http://www.informationweek.comInformationWeeken-usCopyright 2012, UBM LLC.2013-05-13T11:52:00ZEMC World and Interop showed technology forces reshaping storage and networking ecosystems and the data center's future -- forces largely driven by software.http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/software-hot-hardware-not-at-emc-world-i/240154691?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/unix-linux/10-cool-products-a t-interop/240154110"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/988/collage-imag e_01v2_tn.jpg" alt="Interop 2013 Las Vegas Collage: 10 Cool Products at Interop" title="Interop 2013 Las Vegas Collage: 10 Cool Products at Interop" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">10 Cool Products at Interop</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span> </div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->After a week that started at EMC World, where the talk was of storage systems, big data and information-driven applications, and ended at Interop, where the spotlight was on programmable networks, enabling and taming the mobile ecosystem and the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/information-management/interop-cisco-nba-star-tout-internet-of/240154515">"Internet of Things,"</a> it's clear that the emphasis across the IT world is rapidly shifting from hardware to software. <P> Sure, big iron like <a href="http://www.networkcomputing.com/interop/best-of-interop-2013-winners-announced/240154313">Arista's 7500E Data Center Switch</a>, <a href="http://www.lightreading.com/ethernet-chips/broadcom-switches-push-into-terabit-range/240136002">Broadcom's massively integrated Trident II </a> switch chip, and EMC's high-performance and exceedingly scalable <a href="http://www.emc.com/storage/symmetrix-vmax/symmetrix-vmax.htm">VMAX</a> and <a href="http://www.emc.com/storage/vnx/vnx-series.htm">VNX</a> arrays still generate plenty of crowds and headlines, but the real focus of development resources, R&D dollars and executive attention is on software. If not <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903480904576512250915629460.html">eating the world</a>, software is definitely encompassing a greater and greater share of it. <P> Nowhere was this more apparent than at EMC World, and nothing drove home the point with greater force and clarity than <a href="http://www.emc.com/corporate/emc-at-glance/exec-team/index.htm#josephmtucci">EMC CEO Joe Tucci's</a> admission -- nay, proud affirmation -- of the fact that the storage goliath that rose to dominate its industry on the strength of its powerful and burly hardware now devotes the vast majority of its development resources on software. In response to a question at a media briefing on the effect of hardware commodification and the attendant proliferation of white box storage systems on the company's business, <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/05/07/emc_hardware_pah/">Tucci stated</a> that at most, EMC has a mere 500 engineers developing hardware, out of 12,000 total. Indeed, Tucci claimed the company embraces commodity hardware wherever it can, citing as supporting evidence the fact that EMC makes only one custom ASIC. Chiming in, EMC COO David Goulden reinforced the point, saying, "Our value is in the integration and the packaging." Goulden left unsaid the implication that building a VNX array is easy; making it operate like a VNX array isn't. <P> <strong>[ For more on the increasingly sophisticated scale-out storage systems seen at EMC, see <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/at-emc-scale-out-storage-grows-up/240154455?itc=edit_in_body_cross">AT EMC, Scale Out Storage Grows Up</a>. ]</strong> <P> Software's ascendance was hammered home even further by EMC World's star attraction: its just-announced <a href="http://www.networkcomputing.com/storage-networking-management/emc-vipr-goes-all-in-on-software-defined/240154253">software-defined storage product, ViPR</a>. As I wrote in describing ViPR's significance to EMC, "There are over a dozen sessions devoted to software designed storage and data centers at EMC World, and it's clear ViPR is EMC's contribution to the storage component of that vision. It's hard to overstate the significance of this move, as EMC is at risk of being undercut by less expensive rivals in a rapidly commodifying storage market, and as software becomes more important than hardware." <P> But the software theme didn't stop there. Other big EMC World announcements, like<a href="http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/at-emc-scale-out-storage-grows-up/240154455"> upgrades to the firm's Isilon scale-out arrays</a>, <a href="http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2013/20130507-03.htm">new versions of its storage and IT service management suites</a>, and the <a href="http://blog.gopivotal.com/topics/big-data-topics/pivotals-coming-out-party-emc-world-2013?utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer&utm_content=buffer5297f">unveiling of its big data analytics spinout Pivotal's strategy</a> were also all about software. <P> The software theme was pervasive, like the clouds that shadowed normally radiant Las Vegas throughout the week. Each Interop is typically themed by a concept reflecting the current industry zeitgeist, and this year it was SDN. It was not only the topic of numerous panel sessions, including our <a href="http://www.networkcomputing.com/software-defined-networking-comparisons/">SDN Buyer's Guide overview</a>, but the concept (or, less charitably, buzzword) most vendors seemed compelled to weave into their sales pitches and strategy narratives. <P> Yet SDN may have already jumped the shark within one Interop cycle as the discussion this week increasingly turned from the nuts and bolts of packet switching and flow control to the tangibly useful realm of automated virtual network administration and dynamically adaptive network applications. At Interop, the incessant improvements in hardware specs and features were background players to the increasingly visible software applications using an emerging ecosystem of programmable network resources decoupled from the actual hardware delivery vehicles by various software abstraction layers. <P> Software was the star in numerous Interop venues, sessions and booth demos. For example, while the Grand Award winner was Arista's engineering tour de force, the 7500E switch, four of the <a href=http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/bestofinterop/">seven Best of Interop category winners</a> were software, as was the Audience Choice award. In his <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/conference/keynote-speakers.php">leadoff keynote, Cisco SVP Robert Soderbery </a> talked about the increasing connectivity between everyday objects via the convergence of mobile networks and micro sensors, commonly called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things">the Internet of Things</a>. Such hyper-connectivity of telemetric devices will enable new categories of applications, such as the basketball tracking app Soderbery demoed that could be used to enhance the fan experience at NBA games. <P> It was a similar theme to that outlined at his EMC World keynote by <a href="http://www.emcworld.com/maritz.htm">Pivotal CEO and EMC Chief Strategist Paul Maritz</a>. Indeed, Maritz claimed in a media Q&A session that the opportunity to develop more sophisticated applications using pervasive telemetry of device-generated data (as illustrated by this <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MhS9ZRfrtcQ">oft-shown GE TV ad</a>) and new big data fabrics was a key reason behind GE's decision to buy into 10% of the new Pivotal spin out. <P> In conducting nearly 20 briefings with network vendors large and small at Interop, I found nearly all of them led with their software strategy and innovations, not their sexy new hardware. In a world where anyone can build a 100+-port 10-GbE or 32-port 40-GbE 1U ToR switch using the latest merchant silicon (to wit, <a href="http://www.marvell.com/switching/assets/Marvell_Prestera_98CX8297-001_product_brief.pdf">this Marvel reference platform </a>), the big networking vendors understand that the only way to differentiate data center networking gear is through software. Customers and even some vendors have also come to this realization and rightfully worry about vendor lock-in through proprietary software, &#224; la Windows, meaning standardization efforts like <a href="https://www.opennetworking.org/">ONF</a>, <a href="http://www.opendaylight.org/">Open Daylight</a>, <a href="http://openvswitch.org/">Open vSwitch </a>and the <a href="http://www.openstack.org/foundation/"> OpenStack Foundation</a> are of strategic importance in shaping the contours of tomorrow's data center. <P> An iconic gambling mecca where the one-armed bandit has been replaced by touchscreen gaming machines and cashiers by ATM-like ticket redemption kiosks seems an appropriate venue for extravaganzas like EMC World and Interop showcasing our coming software-defined IT environment. <P> <i>E2 is the only event of its kind, bringing together business and technology leaders across IT, marketing, and other lines of business looking for new ways to evolve their enterprise applications strategy and transform their organizations to achieve business value. Join us June 17-19 for three days of 40+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights in enterprise social software, big data and analytics, mobility, cloud, SaaS and APIs, UI/UX and more. <a href="http://www.e2conf.com/boston/?_mc=MP_BTMEDIWKAXE">Register for E2 Conference Boston today</a> and save $200 off Full Event Passes, $100 off Conference, or get a FREE Keynote + Expo Pass! </i>2013-05-08T13:55:00ZEMC shows that scale-out storage systems aren't just for big pools of unstructured data.http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/at-emc-scale-out-storage-grows-up/240154455?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --><div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/storage/data-protection/8-great-cloud-storage-services/240151180"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/967/Cloud_Storage_Services_01_tn.jpg" alt="8 Great Cloud Storage Services" title="8 Great Cloud Storage Services" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">8 Great Cloud Storage Services</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div><!