I can’t claim to have a noble reason for freezing my FreeAgent Go disk drive into my backyard ice rink.  Frankly, I’m [....]]]> Seagate FreeAgent Go encased in ice for the winter

I can’t claim to have a noble reason for freezing my FreeAgent Go disk drive into my backyard ice rink.  Frankly, I’m not sure why I did it.

Is it a science experiment?  A promotional stunt? An extreme form of data protection? A welcome diversion from the long Minnesota winter?

Anyway, I’m taking a poll.  You have all winter to vote:

1. What day will I chip it out of the ice in the spring (Ice Out date)?
2. Will it work when I plug it in?

Think I’m crazy?  Think again.

Information and energy drive today’s world.  The internet has re-invented life and work for the digitally enabled [....]]]> Storage will make the biggest impact of any technology in the 2010’s

Think I’m crazy?  Think again.

Information and energy drive today’s world.  The internet has re-invented life and work for the digitally enabled parts of the world, and the electrical grid and gas-powered transportation systems are what make our physical economy go round. 

Batteries and bytes will change the world

Storage is the prime enabler of both of these infrastructures. And storage innovations for both will revolutionize both of these infrastructures over the next few years.

Energy storage is better known as fuel. Conventional energy media - coal and gas - are finally giving way (partly) to more efficient media.  Notably, battery technology is at an inflection point, poised to transform automobiles and (yet again) information technology. 

The U.S. government is even considering a Sematech-like consortium to collectively catch up on battery manufacturing capability.

Information storage is also going through a media transition.  Solid state flash is finally ready to stand with disk drives and tape.  In the next decade, the new storage media ecosystem will transform personal and business computing in ways we can’t even know today. 

Information doesn’t get the headlines that software or processors or networking does, but none of these technologies would be usable without today’s storage technology.  More than ever before, information is the mother of all technology, and storage is where that information resides.

If storage isn’t a big enough part of your work life, how about bringing it home for the Holidays?

This enterprising chap turned 70 old SCSI disk drives into a [....]]]>

If storage isn’t a big enough part of your work life, how about bringing it home for the Holidays?

This enterprising chap turned 70 old SCSI disk drives into a one terabyte tannenbaum. 

If he had used today’s latest small form factor enterprise  SAS drives (like the 300GB Seagate Savvio), he would have would have had 21 terabytes to string with tinsel. 

Something to plan for next year, Philip?

Happy Holidays to Storage Effect readers wherever you are.  I wish you the very best in 2009.

Here’s another contributor to the growth of content in the world: information immortality. 

nEternity is offering to keep your digital life - photos, music, [....]]]> You can live forever digitally for a “nominal price”.

Here’s another contributor to the growth of content in the world: information immortality. 

nEternity is offering to keep your digital life - photos, music, your blog - alive and available online forever - independent of your domain or the photo sharing service you’re using.

nEternity may or may not take off.  More significant is the trend it points towards: the extension of the lifetime of digital data.   Businesses will continue to lengthen their data’s life from here on. 

The rules for data retention are changing as digital copies are increasingly the only copies that exist.  This will create a new set of businesses focused on extending the life of digital records beyond the current technology on which they are stored.  It makes today’s digital archives look downright transitory. 

And you thought those backup tapes were troublesome…

Simplicity stands out in BusinessWeek’s review of the Seagate FreeAgent Go.  So true! The biggest challenge with consumer technology in general remains its [....]]]> BusinessWeek says it’s stylish, affordable, and simple to use

Simplicity stands out in BusinessWeek’s review of the Seagate FreeAgent Go.  So true! The biggest challenge with consumer technology in general remains its ability to be used by normal people. 

As digital content moves into every corner of our lives, the winning products will be those that meet us where we are, and don’t try to turn us all into techno geeks.

Storage Station noted that Gartner and IDC are seeing about 10% growth in storage revenue in the third quarter of 2008.  That’s pretty [....]]]> Bucking economic trends as recently as September

Storage Station noted that Gartner and IDC are seeing about 10% growth in storage revenue in the third quarter of 2008.  That’s pretty recent evidence that storage continues to resist macroeconomic momentum.

While it’s clearly not a boom time given the layoffs announced by EMC, Pillar, WD, Hutchinson and others, it’s a relatively positive trend.

These days we take what we can get.

Chris Mellor interpreted Cisco’s recent body language around servers.  Will they jump into the server business? 

It’s not that [....]]]> Servers would give them the third leg of the data center “stool”

Chris Mellor interpreted Cisco’s recent body language around servers.  Will they jump into the server business? 

