Data Storage | DataRecoveryUnion.com

Dark archive
A data archive that cannot be accessed by any user. Access to the data is either limited to a set of few individuals or completely restricted to all. The purpose of a dark archive is to function as a repository for information that can be used as a failsafe during disaster recovery.

Data at rest
All data in storage excluding any data that frequently traverses the network or that resides in temporary memory. Data at rest includes, but is not limited to, archived data; data which is not accessed or changed frequently; files stored on hard drives; USB thumb drives; files stored on backup tape and disks; and files stored offsite or on a storage area network (SAN).

Data at rest protection
Security protection measures such as password protection, data encryption, or a combination of both that protect data at rest from hackers and other malicious threats. The measures prevent this data from being accessed, modified, or stolen.

Database
A system intended to organize, store, and retrieve large amounts of data easily. It consists of an organized collection of data for one or more uses, typically in digital form.

Data center
A facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. It generally includes redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (for example, air conditioning or fire suppression), and security devices.

Data center tiers
A four-tier system that provides a simple and effective means for identifying different data center site infrastructure design topologies. The Uptime Institute’s tiered classification system is an industry standard approach to site infrastructure functionality that addresses common benchmarking standard needs. The four tiers, as classified by The Uptime Institute, include the following:

Tier I: Composed of a single path for power and cooling distribution, without redundant components, providing 99.671 percent availability.
Tier II: Composed of a single path for power and cooling distribution, with redundant components, providing 99.741 percent availability.
Tier III: Composed of multiple active power and cooling distribution paths, but only one path active, has redundant components, and is concurrently maintainable, providing 99.982 percent availability.
Tier IV: Composed of multiple active power and cooling distribution paths, has redundant components, and is fault tolerant, providing 99.995 percent availability.

Data cleansing
Also referred to as data scrubbing, the act of detecting and removing and/or correcting a database’s dirty data (data that is incorrect, out-of-date, redundant, incomplete, or formatted incorrectly). The goal of data cleansing is not just to clean up the data in a database, but also to bring consistency to different sets of data that have been merged from separate databases. Sophisticated software applications are available to clean a database’s data using algorithms, rules, and look-up tables. This task was once done manually and was therefore still subject to human error.

In a RAID system, the act of correcting parity bit errors so that drives remain synchronized.

Data deduplication
The elimination of redundant data. In the deduplication process, duplicate data is deleted, leaving only one copy of the data to be stored. However, indexing of all data is still retained should that data ever be required. Deduplication reduces the required storage capacity since only the unique data is stored.

Data dictionary
In database management systems, a file that defines the basic organization of a database. A data dictionary contains a list of all files in the database, the number of records in each file, and the names and types of each field. Most database management systems keep the data dictionary hidden from users to prevent them from accidentally destroying its contents. Data dictionaries do not contain any actual data from the database, only book keeping information for managing it. Without a data dictionary, however, a database management system cannot access data from the database.

Data infrastructure hygiene
Practices that promote or preserve the shape of an entire data infrastructure (for example, network, servers, databases, storage, and software). These practices include any activity that reduces the stress of information growth on the data infrastructure and enables the efficient access, movement, and protection of data while reducing overall infrastructure and maintenance costs. Such practices include active archiving of relational databases, e-mail archiving, and document archiving.

Data mirroring
The act of copying data from one location to a storage device in real time. Because the data is copied in real time, the information stored from the original location is always an exact copy of the data from the production device. Data mirroring is useful in the speedy recovery of critical data after a disaster. Data mirroring can be implemented locally or offsite at a completely different location.

Data protection
Assurance that data is not corrupted, is accessible for authorized purposes only, and is in compliance with applicable requirements.

Data recovery
The salvaging of data stored on damaged media, such as magnetic disks and tapes. Many software products help recover data damaged by a disk crash or virus. In addition, many companies specialize in data recovery. Although not all data is recoverable, data recovery specialists can often restore a surprisingly high percentage of the data on damaged media.

Data retention policy
The policy of persistent data and records management for meeting legal and business data archival requirements. A data retention policy weighs legal and privacy concerns against economics and need to know concerns to determine retention time, archival rules, data formats, and the permissible means of storage, access, and encryption.

