Archive for January 2012
Oracle punts carrier-grade Sparc T4 servers • The Register
Sun Microsystems used to be the dot in dot-com, and sold billions and billions of dollars of Sparc/Solaris gear during the first waves of the commercial Internet build out.
While Oracle cannot repeat that history, because of the advent of the commodity x86 servers and commercial Linux distros, Oracle nonetheless can sell ruggedized, carrier-grade Sparc/Solaris machines to telcos and service providers and continues to enhance its Netra line of machines to keep these customers shelling out the clams.It can also sell Sun fire Xeon servers and Oracle Enterprise Linux to carriers if they are so inclined, of course.
But like Sun, Oracle likes the fat margins that its Netra machines carry and thus is upgrading the line with its eight-core Sparc T4 processors.
The general-purpose Sparc T4 servers were launched last September, using the same rack and blade system boards as the prior Sparc T3 servers that employed the 16-core Sparc T3 chips. The Sparc T4 chips have half the number of cores as the Sparc T3s, but as El Reg explained in great detail ahead of the Sparc T4′s debut, the newer S3 cores run at nearly twice the clock speed as the S2 cores used in the Sparc T2 and T3 processors. they also use a more sophisticated threading model that allows for single-threaded applications to run better on the boxes than prior generations of Sparc T series chips – up to five times better, according to Oracle’s benchmark tests.
Back in September, Oracle announced four regular Sparc T4 machines – three racks and a blade server – and the Netra line is getting two rackers and a blade. this machine is a 2U server with a single processor socket that has the option of an eight-core T4 chip running at 2.85GHz or a T4 chip with only four cores working (and costing less money) at the same speed.
All of the general-purpose Sparc T4 machines only had eight-core chips running at 2.85GHz or 3GHz. The machine has 16 DDR3 main memory slots, and supports 4GB, 8GB, and 16GB memory sticks up to a maximum of 256GB total. The system has four Gigabit Ethernet ports on the system board and two optional 10GE ports that hang off the network controllers on the T4 chip.
Oracle’s Netra Sparc T4-1 carrier-grade server
The Netra Sparc T4-1 supports four 2.5-inch drives that are mounted off to the right in the chassis, which leaves most of the front open for cooling fans. (The commercial Sparc T4-1 supports more disks and has fewer fans.) It also has five PCI-Express 2.0 x8 slots for peripheral expansion.
What makes it carrier-grade, besides the extra cooling, is the ability to use DC as well as AC power supplies, in this case a maximum of two 1,200 watters if you want redundancy. The DC power supply can take 48 volt or 60 volt power, while the AC unit can scale from 100 volts to 240 volts. The DC supplies cost a couple grand extra.
The Netra machine has also been through the NEBS Level 3 environmental tests required by telcos to prove that it is rugged enough to run reliably in harsh environments.
The Netra Sparc T4-1 runs either Solaris 10 or Solaris 11. a small configuration with a four-core T4 chip, 16GB of memory, and one 300GB of disk costs $15,386 with DC power. a mid-sized configuration with one eight-core T4 chip, 128GB of memory, two 300GB disks, and DC power costs $34,014. The full up machine with four disks and 256GB of memory costs $48,512.
The Netra Sparc T4-2 puts the two-socket Oracle T series motherboard used in the regular Sparc T4-2 server in a 4U chassis that can support up to four of those 1,200 watt AC or DC power supplies. The machine uses the 2.85GHz Sparc T4 chips, and this time only the eight-core variant. The machine can only be purchased with two processors, by the way.
The Netra Sparc T4-2 telco server
The machine has 32 memory slots, for a maximum of 512GB of memory, plus four Gigabit Ethernet ports on the mobo, four of those funky 10GE ports that hang off the T4 chips (two per socket), room for eight 2.5-inch SAS drives, and four PCI-Express x8 slots. It runs Solaris 10 and 11, just like its baby Netra brother.
