Processor Newspaper Volume 31 Number 16

2009·21.4 MB·English

by  Sandhills Publishing

P.O. Box 85518
Lincoln, NE 68501-5518
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June 5, 2009
Volume 31 Number 16
www.processor.com
Products, News & Information Data Centers Can Trust. Since 1979
In This Issue... Eye On Storage
COVER FOCUS
Top Data Center Technologies
We bring you up-to-date on some of the newest In The Data Center
technologies and trends related to data center
storage, power, cooling, and networking.
Eye On Storage In The Data Center..............................1
New Trends In The Power Space..................................7
Keeping Things Cool In A Rack-Dense World ..............8
Up-&-Coming Networking Technologies........................9 An Inside Look At The Technologies
Key Points
& Trends Stirring The Storage Industry
Data Center Best Practices (cid:127) Data reduction technologies are more
What can you do to by Christian Perry attractive than ever as data centers look to
cut back on costs, but these methods are
improve your data (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
center when it UNLIKE OTHER technol- just beginning to make a presence in the
comes to backup, ogy landscapes that hold online storage world.
overall design, air their shapes with all the (cid:127) Security and the ability to store files for the
management issues, consistency of a jelly- long haul will continue to be top-of-mind for
and supporting fish, the storage market IT professionals at health and government
telecommuting takes its sweet time in institutions, where regulations rule the day.
employees? Find introducing technologies
out starting on and trends. This can lead
page 24. to complacency among research from HP, 56% of
data center managers, technology executives say
who might not give a that storage consolidation
TECH & TRENDS
second thought to their will be a high priority to be
■Many small to midsized enterprises are turning to the storage environments— considered for implementa-
cloudfor at least a portion of their computing needs, but after all, if everything’s tion this year. According to
some do not know where to start when choosing the best working fine, why make the report, investments such
cloud provider for their business needs................page 1 changes? However, a as this are expected to result
closer inspection of the in cost reduction, increased
■Slashing costs remains first and foremost on the
storage industry reveals efficiency, and a strong con-
minds of IT admins, but it is hard to forget about
an ecosystem teeming tribution to the company’s
security. As admins know all too well, cost savings
with change within exist- strategic goals.
don’t mean much when weighed against the collateral
ing technologies, and “The architecture of storage
damage and legal liability a major security breach
much of that change can hasn’t changed in 50 years
can cause ..............................................................page 32
represent real value to in terms of storing full copies
■Amid the feature discovery and dreams of markedly data centers. of data,” says Chris Glad-
improving an IT environment, the task of evaluating the A prevailing impetus win, CEO of Cleversafe (www
release candidate for any operating systementails for change today is the struggling econo- professionals to consider new methods .clever safe.com). “However, we are in the
plenty of work and analysis................................page 33 my, which is forcing data center and IT for handling data. According to recent Go to Page 6
■Some of the most time-consuming help desk issues
are avoidable with some common sense. Here are a What Shape Is Your Cloud?
few tips to help IT managersimprove help desk
efficiencies........................................................page 35
■The constant sleep/wake cycle of servers wastes
tremendous amounts of energy and has spurred University
of Michigan researchers to seek more efficient methods for Choose The Right Cloud Provider
Key Points
saving powerduring idle server time................page 36
For Your Enterprise
(cid:127) When choosing a cloud provider, start with
NEWS
the services that you are looking to fulfill
by Chris A. MacKinnon
■Xerox CEO and Chairman of the Board Anne Cloud Reasons and the reasons you are looking to out-
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
Mulcahy will be passing one of her hats to someone else source in the first place. Do some research
ACCORDING TO INDUSTRY EXPERTS, the Josh Roebuck, sales and marketing
come July 1..........................................................page 3 on the services you need so you can buy
“cloud” hanging around the enterprise isn’t associate at Joyent (www.joyent.com),
them on your terms.
■The Beta version of Windows 7 Ultimate will expire going away anytime soon. Many small to says SMEs are turning to cloud providers
Aug. 1 but, starting July 1, “bi-hourly shutdowns” will turn midsized enterprises are turning to the for their computing needs for many rea- (cid:127) Make sure that the cloud platform you
off users’ PCs every two hours ............................page 3 cloud for at least a portion of their comput- sons. Roebuck notes, “It’s better, cheaper, choose does not require you to configure
ing needs, but some do not know where and faster. First of all, there are no long- your applications so that they only work on
■The economy has forced many IT managers to stop
to start when choosing the best cloud term contracts. And the cloud allows you that platform.
PC projects, but a new study from Gartner indicates that
provider for their business needs. It’s not to focus on your core business, not run-
most managers have chosen to postpone or scale back, (cid:127) Look for clouds that provide access to
uncommon for an enterprise to purchase a ning a data center, and also allows you
rather than cancel, the projects............................page 3 world-class IT infrastructure that you can
product based on a company’s reputation, to test ideas and bring ideas to market
purchase in small, inexpensive, bite-sized
■Intel will push back the release of its next-generation but because cloud computing is a new more easily, quickly, and with less sunk pieces, rather than having to settle for sec-
Itanium processor until the first quarter of 2010....page 3 solution, cloud providers do not have long costs.” Roebuck says the cloud also offers ond-class infrastructure because it makes
track records; thus, there is no way to tell a more energy-efficient approach to economic sense.
if a provider will deliver. We talked with computing and matters to your “green
The Processor.com home page is frequently updated with
industry experts to come up with tips and bottom line.” few words why SMEs are turning to the
new articles and hardware news to help you keep current.
advice that data center and IT managers Rob Lovell, CEO of ThinkGrid (www cloud: “Cost (it is much cheaper per user
Visit www.processor.com today.
can use to pick a cloud provider. .thinkgrid.co.uk), says he can describe in a Go to Page 6
Page 2 Processor.com June 5, 2009
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Also In This Issue... News
TECH & TRENDS
❙ easier to secure. According to the survey, Linux a cap-and-trade method aimed at reducing
Office 2000 Support To End
■With students of all agesrequiring access to com- is also viewed as being more flexible and requir- greenhouse gas emissions in which heavy pol-
puter resources, there’s a fine line between providing Users of the old Office 2000 suite have less ing less support and administration. More than luters could buy and sell pollution allowances
enough access to learn and too much access—such that than two months of security updates left before half of the survey respondents say obstacles to from other companies. Also included is a pro-
a student could actually hack into a network and cause Microsoft discontinues support for the software deploying Linux include internal politics, user gram that offers consumers a credit for buying
damage...............................................................page 37 on July 14, after which the company will cease resistance, and the lack of compatible software cars that are more fuel-efficient and the creation
to issue fixes in an attempt to migrate users to for Linux. About 90% of the 1,275 IT profession- of a “clean energy bank” designed to help fund
■As hardware costs plummet and management soft-
a newer version of Office. Microsoft’s support als surveyed had first-hand experience rolling the development of new energy technologies.
ware matures, personal portable security devices
policy for business software, including Office, is out Linux at a company. The carbon emissions cap, meanwhile, is aimed
could change the mobile security landscape......page 38
to deliver mainstream support for five years ❙ at cutting emissions by 17% below 2005 levels
Salesforce.com
and then move to a more limit- by 2020 and 83% by 2050. A mandate aimed at
TIPS & HOW TO Announces Strong
ed support for five years, offer- forcing utilities to acquire 6% of their electricity
Q1 Numbers
■Whether they monitor disk speed, tune storage ing security updates for all 10 from renewable resources by 2012 and 20% by
arrays, or upgrade equipment, data centers should look years. Office 2000 was launched Enterprise cloud com- 2020 is also included in the bill, which was spon-
for ways to maximize data tape performance..page 28 in June 1999. Microsoft’s Office puting company sored by Rep. Henry Waxman (Dem., Calif.) and
Update site will also be eliminated Salesforce.com Rep. Edward Markey (Dem., Mass.).
