#1 Scale-Out NAS System Dell EMC Isilon Goes All-Flash for Unstructured Data

#Dell #EMC today announced a new member of the Dell EMC #Isilon product family, combining the high performance of flash technology with the industry’s #1 scale-out NAS platform. Isilon All-Flash is designed to help IT organizations modernize their infrastructure and deliver on the capabilities of a digital business. Traditionally, All-Flash array (AFA) products have focused primarily on structured or block data sets and applications that support approximately 20% of all data in the data center. However, there is a growing imperative for IT to harness the value of unstructured data, which now accounts for 80% of all new data produced, managed and stored by enterprises today. To do this, organizations are using increasingly powerful next-generation applications and workloads that require high performance to process massive unstructured data sets and deliver the accelerated business outcomes enterprises demand. Dell EMC sees this unstructured data opportunity as the final flash frontier that requires a scale-out architecture designed to take advantage of flash media and provide the same enterprise-grade data protection, management, access and security that these unstructured data applications require today. Dell EMC is addressing this shift with the new Isilon All-Flash scale-out family of NAS storage. Already a leader in All-Flash storage with 30.9% market share, Dell EMC has combined the extreme performance of flash technology with the proven scalability, true multi-protocol access and security of Isilon OneFS operating system. Formerly known as “Project Nitro,” the highly dense, bladed-node architecture of Isilon All-Flash provides four Isilon nodes within a single 4U chassis with capacity options ranging from 92TB to 924TB per chassis. Available in several configurations, Isilon All-Flash units can be combined into a single cluster that provides up to 92.4PB of capacity and over 1.5TB/s of aggregate performance.

“As businesses move towards a digital future, there is an increasing need to support large-scale workloads that utilize unstructured data at unprecedented speeds. This can’t be done with hardware alone—software is the key to enabling customers to modernize their data centers, and the determining factor for the winners and losers in the All-Flash market,” said Phil Bullinger, SVP of Isilon at Dell EMC. “Isilon All-Flash is specifically designed to address the need for extreme NAS performance, but also to provide the multi-protocol access, enterprise-grade data protection, security and ease of management capabilities that organizations expect from the industry’s #1 scale-out NAS solution.”

Isilon All-Flash storage is designed for a wide range of next-generation applications and unstructured workloads that require extreme NAS performance including, 4K streaming of data, genomic sequencing, electronic design automation and near real-time analytics with a choice of Big Data analytics vendors such as Hortonworks, Cloudera, Pivotal, IBM and Splunk. Isilon All-Flash can be deployed as a new cluster, or can seamlessly integrate with existing Isilon clusters to accelerate the performance of an enterprise data lake and lower the overall total cost of ownership (TCO) of a multi-tiered All-Flash and high capacity SATA solution. Powered by the OneFS operating system, this new offering from Dell EMC is designed to provide the essential capabilities that enterprises require to modernize IT: extreme performance, massive scalability, operational flexibility, increased efficiency, and enterprise-grade data protection and security.

ISILON ALL-FLASH CUSTOMER BENEFITS

Extreme Performance: with up to 25M IOPs and 1.5TB/s throughput per cluster, Isilon All-Flash is designed to accelerate business outcomes for the most demanding next-generation unstructured workloads
Scale to Fit: customers can start with a single 96TB 4U chassis and easily expand capacity by combining up to 100 Isilon All-Flash chassis and over 400 nodes into a single cluster to provide up to 92.4PB of storage capacity
Next-Generation Multi-Protocol Access: with support for NFS, SMB, HDFS, Object, NDMP, FTP and more, Isilon’s multi-protocol access is unparalleled in the market place, delivering customers any unstructured data read and write access to ALL data, regardless of the protocol used
Storage Tiering: Isilon SmartPools and CloudPools allow customers to take advantage of automated storage tiering to reduce capital expenses and optimize storage resources by reserving their Isilon All-Flash storage for their most demanding applications
Unmatched Efficiency: Isilon All-Flash solutions provide up to 80% storage utilization and can leverage Isilon SmartDedupe data de-duplication to further reduce storage requirements by up to 30% or more
Robust Data Security: to meet stringent security and compliance regulations, Isilon All-Flash offers role-based access control (RBAC); secure access zones; write-once read many (WORM) data protection; file system auditing; and data-at-rest encryption with self-encrypting drives (SEDs)
AVAILABILITY

Isilon All-Flash scale-out NAS storage is available for customers to pre-order starting today, and will be generally available in 2017, along with new versions of OneFS that will be a free upgrade to all existing customers.

This week at Dell EMC World, attendees will be the first to see the newest All-Flash enterprise-class and SMB storage offerings from the combined Dell EMC, including:

Dell EMC storage management, mobility and data protection portfolio coverage across the entire line-up of mid-market proven Dell EMC SC Series storage arrays (formerly Compellent)
Recently announced Dell EMC VMAX 250F enterprise-class All-Flash solution with game-changing economics, extending VMAX to a new set of customers
Recently announced major enhancements to the Dell EMC Unity family of simple and affordable flash-optimized systems
Recently announced Dell EMC VPLEX VS6 platform and Dell EMC VPLEX For All-Flash solutions, designed for continuous availability and non-disruptive data mobility
Hands-on look at Dell EMC DSSD D5 Rack-Scale Flash array, with new operating system software updates and validated performance for Oracle, SAS and kdb+ workloads
Sneak-peek at forthcoming capabilities in the market-leading Dell EMC XtremIO All-Flash array
DELL EMC EXECUTIVE QUOTE

Jeremy Burton, Chief Marketing Officer, Dell Technologies
“Dell EMC is the clear leader in All-Flash storage because we have a market-leading portfolio that addresses the broadest set of workloads – we’re #1 in almost every segment we compete in. Isilon All–Flash builds on this momentum with the introduction of a brand new storage family to meet the demands of digital business. The numbers are mind-blowing — we’ve combined the speed of flash with the almost infinite scale and ease-of-use that has become the hallmark of Isilon.”

INDUSTRY ANALYST QUOTE

Scott Sinclair, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group
“Today’s data centers are already falling behind in both performance and scalability. In order to compete and remain relevant in a digital workforce, businesses need technology to support next generation applications and the most demanding workloads. Combining scale-out NAS with the extreme performance of flash technology solves this need—and customers can rely on all the things they love about Isilon in this new flash configuration. IT can now support the sky rocketing volume of unstructured data and provide faster business outcomes for users.”

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

DELL EMC

Dell EMC, a part of Dell Technologies, enables organizations to modernize, automate and transform their data center using industry-leading converged infrastructure, servers, storage and data protection technologies.  This provides a trusted foundation for businesses to transform IT, through the creation of a hybrid cloud, and transform their business through the creation of cloud-native applications and big data solutions.  Dell EMC services customers across 180 countries – including 98 percent of the Fortune 500 – with the industry’s most comprehensive and innovative portfolio from edge to core to cloud.

http://satprnews.com/2016/11/27/1-scale-out-nas-system-dell-emc-isilon-goes-all-flash-for-unstructured-data/

Claire Vyvyan to replace Tim Griffin as Dell EMC UK boss as new exec line-up unveiled

#Dell #EMC has finalised its new executive line-up, which will see former Dell VP Claire Vyvyan (pictured above) take over from departing UK boss Tim Griffin, and Sarah Shields run the combined UK channel. In an email sent to partners, seen by CRN, Dell EMC unveiled its new UK executive team – seven of eight of whom came from the Dell business. Dell EMC was not immediately available to confirm or comment on the contents of the email

http://www.channelweb.co.uk/crn-uk/news/2478626/claire-vyvyan-to-replace-tim-griffin-as-dell-emc-uk-boss-as-new-exec-line-up-unveiled

HPE-SGI to Tackle Exascale and Enterprise Targets

At first blush, and maybe second blush too, Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s ( #HPE ) purchase of #SGI seems like an unambiguous win-win. SGI’s advanced shared memory technology, its popular UV product line ( #HANA ), deep vertical market expertise, and services-led go-to-market capability all give HPE a leg up in its drive to remake itself. Bear in mind HPE came into existence just a year ago with the split of Hewlett-Packard. The computer landscape, including HPC, is shifting with still unclear consequences. One wonders who’s next on the deal block following #Dell ’s recent merger with EMC. Few details of #HPE plans for SGI (product roadmap, etc.) are available. At SC16 HPE was busy getting at least one message out – it is delighted for the new resources and high-end HPC headroom provided by SGI. “It’s a strategic move on our part to bolster our position in the HPC market as well as in the big data and mission critical systems spaces. [SGI has] lots of technologies across high performance data analytics (HPDA) and real time transaction processing in addition to HPC especially at the very high-end,” said Vineeth Ram, VP, HPC, Big Data & IoT Segment, HPE Servers, during a briefing at SC. There’s still plenty to sort out. One issue that may prove troublesome is SGI’s preexisting reseller arrangements with Dell EMC, now a direct competitor, and Cisco, for the SGI’s UV Hanna machines. Some staff rightsizing may also be necessary. Yet on paper what’s most eye-catching is the deal’s complementary rather than overlapping quality.

http://www.enterprisetech.com/2016/11/22/hpe-sgi-tackle-exascale-enterprise-targets/

HPE Extends Composability to Cloud and Hyper-converged Solutions

#HPE #Synergy with HPE #Helion CloudSystem 10 and new #hyper-converged enhancements powered by composable technologies help make hybrid IT simple LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - Nov 29, 2016) - Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) today announced an expansion of its composable initiative with the addition of a new hybrid cloud offering and technology extensions to HPE hyper-converged systems. By extending HPE Synergy's fully programmable infrastructure to HPE's multi-cloud platform and through software enhancements to the HPE Hyper Converged 380, HPE is enabling IT operators to deliver software-defined infrastructure as quickly as customers' businesses demand. The new solutions include: HPE Synergy with HPE Helion #CloudSystem 10 brings full composability across compute, storage and fabric to HPE's #OpenStack ® technology-based hybrid cloud platform to enable customers to run bare metal, virtualized, containerized and cloud-native applications on a single infrastructure and dynamically compose and recompose resources for unmatched agility and efficiency. HPE Hyper Converged Operating Environment software update leverages composable technologies to deliver new capabilities to the HPE Hyper Converged 380, including new workspace controls that allow IT managers to compose and recompose virtualized resources for different lines of business, making it easier and more efficient for IT to act as an internal service provider to their organization.

http://m.marketwired.com/press-release/hpe-extends-composability-to-cloud-and-hyper-converged-solutions-nyse-hpe-2179161.htm

#1 in Storage, Servers, Virtualization = Powerful Hyper-Converged Appliances and Systems

#Dell #EMC today announced it has expanded its leading converged systems portfolio by integrating its industry-leading #PowerEdge servers into #VxRail Appliances and #VxRack System 1000 hyper-converged infrastructure ( #HCI ) to address new use cases. By owning both the compute and storage layers of the hyper-converged stack and having a co-engineering relationship with #VMware, #Dell #EMC can deliver even more customer value by innovating faster. Dell EMC’s world-class supply chain provides quality, flexibility and speed of delivery and can offer new price points that allow more customers to enjoy the benefits of #HCI. Now customers can partner with a single vendor for end-to-end HCI with comprehensive service and support offerings that provide a path to assisting business growth and investment protection to modernize their data center. “Dell EMC owning both the compute and storage portions of the hyper-converged stack is a game-changer for the HCI portfolio,” said Terri McClure, Senior Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group. “It allows the company to deliver more value choices for customers via investment protection, faster innovation, supply chain advantages and savings it can pass on. The fast integration of PowerEdge servers into VxRail Appliances and VxRack Systems is a major example of the synergy of the acquisition and the benefits of the companies coming together – more value, more choice and maintained investment protection for customers.”

http://satprnews.com/2016/11/27/1-in-storage-servers-virtualization-powerful-hyper-converged-appliances-and-systems/

Earnings Flow: EPS for Pure Storage Inc (PSTG) Expected to Rise

Wall Street await Pure Storage Inc (NYSE: #PSTG ) to release earnings on November, 30 after the close. Analysts forecast EPS of $-0.30, up exactly $0.09 or 23.08% from 2014’s $-0.39 EPS. After posting $-0.31 EPS for the previous quarter, #PureStorage Inc’s analysts now forecast -3.23% EPS growth. The stock decreased 0.84% or $0.12 during the last trading session, hitting $14.13. Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) has declined 3.94% since April 26, 2016 and is downtrending. It has underperformed by 9.20% the S&P500.

Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) Ratings Coverage
Out of 20 analysts covering Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG), 12 rate it a “Buy”, 1 “Sell”, while 7 “Hold”. This means 60% are positive. Pure Storage has been the topic of 24 analyst reports since October 8, 2015 according to StockzIntelligence Inc. Evercore initiated Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) rating on Monday, November 2. Evercore has “Buy” rating and $21 price target. The firm has “Buy” rating given on Thursday, January 28 by Maxim Group. The firm earned “Buy” rating on Monday, November 2 by Stifel Nicolaus. The rating was initiated by Summit Research on Tuesday, December 29 with “Hold”. Pacific Crest initiated it with “Overweight” rating and $24 target price in Monday, November 2 report. The stock of Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) has “Outperform” rating given on Friday, December 11 by BMO Capital Markets. The firm earned “Buy” rating on Tuesday, January 19 by Lake Street. The rating was initiated by Sterne Agee CRT with “Neutral” on Wednesday, November 11. The stock of Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) has “Negative” rating given on Tuesday, December 8 by Susquehanna. The rating was upgraded by Oppenheimer to “Outperform” on Wednesday, August 31.

Pure Storage, Inc. provides an enterprise data storage platform. The company has a market cap of $2.79 billion. The Company’s storage platform consists of approximately three integrated components, including the Purity Operating Environment, which is its flash-optimized software; FlashArray, which is its modular and scalable all-flash array hardware, and Pure1, which is its cloud management and support. It currently has negative earnings. The Company’s clients include large and mid-size organizations across a diverse set of industry verticals, including cloud software and service providers, consumer Web, education, energy, financial services, governments, healthcare, manufacturing, media, retail and telecommunications.

According to Zacks Investment Research, “Pure Storage, Inc. offers enterprise data storage platform. The company’s storage platform provides Purity Operating Environment, a flash-optimized software; FlashArray, a modular and scalable all-flash array hardware and Pure1, a cloud-based management and support platform. It operates primarily in the United States, Europe and Asia. The company serves cloud-based software and service providers, consumer Web, education, energy, financial services, governments, healthcare, manufacturing, media, retail and telecommunications sectors. Pure Storage, Inc. is headquartered in Mountain View, California.”

More important recent Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) news were published by: Fortune.com which released: “EMC and Pure Storage Bury the Hatchet in Bitter Legal Dispute” on October 19, 2016, also Fool.com published article titled: “Why Pure Storage, Inc. Shares Tanked Today”, Wsj.com published: “Pure Storage Wins New Trial in EMC Patent Case” on September 02, 2016. More interesting news about Pure Storage Inc (NYSE:PSTG) was released by: Wsj.com and their article: “Pure Storage, Dell Settle Litigation Launched by EMC” with publication date: October 19, 2016.

PSTG Company Profile
Pure Storage, Inc., incorporated on October 2, 2009, provides an enterprise data storage platform. The Company’s storage platform consists of three integrated components, including the Purity Operating Environment, which is its flash-optimized software; FlashArray, which is its modular and scalable all-flash array hardware, and Pure1, which is its cloud management and support. The Company’s clients include large and mid-size organizations across a diverse set of industry verticals, including cloud software and service providers, consumer Web, education, energy, financial services, governments, healthcare, manufacturing, media, retail and telecommunications. The Company’s platform is used for a set of storage use cases, including database applications, private and public cloud infrastructure, virtual server infrastructure and virtual desktop infrastructure.

http://www.mmahotstuff.com/2016/11/29/earnings-flow-eps-for-pure-storage-inc-pstg-expected-to-rise.html

Dell EMC Extends Common User Experience to SC Series

#Dell #EMC announced it has boosted the capabilities of its mid-market proven SC Series (formerly #Compellent™) storage arrays by making them interoperable with the world’s leading portfolio of storage management, mobility and data protection solutions formerly only available to EMC customers. A core tenet of Dell EMC’s portfolio strategy is to provide customers with the ultimate in choice and flexibility regardless of the problem they are trying to solve. By rapidly extending key Dell EMC™ software capabilities to include the SC series, Dell EMC enables customers to mix and match Dell and EMC storage products and services within their enterprises while taking advantage of a common user experience with the same storage management, data protection and mobility capabilities. “Our portfolio strategy is all about choice,” said Jeff Boudreau, SVP and General Manager, Midrange Storage, Dell EMC. “With today’s announcement, we’re enabling our SC Series customers to continue using the products they’ve invested in while also having access to exciting new capabilities as Dell EMC continues to combine our storage solutions into a seamless portfolio.”

http://satprnews.com/2016/11/27/dell-emc-extends-common-user-experience-to-sc-series/

Why Flash is Poised to Kill Disk for Primary Storage

It’s a little known fact that 2016 marks the 60th anniversary of the first commercial usage of hard disk storage. Hard disks have been happily spinning in data centers across the world ever since; a fantastic run by any measure, but one which is looking ever more likely to be nearing its conclusion – at least for most primary data storage use cases. There’s no denying that flash media is on its way to becoming the dominant technology in primary storage. According to one report by research and advisory community

Wikibon, the age of the disk-dominated data center could be over in less than a decade.

Wikibon claims that the amount of flash memory shipped as production storage will reach parity with hard-disk storage by 2020 with flash ending over 30 times greater by 2026.

There is strong evidence behind #Wikibon ’s claim. In November 2013, #EMC ’s #XtremIO entered the all-flash array market, claiming third place after only six weeks. Within six months, XtremIO had catapulted into the lead and is the fastest growing product in EMC’s history with a market share lead nearly three times the nearest competitor. This year, EMC shifted the focus of its entire primary storage portfolio to all-flash, including the well-regarded #VMAX and recently-introduced mid-range Unity product lines.

Flash is now the recommended default for new purchases in the primary storage space and likely for converged infrastructure systems as well. As the pace of change continues to build, it’s time to dispel any residual myths and misunderstandings once and for all.

http://www.cbronline.com/news/enterprise-it/storage/flash-poised-kill-disk-primary-storage/

Hadoop-as-a-Service Market: Revolutionizing Big Data Analytics with a Step Ahead in Technology!

Global #Hadoop-as-a-Service market: Overview #Hadoop has become a leading platform for big data analytics today. Hadoop-based applications are used by enterprises which require real-time analytics from data such as video, audio, email, machine generated data from a multitude of sensors and data from external sources such as social media and the internet. Hadoop-as-a-service enables technical experts of organizations to perform several operations which include big data management, big data analytics and big data storage in a cloud. The HaaS platform enables organizations to use Hadoop technology in a highly cost-effective manner, along with ensuring minimal consumption of time. Hadoop-as-a-service is being widely accepted across various industries including IT, banking, manufacturing and telecommunication among others. One of the emerging trends in this market is the increased adoption of HaaS by small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In fact, SMEs have been among the earliest adopters of this technology and cloud computing, as this end-user segment is already conversant with the benefits associated with cloud computing. Owing to this, the HaaS providers are looking to capitalize on the increase in demand of this technology from the SME segment.

http://www.cso.com.au/mediareleases/28623/hadoop-as-a-service-market-revolutionizing-big/

Why do we still rebuild RAID drives?

Worried about the days long rebuild times of 6, 8, or even 10TB drives? Don't be. #Objectstorage is getting rid of that relic of the 25-year-old RAID architecture. Here's how it works.

WHAT?

RAID arrays are designed to allow one or two individual drives to fail without losing access to the data. Parity data is added to your data to enable data access even after drive failure(s).

The parity+data bits are spread across the drives. The smallest RAID arrays are 4 drives, but 6-8 drives in a RAID stripe is most common. With RAID 5, one drive's worth of capacity is dedicated to parity, while in RAID 6 two drive's worth are.

RAID 5 can handle one drive failure. RAID 6 can handle two failures, or, more likely, one drive failure and one Unrecoverable Read Error (URE).

FAILURE MODE

When a drive in a RAID array fails, all the lost data needs to be written to the replacement drive. That's why an 8TB rebuild takes so long.

Assume the hard drive averages 100MB/sec write speed. That's 360GB/hour, or more than 22 hours of maximum speed rebuild time for an 8TB drive.

Since arrays usually have other work to do during a rebuild, admins often throttle rebuild speeds. Thus it can easily take two or more days to rebuild an 8TB drive, all the while with reduced performance and under dire threat of another failure or URE.

SO WHO BUYS THEM?

Fortunately for drive vendors, a newer architecture has replaced RAID for large scale systems: object storage. An object is a file plus metadata that normally is stored in a file system. Objects are accessed directly by their ID number, not through a file system.

Losing the file system has many benefits, such as allowing multiple servers to access the same data pool. But compared to RAID, the big advantage is that the data layout is not confined to RAID stripes.

Instead, object storage typically breaks a larger file into several chunks or shards containing data plus parity. The parity can be adjusted so that, for instance, the system can sustain multiple - 4 or 5 commonly - drive failures without data loss or a performance penalty.

More importantly, object stores can replicate data to multiple drives, eliminating the single drive write bottleneck. There's no requirement that a replacement drive contain a certain set of data. When a new drive is added, either as a replacement or to grow capacity, the object storage controller starts populating it with data chunks as needed.

Object storage is at the heart of all hyperscale storage systems. That's why it has been the fastest growing part of the storage universe for a decade.

But it isn't all good. There's additional computational overhead, while poor layout choices can hurt performance. Object storage is still young, and the technology is improving rapidly.

THE STORAGE BITS TAKE

In high-performance arrays hard drives have been replaced - mostly - by SSDs. But there's no reason that RAIDed backend storage can't be replaced by object storage, which is both cheaper and more robust than RAID arrays.

