Data storage management

Storage virtualization is hot. Ingram snags DataCore, too

Server virtualization is soooo last year.

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Who needs IBM? Synnex gets nod for new Fujitsu enterprise storage

After being dissed by IBM last fall, which took away its System x distie business, Synnex got a boost this week for its midrange and enterprise storage practice when Fujitsu Computer Systems tapped it to handle several new products typically reserved for closed-distribution model industrial distributors.

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Tech Data extends data center virtualization play

Hmmmm. First, virtualization management software, now a play in storage virtualization.

Distributor Tech Data has signed up DataCore Software, which provides a series of enterprise applications that can be used to manage and provision storage devices attached to a SAN. So, instead of requiring a one-to-one relationship between servers and different storage devices, virtual disks can be created that serve multiple masters. Tech Data says the DataCore products address the following areas:

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Encouraging news in tough times

I get emails all day long from suppliers and every so often one of them contains something interesting. Last Friday, I received an email from Sepaton, a supplier of enterprise VTL solutions. While Sepaton has an excellent channel program, what interested me — and should interest you — about the email is that it contained results of a survey Sepaton conducted, with these key findings:

Despite the economy, nearly 75% of enterprise respondents expected their data protection budget to stay the same or increase in 2009. There are a couple of reasons for this, in my opinion. Continued »

Tom Brady knee injury inspires EMC campaign

On Sunday, Sept. 7, Patriots quarterback and reigning NFL MVP Tom Brady suffered a season-ending knee injury — dashing the dreams of fans across New England, giving championship hopes to other AFC teams and … inspiring a new EMC marketing campaign?

Yup, it’s true.

EMC today released the Iomaga eGo Patriots edition, a 250GB portable hard drive that’s branded with the Patriots logo and carries the tag line, “You never know when you’re going to need your backup.”

Oh, I get it, like how the Patriots have needed their backup quarterback this year. Good one, EMC. The other football puns in the press release are equally cringe-inducing, like “score a touchdown with backup you can trust” and “an all-pro guard that protects your data on every play.”

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NetApp cancels user conference because of travel cuts

The failing economy has claimed a victim in the world of tech conferences.

NetApp has canceled NetApp Accelerate 2009 — what was to have been the company’s first annual user conference – because of widespread cutbacks in corporate travel.

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Man bites dog; VAR loves vendor

When a VAR gives an unsolicited testimonial for a technology vendor, it’s unusual enough to warrant attention.

While researching a storage-related story a month or so ago, I called this VAR who answered the questions posed and then started talking about how much he loved working with Compellent Technologies. “They really get it,” he said. He lauded the Eden Prairie, Minn.-based vendor for its 100% channel fulfillment model. Compellent is publicly traded and is facing a world of consolidating competitors — Dell/EqualLogic, Hewlett-Packard/LeftHand Networks.

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Amazon tiers S3 prices, provides volume discount

Amazon Web Services LLC is “tiering” the pricing on its hosted storage system.

Amazon Simple Storage Service (or S3) in the U.S. had charged 15 cents per gigabyte of stored data. That rate will hold for the first 50 terabytes but now as you pack more stuff into the storage cloud the per gigabyte rate falls. If you have 50 to 100 GB the charge will now be 14 cent per GB. For 100 to 500 GB it’s 13 cents and so on. There are also charges for data transfers and other associated services.

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Microsoft plots SQL Server 2010

Microsoft’s database folks say that SQL Server 2010 (yes, that’s the shocking name of the next release) will make it out in the 36-month window the company has prescribed for database releases.  It’s promised for the first half of Calendar Year 2010. SQL Server 2008 shipped last August.

“We remain committed to the 24- to 36-month schedule” of upgrades, said Tom Casey, general manager for SQL Server. Internally, the product has gone under the code name Kilimanjaro. A CTP is promised for the next year.

In addition, there will be an update to the current SQL Server 2008, adding better data warehousing capability from Microsoft’s acquisition last July of DATAllegro. That update will be demonstrated at the Microsoft Business Intelligence Conference in Seattle this week. Those scalability enhancements known as Project Madison, should also be available in the first half of 2010.  Pricing and packagine remain TBD.

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Oracle takes on storage partners

Forrester Research’s Andrew Reichman has a good take on Larry Ellison’s latest competitive foray. During his Oracle OpenWorld Keynote, Ellison did, in fact, position the HP Oracle Database Machine (or Exadata) as an alternative to Teradata and Netezza. And that is true,  as far as it goes. And yet, as Reichman points out, Oracle’s other hardware and storage partners–some of whom were big OracleWorld sponsors, must be irked. Because this box is also taking aim at them.

Coopetition is a grand ol’ tradition in tech. Several years ago, while talking up his company’s desire to suck up more revenue from its own storage management, analytics and other offerings, Ellison warned applications, storage management and BI rivals that mined the Oracle’s installed base, to get out of his backyard.  Two of the companies he was shaking his fist at were Siebel Systems and BEA. And guess where they are now.

And so, with HP, Oracle is taking on Sun (which has its own data warehouse appliance work going on with Green Plum), NetApp and others even as those companies helped pay the Oracle OpenWorld bills.