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE -->Scale-out storage systems have proven to be a perfect remedy for coping with the flood of unstructured data inundating enterprise IT. Whether it's user home directories, email system repositories or rich media file shares, scale-out arrays, where capacity can be quickly increased by adding Lego-like storage nodes, have proven to be easier to deploy and scale than traditional big iron storage systems. <P> When it comes to scale out, EMC was quick to recognize the shifting technology landscape by scooping up Isilon more than two years ago. While Isilon supplied the base technology, quickly becoming the most popular scale-out systems in the market, this year's <a href="http://www.emcworld.com/index.htm">EMC World</a> demonstrates the EMC influence coming through in a big way. The company is introducing a new version of the OS, oneFS; breaking out of the traditional scale-out usage silos; and positioning modular storage systems such as Isilon to be key components in a new era of software-defined storage and big-data applications. As such, the big news about Isilon at this year's EMC World has nothing to do with new hardware and is all about adding new software features. <P> As we outlined in this <em>Network Computing</em> column detailing <a href="http://www.networkcomputing.com/storage-networking-management/emc-vipr-goes-all-in-on-software-defined/240154253">EMC's major software-defined storage product</a>, ViPR, Isilon arrays can be full participants in virtualized, heterogenous storage pools that can include everything from high-performance VMAX and VNX arrays to Atmos private cloud object stores. But it's now clear that Isilon is inheriting other strands of EMC's enterprise DNA as several features of the upgraded oneFS are atypical for scale-out systems. <P> <strong>[ Struggling with deduplication? Read <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/the-primary-storage-deduplication-proble/240153890?itc=edit_in_body_cross">The Primary Storage Deduplication Problem</a>. ]</strong> <P> First up is block-level deduplication that uses compression policies -- such as which file types or application stores receive data compression -- that can be tailored to specific directories or applied to entire storage pools. EMC is also beefing up Isilon's reporting and auditing features by adding support for the firm's Common Event Enabler (CEE). CEE is a software interface that standardizes event tracking and logging of things such as file access, modification or permissions changes, used by third-party audit and governance software such as Varonis. Sam Grocott, VP of product marketing for Isilon, said audit features are necessary as heavily regulated industries such as financial services and healthcare increasingly turn to scale storage. <P> Isilon arrays could already run native HDFS 1.0; the new oneFS release adds simultaneous support for 2.0 and Pivotal HD, sister company <a href="http://www.greenplum.com/blog/topics/hadoop/introducing-pivotal-hd">Pivotal's Hadoop distribution</a>. This means users can try experimental Hadoop applications requiring the new big-data filesystem version without moving data to another array. The release also adds a REST API for accessing the object namespace, enabling a new generation of automation, orchestration and management applications. <P> The final significant new feature, according to Grocutt, is integration with Syncplicity, EMC's file sync and sharing application that he characterizes as a private, enterprise-controlled Dropbox. Like popular consumer-oriented services, Syncplicity makes it easy for mobile users to access, share and synchronize data across a multitude of platforms. However, in contrast to at least the free versions of those products, it provides IT central control over the data, usage policies and security, including offering native encrypted storage. Isilon's Syncplicity support exposes Isilon storage via HTTP and Webdav, and is fully compatible with the existing Syncplity native apps for iOS, Android Windows Phone 8 and Windows 8 tablets, including RT. <P> Grocutt says HDFS 2.0 support and the REST API are available now, while deduplication, ViPR integration and the object store APIs for natively accessing objects on Atmos, S3 and OpenStack (aka Swift) will roll out later this year.2013-04-17T22:26:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/25/10016/Virtualization/Informed-CIO:-SDN-and-Server-Virtualization-on-a-Collision-Course.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2013-03-21T08:00:00ZHow to keep up with reliability, security and the overwhelming performance demands on your wireless network.http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/wlan/5-steps-to-a-better-wireless-lan/240151284?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- Mar. 21, 2013 InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <div id="inlineGreenPromoTop"> <div class="greenBand"></div> <div class="inlineGreenPromoContent"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032113s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/054/smallcov.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green - Mar. 21, 2013" title="InformationWeek Green - Mar. 21, 2013" align="left" class="greenIssueImage" /></a> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032113s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/graphics_library/misc/Green_leaf_88x88.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green" title="InformationWeek Green" align="right" class="greenLeaf" /></a><br /> <div class="greenPromoText"> <strong><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032113s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the <em>InformationWeek</em> April special issue on mainframes</a>, distributed in an all-digital format (registration required).</strong><br /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="greenBand"></div> </div> <!-- / Mar. 21, 2013 InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <br /><!-- leave as a br to not interfere w/ the insights boxes --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> Even with advances in technology that let IT squeeze every bit of throughput from available spectrum, many wireless LANs are barely keeping up with demands for reliability, security and performance. And the pressure isn't about to let up: "Our district recently appropriated nearly $1 million to upgrade the wireless infrastructure to support our 1,600 employees and 12,000 students," says the CIO of a K-12 school district. "We have had over 13,000 unique registrations on our wireless system since September. That number seems to grow by about 100 devices per day." </p> <P> Businesses are seeing a similar surge in wireless demand. Our recent <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9595/Mobility-Wireless/research-4g-carriers-it-pros-square-off.html"><i>InformationWeek</i> 4G and the Future of Mobility Survey</a> shows strong adoption of smartphones and tablets, along with plans by 80% to off-load traffic from cellular to Wi-Fi and small-cell networks, a.k.a. picocells. Yet our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/10117/Mobility-Wireless/2013-Wireless-LAN-Survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130321" target="_blank"><i>InformationWeek</i> 2013 Wireless LAN Survey</a> of 419 business technology professionals suggests many aren't facing the reality of a future workforce that views mobility as a commodity. When asked how, over the next five years, they see WLANs evolving as an end user access method, 58% of respondents say wireless and wired networks will live side by side in fairly constant proportions -- that's actually up from 55% in September 2010. </p> <P> But guess what? Copper is out. Radio waves and inductive charging are in. And replacing cables with ether for business use means replicating the performance, reliability and security of Cat6 Ethernet, an unrealistic goal until recently. Mature 802.11n and the advent of second- and third-generation gear and security schemes have largely made good on the reliability and security requirements, and the 802.11ac standard should essentially close the performance gap for all but the most demanding scenarios.</p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- inline Report Promo --> <div class="inlineReportPromo right"> <div class="reportHeader"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/10117/Mobility-Wireless/2013-Wireless-LAN-Survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130321" target="_blank">2013 Wireless LAN Survey</a> </div> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/054/054SUP_F2reportcover.jpg" width="175" height="108" alt="Report Cover" title="Report Cover" class="reportCover" /> <div class="reportInfo"> Our report on <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/10117/Mobility-Wireless/2013-Wireless-LAN-Survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130321" target="_blank">InformationWeek's 2013 Wireless LAN Survey</a> is free with registration<br /><br />This <strong>35</strong>-page report includes action-oriented analysis, packed with <strong>34</strong> charts. What you'll find: <ul> <li>More technologies like the superfast 802.11ac standard, that are driving the wireless movement</li> <li>Features that make WLANs more secure and predictable</li> </ul> <center><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/10117/Mobility-Wireless/2013-Wireless-LAN-Survey.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130321" target="_blank">Get This</a> And <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/">All Our Reports</a></strong></center> </div> </div> <!-- / inline Report Promo --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> Then there's the cloud and mobile commerce, services that ramp up WLAN capacity demands and reliability expectations. </p> <P> Our <i>InformationWeek</i> 2013 State of Cloud Computing Survey of 446 business technology professionals at organizations with 50 or more employees shows 80% are using, planning for or considering cloud services. Likewise, 78% of 4G and the Future of Mobility Survey respondents say mobile access to cloud providers will have an impact on enterprise IT services over the next three years. It's time to face the fact that100% of your employees use cloud. We guarantee it. Maybe it's Dropbox, Google Docs or some software-as-a-service application purchased on the sly by a business unit, but employees and your customers want access to these services from a variety of devices. </p> <P> Mobile commerce is on the horizon as well, and it's going to have an economic impact, as we discuss in our "Mobile Commerce" report. Whether the effect is positive or negative for your company depends on how you prepare. </p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center><strong>To read the rest of the article,<br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/032113s/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">download the <em>InformationWeek</em> April special issue on mainframes</a>.</strong></center><br clear="all" /></p> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P>2013-03-11T11:24:00ZAfter forsaking all other PCs for a week to work with just a Chromebook Pixel and an iPhone, I learned a few lessons about the post-PC era.http://www.informationweek.com/cloud-computing/software/chromebook-pixel-my-first-week-living-in/240150474?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-chromebook-pixel-visual-tour/240149087"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/953/one_tn.JPG" alt="Google Chromebook Pixel: Visual Tour" title="Google Chromebook Pixel: Visual Tour" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">Google Chromebook Pixel: Visual Tour</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Was it was some subconscious desire to prove that, in building and pricing the Chromebook Pixel, Google had suffered a temporary bout of insanity? Or a fit of self-flagellation to directly experience the contortions necessary to live and work completely in the world of cloud services and mobile apps? Either way, for more than a week I didn't touch a conventional computer. No Macs, no Windows, no Ubuntu. Just a man and his Chromebook (and smartphone, of course). <P> I was planning to travel for several days last week and have previously lived off an iPad for short trips, but for longer stretches, or if I know I'll have to do some serious writing and editing, I'll normally drag along a MacBook or old Dell Latitude reinvigorated by Ubuntu. But this time, having bought a Chromebook last fall for some testing, finding it to be quite usable and having no fear of being offline thanks to Verizon's impressive LTE network along with a data plan allowing tethering (more on that later), I figured why not give the cloud a try? After all, the Chromebook is lighter than either of my laptops and I'd used it enough to have apps and services set up for all of my basic IT needs. <P> The PC hiatus started on a Saturday as I tweaked the Chromebook, but the real sink-or-swim moment came when I decided there'd be no last-minute cheating, so I disconnected my trusty Mac Mini from its monitor and plugged in a Chromebox I'd picked up on eBay (with the best of intentions of turning it into a YouTube-streaming set-top box, but I never overcame bouts of procrastination and the inertia associated with setting up a new device). <P> I knew the Chromebox was snappy, since I'd snagged one of the limited edition models running a Core i5 that Google distributed at last year's I/O Conference (this same basic configuration has recently surfaced as a commercial product), but its performance reaffirmed my conviction to stick with the strategy. It may be overkill for a lightweight OS like Chrome, but like all Chrome devices, the first thing you notice is how fast this thing boots: under 10 seconds (8.43 to be exact as per Chrome's system diagnostics), while its desktop CPU can handle as many browser tabs you care to throw at it. Having satisfied myself that I wasn't missing anything important on a local disk drive, I set out, Chromebook and iPhone in hand. <P> <strong>[ Want more about the Pixel? See <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-chromebook-pixel-hands-on-review/240149243?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Google Chromebook Pixel: Hands-On Review</a>. ]</strong> <P> I am actually a perfect test case for Google's cloud-based enterprise strategy. I've moved my personal domain to Google Apps, relied upon Gmail for both personal and business email and scheduling for years, use Google Sheets to track invoices and Google Docs for many shorter columns, replicate all of my business-related files from local storage to Google Drive, don't edit video ... In sum, there's virtually no service or application that ties me to a native client running on a PC. Still, I've had PCs for decades and much of my research and writing workflow remained centered on native applications. Old habits die hard, so just in case, I loaded a copy of all my important work folders onto an SD card, providing gentle reassurance as it protruded out the side of my Chromebook. <P> Although Google has made great strides at making Chrome look more like a standalone OS and less like a browser with lots of tabs, it still often looks like a browser with lots of tabs. Unless you specifically configure apps to open in their own window, which I highly recommend for many of the more self-contained apps and utilities like Drive, Gmail, Calendar, IM+ (a multi-platform IM client) and Calculator, clicking an icon in the launcher just opens up another tab on your last-used Chrome window. But, if you've used Chrome on a PC, it's a very familiar experience. <P> The real beauty of Chrome isn't so much the UI (while lacking the polish of OS X or the novel look of Windows 8 or Ubuntu Unity, it is certainly not ugly), but its speed, stability and simplicity. The thing just works -- fast and without software maintenance. Chrome OS updates download and install automatically, and the cloud-based apps are inherently auto-updating. There's also no data maintenance, since, unless you make a conscious effort to store something locally, it's all online, meaning there's no need to worry about making copies of email attachments or to save documents you're working on -- Google Apps literally don't have "save" functions. Chrome devices are also inherently self-replicating: your environment, settings, profile, apps, bookmarks and data are automatically synchronized to the cloud and show up on any Chrome device you happen to be using.Speaking of apps, the one criticism of Chrome OS Pixel that reviewers never fail to mention is a lack of applications. Indeed, in terms of sheer numbers, this is quantifiably true. But I've found that for common office and communication needs, nothing's missing. Obviously, anything you already do in a browser works on Chrome OS, but outside of Gmail, my go-to software is Google Apps, a complete and constantly improving office suite that does everything I need while offering better collaboration features than the leading desktop alternative. <P> But the Chrome Web Store offers a surprisingly complete slate of applications, including niche categories I've found useful like mind-mapping software (MindMeister), outliners (The Outliner of Giants), photo editor (Pixlr), even a secure shell terminal emulator. And for those times when you absolutely, positively must use a PC, there's the Chrome Remote Desktop or VNC Viewer apps that allow you to remote into a Windows, Mac or Linux system. <P> As the week wore on and my Chrome savvy grew by the hour, helped in no small part by the active, open and incredibly helpful Chromebooks community on Google+, the disconnect between my experience and the generally dismissive spate of Pixel reviews became apparent. Sadly, as the Pixel coverage reinforced, Chrome OS is still tarred with plenty of FUD and half-truths, the most prominent being its dependence on a constant network connection. Not true. All Chrome devices include local storage, typically 16 GB, expandable via SD cards. Also, many apps, including Google Drive, Apps and Gmail, can be configured for offline access. <P> While this is great for long airplane rides, I think the offline issue should be put to rest. At least for me, no device is worth much when I'm offline, and network access is never a problem today. Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere and cellular data fills in the gaps. If you frequently travel, just make sure your data plan (you do have a smartphone don't you?) includes a tethering option. Chromebook plus smartphone means never having to worry about being offline. If your travels take you to remote (domestic) locales, allow me to put in a plug for Verizon; its LTE network is simply amazing. Part of my week was spent in a one-gas-station burg an hour from the nearest city. Even in this Podunk, Verizon gave me five-bar LTE service with 15-20 Mbps downloads and 3-5 Mbps uploads. This meant that tethered to my iPhone, my Chromebook was getting nearly as much throughput as in my home office. (Why use in room Wi-Fi when it's one tenth the speed?) Conclusion: outside of midflight, there's no such thing as offline anymore. <P> Another common gripe with Chrome OS is printing. Those of you that still use dead trees as a display medium will be happy to know that the Cloud Print service works quite well. For people like me that replace printers about as often as they buy a new car, i.e. we don't have a <a href="http://www.google.com/cloudprint/learn/printers.html">cloud-ready printer</a>, you're stuck configuring Cloud Print from a PC running the Chrome browser, although some NAS boxes, like the stellar Synology Diskstation line, also support the protocol. Just remember, don't ever turn off your print server. <P> My PC-free week went so well that, back home now and having written this piece entirely in Google Docs on Chrome OS, I still haven't found the need to fire up the Mac other than to test the remote desktop feature. In fact, I've rewired the secondary monitor formerly attached to the Mac Mini into my Chromebox and now enjoy almost 4 megapixels of Chrome desktop goodness sprawled across two displays. <P> Maybe Google wasn't going crazy; something tells me there's a Pixel in my future.2013-03-06T08:00:00ZWith every data center resource -- compute, storage and networks -- now virtualized, the push is on to consolidate operational control.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/virtualization/collision-course-sdn-and-server-virtuali/240149860?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- Mar. 6, 2013 InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <div id="inlineGreenPromoTop"> <div class="greenBand"></div> <div class="inlineGreenPromoContent"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/030613s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/051/smallcov.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green - Mar. 6, 2013" title="InformationWeek Green - Mar. 4, 2013" align="left" class="greenIssueImage" /></a> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/030613s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/graphics_library/misc/Green_leaf_88x88.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green" title="InformationWeek Green" align="right" class="greenLeaf" /></a><br /> <div class="greenPromoText"> <strong><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/030613s?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download <em>InformationWeek</em> March 2013 special issue on software-defined networks</a>, distributed in an all-digital format (registration required).</strong><br /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="greenBand"></div> </div> <!-- / Mar. 6, 2013 InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <br /><!-- leave as a br to not interfere w/ the insights boxes --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/051/051SUP_CScoverart_110.jpg" width="110" height="75" alt="Collision Course" title="Collision Course" width="110" height="110" class="artInlineTopImage" /> The fusion of two transformative technologies -- hypervisor management and software-defined networking -- is creating both new alliances and competitive tensions. </p> <P> It's also forcing IT teams looking to add SDN to their infrastructures to make some tough choices.</p> <P> The first task: Understand the two prevailing SDN philosophies. For members of the Open Networking Foundation, keeper of the OpenFlow specification, it's all about replacing overpriced switches and their proprietary management and control software with commodity hardware built from merchant silicon and under the direction of centralized controllers running on virtual servers. </p> <P> "SDN is a market correction," says Stuart Bailey, founder and CTO of network management vendor Infoblox. "It's a huge shift in value from hardware to software." </p> <P> No surprise, this position is repudiated by big network infrastructure vendors. Juniper Networks co-founder and CTO Pradeep Sindhu says the notion that SDN will turn networks into a pile of Lego-like commodity components misunderstands SDN's real benefits, namely automation and agility, which ultimately deliver lower operational costs. In other words, it's not just about capex. "There will still be rich functionality in network elements," Sindhu says. "It's not just going to be a big controller in the sky."</p> <P> While there's merit in both viewpoints, neither articulates the most significant and promising benefit of SDN: erasing, not merely bridging, the gap between virtual networks and virtual servers.</p> <P> <strong>The State We're In</strong></p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- inline Report Promo --> <div class="inlineReportPromo right"> <div class="reportHeader"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/25/10016/Virtualization/Informed-CIO:-SDN-and-Server-Virtualization-on-a-Collision-Course.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130306" target="_blank">Informed CIO: SDN and Server Virtualization on a Collision Course</a> </div> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1357/357CS_Reporcover.jpg" width="175" height="110" alt="Report Cover" title="Report Cover" class="reportCover" /> <div class="reportInfo"> Our report on <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/25/10016/Virtualization/Informed-CIO:-SDN-and-Server-Virtualization-on-a-Collision-Course.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130306" target="_blank">the intersection of SDN and server virtualization</a> is free with registration. This report includes <strong>20</strong> pages of action-oriented analysis, packed with <strong>10</strong> charts.<br /><br />What you'll find: <ul> <li>Details on Cisco's vision</li> <li>Vendor's plans for SDN-like applications</li> </ul> <center><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/25/10016/Virtualization/Informed-CIO:-SDN-and-Server-Virtualization-on-a-Collision-Course.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130306" target="_blank">Get This</a> And <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/">All Our Reports</a></strong></center> </div> </div> <!-- / inline Report Promo --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> Today's virtualized data center -- filled with hypervisors, creating soft NICs and Layer 2 switches that are in turn connected to legacy hardware -- has plenty of problems. While virtual and physical assets are well connected at the data layer, there's a disconnect when it comes to control. Protocols for managing configurations and policies were designed for hardware switches and routers; they're generally ignorant of virtual network resources. Although plenty of workarounds are on the table, from Edge Virtual Bridging to VXLAN and Cisco's Nexus 1000V, there's no standard way to fuse the network equipment control plane of flow tables and management interfaces with hypervisor-resident virtual switches and NICs.</p> <P> There's also no standard way to integrate network services such as firewalls, load balancers and content filters into a network application bundle such that newly instantiated virtual applications can automatically inherit a set of network policies and services. Such is the promise of the expansive vision of SDN: It's more than just a way to route packets.</p> <P> Still, our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/6/9576/data-center/research-sdn-deployment-plans-and-tech-ecosystem.html" target="_blank"><i>InformationWeek</i> SDN Survey</a> shows that overtaxed IT teams remain leery of jumping into SDN, though many respondents appreciate that it's more than just a way to optimize low-level network traffic flows. Thirty-five percent of respondents to our survey see it as useful for automated provisioning and management, and 31% peg SDN as a way to implement network policy. Yet success in either area means augmenting so-called southbound SDN technology such as OpenFlow, focused on Layer 2/3 traffic management, with northbound APIs and orchestration software.</p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center><strong>To read the rest of the article,<br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/030613s/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">download the <em>InformationWeek</em> March 2013 special issue on software-defined networks</a></strong></center><br clear="all" /></p> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P>2013-02-25T08:00:00ZSoftware is driving storage innovation, but solid-state technology is infiltrating all levels.http://www.informationweek.com/storage/systems/state-of-storage-solid-state-takes-hold/240149180?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- Jan. 21, 2013 InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <div id="inlineGreenPromoTop"> <div class="greenBand"></div> <div class="inlineGreenPromoContent"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/022513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1358/smallcov.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green - Feb 25, 2013" title="InformationWeek Green - Feb. 25, 2013" align="left" class="greenIssueImage" /></a> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/022513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/graphics_library/misc/Green_leaf_88x88.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green" title="InformationWeek Green" align="right" class="greenLeaf" /></a> <div class="greenPromoText"> <strong><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/022513?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the entire Feb. 25, 2013, issue of <em>InformationWeek</em></a></strong>, distributed in an all-digital format as part of our Green Initiative<br /> (Registration required.)<br /> <center><div class="innerGreenPromoText" align="center">We will plant a tree for each of the first 5,000 downloads.</div></center> </div> </div> <div class="greenBand"></div> </div> <!-- / Jan. 21, 2013 InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <br /><!-- leave as a br to not interfere w/ the insights boxes --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1358/358TOCcoverart_110.jpg" width="110" height="110" alt="Storage Disruption" title="Storage Disruption" width="110" height="110" class="artInlineTopImage" /> <P> The virtualization and "software defined" wave is moving through the storage market, according to <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9898/Storage-Server/Research:-2013-State-of-Storage.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130225" target="_blank"><i>InformationWeek</i>'s 2013 State of Storage Survey</a>. Companies are looking at storage hypervisors, software-defined storage and cloud services to optimize their deployment and management of storage for virtual workloads and networks.</p> <P> But we're also seeing strong advances in hardware, particularly in solid-state technology, where flash memory is becoming faster and less pricey. Flash caches, solid-state drives and all-solid-state systems are pervading all levels of enterprise storage, from disk mechanisms and server-based caches to standalone arrays. </p> <P> With companies capturing more and richer data types -- everything from video to geolocation information -- storage needs have never been greater. For instance, big data applications are letting Sears enhance its personalized marketing campaigns to improve customer loyalty. Copious storage lets railroad company Union Pacific analyze data gathered from railcars and rail switches to proactively see when a wheel must be replaced, a track repaired or a train detoured. </p> <P> But it's not just about more and faster storage. Solid-state drives and accelerators let the San Francisco Giants dynamically change ticket prices in response to real-time sales and deactivate bar codes on unused tickets so they can be resold when season ticket holders cancel at the last minute.</p> <P> <strong>Ever-Increasing Sales</strong></p> <P> Even though the density of storage media continues to increase at exponential rates, the total dollar value of storage equipment sold isn't declining. That's good for vendors, not so much for CIOs. </p> <P> Sales of disk storage systems were just under $7.9 billion in the third quarter of 2012, 3.7% higher than in the same 2011 quarter, according to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Disk Storage Systems Tracker. Yet in a testament to advancing disk technology and improvement in price per byte, total shipped capacity was up slightly more than 24% year over year, to 7,104 petabytes. </p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- inline Report Promo --> <div class="inlineReportPromo right"> <div class="reportHeader"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9898/Storage-Server/Research:-2013-State-of-Storage.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130225" target="_blank">Research: 2013 State of Storage</a> </div> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1358/358CSreportcover.jpg" width="175" height="108" alt="Report Cover" title="Report Cover" class="reportCover" /> <div class="reportInfo"> Our report on our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9898/Storage-Server/Research:-2013-State-of-Storage.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130225" target="_blank">2013 State of Storage Survey</a> is free with registration. It includes <strong>53</strong> pages of action-oriented analysis, packed with <strong>45</strong> charts.<br /><br />What you'll find: <ul> <li>Technology, hardware and software trends</li> <li>The re-emergence of tape libraries</li> </ul> <center><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9898/Storage-Server/Research:-2013-State-of-Storage.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_20130225" target="_blank">Get This</a> And <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/">All Our Reports</a></strong></center> </div> </div> <!-- / inline Report Promo --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> Our survey shows where all that new gear is going. The share of survey respondents managing 100 TB or more of data jumped 10 points this year compared with last, to 42%, and it has nearly doubled since 2009. Eleven percent of respondents say their organizations now manage more than 1,000 TB of data, up from just under 7% in 2009.</p> <P> Almost all of our survey respondents say the storage capacity they're managing is growing at double-digit rates. A beleaguered 30% of respondents, the highest percentage in the five-year history of our storage survey, are coping with growth of 25% or more, meaning they're on pace to double their total capacity in three years or less (see chart above).</p> <P> The underlying causes of this storage expansion? The increasing use of video and other types of rich data, and the collection of more granular data. For example, smartphone users are capturing and sharing high-resolution pictures, videos and websites, while back offices are accumulating all sorts of transactional data, from Web log clickstreams to financial and sales records.</p> <P> <strong>Solid State Takes Hold</strong></p> <P> Managing all of this data isn't the only storage challenge IT pros face. Applications also must work effectively with the stored data, and here speed is the important factor. Enter solid-state storage.</p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center><strong>To read the rest of the article,<br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/022513/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">download the Feb. 25, 2013, issue of <em>InformationWeek</em></a></strong></center><br clear="all" /></p> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P>2013-02-05T02:33:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9495/Mobility-Wireless/Strategy:-Smartphone-Smackdown:--Galaxy-Note-II-vs.-Lumia-920-vs.-iPhone-5.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-12-18T11:06:00ZAfter almost two years of iPad use, I've been living with a Google Nexus 10 tablet for the past month. Google's iPad rival does not disappoint.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/google-nexus-10-my-first-month/240144563?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/enterprise-applications/10-must-have-apps-for-byod-android-devic/240142920"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/915/01_Android_tn.gif" alt="10 Essential Android Apps For Work, Home" title="10 Essential Android Apps For Work, Home" class="img175" /></a><br /><div class="storyImageTitle">10 Essential Android Apps For Work, Home</div><span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Forget a year, oh what a difference six months makes. Last summer, Apple was riding the euphoric waves of another successful iPad launch, selling as many 3rd-generation, "new" iPads as it could make. The post-PC world was its oyster. Android tablets had come and mostly gone, starting with the ill-fated Motorola Xoom, with Samsung and Asus rekindling Android lovers' hopes with the Galaxy Tab and Transformer Prime respectively. While the collective reviews weren't all bad, the market's judgment was harsh: through last year, <a href="http://www.androidauthority.com/ipad-android-market-share-report-63303/">iPads outsold Android tablets by three or four to one</a>. <P> But Google isn't <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/02/technology/hewlett-packards-touchpad-was-built-on-flawed-software-some-say.html">HP; it didn't cut and run</a>. Instead it methodically improved Android's tablet features -- recall that early Android devices ran a warmed over version of the smartphone OS -- while simultaneously taking on a bigger role in hardware design and development. The first fruits of this new, <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/10/nexus-best-of-google-now-in-three-sizes.html">best of Google strategy</a>, was the Nexus 7; a compelling mini-tablet that beat Apple's entry to the 7-inch space by four months and whose sales figures, estimated to be more than <a href="http://bgr.com/2012/11/20/nexus-7-sales-2012-estimates">5 million by the end of the year</a>, exceeded all expectations. Next up, a full-frontal assault on iPad dominance in the 10-inch market via the Nexus 10. <P> I've been living with a Nexus 10 for the past month, but after almost two years of iPad use, the last nine months with the third-generation, Retina Display edition, my tablet expectations are high. The Nexus didn't disappoint. On paper, the Nexus bests both the third- and tweaked fourth-gen iPads on almost every front: higher resolution screen, faster processor, more RAM, better cameras, it's even thinner and lighter for crying out loud. <a href="http://browser.primatelabs.com/android-benchmarks">It smokes</a> even the souped up <a href="http://browser.primatelabs.com/ios-benchmarks">fourth-gen iPad</a> by almost 40% on Geekbench 2, but we all know that there's far more to the tablet experience than specs and benchmarks. On those measures a cheap knockoff watch is as good as a Rolex. No, what really completes the Nexus package is Jelly Bean, an Android version that finally rivals iOS for speed, polish, responsiveness and features. <P> <strong>[ This question is easier than you might think to answer: <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/global-cio/interviews/should-you-buy-a-7-inch-or-10-inch-table/240144532?itc=edit_in_body_cross">Should You Buy A 7-Inch Or 10-Inch Tablet?