Data Center Management Articles
Dell says it will resell RainStor's specialized data retention database to support solutions such as application retirement and retention of machine-generated data. RainStor, a data storage infrastructure software company, designs and sells technology that enables data to be de-duplicated and compressed, while still accessible online through standard SQL language and BI tools. "The RainStor-Dell solution combines the object storage capabilities of the Dell DX with RainStor's online data retention (OLDR) repository," Ramon Chen, vice president of product management at RainStor, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted June 13, 2011
Precise, a provider of transaction performance management (TPM) products and managed services, introduced an appliance intended to make it easier to get started with end-to-end management of enterprise systems. The downloadable Precise Virtual Appliance is built for managing new private cloud applications.
Posted June 13, 2011
Attachmate Corporation announced it has begun shipping Attachmate Reflection for the Web 2011 R1, the latest version of its web-to-host tool for connecting local and remote users to legacy applications on a variety of host platforms. The latest release includes new support for multiple platforms and browsers.
Posted June 13, 2011
At last week's INNOVATE 2011 conference, IBM announced new application development collaboration software built on its Jazz open source development platform. New features are designed to enable developers to interact quickly, share data from any source in the development process and connect teams and development communities. "A critical challenge facing businesses is how to innovate through fostering collaboration among teams and a complex array of partners and suppliers," says Dr. Kristof Kloeckner, general manager of IBM Rational.
Posted June 13, 2011
CiRBA Inc., a provider of data center analytics software, says it will soon be offering new cloud planning analytics that streamline and improve decision-making processes around cloud migration. To be made available with CiRBA Version 6.2, these new analytics will help support organizations in determining how to set up their internal cloud environments, as well as determine the optimal environment, placement, instance size and software profile to migrate individual workloads to."Cloud migration planning can be far more complex than pure virtualization planning, partly due to the added variables of instance sizing and costs, but primarily because policies take on an even more critical role in the decision of where to place workloads," says Andrew Hillier, co-founder and CTO of CiRBA.
Posted June 13, 2011
In recognition of World IPv6 day last week, Compuware released a free IPv6 website performance comparison test. The Gomez IPv6 Website Performance Comparison Test allows organizations to compare the speed of their IPv4- and IPv6-enabled web applications. "IPv6 will play an important role in the future of the Internet, and until now there was no way to test the performance of IPv6-ready websites or compare them to the currently deployed IPv4 sites," says Steve Tack, CTO of Compuware APM business unit.
Posted June 13, 2011
As recent graduates begin to seek employment leveraging new college degrees, IBM and JobTarget, LLC, a provider of job opportunity technology, announced Systemzjobs.com. This new employment resource directly links students and experienced professionals with IBM clients, making it easier to hire the best available talent. "Systemzjobs.com completes the IBM System z Academic Initiative circle in working with universities to help develop the top talent IBM clients require to be successful," says Don Resnik, IBM System z Academic Initiative and Client Skills Leader. "This new resource introduces new, young talent directly to IBM clients and makes it easier for them to hire the best available talent in the industry."
Posted June 13, 2011
HP has unveiled a new suite of software which it says is designed to rationalize, measure and improve IT performance called the HP IT Performance Suite. The suite provides CIOs insight from across a comprehensive range of solutions to manage and optimize application development, infrastructure and operations management, security, information management, and financial planning and administration. Each product in the HP Software portfolio improves the performance of the discrete IT functions addressed, while a new IT Executive Scorecard helps technology executives optimize overall IT investments and outcomes.
Posted June 13, 2011
When you think of mission-critical services, perhaps none is as critical as electrical service. Not much can happen in modern businesses, government offices, or even homes without it. Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) is the largest electric company in Vermont. More than 159,000 customers in 163 communities rely on the electrical service CVPS provides. And, according to J.D. Power and Associates, a global marketing and surveying company, for overall customer satisfaction, CVPS continues to rank in the top tier of utilities in the eastern region, more than 50 points above the regional average.
