Network Storage

Global Cyber Summit highlights Ukrainian experience amid geopolitical tensions

Nineteen Group, organiser of International Cyber Expo, has announced its programme for the annual Global Cyber Summit, sponsored by Sonatype, Opentext and Infoblox, and hosted at Olympia London on 26 and 27 September 2023. The summit returns with greater international appeal. Among other topics of discussion, guest speakers will provide the Ukrainian perspective on cyber security, in light of recent geopolitical events. With opening remarks by Professor Ciaran Martin CB, Chair of International Cyber Expo’s Advisory Council, the Global Cyber Summit assembles the industry’s great minds to review ongoing cyber threats, priorities and challenges. Uniquely, the programme this year invites advisors closely associated with Ukrainian government agencies to present their invaluable insight into the reality and impact of Russian cyber attacks on the country and beyond. Special guest speakers include, Oksana Kharchenko, a member of YouControl, who will delve into the challenges of managing sanctions risk in the current geopolitical setting; and Andrew Hural, Director, MDR of UnderDefense, who will reflect on the last 500 days of Russian cyber operations, determining the successes and failures of their espionage. Here are a few agenda highlights: Nicola Whiting MBE, co-owner of Titania Group, will reveal why diversity and inclusion efforts might be stalling and provide a new framework. Theresa Deumchen, Tech Policy Associate at Global Counsel, will examine the regulatory landscape concerning generative AI. Alexsander Gorkowienko, SecurityLabs’ Senior Managing Consultant at Spirent Communications, will explain how EU security regulations, such as the NIS 2 Directive, might affect businesses across the region. Jake Moore, Global Cyber Security Advisor at ESET, will shed light on his attempt to manipulate recruitment staff, land a job inside a company and gain full access to their data. Stewart Bertram, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Elemendar, will utilise a mix of case studies and theories to expose the crossover between misinformation and cyber threat operations. Rashik Parmar, Group CEO of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, and Dr Saritha Arunkumar, IBM Public Cloud Worldwide Technical Leader - Security, will sit together on a panel to address the question: What does the rise of AI and quantum computing mean for the future of cyber security? Charlotte Hooper, Helpline Manager at The Cyber Helpline, will highlight the impact of cybercrime on individuals and what can be done to support them. Attendees can also take advantage of scheduled talks at the collocated International Security Expo. In fact, Joel Aleburu at Microsoft, will be speaking here about the role of cyber espionage in terrorist activities on the first day of the event, while Joe Wrieden, Intelligence Analyst at Cyjax, will assess the key role of Advanced Persistent Threats(APTs) in serious and organised crime on the second day. All sessions are CPD Certified. To register for free as a visitor: https://ice-2023.reg.buzz/dcnnAs press: https://www.internationalcyberexpo.com/press-pass-registration Click here for latest data centre news.

Recent study shows women’s leading role in new IT patents

SuperWomen in Flash has shared figures from a recent study by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), a non-profit community founded in 2004 which is funded by the National Science Foundation. SuperWomen in Flash is the Flash Memory Summit (FMS) program that celebrates the success of women in the memory industry and encourages more young women to join this dynamic field. NCWIT, in partnership with 1790 Analytics, has published periodic reports on gendered patterns in IT patenting, analysing records from the US Patent and Trademark Office. Below are a few highlights: In the last five years, approximately 10% of US IT patents included women as inventors. In the US, IT patenting overall increased almost 17-fold between 1980-84 and 2016-2020. Patents with woman inventors increased 56-fold from 1980-84 to 2017-2020, even as the percentage of women employed in IT either remained flat or decreased slightly. In addition: In 2022, 27% of professional computing occupations in the US workforce were held by women. In 2022, 23% of total tech C-suite positions in Fortune 500 companies were held by women. Starting in 2018, FMS has presented a SuperWomen in Flash Leadership Award to showcase the achievements of women in the traditionally male-dominated memory industry. Past recipients include: Amber Huffman, Former Intel Fellow and Board Chair of the NVMe Working Group Calline Sanchez, IBM Vice President, WW Systems Services & Technical Universities Barbara Nelson, WekaIO, VP Cloud Dr Yan Li, Western Digital, VP of Engineering “The data infrastructure memory industry, and tech overall, is a highly dynamic space, one where creativity, attention to detail, and an innovative approach can make a significant difference to the development and adoption of new technologies,” says Camberley Bates, VP and Practice Lead, The Futurum Group, and Founder of the SuperWomen in Flash Leadership program. “It’s an ideal space for women to build rewarding and successful careers, and through SuperWomen in Flash, we aim to attract more women to the memory industry.” Click here for latest data centre news.

