Thursday, July 14th, 2016

Time	Event
12:00p	Report: US No Longer Lowest-Risk Country for Data Centers There are more data centers in the US than anywhere else, and until at least three years ago, building a data center in the US was less risky than building one in any other country. According to recent risk analysis of global data center locations by a real estate services firm, however, that’s no longer the case. US ranks third in electricity costs, fifth in ease of doing business, 15th in available network bandwidth, and 36th in corporate tax environment. These and six other characteristics add up to US being the 10th least risky data center location today, according to the firm. The same report, Cushman & Wakefield’s Data Centre Risk Index, put the country at the top of the list just three years ago. Since 2013, US has been overtaken by four Nordic countries, as well as Switzerland, UK, Canada, Singapore, and South Korea. The index ranks countries based on 10 factors that have a bearing on the level of risk for building and operating data centers. Different factors affect a country’s overall ranking to different degrees. GDP per capita, for example, doesn’t have nearly the weight of the likelihood of natural disasters, and water availability isn’t as strong a factor as political stability, or energy security. Considering all 10, Iceland is the safest data center location bet you can make, followed by Norway, Switzerland, Finland, and Sweden, filling out the top-five in that order. Canada ranks sixth, followed by Singapore, South Korea, and the UK. The report looks at 37 countries Cushman considers either major or emerging data center markets. It’s based on a survey of thousands of data center operators around the world. So, what is it about Iceland that makes it such a safe haven for data centers? According to the report, the country ranks high in availability of renewable energy and water, low risk of natural disasters, political stability, low energy costs, and corporate taxes. It’s also better than many others in terms of connectivity, ease of doing business, and GDP per capita. Iceland ranked 22nd in energy security, its lowest ranking among all categories. Risk, of course, isn’t the only thing driving data center location decisions. It is one of several variables itself, the other variables being things like proximity to end users and the ability to improve customer experience. While there are data centers in Iceland, there are relatively few of them. Proximity to users remains a huge consideration, but corporations are also increasingly concerned about political stability, risk of natural disasters, and energy security when weighing data center locations. All three have surpassed traditional considerations like cost and connectivity in priority, according to the report. Collectively, these three factors now account for one-third of the overall decision, “implying a level of emotional sentiment throughout the survey following a number of major incidents over the past few years.” The latest example of such an “incident” happened just recently, months after the survey was conducted. It’s unclear whether the UK’s current ranking on the index (it’s in the ninth place) would be different had the report taken into account the country’s vote last month to exit the European Union. In a statement, Cushman’s head of London markets, Digby Flower, said real estate occupiers in London with strategic plans “will move slowly,” following the Brexit referendum, referring to the real estate market in general. There are signs, however, that demand for data centers as a subcategory of the real estate sector is less affected by Brexit than the category as a whole. Download the full report here (Comment on this)
4:28p	Digital Bridge Buys DataBank, Enters Data Center Market Digital Bridge, a three-year-old Florida company that has been using a $4 billion debt and private equity war chest to buy companies in the communications infrastructure business, has acquired Dallas-based data center provider DataBank, the first data center services company in its portfolio. The acquisition gives the Boca Raton-based firm an entry into the data center business with substantial presence in Dallas, one of the hottest data center markets in the country, as well as in two second-tier markets: Kansas City and Minneapolis. DataBank has six data centers total, providing colocation and managed services. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Two data center industry veterans are joining the DataBank board, according to a Digital Bridge announcement. Michael Foust, co-founder and former CEO of Digital Realty Trust, is joining as chairman of the board, and Jon Mauck, former CFO of IO Data Centers, is joining both as a board member and as chief investment officer. With new owners, DataBank is planning to expand through acquisition. “We believe DataBank has substantial capacity to grow in its existing footprint, and is well positioned to grow through the acquisition of colocation businesses and strategic developments,” Foust said in a statement. Digital Bridge partnered with three other investors on the acquisition: Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, Allstate Investments, and The Edgewater Funds. Find all of the most recent coverage of DataBank here. (Comment on this)
4:57p	Report: Switch Sues Nevada for Having a Tough Time Going Green Switch, the Nevada-based data center provider known for its massive SuperNAP campus in Las Vegas, is suing the state’s energy regulators and utility company NV Energy for allegedly suffering damages in connection with switching from NV Energy to an independent renewable energy producer to power its data centers. The company is seeking at least $30 million in damages, the Associated Press reported, citing the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday. Switch recently secured two power purchase agreements with solar farm developers for enough capacity to power its entire data center footprint in the US. The agreements would cover its SuperNAP campus in Las Vegas, as well as another huge campus it is building in Reno, Nevada, Switch spokesman, Adam Kramer, told Data Center Knowledge in an earlier interview. In its lawsuit, Switch claims that Nevada’s Public Utility Commission initially blocked Switch from leaving NV Energy as a customer, saying it would harm the utility’s customer base if another customer of similar size didn’t replace it. The company eventually negotiated a deal under which it would be allowed to leave NV Energy but continue using it as a “pass-through” agency. The data center provider charges that it was treated unfairly, alleging fraud, negligence, and conspiracy. Switch is also building data centers in Michigan, Italy, and Thailand. Read the AP article in full here. (Comment on this)
