StructurenetX

VMware Partners With Server Manufactures

Today VMware announced a partnership with Dell, Fujitsu, HP, and IBM to embed the ESX server 3i across broad lines of servers for small to enterprise customers. Server ESX is thin client that takes up little hard drive space and does not require an operating system to host the client.  Admins can just start packing on operating systems out of the box. This is an effort to accelerate the proliferation of virtualization.  This is a smart move for VMware to gain more market share and expose customers to the features of VMware.  With Windows Server 2008 integrated virtualization, Sun buying German based company Virtual box open source virtualization, and Parallels server virtualization the market is about to get very competitive.  I think users will benefit with the development of new robust features to make one platform outshine another along with falling prices for software.

A Boutique Data Center

With the current trend of small to medium sized business moving to co location space how do you find one that will stand apart from the rest.  Xnet is a Lisle, IL based boutique data center, the Xnet critical computing facility was co-founded by President Arthur Zards.  www.xnet.com Linked is how he describes a boutique data center on his blog.xnet/blog 

I have had the pleasure of speaking with the staff of Xnet and can tell you hands down these guys a serious about customer service and customization.  Working with Xnet is one of the best customer service experiences you can expect.  I would compare it to renting a car from Hertz verses Enterprise.  With the Hertz experience I get superior customer service a great car and the preferences I prefer.  With Enterprise the customer service is good, but they always are trying to use scare tactics to make you get services you don't need. 

If you want the Hertz gold customer service experience give Xnet a look.  Not to mention you won't have to worry about anyone bashing through a wall to grab your servers like some other co locations out there.  Xnet facility is located in a hardened FBI facility.  An impressive facility for a boutique co location.

Cimco Communications: A clear choice!

Cimco Communications has been a growing telecommunications provider for the Midwest.  Most people have heard of the big dogs out there, but Cimco has become a great alternative choice to the larger telecoms with all the same services and abilities.  They are responsive to customer needs and operate locally out of Oak Brook,IL.  As a customer of Cimco Communications we have been more than pleased with the service and value we receive in our data and telecommunication services.  You will see in future posts we are fans of companies that provide a great product.   More importantly we are fans of companies that have great customer service to compliment their product offerings. We recommend giving Imprint Enterprises a call who is preferred partner of CIMCO. http://www.imprint-e.com/categories/CIMCO.htm

Check out this article written in the Chicago Tribune highlighting how they can help clients save money while providing excellent service. http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun_frontfeb17,0,1936329.story

Make sure your datacenter alphabet includes the letters TVSS

Do you have a magnetic personality? Well that might be good for your love life, but it’s prohibitive in the DC.

Every IT manager knows the damage that surges cause to delicate IT gear.  What you may not know is how relatively inexpensive it is to moderate common power related problems. Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor or TVSS for short is a device designed to eliminate or reduce the damage to IT equipment by limiting surges on electrical circuits. The surges can originate from inside the facility or may be injected into a facility from outside sources.  Either way, Surges can provide both instant damage or over time slowly weaken equipment shortening your equipments usable life.  The TVSS device absorbs or diverts all the energy present in the Surge protecting your gear. It is an inexpensive insurance policy reducing downtime or risk of production losses.

If your mission critical facility does not already have TVSS device installed we highly recommend it.

Now about that magnetic personality, focus that energy on meeting Mrs. right!!!

Ping

KX2-101: Start a long distance relationship with your server

Another bright sunny day...... Off to work.... but wait... I get the cold blistering slap of the wonderful Chicago weather.... A foot of snow outside the garage.... this is going to be fun... not.....

Enough of my rantings on the fun weather we have been having.... back to work....

Raritan announced their new 1 user 1 port KVM s/w this makes things seem a little more interesting for the tech community here...  This finally brings the features that made us love the bigger cousins of the 101 so appealing viz.. the absolute mouse sync, virtual media support.....

This makes Raritan's product a lot more appealing for the small guy, the remote office as well as the n/w closet.  To quote their press release

The KXII 101 is targeted towards

• Branch locations in a Distributed Enterprise -- KX II-101 units can be used with servers in branch locations, providing secure, remote access to a centralized IT staff and allowing them to resolve server problems remotely. 

• Development and Test Labs -- By connecting a Dominion KX II-101 to each server with its switchless, any-to-any connectivity, a company can provide each and every developer with remote, non-blocked access to any server that they are authorized to access.

• Field Technicians -- For field technicians on the move, the KX II-101 can replace the typical data center “crash cart” of a monitor, keyboard, and mouse.  Instead, the IT team can plug a KX II-101 to the problem server and use their notebook computers for troubleshooting.  In addition, if the technicians need to collaborate with an expert at a different location, they can hook the KX II-101 to the network and have the expert log in to the target server to help fix the problem.

