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ScienceAlert Deal: Here's How to Get 1TB of Cheap, Secure Cloud Storage - ScienceAlert

There was plenty of discussion at Dell EMC World 2017 about the vendor's cloud storage strategy. Dell EMC President David Goulden urged attendees to envision all their storage as a cloud, regardless of whether it resides in an on-premises array or is shipped off site.

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"The first part of our strategy is to support a multicloud world to enable your companies to make the digital transformation. The second part of our strategy concerns the infrastructure the cloud runs on," Goulden said.

But Dell EMC did not provide much clarity on how users should distinguish between its overlapping -- and sometimes redundant -- cloud platforms.

"We are product-oriented today, and that's a weakness," said Sam Grocott, Dell EMC's senior vice president of marketing for storage and data protection. "We have so many ways to tier data [to the cloud] simply, but it can be confusing. We are making it a priority to work on that across storage and data protection."

One way for Dell EMC to remove confusion around its cloud strategy would be to make it more specific.

"I would say Dell EMC's cloud storage strategy is a bit foggy. They have some work to do in the area of marketing and communications. They should cut through the buzzword bingo and help customers see opportunity," said Greg Schulz, a senior advisory analyst and founder at consulting firm StorageIO in Stillwater, Minn.

The first part of our strategy is to support a multicloud world to enable your companies to make the digital transformation. David Gouldenpresident, Dell EMC

Even people who have embraced the Dell EMC cloud may find the term a distracting buzzword. Ted Newman, head of cloud services for U.K.-based Royal Bank of Scotland, said RBS built an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) and platform-as-a-service framework on top of Dell EMC Vblock storage. But despite his title and job function at RBS, Newman said he prefers the term "IT as a service" to cloud.

"I've been over the term 'cloud' for about five years now," Newman said. "What we wanted to do was take infrastructure out of the equation."

He said RBS uses the term "enterprise cloud platform," which he called "the IT equivalent of 'Bob.' It's a very generic name."

Here is our attempt to shed some light on the Dell EMC clouds.

Virtustream is Dell EMC's public cloud. The Virtustream public cloud is designed for mission-critical applications, such as SAP. EMC acquired Virtustream in 2015 to serve enterprises running a high concentration of applications that don't move easily to the cloud. The Virtustream software typically isn't sold directly to users. It resides in a cloud hosting portal for direct consumption by its end users.

The Virtustream suite also includes the Virtustream Storage Cloud for hyperscale object storage, the Virtustream Federal Cloud for public-sector organizations and the Virtustream Healthcare Cloud electronic medical records archive.

In addition to the Virtustream Storage Cloud, Dell EMC's object storage includes the Elastic Cloud Storage (ECS) platform. Dell EMC World featured a preview of ECS.Next software, focusing on advanced analytics, data protection and security. Dell EMC also introduced the ECS Dedicated Cloud Service, which allows customer data to reside as a single tenant in a Virtustream-managed data center.

Enterprise Hybrid Cloud (EHC) is Dell EMC's turnkey IaaS platform built with VMware software and Dell EMC servers and storage. EHC runs on Dell EMC converged and hyper-converged infrastructure. It is designed to extend local, general-purpose workloads to the cloud, including major public and regional cloud service providers.

Complementing it is the Dell EMC Native Hybrid Cloud for developing and launching cloud-native applications. Both EHC and the Native Hybrid Cloud are built on VxRail hyper-converged boxes packaged with Pivotal Cloud Foundry.

Dell EMC's Goulden said the cloud storage strategy includes plans for a Virtustream edition of EHC to encompass mission-critical workloads that run in the data center. "Today, those applications require dedicated on-premises hardware in a virtualized environment," he said. "They are not running in the cloud at all."

Also new is Dell EMC Cloud for Microsoft Azure Stack. Windows shops can get the software development kit as part of an on-premises hybrid cloud storage strategy, based on Microsoft Azure. The integrated system, due out later this year, incorporates Dell EMC PowerEdge servers and networking and Pivotal software.

Rounding out its cloud storage strategy, Dell EMC introduced Cloud Flex pricing for VxRail and XC Series appliances, which involves a 12-month commitment, but no upfront cash.

