Is storage archiving child's play?

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: MIKE KARP ON STORAGE IN THE ENTERPRISE
08/02/05
Today's focus: Is storage archiving child's play?

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* What to do about e-mail clutter
* Links related to Storage in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
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and risks of automated security services.
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SEVEN TIPS FOR MANAGING STORAGE

Considering adding to your storage arsenal or upgrading what you
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an RFP, and what you need to do before, during and after a
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Today's focus: Is storage archiving child's play?

By Mike Karp

My daughter Nina has always taken exception to the taunting
"neener-neener-neener" chant that little children level at one
another when they are feeling obstreperous, so I stopped doing
it to her two years ago. I certainly hope that her friends at
Johns Hopkins have stopped doing it as well. If not... well, I
am sure that somehow it will all turn out to be my fault.

Unfortunately, as my friend NC points out, the goading
"neener-neener-neener" annoyance pretty much sums up the kind of
automated messages we get from our systems when we overstep
quotas or commit some other equally unspeakable act of
inadvertent e-mail sabotage. When you think about just how
important a role e-mail plays in our typical workday, we can all
be forgiven if such distractions somehow seem to be
more-than-minor irritations.

Whatever the reason for these messages - quota violations are
certainly the ones that end users see most frequently, but
admins get a whole list of them. The fact is that end-users
probably should see none of them, after all, we use e-mail to
transact business or social correspondence, and not because we
want to administer e-mail. Thus, I submit that no user should
ever receive an e-mail message from an admin unless it is a
warning about a system problem. And quota violations are only a
problem because e-mail systems are designed so badly. Which
brings us to today's problem: electronic archiving.

Most e-mail clutter occurs because we treat e-mail systems like
they are files on our personal PCs. We store whatever comes to
us, attachments and all, and in most cases that is where things
rest - lots of files, spread higgledy-piggledy across some
unseen server, filling up our allotted e-mail quota. Once we put
our old mail in a physical filing cabinet, and likely didn't
clean out the files until we moved on to a new job; today,
e-mail either stays where we leave it or, some cases, moves to
an electronic archive.

There are lots of ways to move e-mails into that archive. Some
are manual, some are automatic. Automatic means less
management, which in turn means lower costs. Much of the time
things happen manually.

If archiving were done well it would also mean that you wouldn't
have to worry about those annoying mailbox "limit exceeded"
messages ("Dear user: YOU'VE BEEN BAD. Neener-Neener-Neener.")
But it is not, and we do.

Even in cases where e-mail is archived automatically, what
happens if a user wants to extract something from the archive?
Ask yourself three things, all of which directly impact either
IT productivity or the business productivity of your end users:
Do you archive automatically? When your users want to get
something back from the archive, is it easily done? Is it ...
wait for it ... transparent?

(Note that I've been kind enough not to ask about how you
archive and protect the archives of the 10,000 PST files
residing on desktop machines across your enterprise. Discuss
this among yourselves, however.)

Beyond the loss in user productivity and the cost of managing
and storing e-mails, corporations have a stake in finding
e-mails and their attachments quickly, too. Just ask any company
that's been involved in a lawsuit, or has a CIO that stays up at
night worrying about compliance issues.

Next time, a few solutions.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. Cisco vulnerability posted to Internet
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstoragealert4228>

2. Router flaw sparks battle
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/080105-blackhat.html>

3. Researcher at center of Cisco router-exploit controversy
speaks out <http://www.networkworld.com/nlstoragealert4230>

4. Black Hat event highlights RFID and VoIP security threats
<http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/080105-blackhat-side.html>

5. Cisco nixes conference session on hacking IOS router code
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlstorage4040nlstoragealert4231>
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Mike Karp

Mike Karp is senior analyst with Enterprise Management
Associates, focusing on storage, storage management and the
methodology that brings these issues into the marketplace. He
has spent more than 20 years in storage, systems management and
telecommunications. Mike can be reached via e-mail
<mailto:mkarp@enterprisemanagement.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Avocent
Network World Executive Guide: Security Evolves. Automation,
specialized 'ops centers' and more.

For network security professionals, keeping a safe distance
ahead of the worst the bad guys have to offer is a never-ending
race. This guide is designed to help with a collection of news,
analysis and product test reviews for practical how-to advice on
subjects ranging from patch management and spyware to promises
and risks of automated security services.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=109200
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the Storage newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/stor/index.html

Breaking storage news and analysis:
http://www.networkworld.com/topics/storage.html
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What you need to know about web-based collaboration

Enterprise messaging and collaboration expert, Paul Ritter
advises you on how to make the business case for web-based
collaboration. Gain insight on how firms have dramatically
improved the way they work together.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=109108
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FEATURED READER RESOURCE
SIX TIPS FOR GETTING WHAT YOU DESERVE

Before you go in for your next annual review or promotion
interview, you would be wise to consider these tips for ensuring
you've got the right stuff to move ahead. Network executives
offer advice to help you gun for that next promotion and fatten
up your paycheck. Click here:
<http://www.networkworld.com/you/2005/072505-salary-side2.html>
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