Data centre
Deciding where and how to build and operate a datacentre is one of the most important decisions your organisation will make. This section covers how to build a solid datacentre infrastructure, including selecting the right location to build your new facility, best practices for designing a new datacentre, and cooling and air flow techniques. Learn about green IT, data management systems, servers and operating systems.
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News
26 Apr 2024
Microsoft sees datacentre investments key to AI leadership
Microsoft is reportedly spending between $50 to $100m to build out AI infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
26 Apr 2024
Alphabet earnings show drive to boost Google Cloud and AI adoption
The parent company of Google has increased artificial intelligence R&D spending and raised cloud sales commissions to boost adoption of Google Cloud Continue Reading
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News
18 Apr 2013
IT rationalisation must be combined with layoffs for long-term savings
Long-term IT cost reduction requires more than just server consolidation and cuts to software licences, says Gartner Continue Reading
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News
09 Apr 2013
CIO interview: Mary Hensher, IT director, Cancer Research UK
Charity Cancer Research has felt the impact of recession on fundraising and the need to innovate through technology is more important than ever Continue Reading
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Podcast
08 Apr 2013
Big data storage: Defining big data and the type of storage it needs
Big data storage: What is big data, what compute/storage system configurations are used for big data analytics, and what type of storage infrastructure does it require? Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Apr 2013
100Gbps Ethernet – is it time to move?
Do you need 100Gbps Ethernet in your datacentre, or is the technology just going through a hype cycle? Computer Weekly investigates. Continue Reading
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Opinion
25 Mar 2013
Securing the hypervisor: expert tips
There are many potential security issues with the various components of a virtualised infrastructure, and nowhere is this more of a concern than with the hypervisor platforms that host virtual systems and application instances Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2013
FM, IT and Data Centres
Are Facilities and IT data centre managers implacable enemies, or is it a case of different work priorities, asks analyst Clive Longbottom. Continue Reading
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News
18 Mar 2013
CW Buyer's Guide: Green Computing
Computer Weekly looks at technologies that can help your datacentre become cost and energy efficient in this 11 page Buyer's Guide. Continue Reading
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News
17 Mar 2013
Human error most likely cause of datacentre downtime, finds study
Human error such as inadvertently adjusting the temperature or pulling power cords from an asset are biggest causes of datacentre downtime Continue Reading
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News
06 Mar 2013
Iceland prepares to lure Silicon Valley IT giants to build datacentres
Despite having the facilities to build a green datacentre, big firms such as Apple, Facebook and Google have not opted for a base in Iceland Continue Reading
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News
01 Mar 2013
Verne Global expands green datacentre footprint in Iceland
Verne Global has selected Colt's UK-made modular datacentres to expand its Icelandic facility Continue Reading
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News
26 Feb 2013
DDN launches hScaler Hadoop appliance for enterprises
HPC and clustered NAS supplier Data Direct Networks aims at enterprise customers with Hadoop appliance comprising its SFA12K storage and commodity compute components Continue Reading
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News
22 Feb 2013
Tesco to host private cloud infrastructure within its internal datacentres
Tesco will run a private cloud infrastructure from its internal datacentre to host its website and retail related apps Continue Reading
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News
20 Feb 2013
British businesses are not making most of the cloud, study shows
British businesses have yet to make the most of cloud computing services because many are hesitant to adopt it Continue Reading
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News
20 Feb 2013
Action for Children takes fundraising to the cloud with Rackspace
Charity Action for Children has overcome its website traffic issues and has saved costs by using Rackspace cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Feb 2013
Top technologies that can make your datacentre green
Energy-efficient technologies that can reduce running costs in the datacentre and across the business Continue Reading
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News
15 Feb 2013
IT budgets to grow in 2013 as economy bumps along
UK IT departments are planning to spend more on IT in 2013 despite the downturn, a worldwide survey of IT managers has revealed Continue Reading
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Photo Story
08 Feb 2013
BYOD with VMware
New Windows 8 tablets and laptops are great...but not exactly corporate. So why not run a Windows 7 virtual machine? Continue Reading
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News
08 Feb 2013
2e2 datacentre administrators hold customers' data to £1m ransom
Administrators of insolvent datacentre services provider 2e2 have asked customers for £1m in funding if they want uninterrupted services Continue Reading
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News
05 Feb 2013
Totaljobs hires public cloud services for agility, better performance
