Monday, 06 September 2010 08:37

Fundamental changes are occurring in the data center, and these changes will have dramatic and lasting affects on how we think about designing computer networks and hosting platforms. In previous years, servers simply acted as application hosting devices. Owing to the explosion of multicore CPUs and virtualization, the server needs to look more like a hardened network element with the ability to perform extensive networking and security processing. A missing element in these designs is the server’s I/O. IT architects need to consider how to link virtualized network infrastructure and virtualized server platforms without degrading performance.

Forms of Virtualization through the Years

The term virtual machine (VM) was first used in the 1960s, and since then, the use of varied forms of virtualization as an efficiency mechanism have grown dramatically. A recent study found that in 2010 alone, nearly 60 percent of data centers are expanding their virtualization deployments.

Monday, 06 September 2010 08:37

Arista Networks delivers networking solutions for large data centers. The company’s major product at the heart of its platform is the EOS, or Extensible Operating System, which is a network OS that delivers single-image consistency across hardware platforms. Its modern core architecture lends itself to application extensibility and service upgrades. BBC, Northwestern University, iStreamPlanet, and SDSC (San Diego Supercomputer Center) are just some of Arista’s satisfied clients.

Today, more and more companies are adopting virtualization to manage their IT DNA, but this also means greater management issues. Juggling virtualized servers and their workloads becomes more complex since one virtualized server alone runs 20 times more programs than an unvirtualized server. Keeping watch over all these applications and networks is a dizzying exercise. Mapping and monitoring the virtualized and physical worlds has become less of a challenge thanks to companies like Arista. As Zeus Kerravala, analyst at Yankee Group, states, without this kind of a mapping exercise, you would end up with “a really difficult environment to manage.”

Recently, the company announced an enhancement to the EOS that is going to make a virtual environment more visible and also give it greater provisioning and configuration capacities.

Monday, 06 September 2010 08:37

Whether it is through public outcries or through software monitoring, pressure on data centers, organizations, and other entities to reduce their carbon emissions is increasing. Perhaps one of the most formidable voices in this anti-carbon movement is that of Greenpeace and several environmental watchdogs.

In April this year, Greenpeace released its yearly Cool IT Leaderboard, which measures what actions companies are taking to reduce their impact on the environment. Cisco was the leader of the pack this year with its plans to use smart-grid technologies and to develop energy-management technologies. This year’s list saw Google falling in the ratings.

Facebook has received much flak from Greenpeace. In a public face-off, Greenpeace castigated the social networking site for being a huge consumer of power in its data centers. Ironically, Greenpeace has used Facebook to mount its campaign called “help get facebook.com off coal.”

Monday, 06 September 2010 08:37

With the growing trend toward more sustainable and often LEED-certified facility design, network system designers are seeking ways to make these facilities greener and more energy efficient. The quest for environmental friendliness should also apply to the communications network’s infrastructure design.

In data center (DC) planning, there are numerous ways to optimize space, reduce carbon emissions, and improve operations and maintenance. Specifying Energy Star servers and high-efficiency power distribution units (PDUs), for example, is a sensible choice for reducing the data center’s environmental impact.

Often overlooked, however, is the physical layer—the signal transmission infrastructure that supports the DC’s equipment and communication capabilities. Without the right physical-layer components to provide optimal performance, density, scalability, and manageability, a facility may not be able to take full advantage of today’s energy-efficient equipment options.