Equinix ties in SAP Cloud

Equinix began offering direct and private access to the SAP Cloud portfolio, including SAP HANA Enterprise Cloud and SAP Cloud Platform, in multiple markets across the globe.

The dedicated, private connections are now available via Equinix Cloud Exchange and the SAP Cloud Peering service in the Equinix Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, New York, Silicon Valley, Sydney, Toronto and Washington, D.C. International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers, with additional markets planned for later this year.

In addition to SAP, Equinix offers dedicated access to AWS, Microsoft Azure, Oracle, Google Cloud Platform, and other leading cloud providers.

"SAP joined the Equinix Cloud Exchange platform to address customer requirements for enterprise hybrid architecture in an environment that lends itself to the very highest levels of performance and reliability. With SAP's traditional base of more than 300,000 software customers seeking ways to take the next step in a cloud-enabled world, SAP has established efficient capabilities to deliver on those requirements," stated Christoph Boehm senior vice president and head of Cloud Delivery Services, SAP.

http://www.equinix.com

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IBM says magnetic tape remains competitive for cold cloud storage

IBM announced a new world record for tape storage density: 201 Gb/in2 (gigabits per square inch) in areal density. This is more than 20 times the areal density used in current state of the art commercial tape drives such as the IBM TS1155 enterprise tape drive. IBM said this breakthrough enables the potential to record up to about 330 terabytes (TB) of uncompressed data* on a single tape cartridge that would fit in the palm of your hand.

The record was achieved on a prototype sputtered magnetic tape developed by Sony Storage Media Solutions.  IBM researchers developed several technologies to make this possible, including: new signal-processing algorithms for the data channel, based on noise-predictive detection principles; a set of advanced servo control technologies that when combined enable head positioning with an accuracy of better than 7 nanometers; a novel low friction tape head technology that permits the use of very smooth tape media.

IBM also noted that the potential exists to continue improving tape storage density at the current pace for many years to come.

“Tape has traditionally been used for video archives, back-up files, replicas for disaster recovery and retention of information on premise, but the industry is also expanding to off-premise applications in the cloud,” said IBM Fellow Evangelos Eleftheriou. “While sputtered tape is expected to cost a little more to manufacture than current commercial tape that uses Barium ferrite (BaFe), the potential for very high capacity will make the cost per TB very attractive, making this technology practical for cold storage in the cloud.”

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/52904.wss

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Researchers at Brown University Test Terahertz Wireless Transmission

Researchers at Brown University achieved wireless throughput of 50 Gbps when transmitting video signals through a terahertz multiplexer. Results of the experiment were published in Nature Communications. Signals propagated as directional beams.

"We showed that we can transmit separate data streams on terahertz waves at very high speeds and with very low error rates,” said Daniel Mittleman, a professor in Brown’s School of Engineering and the paper’s corresponding author. “This is the first time anybody has characterized a terahertz multiplexing system using actual data, and our results show that our approach could be viable in future terahertz wireless networks.”

Backers of the research include the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Army Research Office, the W.M. Keck Foundation and France’s Agence Nationale de la Recherche under the COM’TONIQ and TERALINKS research grants.

http://news.brown.edu/articles/2017/08/multiplexer

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