HPE is adding an AI-based recommendation engine to the InfoSight predictive analytics platform for flash storage, taking another step toward what it calls the autonomous data center, where systems modify themselves to run more efficiently.The ultimate goal is to simplify and automate infrastructure management in order to cut operation expenses.[ Check out our What is hyperconvergence? and learn whether your network and team are up to hyperconverged storage. ]
HPE acquired InfoSight as part of its $1 billion deal earlier this year for Nimble Software, a maker of all-flash and hybrid flash storage products. Along with the announcement of the new recommendation engine, HPE Tuesday also said it is extending InfoSight to work with 3Par high-end storage technology it acquired in 2010.To read this article in full, please click here
As the Internet of Things grows and society becomes more interconnected, millions of citizens are beginning to experience a new kind of lifestyle in smart cities. These futuristic, digitally-dependent cities aren’t entirely without their downsides, however; human rights activist, futurist, and private citizens are increasingly concerned that the advent of smart cities could mean the death of privacy itself.So, what’s the truth behind smart cities and privacy, and is all the craze generated over tomorrow’s urban centers anything more than wild speculation? A quick review of smart cities as they’re developing now shows that, managed properly, they can be a huge boon to the populace – but privacy advocates will have to stay on their toes.To read this article in full, please click here
When talking about the Internet of Things, it’s important to remember that the “internet” part is just as critical as the “things.” That my sound cryptic, but it can have dramatic real-world implications, as demonstrated by the failure last week of one-time Kickstarter darling Emberlight.INSIDER: 5 ways to prepare for Internet of Things security threats
The company had raised $300,000 back in 2014 to fund development of its smart light socket designed to work with ordinary bulbs. But on November 16, Emberlight notified customers it was going out of business due to competition from larger competitors and imitators selling similar devices for a quarter of the price.To read this article in full, please click here
This powerful full-speed 5200mAh charger from Lumina features huge 2.4A output to keep your devices powered up while you're out, or in an emergency. The charger currently averages 5 out of 5 stars on Amazon from over 380 reviewers (read recent reviews here). This item has been included as one of Amazon's "Prime Week" deals of the day, so right now its typical list price of $49.99 has been cut 75% down to just $12.74. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full, please click here
It’s been said that the industry dislikes too many choices, but HPE is offering more choices for server products with new ARM- and AMD Epyc-based servers. And in both cases, HPE is touting price-performance efficiency.The company today announced new ProLiant DL385 Gen10 servers running AMD’s Epyc processor, the server version of its Zen-based core that has shot the company back into serious competitiveness with Intel.Also on Network World: REVIEW: How rack servers from HPE, Dell and IBM stack up
HPE claims that with the Epyc chips, customers can have more virtual machines per server and the ability to process more data in parallel, thanks to the 32 cores with two threads per core in the Epyc processor. The result, it says, is up to 50 percent lower cost per virtual machine than “traditional” servers.To read this article in full, please click here
Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology is providing enterprises with greater flexibility and agility over WAN connectivity, but is being used to supplement rather than replace existing implementations of Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) WAN circuits.That may be a surprise to many who are wowed by the fast pace of SD-WAN adoption. “In the classic engineer’s formulation, ‘You can have it cheaper, faster, or better…pick two,’” writes John Burke, CIO and Principal Research Analyst - Nemertes Research. “From time to time new technology comes along and, by changing the basic assumptions underlying existing solutions, manages to be cheaper and faster and better all at once. SD-WAN promises to hit the trifecta.”To read this article in full, please click here
Earlier this year, Cisco announced the man who turned it from a small router company into the world’s dominant network vendor, John Chambers, was exiting his post as executive chairman of the board and it turned the mothership fully over to Chuck Robbins. This raised the question: What has Chambers been up to? Retired?Also on Network World: IoT catches on in New England fishing town
Hardly. I met with Chambers near the end of his tenure as CEO, and he most emphatically stated he was not retiring. There are many things I admire about Chambers, but two of his more notable attributes are that he has a knack of catching market transitions and he has a burning desire to change the world. In fact, under Chambers, Cisco put together perhaps the best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program in the industry, and that legacy has carried over in the Chuck Robbins era.To read this article in full, please click here
Doctors — particularly the ones that work in emergency rooms — need to have strong stomachs and level heads, since they see illness and injury at their most serious. Violence, accidents and serious diseases are all a matter of routine in the ER.Dr. Christian Dameff is a faculty member at UC San Diego’s medical school, has seen all of that and more, since he’s also a white-hat hacker and expert in medical IoT security. He warned the audience on Thursday at the Security of Things USA convention in San Diego that the state of that security is, frankly, alarming.+ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Windows Server in the cloud: Can you, should you, and with which provider? + HPE gives up the battle for tier 1 data center customersTo read this article in full, please click here
Every vendor today is spewing about the importance of managing the user experience. What this actually means, however, remains a mystery to most, and there are precious few approaches available to help you get a handle on the issue.Good and predictable user experience is no longer negotiable in this age of constant online business communications. Computer networks have effectively become the single most important tool driving corporate productivity.But user experience is one of the most difficult problems to address, especially on enterprise access networks, because each experience is influenced by a long list of moving parts, many of which are increasingly outside the control of IT. To read this article in full, please click here
Few industries have benefited as much from the Internet of Things revolution than manufacturers. Whether it’s harnessing the power of data and metadata to make wiser decisions, or developing new and more efficient technologies capable of saving energy cost, the IoT is fundamentally reshaping how manufacturers produce the goods we use in our everyday lives.So how exactly is the IoT making business leaders rethink the way they manufacture, and how likely is it that these changes endure in the long-term? A quick review of how manufacturers can exploit the IoT phenomenon that’s quickly coming to shape our lives shows that it’s anything but temporary, and should serve as a warning to those manufacturers who have yet to adopt a 21st century outlook.To read this article in full, please click here
