Bladewatch.com

http://www.napatech.com/news/2010.html#n102

ANDOVER, Massachusetts, Feb 3, 2010 – Napatech has been selected as one of the finalists in the Network Computing awards for 2010. Napatech’s NT20E 2 x 10 Gbps network adapter has been selected in the “New Product of the Year” category.

“We are honored to be selected as a finalist for this award. It gives great satisfaction to see that the hard work we have invested in making the NT20E the best 10 Gbps network adapter for intelligent real-time network analysis has been recognized”, said Henrik Brill Jensen, CEO of Napatech.

Network Computing is a leading computer networking publication where, once a year readers vote for the products and services that have most impressed them. The award categories have been defined to reflect the hardware, software and managed services that can assist enterprises in operating more efficiently and securely.

Congratulations to Napatch for being selected as a finalist in the Network Computing awards, anything the vendors can do to continue the platform innovation and meet business users needs both in efficiency and performance has to be a good thing, I’m off to check it out.

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Following on from its award winning Mini NB200, Toshiba have raised the bar again with the launch of its new Mini NB300 and 305 Netbooks. Packed with features and boasting an 11-hour battery life, these compact PCs look set to scoop Toshiba a host of new awards – and new fans.

Netbooks have struggled to make an impact in the computing market, with allegations of limited capability and low battery lifespans. But Toshiba have taken these comments on board and made sure that their new Mini NB300 and 305 Netbooks tick all the right boxes for discerning business users. “The Toshiba principle of packing as much as possible into as small a space as they can certainly seems to have paid off this time,” says Rob Woolley, Laptop Specialist of computer experts IT247. “The real bonus is that 11 hour battery life, meaning that you can do a full day’s work without having to be tethered to a power point – perfect for business users on the go,” he adds.

I got an email about Toshiba launches their new mini Netbooks, I confess it’s something I have been thinking about recently whether to get one or to get an iPad, we’ll have to see the, last one I tried was not very fast and had an 8GB solid state disk, but then that was quite some time ago. I’m off to read up more.

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I was having a chat with one of my CIO friends and he mentioned a phrase to me ‘wire once’ during a conversation about patching and networking and I asked him to explain what he meant, its a phrase that I hadn’t heard before, the conversation is summarized below:

We need to move away from the concepts where a change to the server network, the storage or the configuration results in eight different teams and resources in order to complete a given transaction, a move to Wire Once technology. I should plug in one cable for my network and storage, that move to service provisioning down that wire, a change it network speed or network lan is a configuration change, a change in storage again is a configuration change – we move away from a guy walking around the data center moving from one patch row to another, where we do fewer physical changes.  That’s where the wire once comes in, we deploy the cabling once from the patch frame to the port, from the port to the switch and to the server, changes in network connectivity, in storage should all be independent of the cabling, just achieving this will save me significant planning, resourcing and revenue, that’s not to say I don’t need the same people, it’s just that they will be free to do more valuable work, less fire fighting, more investment, more delivery, achieving more with less.

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So we launched in the last few days our nice new look and I have to say that I am very pleased with it. The content continues, it’s January so there has been a mixture of things going on, IT spending is set to increase (I keep reading), I can see more jobs being advertised and more activity which is good news, one the news front it’s been quiet. Of course there have been announcements, but there’s a fine line between publishing something for the sake of doing so and putting up valuable content.

A number of things are going to be happening over the next few months, we’re going to have a few articles published by Finlay, we might be attending a few conferences and we will announce them soon. One of the things we are playing with is trying podcasting again and we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, if there is anything I’ve missed, if there is anything you think we should be covering do get in touch.

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http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/servers/355162/hp-proliant-ml330-g6

HP’s latest ProLiant tower server may look like an entry-level model but it has a number of crafty tricks up its sleeve that can transform it from simple general purpose system into a real beast.

Check out this review of the HP Proliant ML330 G6, it’s an interesting read and its always good to see what people think of the servers. The more accessible we can make the server both in terms of functionality and price, the more we can on board new users, new businesses, creating , more revenue and opportunities for vendors and the end user community alike.