Posted June 08, 2011
Is the day of reckoning for big data upon us? To many observers, the growth in data is nothing short of incomprehensible. Data is streaming into, out of, and through enterprises from a dizzying array of sources-transactions, remote devices, partner sites, websites, and nonstop user-generated content. Not only are the data stores resulting from this information driving databases to scale into the terabyte and petabyte range, but they occur in an unfathomable range of formats as well, from traditional structured, relational data to message documents, graphics, videos, and audio files.
Posted June 08, 2011
Unisys Corporation has introduced new ClearPath Dorado and ClearPath Libra 800 Series which feature improvements to handle customers' growing mission-critical workloads. The new offerings feature more powerful processors and I/O capabilities, as well as enhancements to the ClearPath software operating environments - such as support for Apple iPad tablets and Android and BlackBerry smartphones - are key elements of the new offerings.
Posted June 06, 2011
About 100 attendees traveled to the UNITE 2011 Technology Conference and Exhibition, which was held last month at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove, California. Highlights included a keynote by Ann Thureen, Unisys vice president of engineering and supply chain technology and infrastructure services, and Wayne Carpenter, Unisys vice president of sales, application modernization, and North American technology. Thureen and Carpenter laid out the long-term strategy for the ClearPath product line, which is an important topic for customers who have made significant investment in the technology, Jim Shelton, UNITE board chairman, tells 5 Minute Briefing. In addition, Unisys CEO Ed Coleman stopped by the conference and spoke for about 15 minutes, emphasizing the importance of users and customers as well as the value UNITE as an organization provides.
Posted June 06, 2011
Compuware Corporation announced a new release of its integrated application performance management (APM) solution, the Compuware Gomez platform. This release introduces solutions designed to help companies optimize mobile and web application performance across the application delivery chain, from data centers, through the cloud, to the edge of the internet.
Posted May 31, 2011
Sepaton, a provider of enterprise-class disk-based data protection platforms, announced the extension of its enterprise data protection platform. The company's Sepaton S2100-DS3 Series 1000 and 2000 systems are designed to meet the needs of large enterprises with multiple remote locations, the DS3 provides enterprises the ability to deliver the same standard of data protection to remote offices that has previously only been available to primary data centers.
Posted May 31, 2011
CA Technologies says it is working to help IT organizations and employees meet workforce needs and address sustainability challenges with core programming skills training offered through its Mainframe Academy and Mainframe Associate Software Engineering Program (MASEP). The training is necessary to support customers who rely on the mainframe as a critical component of their data centers, according to CA. The goal of the Mainframe Academy and MASEP is to certify graduates in the mastery of mainframe skills across hardware, applications and environments.
Posted May 31, 2011
Red Hat, a provider of open-source-based platforms, announced the availability of the beta version of the seventh update for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5. This beta of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (version 5.7) contains a number of enhancements for enterprise management and virtualization performance. Also included are updates to the drivers and kernel to support Intel, AMD, POWER and IBM mainframe hardware updates.
Posted May 31, 2011
Temenos, a provider of banking software, launched a new Java and component-based version of its flagship TEMENOS T24 software (T24), designed for use by large banks. As part of this launch, Temenos announced results of a major benchmark which illustrate the high performance of the new product running natively on IBM' System z servers, leveraging advanced features of the System z.
Posted May 31, 2011
Maintec Technologies, an infrastructure support vendor, has launched a service it calls "Graveyard Shift Service," which offers companies running IBM mainframe data centers capability to outsource their night shift operations to be supported from Maintec's Bangalore-based Network Operations center.
Posted May 31, 2011
The Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and X2-8 with the Solaris option began shipping just this month. Now in its third generation, the Database Machine combines all the components to create what the company describes as the best platform for running the Oracle Database. Here, Tim Shetler, vice president of Product Management, Oracle, talks about the performance innovations that differentiate Oracle's offering, how customers are using the system today for business advantage, and also — what's ahead.
Posted May 26, 2011
HP has announced a new financing offer to help organizations accelerate decision making with SAP In-Memory Appliance software (SAP HANA) running on HP Converged Infrastructure. The financing program from HP includes HP infrastructure and services as well as SAP HANA software licenses.