Check out the press release at http://www.raritan.com/Default.aspx?DN=7640,7639,7433,6200,15,9,Documents

For more details on the 101 check out http://www.raritan.com//kvm-switches/kvm-over-ip/kx2-101/

Live long and prosper

Zoltan....

Ahhh... smell the fresh printed doc or not!!

Do you have a laser printer at your desk?  You may want to think twice about how close you are to the printer.

A team of Australian scientists at the Queensland University of Technology, have undertaken research to find out if the laser printers we use everyday at work and home pose many health risks.

Upon reviewing the article the study showed that 30 percent of laser printers tested emit dangerous particles.  They also stated that the high standard deviation of the average emission rates estimated in this study also indicate that the particle emission process and the behavior of the individual printers are complex and that they are still far from being completely understood.  Many factors, such as printer model, printer age, cartridge model, and cartridge age may affect the particle emission process and all of these factors require further study.

Among the results of the study, it was found that black-and-white laser printers did not emit toner dust in measurable amounts, and only one of the tested printers emitted low quantities of ozone.

Solid advice is to make sure you have proper ventilation as with anything that puts out an odor or possible fine particles.  If you go by the logic of the article, paper dust can be hazardous as well.  I think we all can use a little leg stretch and exercise to get up and walk over to your printer.  Since we all at structurenetX work inside a CRAC (computer room air conditioner) data center, our liebert unit is making sure that we have some nice cool recycled air.

This study is only one out of many that has been conducted.  Check out what HP has to say.HP comments

Sirloin

TECH Cocktail 7 Date Announced

For all you Chicago based tech folks this is the event that every tech geek looks forward to once a quarter.  TECH Cocktail was founded by Frank Gruber and Eric Olson.  It was an effort to bring the Chicago tech community together and realize the vast resources and contacts that is available in the Chicago market.  It also doesn't hurt that there are free drinks to get those techies buzz on  TECH Cocktail has been so successfully that is has now branched out to Boston and D.C.  In the Chicago market it has spawned another company to do a social for the suburban market called Silicon Prairie Social www.siliconsocialprairie.com which is produced by Aurthur Zards and Tim Courtney of Xnet.  Both social mixers are a great welcome to the Chicago market.  Go to www.TECHcocktail.com to RSVP now event date is Feburary 21st 2008 6:30-9:00pm.  Ii is always a full house.

Silicon Prairie Social RSVP!!

The guys over at Xnet are putting on another tech based social gathering this week Thursday the 24th. Go to www.siliconprairiesocial.com and get your free ticket. This is an excellent social event for the suburbs. If you have been to the www.techcocktail.com in Chicago this one is as good alternative for the suburbanites. Hope to see you there! The structurenetX crew will be in the crowd mixing it up.

L8R,

Nitro

New Raritan KSX2-Remote server management just got sweeter!

Raritan is releasing an updated Dominion KSX2 KVM/serial switch for remote offices. The Dominion KSXII will be shipping December 31st. Two models will be available. Both models will gain the usage of Raritan's Virtual USB CIM (D2CIM-VUSB) which provides remote users targeting servers with a USB connection the ability for absolute mouse synchronization and virtual media. An additional feature over the previous model is that they both include two RJ45 ports to plug in managed power switches at the remote location. Allowing you to free up the KVM and serial ports for more target devices. This allows for total site management via one IP address via an out of band hardware solution. Along with all these added features they were able to significantly drop the price

Raritan's KVM over IP solution provides bios level access coupled with Virtual media push. With these features a system administrator could rebuild a server in Europe from their desk in Chicago. Raritan is pioneering the way for server management with the ease of a GUI. (graphical user interface) This makes managing a server farm as easy as navigating a website. Information is not currently on their website regarding the two new models. Contact a Raritan reseller today! www.raritan.com

The new flavors are:

Dominion KSX2-144: (4-KVM ports, 4-serial ports, 2-RJ45 ports)- $1999 msrp

Dominion KSX2-188: (8-KVM ports, 8-serial ports, 2-RJ45 ports)- $2499 msrp

Nitro

Liebert and APC release Energy Optimization tools

Liebert recently released a new white paper to suggest energy consumption improvements in the data center.

Specific steps of Energy Logic can be found in a new Emerson Network Power white paper called, "Energy Logic: Reducing Data Center Energy Consumption by Creating Savings That Cascade Across Systems," which can be downloaded by clicking on "white papers" at www.liebert.com.

APC's tool is located at APC Tool

"APC's new Data Center Efficiency Quotient tool offers our customers and others a quick way to benchmark themselves on the energy efficiency of their data center in both a qualitative and quantitative way," said Carl Cottuli, vice president of APC's Data Center Science Center. "In addition to providing an overall efficiency score, the measurement tool offers peer results so companies can compare themselves to other companies in their industry. With a data center efficiency quotient score, users now have a fundamental understanding of where they are today, and what those next steps are toward becoming an Efficient Enterprise."

Nitro