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Arthur Cole

Infrastructure

Data center and networking architecture to keep your data safe and moving

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March 31, 2008

3Leaf Gains QuickPath Rights

It will soon be possible to establish Intel x86 server clusters without building Ethernet or Fibre Channel fabrics to link them together.   3Leaf Systems just announced that it has gained lice... More >

Integrating Virtual Machines and Storage

It's no secret that a virtualized server infrastructure is one of the best ways to reduce capital expenditures by virtue of the technology's consolidation capabilities. But anyone looking to increase... More >

Sun Eyes Optical Interconnect

Multichip arrays for supercomputers and high-end servers have long been hampered by the difficulty they encounter in transferring data from one processor to another. Standard electronic interconnects... More >

March 28, 2008

Parallel Storage Boosts Throughput

Multicore processing, high-speed networking and virtualization are all aimed at making the enterprise faster and more powerful. And by most accounts, it's working fine -- that is, until the request h... More >

March 27, 2008

Virtugo Steps up VM Management

Another virtualization management platform came out this week, an indication of how great the need is for enterprises to begin exerting some control over the growing number of virtual machines at the... More >

A Flurry of Fabric Developments

It looks like just about everybody wants a piece of the enterprise fabric these days. From new systems to new alliances, the flurry of activity surrounding fabric solutions is starting to rival the e... More >

March 26, 2008

ATTO Links Mac to HP Storage

Mac users continue to gain new options when it comes to networking their beloved platform to the wider enterprise.   ATTO Technology recently introduced a new version of its Xtend iSCSI SAN ini... More >

Can the z10 Save the Mainframe?

So what exactly are we to make of the IBM z10 mainframe introduced last month? Most of the reviews have been nothing less than stellar so far, with kudos going to everything from its cost and size ... More >

Intel Launches 50-watt Quads

Intel unveiled the Harpertown line of processors this week, now dubbed the Xeon L5400 series , a low-power server and workstation quad-core chip that draws less than 50 watts (12.5 w per core) while... More >

March 25, 2008

Mining for Fibre Channel Gold

Continuing our discussion on the future of Fibre Channel, the technology may have its critics but judging by the level of competition that surrounds it, there are an awful lot of people who think the... More >

Fibre Channel and the Ethernet

Robin Harris over at storagemojo.com poses some interesting questions about fibre channel this week, namely whether FCoE will be enough to prevent legions of users from shifting over to 10 GbE. &... More >

March 24, 2008

Time to Bench the Benchmarks?

So who has the fastest server in town? That age-old question is on the table once again following a series of claims and counter claims over benchmark tests last week. But perhaps the real question s... More >

March 21, 2008

SuperBlades Gain 20 Gbps Infiniband

Super Micro Computer has tapped Mellanox controllers to bring 20 Gbps Infiniband connectivity to its SuperBlade servers .   The interconnect is available through Super Micro's AOC-UINF-M2 unive... More >

Nvidia at a Crossroads

The known universe for microprocessors has revolved comfortably around AMD and Intel for many years, at least as far as the enterprise is concerned. But that may be about to change.   It seems t... More >

March 20, 2008

Prepping the All-Wireless Network

Motorola got tongues wagging this week with the introduction of a new set of products that it says will usher in the era of the "all-wireless enterprise."   Talk of replacing miles of cables wit... More >

The Marriage of Virtual Servers and Storage

An interesting article by Drew Robb on Enterprise Storage Forum examines the evolving relationship between virtual machines and storage.   One of the key questions he explores is whether the... More >

Better SANs for SMBs

Storage networking for lower-end users doesn't necessarily mean stripped-down versions of more powerful systems anymore. New generations are pushing faster, more powerful systems into the hands of sm... More >

Heads up on Hyper-V

Microsoft put out the release candidate of the Hyper-V hypervisor today, pushing the product through development in record pace. To me, that's a clear indicator of how seriously the company takes t... More >

March 18, 2008

Young Mac Fans Invading the Enterprise

Enterprises that have resisted installing Macs because, well, mixed environments are still a drag, might not be able to hold out much longer.   It seems that the rise of Apple consumer devices i... More >

Head in the Clouds?

For enterprises already looking at the operational benefits and cost savings of virtualization and consolidation, the idea of cloud computing must be doubly intriguing. But even though 2008 looks to ... More >

Hitachi Aims for NAS Consolidation

Hitachi is taking direct aim at NetApp's leadership role in the NAS market, unveiling a set of NAS systems emphasizing file services consolidation and management as a means to address storage spraw... More >

March 17, 2008

Inside HP's Data Center Strategy

HP gave the IT industry a lot to consider today with the release of its strategy to transform the data center into a more integrated, adaptable entity. But in talking to officials in charge of the ... More >

March 14, 2008

100G Goes Live on Comcast

Wide area networking got a shot in the arm of sorts last week with the test of a new 100G optical system from Nortel over Comcast's Philadelphia plant during the Internet Engineering Task Force meeti... More >

Data, Data Everywhere...