Data space transfer protocol
Data space transfer protocol (DSTP) is a protocol used to index and categorize data using an XML -based catalogue. Data, no matter how it is stored, has corresponding XML files which contain UCK (universal correlation key) tags that act as identification keys. Data is retrieved when a user connects to DSTP servers with a DSTP client and asks for specific information. Data is found and retrieved based on the labels contained in the UCK tags.

Data vaulting
The process of sending data from its primary source, where it can be protected from hardware failures, theft, and other threats. Several companies now provide web backup services that compress, encrypt, and periodically transmit a customer’s data to a remote vault. In most cases the vaults will feature auxiliary power supplies, powerful computers, and manned security.

DDP

Acronym for disk-based data protection, where a disk or RAID system is used as a data backup and archival system in place of tape.
Acronym for distributed data protection, a managed (or hosted) service that provides customers with online, scheduled, automated computer system data backup and self-serve restoration.
Acronym for development data platform, a web-based platform for data analysis, presentation, and dissemination.
Acronym for distributed data processing, a data processing network in which some functions are performed in different places on different computers and are connected by transmission facilities.

Delta Backup
The backup of all data files that have been modified since the last incremental backup or archival backup. Also known as differential incremental backup.

DeltaPro
Patented EVault technology that performs delta backup and compresses the data before sending it over the wire.

Digital asset management
Digital asset management (DAM) is a system that creates a centralized repository for digital files that allows the content to be archived, searched, and retrieved. The digital content is stored in databases called asset repositories. Metadata—such as photo captions, article key words, advertiser names, contact names, file names, or low-resolution thumbnail images—is stored in separate databases called media catalogs and points to the original items. Digital asset management also is known as enterprise digital asset management, media asset management, or digital asset warehousing.

Digital footprint
The trail, traces, or "footprints" that people leave online. A digital footprint includes information transmitted online, such as forum registration, e-mails and attachments, uploaded videos or digital images, and any other form of transmission of information. All of this activity leaves traces of personal information about yourself that is available to others online.

Direct access file system
Direct access file system (DAFS) is a file-access sharing protocol that uses memory-to-memory interconnect architectures, such as VI and InfiniBand. DAFS is designed for storage area networks (SANs) to provide bulk data transfer directly between the application buffers of two machines without having to packetize the data. With DAFS, an application can transfer data to and from application buffers without using the operating system, which frees up the processor and operating system for other processes and allows files to be accessed by servers using several different operating systems.

Direct-attached storage
Direct-attached storage (DAS) is non-networked storage in which the hardware is connected to an individual server. Although more than one server can be present, storage for each server is managed separately and cannot be shared.

Disaster recovery
The process, policies, and procedures related to preparing for the recovery or continuation of a business-critical technology infrastructure after a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity. While business continuity involves planning for keeping all aspects of a business functioning in the midst of disruptive events, disaster recovery focuses on the IT or technology systems that support business functions.

Disaster recovery plan
A plan for business continuity in the event of a disaster that destroys part or all of a business’s resources, including IT equipment, data records, and the physical space of an organization. The goal of a disaster recovery plan is to resume normal computing capabilities in as little time as possible. A typical disaster recovery plan has several stages:

Understanding an organization’s activities and how all of its resources are interconnected
Assessing an organization’s vulnerability in all areas, including operating procedures, physical space and equipment, data integrity, and contingency planning
Understanding how all levels of the organization would be affected in the event of a disaster
Developing a short-term recovery plan
Developing a long-term recovery plan, including how to return to normal business operations and prioritizing the order of functions that are resumed
Testing and consistently maintaining and updating the plan as the business changes A key to a successful disaster recovery plan is taking steps to prevent the likelihood of disasters from occurring, such as using a hot site or cold site to back up data archives.

Disk array
A linked group of one or more physical independent hard disk drives generally used to replace larger, single disk drive systems. The most common disk arrays are in daisy chain configuration or implement RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology. A disk array may contain several disk drive trays and is structured to improve speed and increase protection against loss of data. Disk arrays organize their data storage into Logical Units (LUs), which appear as linear block paces to their clients. Disk arrays are an integral part of high-performance storage systems.

Disk-to-disk
Disk-to-disk (D2D) is a type of data storage backup in which the data is copied from one disk (typically a hard disk) to another disk (such as another hard disk or other disk storage medium). In a D2D system, the disk that the data is being copied from typically is referred to as the primary disk and the disk that the data is copied to typically is called the secondary or backup disk.