■With so many worms, Trojans, and viruses, it can be
at the end of July. A new Microsoft announced record ❙
tricky to separate the benign from the malignant, but AT&T Top Smartphone Provider,
Update site will appear starting in revenue, earnings
there are several ways to assess threatsand keep Report Shows
August for all Office-related patches per share, and cash
them in check......................................................page 28
and fixes. The Office Inventory Tool, flow numbers for the According to a report by comScore, AT&T has
■If your enterprise hasrecently upgraded the desktop an enterprise remote management tool, first quarter of its fiscal 2010. twice as many smartphone users as other net-
or notebook computers employees use, you’re likely left is also getting dumped in favor of Despite “a tough IT spending environment,” works. comScore’s mobile research unit,
figuring out what to do with the no-longer-needed sys- Windows Server Update Services. Salesforce.com added a “first quarter record” M:Metrics, found that AT&T had 11.8 million
tems. Regardless of whether you’re donating or dispos- ❙ of 3,900 new customers, bringing its total cus- smartphone customers in March; Verizon
Study Shows Business Linux Adoption
ing of the old systems, there are some steps you need to tomers to more than 59,000, says Marc Wireless-Alltel followed with 5.1 million smart-
take to properly decommission them..............page 30 The majority of companies that use Linux install Benioff, Salesforce.com chairman and CEO. phone customers, with Sprint (4 million) and T-
it on the machines of just one-fifth of their em- The company reported $304.9 million in total Mobile (3.7 million) coming in third and fourth
■System administrators and privileged users have the
ployees, according to a survey by UK-based revenue for the quarter, a 23% increase from place, respectively. AT&T defines a smartphone
knowledge and access to commit malicious inside
analyst firm Freeform Dynamics, but 20% of the Q1 fiscal 2009 and a 5% quarter-over-quarter as a device that has a QWERTY keyboard and
attacks or compromise security. When data centers lack
firms that have adopted Linux say they have increase. Net income increased to $18.4 million an open operating system. AT&T says about
methods to prevent and detect these problems, insider
rolled out the open-source OS to 80% or more for the quarter, up from about $9.55 million a 32% of its customers who purchase a service on
attackscan cost enterprises millions of dollars and vio-
of their employees. IBM, a supporter of Linux, year ago. For Q2, Salesforce.com projects rev- a monthly plan use these “integrated devices;”
late regulatory requirements ..............................page 30
sponsored the survey of businesses that have enue will be between $312 and $313 million. the carrier serves 78 million wireless customers.
deployed Linux. The survey found that power- For all fiscal 2010, the company projects rev- ❙
COMPANIES Man Pleads Guilty To Computer Fraud
using office workers were least likely to run enue will total $1.25 to $1.27 billion.
■Rhode Island-based AVTECH Software is a leading Linux, followed by mobile professionals and cre- ❙ A 23-year-old man from Plumas Lake, Calif.,
Clean Energy Act Passes
manufacturer of environmental monitoring solutions ative users such as graphic designers. Devel- pleaded guilty to computer fraud for a scam that
U.S. House Committee
tailored toward computer room and facilities operations opers and IT professionals are much more likely took place between November 2007 and May
of any size..........................................................page 39 to accept and adopt Linux, followed by general The U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and 2008. Michael Largent wrote a script that alleg-
office workers. About 70% of those deploying Commerce Committee passed The American edly opened more than 58,000 unauthorized
■Simplex Isolation Systems designs and manufactures
Linux inside enterprises say it costs less, and Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 on a 33- brokerage accounts to steal the micro-deposits,
cleanroom components, isolation curtains, and other
more than half say that’s because Linux PCs are 25 vote. If passed into law, the bill would instigate usually between 1 cent and $2, that companies
elements companies use to create and deploy special-
issue to verify user accounts. Prosecutors say
ized-environment areas......................................page 39
Largent acquired more than $50,000 through the
WATCH THE
■Recycle Your Media has been working to keep e- This information provides a quick glimpse of current and historical stock scam and used fake identities when opening the
STOCKS
waste out of the environment since prices and trends for 14 major companies in the technology market. accounts, including some modeled after cartoon
2005. The company buys tapes characters. Largent will be sentenced Aug. 13
from those who are done with them, and faces up to five years in federal prison.
inspects and refurbishes them, and % change from ❙
Company Symbol Year Ago May 14 $ May 27 $ previous issue Intellectual Property Bill Earns Support
resells them to those who want tape
AMD AMD $6.88 $4.24 $4.71 ▲11.08%
at a discount........................page 42 To better enforce requirements that protect intel-
CA CA $26.54 $18.27 $16.75 ▼8.32%
lectual property, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Cisco Systems CSCO $26.72 $18.09 $18.22 ▲0.72%
PRODUCTS is supporting a bill that would supply more
Dell DELL $23.06 $10.93 $11.12 ▲1.74%
resources to the U.S. State Department for the
■Accordance USA specializes inRAID appliances Google GOOG $585.80 $387.50 $405.56 ▲4.66%
training and enforcement of intellectual property
that provide users with an easy-to-use backup solution HP HPQ $47.06 $34.93 $34.33 ▼1.72%
efforts in foreign countries. The bill, titled H.R.
for computers and workstations..........................page 20 IBM IBM $129.43 $101.05 $102.93 ▲1.86%
2410, or the Foreign Relations Authorization Act
■FaxCore is heavily dependenton its email for commu- Intel INTC $23.18 $15.54 $15.46 ▼0.51% for FY 2010-2011, was introduced by House
McAfee MFE $36.25 $38.03 $38.63 ▲1.58%
nication and business transactions, including contracts Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard
and vendor agreements. That’s why it relies on MXsense Microsoft MSFT $28.32 $20.06 $20.13 ▲0.35% Berman. It would authorize 10 intellectual prop-
for email backup and archival..........................page 22 Oracle ORCL $22.84 $18.46 $18.99 ▲2.87% erty diplomatic specialists to work in U.S. em-
Red Hat Software RHT $24.36 $18.12 $19.74 ▲8.94% bassies and diplomatic missions. Intellectual
Sun Microsystems JAVA $12.95 $9 $9.06 ▲0.67% property theft results in $500 billion to $600 bil-
The Processor.com home page is frequently updated with Symantec SYMC $21.73 $14.90 $14.80 ▼0.67% lion of losses in annual worldwide revenue, the
new articles and hardware news to help you keep current. World Customs Organization reports.
NOTE: This information is meant for reference only and should not be used as a basis for buy/sell decisions.
Visit www.processor.com today.
June 5, 2009 Processor.com Page 3
News
UpcomingITEvents
Are you looking to learn more about data center
❙ another patent dispute. Microsoft says it is “dis- ❙
New DVD Technology In The Works Former EMC Exec Can Work At HP or IT topics? Network with some of your peers?
appointed by the jury’s verdict” and will appeal.
Consider joining a group of data center
A new DVD technology is being tested at the ❙ A Massachusetts court has ruled that David professionals. If you have an event you’d like
Xerox To Get New CEO
Swinburne University of Technology in Mel- Donatelli, former president of EMC’s storage listed, please send an email to
bourne, Australia. The new technology could Xerox CEO and Chairman of the Board Anne division, can work for HP, but he has to stay [email protected].
someday allow a disc’s capacity to reach up to Mulcahy will be passing one of her hats to away from storage technology development
10,000 times more than the current standard of someone else come July 1. Current Xerox because of a noncompete clause that forces - JUNE -
4.7GB. Called Multiplexed Optical Recording, President Ursula Burns will be taking over him to keep away from that area for a year. Upstate New York Oracle Users Group
the technology can create a “fifth dimension” Mulcahy’s duties as CEO. Mulcahy, a 33-year Donatelli left the position at EMC in April to June 5, 8 a.m.
and eventually store up to 4.6TB of data on a veteran of the company, will continue her role become an executive vice president for enter- Buffalo State College, Butler Library 210
1300 Elmwood Ave.
single disc. Current discs have three dimen- prise servers, storage, and networking at HP.
Buffalo, N.Y.
sions. The research team working on the pro- EMC filed a suit against Donatelli in April after www.unyoug.com
ject says the technique may be able to place Donatelli tried to get a court order negating the (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
up to 10TB of storage on a single disc. One employee agreement that states he cannot AFCOM Central Ohio
concern with the new technology, researchers work for a competitor for 12 months after leav- June 10, 11:30 a.m.
OSU Medical Center
say, is the lack of a recording medium that as chairman, a post she has held since the ing EMC.
410 W. 10th Ave.
could perform fast enough to write such large beginning of 2002. Her stint as CEO began in ❙ White House To Get Columbus, Ohio
amounts of data. late summer 2001. Burns, who has logged 29 www.afcomcentralohio.org
Cybersecurity Directorate
❙ years with Xerox, took over the role of presi- (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
Yahoo! Readies dent in spring 2007. The White House will establish a new direc- AITP-Central Idaho
Beijing Research Center June 10, 11:45 a.m.
