https://toddcartercissp.blogspot.com/

Top 50

This is an impressive announcement by two significant companies providing and protecting the future of Utility computing and IT as a platform. Amazon Web Services (AWS) users can now use Symantec’s Endpoint Protection and Veritas Storage Foundation™ Basic to help protect and manage their instances running Microsoft Windows Server® on the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). Amazon Web Services (AWS) delivers a set of services that together form a reliable, scalable, and inexpensive computing platform 'in the cloud'. These pay-as-you-use cloud computing services include Amazon S3, Amazon EC2, Amazon SimpleDB, Amazon SQS, Amazon FPS, and others . For Details - Click Here

Top Buys and Sells at Oak Value Fund

I was reading an older article about how " Some Indie Facebook Developers Pulling In Over $700,000 A Month " and it referenced the source as SocialMedia. Clicking over to their website and reading about how they "turn standard ad units into social experiences that resonate with friends, influencers, and community members" is impressive. The ability to target a consumer based on their likes, hobbies, associates and multitudes of other miscellaneous facts that they may publish about themselves begs the question "Are we creating our own experiences?" If what we are surrounded with is created from our own visions of what we like how do we experience life beyond what we know we like? An interesting conundrum. -Todd

I've been reading all the news about the sidekick and it's lost data and how it's somehow "The Clouds Fault" Such nonsense. Reading through the article posted here by the folks at The Motley Fool points to more "Cloud FUD". Or is it the users fault? Blindly trusting their data to a dark and murky "Cloud"? Or is it the fault of the owner of the server that crashed? It depends. But it's NOT "The Clouds" fault. This vague notion that things we don't understand must be "in the cloud" is rampant these days. Yet, at the end of the day, it is really "A Utility" and needs to be thought of as such. The biggest difference between your power or water as a utility is that with "The Cloud" you have many providers to choose from depending on the type of "Power" or "Water" you need and the level of service you require. Utility providers are fallible. How many times have you lost ...

CMS Watch: Drupal vs Joomla vs EE vs WordPress Posted using ShareThis

Then check out this crazy Spoof! Pretty funny... Click here ==>> Cloud-Cloud-maybe

What does this mean to the South American economy? Between now and 2016, many things can happen. Yet, there will also be a new spot light placed on Rio in the coming years...

" Alaska and Beyond Sale: Autumn Adventures from $109 Each Way on Alaska Airlines! > Expires 10/04/09 "

The Cloud Computing Tsunami Gartner Predictions - Efficiency and Cost Control Will Transform the IT Industry. It's amazing that it has taken this long for "Utility Computing" to gain the hold that it has. Who builds and operates their own generator so that the lights come on at the flick of a switch? I know of a few folks in the hills of Hawaii who still capture rain water in huge black plastic tubs and use gravity feeds plumbed into their homes for their water, but it's so much easier to pay a small monthly fee to my water district and turn on my tap when I want a glass of water and it is the way computing infrastructure will be made available to us. Turn it on when you need it at the flick of a switch. Take a look at these key predictions and you may agree: - Key Gartner predictions for the data center for the next 5 years: -Todd

Amazon CloudFront delivers your web content to your audience by routing them to the closest Point of Presence (POP) - for details, click here =>> http://aws.amazon.com/cloudfront/ View Amazon CloudFront in a larger map

Cloud Computing Set to Unleash a Perfect Storm in Business - “ We are witnessing a seismic shift in information technology, the kind that comes around every decade or so, and it will have a huge impact on business, especially in today’s dire economy, ” says business strategy expert and former CIO, Peter Fingar.