At Dell EMC World, vendor hypes digital transformation wave

Cloud storage shares stage with flash, HCI at Dell EMC World

Dell EMC Enterprise Hybrid Cloud gives a ride to VxRail

Read the original here:
Dell EMC cloud storage strategy needs to cut through fog - TechTarget

A data storage centre. I assume that because my data is synced that it is safe. Is this the case or should I be backing it up as well? Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

I use Google Drive and Dropbox to store all my data, and I assume that because my data is synced that it is safe. Is this the case or should I be backing it up as well? Andrew

Its very handy to have files synchronised with online services such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, Apple iCloud, Flickr or whatever. You should be able to retrieve most or all of your photos if your smartphone or laptop breaks or is lost or stolen. However, you can never assume that your data is safe, whether youre asking about cloud services, network servers, PCs, smartphones, USB hard drives, thumb drives, SD cards, or CD-Rom, DVD or Blu-ray discs. I might make an exception for stone tablets, but they are not practicable for storing photos and videos.

You may have come across Schofields Second Law of Computing, which states that data doesnt really exist unless you have at least two copies of it. Today, Id add a corollary: backups dont really exist unless you have at least three on different media in different places, and deleting one must not affect any of the others.

But you must understand how the synchronisation works. If you delete a file on your local device, does that delete the same file in the cloud? (Which folders are synchronised and which ones arent?) Further, are the files on your device really files or are they placeholders merely links to a file that is actually somewhere else?

A few years ago, Ovi Demetrian provoked a lot of discussion when he posted a website, Google Drive Sucks: I lost years of work and personal memories that I saved as Google Docs files because of a poor user interface, he wrote. Hed moved his files out of the Google Drive folder on his PC, not realising that they were only links. When Google told him he was running out of Google Drive space, he went online and emptied the trash folder which promptly deleted his files.

The reverse used to happen a lot. Someone would install Google Drive on a PC, drop some files in its folder, see them upload, then delete the files. If they went online, of course, the files werent there. (Uploading files manually via web interfaces works as youd expect.)

Theres an even scarier story on Reddit: How we lost over 6,000 by not understanding Google Drive. This is about the way file ownership works in the Google Apps suite. Briefly, you have a file, but you cant access it because the account that created has been closed.

People also get caught out by local file synchronisation. For example, I set up an external hard drive (EHD) that syncs with the data on my PCs hard drive. Great: all my new files are backed up. But if I accidentally delete a file or folder on my PC, the sync program will delete it on the EHD as well.

That is one reason why I have a second EHD to back up my backup. I do that manually using FreeFileSync so I can scroll through the list of files to be copied and deleted, looking for the unexpected.

Another reason is the threat of ransomware, which encrypts files on PCs and holds them hostage. Smart ransomware also encrypts any files it finds on EHDs and in cloud drives.

Not all files are equal. Some are irreplaceable, such as family photos, and some would be hard to replace, such as your half-finished PhD thesis/blockbuster novel or a decades accounting data. Many other files are easy to replace, probably without charge. You may be able to re-download music files, for example, or just reinstall an operating system or application.

You can enhance your backup strategy by keeping vital files together in one folder that you can back up without having to back up your whole PC. Windows tries to help by creating special folders for documents, downloads, music, pictures and videos. (This also helps protect them from other users.) However, you can create your own separate hierarchy with the subfolders you need photos, work, taxes, medical records etc. The idea is to assemble a relatively small set of important files that you can back up quickly while avoiding the rubbish.

Ideally, your vital data should fit on a convenient storage format. If you only have 700MB, it will fit on a CD-Rom. If you have 4.7GB, it will fit on a DVD. You can get 50GB (single-layer) or 100GB (dual-layer) on a Blu-ray disc. Facebook uses vast numbers of Blu-ray discs for backups.

EHDs can hold 8TB nowadays, though smaller EHDs are more affordable. For example, you can buy a 3TB drive for around 100. That should have room for both a conventional, incremental backup and an unencrypted, uncompressed copy of your folder of important files.

I still like optical discs because they are cheap, and you can easily make multiple copies. That makes it easy to keep backups off site in a garden shed, an office drawer, or at a trusted friends house. Also, optical discs are invulnerable to ransomware.

There are a few specialised cloud-based backup services such as Carbonite, SugarSync and Mozy, but they cost more than using your own EHD, and it can take a long time to do a complete backup. The Wirecutter reckons CrashPlan is the best, though BackBlaze is also worth a look.

