Articles from John Rath

1. Roundup: Fusion-io, Raritan, CommVault Explore Data Center Knowledge (Feb 2 2012) Construction Fusion-io selected by inFrame Designs. Fusion-io (FIO) announced that InFrame Designs, provider of custom-built media servers to accelerate playback of video at live media events, has deployed Fusion’s ioMemory technology in its appliances to reduce latency by up to 100 times when compared to InFrame’s previous architecture. Raritan launches dcTrack 2.6 DCIM.  Raritan introduceddcTrack 2.6 DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management) software with new intelligent connectivity management capabilities to help data center professionals manage both network and power connections more efficiently.CommVault unveils new Simpana software innovations.  CommVaultannounced new, next-generation Singular Information Management innovations that further empower Simpana software customers to lower data management costs, reduce business and compliance risks and easily extract data for better decision making with anywhere, anytime information access.  (Read Full Article)

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2. Cisco Accelerates Switches to 40 and 100 Gigabit Ethernet Explore Data Center Knowledge (Feb 2 2012) Cloud Computing , Networking Cisco (CSCO) announced it has updated its switching portfolio with 100 Gigabit Ethernet (GE) and 40 GE capabilities, the next speed limits for networking. These new capabilities provide a holistic architectural approach across campus, data center and service provider environments. (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Cisco

3. CoSentry To Add Second Kansas City Data Center Explore Data Center Knowledge (Jan 27 2012) CoSentry announced that it will build a new $31.6 million data center in Lenexa, Kansas, a northern part of the greater Kansas City area. Located at 14500 W. 105th Street in Lenexa, the new 57,517 square foot facility will be a little over 30 miles north of its first Kansas City data center located in the southern portion of the city. Construction is expected to begin next month and the project will create more than 60 jobs. The Kansas City Area Development Council, the Kansas Department of Commerce and the Lenexa Chamber and Economic Development Council worked together to bring CoSentry to the Kansas City region. (Read Full Article)

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4. Roundup: Ibm, Nec, Cisco, Talari Networks Explore Data Center Knowledge (Jan 26 2012) Cloud Computing , Networking IBM and NEC announced that the originators of the OpenFlow protocol will deploy IBM and NEC’s solution in a parallel network to test OpenFlow’s applicability to the university’s production environment. Cisco (CSCO) announced that Argentina-based bank Supervielle has selected Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS) to extend the power of virtualization, unifying servers, and the network and storage in a single system in its new data center. Talari Networks announced it has secured $4.5 million in financing from current backers including Menlo Ventures, Silver Creek Ventures and private investors. F5 Networks (FFIV) announced that the latest release of the F5 BIG-IP product family has been certified by ICSA Labs as a network firewall, helping customers protect their public-facing websites from today’s massive cyber attacks. (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Cisco   IBM   Logicalis

5. Facebook Faces Taxing Problem In Prineville Explore Data Center Knowledge (Jan 23 2012) Power and Cooling Does this story sound familiar? A Pacific Northwest state with affordable power and an ideal climate for free cooling attracts a cluster of data center projects. Then a large data center provider is told it may face a large, unanticipated tax bill due to an interpretation of state law. Legislators spring into action to draft bills to address the issue and maintain the state’s attractiveness as a data center destination? No, it’s not Washington state, where this scenario played out in 2007-11. It’s neighboring Oregon, where a dispute with the state on property taxes affecting Facebook’s Prineville data center leaves the Oregon Department of Revenue searching for a fix. The Statesman Journal reports that the problem stems from how state officials originally defined Facebook as a company. The tax issues began in August 2011 and in October tax authorities told the Bend Bulletin newspaper that Facebook ... (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Facebook

6. Cloud News: Tidemark, Meraki Explore Data Center Knowledge (Jan 19 2012) Cloud Computing Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s headlines from the cloud computing sector: Tidemark raises $24 million. Cloud performance analytics company Tidemark announced it has raised $24 million in new funding led by Redpoint Ventures with existing investors Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Dave Duffield, co-founder and co-CEO of Workday participating. With a total funding over $35 million Redpoint partner Geoff Yang will join Tidemark’s Board of Directors. With a focus on the enterprise its Performance Management platform delivers real-time, risk-adjusted metrics management; strategic, financial, operational planning and forecasting; and profitability modeling applications. (Read Full Article)

