Why is HPE 3PAR not moving to NVMe SSDs (yet)?

During our coffee talks at HPE Discover 2018, statements were made that claimed HPE 3PAR storage platforms wouldn’t benefit much from going to NVMe at the back end.  Instead, the statement of direction is to use storage-class memory as a platform accelerator.  I’ve been trying to understand why HPE isn’t making the move at this… Read more »

MAX Data: Optimising Application Performance with SCM

As the slowest part of the computing architecture, persistent storage is in a constant battle to improve performance.  That goal has moved from being focused on throughput a few decades ago to one of reducing latency as low as possible.  To that end, NVM Express and NVMe over Fabrics have become an area of focus… Read more »

Data Protection in a Multi-Cloud World

We’re moving to a multi-cloud world, there’s no doubting it.  I hear from end users and vendors alike that increasingly, IT organisations are looking to use on-premises and multiple cloud service providers.  From an operational perspective, how do we protect and maintain ongoing access to data and applications?  What’s the right strategy for dealing with… Read more »

NetApp buys into Kubernetes Orchestration with StackPointCloud

In September 2018, NetApp acquired a little-known cloud services company called StackPointCloud.  StackPoint offers a managed Kubernetes service that enables customers to build Kubernetes clusters across a range of public cloud providers.  Why would NetApp want to acquire this technology and where could it be used? Containerisation First of all, let’s take a step back… Read more »

Performance Benchmarks: Reading Between the Lines

As we move into 2019, storage performance becomes more important than ever.  At the media level, vendors are pushing the boundaries with fast solid-state technologies like NAND flash and 3D-Xpoint.  These products provide performance capabilities we’ve never seen before.  Storage system vendors then take components and build storage solutions, either as bespoke hardware or part… Read more »

NVMe in the Data Centre 2.0 Now Published

You can download the latest version of our NVMe in the Data Centre report by registering through the link below.  We do not share email addresses and only use them to send out follow up papers.   Download Now  

Understanding HPE’s Storage Product Portfolio

Towards the end of 2018, I was invited to attend HPE Discover in Madrid.  In previous years, this has been a great opportunity to get up to speed on the storage strategy the HPE Storage team is following.  What did we learn this year? Intelligent Storage Platform The message being broadcast for the last year… Read more »

The $2 billion Gamble on Data Management

What a week it’s been in the data storage industry.  First Rubrik Inc announced an E-series round of funding totalling $261 million.  This was followed barely 24 hours later by Veeam Software announcing it had raised $500 million in what seems to be regarded as an unexpected move.  Across Actifio, Cohesity, Rubrik and Veeam, venture… Read more »

Databases are the next battleground for Public Cloud

This week, Amazon Web Services announced the availability of Amazon DocumentDB, a MongoDB-compatible document database.  For AWS at least, the database market has been heating up recently.  With so many offerings to choose from, are databases the next land-grab for the public cloud? DocumentDB Let’s look first at the announcement of Amazon DocumentDB.  This new… Read more »

The Biggest Storage Trends of 2019

It’s time to gaze into the crystal ball and think what might be on the storage agenda for 2019.  What will the biggest storage trends for 2019 be?  Let’s start with some easy ones. NVMe over Fabrics will be big Of course it will.  All of the major storage vendors are already working towards supporting… Read more »

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  • Hybrid Cloud and Data Mobility

    Update: check out cloud migration posts: Cloud Data Migration – Database Import Tools Cloud Data Migration – Shipping Virtual Machines Cloud Data Migration – Data Transfer Using Physical Shipping & Appliances I remember going to an HP(E) event back in 2011 (Discover Vegas I think) when the idea of hybrid cloud and converged infrastructure was… Read more »

  • Pure //Accelerate 2016 – FlashBlade

    As already discussed in this recent post, Pure Storage announced new products and services at their first user conference, Pure //Accelerate 2o16.  The announcements included; FlashBlade, a scale-out all-flash NAS & object platform; FlashArray //m10, a new entry-level block-storage device and upgrades to FlashStack, Pure’s converged infrastructure solutions.  This post will discuss FlashBlade. FlashBlade There… Read more »

  • Build or Buy – A Tale of Two All-Flash Strategies

    Update: Andy Warfield of Coho Data has written a post on the FlashBlade architecture and decision choices to build/buy.  Find it here (link). Ever since flash was first added to traditional storage arrays back in 2008, there has been vigorous debate on the right approach to storage architectures for all-flash systems.  There are a number… Read more »

  • Storage Performance: Why I/O Profiling Matters

    With a significant amount of annual IT budgets being spent on storage (25% by some estimates), the focus on making storage deliver to the needs of the business has never been greater.  However, despite the advances in flash technology, larger disk drives, the move to commodity and software defined storage, the problems faced by customers… Read more »

  • Storage Field Day 9 Preview: VMware

    This is one of a series of posts discussing the presenters at Storage Field Day 9, occurring 16th-18th March 2016 in Silicon Valley, at which I am an attending delegate.  See links at the end of this post to other presenting vendors.  Details of the event can be found on the Storage Field Day 9… Read more »

  • Object Storage: S3 API Advanced Features

    This post is the third of a series of independently written technical briefings on the AWS S3 API and how it has become the de-facto standard for object stores.  The series is commissioned by Cloudian Inc.  For more information on Cloudian and the company’s HyperStore object storage technology, please visit their site at: http://www.cloudian.com/ Webinar: Join me… Read more »

  • Storage Field Day 9 Preview: Intel

    This is one of a series of posts discussing the presenters at Storage Field Day 9, occurring 16th-18th March 2016 in Silicon Valley, at which I am an attending delegate.  See links at the end of this post to other presenting vendors.  Details of the event can be found on the Storage Field Day 9… Read more »

  • Storage Field Day 9 Preview: Violin Memory

    This is one of a series of posts discussing the presenters at Storage Field Day 9, occurring 16th-18th March 2016 in Silicon Valley, at which I am an attending delegate.  See links at the end of this post to other presenting vendors.  Details of the event can be found on the Storage Field Day 9… Read more »

  • Storage Field Day 9 Preview: NetApp

    This is one of a series of posts discussing the presenters at Storage Field Day 9, occurring 16th-18th March 2016 in Silicon Valley, at which I am an attending delegate.  See links at the end of this post to other presenting vendors.  Details of the event can be found on the Storage Field Day 9… Read more »