Some vendors are already doing that. Clear Sky and Infinidat are doing it. It's only a matter of time that enterprise storage forsakes RAID altogether, making worries about rebuild times a thing of the past.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/why-do-we-still-rebuild-raid-drives/

AMD's Deal With Google Is Significant

Recently, Advanced Micro Devices ( #AMD ) clinched a deal with #Google to supply its #FirePro S9300 x2 GPU in the latter’s cloud platform. AMD’s stock price has shot by close to 30% since the announcement of this deal. This is because this deal is quite significant for AMD, as most of the big players in the cloud storage market currently use #Nvidia ’s GPUs. According to some sources, Google’s cloud market share stood at 8% in 2016, just behind #Amazon and #Microsoft. In this analysis, we further elaborate on the reasons as to why this deal is significant for AMD. Increasing Use of GPUs In Data Centers The application of GPUs is exponentially increasing in hyperscale data centers. Hyperscale data centers are applying deep learning algorithms to enhance their applications and make them smarter. As major tech companies further pursue their opportunities in the cloud and AI market, it will further fuel the demand for GPUs in data-centers.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2016/11/23/amds-deal-with-google-is-significant/#2aa090f53421

Microsoft brings Solitaire to iOS and Android

#Microsoft is bringing its popular version of #Solitaire to #iOS and #Android today. While the game as existed on Windows for more than 25 years, the modern Solitaire Collection will now be available outside of Windows for the first time. Microsoft is offering its Solitaire Collection on iOS and Android free of charge, as the company hopes to gain more players to add to the 119 million who have played the game on Windows 8 and Windows 10. The Microsoft Solitaire Collection for iOS and Android includes #Klondike, #Spider, #FreeCell, #Pyramid,and #Tripeaks game types, alongside daily challenges for players. Microsoft is integrating Xbox Live into the game so you can sign into Solitaire and play with friends or earn achievements. Microsoft is also offering a “Premium Edition” for $1.99 per month without ads, and which includes double coin rewards for daily challenges and game boosts.

http://www.theverge.com/2016/11/23/13730380/microsoft-solitaire-ios-android-game

Samsung bets big on quantum dot TV, snaps up QD Vision

#Samsung has confirmed the rumored acquisition of #QDVision as the company looks to strengthen its quantum dot display technology unit. As reported by Sam Mobile, the deal was confirmed by Samsung's Advanced Institute of Technology chief Jung Chil-hee, who told reporters that QD Vision has become part of the South Korean tech giant's portfolio. The acquisition is expected to be formally announced next week. No financial details have been disclosed, however, South Korean news agency Yonhap values the deal at approximately $70 million. Lexington, MA-based QD Vision, previously known as #ColorIQ, is a specialist in quantum dot display technology. Developed for displays including PC monitors and television sets, quantum dot technology uses semiconductor nanoparticles to change the properties of quantum dots, improving color definition and sharpness. Displays based on quantum dot technologies tend to offer better picture quality and are also cheaper to manufacture than organic light-emitting diode (OLED) television sets. QD Vision will become part of Samsung's research and development unit in the hope of creating quantum dot LED (QD LED) displays suitable for the consumer market which could, in turn, become a strong competitor against OLED displays.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/samsung-bets-big-on-quantum-television-snaps-up-qd-vision/

Samsung to unveil shareholder return plans amid calls to split company

#SamsungElectronics said it will disclose plans to boost shareholder value on Tuesday—a move that comes amid pressure from U.S. fund #ElliottManagement to split the company in two and provide more in payouts. The U.S. activist hedge fund, which owns 0.6 percent of Samsung, called on the South Korean tech giant in October to divide itself into a holding vehicle for ownership purposes and an operating company, as well as pay out 30 trillion won ($26 billion) in a special dividend. The Seoul Economic Daily, citing an unidentified source, reported on Monday the firm will say it plans to consider a split. Samsung declined to elaborate further on Monday on its plans, although it said last month it is considering buying back more shares.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/11/28/samsung-elec-to-consider-split-seoul-economic-daily.html

Riverbed & Verizon Team Up to Deliver an AWS Bundle

Application performance monitoring company #Riverbed announced today that it is joining forces with #Verizon ’s Enterprise Solutions unit to deliver an #Amazon Web Services ( #AWS ) Direct Connect Bundle for hybrid enterprise architecture deployments. The bundle, being announced to coincide with the AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, aims to help customers connect branch offices and data centers to AWS environments through managed network services. The bundle combines Riverbed’s wide area network ( #WAN ) optimization, Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect and Virtual Network Services ( #VNS ), and AWS Direct Connect into a single system. While none of these products are new individually, combined they create new capabilities. Verizon’s VNS and Secure Cloud Interconnect system allows enterprise customers to use universal customer premises equipment to provide connectivity to employees. Riverbed’s WAN optimization is implemented within Verizon’s VNS as a virtual network function (VNF) to accelerate application performance in the cloud — specifically addressing bandwidth and latency. It also accelerates the migration to the cloud. All of this lies on the AWS Direct Connect Converged Infrastructure, which helps businesses use the same storage and network management tools used in private clouds as they migrate to public or hybrid architectures. Verizon isn’t the only network provider working with AWS Direct Connect. AT&T NetBond, for instance, has a similar offering called the SaaS Architecture Direct Connect Bundle. It is also worth noting that Riverbed’s application performance monitoring system is powered by its own software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) offering. These capabilities come from the company’s acquisition of Aternity, which gathers data from app servers, application code, UC systems, LANs, WANs, browsers, and end-user devices.

https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/riverbed-verizon-team-deliver-aws-bundle/2016/11/

Opto 22 announces relationship with Dell to develop and deploy Internet of Things (IoT) applications

Industrial automation manufacturer and Internet of Things ( #IoT ) application toolset provider #Opto22 announces that it has joined the #Dell IoT Solutions Partner Program. This relationship provides a product and solution ecosystem for connecting real-world signals and industrial “things” to the digital world of information technology, mobile, and cloud computing. A technology revolution is gaining momentum, and this surge of innovation is connecting sensors, devices, and equipment to a network that can transmit and receive data for tracking, analysis, and action. With the estimated number of connected things reaching over 25 billion by 2020 and rapid innovations in collected data analysis, this isn’t just about new technology—it’s an entirely different way of doing business. Advancing IoT solutions together Dell’s IoT Partner Program brings together innovative technology and services companies to help customers be at the forefront of this change. Dell IoT partners are qualified to integrate industrial IoT hardware such as edge gateways and embedded PCs into full IoT solutions, but many also work with other Dell and Dell EMC technologies such as server, storage, and networking hardware, and software tools for security, manageability, data integration, and analytics. The addition of Opto 22 to the Dell IoT Solution Partner Program creates a powerful toolset for IoT application developers. This combination brings together an industrially ruggedized hardware platform, data visualization for mobile and web clients, robust industrial automation protocol support including Modbus/TCP and OPC UA, and advanced data flow processing with software development environments like Node-RED. Combining these capabilities with the ability to connect multiple data sources including devices, databases, and third-party APIs (application program interfaces), Opto 22 and Dell deliver a single, cohesive, cost-effective, and powerful solution for nearly any IoT or edge computing application. “Dell believes curated partnerships are critical in building the bridge between the exciting industry potential of IoT and profitable market reality,” said Jason Shepherd, director, IoT Strategy and Partnerships, Dell. “We are excited about our relationship with Opto 22, the industrial and process controls expertise they’ll bring to our customers, and look forward to our continued collaboration.” Going the Last Mile Connecting existing industrial assets to IT systems requires translating the electrical signals (voltage and current) in the physical world to the bits and bytes of the digital world.