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7. Blue Waters Data Center Achieves LEED Gold Explore Data Center Knowledge (Jan 10 2012) Construction , Power and Cooling , Supercomputer The National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) announced that the National Petascale Computing Facility (NPCF) at the University of Illinois has been earned a Gold-level certification under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating program for energy-efficient buildings. Blue Waters Constructed in 2010 the University of Illinois and NCSA opened the NPCF data center as the home to supercomputers and other high-performance systems operated by NCSA and used by scientists and engineers across the country. The Blue Waters project encompassed the NPCF and a 10 petaflop supercomputer, which was initially a venture with IBM. In 2011 NCSA and IBM determined that the project was too complex to proceed. IBM pulled the plug and NCSA later awarded they contract to Cray to build a XE6 system. (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   IBM   LEED

8. CenturyLink, Verizon Win Government Contracts Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 21 2011) Networking CenturyLink has won a $250 million, multi-year order for the Department of Defense, while Verizon Business will support the Army National Guard with a $28.8 million networking solution. CenturyLink CenturyLink (CTL) announced it has won a multi-year task order valued at more than $250 million from the Defense Information Systems Agency/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization (DISA/DITCO) to provide private line services for dedicated high-speed connections between military installations. With its nation-wide backbone and private line services from DS-0 through OC-768 CenturyLink will provide the Department of Defense connections dedicated for military use. “CenturyLink will deploy its optical network infrastructure to deliver highly reliable and capable private line services to support the critical and growing needs of our Defense customers,” said Diana Gowen, senior vice president and general manager of CenturyLink Government, which is headquartered in Arlington, Va. “CenturyLink’s private line services have extensive geographic coverage that ... (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Verizon Business   Department of Defense

9. Will Defense Cloud Yield to Commercial Clouds? Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 21 2011) Cloud Computing After almost two years into the Federal Government data center consolidation project an interesting roadblock may have emerged to redirect cloud computing efforts. Plans to favor the DISA (Defense Information Systems Agency) cloud for military departments and agencies may be set aside in favor of private sector clouds. Migration to private sector Nexgov reports that a part of the 2012 Defense Authorization Act passed last week has lawmakers directing Defense CIO Teri Takai to develop a plan to use commercial cloud computing services instead of DISA’s. Within the act, Takai is directed to submit a plan by April 1, 2012, for “migration of Defense data and government-provided services from department owned and operated data centers to cloud computing services generally available within the private sector.” This comes less than a month after a Pentagon report stating that as much as $680 million a year, starting in 2015, could be ... (Read Full Article)

   Comment Mentions:   Pentagon

10. Cloud News: Embrane, Dell, RightScale, Salesforce.com Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 16 2011) Monitoring , Cloud Computing RightScale and Logicworks partner. RightScale and Logicworks announced they have joined forces to deliver a powerful solution to help enterprises simplify and manage both their public and private cloud resources. By integrating the RightScale Cloud Management Platform with Logicworks’ InfiniCloud and PowerCluster private cloud infrastructures, the companies are meeting the needs of enterprises that require high availability and compliance standards when moving mission-critical applications to the cloud. “When an enterprise requiring true high-availability or compliance moves to the cloud, one of their key challenges is finding a platform that meets the specific needs of their organization,” said Kenneth Ziegler, president and COO of Logicworks. “By pairing RightScale’s innovative management platform with Logicworks’ technical solutions and consultative, white glove customer service, clients benefit from an easy-to-manage combination of public cloud resources plugged directly into their own dedicated, private availability-zone, helping them strike the right balance between dynamic, pay-as-you go resources ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Marc Benioff   Dell

