Friday, December 7th, 2012

Time	Event
12:30p	Data Center Jobs: Laramie Group At the Data Center Jobs Board, we have a new job listing from Laramie Group, which is seeking a Director of Business Development, Mission Critical in Chicago, Illinois. The Director of Business Development, Mission Critical is a senior strategic level position that will work directly with members of the Leadership Team and will be responsible for development and sustainability of the Mission Critical business across the United States, although initially focused on the Midwest, as well as supporting the expansion of services internationally as appropriate. This position will also develop and implement growth strategies to expand the firm’s expertise, footprint, and profitability while maintaining exceptional client satisfaction. To view full details and apply, see job listing details. Are you hiring for your data center? You can list your company’s job openings on the Data Center Jobs Board, and also track new openings via our jobs RSS feed. (Comment on this)
1:00p	Stampede Supercomputer Beefs Up With Phi Coprocessors The Stampede supercomputer is housed in nearly 200 cabinets in a new data center at the Texas Advanced Computing center in Austin. Click the picture for a larger image. (Photo: TACC) At the Texas Advanced Computing Center, Phi is enabling a Stampede of data. The TACC is in the process of launching Stampede, the seventh-fastest supercomputer in the world. Much of that horsepower is provided by Intel’s new Xeon Phi coprocessor. The Stampede system spans nearly 200 cabinets at the TACC facility in Austin, Texas. It recorded a speed of 2.6 petaflops in the most recent Top 500 ranking, but is expected to have an upper range closer to 10 petaflops upon full deployment. The system was showcased this week in a keynote presentation at the Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas, cited as an example of the future path for high performance computing (HPC). The Stampede system marks the first Top 10 appearance for a supercomputer using Xeon Phi, a coprocessor using Intel’s Many Integrated Core (MIC) architecture for highly parallel workloads. Coprocessors supplement the performance of the primary processor, and have become a common feature in the fastest supercomputers. The Xeon Phi Coprocessor will compete with graphics processing units (GPUs) from NVIDIA, which have been used to boost performance of some of the leading performers in the top 500 in recent years. Phi coprocessors, loaded with as many as 50 cores, will account for about 8 petaflops of Stampede’s overall 10 petaflops. Computing Power to Answer Big Questions It’s cool technology, but it’s in service to a larger goal, as Stampede’s computing power will be applied to answering pressing scientific questions about understanding natural disasters, environmental threats . “Our mission is really to enable discoveries that advance science and advance society,” said Tommy Minyard, the Director of Advanced Computing Systems at TACC. Creating supercomputers that are faster and more efficient is a key part of that effort. “We’re seeing we can do a lot more in a smaller footprint.” In addition to its peak performance of 10 petaflops, Stampede will be equipped with 272 terabytes (272,000 gigabytes) of total memory, and 14 petabytes (14 million gigabytes) of disk storage. The Texas Advanced Computing Center has a rich tradition in supercomputing, and is home to two other powerful systems, named Lonestar and Ranger. In recent years, its supercomputers have supported research with broad implications, which Minyard described in his keynote: Ranger has run hurricane forecasting simulations for NOAA that require up to 40,000 cores to calculate the many variables in predicting the track and intensity of a major hurricane. During the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, TACC received emergency funding to observe and predict the movement of the oil spill using satellite photos and high-resolution maps. The Austin center has also run outbreak modeling simulations to predict the potential spread of the the H1N1 bird flu. TACC conducted earthquake and tsunami hazard analysis based on data harvested during the Japanese earthquake of 2011. Researchers from around the country can arrange access to Stampede through the National Science Foundation, which funded Stampede’s construction and allocates time on the system to researchers. When the NSF awarded the grant to fund Stampede, the TACC didn’t have a facility to house it.  