FEATURED OPERATING SYSTEMS AND SERVERS ARTICLE

30 January

The downside of the cloud

Cloud technology is being much talked about - particularly as a storage option. But what if there are problems, how do you cope. It's important to have your strategy in place before you commit.

More OPERATING SYSTEMS AND SERVERS INSIGHT ARTICLES

• Why IT freeze will unfreeze in the cloud
  Cloud computing offers respite for IT departments gripped by recessionary spending freezes.
• Broker warns of VMware slowdown
  Financial broker Morgan Stanley has questioned VMware's ability to meet its fourth quarter revenue numbers, after a turbulent 12 months for the virtualisation giant that saw the ousting of its co-founders, and a massive decline in its share price.
• Cisco ready to take on data centres
  Cisco has dominated the newtorking market but it's now casting envious eyes on the data centre in a bid to become a dominant player there, treading on the toes of some of its partners in the process. How will the company shape up in this new arena?
• XenServer 5.0 offers host of new features
  The debate about virtualisation has tended to focus on the scrap between the two major players - Microsoft and VMware - butthere's a third player in the arena, Citrix, that stays in the shadows. But its latest offering, XenServer 5.0 has a lot to recommend it.
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• Microsoft steams into services with Azure
  Microsoft has bet big on cloud computing and the Azure platform. It has to make rapid steps to catch up with the likes of Amazon and Google who have set the pace in the market. Yet, all the signs are the company could do it and make Azure a mainstay of the computing world for some time.
• Virtualisation and security - the risks explored
  While server virtualisation increases operational efficiencies and management flexibility, and reduces total cost of ownership, it can also increase security risks. Here's an explanation of how.
• Don't listen to the doom-sayers on Vista
  To listen to some of the research companies, Vista has been an almighty flop with few saving graces. But,we've been here before and we shouldn't write Vista off just yet.
• Microsoft's open-source whizz under dual attack
  Being the director for open-source technology at Microsoft must be a job that's on par with sweeping up in no-man's land. Sam Ramji is under attack from an open-source community for whom Microsoft is the Great Satan and within his own company, with its long-standing suspicion of Linux. But Ramj doesn't seem fazed by his balancing act.
• Who said moving VMs across a physical server is such a bright idea?
  The ability to move a virtual machine from one physical server to another has long been recognised as one of the advantages of VMware, but how important it is? It could be argued that it's only of interest to an IT manager with a death wish.
• Linux set to make mobile splash?
  Android has raised the profile, and iPhone has raised the stakes. The world is ready for mobile Linux.
• Can open source fly on mobiles?
  When Nokia hands the Symbian OS over, the majority of the world's smartphones will be on an open source OS. Will it change the game, or suffer fragmentation and undue vendor influence?
• 5 easy ways to commit career suicide
  If you've never made a huge career-limiting mistake at work, be grateful - and watch out for all the many ways that one could still sneak upon you.
• 5 IT skills that won't boost your salary
  Technical skills may never die, but areas of expertise wane in importance as technology advances, forcing companies to evolve and IT staff to forsake yesterday's crafts in favour of tomorrow's must-have talents.
• Water-cooled servers gaining steam
  Using water to cool servers isn't a new idea, but it is gaining new converts at a time when fears of global warming and rising energy costs are making datacentre operators and server vendors search for ways to increase efficiency.
• The next big move in chip manufacturing
  The time for change has come, says Joe Draina, associate director of International Sematech Manufacturing Initiative, in this interview with the Techworld-affiliated IDG News Service.
• Every silver lining has a cloud
  What spooks Microsoft's chief security advisor - is no news, bad news?
• What does reselling VMware do for Sun?
  Sun has just cut a deal with VMware that results in the hardware company increasingly donning the clothes of its competition. But why would the company do such a thing - and what does it mean for its customers?
• Windows XP SP3: The improvements are under the bonnet
  Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3), just out from Microsoft as Release Candidate 2 (RC2), may not necessarily be worth the download now, but when it's finally released, it'll be worth the effort.
• A pair of green-IT users
  Austin Energy and WellPoint show how to grow your green credentials

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