Articles about Storage

USB flash drives are becoming less popular thanks to the cloud. If you need to access a file on the go, using a cloud-based storage service like Dropbox is extremely convenient. Unlike a flash drive, you don’t have to worry about losing it.

These diminutive drives definitely still have a place, though. For instance, I use them regularly for installing Linux distributions and Windows 10. Not to mention, they are wonderful when an internet connection is not available. Today, ADATA unveils two new models. Both use USB Type-A for connectivity, but one uses USB 3.1, while the other uses the slower USB 2.0.

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Nowadays, more and more consumers are embracing the cloud for data storage and backup. This is not a mistake -- it is smart to store your files off premises. With that said, it is even smarter to also store the data locally for redundancy purposes. For instance, with local storage, if your internet connection is down, you can still access your files. With the cloud, if there is a disaster -- such as a house fire -- your data can be retrieved even if your local storage drives are destroyed. In other words, using the cloud and local storage together gives you the best of both worlds.

Picking local storage can be tricky, however. For cost purposes, a mechanical hard disk drive is still your best bet for backup. If you have a desktop, you can probably buy an internal drive, but laptop users aren't often as lucky. If you own a notebook, you most likely need to opt for an external USB drive. With USB 3.0 being fast enough for connecting a mechanical hard drive, even desktop users should probably consider it for convenience. I have been testing a very intriguing new external USB-C HDD with my MacBook Pro (running High Sierra). What makes the drive so special? It features 20TB of storage!

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Synology has been slowly refreshing its NAS lineup in the past couple months, and now it is adding two more models to the range. The star of the show is the FlashStation FS1018, a high-end NAS that, as its name suggests, is designed with all-flash storage in mind. The DiskStation DS218, meanwhile, is the new two bay, mid-range NAS for consumers.

The FS1018 is an impressive piece of kit. It can house up to 12 SSDs (SATA), has 8GB of ECC (error-correcting code) RAM as standard, a dual-core, 64-bit Intel processor, a 10Gb wired connection and support for the Btrfs file system, just to name some of the highlights.

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Toshiba is one of the most trusted names in storage. Not only does it offer class-leading products, but it is constantly pushing boundaries. A few days ago, the company unveiled a 10TB NAS hard drive that focuses heavily on reliability. A few months ago, it announced a single-disk 1TB 2.5-inch HDD at a very slim 7mm.

Today, Toshiba does it again. The company shows off a beautiful new 3.5-inch hard disk drive (model MG07ACA) with a monstrous 14TB capacity. While not the first drive to offer that capacity, it is the first 14TB drive that uses conventional magnetic recording (CMR) as opposed to shingled magnetic recording (SMR). This technological breakthrough is an important accomplishment, and Toshiba deserves major kudos.

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Not all hard drives are created equally. When you are in the market for a storage drive, there are many things to consider. Most importantly is brand -- if you are storing important data, you want a product from a company with a good reputation. Next, you want to target the capacity that meets your needs and fits your budget. Obviously the more capacity the better, but there is no point in buying much more than you need. In other words, if you only need to store 1TB of data, an 8TB drive would be a foolish buy.

Another thing to consider when buying a hard drive is reliability. Some drives are rated for more use than others, with NAS drives often topping that rating. Why? These drives are quite literally designed for network attached storage where they could be in constant use -- including serving as a personal "cloud." Today, Toshiba unveils a beautiful new SATA 3.3 NAS drive with a massive 10TB capacity and impressive 256MB cache/buffer. Called "MN06ACA10T," it is designed for 24/7 usage and workload transfer-rated for 180TB per year.

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For computer enthusiasts, we are living in a very exciting time. Hardware is faster than ever, while prices for parts are quite reasonable. You can build a very capable PC without breaking the bank.

One of my favorite components is the solid state drive. Not only are they much faster than traditional mechanical hard disk drives, but they can reduce power usage too -- a big win for battery life on laptops and tablets. Today, Toshiba unveils its latest such drive and it looks amazing. The 2TB XG5-P is NVMe based, meaning it will be blazing fast.

