January 23rd, 2020 by Juan Mulford
How To: Expand a VMware vSAN Cluster with a New Host
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Last week we started a new configuration in our lab using a 3-nodes vSAN cluster. You can check the introduction of this configuration here, and for more details, take a look and explore the video (and more to come) in our revitalized YouTube channel.
January 22nd, 2020 by StorageReview Enterprise Lab
How To: Migrate To a New Synology NAS using Synology Migration Assistant
Here we take a smaller 2-bay Synology NAS, the DS712+, and migrate the data to a larger 4-bay Synology NAS, DS918+. This is less about capacity, as the need for capacity and the general use of the NAS were met by the 2-bay, and more about modernizing the technology. Aside from more bays, the DS918+ has a newer Intel Celeron J3455 CPU and up to 4GB of DDR3L RAM, versus the DS712+ that has an Intel Atom D425 CPU and only 1GB of DDR3 RAM. Another big benefit is that the DS918+ is two M.2 NVMe bays for caching, giving an extra performance boost.
January 22nd, 2020 by Adam Armstrong
Dell EMC Enhances Isilon Adding Kubernetes Support
Today Dell EMC announced new platform enhancements for its Dell EMC Isilon and new capabilities for Dell EMC Isilon OneFS. These new enhancements include using CloudIQ to monitor for issues across Dell EMC storage environments. Isilon will support Kubernetes through a CSI. With OneFS, users will be able to scale-out to cloud in Microsoft Azure with Dell EMC Cloud Storage Services. Isilon OneFS can now reduce storage footprint by delivering up to 3x greater effective capacity and support for 4x larger file sizes.
January 22nd, 2020 by Lyle Smith
QNAP TS-251D 2-Bay NAS Now Available
QNAP has released the TS-251D (TS-251D-4G and TS-251D-2G models), the company’s newest 2-bay consumer NAS. Featuring 4K media transcoding and streaming capabilities, the TS-251D is designed to give users an effective cross-device multimedia experience. The TS-251D is also highlighted by a PCIe slot, which adds expanded functionality.
January 21st, 2020 by Alex Schuchter
Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch Review
Earlier this month Samsung introduced a next-generation external storage solution, the Samsung Portable SSD T7 Touch. This drive is faster, more compact, and features convenient data protection all wrapped inside a sleek and slim aluminum palm-sized case roughly the size of a credit card. The T7 Touch delivers read/write speeds of up to 1,050/1,000MB/s, which is more than 1.9 times faster than current SATA-based portable SSDs and more than 9.5 times faster than external HDDs. Additionally, the T7 offers password protection based on AES 256-bit hardware encryption and fingerprint recognition as means of convenient but powerful security.
January 20th, 2020 by Brian Beeler
Dell EMC Unity XT Hardware Overview and System Configuration Video
The Dell EMC Unity XT storage array is the tip of the Dell EMC midrange storage spear. With a big boost in performance over the prior generation Unity arrays, the XT can deliver over 2.5 million IOPS and support 16PB in the top end configuration. Our particular model in for review is the Unity XT 480F, with the F standing for all-flash. In this video we do a detailed hardware overview of the system, highlighting the drives, I/O modules and what’s inside each controller. The second portion of the video walks through the Unity XT configuration wizard in Unisphere and ultimately the setup of a datastore for VMware vSphere.
January 20th, 2020 by Adam Armstrong
NAKIVO Releases Backup & Replication v9.1
Today NAKIVO announced that version 9.1 of its Backup & Replication is out. The latest version introducing some interesting features like native backup to tape, physical Linux Server backup, physical workstation backup, and instant verification. This extends NAKIVO’s previous backup footprint that focused on virtualized and cloud environments.
January 18th, 2020 by Brian Beeler
GIGABYTE R281-NO0 24 NVMe Bay Server Hardware Overview Video
The GIGABYTE R281-NO0 is a 2 processor, 2U server designed for demanding enterprise applications. Because of its 24 NVMe bays across the front and plenty of expansion options in the back, the server is also ideally suited for software defined storage as well. The platform supports 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors, along with persistent memory and 24 DIMM slots. Our system is configured with Micron 9300 NVMe SSDs for the primary pool, with 2 2.5" drive bays in the back for server boot duty. In this video we provide an overview of the system and the configuration we've built for review. Read more
January 18th, 2020 by Adam Armstrong
QNAP Adds Teradici PCoIP Technology
QNAP Systems, Inc. announced that they have added support for Teradici PCoIP (PC-over-IP) technology. The company has also added Teradici Cloud Access Software that QNAP states will provide a secure, smooth and flexible end-to-end hybrid cloud solution. The addition of Teradici technology will give users a secure, remote way to access their Virtual Machines.
