Portworx, a data storage company for containers, released the results of its recently completed survey. Although I can't vouch for the survey instrument, the survey sample or the analysis of the data, the results were interesting and the study appeared to be constructed well.Portworx's analysis of the survey data
This is what Portworx had to say about the results of its survey:
"The survey identified which business benefits IT professionals are seeking through the deployment of containers. Agility (75 percent) and reduced costs (53 percent) were the top benefits sought.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Canonical, developer of Ubuntu, a distribution of Linux, released a new version of its software that targets hybrid cloud deployments. Ubuntu is often mentioned as one of the top 3 distributions of Linux when shipments are considered, depending upon which research firm one cites.What Canonical has to say about Ubuntu 16.10
Canonical pointed out that this release of Ubuntu targets high-performance network deployments, including hybrid cloud implementations. The following summarizes the announcement:
Ubuntu is the platform used in the majority of cloud deployments worldwide.
Version 16.10 includes tools or hybrid cloud operations, bare-metal cloud performance.
It provides enterprises with the ability to "lift and shift" 80 percent of Linux virtual machines to machine containers.
It includes Kubernetes for process-container coordination.
It also includes full container support in OpenStack, as well as "telco-grade" networking latency enhancements.
Canonical went on to discuss other features of this release:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
From time to time, a vendor's PR rep sends me a note about the "problem" that is caused by mainframe systems being at the hub of enterprise computing. In reality, these systems often offer more integrated processing power, larger memory capacity and more efficient database operations than a distributed, x86-based solution.The most recent pitch I received included this sentence: "How the dusty old legacy mainframe holds back cloud initiatives... and how it can be modernized."What are the real costs?
Part of the reason mainframes won't die is that often they simply cost less to operate when all of the costs of ownership and workload operations are considered.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
From time to time, a vendor's PR rep sends me a note about the "problem" that is caused by mainframe systems being at the hub of enterprise computing. In reality, these systems often offer more integrated processing power, larger memory capacity and more efficient database operations than a distributed, x86-based solution.The most recent pitch I received included this sentence: "How the dusty old legacy mainframe holds back cloud initiatives... and how it can be modernized."What are the real costs?
Part of the reason mainframes won't die is that often they simply cost less to operate when all of the costs of ownership and workload operations are considered.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Although I had a few problems with the original PR messages that invited me to meet with MarkLogic, the conversation with Gary Bloom, the company's CEO and president, was well worth the time.Summary of our conversation
The following bullets are a quick summary to a complex and engaging conversation:
The industry is experiencing several fundimental shifts in both the sources of data and how it is being used. The data is now coming from many types of end user focused devices, applications that combine the efforts of many systems that are housed all over the planet, neither enterprises nor end users will tolerate slow response times or failures, and older approaches that are based upon monolithic application and database design simply can't keep up.
While it is true that things have changed in fundimental ways, older applications, systems and designs are not going away. They continue to support enterprise critical applications, but need help dealing with the tsunomi of data coming from everywhere.
The state of the art in database architecture has shifted from a "shared nothing" design center to a "shared everything" center that can take advantage of local, virtual and cloud processing and data.
Database design Continue reading
Although I had a few problems with the original PR messages that invited me to meet with MarkLogic, the conversation with Gary Bloom, the company's CEO and president, was well worth the time.Summary of our conversation
The following bullets are a quick summary to a complex and engaging conversation:
The industry is experiencing several fundimental shifts in both the sources of data and how it is being used. The data is now coming from many types of end user focused devices, applications that combine the efforts of many systems that are housed all over the planet, neither enterprises nor end users will tolerate slow response times or failures, and older approaches that are based upon monolithic application and database design simply can't keep up.
While it is true that things have changed in fundimental ways, older applications, systems and designs are not going away. They continue to support enterprise critical applications, but need help dealing with the tsunomi of data coming from everywhere.
The state of the art in database architecture has shifted from a "shared nothing" design center to a "shared everything" center that can take advantage of local, virtual and cloud processing and data.
Database design Continue reading
I was notified that a software update was available for a few of my systems. An update to macOS Sierra was available for my main production system, a MacBook Pro, and my travel system, a MacBook Air. My personal work environment also includes a cloud-based storage service, several Linux servers for local file and print services as well as a lonely, old Windows-based laptop to execute a single application to support a long-term consulting contract.Living with an electronic tower of potential trouble
Since my production environment is made up of systems from different vendors, purchased at different times, and software from different vendors, the prospect of updating anything, much less the operating system on one of my production machines, is scary.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I recently received a promotional message from a PR representative of a supplier of database technology trying to arrange a briefing prior to the upcoming Oracle OpenWorld. The come-on was based upon the notion that the needs of big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and the tremendous growth of smartphones, tablets and other intelligent devices have overcome the capabilities offered by relational database engines, such as those offered by Oracle.+ Also on Network World: Does 'share-nothing' NoSQL signal the end to system resources sharing? +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
I recently received a promotional message from a PR representative of a supplier of database technology trying to arrange a briefing prior to the upcoming Oracle OpenWorld. The come-on was based upon the notion that the needs of big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and the tremendous growth of smartphones, tablets and other intelligent devices have overcome the capabilities offered by relational database engines, such as those offered by Oracle.+ Also on Network World: Does 'share-nothing' NoSQL signal the end to system resources sharing? +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long
When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long
When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long
When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Having lived in the world of IT for a while, I often find myself having to "call BS" during a vendor briefing. Why is that? Vendor representatives start a conversation with something like "we are the only ones to offer this capability" or "we are the first in the industry to solve this problem" when there are examples of the same capability from technology offered in the in the past. They do this in the hopes of breaking through industry chatter and, as a result, booking a meeting with my team or me.IT really hasn't been around all that long
When considered in the abstract, IT really hasn't been around all that long. In that short time, practitioners spoke of "working in the computer department," "working in data processing," "working in information systems" or " working in IT."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Dan Kusnetzky