The small configuration for the Netra Sparc T4-2 has those two T4 chips, 64GB of memory, one 300GB disk, and DC power supplies for $44,945. if your workload might be CPU heavy and memory light, and you have the space for the fatter chassis, the base Netra T4-2 is a better deal than the fat Netra T4-1. The midrange Netra T4-2 has 128GB of memory and four disks for $53,572, while the fully loaded box with 512GB of memory and eight disks will run a cool $93,448 with DC power.
That leaves the blade servers, that are DC powered by nature as they plug into the Sun Blade 6000 chassis, which has to get DC power and NEBS certification to become carrier-grade.
The Netra Sparc T4-1B blade server has a single eight-core T4 processor running at 2.85GHz and has the same 16 memory slots supporting up to 256GB of memory as the Netra T4-1 rack machine.
The Netra T4-1 blade is a racker tipped on its side with a funky backplane
The Sun Blades don’t have their own peripheral slots, but rather plug into the chassis, where PCI and most network interfaces are virtualized in hardware and externalized to reach the outside world. The Sun blades have two Gigabit Ethernet ports on the board for networking, as well as a 100Mbit fast Ethernet port for system management, but otherwise everything goes through the midplane. The blade does have room for two disks.
With 16GB of memory and one disk, a Netra T4-1B blade server will run you $15,981. Boost the memory to 128GB and add the second disk, and you are up to $26,470. Max it out at 256GB and you’re talking $39,950. You have to buy the chassis yet, of course.
For all of these machines, if you need more storage, Oracle suggests the Storage 2500-M2 arrays, which are NEBS Level 3 certified.
Relational database times ten
In addition to the new Netra boxes, Oracle also updated its TimesTen in-memory relational database and slapped the 11g R2 version on it to give it the same brand and release level as its eponymous database that runs on disk and now flash/disk hybrids.
The details were a little thin on what has been updated with TimesTen 11g R2, but Oracle said that the update includes performance and scalability enhancements. Significantly, this iteration of the TimesTen in-memory database is at the heart of Oracle’s Exalytics analytics appliance, which was announced at OpenWorld last October. So now, if you want to build your own Exalytics on different iron than Oracle’s servers, you can. ®
Marketing a Band Or Musician – A Professional Appearing CD is the Only Way
Every garage band has a desire to break into the mainstream and one day hear their voices on the radio. Bands record performances of one show and often sell them at another. sometimes these copies are even forwarded to radio stations in hopes of receiving airplay, but homemade CDs are not the best option to send to any radio station. when one tries to break into any business it is important to be professional every step of the way.
Although the music on the homemade CD is great, the package can deter a listener from even playing it. not many people want to listen to an album that comes in a blank case or labeled with an address label. Having the right artwork and layout can make all the difference. An eye catching jewel case or printed sleeve can make a person take notice. An insert booklet with a jewel case can show a listener what the band is all about and keep their interest peaked. A printed sleeve can be more economical for larger distribution, while still informing the listener of the band. Options for cases vary between jewel cases, sleeves, and shell cases, and each can help the CD stand out on its own.
Getting a printed CD can keep one band’s music from getting mixed up with another’s. Radio stations and record executives receive many CDs every day. CDs without any distinguishing factors can easily get grouped in with all the others. by having a print on the CD itself, the information is at the listener’s fingertips. If the jewel case or sleeve were to get misplaced, the CD could still be identified properly. the artwork printed on the CD can be the same as the jewel case or sleeve, or it can have a style all its own.
With so many bands attempting to break into the music business everyday, having a demo CD with fantastic artwork can help set a band apart. A professional printing of many CDs and cases can be economical for the band without a lot of capital to invest. Bulk printing can help produce more CDs at a lower cost so more radio stations and record companies can be provided with copies. by blanketing the local stations, record producers, and the public with copies of the music, any band can get the recognition they desire. Eventually, the talent and professionalism of a band can help them become exposed in the mainstream.
