This week’s News Bits we look at a number of small announcements, small in terms of the content, not the impact they have. DDN sets SPC SFS Benchmark record. Arlo announces AI-based detection features. Quest launches Spotlight Cloud. Rackspace expands its cloud services. Cisco launched line of 400G switches. GIGABYTE expands its EPYC line. FalconStor awarded patent for RecoverTrac. Druva’s Cloud Platform now available on AWS Snowball Edge.
This week’s News Bits we look at a number of small announcements, small in terms of the content, not the impact they have. DDN sets SPC SFS Benchmark record. Arlo announces AI-based detection features. Quest launches Spotlight Cloud. Rackspace expands its cloud services. Cisco launched line of 400G switches. GIGABYTE expands its EPYC line. FalconStor awarded patent for RecoverTrac. Druva’s Cloud Platform now available on AWS Snowball Edge.
DDN Sets SPC SFS Benchmark Record
DataDirect Networks (DDN) announced that it saw record performance results across the entire spectrum of the SPEC SFS 2014 benchmark suite. The SPEC SFS 2014 benchmarks provide a standardized approach to comparing performance for file server throughput and response time across different vendor platforms. To get these record results, DDN leverage a SFA14KX configured with 72 400GB MLC SSDs giving it a 25% increase in results.
Arlo Announces AI-Based Detection Features
Arlo announced that it would have new detection features for its cameras that leverage AI. These new detections will be able to detect animals, vehicles, and package delivery. The new features are slated to be out later this year.
Quest Launches Spotlight Cloud
Quest Software announced the launch of a 24/7 performance monitoring SaaS offering, the Spotlight Cloud. Key features and functionalities include:
- Smart Alarms: Enables the start of problem resolution as soon as an issue is detected by presenting data trends, contextual data and advisories in the alarm itself. This allows DBAs to shortcut the initial problem triage and begin solving issues immediately, so they get to the root cause faster.
- Workload Analysis: Provides a way to dissect workload across a range of dimensions and from different perspectives, to allow DBAs to pinpoint what is having the greatest impact on specific aspects of their workload.
- Health Checks: Runs a range of proactive checks on databases to look for worrying trends or deviations from best practice. This feature can identify problems in the making and will suggest or take corrective action.
- Spotlight Tuning Pack: Helps navigate complex query plans with an advisor that interprets their structure and an artificial intelligence engine which identifies code optimizations to improve the performance of your query.
- Native Mobile Application: Allows DBAs to monitor and manage from their iOS and Android mobile or tablet device.
- Data History: Keeps data for up to a year, versus most on premise solutions that keep data for a week to a month.
Rackspace Expands Its Cloud Services
Rackspace announced that it has expanded its cloud services with next generation services that provide flexible and highly customizable offers through Rackspace Service Blocks, Managed Infrastructure as Code (IaC) deployments, and expanded multi-cloud capabilities to help customers choose between cloud platforms and provide the ability to manage multiple public clouds with a single control panel. The new services include:
- Rackspace Service Blocks – Designed to meet customers where they are on their cloud journey, service blocks deliver cloud services tailored to address specific and varying cloud needs such as architecture, deployment, operational support, cost governance, and complex cloud operations (including Kubernetes and container technologies, reliability engineering and serverless computing). These service blocks provide the flexibility to change and/or grow cloud services as customers innovate and their needs evolve – all while being transparent about the cost and the value each offers.
- Managed Infrastructure as Code –Managed infrastructure as code delivers scalable, opinionated implementations that include automation, governance and a standardized continuous integration and delivery pipeline. This enables customers to realize the benefits of today’s modern cloud by describing environments in code so they can be efficiently and predictably tested and deployed using DevOps methodologies.
- Unbiased Multi-cloud Guidance – Rackspace’s certified cloud experts provide opinionated, data-based guidance to identify the best-fit public cloud infrastructure for customers. As part of the solution and architecture planning process, these experts use approximately 100 technical and commercial factors through a proprietary methodology to ensure optimal workload performance. For customers seeking a deeper level of assessment, Rackspace Professional Services now offers performance testing and deep application assessments across public cloud platforms.
- Unified Multi-cloud Management – A unified cloud management experience across AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform makes it easy for customers to manage multiple public clouds. This includes consolidated billing, unified ticketing, monitoring and alerting, and consolidated user and account management.
Rackspace Public Cloud Services
Cisco Launched Line Of 400G Switches
Cisco announced that it will soon be launching new 400 Gigabit Ethernet (400G) switches resulting in more bandwidth and scale. Features include:
- Built for the most demanding environments: The new 400G switches are designed to support the signature capabilities the Nexus switching portfolio is known for, delivered at wire speed. This includes support for advanced telemetry for deeper app visibility, real-time analysis and troubleshooting. And smart buffers specially tuned for scale-out app traffic. Customers can also integrate the switches with Cisco’s leading Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), Tetration, and Network Assurance Engine software. Doing this allows them to increase app agility and improve data center security and automation, bringing 400G to Intent Based Networking.
- Built for customer choice and flexibility: Flexible deployment options let companies of all sizes support their specific needs and workloads. Customers can choose the options that best fit their needs, whether they are a webscale company, running a high-density or intent-based network, or using specialized apps.
- Built to last: Cisco is actively working with partners and third-party organizations to drive standardization and interoperability around 400G. Cisco collaborated in the recent 400G industry plug fests with interconnect and test solution partners and demonstrated cost effective 100G lambda optics modules for 400G.
Cisco will being field trials next month with a broader release beginning in 2019.
GIGABYTE Expands Its EPYC Line
Earlier this year, GIGABYTE refreshed its AMD EPYC server lineand has added some new models since. The company recently introduced two new EPYC motherboards (the MZ01-CE0 and MZ01-CE1) as well as a new 2U, 4 node server, the H261-Z61. The new server supports dual AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs with up to 32 cores, 64 threads, and 8 channels of memory per CPU, resulting in over 2TB of memory per node. The new workstation friendly motherboards allow for single socket AMD EPYC 7000 CPUs and up to four dual slot GPU cards.
FalconStor Awarded Patent For RecoverTrac
FalconStor Software, Inc. has been awarded another patent for its automatic data recovery solution, RecoverTrac. This marks the third patent (United States Patent and Trademark Office, Patent No. 10,073,745) for the solution.
Druva’s Cloud Platform Now Available On AWS Snowball Edge
Druva announced that its Druva Cloud Platform is now available on Amazon Web Services (AWS) Snowball Edge. Benefits include:
- Plug and play workload mobility. With Druva on AWS Snowball Edge, simply apply backup policies and backup or restore directly to and from the device. With global deduplication technology, only a single copy of data is stored – ensuring maximum storage on device.
- Flexibility with no compromise to data protection. Once data has been migrated to the cloud, and if an organization decides to move to the direct-to-cloud model, customers can simply unplug the device and ship it back, with no interruption to their data protection service.
- Ship petabytes securely. AWS Snowball Edge devices use tamper-evident enclosures, 256-bit encryption, and industry-standard Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) designed to ensure both security and full chain-of-custody for your data.
- “Offered as-a-Service” at no additional cost. Procurement of AWS Snowball Edge is offered within the Druva Cloud Platform through the Phoenix Data Protection Service and is bundled in the Enterprise and Elite packages at no extra charge to customers.