IDC came out with a new report estimating that data requirements are increasing by about 60 percent a year, averaging about 45 gigs per person now for a total "data universe" of about 281 exabytes.... More >

March 13, 2008

Looking to the LAN for More Green

Green is likely to be the new gold for enterprise networking equipment as the industry looks past server and storage consolidation to keep their electric bills down.   According to new research ... More >

Microsoft Buys Kidaro

Kidaro, we hardly knew ya.   Just as the desktop virtualization management firm was starting to make its presence known in the West, it went ahead and accepted a buyout offer from Microsoft . T... More >

March 12, 2008

OFED Eyes Infiniband, iWARP

Linux users could soon have an easier time establishing high-performance computing (HPC) environments with some recent improvements to the OpenFabrics Enterprise Distribution (OFED) platform.  ... More >

Multicore Software Development Moving Slowly

The need for new software development models suitable to the parallel processing environments of multicore chips is growing more acute, with both Intel and AMD lending support to find a solution, fas... More >

LSI Buys Infineon HDD Unit

The system-on-chip market for hard disk drives got a little tighter this week as LSI Corp. purchased the Infineon's HDD business unit for an undisclosed sum.   Infineon was never a major playe... More >

March 11, 2008

From the SAN to the WAN

The ever increasing need for more storage is driving the popularity of online storage services even as questions over their security and reliability linger. For larger enterprises unwilling to entrus... More >

March 10, 2008

HP Simplifies 8G Fibre Channel

First-time SAN users now have an easy way to jump right to the forefront of networking technology. Hewlett Packard has begun shipping an 8-Gbps version of the StorageWorks systems, using switches and... More >

Server Consolidation the Right Way

The cutting edge of virtualization technology may have set its sights on virtual PCs, unified network fabrics and other esoteric applications, but server consolidation remains the primary driver for ... More >

March 7, 2008

One Network, Under Infiniband?

Talk of a unified fabric for the enterprise usually centers around Ethernet technology and its improving ability to handle both iSCSI and Fibre Channel traffic, as well as voice and data communicatio... More >

3i Gains Another Blade

IBM has added a new blade server to VMware's ultra-thin ESX 3i hypervisor stable, a move that adds to the growing momentum of low-cost server technology sporting integrated virtualization capabilitie... More >

7-in-1 PC Goes for the Green

A UK company is pitching a new green PC solution that allows multiple users to access a single desktop without having to install expensive virtualization technology.   VeryPC's GreenHive platf... More >

March 6, 2008

Intel and the Virtual I/O

A lot has been written about the coming age of I/O virtualization and the rise of integrated fabrics, driven largely by new switching platforms by Cisco, Brocade and others. While these systems are c... More >

March 5, 2008

BlueArc Taps Brocade File Management

An interesting match-up was announced this week between the Brocade StorageX file virtualization system and BlueArc's Titan unified storage system .   With BlueArc reselling the StorageX system... More >

Driving Toward Better Storage

Transfer speeds and capacities for 3.5-inch hard disk drives continue to ratchet upwards, even as advancements in 2.5-inch systems and even flash technology threaten to supplant them in the enterpris... More >

Cisco Launches New Edge Line

Those of you pining over the end of Cisco's 7500 Series edge router can take heart; the company has released a new system designed to keep the upgrade paths of 7500 users intact.   The Aggreg... More >

March 4, 2008

AMD Samples 45-Nanometer Chips

AMD announced this week that it has shipped the first sample versions of its 45-nanometer chips to select manufacturers, but the question remains about how much real impact they ultimately will have ... More >

A Parade of RAID Controllers

The new season for RAID controllers is under way with this year's models sporting increased port densities, greater overall storage capacity and increased throughput for higher bandwidth applications... More >

Server Sales Remain Strong

If virtualization is taking a bite out of the server market, someone forgot to tell the customers.   Despite widespread predictions that consolidation and partitioning would cause enterprises to... More >

March 3, 2008

Networking Key to Virtual Services

High-speed networking is becoming a crucial element of so-called "virtual datacenters" springing up as hosted services around the Web.   Belgium's Q-layer recently tapped the Infiniband-based G... More >

Server Management

Management tips and product information to leverage the best value from your server investment.

NAS & SAN Storage

Oracle offers a complete portfolio of best-of-breed storage products and business-ready storage solutions that optimize performance, maximize data protection and reduce the total cost of ownership for Oracle databases, applications, and heterogeneous data management.

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