11. TACC Builds Data Center for New Supercomputer Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 9 2011) Cloud Computing , Supercomputer The Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin announced that it is expanding the center’s current high performance computing data center to house the new Stampede supercomputer, which will be built in late 2012 and go into full production to the national science community in January 2013. The $56 million project will encompass a machine room and raised floor expansion, a separate building to include the transformer yard, a location to house the chillers, compressors and cooling towers, a tank for thermal energy storage, and an additional seminar room for training. The funds will also pay for the long-term upgrades to support the infrastructure of future projects. In this video Dan Stanzione, Deputy Director, Texas Advanced Computing Center talks about the power and cooling requirements of the expanded facility. Run time is about 2 minutes, 45 seconds. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   University of Texas

12. HPC News, SGI, Blue Waters, Dell Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 9 2011) Supercomputer Here’s our review of today’s noteworthy links for the High Performance Computing (HPC) industry: Cray delivers first Blue Waters Cabinet. On December 1 Cray delivered the first full cabinet for the NCSA Blue Waters system. A photo gallery of the installation day can be found on the NCSA Facebook album, where in the comments it is confirmed that the cabinets will be water-cooled. The National Science Foundation’s Blue Waters project was awarded to Cray last month after NCSA and IBM terminated the original contract last summer. Dell’s HPC Strategy. The Register reports on how Dell is going to engage the market to grow its HPC strategy. The primary focus for Dell’s HPC strategy is to concentrate on smaller HPC systems where projects are well-bounded with known workloads and customers they know and understand. Dell is putting together recipes for popular HPC apps in small, medium ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   National Science Foundation   Facebook   IBM

13. Roundup: nlyte, Skanska, SunGard, Data Foundry Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 8 2011) Data Center Outages , Cloud Computing Here’s our review of today’s noteworthy links for the data center industry: nlyte and Skanska Partner. nlyte Software and Skanska’s Mission Critical Center of Excellence announced a partnership that integrates nlyte’s innovative data center infrastructure management (DCIM) software into Skanska’s data center intelligence platform. With the nlyte DCIM solution within the Skanska solution the end user can reduce migration time and cost for new Skanska-built facilities by up to 50 percent, lower business risk and expense caused by downtime and catastrophic failure, and improve operational excellence and reduce total cost of ownership. “Skanska is a leader in the field of datacenter construction and nlyte Software in DCIM. It makes good commercial sense for them to work together,” said Andy Lawrence, research director at The 451 Group. “The integration of nlyte’s software with Skanska’s technology means that Skanska’s customers will have the precise ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Skanska   SunGard

14. Cisco Targets Connected Clouds With CloudVerse Explore Data Center Knowledge (Dec 7 2011) Cloud Computing , Networking On Tuesday Cisco (CSCO) introduced CloudVerse, a framework that combines foundational elements needed to enable organizations to build, manage and connect public, private and hybrid clouds. The Cisco CloudVerse framework will bring together key Cisco products and solutions for cloud computing, combining Unified Data Center, Cloud Intelligent Network, and Cloud Applications and Services. The CloudVerse initiative focuses on preparing companies for a “world of many clouds” in which computing workloads may move between clouds and data centers. Last week Cisco released its Cloud Index offering data on growth projections for cloud computing and data storage. As you might expect, a key focus for Cisco is the network, and how data moves back and forth between the physical environments that store and process all this data. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Cisco

15. Network News: Avaya, Ciena, Interxion, AboveNet Explore Data Center Knowledge (Nov 23 2011) Networking Avaya introduces new edge switches. Avaya announced an updated portfolio of Ethernet switches that will bring the capabilities of Avaya’s Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture (VENA) to the edge of the campus network. The new Ethernet Routing Switch (ERS) 4800s enable enterprises to optimize networks for communication and collaboration, and simplify the convergence of voice, video and data communications. The new switches will consume upwards of 50 percent less energy, handle five times more traffic and allow a total cost of ownership that is up to 50 percent lower than competing solutions. ”Enterprises want data networking solutions that they can forget about. Solutions that make it effortless for them to connect new IP phones, secure new devices and users, and add more capacity,” said Steve Bandrowczak, vice president and general manager at Avaya Networking. “Avaya’s collaboration-ready ERS 4800 switches deliver these features to enterprises today. They also provide support ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Europe   Tata Communications   Ciena

