New Windows Server 2019 test build adds more clustering features
Microsoft is continuing to roll out test builds for its Windows Server 2019 and associated semi-annual channel 1809 Server update.
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Articles about Storage
Toshiba follows WD in colour-coding its hard drives, but with different colours
Toshiba has colour-coded its hard drives to help buyers pick the right kind of drive for their storage needs. Western Digital has been doing this for years, but perhaps an industry-wide standard would help everyone
Open source's big German win: 300,000 users shift to Nextcloud for file sharing
Germany's federal government settles on an open-source collaboration system for employees.
Reserve Bank of Australia looks to upgrade servers amid 'obsolescence' review
Australia's central bank is conducting a review of its 'server computing solutions', seeking more physical kit in an attempt to avoid technology obsolescence.
OWC ThunderBlade SSD: Extreme storage for professionals
One drive can house up to 8 terabytes of storage and offer read speeds topping out at 2,800MB/s. And if that isn't enough, you can daisy-chain up to six ThunderBlade drives together to give you 48 terabytes of storage.
Are you freakin' kidding me? This WD 4TB external drive is $80
Don't ask how, don't ask why, just grab this ridiculously spacious drive before it's gone.
Quick glossary: Storage
Storage has always been a key aspect of data management in the enterprise. Now, in the era of big data, understanding storage options and technologies has taken on an even greater significance. This glossary...
Microsoft to add ransomware protection tools, advanced Outlook.com encryption for consumers
Microsoft is bringing more of the OneDrive and Outlook security protection tools it offers its Office 365 business customers to consumers.
NVRAM pace quickens with Nantero investment
Despite all the noise that Intel's costly 3D XPoint non-volatile RAM (NVRAM) has generated, they aren't alone. Nantero, whose Carbon NanoTube (CNT) NVRAM promises DRAM-like speed, nonvolatility and low cost, has closed another investment round with some very big names - and exciting product plans.
Cloud empire: Meet the Rebel Alliance
With Everything-as-a-Service (EaaS) the big cloud vendors are using their breadth and pricing strategies to lock in customers. But there's a rebel alliance forming that intends to offer customers even better choices. Can you afford not to look?
Machine learning as a service: Can privacy be taught?
Machine learning requires massive amounts of data to teach the model. But we're often uploading that data to machine learning cloud services run by folks like Amazon and Google, where it might be exposed to malicious actors. Can we use machine-learning-as-service and protect privacy?
Pure Storage and Nvidia introduce AIRI, AI-Ready Infrastructure
AIRI combines Pure Storage's FlashBlade and the Nvidia DGX-1, promising about a 4x improvement in data scientist productivity.
How the iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard totally replaced my Macbook
Last September I wondered if an iPad - with iOS 11 and the Files app - might replace my MacBook. Since then I've acquired a 10.5-inch iPad Pro and Apple's Smart Keyboard. Any trade-offs? I was surprised.
Redstor: Building a data management suite in the cloud
Q&A: Redstor has moved from backup into disaster recovery and archiving in the cloud.
ReFlex: remote storage with local performance in a flash
Flash storage is fast and expensive, an issue for system designers: load individual servers with SSDs whose performance far exceeds server needs; or put flash in costly shared arrays? What's needed is a performant way to share individual SSDs across servers - and here's a solution.
Microsoft readies new cloud SSD storage spec for the Open Compute Project
Microsoft's latest planned contribution to the OCP is a new spec for standardizing SSD storage firmware interfaces for use in cloud data centers.
How to completely erase any device
Maybe you're super-paranoid, or maybe you just want to sell your old device and have piece of mind. Either way, being able to delete data is a valuable skill. Here's everything you need to know about securely wiping hard drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), flash drives, and even iOS and Android devices.
High-performance storage: From flash drives to server hard drives (April 2018 edition)
A tour of the best storage solutions available for professionals, covering everything from flash drives you can pop into your pocket to behemoth server-grade hard drives.
Unboxing the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+
We got our hands on one of the first Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+ boards. Here's what it looks like and how it differs from the previous incarnation (there's one design change that could catch you out!).
Battle of the NAS appliances
We recap our in-depth reviews of eight Network Attached Storage appliances. It's difficult to call out one that's best, because everyone has different needs. But we can recommend a machine for most small businesses, creative folks, and departments.