Marketing a Band Or Musician – A Professional Appearing CD is the Only Way
PC RAM Problems – Solve It
A Random Access Memory (RAM) is a computer’s physical memory where data or information is being taken from the hard drive and shown to the user, acting as the interface area between user and static data. You can additional RAM for your computer at the Collingswood Computer Repair.
This memory is where operating systems are being booted to. the larger the physical memory may increase the performance of a typical machine. Although adding more RAM modules easy, detecting and fixing a RAM problem can be a nasty one.
One might get a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with error codes displayed sometimes indicating a problematic RAM module. This is commonly caused by a defective RAM module. before going ahead to check that the memory stick is faulty or not, inspect the arrangement of memory modules – whether is it correctly installed or not.
Memory modules should be installed according to their channels and slot numbers. To avoid erros and mistakes, Collingswood Computer Repair can help you to install your RAM modules. if a memory module is installed in other slots than the first slot (usually #0), a system will not boot thus giving errors such as a BSOD. Inspecting a wrongly installed RAM stick and reinstalling it into the right slot should be the first thing to do.
To detect for a faulty RAM module in a system setup, one might need to use a memory diagnostic tool by Microsoft, or a third party diagnostic tool called MemTest86 that can be downloaded form the Internet. the software is booted from the CD image and each RAM slot is being diagnosed with a number of passes of tests – a faulty RAM module will not complete the test or errors being reported in the end.
A faulty RAM module should not be fixed by non professionals. RAM modules are backed by lifetime warranties so the only solution is to return it back to your RAM vendor or send it back to the manufacturer for replacement unit. the professionals at the Collingswood Computer Repair can also help you with your RAM problems.
Advantage of Linux VPS Hosting Over Windows VPS Hosting
If you’re planning to host a website, VPS hosting is the best way to do it since the cost is low when compared to other servers like Windows Virtual private server servers or dedicated servers. It also provides better authorization. Linux VPS hosting is open source software and it provides the same advantage as provided in the Windows based Virtual private server hosting.
If you choose Virtual private server hosting, you can have your set up and controls at low cost. You can also run your own operating system and install any software you need in the server. It is a secured one and you need not have any worries about losing your data. If you’re not comfortable with shared hosting, you can shift to Virtual private server hosting. The Hosting server offers the best dedicated servers contrary to a main server partitioned into many.
Most people are familiar with Windows hosting since it came first to the market and administrators are familiar with the Windows process. Windows based hosting is used for huge websites or complicated applications which can be run easily and provides customized set up. The biggest advantage that Linux hosting has over Windows Virtual private server hosting is its open source software and since there is no license for software, it reduces the cost by a huge margin. If you’re going with windows VPS hosting, you have to pay fees to buy license from Microsoft. The price factor is the biggest reason why many prefer Linux Hosting.
Windows programmers prefer working with Windows hosting because few Windows programs may not work well in a Linux system. Internet hackers target websites with their viruses and malicious software and Microsoft gets caught into it. meanwhile, Linux doesn’t have virus issues because of its free and open source nature. both Windows and Linux VPS hosting are good but make sure that you have the right tools in place to install all the software and run the operating system perfectly.
In case you have problems with re-installing your operating system with Linux, there are a number of ways to rectify it. The Linux VPS hosting is also provided with limited bandwidth and space for free but you can increase the size later based on your requirement at less cost. However, it is to be noted that in shared hosting, the bandwidth and space are unlimited.
The up time will be good in Linux VPS hosting compared with Windows Virtual private server hosting because of it being an open source. You can make modification in coding which will take up less space compared to Windows Virtual private server Program. But if you desire to obtain remote desktop access it is better to opt for Windows.
You can save plenty of money in Linux VPS hosting compared to Windows VPS hosting because of the cost and because it is efficient and easy to handle.
Best AMD Processor For a Mid to High-End Gaming PC
AMD processors are favorites of many hardcore gamers. a common question asked by many gamers new to the PC scene or converts who are more familiar with Intel processors is, what is the best AMD gaming processor? the answer to that depends largely on your budget and what you want to do. for budgeting, consider that new PC technology comes out nearly month by month, so a new PC isn’t likely to have the performance to keep up with the latest games for more than 2-3 years. more hardcore gamers may even prefer to do annual upgrades, while some casual gamers may be able to go 4-5 years between gaming PC purchases.
