EMC is making servers to go in arrays so they can cuddle up to apps inside VMware virtual machines and reduce latency, an idea EMC’s had kicking around in varying degrees of discretion since last year.
The Register saw two of them at EMC World in Vegas this week.
It said one looked like a blade server with two in a 4U.
The other looked like a 1U microserver and said it was given to understand the thing included a quad-core x85 chip, 1GB of RAM and a PCI SLIC I/O card. It imagines it “being mounted vertically to provide a very dense compute rack footprint.” Apparently CMO Jeremy Burton talked about “two rows of eight servers inside the array, 16 servers in total.”

read more

EMC is making servers to go in arrays so they can cuddle up to apps inside VMware virtual machines and reduce latency, an idea EMC’s had kicking around in varying degrees of discretion since last year.
The Register saw two of them at EMC World in Vegas this week.
It said one looked like a blade server with two in a 4U.
The other looked like a 1U microserver and said it was given to understand the thing included a quad-core x85 chip, 1GB of RAM and a PCI SLIC I/O card. It imagines it “being mounted vertically to provide a very dense compute rack footprint.” Apparently CMO Jeremy Burton talked about “two rows of eight servers inside the array, 16 servers in total.”

read more

 Throughout my career at GreenPages I’ve been lucky enough to work with some top-shelf IT leaders. These folks possess many qualities that make them successful – technical smarts, excellent communication skills, inspired leadership, and killer dance moves. Well, at least those first three.

But there’s one skill that’s increasingly critical as more IT shops move from cloud theory to cloud reality: partner management.

IT leaders who effectively and proactively leverage partners will give their organization a competitive advantage during the journey to the cloud. Why? Because smart solution providers accelerate the time needed to research, execute, and support a technology project.

Let’s use the example of building a house. You could learn how to do some drafting on your own, but most folks are more comfortable using the experienced services of an architect who can work with the homeowner on what options are feasible within a given …

Cloud computing has been a key buzzword on the lips of every IT pro for the past several years. However, as more and more cloud solutions make it down to the consumer market, the meaning can get lost or muzzled. After all, with millions of users walking around talking about iCloud, it can be a little bit hard to make the connection between that and, for example, a cloud-hosted application.

The truth of the matter is that there have always been several different types of cloud computing technology. Each model offers something different, and they all work together to help you get the most from your IT investment.

Here are a few of the common cloud models, and how they can each help your business:

• Cloud services in the web. These are the solutions that consumers are all abuzz about this year. Online storage solutions like Dropbox, for example, have put the term on consumer lips. In a nutshell, these services let you use web functionality to perform certain tasks. These services for your organization might include payroll processing, credit card transaction gateways, or even the Google Maps API.
• Software as a service. SaaS has been around for a while in HR, CRM, and ERP functions. It allows multiple customers to access a given application, providing greater flexibility and agility to all.
• Platform as a service. Similar to SaaS, in this configuration you actually manage the applications but you do so using the infrastructure that belongs to your cloud provider.
• Utility services in the cloud. This includes virtual storage options that are available to users on-demand. They may or may not be cloud services, like those described above.
• Managed cloud services. This was the first cloud model to appear on the scene. For this kind of cloud solution, it’s actually the provider that utilizes the application, not the end-user. Anti-spam services are an example.

Cloud solutions are likely to grow, expand, and change as time goes on. New ideas are constantly being proposed, and as more and more businesses implement cloud solutions, providers will find new ways to meet that growing demand.

read more

A few weeks ago we were called by a frantic young business owner. His problem? His business – a 3 month old roofing company – was winning more deals than the founders and crew could manage. They were hiring sales reps and managers fast, but needed a system for, well, everything.

read more

Since the 1970s, authors like Alvin Toffler, Daniel Bell and John Naisbitt have predicted the post-industrial society. They forecast the end of the industrial era and the dominance of services and information.

read more

(Note: Normally I write about Cloud Computing. But I wanted to pause for a second; will return to the Cloud tomorrow!)

Memorial Day is my favorite holiday. There’s a solemnity to it. No fireworks, no presents, no redemption.

