Bladewatch.com

A quick guide on upgrading the Compaq/HP Proliant Support Pack from 5.5 to 7.60 on Windows 2000, it’s something we’ve been testing on our older servers.

The only thing I’ve noticed is that the network card driver sometimes fails to install correctly on a range of Proliant servers because the jump is to big. With this in mind I’ve put together a quick guide.

• Copy driver pack locally.
• In a command prompt – ipconfig /all >backupip.txt
• Now run the PSP either running the cmd file or the setup.exe, now it fails to upgrade:
• Reboot the server.
  • Uninstall the network cards in device manager
  • Re-detect network card in device manager
• Add in the ip information
• Now re-run the Proliant Support Pack to complete the installation of the latest Network Configuration Utility and the other drivers/management agents and reboot when ready.

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/software/smdrac3/drac5/om53/en/ug/racugc9.htm

This section provides information about the DRAC 5 command line console (or serial/telnet/ssh console) features, and explains how to set up your system so you can perform systems management actions through the console.

You can use these commands to check the configuration or settings that have been applied to the DRAC, Dell’s remote management device. These include setting up the network configuration, port speeds as well as settings such as user name.

To use Racadm, you’ll need the Dell agents installed and we’ve tested on Dell 1950s through to the R710 without any issues, just remember to backup the settings before you make any changes so you can always restore them if things go wrong.

http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/view-ipad-3-9.html

PALO ALTO, Calif. – March 9, 2011 — VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure, today announced the availability of VMware View™ Client for iPad on the Apple App Store for free. Enabling Apple iPad users to access their virtual Windows 1 desktops, applications and data from anywhere, the new VMware View Client, in combination with VMware View, delivers a modern desktop optimized for the iPad’s high-resolution Multi-Touch display. “The growing popularity of the iPad in business presents a new opportunity for enterprise IT organizations to empower their mobile workforces by providing users with anytime access to business critical apps on the go,” said Christopher Young, vice president and general manager, End-User Computing, VMware. “With VMware View™ Client for iPad, employees and enterprises get a win-win combination – a complete, secure virtual desktop solution they trust, paired with the unique touch interface of the iPad employees have come to love in their consumer lives.”

On the day that the UK gets the iPAD2, I thought I’d highlight this release from VMware bringing the VMware View client to the iPAD, this creates real opportunities for users to become more independent from the actual physical hardware yet still get the service or functionality they need by connecting straight into their machine, very cool both for mobile users or in meetings being able to remote on and get the data or feature you need there and then.

HP’s MicroServer is their product aimed at the small/medium business or even end user that is looking at getting a server but not necessarily ready to commit to a full scale Proliant Rack or Tower Server both technically or financially.

So what do you get?

• A processor from AMD
• Some Memory with support for 8GB
• A hard disk with support for extra disks inside it
• A network card
• PCI slots and support for remote lights out.
• On board USB ports

The specifications are here.

We’ve purchased a bundle, which includes 4GB of RAM, the DVD Writer and a USB key with ESXI on it!

We haven’t purchased their remote access card to test as that brought the price up above our budget and wanted to bring it out of the box and maybe try adding it later.

We have set budgets for Bladewatch funded by our iPhone application FindMyFirmware and our other work, this budget is used for the Bladewatch meet ups we schedule every now and again as well as our interviews that we do (there will be more interviews soon).

Anyway I first got to see HP’s MicroServer at their event over in Texas and I loved the concept, so we’ve purchased from ServerPlus one taking advantage of the current special offer of £100 cashback for the complete price of just over £320 including taxes and shipping. This was all done independently of HP or their PR company, it’s paid for on the Bladewatch credit card, and the online order is here.

http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/press/346696

After multiple conversations with Intel senior management Oracle has decided to discontinue all software development on the Intel Itanium microprocessor. Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life.

Oracle’s announcement will create further debate around the Itanium platform going forward, moving away from any emotive concepts involving love or not of the Itanium as a platform, let us first of acknowledge Oracle’s ongoing commitment to supporting their existing customers on Itanium, which is great news and look forward to what offerings Oracle will have both on x86 and other solutions for the future.

There remain customers that are happy with the Itanium processor, that love the performance and scalability that it brings to their business, equally there are those that see it as being replaced by the developments in the x86 world, there is however still scope and justification for the Itanium as a platform, in those high performance, high throughput and highly available systems like the Non-Stop, that said it was never going to become a mainstream alternative to which customers were going to switch overnight.

HP issued an announcement in response to the Oracle one and you can find it here, it re-confirms their commitment to the Itanium as a platform which is good news for Itanium and their end users.

http://content.dell.com/uk/en/corp/d/press-releases/2011-03-22-dcs-microserver-launch.aspx

BRACKNELL, United Kingdom, 22 March 2011 – Designed to help IT hosting and Web 2.0 companies achieve greater efficiencies in their data centres, Dell is introducing its third generation of microservers, the PowerEdge C5000 line, including the PowerEdge C5125 and C5220. This new series of energy efficient microservers meets the unique demands for building out shared and cloud computing infrastructures by allowing applications to run on individual dedicated physical servers without compromising on price, power or density.

Microservers are a new class of server specifically designed for those use cases where multi-core CPU architecture and extensive virtualization are overkill.  What these systems provide are multiple low-cost dedicated servers where one CPU is perfect for running single applications.