Working with the S3Fox Organizer to manage my data in the Amazon Cloud is sweet. It is a very easy tool I use to manage my data between my local premise and cloud storage environments. The S3Fox Organizer(S3Fox), offers the ability to upload or download files to and from Amazon S3. The interface, which opens in a Firefox browser tab, looks much like that of FTP clients with a dual-pane layout. It displays files on your PC on the left, files on Amazon S3 on the right, and status or information in a panel on the bottom. Check it out here - " Click "

From CNBC - http://www.cnbc.com/id/31086859 If you’re not prepared to go to Australia to ride out the recovery, great news! A new report shows the five U.S. states poised to lead the nation out of recession. There was only one state that, as of the end of March, still had enough growth that it wasn’t technically in recession. Can you guess what it is? You betcha, it’s Alaska ! To ride this wave, you might want to get out your hiking boots and trail mix because most of the states where growth and jobs will recover fastest are out in the northwest: Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Texas and Washington. Its GOOD to live in the Northwest! -Todd

Cloud Computing Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008-2009 - The following companies are among the providers and contributors of Cloud Computing technology: 10Gen, 3Leaf, 3Tera, Absolute Performance, Accenture, Akamai, Amazon.com , Appirio, Appistry, Areti Internet, Boomi, Box.net, Canaan Partners, Cloud9 Analytics, CloudWorks, CNI Systems, CohesiveFT, CSRware, DataDirect, Dell, DNAmail, eBay, Elastra, EMC, EngineYard, Enki Consulting, Enomaly, Excelian, Flexiscale, Fortress ITX, Forum, GigaSpaces, GoGrid, Google, HP, IBM, IBRIX, Joyent, JumpBox, Layered Technologies, Level 3 Communications, Linxter, LongJump, MDV, Microsoft, Moka5 (MokaFive), Mosso, NewServers, Nirvanix, Ocarina Networks, OpSource, Panorama Software, Peer1 Networks, Pervasive Software, Platform Computing, PLX Technology, Qlayer, Rackspace, RampRate, Red Hat, RightScale, rPath, Salesforce.com, Saugatuck Technology, ServePath, Skills Matter, Skytap, SnapLogic, SOASTA, Sun Microsystems, Symphoniq, Symphony Servic...

Virtualization Technology Providers and Contributors in 2008-2009: WOW... The following companies are among the providers and contributors of Virtualization technology: 3PAR, Accellion, Acronis, Actional, Active Endpoints, ActiveGrid, activePDF, ActiveServers, ActiveState, Actuate, Adaptec, Agile Software, AGiLiENCE, Agilysys, Akorri, AlachiSoft, Alter Logic, Altor Networks, Altova, AMD, AMDAHL, Amentra, Amyuni, anacubis, Apani, APC, Appcelerator, AppSense, AppStream, Array Networks, Ascential, Astaro, Attune Systems, Autodesk, AutoVirt, Availl, Avanade, Azul Systems, Barracuda Networks, BEA Systems, B-hive, Black Duck Software, Blackbaud, Blade Network Technologies, Blue Coat, Blue Lane, BlueArc, BlueNote Networks, BluePheonix Solutions, BMC Software, Borland, Bristol Technology, Brix Networks, BroadVision, Brocade, Burton Group, Business Objects, CA, CalAmp, Cassatt, Cast Iron Systems, Catbird, Cayenne Technologies, Ceedo Technologies, Cenzic, Certeon, CiRBA, Cisco Systems, Cision, ...

Enterprise security is not keeping pace with cloud computing | 9 Jun 2009 | ComputerWeekly.com Shared via AddThis

Systems Integrator Training - AWS is offering technical training for qualified systems integrators building solutions and practices on our cloud computing services. Trainings are conducted on a recurring monthly basis at several locations in the U.S. and Europe. To apply, please send an email to aws-ecosystem@amazon.com .

November 2-4, 2009 Santa Clara, CA http://www.virtualizationconference.com/ We are in the midst of a revolutionary change in how applications are sold, delivered, deployed and managed. Virtualization cuts across just about all of what you might find in the data center: clients, servers, applications, storage systems, data networks, and security can all be virtualized to one degree or another. And chief executives are discovering that virtualization has the potential to not only improve the balance sheet, but strengthen competitive advantage and put a shine on the corporate brand. Join us in Santa Clara, CA, at the 7th International Virtualization Conference & Expo and find out for yourself how the industry's leading practitioners are implementing their virtualization strategy.

Sounds like a good source - I'm going to look into attending and providing content - 4th International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo: Call for Papers | Open Source Magazine Shared via AddThis

The Economics of Cloud Computing – Part 1 | Virtualization Journal Shared via AddThis

I'm studying a web site tonight that has exceptional content you should review if you are working with either Virtualization or Cloudonomics -www.ToddCarterCISSP.com

Netbooks are exploding and expected to continue to sell like gangbusters, and a new generation of wireless-carrier-sponsored devices should make this phenomenon even more obvious.

Citrix Expands Citrix C3 Cloud Computing Platform and Program C3 Platform Now Enables Windows Applications and Desktops to be Delivered as a Cloud Service; New Service Provider Program Adds Pay-as-you-Go Pricing

Citrix C3 Lab Built on Amazon Web Services to Connect Cloud Computing to the Corporate Datacenter New Virtual Lab Offers Easy Low-cost Way for IT to Model and Test the Delivery of Virtual Applications and Desktops from the Cloud

Citrix Announces Citrix C3 Lab Built on Amazon Web Services to Connect Cloud Computing to the Corporate Datacenter Richard Jones, VP of Data Center Strategies at Burton Group, said on his corporate blog: "The announcement on May 6th at Synergy of Citrix-Amazon collaboration on internal/external cloud interoperability has “we’re moving to Citrix XenServer as our EC2 hypervisor infrastructure” written all over it."

Citrix has officially announced it’s next version of XenServer will be free. Obviously a strategic move to bolster production deployment of the XenServer hypervisor, Citrix is also confident that today’s move will ultimately provide a low cost enterprise class virtual infrastructure alternative, improve hosted cloud services already using Xen Server (such as Amazon EC2), and enable cost effective private cloud infrastructure. You can download a free trial version today at http://www.citrix.com/freexenserver . New management and automation products, such as Citrix Essentials for XenServer and Hyper-V were also announced , are expected to generate revenue for the Citrix virtualization products. Citrix is not holding back on the features available in the free release!!

Back in June of 2009, I posted this note. WOW did they climb!! I hope my friends that I suggested this to got in and made money too! BUT, now I believe you should sell. I've dropped my position to less than 1% of my portfolio as of January 2011. "Amazon is our favorite U.S. internet stock based on our positive view of its franchise, online-offline expansion strategy, share gains in a still-expanding e-commerce market, and downloadable content initiatives," Mitchell wrote .

NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc ( VZ.N ) on Thursday unveiled a pay-as-you go hosting service for corporate customers looking to save money by buying only as much computing capacity as they need at any given time. Verizon is the latest U.S. telecom to jump on the bandwagon of so-called "cloud computing" services after AT&T Inc ( T.N ) said last month that it would offer Web-based storage services for enterprises. Gartner Research estimated earlier this year that global revenues from cloud computing and storage, or the use of the Web to access those services at remote data centers, will climb 31 percent to $3.4 billion this year. The fledgling field is led by Internet pioneers Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN.O ), Google Inc ( GOOG.O ) and Salesforce.com Inc ( CRM.N ), but more established technology companies like Verizon, AT&T, IBM ( IBM.N ) and Microsoft Corp ( MSFT.O ) are introducing new services this year in a bid to catch up...

Citrix XenServer5: Optimized Performance for XenApp Compared to VMware ESX 3.5u3 Testing by Tolly shows that Citrix XenServer, which includes specific optimizations for XenApp, highlights the performance improvements that customers can obtain when choosing XenServer over a VMware Virtual Infrastructure in their XenApp Virtual Server farms. In these tests, Citrix XenServer 5 outperformed VMWare ESX 3.5u3 by supporting 41% more concurrent users. Download Here Adobe® Acrobat® 880K Click for Citrix XenServer White Papers

Excellent Blog posted on the Citrix Community Blog site about the performance of SQL Server 2008 virtualized on XenServer Excerpt - In continuation of our virtualization performance tests with large enterprise application platforms running on XenServer, we recently completed an extensive series of performance and scalability tests with Microsoft SQL Server 2008 on XenServer 5. In the past, we successfully demonstrated the enormous server consolidation and management benefits of virtualizing Citrix XenApp 4.5 and 5.0 as well as Microsoft Exchange 2007 using XenServer. Test results for these can be found on the white paper section of XenServer/Essentials at Citrix.com: http://citrix.com/English/ps2/products/documents_onecat.asp?contentid=683148&cid=White+Papers . The results of tests for SQL Server 2008 on XenServer were equally as impressive. Read the full post here The results for all tests in the project along with a detailed description of the tools and methodologies can be foun...

