Hitachi announces the arrival of 1TB drives.
Consider the implications to the enterprise raid manufacturers like EMC and Netapp of this announcement. Mirroring drives will provide redundancy and the price point will be extremely low. So NetApp and EMC will have to really ramp up the value of their features or get into other markets. Perhaps this is why they are pursuing every related market there is?
Has California Seceded from the United States and joined the European Union?
On December 29, 2006 the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) approved
As mandated by the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, as amended, and pursuant to section 25214.10 of the Health and Safety Code, one of these regulations adds section 66260.202 to title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, and became effective January 1, 2007. This new section restricts the use of certain heavy metals in “covered electronic devices” (as defined in Public Resources Code, section 42463 (f).
Pursuant to this new regulation, “no person shall sell or offer for sale in
The other regulation became effective on December 31, 2006, and adds portable DVD players with liquid crystal display (LCD) screens greater than four inches measured diagonally to the list of electronic devices that are presumed to be hazardous wastes when discarded (California Code of Regulations, title 22, chapter 11, appendix X, subsection (c)).
As a result of this listing, portable DVD players with liquid crystal display (LCD) screens greater than four inches measured diagonally are “covered electronic devices”, as defined in Public Resources Code, section 42463 (f), and are subject to all provisions of the Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003, as amended. Beginning on July 1, 2007, any retailer that sells or offers for sale in
As a result of this listing, portable DVD players with liquid crystal display (LCD) screens greater than four inches measured diagonally that are manufactured on or after July 1, 2007 will also become subject to the California RoHS regulation specified in section 66260.202 in title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
More information can be obtained by contacting DTSC, or through the following websites:
http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/index.cfm
http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/LawsRegsPolicies/Regs/DVD_Emergency.cfm
http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/LawsRegsPolicies/Regs/Heavy_Metals_Emergency.cfm
Reminder: DTSC To Hold Workshop On Notification And Annual Reporting Requirements For Handlers And Recyclers Of UWEDs And CRTs
The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) will hold a training workshop to cover DTSC’s new online reporting system designed to streamline submittal of notifications and annual reports required by persons engaged in the collection, handling and/or treatment of Universal Waste Electronic Devices or CRT Materials.
The workshop will cover existing notification and annual reporting requirements. A demonstration of DTSC’s new on line reporting system will be conducted. The new system will benefit handlers, collectors and recyclers by providing a means to electronically manage and report data required to comply with notification and annual reporting requirements.
The workshop will be held at the following time and place:
January 12, 2007
10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
CalEPA Headquarters
Coastal Hearing Room
1001 “I” Street, 2nd Floor
More information is available at:
http://www.dtsc.ca.gov/HazardousWaste/EWaste/upload/E_Waste_Training.pdf
Reminder: CEW Payment System Final Regulations in Effect Now
Please note that final regulations governing the CEW payment system were approved by OAL on November 27, 2006, and have been in effect since that time. The California Integrated Waste Management Board encourages all participants in the CEW payment system to familiarize themselves with all provisions.
The CEW payment system regulations and enabling statutes can be found at:
Security, Storage, and Delaware’s Senator Carper
Earlier this year Senator Carper was the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. Perhaps he now will become the committee chairman. Senator Carper has been focusing on Data Security, and in a world where Google is cataloging everything this is something we should all be concerned about. In the book 1984 Orwell‘s Big Brother was the totalitarian Government. It is strange to see that in today’s reality it is Silicon Valley companies that are becoming Big Brother .
Data Security and in particular disk drive security is something the engineers at Zerowait know a lot about. In the coming year we look forward to seeing what develops in this arena. Will it be government or private enterprise that protects your privacy in the future?
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. – Gandhi
1) It was only a few years ago that people were telling us that it was impossible to develop a third party full service NetApp support organization.
2) As we picked up our first customers the NetApp sales folks would tell our new customers that there was no way that we could provide long term service and support contracts and 24/7/365 .
3) When we picked up customers like HP, CSC, IBM, RBS and many other strategic accounts NetApp started to notice us and their salesman would try to meet or beat our pricing, service and support levels.
4) We doubled our sales in 2006 and now we have a service depot in Manchester, England and we are looking to open one in Asia in 2007.
Have a great holiday!
Your friends at Zerowait.
More Bad news for Morgan Stanley
The National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) has accused investment house Morgan Stanley of lying that millions of emails it possessed were lost in the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
The more things change the more they stay the same
Recently while at the SNW show in Orlando, I heard that NetApp was switching its shelf supplier from Xyratex to Dot Hill. When NetApp shifted its purchasing from Eurologic to Xyratex it was the root cause of Eurologic going out of business. Currently, NetApp represents about 50% of Xyratex’s business. That is a big chunk of business to lose.
Sticking with your strategic suppliers and building long term relationships is something that most companies profess to admire. NetApp says it wants its customers for the long term. Why would a company that professes its strategic relationships to its customers act tactically with its own suppliers? Can a company so focused on its own short term profits provide long term value to its customers?
Silicon Valley where Politics and Venture Capital Mix
It is always interesting to see who is contributing to Congressional representatives and see if it influences their votes. Silicon Valley’s representive seems to be a favorite of the Venture Capital firms. Interesting? You decide.