It’s not that much of a stretch.  It’s only fair, as HP and others don’t shy away from dabbling in Cisco’s networking space. 

And Cisco has already crossed into the storage realm.

Used to be that IT was all about processing.  Today servers, storage and networking are the three legs of the data center stool.  They’re the Mind, Stomach and Voice of the digital body of business.

The smartest of the big players in all three spaces will look for ways to corner them all.

I’m not saying the storage industry is not going to be impacted by these hard times.  Pillar and others already have been.  We all will [....]]]> More evidence that storage is special. 

I’m not saying the storage industry is not going to be impacted by these hard times.  Pillar and others already have been.  We all will be.

But these hard times are forcing people to make hard choices.  And they are often choosing in favor of their data, which often means more storage.

Storage solutions that help people get by will remain a hot commodity.

Sepaton surveyed enterprise customers and found that data protection stays in the “have to” pile when it comes time [....]]]> Data growth and data value trump need to cut costs

Sepaton surveyed enterprise customers and found that data protection stays in the “have to” pile when it comes time to choose which bills to pay in these tough times.  A summary of Jon Toigo’s summary of Sepaton’s report:

• Nearly 75% will maintain or increase data protection budgets in 2009
• Investments are focused on reducing the cost of data protection
• Large and growing volumes of data are becoming the business status quo
• Virtualization is increasing data protection demands
• A majority are using tape today; a minority expect to be using tape in 12 months

When times are tough, true priorities emerge.  The care and feeding of business data makes the list, it seems.

ZDNet sees a trend here.

Reminds me of the Smirnoff Tea Partay

We’ve all seen quirky thumb drives that turn heads. But there are signs that storage and technology in general are moving into the [....]]]> Could technology be moving beyond Geek Chic?

We’ve all seen quirky thumb drives that turn heads. But there are signs that storage and technology in general are moving into the fashion mainstream.

The Bejing Times recently reported on a fashion show at the Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology that presented outfits inspired by technology accessories. From the caption: “Designer Lyla introduced her designs based on Seagate’s fashionable digital products.”

Is technology fashion moving beyond Geek Chic? Not for a geezer like me.  But my 20ish neices carry their cell phones like my mom carried lipstick.

UPDATE: more photos from the event here.

If there was any doubt that Intel sees a future for flash off of the motherboard, their deal with HGST has put them to rest.  Hitachi will market SSDs [....]]]>  

If there was any doubt that Intel sees a future for flash off of the motherboard, their deal with HGST has put them to rest.  Hitachi will market SSDs based on Intel’s flash technology.

This is a vote for SSDs in the Enterprise, where the benefits of flash can be fully realized.  It is also a tacit endorsement of the integration value storage device makers bring to SSD products.

Cisco’s medianet initiative is a network response to the video-rich world that is evolving at break-neck speed. 

I’ve posted on this trend [....]]]> Cisco’s medianet will transport the content, but who will store it?

Cisco’s medianet initiative is a network response to the video-rich world that is evolving at break-neck speed. 

I’ve posted on this trend frequently because the effect on storage surpasses the network transformation Cisco sees coming. 

Cisco will be temporarily touching the bytes of content as they move around, but where will they come to rest? The storage industry will need to step up to the plate to ensure this wave of new content has a place to land.

HP’s making the move to 300GB 2.5″ SAS drives.  The Seagate-built drive is twice the capacity of previous 2.5″ SAS drives.  [....]]]> 75% less power and 70% less space than 3.5″ drives

HP’s making the move to 300GB 2.5″ SAS drives.  The Seagate-built drive is twice the capacity of previous 2.5″ SAS drives.  HP began shipping the Savvio 10K 300GB SAS drive worldwide to resellers this week.

This is another step in the rapid enterprise storage form factor transition underway.  2.5″ is mainstream for datacenters  starting now.

The Scobleizer has a unique viewpoint and an incredible readership. It’s an honor for [....]]]> Robert visited Seagate’s massive disk drive factory in Wuxi, China while he was in the neighborhood last month.

The Scobleizer has a unique viewpoint and an incredible readership. It’s an honor for Seagate to be the subject of his 100th video.

Thanks Robert!

I can’t claim to have a noble reason for freezing my FreeAgent Go disk drive into my backyard ice rink.  Frankly, I’m [....]]]> Seagate FreeAgent Go encased in ice for the winter

I can’t claim to have a noble reason for freezing my FreeAgent Go disk drive into my backyard ice rink.  Frankly, I’m not sure why I did it.

Is it a science experiment?  A promotional stunt? An extreme form of data protection? A welcome diversion from the long Minnesota winter?

