SPECTRA BLOG

Data Breaches Resurface in the Headlines

Published October 22, 2009 by Spectra Logic

It seems like not a week goes by without a story hitting the headlines about sensitive customer data being compromised in one way or another. If it’s not a laptop getting lost it’s a handheld device getting left in a taxi – in fact nowadays you can just pop onto Ebay to buy the bank details of a million or so people . These breaches of security are damaging for the corporations involved and extremely disconcerting for the people whose personal details are compromised, but they also raise serious questions about how companies protect data once it leaves the corporate network. Read More

700 Percent Improvement in Tape Technology? Why, Yes.

Published October 20, 2009 by Spectra Logic

Dear Ms. Meade:
I don’t see how you can talk about tape without pain. I’ve been dealing with tape for ten years, ever since we got a big library installed, and I have had nothing but problems. Tape without pain? Hah.
Signed,
You’ve Got to be Kidding Read More

Storage Expo 2009 Recap

Published by Spectra Logic

We’ve just recovered from the exertions of Storage Expo 2009 – a show which has always been one of the better attended shows in the industry’s calendar. But what of this year’s show? Well certainly the financial climate and its impact on IT spending has been a major talking point over the last 12 to 18 months – but has the industry weathered the storm? According to reports – http://bit.ly/15Vm1b – there are some doubts as to whether we are over the worst of it, but the prevailing attitude of vendors attending the show this year seemed to be optimistic. End-users at the show, if not ready to put pen to paper immediately, were certainly talking about committing budget in the next three to six months. Read More

Why tape technology continues to be FAR-OUT, and other observations from SNW

Published October 16, 2009 by Spectra Logic

I attended Storage Networking World Fall 2009 in Scottsdale, AZ earlier this week.   Here are a few of my observations. Read More

Tape is Cheaper than Disk. Honest. It just is.

Published October 6, 2009 by Spectra Logic

Dear Ms. Meade:
Why would you ever recommend tape when disk is cheaper?
Signed,
I Know More Than You Do

Dear Ms. I Know More:
A little misinformation is a dangerous thing. It has become nearly axiomatic that "disk is cheaper than tape.”  This is simply unwarranted faith in the song of the disk-only vendor. The fact is, tape is cheaper than disk. Read More

As someone that loves things to make noise

Published October 2, 2009 by Spectra Logic

riff raff 2009.JPG
As someone that loves things to make noise, and go fast, I am always on the hunt for “more”.  Unfortunately, more can be expensive.  I am always looking for ways to make my toys faster, stronger, and of course cooler.  The problem is it normally costs a lot to get just a little improvement.  Whenever I stumble across “free” performance in a product, I feel like I have just won something.  It seemed appropriate to me that while I was on a flight coming home from indulging in one of my passions last week at the Reno Air Races (the fastest motorsport in the world) Spectra Logic  announced some new nTier Deduplication models that are all about more – more performance, more capacity and more value.     The first thing most people notice about the new nTier v160 and v320 is how they fit our model lineup.  They do fit in nicely between the  nTier Classic models, addressing the needs of customers that fell in the gap between them, although that really does not tell the whole story.  Based on the nTier 500 chassis, the v160 and v320 carry with them the blistering performance of 500MB/s backup speeds.  When looking at competing models, they offer more capacity, and the best part is—wait for it— they cost a lot LESS.  In one case, less than half the price of a popular competing box.  I wish I could find that in a car part.   In the last week, I have talked with sales reps, partners and customers about the new nTier models.  The comments remain consistent; the IT industry continues to seek ways to do more with less.  Deduplication can help there, but can be cost prohibitive.  The v160 and v320 help do more with less by providing the superior performance needed, with more capacity at a lower cost.  Backup windows will not grow, and often will shrink when the nTier becomes the initial target.  Automated replication and archive tape creation reduce the man hours needed to manage repetitive backup tasks.  This is more value.   I am sure the racers at Reno wish they could find such a deal. It is like JATO for backup!  

It may be cloudy at Sun, but all is clear at Spectra

Published September 28, 2009 by Spectra Logic

A myriad of mergers, acquisitions and bankruptcies in the backup and archive hardware market has made customers feel they are on thin ice when making long-term hardware investments. The latest, and potentially most dramatic, the Oracle acquisition of Sun, is affecting the set of customers who already had to endure the buy-out of StorageTek by Sun. This same set of customers is once again faced with questions surrounding product roadmap, support contract costs, and product upgrade availability. They no longer are doing business with a storage hardware innovator; instead they are forced into doing business with a server/database innovator. The idea of an acquisition of Sun by Oracle just may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back on the customers’ willingness to continue to go with the change with no voice in the direction of their products.   As a vendor who has competed in the tape business with Sun/STK for over a decade, we truly don’t know how everything will shake out. However, market analysts are stating that

Oracle will let go of between 10,000 and 15,000 Sun staff Read More

Top five observations from IBC 2009 in Amsterdam

Published September 23, 2009 by Spectra Logic

Spectra Logic recently returned from IBC2009, where we announced a major customer win: Discovery Communications. Here are the observations we made at the event: Read More

Ms. Meade E.A. Deftly Strikes Again

Published September 16, 2009 by Spectra Logic

Dear Ms. Meade:
My tapes are defective. My supplier says that tapes are just like that and she can’t do anything about it. Read More

Painless Backup is Not an Oxymoron

Published September 8, 2009 by Spectra Logic

Painless backup is not an oxymoron. Spectra Logic has been continuously inventing features and design that promote painless data protection. These innovations have accompanied the steady improvement in tape technology—drives and media—over the last decade, during which technological advances have improved tape reliability by more than 700%. “Advances in the coating of tape film, read-after-write data verification and powerful error correction codes provide confidence in the integrity of data stored on tape. These robust tape cartridges are coupled with drive technology that features simpler tape paths and servo tracking systems to promote error-free tape handling.”1 Read More