Virtual desktop designs tend to overlook two key infrastructure components: Storage responsiveness and wireless network availability and performance. Yet without these two ingredients, VDI is doomed!
VMware’s Hardware Partner Strategy: Heads I Win, Tales You Lose
February 11, 2013 by 1 Comment
VMware is in an enviable but tricky situation: The company must work closely with hardware partners, keeping these prime sales and promotional channels happy and supportive. But VMware must also innovate around proprietary OEMs, subverting their products with integrated software before a rival steps up with an integrated alternative.
What’s In A Name? And Which Product Is Better?
January 25, 2013 by 2 Comments
Every day, I’m briefed by another company with a range of products from entry-level to high-end. And every day I try to figure out their naming scheme: It seems most IT vendors follow the naming schemes of car companies, but few use the same naming system!
Can Fusion-io Survive Commoditization?
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
No small storage company has had more press coverage and “buzz” than “ioMemory” maker, Fusion-io. I have long marveled at the company’s ability to attract attention, but this has rub some analysts wrong. How, they argue, as component vendors enter their space, can a premium company with proprietary products compete over the long term?
How Will Cisco Recover From The Consumer Strategy Blunder?
January 2, 2013 by 7 Comments
Cisco made a massive strategic blunder in the last decade, aggressively moving into consumer devices rather than focusing on their core enterprise and service provider markets. It seems that Cisco is now in the process of rectifying this mistake, but charting a path to growth is an entirely different matter!
“Brownfield” Is A Terrible Antonym for “Greenfield”
December 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The computer industry loves buzzwords. “Greenfield” is a popular way to describe all-new infrastructure built with no regard for legacy compatibility. But what’s the opposite? Lately, I’ve been hearing companies use the term, “brownfield” to describe a solution that is compatible with existing hardware or software. But a quick look at the dictionary reveals what an absolutely terrible term that is!
Dell World 2012: A Retrospective
December 18, 2012 by 1 Comment
Dell invited me to attend their Dell World conference in Austin, Texas last week, and it was an enlightening experience.
Samba 4.0 is Released with Full Active Directory and Updated SMB Support
December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Samba is becoming more and more important. Windows servers will increasingly use SMB 3.0 as their networked storage protocol in Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V 3. And EMC’s purchase of Likewise means the rest of the storage industry is looking for an SMB stack. But I’m most interested to see what Active Directory support means for future home and business devices.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road to the Software-Defined Future
November 29, 2012 by 1 Comment
The Software-Defined Datacenter is a great concept, but it just won’t work. The big enterprise companies will never allow VMware (and daddy EMC) to commoditize them out of existence, so useful implementations will be rarer than ruby slippers. The best we can hope for is point enhancements to enable greater virtual machine mobility through SDN and improved storage integration.
Qumulo: An Enterprise Storage Startup Focused on Scale, Simplicity, and Efficiency
November 20, 2012 by 2 Comments
Enterprise storage is perhaps the most innovative area of IT these days, with exciting startups springing up right and left. Today, that scene welcomes Qumulo, who are building a new storage platform focused on scalability, efficiency, and simplicity. Qumulo catches my eye for two reasons: The team is heavy with Isilon experience, and CTO Aaron Passey really impressed me with his work at Clustrix.
