The Holy Grail of Data Storage Management (Paperback)

by Jon William Toigo (Author)
Key Phrases: storage management solutions, computer network technology, strategic profile, Fibre Channel, Storage Technologies, Secondary Storage (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Based on extensive interviews with industry leaders, The Holy Grail of Data Storage Management provides a concise glimpse of the present state and future direction of enterprise databases. This authoritative and enthusiastically written text can benefit any IT professional working with databases at the department or enterprise level.

Best at displaying the current state of enterprise database implementation, including a diagnosis of the trend toward centrally managed data stores, this book focuses specifically on dedicated database networks (SANs) and Network Attached Storage (NAS) appliances. Additionally, this title is a veritable primer for virtually every database standard (old and new), including SCSI-2, Fibre Channel, new storage options, optical-magneto (including DVD) standards, and even tape backups.

A section on RAID offered here is truly an excellent introduction to the strengths (and limitations) of different RAID architectures. It also surveys new options for enterprise storage (both SANs and NAS's) and defines a management process for getting control of central data stores on the enterprise. The book is particularly good at pointing out the problem of sharing databases on heterogeneous environments that use both Unix and Windows NT. It closes with emerging vendor-specific standards for universal data storage (such as Sun's StoreX) that might solve the problem once and for all (though the author tends to see universal initiatives as a sort of holy grail).

Both a guide to the state of the art in enterprise databases and a roadmap for the future, The Holy Grail of Data Storage Management serves an invaluable need for any manager or administrator who works with enterprise databases. This book's intelligent presentation of old and new technologies, along with many valuable product listings, can be a useful asset as your organization brings its databases into the next century. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Enterprise storage management fundamentals and planning, risk management, locally and centrally managed models, history of hard disk technology, PRML, ATA/IDE, SCSI, Serial Storage Architecture (SSA), Fibre Channel, RAID, Storage Area Networks (SANs), Network Attached Storage (NAS), tape backup standards, optical technologies, Hierarchical Storage Management (HMS), Sun StoreX, Compaq ENSA, EMC Enterprise Storage Networks, and product surveys.

Product Description
Documents current trends in storage technology and shows IT executives exactly how to plan a comprehensive strategy for maximizing the availability, performance, and cost-effectiveness of enterprise storage. DLC: Database management.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR (August 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130130559
• ISBN-13: 978-0130130556
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,193,145 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Way to Expand Knowledge of Data Storage Industry, March 8, 2000

By	Chris Connor (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews

This book allows readers that interested in data storage to delve into the various areas of the industry. Not only does the book go into the history of data-storage, but it discusses data storage today and what will likely happen to the industry in the future. Not only would this book be a great help to Network Adminstrators and Storage Managers, but to investors who are serious about investing in data storage stocks.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars better at overview than technical, April 25, 2000

By	Roy R. Corey "gseven" (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This has good high level explanations of many data storage techniques and technologies, but lacks in the low level blood and guts. I was hoping to see a few more charts or formulas or tables. Then again, it does list where to find white papers that it refers to at the end of each chapter, which is a nice thing.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical guide for storage administrators, February 13, 2000

By	"xxxxxxxxxx" (US) - See all my reviews

Despite the attention-grabbing title, this guide offers detailed information about the current state of commercial storage, and where the research is headed. Toigo names vendors, products and technologies and discusses their suitability for various environments. There is a web site that acts as an online appendix to the book with news updates.