CIOs postpone HP IT purchases, as we all know CIOs don't like Risk

WSJ has an article describing how CIOs are postponing HP HW purchases.

H-P's Customers Backing Off

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s recent strategic moves have shaken the confidence of investors. Now customers of the technology giant are also getting nervous.

That applies to Ray Barnard, chief information officer of Fluor Corp., an engineering and construction company that spends around $25 million a year on new hardware and software. Fluor was recently considering buying high-end computers capable of displaying 3D graphics from H-P, as well as doing a pilot project involving tablets with the tech company.

Now, however, "I've put that all on hold" and won't buy from H-P, he said. "It appears that they're lost right now."

HP has created risk in purchasing their equipment by self-inflicting their own damaging situation.

Several H-P customers said they are most concerned about what they see as a lack of a clear direction from the world's largest tech company by revenue, signaled in part by H-P's decision to exit the PC business. H-P is currently the world's biggest maker of PCs by shipments and revenue.

Compare this situation to IBM's Lenovo partnership.

IBM and Lenovo

IBM has engaged in an historic alliance with Lenovo. To bring long-term value for clients, companies need to continually reinvent themselves. IBM's multi-year agreement with Lenovo is broad-based and allows IBM to continue to provide end-to-end solutions to our clients. Lenovo is now the preferred provider of IBM-branded personal computers to our clients, and IBM will continue to provide financing and maintainance services for those PC solutions.

This alliance is consistent with IBM's strategy to be the world leader in providing technology and transformation solutions, for you, our enterprise and our small and medium business clients, in all industries and countries worldwide.

Working with leaders

Lenovo has the leading position in the fastest growing market in the world. Their acquisition of IBM's PC business makes them the third largest PC supplier in the world. In addition, the people of ThinkPad® notebooks and ThinkCentre™ desktops are now part of the Lenovo team -- the award-winning engineers, the manufacturing teams, the sales representatives, the business partners. In short, the people you know. The ones you count on.

This sale moves our PC business from an element in the IBM portfolio to a key element in IBM's network of alliances. It extends IBM's reach and capabilities in areas where you, our IBM clients, are better served through this alliance. Lenovo shares our passion for innovation, quality and service. IBM's strategy is clear. Lenovo's strategy is clear. Together we're a powerful combination for your business and we are committed to your success.

Data Centers, Internet, and Irene what happened to service?

Renesys has a video on the Internet Service areas impact as a result of Irene.

You data center operators probably breathed a sign of relief no data centers were impacted.

Major Data Centers Weather Hurricane Irene

August 29th, 2011 : Rich Miller

Most major data centers appear to have remained online throughout Hurricane Irene, despite leaks and utility outages (Image by likeablerodent via Flickr).

Key East Coast data centers say they weathered Hurricane Irene without any loss of services to customers. In some cases, facilities are operating on generator power after utility outages, while other data centers had to plug minor leaks.

But as the video showed and Renesys discusses in their blog post, there were millions without Internet access during Irene.

Hurricane Irene knocked out power to millions of homes and businesses as it travelled up the US East Coast this weekend. Even as the winds subsided, torrential rains triggered savage flooding throughout Eastern New York state and Vermont, tearing up roads and exposing the telecommunications infrastructure to further risks. The storm's impacts were clearly visible in the Internet's global routing table, as tens of thousands of networks were cut off from the rest of the world.

You can see what happened in NC and DC

And, even though the VA based data centers may be operating. Check out the Internet access for the users in VA.

The author of the post goes on to discuss the importance of Twitter in the emergency situation.

Staying Connected, Preparing to Rebuild

Overall, it seems that the East Coast's power and Internet infrastructure fared pretty well during this storm, with good evidence of restoration after the storm had passed. This is good news, given the important role Twitter now plays in ad hoc rescue coordination, and the importance of the Web for keeping people informed about what they're facing in an emergency situation. I suspect that always-on, ubiquitous Internet access is going to fundamentally change the way people on the ground manage their affairs in the wake of disasters like Irene.

I spent 12 hours picking my way across the ruined roads and bridges of Eastern New York State yesterday, trying to get back to New Hampshire, and I can attest to the fact that the transportation network is now far more vulnerable to disruption by an event of this scale than is the cyber-infrastructure.

As we drove past legions of idle 18-wheeler trucks full of food and fuel, unable to reach their destinations, 3G mobile connectivity kept us connected to the Internet and in touch with the tweets of local emergency management officials and people back home. At one point we were even part of a stream of vehicles heading urgently for higher ground, following a report that the Gilboa Dam had failed. Thanks to Google Maps we knew where to climb to, and thanks to Twitter we knew when it was safe to come down again. You can't eat the Internet, or burn it to keep warm, but compared to the days of the transistor radio and EBS alerts, we've come a long way.