Paying attention to data centre storage cooling

Authored by Neil Edmunds, Director of Innovation, Iceotope With constant streams of data emerging from the IoT, video, AI and more, it is no surprise we are expected to generate 463EB of data each day by 2025. How we access and interact with data is constantly changing and is going to have a real impact on the processing and storage of that data. In just a few years, it's predicted that global data storage will exceed 200ZB with half of that stored in the cloud. This presents a unique challenge for hyperscale data centres and their storage infrastructure. According to Seagate, cloud data centres choose mass capacity hard disk drives (HDDs) to store 90% of their exabytes. HDDs are tried and tested technology, typically found in a 3.5in form factor. They continue to offer data centre operators cost effective storage at scale. The current top-of-the-range HDD features 20TB capacity. By the end of the decade that is expected to reach 120TB+, all within the existing 3.5in form factor. The practical implications of this show a need for improved thermal cooling solutions. More data storage means more spinning of the disks, higher speed motors, more actuators – all of which translates to more power being used. As disks go up in power, so does the amount of heat produced by them. Next, with the introduction of helium into the hard drives in the last decade, performance has not only improved, thanks to less drag on the disks, but the units are now sealed. There is also ESG compliance to consider. With data centres consuming 1% of global electricity demand and cooling power accounting for more than 35% of a data centre’s total energy consumption, pressure is on data centre owners to reduce this consumption. Comparison of cooling technologies Traditionally, data centre environments use air cooling technology. The primary way of removing heat with air cooling methods is by pulling increasing volumes of airflow through the chassis of the equipment. Typically, there is a hot aisle behind the racks and a cold aisle configuration in front of the racks which dissipates the heat by exchanging warm air with cooler air. Air cooling is widely deployed and well understood. It is also well engrained into nearly every data centre around the world. However, as the volume of data evolves, it is becoming increasingly likely that air cooling will no longer be able to ensure an appropriate operating environment for energy dense IT equipment. Technologies like liquid cooling are proving to be a much more efficient way to remove heat from IT equipment. Precision liquid cooling, for example, circulates small volumes of dielectric fluid across the surface of the server, removing almost 100% of the heat generated by the electronic components. There are no performance throttling hotspots and no front to back air cooling, or bottom to top immersion constraints which are present in tank solutions. While initial applications of precision liquid cooling have been in a sealed chassis for cooling server components, given the increased power demands of HDD, storage devices are also an ideal application. High density storage demands With high density HDD, traditional air cooling pulls air through the system from front to back. What typically occurs in this environment is that disks in the front become much cooler than those in the back. As the cold air comes and travels through the JBOD device, the air gets hotter. This can result in a 20°C or more temperature differential between the discs at the front and back of the unit depending on the capacity of the hard drive. For any data centre operator, consistency is key. When disks are varying by nearly 20°C from front to back, there is inconsistent wear and tear on the drives leading to unpredictable failure. The same goes for variance across the height of the rack, as lower devices tend to consume the cooler air flow coming up from the floor tiles. Liquid cooling for storage While there will always be variances and different tolerances taking place within any data centre environment, liquid cooling can mitigate for these variances and improve consistency. In 2022, Meta published a study showcasing how an air cooled, high density storage system was reengineered to utilise single phase liquid cooling. The study found that precision liquid cooling was a more efficient means of cooling the HDD racks with the following results: The variance in temperature of all HDDs was just 3°C, regardless of location inside the JBODs. HDD systems could operate reliably in rack water inlet temperatures up to 40°C. System-level cooling power was less than 5% of the total power consumption. Mitigating acoustic vibrational issues. While consistency is a key benefit, cooling all disks at a higher water temperature is important too. This means data centre operators do not need to provide chilled water to the unit. Reduced resource consumption – electrical, water, space, audible noise – all lead to greater reduction in TCO and improved ESG compliance. Both of which are key benefits for today’s data centre operators. As demand for data storage continues to escalate, so will the solutions needed by hyperscale data centre providers to efficiently cool the equipment. Liquid cooling for high density storage is proving to be a viable alternative as it cools the drives at a more consistent temperature and removes vibration from fans, with lower overall end-to-end power consumption and improved ESG compliance. At a time when data centre operators are under increasing pressure to reduce energy consumption and improve sustainability metrics, this technology may not only be good for the planet, but also good for business. Enabling innovation in storage systems Today’s HDDs are designed with forced air cooling in mind, so it stands to reason that air cooling will continue to play a role in the short term. For storage manufacturers to embrace new alternatives demonstrations of liquid cooling technology, like the one Meta conducted, are key to ensuring adoption. Looking at technology trends moving forward, constantly increasing fan power on a rack will not be a long term sustainable solution. Data halls are not getting any larger and costs to cool a rack are increasing. The need for more data storage capacity at greater density is exponentially growing. Storage designed for precision liquid cooling will be smaller, use fewer precious materials and components, perform faster and fail less often. The ability to deliver a more cost effective HDD storage solution in the same cubic footprint, delivers not only a TCO benefit but contributes to greater ESG value as well. Making today's technology more efficient and removing limiting factors for new and game changing data storage methods can help us meet the global challenges we face and is a step forward towards enabling a better future. Click here for more thought leadership.