General-purpose cloud drives such as Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox are best for sharing small-ish files between devices or with a few friends, but not ideal for backup purposes. You may be able to use one or preferably two to store copies of your vital files, but if you have more than about 2GB, you may have to pay. Google Drive costs $19.99 a year for 100GB or $99.99 for 1TB. Dropbox costs 79 a year for 1TB. Microsoft Office 365 Personal provides 1TB of OneDrive storage for 59.99 a year, but the best deal is Office 365 Home with Premium OneDrive. For 79.99 a year, five users get 1TB each, as well as full Microsoft Office software on their PCs and Macs, and apps on their smartphones and tablets.

However, note that there are other hazards with cloud storage, such as being locked out of your mailbox and/or cloud drive by the supplier or by a passing hacker. And, obviously, you cant access online files when you dont have an internet connection.

At this stage, I wouldnt rely on a single cloud service for backup purposes, and Id be wary of relying on two. But I strongly recommend them as part of a backup strategy that includes other media in other places. For safetys sake, make NAS servers, EHDs, optical discs etc take your pick part of the mix.

Have you got a question? Email it to Ask.Jack@theguardian.com

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Is my data safe in online drives, or should I back it up as well? - The Guardian

By Cliff Beek, President, Cloud Constellation Corporation

In todays nanosecond environment, getting important data from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible can be the difference between success and failure for business as well as for government. Transmitting this data requires a series of communications hubs that are working at optimal levels. This may mean several seconds of latency, a definite competitive disadvantage. However, new advances in technology give VARs and Cloud Service Providers an opportunity to show their customers a more efficient way.

Standard communications architecture slows the flow of information with its multiple hops and interchanges through terrestrial networks. Simultaneously, this method exposes the data to monitoring and manipulation along the way. Even the most efficient cloud network requires third-party data centers to replicate globally to provision worldwide offices effectively.

This is the current state of affairs. But imagine data could be securely transmitted from a single corporate network hub to any location worldwide in less than a second. The solution to this problem will be found through new space-based data center technology, creating a telecom backbone around the globe. Such a network will allow data to flow freely around the world without restriction and without fear of interception, enabling CIOs to virtually provision any remote office in less than one third of a second, regardless of proximity, without any latency, jurisdictional or cybersecurity issues.

An independent space-based network infrastructure for cloud service providers and their enterprise and government customers is now possible. This new paradigm would allow customers to experience secure storage and provisioning of sensitive data around the world. By placing data on satellites accessible from everywhere via ultra-secure dedicated terminals, many of todays data transport challenges will be solved. Space-based storage offers a convenient solution to the issues of both security and jurisdiction while offering unprecedented transit speed.

This is not a completely new idea, but rather a re-envisioning of current practices. Organizations and government entities already enjoy the communications benefits of the satellites ringing the earth. Using the technologies that would enable space-based cloud storage, they can enjoy even faster and more secure communications and offer services that would not otherwise be possible.

Delivery of drone audio and video becomes much faster with space-based network infrastructure. At present, there is a latency of more than two seconds in the delivery of real-time drone video. Like driving a car with a two-second blinder, maneuverability and agility are constrained. Using a sky-based telecom system, latency will be reduced to less than one second.

This is great news not just for drone data the space-based network would expedite 4K HDTV between two live audiences as well. Currently, studios employ parlor tricks to mimic live two-audience interaction, and video error correction must be applied at each server stop in both directions to meet the studios demanding 4K HDTV specifications. Using a space-based system, latency would be reduced to about one second and require just one video error correction at the end. Studios would be enabled for true live audience interaction a major market differentiator.

In addition, video streaming services would be able to bypass congested, expensive networks, and expedited live video delivery would become a reality. Another beneficial development is that Cloud Service Providers will be able to sell services without adding more capital or operational expenditures for competitive expansion, including:

E.T.: The Extraterrestrial Solution

Todays data communications strategies would have seemed miraculous just a few years ago, yet ongoing technology trends create demand that makes those strategies inadequate now. Latency and security risks abound. However, using a space-based approach removes the middleman, as it were, enabling enterprises and governments to have the speed and privacy they need to succeed. Its an extraterrestrial offering VARs and CSPs can add to their solutions mix, creating differentiation and cost savings.

Cliff Beek is the president of Cloud Constellation Corporation. He has extensive experience with the management and financing of equity-backed ventures within areas of satellite, mobile broadband, mobile app development, and cloud infrastructure entities. Beek founded Star Asia Technologies and Laser Light Communications and served as the EVP at CoCo Communications. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Cliff can be reached online at @Cliff_Edges.

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Decreased Risk And Latency With Cloud Storage In Space - Business Solutions Magazine