</a> ]</strong> <P> Jelly Bean bears the fruits of Google's <a href="http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/07/12/getting-to-know-android-4-1-part-3-project-butter-how-it-works-and-what-it-added/">Project Butter</a>, rectifying the frustrating stutters, pauses and battery drain that plagued Android 2.x. But this Android redux isn't just iPad smooth; its new features palpably improve the tablet experience. <P> As I wrote in a recent <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9217/Mobility-Wireless/it-pro-impact-ipad-vs-nexus-vs-surface-tablet-shootout.html"><em>InformationWeek</em> smartphone report</a>, "while 4.1 includes a raft of small changes, the big new feature is <a href="http://www.google.com/landing/now/">Google Now</a>, essentially a combination of predictive search (<a href="http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/instant/about.html">Google Instant</a>) and Siri-like voice activation (<a href="http://www.google.com/insidesearch/features/voicesearch/index-chrome.html">Voice Search</a>)." <P> Google Now, which is just a home-screen search widget away, attempts to provide information you're likely to be interested in, things like weather forecasts, traffic reports, sports scores, current event listings, <em>before</em> you actually do a search. While the concept seems a bit gimmicky, the implementation shows promise; it's not bad for a first release and will undoubtedly get better at prediction (as you use it) and functionality (as Google bangs on the code) over time. In contrast, Voice Search does to Siri what Google Maps did to Apple's subpar iOS 6 effort: I found it much faster, somewhat more accurate and far more aesthetically pleasing, as Google ditches Siri's robotic voice for something akin to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F8fRqCkF5Y">AT&T's Jane the Time Lady</a>). <P> The notifications bar is another area where Android excels. On iOS it's an afterthought that I seldom use, but it's been integral to Android from day one. In 4.2, the incremental Jelly Bean version developed for Nexus, the bar's been bisected. On the right, a quick swipe provides access to system-level information like battery level, network information, airport mode and the system settings panel. On the left is an application-specific bar showing everything from new email snippets and calendar events to Facebook and news feed updates. <P> But all isn't perfect in the land of Jelly Bean. Although Android is now every bit as responsive as iOS, it's still not as reliable. Lockups are at least a once-a-week occurrence, something that <em>never</em> happens on the iPad, where the only time I ever reboot is for an OS update. Like most OS problems, the freezes are unpredictable, but most often occur in the browser; maybe Android Chrome isn't quite as stable as its PC counterpart. <P> Apps are another frustration. It's not that Android per se has an app gap; there are plenty of great titles. As I wrote in a <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/how-samsung-galaxy-note-ii-won-me-over/240143771">recent column about the Samsung Galaxy Note II</a>, most of the major iOS titles are also available on Google Play -- and for those MIA, there's almost certainly an excellent substitute. <P> No, the problem is that most are still built for small-screen phones, unable to take advantage of the Nexus 10's luxuriant 2560 x 1600 (take that iPad) screen with more pixels than most laptops. Even for those that do work on the big screen, the text is too small and often not scalable. Sometimes the developer, perhaps wisely, refuses to even support tablets at all. A couple of my iPad favorites, like Flipboard and Zite, which have Android ports that work fine on phones, will not install on the Nexus, presumably since they haven't figured out how to use the added screen real estate. Still, the app situation is hardly a deal breaker. While my Nexus 10 hasn't expanded to the five screens worth of icons that litter my iPad, I haven't found a major software or content category with significant holes. <P> Nor do the app scales always tip in the iPad's favor. For those of us that base a considerable portion of our online existence on Google services, Android is a stellar choice: the OS integration is tight and the native apps like Gmail, Calendar, Search and Play are arguably better than their iOS cousins. Indeed, Google brings a fresh approach to many categories like the Play Music app, which just looks cleaner and more modern than iTunes. Likewise, the large content library widget that occupies the default home screen is an incredibly convenient portal to recently accessed books, music and videos; think of it as a self-organizing pile of CDs, books and magazines on your desk. Apple, take note. <P> With the Nexus line, both small and large screen, Google clearly charts a compelling alternative path to Apple's tablet dominance. A market that once seemed a monopoly is now a competitive joust between quite different platforms, each with its strengths and weaknesses. While iPads still hold the upper hand, the Nexus duo provide worthy, and more affordable, alternatives. Life just got more complicated for tablet buyers.2012-12-18T02:51:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9217/Mobility-Wireless/it-pro-impact-ipad-vs-nexus-vs-surface-tablet-shootout.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-12-18T02:33:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9455/Security/strategy-rebooting-dlp.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-12-14T17:37:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/10/9260/Social+Networking-Collaboration/saas-collaboration-project-management-buyer-s-guide.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-12-14T17:04:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/9259/Storage-Server/research-state-of-servers-full-fast-and-diverse*.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-12-13T00:37:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9059/Mobility-Wireless/it-pro-s-guide-to-iphone-5-and-ios-6*.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-12-08T09:06:00ZI spent a few not particularly pleasant weeks with Microsoft's latest effort to achieve mobile relevance.http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/nokia-lumia-920-close-but-no-cigar/240143996?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/software/windows8/windows-phone-8-star-features/240012582"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/892/1_tn.jpg" alt="Windows Phone 8: Star Features" title="Windows Phone 8: Star Features" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle"> Windows Phone 8: Star Features</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Microsoft's approach to mobile devices reveals an apparent case of bipolar disorder. It alternates between cold dismissiveness -- treating the little gadgets as just another peripheral that's regularly tethered to the almighty PC -- and an enthusiastic embrace, in which the Lilliputian computers are legitimate inheritors of the mighty Windows franchise. The company is currently in one of the passionate phases, seemingly putting as much marketing muscle behind tablets and phones as it does laptops and all-in-ones. <P> In other words, the reality that Apple, Google and its Android partners, notably Samsung, are <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/desktop/pre-windows-8-pc-sales-worse-than-expect/240008956 ">eating Microsoft's lunch</a> has finally hit like a two-by-four between the eyes. Although Apple fomented the mobile device revolution, Google now owns the largest share of U.S. smartphone sales while <a href="http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press_Releases/2012/10/comScore_Reports_August_2012_U.S._Mobile_Subscriber_Market_Share">Microsoft barely registers</a>, and the situation is nearing the point of no recovery. Thus, Microsoft is making one last-ditch push for mobile device relevance with its two-pronged Windows 8 tablet/smartphone strategy. And success is riding on a new generation of Windows 8 phones, headlined by Nokia's Lumia 920. <P> This fall has seen a flurry of smartphone releases, and having recently <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9059/Mobility-Wireless/it-pro-s-guide-to-iphone-5-and-ios-6%2A.html">reviewed the iPhone 5</a>, I was eager to see how the latest crop of high-end products like the Samsung Galaxy Note II and Lumia 920 stacked up. AT&T kindly obliged and I've been putting both devices to the test for the past few weeks for an upcoming report. <P> <strong>[ Learn <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/how-samsung-galaxy-note-ii-won-me-over/240143771?itc=edit_in_body_cross">How Samsung Galaxy Note II Won Me Over</a>. ]</strong> <P> We'll get to the hardware later, but the elephant in the room when evaluating Windows 8 -- whether on phones or PCs -- is the new Modern UI. Unlike the Android-powered Note, which comports with iOS-inspired smartphone tradition, Windows Phone 8 apes its PC namesake by utterly dispensing with the familiar multi-screen grid of fixed icons. Instead, there's a row of what Microsoft calls, in a classic bit of marketing overstatement, Live Tiles. If the ability to display information updates from an underlying app means live, I guess the term fits, but I'm having hard time seeing the functional improvement over iOS icon badges, Android's home screen widgets and both platforms' notification bars. <P> Live Tiles are arguably a clever innovation. However, as UI guru <a href="http://www.useit.com/alertbox/windows-8.html">Jacob Nielsen noted</a> in discussing the PC incarnation, the actual implementation leaves a lot to be desired. "Unfortunately, application designers immediately went overboard and went from live tiles to hyper-energized ones ... The theory, no doubt, is to attract users by constantly previewing new photos and other interesting content within the tiles. But the result makes the Surface start screen into an incessantly blinking, unruly environment that feels like dozens of carnival barkers yelling at you simultaneously." <P> In contrast, dispensing with multiple home screens in favor of a single scrolling list of app tiles is a clear step backward. There's a reason educated civilizations replaced scrolls with the bindable codex for manuscripts: browsing for information by flipping through pages is a lot more efficient. All the more so since Windows Phone 8, unlike Android and iOS, has no way to search for locally installed apps. That means get used to a lot of scrolling. <P> Yet in many ways, Phone 8 is a