Fusion-io Puts a Little Flash Into Cisco Blades to Boost Productivity [Portfolio]

Fusion-io has struck up an OEM relationship with Cisco that will see its ioMemory flash platform architected into the Cisco Unified Computing System (Cisco UCS) Server, which the companies say will reduce latency and ultimately improve productivity for enterprises. [Full Story on Network Computing]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.

Experts: Deploy IPv6 If You Haven’t, and Prepare for the New Normal [Portfolio]

Face it. It’s time to deploy IPv6.

“No more excuses,” said Vint Cerf, Google’s chief Internet evangelist. “You have to be able to run IPv4 and IPv6 at the same time.” AdTech Ad

Cerf was one of many high-ranking executives from leading technology companies including Google, Cisco, Yahoo and Akamai who participated in a live online event hosted by the Internet Society (ISOC) after last week’s World IPv6 Launch day. [Full Story on Network Computing]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.

World IPv6 Launch Day Is Here: Time for an IPv6 Deployment Strategy [Portfolio]

Last year, it was a dress rehearsal. Now it’s showtime for enterprises on World IPv6 Launch day. On June 6, 2011, many companies turned IPv6 on for 24 hours to monitor its impact on the Internet. Today, many World IPv6 Day participants (including Google, Akamai Technologies and AT&T) plan to turn IPv6 support on and leave it on. [Full Story on Network Computing]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.

Segments of Cisco Catalyst 6500 Line Nearing End of Life: What Now? [Portfolio]

It’s time: Cisco Systems has issued end-of-life announcements for segments of its Catalyst 6503, 6506 and 6509 platforms. Customers will have until November to receive hardware support; that same month, the vendor will stop selling its Catalyst 6513. Hardware support for the 6513 will cease in August 2017. [Full Story on Network Computing]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.

Software-Defined Networking Market to Soar to $2B….But Not Yet [Portfolio]

Over at Network Computing, I write about the potential market for software-defined networking:

Software-defined networking (SDN) is poised for rapid growth and has the potential to solve specific business problems for enterprise networks–but it’s still early days for the technology, analysts caution.

IDC predicts software-defined networking will grow from a $200 million market in 2013 to $2 billion by 2016. The primary driver for the growth is highly virtualized network environments, and customers who need programmable networks, says Lee Doyle, group vice president, networking and security at IDC. “Customers have always wanted to tune the network, but network management tools have been poor or non-existent.” [Read the full article…]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.

Resource Management Tools Dominate at Best of Interop Awards [Portfolio]

This year’s winners of InformationWeek Reports’ Best of Interop Awards highlight the need for resource management tools, particularly for virtualized environments.

NEC Corporation of America’s ProgrammableFlow Controller, the PF6800, was awarded Best of Interop Overall. V3 Systems garnered Best Startup for its V3 Optimized Desktop Allocation product, which improves availability of virtualized desktop infrastructures (see “Innovative Tools Help NEC, V3 Take Top Honors at Best of Interop”). NEC’s PF6800 also won the Management, Monitoring and Testing category. [Full story]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.

Innovative Tools Help NEC, V3 Take Top Honors at Best of Interop [Portfolio]

Innovation ruled the day when it came time to crown the Best of Interop Overall and Best Startup for InformationWeek Reports’ Best of Interop Awards.

The Best of Interop Overall award went to NEC Corporation of America’s NEC ProgrammableFlow Controller, PF6800, which also claimed the Management, Monitoring and Testing honors. According to head judge Steven Hill, the PF6800 is particularly relevant in light of the growing interest in software-defined networks (SDNs). [Full story]

Gary Hilson is a writer, editor and digital media specialist for hire. He lives in Toronto.