Disk-to-disk-to-tape
Disk-to-disk-to-tape (D2D2T) is a type of data storage backup in which data is first backed up on a disk system, but then is spooled to a tape or an optical storage system. A D2D2T backup system can help eliminate data loss issues due to tape drive or tape failure. In a D2D2T system, a copy of the data is kept onsite for faster retrieval and tape copies are kept offsite for disaster recovery purposes. D2D2T devices may be appliances, virtual tape, or disk libraries.

Disk-to-tape
Disk-to-tape (D2T) is a type of data storage backup in which the data is copied from a disk (typically a hard disk) to a magnetic tape. D2T systems are used widely in enterprises that require the safe storage of vital information in the case of disaster recovery.

Data Storage

Data Backup! Data Disasters Happen Every Day

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago4 years ago04 mins

Earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and tsunamis. While recent natural disasters may remind business leaders about the importance of continuity plans, most CEOs may not realize that data disasters occur every day, and the repercussions can be devastating.

Data backup is easily one of the most critical elements of a complete disaster recovery plan. For example, a 2009 study by MetaGroup cited that just 6% of businesses survive catastrophic data loss.

A 2007 MetaGroup study found that only 3% of data losses occur due to natural disasters; 97% are due to mechanical failure or human error, both of which are far more common. Fortunately, the preparation for both types of disasters is much the same.

In planning for disaster recovery, CEOs should consider five important questions:

What systems and information are absolutely critical to running your business day-to-day? Emails? Accounting data? Customer records? All of the above?

Understanding what data is mission-critical may just save your business in a disaster. Evaluating the importance of your data will help determine what needs to be quickly accessible and what isn’t as critical, which will help you control data storage costs.

How long could you operate without that data before your business suffered? A few hours? A day? Several days?

Data backed up to tape rather than a cloud-based platform could take several days to be restored. There’s no reason to wait that long today with solutions that allow you to recover data within minutes.

When is your data backed up? Multiple times a day? Every day?

Understand approximately how many hours’ worth of data you risk losing.

Where and how is your backup data stored? On site? Off site? Out of market?

Data should be backed up in multiple locations, including somewhere out of the area. If your city were flooded, tapes stored at your office or even elsewhere in your same city might prove worthless. The best bet for many business owners is a solution that allows you to back up your encrypted data via the cloud, safely, to locations off-site and out of the area.

Who will retrieve your data in the event of a loss?

In a natural disaster, your key personnel may be wearing several hats. Have a specific person designated for data recovery. Even better, choose a company that will manage your data recovery for you, lifting that burden from your shoulders.

Bottom line: Businesses with continuity plans outlining where they will go and what equipment they will use may be ahead of the game, but if they don’t know how they will recover their data, those plans won’t really matter.

Gayle Rose is founder and CEO of Electronic Vaulting Services, a cloud backup and recovery company.

Data Storage

Data Backup Glossary (Letter C)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago12 years ago08 mins

CE-ATA
An interface standard for the connection of storage devices and hosts in consumer electronic devices such as mobile and handheld devices. One of the primary goals of the standard is to standardize connections for small form factor hard disk drives such as one-inch microdrives. The standard is maintained by CE-ATA Workgroup.

Chiller
Also called a data center chiller, a chiller is a cooling infrastructure used in a data centers and industrial facilities. A chiller cooling system removes heat from one element and deposits it into another element. In large data centers, the chiller is used to cool the water used in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning units. Due to the amount of heat produced by many servers and systems in a data center, chiller cooling systems are operational around-the-clock. As such, a large percentage of the electricity consumed in a data center is used by the chiller.

Cloud storage
The delivery over a network of appropriately configured virtual storage and related data services. Typically, cloud storage hides limits to scalability, is either self-provisioned or provisionless, and is billed based on consumption.

Cloud-connected storage solutions
Next-generation data protection deployed in seamless combination—on-premise and cloud, licensed software and hosted services—to optimize performance, availability, and affordability.

COLD
Acronym for computer output to laser disk. The storage of data on optical disk, such as CD-ROMs. Storing large volumes of data on laser disk, as opposed to microfiche or microfilm, lets the user access and search for this information on a computer, avoid the duplication and security costs of protecting physical documents or film, and more readily distribute information.

Cold standby
A method of redundancy in which the secondary (backup) system is only called upon when the primary system fails. The system on cold standby receives scheduled data backups, but less frequently than a warm standby. Cold standby systems are used for non-critical applications or in cases where data is changed infrequently.

