Storage Alert

QLogic provides InfiniBand for HPC environments

11/18/09

QLogic announced this week that this month that its QDR InfiniBand adapters have been chosen by IBM, Dell and HP for high-performance computing (HPC) environments. Specifically, IBM will integrate QLogic’s 7300 Series 40Gb/sec. QDR (quad-data rate) InfiniBand host channel adapters (HCAs) into its IBM System X servers and the company’s iDataPlex solution. Dell will also integrate the HCAs with its PowerEdge servers and Precision workstations into HPC environments. Finally, HP will resell QLogic’s HCAs and its edge and director-level InfiniBand switches with both its ProLiant and BladeSystem c-Class servers and also offer them as part of the company’s HPC United Cluster portfolio.

VMware, Cisco and EMC coalition show pre-emptive powers

11/16/09

During the last two weeks, including two full days at the EMC Analyst Summit, we have been educated (inundated) with information regarding the wonders of the coalition of VMware, Cisco and EMC to produce a series of integrated products that include unified computing (Cisco), virtualized operating systems (VMware) and integrated storage (EMC) called Vblocks.

Acadia, Cisco, EMC, VMware data center cloud unveiled

11/11/09

Cisco, EMC and VMware last week unveiled the much rumored joint venture to sell their products to companies wanting to build internal clouds. Called Acadia (for who knows what reason), the joint venture is a collaboration between the three companies that will launch in 2010 and sell what they call vBlocks, pre-configured packages of Cisco UCS blade servers, EMC storage gear, VMware virtualization software and EMC Ionix management software.

Brocade, Oracle partner for database, SAN connectivity

11/09/09

In a sweeping announcement, Brocade and Oracle last week introduced a variety of solutions designed specifically for use with Oracle database and applications. Based on existing partnerships with NetApp, Sun/StorageTek and EMC, Brocade and Oracle have put together end-to-end networking packages for data warehousing, business applications and virtualization environments.

The week in storage: Part 2

11/04/09

Last week in storage garnered several announcements from SteelEye, 3PAR, Brocade and Thales.

The week in storage: Part 1

11/02/09

Last week was quiet in storage other than a few announcements from Emulex, Data Robotics and Rackspace.

IBM bolsters storage arrays

10/28/09

IBM bolstered storage family with the introduction of new storage arrays targeted at midsize and enterprise-sized companies. The company introduced high-end DS8700 array, which provides 2.5x the performance of the DS8300 and is 50% more energy efficient. 

SNW highlights SSDs, more

10/26/09

At SNW a couple of weeks ago, the focus was on solid state drives and cloud technologies.

SSDs on the rise, during SNW

10/21/09

At SNW, you had to stick around until Thursday morning to get a quick briefing on Sun's SSD strategy and products, but it was well worth it.

New faith in Storage Networking World

10/19/09

Last week I, like many, went to Storage Networking World in Phoenix. I was giving the show one last chance. After attending SNW in the spring and almost seeing no users, I had almost given up hope that there would be another SNW. This time there were users – many of the presentations and the mini-summits were standing room only. Summits like the Solid State Drive summit were well attended and the tradeshow floor was packed.

3PAR's 'thin' technologies: Part 2

10/14/09

For 3PAR, staying thin is more than just thin provisioning. It's keeping storage volumes thin and being able to reclaim storage space. 3PAR introduced its 'thin' strategy earlier this week at Storage Networking World. This newsletter discusses Thin Persistance, Thin Copy Reclamation and Thin Copy Reclamation with Veritas Storage Foundation.

3PAR deepens thin provisioning support: part 1

10/12/09

When IT administrators consider implementing thin provisioning for storage, it's not as easy as simply checking a box on an RFP, it's more than that as 3PAR's InServ storage system and the newest release of its InForm operating system have proven with its announcement this week at Storage Networking World.

Brocade puts self on block?

10/07/09

Brocade has put itself up for sale, according to a report this Monday in the Wall Street Journal. The company with a $3.2 billion valuation is being shopped by Frank Quattrone of the Qatalyst Group, who is famous for brokering the acquisition of Data Domain by EMC. Possible suitors include HP and Oracle.

Avere Systems debuts

10/05/09

Avere Systems debuted an appliance this week called the FXT Series that automatically moves data between solid state and hard disk drives.

HP rolls out new SMB storage

09/30/09

HP this week announced enhancements to its small and mid-size business storage that include a new specification for IT implementation and two new storage arrays.

Dataram debuts storage optimization appliance

09/28/09

Dataram this week announced the XcelaSAN storage optimization appliance, which speeds the performance of applications by as much as 30 times. By introducing the appliance, Dataram officially enters the white-hot, already crowded solid state drive space.

MaxiScale scales out

09/23/09

A new storage start-up entered the market on Monday with a virtually unlimited software-based cluster for Web-facing applications.

NEC enhances grid storage for archive

09/21/09

NEC last week enhanced its grid storage hardware and software, HYDRAstor with the incorporation of WORM support, in-flight data encryption and quota management. In addition, the company claims that it increased the performance of HYDRAstor by 67% over previous versions.

Avere arouses interest

09/16/09

One of the coolest company's on the planet is coming out of stealth mode this week. Avere Systems, who is making a product that I can't talk about yet (something about cutting off my pinkie finger if I did), is announcing both the launch of their company and the receipt of $15 million in funding from two of the top venture capital companies: Menlo Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners.

Pliant rolls out SSDs

09/14/09

Pliant Technology is the latest vendor to join the solid state drive space with the announcement of 2.5- and 3.5-inch enterprise flash drives (EFD).

Adaptec enters solid state drive space

09/09/09

Adaptec this week was the latest vendor to get into the red-hot solid state drive (SSD) market with the introduction of an I/O controller that speeds performance by as much 5x over traditional controller implementations.

EMC acquires eDiscovery vendor Kazeon

09/06/09

EMC acquired eDiscovery vendor Kazeon last week, ending months of rumors as to who the storage giant would pick up to supplement its SourceOne product family.

EMC, LSI, IBM, Iomega roll out midrange, SMB arrays

09/02/09

EMC, LSI, IBM and Iomega last week unveiled their most recent mid-range and SMB arrays. EMC announced that it added virtualization aware features to it CLARiiON CX4 storage systems.

Brocade, QLogic, NetApp offer new virtualization-aware technologies

08/31/09

At VMworld in San Francisco this week, Brocade, QLogic and NetApp were among the vendors touting new virtualization-aware products and technologies.

NetApp enters the cloud

08/26/09

NetApp this week announced its entry into cloud storage with the introduction of its Data ONTAP 8 operating system. The company defines cloud computing as 'IT as a service' and says that by deploying NetApp gear and software, customers are able to create cloud computing environments.

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Deni Connor is principal analyst for Storage Strategies NOW and host of both the Masters of Storage and Masters of Servers Solution Centers.