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• TCO (total cost of ownership)

  Total cost of ownership is a calculation to assess direct and indirect expenses and benefits related to the purchase of a product or infrastructure component. Continue Reading

• Pop quiz: Know the ABCs of data center spending

  There are a lot of acronyms that define data center spending, but which letters will save you money? See how well you know IT budget vocab. Continue Reading

• The FPGA server promises flexible app acceleration

  FPGAs offload tasks from server processors more flexibly than other accelerator options. Hyperscale data centers are keen to deploy the technology. Continue Reading

• New eco UPS systems save energy, minimize operational risks

  Eco UPS installations promise higher energy efficiency in the data center, with new designs that respond quickly to an outage. Continue Reading

• What are the best ways to prep for CompTIA exams?

  I took the CompTIA Security+ online exam once and wasn't able to clear it. How can I prepare to pass the test next time? Continue Reading

• Definitions to Get Started

  • blade server
  • shell script
  • ambient temperature
  • OLTP (online transaction processing)

  • statistical mean, median, mode and range
  • free cooling
  • uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
  • data center as a service (DCaaS)

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• Second guessing the third platform of IT

  The third platform is a broad term for social, mobile, cloud and other applications, united in the need for a scalable IT back end.Continue Reading

• Is geothermal cooling a viable data center option?

  We are looking at a building surrounded by several acres of land for a new data center. Should we consider geothermal horizontal loops for cooling?Continue Reading

• Small updates meet big data center requirements

  Not all IT infrastructure projects require a large budget and lengthy schedule. These relatively inexpensive updates boost performance and reliability.Continue Reading

• What kind of VM management tools help plan growth?

  What tools can I use to manage capacity to accommodate further VM growth in a complex IT environment?Continue Reading

• How to tell if OpenStack infrastructure is right for you

  Your data center may -- or may not -- need a flexible open-source cloud. Is your facility ready to handle the infrastructure overhaul of storage and hardware?Continue Reading

• coaxial cable

  Coaxial cables transmit high-frequency electrical signals through connectors without interference.Continue Reading

• grid computing

  Grid computing uses small, distributed resources from servers and PCs to solve big problems. But will this architecture survive the cloud era?Continue Reading

• What's yours is mine: Sharing DCIM

  It's hard to avoid the growing importance of data center infrastructure management technology (DCIM) within the world of IT. Data center managers are increasingly looking to merge the management of servers and facilities, and DCIM generates a number...Continue Reading

• How do I configure vSphere HA for automatic failover?

  I want to install a virtualization environment with physical servers for failover and a storage server to boot up some virtual servers in our network. How can I do this?Continue Reading

• Rethinking data center components as commodities

  Labeling servers and hypervisors as commodities like corn and cattle may be overly simplistic. It's time to reconsider what constitutes a commodity.Continue Reading