Data Center Management Articles
Nearly half of respondents to a recent Unisys Corporation online poll indicated they are more likely to ask their company IT department to fix problems with the personally owned consumer devices they use at work than they are to troubleshoot the issues themselves or seek support from the device manufacturer.
Posted October 15, 2011
Unisys China subsidiary has been named systems integrator to support the expansion and modernization of Chengdu Airport, including work on the airport's new Terminal 2. Terminal 2 will provide additional capacity for the busiest airport in Western China, and China's sixth largest airport overall, which predicts annual passenger volume will grow 53 million by 2015.
Posted October 15, 2011
Joe Clabby authors a comprehensive overview on the SHARE website this week focusing on the issue of the IT Skills Gap. While the need for mainframe professionals remains high, for instance, the supply of young mainframers remains stubbornly short. Certainly, the supply of mainframers coming out of universities is hamstrung by a number of specific factors including an uninformed perception by students about the platform's ongoing importance, a dearth of curriculum and faculty covering the subject in many computer science programs, and a lack of outreach by industry into local computer science departments to foster both academic and internship focus.
Posted October 15, 2011
Since its launch, the Open Virtualization Alliance (OVA) has grown to include more than 200 members, indicating the keen interest in open virtualization and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). The OVA was founded in May 2011 by industry leaders including Red Hat, SUSE, and IBM in May 2011.
Posted October 12, 2011
Earlier this year, Watson, IBM's highly intelligent machine beat the two all-time winners in Jeopardy!. Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is a computing system built by a team of IBM scientists who set out to accomplish a grand challenge - build a computing system that rivals a human's ability to answer questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy and confidence. Of course, IBM did not spend all its time and resources just to create a system that can succeed at game shows.
Posted October 12, 2011
IBM has been selected by Yi Lian Zhong Information Technology (YLZ), a provider of information services in China, to build a cloud computing platform that will improve the life of citizens in China via an online portal for social services. With an IBM System z mainframe running Linux as the foundation, YLZ will expand its existing services available in Fujian Province to seven more Chinese provinces. This will allow them to construct a citizen livelihood service information network covering a population of 300 million. YLZ selected System z for its reliability, security and cost effectiveness. Specifically, the mainframe's ability to scale easily will help YLZ manage the unpredictable nature of transaction peaks and valleys without incurring additional costs.
Posted October 12, 2011
IBM is broadening its Power architecture licensing program to include a multi-use agreement that provides developers access to the entire lineup of Power cores with a single license. This is the first time such an option has been available for Power systems developers. Designers can now gain access to a blanket license for unlimited uses of the Power 470, Power 460 and Power 405 cores for a 5-year period. IBM also announced a new "no-barriers" license for the Power 405 core which drops the standard access fee.
Posted October 12, 2011
LiMo Foundation and The Linux Foundation have announced a new open source project, Tizen, to develop a Linux-based device software platform. Hosted at The Linux Foundation, Tizen is a standards-based, cross-architecture software platform, which supports multiple device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment systems. The initial release of Tizen is targeted for Q1 2012, enabling first devices to come to market in mid-2012.
Posted October 12, 2011
IBM Systems Director VMControl provides simplified, multiplatform virtualization management from a single consistent graphical user interface. It encompasses virtual lifecycle management, virtualization image management and system pool management as an extension to the Systems Director management tool. Now, IBM has announced IBM Systems Director VMControl 2.4 (available December 16, 2011), offering IBM clients a cost-effective choice with expanded support for KVM, the next-generation open source hypervisor. VMControl's comprehensive virtualization image management capabilities help achieve cloud-ready virtual infrastructures, with faster implementations and reduced time-to-value.
Posted October 12, 2011
Since its launch, the Open Virtualization Alliance (OVA) has grown to include more than 200 members, indicating the keen interest in open virtualization and Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM). The OVA was founded in May 2011 by industry leaders including Red Hat, SUSE, and IBM in May 2011.
Posted October 12, 2011
Earlier this year, Watson, IBM's highly intelligent machine beat the two all-time winners in Jeopardy!. Watson, named after IBM founder Thomas J. Watson, is a computing system built by a team of IBM scientists who set out to accomplish a grand challenge - build a computing system that rivals a human's ability to answer questions posed in natural language with speed, accuracy and confidence. Of course, IBM did not spend all its time and resources just to create a system that can succeed at game shows.
Posted October 12, 2011
IBM has been selected by Yi Lian Zhong Information Technology (YLZ), a provider of information services in China, to build a cloud computing platform that will improve the life of citizens in China via an online portal for social services. With an IBM System z mainframe running Linux as the foundation, YLZ will expand its existing services available in Fujian Province to seven more Chinese provinces. This will allow them to construct a citizen livelihood service information network covering a population of 300 million. YLZ selected System z for its reliability, security and cost effectiveness. Specifically, the mainframe's ability to scale easily will help YLZ manage the unpredictable nature of transaction peaks and valleys without incurring additional costs.
