Researchers Announce First All-Photonic Nonvolatile Memory Chip

Researchers from Oxford University, the University of Münster, the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and the University of Exeter have created the world’s first all-photonic nonvolatile memory chip.

A paper published this week in the journal Nature Photonics describes how intense pulses of light sent through a waveguide can change the state of Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) material — the same as that used in rewritable CDs and DVDs. The pulse of light causes the material to melt and assume an amorphous structure.

Less intensive pulses of light cause the material to enter into a crystalline state. The difference in state affects how much light is transmitted in subsequent pulses, enabling data to be stored as optical bits as either 1s or 0s.  The state can be preserved for extended periods of time. Moreover, the researchers say the optical bits can be re-written at frequencies of up to one gigahertz.

http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2015-09-21-light-based-memory-chip-first-ever-store-data-permanently
https://www.kit.edu/kit/english/17407.php
http://www.nature.com/nphoton/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphoton.2015.182.html

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Cisco Forms $100 Million Joint Venture with China's Inspur

Cisco and Inspur (浪潮), a leader server and super computing company based in China, agreed to set up a joint-venture in China to sell networking technologies and products, build world-class information technologies and solutions, and deliver other advanced technologies and services in areas including IT infrastructure, cloud, data center, smart cities, and big data.

The companies will invest an initial US$100 million in the joint venture.

The announcement comes during President Xi Jingping's first state visit to the United States.

Earlier this year, Cisco said it would invest US$10 billion in China to support local innovation and the country's ongoing technology transformation.

In a blog post, Cisco'c CEO Chuck Robbins writes "I’m optimistic that working with Inspur will add to the recent momentum that we’ve seen in our business in China. Today, China represents approximately 3% of our business, and being the world’s second largest economy, we see the potential to increase this considerably over time. Our fiscal Q4 results in China were more encouraging than any quarter over the past two years. During my June visit, we had incredibly constructive discussions with customers and key ministries that were focused on our ability to deliver customer solutions that only our unique partnership capabilities can bring."

http://blogs.cisco.com/news/cisco-and-china-a-long-term-view

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AT&T NetBond Connects with CSC Agility Platform for Cloud Services

CSC and AT&T are teaming up to offer an easier way for enterprises to manage workloads across hybrid cloud networks.

The joint solution integrates the CSC Agility Platform with the AT&T NetBond services, enabling developers to rapidly and consistently provision apps onto cloud and network services using automation. Users can access multiple cloud providers from a CSC Agility Platform single control plane over AT&T’s virtual private network. The CSC Agility Platform quickly applies policies to multiple clouds.

“We’re combining our strengths to provide a complete hybrid cloud management solution,” said Jon Summers, senior vice president, AT&T Mobile & Business Solutions. “The CSC Agility Platform can manage multiple clouds from one dashboard and AT&T NetBond provides on-demand, dynamic network management.”

“We’re creating a more consistent blueprint for hybrid cloud apps. This makes the user experience easier and more complete, while improving conformance with enterprise guidelines. The joint solution does just that,” said Dan Hushon, CSC chief technology officer. “This is a step forward for enterprise cloud service -- end-to-end control helps the most complex environments work better.”

http://www.csc.com/global_alliances/alliances/112505-at_t
http://about.att.com/story/revolutionize_hybrid_cloud_management.html

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Microsoft Inks Deal with Baidu for Windows 10 in China

Baidu.com will become the default homepage and search for the Microsoft Edge browser in Windows 10 for China.

In return, Baidu, which has over 600 million active users in China, will become a Windows 10 distribution channel for Microsoft. Baidu will offer a “Windows 10 Express” version to its users. Additionally, Baidu will deliver Universal Windows Applications for Search, Video, Cloud and Maps for Windows 10.

Microsoft said it remains committed to delivering Bing around the world.

Microsoft also announced that Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi will adopt Windows Azure, operated by 21Vianet and based on Microsoft technology, to provide cloud services for Mi Cloud. Xiaomi also uses a domestic cloud platform operated by its sister company.
  http://blogs.windows.com/bloggingwindows/2015/09/23/windows-10-in-china/

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Samsung's NVMe SSD Boasts Read Speed of 2,500 MB/s

Samsung introduced the first consumer-ready, Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) M.2 form factor SSD with vertical NAND (V-NAND) technology and supporting the Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) 3.0 interface.

