March 15th, 2010 by Brian Beeler
Storage Reference Guide
Hard Drive Guides
Shingled Magnetic Recording is leading the way to the next generation of hard drive storage. Applications range from client to enterprise data centers. In either case there are fundamental architecture benefits and challenges with SMR that need to be understood.
- What is Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR)?
- Methods of SMR Data Management
- Pick The Right Drive For The Job — 24/7 NAS HDDs vs. Desktop HDDs
SSD (Solid State Drive) Guides
SSDs are growing in popularity across segments from consumer computing to enterprise storage. The SSD guide covers the origins and history of the SSD drive all the way down to a detailed look at each component of an SSD and why each is important. SSD Guide
Learn more about SSDs compared to HDDs - SSD vs. HDD
SSD manufacturers release firmware updates from time to time that can improve SSD performance, reliability and compatibility with host systems. Upgrading an SSD's firmware isn't always as straightforward or simple as perhaps it should be however. In this guide, we break down the upgrade process and show you alternative ways to update SSD firmware. How to Upgrade SSD Firmware
If you own an Apple computer and have upgraded or plan on upgrading to an SSD, this is a must read. How To: Enable TRIM with Non-Apple SSD
Enterprise Storage
In this series of articles by HP's Brad Parks, we demystify the alphabet soup that segments the DAS, SAN and NAS space, along with providing clarity into the different types of storage and what they mean.
- What is DAS (Direct Attached Storage)?
- What are Storage Area Network (SAN) Arrays?
- What is Network Attached Storage (NAS)?
- What is Unified Storage?
- What is Object Storage?
- Brief from Micron that examines the “multistep write process” for SSDs
SDS
- What is Converged Infrastructure?
- Software-Defined Storage: Making the Benefits of the Hyperscale Clouds Available to the Masses
Networking
Storage performance depends a great deal on the interconnect or interconnects in some cases. Learn about the variety of networking solutions available and how we deploy them in the StorageReview Lab.
SQL Server
For those running SQL Server 2012 in non-virtualized environments, we have studies on best CPU and best RAM configurations for dual-socket Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2 systems.
- Selecting the best CPU for SQL Server
- Selecting the best RAM configuration for SQL Server
Caching and Hybrid Storage Solutions
There are several ways to accomplish hybrid storage solutions, with the end goal of achieving SSD-like speeds across a larger platter-based hard drive or drive array. The solutions vary from software to hardware implementations and each have their pros and cons for client and enterprise use. In this article we break down an array of current caching and hybrid storage options. Hardware and Software Caching Explained
Other Storage Guides
Drive encryption is a hot topic as more companies have users taking data outside the company firewall via mobile devices. Learn more about self encrypting drives (SEDs) and their benefits. What is an SED? | Top 10 Reasons to Buy an SED