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  • BlueArc Unleashes High-end Network Storage Solution


    BlueArc has launched its Mercury series network storage platform in a bid to address the storage challenges faced by many midsize companies.

    Michael Gustafson, president and CEO of BlueArc, said that as the volume of unstructured, file-based data continues to explode, and retention and archiving demands increase, companies of all sizes are struggling to keep pace.

    He said that while traditional network storage solutions have offered some relief, they have resulted in the unintended creation of storage silos, filer sprawl, poor utilization rates and lagging performance.

    BlueArc Mercury has been designed to address these storage inefficiencies with a powerful file system and hardware platform that allows companies to consolidate users, applications and storage systems in order to lower the total cost of ownership (TCO) of their storage infrastructure, all without giving up performance.

    "Many midsize companies face enterprise-sized storage challenges and until now, traditional solutions have created unintended downstream challenges and costs," said Gustafson.

    "The Mercury Series brings the power of five generations of proven BlueArc technology to the customer who’s unwilling to compromise on price, scalability or performance."

    The Mercury platform is the first to deliver the company’s advanced file system performance and crucial data management functionality at a midmarket price point.

    Mercury’s performance and scalability support greater utilization of storage infrastructure to increase storage efficiency and promote consolidation.

    At the heart of Mercury is SiliconFS, BlueArc’s field-proven and award-winning file system. SiliconFS is the central engine that manages all data movement within Mercury, delivering sustained, predictable performance across the storage infrastructure.

    It includes a comprehensive virtualization tool set which simplifies administration of the file system, as well as enabling BlueArc Intelligent Tiered Storage.

    Intelligent Tiered Storage comprises BlueArc Data Migration and Dynamic Read Caching capabilities, which are supported by policy-based management functionality.

    These advanced features allow administrators to set policies based on common file attributes or access patterns to ensure that data is automatically and transparently migrated to the appropriate tier of storage—optimizing cost and performance.

    Bridget Warwick, vice president of marketing at BlueArc, said more and more, customers have created tiers of storage within their infrastructures in order to match the value of the content being stored to the right-value storage tier.

    "However, what they have found is that it is tremendously difficult, if not impossible, to actually move the data from one tier and system to another," she said.

    "With BlueArc’s built-in intelligent tiering, customers can employ policies to quickly and transparently move data from one tier to another without affecting system performance or requiring administrative time."

    When delivered through the BlueArc Mercury platform, SiliconFS helps customers consolidate their unwieldy legacy storage environments, improve their storage utilization ratios, and simplify the administration of their infrastructure, all of which result in cost savings and reduced complexity.

  • Texas Announces Microsoft Certification of RamSan-500 SSD


    Texas Memory Systems has announced that its RamSan-500 solid state disk system has been certified as interoperable with Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008.

    The RamSan-500 is an enterprise-class cached Flash storage system that delivers high performance, large capacity storage more economically than adding a similar capacity high-end hard disk-based RAID system.

    The SSD system can deliver more than sixteen times the performance while using 50 per cent less power.

    Woody Hutsell, president of Texas Memory Systems, said maintaining interoperability with all major platforms is vital as its customers’ IT environments continue to evolve rapidly.

    He said more demanding applications are being built on the powerful Windows Server 2008 platform.

    "The RamSan’s ability to solve most I/O bottlenecks and improve transaction rate increases customers’ overall IT return on investment by enabling more responsive applications and a richer experience for more concurrent users," he said.

    Hutsell said the RamSan-500 delivers 100,000 I/Os per second (IOPS) sustained random read, 25,000 IOPS sustained random writes, and two gigabytes per second of sustained random read or write bandwidth, yet only consumes 250 watts of power.

    The system can be SAN-attached with up to eight 4-gigabits per second Fibre Channel ports.

    Multiple RamSan-500s can be combined to deliver additional high-performance capacity.

  • Freecom Adds RFID to HDD


    Freecom has launched an external HDD that requires the use of a keycard to get access to its data.

