WDM for New Gigabit Speed Services

From WWPI.com - Extracted notes on Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Today’s new multimedia applications are putting a tremendous amount of pressure on enterprise networks to increase band­width. As communication moves from text-based email mes­sages to bandwidth-intensive streaming audio/video, ever-increasing volumes of data are flowing across organizations’ net­works. Ethernet is the communications protocol of choice for this data flow across Local Area Networks (LANs). As the amount of data moving across LANs increased, the initial 10Base-T Ethernet protocol (10Mbps) gave way at the back­bone to 100Base-T or Fast Ethernet (100Mbps). Now, 100Base-T is giving up its place at the backbone to Gigabit Ethernet, which has the capacity to move data at rates up to one Gigabit per second.

Where Fibre Channel Fits In

As the amount of data on enterprise networks proliferates, data warehousing and storage is becoming an increasingly important element of a company’s information technology strategy. High-speed Storage Area Networks (SANs) allow different kinds of storage devices (such as tape libraries and disk arrays) to be shared by all users via network servers. SANs, coupled with the Fibre Channel protocol used for communication in such net­works, promise significant performance (up to 10 Gbps) and administrative benefits over traditional LAN-based storage.

Beyond the LAN

Business geographic expansion, remote storage and disaster recovery needs require the ability to port LAN and storage pro­tocols across a metro network, with a minimum of protocol con­version and network overhead. In many cities, the increasing cost and scarcity of real estate has caused more and more busi­nesses to relocate workgroups and computing resources (e.g., data centers) off-campus. Many companies must travel 30 miles or more from headquarters to find suitable off-campus sites or locate backup sites "across the river" on a separate power or communications grid. High-speed access services need to accommodate a mix of Ethernet, IP, ATM and Fibre Channel— transparently and regardless of distance—from one side of a large metro footprint to the other. These networks demand guaranteed throughput at native wire speeds, highly responsive service restoration, minimal latency of data delivery, and real-time management of the network’s storage resources—without disruption to LAN performance.

Wavelength Division Multiplexing – Native Transportation of LAN/SAN Protocols

The suite of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) products offered today enables service carriers to offer new classes of service (such as Gigabit Ethernet and Storage Area Networks) in a transparent and native fashion without the inefficiencies and expenses of protocol conversion. A classic example of this type of network is to use a modular optical access platform consisting of a central concentrator for service provider central offices (COs) or Points of Presence (POPs); a multi-port access multiplexer for buildings serving multiple tenants or services; and an edge interface device for individual cus­tomer premises. The system functions as an optical modem, providing an "extension cord" which allows connection of business premises to carrier infrastructures at full LAN speed.

The ability to provide LAN-speed access to metro networks eliminates the need for bridging and routing functions in the Customer Premise Equipment (CPE). Carriers can use a hub­-and-spoke architecture to bring all customer traffic into the CO or POP, and route it from that point. By aggregating traffic in this fashion, carriers can leverage investments in routing equip­ment and utilize the latest developments for improved opera­tional economy. Ancillary equipment, such as the new terabit routing switches, can be most efficiently used in these new net work configurations.

Multiple Configurations

WDM networks provide carriers with multiple configura­tion options such as point-to-point, cascaded multidrop (through the use of an add-drop module), access ring and hub-and-spoke architectures. Most WDM systems also support multiprotocol, remote provisioning. If a carrier wants to upgrade a particular applica­tion, for example from SONET OC3 to Gigabit Ethernet, the provisioning can be done remotely via software.The universal­ity of WDM equipment allows carriers to upgrade or cap­ture new services immediately without expensive truck rolls or the investment in new equipment

Benefits of WDM Networks

• Investment Protection: By supporting and co-existing with existing SONET equip­ment and protocols, WDM networks protect a carrier’s current infrastructure investment while creating new revenue-generating opportunities. Furthermore, additional capacity is built in to the each WDM platform. By increasing the number of wavelengths (via channel modules), additional serv­ices can be procured simply, quickly and incrementally as cus­tomer demand increases.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Most WDM networks offer the ability to scale as the need for bandwidth increases. For example using a single inter­face card that can support services for a number of standard protocols, including Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel and ATM at OC-3/12/48 rates. WDM platforms can also provide an inter­face card to integrate wire-speed Ethernet/Fast Ethernet service with multiple T1/E1 channels, enabling service providers to offer bundled voice and data service over an optical infrastructure.

Cisco looks at VMware

Per Reuters UK:

Cisco System Inc's pursuit of virtualization software maker VMware Inc could be more serious than many on Wall Street believed, as the network equipment maker searches for new sources of growth.

Cisco has long coveted VMware, whose software helps computer servers run more efficiently and frees companies from having to maintain huge data centers. It went so far as to hold informal talks last summer to buy VMware's parent EMC Corp according to a person familiar with the matter.

The companies did not move into formal negotiations, and tight credit markets make financing the purchase of a $25 billion company difficult these days. But things could change quickly if EMC decides to put VMware on the market.

"This is a logical deal to do," said a West Coast technology banker. "The question is, is it strategically compelling enough in this environment?"

Spokesmen for Cisco and EMC declined comment.

Virtualization is considered a hot technology that is changing the way companies store and manage their data. For Cisco, VMware could bring in a new source of revenue as the maker of switches, routers and other equipment -- the plumbing that manages much of Internet traffic -- faces maturing markets across its products and services.

VMware has a market value of $10 billion, a far easier sum for Cisco shareholders to swallow than a bid for the whole of EMC, the world's largest maker of corporate data storage gear. Cisco already owns 1.7 percent of VMware's common stock.

EMC previously said it had no plans to sell or spin off its 84 percent stake in VMware, but executives are expected to give an update on their strategy at a Mar 10 investor meeting.

Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers has said he plans to be acquisitive through the economic downturn. The company has about $29 billion of cash and securities, and on Monday launched a surprisingly large $4 billion debt sale.

Analysts speculated that Cisco could be building a war chest for a large acquisition such as EMC, but a person familiar with the network gear maker's thinking said Cisco was just being "opportunistic" in tapping capital markets.

"They're taking advantage of low interest rates, and figuring they might as well get the money while it's there," this person said, adding that it was unlikely the debt issue is tied directly to any plan for EMC. The source was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Rumors that Cisco could be interested in buying EMC to get its hands on VMware pushed EMC shares up 6 percent to $14.92 on July 30. The stock has since fallen amid concerns about global technology spending. It closed at $11.92 on Tuesday.

It is unclear whether EMC and Cisco discussed a price or terms during their conversations last summer, the person familiar with the matter said.

Time & Attendance System - Payroll Panic Resolved

In Closing…

New technologies continually improve the flow of our businesses, and companies should certainly take advantage when the justification is there. Sometimes it only takes 10 questions to make the difference between a time-consuming and costly disaster - and an investment that will pay for itself many times over.

Finally, “Payday Panic” will become a distant memory for your payroll department, relived only in story-swapping sessions in the break room.

NetApp Quietly Cuts 500-Plus Jobs

According to Barron's:

NetApp (NTAP) has “quietly” reduced its global workforce by more than 500 people, according to a research note today by Broadpoint.Amtech analyst Brian Marshall.

Marshall reports that he has confirmed that NetApp has cut its staff by about 6% from a base of 8.380 jobs in October 2008. Marshall contends that this is “a material step by management,” which indicates that “the company is not only pragmatic about the current challenging economy but also serious about generating operating leverage going forward.” Marshall estimates that the job cuts will save the data storage systems company $100 million to $125 million a year, boosting pro forma EPS by 25-30 cents a share.

Marshall maintains his Buy rating and $19 price target on the stock.

NetApp today is down $1.44, or 8.8%, to $14.86.

Time & Attendance System - Payroll Process

10. What changes might we make to the payroll process in the next 5-10 years?

It’s not always possible to know what the future holds. At the same time, try to have a good idea of what’s possible.

What if the payroll process is moved in-house? Or, will the organization need to negotiate with your payroll provider for lower rates? Be sure the systems you review will integrate with a variety of payroll providers and software solutions.

What level of growth is predicted? Will you need more employee licenses to accommodate this, and if so, what will this cost?

Are future upgrades included, or will these be available at an additional cost? Will there even be upgrades released?

The implementation and training process, if it is done right, is thorough and time-intensive. Don’t get tied into a system you will want to leave in three years!

News - VMware sets sights on storage expansion for 2009

From SearchStorage: By Beth Pariseau, Senior News Writer

"....VMWare Inc. demonstrated several products due out next year that will impact storage.

The storage products include storage resource management within Virtual Center (now named vCenter), thin provisioning for virtual machine file system (VMFS) volumes, hot expansion of virtual disks, iSCSI performance enhancements, extensible multipathing support, enhancements to Storage VMotion and DataRecovery, a new backup application.

These products are part of VMware's initiative to create the Virtual Datacenter OS (VDC-OS). VDC-OS enables VMware's hypervisor to gather and manage data center resources while taking advantage of underlying infrastructure tools from other vendors. VMware CEO Paul Maritz said storage infrastructure providers would use vStorage services to signal to the VDC-OS what capacity their devices have "so we can take advantage of that capacity."

More on storage management
IBM guts the virtual desktop data hog on any storage system

Healthcare firm solves VMware woes with SRM tool from Akorri

Tek-Tools adds path reporting on VMware and VTL

Symantec, Citrix take on VMware in storage management

VStorage will provide storage resource monitoring through vCenter, a VMware-developed tool that will report on storage allocation, utilization, snapshot space use and multipathing status. VCenter also shows which disks, LUNs, SCSI volumes, SCSI adapters or NAS (NFS) mounts the virtual machine is attached to.

VStorage monitoring will also generate usage reports, show storage resources connected to virtual machines in topology maps and allow customers to group datastores in folders and apply policies against them. Finally, the software will provide alerts and alarms to VMware administrators about storage capacity, including capacity on thin-provisioned volumes.

Thin provisioning for expanding volumes

VMware is also brushing up its support of thin provisioning. Today, if a LUN is dynamically expanded by a virtual SAN, the VMFS volume presented to the virtual machine can't be expanded with it, though 2 TB "extents" can be tacked on to the end of the VMFS volume. A new feature called VMFS Volume Grow will allow the original VMFS volume to expand and cover the new capacity of the array's LUN without appending a new extent. VMware plans a similar update called Hot VMDK Expand for the individual VMDK that each server sees as internal disk.

VMware officials also demonstrated a new feature called Fault Tolerance, which uses synchronous replication for high availability to eliminate the need for reboot during failover. Updates for Storage VMotion include the ability to migrate storage volumes from thick- to thin-provisioned devices, migrate from Raw Device Mapping (RDM) volumes to VMDK, migrate from RDM to RDM, change block tracking for live migrations and management integration into Virtual Center.

Multipathing, jumbo frames and fast paths

VMware's plans for 2009 also include extensible multipathing support through a new plugin that will take advantage of storage vendors' multipathing approaches, such as EMC's PowerPath and Symantec's Veritas Dynamic Multipathing. VMware also revamped its iSCSI software initiator to take advantage of jumbo frames and other code optimizations to boost performance. Next year, a similarly optimized guest SCSI driver will also be available in order to create a "fast path" between virtual machines and disk. Today, guest machines use the same SCSI drivers that they use in the physical world, and they're not necessarily optimized for traversing the hypervisor.

VMware senior product marketing Manager Jon Bock said VMware isn't looking to compete with storage vendors with these updates; VMware is targeting shops without advanced storage systems or dedicated storage teams. "How users deploy these features and what they'll choose to deploy, depends on their internal IT organization," Bock said. VMware integrates with its partners wherever possible, such as making calls back to the array for the "heavy lifting" with Storage VMotion, he added.