❙ torate or position inside the executive branch
Windows 7 Beta To Expire Owyhee Plaza Hotel
Yahoo! reportedly has already built a new glob- designated to handle cybersecurity. President 1109 Main St.
al research and development center in Beijing The Beta version of Windows 7 Ultimate will Barack Obama made the announcement, say- Boise, Idaho
and will be officially announcing the new center expire Aug. 1, but, starting July 1, “bi-hourly ing the new position would fall under the direc- www.boisestate.edu/dpma/dpmaci/centida.html
this month. The new center is expected to shutdowns” will turn off users’ PCs every two tion of the National Security Advisor. As part of (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
Portland Area Computer Measurement Group
focus on creating products and platforms for hours. As of Aug. 1, a “this copy of Windows is a new group of advisers called the National
June 10, 8:30 a.m.
Yahoo! users worldwide. China-based Alibaba not genuine” message will replace the Desktop Security Staff (consisting of international and Con-way Inc.
Group, which operates Yahoo! in China, will wallpaper, and the installation will be declared homeland security staff), the cybersecurity 2055 NW Savier St.
have no stake in the new R&D facility. Yahoo! “non-genuine,” according to The Windows directorate would be in charge of protecting the Portland, Ore.
owns about 39% of Alibaba. Blog. However, the Release Candidate edition government from intrusions into systems such regions.cmg.org/regions/pacmg
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
❙ of Windows 7 Ultimate will continue to be freely as the power grid.
Report Says GPS Could Fail; AITP Washington D.C.
Air Force Disagrees available to registered users for use until June ❙ Intel Again Delays Itanium Chip June 11, 6:30 p.m.
1, 2010. Windows 7 RC’s bi-hourly shutdown Alfio’s Restaurant
The United States Air Force, which is responsible period will begin March 1 of next year. Intel will push back the release of its next-gen- 4515 Willard Ave.
for global positioning system acquisition, has fall- ❙ eration Itanium processor until the first quarter Chevy Chase, Md.
Microsoft Cancels EU IE Hearing aitpwashdc.ning.com
en behind on its efforts to modernize the system. of 2010. Code-named Tukwila, the processor
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
As a result, some military operations and civilian Microsoft canceled a hearing set for early June will continue to go through architectural en- ISSA Northeast Ohio
users could experience service disruptions as in which it planned to respond to European hancements through the rest of the year; this June 11, 8 a.m.
early as next year, according to a report from the Union antitrust charges. In January, the decision reflects the history of Tukwila, which Corporate College East
GAO (General Accounting Office). The Air Force, European Union’s Competition Commission has been marked by multiple delays. Intel’s 4400 Richmond Road
Warrensville Heights, Ohio
however, says the system likely won’t fail but charged that Microsoft has an unfair distribu- Tukwila chip was originally discussed in late
neoissa.org
could experience deteriorations in service. In its tion advantage because it bundles the Internet 2003. The advanced chips are 64-bit quad-core
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
report, the GAO says several factors contributed Explorer browser with its Windows operating for high-uptime servers and are ideal for main- AITP Pittsburgh
to the potential problems, including cost overruns system. The canceled hearing coincided with a frame-based server applications. Intel will pro- June 15, 6 p.m.
and schedule delays with the Air Force’s efforts worldwide antitrust conference in Zurich, duce Tukwila chips with a 65nm process, Sokol Club-Southside
2912 E. Carson St., Pittsburgh, Pa.
to successfully build new GPS satellites. The Switzerland, which was expected to draw although the company also uses a 45nm
www.aitp-pgh.org
launch of the first new satellite under the current European antitrust regulators who are involved process and is scheduled to upgrade to a
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
program has cost about $870 million more than in Microsoft’s case. Microsoft said the schedul- 32nm process late this year. AITP Southwest Missouri
expected and isn’t expected to launch until ing conflict would have prevented some regula- ❙ June 16
IT Workforce Decreases Again
November—three years later than planned. tors from attending its hearing and decided to Springfield, Mo.
aitpspringfield.org
Older satellites are expected to start failing next back out. Without the hearing, the commission Although tech employment hit its peak in
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
year but, the GAO report says, there are mea- will reach its decision based on written state- November 2008 at 4.058 million, at the end of Oklahoma City AITP Chapter
sures the Air Force and others can take to mini- ments from Microsoft and its rivals. April, it dropped to 3.87 million, according to the June 16
mize potential problems. ❙ latest figures from the TechServe Alliance and Oklahoma City, Okla.
❙ IT Managers Prefer the National Association of Computer Consultant www.aitp.org/organization/chapters
Smartphone To Postpone Projects /chapterhome.jsp?chapter=40
Businesses. IT employment is down more than
Sales Continue (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
The economy has forced many IT managers 2.5% from a year ago. The steady decline of IT
ISSA Blue Ridge
Growth
to stop PC projects, but a new study from workers in the United States has been the result June 17, 6 p.m.
Although worldwide Gartner indicates that most managers have of major technological enterprises cutting thou- USCG Operations Systems Center
mobile phone sales chosen to postpone or scale back, rather sands of positions, including HP’s recent deci- 408 Coast Guard Drive
Kearneysville, W.Va.
were down 8.6% year- than cancel, the projects. Only 12% of sion to lay off 6,000 employees. It’s expected
www.issa-blueridge.org
over-year in the first quar- those surveyed say they have canceled that the decline will continue through the end of
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
ter, sales of smartphones a planned project, and 48% say some this year, but IT recruiters remain positive about ISSA Oklahoma City
were up 12.7% during the projects will be deployed this year as the future of IT-related occupations. June 17
same time period, according to planned. Of the respondents, 475 ❙ Spaghetti Warehouse, 101 E. Sheridan Ave.
VMware To Buy Stake In Terremark Oklahoma City, Okla.
Gartner. Smartphone sales were IT decision makers for enter-
www.issa-okc.org
accounted for 13.5% of all mobile prises with 1,000 or more employees. The VMware and service provider Terremark have
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
devices sold during the first quarter, study found that 43% of respondents expect to agreed to a deal in which VMware will purchase AITP Omaha
up more than 2% from a year ago. Much of the see a spending decrease in client computing a 5% share in the colocation and managed June 18, 5:30 p.m.
growth was driven by touchscreen products, hardware this year compared to 2008. Gartner infrastructure services company. Details of the Seraph Corp.
Omaha, Neb.
says Roberta Cozza, Gartner principal analyst. says that “technology and service providers purchase include 4 million shares of Terremark
www.aitpomaha.org
Nokia led with a 41.2% share of the market should ensure that they are ready for the at $5 per share, for a total investment of $20
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
(down from 45.1% a year ago), followed by recovery, when and where it happens.” million. The two companies have worked AITP Tarheel
RIM with 19.9% and Apple with 10.8%. Both ❙ together for years, with Terremark using June 18, 6 p.m.
RIM and Apple posted significant gains in mar- New Memory Technology Introduced VMware technology in its service offerings. Foothill Brewery, 638 W. 4th St.
Winston-Salem, N.C.
ket share over the past year. Unity Semiconductor has developed a new ❙
Mac Clone Maker www.aitp.org
❙ Microsoft Loses Patent Case type of nonvolatile memory set to be a succes- Files For Bankruptcy (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127)
sor to NAND flash. The CMOx memory adds Gartner IT Infrastructure, Management, and
Following a trial in Texas, Microsoft has been conductive metal oxides into the semiconductor Psystar, a startup company that makes clones Operations Summit
ordered to pay $200 million to a Toronto soft- process that allow for ionic motion. CMOx is of Mac computers that run OS X, has filed for June 23-25
Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center
ware company because of patent irregularities capable of being scaled below 20nm with a vol- bankruptcy. Apple has been in litigation with
Orlando, Fla.
involving a number of its software products. The umetric density better than four-bits-per-cell Psystar over copyright infringement claims. Gartner.com/us/iom
case was originally filed by I4i in March 2007, NAND. It uses less than 1 microamp of write Psystar has filed countersuits alleging antitrust The intent of the Gartner IT Infrastructure,
stating that Microsoft had infringed on I4i’s current per cell and has 10 times the write per- violations and other potential violations, but Operations & Management Summit is to assist
patented technology for handling documents formance of NAND. Compared to NAND, it thus far has been unsuccessful in the court- IT infrastructure and operations leaders in deliv-
ering superior operations while they contribute to
(U.S. Patent No. 5,787,499) in products such as offers better endurance and costs less. Unity room. With the bankruptcy filing, Psystar has
business advantage. Attendees at the confer-
Microsoft Word 2003, Word 2007, Windows says pilot production of a 64Gb model should effectively given up its legal fight and may alle- ence will be empowered to make the everyday,
Vista, and .NET Framework. Earlier this year, begin in the second half of next year, with vol- viate or at least lessen the financial responsibil- critical decisions to succeed in both the tactical
Microsoft had to pay Uniloc $388 million in ume production in the second quarter of 2011. ities it owes to Apple. and strategic aspects of the job.
