

    I interpret the new FTC guidelines as pertaining to me or anyone else who has a blog regardless of if they are a social media elite professional or just for fun blogger, blog on their own time for work our their own other purposes, for profit, as a media or journalist, reporter or freelance writer, consultant or contractor, vendor or customer. My view and its just that, a view is that blogs, along with other forms of social media are tools for communication, collaborating and conversation. Thus, I have a blog, twitter, website, facebook, linkedin along with having material appear in print, on-line as well as in person, all are simply different means for interacting and communications.

    As with any new communication venue, there is an era of wide open and what some might call the wide open use such as we are seeing with social media mediums today, the web in general in the past, not to mention print, TV or radio in the past.

    I’m reading into these guidelines as a maturing process and acknowledgement that social media including blogs have now emerged into a viable and full fledged communication medium that consumers utilize for making decisions, thus guides need to be in place.

    I like other bloggers are wondering abut the details including when to disclose something, how the guidelines will be enforced among other questions, that is unless you are one that does not believe the guidelines apply to yourself.

    With all of this in mind, here’s a new poll, what’s your take on the FTC guidelines?

    As for my own disclosures, look for them in white papers, articles, blogs and other venues as applicable.

    Ok, nuff said.

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved

    Posted on

    Poll: What Do You Think of IT Clouds?

    Clouds

    IT clouds (compute, applications, storage, and services) are a popular topic for discussion with some people being entirely sold on them as the way of the future, while others totally dismissing them, meanwhile, there’s plenty of thoughts in between.

    I recently shared some of my thoughts in this blog post about IT clouds, now whats your take (your identity will remain confidential)?

    Ok, nuff said.

    Cheers gs

    Greg Schulz – Author Cloud and Virtual Data Storage Networking (CRC Press), The Green and Virtual Data Center (CRC Press) and Resilient Storage Networks (Elsevier)
    twitter @storageio

    All Comments, (C) and (TM) belong to their owners/posters, Other content (C) Copyright 2006-2024 Server StorageIO and UnlimitedIO LLC All Rights Reserved