Friday, May 10th, 2013

Time	Event
3:38p	Big Data News: Cloudera, Splunk, Clustrix, Teradata News from the worlds of big data, databases and data analytics includes announcements by Cloudera and Splunk, investment madeinto Clustrix and Terradata Analytics finished a deployment for a large retailer. Cloudera and Splunk form big data alliance.  Cloudera announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with Splunk (SPLK) to deliver big data analytics across the enterprise. The relationship ensures best-in-class integration of the Splunk Enterprise platform for real-time operational intelligence to Cloudera Enterprise, using Splunk Hadoop Connect, which provides bi-directional integration to easily and reliably move data between Splunk Enterprise and Hadoop. “Splunk’s mission is to make data accessible, usable and valuable to everyone. By working together, Splunk and Cloudera deliver big data analytics that span the needs of any organization,” said Bill Gaylord, senior vice president of business development, Splunk. “The integration of Splunk Enterprise and CDH through Splunk Hadoop Connect provides customers a way to easily and reliably transfer data between the systems. This allows customers to easily use Splunk’s best-in-class machine data ingestion and management to deliver data to Hadoop, or ingest data into Splunk from Hadoop, such as the output of Hadoop MapReduce jobs and easily analyze and visualize that data.” Clustrix raises $16.5 million.  Scale-out SQL database company Clustrix announced the completion of a $16.5 million round of funding by current investors Sequoia Capital, U.S. Venture Partners, ATA Ventures, and Don Listwin. This the total capital raised to date to $46.5 million. Last month, the company released Clustrix 5.0 on Amazon Web Services and published a breakthrough real-time analytics performance benchmark for its scale-out SQL database, demonstrating a 50x advantage compared to legacy scale-up databases on AWS. “The combination of big data and cloud computing has broken the legacy database, creating an industry transition to new scale-out database platforms.” said Robin Purohit, CEO at Clustrix. “The Clustrix scale-out SQL database is battle-tested in mission-critical customer applications all over the world, providing unprecedented levels of performance, scalability, and real-time analytics. In our next phase of growth, we are making it easy for developers to build their next great application on our platform.” Woolworths completes Teradata Analytics implementation. Teradata (TDC) announced that Woolworths Limited, based in Australia and one of the world’s top twenty retailers, has completed implementation of its Teradata Data Warehouse Appliance platform in collaboration with Teradata Professional Services. The new data warehouse environment, fusing the most powerful new database software and hardware, serves as the point of integration for continuously rising volumes of detailed customer data. Woolworths’ decision to go with Teradata is part of an on-going program of business and technology investment, renewal and expansion,” said Priscilla Patroni, Business Technology Services, Woolworths. “We see growth ahead of us and this system will enable this by providing the analytic insight we want – to see our customers more clearly and serve them more personally.” (Comment on this)
3:46p	Networking Company Cyan Prices Initial Public Offering Here’s some of today’s noteworthy links for the networking sector of the data center industry: Cyan Prices IPO.  Cyan (CYNI) a provider of software defined networking (SDN) and packet-optical platforms for network operators, announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 8,000,000 shares of common stock at $11.00 per share. Shares began trading May 9 on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CYNI, and ended the day at $11.14. Petaluma, California-based Cyan was founded in 2006 and has raised over $30 million in funding. Late last year, Cyan launched its software defined networking Blue Planet software, aimed at enabling service providers of all types to virtualize their networks. Fujitsu Develops SDN-based Platform. Fujitsu announced the development of FUJITSU Intelligent Networking and Computing Architecture, a new architecture for network-wide ICT platform optimization based on the principles of software defined networking (SDN). The new architecture employs a software-based approach to intelligently and flexibly enable optimized control over three unique domains: data centers, wide area networks, and smart devices. In the initial phase, Fujitsu is offering the following products based on this architecture: an updated version of unified administration and control software for server, storage and network resources, a new switch that supports network virtualization, and a new virtual appliance platform. Exinda Network Optimization Suite Enhanced. Exinda announced significant enhancements to the its Network Optimization suite that uniquely combines WAN Optimization, Network Control and Application Monitoring into an integrated solution specifically designed to meet the growing requirements of mid-market enterprises and educational institutions. With the release of its 6.4 firmware, the Exinda suite integrates many of these tools into a single converged solution that allows network managers better control of their network and create a more predictable user experience for applications that rely on it. “With the growth of tools for network management and the lack of integration between these tools, the complexity of performance management has increased,” said Jim Rapoza, senior network analyst for Aberdeen Group. “However, there has been a push among companies to deploy products that offer a single integrated platform for network control, along with deep visibility into user experience and application performance. Aberdeen Group data shows that 88 percent of organizations have or plan to centralize network and application performance and user experience visibility. By deploying an all-in-one integrated platform, these organizations are working to meet user demand, manage cost, and maintain or improve the overall quality of their network and application experience.” Silver Peak joins NEC. Silver Peak Systems  announced it has joined NEC Corporation of America (NEC) to include its data acceleration software as part of NEC’s new Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Application Center.  The NEC SDN Application Center focuses on solutions that address customers’ top-of-mind network concerns. “Silver Peak’s leadership in delivering software-based WAN optimization is the perfect complement to NEC’s market-leading ProgrammableFlow Network Suite,” said Don Clark, director of business development, IT Platform Technologies, NEC Corporation of America. “Silver Peak virtual products plug into our new SDN Application Center to give customers maximum flexibility and performance for extending business-critical applications across any distance.” (Comment on this)
