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IBM Reloads Enterprise Branding
March 09, 2010 3:00 PM
Global CIO's Bob Evans and I were talking with Rod Adkins, the senior vice president who runs IBM's Systems and Technology Group. That operation is Big Blue's Big Kahuna, accounting for $19 billion in annual revenues and including IBM's chip, server, storage and systems software businesses. Did I mention that Adkins is also responsible for IBM's global manufacturing, procurement and customer fulfillment operations? All of this is by way of saying that, when Adkins speaks, one should listen.
Take Our Server Survey
March 03, 2010 10:00 AM
The server space has changed rapidly over the past few years, forced into a technological transition by four broad and simultaneously emerging trends: the ongoing push toward consolidation, the business imperative to rein in out-of-control power and cooling costs, the rise of cloud computing and a looming push for next-generation data center architectures.
Inside HP's Converged Infrastructure
February 10, 2010 9:56 AM
Our interview with Gary Thome, chief architect of HP's Infrastructure Software and Blades group, who talks power and cooling like you've never heard it before. Plus, why he thinks Hewlett-Packard's data-center play tops Cisco.
I Want You For My Server Survey
February 03, 2010 10:00 AM
In my quest to get a handle on where servers are headed in 2010, I've spent time thinking about architectural innovations from Intel and AMD. I've also been serially interviewing the server vendors themselves (see my new piece on HP). Now comes the next step--I'm pulling together a survey for InformationWeek Analytics. And I'm asking for your help.
Infoblox Opines On Infrastructure 2.0
January 21, 2010 10:26 AM
The evolution of the data center and of the enterprise network will be the hot button issues of 2010. As virtualization explodes and networks continue to sprawl, there'll be an impetus to rein in complexity. I believe that the desire to more capably manage the technologies at issue--or, more precisely, to fit everything under an easy-to-grasp intellectual umbrella--is behind the emergence of marketing-inspired monikers such as unified computing (Cisco), integrated infrastructure (HP) and dynamic infrastructure (IBM). Greg Ness, senior director of the networking automation vendor, talks about managing infrastructure sprawl and offers insight into the standards-oriented Infrastructure 2.0 Working Group, of which Cisco is a member.
Intel Versus AMD: Servers Straining For Architectural Differentiation
January 15, 2010 1:00 PM
Sifting the server tea leaves for the new year, one sees clear signs of both the market doldrums lifting and of renewed vigor on the architectural front. The upshot is that 2010 will be an exciting year. Spurred by processor innovations from Intel and AMD, we'll see a pitched battle for market leadership among IBM, HP and Dell. So-called niche players could also have an impact. I'm thinking in particular of Sun, which will reposition itself by refocusing on its high-end offerings, after it has been absorbed into Oracle.
Cisco Video Thrust Telegraphs Bandwidth-Bandit Strategy
January 12, 2010 10:05 AM
You gotta be impressed by Cisco's persistence. For most businesses, that line about using an economic downturn to positioning oneself for the rebound is just a meaningless mantra repeated from a motivational playbook. However, for Cisco CEO John Chambers, the recession has indeed been an opportunity -- a consumer opportunity -- that's come knocking on the networking powerhouse's door, and he's answered the call.
Intel Posits Cloud On Chip
December 08, 2009 1:44 PM
Network Computing readers were the first to learn about Intel???s efforts to pack a data center onto a single chip, via my recent interview with Intel chief technology officer Justin Rattner. Now, the chip behemoth has taken things one step further, formally announcing its single-chip cloud research project.
Questioning Microsoft's Cloud Data Migration Patent Application
December 03, 2009 8:51 AM
On the cusp of launching its Azure cloud computing service, Microsoft has filed a patent application for migrating data to a new cloud. But is their proposal new, novel, or even patentable?