Posted October 12, 2011
IBM is broadening its Power architecture licensing program to include a multi-use agreement that provides developers access to the entire lineup of Power cores with a single license. This is the first time such an option has been available for Power systems developers. Designers can now gain access to a blanket license for unlimited uses of the Power 470, Power 460 and Power 405 cores for a 5-year period. IBM also announced a new "no-barriers" license for the Power 405 core which drops the standard access fee.
Posted October 12, 2011
LiMo Foundation and The Linux Foundation have announced a new open source project, Tizen, to develop a Linux-based device software platform. Hosted at The Linux Foundation, Tizen is a standards-based, cross-architecture software platform, which supports multiple device categories including smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, netbooks and in-vehicle infotainment systems. The initial release of Tizen is targeted for Q1 2012, enabling first devices to come to market in mid-2012.
Posted October 12, 2011
At Oracle OpenWorld, Fusion-io announced the next evolution of its ioMemory platform for application acceleration and data center optimization. "With the introduction of this next platform we are stepping down to 2x nanometer NAND flash which is doubling the capacity point," David Flynn, Fusion-io CEO and chairman, tells 5 Minute Briefing, explaining that as the capacity point is expanded, opportunities are opened up for it to be used in new areas. "People want to get the most capacity that they can because it enables them to do things that they couldn't otherwise do."
Posted October 07, 2011
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison unveiled the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 during a presentation at the company's Redwood Shores, Calif., headquarters. Based on Oracle's new SPARC T4 servers, the engineered system exploits the same parallelism and data compression provided by Oracle's other engineered systems, the Exadata and Exalogic, said Ellison, and, importantly, provides a smooth upgrade path to the SPARC Solaris installed base.
Posted October 04, 2011
Compuware Corporation introduced a load testing solution that it says enables organizations to find and fix performance and scalability problems across the entire application delivery chain. Compuware Gomez 360° Web Load Testing brings together two testing solutions - Gomez Web Load Testing and dynaTrace Test Center Edition - into one integrated offering.
Posted October 03, 2011
TIBCO Software Inc., an integration platform provider, announced the general availability of a portfolio of on-demand offerings enabling users to create, publish, and share customized business intelligence (BI) dashboards and advanced analytics applications via the cloud. TIBCO Silver Spotfire 2.0 is available as a tiered collection of packages that offers tiered capabilities, scalability and pricing. No IT department involvement is required, the vendor also claims.
Posted October 03, 2011
HPCC Systems from LexisNexis Risk Solutions has released the source code for its HPCC Systems platform to the open source community, enabling developers to leverage and further enhance the platform. To manage, sort, link, join and analyze billions of records within seconds, LexisNexis developed a data-intensive supercomputer that has been proven, and has evolved for over a decade, with customers who need to process large volumes of data. Built on a high performing computer clustering technology, HPCC Systems is an open source solution designed to help large organizations process and deliver big data.
Posted October 03, 2011
This week Symantec Corp. is announcing version 6.0 of the company's storage management and high availability product set, intended as the cornerstones of private cloud infrastructures. The release spans multiple products in Symantec's portfolio, including its flagship Veritas Storage Foundation 6.0, Veritas Cluster Server 6.0, and Veritas Operations Manager 4.1, all integrated to help IT organizations move confidently to a private cloud architecture.
Posted October 03, 2011
Red Lambda, Inc., a data management software company, announced an Early Release Program for MetaGrid, security and operational intelligence software powered by the company's AppIron Grid Platform. MetaGrid is designed to address the big data dichotomy faced by providers of IT, network and cloud infrastructures that generate up to petabytes per day of operational data. Red Lambda claims it is the first to combine leading-edge big data technologies to create a software platform designed to keep pace with the increasing volume, variety, and velocity of IT operational data and find the threats and opportunities buried within it.
Posted October 03, 2011
CA Technologies announced "day one" support for IBM's next generation z/OS V1.13 across its line of mainframe management software solutions, including CA Mainframe Chorus and CA Mainframe Software Manager (MSM).
Posted October 03, 2011
Rocket Software, Inc., an application modernization vendor, announced the availability of a new application modernization suite, now based on the open source Eclipse development environment, and offering new features and functions, including support for Java in CICS environments, and support for System z specialty engines.
Posted October 03, 2011
At Sybase TechWave, Sybase launched Sybase PowerBuilder 12.5, the second .NET release of its rapid application development tool. PowerBuilder 12.5 provides a fast and cost-effective solution for creating modern and visually appealing business applications on the Microsoft Windows 32 ((Win32) and .NET Frameworks.