Anyway, I’m taking a poll.  You have all winter to vote:

1. What day will I chip it out of the ice in the spring (Ice Out date)?
2. Will it work when I plug it in?

SSDs are crazy fast but very expensive.  Compared to SSDs, disk drives seem slow - but are very affordable.  Which should [....]]]> Solid state drives shine in the company of disk drives

SSDs are crazy fast but very expensive.  Compared to SSDs, disk drives seem slow - but are very affordable.  Which should you use?

Digitar’s experience shows the magic of blending the two technologies in an enterprise system.  System speed resembles the SSD, while system cost looks more like the disk drive.  Processing cost dropped from $6 per IOPS for disk only to $1 per IOPS in their blended system. 

A little flash thoughtfully placed goes a long way.

Chris Meiller over at The Register highlights IQstor’s new storage array, the IQ5200.  52 1 TB drives in 4U.  That compares favorably with the [....]]]> An up-and-comer for the data-rich crowd?

Chris Meiller over at The Register highlights IQstor’s new storage array, the IQ5200.  52 1 TB drives in 4U.  That compares favorably with the Equallogic PS5500’s 48 drives in the same space. 

First to qualify 1.5 terabyte drives in these boxes wins the next capacity density crown.

IQStore has been a quiet small OEM supplier up to now.  If the IQ5200 pans out in terms of reliability and performance, that may be changing.

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.-November 19, 2008-Seagate (NASDAQ: [....]]]> With Six New Colors and a Special Offer on Movies, Music and Photos; the FreeAgent Go Portable Hard Drive is a Gift Loaded with Joy

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.-November 19, 2008-Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the world’s leading provider of storage solutions, unveiled today a gift idea that will keep on giving for years to come. Originally introduced in September with a choice of four colors, the new award-winning FreeAgent ® Go portable hard drive is now available in all the colors of the rainbow, including: think pink, ruby red, solar orange, spring green, forest green, royal blue, sky blue, champagne gold, titanium silver and tuxedo black. The initial color options of ruby red, royal blue, tuxedo black and titanium silver are still offered and widely available.

Read the full press release

Seagate [....]]]> Seagate recently launched two portable drives with very different personalities.  Why?  One size no longer fits all.  But which drive is right for you?

Seagate FreeAgent Go - a great personal drive.  It’s the thinnest portable drive in the world, with up to 500 GB and a desktop dock.

I use the FreeAgent Go for my personal data.  I can drop the Go into a dock at work and easily use the files on my work PC.  I don’t have to mix my personal and work content, but have access to both.

Maxtor BlackArmor - a great business drive.  It’s the safest drive in the world, with government-grade 128-bit AES encryption and up to 320 GB.

I use the BlackArmor for backing up my work files.  I keep it at home as a simple disaster recovery scheme.  There is absolutely no risk of anyone accessing the data without the password, even if it were to fall out of my bag at a hacker’s convention.

Take your pick!

Adversity changes things.  My dad often told me “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  In Technology, [....]]]> Adversity creates opportunity.  Will the Cloud be able to exploit it?

Adversity changes things.  My dad often told me “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”  In Technology, things are constantly changing already. But adversity can accelerate change or even incite a disruptive seachange to a new business model. 

IDC thinks this is happening now with online storage.

Businesses that have been reluctant to put their precious data in the Cloud are now being economically compelled to do so.  They’ll hold their breath and jump…and likely find that their fears were largely unfounded. 

Those of you in the Cloud business: get ready!  You’re going to get a chance to break out with a broader set of Pragmatists and even Late Adopters that wouldn’t normally knock on your door.

With this crowd, you’ll only get one chance to make a first impression.

The new Seagate FreeAgent Go from Seagate has been widely available in four colors. 

Now Seagate has expanded the patette to [....]]]> Get your storage on in 11 colors - straight from Seagate

The new Seagate FreeAgent Go from Seagate has been widely available in four colors. 

Now Seagate has expanded the patette to 11 colors - available exclusively on Seagate’s website.

Not a revolutionary thing, but a big step for Seagate.  Consumers want choice and convenience, no matter how technical the product’s innards.  

Storage can be fun!

Style has become a vital element in notebook [....]]]> The Seagate FreeAgent Go is an excellent portable hard drive for users looking to protect their most cherished photos, music, video, and documents.

Style has become a vital element in notebook design, but accessories and peripherals haven’t exactly kept up in that department. Seagate changes that with the FreeAgent Go, an external portable hard drive that sports a sleek design, good overall performance, and intuitive backup and encryption software.

