INFORMATIONWEEK REPORTS
Research: 2013 State of Storage
Now Where Did I Put That PST File?
Infrastructure may be "cool again," as the then CTO of Zynga declared at last year's Interop. But the recent focus on server virtualization and software-defined networking meant that, for storage professionals, it seemed like the server and network guys were having all the fun.
Well, it's time to pull out your boogie board, because the virtualization and "software-defined" wave is sweeping through the storage market, leaving us on the cusp of a software-fueled upsurge that will optimize storage resource deployment and management for virtual (and increasingly peripatetic) workloads and networks.
But new product categories like storage hypervisors and software-defined storage aren't the only exciting innovations. Storage has always been driven by better physics in the form of new hardware technology, and 2013 continues that trend. Of course disk drives keep getting denser, but the real hardware advances are in solid state, where flash memory is becoming faster and less pricey. The result is flash caches, SSDs and all-solid-state systems filtering through the storage food chain, from disk mechanisms and server-based caches to standalone arrays. And just when you thought storage consolidation was here to stay, along comes a new round of DAS-based distributed storage systems that piggyback on existing virtual server farms to create a SAN pool -- without the SAN.
We'll filter these trends and more through the lens of our 2013 InformationWeek State of Storage Survey, which measures actual storage use, requirements, challenges and project plans. Although storage pros are being asked to do more with less, new technologies could be the great equalizer. (R6400213)
Survey Name InformationWeek 2013 State of Storage Survey
Survey Date November 2012
Region North America
Number of Respondents 314
Purpose To gauge the state of storage technology adoption in the enterprise
Sponsored By
Resource center from Schneider Electric
Implementing Energy Efficient Data Centers
Electricity usage costs have become an increasing fraction of the total cost of ownership (TCO) for data centers. It is possible to dramatically reduce the electrical consumption of typical data centers through appropriate design of the network-critical physical infrastructure and through the design of the IT architecture. This paper explains how to quantify the electricity savings and provides examples of methods that can greatly reduce electrical power consumption.
About the sponsor
As a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries, Schneider Electric offers integrated solutions across multiple market segments, including leadership positions in Utilities & Infrastructures, Industries & Machine Manufacturers, Non-residential Buildings, Data Centers & Networks and Residential. Focused on making energy safe, reliable, efficient, productive and green, the company’s 130,000 plus employees achieved sales of about $31 billion (22.4 billion euros) in 2011, through an active commitment to help individuals and organizations make the most of their energy.
www.schneider-electric.com/us