7:08p	Microsoft Wins Protection for E-Mails in Non-US Data Centers (Bloomberg) — Microsoft won’t be forced to turn over e-mails stored in its Ireland data center to the US government for a drug investigation, an appeals court said in a decision that may affect data security throughout the US technology industry. The ruling on Thursday overturned a 2014 decision ordering Microsoft to hand over messages of a suspected drug trafficker. The company argued that would create a “global free-for-all” with foreign countries forcing companies to turn over evidence stored in the US. The government said a ruling in favor of Microsoft would create legal loophole to be exploited by fraudsters, hackers and drug traffickers. The law doesn’t “authorize courts to issue and enforce against US-based service providers warrants for the seizure of customer e-mail content that is stored exclusively on foreign servers,” US Circuit Judge Susan Carney wrote for the majority of the New York appeals court. The government is considering its options, Peter Carr, a spokesman for the US Department of Justice, said in a statement. “Lawfully accessing information stored by American providers outside the United States quickly enough to act on evolving criminal or national security threats that impact public safety is crucial to fulfilling our mission to protect citizens and obtain justice for victims of crime,” Carr said. Privacy Rights Microsoft said the ruling is a win for the protection of people’s privacy rights under their own laws, rather than the reach of foreign governments. “As a global company we’ve long recognized that if people around the world are to trust the technology they use, they need to have confidence that their personal information will be protected by the laws of their own country,” Microsoft said. The name and home country of the customer involved haven’t been made public. While this case was somewhat overshadowed in recent months by the battle between Apple and the US government over access to a terrorist’s iPhone, it has been closely watched by the technology industry with more than two dozen companies, including Apple, Amazon.com Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc., backing Microsoft in court. Cisco said the ruling is important for companies charged with protecting confidential data held outside the US. “It reinforces appropriate safeguards on the US government, and focuses law enforcement on the appropriate use of accepted international agreements,” the company said. Pre-Internet Law The dispute centered on the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, a law passed before the widespread use of e-mail, instant messages and Internet-based social networks. Its aim was to protect user privacy and the law didn’t envision the application of warrant provisions overseas, the appeals court said. As more technology companies sell customers the ability to process and store their data using Internet-based cloud services, information is increasingly being housed in massive data centers around the world, a situation that the relevant US law didn’t anticipate when it was written three years before the invention of the World Wide Web. Faster Action “It is even more important for Congress and the Executive Branch to come together to modernize the law,” Microsoft said. “We hope that today’s decision will bring an impetus to faster government action.” The ruling was another setback for the government in disputes over privacy of data. In February, a federal magistrate in Brooklyn, New York, said the government lacked authority to force Apple to help it crack an iPhone that belonged to a drug dealer. The US later dropped its appeal of the ruling after it obtained a passcode to the phone. The Justice Department and Apple also squared off over access to the iPhone used by a shooter who with his wife carried out a December attack in San Bernardino, California. Through independent means, the US subsequently gained access to the data in that device as well, ending the legal fight. Chilling Effect Microsoft, and it’s partners and rivals, had argued that giving the US government access to data stored overseas could create a chilling effect on the rapidly growing cloud technology sector and push international clients, particularly in government and highly regulated industries, to avoid US cloud providers. The process of requesting evidence through foreign governments can be time-consuming. American law permits them to get the data directly from US-based companies that choose to store it offshore, prosecutors said. The case is In the Matter of a Warrant to Search a Certain E-Mail Account Controlled and Maintained by Microsoft Corp., 14-02985, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (Manhattan). (Comment on this)
8:00p	US Data Center to Battle Islamic State Online Coming to Malaysia (Bloomberg) — A year after the State Department opened a data center in the Middle East aimed at countering Islamic State’s online messaging, the U.S. plans to inaugurate a similar outpost in Malaysia in coming months. Like its counterpart in the United Arab Emirates, the new center will seek to undermine the terrorist group’s digital recruitment and propaganda efforts, Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Richard Stengel told the House Foreign Affairs Committee Wednesday in Washington. The center fills a gap in the media landscape by countering the “viral spread of disinformation by state and non-state actors,” he said. Because public statements from US government officials condemning the group “can easily be used by the enemy as a recruitment tool,” Stengel said US efforts “focus on amplifying credible voices and lifting up those voices in a coordinated way.” The new data center center in Kuala Lumpur, which will be followed by similar outposts in Jordan and Nigeria, will go into operation as Islamic State recruiters are increasingly moving away from unprotected networks onto encrypted platforms. While that makes it harder to track some online conversations, Stengel said success can also be gauged by measuring declines in the flow of foreign fighters to conflict areas and decreased media and social media activity. Closed Accounts Companies such as Twitter and Facebook have also assisted the State Department’s efforts by being more proactive in removing pro-Islamic State accounts and propaganda, Stengel said. He told the committee that Twitter had taken down 125,000 pro-Islamic State accounts, a statistic presidential envoy Brett McGurk gave the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June. Yet the proliferation of the anti-Islamic State centers shows the group’s increasingly global reach, even as it faces setbacks on the battlefield in strongholds such as Syria and Iraq. This year the group has managed to carry out or inspire mass-casualty events in places including Turkey, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia and Orlando, Florida. While Malaysia hasn’t been targeted directly in Islamic State attacks, the country’s police detained 14 people in May for suspected links to the group. Australia in February said that terrorists may be planning to target Western interests or locations frequented by Westerners. (Comment on this)
8:30p	Understanding Containers: Docker, CoreOS, LXD and Container Partners By The VAR Guy By now, you’ve probably heard of Docker containers. But what about the rest of the container ecosystem? Which other companies are involved in containers and microservices, and what types of partnership opportunities exist surrounding containers? Keep reading for insight. If you’re confused by containers, you’re not alone. The term itself is a pretty loose one, and the container ecosystem is complex. Docker (which is both a company and an open source container project) has made the most headlines regarding containers. But it’s by no means the only name in the container space. So, to clear up all the confusion, here are some answers to the questions you’ve been dying to ask about containers… What are Containers? Simply put, containers are a method for running software inside isolated environments. But that method can be implemented in different ways and for different purposes. In general, most of the talk about containers today involves running individual apps inside of them. Containerized apps offer more portability and easier deployability. However, you can also run entire operating systems inside a container. Canonical’s LXD platform supports this, for example. So does Solaris, the Unix-like OS now owned by Oracle. Which Container Platforms Are Available? Again, there are a number of container platforms available. Here are the main ones: Docker, the most popular container platform at the moment. CoreOS, which has a container runtime called Rocket, or rkt. LXC, which forms the basis for LXD. LXC used to be the basis of Docker containers, too, but Docker now uses a homegrown runtime. These are only the major container platforms available for production use now. The list would be much longer if we included every type of container technology out there, from FreeBSD jails to Unikernels. What is Container Orchestration? Containers themselves only run a piece of software. To use containers effectively in real-world environments, you need an orchestration tool. Orchestration tools automate most of the tasks involved in spinning containers up and managing them once they’re running. If you have thousands of containerized apps running in your cloud, you can’t feasibly manage them without taking advantage of automation tools. Which Container Orchestration Tools Exist? The complete list of container orchestration tools, like the list of container platforms, is pretty long. But currently, there are three big ones: Docker Swarm, Docker’s homegrown orchestration tool. Kubernetes, a cluster management tool originally developed by Google. Mesosphere, a cluster orchestration tool that was not developed specifically for containers, but which works well enough on containerized infrastructure. Do You Have to Use a Certain Orchestration Tool with a Certain Container Platform? No. All of the major container orchestrators support all of the major container platforms. But things got more complex recently with Docker’s announcement that Docker Swarm is now baked in to Docker itself. You can still use Kubernetes, Mesosphere or another orchestrator with Docker. But with Swarm built in, it’s the default choice for Docker. CoreOS and LXD don’t yet come with built-in orchestration systems. Where are the Container Partnership Opportunities? This answer could be its own article, but here are a few tips to keep in mind when thinking about containers and the channel: Traditionally, container orchestration and deployment add-ons have been a key feature for companies that partner with Docker or CoreOS, such as Rancher. (So far there haven’t been any big LXD partnerships.) However, Docker’s decision to build orchestration into Docker itself will probably undercut the appeal of the sorts of partnerships mentioned above for organizations that use Docker. That said, the CoreOS ecosystem is still ripe for resellers who can add user-friendliness or managed services around the CoreOS platform. Visualization is an area where all the big container platforms could use some partner love. Docker, CoreOS and LXD were designed by developers for developers, and that’s obvious from their complex, command-line-centric interfaces. For that reason, better management and data visualization interfaces from resellers would probably appeal to the container market as it expands beyond developers. Despite advances in the areas of container networking and persistent data storage, these are still complicated tasks for containerized infrastructure. That means opportunity for partners who can simplify them. Bonus points if you can do it without requiring tedious command-line administration, which is still required for most Docker and CoreOS networking and storage. This first ran at http://thevarguy.com/open-source-application-software-companies/understanding-containers-docker-coreos-lxd-and-container- (Comment on this)

<< Previous Day

2016/07/14 [Calendar]

Next Day >>