Totaljobs Group, the recruiter that runs Totaljobs.com, adopts AWS public cloud to improve IT performance and have an agile infrastructure Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Feb 2013
How to effectively manage datacentre temperature and humidity
A datacentre is a complex facility with different cooling equipment and power systems. Here's how to monitor its temperature and humidity Continue Reading
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News
31 Jan 2013
Capacity management most underestimated cloud problem
Capacity management is the most underestimated problem of cloud computing, says Morgan Stanley strategy director Evangelos Kotsovinos Continue Reading
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News
31 Jan 2013
Case study: Menzies Aviation upgrades in-house datacentre
Menzies Aviation has updated its three internal datacentres with new servers, storage and cooling products rather than invest in cloud computing Continue Reading
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News
29 Jan 2013
Windsor and Maidenhead council migrates services to cloud
Windsor and Maidenhead borough council will migrate critical services such as childcare, benefits and transport services to the cloud by 2014 Continue Reading
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News
28 Jan 2013
Enterprises bringing data back in-house for more flexibility, shows study
European enterprises are improving their internal datacentres and storing data in-house rather than on the external cloud Continue Reading
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News
28 Jan 2013
Travel service provider Concur builds datacentres in Europe to support growth
Integrated travel and expenses service provider, Concur Technologies, has built colocation datacentres to cater to European customers Continue Reading
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News
22 Jan 2013
National Rail Enquiries puts web services on the public cloud
National Rail Enquiries is migrating applications that power its home page, online journey planner service and real-time service updates on to AWS cloud Continue Reading
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News
21 Jan 2013
Interview: Alan Clark, chairman, OpenStack Foundation
Alan Clark, chairman of the board of the OpenStack Foundation, talks to Computer Weekly about the future of cloud and the role of open source Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Jan 2013
GE uses big data to power machine services business
GE, one of the UK's largest manufacturers, is using big data analytics with data generated from machine sensors to predict maintenance needs Continue Reading
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News
11 Jan 2013
Whiptail tops the class with flash array plus SAN two-tier strategy
School slashes virtual desktop login times with two-tier Whiptail flash array plus budget Huawei SAN Continue Reading
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Feature
17 Dec 2012
Amazon: Gold standard of the cloud?
Amazon Web Services is the benchmark for cloud in the enterprise but can it handle the challenge of federated cloud services? Continue Reading
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E-Zine
13 Dec 2012
Realise the benefits of virtualisation in safety
Many benefits come attached to virtualisation, however with it spreading into a variety of technology areas it is important that IT professionals keep up with the skills and expertise that is required of them to ensure their business remains safe and efficient. CW Europe looks at how European businesses are utilising the technology. This month’s digital magazine brings you the leading stories and expert tips from across Europe. Continue Reading
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News
12 Dec 2012
Free tool that tracks costs of AWS, Azure and Rackspace public clouds launched
Apptio has launched Cloud Express, a free tool that allows enterprises to track the utilisation rate and costs of AWS, Azure and Rackspace public clouds Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
CW Buyer's Guide: Desktop virtualisation
This eight-page buyer's guide looks at desktop virtualisation and identifies some of the options IT directors must consider when planning a virtualisation project. Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
Case Study: Tesco's £65 million data centre strategy to drive online growth
This Computer Weekly case study, packed with photographs and data, gives the inside story of Tesco's £65 million data centre strategy. Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
VMworld Europe Case Study: DER Deutsches Reisebüro
A Germany travel agent gained control of its IT and increased its profits after implementing a desk top virtualisation project. Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
VMWorld Case Study: Catalent Pharma Solutions
A robust virtulisation, back-up and disaster recovery plan, helped Catalent Pharma Solutions survive an earthquake, tsunami and a fire in 2011. Continue Reading
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News
06 Dec 2012
VMworld Europe Case Study: Colt Technology
Managed service provider Colt designed and rolled out a scalable, cloud-hosted desktop virtualisation project that is reaping benefits for local councils. Continue Reading
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News
21 Nov 2012
Firms must measure overall environmental impact of datacentres
IT must move beyond just measuring a datacentre’s power consumption to assessing its overall environmental impact to make it truly sustainable Continue Reading
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Feature
12 Nov 2012
Software-defined datacentres demystified
As datacentre managers increasingly rely on software and automation, what can a software-defined datacentre bring to the enterprise? Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2012
Oracle buys cloud services provider Instantis