16. Arista Expands Portfolio and Cloud Resiliency Explore Data Center Knowledge (Nov 15 2011) Cloud Computing , Networking Arista Networks announced four new switches to its 7050 Series family and Arista EOS software enhancements that address the most demanding needs in cloud computing environments. Four new 7050 Switches Four additions to the 7050 Series switches build on their “spine and leaf” networking portfolio and provide maximum density,scalability and resiliency for the data center market. The 7050Q provides 16 ports of 40 Gigabit Ethernet and the ability to connect to eight ports of 1/10 Gigabit Ethernet based on SFP+ interfaces. The 7050T-64 and 7050T-52 Series switches provide 48 ports of 100/1000/10GBase-T to server and storage nodes. These switches allow customers to migrate from 1 Gigabit Ethernet to 10 Gigabit Ethernet without intrusive upgrades. To address the needs such as large Hadoop clusters that are growing by racks a day, the Arista 7050 switches provide automation and features like 960 million packets per second and 1 ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Arista   Arista Networks

17. NCSA Blue Waters Project Awarded To Cray Explore Data Center Knowledge (Nov 15 2011) Supercomputer NCSA and Cray announced that they have finalized a contract with the University of Illinois’ National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) to provide the supercomputer for the National Science Foundation’s Blue Waters project. Back in August NCSA and IBM jointly announced that IBM has terminated its contract with the University of Illinois. The Blue Waters Infrastructure The multi-phase, multi-year project was awarded to Cray for $188 million and will start with a Cray XE6 system, upgrading to the recently announced Cray XK6 with built-in GPU computing capability. Bill Kramer, deputy project director of the Blue Waters project at the NCSA at the University of Illinois, told The Register that Blue Waters was not a specific system, but rather a complete set of infrastructure, including a data center, plus computation, networking, and storage and, most importantly given the software goals of the NCSA, code that scales to real-world petaflops performance. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   National Science Foundation   IBM   Cray

18. DCK Guide To Modular Data Centers: Due Diligence Explore Data Center Knowledge (Nov 2 2011) Construction , Cloud Computing In the last part of our series on Modular Data Centers, we look at the due diligence steps to take when selecting a modular product or modular provider. Modular solutions can benefit a variety of businesses and requirements – but not all. Similar to any data center project, proper planning is paramount. While predicting future IT requirements can be more guesswork than science, it remains a vital part of the larger strategy. Investigating a modular approach means optimizing your research and making that perfect fit for realizing your objectives. Here are some items to consider when investigating modular products or providers. Modular Products: Is the product UL and/or CE certified? What local or state codes may be applicable to bringing this type of device to your site? Will you need additional protection for the module? While many of the modular solutions are able to withstand a variety of outside conditions ... (Read Full Article)

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19. 60 Million Render Hours Help “Puss in Boots” Purr at the Box Office Explore Data Center Knowledge (Nov 2 2011) Behind every digitally animated film, there's a render farm where high-powered computers are working overtime to create amazing digital effects. So it was for "Puss in Boots" from DreamWorks Animation SKG, which took the number one box office spot last weekend. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Hewlett Packard

20. DCK Guide To Modular Data Centers: The Modular Market Explore Data Center Knowledge (Oct 26 2011) Construction , Cloud Computing In the third part to our series on Modular Data Centers we move beyond the definition of modular as an approach and why modular data centers make sense and explore the market for modular products and providers. The Modular Market While the modular market is still fairly young, there has been some tremendous innovation and engineering design efforts put into solutions. As engineered solutions continue to grow the adoption from businesses of all sizes continue to grow as well. Many of the major server vendors have modular data center products and while they are optimized to work with their hardware, will typically support anything a standard rack supports. Vendors worldwide have engineered their own version of a container or module and incorporated a variety of unique capabilities into their solution. Having one vendor supply all components for and within the rack for a module enables them to engineer it as ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Cisco   IBM   Dell