CompactFlash (CF)
Often referred to as a CompactFlash or CF card, CompactFlash is a very small removable mass storage device that relies on flash memory technology, a storage technology that does not require a battery to retain data indefinitely. CompactFlash cards can support 3.3V and 5V operation and can switch between the two, in contrast to other small-form factor flash memory cards that can only operate at one voltage. CompactFlash applications include PDAs, cellular phones, digital cameras, and photo printers.

Compliance
The state of being in accordance with a standard, specification, or clearly defined requirements, including legal requirements. In IT, the "compliance market" is centered around storage and systems that support the retention and discovery of data as required by law or regulation.

Compound document
An electronic document comprising more than one type of file. For example, a text file and image file.

Compressed sensing
An alternative theory to Nyquist’s Law that indicates signals and images can be reconstructed from fewer measurements than what is usually considered necessary. In contrast, Nyquist’s Law states that a signal must be sampled at least twice its highest analog frequency in order to extract all of the information. Also called compressive sampling.

Compression
The process of encoding data to reduce its size. Lossy compression (compression using a technique in which a portion of the original information is lost) is acceptable for some forms of data (for example, digital images) in some applications. However, for most IT applications, lossless compression (compression using a technique that preserves the entire content of the original data, and from which the original data can be reconstructed exactly) is required.

Compressed footprint
Amount of space consumed after compression has been applied to the data set. In a backup solution, compressed footprint refers to the amount of space being utilized by the backed-up data.

Content-addressed storage
Content-addressed storage (CAS) is an object-oriented system for storing data that is not intended to be changed once it is stored (for example, medical images, sales invoices, and archived e-mail). CAS assigns a unique identifying logical address to the data record when it is stored. That address is neither duplicated nor changed in order to ensure that the record always contains the exact same data that was originally stored. CAS relies on disk storage instead of removable media, such as tape.

Continuous data protection
Also called continuous backup, continuous data protection (CDP) refers to backing up computer data by saving as an automated function a copy every time changes are made to that data. It allows users to restore files that are corrupted or that have been accidentally deleted back to any point in time before they were lost.

Cumulative incremental backup
The backup of all data files that have been modified since the last backup.

Data Storage

Data Backup Glossary (Letter B)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago4 years ago04 mins

Back up(v)
To make a copy of data so that the additional copy may be used to restore the original in case of data loss.

Backup(n)
A collection of data stored on (usually remote) non-volatile storage media for purposes of recovery in case the original copy of data is lost or becomes inaccessible; also called a backup copy. To be useful for recovery, a backup must be made by copying the source data image when it is in a consistent state.

Backup window
An interval of time during which a set of data can be backed up without seriously affecting applications that use the data.

BRTP
Backup and recovery transfer protocol used by the EVault® Agent.

Bare-metal restore
A bare-metal restore (BMR) is a restore in which the backed up data is available in a form which allows one to restore a computer system from “bare metal”—meaning without any requirements as to previously installed software or operating system.

Buffer credits
Formally called buffer-to-buffer credit (BBC) spoofing, and also called buffer-to-buffer credits, this technology effectively removes limitations on data throughput for long-distance transmissions in a Fibre Channel storage area network (SAN). Fibre Channel protocols usually limit the distance between the source and the destination network to within a few kilometers. Using buffer-to-buffer credits makes it possible to use offsite storage hundreds of kilometers away.

Business continuity
The ability of an organization to continue to function even after a disastrous event. Business continuity is accomplished through the deployment of redundant hardware and software, the use of fault tolerant systems, as well as a solid backup and recovery strategy.

Business continuity planning
Business continuity planning (BCP) covers both disaster recovery planning and business resumption planning. BCP is the preparation and testing of measures that protect business operations and also provide the means for the recovery of technologies in the event of any loss, damage, or failure of facilities

Business recovery team
A group of individuals responsible for maintaining the business recovery procedures and coordinating the recovery of business functions and processes. Also called a disaster recovery team.

Business recovery timeline
The chronological sequence of recovery activities, or critical path, that must be followed to resume an acceptable level of operations following a business interruption or outage. This timeline may range from minutes to weeks, depending upon the recovery requirements and methodology.