Top Contributors
1 National Assn of Realtors $10,000
2 Laborers Union $8,500
3 Air Line Pilots Assn $7,500
3 Intl Brotherhood of Electrical Workers $7,500
3 National Venture Capital Assn $7,500
6 International Assn of Fire Fighters $7,000
7 Acorn Campus $6,200
8 Assn of Trial Lawyers of America $6,000
8 Ironworkers Union $6,000
8 Operating Engineers Union $6,000
8 Opnext Inc $6,000
8 Transportation Communications Union $6,000
13 Mele Assoc $5,848
14 Credit Union National Assn $5,500
15 McDonalds $5,100
16 American Federation of Teachers $5,000
16 Johnson & Johnson $5,000
16 National Air Traffic Controllers Assn $5,000
16 Service Employees International Union $5,000
16 Teamsters Union $5,000
16 United Auto Workers $5,000
How long do you want your data archive to be readable?
One of our friends just told us that NetApp will not allow their R100’s to run anything above Version 7.1 of Ontap. Is this true?
Can NetApp’s Nearstore line be considered a longterm solution ? Archiving should inherently be for a longer period than 3-5 years. Isn’t that what the regulators require in HIPAA & GLBA and SARBOX?
Zerowait will have the parts for these systems for many years to come so our customers can remain in compliance, but will NetApp, their software vendor, make their newer systems backwards compatible?
Smaller footprint storage is probably coming very soon…
If I was working for Xyratex I would look into how to build a RAID shelf to fit the category of drives Fujitsu is releasing. It could save space and power in data centers, which would make a lot of folks very happy.
PMR, or perpendicular magnetic recording technology, is essential to Fujitsu achieving the increased capacity per platter. PMR technology places the data bits standing on end so that more data can fit onto a disc, allowing for greater storage capacity while reducing corruption factor.
And for your enjoyment today some quotes:
and
Larry King on the Internet: “I’ve never done it, never gone searching…. The wife loves it. I wouldn’t love it. What do you punch little buttons and things?” (Nov. 14)
Interesting Times
Monday, 11 December 2006
BlueArc Defends IP, Wins NetApp Lawsuit
BlueArc, a provider of network storage, has said that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has affirmed the lower court’s decision to dismiss the patent infringement lawsuit filed against the company by Network Appliance.
Does this mean that Direct NAS competition is looming for NetApp from another manufacturer? Add this to the HDS agreement posted today and BlueArc may be on an upward trend.
Hitachi Data Systems has signed an investment, OEM and reseller pact with high-end NAS developer BlueArc as part of a move to enter the high-performance computing market.
Also in today’s email was this from the Equipment Leasing Assoc.
AeA has sent along the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) proposed language for the emergency regulation to implement the California RoHS requirements. The Director of DTSC has approved this version, and it will be formally posted once Cal/EPA signs off. Since this is being issued as an emergency regulation, there is only a 10-day public comment period (instead of the usual 45 days).
***
§66260.202 Restrictions on the Use of Heavy Metals in Covered Electronic Devices.
(a) On or after January 1, 2007, no person shall sell or offer for sale in California, a covered electronic device if the device is prohibited from being sold or offered for sale in the European Union on or after its date of manufacture due to the concentration of one or more heavy metals in the device exceeding its maximum concentration value, as specified in the Commission Decision of August 18, 2005, amending Directive 2002/95/EC (European Union document 2005/618/EC), or as specified in a subsequent amendment to the Directive.
(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) applies only to a covered electronic device that is manufactured on or after January 1, 2007.
(c) The prohibition in subsection (a) does not apply to a covered electronic device that is sold or offered for sale in California only for purposes of resale or offering for resale to persons outside of California.
(d) In determining the concentrations of metals for compliance with subsection (a), the Department shall not consider any cadmium, chromium, lead, or mercury, or any component containing any of those metals, which has been exempted by Directive 2002/95/EC, or by an amendment to the Directive.
(e) The prohibition established by subsection (a) of this section does not apply to a covered electronic device that would be prohibited from sale or being offered for sale in California based solely on metals used to meet consumer, health or safety requirements.
NOTE: Authority cited: Sections 25214.10, 25214.10.2, and 58012, Health and Safety Code; Section 42475.2, Public Resources Code. Reference: Section 25214.10, Health and Safety Code; Section 42465.2, Public Resources Code.
Bill and Michael’s Excellent Adventure!
It looks like Microsoft and Dell are going after the boys of NetApp in Sunnyvale. Way back in time Dell and NetApp were friends. But the marriage ended in a messy divorce which left a lot of customers without an upgrade path.
Now it looks like MS and Dell are taking direct aim at Java Drive’s profit center of licensing.
The Dell PowerVault NX1950™ with Microsoft® Windows® Unified Data Storage Server 2003 goes beyond traditional network-attached storage solutions. The integrated hardware and software system offers the performance, advanced management features and flexibility of a mid-range unified storage device at an affordable price. It can also help customers reduce complexity and storage costs by eliminating separate licensing for additional features and protocols such as snapshots, replication and resource management I’m sure NetApp is saying ‘ouch’ to this.
I wonder what the usable to raw storage ratios on this product offering are. At the price points that is advertised it could be quite painful to NetApp.
Available now, the system is priced from about $17,000.* Configurations with 4.5 TB start at less than $24,000.* Integrated solutions with clustering and drive expansion, along with
MS and Dell have very deep pockets – If they are succesfull in gaining market share the new competition may very well make NetApp ease their licensing restrictions, and this will be great for storage consumers.
