More Commentary/How-To's
Eliminate Storage Headaches: VirtualizeLearn how virtualization, automation, and cloud computing can make your data center a competitive advantage, not a cost center. The State Of Virtual Data Protection And Recovery
Hybrid physical/virtual storage environments present their own challenges to data protection and backup. Start with a solid plan. How To Solve 2 VDI Performance Challenges
Here's how to fix storage performance problems that creep up after you consolidate hundreds of desktops onto a single host. Bromium Brings Hypervisor Security To Applications
Startup aims to beef up performance and security in the data center by bringing virtualization to the next level--the application level. Dell And The Next Convergence Wave
One announcement at Dell's Storage Forum this week shows how the next wave of converged solutions will increase ROI in highly virtualized data... 9 Reasons Microsoft Hyper-V 3 Is Enterprise-Class
I used to dislike the hypervisor and subscribe to the idea that Redmond is where technology went to die. Here's how Microsoft changed my mind. How Many Storage Vendors Should You Have?
It's usually easier to solve cross-vendor management issues than to find one company that meets all your data protection needs. Offload Your Overworked Storage Controller
Maxed-out storage controller? Use one of these SSD solutions to boost performance. 4 Reasons Naysayers Win IT Battles, Not Wars
Want to predict the best storage innovation coming down the pipe? Take a look at what traditional IT is saying won't work. Managing Virtual Machine Performance Problems
Virtual infrastructure administrators have two options to fix performance problems: fine-tune the environment, or cover up the problem with hardware. Are There Too Many Storage Solutions?
It's a challenge to sort through the maze of storage products to find a solution to your problem--but it's better than not having choices. Biggest Storage Trend of 2012
Performance management skills--in both software and IT professionals--promises to be the biggest storage story this year. 2 Storage Management Trends To Watch In 2012
Why are consolidated storage and compute infrastructures hot now? Storage management issues can cause virtualization projects to slow down or stall. Are Storage Vendors Shopping For SSD Companies?
This is the beginning of a larger trend where storage systems vendors get serious about integrating solid-state storage companies into their... Will Solid-State Storage Kill Tiering?
Even when solid-state storage dominates the data center, mechanical storage and tape will still have a major role to play in your storage... Welcome To The Hyper Wars
The quiet world of virtualization is getting messy as vendors fight for market share. Are you ready for VM heterogeneity? Your Next Storage System
IT managers should be making plans to update their storage infrastructure in 2012. Consider these tips to sort through all the new features,... Examine The True Cost Of Storage Performance
Boosting performance in a data center involves more than just adding more hard disks. Here are key factors to consider. How To Recover Your Data In Minutes
One option to speed data recovery: Use a system that can spawn virtual machines and recover the failed host plus its data. Whose Job Is Virtualization Security?
The adage "When everyone's in charge, no one's in charge" applies all too well to private cloudified networks. Storage System Maxed Out? Try Virtualization
Storage virtualization can let you use multiple storage systems and manage them as if they were one. SSD Options: Tier Vs. Cache
Solid state storage can be used as a cache or an automated tier. Both approaches will make sure that the most active data is on the fastest tier,... Will Dell Lead The x86 Data Center Market?
Can Dell's vStart virtualized rack systems that integrate servers, switches, and storage lead a market worth hundreds of billions of dollars? Can Integrated Storage Systems Survive?
Storage hardware vendors need to build reliable gear that compliments the services and feature sets being added to hypervisors. Do You Need A Storage Performance Manager?
It may be time to create a position that that crosses the functional boundaries of applications, servers, hypervisors, and storage to take a...
Virtual Infrastructure Reports
Informed CIO: VDI Snake Oil Check
You won't lose your shirt on a desktop virtualization initiative, but don't expect it to be simple to build or free of complications. This report examines the three biggest problems when developing a business case for VDI: storage costs, ongoing licensing, and the wisdom of prolonging the investment in PC infrastructure.
Fundamentals: Next-Generation VM Security
Server virtualization creates new security threats while turning the hypervisor into a network black hole, hiding traffic from traditional hardware defenses -- problems a new breed of virtualization-aware security software tackles head-on.
Delegation Delivers Virtualization Savings
IT can't-and shouldn't-maintain absolute control over highly virtualized infrastructures. Instituting a smart role-based control strategy to decentralize management can empower business units to prioritize their own data assets while freeing IT to focus on the next big project.
The Zen of Virtual Maintenance
Server virtualization has many advantages, but it can also lead to chaos. Many organizations have unused or test VMs running on production systems that consume memory, disk and power. This means critical resources may not be available in an emergency: say, when VMs on a failed machine try to move to another server. This can contribute to unplanned downtime and raise maintenance costs. Easy deployment also means business units may come knocking with more demands for applications and services. This report offers five steps to help IT get a handle on their virtual infrastructure.
Pervasive Virtualization: Time to Expand the Paradigm
Extending core virtualization concepts to storage, networking, I/O and application delivery is changing the face of the modern data center. In this Fundamentals report, we'll discuss all these areas in the context of four main precepts of virtualization.
Virtually Protected: Key Steps To Safeguarding Your VM Disk Files
We provide best practices for backing up VM disk files and building a resilient infrastructure that can tolerate hardware and software failures. After all, what's the point of constructing a virtualized infrastructure without a plan to keep systems up and running in case of a glitch--or outright disaster.