The storage systems most of us buy are simply comprised of a bunch of disks with proprietary controller software on top. Such disk systems cost people the largest chunk of their storage spending, and a proprietary system locks them into their vendor?s roadmap and support structure.

Open-source storage is a potential solution to vendor lock-in. Unlike a fully commercial product, the controller software is open source and you are free to build your storage with commodity drives. This is likely to cost you far less than proprietary storage and offer some benefits of flexibility that you wouldn?t get by striking a pact with a fully commercial vendor.

In the Fall 2011 issue of IT in Europe, Manek Dubash explores how open-source storage could be the key to breaking the chains of vendor lock-in.

Also in the Fall 2011 issue of IT in Europe:

• Thin provisioning in depth

• Exchange 2010 and storage systems

• Backup for remote and mobile devices

• Tape makes a comeback (but was it ever gone?)

• Where is the cloud storage market headed?

• And more

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Sponsored by: Dell Compellent, Acronis, HDS