This is my answer to a question that came in via Quora: When should a administrator use a storage area network technology and when should he use a network area storage technology? “Network Area Storage” is not a commonly used term. The correct expansion of the NAS acronym is “Network Attached Storage,” which might make the the comparing/constrasting make a …
What’s the Difference Between a LUN and a Volume?
A quick explanation on the difference between the two storage concepts.
Handling the Dreaded Synology DSM “Cannot Connect To The Internet” Error
A couple things to try when getting the dreaded “Connection failed. Please check your Internet Connection” error on a Synology DiskStation.
Fibre Channel and NVMe over Fabrics
A quick look at the strengths of Fibre Channel for NVMe-based fabrics.
Learning NVMe: A Program of Study
For those people who are looking to find out information about NVMe (NVM Express), but don’t know where to start, this is a course syllabi that can be used as a “program of study.”
Storage Forces
What are the pressures that prevent a “Grand Unification Theory” of Storage?
The Grand Unification Storage Theory
I read with interest an article on The Register about a panel that happened at TECHunplugged (I wish I had known about this; I would have tried to attend in person if possible). The article was entitled “One Storage Protocol to Rule Them All” by Chris Evans, who is someone I like and respect a great deal in the industry. …
Follow-up: Synology Responds to My Questions
Synology responds to some of my questions about the new DSM 6.0 backup methodology.
Synology Releases DSM 6.0: New Backup Methodology
Synology’s new backup strategy raises some questions, and Synology responds.
Review: Synology DS216+ First Look
A few weeks ago Synology sent me a DS216+ to review. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a lot of time to give it the thorough examination as I had wished, but I did manage to do a couple of quick tests in a temporary (that is, don’t try this at home or for a long-term solution) configuration. Overall I found the …
A NVMe Bibliography
A bibliography of NVMe educational materials, organized by topic.
Synology Hybrid Backup, Part 3
This is the third installment of the 3-2-1 backup workflow that I have established using Synology’s DSM 5.2 software. My goal is to illustrate a multi-tiered backup plan using my Synology equipment and the built-in tools to establish a resilient method for surviving data loss. In the first post, I discussed some of the considerations of backups and a provided …
Synology Hybrid Backup, Part 2
In the first article, I started talking about how to use the Synology to solve my various backup problems. I’m a bit picky about how the way I like my data organized, and as usual your mileage will vary, but because of the nature of my setup I need to use a variety of tools available within the Synology ecosystem. …
Synology Hybrid Backup, Part 1
We’ve all had it happen: that moment when the computer freezes, and hours of work is lost forever. But when the loss is catastrophic – a bad disk drive, the dreaded ‘clicking’ noise that signals you’re in deep, deep trouble, etc. – you know just how soul-crushing it can be. I have a particular plan in mind for satisfying my own …
Synology DSM 5.2 Beta Could Be A Big Deal
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Synology. The company has always, always treated me well. In fact if more companies acted like Synology did, I think that we’d have a lot of very happy consumers out there. It’s also no secret that I simply do not trust “The Cloud” for securing personal data. As I’ve said before …