    Admission to the Hard Drive Secure is controlled by an RFID card which has to be swiped over the HDD to lock it – and again to unlock it.

    Freecom said that entry is possible "within seconds". The company provides two RFID cards with the drive.

    Freecom’s Hard Drive Secure is available now in four capacities, ranging from 500GB to 2TB.

    Prices start at USD $120.

  • WhipTail Introduces 6TB SSD Tier 0 Storage Appliance


    WhipTail Technologies has launched a 6TB SSD appliance which it claims provides mid- to large-sized enterprises with the highest-capacity SSD tier 0 appliance with the smallest footprint.

    Manufactured as a 2 rack unit (2U), WhipTail is now available in 1.5, 3.0 and 6.0 TB and varying levels of redundancies.

    It is best suited for enterprises with poorly performing databases, over-taxed virtualization storage pools and underperforming email systems.

    The company said that, when compared with traditional storage, the WhipTail SSD appliance:

    • Accelerates the delivery of data by a factor of 10
    • Reduces report run time by a factor of 10
    • Provides up to a 90 percent energy savings
    • Reduces the data center footprint by 60 percent
    • Reduces database report generation and load time by 90 percent

    WhipTail pricing starts at USD $46,000 for a 1.5 TB system.

    Ed Rebholz, CEO of WhipTail Technologies, said one of Tier 0 storage’s downfalls to date has been the perception within the industry that it’s too expensive.

    "Since WhipTail’s introduction earlier this year, we’ve already made significant strides in helping our industry peers to gain a new perspective," he said.

    "And in introducing the 6TB capacity, not only is WhipTail setting the bar for performance, footprint and affordability, but now we’re the SSD capacity leader."

  • Opt-In Subscriber Database "Crucial" To Mobile Operator Ad Revenues

    INTERVIEW: Mobile operators are searching for new and innovative ways to generate revenues beyond service plans.

    Julien Oudart, sales and marketing director for French mobile advertising company Sofialys, tells smartphone.biz-news about the opportunities open to carriers from opt-in subscriber databases.

    There is no doubt that mobile operators are facing plenty of challenges in today’s rapidly evolving telecommunications ecosystem.

    But Julien Oudart, sales and marketing director for French mobile advertising company Sofialys, believes there are plenty of opportunities for operators to monetize their offerings beyond service plans.

    He said carriers in Europe are still a big part of the value chain and have made steady progress in taking "a piece of the advertising action" through offering services such as mobile video and mobile games.

    "All these things work technically. Now it’s a matter of attracting brands," he said.

    Volumes on games and video are still low for mobile, but Oudart said he was confident this would change.

    "We will get there as more people connect to these services," he said. "Mobile has it all in one device. You get video, games, a phone – different options."

    This opens up opportunities for creating cross-media content, but Oudart said the key element is access to subscribers.

    "I think an opt-in database is crucial," he said.

    Especially so since legislators in the US are saying it is illegal to push campaigns to people without their consent – effectively making it spam.

    By tapping their user base to sell to pan-European advertisers, Oudart said operators were in a good position to generate additional revenues.

    Consumer Attitudes

    He said consumers are willing to opt-in and be exposed to advertising if – and this is the important bit – they get something attractive in return.

    "We always try and be transparent. So when we sign someone up there is no pre-ticked box which will then see them receive spam," he said.

    "We explain to people that they will receive promotions. It is then up to them to say yes or no."

    The lure for consumers, according to Oudart is the promotions and coupons they receive for different brands and goods.

    To be effective these have to be correctly targeted based on people’s user profiles.

    "I don’t think people are against being exposed to brands," he said. "What matters is that relevant brands reach people and to communicate to the right segment."

    Another element to specific targeting is geo-tagging, something the French mobile operator SFR has been trialling with a few thousand subscriber volunteers from its user database.

    Four companies were signed up for the trial, including a restaurant chain and jewellery chain.

    Oudart said everytime a user passes one of the participating businesses, a 20 per cent discount coupon might be pushed to their handset, or they are served an ad for the relevant outlet.