Quick iOS tips: How to live with a 16GB iPhone or iPad and not lose your mind
Still squeezing life out of your old iPhone or iPad, but finding that 16-gigabytes of storage is cramping your style?
Build yourself a high-performance AMD Ryzen 7 PC
Looking to build a high-end PC around AMD's eight-core Ryzen 7 1800X processor? Here's what you need for the perfect build.
The perfect gifts for data hogs
Some people horde data, and for one reason or another don't want to put it into the cloud. Here are the perfect gifts for people who handle terabytes of data.
Gallery: External storage for your iPhone
Memory sticks, wi-fi hard drives and NAS drives can all help to ensure you never run out of storage on your iPhone.
Build a high-performance AMD Threadripper PC
Looking to build a high-end PC around AMD's Threadripper processor? Here's what you need.
How to wipe your data off hard drives, SSD, flash drives, iPhones, iPads or Android devices
Here's everything you need to know about securely wiping your data off hard drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), flash drives, and iOS and Android devices.
How to securely erase any hard drive, SSD, flash drive, iPhone, iPad or Android device
Here's everything you need to know about securely wiping hard drives (HDDs), solid state drives (SSDs), flash drives, and even iOS and Android devices.
Build a high-performance AMD Ryzen 7 PC
Looking to build a high-end PC around AMD's eight-core Ryzen 7 1800X processor? Here's what you need.
Build a high-performance $2,200 AMD Ryzen 7 PC
Looking to build a high-end PC around AMD's new Ryzen 7 1800X processor? Here's what you need.
High-performance storage for PC and Mac (August 2016)
While cloud storage has appeared just in time to offer free (or at least cheap) and easy access to gigabytes of storage space, many like to keep their data close to hand. Here are some of the best storage devices money can buy that will help you keep your data safe and organized.
Budget 1TB SSDs (May 2016)
Forget HDDs, SSDs are the future of storage! Here's how to add 1TB high-performance storage to your PC for as little as $250.
SanDisk competitor to sell half-terabyte mircoSD card
UK company Integral Memory has just announced the world's highest capacity microSD card.
Seagate eyes hard drive future where others failed
Disk drives win against SSDs on $/bit, but lose on I/Os per second (IOPS). Seagate is now floating the idea of multiple actuators in a single disk drive. Will that save disk drives from oblivion?
DRAM latency: Issues and solutions
While DRAM capacities have grown, and bandwidth has too, latency has barely changed in the last two decades. Here's three ways to fix that.
How Capital One is using Amazon's new SageMaker and Neptune services
According to Capital One's Adam Wenchel, the firm will be using Amazon SageMaker to bolster the skills of its machine learning experts and the graph database Neptune to fight money laundering.
Air-gapped data is holy grail for hackers: Four methods they most commonly use
Air-gapped computers are seen as high-value targets, so considerable research has gone into taking data from them -- without a network connection.
Pure Storage: Machine learning is the big use case driving flash adoption
Advancements in storage have contributed to the progression of AI, even though it's still early days.
Dropbox tends to freelance worker needs with Showcase
The new feature was designed for contingent workers who need to display their work in a professional manner to gain business, while also measuring engagement with the content displayed.
Are your old iPhone or Android back-ups about to be deleted?
Back-ups kept in Google and Apple's online storage services have a limited shelf life.
This microSD card crams 400GB of storage into your smartphone
Running out of storage on your smartphone? Western Digital's new SanDisk card can hold 40 hours of full HD video.
Cloud hopeful Tachyum bets on flash storage breakthrough
Cloud datacenters rely on acres of disk drives to store data, and startup Tachyum bets on an all-flash cloud.
NAS Wars 2017: Stress-testing the Western Digital MyCloud PR4100 RAID
Welcome to the fourth of seven NAS stress tests, where we brutalize NAS devices to failure and then attempt to see if they can be recovered. This week, we dig into the Western Digital MyCloud PR4100. Overall, it's the fastest box we've tried, but it failed an important test.
