Home > Ask the Small-midsized Business Data Storage Experts > Greg Schulz on Storage Questions & Answers > What are some popular open-source storage tools and the pros and cons of using open-source storage?
Ask The SMB Storage Expert: Questions & Answers
EMAIL THIS

What are some popular open-source storage tools and the pros and cons of using open-source storage?

Greg Schulz EXPERT RESPONSE FROM: Greg Schulz

Pose a Question
Other SMB Storage Categories
Meet all SMB Storage Experts
Become an Expert for this site


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   


>
QUESTION POSED ON: 18 August 2009
What are some popular open-source storage tools and the pros and cons of using open-source storage?


Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us   



RELATED CONTENT
Greg Schulz on Storage
What are the pros and cons of using cloud backup for my SMB?
What type of server would have the capacity to service an SMB office of 50 people, and how would I back up that server?
What are some examples of SMB data storage products versus enterprise data storage products?
What's the difference between SMB data storage and enterprise data storage?
How often should I conduct a disaster recovery (DR) test for my SMB?
What are the pros and cons of disk-based data backup for SMBs?
How do I choose the right RAID level for my SMB?
What are the best virtualization tools for SMBs?
How do I know if tape storage is right for my SMB?
Tape library storage

Small-midsized Business Data Storage Strategy
Multiprotocol arrays for better SMB storage management
New data protection schemes impact RAID rebuild times
What type of server would have the capacity to service an SMB office of 50 people, and how would I back up that server?
SMB data storage briefs: Thecus Tech Corp. launches new NAS server, the N8800PRO
Data migration tools take SMBs to the next tier: Data migration and tiered storage tutorial
Data migration strategies and best practices
Electronic discovery best practices for SMBs
SMB data storage news briefs: Vocalocity offers online storage and data backup services to SMBs
Five must-have data storage security tools for smaller businesses
What's the difference between SMB data storage and enterprise data storage?

RELATED RESOURCES
2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems
Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts
Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary


Many enterprise data storage tools are open-source based. These open-storage tools incorporate some open-source technologies as part of their base foundation, yet they may be a proprietary or commercial product. Likewise, there are many open-source-based storage tools such as MySQL for database or ZFS for file systems both from Sun Microsystems Inc. Also, there are various Linux volume managers, clustered file systems and a plethora of data backup and data protection tools.

One of the advantages of using open-source tools is that they can be affordable, given that many of the solutions are free or have a relatively low cost, yet that can also work against you. For example, if you have lots of time that you can trade for costs of a solution, open-source can be a way to go. On the other hand, if you have funding but little to no time nor desire to be in the systems/applications/tools integration support business, then open source can be a concern. While it's tempting to say you get what you pay for, with open-source storage tools and solutions, that's not a clear cut distinction and certainly one open for debate.




Search and Browse the Expert Answer Center
Search and browse more than 25,000 question and answer pairs from more than 250 TechTarget industry experts.
Browse our Expert Advice



SMB Storage Solutions - Data Deduplication, Storage Security, Multiprotocol Storage
About Us  |  Contact Us  |  For Advertisers  |  For Business Partners  |  Site Index  |  RSS
SEARCH 
TechTarget provides technology professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective purchase decisions and managing their organizations' technology projects - with its network of technology-specific websites, events and online magazines.

TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Site Map




All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2008 - 2009, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy
  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts