Intelligent software embedded in a raid controller, that SAN device you spent millions of dollars on is just a conglomeration of commodity components and that is what you are paying for.  The article written by Steve McMurray for Informationweek.com this month is based on facts which are so accurate and point on that we have been practicing this for years.

Let’s imagine an enclosure with a dozen brand named high performing hard drives inside of it and insert a shiny corporate logo to accompany the x86 modified Windows or Linux variants to manage the storage, there is your shocking sticker price.  It is not a bad thing as mentioned in the article however let’s face it the real value here in the brand is the support and software intelligence to provide the management.  Let’s think about it, are there less expensive and more flexible alternatives?

Enterprise storage companies which we will refer to as Tier 1 vendors are working hard to maintain their status quo.  They have brand name recognition and to some the name validates confidence or trust.  It is only beyond this point where we start to find out what is underneath the label.

From the user end perspective there is no visibility as to what is powering the application or service.  The commitment is to make sure that its always available it performs as well as it is sustainable over time, the rest is completely transparent.   I don’t think the majority will go to a website and wonder what brand name hard drive is storing their data as long as it is always operational and the user experience is enjoyable then it is a repeatable process built on success.

A Tier level 1 spokesman didn’t dispute that the hardware is any different and as it was indicated that the storage vendors ensure a qualified list of equipment which has been tested to be supported in their product line, the support will be available.
What level of reassurance this brings the statement is more powerful than the actual logic involved here.

In the article written by Steve I will quote “It’s past the time for an intervention, we’ve all grown comfortable with the server virtualization model, where you buy intelligent software and run your choice of hardware.  Why should storage be any different?”  Think not? Look at Google who is famous for using low-end storage and processing.

There are 5 compelling reasons to adopt storage virtualization now.  Head on over to Informationweek.com and sign up to read the full article.  1. No lock-in, 2. Standardized management…

Read more here.

News this week is that Intel announced an optical connection that can move data over longer distances and many times faster than the technology already in place.  The claims are 50 gigabits per second and that is the kind of performance to offer real time movie streaming with picture-in-picture.

Many companies have been using fiber optics to transmit information such as communications and enterprise storage for over a decade however the cost of these solutions are much more expensive than the readily available Ethernet which is used in just about every internet appliance today.

We often look back at the latest technology innovations when new is right around the corner and it is interesting how fascinated we became when it’s the latest but looking back I think we would laugh about some of the products we saw.

IBM XT – March 8th 1983                                  APPLE IPAD – April 3rd 2010

As an early adopter of new technology we find that the latest is the greatest. Even when looking back at this classic IBM XT at the point in time even if a successor was right around the corner it was the next step in the evolution of technology and a necessary step to climb on our ladder.

Applied Innovation is everywhere and trends are often set by early adoption to the industry.
InfiniBand is a technology much like Fiber Channel or “Intel Laser Beams” where we commit to providing new solutions to build success on business platforms everywhere.  For maximum I/O and performance in a bare metal or cloud hosting solution, Logicworks is your trusted advisor.   We like to call it a piece of the donut.  www.logicworks.net
http://www.logicworks.net/Expertise/Applied-Innovation/InfiniBand

Reducing cost and spending more conservatively that is what sources in the media have said recently and throughout the past recent years it appears it’s a realistic change reflected by the markets financially and it has had an impact on both the consumers and the retailers alike.
From the retailers we are looking for the best prices and spending more time in the office working extra hours rather than waiting on holiday shopping lines the ability to multitask finding gifts to purchase and searching for the best price is an attractive offer.
The retailers themselves on the other hand may have had to limit infrastructure on the technology side which may have been due to a reduction in sales on off season or less shoppers in general.  What we hope is if there are any reductions it’s not in security.

The WHID (Web-Hacking-Incident-Database) compiles a list of attack methods, application weakness and total outcome. http://webappsec.pbworks.com/Web-Hacking-Incident-Database it is not news that we are always aware of but it is best to educate and become informed on this real threat which happens every day.  So what does this mean for the consumer?  Security analysts view that perhaps the most vulnerable “Attack Methods” are called SQL Injections which allow a malicious attacker to exploit a security vulnerability occurring in the database layer of an application.  Up to this point the software vendor is not responsible for improper use of coding and SQL statements.  These attacks occur when improper development is used in constructing of TSQL language statements.

Preventive measures and SQL best practices for statements will play it safe.
SQL Injections are becoming easier to spot, leveraging things like Google searches automation through bots and various other technologies carry out sophisticated automated attacks.
It is also recommended that DBAs and developers not allow such verbose diagnostic error messages to be displayed when a user enters something weird, the more they know the easier it is to gain entry.

We hope that all of our retail shops remain secure, there is a partner out there with confidence in the cloud and they understand your needs.  Reach out to Logicworks today, shop secure. www.logicworks.net.

Located in the Chelsea area of New York City 111 Eighth Avenue was built in 1932 as the Port Authority Commerce Building it is a NYC Landmark and it is the third-largest building in New York City with 2.8 million square feet.  New York's Google office was one of the largest tenants leasing 500,000 square feet over three flors.  Along with Google many other large internet technology companies including Sprint, Barnes & Nobel, WebMD, Level 3, Nike, Qwest and many more.  Their website has its own space here;http://www.111eighth.com.  The 18-story Chelsea giant carries 2.9 million square feet of space and covers an entire city block which spans between 8th and 9th avenues from 15th and 16th streets.

*Goggle’s Big Buy* the headline from the NY Post, the price is rumored to be $2 Billion Dollars.
Sources said Google officials are already searching the city's top real-estate law firms for someone to represent them in the massive purchase.

As a former Port Authority of New York and New Jersey industrial property, 111 Eighth Avenue has numerous back-up generators, lots of electrical power, antennas, fiber optics and high-tech facilities available to tenants.

Google can afford this purchase, researching from DailyFinance.com quote
“the company is sitting on about $33 billion in cash and marketable securities.”