eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.
Enterprise Storage
Disk Arrays Gaining in Popularity for Backup
Relatively inexpensive secondary disk storage is gaining a significant foothold in corporate data centers, according to a survey of more than 1,000 IT managers due to be released next month. Peripheral Concepts, which released preliminary results of the survey this week, said about 50 percent of the respondents with disk storage capacities of more than 500TB indicated that they already use disk-based devices for secondary storage. That includes saving snapshot copies of data and staging information for archiving. Another 25 percent plan to start doing so within two years, the consulting firm said. But only a small percentage of the data thats backed up on disks doesnt get moved to tape devices for archiving, said Farid Neema, president and CEO of Peripheral Concepts. “Tape remains by far the most popular medium and does not seem to want to go away,” he said.
Read the full story on:Computerworld
Personal Storage
Linux Users Gain Support for DiskOnChip Flash Memory
SnapGear announced that it has developed the first open source support for the M-Systems Millennium Plus DiskOnChip flash memory devices and INFTL (Inverse NAND Flash Translation Layer) flash management technology. The new Linux MTD (Memory Technology Device) subsystem driver support allows the use of M-Systems latest flash storage devices like standard hard disks in Linux. The DiskOnChip memory devices offer capacities from 8MB to 1GB.
Read the full story on: Linux Devices.com
Storage Business
Storage Smiles on Laser Diode Market
The market for laser diodes in 2002 presented a mixture of good and bad news, depending on the application. According to research from Strategies Unlimited, the overall market contracted by 16 percent in 2002 to $2.4 billion due to a steep drop in demand for telecommunications lasers. However, that figure masked impressive growth in the market for lasers for optical data storage. At the winter Lasers and Optoelectronics Marketplace Seminar in San Jose, Calif., Robert Steele, Strategies Unlimiteds director of optoelectronics, revealed that revenue from lasers for optical storage grew by 82 percent to $1.4 billion in 2002. Optical data storage applications accounted for 58 percent of the total laser diode market, driven by consumer acceptance of the DVD format. This growth meant that sales of lasers for optical storage surpassed those of telecom lasers, and are forecast to maintain the leading position in 2003. Total sales of lasers for optical storage applications (780nm for CD and 650nm for DVD) in 2002 were $1.42 billion, an increase in revenue of 82% on unit growth of 38%, compared with the 2001 figures.
Read the full story on:Compound Semiconductor Magazine
Western Digital Third-Quarter Net Income Rises
Western Digital last week reported fiscal third-quarter net income that almost tripled from a year ago as revenue rose 19 percent. The company said net income rose to $54.5 million, or 26 cents a share, from $19.2 million, or 10 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose to $705.8 million from $594.9 million. Analysts had forecast the company to post earnings per share, on average, of 21 cents a share, within a range of 20 cents to 22 cents, on revenue of $689.0 million, according to Reuters Research.
Read the full story on:Reuters