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The new DS218+ is the most impressive NAS in Synology's two-bay range for home users. It's got powerful hardware and lots of features that you expect in the high-end segment, like a versatile operating system, a solid selection of ports, and support for 4K video streaming.

Those specs make it a very attractive option for power users and consumers who want a future-proofed NAS. Question is, does it have what it takes to also impress in real-life? I've tested the DS218+ to find out.

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Having an SD card reader on a laptop nowadays is nice, but hardly necessary. After all, thanks to the cloud, consumers can easily transport files via the internet. As many photographers and videographers will yell you, however, the cloud is not always a viable solution for them -- working with local storage cards can be a must. The problem, you see, is that many creative people use macOS and the latest MacBook Pro laptops do not have such a card reader. What is the owner of Apple's latest laptop to do?

Just buy an adapter, of course! There are many USB-C card readers on the market that will work on macOS, Windows, and Linux. If you work on multiple machines, however, and some of those computers do not have USB-C, you will unfortunately have to buy a second dongle, right? Actually, no. Thanks to products such as StartTech's latest offering (SDMSDRWU3AC), which is a card reader that supports both USB-C and USB-A, you can use one adapter across all of your computers.

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Synology is slowly but surely updating its DiskStation lineup, with three new models entering its two-bay and one-bay NAS ranges today: the multimedia-optimized DS218play, value-focused DS218j and performance-oriented DS118.

The DS218play, like the DS418play which Synology announced a month ago, is designed with high-resolution content in mind, being capable of 4K 30FPS video transcoding.

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More than nine in ten (93 percent) of companies worry about storing their data in the cloud, once GDPR kicks in, new research has claimed.

A report from cloud solutions provider Calligo polling 500 IT decision-makers in companies with more than 100 employees, found than 91 percent of respondents worry how the new rules will affect cloud services.

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Microsoft has officially launched the much awaited Windows 10 Fall Creators Update. The latest release brings lots of exciting new features and improvements that make the operating system much more powerful and refined. And, naturally, many of you will want to create a bootable USB drive to perform a clean install of Windows 10 Fall Creators Update.

Creating a bootable Windows 10 Fall Creators Update USB drive is very easy. All that you need is a USB drive, a Windows 10 Fall Creators Update ISO, a Windows device, and a couple of minutes to spare.

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The new DiskStation DS418j is among Synology's most attractive options for home users with higher storage needs. Part of the entry-level J Series, the four-bay NAS has solid hardware and all the right features that you expect in this segment, including a powerful operating system and lots of useful software add-ons.

It is also among the most-affordable NAS devices in the four-bay range, which makes it a prime choice for buyers on a budget. But, just how good is it in real life? I've tested the DS418j to find out.

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The story of tape goes back to the very first computers, the original mainframes from the 50s and 60s. These early computers made use of magnetic tape drives with a capacity of 1-2 MB and transferred data at less than 10 KB per second. Current LTO tape drives can store up to 6 TB (that’s approximately 1,500 movies or 1,200,000 songs) at speeds of 300 MB per second.

Amid a flurry of new trends, technologies and buzzwords in the storage industry, this article revisits tape and its current role. What is tape and how does it work? Where does it fit in to today’s digital universe? And most importantly, what is the magic formula that continues to put this storage medium at the forefront when it comes to preserving the largest volumes of the world’s most important data?

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The cloud may offer more convenience, but, if you want to store lots of content, you can't really beat a good old fashioned hard drive. The new 12TB options from Seagate, which are part of the BarraCuda Pro, IronWolf and IronWolf Pro lines, are a perfect example of this, packing a ton of space at a pretty reasonable cost.

The 12TB BarraCuda Pro is designed for desktop users, being touted as the "fastest, highest-capacity and most reliable hard drive" that consumers can get right now. The IronWolf and IronWolf Pro, on the other hand, are optimized for NAS use.

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The modern IT landscape means that information can be stored across a number of platforms and locations. It's perhaps not surprising then that only 47 percent of organizations know where their data is stored at all times according to a new study.

The survey by McAfee of 800 business decision makers looks at how enterprises are looking after their data in the light of legislation including GDPR.

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