4:32p	Friday Funny: Take Time to Smell the Flowers It’s Friday! That means the work week is ending and it’s time for some data center laughs. This week we’re voting on the “May Flower” cartoon by our artist Diane Alber. Please scroll down and vote! The caption contest works like this: We provide the cartoon and you, our readers, submit the captions. We then choose finalists and the readers vote for their favorite funniest suggestion. The winner will receive his or her caption in a signed print by Diane! Take Our Poll For the previous cartoons on DCK, see our Humor Channel. (Comment on this)
4:51p	Latisys Partners With Ascenty to Enter Brazilian Market Here’s our review of some of this week’s noteworthy links for the data center industry: Latisys and Ascenty Partner.  Latisys announced a strategic partnership with Ascenty, a rapidly emerging metro fiber and data center services provider in Brazil. Under terms of the agreement, Latisys gains access to the Brazilian market and will leverage Ascenty’s Sao Paolo IT Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) platform and local operations to support its enterprise customers. This strategic relationship expands the addressable market for Latisys in international markets and does the same for Ascenty’s entrance into the US market. Both Latisys and Ascenty build high density data centers that serve as a platform for colocation, managed hosting and cloud services. “There are real challenges that go with international expansion,” said Pete Stevenson, Latisys CEO, based on his significant international experience. “For large IT service providers, it’s a big decision in deciding whether or not to spend capital in a foreign market where the operator has no experience. We think it’s more efficient to manage the execution risk by partnering with a strong local partner so we get speed to market and local operating knowledge for current and future customers that have deployment needs in Brazil.” Equinix adds AWS Direct Connect to Seattle.  Equinix (EQIX) announced the availability of the AWS Direct Connect service in the Equinix International Business Exchange data centers in Seattle (SE2 and SE3). AWS Direct Connect enables customers to connect their infrastructure directly to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Equinix opened the SE3 Seattle data center earlier this year. Equinix customers can also use AWS Direct Connect to access the AWS GovCloud (US) region from all existing AWS Direct Connect locations in North America. ”By leveraging AWS Direct Connect inside Equinix data centers, customers can take advantage of the cost savings and performance benefits of hybrid environments,” said Chris Sharp, general manager, cloud and content for Equinix. ”As we continue to support expansion of the AWS Direct Connect service to new markets, we are removing barriers to adoption and enabling customers to deliver on the promise of cloud computing.” ViaWest partners with Wayin.  ViaWest announced its partnership with Wayin, the online social engagement company. The partnership allows both companies to utilize each other’s IT services and join forces to promote and support the thriving Colorado business community and technology expertise. As part of this partnership, Wayin will implement ViaWest’s KINECTed Cloud service to host its employee and social engagement platforms, Wayin Enterprise and Wayin Hub, thereby connecting users globally in real time. In addition, ViaWest is launching Wayin’s enterprise engagement solution, which enables the human resource department to gather employee feedback and sentiments on various questions, surveys and company initiatives. “With ViaWest’s long history in this region, we know we have a dependable partner to pool resources,” states Tom Jessiman, CEO of Wayin.  “ViaWest’s best-in-breed infrastructure powers our applications and we have immediate access to live technical experts when needed. As both companies are Colorado-based, ViaWest shares our commitment to serving the Colorado business community, making the partnership a truly collaborative effort.” (Comment on this)
7:48p	Equinix Unveils New ‘Crown Jewel’ for Ashburn Campus The new Equinix DC11 data center is the largest facility yet on the company’s six-building primary campus in Ashburn, Virginia. (Photo: Equinix) Equinix keeps growing in northern Virginia, expanding the largest Internet exchange in North America with the largest facility yet on an already immense campus. The new DC11 facility will support growing network traffic in Ashburn, which shows no signs of slowing as the integral East Coast network hub. DC11 the company’s eighth facility in northern Virginia, and physically sits next to DC6 on the Equinix Ashburn campus. The 230,000 square foot facility has room for 120,000 square feet of colocation space, with the initial phase adding more than 42,000 square feet of space, enough for 1,200 cabinets. In terms of power, there’s 15 megawatts of critical potential. DC11 is one of eight fiber-connected buildings on a single campus with more than 500,000 square feet of data center space. The DC11 project represents about $79 million in capital investment, another indication of the growing demand for data center space in northern Virginia. New Crown Jewel for Ashburn Campus Equinix is known for a distinctive look to their facilities, but data center design is evolving on a regular basis. The facility also includes flex space for business continuity and disaster recovery, as well as several amenities. The data center isn’t a cold, faceless entity anymore. It’s a community, and DC11 is the crown jewel in an already impressive cluster of buildings. The facility employs overhead ducting rather than raised floor, as is the long-time practice at Equinix. It has state-of-the-art security