Posted May 25, 2011
The service management world of today is all about linking business services to the underlying IT infrastructure, creating an effective bridge between the business and technology. In theory, this provides a clear window into the IT environment to increase accountability, productivity and efficiency. Effective service management also provides business context, so IT can take action to avert service-impacting events by understanding business priority. However, current business service management (BSM) does not provide enough guidance about how to manage services proactively and effectively. This issue is now more important than ever, because on the horizon lurks an exciting new arena for service management-virtualization and cloud computing.
Posted May 25, 2011
Informatica Corporation has announced Informatica Cloud Summer 2011, a major new release of its cloud integration service. The Informatica Cloud Summer 2011 release enables universal cloud integration and unified hybrid deployment for both on-premise and cloud deployments. The new release provides ease of use cloud features to enhance the simplicity of learning, deploying, administering, managing and configuring cloud integration, as well as enterprise-class functionality, including fine-grained access controls and delegated administration.
Posted May 25, 2011
LogLogic, an IT data management company supporting log and security management, says it is working with VMware to help ensure that IT data is collected from virtualized infrastructures, to meet the PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). To help VMware customers achieve regulatory compliance faster, LogLogic also announced it is awarding its MX-Virtual virtual appliance product to the first 100 VMware vShield and VMware vCenter Server customers who sign up at www.loglogic.com/vmware-offer.
Posted May 16, 2011
Red Hat, Inc., a provider of enterprise open source solutions, announced the launch of JBoss Enterprise Data Grid 6, a cloud-ready, highly scalable distributed data cache, which can help ease the load on database servers, reduce response times in applications, and provide additional failure resilience. JBoss Enterprise Data Grid 6 is based on the popular JBoss Community project, Infinispan, and will initially be available through an Early Access Program.
Posted May 16, 2011
H&W Computer Systems, Inc., a mainframe software vendor, announced it is shipping a new update to its SYSB-II software, which enables customers to keep mainframe CICS applications online while batch updates VSAM files. Version 6.4 of SYSB-II includes performance enhancements gained from features designed to avoid unnecessary update locking, optimize use of read-ahead buffer space, and take advantage of syncpoint optimization.
Posted May 16, 2011
DataKinetics, a provider of mainframe transaction and performance solutions, announced a solution designed to increase mainframe data capacity and throughput while decreasing data access request time for DB2. The Java to DB2 Optimizer, initially developed by DataKinetics to solve Java to DB2 access issues in the mainframe of a large U.S. bank, helps minimize DB2 processing loads, first by reducing the number of I/Os to DB2 for read-only data, and replacing dynamic SQL queries with stored procedures.
Posted May 16, 2011
IBM announced seven new tape storage and enhanced archiving, deduplication offerings designed to help clients efficiently store and extract intelligence from massive amounts of data. The announcements include a tape library system that provides more than 2.7 exabytes of automated storage.
Posted May 16, 2011
Compuware Corporation, a provider of technology performance solutions, announced that American Express won the $1 million grand prize in its "Mainframe Cost Savings Program." Participants in the program were offered a free cost-savings assessment, which identified current opportunities and provided a roadmap for future operational cost-savings for the mainframe.
Posted May 16, 2011
Gluster, a provider of open source cloud storage solutions, announced the availability of the Gluster Storage Software Appliance, intended to extend the range of commercially supported configurations for Gluster in the private cloud and on-premise data center environments. This new product combines Red Hat CentOS and GlusterFS and can be deployed on any Red Hat Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) certified host server and its certified storage.
Posted May 16, 2011
Big data provides new opportunities to improve customer care, unearth business insights, control operational costs, and in some cases, enable entirely new business models. By having access to larger and broader data sets, you can improve forecasts and projections for the business. A healthcare organization can conduct longitudinal analysis against years of data for patients treated with coronary attacks in order to improve care and speed time to recovery. A retailer can conduct deeper analysis on buying behavior during recessionary times if they have access to large data sets collected during the last economic downturn. Additionally, organizations across many sectors, such as communications, financial services and utilities, face significant regulatory and legal requirements for retaining and providing fast access to historical data for inquiries, audits and reporting.
