Protecting the Most Valuable Asset: Data

Network World: The nightly data backup is a thing of the past, replaced with real-time data backup while users continue to work. New near-continuous data protection products from majors IBM, Symantec and Microsoft, as well as smaller vendors Mendocino, Revivio, Mimosa Systems and Xosoft, make it possible to transparently restore data assets to a specific point in the day as opposed to the end of the previous day. Recovery time is reduced as well. Continuous data protection software also makes it easy to integrate additional features like data cleansing and searching.

SearchDataCenter.com: While most organizations never have to test their disaster recovery readiness, Hurricane Katrina forced the issue for thousands of IT departments as it virtually shut down New Orleans. One result is a new disaster recovery scenario: planning for the possibility that the city containing your data center could disappear. Also, what do you do when the city reappears? Rebuild or move to another "safer" location? This article includes a fascinating case study of how Intercosmos kept its 6,000-square-foot New Orleans data center running throughout the storm and aftermath. CEO Sigmund Solares relates how he and his employees built makeshift "levees" out of t-shirts and managed to get employees and vendors to bring fuel for the generators through roadblocks and barricades. He says, though, that as a realist, he can't say he'll keep the operation in New Orleans. Two major disaster recovery lessons from the storm: Maintain up-to-date contact info for key employees and vendors, and don't locate the data center too near headquarters.

SYS-CON Media: IT departments everywhere are scrambling to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for more server processing power. The initial reaction is to add more servers and hardware. However, many are taking an alternate approach by migrating to higher-performance platforms. This allows them to consolidate server resources as well as meet increasing demand. Linux is often the operating system of choice since it can handle the workload without sacrificing performance. The IBM eServer OpenPower server is a good example of such a high-performance platform, featuring 64-bit architecture as well as virtualization technology previously only available on mainframe systems.

Small Business Computing.com: Even very small IT departments can support remote or telecommuting employees with a variety of remote desktop support solutions. Such functionality is available in many products including popular instant messaging applications like Microsoft Messenger. Citrix has released GoToAssist version 7 to help companies provide technical support and services to employees and/or customers. New features include a Manager's Dashboard, expanded team management, expanded API integration, multi-session phone mode and file transfer improvements.

Top Tech News: Microsoft continues to hail the next release of its server platform, Longhorn, with delivery two years away. A key concept of the new platform is its modular operating system architecture. It allows servers to be deployed with only the services needed. It begins with the Server Core; administrators can add services from that point. Another feature, the Transacted File System (TFX), allows rollback and commit operations to be used for software and patch deployments. Of course, this list of features may change before the product ever hits the market.

Computer Business Review: Speaking about his company's recent interoperability agreement with Microsoft, JBoss CEO Marc Fleury outlined the company's short-term plans for its software products and possible additional agreements — most notably with IBM, which acquired JBoss rival Gluecode this year. The first direct effect will be making the JBoss Enterprise Middleware Suite play nicely with Windows. Other interoperability projects in the works involve a JBoss management pack for Microsoft Operations Manager and SQL Server support for JDBC drivers.

FCW.com: Desktop management is a time-consuming job that only increases as the number of users within an enterprise increases. To address the issues associated with desktop management and movement, many government agencies are utilizing PCI bus extension technology to allow users to access their computers. The computers are mounted in a centrally located data center. Users can easily use the system wherever they are located. In addition, the IT staff can easily manage the systems through a single console. PCI bus extension products range from complete solutions that include PCs to a more scaled-down approach consisting of PCI cards added to existing computers.

Question: Let's start with the basics. How does it work? Do people download code and then just run it, as if they owned it? Or do they call services over the Internet while you keep track?
Brauer: It's not really a download. It's an endpoint to a Web service you communicate with. A good metaphor is "an eBay of Web services," because we're a place where people who provide Web services — including us — can make them available to consumers. For example, one of the providers we have is a company by the name of Tax Data Systems. They provide a live tax Web service. Say you're building a Web site where you're selling products. At the time of transaction, you want to calculate the sales tax. You can acquire all that data yourself, provide the access to the database, buy the hardware to support it, continually update it — rates change on a monthly basis — or you can subscribe to our Web service. Using XML to make a call, you provide the ZIP code where that transaction takes place and we return the tax rate so you can do the calculation on the spot. ... One way to think about it is like a cell phone package. We'll give you one thousand transactions for X, and then after that there's a per usage rate.

