How to manage the data crunch: IHEs of every size are finding solutions to their server and storage needs that require less manpower to maintain and that create fewer headaches

University Business, Feb, 2005 by John Burton

Given those challenges, it is a little surprising that someone might want to add e-mail handling to their list of chores, especially if they have no dedicated IT staff to begin with. But that's what the Yale Daily News did, bringing e-mail and web hosting in-house for reasons based on its mission: It is an independent student newspaper for Yale University (Conn.) students, and it is designed to let the students run the operation themselves. The paper uses the e-mail client that is included on Apple Computer's Xserve servers, and it is looking at adding another Xserve to handle the website, says Nathan Francis, a computer science major who also serves as the paper's photography editor.

On the development front, Apple Computer beefed up its support for heterogeneous storage environments this past fall with an updated Xserve RAID storage system. The system delivers 5.6 terabytes of storage capacity at a price the company puts at slightly more than $2 per GB. Xserve RAID has been certified by Cisco and SUSE Linux.

IBM and Cisco Systems, Inc., are also improving their storage management. The two companies recently announced improvements to their joint solution, the IBM TotalStorage SAN Volume Controller for the Cisco MDS 9000, that will help organizations manage storage systems that are spread among many different types of hardware and software. The first customer to deploy the system, Germany's University of Cologne, praised the system's features that allow it to be more independent of individual vendors--not an inconsequential consideration in large organizations, where different departments and different schools may have systems purchased at different times and from different vendors.

Resources

Apple Computer www.apple.com

BlueArc www.bluearc.com

Cisco Systems www.cisco.com

Dell Computer www.dell.com

Extreme Networks, Inc. www.extremenetworks.com

HP www.hp.com

IPR International www.iprintl.com

IBM www.ibm.com

Microsoft www.microsoft.com