The World of Data Storage Bloggers
December 22nd, 2006
Deni OConnor of Network World published a list of top 10 storage network blogs. In his view these were the best of the storage industry vendor and Industry Analyst blogs. Thank you Deni and Network World for including me on this list but I think it is important to include the community of data storage bloggers as a whole.
To me the value of blogs is in harnessing the thoughts and opinions of a community of storage practitioners, observers, and experts so that we can better understand and anticipate the demands of this market, the relevance of different technology and solution approaches, what’s good, what’s bad, what doesn’t matter, and what should be. No one blog has all the answers, but the intersection and dialogue that is generated by this community will make us all smarter.
The blogs that I appreciate are the ones posted by individuals who have no vendor involvement. Who express their opinions honestly and openly, based on their first hand experiences and observations. I appreciate it when they take the time to comment on my post, to tell me where I am off base and when I am on, or just to exchange thoughts.
Many data storage bloggers are listed on a data storage wiki that was started by Jeremiah Owyang . This wiki groups the bloggers by the following categories:
Storage Practitioners, Storage Admins, and Consultants. These are the real hands on users, the ones that I really learn the most from. One blog that I follow closely is Ruptured Monkey which has a number of end user forums and contributors, like SNIG, Macken, Nigel Poulton. Others that I follow in this category are Anil Gupta , Chris Evens , Ben Rockwood and Martin Mckeay on storage security. It was valuable for me to follow snig’s posts on his experiences installing an HDS USP. I also learned a lot from SANGod, who posted his experiences upgrading an EMC Clariian to a DMX.
Storage Analysts, Authors and Experts, This is where you find the experts like Jon Toigo, Steve Duplessey, Tony Asaro, Chris Mellor, Robin Harris, and the Analysts blogs like Byte and Switch, ESG, Search Storage, Computer World and Network World. These are the ones who identify developing trends and provide timely analysis of the events that make up our world. Valuable information that we used to have to pay for is now freely available. One major analyst group is conspicuous by its absence.
Vendors. Here we have nearly all the major data storage vendors, including HDS, EMC, IBM, Microsoft, NetApp, HP, SUN, VMWare, Dell, Symantec. There are also smaller vendors like Bocada, and Joyent. Joyent is part of the new web 2.0 data storage companies. It is good to see a lot of the executive’s blogging, but I would encourage them to turn on their comments so that they can really be a part of the blogging community.
Value Added Resellers and Consultants is another interesting community. Mike Linett from ZeroWait, Marc Farley of Building Storage, and Dez Blanchfield of Cradle Technology, currently fall in this category.
The community of data storage bloggers is growing rapidly. Many of these individuals are so passionate about storage, they have multiple blogs and post multiple times a day. Who would have known that the world of data storage could generate such interest? I am sure there are a lot of other storage bloggers out there who aren’t listed in the Wiki. If you know of any, please add them to the storage blogger wiki or drop me a comment or link.
[…] There are so many others to thank, the voices of the people that want better products Hu, in his excellent post recognizes the many many others bloggers that matter, storage practitioners, vendors, analysts, and vars. Now this is what business blogging is about…embracing the community. […]
Thanks for the mention.
The Clariion to DMX migration is going to be a fun challenge, I enjoy doing anything for the first time, the added thrill of doing it on production data makes it that much more interesting.
But that data migration is only a small part of putting a datacenter together from scratch, especially when going through a situation where part of my job is also to educate upper management that the money they are spending is not “thrown down the pit” so to speak.
It’s so interesting when I read so many messages along the lines of “why should I need DR?” or “Why should I put the time and effort into doing snapshot backups and Disk–>Disk–>Tape backups?”
in June of 2005 I did a DR implementation for a federal agency who happened to have their primary datacenter just outside of New Orleans. When hurricane Katrina hit in August the agency was spared the disaster. Two days before Katrina came ashore they failed over to their backup datacenter in Pennsylvania. Two days after the devestation their production datacenter was still under two feet of water, they were able to run payroll without a hitch.
The real funny part is that everyone says that having a DR site site there idle is a waste of money.
It’s not - I’ve seen DR sites in use - for backup, testing, development. All money well spent, and hey, you have this extra copy of your production data sitting there anyway, right?
Just my two cents.
Hello Hu:
Thanks for mentioning my blog.
Good luck with Blue Arc, I am looking forward to seeing your combined products hit the marketplace.
Mike
Hu,
Thanks for mentioning my blog. Even though, the storage blogosphere is growing, it is still highly segregated community with little interaction within the community.
Looking forward to continue reading your views on storage industry in the coming year.
Happy holidays and new year.
Anil
Thanks for the mention Hu. Keep an eye on us. We just purchased a new USP1100 and a NSC55. Should be delivered in the next few weeks.
Hi Hu,
Thanks for the mention. Hope you had a great holiday season and looking forward to a good year for HDS and the rest of the storage world.
Nigel
PS. I was a little disappointed not to see my name on your previous post titled “Gurus”
Sorry for the oversight Nigel, you certainly are a guru. Thanks for your comments and advice.
Hi Hu,
Another blog should be how expert blogs will impact the trade press and media.