The 950 PRO, which will be available in 512 GB and 256GB storage capacities, boasts sequential read/write speeds of up to 2,500 MB/s and 1,500 MB/s. Random read performance is up to 300,000 IOPS, with write speeds of up to 110,000 IOPS. It features Samsung's second generation MLC V-NAND 32-layer 128Gb die with UBX controller and magician software.

The drive features AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption to protect data and Dynamic Thermal Guard, which can protect the device and data in inclement weather from 0 to 70 degrees Celsius. It can also withstand physical shock of up to 1500G/0.5ms and vibrations up to 20G.

Pricing starts at $199.99 for the 256GB capacity and $349.99 for the 512GB capacity.

http://www.samsung.com/950PRO

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Google Cloud Dataproc Brings Fast Hadoop & Spark Cluster Provisioning

Google introduced new capabilities for managing clusters of Hadoop and Spark.

Google Cloud Dataproc, which is now in beta,  is a managed Spark and Hadoop service that leverages open source data tools for batch processing, querying, streaming, and machine learning. The service can be used to create and manage clusters ranging in size from 3 to hundreds of nodes.

Google said its Cloud Dataproc can create Spark and Hadoop clusters in 90 seconds or less, compared to 5 to 30 minutes using on-premises or IaaS providers.

http://googlecloudplatform.blogspot.com/2015/09/Google-Cloud-Dataproc-Making-Spark-and-Hadoop-Easier-Faster-and-Cheaper.html

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Verizon Brings Private Traffic Mgt to LTE

Verizon introduced a Private Network Traffic Management solution that works with its LTE network to give enterprises better performance and the ability to enable prioritization among mobile applications.

The subscription-based service, which is available only to Verizon Private Network customers, can be added to select Verizon Private Network 4G LTE devices for a monthly fee per user, based on the service level option selected. The service levels that can be assigned to applications, include:

• Premium & Enhanced: Available to all Verizon Private Network customers, the Premium and Enhanced service level options allow customers to allocate portions of their 4G LTE connection, in correlation with the selected subscription, for sending mission critical applications.
• Public Safety: Data applications traversing this top-tier service level exclusively available to Public Safety customers who subscribe to the Verizon Private Network, including Emergency Services or other first responders, will receive the highest transmission priority to enable critical communications to reach their destination quickly.

“The surge in enterprise mobility and IoT adoption by organizations has created a demand for powerful networking solutions that are the growth engine for successful initiatives,” said Shawn Hakl, vice president of enterprise networking and innovation with Verizon Enterprise Solutions.

http://news.verizonenterprise.com/2015/09/private-network-traffic-management-4glte/




See video: https://youtu.be/JS5eU4_OcJc

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Equinix to Power all its California Data Centers with Solar

Equinix signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for 105 megawatts (MWAC) of new solar power with SunEdison -- enough energy to offset the consumption of its 11 data centers and headquarters in California.

SunEdison will build a new solar farm near Calexico, California, just north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The project is expected to come online in the second half of 2016. The Mount Signal Solar II project is expected to generate 300,000 MWh per year to offset Equinix's electrical consumption.

Equinix said this power purchase agreement will effectively reduce its carbon footprint by over 180 million lbs of CO2 annually – the equivalent of taking 18,000 passenger cars off of U.S. roads each year. Equinix will also receive Green-e certified renewable energy certificates from SunEdison to bridge the approximately 12 months from contract execution to project completion.

http://www.equinix.com

Equinix Commits to 100% Clean and Renewal Data Center Energy

Wednesday, April 22, 2015  Data Centers, Equinix, Green  No comments

Equinix committed to a long-term goal to use 100% clean and renewable energy to power its global platform, which now includes data centers in over 33 markets on five continents. Equinix aims to deliver carbon-neutral data center and interconnection services.

In 2014, Equinix consumed over 2,200 gigawatt hours of energy across its global data center platform.

