QLogic on Thursday announced new technology that seamlessly combines its storage area network (SAN) host bus adapter (HBA) technology with server-based, industry-standard solid-state drive (SSD) flash storage. The Mt. Rainier project brings server-based SSD caching performance to SAN storage, simplifying deployment and management while delivering scalable performance to I/O hungry applications running in single and clustered server environments.
According to Simon Biddiscombe, president and CEO of QLogic: “Mt. Rainier builds on our leading market position and unique expertise in high performance data center connectivity to bring a new category of scalable, performance-enhancing solutions that are easy to deploy and address some of the most performance-challenged environments in the data center.”
The Colonial Data Center and Virtualization
No, not colonial as in Battlestar Gallactica or the British Empire, colonial as in corals and weeds and virtual machines
I was out pulling weeds this summer – Canada thistle to be exact – and was struck by how much its root system reminded me of Cnidaria (soft corals to those of you whose experience with aquaria remains relegated to suicidal goldfish). Canada thistle is difficult to control because of its extensive root system. Pulling a larger specimen you often find yourself pulling up its root, only to find it connected to three, four or more other specimens. Cnidaria reproduce in a similar fashion, sharing a “root” system that enables them to share resources. Unlike thistles, however, Cnidaria has several different growth forms. There’s a traditional colonial form that resembles thistles – a single, shared long root with various specimens popping up along the path – and one that may be familiar to folks who’ve seen Finding Nemo: a tree formation in which the root branches not only horizontally but vertically, with individual specimens forming upwards along the branch in what gives it a tree-like appearance.
Do software vendors truly eliminate vendor lock-in?
By Greg Schulz
I’m always interested when I hear or read a software vendor or their value added reseller (VAR) or business partner claim that their solution eliminates vendor lock-in.
More often than not, I end up being amazed if not amused over the claims which usually should be rephrased as ‘eliminating hardware vendor lock-in.’
What is also amazing (or amusing) is that while some vendors make claims of eliminating (hardware) vendor lock-in, there is also some misdirection taking place.
While some solutions may be architected to cut hardware vendor lock-in, how they are sold or packaged can force certain vendors technology into your solution.
For example, the EMC Centera software in theory and architecture is hardware vendor independent, however it is sold as a solution (hardware and software), similar to how Dell sells the DX which uses software from Caringo and – you guessed right – Dell hardware, among …
UK’s Cloud First Policy, Big Data Best Practices, and More…
Close to a year has passed since the UK government published their Cloud Computing Strategy which included a ‘cloud first’ policy similar to the one implemented in the United States. In this ZDNet blog, Steve Ranger examines the government’s progress and concludes that while the plans are progressing in some areas, the cloud-first policy hasn’t been widely adopted.
The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), Fujitsu, Verizon, and eBay are working together on developing best practices and standards for Big Data security and privacy, according to this FierceTelecom article.
Analyst firm IDC predicts that as many as 30% of cloud providers in the cloud market today may not be around in 2015, according to this Channelnomics article. You can read the IDC press release on IDC.com.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that government agencies can now purchase cloud-based email services from 17 approved providers, according to this gov.AOL article. GSA was the first federal agency to migrate to cloud-based email and the agency expects to save $15 million from the switch over the next 5 years.
Featured Content
Gartner Report: Hype Cycle for Big Data, 2012
Big data is one of the most hyped terms in the market today. The first Big Data Hype Cycle helps enterprises develop strategies to address the growing business need for insight from datasets of increasing volume, velocity and variety. You can read the full report on Smart Enterprise.
Feature article
Delivering value the DirecTV way: Aligning IT with the business
By Derek Stevens, CA Technologies
What happens when the business starts provisioning cloud services without consulting IT?
A credit card number is all that is needed for the business to bypass IT and purchase a cloud service. The growing trend of line of business services purchased without the input of IT is leading to many new problems that the IT department must deal with, from integration to security. It also raises the question of who is responsible for the ongoing maintenance and management of services which haven’t been approved by the IT department.
This topic was broached by Andi Mann and George Watt in a recent episode of CloudViews Unplugged when they discussed a survey which revealed that, in many organizations, the IT department is becoming responsible for cloud services that the business or employees purchased without consulting IT. Read the full article.
Cloud Views
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Where will the impact of cloud computing be felt the most? In this New York Times blog, Quentin Hardy discusses how cloud computing may dramatically impact the poorest countries in the world, giving countries without constant electricity and proper sanitation the ability to use cloud supercomputers.
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Are cloud companies copying each other? In this InfoWorld blog, David Linthicum says he sees a growing trend of cloud companies playing it safe and mimicking each other. He calls for more innovation and creativity among cloud providers to create game changing services.
MSP Corner
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The MSPmentor 250, 2012 report was published this week on MSPmentor. The annual list contains what MSPmentor declares are the “world’s top” MSP experts.
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How should systems integrators position themselves to take advantage of cloud computing now and in the future? In this Talkin’ Cloud blog, Justin Crotty discusses the ways in which systems integrators can approach cloud infrastructure.
Upcoming Cloud Events
- Cloud Connect: September 10-13, 2012, Chicago, IL
- Dreamforce ’12: September 18-21, San Francisco, CA
- Hosting & Cloud Transformation Summit: September 18-20, New York, NY
- OracleWorld: September 30 – October 4, San Francisco, CA