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Storage Basics: When to use SAN v. NAS

In Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz10 Comments

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 …

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The Grand Unification Storage Theory

In Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz4 Comments

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. …

FCoE Quickie: Using Standard Ethernet Switches

In Technology by J Michel MetzLeave a Comment

I happened to come across a tweet on Twitter that asked the question: “Can FCoE ‘just work’ on regular Ethernet switches?” The answer to the question, while leading the asker to the right answer (no, you can’t use any old Ethernet switch) was nevertheless inaccurate. 

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Bandwidth, Latency and Throughput, the Star Trek Way

In Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz7 Comments

Okay, I know there are a lot of different explanations about how to describe these common components of networks (see, for instance, here, here, here, here, and here), but every once in a while I get a question about whether or not 40G will make things go “faster” in networks (often relating to FCoE and storage in general). Why write another …

Brocade and Evaluator Group’s Really, Really Bad FCoE Study

In Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz6 Comments

It’s been almost four years to the month that I took on Gartner’s horrible anti-FCoE diatribe, and since then I’ve joined Cisco, written a few more blogs, and even gone toe-to-toe with the technology’s largest critic – Brocade. For the most part, the tete-a-tete has been cordial, if a little snarky (just the way I like it!), and generally falls …

From Products to Strategy, a Journey of a Single Step

In Technology by J Michel Metz4 Comments

It’s hard to believe I’ve only been at Cisco for a little more than 2 years. At some companies, that may be considered to be the “long-toothed veteran,” but at Cisco it’s still a blink of an eye. During that time I’ve been doing a lot of work on FCoE in the storage team of fantastic individuals, but the time …

FCoE Fact Frustration? Me too.

In Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz2 Comments

Last week, I had a very interesting email conversation with Chris Mellor, storage writer for The Register. As a trade press reporter, Chris has been trying to distill some of the technologies of FCoE for his readers and one of his articles prompted me to write to him and offer some corrections and clarification. At first I thought that Chris’ …

FCoE Standards: Taking a Step Back

In Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz2 Comments

While it may seem like I’ve been taking a hiatus from blogging for a while, the truth is that I’ve been working on a number of writing projects related to FCoE. As I mentioned on a recent Infosmack podcast there have been a lot of developments coming out this month and, understandably, there are a lot of people who are …

Infosmack Goodness

In Marketing, Storage, Technology by J Michel Metz2 Comments

Just a short post today to promote the Infosmack podcast that I was fortunate enough to be invited to participate. I’ve been a fan of the podcast for a while and when Greg Knierieman asked me to join I was honored and excited. Along with Greg and Marc Farley from 3Par, I was invited along with Doug Hazelman from Veeam. …