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My wife just saw the demonstration and thought its fantastic, when are we getting one she asked, why did she like it? Because and she put it wonderfully, now I can browse the web without having to use the mac, the screen is big enough for her, and it did what she needed or would ask from a laptop, music, video, internet and maybe a little photo type stuff.

I was quite frankly surprised by the response we got from many a journalist, even colleagues at work to the iPad, they loved it and then the statements came out, it doesn’t do and then flash, usb support, upgradeable this, dvd drives, as well as a host of things when comparing the device to a laptop. I wonder if people are not missing something. By that I mean quite simply, is the iPad not an ideal middle ground between a smart phone and a netbook or laptop?

For example, for those organizations sending a user a laptop for email, for Outlook etc, word processing and a few spreadsheets, is this not ideal? There is no operating system support so to speak, no chance that the user starts installing applications that aren’t supported, get a corrupt profile or using usb sticks etc. For that SMB for the sales team, could we therefore issue them with an iPad rather than a full blown mac or laptop, simply say there’s the presentations, the office functionality you need, a reasonable battery life, mobile email and web – you’re connected.

We need to step back for a second and accept that like the netbook, the iPad is not going to be all things to all people, but for the majority of people that use a netbook for its intended uses, the iPad might be just enough in terms of functionality, just different enough to justify the price, and just cool enough to move them away from that rather normal looking smaller laptop? It all goes back to the problem that the Toshiba Libretto 50CT suffered from when I wanted one and eventually got one, it was brilliant in so many ways but at the same time disappointing because I compared it to my desktop, my other bigger laptop, I wanted everything that it could do, the memory, the disk, the performance just was not quite there and I compared them. With an iPad there is no vehicle to compare, it’s just an iPad, it is its own unit in its own right – it doesn’t run Windows, or Mac OS.

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I was asking a CIO colleague of mine what to do about spare parts for legacy systems:

“Easy you have none. We have no spare parts for any servers that are out of warranty/support – they are decommissioned with the servers”

But what about supporting the hardware, keeping everything running? I ask

“Simple, I have no spare parts, in the event of a legacy system failing, you have two choices either a virtual pre-provisioned server or a physical one which we also have started pre-provisioning. I am not wasting my budget, my time and effort fixing a server that has no economic value, and which will be replaced in a few months as part of our virtualization project.”

In the event of a failure, do you not therefore run at operational risk? I ask

“If you think about it in some respects no. Business sponsors are made aware that their system is out of support, and that we have no spare parts (new or recycled), therefore in the event of failure we would provide them with a replacement virtual machine or if that did not suit a physical one. There is no risk so to speak, everyone understands the message and the financial savings implications, I can spend £100,000 a year supporting legacy systems, or I can invest that time, that finance on moving our infrastructure ahead – those that feel they operate in a situation of heightened risk can prioritize or request they be targeted for a replacement server.

By offering to provide recycled hardware for spare parts places me in the situation where I am liable when we do not have spare parts.”

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Check out the post below talking about what is concerning the banking industry, it’s an interesting read particularly the comments below regarding technology. Understanding the issues both technical and business are the first challenge, from there we can establish how we get there, what we need and what issues we can anticipate:

Meanwhile, the poll indicates that IT is becoming less of a worry for bankers, with a high dependence on technology ranking eighteenth on the risk list, down from fifteenth in 2008 and sixth in 2006.

The CSFI says dependence on technology is no longer a critical issue because problems are better understood and the pace of change has slowed in recent years, although the management of online systems is a big problem, as is data security.

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VMware

New Secure Multi-tenancy Design Architecture Enhances Security When Sharing Data Center Resources Across Virtualized and Enterprise Cloud Environments

SILICON VALLEY, Calif.—Jan. 26, 2010—As enterprises move toward a data center that is 100 percent virtualized, Cisco, NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) and VMware (NYSE: VMW) today announced that they are expanding their long-standing collaboration to deliver new design architectures that help customers evolve virtualized data centers to be more efficient, dynamic and secure. The three companies introduced an end-to-end Secure Multi-tenancy Design Architecture that provides enhanced security in cloud environments by isolating the information technology (IT) resources and applications of different clients, business units or departments that share a common IT infrastructure. As part of their collaboration, Cisco, NetApp and VMware will also offer a cooperative support model for these pretested and validated design architectures to help customers quickly build a unified, virtualized infrastructure.