decided improvement over previous versions. Perhaps the most useful enhancement is a browser made for the era of HTML 5 Web apps. Although the phone edition of IE 10 is a notable improvement, it's still a work in progress. We ran across several websites that Safari or Chrome rendered with aplomb that IE clipped or garbled. This is manifested in IE's inferior scores on the <a href="http://html5test.com">HTML 5 fidelity test</a>: 320 out of 500, versus 386 and 390 for Safari and Chrome, respectively. Other Phone 8 improvements include mobile Office apps and system-wide integration to Microsoft's cloud storage, Skydrive, similar to OS's iCloud and Android's Google Drive. <P> <strong>Workmanlike, if not Extraordinary, Hardware</strong> <P> When it comes to actually building a platform to display Microsoft's wares, Nokia has done a commendable, if not particularly elegant, job. This isn't surprising for a company that long ruled the cellphone market but never seemed to appreciate the public's fondness for Apple's sleek and sexy designs, substituting Nordic practicality for California design flair. Although the Lumia 920 is attractive and obviously well-constructed, svelte it isn't: no one will ever confuse it for an iPhone. It's almost as thick as a 10-year old iPod and weighs 65% more than the iPhone 5. <P> Its hardware specs, which comprise a dual-core <a href="http://www.qualcomm.com/chipsets/snapdragon">Snapdragon S4 Plus</a> (ARM A9 variant), 32 GB of integrated flash storage, and both LTE and dual-band Wi-Fi radios, place it solidly in superphone territory. However, in our benchmarking, which admittedly includes only browser tests since the standard system and graphics benchmarking apps haven't been ported to Windows, it lags both the iPhone 5 and Galaxy Note II by about 30% on average. Two areas where the Lumia does excel are its display, which is stunning, and its rear camera, both of which boast higher resolution than the iPhone (although I found low light shots from the iPhone more vivid). <P> But high-end hardware is of limited use if there's nothing to run on it. Like Apple and Google, Microsoft has finally created its very own app store, an addition that certainly makes it easier to find, buy and install apps -- that is, if there's anything worth installing. Here the Windows Store is still relatively barren by comparison, although in fairness, I've seen noticeable improvement over the past few weeks. Still, most of the apps are games and freebie utilities. There are a few big names like Evernote, Twitter and Facebook (which was actually developed by Microsoft), but no Flipboard, Gmail, or Instapaper. <P> The Lumia 920 represents the pinnacle of Windows Phone design, but it's unlikely to convert many existing iPhone or Android users. In fact, its primary selling point is price. At $99 on contract it's <a href="http://bgr.com/2012/12/04/windows-phone-analysis-emerging-markets">less than half what you'll spend</a> on an iPhone or Galaxy. As others have noted, this means Microsoft might be resigned to the fact that its target market will never be the smartphone cognoscenti in the U.S., Europe and Japan, but rather feature phone converts in the developing world. I know I certainly won't be suffering any separation anxiety when this tester goes back. <P> <i>Attend Interop Las Vegas May 6-10, and be the first to create an action plan to incorporate the latest transformative technologies into your IT infrastructure. Use Priority Code DIPR01 by Jan. 13 to save up to $800 with Super Early Bird Savings. Join us in Las Vegas for access to 125+ workshops and conference classes, 350+ exhibiting companies and the latest technology solutions. Register for <a href="http://www.interop.com/lasvegas/?_mc=DIPR01">Interop</a> today!</i>2012-12-04T12:20:00ZAndroid has come a long way in just a couple years. The Galaxy Note II stretches the limits of smartphone proportions, but does so quite elegantly.http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/how-samsung-galaxy-note-ii-won-me-over/240143771?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/samsung-galaxy-note-ii-visual-tour/240049876"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/897/firstImage_tn.png" alt="Samsung Galaxy Note II: Visual Tour" title="Samsung Galaxy Note II: Visual Tour" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">Samsung Galaxy Note II: Visual Tour</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> Android seemed so promising when the first serious phones, that is those designed for actual users, not software developers, burst on the scene in late 2009. While not a bleeding edge adopter -- I still had some months left on my old phone contract -- I eagerly embraced the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droid_X">Droid X</a> upon its release the following summer. <P> Yet, like so many infatuations, it ended badly. What at first seemed like a quantum improvement from my old Windows phone soon turned to disillusionment as the Droid's capacity for frustration seemed boundless. My breaking point came while covering <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/interop">Interop</a>, where you're on the go for 16 hours a day and roaming in a cavernous convention center where cell coverage and Wi-Fi signals often aren't the best, a situation that seemed to put the Droid's circuitry in overdrive. The phone was my lifeline, yet by lunch the thing's battery was bone dry, forcing me to schlep a charging wall wart and huddle like a pauper next to the first available wall socket hoping to squeeze enough juice to carry me through another couple hours. <P> Oh, and did I mention that the thing was slow? Android, circa 2010 was afflicted with the infamous bit rot every Windows user has grown to fear and loath; the more you use it, the slower it gets. In sum, I couldn't wait to ditch the thing and finally face up to the reality that Apple had smartphones nailed and resistance was futile, particularly now that Verizon, who still offers the best coverage in my area, was on board. <P> Fast forward through a year of iPhone bliss, and amidst a veritable blitz of new smartphone releases primed for the annual holiday buying frenzy, AT&T graciously offered the opportunity to review the latest and greatest Android and Windows phones for an upcoming <em>InformationWeek</em> report. On the Android side, I wanted something running Google's new 4.1 release, affectionately known as <a href=" http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/android-jelly-bean-more-than-doubles-mar/240143709">Jelly Bean</a>. Although the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/hardware/handheld/samsung-galaxy-s-iii-visual-tour-android/240002355">Galaxy S III</a> is by far Android's best seller, due to quirks (or less charitably, negligence) in the way carriers choose to update devices, it wasn't first in line for the new OS; that fell to the S III's newly updated big brother, the Galaxy Note II. <P> The Note is nominally a phone in that you can make voice calls, but size-wise it occupies an uncomfortable space between the svelte, thin iPhone and mini-tablet Kindle Fire. While holding it to your ear (for those still not using Bluetooth headsets) doesn't look as absurd as say taking a picture with your iPad, with its 6-inch length it's dangerously close to ridicule territory. Samsung showed great wisdom in making <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie0mAnjz1Oc">LeBron the Note's pitchman</a>; its size definitely seems more reasonable in his hands than, say, Scarlett Johansson's. <P> But if the Note stretches the limits of smartphone proportions, it does so quite elegantly. The device's soft curves, smooth surface and thin stature (it's about the same thickness as the previous generation iPhone 4S) make for a very pleasing package. And what a package indeed. The first thing you notice is the gorgeous 5.5-inch, full 720p (1280x720; 25% more pixels than the iPhone 5) Super AMOLED screen framed by a vanishingly thin bezel; it's like holding an HDTV in your hands. But the Note II has plenty of brains behind its beauty. <P> The Note II is one of the first smartphones with a quad-core CPU, a Samsung-designed ARM A9 variant that clocked at 1.6 GHz versus the 1.3-GHz dual-core Apple chip powering the iPhone 5. The upshot is a device that in my testing actually bests the iPhone 5 in several benchmarks, including the comprehensive Geekbench 2 system test where it's almost 13% faster. <P> The rest of the device is rather par for the high-end smartphone course -- 8 MP camera, LTE cellular data, dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4, NFC -- with a few notable exceptions. Samsung is one of the last phone manufacturers to offer a removable battery and memory expansion via a microSD slot. Kudos. Capitalizing on its tablet-like girth, the Note also has a built-in stylus, the S Pen, that although kind of gimmicky, works well with the bundled apps for handwritten notes and simple drawings. <P> But hardware is only half of the story. In classic Google fashion, i.e. methodical yet rapid release cycles that gradually grind away at bugs and performance problems while adding features and more native apps, Android has transmogrified from a serviceable OS only a developer could love to a potent iOS alternative, equaling it in many respects. Most noticeable is Android's newfound responsiveness, the tangible result of Google's Project Butter, that's on par with what iOS has always delivered. <P> Yet Android one-ups the iPhone in several areas, notably its voice search, which I find faster and more accurate than Siri, and flexible, customizable interface complete with home-screen widgets, sophisticated notification bar and a file system you can actually access via excellent third-party utilities like <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.metago.astro&hl=en">Astro</a>. Enterprise users will also like the fact that Android now has a workable VPN stack, fixing problems that particularly plagued <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-to-Point_Tunneling_Protocol">PPTP</a> users. <P> Another area where Android has made enormous progress is app selection and distribution, highlighted by a Google's nicely implemented Play Store. The latest figures indicate that the Play Store has roughly the same number of apps as Apple's older and more established App Store, but numbers don't tell the whole story. A couple years ago, much of the Android fare was amateurish hacks that that were a complete waste of drive space. But with increasing Android sales numbers (now accounting for more 70% of worldwide sales and just over half of those in the U.S.), professionals are taking over to serve a growing market hungry for quality software. Aside from a full selection of Google apps (including Maps), which, not surprisingly are better integrated into the underlying OS than their iOS counterparts, most of the iPhone's greatest hits, like Dropbox, Evernote, Flipboard, IMO, Instapaper, LastPass, Pinterest, Skype and Zite have also made the transition. For those that haven't, and never will, say iPhoto, there's invariably an equally polished alternative like PicSay. <P> Android may have established a beachhead with smartphone newbies by being the less expensive iPhone alternative, but Samsung for one (now joined by Google's smash hit Nexus 4) is proving that Apple can't just assume its domination of the high end is immutable. This is one iPhone user who's going to rue the day he has to return his Note II loaner. <P>2012-11-16T01:53:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/166/9079/Professional+Development+and+Salary+Data/research-2012-data-center-staffing-survey.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-11-16T01:47:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/19/9066/Network-Infrastructure/research-cisco-outlook-survey.