http://www.designworldonline.com/opto-22-announces-relationship-dell-develop-deploy-internet-things-iot-applications/

Using vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management in Mixed Storage Environments

A couple of weeks ago I delivered a brief webcast presentation on Storage Policy-Based Management and its use across mixed #vSphere storage environments. This has been one of my favorite topics for a couple of years. I have spent a lot of time developing guidelines for different scenarios so that vSphere customers can see and understand the value of what this policy framework introduces for the management, and consumption of storage. In this brief presentation, I covered some basic concepts of the policy framework and how SPBM is designed to work. Today, all of the #SoftwareDefinedStorage technologies supported in vSphere ( #vSAN , #VVols , #VAIO ) natively support and depend on SPBM as part of their technological value proposition, but more importantly from an operational efficiency standpoint as well. New features like vSphere Encryption and traditional vSphere storage features like Storage I/O Control ( #SIOC ) are now being delivered via policies. In the presentation below, I walk through a couple of demonstrations that include building policies for a vSphere infrastructure composed of mixed storage abstractions, vendor solution, and management portals (vSohere Web Client, and vRealize Automation).

http://www.dabcc.com/using-vsphere-storage-policy-based-management-in-mixed-storage-environments/

HyperGrid Brings Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, Containers To The Cloud

#Hyperconverged infrastructure technology developer #HyperGrid is moving its offering to the cloud, giving partners a platform for running applications in private and public clouds. HyperGrid Tuesday unveiled #HyperCloud, which provides #containerization, scale-out cloud, seamless workload migration and other cloud functionalities built around a hyper-converged infrastructure appliance with integrated compute, storage and networking capabilities, said Manoj Nair, chief product officer of the Mountain View, Calif.-based vendor.  HyperCloud is a hybrid cloud offering with Platform-as-a-Service, Infrastructure-as-a-Service and application services built in, Nair told CRN.

http://m.crn.com/news/data-center/300082825/hypergrid-brings-hyper-converged-infrastructure-containers-to-the-cloud.htm

ZNV Launches Another Powerful Data Center Solution: WeKeeper 2.0

SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 28, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- #ZNV announced the release of #WeKeeper 2.0 and new partnerships at a press conference on a Gold cruise on the Huangpu River in Shanghai on November 22. WeKeeper 2.0 is another revolutionary breakthrough from ZNV following their comprehensive smart data center management software, WeKeeper 1.0, which was launched seven months ago, and has since stunned the market. The breakthrough will significantly improve the safe operation conditions of data centers and help managers further reduce operation costs and energy consumption. ZNV has also reached intent agreements for long-term cooperation with #Cloudera and GFGQ in an aim to create more valuable products and solutions for data center users in the future. The amount of data hosted at data centers has explosively increased, particularly during the rapid development of Internet around the world. As the core of storage, operation and maintenance of data, data centers face more and more challenges, particularly due to the increasingly enlarged data center scales and complicated systems. How to solve the issue of increasing detection points and more and more complicated data? ZNV has introduced the latest big data technology and worked with Cloudera to develop big data solutions that are applicable to data center management so as to multiply the data processing capacity and thoroughly solve the problems of delayed data processing, alarms and decision making. According to Robert Zhu, ZNV Executive Chairman and CEO, WeKeeper 2.0 is intended to solve the issues facing data center managers, particularly in terms of reducing downtime, lowering operation expenses, and saving more energy. Compared with WeKeeper 1.0, WeKeeper 2.0 features faster speeds, where the big data engine speeds up system data processing and reduces system retrieval response from 10 seconds to less than 2 seconds, so that mass data analysis and retrieval can be completed in several seconds instead of dozens of minutes, as in the past. Systems are running more safely thanks to quick response and timely prediction and decision making, while reducing energy consumption and saving operation expenses for customers by means of further complex mathematical modeling. What's more, the upgraded version is more user-friendly and creates a better visual experience, with more comprehensive functions, beautiful interfaces, and convenient access and use.

http://news.sys-con.com/node/3960973

Dell EMC Delivers Software-Defined, Cloud-Enabled Data Protection For The Modern Data Center

Leveraging its market-leading portfolio of data protection software and servers, #Dell #EMC today announced product and service enhancements to deliver software-defined, cloud-enabled data protection for the modern data center. As customers of all sizes look to transform IT, the first step will be to modernize their data center. With a modern architecture, utilizing technologies that are software-defined and cloud-enabled is key. Today, Dell EMC is making its market-leading data protection portfolio cloud-enabled as well as enabling its market-leading Purpose Built Backup Appliance software-defined to run on the world’s leading server, Dell EMC #PowerEdge. At Dell EMC World this week, attendees will be the first to see the newest data protection offerings from the combined Dell EMC.

DATA DOMAIN VIRTUAL EDITION 3.0

Available immediately, Dell EMC has released #DataDomain Virtual Edition 3.0 (DD VE), delivering customers the number-one purpose-built backup appliance in an economical software-defined solution wherever it’s needed. DD VE runs as a virtual machine and is now qualified to run on Dell EMC PowerEdge servers. With DD VE 3.0, Dell EMC also introduces pre-validated, fully supported, pre-tested reference architectures that combine the strengths of PowerEdge 13G servers with DD VE software. As announced last month, DD VE is also supported on Dell EMC #VxRail appliances, allowing customers to deploy software-defined protection storage in a hyperconverged environment.

http://satprnews.com/2016/11/27/dell-emc-delivers-software-defined-cloud-enabled-data-protection-for-the-modern-data-center/

Extraordinary Dell EMC Channel Partner Program To Provide Transformational Business Value and Opportunity

Dell EMC today provided a preview of the new and highly anticipated Dell EMC Partner Program, set to formally become effective in February 2017. Designed in collaboration with partners and drawing from the best aspects of the former Dell and EMC partner programs, the Dell EMC Partner Program will provide unprecedented business opportunity for partners and reaffirms Dell EMC’s strong commitment to the channel. Built on three core tenets—to be Simple, Predictable and Profitable—the new program will ensure partners have ample opportunity, business confidence and commensurate profitability regardless of their program tier. In December, Dell EMC will announce tier thresholds for partners, providing a full six months for partners to ramp up to the new criteria. Program tiers, developed to elevate Dell EMC partners over competitors and establish a clear path to up-level, will include Gold, Platinum and Titanium, as well as an exclusive, Titanium Black partner tier for the highest performing partners. Tier levels align with key business models of partners, enabling flexibility where needed to meet customer needs. Benefits will include generous rebates for channel partners who drive new business, attach services, sell the full portfolio and offer the portfolio exclusively.