DataRecovery challenges Microsoft DPM

VMware is moving further into backup with its new DataRecovery application. VMware already offers snapshots of system state information, but leaves application and user data backup to third-party vendors. DataRecovery, based on VMware Consolidated Backup, will allow snapshots of both system information and data, and will also include data deduplication – a key technology of many backup vendors.

But there are limitations to DataRecovery that will relegate it to the low end of the market and shops without storage expertise, Bock said. DataRecovery only supports backup to disk, and requires a third-party tool to transfer those backups to tape if the user desires. The backups will be local only and won't feature the kind of application-specific integration backup vendors offer with applications like Oracle, SQL and Exchange.

But, DataRecovery does allow granular recovery of individual files within virtual machine images, a feature backup vendors have been rolling out over the last year. Bock suggested that DataRecovery will be a good fit for remote and branch offices, also a hot backup market today.

VMware is intensifying competition with Microsoft, which has entered the server virtualization market with its Hyper-V product. DataRecovery will compete with Microsoft's Data Protection Manager (DPM) low-end snapshot utility. "This isn't meant to replace something like [Symantec] NetBackup," Bock said. "Most users are using more than one tool for virtualization backup already."

"It's a necessary step [for VMware] to compete with Microsoft," said Enterprise Strategy Group analyst Lauren Whitehouse. "It'll impact some [backup vendors] more than others – some of the smaller companies may feel that DataRecovery validates what they're already doing in the market."

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 vs. VMWare - Opinion

Chris Pirillo takes on Microsoft's Virtual PC -

Indeed, I have quite a modest proposal:

Microsoft needs to license a stripped-down, slightly-modified version of VMWare 6.0 running Windows XP N - making this available for free through Windows Update for all activated users of Windows Vista. Yes, VMWare 6.0 is still in beta - but you can’t sit there and honestly tell me that beta software is any better or any worse than the bugs we’re all discovering in Windows Vista.

So, why recommend VMWare’s software over Microsoft’s own Virtual PC? That answer is exceedingly simple: VMWare is an amazingly robust virtualization tool - and it’s the only one that supports USB 2.0 device passthroughs. Virtual USB device support *ALONE* is makes it possible to run your XP-happy hardware on Windows Vista. Virtual PC is an inferior product by comparison - no arguments, my friends.

VMware” title=”http://www.vmware.com/products/beta/ws/\”>VMware” target=”_blank”>www.vmware.com/products/beta/ws/”>VMware Workstation 6.0 beta build 39849 is free for anybody to download, install, and use. I didn’t believe it would be possible - but my scanner actually works perfectly in Windows Vista… through a hardware-accelerated XP virtual machine. My FAX driver works wonderfully… through VMWare running Windows XP on top of Vista.

Apple gave its users “Classic mode” in OS X to give them some amount of backwards compatibility - and Microsoft did no such thing. In Vista (and earlier versions of Windows), you can right-click an executable and run it in “compatibility mode,” but this feature is (a) not foolproof, and (b) buried so that the average user will never find it. It’s the latter decision which brings my blood to a boil.

Microsoft: it’s not too late to save your users from further frustration. The only lucid proposal is the near-immediate deployment of a limited edition VMWare virtual machine with “N” pre-installed and ready to go. And don’t tell the world that you’re working on a new version

of Virtual PC. Fact of the matter is: I got it working today, and I really believe that you can make it equally as simple for novices to do, too.

Time & Attendance System - Budget, Leasing

9. How do we want to budget for this?

How does your organization typically pay for these types of investments? You will find a number of options available, including leasing, renting, an upfront purchase, or some combination of these.

It may be helpful to think of purchasing a house. An upfront purchase is almost always the least expensive option. However, that’s not always feasible, and often the buyer will apply for a mortgage so they can pay monthly payments instead. The buyer can put down a percentage of the cost as a down payment, and as a result, have lower monthly payments on the loan.

Finally, an individual could elect to rent a house or apartment for a number of reasons. This option is sometimes available for timekeeping systems, and as with houses, the rental payment is often the same or greater than a mortgage payment would be, and requires a higher down payment. The advantage is in the ability to leave the system if you determine for some reason that timesheet automation does not work for the organization.