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-11-15T19:00:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9087/Security/strategy-security-at-today-s-network-speeds*.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-11-12T23:42:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/2/8968/Business-Continuity/strategy-e-discovery-mobility-and-the-cloud.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-11-12T23:22:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/7/9007/Enterprise-Software/windows-8-survival-guide-end-users-and-mobility.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware2012-11-08T10:39:00ZDon't fall for vendor scare tactics about an impending iPad-fueled WLAN-a-geddon.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240062623?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardwareWi-Fi wireless LANs (WLANs) have been displacing wired Ethernet as a preferred means of client access for years. Two years ago, we asked readers about wireless plans: Our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/4736/Mobility-Wireless/research-wireless-nation-2011.html"><em>InformationWeek</em> Wireless LAN survey</a> found about 40% of respondents predicting that they would largely replace wired access infrastructure within five years. Fast forward and it's likely that today's torrent of mobile devices rushing into the enterprise, whether resulting from formal, front-door BYOD policies or furtive, or back-door infiltration, is accelerating the timetable. <P> Worse yet for early adopters, the changing device mix means existing WLAN installations could face significant stress, if not outright gridlock, unless network managers make some architectural changes. Yet enterprises could learn a lot about WLAN design from educational institutions, which have been among the leaders in wireless deployments and have some of the highest device densities of any environment. As <a href="http://www.arubanetworks.com/news-releases/ohio-university-chooses-aruba-to-tackle-wi-fi-density-and-app-performance/">Ohio University's CIO, Brice Bible, is quoted</a> in discussing his campus' recent WLAN upgrade, "Wireless is by far the most popular access method on our campus and students are bringing more mobile devices to campus than ever before." <P> The challenges start with a dramatic increase in numbers, a situation that <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/9217/Mobility-Wireless/it-pro-impact-ipad-vs-nexus-vs-surface-tablet-shootout.html">new devices like the iPad Mini and Nexus, as profiled in our latest research report,</a> will exacerbate: The client count per employee could double or triple as users augment their company-issued laptops with smartphones and tablets. There are also inherent Wi-Fi hardware design limitations imposed by mobile devices optimized for portability and battery life, not network performance. <P> <a href="http://www.xirrus.com/cdn/pdf/Xirrus_BYOD-Higher-Education_SB.aspx">WLAN equipment vendors have been fond of scaring customers with a Gartner report</a> claiming that "enterprises deploying iPads will need 300% more Wi-Fi." (<a href="https://www.smartcitynetworks.com/PDFs/Media/Tech_Bulletin/2012/02-2012_Tech_Bulletin.pdf">See a PDF of the entire report here</a>). <P> The 3x figure is derived from a simplistic extrapolation of differences in transmit power between the Wi-Fi radio in the iPad 2 and that of a typical laptop, which the paper claims to be 6 decibels (10 dBm vs. 15-17 dBm). Aside from being out of date, which the online copy of the paper now acknowledges with this disclaimer from Gartner: "(Note: This document has been archived; some of its content may not reflect current conditions,)" it's overly simplistic. <P> First off, the newest iPads and <a href="http://blogs.aerohive.com/blog/the-network-revolution/apple-iphone-5-wi-fi-specs">iPhone 5 use new wireless chips with output power</a> comparable to a laptop. Secondly, the 300% number is derived by taking a simple power ratio, using basic math any first year electrical engineering student would know, without accounting for other physical or technical factors. <P> A 6 dBm difference translates to four-times the power, i.e. 3dB equals double the power, meaning theoretically you would need to space access points (APs) much more closely when using tablets to achieve the same average signal strength versus an all-PC environment. But this makes several assumptions that may not be true in practice, nor have they been demonstrated, at least in this paper, by actual testing: (a) that all the APs are already operating a maximum power (probably a safe assumption, but not necessarily true since doing so in some indoor environments may lead to excessive cross-channel interference); (b) that Wi-Fi performance is directly proportional to signal strength and that an iPad with half (or worse) the signal strength will have lower performance than a PC; or (c), that signal strength is the most important factor in tablet Wi-Fi performance. According to <a href="http://blogs.aerohive.com/blog/wi-fi-that-wont-die/classroom-wi-fi-design-facts-for-homogenous-ipad-environments">testing done by Aerohive in high-density, tablet-rich classroom environments</a>, this is almost certainly not the case.</p> <P> You see, the bigger limitation of tablets and smartphones isn't their radio power, but channel capacity. Perhaps the most important feature of 802.11n is MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) radios, namely the ability to support multiple spatial radio streams for a single connection. But this requires multiple antennas and more power-hungry, multi-stream Wi-Fi chips, two design requirements at odds with small, thin form factors and long battery life. <P> Thus, every current smartphone and tablet is a 1SS (single spatial stream) implementation, although things are a bit better for dual band devices like the iPad and iPhone 5 as they support a single stream on both the 2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands. But with 1SS clients, everyone is still trying to share the same airtime on a given channel -- kind of like truckers on CB radios -- which leads to a massive RF traffic jam when a classroom of them are trying to talk at the same time. <P> Here's a typical example courtesy <a href="http://blogs.aerohive.com/blog/wi-fi-that-wont-die/devin-akin-aerohives-chief-wi-fi-architect">Aerohive Chief Wi-Fi Architect Devin Akin</a>. He starts with some basic design facts, namely that an iPad needs 2 Mbps of sustained throughput to run multimedia (e.g. video streaming) applications and that there are 30 of them in the average classroom. Furthermore, a dual-radio (2.4 and 5 GHz) AP can process around 60 Mbps, or 30 Mbps per channel while using 80% or more of the available airtime on a single channel; any more leads to airtime contention (multiple clients trying to talk over the same frequency at the same time.) Thus 30 iPads times 2 Mbps per client nicely matches the throughput of a single AP, assuming you can steer half the clients to the 5 GHz band and keep them there. <P> Fortunately, band steering is a common feature of today's enterprise APs. As long as your 30 clients get a good enough wireless signal to maintain streaming throughput, adding power doesn't help; the primary benefit of more densely packing APs is to provide more RF time slices, since to avoid interference, adjacent APs are on different Wi-Fi channels. <P> Of course, if your environment isn't as client dense as a school, you might not saturate airtime even using widely distributed Aps. And here the Gartner paper does point out another potential problem: namely that the iPad (and now, iPhone 5) will aggressively 'downshift' to the 2.4 GHz band if 5 GHz performance drops off -- behavior I have witnessed many times. This normally wouldn't be a big issue if it was equally aggressive about 'upshifting' when the 5 GHz signal improves, but this isn't the case. This means that older, slower 2.4 GHz devices could get crowded out by fast-talking iPads looking for a better signal in areas of sparse coverage. <P> In sum, the influx of Wi-Fi tablets and smartphones into the enterprise undoubtedly means enterprise WLANs will need more APs, but the scaling factor is more likely proportional to the number of new devices, not their power output. So unless you're doing new mass iPad deployments (say in schools or hospitals), the amount of new WiFi you'll need is probably much less than 300%. <P> <i>From SDN to network overlays, emerging technologies promise to reshape the data center for the age of virtualization. Also in the new, all-digital <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/nwcdigital/nov12?k=axxe&cid=article_axxt_os">The Virtual Network</a> issue of Network Computing: Open Compute rethinks server design. (Free registration required.)</i> <P>2012-11-01T13:00:00ZFaster networks are coming, putting security monitoring systems to the test.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240012669?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <!-- InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <div id="inlineGreenPromoTop"> <div class="greenBand"></div> <div class="inlineGreenPromoContent"> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/103112s/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/044/smallcov.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green - November 1, 2012" title="InformationWeek Green - November 1, 2012" align="left" class="greenIssueImage" /></a><br /> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/103112s/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os"><img src="http://twimgs.com/infoweek/graphics_library/misc/Green_leaf_88x88.jpg" alt="InformationWeek Green" title="InformationWeek Green" align="right" class="greenLeaf" /></a> <div class="greenPromoText"> <strong><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/103112s/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the <em>InformationWeek</em></strong> November special issue on data security</a>, distributed in an all-digital format as part of our Green Initiative<br /> (Registration required.)<br /> </div> </div> <div class="greenBand"></div> </div> <!-- / InformationWeek Digital Issue--> <br /><!-- leave as a br to not interfere w/ the insights boxes --> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/044/044SUP_CSCover_110.jpg" width="110" height="110" alt="Threats Vs. Readiness" title="Threats Vs. Readiness" width="110" height="110" class="artInlineTopImage" /> <P> For those charged with the design and implementation of enterprise IT networks, a vexing problem is that technology advances at uneven rates across the hardware ecosystem. When we hit a new tier of speed, first out of the gate usually come (very expensive) modules for high-end core switches and routers. Faster interfaces gradually trickle down to edge switches and server interface cards, and only later do affordable options come to network monitoring and security appliances.</p> <P> We're at the midpoint of this process with 10-Gbps Ethernet; switch ports are available for less than $200, and server adapters are in the same range for older systems that don't already have multiple 10-Gbps ports embedded on the motherboard. But start pricing equipment to monitor and secure 10-Gbps Ethernet networks, and you'll be in for sticker shock. And forget about your 40- or 100-Gbps gear. </p> <P> Yet as 10-Gbps Ethernet proliferates, the demand for higher-speed 40- and soon 100-Gbps aggregation layers to handle the added traffic will increase correspondingly. What's a poor network security administrator supposed to do?</p> <P> Foremost, study our recent history. As IT organizations on the leading edge of technology adoption rolled out 10-Gbps Ethernet networks, they developed strategies for eking out a few extra years from older, slower, yet still serviceable monitoring and security systems. The same scenario will be replayed with the migration to 40- and 100-Gbps Ethernet since tools lag the networking hardware pace, says Daniel Aharon, senior director of product management at Net Optics, a provider of network monitoring gear.