Hardware Is Dead, Long Live Hardware

There is a growing movement to abstract hardware completely away, as we have discussed previously. Docker with SocketPlane and other application virtualization technologies are abstracting hardware away from the developer. Or are they? The hardware is not an issue, that is, until it becomes one. Virtualization may require specific versions of hardware, but these are …

Docker Buys SocketPlane As Demand for Network Portability Increases

Docker has announced the acquisition of SocketPlane, a relatively new startup focused on driving DevOps-defined networking by enabling distributed security, application services, and orchestration for Docker and Linux containers. This move is a talent acquisition play. SocketPlane’s Madhu Venugopal, Brent Salisbury, and Dave Tucker are three of the top twenty committers of the OpenDaylight project. An …

Dell KACE K1000 Takes the Lead on Chromebook Management

Dell has announced an upgrade to its KACE K1000 Systems Management Appliance, making it the first systems management vendor to address the rapidly growing Chromebook market. The KACE K1000 system, which is available as a physical or virtual appliance and as a cloud-hosted service, provides system management services for servers, PCs, and now Chromebooks. It …

Six Features You Absolutely Need on Your Storage in 2015, Part 2

In part one of this article, I lamented the state of our enterprise storage arrays and talked about the features we absolutely need on any new arrays bought this year. Why the lament? Because this is 2015, and we’re tired of the 1995 technology we’ve been using. When you send out your RFPs this year, …

Microsoft Changes Windows Licensing

…or “Yaw’ll run and git your shotguns, ’cause those pigs are a-flyin!” Mark November 3, 2014, in your calendar as a red-letter day and living proof that leopards can change their spots. On this day, Microsoft changed the terms of Windows licensing for its flagship desktop operating system, Windows Enterprise. In an update to the …