Archive for October, 2007

http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1279395,00.html

The majority of attendees at the Data Center Decisions conference in Chicago last week reported that they are either deploying virtual machines or are interested in learning more about the process.

The first step in migrating from physical machines to virtual servers is developing a solid plan, said Chris Wolf, senior analyst at Midvale, Utah-based research firm Burton Group. Wolf hosted the conference session “Processes for choosing virtualization candidates in large-scale deployments.”

“People who have done virtualization will tell you: Planning is 90% of the process. The other 10% is the actual migration, which is easy,” Wolf said.

Absolutely, it’s not just technical, it’s organizational, issues in terms of ownership and billing, SLA’s all the usual bits that you’d have with deploying a new technology, but with the added element of the who buys the ESX infrastructure - keeping in mind that these kind of things not being in place can easily be a show stopper to the ’success’ or ‘perceived success’ of your project. “It’s fine, but I can buy a DL380 for the same cost as a virtual machine…”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/28/AR2007102800057.html

TOKYO (Reuters) - Internet and telecoms giant Softbank Corp (9984.T) will spend about 40 billion yen ($350 million) to start operations next year at a new data centre in southwestern Japan, the Nikkei business daily said on Sunday.

Electronics conglomerates Fujitsu Ltd (6702.T) and Hitachi Ltd (6501.T) are also investing in data centers to tap growing demand for outsourcing by Japanese corporations of management and maintenance of their information systems, the newspaper said.

Check out this article, it’s talking about this telecoms company which is investing in a new data center. It highlights how expensive a data center as an asset can be, but it can with the right investment and configuration be an equally effective asset in delivering a dynamic IT infrastructure for your business.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQM08329102007-1.htm

PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — VMware, Inc., the virtualization software leader, today announced that the United States Marine Corps (USMC) is deploying VMware products and services across its data centers and mobile combat units worldwide.

VMware software products and services enable the USMC to increase the availability, security, continuity, and sustainability of its enterprise while decreasing event recovery time. This deployment lays the foundation for a long-term virtualization strategy designed to expertly serve users whose lives depend on continuous on-demand access to mission-critical applications and information.

Very cool, it seems the United States Marine Corps is deploying VMWare as an enabler to its projects including continuity, stability and availability, an interesting article, do check it out.

http://google-sina.com/2007/10/29/supercomputer-to-help-the-diagnosis-of-epilepsy-stroke-depression-and-other-brain-conditions/

The University of Oregon, Electrical Geodesics, Inc. (EGI), and IBM have announced a new project that uses grid computing, Linux and IBM supercomputer technology to speed and improve the diagnosis of Epilepsy, stroke, depression and other brain conditions. In 2003, researchers at the University of Oregon Neuroinformatics Center received a $1-million grant from the National Science Foundation to build advanced grid computing infrastructure to apply high-performance computing to diagnosing and treating brain-related conditions. The Integrated Cognitive Neuroscience, Informatics and Computation (ICONIC) grid facilitates more rapid diagnosis by harnessing the collective processing power of the school’s computing systems. In addition, the grid offers the ability to better respond to temporary spikes in demand for computing horsepower and helps researchers gain better access to and control over the large volume of data generated during diagnostic imaging work.

Very cool, this post talks about how the University of Oregon is working with IBM and EGI to develop a grid platform using Linux and IBM technology, it’s always good to see how the technology is being used and shows the technology being an enabler in this case research.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/prnewswire/AQM15529102007-1.htm

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Super Micro Computer, Inc. , a leader in application optimized high performance server solutions, today announced its first 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) solutions. The energy-efficient Supermicro AOC-UTG-i2 Universal I/O (UIO) and AOC-STG-i2 standard PCI-Express network adapters, based on the Intel(R) 82598 10 Gigabit Ethernet Controller, enable the mainstream server market with dual-port PCI-Express-based 10GbE connectivity for optimal I/O performance.

“These new Supermicro 10GbE adapters empower our existing customers to upgrade right away to dual-port 10 Gigabit Ethernet,” said Charles Liang, CEO and president of Supermicro. “The flexibility of our UIO architecture enables the AOC-UTG-i2 card for installation in 1U, 2U, 3U and 4U systems equipped with UIO motherboards, while the low-profile AOC-STG-i2 can be installed in any standard PCI-Express x8 slot. With outstanding performance and power efficiency, these products are ideal for a wide range of enterprise server environments like those running virtualization, demanding storage and high performance computing applications.”

These new 10GB dual port adapters do sound very cool might be worth checking out if you are looking for 10GB Ethernet cards for your project, there are a number of vendors supplying them and Supermicro launching new cards brings more opportunities in the 10GB arena which has to be a good thing. I wonder if there will be a blade card equivalent?