Infinidat named finalist for Tech Innovator Awards

Infinidat has announced that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Infinidat as a finalist for the 2023 CRN Tech Innovator Awards. It is being recognised for its InfiniBox solution in the ‘Storage−Enterprise’ category. The InfiniBox solutions portfolio offers two major choices: the InfiniBox SSA II solid-state storage array and the InfiniBox hybrid storage array. For enterprises that require consistent sub-millisecond latency for every I/O, it provides the InfiniBox SSA II, which is the industry’s fastest all-flash storage array with latency as low as 35 microseconds, driving unsurpassed real world application performance. The InfiniBox hybrid system combines DRAM, flash caching layers, and high capacity, cost effective HDDs, optimised by its patented Neural Cache technology. The use of HDDs dramatically lowers the cost of storage, while delivering 100% guaranteed availability, powerful cyber storage resilience and ease of use with its autonomous automation. “With its cyber storage capabilities, InfiniBox is one of the most exciting enterprise storage solutions on the market today, addressing one of the critical concerns of Fortune 500 CEOs − cyber security. Congratulations to Infinidat for repeatedly receiving industry awards for their technological innovation and the business value they bring to our enterprise customers. As a trusted partner, Infinidat continues to provide a powerful storage solution for enterprises who need to get the most out of their storage investment,” says Bob Elliott, Vice President, Storage at Mainline Information Systems. This annual award program showcases innovative vendors in the IT channel across 37 different technology categories, in key areas ranging from cloud to storage to networking to security. To determine the 2023 winners, a panel of CRN editors reviewed hundreds of vendor entries − including solution provider testimonials − using multiple criteria, including key capabilities, uniqueness, technological ingenuity and ability to address customer and partner needs. The Tech Innovator Awards will be featured in the August issue of CRN and can be viewed online at crn.com/techinnovators.

