Going Green on your IT Environment

For the past few years, Virtualization (and to an extent, Cloud Computing) practices have been implemented by organizations, both big and small, to build a more efficient data center. Deploying virtualization to your IT environment does have its advantages, one being energy efficiency. In this eWeek.com article “How to Implement Green Data Centers with IT Virtualization“, it mentions how virtualization is probably the first and most important step to developing an energy-efficient data center.

And how can we argue with that? Not only does it consolidate your storage and server resources (saving you money on operation and maintenance costs) but it also utilizes your existing resources proactively and efficiently.

For more information about how you can create a “Green Datacenter” watch our StoneFly webinar with the Green Data Center Alliance on our YouTube page at: http://youtu.be/UHYEpw01eYE

How to Plan for Network Virtualization

Implementing a new IT infrastructure is a serious undertaking for any organization, especially if the technology is as involved as virtualization.

Check out this interesting article from SearchDataCenter.com called “Preparing for Network Virtualization“. They point out useful tips on what Network Administrators and non-technical personnel can do to make the transition smoother, including:

1. Understanding your Organization Goals. Can your organization goals be achieve by Network Virtualization? If so, then Virtualization might be the best transition.
2. What are your IT Requirements? Implementing a new network is a huge undertaking, so it is important that the technical team understand what is needed for the virtualization adoption.
3. Knowing the Future or your Network. A Network Administrator’s work is never done. Implementing a new network is just the beginning, administrators must understand what are the requirements down the road and plan them accordingly.

Learn more about StoneFly’s patented Virtualization Technology on this video.

SMBs not Embracing Virtualization?

Virtualization is a definitely hot technology in the IT world, but surprisingly, is still not widely adopted among small and medium businesses (SMBs). CRN article “Many SMBs Struggling With Virtualization: Survey” says that SMBs that have already deployed virtualization onto their environments. Only 10% of those that have implemented the technology have not completed their virtualization plans and most have admitted that their are not paying enough attention to their backup and security environments.

It might be because virtualization is a fairly new practice within SMBs, but it is undeniable the advantages of virtualization as opposed to traditional IT practices.

If you’re an SMB and want to learn more about best practices, check out this video. Also check out StoneFly’s patented virtualization technology on their virtualization page.

Server Virtualization: Game Changer for Mid-market Businesses

Last week I came across this interesting whitepaper on CIO.com about the rapid growth of server virtualization practices within mid-market businesses. Just over the past few years, the jump to server virtualization among midsized enterprises have increased dramatically and is expected to grow up until 2012. Here are some key findings:

• 30% of midsized companies (worldwide) started server virtualization before 2009, but that number doubled by the end of 2009
• 75% of companies expect to implement server virtualization by 2012
• From 2009 to 2012, the use of server virtualization jumped nearly 46% (from 29.1% to 75.1%)
• Transition to server virtualization compelled to upgrade and deploy storage area network (SAN) appliances
• Within the next 2 years, implementing disaster recovery to virtualization efforts becomes a big priority

Want to learn more about server virtualization? Here are some helpful links.

• What is server virtualization?
• See how StoneFly applies the principles of virtualization on all of our products
• Get the full experience of server virtualization by upgrading your storage to an IP SAN

Virtualization and Cloud Computing – Who’s winning the battle?

It all started in the data centers and then quickly spread to consumer-based services as a means to easily store your data. From running business-critical applications to safeguarding your complete collection of Beatles songs, we see  the “cloud” coming over the horizon, revolutionizing the way we house our information. But with all this talk about the cloud, don’t forget that virtualization is still a widely adopted solution in the data center arena and has been over the past few years.

According to the 2011 Virtualization and Evolution to the Cloud Survey, 75% of large enterprises that participated in the survey are considering both server virtualization and hybrid cloud computing platforms. Interestingly enough due to virtualization’s maturity in the IT space, enterprises that have implemented virtualization have been vastly satisfied with their infrastructure – only a 4% gap between the expectations and achievements.

Learn more about Virtualization and Cloud Computing technology on the links below:

• Understand the difference between the two technologies – Cloud Computing vs. Virtualization

• Check out our patented virtualization technology on our StoneFly Virtualization Technology page

• Learn more about our Cloud and Virtualization appliances on our products page

StoneFly: 15 Storage Virtualization Vendors To Watch

Last month, CRN Magazine dubbed StoneFly one of the top 100 vendors in the virtualization space with their Virtualization 100 list. Now we are honored that CRN has chosen StoneFly (yet again!) as one of the “15 Storage Virtualization Vendors to Watch” .

This list highlights the top 15 emerging storage vendors in the virtualization industry. With our core engineering values rooted in the best virtualization technology, StoneFly is glad to be a part of such a great list.

StoneFly Makes CRN Magazine’s Virtualization 100 List

StoneFly is proud to announce that CRN Magazine has chosen us to be on their Virtualization 100 list. Featuring the top 100 vendors in the virtualization space, this list 100 is specifically hand-picked by the editorial staff of CRN. The list serves as the de facto resource by which VARs can begin to evaluate the best virtualization products for their business.

We are honored to be a part of this list as we continue to push the boundaries of virtualization in the IT space. To learn more about the CRN Virtualization 100, read our latest press release.

StoneFlex USS is a Finalist for “Storage Virtualisation Product of the Year”!

StoneFly’s StoneFlex USS is a finalist for UK’s Storage Magazine annual Storage Awards. We are excited and honored that the product has been nominated for the “Storage Virtualisation Product of the Year” category.

Released in late 2010, the StoneFlex USS (which stands for: Unified Server and Storage) was engineered to fully consolidate your datacenter in one fault-tolerant appliance. With the ability to drive several virtualized operating system in one storage system, this dynamic solution can meet more demanding applications, while allowing for complete hardware utilization and reducing overall operating costs.

To learn more about the Storage Awards and how to vote for us, visit http://www.storage-awards.com/.

StoneFly provides Business Continuity and DR for Industrial Packaging Company

We all know the importance of implementing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plan, but what happens when you don’t have one? In our latest StoneFly case study,  we provide a sound BC and DR plan while exceeding RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) for a Utah-based professional industrial packaging company.

By implementing StoneFly’s high-performance Voyager-TSC IP SAN with SCVM (for asynchronous replication), the company was able virtualize their IT environment by 95%, reduced server space by 80%, and now has the option to  scale up their storage for the future.

To learn more about how our Voyager-TSC and SCVM achieved this on this case study.

Webinar – Simple and Comprehensive Disaster Recovery for Windows

StoneFly’s Weekly Webinar Series is Back! This week we will be focusing on an affordable, comprehensive, and easy to implement Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Plans centered around Windows Server Environments. Our new Virtual SAN Software, ESS for Windows, is an ideal solution to create a highly available and simple Disaster Recovery Site to your existing Windows Server with Hyper-V.

Tune in on Wednesday, January 12th at 10am Pacific as we present how you can

• Create a Dynamic DR Site with Async Replication, Thin Provisioning and more
• Save thousands on Operating and Capital Expenses
• Use the existing servers your own simply by adding ESS for Windows
• Centralize and Virtualize your datacenter in an all-in-one appliance (without buying another storage hardware!)

Register here for more information: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/693186922

 

–