Oracle is buying Instantis, a cloud and on-premise project portfolio management company, to boost its cloud portfolio Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2012
VMworld Europe 2012 User Awards The National Trust
For many, a green datacentre and a reduced carbon footprint strategy is a nice-to-have, but it was the driving factor behind a virtualisation project at the National Trust. The project has allowed the charity to reduce its carbon emissions and drastically cut its IT energy consumption. Continue Reading
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News
05 Nov 2012
VMworld Europe 2012 User Awards Tiger Wheel and Tyre
Case Study: Tyre company innovates with back-up and replication in a virtualised IT estate Using virtualisation as a cost-effective alternative to refreshing an ageing physical server environment has helped tyre company Tiger Wheel and Tyre improve its R&D. The project has also enabled the team to future-proof its infrastructure and embrace new trends such as bring your own device (BYOD) to give the business a competitive edge. Continue Reading
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News
29 Oct 2012
Cheshire Constabulary polices network with SolarWinds
Police force in Cheshire uses SolarWinds’ infrastructure monitoring tools to keep its IT out of trouble Continue Reading
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News
24 Oct 2012
CIO interview: Gerry Pennell, CIO, London 2012 Olympic Games
As the job of a lifetime nears its end, London 2012 CIO Gerry Pennell talks exclusively to Computer Weekly about his Olympic experience Continue Reading
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News
22 Oct 2012
RBS spends £80m to link its multiple mainframes better
The Royal Bank of Scotland will dedicate £80m of its massive IT budget to eliminate problems caused by its mainframe infrastructure Continue Reading
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News
18 Oct 2012
Google offers Street View of datacentres
Google offers Street View of its datacentres and a virtual tour of how users' data is stored, with an emphasis on security practices Continue Reading
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News
12 Oct 2012
VMworld Europe 2012: Key highlights and technology takeaways
VMworld Europe 2012 focused on software defined datacentres, cloud automation, mobile virtualisation, heterogeneity and building new IT skills Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2012
VMworld 2012: Shift in cloud use says Lufthansa Systems
Lufthansa Systems chief information officer Jorg Liebe shares his views on cloud computing and a shift in use of public, private and hybrid cloud Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2012
VMworld Europe: Horizon Suite to help IT manage corporate assets on Apple iOS
VMware is launching a suite of products to help IT executives manage workspace apps on consumers’ mobile devices including on Apple iPhones securely Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2012
VMworld Europe 2012 kicks off in Barcelona
VMworld Europe 2012 opens with updates from VMware on the cloud and new management suites Continue Reading
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Photo Story
10 Oct 2012
Best of VMworld Europe User Awards 2012: Winners
The winners of the Best of VMworld Europe User Awards 2012 have been announced. Find all the pics from the awards here and details of the winning projects. Continue Reading
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News
10 Oct 2012
Complex and non-transparent Oracle licensing costing firms millions
Companies virtualising Oracle databases with VMware platforms face millions in penalties over non-compliance Continue Reading
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News
09 Oct 2012
Case study: How to virtualise SAP and migrate from IBM onto x86
At VMworld Europe Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores gave an overview of how it virtualised an SAP environment and migrated from an IBM mainframe to x86 Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Oct 2012
Customer relationship management vs business relationship management
Business relationship management (BRM) and customer relationship management (CRM) are different, yet must work hand-in-hand Continue Reading
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News
03 Oct 2012
Case study: How WorldPay built its IT from scratch after RBS split
Former RBS payment processing division WorldPay will reach a major IT milestone this month on its journey to stand on its own since it was sold in 2010 Continue Reading
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News
01 Oct 2012
Practical Data Migration: PDMv2
Data Migration expert Johny Morris, explains how organisations can use the PDMv2 methodology to overcome common data migration problems. Continue Reading
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News
28 Sep 2012
Google opens €75m energy-efficient datacentre facility in Dublin
Google’s new €75m Dublin datacentre facility that that uses air-cooling for energy efficency is now operational Continue Reading
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News
26 Sep 2012
Need for increased network bandwidth is IT's biggest datacentre pain-point
A majority of IT executives have said that a growing demand for increased network bandwidth is one of the most critical issues facing their datacentres Continue Reading
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Photo Story
24 Sep 2012
The future of computing at IBM Zurich research labs
Chips powered by the sun and cooled by water are just some of the long-term research projects at IBM's Zurich labs Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Sep 2012
Tune Raid performance to get the most from your HDDs
Tune Raid performance at the storage controller to match application I/O demands to optimal hard drive (HDD) performance Continue Reading
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News
