Startup Starboard Storage Systems today came out of quiet mode with its first product: a storage array that discerns between structured and unstructured data in order to tailor I/O performance. It's also designed for use in virtualized server environments.

Consumer and small business product review site NextAdvisor.com this month launched a new category , with reviews and comparisons of the best cloudstorage services.

Why do some enterprise managers decide to brave their way into the new and unknown of cloud-based services? Sometimes it's simply because the old technology just isn't working out that well anymore.

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.

Cloud storage service Mozy on Wednesday announced public beta availability of Mozy Stash , a new feature that provides customers with a method of accessing files across multiple computers and mobile devices.

Micron Technology on Friday announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Virtensys Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of PCIe-sharing products. No financial details on the deal were released.

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter's approach.

Netgear is well known for its line-up of wireless routers, adapters, gateways and print servers, but the company has made serious inroads into the network attached storage (NAS) arena as well.

Either because server disks are full or because virtualization is a natural growth path, organizations large and small are moving toward shared storage. For large enterprises, high-capacity storage-area networks make sense, but what about small or mid-sized enterprises new to shared storage?

Start-up Nimble Storage came out of the development stage this week with its first product -- an array that combines solid state drives (SSD) with high-capacity, cost and performance serial ATA (SATA) hard drives, acts as primary and backup storage and replicates offsite for disaster recovery.

The more digital content that we create (music, photos, movies, etc.) and the more we want to share it with others, the more likely it is we'll need some place to store it. You might be looking at digital cameras or music players on your holiday list, but just as important is storage that helps you keep the content stored or created with those gadgets safe and sound. Here are some storage products and concepts we liked:

The scoop: FreeAgent DockStar, by Seagate, about $US100

Network-attached storage (NAS), once only available (and affordable) for enterprises, is becoming more common for small business and even home use. And necessary - if you are looking for secure backups for your data, a single backup disk collecting data once or twice a day is no longer enough.