Attending Intel Developer Forum, Sept 13 - 15, 2011

Summer is almost over, and it is time to get back on the road.  My first trip is to Intel Developer Forum.

I last went to IDF 2 years ago, and I know I'll see some great people at the event.

Here are a few of the tracks that look interesting.

Cloud Computing: Evolution of the Data Center

Cloud computing is an important transition and a paradigm shift in IT services delivery–one that promises large gains in efficiency, agility, and flexibility at a time when demands on data centers are growing exponentially. In this track, get the latest insights into Intel’s Cloud 2015 Vision. Hear about advancements in compute, network, and storage for the cloud data center that provides greater security, efficiency, data center simplification, and enabling client-aware clouds. Plus, get the latest on industry-enabling activities, reference architectures, and proven solutions for cloud computing.

Data Center Performance

In today's world of space and power constrained data centers a new class of servers and solutions is emerging that allow users an additional level of flexibility and control over their data centers as well as alleviating many traditional data center concerns.  At the foundation of these new technologies are Intel® server platforms, which fuel the world's businesses while delivering breakthrough levels of performance and efficiency.  In this track we’ll discuss Intel's unique way to address data center performance needs by implementing Intel® technology.

Eco-Technology: Environment and Productivity at its Best with Energy-Efficient Products and Technologies

Getting the best environmental impact, performance, and return from your computer system investment requires consideration of material resources, energy efficiency in design, procurement, asset power management, and deployment. This track offers an overview of Intel’s Eco-Technology strategy. Topics include: developing software that can instrument applications for productivity and efficiency; a case study on designing low-power servers; regulatory issues surrounding energy efficiency; and a look into the future of materials restrictions and positioning strategies.

Intel Labs: Innovating for the Future

Researchers at Intel Labs are innovating today for the new and advanced compute experiences of tomorrow. Learn what our researchers are doing across the computing spectrum to create technology that is more secure, more efficient, and highly adaptive to an ever-changing environment.

Storage Technologies for Tomorrow's Data Center

This track covers data center storage challenges and how Intel® storage technologies enable breakthrough, energy-efficient performance, data protection, and scalability for public and private cloud storage solutions. You'll hear about the key cloud storage usage models and reference rack solutions for the usage models. Also included is Intel's converged storage server technology, including updates on small business/home storage systems and the Intel® Intelligent Storage Acceleration Library (Intel® ISA-L).

Quincy Data Center Diesel Generator Count is up to 132 with Dell and Sabey most recent addition

Wenatchee World has an article on the diesel generators permitted by the Washington Dept of Ecology.

Ecology issues more generator permits

By K.C. Mehaffey
World staff writer

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

QUINCY — The state Department of Ecology on Friday issued an air quality permit to Sabey Corp., allowing the company to install 44 backup generators for a 520,000-square-foot Intergate-Quincy Data Center in case of a power outage.

On Aug. 5, Ecology approved 28 backup generators for the Dell Data Center in Quincy. Last year, Microsoft won approval to expand its diesel generators to 37, and early this year, Yahoo! was granted permission to increase its generators to 23.

This brings the total diesel generators permitted to 132.

That brings the total number of approved backup generators in Quincy to 132.

The state agency evaluated the potential health risks from that much diesel exhaust, which has several toxic pollutants.

Open Compute Project heads to NYC Oct 27, 2011 Registration is open on Sept 9

Open Compute Project had its West Coast event on June 17, 2011.  And the next OCP event will be in NYC Oct 27.  Registration will be open on Sept 9 at http://opencompute.org/

Luckily I was planning a trip with some data center executives that week and I have registered myself and others for the event.

Here is a summary of the last OCP event in Palo Alto.

Reflections on the Open Compute Summit

by Yael Maguire on Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 2:24pm

Facebook hosted the first Open Compute Summit last Friday to grow the community forming around the Open Compute Project.

More than 200 people traveled from around the world to participate in the event, representing many of the great technology and finance companies. After morning presentations, the group broke into a series of smaller discussions focused on a variety of topics ranging from server design to management software to how the ecosystem is evolving.

Doubling the Compute Density

Amir Michael, Facebook’s hardware design manager, introduced our new initiatives in server hardware, presenting new AMD and Intel motherboard designs that double the compute density relative to our original designs.

Instead of placing a single motherboard in each chassis, we’re now building servers with two narrow motherboards sitting next to each other. These motherboards support the next generation of Intel processors and AMD’s Interlagos. To enable these new designs, we’ve also modified the server chassis, power supply (700W output from 450W), server cabinet, and battery backup cabinet.