Looking Forward

And so another year is about to come to an end. Who knows what 2008 will bring and what we will be reflecting on in 12 months time?
Have a happy new year and looking forward to seeing you on deck in following the life and times of KVM Technology.

Powering Up

Here is an interesting article about an approach towards a data center which is bringing about significant cost savings.
Emerson Network Power is based in St Louis but has office all over the world.

2008 Wishlists

Who knows what 2008 will bring for the world of data centers? In this article, some data center managers tell us what they are wishing for in the new year. What are you wishing for?

School Data Center Restored

In some ways it's difficult to conceptualize what a school data center is as computers didn't exist when I went to school. Good to see that data centers in New Orleans are now being restored after the damage of Hurricane Katrina.
As you can see in the article was quite a job to get the data centers back to being operational.

Data Center Shortage?

This article outlines concerns that there could be a data center shortage in the future. Not sure if the answers given equate to a crisis but failing to plan could be akin to planning to fail.

Greening Up

This article looks at the greening of the date center as does this one. It is good to see how being green is becoming more of a priority.

Top Green 500

This is an interesting website - the Top Green 500. It ranks ranks systems by energy-efficiency. Check it out.

Cost of Power

An interesting article on the growing costs that would be experienced due to an increase in power requirements by data centers. Dr. Jonathan Koomey makes some very good points and gives a lot of food for thought.

Hit & Run

A data center in London has become the victim of an elaborate crime. Running off with $4 million in hardware, these guys clearing knew what they were doing. Crazy stuff!

Reducing Data Center Costs

An interesting article here on how to reduce data center costs. The point about minimizing downtime doesn't necessarily get the coverage it deserves. Downtime cripples an organization shouldn't be made light of.

CitiGroup Wins Green Award

The new Citi data center which is being built in Frankfurt was awarded Green Data Centre Award 2007 by DatacenterDynamics. Its good to see that green virtues are being recognised.

Data Center Disruptive Technologies

At the recent Gartner Data Center Conference , Carl Claunch gave a keynote speech on the Top 10 disruptive data center technologies.
He makes a lot of interesting points.

Green Thumbs

Green Computing isn't a new concept but its one which is becoming more and more in vogue. After the environmentalism of the 1980s, green issues seemed to take somewhat of a backseat but since the new decade, they have resurfaced as a priority.
Maybe this is because of climate change, global warming , El Niño and the like.

This article discusses the greening of technology. Not everyone is getting in on the act but maybe they will be led into action after seeing IBM and Hewlett-Packard do so.

It doesn't make sense to green things up from a moral point of view but also from a fiscal one. That alone should be more than enough incentive.

Mission Critical is a Critical Mission

When any mission critical device goes down, blood pressures go up. Every single second, let alone minutes and hours of downtime is bad news and a PR disaster. Hence Yahoo is going into damage control after problems they experienced yesterday with their small business department.

Problems and accidents are always going to happen - that's life. It's the ability to solve them quickly and with minimal collateral damage as possible which is the key.

Virtualization

Information Week has an interesting article securing the data center. While server virtualization is happening, people are still wary of the security implications of it.
When it comes to Data Centers, security is always going to be one of the highest priorities.

The Minicom Blog

To those of you who are new to this blog I want to welcome you. Here is also an introduction of sorts for you. This blog will run along the same lines as Minicom's Digital Signage Blog. In addition to commentary and analysis on KVM Technology, it will include interviews with identities in the KVM world as well as a thorough run down of Minicom's product range.
Should you have any questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any nature, please don't hesitate to send them to blog@minicom.com

Now its Iowa

Data Centers seem to be popping up left, right and center.
Now comes the news that Google will be constructing one in Iowa with opening to take place in 2009. The race to build data centers is on in earnest.

Sent to Sibera

Data Center Knowledge reports that Microsoft will be building a Data Center in Siberia. There was some press about this with the New York Times picking it up as well. If it goes ahead it will house approximately 10,000 servers. Will it go ahead though? That is the question.

Niagara Falls?