There is a barbecue and the Indy 500, adding a celebratory air. But mostly, Memorial Day is a day of 21-gun salutes, of flags, serious-minded parades, and Taps.

We lived in the small town of Morrison, Illinois, in Whiteside County, for the three years 1963-1965. Memorial Day was always celebrated on May 30 back then, and Morrison had a parade.

It was there that I remember Spanish-American War veterans, resplendent in their Stetson hats, long jackets, and billowing trousers, slowly making their way down the street at the head of the parade. There were just a handful of them left by then; they had the look of wry, singular individuals.

Their war gave the Philippines to the US and announced that the 20th Century was going to be the American Century. I contemplate this today as I stand on my apartment balcony and look out over Manila Bay, past the old Spanish (later US) garrison at Intramuros.

A crisper, more uniform group followed next, the WWI vets of my grandfather’s generation. Still vibrant at that time, this proud group from The Great War confirmed the view that America was the greatest nation in the world and guarantor of liberty and freedom for all. These guys lived it.

The WWII vets formed the next group. This was the largest group in the parade, full of cocky guys (and a few cocky women) in their 30s and slightly less cocky guys of a slightly older age. They reflected the full arsenal of US military power—Army, Army Air Corps, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, WACs, WAVEs, and Rosie the Riveter.

They represented a time when the nation pulled together as one and worked with the Allies to obliterate the true Axis of Evil. This group was later dubbed the Greatest Generation. To me, it looked like my dad’s friends.

The “Korean Conflict” vets made up the final group of soldiers, a slightly smaller bunch than the WWII guys, and noticeably less spirited. This was the forgotten generation of the forgotten war—the first war that American didn’t win. (If you look at South Korea today, you will think otherwise.)

The vociferous cheers that greeted the other groups were reduced to polite applause and sidelong glances for the Korean War vets. Today, the long-delayed Korean War Memorial in Washington, DC graphically depicts the burden carried by these vets for their country in the 1950s.

These were the early days of the Vietnam War. The changes that were soon to transform the country lay far over the horizon to a kid in Morrison.

My parents told me they remembered Civil War soldiers and the Grand Army of the Republic. I thought that was cool.

One of my great-grandfather’s uncles, Charles Rogers, an immigrant from Derby County, England, served with the 21st Iowa Volunteer Regiment, Lawler’s Brigade, and saw action at Vicksburg under General Grant. I’m sure my great-great-uncle’s uniform is still floating around the family somewhere.

The school bands and then men on horses finished things off. After the parade, we would walk back home and have a barbecue. Dad would sit in the chez lounge (as we called it), listen to the Indy 500 on the radio, and drink two or three beers. My sister and I would play in our little blow-up swimming pool, argue and fight, and occasionally get mom and dad to holler at us.

Dad was a newspaperman who worked about 360 days a year. Memorial Day was one of the few he took off. A little Jim Beam was his ordinary drink. But the hot weather and the excitement of cheering for AJ Foyt led him to down those Miller’s on Memorial Day.

Dad didn’t talk much about his time in Japan during the war. He spent most of his two years as part of the occupational forces. Now and then he would mention the sick, starving women and children that comprised most of what was left in Japan when he was there. It seemed he thought about this a lot on Memorial Day.

Later, we moved 20 miles up the road to Mount Carroll, my mother’s hometown, in Carroll County. My father’s hometown was a few miles away. My grandparents all lived in Carroll County; we felt like we were coming home.

I played the trumpet, as my father had, and was a member of the jr. high and then high school band. This meant that I was now part of the local Memorial Day parade.

Mount Carroll, population 2,100, is the county seat. Back then, grades K-12 attended the same schoolhouse, which had been pieced together in three phases over the years. There was one bandroom, down by the old gym that also served as the cafeteria.

Memorial Day always dawned hot and humid, and stayed that way. For six years, I would put on my band uniform, gigantic furry hat and all, grab my trumpet and head out the door.

During my sophomore year, the government turned Memorial Day into a three-day week-end. No longer was May 30 sacrosanct. The holiday became a great time to buy a car, according to ads in dad’s newspaper.