In a blog posting, David Rinard is Senior Director of Global Sustainability & Procurement at Equinix, describes the company's newly adopted set of Renewable Energy Principles.

https://blog.equinix.com/2015/04/living-by-our-principles-and-a-commitment-to-100-renewable-energy-use/

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ADVA's CloudConnect DCI Carries 2 X 200 Gbps Wavelengths over 385km Span

The Poznań Supercomputing and Networking Center (PSNC) has tested ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 3000 CloudConnect platform to link two data centers at 400 Gbps.

The trial connected research and education centers in Poznań and Warsaw over a 385 km fiber span using the live commercial PIONIER network. PIONIER is a consortium of Polish research and education organizations and its network is operated domestically by PSNC. The ADVA FSP 3000 CloudConnect was configured with two 200 Gbps wavelengths operating at 16QAM within an optical super-channel. The system also featured reconfigurable add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) and hybrid amplifiers. The company said its DCI technology transported data continuously for 14 hours without any block errors.

“Our DCI technology is helping to redefine the market. It’s completely changed people’s expectations about what’s possible,” said Christoph Glingener, CTO, ADVA Optical Networking. “Our 400 Gbps trial with PSNC is the latest example of this. It’s a landmark event for our FSP 3000 CloudConnect™. Transporting 400 Gbps over 385km at 16QAM and with no errors is a clear indication of how robust and reliable our technology is. In many respects, this is what stands our DCI solution apart. It’s true plug and play. There are very few companies in our industry that can make that statement and mean it. This trial is another clear illustration of why our DCI technology is proving so popular with customers.”

• In June 2015, ADVA Optical Networking introduced its Data Center Interconnect (DCI) solution designed for Internet Content Providers (ICPs) and Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). The ADVA FSP 3000 CloudConnect, which is available in multiple chassis configurations including four rack units (4RUs), features a 400 Gbps single line card. It can transport up to 25.6 Tbps  duplex capacity per fiber pair from a single rack, delivering 51.2 Tbps of total throughput at 1.4 Tbps per rack unit. It includes amplifiers, multiplexers and all other necessary components .  ADVA said its FSP 3000 CloudConnect has been specifically engineered to scale and there’s no client port lock-in. As new Ethernet data rates emerge, they can be supported by plugging new line cards into the entire range of chassis. Instead of an active backplane, the ADVA FSP 3000 CloudConnect features a modular design that eliminates unnecessary electrical processing. The system offers auto discovery and provisioning of the optical layer. It also supports a range of customizable APIs for programmability, including CLI, REST, NETCONF, and RESTCONF. 

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Intel Launches Data Center SSDs with NVMe + 8 Lanes of PCIe 3.0

Intel introduced its highest performance SSDs for the data center to date.

The Intel SSD DC P3608 Series with NVMe leverages eight lanes of PCIe 3.0 to eliminate bottlenecks.

The drives feature a unique NVMe dual-controller architecture that allows efficient scaling with Intel Xeon Processors with multiple cores, evenly distributing the IO of up to 850K random read IOPS while the PCIe 3.0 x8 link enables data transfers of 5 GB/s.

The Intel SSD DC P3608 Series is available in capacities of 1.6TB, 3.2TB, and 4TB in a single PCIe 3.0 x8 low-profile add-in-card.

http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/solid-state-drives/solid-state-drives-dc-p3608-series.html

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Intel joins Verizon’s 5G Tech Forum

Intel has joined the Verizon 5G Technology Forum as one of its core industry partners.

Intel will begin working in Verizon’s 5G sandbox environments in Verizon’s San Francisco and Waltham, MA Innovation Centers. Intel is also developing  its own 5G test beds in Oregon, California and other locations, and is continuing its work on mobile broadband and IoT 5G devices, mm-wave dual connectivity technology, virtualized radio access network (RAN) elements supporting massive multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO), ultra-low latency response, high frequency small cells, and mobile edge computing.

“Intel’s expertise in computing from the device to the network to the data center and Verizon’s strong network technology allow the two companies to bring a unique perspective to 5G as computing and communications converge,” said Aicha Evans, Vice President and General Manager of the Communication and Devices Group at Intel. “Together the two companies will lay the foundation for the next generation networks to achieve the 5G deployment goals.”

http://www.verizon.com/about/news/verizon-sets-roadmap-5g-technology-us-field-trials-start-2016

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