21 Sep 2012
Facebook engineer builds heatmap tool for datacentre troubleshooting
A Facebook engineer has built a server-monitoring tool using heatmaps to assess the status of cache systems and fix datacentre problems Continue Reading
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News
18 Sep 2012
Next Generation Datacentres: The Cloud
Analysts Clive Longbottom and Bob Tarzey reveal the latest research on the deployment of cloud in the datacentre. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Sep 2012
How centralised storage and server-based computing help IT face BYOD
Study shows that UK and EU IT pros are still scared of BYOD. But IT can overcome these BYOD fears. Here's how. Continue Reading
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News
15 Aug 2012
Virtualisation, backup and recovery tool helps firm beat data woes
Virtualising IT was only half a battle won for an advertising agency. Selecting an apt data backup and recovery tool to optimise its virtual infrastructure was equally important. Continue Reading
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News
02 Jul 2012
Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V: What features get users' thumbs up
Admins who have downloaded Windows Server 2012 RC give thumbs up to the new version of Hyper-V, inclusion of high-end features in free Hyper-V, and shared nothing live migration. Continue Reading
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Tip
27 Jun 2012
Five things that can make or break your virtual desktop infrastructure
IT pros looking to implement a virtual desktop infrastructure project must have a strategy for storage, application virtualisation and must understand desktop users to succeed. Continue Reading
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News
20 Jun 2012
VMware admins advised to apply patches to ESX, ESXi quickly
IT pros are urged to install security patches that VMware has released to address critical vulnerabilities in virtualisation products such as ESX, ESXi, Fusion and Workstation. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jun 2012
DCIM: what it is and what it does
Data Centre Infrastructure Management holds unquestionable worth, but with the wealth of DCIM tools in the market, IT managers must choose carefully. Continue Reading
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Tip
13 Jun 2012
Gartner’s fabric computing insights
According to Gartner, fabric computing has evolved over the past two years, and is here to stay. Read further for fabric computing implementation insights. Continue Reading
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News
07 Jun 2012
Microsoft launches support for Linux on Windows Azure
Microsoft’s cloud platform Windows Azure now supports Linux-based operating systems and languages such as Python and PHP. It includes IaaS capabilities to build hybrid cloud. Continue Reading
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News
25 May 2012
Is Dell eyeing Quest Software following its Wyse acquisition?
Dell may acquire Quest Software to expand its desktop virtualisation offerings and gain Quest’s customers. Experts wonder if there is too much product overlap for such a deal to make sense. Continue Reading
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Tip
25 May 2012
Data centre design: Using engineered racks, pods and containers
IT pros must adopt a new approach to data centre design and consider using engineered racks, pods and containerised systems for better scalability, capacity and efficiency. Continue Reading
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News
23 May 2012
Microsoft volume licensing costs to increase up to 33.5%
Microsoft will increase its volume licensing prices in the UK between 7.5% and 33.5% starting July 1 to maintain price consistency owing to the sustained currency difference in Europe. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 May 2012
Server SSD guide to form factors and implementations
Server SSD offers immense gains in IOPS and throughput. We look at how it works, form factors available and its advantages and pitfalls, and we survey key vendors in the market. Continue Reading
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Photo Story
10 May 2012
10 Indian server virtualization implementations you can learn from
Successful server virtualization implementation is more than just an install. Here’s a collection of Indian case studies that highlight best practices. Continue Reading
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News
12 Apr 2012
Server virtualization architecture case study: Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturing
Auto player Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturing Limited (MVML) reveals how server virtualization architecture helps it battle decentralization and save money. Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2012
Free tool measures how 'green' your data centre is: News roundup
A free tool to measure data centre energy efficiency; Citrix’s open cloud strategy with its CloudStack platform and Dell’s acquisition of Wyse are this week’s news highlights. Continue Reading
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Tip
22 Mar 2012
Troubleshooting bogus vCenter icons in VMware vSphere 5
The new vCenter icons that VMware introduced in vSphere 5 are buggy and issue false alarms. Here are some workarounds until the vendor issues a fix. Continue Reading
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News
14 Mar 2012
VKernel vOPS customers gain Quest integration sooner than anticipated
VKernel vOPS now includes Quest vFoglight and vOptimizer, just months after the merger. Is the knee-jerk integration right for tomorrow’s cloud infrastructures? Continue Reading
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News
23 Feb 2012
KPIT leverages VDI solution’s success
