I've been thinking a lot lately about microprocessors, from the many-core CPUs that AMD and Intel introduced recently to the massively scalable GPGPU processing that's taking machine learning by storm. After years of consolidation on commodity x86 CPUs, it seems that the computing paradigm is turning again to specialized offload processors. This trend towards heterogeneous … [Read more...] about Co-Processors, GPGPU, and Heterogeneous Computing
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My FreeNAS Build: Supermicro X10SL7, Intel Haswell Xeon, ECC RAM
In my last post, I talked about my decision to build a FreeNAS box. Today I'm going to dive into the hardware I selected, starting with the motherboard, CPU, and memory. FreeNAS runs on any PC hardware, but building a reliable and scalable storage solution means picking higher-end components. I selected a Supermicro X10SL7 server-class motherboard with 14 (!) SAS/SATA ports … [Read more...] about My FreeNAS Build: Supermicro X10SL7, Intel Haswell Xeon, ECC RAM
The Ideal pfSense Platform: Netgate RCC-VE 2440
After some frustration with stability and latency connecting my virtual pfSense router to my cable and DSL modems, I decided to switch to a physical box. I selected the Netgate RCC-VE 2440 as my hardware platform, since it's the same box that pfSense themselves use as their OEM bundle. It also checks all the boxes with a dual-core Atom CPU, four Gigabit Ethernet ports, and … [Read more...] about The Ideal pfSense Platform: Netgate RCC-VE 2440
Iomega StorCenter PX Series Preview
Iomega today announced a new line of small desktop and rackmount storage devices. The PX Series addresses many of the limitations of the IX line, bringing high-performance CPUs, SSD, “bring your own drive” options, and “personal cloud” data protection. But the PX will not replace the recently-refreshed IX; instead, it segments the market between home office (IX) and small … [Read more...] about Iomega StorCenter PX Series Preview
Get Your Enterprise Storage Feed Fix From FriendFeed
Serious tongue-twister of a title, right? I just created a "room" at FriendFeed with many of my favorite enterprise storage and backup-related RSS feeds. So swing on over there and enjoy! You can interact at FriendFeed or just subscribe to the Atom feed in your favorite reader to keep up to date on the latest news and analysis. If you haven't used FriendFeed before, let … [Read more...] about Get Your Enterprise Storage Feed Fix From FriendFeed