This is something important to consider when deciding which system is right for you. Gamers who are somewhere in between hardcore and casual may often find themselves better off purchasing a middle of the road system now at a bargain price, and then doing the same thing a couple of years down the road. This is because there tends to be steep price increases as you get towards the very top of the line, latest technology. a top of the line system can cost double or more the price of a good middle of the road system, and won’t necessarily last twice as long. On the other hand, serious gamers may demand ultra-high performance and if you have the budget for it that is one of the great things PC gaming offers over console systems: the absolute latest innovations available nearly right away.
So what is the best AMD gaming processor? well there are three basic options, all of them excellent for certain types of gamers:
AMD Dual Core CPUs
The AMD Athlon II X2 Dual Core Processor is a great basic gaming CPU and a solid choice for a multi-use PC that will be used in a home or office. its dual-core processing means it can simultaneously process two streams of commands at the rated speed of the chip, meaning it’s even faster for casual gamers or gamers on a tight budget, this processor is an excellent choice.
AMD Quad Core CPUs
The AMD Athlon II X4 Quad Core CPU isn’t the most powerful in the AMD family but it’s extremely popular because it delivers a great deal of performance at middle of the road pricing. a quad core processor, this CPU delivers 4x the punch and has the power to run just about any game currently on the market. for casual gamers looking for higher performance or hardcore gamers looking to keep the budget from breaking the bank, the Athlon II x4 Quad Core is a great choice.
AMD Phenom II six Core CPUs
For the truly hardcore gamer who craves the absolute latest and greatest, check out the AMD PhenomII X6 six Core CPU. This processor rocks the world of high level gaming with simply phenomenal performance, as the name suggests. AMD six Core CPUs (1055T 2.8GHz and 1090T 3.2GHz Black Edition) are the cheapest six Core CPUs available to market at the moment.
New Year’s Resolution Advertising Tips for Small Businesses: Use Your Window
This new Year, resolve to help your small business take advantage of free advertising space: your storefront window did you know that the biggest mistake small businesses make is failing to put their storefront window to good use? Simply slapping a sign on your window doesn’t cut it. If your window sign is small, generic and boring, customers will think that your business is, too.
Large window graphics and vinyl lettering can create a bold and powerful presence for your business. Even better, window graphic advertising naturally enhances visibility for your business by increasing the number of daily impressions. for a storefront window, every person who passes by will see your advertising message. that sure beats hoping folks will notice your ad when it’s buried in the back of the local paper Whether potential customers drive by on their daily commute or walk by while en route to another store, they’ll see your window and – most importantly – see your advertising message.
Ready to take your windows from boring to bold? Follow the three rules of successful window advertising:
Rule #1: go big, go bold.
Full-length window graphics make an eye-catching and bold statement about your business. If your business is located on a busy street or in a strip mall, then the bigger and bolder the graphics, the better. choose visual images that really pop. just be sure that the graphics reflect your business’s brand. for example, fun, bright colors are perfect for a company catering to young adults, while sleek graphics and muted colors connote a sophisticated clientele.
Rule #2: Communicate your message in seconds.
A successful window graphic will brand your business and sell your product – all before potential customers even walk through your door. in order to get results, your graphic needs to clearly communicate your message. Don’t let your product get lost in the design. choose one simple slogan and stick with it. If your main selling point is that all your seasonal merchandise is 50% off, then say this with bold 50% OFF vinyl lettering. Simple, clean designs get results. Clutter obscures your message and confuses customers.
Rule #3: go with the local professionals.
Choosing the team to design and install your window graphics is the most important window advertising decision you can make. When properly applied, your window graphic can last for years. A sloppy job or inferior materials, however, reflects poorly on your business – and wastes your time and money. When selecting a vendor, it always pays to go with the local professionals rather than a faceless online company. an experienced staff and in-house graphic design team can help you create affordable and effective signage – and get it installed right the first time. Plus, if you need follow-up assistance, your local professional team will be just around the corner. with an online company, you’ll be stuck sending emails into cyberspace and dealing with an outsourced customer care team.