</p> <P> <strong>10-Gbps Ethernet Goes Mainstream</strong></p> <P> In case you're in denial, multiple <i>InformationWeek</i> surveys over the past year have demonstrated that 10-Gbps Ethernet has gone mainstream. It's no longer the province of high-performance computing clusters and government spy agencies. To wit: 32% of technology pros in our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/6/8845/Data-Center/research-2012-state-of-the-data-center.html" target="_blank">State of the Data Center Survey</a> say that network technologies of 10 Gbps and faster will have a major impact on their data center operations. That's second only to budget constraints as a top-of-mind concern. In other words, higher-speed networking is the most significant technology affecting data centers.</p> <P> Similarly, 22% of respondents to our 2012 State of Server Technology Survey (full report to be published later in November) require integrated 10-Gbps Ethernet on new servers. With an additional 50% expecting to migrate in the future, it means 10 Gbps will soon be standard on virtually every new system rolling in the door.</p> <P> And the action doesn't stop with servers. Our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/24/8697/Storage-Server/research-state-of-storage-2012.html" target="_blank">2012 State of Storage Survey</a> showed that just under a quarter of respondents use 10-Gbps interfaces on storage arrays, either iSCSI or Fibre Channel over Ethernet for SANs or stock Ethernet for file-sharing NAS.</p> <P> Admittedly, 40- and 100-Gbps gear remains a pipe dream for most companies. While 40-Gbps Ethernet finally has emerged as a viable aggregation layer, with switch ports approaching the magic $1,000 mark, 100 Gbps is still the stuff of network cores at Internet service providers and big telcos, and these folks typically aren't doing security scans and packet capture unless the National Security Agency is involved.</p> <P> 40-Gbps Ethernet as still on the bleeding edge, says Jay Botelho, product manager at WildPackets, a provider of network monitoring, analysis and troubleshooting products. In the last 18 to 24 months, he has seen customers aggressively adopting 10-Gbps gear, but he says 40-Gbps Ethernet is largely limited to niches like universities, big service and cloud providers, and video production houses like DreamWorks and Lucasfilm.</p> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center><strong>To read the rest of the article,<br /><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/gogreen/103112s/?k=axxe&cid=article_axxe_os">Download the <em>InformationWeek</em> November special issue on data security</a></strong></center><br clear="all" /></p> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P> <!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <center> <div id="inlineReportPromo"> <div class="inlineReportPromo_headline"><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9087/security/strategy-security-at-todays-network-speeds-.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_2011mmdd" target="_blank" style="color:#ffffff;">Strategy: Security at Today's Network Speeds </a></div> <div class="inlineReportPromo_inner"> <img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/supplement/044/044_SUP_CS_reportbox.jpg" width="175" height="118" style="float:right;"> Our full report on <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9087/security/strategy-security-at-todays-network-speeds-.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_2011mmdd" target="_blank">security at network speeds</a> is available free with registration.<br /><br /> This 16 page report includes additional survey data on security trends.<br /> <center><strong><a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/21/9087/security/strategy-security-at-todays-network-speeds-.html?cid=pub_analyt__iwk_2011mmdd" target="_blank">Get This</a> And <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/">All Our Reports</a></strong></center><br /> </div> </div> </center></p><br clear="all"> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <P>2012-10-26T09:06:00ZWindows 8 may end up marking the moment when people stopped caring about PC operating systems.http://www.informationweek.com/news/240009702?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware<!-- KINDLE EXCLUDE --> <div class="inlineStoryImage inlineStoryImageRight"><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/windows/reviews/8-key-differences-between-windows-8-and/240006106"><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/galleries/automated/855/01_Intro_WindowsRT_tn.jpg" alt="8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT" title="8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT" class="img175" /></a><br /> <div class="storyImageTitle">8 Key Differences Between Windows 8 And Windows RT</div> <span class="inlinelargerView">(click image for larger view and for slideshow)</span></div> <!-- /KINDLE EXCLUDE --> The wait is over. Windows 8 arrives for real this week and we'll soon see whether the product <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/09/17/steve-ballmer-windows-8/">Steve Ballmer admits is a bigger deal to Microsoft</a> than the epically successful Windows 95 will live up to the company's hype and expectations. Although this isn't a "bet the company" moment--Microsoft is no longer a one-trick pony and is much less dependent on PC sales than it was in the mid-90s, as <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/Investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings/PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY13/Q1/default.aspx">Windows now constitutes a smaller share of its revenue</a> than applications (i.e. Office) or server software--it will chart the company's course for years to come. <P> Will Microsoft finally become a legitimate rival to Apple and the Google ecosystem in mobile devices or will it be forced further into the background, in the mold of IBM and Oracle, as an IT infrastructure supplier? Will Windows 8 be the catalyst that injects life into a moribund PC market that's clearly suffering from a severe case of iPad hangover, with <a href="http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2012/10/23Apple-Introduces-iPad-mini.html">Apple providing another dose of pain</a> by unveiling the low-priced Mini earler in the week, or end up another Vista; the OS everyone can do without? We'll get our first hints shortly as the holiday shopping season kicks into gear. After reviewing Windows 8 for our <a href="http://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/7/9007/Enterprise-Software/windows-8-survival-guide-end-users-and-mobility.html"><em>InformationWeek Windows 8 Survival Guide</em></a>, one thing seems certain: It wasn't designed with enterprises in mind. <P> As even the most casual technology watcher knows by now, the biggest changes in Windows 8 also happen to be the most visible: a new touchscreen and tablet-friendly UI still known as Metro (<a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2198399/microsoft-renames-metro-to-modern-ui">despite Microsoft's desire to banish the term to the Internet's memory hole</a>). Although our Windows 8 poll found more people like the interface than not, as I write in the report, "A big turn off for most users is that Windows 8 sticks you with Metro as the default home screen whether you like it or not; there's no option to automatically drop back to the Windows desktop you know and its familiar Start Menu and Task Bar, although these (save the Start Menu) are still easily accessible under the covers. Fully 62% of our respondents say that inability to disable the new interface will slow or preclude their deployment." <P> <center><img src="http://twimgs.com/informationweek/1349/R5260912_10.jpg" width="580" height="305" alt="Opinion of Windows 8 Metro Interface" hspace="0" vspace="0" border="0" style="margin-bottom:7px;" /><br /></center></p> <P> But it's not just the tile-based interface that will wreak havoc with IT departments fielding questions from befuddled users, it's the fact that Windows 8 really wants to be touched. Although the new Windows works fine on old, non-touch, hardware, indeed that's how I tested the product, at best it's a suboptimal situation and at worst can be downright exasperating. While Windows 7 did support touch, it was largely ignored both by users and vendors; but with Windows 8, Microsoft went all in. As I note in the report, the touch experience starts from the moment you want to log on, "The Metro start screen uses a swipe gesture to expose the new Charms bar (a normally hidden icon bar allowing quick access to search, sharing, system settings and application switching) to such a degree that without a touch screen device the user experience is somewhat frustrating, forcing you to hover the mouse in 'magic' screen regions." It's primarily for this reason that I advise IT decision makers, but the same holds for consumers, to limit Windows 8 to new hardware. Don't bother upgrading existing systems; the few modest benefits, better memory management, easier Wi-Fi configuration, a faster browser, aren't worth the UI hassles. <P> Windows 8's schizophrenia isn't just limited to the UI though. In trying to counter the iPad juggernaut, Microsoft has developed a non-x86 version, Windows RT, designed for lower-cost tablets and "laplets" (laptop-tablet hybrids). RT is a strange stepchild to the mainstream product as: (a) it won't run existing applications (since it doesn't use Intel hardware), (b) <em>only</em> uses the Metro UI (there's no traditional desktop to fall back on since you'll need new, Metro apps anyway), (c) is only available bundled with a device, not as a standalone product (again, what's the point since you'll need new hardware anyway) and (d) includes a version of Office (so at least you'll have <em>something</em> to run). While RT may be a hit with consumers (although <a href=" http://www.informationweek.com/windows/microsoft-news/microsoft-surface-matches-new-ipad-price/240009105">by not undercutting iPad on price</a>, why bother with the imitation when you can have the real thing?), it's a complete nonstarter for enterprises. Sure, you can read and edit Office docs, but in this age of webmail and other cloud applications like SaaS collaboration software, and countless Office-compatible apps, with the possible exception of Excel, who really cares anymore? RT won't run any of your custom Windows software, costs as much as the iPad or other high-end Android alternatives like the Asus Transformer Infinity and Galaxy Note, is a first generation product (unlike iPad and Android hardware that's had over two years of refinement) and still requires a keyboard to effectively use the headline app, Office. Business users looking for the all-in-one, PC-tablet experience might as well spring an extra $500 for a new touch-sensitive notebook like <a href="http://www.lenovo.com/products/us/laptop/ideapad/yoga/yoga-13/">Lenovo's sexy Yoga 13</a>. <P> Windows 8 appears to be one of those <a href="http://snltranscripts.jt.org/75/75qbassamatic.phtml">Veg-O-Matic-type products</a> with Microsoft trying to do too much at once: please both mobile device and PC users, those migrating from the PC world and those looking for a new tablet experience, buyers looking for a low-cost PC companion and those running high-end ultrabooks. And like most hybrid compromises, it ends up doing an adequate, but far from stellar, job at any given task. Instead of being Microsoft's answer to the iPad, Windows 8 may end up marking the moment when people stopped caring about PC operating systems. <P>2012-10-17T23:22:00Zhttp://reports.informationweek.com/abstract/18/8995/Mobility-Wireless/research-app-dev-in-the-age-of-mobility.html?cid=SBX_iwk_related_commentary_Processors_hardware