Posted September 28, 2011
At SAP TechEd 2011 in Las Vegas, SAP AG announced two new solutions built on SAP HANA, the company's in-memory computing platform. The two new solutions - SAP Smart Meter Analytics software powered by SAP HANA and SAP COPA Accelerator software - were developed by SAP product and design teams working in collaboration with customers. According to SAP the new applications will provide users with real-time insight into "big data," allowing them to leverage large amounts of information for analysis, planning, and forecasting and simulations in a more fluid, natural way versus traditional approaches.
Posted September 28, 2011
Attunity Ltd., a provider of real-time data integration software, has introduced Attunity Replicate, high-performance data replication software. The new enterprise data replication solution emphasizes simplified user experience, quick time to value, and low cost of ownership, Itamar Ankorion, vice president of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, Attunity, tells 5 Minute Briefing. Attunity will present Attunity Replicate at Oracle OpenWorld, October 3-5, at booth #3728.
Posted September 27, 2011
Oracle has announced the availability of Oracle Solaris 10 8/11, which provides enhancements to Oracle Solaris ZFS and Oracle Solaris install technologies, advanced support for the latest SPARC and x86 systems and Oracle Database 11g performance improvements.
Posted September 21, 2011
Enjoy all that Atlanta has to offer during your time at SHARE in Atlanta by staying at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center.
Posted September 20, 2011
CA Technologies has announced a mainframe tool that is the combination of two of its application performance management products, as well as additional integrations, features and functions. The new product, CA Mainframe Application Tuner, combines the performance analysis and tuning capabilities of TRILOGexpert TriTune with the automated performance management of TRILOGexpert APC for TriTune. CA Technologies has a non-exclusive, worldwide source agreement to develop, market and support this technology, thus facilitating innovation beyond its previous capabilities.
Posted September 20, 2011
Cleversafe, a storage management provider, announced enhancements to its flagship platform intended to improve the scalability and reliability of cloud storage. "The area that we are focusing on is big data storage challenges. These are customers that have hundreds of terabytes to petabytes - and even growing larger to exabyte levels of storage - and need things that Cleversafe delivers in terms of managing those large data repositories," Russ Kennedy, vice president of product strategy and marketing for Cleversafe, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted September 20, 2011
Virtual Instruments, a provider of storage area network (SAN) and virtual infrastructure optimization solutions, introduced a new product suite, which includes a new 8Gb SAN Performance Probe that provides improved visibility across servers, networks and storage. "IT roles that look across all aspects of the virtualized data center have the potential to become the next hot IT job," according to John Thompson, president and CEO of Virtual Instruments. "The new VirtualWisdom platform provides the essential cross-domain infrastructure monitoring solution to enable this new role and to ensure business-critical application performance and availability in the emerging private cloud infrastructure."
Posted September 20, 2011
IBM says that it is broadening its Power architecture licensing program to include a multi-use agreement that provides developers access to the entire lineup of Power cores with a single license. This is the first time such an option has been available for Power systems developers, the company says. Designers can now gain access to a blanket license for unlimited uses of the Power 470, Power 460 and Power 405 cores for a 5-year period. IBM also announced a new "no-barriers" license for the Power 405 core which drops the standard access fee.
Posted September 20, 2011
IBM says it is working with Yi Lian Zhong Information Technology (YLZ), a leading provider of information services in China, to build a cloud computing platform that will improve the life of citizens in China via an online portal for a variety of social services. With an IBM System z mainframe running Linux as the foundation, YLZ will expand its existing services available in Fujian Province to seven more Chinese provinces. This will enable them to construct a citizen livelihood service information network covering a population of 300 million.
Posted September 20, 2011
Gluster, a provider of open source storage solutions, announced a partnership with Redapt, Inc., a data center architecture and infrastructure solutions provider. Under this agreement, Redapt will integrate GlusterFS with hardware providing customers with Network-Attached Storage (NAS) storage technology for on-premise, virtual and cloud environments. "With the dramatic rise of unstructured data, storage has quickly become a major pain point for enterprises," says Matt Huff, vice president of business development at Redapt.
Posted September 20, 2011
Stone Bond Technologies announced that it has created a new level of data federation connectivity, enabling users to work live within Salesforce.com screens without the data ever having to leave the System z host system. Stone Bond's flagship product, Enterprise Enabler Virtuoso, is creating virtual data sets by federating on-premise mainframe data, and providing a new integration to view the data side-by-side within the Salesforce.com data view. "This new capability effectively enables Salesforce.com to become a portal to all corporate data in a highly secure environment," says Pamela Szabo, chief technology officer at Stone Bond.