Graphene gurus tip indium selenide as super semiconductor

Sir Andre Geim and Sir Konstantin Novoselov, two Russian-born physicists awarded the Nobel prize for physics in 2010 for their work on graphene, are among the co-authors on a paper expounded the virtues of indium selenide (InSe) as a semiconductor for super-fast electronics. Over the last decade attention has focused on two-dimensional materials such as #graphene and molybendum diselenide (MoS2) as potential replacements for silicon in transistor channels because of superior performance characteristics. However, practical difficulties of integration with silicon remain and graphene behaves more like a metal as it has no electron energy band-gap. Research into InSe layers only a few atoms thick, by a team from the universities of Manchester and Nottingham, has shown that unlike graphene, the material has a large energy gap allowing transistor action to be switched on and off and allowing for super-fast next-generation electronic devices. "Ultra-thin InSe seems to offer the golden middle between silicon and graphene. Similar to graphene, InSe offers a naturally thin body, allowing scaling to the true nanometre dimensions. Similar to silicon, InSe is a very good semiconductor," said Sir Andre Geim, in a statement issued by the University of Manchester. Thin InSe devices tend to be easily damaged by oxygen and water in the atmosphere and the research, published in Nature Nanotechnology details, how the researchers overcame this hurdle to the production of quality material. This was done by encapsulating it in hexagonal boron nitride under an argon atmosphere using technologies developed at the UK's National Graphene Institute. This allowed the creation of high-quality atomically-thin films of InSe for the first time. The electron mobility at room temperature was measured at 2,000 cm 2/Vs, which compares with silicon at 1,400 cm 2/Vs. The researchers believe that by following the methods now widely used to produce large-area graphene sheets, InSe could also soon be produced at a commercial level.

http://www.electronics-eetimes.com/news/graphene-gurus-tip-indium-selenide-super-semiconductor

Graphene ink may enable 'smart' clothes

London: Scientists have developed conductive cotton fabrics using #graphene -based inks that could lead to smart textiles and interactive clothes with applications ranging from healthcare to the Internet of Things. ( #IoT )

http://zeenews.india.com/science/graphene-ink-may-enable-smart-clothes_1953811.html

Get ready for TV screens you can roll up

Televisions and phones you can roll up and carry around are a step closer to reality. Dutch scientists have discovered a type of #graphene bubble that can change colour as it expands and contracts. These 'mechanical pixels' could form the basis of screens of the future, which would be more flexible, durable and energy efficient than current LED technology. The discovery was made by researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Graphene is an ultra-thin layer of carbon just a one atom thick which has promised to revolutionise a number of fields, from engineering and medicine to commercial manufacturing. The material is 200 times stronger than steel, and a sheet as thin as cling-film could hold the weight of a full-sized elephant

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=11755499

Samsung might sell its struggling PC business to Lenovo for an estimated $850m

South Korean electronics giant #Samsung is reportedly in talks with Chinese firm #Lenovo to get rid of its struggling PC business division as part of its larger efforts to let go off less profitable businesses. The world's largest smartphone shipper never really grabbed a worthy market share in the PC domain and has been struggling to stay afloat. Lenovo on the other hand is the largest PC manufacturer in the world in terms of shipments and thus in a strong position to acquire Samsung's PC arm.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/samsung-might-sell-its-struggling-pc-business-lenovo-estimated-850m-1593357

A closer look at HPE's 'The Machine'

Analysis #HPE is undertaking the single most determined and ambitious architectural redesign of a server’s architecture in recent history in the shape of #TheMachine. We'll try to provide what Army types call a sitrep about The Machine, HPE's "completely different" system: its aims, its technology and its situation. Think of this as a catch-up article about this different kind of server. The Machine is being touted as a memory-driven computer in which a universal pool of non-volatile memory is accessed by large numbers of specialised cores, and in which data is not moved from processor (server) to processor (server), but in which data can stay still while different processors are brought to bear on either all of it or subsets of it. Aims include not moving masses of data to servers across relatively slow interconnects, and gaining the high processing speed of in-memory computing without using expensive DRAM. The main benefit is hoped to be a quantum leap in compute performance and energy efficiency, providing the ability to extend computation into new workloads as well as speed analytics and #HPC and other existing workloads. It involves developments at virtually every level of server construction, from every chip design, through system-on-chips, silicon photonics chips and message protocols, server boards, CPU-memory access and architectures, chassis, network fabrics, operating system code and application stacks from which IO may be completely redesigned. There is a real chance HPE may have over-reached itself and that, even if it does deliver The Machine to the market, hidebound users and suspicious developers may not adopt it. The Machine is an extraordinary high-stakes bet by HPE, so let's try and assess the system and its state here.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/24/hpes_machinations_to_rewrite_server_design_laws/

China Telecom & Huawei Test Network Slicing

#ChinaTelecom Shanghai teamed with #Huawei on a network slicing trial that assisted the operator in provisioning new services to different types of customers. The trial used Huawei’s OLT MA5800 platform to deliver certain services to specific customer groups depending upon whether they are enterprise, consumer, or a campus user. China Telecom’s trial of #networkslicing is part of a bigger trend among network operators to migrate their existing networks, which tend to have a monolithic architecture, to a more flexible architecture that allows them to optimize different “slices” of the network to support specific vertical services. Network slicing is considered a key ingredient in 5G because 5G is envisioned as being able to provide a consistent user experience across a wide variety of applications – from the high-speed, low-latency requirements necessary for transmitting video to the low-bandwidth needs of many Internet of Things ( #IoT ) scenarios.

https://www.sdxcentral.com/articles/news/china-telecom-huawei-test-network-slicing/2016/11/

Google WiFi mesh networking crushes the competition in new test

While #Apple is getting out of the router business, #Google is doubling down. Or maybe tripling down, if you really buy into mesh networking. #GoogleWiFi is set to ship in the next few weeks, and a third-party test of Google’s new wireless solution shows it clobbering other mesh networking systems. Google WiFi is not Mountain View’s first attempt at selling a consumer router. In fact, the last one wasn’t even very long ago. Just over a year ago Google released the OnHub router. This device was billed as a hub for smart home devices with easier setup and slick management via a mobile app. Although, after numerous updates the #OnHub has virtually no smart home features and even basic things like network attached storage don’t work.

https://www.extremetech.com/electronics/239948-upcoming-google-wifi-mesh-networking-bests-competition-new-test

Dell EMC's Pure-crushing benchmarks are flawed, says, er, Pure

We've seen selected benchmarks that show #Dell #EMC #Unity arrays giving #Pure a hard time – and, unsurprisingly, Pure says the tests are "obviously flawed." The Unity arrays are reengineered #VNX arrays that were introduced in May. All-flash versions were used in the two benchmarks below. An obvious caveat is that these are selective benchmark results and we don't know if we have seen the whole set of results. What we have seen indicates that the Unity array can outperform Pure Storage Flash Arrays. The benchmarking software followed, we're told, IDC and SNIA testing recommendations for all-flash arrays. It involved varying percentages of reads and writes, different block sizes, and 100 per cent random workloads. Dell EMC believes this represents a typical real-world use case, whereas comparing millions of 4K 100 per cent read sequential IOPS does not.

