| Do you know that the wrong type of storage | | | | might need a huge amount of storage for |
| can be harmful to the health of your | | | | photos, music files, e-books and movies. |
| business? Do you know what type of storage | | | | Opening or retrieving these files |
| you need? Do you know how to choose the best | | | | doesn’t need to be as fast as running a |
| storage at the right price? | | | | program or operating a company’s email |
| | | | accessibility. |
| Many people choose the wrong type of storage | | | | |
| for their specific needs. The result can be | | | | Why do email and programs require a higher |
| slower access and operation of the system, it | | | | cost, lower capacity drive? You need to |
| can be slower boot time, or it can affect | | | | understand that email and applications must |
| your bottom line because it costs more than | | | | operate quickly. Email is actually like a |
| you actually need to spend. | | | | database everyone in the company uses. It |
| | | | must be fast and reliable. |
| As I work with servers and individual systems | | | | |
| for our clients, I generally see one of three | | | | Finally, many individuals and businesses do |
| problems with storage choices companies (or | | | | not have the proper redundancy to protect |
| individuals) have made: | | | | them in the event of a failure of some sort. |
| | | | Redundancy is basically a backup of what is |
| • They have the wrong type of storage | | | | stored on the drive. If a client is storing |
| | | | important data or applications on a drive, we |
| • They don’t have enough storage | | | | generally create a redundant drive as backup. |
| | | | This way if there is a failure, such as a |
| • They don’t have the proper | | | | drive crash, the critical files are |
| redundancy in case of a failure | | | | immediately available. Recovering from a |
| | | | failure with a non-redundant system will |
| When choosing storage, you must first look at | | | | require locating the correct backup tape, |
| your server and consider how the new storage | | | | which is stored offline, and running restore |
| will be used. Will it be used primarily for | | | | operations from the tape. This is a much |
| programs/applications and email, or will it | | | | slower process than switching to a different |
| be used just for storage of images, documents | | | | drive. |
| and other files? | | | | |
| | | | Choosing storage for your computer or for a |
| If you are using the new drive (storage) for | | | | server is not just a matter of cost. |
| applications, you need to choose a | | | | Don’t put your business or personal |
| higher-cost, lower-capacity drive, such as a | | | | files at risk by choosing the wrong storage |
| SCSI. This type of drive will run much faster | | | | hardware. The three things to consider in |
| and will be generally more reliable. | | | | choosing your storage option are: |
| | | | |
| If you are using the new drive just for | | | | • What type of storage do I need? Is it |
| storage, you will want to get as much storage | | | | the right kind of storage for my needs? |
| capacity as possible at the lowest cost. You | | | | |
| might want to consider a SATA drive. This | | | | • Will I have enough storage? |
| type of drive will run a bit slower and cost | | | | |
| less than a SCSI drive. The new terabyte | | | | • Can I set up the proper redundancy in |
| drives might be an option if you are | | | | case of a failure? |
| purchasing a drive simply for large storage | | | | |
| capacity. A graphic artist, for example, will | | | | Your answers to these questions will help you |
| need to store a large number of images and | | | | make wise choices about getting the right |
| both templates and files containing images | | | | kind of storage at the best price. |
| and other types of graphic files, which use a | | | | |
| lot of space. If your business has moved to | | | | Stay tuned for my next comments: I’ll |
| paperless operations, you will also need a | | | | be writing about new Solid State Drives, and |
| large amount of storage to handle the image | | | | this is huge news! |
| files that are replacing paper. An individual | | | | |