The center got to work quickly, building an 11,000 square foot expansion of its data center, along with a new chiller plant it will share with the University of Texas. Included in the project was a large thermal storage tank, which is “charged” with 45-degree water by running a chiller every evening when power rates are lower. That chilled water is used in the data center cooling system during the day, providing about 6 hours worth of chilled water. Inside the data center, TACC implemented a design using hot-aisle containment and in-row cooling units, which allow it to support densities of up to 40 kW per cabinet. The power distribution brings 415V to the cabinet to the rack, and 240V to the servers. Between the Stampede facility and the 4,000 square foot data hall housing Ranger, TACC has a power capacity of approximately 10 megawatts. Backed by 102,400 CPU Nodes Inside the cabinet, Stampede is powered by an x86 cluster featuring Dell dual-socket C8220x “Zeus” servers with 32 GB of RAM. Each socket holds an 8-core, 2.7 Ghz Intel Xeon E5processor. With 6,400 nodes, the system brings 102,400 cores to bear on a task. Each Phi coprocessor includes at least 50 more cores. Then there’s the 75 miles of Infiniband cabling. “Cabling has been one of the biggest aspects of the design,” said Minyard. “It takes a lot of man-hours. We try to carefully label each cable.” Infiniband was used to support the fastest interconnections possible between the processors and coprocessors. “With typical Ethernet the lowest latencies are in milliseconds,” said Minyard. “We need to be down to microsecond latencies. Our point to point latencies are about 1 microsecond.” Minyard projects Stampede is likely to have a lifespan of about four years. “The challenge in high performance computing is keeping up with the leading edge,” he said. “After four years, fewer people want to use your system because it’s no longer the fastest. So we try to keep up with the latest processor technology.” But there will be plenty of life left in the Stampede cabinets. The system ahs been designed so that TACC will be able to upgrade both the processors and coprocessors to create a more powerful supercomputer. A similar strategy was used this year by Oak Ridge Laboratory to transform its Jaguar system into the 17-petaflop Titan, which is now the world’s most powerful machine. The cabinets, filled with Dell dual-socket servers and Intel Xeon Phi coprocessors, are interspersed with in-row cooling units to support densities of 40 kilowatts per cabinet. (Photo: TACC) (Comment on this)
2:00p	The Foundation for Private Cloud Infrastructure Cloud technologies have come a long way. Now, we have public, hybrid, community, and of course private cloud platforms. In designing a cloud environment, many organizations strive to align their business needs and goals with those of the IT platform. This is where a private cloud infrastructure can really help out. In creating a private cloud, there are a lot of moving parts to consider. For example administrators have to think about networking, storage, server hardware, applications and of course – the user. The challenge became to simplify the private cloud deployment model and ensure that there is a clear ROI in such a project. From this challenge, Cisco created the Unified Data Center for Private Cloud. Engineers and managers are able to utilize a platform which contains almost all of the necessary components to create a powerful private cloud platform. This white paper outlines how the Cisco Unified Data Center makes the private cloud creation process easier, more scalable and faster to deploy. In working with the Cisco platform, engineers are able to leverage some powerful features to get the job done. • Unified Fabric – Better Networks • Unified Computing – Faster Computing Power • Unified Management – Easier Infrastructure and Cloud Management Cloud technologies will continue to evolve. As more organizations move to a private cloud model, they’ll be trying to simplify the process while still making their cloud environment agile. Download this white paper today to see how the Cisco Unified Data Center platform helps enterprises move toward a more powerful private cloud computing model. How can this type of model help your organization?  Business agility  IT simplification  Financial efficiency  Cost-efficient design  Unified architecture  Broad partner eco-system Remember, working with a private cloud model can sometimes be challenging. To take the guessing game out of the cloud, engineers need to deploy intelligent systems which are capable of growth and expansion. Download this white paper to find out more on how the Cisco Unified Data Center helps makes this a reality. (Comment on this)
2:31p	Data Center Links: Equinix, Phoenix NAP, AIS Here’s our review of some of this week’s noteworthy links for the data center industry: Equinix selected by CBOE and LMAX.  Equinix (EQIX) announced that the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is moving its CBOE Command trading engine platform to the NY4 International Business Exchange data center in Secaucus, New Jersey. The move brings one of the fastest exchange platforms from Chicago to the New York area, eliminating distance latency, accelerating trading speed and allowing customers and partners inside the Equinix financial ecosystem in New York to connect directly to the CBOE command platform. “CBOE systems have always been engineered for maximum flexibility and scalability, which allows us to quickly and cost-effectively launch new products and adapt to any trading environment,” said Gerald O’Connell, CBOE executive vice president and CIO. “Now, by combining the power of our state-of-the-art CBOE Command platform and the unparalleled interconnectivity and reliability of the Equinix network, we can rapidly add new products, enhance trading speed and streamline customer access to the most comprehensive array of options and volatility products anywhere.” Equinix also announced that LMAX Exchange has selected the Equinix London LD4/5 data center campus in Slough as its primary operational site. The move positions LMAX Exchange in the epicenter of institutional FX trading, further enhancing access to its award-winning trading technology, reinforcing superior execution capabilities. Phoenix NAP partners with WebPal. Phoenix NAP announced a partnership with WebPal, a leading Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) cloud content management solution. WebPal will leverage Phoenix NAP’s cloud offering to hasten delivery of its SaaS solution to end users.   