NAS Wars 2017: Stress-testing the QNAP TVS-473 RAID
Welcome to the third of seven NAS stress tests, where we brutalize NAS devices to failure and then attempt to see if they can be recovered. This week, we dig into the QNAP TVS-473, the only RAID we tested with a built-in HDMI media center output. It's quite impressive, but Mac users might not like it.
NAS Wars 2017: Stress-testing the Drobo 5N2 RAID (Video)
Welcome to ZDNet's DIY-IT project lab, where I'm stress testing RAID devices for your entertainment and edification.
Tape techology is not done: IBM stores 330TB of data on a palm-sized cartridge
IBM thinks its new breakthrough makes 60-year-old tape technology a valuable addition to cold-storage cloud services like Amazon's Glacier.
Gray matters: What could cause the cloud to fail
The massive redundancy of cloud infrastructures make them seem virtually bulletproof. Not true. In fact, so-called "gray failures" are the real problem for cloud apps - and ones that often go undetected by today's management systems. Here's what you need to know.
diskAshur2 and datAshur Pro, First Take: Secure but pricey mobile drives
Want to protect the data you carry around? Check out iStorage's encrypted SSD and USB thumb drives with PIN pad access.
Lima Ultra: Tiny, personal cloud storage that just misses the mark
The Lima Ultra is geared towards consumers who need a file access and backup system, regardless of which device or OS they are using. But is the device worth the investment?
MEEM, First Take: Convenient smartphone backup, at a cost
A charger cable that also backs up and restores your phone, MEEM is easy to use and works well. The only drawback is a relatively steep price.
SanDisk iXpand Flash Drive for iPhone and iPad, First Take: Useful but complicated
This Lightning and USB 2.0 flash drive is useful, but also shows how iOS makes it complicated to work with files.
Acronis Disk Director 12, First Take: Windows 8.x, UEFI support
The latest version of Disk Director gives PC enthusiasts and IT departments the tools to handle the latest hardware and software platforms.
LSI Nytro MegaRAID 8120-4i review: Performance boost for servers with direct attached storage
With two high-performance memory modules onboard, this implementation of LSI's popular MegaRAID HBA uses flash to cache frequently accessed data, boosting storage performance without the upheaval or cost of switching from magnetic disk to SSD.
Dell Compellent Storage Centre 6.4 review: MLC support brings down the cost
This major update of Dell's Compellent storage technology adds an additional tier of low-cost MLC SSD drives. Also in the mix is a new high-density HDD enclosure, plus deduplication and compression for the Fluid File system clustering option.
Barracuda Backup 490 review: All-in-one backup and recovery of physical and virtual resources
With everything needed to take backups and recover data in one self-contained appliance, Barracuda Backup is an economic and easy-to-use solution. It also offers scalable replication both to other appliances and the cloud, with fast live booting of backup images locally or in the cloud another key benefit.
ioSafe Solo review
The ioSafe Solo is bulkier, heavier, slower and more expensive than less robust external drives. But it works well enough, and if you need your data to survive being burned and flooded, you can put your trust in this device.
ioSafe Rugged Portable review
The ioSafe Rugged Portable isn't the smallest, lightest, fastest or most affordable external hard drive, but it performs well enough and is extremely rugged. If you really need to protect your data on the road, look no further.
Drobo B1200i review
Network storage doesn't come much easier than this, with very little expertise needed to manage the 12-bay Drobo B1200i. It's also fast, with three iSCSI ports, lots of redundancy and data-aware tiering — just like enterprise products costing a great deal more.
Synology RackStation RS3412xs
A scalable network storage appliance best suited to datacentres in mid-sized companies, the RackStation RS3412xs lacks enterprise-class features — but that's reflected in the price.
D-Link ShareCenter Pro 1100
D-Link's no-frills approach to NAS will be attractive to businesses who need the storage basics without unnecessary complications. But those looking for a 'do-anything' system should look elsewhere.
Netgear ReadyNAS NV+ v2
The ReadyNAS NV+ v2 is nicely designed and built, and Netgear's X-RAID2 technology does a good job of managing the 4-bay array discreetly. The web-based management tool's redesigned UI is an improvement, but we'd like to see more more add-ons for the new ARM-based platform.
QNAP Turbo NAS TS-419P II
The QNAP TS-419P II holds its own on features in the competitive NAS market, although it's let down in some of the smaller details such as locking drive bays.