Posted May 12, 2011
North American businesses are collectively losing $26.5 billion in revenue each year as a result of slow recovery from IT system downtime, according to a recent study. To protect against unexpected outages, IT organizations attempt to prepare by creating redundant backup systems, duplicating every layer in their existing infrastructure and preparing elaborate disaster recovery processes. This approach is expensive and only partly effective, as demonstrated by the string of notable outages, and can be seen, at best, as a way to minimize downtime. Major social networking companies, such as Google and Facebook, have figured out how to scale ut application stacks rather than scale up vertically.
Posted May 12, 2011
Oracle has announced Sun Ray Software 5.2. The latest release of Oracle's server-hosted desktop software is intended to be simpler to install and configure, and features improved video, audio, smart card, Virtual Private Network (VPN), and network resiliency. Sun Ray Software is part of Oracle's desktop-to-data center virtualization portfolio, enabling customers to virtualize and manage their full software and hardware stack, from applications to disk.
Posted May 12, 2011
Unisys CEO Ed Coleman is planning to attend the upcoming UNITE 2011 Technology Conference and Exhibition. Coleman is scheduled to give a short address at the opening general session prior to the keynote, which will be presented by Ann Thureen, Unisys vice president of engineering and supply chain technology and infrastructure services, and Wayne Carpenter, Unisys vice president of sales, application modernization, and North American technology on Monday, May 23. And, after that session, Coleman will be available in the foyers and on the exhibit floor for attendees to meet with and have informal ad hoc discussions. This year's conference will take place May 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Orange County in Garden Grove, California.
Posted May 09, 2011
Unisys has announced that the ES7000 Model 7600R G3 Enterprise Server, the new high-end model in ES family of open servers based on the Intel x86 processor architecture, are scheduled to start shipping in June 2011.
Posted May 09, 2011
The Unisys Stealth Solution for Networks has achieved EAL-4+ certification from the National Security Agency (NSA) as a secure solution for protection of data-in-motion across any network, whether private or public, qualifying Stealth to protect U.S. Defense Department data classified up to the "secret" level. The patent-pending Unisys Stealth Solution uses advanced data encryption to secure data on shared networks. Using the Unisys Stealth Solution, organizations can create defined communities of interest within a shared network and segregate data access so that one group of users cannot see or access another's data.
Posted May 09, 2011
The Unisys Data Center Transformation Technology Talk webinar series continues this month, featuring an update on Unisys' latest Data Center Transformation and Cloud services and solution offerings to better assist customers in aligning their IT infrastructure more successfully with their business goals. Unisys is highlighting a different storage service and solution topic each month in addition to regular updates on DCT services and ES server technology solutions.
Posted May 09, 2011
BMC Software has acquired Coradiant Inc., an end-user experience and web application performance monitoring technology vendor. According to BMC, the acquisition enhances its ability to offer businesses a complete view of service performance - from end-user experience and behavior to infrastructure. The new BMC End User Experience Management solution based on Coradiant's technology enables business and IT service managers to see and understand how application performance affects end-user behavior and ultimately the business by providing complete visibility into real-time, end-to-end performance of enterprise, cloud and SaaS-based applications. By monitoring the end user's experience, organizations can protect revenue, enhance productivity and ensure operational stability for their business-critical applications.
Posted May 03, 2011
IBM announced it had a stellar first quarter for this year, and that mainframe systems sales were through the roof. Overall, IBM's first-quarter net income was up 10% over the year before, up from $2.6 million to $2.9 billion. Total revenue for the first quarter of 2011 of $24.6 billion increased 8% from the first quarter of 2010. The company also reported that revenue from its systems and technology segment totaled $4 billion for the quarter, up 19% from the same quarter a year ago. Leading the way was revenue from System z mainframe server products, which increased 41% compared with the year-ago period.
