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Oracle extends cloud options with Alloy launch

Oracle is giving cloud control to its partners and customers with the launch of Oracle Alloy, an infrastructure platform that lets organizations build and deploy custom cloud services using their own hardware and data centers.The Alloy platform is built on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), the vendor’s portfolio of IaaS, PaaS, SaaS and other cloud services.“Oracle has spent a lot of money and effort to build out OCI. They’re really keen on growing share, and they’re going after programs like Alloy aggressively to do so,” said analyst Chris Kanaracus, a research director in IDC’s worldwide infrastructure practice. “Oracle is incentivized to be as appealing to customers – on economics and flexibility and localization – as possible.”To read this article in full, please click here

Using Wikipedia from the Linux command line

If you are sitting in front of a Linux system, you can always pop open a browser and query topics of interest on Wikipedia. On the other hand, if you’re logged on through a terminal emulator like PuTTY or you just prefer using the command line, there is another option: wikit.Wikit is a tool that queries Wikipedia from the command line and provides summaries of its content on a huge collection of topics. It's easy to use and allows you to quickly query and, if you want, save the rendered information in a file.How to use wikit One of the things Wikipedia will not, at least currently, tell you about is wikit itself. So, this post will provide information on the command and show you how you can use it.To read this article in full, please click here

Dell launches mini HCI system for Azure Stack

Dell Technologies has aggressively promoted Azure Stack, Microsoft’s software package that allows enterprises to run a complete copy of the Azure cloud service within their own data center.Now it has introduced a  hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) system designed to support Azure Stack: a 1U server that allows organizations to start small with their deployment and grow.Formally known as Dell Integrated System for Microsoft Azure Stack HCI, the single-node system is designed for customers with smaller data-center footprints, but is expandable to support AI/ML workloads.To read this article in full, please click here

Using functions in bash to selectively run a group of Linux commands

Using a function in bash allows you to create something in Linux that works as if it were a script within a script. Whenever the data being processed matches a set of conditions, your script can call a function that does further processing.The format of a function is very straightforward. The syntax looks like this:<function_name> () { <commands> } You can also use the following format that uses the word "function" if you prefer:function <function_name> { <commands> } In fact, you can also create a function on a single line if the commands to be run are limited, but note the required “;” that follows the command(s):To read this article in full, please click here

Google Cloud service aims to ease mainframe migration

Google Cloud has extended its mainframe migration services to include a new option that enables parallel processing – customers can simultaneously run their mainframe workloads on prem and in the cloud, with the ultimate goal of moving those resources to the cloud.The new service, Dual Run for Google Cloud, is in preview status and lets customers run workloads on their existing mainframes and on Google Cloud concurrently without interrupting operations. Enterprises can then perform real-time testing and determine application performance and stability in the cloud. A large challenge with mainframe systems is the tight coupling of data to the application layer. Companies would have to stop an application for some period of time in order to move it, modernize it or transform it, according to Google.To read this article in full, please click here

Intel details FPGA roadmap

Seven years after its $16.7 billion acquisition of FPGA maker Altera, Intel is expanding the technology it gained into new areas.While the primary use for an FPGA processor has been for smartNICs that offload tasks from server CPUs, Intel is now looking to broaden its application from the data center to remote, edge computing, and embedded systems.It’s not as if the Altera processors languished over the last several years, however. One major change is manufacturing. When Intel purchased Altera, its chips were made by TSMC. Now they are made by Intel, so hopefully that’s one less supply-chain headache to worry about.To read this article in full, please click here

Report: Price of flash memory to drop faster, further in Q4

Back in August, TrendForce Research predicted that due to an oversupply in NAND flash memory, the price of SSDs could drop by 5% to 10% in the third quarter.Since then, the economy has only worsened and the oversupply has continued, and while TrendForce hasn't reported the Q3 actuals, it's now predicting 15% to 20% drop in NAND flash prices in the fourth quarter on top of the Q3 drop..TrendForce says buyers of NAND flash memory—vendors that make SSDs but don’t manufacture their own memory—have reduced their NAND inventory and cut back on new purchases in the second half of the year. Meanwhile makers of memory drastically reduced prices to boost sales. Now TrendForce predicts that before the end of the year, suppliers will be selling memory at a loss and reduce production.To read this article in full, please click here

Using bash options to change the behavior of scripts

Bash provides a large number of options that can be used to control the behavior of bash scripts. This post examines some of the more useful ones and explains how to display which options are in use and which are not.Exiting when an error occurs If you want a bash script to exit soon as it encounters an error—any error at all—in your scripts, you can add the set -o errexit option. If your script contains a syntax error, tries to read a file that doesn’t exist, attempts to append to a file when you don’t have permission to do so, or misuses a command in some way, the script will end abruptly. Here is a simple example:#!/bin/bash set -o errexit tail NoSuchFile echo -n “Enter text to be appended> “ read txt echo $txt >> NoSuchFile Try to run this script, and you’ll see this:To read this article in full, please click here

VMware embraces DPUs to stretch the use of CPUs

While it is clearly early in the game, VMware has made a bunch of moves recently to ensure that DPUs and the smartNICs they enable are an equal part of enterprise networking environments of the future.VMware is a leading proponent of using digital processing units to free-up server CPU cycles by offloading networking, security, storage, and other processes in order to rapidly and efficiently supporting edge- and cloud-based workloads.Competitors—and partners in some cases—including Intel, Nvidia, AWS, and AMD, also have plans to more tightly integrate DPU-based devices into in firewalls, gateways, enterprise load balancing, and storage-offload applications.To read this article in full, please click here

Used servers: Bargain or too good to be true?