Data Storage

Fiscal Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2011 Financial Results

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago3 years ago08 mins

Seagate Technology
Demand for disk drive storage continues to grow as quarterly shipments reach a record 52 million units and fiscal year shipments increase to a record 199 million units.

Seagate Technology reported financial results for the quarter ended July 1, 2011. Seagate shipped 52 million hard disk drives and reported revenue of $2.9 billion, gross margin of 19.3%, net income of $119 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.27. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the net impact of restructuring, write-down of an equity investment, gain on the sale of one of its facilities, and expenses related to the previously announced transaction with Samsung, Seagate reported net income of $126 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.28 for the quarter ended July 1, 2011.

For the fiscal year ended July 1, 2011, the company reported revenue of $11.0 billion, gross margin of 19.6%, net income of $511 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.09. On a non-GAAP basis, which excludes the net impact of loss on redemption of debt, purchased intangibles amortization, restructuring, write-down of an equity investment, gain on the sale of one of its facilities, expenses related to the previously announced transaction with Samsung and tax adjustments related to prior fiscal years, Seagate reported net income of $578 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.24. Additionally, Seagate returned $77 million to shareholders in the form of a dividend and repurchased $822 million of Seagate ordinary shares.

“Seagate and the industry are benefitting from the significant demand for storage related to new applications and architectures associated with mobile and connected devices, Because hard disk drive storage is a fundamental technology for cloud service providers, data centers and all other network-based content providers, total industry demand grew almost 40% in fiscal year 2011 to 330 million terabytes. For the June quarter, Seagate’s average capacity per drive shipped grew to approximately 590 GB an increase of 39% year-over-year. As more online content and services become available to billions of connected mobile devices, we expect demand for storage capacity to continue to grow and Seagate to benefit from this growth.” said Steve Luczo, Seagate chairman, president and CEO.

Western Digital Corp
Q4 REVENUE OF $2.4 BILLION AND NET INCOME OF $158 MILLION, OR $0.67 PER SHARE

For the quarter, revenue totaled $2.4 billion, net income was $158 million, or $0.67 per share, and hard-drive unit shipments were 54 million. The quarterly results included total expenses of $35 million associated with the planned acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) announced Mar. 7, 2011, and for unrelated litigation accruals. Excluding these expenses, non-GAAP net income was $193 million or $0.81 per share.1

In the year-ago quarter, the company reported revenue of $2.38 billion, net income of $265 million, or $1.13 per share, and shipped 50 million hard drives. The 2010 results included $27 million of expenses related to litigation accruals. Excluding these expenses, the year-ago quarter non-GAAP net income was $292 million, or $1.24 per share.2

The company generated $447 million in cash from operations during the June quarter, ending with total cash and cash equivalents of $3.5 billion.

For fiscal year 2011, the company posted revenue of $9.53 billion and net income of $726 million, or $3.09 per share, compared to fiscal 2010 revenue of $9.85 billion and net income of $1.38 billion, or $5.93 per share. The 2011 net income included total expenses of $44 million associated with the planned acquisition of Hitachi GST and unrelated litigation accruals. Excluding these expenses, fiscal 2011 non-GAAP net income was $770 million or $3.28 per share.1 The 2010 net income included $27 million of expenses related to litigation accruals. Excluding these expenses, fiscal 2010 non-GAAP net income was $1.41 billion, or $6.05 per share.2

“In the June quarter, we were able to meet stronger than anticipated demand, especially from our OEM customers, We believe the stronger demand was driven by increased use of sea freight in advance of the second half of the calendar year as well as supply continuity concerns in the aftermath of the Japan earthquake.
In a challenging HDD market environment in fiscal 2011, the industry saw unit volume growth of four percent while WD achieved growth of six percent as customers demonstrated a continued preference for the WD value proposition.
We remain focused on completing our strategic acquisition of Hitachi GST. We are continuing to engage in the approval process with all the appropriate regulatory agencies and thus far we have received clearance from Brazil, Taiwan and Turkey. We continue to work closely with the remaining agencies which are reviewing our transaction. As previously announced, we now expect that the transaction will close in the fourth calendar quarter of 2011, and our integration planning activities continue on schedule.” – said John Coyne, president and chief executive officer.

Data Storage

5 Reasons Why Your Digital Photos Gone Missing

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago4 years ago03 mins

With the holiday season quickly approaching, many of us are looking forward to spending time with our family and friends. These special times, which used to be captured on film, are now recorded digitally on a video recording device or a camera. It has revealed that the top causes of memory card disasters from digital camera users desperate to recover their memories.

