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DAILY NEWS AND INFORMATION
FOR THE GLOBAL GRID COMMUNITY /
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Special Features:
THIS WEEK'S BRIEF ANALYSES OF
RECENT GRIDtoday NEWS ITEMS
By Rolf McClellan
Following are brief evaluations of recent news stories from GRIDtoday. Rolf
McClellan has nearly 20 years of experience in the network and computer
industry. www.mcclellanconsulting.com
VIA NET.WORKS Wins Key Customers For New Managed VPN Services
(02/06/04)
VIA NET.WORKS Inc, a provider of managed business communications solutions
for
(SMEs), announced four new and upgraded IP VPN customer installations.
Comment: This announcement is out of place on this newslist.
Free OpenHSF SDK Posted On openhsf.org (02/06/04)
The OpenHSF Initiative is an industry-wide effort to establish a common,
open
format for the sharing of 2D/3D visualization data between users of disparate
engineering applications via the HOOPS Stream Format (HSF) and
community-driven extensions. The OpenHSF Initiative has made the source-code
version of the HOOPS/Stream Toolkit v10.0 available for free download.
Analysis: An open source, industry standard for visualization data formats
would be helpful for many applications of Grid computing.
Index Grid Services Using Globus Toolkit 3.0 (02/06/04)
An IBM white paper is available on the Index Service of the Globus Toolkit
3.0.
Comment: This might prove helpful, especially if the link wasn't
broken.
Ixia Dual-PHY Capability Of Optixia Platform (02/05/04)
Ixia, a manufacturer of IP network testing solutions, announced the
availability of Dual-PHY Gigabit Ethernet modules across its full line of
testers. The new interface module supports four Dual-PHY ports. Each port
incorporates both a copper 10/100/1000 Ethernet interface with an RJ-45
connector and an adjoining fiber optic Gigabit Ethernet interface with a
modular SFP connector.
Analysis: Dual-PHY capability will allow Ixia customers to perform Layer
2-7
tests on Gigabit Ethernet switch/routers via both copper and fiber ports
without the added expensive of separate tester line cards for each media
type.
Qwest Wins Multi-Million Dollar NASA Networking Deal (02/05/04)
Qwest Commmunications has been selected to provide high-speed optical
networks
to three West Virginia research centers. The NASA IVV facility will be linked
with the West Virginia University Research Corp and the National Energy
Technology Laboratory via a OC-12 optical network.
Comment: Qwest is a major supplier of optical network services for research
networks, such as the TeraGrid.
Oracle Eyes Microsoft With 10g Database Price Drop (02/05/04)
Oracle Corp on Tuesday lowered the price of its new entry-level Oracle 10g
database software in to be more in line with Microsoft Corp's prices for SQL
Server 2000.
Comment: Pricing of Database 10g will be a challenge for Oracle because of
the
need to balance per user, per server and per processor pricing.
ChessBrain Sets New World Record In Distributed Computing (02/04/04)
The Distributed Computing Foundation's "Man vs. Machines Challenge" set a
new
Guinness world record for the number of computers (2,070 PCs) utilized to
oppose a human opponent in a game of chess. The distributed computing software
was provided by the ChessBrain Project and Y3K Secure Enterprise Software
Inc.
Analysis: This cycle scavenging computational Grid utilizes instant
messaging
for real time communication between the central Linux SuperNode and the 2, 070
PC PeerNodes. However, the Grid could only manage to eke out a draw in the
game.
Market Research Validates VERITAS' Utility Computing Strategy (02/04/04)
VERITAS Software Corp has cited independent research by Dynamic Markets
showing that more organizations are deploying service level agreements (SLAs)
between their IT departments and lines of business.
Analysis: SLAs are potentially useful tools in aligning IT capabilities and
business goals. SLAs would also be a likely requirement for adopters of
utility computing, especially if there would be no resources dedicated to any
single business activity.
Platform Computing Builds Grid Momentum In Financial Services (02/04/04)
Platform Computing Inc has announced Platform Symphony 2.0, Grid computing
software for financial services institutions. A number of financial
institutions around the world are using Symphony to accelerate time-sensitive
and compute-intensive applications in capital markets trading and risk
management Platform Symphony 2.0, also supports an Adapter for Microsoft Excel
which allows XLLs execution to be offloaded from the desktop to Grid computing
resources.
Analysis: With Platform Grid middleware, a financial service organization
can
start out by Grid-enabling Excel and then add more Grid-enabled applications
that share the same infrastructure.
Renowned Companies Harness Power Of Oracle Database 10g (02/04/04)
Oracle has announced the availability of its Database 10g, which has been
successfully beta tested by more than 100 organizations worldwide. Database
10g combines Grid computing capability with a number of features supporting
automated management and simplified administration.
Analysis: Besides accelerating the business adoption of Grid computing,
the
availability of Database 10g will benefit Grid applications that need to
access very large volumes of data.
Extreme Networks Eliminates Costly Upgrades W/ 48-Port Switch (02/04/04)
Extreme Networks Inc has announced the Summit 400-48 switch, a one RU fixed
configuration Ethernet switch with 48 10/100/1000Base-T ports and two optional
10 Gigabit Ethernet uplinks.
Analysis: The Summit 400-48 is apparently the first fixed configuration
Gigabit/10 Gigabit Ethernet switch on the market. Fixed configuration switches
typically have lower prices per port than more flexible, fully modular
switches. This switch is primarily intended for enterprise wiring closet
applications with Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop and 10 Gigabit Ethernet
connections to the core. With 48 GbE copper ports, the 10 GbE uplinks are
oversubscribed by 4.8 or 2.4 to 1. The switch could prove useful in smaller
cluster computing installations (<48 computers) or in larger clusters where
the oversubscription of the 10 GbE ports can be tolerated. For example, with
48 Summit 400-48s and one Extreme Blackdiamond 10K 10 GbE switch. it would be
possible to provide oversubscribed GbE interconnect for a cluster of 2,304
computers.
GridIron, Adobe To Bundle Commercial Grid Solution For SMBs (02/04/04)
GridIron Software and Adobe Systems have announced plans to Grid-enable the
next release of Adobe After Effects Professional software. With GridIron XLR8,
the Grid middleware is embedded in the application, rather than being
installed and managed as a separate entity. GridIron XLR8 features a
patent-pending peer-to-peer architecture that allows the computers to discover
each other and automatically set up a processing network, distribute work, and
recover from failure. No administration, configuration or ongoing management
is necessary. GridIron also released version 2.0 of its XLR8 software, which
reportedly boosts Grid security through job and Grid authentication.
Analysis: Embedding Grid software in the application is an interesting
approach for SMEs and others who don't anticipate the need for a wide range of
Grid applications. The peer-to-peer architecture eliminates the need for a
central control point and could relieve the network congestion that results
from centralization. It is also notable that peer-to-peer communications will
be an inherent feature of Microsoft's upcoming Longhorn version of
Windows.
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