Hard-Core Hardware: Cisco Unified Computing System and HP BladeSystem currently lead in the all-in-one box market, but they may soon face stiff competition from upstart Liquid Computing.
Like a tenant who refuses to be evicted from an area earmarked for redevelopment, tape is alive and kicking. When it comes to long-term backup retention and archiving, it is holding its own against dedupe — especially among large enterprises.
Hard-Core Hardware: The age of solar power is fast arriving, and it may be keeping the lights on in a data center near you. The former downsides, chiefly cost constraints, no longer apply.
Hard-Core Hardware: Disk fragmentation is a significant problem for many data centers. Virtualization only makes it worse. Find out what steps you can take to mitigate it.
Server Snapshot: Penguin Computing has always, as its name implies, focused on developing best practices for Linux-based systems, software and services, particularly in the HPC space.
Too hot makes for better reliability than too cold, brand new disks should be kept away from disks already in production and three other tips that may surprise you.
Server Snapshot: Appro has always been about HPC. But HPC is not what it used to be, and Appro has changed to meet the needs of more mainstream enterprises with its revamped product lines built around a Scalable Unit architecture.
Hard-Core Hardware: Fragmentation may not cut it as a big screen villain, but it remains a threat and handicap to optimal server performance. In this era of massive hard drives and virtualization, minimizing fragmentation is more critical than ever.
Server Snapshot: Stratus' fault-tolerant servers are designed to fill a clearly defined niche. Its positioning as the "availability company" has set it apart from the OEM Rat Pack and resulted in steady growth.
Server Snapshot: Verari continues to feature x86 high-density blade configurations, but its offerings now include storage blades and a data-center-in-a-box for IT shops on the move.
Building a data center from scratch doesn't just mean getting the latest in gear. It also brings with it the latest power, cooling and data center design. Here's what one company did.
Hard-Core Hardware: It isn't often a data center gets to install the latest in servers, blades, storage and networking gear from Day One. Yet the Emerson data center in St. Louis, Missouri had just that opportunity.
Server Snapshot: In the past year, Lenovo launched its second generation of ThinkServers, equipped with more memory and storage capacity, the latest Intel processors, and virtualization capabilities. Yet the company remains in the "other" category in the various server measurement surveys.
Server Snapshot: IBM's innovation isn't limited to its POWER-based servers. A host of new System x and BladeCenter offerings are poised to bring Big Blue to the top volume spot.
With an HD display and an HDMI port, HP's $400 netbook is all about the video -- at least until we try it and find that an 11.6- rather than the usual 10.1-inch screen is irresistible for everyday productivity, too.
Tired of weak and wimpy WiFi? This clip-on replacement for your laptop's 802.11b/g adapter promises up to triple the range, plus finding wireless networks you couldn't access before. Is it the best $59 a road warrior ever spent?
IT hardware doesn't get much greener than this -- Lenovo's deluxe LCD monitor draws fewer watts (21) than its screen size in inches (22), and is smart enough to turn its power down when you're away from your desk.
Fujitsu's newest convertible not only flips from laptop PC to tablet mode, but the tablet accepts both pen input and freehand multitouch gestures for everything from jotting notes to zooming and rotating photos. Is this 4.5-pounder the best tablet to date?
Seeking secure storage? This portable hard drive combines hardware encryption with hardware protection -- a built-in numeric keypad and PIN that stop unauthorized data access dead.
Energy savings -- with an on-screen cost meter to show exactly how much savings -- are just part of the appeal of NEC's latest LED-backlit 22-inch monitor. We put the stylish desktop display to the test.
Acer's new business notebook is not too big, not too small (14.1 inches), not too heavy (just 4.4 pounds), and not too short on battery life (six hours plus). It's a machine not to miss.
Remember when the phrase "desktop replacement" was a fib? It's not any more, as Toshiba fits dual-core power and a stunning 17.3-inch screen into a surprisingly portable seven-pound package.