1. Reformatting

Users often forget that reformatting a memory card will remove all the files stored on it including protected pictures and print orders. This data can only be retrieved by experts so Ontrack advises users to think again before you reformat.

2. Overwriting

A common mistake is the accidental overwriting of images held on camera memory cards with new photos. It’s easily done. So check, check and check again that you’ve successfully transferred your images onto your PC, laptop, CD or DVD before taking new pictures.

3. Cracked and damaged media

Packing memory cards into overstuffed suitcases can result in them becoming bent or damaged on the journey home, making them unreadable. Wrapping cards in clothes and placing them in the middle of your case offers some degree of protection in transit and helps ensure the safety of your pictures during your return trip.

4. Burnt media

Leaving memory cards in an elevated temperature environment – close to a heat source such as a radiator or oven – will increase the chances of failure. Heat is unlikely to cause damage to the digital photos on the memory card but may stop the card from being recognized in a card reader.

5. Holiday injuries

For those of you that opt for a tropical vacation instead of a snowy week with the in-laws, digital cameras often get dropped in the sand or splashed with water around the pool, damaging smart media to the extent that photos can’t be viewed. Only an expert can recover digital images from smart media damaged in this way, so users should be careful to keep digital cameras in padded and watertight cases to keep them safe.

Data Storage

Data Backup Glossary (Letter A)

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago4 years ago07 mins

ABARS
Aggregate group backup and recovery support (ABARS) is a backup system for MVS S/390 mainframes from IBM. ABARS performs data backup and recovery processes on a predefined set of data called an aggregate. During backup processing, the data is packaged as a single entity in preparation for taking it offsite. This enables the recovery of individual applications in user-priority sequence. The original design of ABARS was for use in disaster recovery, but is also used for transfer of workloads and remote distribution of data.

Active-active
Also called dual active, active-active is a network of independent processing nodes in which each node has access to a replicated database. This database access enables each node to access and use a single application. In an active-active system, all requests are load balanced across all available processing capacity. When a failure occurs on a node, another node in the network takes its place.

Agent
A program that performs one or more services (such as gathering information from the Internet), acting for or as a principal. In an EVault solution, an agent is installed on each server or device needing data protection. It requires no changes to underlying server hardware. The agent installs directly onto multiple operating system environments with minimal overhead. Communicating closely with the other two modules—EVault Director and CentralControl—the agent initiates ongoing, delta (or block-level change) processing of backup data. It also works to perform adaptive compression for more compact data transmission over LANs or WANs. The agent also can encrypt data prior to the data being sent.

Appliance
An intelligent device programmed to perform a single well-defined function, such as providing backup, file, web, network, or print services. Appliances differ from general purpose computers in that their software is normally customized for the function they perform, pre-loaded by the vendor, and not alterable by the user.

Archive(n.)

A disk, tape, or directory that contains files that have been moved off primary storage.
A file that contains one or more files in a compressed format. Due to the file’s content or age, it is infrequently accessed and can be stored in slower, lower cost devices.

(v.) To move files to a long-term storage medium for backup.

(adj.) In DOS systems, the archive attribute marks files that have been modified since the last backup.

Asynchronous replication
A replication technique in which data must be committed to storage at only the primary site and not the secondary site before the write is acknowledged to the host. Data is then forwarded to the secondary site as the network capabilities permit.

ATA disk on chip
ATA disk on chip (ADC) is a chip that contains both a solid state disk (SSD) and an ATAPI bus interface. ADC is housed in a 600 mm 32-pin DIP package and uses a standard ATA/IDE protocol. ADC is most commonly used in thin client systems, PDAs, and other small form factor devices.

Automated cartridge system
An automated cartridge system (ACS) is a storage and retrieval system, often used for library management. The ACS provides cartridge storage cells, transports, and a robotic mechanism to move cartridges between the cells.

Automated cartridge system library software
Automated cartridge system library software (ACSLS) is the software that controls an automated cartridge system (ACS).

Automatic backup system
An automatic backup system triggers backups by event—for example, a schedule point or a threshold reached—rather than by human action.

Automatic failover
The automatic substitution of a functionally equivalent system component for a failed one. The term failover is most often applied to intelligent controllers connected to the same storage devices and host computers. If one of the controllers fails, failover occurs, and the survivor automatically takes over its I/O load.

