In general, whenever you move or remove a bottleneck, in this case the slow tape in the backup process, you invariably will shift or cause a bottleneck elsewhere, unless you have taken adequate precautions.

Talk about changing directions -- this isn't a 180-degree turn, it's a new definition of a U-turn.

It's great if you can't afford a dedicated system administrator and you don't need to do much customization. It's not going to be for everyone as it doesn't support all platforms and doesn't provide file-level changes.

It's good that HP feels it doesn't have to invent everything as it means they can get to market quickly with new products, ... But they should also be careful they don't end up with a Chinese menu of products to resell as that adds cost and overhead.

It's kind of six of one, a half dozen of the other. Storage vendors are always going to advertise that their products will take the load off the server. Server vendors are going to say they'll take the load off your storage -- frankly, I'd be disappointed in a server vendor like IBM that didn't try to leverage its servers.

It's like a big shredder. For every three (cubic) yards you put in, you get one back out.

Some organizations move tapes, whether internally or externally, in sealed metal containers with tamperproof locks. Others use Tupperware. Some protect them with a person at all times, and some just leave them in the lobby. In some ways it amazes me. Would you leave your wallet out in a lobby? Why leave tapes lying around?

Storage distance extension is a key data protection enabling technology in the storage architectures of medium- and large-scale organizations, while variations in SAN implementation call for flexibility in how these extensions are provided to network designers. Brocade is raising the bar for performance with FCIP and SAN Routing, while meeting the need to deliver flexible options to its customers.

Compounding the problem is that commodity prices are pretty ordinary at the moment, and this is not helping net returns

The question remains, can they buy their way into a crowded market? Are their capabilities and price unique enough to garner significant market share growth? And how will they execute on their roadmap?