WebPal will white-label its solution to create a seamless purchase experience for its customers, while using the Phoenix NAP virtualization as supporting technology. “We partnered with Phoenix NAP with a specific goal in mind, to offer WebPal clients alternatives for physical storage with locations and SLAs that match their needs better than we can alone. We want to provide our clients not only with the best, but also with best matching cloud content management,” said Markus Latzel, CEO of Palomino Systems/WebPal. “The future of online cloud collaboration and content management is promising and the addition of WebPal allows companies of all sizes cost effective access to some very powerful tools. We are looking forward to this new partnership and the potential it brings,” said Ian McClarty, president of Phoenix NAP. Lunarpages renews with AIS.   AIS (American Internet Services) announced Web hosting firm Lunarpages, a provider of fully managed web hosting services with over 150,000 customers, has just signed a contract renewal that continues their long-standing business relationship in support of Lunarpages’ enterprise clients in the San Diego region. AIS currently provides Lunarpages space, power, and bandwidth at the company’s enterprise-class Lightwave Data Center. “We’ve been working with AIS for over four years and feel the state-of-the-art infrastructure in their Lightwave Data Center combined with their super-knowledgeable engineering and support staff are key to our ability to provide superior service offerings to our clients in the region,” said George Natzic, chief executive officer, Lunarpages. “Our companies have complementary skills that can benefit many of the businesses in the area.” (Comment on this)
3:00p	Network News: Emulex to Acquire Endace Here’s a roundup of some of this week’s headlines from the network sector: Emulex to acquire Endace.  Emulex (ELX) and Endace Limited, a supplier of network visibility infrastructure products, announced that Emulex has made an offer to acquire all of the outstanding equity interests in Endace in an all cash transaction. Endace provides network monitoring appliances, network analytics software and ultra-high speed network access switching with 100 percent accuracy. The approximately $130 million acquisition will combine Emulex’s software-defined convergence architecture with Endace’s ability to record, visualize and monitor network traffic. “This acquisition provides Emulex with a strategic entry point into the network performance management space at a disruptive point in time, as speeds move to 10Gb, making network visibility from end-to-end a critical requirement in a converged network environment,” said Jim McCluney, chief executive officer (CEO), Emulex. “Acquiring Endace aligns with our software-defined convergence strategy, doubles our total addressable market and places Emulex in another high-margin, high-growth market. Excluding transaction related expenses, we expect the acquisition to be neutral to our non-GAAP earnings per share for fiscal 2013 and accretive at the beginning of fiscal 2014.” CenturyLink deploys Infinera for 100G backbone.  Infinera (INFN) announced that CenturyLink (CTL) has deployed the Infinera DTN-X platform, featuring 500 gigabit per second (Gb/s) long haul super-channels on its nationwide fiber optic backbone. This platform enables CenturyLink to enhance its nationwide next generation backbone transport network to support critical video, mobile, and cloud IP services, and extend its ability to deliver up to 100 Gigabit Ethernet services (GbE) to the company’s data centers and customer facilities around the country. “We evaluated the available 100G solutions for long haul optical transport and the DTN-X platform stood out,” said Matt Beal, CenturyLink senior vice president – corporate strategy, product development and chief technology officer. “Our experience with the Infinera DTN platform has demonstrated a system based on quality, ease of use, proven technology and reliability. As a customer since 2004, we look forward to including the DTN-X as part of our next generation network and achieving the same positive results as we have in the past.” Alcatel-Lucent selected by Telefónica. Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) announced that it has been selected by Telefónica to upgrade the operator’s IP networks, initially in Argentina and the Czech Republic, with the Alcatel-Lucent 7950 Extensible Routing System (XRS). As a result of the upgrade Telefonica will have a high-capacity IP network in these markets to support all of its service offerings, including fixed and mobile broadband and IPTV.  “This collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent is part of a far-reaching network modernization effort which will give us one of the most powerful and efficient IP networks,” said Enrique Blanco, Telefónica’s Global Chief Technology Officer. ”In order for us to dramatically increase our network capacity and intelligence to address our customers’ fast evolving demands we needed the support of a new, truly disruptive solution. The Alcatel-Lucent XRS met this requirement.” (Comment on this)