Here's an adapter that's always good to have on hand. Pop one of them on the end of an HDMI cable and extend your back-of-the-tv HDMI port around front where it's easier to access. Or use them to couple multiple HDMI cables together for extended reach. Supports 3D and 4k signals. The list price of $10.99 has been reduced to just $5.89 for the two-pack. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full, please click here
Cray has picked Cavium’s ThunderX2 processor for its first ARM-based supercomputer, quite a win for the little guy coming just a week after the 800-pound gorilla that is Qualcomm formally introduced its ARM-based server processor, the Centriq.The Cavium ThunderX2 processor is based on 64-bit Armv8-A architecture and will be used in the Cray XC50 supercomputer. Cray customers will have a complete ARM-based supercomputer with all of the company’s software tools, including the Cray Linux Environment, the Cray Programming Environment, and Arm-optimized compilers, libraries, and tools for running today’s supercomputing workloads.To read this article in full, please click here
10 of the world's fastest supercomputersImage by Henrik5000 / Getty ImagesThe semi-annual Top500 ranking of the world’s fastest supercomputers is in for fall 2018 with China claiming 227 of the 500 spots on the list, although it managed to take just two places in the top 10. The United states took five of the top 10, including first and second place. New to the Top500 rankings at number 205 is Astra, an HPE-built machine at Sandia National Laboratories that is the first powered by ARM chips to make the list. The top 10 highlighted in this slideshow demonstrate what might become available in corporate data centers.To read this article in full, please click here
Qualcomm's much-anticipated ARM-based Centriq 2400 product line, which started shipping commercially this week, is a worthy contender to break Intel's virtual monopoly in the server processor arena, where data center operators are thirsting to see competition to help bring down costs.An unsolicited acquisition bid for Qualcomm from Broadcom, emerging server-chip competitors and legal wrangles involving Apple and other vendors, however, cast a bit of a shadow on prospects for the new chip.[ Check out this review: How rack servers from HPE, Dell and IBM stack up . ]To read this article in full, please click here
Qualcomm's much-anticipated ARM-based Centriq 2400 product line, which started shipping commercially this week, is a worthy contender to break Intel's virtual monopoly in the server processor arena, where data center operators are thirsting to see competition to help bring down costs.An unsolicited acquisition bid for Qualcomm from Broadcom, emerging server-chip competitors and legal wrangles involving Apple and other vendors, however, cast a bit of a shadow on prospects for the new chip.Qualcomm revealed some impressive specs at an industry event in San Diego Wednesday, bringing out a a variety of big-time cloud, hardware and software providers to show support.To read this article in full, please click here
Blockchain, also referred to as distributed ledger, is the concept behind the success of Bitcoin and provides a dynamic digital register of transactions. Think of it as a database that’s distributed throughout a network. Information is continually shared and reconciled throughout multiple nodes and each one has an identical copy of the database. Transactions within this database are audited and agreed upon by consensus. This decentralized method of keeping track of changes ensures the ledger can’t be practically controlled by any one entity, eliminates the possibility of single-points of failure, and allows for the verification of transactions without the need for third-party intervention. Since each interaction is public, blockchain technology offers a reliable, incorruptible transaction-based infrastructure and the value it provides isn’t just limited to cryptocurrency.To read this article in full, please click here
Can two old technologies make it in the brave new world of cloud computing? Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE) thinks yes with its updates to the Superdome servers featuring its recently acquired SGI technology.HPE bought SGI in late 2016, ending for good the name and company that was once a Hollywood darling. The company enjoyed almost celebrity status around 1993 when its computers were credited for creating the realistic dinosaurs in the movie Jurassic Park.Also on Network World: REVIEW: How rack servers from HPE, Dell and IBM stack up
After that, though, it fell on hard times as the environment zigged and poor management zagged, blowing one opportunity after another. In 2009, Rackable Systems acquired SGI’s assets and changed its name to SGI because it thought there was some value in the name — for some inexplicable reason.To read this article in full, please click here
Servers should be stored in vats of cooling, non-conductive oil instead of elaborate, outfitted structures, say engineers who are working on a radical, building-free, data center concept.French company Horizon Computing is one of the developers behind the project and provides support. It proposes using stacks of 10-gallon barrels filled with Shell DIALA dielectric mineral oil or natural equivalent. Dielectric oil doesn’t have any water in it, so it won’t conduct electricity, but it cools just like water. The computers function as normal and aren’t subject to rust either.Benefits of RuggedPOD containers
The idea is that common servers are fully submerged in the barrels where they are chilled by the immersion. Expensive humidity control and air conditioning thus become irrelevant, as do buildings.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Firewalls have become ubiquitous across enterprises over the past decade, but the combination of new and varied access methods combined with increasingly sophisticated attacks has forced network operators and security professionals to constantly evaluate their defenses. Typically, firewalls are on a five-year refresh cycle, according to Gartner researcher Adam Hils, and that gives organizations the opportunity to evaluate fairly regularly what type of firewall and what features best suit their needs.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: What is a firewall? +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When you buy your SD-WAN, or for that matter any WAN technology, you sort of assume that the vendor has the legal right to sell it to you.But what happens if they don’t? What happens if you’ve built your WAN on an illegally acquired technology?The question is not just theoretical. Last week, FatPipe sent me a press release pointing out how United States PTO Patent Court upheld a signature claim to its U.S. patent (number 6,775,235) for load balancing across disparate networks. Load balancing is a critical component of all SD-WAN products. As such, FatPipe could, in theory, claim licensing fees from SD-WAN players and their users.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here