Page 4 Processor.com June 5, 2009
P S
RO D U C T P OT L I G H T
A Look At The Market
No matter how robust your data center’s architecture, there’s no
getting around the fact that servers and network gear are inherently
fragile devices. Too much heat or moisture, too little ventilation, and
power fluctuations can cost your organization expensive downtime.
For Environmental
Environmental monitoring equipment can watch your data center’s
critical temperature and other readings and alert IT personnel when
things get out of spec. It can also ensure quicker response time
Monitoring Equipment when a leaky pipe or a fire threatens your servers.
Whatever your business, environmental monitoring gear offers
peace of mind.
Aperture Applied Math AVTECH
VISTA Modeling CoolSim Room Alert 26W
$50,000 and up Less than $7,500/year and up $1,095
Best For: Data centers with a need for holistic central man- Best For: Data centers looking to offload computational Best For:Environmental monitoring in remote and hard-to-
agement, planning, and automation from a single suite of requirements for airflow modeling cable spots, including subfloors, cabinets, and air vents
software
■ Computer modeling of airflow and thermal efficiency ■ Longtime environmental monitoring firm AVTECH puts its
■ Aperture VISTA is a modular service management within a data center can take a hefty amount of process- more than two decades of experience to work in the Room
suite that can provide a bird’s-eye view of everything ing power, not to mention a potentially complex local Alert 26W. This high-value, expandable device comes with
important to the configuration, capacity, and operation of installation. Applied Math Modeling’s CoolSim takes the various built-in and external sensors for humidity, tempera-
a data center. VISTA’s Infrastructure Monitoring module hassle out of the equation with a SaaS yearly subscrip- ture, and power, as well as flooding and room entry. Addition-
offers real-time status updates of physical conditions tion offering. Locally modeled jobs are securely transmit- al sensors are available for smoke, airflow, motion, sound,
within the center. The browser-based module affords ted to Applied Math Modeling’s HPC cluster, where light, dry contacts, and even panic buttons. The Room Alert
admins an overview of critical environmental variables reports are generated in easy-to-understand HTML form. 26W can aggregate data from sensors in multiple locations
such as temperature and humidity. It includes an alarm CoolSim’s operation is highly automated, resulting in a over secure, ZigBee-compatible wireless links with a range of
dashboard and alerting capabilities. Taken together with streamlined analysis and modeling procedure as often as up to a mile. With additional AVTECH equipment, it can moni-
the myriad input from VISTA’s other components, the the need strikes. With tiers of service for data centers tor up to 60 sensors. The Room Alert 26W’s purchase price
Infrastructure Monitoring module can help you optimize with light to heavy usage requirements, there’s a CoolSim includes licenses for AVTECH’s Device ManageR and PageR
cooling, power efficiency, and ROI. plan for any organization. Enterprise software. These browser-accessible applications
provide access to settings and a range of alerts. The Room
[phone] (cid:127) www.aperture.com [phone] (cid:127) www.koolsim.com Alert 26W stands out from its rivals with an integrated UPS
and wireless sensor hub, a replacement guarantee with free
shipping worldwide, and unlimited maintenance and update
support with extensive coverage.
[phone] (cid:127) www.avtech.com
Emerson Network Power Netreo OmniCenter Network Technologies
Liebert vEM-14 DataCenter Dashboard ENVIROMUX-SEMS-16
$1,503.75 $10,000 (approximate) $1,250
Best For:Small data centers and IT spaces Best For: An enterprise seeking to trim costs through Best For: A data center with many and varied environmen-
power savings and data center efficiency tal sensors
■ The Liebert vEM-14 from Emerson Network Power
aggregates digital output from virtually any sensors and ■ Netreo’s brand-new OmniCenter DataCenter ■ Network Technologies’ ENVIROMUX-SEMS-16, or
devices and incorporates them into an SNMP manage- Dashboard is a clientless, agentless appliance-based Enterprise Server Environment Monitoring System, comes
ment system. It comes with integrated sensors for humidi- system that gives you at-a-glance, intuitive insight into with built-in temperature, humidity, and power sensors.
ty and temperature. It also has four ports for additional your data center’s temperature, power consumption, and What’s more, it can support up to 16 external sensors for
sensors and can monitor door or panel entry, thermo- capacity utilization. If the system is being used inefficient- environmental factors such as liquids, intrusion, vibration,
stats, UPSes, smoke detectors, air cooling systems, and ly vis a vis its capacity and power draw, you’ll be the first and motion. Its alert avenues include email, SMS (with a
water detection equipment. The Liebert vEM-14 is a solid to know. With the OmniCenter DataCenter Dashboard, GSM modem), SNMP, Automatic Voice Dialer System, and
management foundation for tasks such as security log- you’ll be able to more effectively plan virtualization pro- Web page updating, in addition to an audible alarm and
ging and alerting you to power outages and environmen- jects. You’ll also be able to calculate savings from hypo- LEDs. The unit also has eight digital sensor inputs and four
tal issues. thetical changes and determine how to best meet power digital device control ports. For even greater expandability,
management goals. up to four ENVIROMUX-SEMS-16 units can interconnect
[phone] (cid:127) www.liebert.com for central management of the entire system.
[phone] (cid:127) www.netreo.com
[phone] (cid:127) www.networktechinc.com
June 5, 2009 Processor.com Page 5
P S
RO D U C T P OT L I G H T
Compiled by Marty Sems
Opengear Opengear IM4200 RLE Technologies
EMD5000 Infrastructure Manager Environet
$195 $1,295 Less than $10,000 and up
Best For:Users of Opengear console servers Best For: A data center requiring a powerful, versatile out- Best For: Admins who want to tailor the reports of their
of-band management server environmental monitoring devices to their specific needs
■ The EMD5000 is a cost-effective temperature and humid- and preferences
ity sensor that connects to Opengear’s console servers ■ This console server is Opengear’s flagship product. The
through CAT 5 cabling and an adapter. It also has inputs for 1U, out-of-band management device is at home in data ■ Environet software from RLE Technologies helps man-
two additional sensors. Opengear sells compatible probes centers, remote offices, and colocation environments. In agers customize the way their data centers’ most critical
for the detection of smoke, liquid leaks, vibration, and door addition to its environmental monitoring sensory input capa- information is presented. From a top-down view to a close-
open/close. The company says that its environmental moni- bilities, it’s also able to handle other servers and virtual up of a particular sensor or device, Environet puts you in
toring device management software can also accept tem- servers, PDUs, UPSes, routers, and switches. It’s available control. The software covers the usual environmental
perature and humidity input from other manufacturers’ UPSes in 8-, 16-, and 48-port models. aspects of the system, as well as security, power, and
and PDUs. HVAC conditions. With the scalable Environet in your data
[phone] (cid:127) www.opengear.com center’s toolbox, your IT and facilities teams will be better
[phone] (cid:127) www.opengear.com able to coordinate on changes and corrections, RLE says. It
supports SNMP, digital I/O, LONworks, BACnet, and
Modbus.
[phone] (cid:127) www.rletech.com
Server Technology: ServersCheck IP-based Temperature@lert
Sentry POPS Switched CDU Environmental Sensors USB Edition
Best For:Any rack in which space is at a premium $387 and up $129.99
Best For: Server rooms and data centers with a need for Best For:Admins with a need for a simple (yet powerful)
■ Veteran data center power distribution firm Server far-flung, space-saving environmental condition probes temperature monitor
Technology knows that the best form factor for rack-level
environmental monitoring gear is no additional form factor at ■ Small sensor devices can fit where larger ones can’t— ■ Simple products at the right price—that’s the thrust of
all. With the company’s Sentry POPS Switched CDU, you’ll that’s why ServersCheck’s environmental monitoring Temperature@lert’s offerings. In contrast to expensive
get monitoring equipment built right into a top-of-the-line cabi- probes give you such flexibility in deployment. Each products with long lists of integrated features, the mission
net PDU. With dual temperature and humidity probes, Server ServersCheck temperature, humidity, liquid, and power out- of the company’s USB probe is simple: to email you when
Technology per-outlet power-sensing CDUs can monitor each age detector comes with its own IP address. This makes the ambient temperature exceeds the limits you set. The
rack’s cool and hot sides to alert IT to sudden heat spikes each probe instantly identifiable to a central management sensor supports SNMP, SMTP authentication, XML and
indicating a ventilation failure. With additional equipment and device running ServersCheck’s Monitoring Software, which text logging, and even optional shutdown of the PC. It’s a
probes, the POPS can keep tabs on potential water leaks and can communicate with network management systems using Windows XP/2000/ 2003 Server/Vista device, but there’s
provide door opening and closing timestamps for logging pur- SNMP and alert tech personnel via methods such as email also a $299.99 Wi-Fi version that’s suitable for Linux envi-
poses. The POPS products support remote restarting, Web or SMS. ronments. And Temperature@lert’s tech support lines are
access, alerting, outlet lockout, load shedding, and autorecov- staffed by the engineers behind its products, so they defi-
ery when sensor readings fall back within parameters. nitely know what they’re talking about.