Bottom line: the new Year is the perfect time to re-think your business’s advertising strategy. in these tough economic times, resolve to stop wasting money on ads that fail to generate business. Instead, transform your storefront windows into affordable and effective advertising
New Year’s Resolution Advertising Tips for Small Businesses: Use Your Window
Getting a Successful Virtual Manager Via Microsoft Project
If you would like a structured plan that is tailored to the individual needs of your assignments you may like to learn more about Microsoft (MS) Project.
This versatile application is widely used by businesses as it is designed to help you run tasks effectively. the software can be used to create an array of documents that detail the resources, costs and time taken up by projects. As well as helping you to keep on top of assignments, MS Project can help you perform budget analysis, while it can also flag up potential problems that may crop up as your campaign continues. Entrepreneurs wishing to push the success of their teams may like to take full advantage of this project management software that can be custom built by you.
The software allows you to create the ideal documents, graphs and text that reflect the specific needs of your assignment. MS Project gives you the opportunity to use templates that can hold data about your task. For example, if you are planning on running an advertising campaign for a client, you may like to enter into a document the members of your team who will be involved in the task, the funds you have available to complete it and the date at which you customer would like to receive your finished product. These factors are straightforward aspects of many projects and ones you are likely to have already considered.
However, MS Project is a great aid when it comes to analysis of these factors and as your assignment continues you can use it to get an accurate impression of how it is progressing. For example you can set dates for the objectives of your task and allocate the relevant funding, while analytical tools can show you the impact that missing goals may have on funding so you can prepare for issues that may affect your project. This application can ensure that the majority of aspects of your assignment are as well-controlled as possible.
You may like to achieve this by taking advantage of MS Project’s custom templates. Building your own documents means that you can modify the design of your files so they are as personalised as possible. For example, you may like to adapt formulas in order to see the impact of one variable on another, like the number of hours employees can commit to the project minus the number of holiday hours booked by workers. in addition, if you are using custom templates, you can also adapt toolbars so the commands you find most helpful are easily-accessible.
As you are creating your project management document you are likely to have entered all the fields that will have an impact on the successful running of your campaign. you may have entered information such as names of your colleagues and other companies helping you, their fees and the resources used, as well as the costs involved. if you intend to use your personalised document to inform your managers on certain aspects of the campaign you may like to take the opportunity to use MS Project’s visual highlights functions. These can add shading to your graphs and tables, which can make them easier on the eye, while also drawing attention to important aspects of the project, like funding.
In addition, you may also like to present to your employers potential outcomes of your campaign should certain elements, such as the costs of resources, go awry. using the programmes analytical tools you can demonstrate and highlight possible tricky issues that you can prepare for.
Cisco Router Security Basics
Nowadays we always hear the word router but what exactly is a router? Well, simply put, a Cisco Router is an electronic device that channels internet data to where it supposed to go.
Just like the old telephone operators and the old style telephone exchange where they put certain plugs into certain sockets in order to connect to certain people. the router operates much in the same way, only that they have made it faster and more efficient to be able to handle a huge amount of internet data, sometimes as much as 125 megabyte or 125 MB for data each second for the newer high speed gigabit LAN networks.
The job of the Cisco Router in a typical computer home network is to route that data to the computer that is requesting for it. the way it does is by identifying each and every computer that is connected to the router individually using what is called an IP address. IP stands for Internet Protocol address. this is the exact location where the computer is located.
Remember that unlike the websites that are denoted by.com or.net. org, addresses of devices that use the internet are denoted by numbers. these numbers are what identify each and every device that is connected to the router.
Another use of the Cisco Router is to allow more than one internet device to access the internet at the same time. Unlike an internet switch or a hub, the router can generate its own IP address to identify any device that it is connected to it.
