A new experimental threaded backend for IO is the highlight of the new release as it gets a 900% increase in IO throughput in testing. There's also new threaded migration support and improved USB support in the latest QEMU...

This tutorial shows how to combine four single storage servers (running Ubuntu 12.10) to one large storage server (distributed storage) with GlusterFS. 

Cloud storage may be on the move, but local network-attached storage (NAS) systems continue to be in hot demand, especially as they integrate cloud backup and mobile access.This slide show of the top 10 Linux-based NAS devices for small office users includes a range of $200 to $1,000 desktop boxes that support 2 to 4TB of built-in networked storage. All of these devices run on embedded Linux, and support attached Linux desktop PCs in addition to other platforms.

SSDs can improve database and file system performance, but there are a number of issues that need to be addressed to make the most of the pricey drives.