An updated Dell EqualLogic Compatibility Matrix was just posted in the last couple of days for all you storage admins. This document shows the array configurations that were tested in Dell’s lab and that work under normal conditions.

Dell EqualLogic Storage Compatibility Matrix Revision 2013.06.10 PDF

If you are using VMware vSphere 5.0, the software iSCSI initiator out of the box is compatible with array software versions 5.1.x, 5.2.x, and 6.0.x.

Colleges and universities are running out of closet space. In 2011, Gartner predicted that the volume of higher ed data would grow 800 percent over the next five years, making auditing, archiving, and recovery increasingly complex. Unfortunately, many IT departments, particularly those in the public sector, have flat lining budgets–and no money to build additional closets.
-via campustechnology

At work right now I am constantly fighting an up hill battle against storage limits and quotas.  It is a weekly occurrence, if not daily.  Many of our older systems are reaching their storage limits and need attention.  Most users don’t understand the strain they put on our systems and backups by saving their music library to their home directories.  It isn’t their fault, we haven’t educated them or made it easy to differentiate where to store what.  Also many of our servers either need the system drive expanded because of growth or we need to roll out new servers with adequate storage and migrate the data.

If we are really going to see 800 percent growth over the next 5 years, then we need to start planning now. It will be very expensive depending on how you handle the growth, so we need to come up with some creative ways to survive.  It is interesting when you look at the big picture of your data, the amount of devices that are affected by the growth… servers, databases, SANs, desktops, laptops, backups, etc.  How is your organization planning to handle this?  This is going to be a tough problem to solve, but those are my favorite kind.