    "Geo-location services will be important," he said.

    However, he stressed that it’s vital not to annoy users by bombarding them with messages – Sofialys always asks how many messages someone wants to receive in a week, according to Oudart.

    Headquartered in Paris, the supplier of mobile marketing and advertising solutions was formed six years ago as a technology provider to help operators and publishers monetize mobile portals across Europe, Asia, Middle East and the US.

    Its biggest customer is SFR, which owns a 20 per cent stake in the company, but it also works with a pool of mobile publishers and agencies.

    Expanding Horizons

    However, Oudart said Sofialys is beginning to expand its operations with other operators and clients around Europe.

    He said there are several possibilities in the UK and they have just signed a partnership contract with Adfrap, a UK-based full service mobile agency.

    "For us it’s an interesting step into the UK market," he said. "It generates between 80-100 million pages views every month.
    "When you reach significant volumes like this it starts to be interesting."

    Oudart said they have also signed up a pool of dot.com publishers and are working with a couple of sales houses in the UK.

    In general terms mobile advertising has not been that badly affected by the economic situation, according to Oudart, and continues to grow at a healthy rate.

    Its buoyancy has been boosted by the iPhone, which he said has "shaken up everything".

    The Apple handset has done a lot to drive up mobile broadband use – something that Oudart believes is both an opportunity and a challenge.

    He said it creates more volumes – but because it is easier for the likes of Google and Yahoo to put ads on the iPhone, the entry barrier has been lowered.

    "We know how mobile works and we can bring value to this," he said. "But more people can now do what we do – that’s why we are trying to differentiate ourselves."

  • Sony Launches Flagship HD Handycam


    Sony has announced two new flash memory-based high definition camcorders – the HDR-CX520V and the HDR-CX500V.

    Both cameras capture full 1920 x 1080 resolution video and up to 12 megapixel photos on internal flash memory.

    They offer support for up to 25 hours of HD video on the 64GB model.

    Among the features of both cameras are the ability to output 60p video – automatically converting convert to 60 frames per second on compatible HDTV sets.

    The camcorder’s Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode now comes with three way Shake Canceling.

    This reduces camera/hand shake in three different directions – the vertical and horizontal shake is corrected by optical image stabilization system while the lateral roll shake is now corrected by electronic image stabilization.

    There’s also the BIONZ imaging processor which now adds a Face Touch function. With Face Touch, users simply select a person to be prioritized by the camcorder simply by touching a detected face on the screen.

    Once a face is selected, the camcorder prioritizes and optimizes focus, skin color, and brightness for that selected individual.

    Other features include:

    • Back illuminated "Exmor R" CMOS sensor with twice the sensitivity of current front-illuminated CMOS sensor at F2.0
    • Built-in GPS antenna and NAVTEQ digital maps can geo-tag your videos and photos
    • Supports optional DVDirect Express DVD writer
    • Built-in zoom microphone with Dolby Digital 5.1 channel surround sound
    • Instant power-on feature when the LCD is opened
    • User interface comes with new operation bar for scroll searching of all menu items and a customizable shortcut menu
    • Highlight Scenario which saves up to 8 highlight scenes for viewing again later on
    • Record content onto optional Memory Stick PRO-HG Duo HX media

    The HDR-CX500V and HDR-CX520V will be available in September for approximately USD $1100 and $1300 respectively.

    The HDR-CX500V comes with 32B of internal flash memory while the HDR-CX520V comes with 64GB of internal flash memory.

  • Bristol Interactive Offers TV With PC – Not PC With TV


    Being able to Skype or IM with your favorite app from your HDTV would be pretty useful.

    Well, Bristol Interactive has developed a digital TV with an in-built Atom-powered netbook that would appear to allow users to do just that.

    While there are plenty of PCs on the market with TV tuners – the UK-based television manufacturer is producing 22" and 32" TVs with a gig of memory, a 160GB hard drive, four USB ports, and an Ethernet port.