Read the full article

My buddy in Sales is seeing an interesting trend.  Some second-Tier storage vendors are doing relatively well right now, as long [....]]]> Counter-cyclical trends boost “value” storage companies now and later

My buddy in Sales is seeing an interesting trend.  Some second-Tier storage vendors are doing relatively well right now, as long as some amount of credit remains available for them.  Sales are holding steady, even increasing.

Why is that?  Their customers don’t have money to spend of course, but their data continues to grow.  They have to do something, so they’re foregoing expensive and service-contract-laden storage from the top Acronym vendors for cheaper storage systems that get them over the hump.

It makes sense if you think about it.  McDonald’s is reaping a minor windfall right now from diners foregoing sit-down restaurants.  People have to eat somewhere.

This could become more than a cyclical setback for the Big Guys if customers develop a taste for storage fast food.

Seagate introduced the Maxtor CentralAxis Business Edition, network storage for small businesses.  Like its little brother for the home, CentralAxis BE [....]]]> It takes care of data so time-strapped staff don’t have to

Seagate introduced the Maxtor CentralAxis Business Edition, network storage for small businesses.  Like its little brother for the home, CentralAxis BE is a game changer. 

Unlike traditional storage solutions that are add-on afterthoughts and don’t always work well together, CentralAxis BE puts the content first.  It’s a single central storage solution that makes managing the changing demands for storage simpler and safer as a business grows:

• Easy to install and manage with a compact design and anywhere access.  Staff can access and share data from anywhere via the web.
• One system for the entire company with up to 2 terabytes of space.  One system works for all employees across Windows and Mac OSes.
• Safety for all a company’s data with automatic backups for up to 20 PCs that save up to ten historical versions of information.  Backups are mirrored across two drives for added safety. Plug an external drive into a USB port for rotating backups offsite.

Need more space?  Add another CentralAxis BE. 

At some point you’ll probably need a more complicated solution.  You can put your IT department on that task…once your big enough to hire one.

Despite an almost daily cadence of news stories about exposed customer data, most IT departments seem resigned [....]]]> Solving the “data on the loose” problem starts with safer loose data

Despite an almost daily cadence of news stories about exposed customer data, most IT departments seem resigned to the fact that their number might be called.  It’s just fate, right?  What are they supposed to do - ban thumb drives?  Restrict notebook PCs to the office?

New products from Dell, Seagate and others are finally providing realistic solutions.  For a small premium to standard notebooks and mobile storage devices, companies can now make their employees data loss-proof with self-encrypted disk drive technology like Seagate’s Seagate Secure. 

Blesssed by the NSA

These notebooks and portable drives can still be lost or stolen, but the data is 100% protected with government-grade 128-bit AES encryption.  The incident remains an inconvenient hassle rather than a newspaper headline. 

Even the NSA has given this technology a thumbs-up. 

Unlike software solutions, the disk drives in these products are encrypted automatically so employees can’t turn it off or forget to turn it on. There is no performance penalty.  Laptop passwords can be centrally managed with McAfee’s ePolicy Orchestrator and other vendors’ products.

While mobile encryption doesn’t plug every hole in your defenses (malicious or misguided workers, for instance), it does provide a foundation of security that you can build upon.

Let’s hear from users (or panners) of this technology - what do you think?

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.-November 12, 2008-Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the world leader in storage solutions, today introduced the Maxtor® Central Axis™ Business Edition dual-drive [....]]]> Delivers “Hassle Free” Network Storage with Secure Remote Access

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.-November 12, 2008-Seagate (NASDAQ: STX), the world leader in storage solutions, today introduced the Maxtor® Central Axis™ Business Edition dual-drive network storage server, a storage solution designed to satisfy the long-term business continuity needs and growing storage requirements of small businesses. The Central Axis Business Edition network storage server takes the guesswork out of network storage management by providing simple, automatic backup with solid data protection and secure remote access to business critical information from any web browser. Available in early November, this small-business network storage solution will help companies keep their competitive edge by delivering access to, and protection for their business critical information while in the office or on the road.

Read the full press release

1. Many drives vs. one drive.   SSDs replace multiple disk drives in high-end enterprise systems.  Notebooks use [....]]]> SSDs will be an almost ideal addition to enterprise storage systems. Notebooks? Not so much.

1. Many drives vs. one drive.   SSDs replace multiple disk drives in high-end enterprise systems.  Notebooks use SSDs as a one-for-one replacement, which wastes most of the game-changing advantages of flash.

2. Servers need speed, notebooks need capacity.  Servers can use SSD’s blazing performance without requiring much capacity.  SSD performance matters little to a notebook, but hundreds of gigabytes are needed per drive.  SSDs biggest weakness is cost per gigabyte.