21. Riverbed: Zeus Tech Powers Stingray Software Explore Data Center Knowledge (Oct 25 2011) Monitoring Riverbed Technology (RVBD) introduced Riverbed Stingray, a new software portfolio featuring application delivery controllers (ADC), Web content optimization (WCO) and Web application firewalls. The Stingray product family is an extension of Riverbed’s mid-summer acquisition of Zeus Technologies. Complete Performance Portfolio While much is taken from Zeus Technology, Riverbed molded Stingray to address customer needs related to the growing adoption of private and public clouds. Riverbed has also introduced cost-effective configurations with monthly subscription models to make Stingray accessible to small and medium businesses (SMBs) and enterprises. The product family is comprised of Stingray Traffic Manager, Stingray Web Application Firewall and Stingray Aptimizer. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Interactive Data Corporation

22. DCK Guide To Modular Data Centers: Why Modular? Explore Data Center Knowledge (Oct 20 2011) Construction , Container , Cloud Computing In the first installment of our Guide to Modular Data Centers, we defined modularity as an approach to data center design that implies either a prefabricated data center module or a deployment method for delivering data center infrastructure in a modular, quick and flexible method. Why Modular? The initial challenge for containers and the modular concept was its association with mobility. The Sun Blackbox was seen on oil rigs, war zones and places a data center is typically not found. As an industry of large brick and mortar facilities that went to extremes to protect the IT within, the notion of a data center in a box was not only unattractive, but not seen as a viable solution. However, the Blackbox and other early containerized offerings started a conversation around how data centers could benefit from a new level of standardizing components and delivering IT in a modular fashion around ... (Read Full Article)

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23. Network News: Level 3, Brocade, Juniper, Riverbed Explore Data Center Knowledge (Oct 19 2011) Cloud Computing , Networking Level 3 enhances enterprise networking solutions. Level 3 Communications (LVLT) announced that it has enhanced its data center networking portfolio to simplify service deployment for its customers. Working with Brocade (BRCD), Level 3 will provide an end-to-end solution for connecting two or more geographically dispersed data centers using the fibre channel, FICON (fibre connectivity) and fibre channel over Internet protocol (FCIP) SAN protocols. ”Level 3 is dedicated to providing enterprises with a comprehensive suite of options to best meet their network service needs, and our data center networking portfolio clearly demonstrates this,” said Paul Savill, senior vice president of Transport and Infrastructure Services for Level 3. “Working with Brocade, we are able to expand this already robust portfolio to provide our customers with the ability to ensure their advanced SAN protocols service is compatible with their essential network hardware.” As a part of its professional services, Level 3 is working ... (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Brocade

24. DCK Guide To Modular Data Centers Explore Data Center Knowledge (Oct 17 2011) Construction , Container , Cloud Computing The data center of the future is letting go of long-held traditions for design, where modular products and providers are ushering in a new era. A modular data center is an approach that implies a prefabricated module or a method for delivering data center infrastructure in a modular fashion. A modular solution takes the best ideas for design, reliability and efficiency and packages everything into a prefabricated, repeatable and operationally optimized module. What is Modular? Performing an image search on the Internet for a data center will result in a wide assortment of designs used in the past. The architectural, mechanical and electrical designs for data centers have typically been an open book. They were an open book to match existing IT requirements and an attempt to anticipate what requirements will be for the next 10 to 15 years. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Sun Microsystems

25. Juniper Rents Networks in the Cloud Explore Data Center Knowledge (Oct 5 2011) Cloud Computing , Networking Juniper Networks (JNPR) announced the availability of Junosphere Lab, a new virtual environment that lets companies “rent” networks for as little as $50 per day. The lab lets network operators create and run networks on-demand, enabling network modeling, testing and planning at a large scale. Operators can create and model virtual networks running the Junos operating system as a substitute for or supplement to physical test labs, eliminating significant power, cooling and space requirements. “Junosphere Lab allows us to test new prototypes in a virtual environment and enable modeling at a level of scale that is often impossible in the physical world, while significantly reducing risk and costs,” said David Roy, network engineer, France Telecom / Orange. The pricing approach follows a similar announcement from Brocade, which last month began offering subscription plans for network equipment, allowing customers to shift hardware costs from up-front capital expenditures to the operating budget. (Read Full Article)

    Comment Mentions:   Brocade

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