    The as-yet unnamed devices work as normal TVs, but hit one button and the screen flips across to Windows XP and full netbook mode.

    Screen resolution is 1680 x 1050 pixels – certainly a lot more than you get on a netbook.

    The sets also come with a wireless keyboard with integrated track (mouse).

    Paul Fellows, CEO, of UK-based Bristol Interactive, said the two models are regular TVs but have the convenience of an ultra-compact PC built inside.

    He said they instantly switch between TV mode and PC mode, with no wait for the PC to boot up or log out.

    The TV, which operates independently of Windows, is always instantly available at the touch of a remote control button.

    Fellows said the TVs don’t have Wi-Fi – because of the reliability issues and the potential for support costs.

    Bristol expects to launch the system in October, with 22" models being sold for under GBP £500.

  • Home Networking Over Coax & Phone Wiring to Double in Two Years


    Demand for web video on TVs and whole-home DVR capability is driving demand for coax and phoneline networking, according to In-Stat.

    This is making it an increasingly important solution for home network connectivity, particularly for service provider provisioned networks.

    So much so that In-Stat forecasts that cumulative households with an in-home provider network utilizing coax/phoneline technology in North America will more than double from 2008 to 2010.

    Joyce Putscher, In-Stat analyst, said consumers want web video on their TV and also increasingly want whole-home DVR capability.

    "Networking over coax makes particularly good sense in North America where 90 per cent of homes have pre-existing coax wiring," she said.

    The recent research by In-Stat found the following:

    • In 2010, average PC home network throughput will exceed 150 Mbps in North America, ahead of throughput in Asia/Pacific and European households.
    • Nearly 2/3 of consumer respondents from In-Stat’s survey expressed an interest in watching Internet Video on their TV
    • Two segregated home networks (HN) have been evolving– A service provider-centric network, and a PC-centric network. Each is leveraging different business models and technologies

  • Demand for VoIP Solutions Likely to Rise with Spread of Satellite Broadband Technology


    VoIP solutions are likely to benefit from more people around the world seeking to access the internet using satellite technology, according to research from Global Industry Analysts.

    The technology has been tipped as a possible way to provide broadband services in more remote, rural communities where it will be much more difficult to deploy conventional broadband infrastructure.

    The analysts said this could mean that web users have better use of VoIP solutions and are able to access high-speed downloads many miles from the nearest telephone exchange.

    The study said: "The satellite broadband’s capability to extend unique services such as rural telephony, e-distance learning and telemedicine services is enticing the prospective market participants in a major way."

    It added that the value of the satellite broadband market could reach nearly GBP £4 billion within six years if the interest and subsequent take-up continues to grow.

  • Acme Packet SBCs for IMS Chosen by Two Euro Carriers


    Acme Packet has been selected by two European operators to provide them with IMS-based services.

    Telefonica O2 Germany and Telnor Sweden are to use Acme Packet Net-Net 4000 series session border controllers (SBCs) at access and interconnect borders for IMS services.

    Telefónica O2 Germany will use Acme Packet’s SBCs to provide key IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) functionality at its access and interconnect borders.

    The Net-Net Session Director (SD) enables the company to deploy a secure and interoperable IMS network supporting residential retail and wholesale VoIP services and IP interconnects with other service providers.

    Telenor Sweden, the second-largest service provider in Sweden, will also use SBCs to control the access and IP interconnect borders to its IMS data centers.

    Currently Telenor Sweden offers hosted business unified communications using its IMS service infrastructure.

    Seamus Hourihan, VP marketing and product management, Acme Packet

    Seamus Hourihan, vice president of marketing and product management for Acme Packet, said IMS had passed the hype stage but actual deployments had now arrived.

    He said the majority of current deployments of IMS are in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region but in Latin America and North America is growing.

    "Acme Packet Net-Net SBCs provide critical access and interconnect border functions—securing service elements, maximizing service reach and assuring SLAs—that enable service providers to deliver IMS-based services to business and residential customers," he said.