Enterprise IT teams are always on the lookout for ways to save money or gain operational efficiencies. One approach is to purchase used data center equipment such as servers, rather than investing in brand new systems and paying top dollar.There’s no shortage of resellers who cater to this market. Some equipment resellers specifically target gear from hyperscalers, because the hyperscalers replace their hardware at a fast pace, and the equipment they turnover can be more powerful than what most enterprises use today.Those in the business of selling used equipment say demand for their offerings is high.To read this article in full, please click here

SambaNova ships second-generation AI systems

SambaNova Systems is now shipping the second-generation of its DataScale systems specifically built for AI and machine learning.You may not have heard of SambaNova, a startup led by ex-Oracle/Sun hardware executives and Stanford professors, but its work is likely familiar. The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was an early adopter of DataScale and used the systems in its COVID-19 antiviral compound and therapeutic research in 2020.“Our systems were deployed in supercomputers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, which were then used by various parties for the research and development of COVID-19 antiviral compound and therapeutics,” said Marshall Choy, SambaNova’s senior vice president for products. “So, yes, they were a small part of that. As bad as the pandemic was, at least we got to do something good through it.”To read this article in full, please click here

MIT-based startup’s cooling tech can cut data center energy costs, footprint

Thanks to innovative cooling technology developed by an MIT-hatched startup, data center managers may soon be able to acquire servers and HPC (high-performance computing) devices that will significantly reduce the energy cost and footprint of the faciities they oversee.The startup, Jetcool, sprang from research conducted at MIT’s Lincoln Labs, and this month received an R&D 100 Award from R&D World magazine, marking it as a standout innovator for its use of what it calls “microconvection” liquid cooling of electronics.To read this article in full, please click here

Highest paid IT certifications command $130K+

Cloud expertise dominates the most in-demand tech skills for enterprises today, according to Skillsoft.The digital-learning company released its 2022 list of top-paying IT certifications, and AWS certs accounted for five of the 15 slots. Two Google Cloud Platform (GCP) certs and one Microsoft Azure cert also made the list.The continuing value of cloud certifications isn’t surprising, but what’s noteworthy is a shift toward multi-cloud skills, said Michael Yoo, customer market leader for Skillsoft’s technology and developer portfolio. “The increase in importance of Google Cloud and multi-cloud certifications—not just AWS and Azure—speaks to the growing fraction of enterprises that now rely on more than one cloud computing platform.”To read this article in full, please click here

Lenovo spends its 30th anniversary making 50 announcements

Lenovo Group is marking its 30th anniversary with its largest data-center product launch ever, with more than 50 new products covering servers, storage, and edge systems.Specifically, the celebration is for the ThinkSystem server, and many of the announcements were about upgrades. first introduced under the name PS/2 Server when IBM owned the business. It sold that x86 business to Lenovo in 2015, and it became the Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group.Due to the sheer numbers we won’t get into the individual products. Suffice it to say nearly everything is being upgraded. The next generation of ThinkSystem servers and storage, along with the ThinkEdge edge computing device lineup, as well as the ThinkAgile family of hyperconverged infrastructure appliances collectively are called Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions V3.To read this article in full, please click here

Single-core vs. multi-core CPUs

In reviewing CPU and server benchmarks, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that testing covers both single-core and multi-core performance. Here's the difference.In terms of raw performance, both are equally important, but single- and multi-core have areas of use where they shine. So when picking a CPU, it’s important to consider your particular workloads and evaluate whether single-core or multi-core best meets your needs.Single-core CPUs There are still a lot of applications out there that are single-core limited, such as many databases (although some, like MySQL, are multicore).Performance is measured in a couple of ways. Clock frequency is the big one; the higher the frequency the faster apps will run. Also important is the width of execution pipelines, and the wider the pipeline, the more work can get done per clock cycle. So even if an app is single threaded, a wider pipeline can improve its performance.To read this article in full, please click here

Using ‘break’ and ‘continue’ to exit loops in bash

The commands for looping in bash are extremely useful. They allow you to run a series of commands as many times as needed to process a large collection of data. The break and continue commands provide another special option. They allow you to exit a loop early or skip the remaining commands in the loop and return to the beginning.Both the break and the continue commands are meant to be used only in for, while and until loops. In fact, if you try to invoke the break command on its own, bash will tell you just that.To read this article in full, please click here

Broadcom’s VMware acquisition sparks concern

Chip powerhouse Broadcom recently announced its intention to acquire virtualization pioneer VMware for $61 billion. In light of Broadcom’s less than stellar track record with prior acquisitions (CA Technologies in 2018, and Symantec in 2019), VMware’s enterprise customers are understandably worried.“Following the purchases of CA and Symantec, Broadcom raised prices, decreased support, and stopped investing in innovation,” says Tracy Woo, senior analyst for Forrester. “VMware customers would be wise to have an exit plan,” she cautioned.IDC analyst Stephen Elliot sees it differently. Rather than advising VMware customers to identify the exits, Elliot believes customers should “double down” on their relationship with the vendor, moving towards a more strategic business partnership.To read this article in full, please click here

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