Posted September 20, 2011
Zmanda, a provider of open source and cloud-based backup and disaster recovery solutions, released the latest version of its cloud backup software, incorporating tools that enable users to direct backups either to the cloud or to local storage systems. Zmanda Cloud Backup (ZCB) 4.0 provides users the choice to store backups directly on the cloud; on local disks; or in a hybrid backup configuration, which is an intelligent combination of the two. In addition, ZCB 4.0 offers performance improvements of up to three times the speed for uploads and downloads, the vendor says.
Posted September 20, 2011
Jean Staten Healy, director of Cross-IBM Linux and Open Virtualization, IBM Systems & Technology Group, Systems Software, moderated a panel discussion at Innovation Nation Forum, which was co-located with GOSCON (the Government Open Source Conference) last month in Washington, D.C.
Posted September 14, 2011
LinuxCon North America 2011 took place last month in Vancouver, Canada. IBM, a platinum sponsor of the event, offered several presentations and break-out sessions. In a keynote presentation, Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger, chairman emeritus, IBM Academy of Technology, presented "Linux: A Disruptive Force - Then and Now." Dr. Wladawsky-Berger, who was responsible for identifying emerging technologies and marketplace developments critical to the future of the IT industry while at IBM, drew upon more than 40 years of experience to provide a unique perspective on Linux and the evolution of IT.
Posted September 14, 2011
This week Jeopardy! has been broadcasting an encore presentation of the first-ever man vs. machine Jeopardy! competition between IBM's "Watson" computing system and the show's two greatest contestants - Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. The final episode airs tonight, September 14.
Posted September 14, 2011
IBM has announced that it has achieved the highest TPC-C benchmark performance score ever achieved for an x86 server. The single rack non-clustered IBM System x running DB2 achieved more than three million transactions per minute, which breaks the industry record set by the same IBM x86 system just 8 months ago.
Posted September 14, 2011
Jean Staten Healy, director of Cross-IBM Linux and Open Virtualization, IBM Systems & Technology Group, Systems Software, moderated a panel discussion at Innovation Nation Forum, which was co-located with GOSCON (the Government Open Source Conference) last month in Washington, D.C. The session, "Unlocking Data Center Consolidation and the Cloud," spotlighted how Linux on the mainframe is enabling a smarter approach to IT infrastructure, and the efficiencies and cost savings that result.
Posted September 14, 2011
LinuxCon North America 2011 took place last month in Vancouver, Canada. IBM, a platinum sponsor of the event, offered several presentations and break-out sessions. In a keynote presentation, Dr. Irving Wladawsky-Berger, chairman emeritus, IBM Academy of Technology, presented "Linux: A Disruptive Force - Then and Now." Dr. Wladawsky-Berger, who was responsible for identifying emerging technologies and marketplace developments critical to the future of the IT industry while at IBM, drew upon more than 40 years of experience to provide a unique perspective on Linux and the evolution of IT.
Posted September 14, 2011
This week Jeopardy! has been broadcasting an encore presentation of the first-ever man vs. machine Jeopardy! competition between IBM's "Watson" computing system and the show's two greatest contestants - Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. The final episode airs tonight, September 14.
Posted September 14, 2011
IBM has announced that it has achieved the highest TPC-C benchmark performance score ever achieved for an x86 server. The single rack non-clustered IBM System x running DB2 achieved more than three million transactions per minute, which breaks the industry record set by the same IBM x86 system just 8 months ago.
Posted September 14, 2011
Unisys has announced the availability of the Unisys Stealth Solution for Secure Virtual Terminal (SSVT), a secure solution residing on a federal government-certified USB device to help ensure that a mobile user's data is secure and readily available to those authorized to view it. According to Unisys, SSVT combines the power of Unisys Stealth Solution for Network with a customized, dedicated and portable device that allows a remote user to boot up and establish a "clean and secure session" linking to an enterprise network. The Unisys solution creates virtual "communities of interest," groups that can share the same physical or virtual network without fear of another group accessing their data or workstations and servers.
Posted September 14, 2011
Micro Focus, a provider of enterprise application modernization solutions, announced the launch of its Online Application Value Profile (AVP), a self-assessment tool which helps software organizations begin the process of making strategic and continuous improvements to the software development lifecycle (SDLC). According to Micro Focus, as pressures mount on organizations to increase productivity and understand potential return on investment for a project, software development teams are caught between pressures to produce more software, increase quality and meet rigid schedules, while controlling or even reducing costs.
Posted September 14, 2011
Nearly 40 international airlines operating to and from Australia have signed a 2-year contract extension through 2016 with Unisys Australia, which will continue providing an advanced baggage reconciliation system at seven Australian international airports at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. The contract extension is worth more than $11.7 million.
Posted September 14, 2011