“The growth of various cloud computing models has resulted in many of these organisations grappling with the best way to optimise and scale the performance of their enormous data centres,” said Reuben Miller, IDC Senior Research Analyst. “This new microserver series, through a shared infrastructure and energy efficient design, helps these customers maximise their IT environments while helping them adapt to change with a highly modular and serviceable design.”

Dell’s latest generation of PowerEdge C5000 “microservers” offer one of world’s most dense and energy efficient systems featuring between 8 to 12 individual server nodes in one 3U chassis. Capturing the efficiencies and design lessons learned from some of the world’s largest hosting and cloud providers, these new servers by Dell’s Data Center Solutions (DCS) division are engineered to maximise revenue per-square foot within the data centre. By utilising a shared infrastructure model, users can save on space, energy, racks and cabling with the new PowerEdge C microservers. Consider that the PowerEdge C5000 line achieves up to four times more density while being up to 75 percent less to cool than comparable HP or IBM 1U servers¹.

Power and Performance in a Low Cost Package —Dell’s New PowerEdge C5125 and C5220 Servers

The PowerEdge C5125 and C5220 are Dell’s newest microservers optimised for dedicated and virtualized IT hosting and Web 2.0 environments where power and density is critical. The PowerEdge C5125 and C5220 come with up to 12 server nodes in 3U chassis supporting both AMD and Intel architectures, respectively. Additional features on both microservers include 4 x DDR3 UDIMMS, 2 x 3.5-inch or 4 x 2.5-inch HDDs, 2 x GbE ports, IPMI 2.0 management, iKVM, individually serviceable nodes, as well as a shared power and cooling infrastructure.

I love the concept and innovation to bring further scale to Dell’s offering in the cloud and high density space, these microservers could be great for virtualization solutions, web. 2.0 and I wonder if they might also create opportunities in the high performance compute space where we are typically looking for the ability to deploy servers in volume in calculation farms.  I’m off to read up more about them!

http://www.telehouse.net/

Telehouse, a leading provider of global data centres and managed ICT services, today announced the opening of its new Datacenter in Istanbul/Turkey in partnership with local telecommunications/system integrator company Teknotel Telekomünikasyon.

‘Telehouse Istanbul’ in partnership with Teknotel Telekomünikasyon, will be operational from March 2011 and is Telehouse’s first data center operation in the region. The new carrier neutral data centre facility in Kozyatagi is located on the Asian side of Istanbul and is opened under the Telehouse brand and operated, supported and maintained by Teknotel to Telehouse’s stringent global operating standards.

Alper Selcuk, General Manager of Teknotel Telekomünikasyon comments: ‘Opening a Telehouse facility in Istanbul is a superb opportunity for us to extend our range of products and services in the Turkish market.  We are well-known for delivering communication solutions to our corporate customers and, with our Telehouse facility, we can now offer carrier neutral colocation too. Telehouse is the very best name in the international data centre and colocation market and the opening of Telehouse Istanbul comes at an important time when Turkey is opening up rapidly and connectivity, security and continuity are vital to companies located in the City’.

It’s great to read these kind of announcements and understand what new regions or opportunities are coming on stream, also to understand the different requirements and ways of doing business between the regions, do check it out.

http://www.fusionio.com/press/Fusion-Doubles-its-Offering-of-Fusion-Powered-IBM-High-IOPS-Adapters-to-Include-New-Products-up-to-128-TB/

SALT LAKE CITY– March 1, 2011 – Fusion-io announced today that IBM will now offer eight versions of High IOPS Adapters based on Fusion’s ioMemory technology for deployment in its System x Server line. In addition, 12 IBM System x servers are now qualified for Fusion Powered IBM products, greatly increasing IBM customers’ options for integrating the new class of server-attached NAND Flash developed by Fusion-io into their architectures. All High IOPS Adapters will feature IBM’s world-class support. “As data demands continue to exponentially grow in the enterprise, Fusion’s innovative server-deployed memory solutions can offer our customers a way to significantly and safely accelerate their database and application infrastructure,” said Bob Galush, IBM’s VP System x High Volume Servers and Options.

Scaling up the capacity of the Fusion-io adapters creates further opportunities for their use in the enterprise and might further lend them to use scenarios which might have not been previously suited due to their existing capacity. I still feel that the Fusion-io solution would be great for those high frequency low latency trading platforms, and I wonder if they might also be a powerful tool in the high performance and data caching space where we share data amongst many nodes or in large volumes for analysis, regardless an exciting announcement.

http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2011/03/11/245791/Webinar-How-blade-technology-can-improve-the-ROI-from-virtualisation-and-server.htm

Virtualisation and server consolidation have become a standard part of datacentre and IT infrastructure strategy for many organisations. IT leaders are already seeing the benefits of lower costs and greater energy efficiency that such an approach can bring. But there are even greater rewards to be achieved in the datacentre, and getting the right server architecture is central to reducing spending, saving space and operating IT more effectively.

This sounds like a very cool webinar talking about how blade technology can be an empowerment tool in our virtualization and server consolidation projects, I’m looking forward to attending, I wonder if there will be any talk about blade servers as an ideal virtualization platform, a concept that I remain a fan of, do check it out.