[phone] (cid:127) www.serverscheck.com
[phone] (cid:127) www.servertech.com [phone] (cid:127) www.temperaturealert.com
Page 6 Processor.com June 5, 2009
Eye On Storage In The Data Center ernment institutions will be security,
and data centers will be seeking systems that
virtualize data to an ultimately secure format
Continued from Page 1 tions—deduplication is that solution. replace their storage or storage vendor to in both physical storage and transport.
midst of rapid change in terms of the type of Deduplication allows businesses to retain obtain data reduction, George says. As
On The Decline
data we are storing, the access patterns, and data on disk for longer periods of time, so such, online storage is just now begin-
the sheer quantities of data.” less time is spent searching for data. It also ning to see the early stages of data reduc- Although deduplication, storage virtual-
reduces costs and capacity by reducing tion technologies making their way ization, and other technologies could
Paring Down Storage
duplicate data [and] enables customers to toward its realm. indeed bask in some level of limelight in
Many experts point to cost-cutting as the minimize administrative overhead, reduce the coming months and years, other tech-
Keep It Long, Keep It Secure
thrust behind today’s biggest storage floor space, and lower energy consumption nologies are bound to lose favor in the
trends, and for good reason, explains Carter by decreasing storage capacity require- Despite the down economy, healthcare data center market. One of these, says
George, vice president of products for ments,” says Kyle Fitz, director of market- and government facilities are actually George, is Fibre Channel block storage.
Ocarina Networks (www.ocarinanetworks ing for HP’s Storage Platforms division
.com). Because data centers are being (www.hp.com).
“With the current economy, customers are
forced to do more with less, they’re moving According to George, one reason data
toward storage efficiency and data reduc- reduction is a hot topic is the fact that
looking for backup solutions that will reduce
tion technologies (such as thin provision- it’s been validated in other parts of the
ing, unified storage, data reduction, and data center. For example, deduplication costs and simplify storage operations—
compression) as potential answers to that has become the norm for backups, with
challenge. File storage vendors are leading disk-based backup targets with built-in deduplication is that solution.”
the charge, with George noting that some deduplication quickly replacing tape
companies have made storage efficiency methods. But although compression and
- HP’s Kyle Fitz
and deduplication the cornerstones of their simple deduplication have become as
product and marketing campaigns, an effort commonplace as WAN optimization,
that is forcing other storage vendors to fall applying this model to the online storage enjoying big growth, says George, which “[These] arrays are disproportionately
in line. world is more difficult, he says, because equates to big storage growth. Coinciding expensive compared to other offerings.
“With the current economy, customers the algorithms need to be focused on dif- with this growth are the demands placed Like the mainframe, they will have a
are looking for backup solutions that will ferent things, and the insertion model is on these facilities by regulations and com- niche in the Fortune 500 database data
reduce costs and simplify storage opera- tougher. Further, people aren’t apt to pliance to store certain files and data center, but widespread adoption is going
types for long periods of time. For this to decrease. . . . The FC crowd is trying to
reason, George predicts low-cost archival preserve FC by doing FCoE, but it may be
Most Promising Technology:
and storage platforms and data reduction too little, too late,” he says.
Cloud-Based Storage will continue to gain significant traction Similarly, Gladwin says RAID is also
in these markets. headed for a decline, but more for technical
“There are a couple of other things that reasons. “It mathematically is reaching a
Around every corner of the data center, advise caution before ditching traditional
tie in,” he says. “One is object-based stores. breaking point based on 1TB drives. RAID
chunks of infrastructure are being identified storage methods for cloud-based versions.
Things like the cloud—Amazon S3, IBM’s 6, based on parity, cannot recover from more
as candidates to move to the cloud. Some Because data resides outside of the data cen- cloud plans, and industry-specific clouds— than two simultaneous failures or two fail-
technologies fare better than others in the ter (unless an internal cloud is used), organi- tend to have object interfaces. You use ures and a bit-rate error. Typical SATA dri-
cloud, but storage is an appealing fit and zations must thoroughly vet vendors to en- HTTP GET and PUT to place a file in the ves have a published bit rate error of 1014,
continues to carry the flag for the entire cloud sure they know where data will be stored, how object store for long-term storage. It’s a meaning once every 100,000,000,000,000
computing movement. it will be stored, what security technologies better fit than NFS or CIFS for archival bits, there will be a bit that is unrecoverable.
and policies will be in place, what recovery storage, and I think you’ll see uptake for Although this failure rate seems insignifi-
this kind of storage for specific markets cant, when reading 100 terabytes, it is nearly
The number of storage vendors hopping on options are available, and what will happen to
like healthcare and medical images.” certain there will be an unreadable bit, and if
the cloud train is impressive, but experts the data if the provider goes out of business.
Cleversafe’s Gladwin adds that a key this read happens to be during a rebuild, data
trend for health, education, and gov- will be lost,” Gladwin says. P
What Shape Is Your Cloud?
Here To Stay?
Continued from Page 1 need SaaS (software as a service), PaaS We asked Barry Lynn, chairman and CEO of happy customers, mostly SMEs, data center
than managing in-house), reliability (these (platform as a service), or IaaS (infrastruc- 3Tera (www.3tera.com), and Rob Lovell, CEO operators, and hosting providers, we have all
cloud infrastructures are huge and can pro- ture as a service)?
of ThinkGrid (www.thinkgrid.co.uk), if the the proof points for the future of cloud comput-
vide resilience and business continuity off Barry Lynn, chairman and CEO of 3Tera
cloud is here to stay. Lynn comments, “Yes, ing as the next generation of IT and data cen-
the bat), and ease (just click a button and (www.3tera.com), says if your services
cloud computing is real and it’s here to stay. ter operations. Of course it will take time until
it’s deployed).” have a lock-in, don’t waste your time. Lynn
Cloud computing, defined as abstracting appli- it is vastly adopted.”
elaborates, “Some cloud services can hold
Cloud Shapes cations from their physical resources and
you hostage. You get your applications on
enabling dynamic scalability up and down, Lovell concludes, “It has already been around
Lovell says when choosing a cloud their cloud and it can be very difficult to
provider, start with the services that you are get them off if you are not happy with the vertically and horizontally, is the future of IT for a good decade or more, just under different
looking to fulfill and the reasons you are service. Make sure that the cloud platform and will, over time, replace traditional IT and guises. So yes, I think outsourced ‘off-premise’
looking to outsource in the first place. you choose does not require you to config- data centers as we know them today. If you services will continue to grow as they have
Lovell comments, “Cloud computing is ure your applications so that they only are talking to other vendors, they may have done. Whether cloud computing as a term
really just a word for hosted services. There work on that platform. And make sure your different answers, but after three years on the sticks, I think it probably will, given the amount
are a lot of providers giving away storage provider has multiple physical locations market with a real product, and with over 300 of momentum it already has.”
of CPU processing power, but only a few so that if you have to, you can move
are translating this into actual services. As your application.”
an SME, you should do some research on Lynn says most importantly, though, for the resources you are using, while looking for managed, semimanaged, or
the services you need so you can buy them look for clouds that provide access to always having enough resources available unmanaged hosting? You also need to ask
on your terms.” world-class IT infrastructure that you can when you need them.” questions like: Does the provider offer soft-
Asking fundamental questions can help, purchase in small, inexpensive, bite-sized ware to help manage the environment?