January 17th, 2020 by Brian Beeler
StorageReview Podcast #30
The team got together for the weekly podcast to discuss the news of the week highlighted by Netgear, Quantum, Kingston, Supermicro and much more. Most importantly we cover off on the newly revitalized YouTube channel and the fact that Kevin's youngest son think's his dad's videos are stupid. Further, Kevin grapples with the harsh reality of internet life, as his solo video on packaging hard drives for shipment received only an 86% approval rating on YouTube. In Adam's Movie Corner we discuss Brawl in Cell Block 99 and why Brian is out on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Adam then selects 2000's American Psycho for his recommendation this week, streaming on Netflix.
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The next generation of the boldly named Seagate Fast SSD is here. Now the Seagate BarraCuda Fast SSD, this little square drive has similar features to its predecessor and a nearly identical design but, with an updated color scheme. Features sported by this drive include future-proof and fully reversible USB-C connectivity, special file-syncing software, and fast file transfer speeds which is to be expected with SSD technology. With the special file-syncing software this drive makes it easy to keep files updated. The software syncs important folders and projects with the included backup and folder mirroring software and it automatically monitors target folders for file additions, deletions, or changes. Also, with the reversible USB-C cable it means there’s no right or wrong way to plug in. The days of plugging your USB in incorrectly are gone and the first try will always be the right way. Out of the box this drive works with both Windows and Mac which is a convenient feature. 
In last December was announced the latest version of Dell EMC’s out-of-band management solution, the iDRAC9 4.00.00.00. The Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller (iDRAC) is designed to make server administrators more productive, allowing them to deploy, monitor, update, and manage PowerEdge servers, both locally and remotely. In the last firmware release, Dell EMC introduced many new features as well as a new license tier, the Datacenter License. The Datacenter license offers several unique features such as server data telemetry streaming and advanced thermal controls to help IT admins better understand and manage the datacenter.
The SuperStorage 6019P-ACR12L+ is a 1U server designed for organizations that need a solution for high-density object storage, scale-out storage, Ceph/Hadoop, and Big Data Analytics. This server is highlighted by Supermicro’s X11-DDW-NT motherboard family, which features support for dual socket 2nd generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors (Cascade Lake), up to 3TB of ECC DDR4-2933MHz RAM, and Intel Optane DCPMM. This means higher frequency, more cores at a given price, and more in-processor cache, all of which promote higher performance. As such, businesses will reap higher performance for the same price, better price for the same performance, or better performance at lower costs compared to previous CLX servers.
At StorageReview, we get our hands on a lot of notebooks. Instead of connecting each and every new system to our wireless network we opt to connect devices using Ethernet cords so we can just plug and play. Not only does connecting to our network via Ethernet save us time, but it’s also important for us to connect this way to get the best results when copying over our large datasets for benchmarks. However, not all the products we test have an Ethernet port. This is where Plugable Ethernet Adapters come into play. By having both a Plugable USB Type-C and a Plugable USB 3.0 Type-A on hand we can instantly connect to our network via a USB port. These adapters don’t require external power or additional drivers, which is especially convenient. 
The Lenovo ThinkVision P44w-10 is a massive, brilliant monitor that is designed to increase productivity of professionals that require a lot of screen real estate to do their day-to-day work. At 43.4 inches in size, this curved monitor can certainly help increase productivity in use cases like animation, diagnostic analysis, and general multitasking. It also features a range of advanced connectivity and an optional Harman Kardon certified speaker for a decent multimedia experience.
The Lenovo ThinkCentre M90n-1 IoT is an incredibly small form factor workstation purpose-built for IoT workloads. Though tiny, the M90n-1 packs in 4GB of DDR4 RAM, up to an 8th Gen Intel Core i3, up to two M.2 SSDs or up to 512GB of storage, and lots of connectivity. Aside from wired network connectivity the M90n IoT supports WiFi, Bluetooth, LPWAN, and 4G/LTE WWAN wireless connections to make sure that it can stay connected even in places where running network cables can be challenging. 
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