Aruba launches unlimited storage services

As the digital world grows at an increasing pace, more and more space is needed to store one’s data. For this reason, the web is teeming with articles offering useful tips for saving space, emptying one's inbox of excessively heavy content and tricks on how to free up precious GBs of memory. As of today, one less thought will be required. Aruba has announced the availability of the new unlimited email storage service which will ensure that owners of Aruba email account will no longer have to worry about freeing up space or increasing the capacity of their account, as they will be able to store all their emails with unlimited storage. The company provides its users with a definitive solution to a need that is destined to grow over time. As well as enabling unlimited email storage, it has also made the Aruba Drive application available, which offers an unlimited cloud space where users can store their files, protect them and ensure easy access and sharing capabilities. With the drive, it is possible to store and share numerous types of files, relying not only on unlimited space, but also on a proprietary space relating to one’s own domain name. Once an account has been created and files have been uploaded to the online space, users can view them, share them with whoever they wish and edit them using various tools. It is integrated for working on text documents, spreadsheets and presentations, or for retouching photos and organising photos and videos in albums. SpazioMail Unlimited and Aruba Drive add to the offer of unlimited web space and traffic already present in the Aruba hosting offer, effectively creating an ecosystem of services that revolves around a wide range of quality hosting solutions. Details about unlimited email storage  The service costs €14.99 + VAT/year. Until 2 August 2023, users can register or transfer a domain with email by purchasing unlimited email storage for only €1.99 + VAT for the first year, upon renewal from €30.48 + VAT. Aruba Drive is available in three different plans: Aruba Drive Easy- for storing and digitising files with no space limits and easy access. Includes a user account, unlimited space, domain registration and five email accounts. Costs from €50.00 + VAT/year. Aruba Drive Advanced- provides a storage space that is synchronised with desktop and mobile applications and integrated with working tools to optimise efficiency in daily activities. Includes a user account, unlimited space, domain registration and five email accounts, integrated tools and synchronisation with apps. Costs from €100.00 + VAT/year. Aruba Drive Professional- the most comprehensive solution, ideal for team and company work. Includes ten usernames, unlimited space, domain registration and five email accounts, integrated tools and synchronisation with apps. Costs from €300.00 + VAT/year. In addition, a promotion is available until 20 December 2023 with a 50% discount for the first year on all plans. Click here for more on Aruba.

Schneider Electric delivers data centre project for Loughborough University

Schneider Electric has delivered a new data centre modernisation project for Loughborough University, in collaboration with its elite partner, on365. The project saw Schneider Electric and on365 modernise the university’s IT infrastructure with new energy efficient technologies, including an EcoStruxure Row Data Center, InRow Cooling solution, Galaxy VS UPS and EcoStruxure IT software, enabling the university to harness the power of resilient IT infrastructure, data analytics and digital services to support new breakthroughs in sporting research. As Loughborough University is known for its sports-related subjects and is home to world-class sporting facilities, IT is fundamental to its operations, from its high-performance computing (HPC) servers which support analytical research projects, to a highly virtualised data centre environment that provides critical applications including finance, administration and security. To overcome a series of data centre challenges, including requirements for a complete redesign, modernisation of legacy cooling systems, improved cooling efficiencies, and greater visibility of its distributed IT assets, the university undertook the project at its Haslegrave and Holywell Park data centres. Delivered in two phases, the project firstly saw on365 modernise the Haslegrave facility by replacing an outdated raised floor and deploying an EcoStruxure Row Data Center solution. The deployment of this significantly improved the overall structure, enabling an efficient data centre design. During the upgrade, it also brought other parts of the infrastructure under the IT department’s control, using new InRow DX units to deliver improved cooling reliability, and provide it with greater ability to cope with unplanned weather such as heat waves, which had adversely affected its IT and cooling operations in the past. Use of this solution also created a new space for future IT expansions and extended a ‘no single points of failure’ design throughout the facility. This made the environment more suitable for a new generation of compact and powerful servers, and the solution was replicated at Holywell Park thereafter. Further improvements in resilience and efficiency were also achieved by Schneider Electric’s Galaxy VS UPS with lithium-ion batteries. “At the foundational level of everything which is data-driven at the university, the Haslegrave and Holywell data centres are the power behind a host of advancements in sports science, and our transition towards a more sustainable operation,” says Mark Newall, IT Specialist at the University of Loughborough. “Working with Schneider Electric and on365 has enabled our data centre to become more efficient, effective and resilient.” The university has also upgraded the software used to manage and control its infrastructure. It has deployed the company’s EcoStruxure IT platform, providing it with enhanced visibility and data-driven insights that help identify and mitigate potential faults before they become critical. This, in conjunction with a new three-year Schneider Electric services agreement delivered via on365, has given the university 24x7 access to maintenance support. The university also utilises a large distributed edge network environment, which has in excess of 60 APC Smart-UPS protecting it. As part of its services agreement, all critical power systems are monitored and maintained via EcoStruxure IT, providing real-time visibility and helping IT personnel to manage the campus’ network more efficiently.