Cloud Delivery
says Roebuck. “First,” he says, “it’s impor- pieces, rather than having to settle for sec- Does the provider specialize in one particu-
tant to be clear on why you are choosing ond-class infrastructure because it makes The key to making sure your cloud lar programming language, or do they have
cloud hosting and what problem you ex- economic sense. He says cloud computing provider will deliver, says Lynn, is in broader experience and expertise? Are you
pect it to solve or what added benefit you is not simply running your applications on the SLA (service-level agreement). He looking for long-term application hosting
expect it to provide.” Roebuck says it’s someone else’s hardware. “It is the ability explains, “Ask them if they guarantee per- or running batch jobs that may need to
also important to be clear on what you to encapsulate applications so that they formance and availability. Ask them what scale up for a matter of hours?”
mean and understand by ‘the cloud’ or can run anywhere (on any idle, available their limitations are with regard to operat- Lovell says the key for a great cloud
cloud computing. For example, do you hardware), and you only consume and pay ing systems, middleware, databases, infra- delivery is the reliability and support
structure, etc. If they have many limita- around the services you are purchasing.
tions, go somewhere else.” Lynn says it’s He elaborates, “It’s important to pick a
“Some cloud services can hold you hostage. important to ask how easy it is to port an provider that can provide high service
existing application into the cloud: “If you levels (guaranteed), 24/7 support, and
You get your applications on their cloud and have to make changes to your existing code has experience in the areas you are look-
to run it in the cloud, the moment you ing at. Case studies or reference cus-
it can be very difficult to get them off if you decide to move out, your application will tomers are a must. I think the key thing is
need to be changed again.” to read through the jargon when choosing
are not happy with the service.”
Roebuck says it’s important to be clear services. Understand what you need and
on what kind of expertise and resources why you are doing it and get the provider
- 3Tera’s Barry Lynn you have in-house and what you expect the to explain how they are going to meet
cloud provider to offer. He asks, “Are you these goals.” P
June 5, 2009 Processor.com Page 7
New Trends
News
Debate Rages
In The Power Space
Over Who Should
Control ICANN
By the late 1990s, the Internet had un-
Sophisticated Equipment & Remote Management
Key Points deniably become a world-changing com-
Are Improving Power In The Data Center munications and commerce technology.
And the United States government realized
(cid:127) Many small to midsized enterprises do
the need for an organization to oversee
by William Van Winkle provides power distribution to a rack, but a not adequately know the level of power
the Web.
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) metered PDU will provide aggregate load efficiency present in their data centers;
IN A TIME OF TIGHTENED BELTS, a lot of information in addition to power distribu- however, metered and switched PDUs Thus was born ICANN (the Internet Corpor-
focus is put on power consumption in small tion. A switched PDU goes one step fur- can help give more granular control over
ation for Assigned Names and Numbers) in
to midsized enterprises. Companies are ther by providing remotely controlled indi- power output and provide monitoring data
1998. A nonprofit organization, ICANN is
feeling more and more pressure to increase vidual outlets. Switched PDUs can sit at the back to admins.
responsible for approving new TLDs (top-
efficiency and do more with less in all end of every row, or perhaps at the UPS
(cid:127) Increased monitoring and management level domains, such as .com and .net), issu-
areas of operation, and power is no excep- level, and help data center managers under-
through remote solutions can yield excellent ing IP addresses through its IANA (Internet
tion. Here is a look at some of the technolo- stand where they have the overhead to add
improvements in lowering downtime by alert- Assigned Numbers Authority), and maintain-
gies and trends in the power space today. additional equipment, often without adding
ing admins to outages when they happen. ing the DNS (domain name system). ICANN
more power whips or conduits under the
Better Accuracy raised floor. (cid:127) Generator technology is getting greener as also deals with the Internet’s protocols and
With Load-Assessing PDUs companies aim to increase efficiency. security.
Control From Afar
The need for greater power efficiency
The United States still controls the TLDs’
springs not only from controlling costs but Switched PDUs hint at another of the
root server system at the heart of the
also the fact that, in certain geographies, major power trends now underway: High-end PDUs that allow monitoring
Internet and has authority over ICANN
utilities are telling some companies they increased monitoring and remotely man- now often use three-phase power supplies
through the Department of Commerce, as
simply can’t supply any more power. Data aged control. “The most dominant trend I and go up to 400V power, but they remain
well as over IANA through a procurement
centers are forced to better manage what see right now is a need by end users, if not fairly expensive. However, Scherr says that
agreement. However, the Joint Project
they already have. According to Jim to manage their power remotely, at least to lower-end products better fitted to the SME
Agreement between the government and
Scherr, director of sales and operations at be able to monitor what their consumption market—units in the 110V, 208V, and 20A
ICANN ends Sept. 30.
PDUs Direct (www.pdusdirect.com), this is is and be more proactive in managing it,” range—have come down considerably.
pushing some enterprises These switches not only
to adopt DC power, if it’s have the ability to turn
available, or low-voltage outlets on and off but also
power supplies—anything contain firmware options
that can lower energy for programmable power-
usage but still maintain up sequencing, integrated
high compute and storage temperature and humidity
server density within data monitoring, and SNMP
center racks. alert systems. If a com-
Of course, it’s hard to puter room gets too hot,
determine what your actu- for example, the system
al energy usage is—and can automatically begin
thus how much power to shut down equipment
infrastructure is needed— based on user-defined
unless it’s accurately mea- instructions.
It’s about time, say some critics. In May, the
sured. An increasing number
European Union’s Viviane Reding, commis-
“A lot of times, people of monitoring tools are
sioner for information society and media,
don’t even know how much coming within reach of
called for the United States to relinquish
power they’re drawing on SMEs. Well-designed
much of its authority over ICANN. She advo-
each of their circuits,” says UPS deployments can put
cates that international groups be convened
Scherr. “If they’re basing resistance charts on a
to formulate Internet governance policy and
their assumed power usage remote admin’s console
to provide judicial review for the organization.
on equipment specs from showing any batteries
The latter service has been provided by the
the manufacturers of the that fall outside of ap-
California court system, as ICANN’s head-
servers, routers, switches, proved levels. Branch cir-
quarters is in Marina Del Rey.
etc., a lot of that stuff is cuit monitors can keep
rated for top-end load—as tabs on each PDU output
high as that piece of equip- circuit. The more moni- Truly Global Network
ment is going to draw. But toring can be effectively
Proponents of such a change point out that
in actuality, they usually draw about 40% says Scherr. “Power was always something implemented, the more downtime can be
despite the Internet’s origin in the United
less in normal usage. Because of that, a lot the facilities guys did. They would just proactively averted.
States, the Internet has since become a
of people are underutilizing the circuits show up, hand the IT guy an outlet, and IT
Progress In Staying Put truly global network. In addition, most Web
they have.” would just plug and plug and plug until the
users don’t live in the United States, and
An important step toward better accuracy circuit blew. Then he’d unplug one thing Of course, not everything changes.
about half of all Web pages are in languages
can involve using some sort of monitored and say, ‘Well, that should be safe.’ That’s According to Jeff Wildman, vice presi-
other than English.
power distribution unit. A basic PDU simply not effective management.” dent of Critical Power Exchange (www
.criticalpowerexchange.com), the genera-
“We agree with Ms. Reding’s position that the
tors he sold to data centers 10 years ago
Most Promising Technology: Joint Project Agreement between the U.S.
are pretty much the same as the ones he
Commerce Department and ICANN should
Smart Power Management Tools sells today and expects to keep selling in
be concluded without extension or replace-
the future.
ment by a similar document,” says Paul
“Power technology just hasn’t changed
According to Tim Phillips, vice president of tools. The object is to eliminate “thermal Levins, ICANN’s vice president of corporate
that much,” Wildman says. “It’s still about
International Rectifier’s enterprise power unit throttling,” that endless start-stop-start cy- affairs. “After 10 years, it’s clear that ICANN’s
batteries and diesel. With generators, you
(www.irf.com), “Leading data center equipment cle that accompanies fluctuations in server model works very well, though we will always
could say they’re getting more green.
providers have set goals to increase MIPS/W by systems’ power draw. Smart power manage- look at more ways to make ICANN account-
They’re running cleaner, going to EPA Tier
a factor of 10 by 2010, while reducing overall ment records trends in power usage, learns able in the best interests of a billion-and-a-
3 from Tier 1. That means more efficiency
power consumption by 20%. The winners will to anticipate loads, and can then “alter the half global Internet users.”
and less pollution. I do expect to see more
be those who successfully execute strategies to load’s electrical characteristics to limit its
of that going forward.”
decouple MIPS from watts, allowing more pro- power and establish the correct cooling con- Meanwhile, there is opposition to the idea
Over the years, Wildman says that even
cessing power to be crammed into smaller ditions in advance through energy-efficient from those who are unwilling to diminish the
with the skyrocketing of compute densi-
enclosures to reduce electricity and building variable-speed motion control. This can elimi- United States’ influence over such a powerful
ties and power demands, the most com-
infrastructure costs.” nate up to 20% of server total power dissipa- network. Others believe that without strong
mon generators going into data centers fit
tion.” Phillips anticipates that such manage- U.S. oversight, ICANN would become para-
in the 500 to 2,000kW pocket. However,
The key to capitalizing on this trend, notes ment systems can cut up to 25% of a data lyzed with competing interests.
in order to stay in this pocket in the com-
Phillips, is to use smart power management center’s systems energy dissipation.