Here are the results we have seen:

WorkloadPure //m50Unity 600FUnity Advantage
16K IOPS (80% Read)33,46058,8071.8X
256K BW MBps (@3ms)6742,3963.6X
Steady-state IOPS42,000116,0002.8X
Steady-state latency (ms)13.64.43X
The tested configurations were:

Unity 600F
2 active-active controllers
4 x 16Gbit/s FC ports
RAID5 (8 + 1)
16 LUNS, 32 or 16 threads
19 SSDs
FlashArray //m50
2 controller (active-passive backend)
4 x 16Gbit/s FC ports
RAID-3D
16 LUNs, 32 or 16 threads/LUN
40 SSDs (estimated)
We saw a Unity vs FlashArray //m70 benchmark result as well:

WorkloadPure //m70Unity 600FUnity Advantage
8K IOPS (80% Read)31,448163,7415X
256K BW MBps540 (@c5ms)3,450 (@c5ms)7X
Steady-state IOPS12,00086,0007X
Steady-state latency (ms)645.911X
Here are the tested configurations:

Unity 600F
2 active-active controllers
12 x 16Gbit/s FC ports
RAID-6 (10+2, 10+2, 10+2, 6+2)
64 LUNS, 8 threads/LUN
47 SSDs (44 + 3 spares)
FlashArray //m70
2 controllers (active-passive backend)
8 x 16Gbit/s FC ports
RAID-3D
16 threads/LUN
40 SSDs (estimated)
Pure's Matt Kixmoeller, VP of products, said: "Pure always encourages customers to perform real [proof-of-concept tests] with their application data, as synthetic testing has proven [over] time to be a poor indicator of the comparative performance of any AFA. In this case, the alleged test results are so obviously flawed that they serve to discredit themselves. For example, the tests seem to indicate that Pure's //m50 delivers higher bandwidth than the higher-end //m70 (which is an impossibility)."

Kixmoeller continued, "When doing any head-to-head testing, it is important to understand a myriad of configuration questions, such as whether or not compression and deduplication were enabled, whether encryption was enabled, how full the array was, whether data services like snapshots or replication were enabled, and whether the test data set has similar data reduction and locality characteristics to the actual planned workload.

"Pure's products are designed to deliver the highest levels of consistent performance, even with all data services engaged. We encourage customers to perform their own objective [proof-of-concept] comparisons, ideally with their own application data, and we can further enable customers to implement best practices for an all-flash environment, rather than bring along disk environment baggage."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/23/dell_emcs_unity_benchmarks/

Dell EMC to host biggest ever technology forum

#DELL #EMC announced the successful launch of their biggest ever #DellEMCForum 2016 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Held at the Four Seasons Hotel, through this one day conference Dell EMC aims to showcase the united capabilities of the newly combined company and enable organizations in the Kingdom to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy. In line with the theme “Let the Transformation Begin” the event brings together an audience of over 2000 business and IT decision makers to discuss how their digital future aligns to the Kingdom’s national aspirations in view of Saudi Vision 2030 set to transform the way every business in every industry operates. In addition to keynotes and breakout sessions designed to help organizations charter steps to modernize the technology infrastructure and services to deliver the maximum performance, the regional Dell EMC leaders will reveal the findings of a Saudi-focused study that outlines heightened business support for changes in ICT strategies and investments in light of the recent announcement of Saudi Vision 2030. According to 2016 research by analysts at BMI, total technology spending in Saudi Arabia is set to grow at a CAGR of 1.8% to reach SR42.8 billion in 2019. Saudi Arabia has the opportunity to make a quantum leap in using technology solutions to resolve pressing business issues – the lack of outdated infrastructure combined with the public and private sectors’ focus on creating employment opportunities and forging a digital transformation in education, financial services, government and other key sectors.

http://saudigazette.com.sa/business/dell-emc-host-biggest-ever-technology-forum/

HPE CEO Whitman: Look For Channel Improvements Aimed At Shoring Up Industry Standard Server Sales

Hewlett Packard Enterprise ( #HPE ) CEO Meg Whitman told Wall Street analysts on Tuesday that the server powerhouse is poised to make channel changes aimed at shoring up its declining industry standard server (ISS) sales. "We need to shore up core ISS rack with improvements in the channel, improvements in [channel price] quote-to-cash and more focus on the distributors and VARs for the volume related ISS rack business," said Whitman.

Whitman's comments came after HPE reported server revenue in the fourth fiscal quarter ended Oct. 31 was down 7 percent to $3.52 billion, compared with $3.77 billion in sales in the year-ago period.

The ISS rack system business is all "volume based" channel business where HPE's ability to move quicker with partners to beat competitors is critical, said Whitman."There is weakness in ISS racks; we are not executing as well as we could and we aim to fix that," she said.

Bob Venero, CEO of Holbrook, N.Y.-based solution provider Future Tech, a top HPE partner, No. 167 on the 2016 CRN Solution Provider 500, praised Whitman for speaking out on the ISS issues impacting partners. "I give Meg credit for speaking out on how the ISS supply chain is broken," he said. "The question is: can it be fixed?"

Venero said HPE has "definite challenges" around ISS channel delivery and engagement that must be addressed. "From a competitive standpoint, there is an engagement issue, not at the channel rep level, but at the HPE end user account rep level," he said.

The issues are directly impacting Future Tech HPE server sales, said Venero, with his HPE server business flat in the last three quarters, while his Dell business is growing at a double-digit clip. "Dell has a much more robust engagement at the field level with respect to aligning its sales force and partner teams with Future Tech," he said.

Venero said he expects that #HPE could have an even harder time going up against the combined #Dell #EMC as that company brings together the two product lines under a unified channel program. "That is going to enhance the offering Dell has for its partner and customer communities," he said.

Whitman, for her part, said she likes HPE's win rate against Dell EMC. "We like our strategy of getting smaller and more focused, while they are still integrating a very large acquisition," she said.

Whitman anticipates that HPE's server business will grow at 1-2 percent next year with a focus on faster growth including high performance compute and hyper-converged systems.

http://m.crn.com/news/data-center/300082918/hpe-ceo-whitman-look-for-channel-improvements-aimed-at-shoring-up-industry-standard-server-sales.htm

Extend vROps Monitoring with Dell EMC XtremIO

#BlueMedora is excited to announce the release of the Blue Medora #Dell #EMC #XtremIO Management Pack for #vRealize Operations to give you more visibility into the intersection of Dell EMC XtremIO storage and the virtual layer. With the management pack, you can dive deep into the performance of your storage workloads. Following are four key ways you can enhance your monitoring with Dell EMC XtremIO. Gain insight into performance, like throughput and latency Understanding throughput, IOPS and latency for key XtremIO layers, like volumes and disks, can help you optimize the performance of your Dell EMC XtremIO workloads. With access to more than 1,000 metrics, the management pack from Blue Medora makes it easy for you to track essential throughput and latency metrics.
http://blogs.vmware.com/management/2016/11/extend-vrops-monitoring-dell-emc-xtremio.html

Talend a Leader in Big Data Fabric Report by Independent Analyst Firm

#Talend a Leader in #BigData Fabric Report by Independent Analyst Firm New Report Notes Talend Data Fabric offers a Compelling, Flexibly Priced Big Data Fabric Solution November 22, 2016 12:10 PM Eastern Standard Time REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Talend (NASDAQ:TLND), a global leader in cloud and big data integration software, today announced that Forrester Research recognized the company as a “Leader” in its newly published report, “The Forrester Wave™: Big Data Fabric, Q4 2016.” In naming Talend a “Leader,” Forrester reports that Talend “offers a big data fabric that delivers high scale and performance and supports various big data use cases.” According to Forrester Research the big data fabric “market is growing largely because EA pros see big data fabric as a strategic platform to support their next-generation applications and insights. When selecting a solution, enterprises should look for scale-out architecture, security, automation, and cost as the key factors.”1 In a separate report, Forrester also estimates that 100% of large enterprises will adopt #Hadoop and/or related big data technologies such as #Spark for big data analytics by 2018.2