Recently there is the advent of the Cisco Router that has wireless connection aside from the wired connections. a wireless connection is basically the same as a wired connection, only that it uses another communication standard to allow devices to connect to it.
There are actually different kinds of routers. the one that is known by a lot of people are the ones that you normally find being sold in computer supply stores. There are also certain kinds of Cisco Router that are used in business. these are not your typical routers that you buy for your home network. these are big routers that can handle a huge number of internet connections and interconnections before turning it over to the servers. these routers have more than one system to handle all data loads that need to be distributed to the various client computers.
These types of routers are big and more often not costing a lot of money, not because they offer the best types of data routing, but for the protection that comes with these types of Cisco Router, they pay for themselves when used in big corporations that need protection and data routing services that these types of big routers can provide.
If you want to ensure that all computers in your personal network, or your business network to get as much protection and efficiency in handling internet traffic, the Cisco routers are your best bet.
Does Windows Update Slow Down Computer? It Depends
Contrary to what others may tell you, that Windows Updates slows your computer down, I am happy to convey to you that it is not true. Microsoft thought about the idea of updating your computer in the background and they came up with a brilliant idea. Whenever your computer’s internet connection is idle, windows updates kicks in and use the idle part of your connection. It doesn’t interfere with your internet broadband speed.
If you turn off Windows Update because you think it is slowing down your computer then I suggest you put it back on. Windows Update only use the idle connection, so whenever you are busy downloading your own files, it stops itself and picks back up only after your download has completed and your internet connection is idle.
Also installing Windows Updates may not slow down your computer. the reason why I use may not is because if you do not check what updates you install on your computer you may be allowing Microsoft to install updates that are not relevant to you. For example if you are not a web application developer and you install Microsoft SQL updates on your computer, then some of your resources may be used to start the services that belong to this update, even though you do not use the service.
You have total control over what updates are installed on your computer, so whenever you are presented with Windows Update Utility, click on the advanced option and you get to see all the available updates, from here you can read their descriptions and decide which one you want on your system.
I hope I have managed to convince you that Windows Updates may not slow down computer if you know what you are doing. Download only the essential and important updates, leave out some of the recommended updates that may not apply to you.
Cisco CCNA (640-553) Security Exam Training – Using the Access-List Remark Command
In today’s article, I’m going to quickly inform you about the Cisco IOS Global configuration command named access-list remark.
CCNA’s (like you) use the access-list remark command to write a helpful comment (remark) for an entry in a numbered IP access list.
Note: the comment (remark) can be up to 100 characters long; and any comment (remark) that is longer than 100 characters will be truncated.
Below is the command’s syntax:
access-list access-list-number remark remark
As you can see, the command uses the access-list-number and remark arguments.
access-list-number – This argument is used to indicate the number of an IP access list.
remark - and, this argument is the actual comment (remark) that describes the access list entry. (Remember the comment (remark) has a limit of 100 characters)
Below is an example of the command being used:
Router#configure terminal
Router(config)#access-list 1 remark Only allow the abc workstation to get through
Router(config)#access-list 1 permit 172.69.2.98
Router(config)#access-list 1 remark do not allow the xyz workstation to get through
Router(config)#access-list 1 deny 172.69.3.14
Router#copy run start
In the example above, the workstation on the abc network that has the IP address 172.69.2.98 will be able to get its IP traffic through; but, the workstation that is on the xyz network that has the IP address 172.69.3.14 will not.
As you can clearly see, the access-list remark statements are commenting on the ACL behavior.
And, like with mostly all Cisco IOS commands; you can use the word no in front of the command to remove (disable) the configured command; like you see below:
Router(config)#no access-list 1 remark
I hope this article was very informative and helped you quickly understand the usage of the access-list remark command. if you need to learn more; I suggest you visit my website, were you’ll find the latest information regarding the Cisco CCNA (640-553) Security exam techniques.
To your success,
Cisco CCNA (640-553) Security Exam Training – Using the Access-List Remark Command
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