ing years, Wildman believes companies
by Marty Sems
will need to concentrate on improving
SOURCE: “A SMARTSYSTEMSAPPROACHTOENTERPRISEPOWER”; WHITEPAPERBYTIMPHILLIPSOFINTERNATIONALRECTIFIER
their efficiency. P
Page 8 Processor.com June 5, 2009
Keeping Things Cool
News
Study Shows
In A Rack-Dense World
PC Refresh Rates
Better Than Expected
Intel commissioned Wipro Product Strategy
Streamlined Airflow, Eco-Friendly Refrigerants
and Architecture to survey CIOs and equiva- Key Points
lent IT decision makers in North America and & Liquid Cooling Are Trends To Watch
Europe, and what it found regarding PC re-
(cid:127) Thermal imaging is a good way to get
fresh cycles may surprise you.
by Drew Robb Cooling products such as those used in an idea of how your cooling system is
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) computer room cooling systems are also on performing and where there is room for
According to the study, two-thirds of compa-
nies with at least 25% of their PC fleet repre- COOLINGHASGROWNin importance steadi- its radar screen, including localized cooling improvement.
ly over the past few years. Now, with bud- boxes or systems that use refrigerants to
sented by notebooks still intend to maintain
gets tightening, it is gaining further atten- bring cold air to areas of excess heat. As a (cid:127) Environmental concerns are changing the
their current refresh cycles or even acceler-
tion as data center managers seek to do result, manufacturers are being forced to way cooling products are manufactured
ate them, regardless of the economic down-
even more with a whole lot less. develop more environmentally friendly and implemented.
turn. Only about a third of enterprise-level
“The current economy has resulted in refrigerants that do not contain greenhouse
companies with notebooks comprising 25%
delays in many new data center upgrade gases, one of the primary contributors to (cid:127) Closed-loop cooling, direct server cool-
of their PCs plan to slow their PC hardware
projects, so managers have to squeeze more the depletion of the ozone layer. ing, fan reduction, and liquid cooling
refresh rates this year.
thermal efficiency from their existing data “As well as better refrigerants, environ- are some popular new ways to increase
centers,” says Paul Bemis, CEO of Applied mentally friendly controllers do not contain cooling efficiency.
About 60% of the companies surveyed are
Math Modeling (www.koolsim.com). hazardous substances which can otherwise
refreshing their client PC fleets at the same
enter landfills and leach into groundwater,”
rate they maintained before the economic Thermal Modeling
says Eddie Stevenson, CIS marketing has been brought closer and closer to
downturn began at the end of last year. Less
In environments that are constrained by supervisor at MovinCool (800/264-9573; the servers via local cooling units. These
than 10% of those surveyed say they plan to
power or space limitations and are in need www.movincool.com). make use of water or refrigerants that typi-
accelerate their refresh plans. Intel credits the
of better cooling efficien- cally sit right above the
relatively stable PC refresh cycle to today’s
cy, one technology that is enclosures.
more hardware-demanding applications, as
gaining ground is model- The latest aspect of
well as the need for hardware that exhibits
ing of the thermal environ- this trend is taking the
better security, energy efficiency, and lower
ment. In addition to high- liquid right down to the
cost of ownership.
lighting hot spots, it can component level.
graphically display areas Closed-loop cooling,
of poor air circulation and for instance, takes heat
even show where too much directly from chips and
cooling is taking place. removes it. Instead of
According to Bemis, using fans to blow air
there are three primary over the components
drivers at work on the or a heatsink that sits
energy efficiency front: above it to dissipate
a continuing increase in heat, closed-loop cool-
server density, a growing ing transports water
need to reduce the carbon directly to the compo-
footprint of data centers, nents.
and a steady increase in Micro-channel coil
energy costs. technology is another
“These three factors are highly efficient heat-
working together to drive exchanging technology.
data center managers to be These coils lie right on
in better control of the data top of the chips as direct-
center thermal environ- contact cold plates and
ment,” he says. “Studies deal with hot spots on
have shown the majority of the chip level.
data centers are overcooled
Reduced Operational Costs
Eliminating Fans
by a ratio of 2.5x and still
Rob Crooke, general manager of Intel’s
encounter hot spots 10% of What many users don’t
Business Client Group, says companies
the time.” realize is that the fans
seeking to replace 4-year-old PCs with new
What that means is that just pumping Another way this trend impacts the that blow air through servers consume 10 to
systems can see an average 50% reduction
cold air into the space is not enough manufacturing sector is in the paints used 15% of supplied power, according to Fred
in operational costs (up to 52% savings for
because that cold air may not be getting to on the units. Powder coatings are now Rebarber, director of sales and marketing for
desktops and 48% savings for notebooks).
where it is needed. Thermal modeling preferred, as they are recyclable and do the Cooligy Group at Emerson Network
The study also found that the costs of secur-
offers a relatively inexpensive way of see- not contain solvents that can release Power (www.cooligy.com).
ing and replacing parts in nearly obsolete
ing why it isn’t arriving at the hot spots and volatile organic compounds into the “Using fans to blow cold air around the
PCs can exceed $600 per desktop and
verifying that adjustments to cooling flow atmosphere. room consumes a lot of power and isn’t
$1,100 per notebook. Intel goes on to sug-
lines are achieving the desired results. very efficient for cooling,” he says. “The
gest that companies can save more by adopt- Taking It To The Chips
focus needs to be on how to reduce the heat
ing a three- or even two-year refresh rate. Cooling & The Environment
Not so long ago, it was enough to blow generated and on making cooling systems
The Environmental Protection Agency is cold air into the room from the sides or more efficient.”
But Daniel Okubo, technology analyst at
tightening the noose on a host of pollutants. underfloor. Gradually, however, cold air With liquid able to be brought to the
Datamonitor, takes a more cautious outlook,
chip, the natural progression is to use it
saying that the proportion of IT budgets that
widely to dispense with power-draining
Most Promising Technology: Liquid Cooling
are falling has risen between 2008 and this
components such as fans. One way to
year, directly in relation to the state of the
accomplish this is to use direct server
global economy. “I believe that when we
According to the Uptime Institute (www.up 15kW per rack in the most efficient settings. In cooling. This essentially consists of thin
receive the latest results from our IT decision
timeinstitute.org), the top of the rack is the most cases, air can only manage a modest 3 plates that can be slid between each server
maker survey, we are going to see again a
hottest area of the data center; however, to 6kW. But in an age of multicore chips, blade in a rack to bring heat down without the
rise in the proportion of enterprises that are
modeling of server room temperatures re- servers, and virtualization, the average density need to pump a large volume of cold air
going to decrease their IT expenditure. That
veals that most cold air is consumed in the per rack is skyrocketing. As liquid is more effi- through the machine.
said, the majority of enterprises will, as illus-
lower part of the rack, leaving the top servers cient at cooling than air by several orders of “Eventually, we could get to the point
trated by the Intel study, maintain or increase
open to overheating. Thus, liquid cooling is magnitude, it is no wonder it is gaining ground where we don’t need fans in servers,”
their IT investment.” Okubo expects enter-
being used more and more as the best way in the enterprise. says Rebarber. “Direct server cooling
prises to delay refresh cycles until absolutely
to bring down the temperature of upper-rack means the taking of heat directly from
necessary, affecting IT expenditures until at
hot spots. “Liquid cooling opens the door to the possibil- sources on chips, boards, and memory. It
least 2010. That means hardware vendors
ity of 60 to 80kW per rack,” says Rebarber. is accomplished by bringing the cooling
are going to be particularly vulnerable during
According to Fred Rebarber, director of sales “Instead of just putting liquid cooling units on fluid to a heat exchange interface within
this period.
and marketing for the Cooligy Group at coils on the door, you can put them on each the server chassis.”
Emerson Network Power (www.cooligy.com), rack server. This can greatly increase the In addition, direct server cooling means
by Andrew Leibman
air is only good for a maximum density of amount of cooling done to racks.” no fan noise and fewer failures related to
fans breaking down. P
June 5, 2009 Processor.com Page 9
Up-&-Coming
News
Non-U.S. Citizen
Networking Technologies
IT Pros Earn More,
Study Shows
A recent study from two members of the
Ultra-Fast, Reliable & Affordable Applications
Key Points Robert H. Smith School of Business at the
Coming Soon To An Enterprise Near You University of Maryland indicates that non-U.S.
citizen IT professionals earn on average 5 to
(cid:127) High-speed networks are becoming more
9% higher pay than U.S. workers possessing
by Bruce Gain says Robert Enderle, principal analyst for the widespread and standardized, removing
similar education and IT experience.