Posted May 02, 2011
CA Technologies has announced a month-long virtual tradeshow designed to help IT professionals discover new ways to leverage mainframes to meet key business challenges. Called May Mainframe Madness (MMM) 2011 the event leverages cloud technology to deliver educational presentations, and offers networking on a wide range of topics with subject matter experts, including CA Technologies staff, analysts and customers.
Posted May 02, 2011
Cleversafe Inc. has announced that it has been issued five patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, helping the company build its portfolio around information dispersal. In addition, the company has two allowed patent applications, and, as of April 11, 2011, 65 published pending U.S. patent applications. The company also has more than one dozen foreign pending patent applications, and continues to file more U.S. and foreign patent applications. The capabilities that these patents represent are the foundation techniques that are required to build and deploy large scale storage systems, Chris Gladwin, president and CEO of Cleversafe, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted May 02, 2011
Data center vendors NetApp and MeriTalk have released a new report which provides a status update on federal data center consolidation progress to comply with the Office of Management and Budget's deadline for federal agencies to eliminate 800 data centers by 2015. Based on a survey of 152 Federal IT decision makers, the report states that about half (47%) of federal agencies have consolidated some of their data centers. However, they lack a consistent definition of what a data center compromises, Mark Weber, NetApp president of U.S. public sector, tells 5 Minute Briefing. Clearly, there is action happening and people are reducing data center counts, he says. "That is pretty big news. The big key message is being received and people are starting to monitor, measure and capture results on their efforts."
Posted May 02, 2011
Novell announced the expansion of its Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS) program for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, lengthening customers' access to the company's Linux support for each service pack release. For the first time, long term support is also provided globally for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for System z. Novell further announced the immediate availability of SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 Service Pack 4 (SP4), bundling all previously released patches, fixes and updates for SUSE Linux Enterprise 10, while supporting the newest hardware, storage systems and networking devices, including Intel's latest Xeon E7 processor family and AMD's latest Opteron processors.
Posted May 02, 2011
A recent study conducted among members of SHARE and readers of Database Trends and Applications finds that plans for hiring of new IT professionals are strong, reflecting a bounce-back from the recent recession. A majority of the 376 IT employers surveyed, however, express concerned about the caliber and capabilities of today's IT college graduates. This not only relates to new types of skill sets such as business intelligence and analytics, but also to longstanding foundational skills such as mainframe administration and programming. In addition, many employers find the technical graduates they recruit are severely lacking in core business skills.
Posted May 02, 2011
Sepaton, Inc., a provider of disk-based data protection platforms, announced that it will extend its V6 data protection platform by enhancing its OpenStorage solutions for the latest version of NetBackup 7 by now supporting auto image replication. The Symantec OpenStorage technology allows Sepaton to deliver a tightly integrated solution with NetBackup. This integration enables enterprise IT organizations to eliminate administrative and operational complexity as data protection is consolidated into a single, integrated process across the entire infrastructure.
Posted May 02, 2011
Representing a continuation of a long-running partnership between the two companies, IBM and Sybase have introduced a new workload-optimized server appliance aimed at financial institutions, mobile operators and enterprises called the IBM mCommerce Appliance Solution. The hardware and software appliance features IBM POWER7-based Power 750 servers running IBM DB2 information management software and IBM WebSphere software application server, IBM System Storage DS5300 and the Sybase mCommerce 365 solution. Specifically, the appliance is targeted at financial institutions and mobile operators but it is not limited to those customers or verticals, Charlie Chen, vice president of platform alliances, Sybase, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted April 29, 2011
Sybase has announced that the Call for Papers is now open. TechWave 2011 will be co-located with SAP TechEd, September 12-16 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. TechWave will continue to deliver training on Sybase products, as well as keynote sessions, exhibits, special event and other networking functions.
Posted April 29, 2011
Oracle has announced the latest release of Oracle Real User Experience Insight, an update to Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g's Application Performance Management capabilities. The release provides integration between Oracle Real User Experience Insight and the Business Transaction Management capabilities in Oracle Enterprise Manager 11g, enabling customers to achieve better insight into end-user satisfaction and transaction fulfillment.
Posted April 21, 2011