“It’s clear that a tremendous opportunity exists for Cisco, NetApp and VMware to enable real change in the data center,” said Tom Georgens, president and CEO of NetApp. “Our visions are aligned around the concept of a dynamic data center that will be the foundation of cloud computing and that will enable enterprises, integrators and service providers to deliver IT as a service [ITaaS]. In this scenario, IT becomes a dynamic asset that is more efficient and can better adapt to changing business needs. This new era of IT has stringent infrastructure requirements that our companies are ready to meet today—together.”

“Virtualization of the network, server and storage infrastructure is radically reshaping today’s data center,” said Paul Maritz, president and CEO, VMware. “The dynamic data center built on VMware® vSphere™, along with Cisco and NetApp® technologies, will provide the foundation for both private and public clouds and the ability to move data and applications between these clouds. A shared virtual infrastructure requires that resources for different tenants are isolated while delivering on promised service levels. We have integrated our technology with Cisco and NetApp not only to accelerate our customers’ journey through their data center transition, but also to deliver an outstanding customer experience.”

I’m genuinely excited about this announcement, and I am hopeful that we will see some interesting results going forward, I wonder if this might bring us closer to data center virtualization, the concept of taking the IT infrastructure to the next generation through collaboration from these three platforms. The more we can evolve the data center both in support, in architecture and in delivery, the more we can fully utilize the capacity we have, to deliver the services we need, on budget, on time and in a way that meets our corporate social responsibility and business sponsor requirements.

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Platform

U.S. Defense and Intelligence Communities to Benefit from Platform’s Private Cloud Management Software

TORONTO, Canada, Jan. 26, 2010 — Platform Computing, the leader in cluster, grid and cloud management software, today announced a strategic partnership with Instrumental Inc., a leading provider of architecture, design and integration services for high performance computing (HPC) and data storage in the government and commercial sectors. The partnership enhances Platform’s global service capabilities and gives users an end-to-end, full service solution that maximizes the value of Platform’s private cloud management and HPC cloud-enabling software solutions, Platform ISF and Platform ISF Adaptive Cluster.

As U.S. government agencies and departments evaluate the potential cost savings, service level improvements and greater resource utilization offered by various cloud computing models, there is a recognized need for a technology-agnostic platform that can support and integrate legacy, heterogeneous HPC environments while also managing a wide-range of hardware, operating systems and virtual machines. In order to maximize prior technology investments, government agencies must invest in technologies that prevent vendor lock-in and that work with multiple types of operating systems.

“Platform’s ISF and ISF Adaptive Cluster can provide government agencies the scalability and performance needed to manage their data center resources while evolving to cloud-based infrastructure services and also adhering to federal requirements for open standards, compliance and budgetary requirements,” said Tripp Purvis, Vice President, Business Development, Platform Computing. “Given our longstanding partnership, Platform is in close alignment with Instrumental to ensure that our mutual HPC customers are able to efficiently manage compute- and data-intensive workloads in the cloud.”

It’s interesting to see the different organizations and bodies utilizing a range of technologies including HPC solutions to deliver their IT services, whether it’s grid computing, application virtualization or as a vehicle to achieve more with less, anything vendors and service providers can do to help end user business benefit has to be a good thing. Private clouds can be a great way of changing the way we provide core cross business services such as email, storage or compute services, the concept of buying utility on demand, moving away from a server per application or infrastructure for a specific business unit to a more commoditized way of doing business where I pay for what I need in the most economic location on the most efficient infrastructure. This does not mean moving away from where we are, nor does it mean changing everything, it can be simply looking at consolidation of roles, looking at our processes, our business requirements and establishing how we can achieve the same results with a different platform, a cloud solution for email centralized in an efficient data center rather than duplicated regional email hubs for example.

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