(cid:127) (cid:127) (cid:127) Enderle Group. According to Enderle, very some of the stumbling blocks to adoption.
DATA CENTER MANAGERS are constantly high-end optical routers that retail for (cid:127) Single-interface monitoring makes it easier The findings from the “Does High-Skill Immi-
hearing about new and exciting technologies $10,000 or more now could go down in price to maintain and secure your networks.
gration Make Everyone Better Off? United
that are supposed to transform networking by 60% within five years or less.
(cid:127) Cross-continent LANs and Video over IP States’ Visa Policies And Compensation Of
applications. However, between the market-
Single-Interface Network Monitoring are changing the way far-flung employees Information Technology Professionals” from
ing hype and the extra cost, many so-called
interact. Sunil Mithas, assistant professor, and Henry
“revolutionary” technologies often never live Keeping real-time tabs on your network
Lucas, chair of the department of decisions,
up to their promise. Although it’s impossible and receiving alerts when things go wrong is
operations, and information technologies at
to know what will happen in the future, here crucial, yet admins have to rely on several distances. It is virtually impossible, for
the business school, conflict with arguments
are a few up-and-coming networking appli- different software systems to monitor what’s example, to email a 1GB file, and uploading
that temporary work programs, including H-1B
cations that experts expect to make networks going on. In the future, single-interface mon- and downloading large files from FTP
and L-1 visas, propel employers to hire less-
faster, more efficient, or more robust in the itoring should be available that incorporates servers can be a long process.
expensive foreign labor.
months and years to come. all maintenance and management software, One way around the dilemma of connect-
says Michael Petrino, vice president of PTS ing remote locations is through the use of
The 100 Gigabit LAN Mithas and Lucas analyzed compensation and
Data Center Solutions (www.ptsdcs.com). WADS (wide-area data services) or WAAS
job skill data related to 50,000-plus IT profes-
Very fast LAN network speeds of 40 to “There will be software that combines (wide-area application services), which allow
sionals who took part in salary-related surveys
100 gigabits were the stuff of research maintenance scheduling, tracking, costs, doc- for LAN transfer speeds to be achieved over
conducted from 2000 to 2005. The resulting
papers presented at technical conferences ument storage, and real-time monitoring [for the Internet, regardless of the physical dis-
findings indicate that employers tend to base
just a few years ago. But now these high- networks],” Petrino says. “Today, this must tance between locations. WADS or WAAS
financial rewards to noncitizen employees
speed capabilities have come out of the lab, be done with multiple programs or manually, systems do this by reconfiguring the data
more on IT experience, while U.S. citizens’ pay
and OEMs are commercializing packets associated with the TCP
premiums are based more on education lev-
routers and switches for these appli- Ethernet protocol. Applications
els. The findings “do shed doubt on the popu-
cations. The technology should also include a single Microsoft Exchange
lar myth that foreign IT workers, on average,
become more affordable and offer server that meets the needs of offices
earn less,” says Mithas. “However, our findings
substantive benefits for enterprise spread out across the United States or
are consistent with findings of other academic
networks in a few years. even overseas while eliminating the
studies that use microdata and conventional
“Higher throughput reduces laten- need to have email servers at every
labor economics models. Our findings are also
cy, enables virtualization, and offers single location to serve each individ-
consistent with some of the arguments in the
a path to a unified network combin- ual LAN. Very large files, such as
literature that suggest complementarity among
ing storage and data center traffic,” videos and CAD drawings, can be
foreign and American workers.”
says Steve O’Donnell, an analyst and transferred across long physical dis-
managing director at Enterprise tances just as easily as they can local-
Factors In Premiums
Strategy Group. “Higher-speed net- ly over short LAN connections.
Among noncitizen employees, the study indi-
works also offer the promise of much Although WADS and WAAS sys-
cates that those with green cards earn about
greater simplicity into a small num- tems have been commercially avail-
6.1% more than those with H-1B or other
ber of core switches. There are far able for more than a year, they are
work-related visas. Additionally, Mithas sug-
fewer elements to manage and much rapidly seeing adoption by main-
gests that intangible traits that foreign IT work-
greater resilience.” stream IT operations and could meet
ers possess, such as broader global exposure,
Specifically, ultra-fast LANs will, the needs of any SME with remote
are a factor in the premiums doled out.
in addition to better handling IP locations in the near future by reduc-
SANs and virtualization, make it ing the latency impact of WANs over
Just as American workers are likely to have a
easier for admins to handle network fail- so that, in the end, it does not hit the mark the Internet, says Arun Taneja, analyst and
better understanding of the U.S. culture and
ures, O’Donnell says. “As an example, we and information is missed.” founder of the Taneja Group.
business practices, foreign-born IT workers
might see a major power outage affecting According to Petrino, improved monitor- “This whole nightmare of transferring very
are likely to have a better understanding of
one hall of our data center and the workload ing and maintenance capabilities for net- large files has been solved,” Taneja says.
their native cultures,
seamlessly migrating to another hall in the works will reduce downtime, outages, and
Video Over The Network and that under-
same site.” costs. “This will offer relief for stretched
standing can
O’Donnell believes these fast networks capital budgets and save operational bud- Analysts first predicted decades ago
be lever-
will especially benefit data centers in health, gets, as well. In a down economy, these that video communications would eventu-
aged by
education, and government institutions. solutions will prove their value,” he says. ally become just as ubiquitous as tradi-
U.S. firms
“These consumers of IT capacity have a need “The complete solution is not in the market, tional voice applications are. However,
to their
to operate at scale,” he says. “[Networks] but it is coming.” technology hiccups, lack of standardiza-
advantage to
with 10Gb speeds, for example, offer the tion, and other setbacks have limited IT
Cross-Continent LANs design and
opportunity to collapse and simplify the large networks’ adoption of the technology. But
develop products
blade environments that we have today into a The concept of creating LANs that link now, with the adoption of faster LANs,
and services for global markets,” Mithas
large data center-wide fabric with resultant data centers and enterprises over long dis- more power-efficient infrastructures, and
says. “This is not to say that American work-
improved scalability and manageability.” tances usually conjures up direct-link fiber- standardized Video-over-IP protocols,
ers cannot acquire skills to design and devel-
Networks with 10 Gigabit and faster optic networks that are far too expensive for video over enterprise networks is about to
op products for global markets. In fact, many
speeds should also become more affordable most large organizations, let alone SMEs. As take off, says Kumar Srikantan, vice pres-
business schools these days . . . have study-
for SMEs in the coming years as production a result, users continue to face difficulties ident of product management for Cisco
abroad programs that are designed to equip
of fast LAN equipment increases and compo- when attempting to send large files from (www.cisco.com).
students with a better understanding of global
nents become more widely standardized, one physical location to another over long “[Just as] momentum moved from [tra-
markets and business practices.”
ditional landlines] to VoIP, rest assured
that over the next 12 months, these black-
Most Promising Technology: Mithas says the study suggests that firms
and-white phones are all going to look
should resist treating foreign and American IT
All-Optical Switches & Routers like video phones. If I can take a video
professionals as “substitutes” and realize they
call on my phone, then I will take it,”
can “benefit from their complementary skills to
Srikantan says. “Video got a bad rap in
The concept of using optic—or light—signals to researchers say all-optical networks, routers, the old days, but what is happening is that create new products and services for global
replace electronics in networking applications and switches could eventually replace electron- 10 and 40 Gigabit Ethernet is driving very markets.” He adds that a “culturally and glob-
seemed like the stuff of science fiction just a ics-based equipment one day, the technology’s bandwidth-intensive yet real-time applica- ally diverse workforce, even if it comes at a
few years ago. But the technology is beginning adoption “is still in the early stages,” says tions, like video.” higher price and means paying higher wages
to see some adoption in very fast network appli- Robert Enderle, principal analyst for the En- Real-time videoconferencing, which for foreign IT professionals, may prove highly
cations, such as in switches and routers for 100 derle Group, who estimates that optical switch- reduces travel costs by eliminating the effective in capitalizing on opportunities for
Gigabit LANs. Advantages for networking appli- es’ penetration in the market remains at less need for face-to-face meetings; improved leveraging foreign countries as sources or as
cations include signals that are literally as fast than 10% and is now geared for very high-end security and surveillance; and direct per- markets for improved competitiveness.”
as light with significantly greater bandwidth applications; however, it is expected to expand son-to-person communications are among
compared to electronic signals. Although some at a much faster rate as prices go down. the applications that will drive Video over by Blaine Flamig
IP’s adoption, Srikantan says. P
Page 10 Processor.com June 5, 2009
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