BlueHat Cyber improves data centres with Tintri solutions

Tintri has announced that BlueHat Cyber has implemented Tintri’s VMstore solutions as the backbone of its Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) business. Its technology allows BlueHat Cyber to offload time-consuming administrative storage tasks and replicate across data centres, so it can focus on providing its clients with premium service. BlueHat Cyber offers a cyber security portfolio and assists in planning, design, integration, operation, and optimisation of organisations’ IT security requirements. It needed a solution to simplify storage management, improve I/O and replicate workloads across multiple data centres, and chose Tintri VMstore as the solution for its benefits with fast asynchronous replication, increased uptime and performance, and ‘set it and forget it’ operations. Now, BlueHat Cyber’s US Virtual Data Centre is running on 100% Tintri VM-aware technology because it is a purpose-built solution to store and manage virtualised workloads in enterprise data centres. “We went from spending eight to 10 hours a week managing storage to maybe taking a glance at it once in a blue moon. We basically set it and forget it. When looking at a new client proposal, we consider if we have the capacity to take it on, but we never have to think about I/O performance, regardless of how intense the workload,” says Tim Averill, CTO, BlueHat Cyber. “The key to a simple and successful hybrid cloud deployment is the use of best-of-breed technologies and industry best practices along with the support from an experienced MSP partner who can make the most cost-effective and future-proof recommendations, allowing your infrastructure to grow with your business,” says Brock Mowry, CTO, Tintri. “We are proud to see Tintri VMstore deliver on simplified and worry-free data management as it has proven to do for BlueHat Cyber.”

Spectra Logic and Titan partner to expand EMEA market footprint

Spectra Logic has announced that it has partnered with Titan to expand the EMEA market footprint with innovative data management solutions. The relationship, which spans the EMEA region, will leverage Titan’s knowledge of the data management industry to further broaden Spectra’s reseller base. Craig Bungay, Vice President, Sales for EMEA at Spectra, comments, "There is perfect synergy between Spectra and Titan – we’re both committed to providing solutions that address key customer challenges. Spectra’s approach to on-prem Glacier and digital archiving requires the skill and market knowledge that a partner like Titan brings in order to meet the demand for our data management portfolio." This partnership will see Titan distribute the entire Spectra product portfolio, including object storage and NAS with the BlackPearl platform, StorCycle enterprise software for digital archive, and the company’s full range of tape libraries to its resellers, targeting horizontal and vertical markets such as media and entertainment, life sciences, and HPC. Both companies see a number of benefits in this new partnership, mainly because Spectra helps customers in many different industries optimise their storage infrastructures with data management and storage solutions. David Treadwell, Solutions Director at Titan, says, “With a strong focus on data management, Spectra Logic will help our resellers’ end users manage, store, and preserve data long-term, whether on-prem or within multi-cloud environments. While perhaps best-known historically for tape, Spectra’s solution portfolio has expanded significantly over the past 10 years, and its core value stems from its software stack that enables customers to better manage and protect their data.” Through its broad technology range, Spectra will help Titan’s customer base at every stage of the data lifecycle, with solutions around hybrid cloud, object storage, data management software, S3 and NAS storage, tape libraries, and of course a complete digital archive solution.

