BLOG URL ASSIGNMENT - CH 2

Chapter 2 touched on various aspects of computer hardware. For my job, I deal with data storage on a daily basis and the many issues that come along with it. My specialty in IT is both with MS Exchange and more so with Disaster Recovery/Backup Administration. I support Cutters who are out to sea utilizing one server which we refer to as a "Multi Function Server" which supports both a File/Print/App server as well as an Exchange (email) server. The struggles I experience with hard drive space and storage is never ending.

One issue I deal with on a daily basis is on these MFX servers. The IT's on the boat, the users and my staff all share this measley RAID 5 which is only providing approximately 250GB of storage space. This at one time, (6 years ago) seemed sufficient with the cutters. Many of which never had modern servers and had some pretty out dated equipment. Over time, as we've improved the hardware and software provided, the mission has continued to have more requirements and expectations of the aging system. The 250GB is always maxed out and performing any type of house keeping of the data it houses seems to be a forgotten cause by the local support.

At one time, hard drive storage space was much more expensive than older media types such as DLT and LTO tapes. But, with time, the cost of hard drives continues to plummit. This is great news for all consumers and especially someone who needs to purchase TB's upon TB's of storage space. =)

I found this website below which outlines the evolution of hard drives both in cost and in size. It's hard to believe that around 66 years ago, 5MB of storage would have cost $55,000. I write documents for the Coast Guard that are over 5MB in size!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/127105/timeline_50_years_of_hard_drives.html

BLOG URL ASSIGNMENT

For my website example, I chose to select a vendor related website. Chapter 1 of the text elaborated on best practices as an IT professional when researching products on the internet. This is sort of an obvious concept but something I’m sure many of us fall victim of at times. There are various types of websites for research purposes. This example is a vendor website for Symantec Backup Exec 2010. This is a product that I use at work. Because this is a vendor website, it will certainly be biased and only note all of the great features the product has to offer. Symantec is in the business of making money and although I’m sure that they are not intentionally misleading customers with the benefits of their product, they are also not going to be quick to address any shortcomings either. I enjoy reading reviews of products whether it’s professionally or recreationally. Reading forums and reviews help me grasp a better understanding or provide direction for ideas I may need to research a little more heavily.


URL: http://www.symantec.com/backup-exec-for-windows-servers