In order to reduce refresh cycle costs of 1200 desktops, KPIT Cummins opted for a VDI solution. We take a look at KPIT’s implementation journey. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Feb 2012
Demystifying VMware Site Recovery Manager and its role in DR
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) simplifies disaster recovery, but managing it is tricky if users don’t know how it handles VMware snapshots and how it affects backup software. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
13 Feb 2012
8 ways to make your software applications more energy efficient
Software Improvement Group and Knowledge Network Green Software have identified ways to deliver quick wins towards energy efficient software applications Continue Reading
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Tip
02 Feb 2012
How IT can convince stakeholders of the value of technology projects
IT professionals must take data centre measures to convince stakeholders of the business value of technology projects. This will help IT emerge as a valuable business resource. Continue Reading
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News
05 Jan 2012
Surrey County Council's data centre efficiency project: Case study
The council will replace its existing primary IT facility this spring with a new energy efficient data centre facility which will help it save around £160,000 every year. Continue Reading
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News
19 Dec 2011
Virtualisation technologies: hits and misses of 2011
Amid a slew of virtualisation products and management suites that emerged in 2011, some products such as Spring platform impressed users, while others such as VMware MVP didn’t. Continue Reading
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News
07 Dec 2011
VMware vSphere 5 uptake slow among users
VMware vSphere 5 boasts of cloud-based features and monster VMs, but its uptake is lagging because of user satisfaction with vSphere 4. Continue Reading
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News
25 Nov 2011
HDFC Bank’s server consolidation move for branch-level competitive edge
Branch-level banking gets a boost with server consolidation at HDFC Bank, which wins for it the Best of vForum 2011 award for Outstanding Business Value. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Nov 2011
3 essential data center network cabling considerations
Data center network cabling requires meticulous planning and design. Use these tips to determine the best data center network cabling setup. Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Nov 2011
How to manage transient data and replication
Transient data can be tricky to manage, and best practice tips outlined by vendors may have limitations. But there is an easier way out. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Nov 2011
How Capex vs. Opex affects data centre outsourcing decisions
Capex vs.Opex comparison reveals that although cloud services help avoid capital expenses on building own data centres, its Opex model can turn costly if IT pros aren’t cautious. Continue Reading
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News
27 Oct 2011
VMware-based server consolidation yields long-term savings
Avis achieved long-term cost savings and efficiencies with a VMware-based server consolidation. Its transformation won the Best Virtualisation and Server Consolidation Project award at VMworld Europe. Continue Reading
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News
21 Oct 2011
Winner's photo: iPod Shuffle
A member of the audience wins an iPod Shuffle for attending the Best of VMworld User Awards Continue Reading
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Tip
14 Oct 2011
CRAC unit sizing: Dos and don’ts
A CRAC unit can consume a lot of power, but using it correctly can save costs and avoid fatalities. Read more about correctly sizing CRAC units in this tip. Continue Reading
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News
13 Oct 2011
Best of VMworld Europe 2010 winner adopts Cisco UCS
An Italian bank expands its virtual infrastructure to meet growing needs after winning the “Best virtualisation and server consolidation project” award at VMworld Europe 2010. Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2011
Moving from in-house IT to third-party hosting services: Case study
A supplier of civil engineering and building materials moved its IT infrastructure to a third-party data centre to resolve its in-house IT problems, including cooling and flooding issues. Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Oct 2011
Bombay Stock Exchange’s server consolidation journey
BSE recently consolidated its servers and began its cloud computing journey. Find out more about BSE’s server consolidation initiative in this case study. Continue Reading
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Tip
28 Sep 2011
8 power usage effectiveness (PUE) best practices for your data center
Power usage effectiveness (PUE) is a measure of power efficiency in data center IT equipment. Use these best practices to learn how to tweak PUE levels. Continue Reading
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Tip
09 Sep 2011
Free-air cooling – using natural cooling in the data centre
If your energy bills are soaring and you want a cost-effective means of maintaining your data centre’s temperature, consider natural cooling or free-air cooling. Continue Reading
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News
18 Aug 2011
Citrix buys RingCube for desktop personalisation: News in brief
Citrix has acquired RingCube, a desktop personalisation software provider, for an undisclosed sum. Citrix will add RingCube’s capabilities to its XenDesktop platform. Continue Reading
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Tip
18 Aug 2011
Application migration to the cloud: Selecting the right apps
Migrating applications to the cloud depends on many parameters. This tip helps you prioritize and carry out application migration correctly and effectively. Continue Reading