Availability
In computer systems and networking, the amount of time that a system is available during those time periods when it is expected to be available, often measured as a percentage of an elapsed year.

Data Storage

WD Will Offer a New Storage Solution for Small Business Owners

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago4 years ago03 mins

Western Digital announced it will be offering a small-office storage server product and has signed an OEM software agreement with Microsoft Corporation to include the Windows® Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials operating system software. WD® will combine its leading storage technologies with Microsoft’s operating system to deliver a complete storage solution for the small business market. The result will be a product that simplifies connection, protection and collaboration online for small businesses and the information technology services organizations that support them.

Fast, dependable and secure access to data, along with complete backup and recovery capability are becoming as crucial for small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) as it is for large enterprises. According to Forrester Research, SMBs will outpace the projected IT market growth rate of 7.1%. In terms of infrastructure spending increases, storage and servers top SMBs’ hardware budget plans. Fifty-three percent of SMBs indicate that they will increase their storage spend.1 To serve this market, WD joined with Microsoft to incorporate the most advanced online features so businesses can easily and securely share information with clients, consultants or satellite offices located anywhere in the world.

“Small businesses will find great value in the combination of WD’s hardware solutions and the recently released Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials solution from Microsoft. I am excited about the opportunity we have with WD and their solutions for helping small businesses run more efficiently,” said Nick Parker, VP of Worldwide Marketing for the OEM Division at Microsoft.

“By combining Microsoft’s platform with WD’s strength in the storage market, the two organizations bring extraordinary synergies that boost productivity and efficiency for small business. With this, WD will offer storage solutions for small business that provides centralized, online shared storage capable of meeting the storage requirements of the small business owners in today’s fast paced business environment,” said Thomas Gallivan, WD’s vice president of marketing for SMB branded products.

To receive future sales and product information regarding WD’s upcoming SMB products, you can email smbstorage@wdc.com.

Data Storage

Recommended 500GB External Hard Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago8 months ago05 mins

Looking for external hard drives with 500GB capacity? please refer to this guide.

Today’s Storage disks’ capacity upgrade day by day. A few years ago, purchased a 1GB U-disk, you would already feel it was a great capacity and could not expect the 8GB, 16GB U-disks become noting in today. Moreover, the capacity of the external hard drive is extremely huge. You can see 1TB, 2TB’s external hard drives everywhere, greatly eased people’s requirement to massive data transmission. Many manufacturers have launched promotions for this capacity external hard drive. I have collected many promotions information to shall with you. Before you purchase these external hard drives, you can refer:

Seagate Expansion 500GB Desktop External Hard Drive ST305004EXA101-RK
(Model: ST305004EXA101-RK Price: $99.99 Amazon.com Price: $58.19 Form Factor: 3.5″)

Review: “I easily reformatted it with fdisk (to make a Linux partition) and mkfs (to make an ext3 file system) so as to make it friendly with my Linux machine (running Scientific Linux—basically RHEL 5.0), and it works like a charm. It is immediately recognized; all I need to do is to plug in the USB. It is also very quiet.”

Cirago CST4500 500GB USB2.0 External Hard Drive
(Model: CST4500 Price: $59.99 Form Factor: 3.5″)

Review: “I haven’t delved into the accuracy of the advertised specs but it functions exactly as I expected when I made the purchase. I know my system holds it back from full speed performance(laptop HDD not as fast as this thing so copy speeds aren’t phenomenal) so that’s not something I hold against it. Actual usable space is something like 460GB but don’t quote me on that. The stand is nice, helps it stay cool I s’pose. Speaking of which, I’ve had ZERO heat problems after the year or so I’ve owned and used it.”

Seagate Expansion 500GB USB2.0 External Hard Drive ST905004EXA101-RK
(Model: ST905004EXA101-RK Price: $89.00 Amazon.com Price: $59.99 Form Factor: 2.5″)

Review: “Acceptable transfer rate over USB 2.0, doesn’t need an external power source, extremely portable.”

Western Digital My Passport Essential 500GB External Hard Drive
(Model: WDBACY5000ABL-NESN Price: $99.99 Amazon.com Price: $78.52 USB2.0/3.0)

Review: “Fast and easy, runs very cool. Of course I have it on top of my HAF 932, and that big old fan makes sure it don’t even get warm. Can’t beat the price for what you are getting. Disk Image of Win7 Prem, and X/P Home in under 3 Hours start to finish 382 GiGs. Great shipping from the EGG, as they never fail.”