meeting the most stringent requirements, including perimeter fencing around the entire campus, guard house with controlled parking entry, mantrap entry, biometric hand-reader access, 24×7 guards and recorded CCTV monitors throughout the facilities. Equinix continues to see strong demand across a number of verticals, including cloud and IT content media and retail. As it is Ashburn, government is also a big vertical, and DC11 meets Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative mandates for efficiency, as well as industry compliance frameworks such as HIPAA and PCI. DC11 offers access to the five leading providers of the GSA Networx Telecom services contract: AT&T, CenturyLink, Level 3 Communications, Sprint and Verizon. Retail Also Solid in Ashburn Ashburn is the key East Coast data center market (along with New York Metro) and continues to see a flurry of activity. Ashburn is a key communications hub for heavily populated U.S. East Cost and European markets, with a high concentration of IT, telecommunications, biotech, federal government, and international organizations setting up shop in the area. While many of the facilities being built are more focused on the wholesale sector of the data center market, Equinix is leading the pack in terms of retail colocation. That can be partially attributed to its connectivity story. The campus in Ashburn features more than 10,000 cross connects, over 900 networks and direct access to 90% of internet routes. Connections are available to more than 300 network carriers, 140 clout and IT service providers, and 100 content and digital media companies. Equinix also has a thriving ecosystem of over 4,000 businesses in the Equinix marketplace. Equinix has over 95 data centers and over 7 million square feet of space worldwide. (Comment on this)
8:31p	Twitter Plans Major Data Center Expansion Twitter has begun a major expansion of its data center infrastructure, adding space on both coasts in anticipation of huge growth for the microblogging service. Late last year, Twitter added about 100,000 square feet of space in a QTS (Quality Technology Services) facility in Atlanta, expanding a data center presence that it established in 2011. Now industry sources say Twitter is leasing a huge chunk of additional space in Sacramento, where it will expand its presence at the RagingWire data center campus. We’ve heard that Twitter has locked down more than 20 megawatts of space for a long-term expansion of its infrastructure in Sacramento, a transaction that may rank among the largest wholesale deals in industry history. The expansion builds upon Twitter’s existing presence in Sacramento, where it has hosted servers since 2010. The company will reportedly build out its space in incremental phases, allowing a long runway for future growth. A RagingWire spokesman said the company does not discuss its tenants. Twitter spokesperson Carolyn Penner said the company doesn’t comment on its data center locations. However, Twitter may have more to say about its data center operations Tuesday, when Director of Global Data Center Services Anoop Mavath will discuss Twitter’s infrastructure in a keynote presentation at The Uptime Symposium. Opting to Buy Rather Than Build Twitter’s expansion is the latest sign of traction for the wholesale model, in which companies lease data center space from a third party provider rather than building their own facility. Twitter has reached the scale where it could consider building its own data centers, a path pursued by Facebook, Apple and Google. Company-built facilities offer economies of scale and can be customized with efficient designs that offer savings on power bills, which has been a major focus for Facebook. Instead, Twitter has leased “plug-n-play” data center suites from wholesale providers. In the wholesale data center model, a tenant leases a dedicated, fully-built data center space. This approach offers faster deployment of new capacity, and the ability to manage capital spends in regions where it’s expensive to operate data centers. Apple, Facebook and Microsoft were among the largest consumers of turn-key “wholesale” data center space in 2012, according to a recent report from Avison Young. The trend is notable because all three companies have also been building massive data center facilities. Twitter’s decision to operate from leased data center space has boosted the fortunes of QTS and RagingWire, two providers that have built large footprints in strategic markets: The 990,000 square foot QTS Metro Technology Center where Twitter houses its servers in Atlanta, is one of the world’s largest data centers. The huge Atlanta space offers plenty of room for expansion for growing tenants, which is a consideration for Twitter. RagingWire has built a large campus in Sacramento, featuring more than 470,000 square feet of space across two buildings. For a closer look, check out this video tour of the campus, conducted by The WHIR. The Sacramento market has benefited from its proximity to major companies in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, while offering less risk from earthquakes. The expansion provides Twitter with the ability to manage steady growth in its server and storage requirements. Twitter has more than 200 million active users creating more than 400 million tweets per day. The company must also accommodate huge news-related traffic spikes, such as during the 2012 U.S. presidential election, when the social media site experienced a surge of 874,560 Tweets per minute, with a one-second peak of 15,107 tweets per second. Up until 2010, Twitter used managed hosting services from NTT America, housing its servers in NTT data centers in Silicon Valley and Ashburn, Virginia. In 2010, Twitter announced that it would shift to using colocation space, starting with a new facility in Salt Lake City. The company apparently continues to maintain colo space in Salt Lake City, but there are conflicting reports about its usage of its space at C7 Data Centers. The new data center space is part of a broader effort by Twitter to prepare for future growth. This week the company leased office space in Sunnyvale to house additional staff, and is also reportedly seeking an East Coast presence in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Last year Twitter opened a new headquarters in San Francisco. (Comment on this)

<< Previous Day

2013/05/10 [Calendar]

Next Day >>