The BlackBerry still exists largely because it is enterprise-ready out of the box. Specifically, it integrates with Microsoft apps such as Exchange. That's why I have and will keep using mine 'til April 16, when my Verizon contract expires.
The iPhone caught up pretty fast, and IT has no problem hooking the Apple phone to Exchange. To keep its edge, BlackBerry owner RIM is now tying its phones into Office 365. It sounds pretty cool. Just like the integration with on-premise Exchange, BlackBerrys can sync with Exchange mail, calendar and contacts.
The coolest part is the protection of your data. Because it is in the cloud, it should be secured by your provider. And if you lose your phone, you can remote wipe it clean. Sweet. You can also remotely reset the password.
I won't be locked into Verizon and the BlackBerry after this April. What phone and service would you recommend? Put on your Ann Landers wig and send your best advice to [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 02/07/2012 at 12:47 PM6 comments
Private clouds are not always clearly defined. To me, they are internal to your datacenter and highly virtualized. But just because your servers are highly virtualized, they aren't necessarily a cloud. It is the level of virtualization. When the infrastructure is truly elastic and self-healing, then I reckon it's a cloud. So it starts with good, old servers and our trusty hypervisors. The rest is software magic, such as management and orchestration.
Dell, which already has a massive partnership with VMware and is doing more and more (though less than VMware) with Hyper-V, has a new line of virt- and private cloud-ready boxes. The vStart 200 is so named because it can support up to 200 VMs. On top of the servers themselves, Dell is more than happy to equip you with networking, cables, storage and whatever else you need to support your rack. Dell also has management software that integrates with Microsoft System Center, which Redmond is pitching as a key private cloud enabler.
Dell isn't the only player in the private cloud town; other large OEMs such as HP and IBM have similar bundles.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/31/2012 at 12:47 PM2 comments
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) wants our public clouds to be more private and secure. NIST just released a set of guidelines that can be used to build better clouds or question cloud providers. Here are some highlights:
- Research precisely what cloud providers offer and make sure it matches your security needs before signing any contract.
- Figure out who is accountable for security and privacy and how they will actually be held accountable.
- Before building a cloud, think through issues of privacy and security and build those protections into your plan.
What are your top cloud criteria? Share your thoughts at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/31/2012 at 12:47 PM5 comments
Virtualization Review Editor in Chief Bruce Hoard meets with a lot of vendors. And because the virt and cloud markets overlap so much, Bruce meets a lot of cloud types. With that, Bruce chose five cloud security vendors worth a look.
Dome9 offers a security tool it claims is easily managed because it is so highly centralized. The tool, meant to be as automated as possible, is closed off to administrators unless they explicitly ask for permission. Once the admin is done, access is shut off, resecuring the system.
Sentrigo Hedgehog Enterprise watches your cloud databases and sends out encrypted alerts when there's trouble.
Websense offers security and management as a service, remotely locking down your in-house machines.
Panda Security is a longtime anti-virus. Like Shavlik (which VMware is in the process of buying), Panda now offers a cloud-based virus protection service. The coolest part is how the experiences of the Panda community contributes, almost in real time, to product updates.
Finally, CloudPassage offers firewall-style security that spans your premise and your chunk of a service provider's cloud.
What vendors do you think are cool in the cloud? Give them props at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/24/2012 at 12:47 PM3 comments
Most folks who use cloud storage take a simple approach -- choose a service and use it. Power users never do things the easy way. For their homes and businesses, quite often power users and IT pros (commonly the precisely same thing) use several services, especially when they are free (at least for a limited amount of storage). And sometimes, different services are for different uses.
This can all be confusing. Did I leave that file in Dropbox or SkyDrive? SMEStorage, a service from a company called SMEStorage (if you want to learn the meaning of eponymous, there it is), aggregates these disparate services, providing greater storage without running up the bill, a simpler view and easier file retrieval.
Reviewer Derek Schauland took it for a whirl and saw a role for the tool for businesses and consumers.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/24/2012 at 12:47 PM5 comments
I was at a security hardware vendor Crossbeam the other day and we got to talking about private clouds, which the Crossbeam devices can help secure. As we got to talking, the definition of a private cloud came up. Many use the term without explaining what it means.
After some discussion it seems to me that a private cloud is a datacenter or area within it that is virtualized. What makes that virtual infrastructure cloud-like is the level of virtualization -- it has to be elastic and feel like a utility. This all has to do with live failover, orchestration, elasticity and management.
Eric Beehler, writing for Virtualization Review, walks through the benefits of private clouds and how to achieve them. If you are confused by the concept (which has been ill-defined) but interested in its use, check out Eric's piece here.
What is your take on private clouds -- hype or great hope? Vote at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/17/2012 at 12:47 PM5 comments
I recently reported that employment in the telco space dropped significantly. This struck me as odd since the cloud and mobile apps are all the rage. Shouldn't telcos be hiring faster than a newly formed government agency?
I think I found the answer in a piece by Boris Renski in Virtualization Review. Renski argues that telcos will flop badly and fare poorly in providing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS).
But shouldn't telco do just great, having ownership over which cloud data floats? No, says Renski. He argues that it doesn't matter if you own the network -- the real money is in how that network is used. Look at what new companies like Rackspace have done without that kind of incumbency. And don't forget that Amazon, not AT&T, is offering the insanely popular AWS. Telcos will play a role to be sure, but that will be more picking up the scraps like a remora.