3. SSD power consumption matters more to the enterprise.  Notebooks care about power, but the drive’s share of a notebook’s power draw doesn’t make that much difference in battery life.  High-end enterprise systems have a heat problem from multiple drives in a small space that SSD will help to alleviate.

4. Notebooks don’t leverage SSD speed. A notebook’s boot time and performance depend on many factors beyond access time.  High-end systems use many drives striped in parallel to maximize performance - a perfect opportunity for a much faster device.

Even in Enterprise, the devil is in the details

So let’s go, right? Not so fast, cowboy! One way SSD is less suited for the data center than notebooks is in durability.  Unlike notebooks, high-end systems work storage devices like dogs.  SSDs are improving, but today’s products can wear out before their time.  Losing data in a notebook doesn’t compare with losing it in a high-end business application.  And standards are a bigger deal in the data center.

Ready-for-prime-time versions will be available starting in 2009.  In the meantime, it’s smart to start playing with the technology now so you’re ready to implement in volume next year. 

Buy a fancy SSD notebook, too, if you’re a Techie or want to act like one.  If not, it’s probably a waste of your money. 

There’s a security industry axiom that says “It’s better to place the guard next to the jewels.”  With [....]]]> McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator adds self-encrypting PC drives to its bag of security tricks

There’s a security industry axiom that says “It’s better to place the guard next to the jewels.”  With McAfeee’s latest move, it looks like the information security industry is taking that to heart by bringing self-encrypting disk drives (SED) into the mainstream mix of security infrastructure elements.

Unlike software-based encryption, SED drives like Seagate’s Momentus FDE drives encrypt everything written to a drive, at the drive.  This takes away potential ‘back doors’ or access points to PC data and encrypts at full speed.  It makes encryption hackproof and “free” from a performance and individual PC management standpoint.

What’s been lacking are the hooks in some enterprise management tools like McAfee’s ePolicy Orchestrator (ePO) that simplify management of self-encrypting PCs.  Wave Systems, SECUDE International and others already support Momentus SED.

McAfee’s announcement makes SED an easy-to-add security tool for a much broader market.  Expect rapid growth in SED as more companies place more guards next to their digital crown jewels.

In previous posts I’ve added up the storage in my home office and my living room.  Now it’s time to go to work:

[....]]]> For me it’s 1.2 terabytes

In previous posts I’ve added up the storage in my home office and my living room.  Now it’s time to go to work:

My first blog post a year ago was about my full drive on my work PC.  Since then I’ve expanded to 100 gigabytes.  Nothing like my home PC, but work space requirements tend to be lower.

I’m in the midst of changing my backup method from a local desktop backup drive to a BlackArmor portable drive.  It allows me to backup my work remotely.  It’s got Seagate Secure technology, which means it’s hackproof - no worries about losing sensitive information.

I expect my next laptop to have a Seagate Secure encrypted drive inside as well. 

Someday it will be considered stupid - and maybe illegal - to use a hard drive that’s not self-encrypting in a business PC.

Solid State Technology talked to Seagate and Fujitsu SSD leaders and came to the same conclusions posted here before - SSDs [....]]]> SSD sounds great, but the reality doesn’t match the dream

Solid State Technology talked to Seagate and Fujitsu SSD leaders and came to the same conclusions posted here before - SSDs for notebooks may sound like a great match, but it’s just not happening. 

Why? Price - big difference!  Boot time and battery life - little to no difference. 

Yes, there are small opportunities for ultra-high end early adopters and ultra-portable mini-PCs.  But the total opportunity for SSDs over the next several years will be miniscule compared to disk drives.

Enterprise is a larger and more profitable niche for SSDs - but even there the opportunity is at the tip of the storage iceberg that will remain dominated by disk.

Any SSD users out there that disagree?

Chris Meilor listened in as Seagate CEO Bill Watkins and Marketing SVP Pat King talked [....]]]> Seagate’s CEO Bill Watkins and Marketing SVP Pat King on the Wild West of storage

Chris Meilor listened in as Seagate CEO Bill Watkins and Marketing SVP Pat King talked about Seagate’s plans for home NAS, SSD, hybrid storage and more at a recent press event.  It’s a good read - check it out here.

Chris refers to the consumer storage market as the Wild West, but that moniker could easily be used to describe the storage market in general.  Dramatic change is underway across the spectrum, from the largest corporations overwhelmed with petabyte growth and data on the loose to the Dawning of the Digital Consumer. 

The storage industry is exciting (and always has been) for those who work in it.  It’s becoming more relevant and entertaining to those outside of the industry as content and its storage matter like never before.