Data Center Links picked up the news that HSBC is reconsidering the $1 billion data center it was contemplating building in New York.
The proposed location was in Cambria, which is right on the Canadian border.
This data center illustrates that data centers are far more than a bunch of computers in the basement.
The plans outlined that this was going to be 275,000 square feet and would cost around $65 million just to build! Once operational, HSBC would was committed to spending $55.5 million a year for 15 years on technology. Data Centers are huge business.
For the most part they fly under the radar.

Not Easy Being Green

Here are two recent reports looking at the hardships in Greening-up a Data Center.
Curiously enough, being green also helps get in the black as decreased energy consumption means decreased costs.

As Mark Bregman, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Symantec, says in the articles, "The report findings indicate that cost savings and constant business pressure to maintain performance and meet increasingly aggressive service level agreements are the main reasons for implementing many green strategies. For them it is beyond environmental concerns; it is about meeting business goals and reducing costs."

This should come as no revelation. Reducing waste, recycling where possible, minimizing power usage are all cost effective measures while also being environmentaly friendly.

And the Winner Is

The 2007 DaCEY Awards(Data Center Executive of the Year) were recently announced.
T.Lee Provow of Premiere Global Services won Architect Award winner in a field consisting of Bill Montgomery of Lulu.com and David M. Guthrie also of Premiere Global Services.

The Operations Award was won by Harry Richardson of Delta Technology. The other nominees were Harold B. Gilchrist of The Home Depot and Dan Traynor of Southern Company.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here we are on the last of the 10 Things You Never Knew Here about Minicom's KVM solutions.

1) And we've got plenty more on the way!

The Smart 116 IP and the Smart 108/116 are pioneers in a new family of analog and digital KVM switches designed to provide you with secure, high-performance out-of-band access to servers and computers while keeping you comfortably within budget.

Hopefully now you are very well-versed in Minicom's KVM Solutions and what they offer.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here is the second last of the 10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM solutions.

2) We're happy to share our toys
With a proven track record of OEM success we are now making it easier for our business partners to use and integrate our KVM IP technology into their own solutions. The IP Development Kit gives you the ability to evaluate and build your own KVM IP switches or gateways, without the risks and costs of going it alone.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here is Part VIII of 10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM solutions.

3) Our best-selling KVM switch gets even better
We've updated our best selling Smart CAT5 Switch 108/116, and added new ROC technology (Remote Interface Connection on Cable) that increases the distance between server and switch to 30m/100ft, giving you more server room flexibility and making life easier for your data center manager.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here is Part VII of 10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM solutions.

4) Now you can control any device with an IP address
The latest version of the KVM.net features Minicom's unique Web Target technology that lets you connect to and control any IP-enabled device that has a URL address including ILO & RILOE, cameras and environmental monitoring devices.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here we are at the halfway mark of the 10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM solutions.

5) Management really means management
KVM.net is the most intuitive, scalable and adaptable centralized management system available in the world today. Here's how:

KVM.net with Smart IP Access is able to connect to any brand of legacy KVM switch that you already have, which means you save thousands of dollars while you upgade your management. Read the WHITE PAPER to learn more.

The new Smart 116 IP is our latest digital KVM switch. It's KVM.net enabled, making it ideal for the growing business that needs a high-performance, cost-effective KVM switch today, and centralized management tomorrow.

KVM.net with PX lets any number of users securely and simultaneously access and control any number of servers - without the hassle of "blocked" access.

What if you already operate a number of Minicom's DX matrix systems and want to manage them all under the KVM.net? You can now achieve it with the DXU IP user unit.

And if your data center is a mix of all of the above scenarios? KVM.net is able to manage all your devices and targets in any combination of scenarios, with Smart IP Access, PX, Smart 116IP and DXU IP and their associated servers, able to work at the same time under the KVM.net umbrella.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here is Part V in the Top 10 Things you never knew about Minicom's KVM product offerings.