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20161122005856/en/Talend-Leader-Big-Data-Fabric-Report-Independent

Dell EMC Still Working On Final Rebate Structure, Partners Fear Rebate Reductions

With just three weeks until #Dell #EMC unveils its new unified channel program, a high-level source says the company is still working on the new rebate structure, even as partners are bracing for reduced rates. Calling the new Dell EMC Partner Program "a work in progress," a source close the process told CRN that the company has not yet established a new rebate structure for partners, but expects to share details beginning Dec. 15, allowing about six weeks for partners "to model" around the program's new parameters before its official launch Feb. 1. "We know we won't please everybody, but we're clearly trying to get it right," the source said. Among solution providers, Dell's program was considered more profitable than EMCs, but EMC's program was considered simpler and more predictable.
http://m.crn.com/news/channel-programs/300082905/dell-emc-still-working-on-final-rebate-structure-partners-fear-rebate-reductions.htm

Inside a Bank that Went All In on Hyperconverged Infrastructure

When #PeoplesBank in Holyoke, Mass., recently decided to upgrade its data center with #hyperconverged infrastructure, it joined a rapidly growing group of banks. Hyperconverged infrastructure (also called hyperconverged integrated systems) combines virtualized computing, storage and network equipment in an integrated "stack" that can be managed with software. The stack can also include backup, recovery, replication, deduplication and compression. #Nutanix, #SimpliVity, #Cisco, #HPE, #Dell #EMC, #Pivot3 and #VMWare are among the vendors that offer hyperconverged infrastructure. It's the latest stage in the evolution toward software-defined computing, in which all technology in an IT environment is tightly integrated and can be managed with one software program. About 40% of all companies use hyperconverged infrastructure, according to the information technology research firm 451 Research. In financial services the numbers are slightly higher: 41.3% use the technology today and more than 25% plan to use it in the near future, according to the firm's latest surveys, which were conducted in the second quarter. "There's a larger contingent of folks who are either using it or have it planned in finance than any other vertical," said Christian Perry, research manager at 451. The company expects that number to grow over the next two years. It's still being used in a limited way, however. Gartner analysts say less than 5% of data in data centers is stored in hyperconverged infrastructures today. By 2019, they expect 30% of stored data in enterprise data centers to be deployed on such systems. And 20% of mission-critical applications will transition to hyperconverged by 2020.

http://www.americanbanker.com/news/bank-technology/inside-a-bank-that-went-all-in-on-hyperconverged-infrastructure-1092551-1.html

IBM expands its UK presence with 4 new data centers

#IBM today announced that it is launching four new data centers in the U.K. This brings IBM’s total data center footprint in the U.K. to six, in addition to 16 other locations across Europe. This is yet another example of the company’s increasing infrastructure investment. The first of these new U.K. locations in Fareham will go online in December, with the other three U.K. locations launching next year. As an IBM spokesperson told me, IBM isn’t building its own data centers, though. It’ll lease raw space and build out its own infrastructure (electrical, networking, compute, storage, etc.) in these leased spaces. The last new data center IBM opened in Europe was its Oslo location, in September, but the company also recently expanded its presence in Asia with the launch of its Korean data center in August. In total, IBM’s cloud services are now available in 50 data centers. IBM is betting on a number of different brands for these data centers. Its Watson cognitive services, for example, are only one of hundreds of different services that run in its data centers. Under the SoftLayer brand, it also offers more basic cloud servers and storage solutions, as well as its Bluemix platform as a service offering. But there is also the OpenStack-based Blue Box private cloud as a service and a plethora of other services that run on those different platforms.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/21/ibm-expands-its-uk-presence-with-4-new-data-centers/

Microsoft's next big bet? Clue: it's just hired four top quantum computing scientists

#Microsoft has hired a handful of top scientists to accelerate its program to develop quantum computing, as it steps up competition in the field with #IBM and #Google. Microsoft has hired four top physicists to join a #quantumcomputing project being led by Todd Holmdahl, a Microsoft hardware veteran who's helped develop Microsoft's #Xbox and #Kinect gaming devices, and the soon-to-be-released augmented reality headset, $HoloLens. Holmdahl will be joined by quantum-computing leaders Leo Kouwenhoven from Delft University and Charles Marcus from the University of Copenhagen, as well as David Reilly, an experimental physicist from Sydney University, and Mattias Troyer, a professor of computational physics at ETH Zurich. Microsoft is betting on an approach to quantum computing known as topological design, centered on the topological qubit.

http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-next-big-bet-clue-its-just-hired-four-top-quantum-computing-scientists/

Google acquires Qwiklabs to teach developers cloud skills

#Google today announced that it has acquired #Qwiklabs, a hands-on learning platform for those who want to become more familiar with operating cloud environments and writing applications that run on them. Qwiklabs, which launched in 2012, has only focused on teaching skills for #Amazon ’s #AWS platform so far. Given AWS’ dominance in the marketplace, that made perfect sense. Amazon even uses Qwiklabs as its go-to service for offering self-paced labs for developers on its platform. Google says it will use Qwiklabs’s platform to focus “on offering the most comprehensive, efficient, and fun way to train and onboard people across all our products on Google Cloud, including Google Cloud Platform and G Suite.” Qwiklabs says it will continue to offer lab learning credits and subscriptions on its site and it looks like the existing AWS labs will continue to function. I’m not sure we’ll see all that many new AWS courses in the future, though, but that remains unclear. A Google spokesperson told us that the company doesn’t have any further specifics to announce about this. As far as Qwiklabs’s Google Cloud courses go, the same spokesperson also told us that the company doesn’t have any specifics to announce as to when those will go live, either.

https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/21/google-acquires-qwiklabs-to-teach-developers-cloud-skills/

How Dell EMC Is Displacing HPE Storage in HP Accounts: Case Study

I’m doing a series of win/loss reports and one of the interesting trends is #Dell #EMC storage is replacing #HPE storage pretty aggressively. I think this is showcasing the use of what is termed a “Halo” product in the consumer market to open the account up and showcase the better service experience EMC is providing. At the heart of this experience advantage is a number of things—a more stable and mature workforce, a realization that people are cogs but have intrinsic value as employees, and a customer loyalty measurement process and executive metric that currently leads the industry.

http://techspective.net/2016/11/21/dell-emc-displacing-hpe-storage-hp-accounts-case-study/

Dell EMC & Cycle Computing to offer Cloud Software and Services for HPC

Today #CycleComputing announced that #Dell #EMC will offer its software and services as an option with Dell EMC #HPC Systems. At Dell EMC, we are constantly looking for the best ways to serve our customers, and Cycle Computing is a valuable addition to our HPC offerings,” said Jim Ganthier, senior vice president, Validated Solutions, and HPC organization, Dell EMC. “With Cycle, Dell EMC will be the first to offer ‘crate to cloud’ for HPC in a matter of hours and will help our customers accelerate time to results while reducing cost and complexity.” Cycle Computing’s #CycleCloud provides an optimized experience for users, maximizing the value of internal infrastructure and harnessing the emerging value of public cloud. It is a single tool and user interface that reduces time and complexity for admins and IT and is the first solution of its kind to solve the problems of zero queue and unlimited scale required with Big Compute, while addressing the entire workflow requirement of an enterprise including its data movement, orchestration, security, cost control, and back-up.
http://insidehpc.com/2016/11/cycle-computing-teams-with-dell-emc-on-cloud-software-and-services-for-hpc/