Servers & Storage - Features

Server walkthrough: inside the Dell PowerEdge T410 tower server

A tower server for small businesses

A brief history of geeks

No so long ago, the computer geek was confined to the back rooms and basements of companies everywhere.

Comparison: Three NAS devices offer efficient backup for small offices

Network-attached storage (NAS), once only available (and affordable) for enterprises, is becoming more common for small business and even home use. And necessary - if you are looking for secure backups for your data, a single backup disk collecting d...

Western Digital drive creates dilemma for laptop buyers

It's pretty much a given that solid state drives (SSDs) are the future of PC storage, and that hard drives are on the way out. But if you're buying a laptop today, which option is best?

To tape or not to tape, that is the question

Mention Shakespeare and everyone spouts "To be or not to be." Mention backup, and the question becomes, "To tape or not to tape?" Is tape dead, or do tape-based backup systems still have a place in the modern small business?

Data centers go underground

As Hurricane Ike bore down on Houston one Friday last September, the Continental Airlines' flight operations center, located on the 14th floor of a glass-sided downtown high rise, suddenly went dark. For the airline's pilots and flight crews, however...

Unix turns 40: The past, present and future of the OS

Forty years ago this summer, a programmer sat down and knocked out in one month what would become one of the most important pieces of software ever created.

7 half-truths about virtualization

Virtualization is revolutionizing the data center, mostly for the better. But no technology is without potential pitfalls. Problems related to management, security, ROI and power use can all trip up a virtualization deployment that isn't planned prop...

A look at cloud computing's dark lining

Unless you've been living in a cave all summer like one of my friends (it's in Finland, he's an artistic genius) you've probably heard the buzz about cloud computing.

Windows 7 will scream with new SSD drives

With Intel introducing new faster and cheaper SSD drives coinciding with Windows 7's release to manufacturing, it might make sense to include one with your next computer purchase. After all, Windows 7 is the first Microsoft OS to include native enhan...

Best tech bargains of the week

Save 15 per cent off TVs at JB Hi-Fi, buy a cheap small business PC or catch a deal on a budget printer

Seagate, Western Digital go green with new 2TB drives

Capitalizing on the buzz around green IT, Seagate and Western Digital have released new "green" hard drives designed to use less power (in part by spinning more slowly than the latest generation of drives) and produce less heat (thus requiring less c...

McAfee updates managed cloud security service

McAfee's latest version of its managed security service includes new features that let companies scan their Web sites for vulnerabilities as well as check for compliance with payment-card industry standards for handling financial data.

A guide to online data syncing services

Remember the early days of PDAs? They revolutionized the concept of a planner by combining calendars, contacts and notes into a compact, easy-to-carry device that could be connected to and synced with your computer.

SimpleNet gives your portable storage the powers of NAS

There are a few common ways to go about adding network-attached storage to your home infrastructure. You can buy a pre-populated NAS device (or home server unit) and plug it into your existing networking setup. You can pick up some kind of enclosur...