Question: One of the problems that enterprises face with Web services and service-oriented architectures is understanding what sort of information to provide to potential consumers of those services. What information do you provide?
Brauer: We've got 60 Web services in our marketplace. If you want to use one of those services, there's the WSDL [Web Services Description Language] document, which describes the input data that Web service requires. In the tax rate example, it's the ZIP code or the address. We also have documentation that includes more specific information about each one of the elements within the WSDL document.

Question: You deal with lots of people who are interested in Web services. How sophisticated are your customers? Do you have to educate them, or are they more or less ready to buy?
Brauer: There are two kinds of consumers of Web services. One is the developer, who has found this Web service that solves a problem he or she has. Maybe they're writing some PHP code and they need to know, how do I call this Web service from within my PHP code? Those are the kinds of questions we get from developers. We've also begun to sign up various ISV partners. These are people who have taken the Web service we've created and incorporated it into their application. So there are users of that application who never deal with the XML directly. It happens automatically.

Computerworld: A common problem for branch offices is a slow network connection. Cisco has introduced two new network appliances promising a LAN-like experience. The Cisco Application Velocity System (AVS) is a pair of appliances that speed up centralized applications delivered via the Web. It works on any content developed with HTML or XML. Also, the Wide-Area Application Engine (WAE) focuses on accelerating applications at remote offices by speeding up Internet and video protocols used to deliver content. Another benefit of the applications is centralizing server management by negating the need for servers in branch offices.

GCN: The difficulties of integrating IT systems after a merger are well-known in the corporate world. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which merged into the Department of Homeland Security in March 2003, apparently hasn't cracked the code, either. A recent report from DHS Inspector General Richard L. Skinner says that FEMA's IT systems are not integrated, don't effectively support information exchange, and are hampered by architecture desperately in need of updating. Problems with the agency's alignment of its IT strategic plan with DHS were also pointed out. FEMA's CIO dutifully disputed the findings on his beleaguered agency's performance in early August, unaware of how much worse everything was about to get when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast.

InformationWeek: Freedom. It's what Opalis' new hardware/software appliance, the Opalis Integration Server 5.0, promises IT departments. Its point-and-click, drag-and-drop approach eliminates many of the manual processes IT folks are still relying on daily to manage their data center systems. An entire process, or selected components, can be automated with the appliance. It's compatible, the vendor says, with management products from EMC, HP, IBM, Microsoft and Symantec. It'll also aid in process management, automating and documenting compliance tasks.

The Register: IBM envisions eliminating the mundane aspects of tape management with virtual storage. It's continuing its On Demand Computing agenda with the recent release of its new virtual tape product — Virtualization Engine TS7510. It provides 46 TB of storage via a rack server with a disk system. The same process for tape backups may be used, but recovery time is much faster given that tape is the storage medium.

ComputerWeekly.com: One factor that is often overlooked as server demands rise is the subsequent increase in the power required to keep everything running. This includes additional servers, processors and non-computer services like the data center's air conditioning to keep everything from overheating. IT departments are finding a variety of ways around the problem. One approach involves spreading the load across multiple CPUs. Also, virtualization applications can be used to cram more applications into one processor. For those focusing on desktop and laptop computers, power management features can be used to conserve energy. Additionally, thin clients may be used to shift much of the power requirements to the server.

Computerworld: Local and state organizations are increasingly using grid technology to help with business development within their regions. A good example is the state of New York's recent decision to financially back a plan to develop a data grid for companies to use for easy data backup. The focus is on small and medium-sized companies that find data backup and recovery services too costly. A prototype will be ready next year.