3:42p	Friday Funny: Snowman Surprise It’s Friday! We have made it through the week and it’s time to celebrate with a little humor. Here’s a new cartoon from data center artist Diane Alber. She writes, “The holiday season is upon us and I thought it was only fitting to try and incorporate that in a comic. . .” And here it is! Enter your caption suggestions below. How The Contest Works Here’s how it works: We provide the cartoon (drawn by Diane) and you, our readers, submit the captions. We then choose finalists and the readers vote for their favorite funniest suggestion. The winner will receive their caption in a signed print by Diane. Click to enlarge. Submit your captions in our comments! Please visit Diane’s website Kip and Gary for more of her data center cartoon humor. To see our previous cartoons, visit Data Center Knowledge’s Humor Channel. (Comment on this)
7:20p	Cloud News: Egenera Acquires Fort Technologies News from the cloud computing sector includes developments from Egenera, Quantum and Symantec and CA: Egenera acquires Fort Technologies.  Cloud management and automation company Egenera announced the acquisition of Fort Technologies, a cloud lifecycle software provider based in Dublin, Ireland. Fort’s innovative management capabilities will enhance Egenera’s PAN Cloud Director software, allowing customers to design and deliver enterprise-class cloud services. The deal also expands Egenera’s sales footprint, partner network and customer base in EMEA. “The acquisition allows us to help our customers move to the cloud faster and create more enterprise-class, resilient and secure clouds,” said Pete Manca, CEO of Egenera. “Fort Technologies’ distinctive approach to cloud management turns the design, deployment and management of IT services into a simple drag and drop exercise. This enables service providers and enterprises alike to grow and succeed in the cloud.” Quantum gives direct access to Q-Cloud with Symantec.  Quantum (QTM) announced the integration of Q-Cloud with Symantec OpenStorage (OST) technology, providing NetBackup and Backup Exec customers with multiple options for leveraging Q-Cloud’s business-class cloud backup at consumer prices. The integration allows customers to directly access Quantum’s Q-Cloud backup and disaster recovery services. Symantec’s OST ability to control backup across distributed sites and tiers of storage can now also leverage the deduplication-powered replication of OST-certified Q-cloud DXi appliances to move data between sites. ”Offering OST integration with Q-Cloud has particularly significant ramifications for midrange companies that use Symantec backup software,” said Jason Buffington, senior data protection analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “For many IT managers, this could represent the easy, economical step from on-premise backup to cloud-based backup-as-a-service that they’ve been seeking.” CA powers Indonesia cloud services.  CA announced that CBN, a leading Internet and communications services provider in Indonesia, has selected the CA AppLogic cloud platform to establish CBN Cloud, designed to offer extensive cloud computing services for its corporate and retail customers. With CBN Cloud, the company envisioned providing cloud computing services for corporate and retail customers as a new business model.  The CA AppLogic solution will enable CBN Cloud to stay ahead of the technology curve by providing a comprehensive suite of cloud computing services. CBN Cloud is built on the CA AppLogic cloud platform that enables users to develop a virtual business service consisting of the application and the supporting infrastructure, to provide a wide range of Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service (IaaS, PaaS, SaaS) offerings. “We chose CA AppLogic due to its market differentiation and ease of use. We are particularly impressed by the rapid deployment to the cloud and flexibility. We also appreciate the improved application performance and reliability after switching to the platform,” said Tony Hairman, Chief Technology Officer, CBN. “We were able to implement the solution independently without a need for a third party system integrator. CA Technologies demonstrated a keen understanding of our business needs – which include the right services, the right licensing terms, and the right long-term roadmap – in addition to the right technology.” (Comment on this)

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