Some towns continue to this day to hold their parades on May 30, period. Some hold them on Saturday, others on Monday. Some have no parade at all.

I don’t remember how Mount Carroll handled the situation. I do remember the march up Cemetery Hill.

People assume Illinois is pancake flat. In Carroll County, it’s not. We would march along Main St. then down the Market St. hill, over the Galena St. bridge and the mighty Waukarusa River (in reality a modest creek that becomes part of the truly mighty Mississippi a few miles downstream), then climb a few hundred feet up State Street to the Oak Hill Cemetery gate.

Most years, I had the honor of playing the Taps “echo.” Somebody, a band member or a local veteran, would play Taps near the gate in front of the local crowd. I would hustle off, out of sight over a modest berm, listen for Taps to be played, then echo it.

I loved this honor. I was able to take the stifling hat off, too, as no one could see me. I don’t ever recall screwing up.

The Vietnam War ground to a halt as I was finishing high school. America became ambivalent about its history and its role in the world. The simple truths of my childhood had disappeared with my echo in the breeze. Memorial Day parades had a new, disquieting element, one that remains to this day.

As I mentioned, I’m in Asia these days, writing about technology. Flags are flying here, too, as the Philippines begins a two-week homage to its national ensign (first unfurled in 1898) and its independence from the US, achieved peacefully in 1948.

Americans and Filipinos fought side by side during the terrible days of the 1940s, triumphing at an enormous cost. It brings honor to the country that its people still observe their nation’s modern birth so seriously and passionately.

It reminds me of what I miss about my home, or perhaps what I miss about my distant childhood. I do know that as far as holidays go, I miss Memorial Day most of all.

War is hell. It’s an eternal aspect of the human condition. We will always have our wars and our missing sons and daughters.

So there will always be Memorial Days. They will always be solemn. They may no longer focus on the greatness of a country, but will focus eternally on the greatness of the individuals they honor.

I’ll play a silent Taps in my mind on Monday for all who’ve served, and all who died, and once again summon the image of those old Spanish-American War vets, ambling down Main St. Morrison, Illinois, a glint in their eyes and the spirit of Teddy Roosevelt in their hearts.

It’s a time to reflect on freedom, liberty, and sacrifice. Each soldier’s grave, whether laid out in the long white lines of Arlington, scattered about at Oak Hill, or interred somewhere in the innumerable cemeteries of the world, represents a family’s grief, a future snatched away, a life laid down for one’s country.

read more

The cloud discussions have been changing rapidly over the last months, focusing away from infrastructure to applications, services and industry requirements.
I’ve spent the last several weeks addressing some of the business aspects of cloud and why/how companies move to the cloud. It’s time now to wrap this series up. The cloud discussions have been changing rapidly over the last months, focusing away from infrastructure to applications, services and industry requirements.

Implementations in larger companies typically started with development & test activities within the IT department, while business teams used “shadow-IT” approaches to source services from external parties, potentially putting the enterprise at risk. [Disclosure: HP is a sponsor of BriefingsDirect podcasts.]

The main reason is the perceived lack of responsiveness and agility of IT. As I pointed out, it is increasingly becoming clear that one size does not fit all, in cloud computing and that the CIO should become a “strategic service broker”, sourcing services from a series of cloud environments going from private to public clouds and from IaaS to SaaS services.
To achieve a successful transition to cloud computing, the CIO needs to address three areas

read more

Zetta.net, a provider of enterprise-grade online backup and disaster recovery solutions, today announced the appointment of technology sales industry veteran, Jill Cooper, as vice president of sales. The addition of Cooper to the Zetta.net management team was a direct response to the dramatic growth the company has seen as it delivers a “no appliance” solution with enterprise-class features for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
“We continue to outperform consumer-grade and alternative solutions in this market, as customers eagerly embrace our appliance-free approach,” said Ali Jenab, CEO, Zetta.net. “We are pleased to add Jill Cooper to our management team to accommodate this rapid growth. Her depth of experience and insight will be a valuable resource as we continue to drive the company’s success throughout 2012 and beyond.”

read more