6) Access and control now comes with power
Until now, the IP Control provided remote access and control. By connecting it to the RPS Serial, you can now add IP-based power control for your servers and computers - the final piece in the puzzle towards providing a complete remote presence experience.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Here is Part IV in the Top 10 Things you never knew about Minicom's KVM product offerings.


7) More is not less
Minicom's PX is the only KVM IP Gateway on the market today that offers a combination of virtual media, absolute mouse support, Power over Ethernet (PoE), and centralized management compatibility - all within a tiny palm-sized device. PX is ideal for providing secure, non-blocking server management for data centers, branch offices, testing labs, and lights-out facilities. And because it's a single-target device, there are no wasted ports - you only add more PX's when your business is ready to grow.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Number 8 in Top 10 Things you never knew about Minicom's KVM product offerings.

8) There's no need to be down
There is nothing on the market that can provide such a complete level of remote support for mission-critical computers or applications as the IP Control and PX. Providing remote BIOS level access - both systems give a major advantage over software support and technician call-outs. The result is a cost saving of thousands of dollars in technical maintenance costs and the elimination of needless downtime in mission-critical scenarios. Read the white paper that explains why.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

Yesterday we began the Top 10 Things you never knew about Minicom's KVM product offerings.Here is Number 9....

9) Freedom is choice
KVM IP Gateways let you add remote internet-based access to either a KVM switch or single server/computer. Minicom now has 3 different KVM IP Gateways to choose from. Each has its own market application specialty - PX in the high-traffic enterprise data center and remote support; Smart IP Access for servers controlled by legacy KVM switches in the data center; and IP Control for small/medium size business and remote support.

10 Things You Never Knew about Minicom's KVM Solutions

There is probably alot about KVM Solutions and even more about Minicom's KVM Solutions which you don't know. For the next two weeks we will rectify that with 10 useful facts about Minicom's KVM product offering designed to optimize your remote server management package and make your customers thank you forever.
Counting down from 10....

10) It's bigger than you think
Minicom has doubled the size of its out-of-band product and solution offering in the last 2 years. Today's portfolio includes a host of new and improved remote access, control and management solutions including analog and digital KVM switches (Smart 116IP, Smart 108/116), KVM IP Gateways (PX, Smart IP Access, IP Control), power control switches (RPS, RPS Serial), and centralized management (KVM.net).

Virtual Reality

Interesting article here on the virtualization of data centers. It makes some good points. Virtualization is something which could solve a lot of data center problems and issues if people had a more open mind towards it.

Factories of the Future

There have been a bunch of reports that Microsoft is building a huge new data center in Illinois.
With more and more done by computers the amount of data centers necessary is only going to increase. And in five years time, this state of the art data center is most likely going to be obsolete. Passed on by my newer and slicker technology.
Remember 50 years ago, a room this size would have only been big enough to fit one computer!

Hole In the Wall Gang

Times had definitely changed...
Instead of robbing banks, thieves are now breaking into data centers!!
Security is obviously a massive issue when it comes to data centers given the highly classified nature of much of the data contained on the servers. Banks, other financial institutions and government departments, especially branches of the military are at high-risk. Money is just money but the data on the stolen servers can be worth billions.
You might expect to see something like this on 24 but with this Chicago facility being hit repeatedly in the past couple of years, clearly it is real.

Not Easy Being Green

IBM has come up with the novel idea of issuing Green certificates to those data centers which comply with several energy-efficient measures.
Data Centers are expensive creatures - not just the servers themselves but the electricty and cooling required for them to operate.
Regardless of what IBM is doing, it should be incumbent on every data center to try and reduce costs and energy consumption.

The New Minicom KVM Technology Blog

Welcome to the Minicom KVM Technology Blog.

This blog is for your benefit so we want you to be as comfortable as possible and feel right at home here.

The purpose of the Blog is to be an informal mouthpiece for Minicom where we are able to inform you of what is happening here.

Additionally we want this Blog to be a central location for discussion, debate, questions and answers regarding the rapidly growing industry of KVM technology.

If you have a question or any feedback and KVM technology please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Thanks for checking out our Blog. We hope to see you back here soon.