What's your take? Explain yourself at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/17/2012 at 12:47 PM2 comments
You might think that RentTheCloud.com sounds like any other cloud vendor where you rent time on their machines to run your applications or their applications (you know, IaaS vs. SaaS).
But you would be wrong. This Web site, from A-Frame Technology Services, doesn't rent the cloud at all. Instead, it helps you find a proper cloud landlord. The company's service is based on the real estate broker model. They'll find you a cloud provider and if you're happy, you pay them a commission, typically one to two months of the rental fee.
A-Frame isn't just flying blind. The company says it has cloud experts who can give expert advice.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/17/2012 at 12:47 PM4 comments
Jon Toigo has the freedom many of us would kill for. Originally a political scientist, Toigo turned to IT, made a bundle during the dot.com bubble (he apparently cashed in before this puppy burst) and now can pretty much do as he pleased. For Jon, that means speaking out in favor of consumers and often against huge industries. I've talked to Toigo about virtualization, which he cautions can be dangerous if not done with precision, and storage, where major vendors have mightily resisted customer demands for interoperability. And you wonder what took SANs so long to catch on.
Toigo recently talked with Virtualization Review magazine. His latest hot-button topic? The fact that x86 private clouds are inherently fragile given that the failure of one server can take down others.
Mainframes are different. Big iron is built for true resiliency. Apps have long been protected from one another on a mainframe and this partitioning is now extended to VMs, making for a stable private cloud. And there are fewer machines to house and cool and power in the datacenter.
Do you have a new view of big iron? Whether the answer is yes or no, I'd like to hear from you at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/10/2012 at 12:47 PM3 comments
Virtualization Review magazine is not just a magazine, Web site and newsletter. We also have TechMentor, a training event. This summer, from Aug. 20 to 24, we'll be hosting the event at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Wash. That's right, TechMentor has moved to "the mothership" in Redmond for the first time in its 14 years of providing unbiased and immediately usable training to IT professionals. And we need speakers who are articulate and are experts.
Attendees come to TechMentor to acquire practical, pragmatic and immediately applicable knowledge. They come for inspiration, to be shown a vision of a better future through the use of concepts, techniques, patterns and technology that they can apply in their organizations.
Want to be a speaker? The deadline for submissions is Jan. 27, 2012. Submit proposals here. We welcome presentation proposals that include (but are not limited to):
- Applying Windows PowerShell to Everyday Problems
- Automating Windows Deployment, Servers and Desktops
- Managing an Application Delivery Infrastructure: RDS, VDI, App-V, MED-V and Office 365
- Learn the Secrets of How Microsoft Does IT
- MCITP Certification Skills Refresher
- Master Class: Becoming a Hyper-V and VMM Expert
- Real-World Security Tactics for Servers and Wireless Networks
- Finding the Fit for System Center: Tips, Tricks and Tactics for Small and Medium Businesses
For questions regarding submissions contact Danielle Potts, senior event manager, at [email protected] or
(925) 207-0468.
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/10/2012 at 12:47 PM5 comments
I spent six years as news editor for Network World and ran Network Computing magazine as editor in chief. In a field as complex as networking, that means I almost understand it. I applied this semi-knowledge to the intersection of the cloud and the corporate network, exploring how the WAN either enables or disables remote apps.
I ran across sophisticated technical arguments on either side, with some saying that only the least latency-sensitive apps should run on the cloud, and others claiming today's high-speed connections are more than up for nearly any cloud task.
In the end, I relied on the actual experiences of actual users. From them, I learned that the speed of the network really is a grating factor. For some, the cloud is out of the question -- true high-speed either isn't available or costs too much. Others do just fine, but haven't migrated their most taxing apps to a service provider.
The result of all this research is a long piece with real-world stories and actionable advice. Take a look at it here and let me know what you think at [email protected]. Here is what reader Brian had to say about the piece:
"Great article. The thing is, it's all true. Depending on your timeframe, location, budget and purpose, the cloud can be the answer to many problems or the cause of them. If you have the bandwidth, it could be great for DR or a number of less critical services... If you have plenty of service providers, redundant connections and your provider has real capacity, then maybe I would trust a mission-critical app in the cloud. I don't believe it would be cheaper without sacrificing something, though. One area that benefits from cloud services are very small businesses that do not employ IT staff. They operate knowing that they are going to have outages whether their apps are in-house or [in] the cloud. It gives them an alternative to trying to manage their systems themselves. And you know that with in-house systems someone at a small company will try to fix the problem themselves...messing it up more before calling a pro."
Posted by Doug Barney on 01/10/2012 at 12:47 PM2 comments
Virtualization vendor Parallels now wants into the cloud, a natural progression as clouds are largely built on virtualized infrastructure. In fact, the company is already in the cloud and is helping Microsoft Office 365 partners set up and charge for cloud services.
Parallels is strengthening its Redmond ties with a new hire for CTO, Michael Toutonghi. Toutonghi has some serious Microsoft chops, having helped start the .NET effort and heading up the group that built the Windows 95 kernel.
Posted by Doug Barney on 12/13/2011 at 12:47 PM0 comments