Q&A: Intel CTO Justin Rattner
November 28, 2009 11:26 AM
In the unexpurgated version of my InformationWeek interview with the chip giant's chief technology officer, Rattner dishes on multicore processors as data-center-class solutions, Internet-wide subnets for cloud security, HPC trickle-down, and building Gigabit-class routers out of standard parts.
Encryption Is Cloud Computing Security Savior
November 19, 2009 11:08 AM
I'm beginning to think that fears about cloud security are overblown. The reason: an intellectual framework is already in place for protecting data, applications, and connections. It's called encryption. What's evolving now, and isn't anywhere near fully baked, is a set of agreed-upon implementations and best practices. Today's post talks about some relevant and interesting work from Trend Micro and from IBM.
Cisco Blurring Lines Between Enterprise, Consumer Net
November 03, 2009 11:06 AM
Analysts who've lately focused on a Cisco's decade-long buying binge will surely weigh in on the networking powerhouse's Monday announcement that it plans to acquire Hong Kong set-top-box maker DVN. Yet most of these financial musings, which focus on Cisco's stock price, are missing the point. It's all about bandwidth, stupid.
Unified Communications Battle: Cisco Versus Microsoft
October 12, 2009 3:27 PM
As another umbrella technology which is attempting to integrate ease-of-use and transparency on top of an incredibly diverse collection of services, unified communications is a worthy effort. A new report, which says the overall enterprise UC market will generate $7.8 billion in revenues in 2010, sheds interesting light on the relative strengths and positioning of Cisco and Microsoft. Here are some salient excerpts.
SSD Onslaught Spotlights Defrag Debate
October 07, 2009 1:43 PM
Let's stipulate that the proliferation of solid-state drives is a fact, and that, based on their high performance, SSDs are in the process of rapidly moving from a high-priced consumer curiosity into an increasingly popular data-center storage technology. So now the big questions revolve around dealing with a whole new set of disk "gotchas."
Cisco Putting Stamp On Smart Grid
September 23, 2009 10:11 AM
I confess I can't get much excited about either green or smart grid technology, but that doesn't mean that both aren't legitimate new beachheads in which -- to update Scott McNealy's famous aphorism -- the networking stuff will be the big deal. The whole deal, in fact.
Cisco Snares Virtualization Patent For SAN Load Balancing
September 21, 2009 11:22 AM
Cisco has just been awarded a U.S. patent, which shows that virtualization now applies as much to storage as it does to central computing resources. For that matter, virtualization is also being applied to I/O and memory resources. In practical terms, the patent, filed in 2005 but just granted last month, seems to relate to technology that appears in Cisco's SAN Fabric Switches, which incorporate virtual fabric support.
Networking In Microsoft Hyper-V: The Video
September 17, 2009 10:38 AM
I've been diving into all aspects of the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 ecosystem lately, as the operating systems move out into the enterprise. High on my radar is Hyper-V, the server virtualization solution that's available both as a standalone product and as part Windows Server 2008 R2.
Does Windows 7 Make VPNs Obsolete?
September 10, 2009 12:20 PM
The new one-two operating system ecosystem from Microsoft -- Windows 7 on the client side coupled with Windows Server 2008 R2 on the back end -- includes a feature, called DirectAccess, which automatically connects users to their enterprise network without having to go through a VPN client, effectively eliminating the need for users to fiddle with (or hide from ) virtual private network clients.
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VXLAN termination on physical devices
VXLAN is an Experimental IETF draft of protocols to enable the creation of a large overlay, multi-tenant network.
ONF Deadly Serious About OpenFlow-Based SDNs
: OpenFlow is poised to reach over-hyped status, yet there are practical, useful reasons for keeping an eye on Openflow. The biggest cloud players are involved and driving the feature creation.
Practical Introduction to Applied OpenFlow
Get a primer on the Openflow protocol and what it can do for networking.
On Resilience of Spit-Architecture Networks
This research papers investigates the practical issues in split-architecture networks and the placement of the controllers, such as Openflow controllers, in the network.
