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IDC Release 3Q18 Worldwide Server Tracker
International Data Corporation (IDC) ran its quarterly Worldwide Server Tracker for the third quarter of this year. Again we see the numbers trending up for server sales, this marking the fifth consecutive quarter of double-digit revenue growth. And once again, we see Dell make the top of the list.
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NetApp MAX Data Solution Brief
NetApp’s Memory Accelerated Data (MAX Data) vastly accelerates application performance by leveraging persistent memory on the host-application server. MAX Data can also save costs by reducing the number of application servers and extends ONTAP data management features including mirroring, cloning, and snapshot copies. In this brief we will be looking at an environment consisting of two well-equipped x86 servers with Brocade 32Gb FC fabric and NetApp AFF A300 for backend storage. One server interfaces with the A300 over 32Gb FC, the other the same way but with MAX Data installed. Testing Oracle using the SLOB2 tool shows the dramatic impact MAX Data can have on database workloads.
December 11th, 2018 by Michael Rink
Elastifile Announces Cloud File Service For Google
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Today Elastifile announced signups for early access to Elastifile Cloud File Service (ECFS). ECFS leverages tight integration with Google Cloud infrastructure to make it easier to deploy and manage file storage in the public cloud.
December 11th, 2018 by Michael Rink
IBM Announces Spectrum Scale On NVIDIA DGX-1 Server
IBM recently announced a converged appliance developed with NVIDIA, the IBM Spectrum AI with NVIDIA DGX. The Spectrum DGX combines NVIDIA’s DGX-1 server with IBM’s Spectrum Scale on all-flash.
December 10th, 2018 by Marshall Gunnell
Liqid Element AIC Review (7.68TB)
The Liqid Element AIC is an extreme performance, high capacity PCIe SSD, incorporating four m.2 NVMe SSDs and a PCIe switch in a HHHL package. It is designed to handle performance-demanding workloads and offer full compatibility with existing systems that support NVMe devices. Available in the half-height half-length standard form factor, the Element sports a Gen 3.0 x8 PCIe interface that utilizes the latest NVME protocol. The Element has both Data Center and Enterprise models available, with capacities up to 15.40TB and 12.80TB, and offers incredible performance up to 1.25M IOPS or 7GB/s in bandwidth.
December 10th, 2018 by Lyle Smith
QNAP TS-977XU Now Available
QNAP has announced the availability of the TS-977XU AMD Ryzen NAS series, the company’s first 1U hybrid-structure NAS. The TS-977XU is powered by a selection of AMD Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 5 2600 processors with up to 6 cores/12 threads and features redundant power supply models. The new QNAP line features 4x 3.5-inch SATA drive bays for HDDs and 5x 2.5-inch SATA drive bays for SSDs to enable caching and Qtier auto-tiering storage. The TS-977XU also supports QNAP's new software-defined SSD extra over-provisioning, allowing users to allocate additional OP space to SSDs and to attain enterprise-grade performance and lifespan from consumer-grade SSDs.
December 10th, 2018 by Michael Rink
VMware Announces Service Mesh
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Today VMware announced a new service built on the foundation of the Istio Service Mesh, Vmware NSX Service Mesh. VMware is currently targetting a beta release early 2019 that will support only VMware Cloud PKS; with support for additional platforms rolling out later.
December 6th, 2018 by Lyle Smith
Toshiba Adds New Capacities To N300 NAS & X300 HDD Series
Toshiba has unveiled new 12TB and 14TB models to both its N300 NAS and X300 HDD series. These drives sport a 3.5-inch mechanical form factor using laser welding technology, while their helium-sealed case is designed to keep the helium securely inside the enclosure. Both models also operate at 7,200rpm, feature an ultra-high 256MB data buffer, and use Toshiba’s advanced Stable Platter Technology to minimize vibrations. The latter technology stabilizes the motor shaft at both ends for improved tracking accuracy and maximum performance during read and write operations.
December 6th, 2018 by Michael Rink
Broadcom 1st To Ship 7th Gen Fibre Channel HBA
Today Broadcom announced the industry’s first family of Gen 7 Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) designed for accelerating today’s mission-critical enterprise workloads and emerging mission-critical applications including artificial intelligence-based business analytics. The Fibre Channel Industry Association (FCIA) only announced the specifications for 7th generation fibre last month so this is quick work.
December 6th, 2018 by Lyle Smith
QNAP TVS-x72XT NAS Series Now Available
QNAP has announced the availability of the new TVS-x72XT NAS series, which comes in models of 4, 6, and 8 drive bays. Highlighted by 8th Gen Intel Core processors and both 10GBASE-T and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity, the new TVS series is ideal for resource-intensive workloads as well as for transferring, displaying and editing 4K videos in real-time. It also supports M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs and graphics cards for those who work in a high-speed file sharing and collaborative environments.
The Memblaze PBlaze5 910 is a high-performing NVMe SSD designed to significantly enhance application performance. Equipped with 64-layer 3D NAND, the PBlaze5 features massive single-disk capacity up to 15.36TB, which is 40% more than previous models. Memblaze indicates that this will allow their new SSD to increase rack density in storage server applications, saving space and lowering energy costs. Adding ever more energy efficiency to data centers, the 910 series is also reported to increase performance by 38% per watt and supports 16 power mode settings, ranging from 10W to 25W.
The Dell EMC SC5020 fits with Dell EMC's midrange storage portfolio and is available in a range of configurations including HDD, SSD and hybrid. Billed as a flexible workhorse for SMBs, the SC5020 doesn't drop features/functionality to be price competitive. In fact, in terms of capabilities, the SC5020 is on par with the 
Today Samsung released its own take of quad-level cell (QLC) NAND with the 860 QVO SSD. Samsung continues to do its own thing, even with naming conventions, and refers to the technology as 4-bit. The 860 QVO is aimed at maintaining Samsung’s 3-bit performance while lower the costs and thus creating a more efficient and cost-effective product. 
During their Step Ahead event in Beijing, Memblaze launched a new series of 500 NVME drives as well as an expansion of its 900 line to 910 and 916. We will be looking at the 910 series in this review. The new 910 drives are offered in two form factors and leverage 64-Layer 3D NAND, which allows the drives to come in capacities as high as 16TB. This higher density can lead to denser racks or rack consolidation in the data center.
The AMD Radeon Pro WX 8200 is a GPU solution designed for professionals who work with high-end graphics applications such as design, manufacturing, media and entertainment. It is also ideal for those who do their gaming on a notebook. Last year, we looked at a range of professional graphics cards, including high-end (
