Galen Schreck
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System Management Capabilities To Focus On For Ramping Up Virtualization In 2011
When thinking about their 2011 IT initiatives, many firms I've spoken with are continuing to build out their virtual server environments. My colleague Gene Leganza has written an excellent report entitled The Top 15 Technology Trends EAs Should Watch that includes system management as a driver of continued virtualization. In addition, it is now becoming […]
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Can Thousands Of Tiny Processors Compete With Traditional Enterprise-Class Systems?
Well, I guess we're going to find out. Earlier this week I met with Andrew Feldman, one of the founders and CEO of SeaMicro — and he's betting that his Atom-based server can beat traditional Xeon-based systems. According to Andrew, the Atom processor is way more efficient on a per-watt basis than CPUs like the Xeon. […]
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Big Data Center Operators Keep Getting Bigger
It is becoming very clear that data center facilities have metamorphosed from small computer rooms to industrialized facilities. Due to the cost and complexity of running such a facility, we believe that many firms will opt to get out of that business and use data centers that are built and run by firms that focus […]
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Getting involved in Forrester’s EA research
Not too long ago, I shifted my role here at Forrester from Infrastructure & Operations to Enterprise Architecture. I was spending a lot of time looking at technical architecture topics and helping folks with assessing their infrastructure. Turns out, that falls into the kinds of things that EA folks are interested in as well. For the […]
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Free Webinar On Server Virtualization
In my conversations with organizations implementing server virtualization, I've found that there seems to be a gap opening between the number of virtual machines firms are willing to run on a server, and the maximum number that could still reasonably fit on there. It looks like this will be aggravated by newer servers that can […]
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Are Big Boxes Better For Server Virtualization?
From time to time, someone will ask me if it makes sense to purchase a large (32+ CPU) server as a big virtualization host running a VMware, Microsoft, or Citrix hypervisor. In a word, I think the answer is "no". Here are a few reasons why: First, very few virtualization users that I’m aware of […]
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Oracle Enhances VM Management With Virtual Iron Acquisition
The rumors are true. Oracle has finally announced that its intent to acquire Virtual Iron for its virtual server management capabilities. It's a nice fit for Oracle, which has its own Xen-based virtualization platform called Oracle VM. Up until now, Virtual Iron has been selling its management tools on its own Xen-derived hypervisor. The net […]
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Cisco’s Big Blade Server Bet
After months of rumors, Cisco officially entered the server business this morning with a modular system it calls the "Unified Computing System" (UCS). This blade server system goes one step beyond its predecessors by starting from a unified network foundation on ten gigabit per second Ethernet (10 GbE) that delivers a true wire-once architecture. We […]
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Emerson and Schneider get ready to compete in facility management software
The IT industry has made huge strides in software for change & configuration management, business service management, and IT process automation. Yet your data center facilities are probably living in the dark ages. For years, IT has been mapping out business services and mapping the underlying applications to the infrastructure it depends on. But the […]