Samsung S2 500GB External Hard Drive HXMU050DA/G22
(Model: HXMU050DA/G22 Price: $103.99 Amazon.com Price: $77.99 Form Factor: 2.5″)

Review: “”Really small, comes with a cable. Some people complain about the cable being small but it is for a reason. With this short cable it allows fast transfer speeds. “

Considerations for External Hard Drives

One drawback to using external hard drives for backups is that they are still relatively new for home computer use. They come with Windows drivers; should Windows fail, you will not be able to access your external drive through DOS. There are DOS drivers available but they can be difficult to find and most manufacturers do not provide support for them. This isn’t a frequent occurrence, just something to keep in mind as you select your external hard drive.

Data Storage

Recommended 2TB Internal Hard Drives

DATARECOVERYUNION.COM13 years ago2 years ago06 mins

Require more storage for the games, images, music and films? An 2TB internal hard drive upgrade or perhaps a second drive might be what you’re searching for. Internal hard disk drives are utilized as primary storage in desktop Computers, work stations, and servers. Nowadays, small form factor internal hard disk drives are utilized in consumer electronic items like audio players and digital camera models too. No matter the application, this post will present a comprehensive choice of internal hard disk drive items that you should select from, from hard disk producers like Western Digital, Seagate, HItachi, LaCie, Maxtor yet others.

Bestselling 2TB Internal Hard Drives on Amazon.com

Western Digital 2TB Caviar Green 64MB Cache Desktop Hard Drive – WD20EARS
(Model: WD20EARS, Cache: 64MB, Price: $159.99, Amazon.com Price: $79.99)

Review: “I’m using 4 of these for personal storage, and I put about 8 of these in other people’s systems. I’ve yet to have a problem. I especially like them for external enclosure since they run cool and quiet.”

Samsung Spinpoint F4EG 2TB 5400rpm 32MB Hard Drive – HD204UI/Z4
(Model: HD204UI, Cache: 32MB, Price: $114.16, Amazon.com Price: $79.99)

Review: “These drives are simply the best you can ask for at this price and size. 2TB formats to 1.81TB in NTFS. HDTune reports average read of 107.3MB/s and average write of 104.3MB/s. Nothing more you could ask for when using these in a file server over gigabit connection. They run at around 25c Idle and 29c when being used (ambient ~23c). Inexpensive (53.9GB/$ – bought at $75 each).”

Hitachi Deskstar 2TB CoolSpin RPM 32MB Cache Internal Hard Drive – 0F12117
(Model: 0F12117, Cache: 32MB, Price: $144.40, Amazon.com Price: $79.99)

Review: “I have this drive and a 1.5TB Samsung 5400rpm drive installed in the same older system that only supports SATA2. I haven’t done any tuning on the drives, just factory settings and Windows 7 x64 defaults. According to HD Tune 2.55 the 5K3000 has an average transfer rate of 101MB/s while the Samsung averages 80.8MB/s. The burst rate is 161.6MB/s vs 148.5MB/s.”

Hitachi Deskstar 2TB 7200RPM 32MB Internal Hard Drive – 0F10311
(Model: 0F10311, Cache: 32MB, Price: $213.80, Amazon.com Price: $95.00)

Review: “I purchased 10 retail boxed versions of these HDs back in November 2009; configured in a RAID6 array for 16TB of storage. I added 3 more of the bare drive versions (being reviewed) 13 months later (December 2010). I haven’t had ONE drive go bad after 24/7 operation for 18 months! Performance: 300+MB/s (that’s megaBYTEs) sustained file transfers from one partition to another on the same RADI6 array…”

How to choose a 2TB Internal Hard Drive?

When choosing a hard disk, you will find two primary points to consider: speed and capacity. Budget enabling, always choose the quickest drive you are able to. Speed is measured while using Revoltions per minute figure a quicker spinning speed means greater performance, particularly in games, but could cause greater warmth and noise. The capability, measured in GB (gb), should rely on your personal storage needs. A greater capacity drive will almost always cost greater than a lower capacity drive, so an account balance must usually be struck between capacity and price. Additionally, the hard disk interface IDE, SATA, or SCSI determine a drives application: IDE and SATA for private storage and SCSI for enterprise, mission critical storage.