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Tag: archive

  • Are optical Discs a Viable Option For Enterprise Storage?







    The majority of corporations are faced with issues about storage. While storage is not difficult, it must be easy to archive and be available when needed.

    In the past, tapes and cassettes have often been used to store data. These tapes are often stored in a secure permanent offsite location.

    Tape media on average lasts about 30 years and is more durable than disk but tapes take up a lot of space. Now there is a new option for storing data, writes Samantha Sai for storage-biz.news.

    Pioneer has announced that it has succeeded in developing a 16-layer read-only optical disc with mega storage capacity of about 400 GB or about 25 GB per layer.

    This is a major improvement from the past because multi-layered optical discs have not always been able to relay signals clearly from each layer.

    Pioneer has solved the problem of cross talk from adjacent layers using the disc production technology found in the DVD field.

    Pioneer predicts that the future of storage in much denser forms will continue to evolve as the science of optics is better studied.

    Ultra Density Optical (UDO) discs are third generation optical disc designed for very high-density storage of video data.

    Currently available Ultra Density Optical discs have an estimated shelf life of 50 years.

    They have been introduced into the market and found to be reliable and durable for short-term use. Currently the UDO is used by banks, health care facilities, and financial corporations.

    Pioneer said in a recent statement released from Japan that the growing storage needs of many corporations is expected to drive the demand for higher capacity discs.

    The company also mentions that buying just one high capacity optical disc is equal to buying numerous other commercially available discs. This way, resources can be conserved and put to better use.

    The experts meanwhile are not impressed. David Hill, an analyst at Mesabi Group argues that such technology may be more "suitable for storing video and archiving at the consumer level".

    Likewise, Greg Schulz, an analyst with Storage IO, mentions that for years there has been talk about holographic storage.

    However, he adds: "If you are holding your breath for that, you had better get a scuba tank."

    So far the optical disc storages have not proven their worth in a commercial market and there are many kinks that have to be sorted out.

    However, most experts do agree that Blu-ray at both ends of the market, and in specialized verticals such as video, is improving data storage and preservation.

    Despite the great advances in hardware capabilities, the dinosaurs of data storage – the disk and tape – that were long ago proclaimed dead, continue to be pertinent because they are constantly being improved, cost a lot less and are durable.

    For the future, most experts predict that data storage will be achieved by a hybrid of RAM based or some kind of flash based solid state memory, perhaps even a touch of holographic technology.

  • Overland Storage Launches Tape Libraries With Embedded Functionality


    Overland Storage has announced the availability of the first models in its next-generation NEO SERIES line of scalable, automated tape libraries.

    The NEO E-Series libraries, which provide embedded functionality, are geared at meeting a wide range of demanding data protection and long-term archive requirements.

    According to Overland, the new NEO E-Series enables embedded SCSI, FC and SAS connectivity, easing installations while ensuring connectivity with future interface technologies. Other embedded capabilities include:

    • Improved performance and feature support with enhanced processing power,
    • Further investment protection via Integrated partitioning,
    • More efficient data access due to improved mailslot functionality,
    • Ease of management via remote diagnostics with proactive monitoring,
    • Superior reliability and serviceability through the use of enhanced robotics, more efficient power supply and innovative library/drive interface.

    The new NEO E-Series has been designed t integrate easily with Overland’s REO SERIES of disk-based backup and recovery VTLs, Snap Server NAS appliances, ULTAMUS RAID SAN storage as well as other disk-based products.

    Ravi Pendekanti, VP of worldwide sales and marketing for Overland Storage, said the latest enhancements to the NEO tape family provided mid-range customers with affordable, scalable end-to-end data protection solutions.

    "Over the past decade, the NEO tape libraries have proven themselves as important assets in our customers’ end-to-end data protection and archiving strategies," he said.

    "Therefore, it is imperative that we continue to add new features and functionality while leveraging NEO’s highly regarded and trusted tape technology and proven product architecture."

    The NEO E-Series adds support for LTO HH tape drive technologies and direct-connect interfaces, which Overland said lowers initial expenditures and enables customers to add new capabilities over time while protecting their investments in tape-based backup and recovery.

    Overland’s NEO 2000E scales from 30 to 240 cartridges per module while the NEO 4000E scales from 60 to 240 cartridges.

    NEO2000E and 4000E can be scaled with each other in an almost limitless combination, providing a variety of capacity points to meet end user needs.

    Both tape library models are available now from Overland’s channel partners worldwide with a starting MSRP of USD $12,333.

    Robert Amatruda, research director at IDC for tape and removable storage, said the mid-range tape automation market is expected to exceed USD $1 billion in annual sales, with more than 100,000 units shipped in 2008.

    "The majority of companies still depend on tape for long-term archive and disaster recovery," he said.

    "Overland’s new NEO E-Series, with its increased functionality, should integrate well with a company’s existing disk-based solutions, and help companies meet recovery time and recovery point objectives (RTO/RPO) in both SAN and NAS environments."

  • Tips for email management and archiving

    With only 20 per cent of companies demonstrating good control on email management, Dave Hunt, CEO of C2C, comments on the state of email management and archiving and notes what resellers can do to position themselves as protectors of companies’ most used and valuable communication method.

    Although around 30 per cent of organisations have some form of archiving in place, most consider that this would not constitute adequate control.

    A recent survey by C2C found that 65 per cent of respondents had set mailbox capacity limits meaning in effect, that end users were responsible for managing their own mailboxes.

    Just how bad does it get?

    In practice, this self regulation probably results in significant lost productivity and constitutes a poor strategy for managing and discovering data.

    We consider the top five questions being by resellers interested in recommending email management:

    1. Is Email control a management or archive issue?

    It is a management issue and archiving is part of the solution. Resellers should identify a solution that identifies unnecessary emails, handles attachments and provides automated quota management which should be part of a strategic ‘cradle to grave’ management of email. It isn’t a case of archiving email merely to reduce the live storage footprint, but part of a well thought-out strategy, designed hand-in-hand with the customer that aids productivity and time management and that can be implemented by an IT department simply and economically.

    2. What is the biggest problem for email management – storage costs, ‘loss’ of information or compliance issues?

    All of these are problems. Some will cost your customers on a daily basis; others could result in huge fines in liability. Failure to preserve email properly could have many consequences including brand damage, high third-party costs to review or search for data, court sanctions, or even instructions to a jury that it may view a defendant’s failure to produce data as evidence of culpability.

    3. What guidelines should be in place for mailbox quotas – and how can these be made more business friendly?

    Most specialists in email management agree that mailbox quotas are a bad idea. The only use would be a quota for automatic archiving, whereby, on reaching a specific mailbox threshold, email is archived automatically (and invisibly to the user) until a lower threshold is reached. Our C2C survey also found that those who self-manage email to stay within quotas frequently delete messages, delete attachments, and/or create a PST file. The over-reliance on PST files as a means to offload email creates several challenges when companies must meet legal requirements, since PST files do not have a uniform location and cannot be searched centrally for content with traditional technologies. Resellers can explain that reliance on PST files is poor practice.

    4. Once retention schedules and compliance have been met, does the email need to be destroyed – and if so, how should resellers’ recommend companies go about this?

    In some instances it is necessary to delete emails once the retention period has passed, in others it is only an option. Deletion also depends on the industry type, for instance, does it have to be guaranteed destruction, such as to US DoD standards, or is a simple removal of the email sufficient?

    5. What would be your top tips be for email management?

    Resellers that wish to add true value should consider the whole picture of email data management, from the instant an email is sent to the time it is finally destroyed.