Greg "EtherealMind" Ferro recently "mused" that it might be a good idea to replace PCI Express (PCIe) inside servers or rack-scale infrastructure with Ethernet. But this seems to be the exact opposite of the direction the industry is headed. Rather than replacing PCIe with Ethernet, companies like Intel seem set on replacing short-range Ethernet (in rack-scale systems) with … [Read more...] about Musing: Could We Replace Ethernet With PCIe?
Fujitsu
VMware VAAI Storage Array Support in Plain English
The most exciting enhancements in VMware vSphere 4.1 is the addition of vStorage API for Array Integration (VAAI). This new API allows VMware ESX to offload storage processing functions to capable storage arrays, reducing the workload on the server hardware in introducing new and exciting possibilities for performance and efficiency. VAAI in ESX 4.1 includes three separate … [Read more...] about VMware VAAI Storage Array Support in Plain English
Meet the Enterprise IT Superpowers
After years spent focusing on personal technology, businesses are increasingly turning back to the enterprise. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest one is the poor economy. Individuals simply have less free cash to spend on gadgets and software, and the meagre profits are increasingly going into the pockets of a single company: Apple. The corporate IT market is … [Read more...] about Meet the Enterprise IT Superpowers
New Mac Mini Is A Diamond In The Rough
After a very, very long wait, Apple has finally updated the Mac Mini, their entry-level "bridge" Mac. It's amazing that, after 19 months without an update, Apple's new Mini looks exactly the same as the old Mini. But what's under the hood matters, and Apple delivered a mixed bag there. The new Mini is an excellent home server, which is how mine will be used, but some poor … [Read more...] about New Mac Mini Is A Diamond In The Rough
Does Hitachi+SimpleTech = EMC+Iomega?
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (hereafter referred to as HGST) just bought Fabrik, the company that produces and distributes consumer storage devices as SimpleTech and pro/AV storage using the G-Technology name. We in the enterprise storage sector are all too familiar with the epic battles between Hitachi Data Systems (let's call them HDS) and EMC, both providers of … [Read more...] about Does Hitachi+SimpleTech = EMC+Iomega?