NetApp delivers future-proof storage investment option

Technology renewals and disruption are causing major headaches for CIOs who are unsure where to place their operating budgets. This is, according to Westcon-Comstor, particularly problematic when it comes to storage infrastructure purchases, but it’s a problem it feels customers can address with NetApp Advance. “Infrastructure modernisation is a term used in almost every conversation. But the bottom line is that it can't be viewed as an option. It is a necessity,” says Daniel Thenga, NetApp and SolarWinds Architecture Manager and Business Unit Manager, Comstor Southern Africa. “Market disruption is a huge problem for customers navigating inflation, budget cuts, limited CapEx, skills shortages, and sustainability mandates. This makes it even more difficult for a business to future-proof their tech investments, of which storage remains a key part.” Working with NetApp, Westcon-Comstor assists partners in guiding customer decisions around solutions that offer clients the right performance, at the right price, with the lowest carbon footprint, and that can scale regardless of the future, which is where the distributor suggests using NetApp Advance. NetApp Advance is a portfolio of programs and guarantees that go hand-in-hand with the vendor’s NetApp AFF and FAS systems, including its new capacity flash AFF C-Series. The Storage Lifecycle Program (SLP) is central to this offering, following a 'buy once and get IT technology that evolves with you’ model. The program centres on: More accessible, more straightforward, and faster upgrade cycles when purchasing a NetApp AFF or FAS system with the SLP option. The solutions are upgradeable indefinitely with non-disruptive refreshes of storage controllers every three years at no additional cost. Trade-in capacity that limits investment risk and will future-proof storage purchases when acquiring additional capacity and trading in existing SLP-covered storage media for a 100% capacity credit. VIP services and AI-powered analytics provide insights into the performance of storage systems through proactive monitoring, full-stack visibility, and actionable insights. A simplified software experience through continual software updates and access to new ONTAP capabilities and advancements as soon as they become available. “With NetApp Advance, NetApp has also factored in that most clients will undergo some form of cloud journey if they aren't already. This is supported through its Cloud Advantage program, which allows a customer to swap an on-premises controller refresh for cloud services or hybrid cloud storage as a service with NetApp Keystone. This is optionality never really seen before, as your purchase follows your plans without creating a legacy problem,” adds Daniel. Within the NetApp Advance program, there is also a storage efficiency guarantee. NetApp offers a guaranteed storage efficiency of 4:1 for SAN workloads and 1.5:1 for NAS workloads on its ONTAP AFF systems. This is essential for African businesses looking to improve energy usage, and reduce energy costs while trying to become more sustainable. Right-sizing and tiering are also simplified as users can automate the movement of infrequently used data to more cost-efficient object storage without refactoring applications. NetApp’s storage is also natively available on AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, allowing clients to tier to a cloud of choice or from high-performance all-flash to hybrid-flash/HDD systems. “NetApp Advance is not a crystal ball, but it’s a bold move by a company in recognising the challenges facing CIOs when needing to upgrade or refresh technology, or even when they need to pivot their tech model to a more modernised approach,” concludes Daniel.

Manulife Investment Management acquires controlling interest in Serverfarm

Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM) has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a controlling interest in Serverfarm. The investment by Manulife IM, together with support from existing shareholders, will provide capital to Serverfarm to continue its expansion across north America, Europe, and Israel to capitalise on attractive market opportunities. Serverfarm currently operates a portfolio of eight data centres across north America, Europe and Israel that aggregate more than 1,500,000ft² and 125MW of IT capacity, and it has secured additional land for future data centre developments. “Avner and the Serverfarm team have built a high-quality data centre portfolio and growth platform that is well-positioned to capitalise on the strong secular tailwinds in the data centre market,” says Recep Kendircioglu, Global Head of Infrastructure, Manulife Investment Management. “We are excited about the company's future and our ability to support Serverfarm through its next phase of growth on behalf of our clients.” “Partnering with Manulife Investment Management, an investor that shares Serverfarm's vision for growth and customer service, will allow us to effectively address the next wave of demand from our existing and new customers,” says Avner Papouchado, Founder and CEO of Serverfarm. “Our new relationship with Manulife Investment Management provides Serverfarm with additional expertise and new capital to execute on a number of attractive development opportunities and give our customers a long-term growth runway.” The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2023 after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including the receipt of certain regulatory approvals.