XenServer - Server Virtualization - Citrix Community Shared via AddThis

FREE White Paper - Protecting Virtual Machines: The “Best of VMworld” Approach This is a must read white paper report for any business moving toward vertualization for streamlined IT operations. Download your report now to review virtualization best practices that you can use to: Improve server utilization Virtualize your environment for lower capital and operating expenses Achieve a more flexible infrastructure that better supports business needs

Citrix XenServer ™ is the only enterprise-class, cloud-proven virtualization platform that delivers the critical features of live migration and centralized multi-server management at no cost. XenServer is an open and powerful server virtualization solution that radically reduces datacenter costs by transforming static and complex datacenter environments into more dynamic, easy to manage IT service delivery centers. By providing features like live migration, shared storage support, centralized multi-server management plus P2V and V2V conversion tools in the free version, XenServer enables any organization, no matter the size or budget, to immediately benefit from the power of server virtualization. Citrix XenServer includes in it's free versions a Resilient Management Architecture. Unlike other management architectures, XenCenter distributes management data across servers in a resource pool to ensure there is no single point of management failure. If a management server should fail,...

http://www.sswug.org/

Join the rapidly growing community of IT professionals who choose XenServer as their virtualization platform. Enterprise-class features at no cost Quickest deployment – Ten minutes to Xen! Live migration with XenMotion makes planned downtime a thing of the past Centralized multi-server management with the intuitive XenCenter console Bare-metal performance even for I/O intensive applications Install everRun Fault Tolerant Protection in as little as 5 minutes and start the wizard to protect your virtual machine! www.MarathonTechnologies.com -Todd

Following the recent results of Hypervisor performance testing found here conducted by the teams at Virtualization Review presents the fact XenServer performed best over the largest range of categories in our tests, as you can see in Table 3 posted here Add in the everRun Fault Tolerant capabilities to protect your applications and you have an exceptional platform for Server and Application consolidation that provides fast ROI and lower TCO. I'm conducting POCs with SQL Server workloads running on XenServer with everRun protection and the results are impressive. -Todd

Lots of great info at the show this year. Much smaller attendance.

Our next webinar "Optimizing Exchange High Availability—A New Approach" has been scheduled for May 20 th . We've leveraged the new Exchange blueprint materials for the presentation content. An HTML email invitation for your use will be available by Monday. The webinar is featured on the Marathon homepage and in this month's newsletter. It has also been added to the events section of the website. The full description is below and here is the link to the registration page: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/875047792 Optimizing Exchange High Availability—A New Approach How tiered availability can help you achieve your SLA commitments with less resources and lower cost Date:  May 20, 2009 Time: 10:00 am PDT, 1:00 pm EDT, 5:00 pm GMT Duration: 60 minutes Speaker: Tom Reed, Senior Solutions Architect, Marathon Technologies Effective Exchange high availability involves more than just protecting the mailbox server--you need to protect your entire Exchange envir...

Latest News and Announcements from Citrix Systems. http://citrix.com/English/NE/news/newsType.asp?typeID=175 - News & Events http://www.marathontechnologies.com/press_releases.html

Server virtualization can bring tremendous efficiencies to your IT infrastructure and turn your data center into a flexible and scalable competitive weapon. http://www.netapp.com/us/solutions/infrastructure/virtualization/server/server-citrix.html?REF_SOURCE=ntpggl9700000086766s

http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/tag/xenserver/ http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2009/04/15/tolly-group-releases-another-citrix-vs-vmware-comparison/

Citrix resurrects King George as hypervisor with "Midnight Ride" to follow toward the end of 2009 or early 2010 http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/01/23/citrix_xenserver_preview/     http://h10076.www1.hp.com/education/curr_virtualization.htm Implementing Citrix XenServer Enterprise 5.0 on HP Fiber Channel http://www.hp.com/education/courses/hg814s.html Dates: http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/education/schedule.cgi?cnum=hg814s&sby=sd

From here : Microsoft and Marathon Technologies Expand Relationship to Provide Fault Tolerant Computing to More Businesses – this is great news! http://blogs.technet.com/mattmcspirit/archive/2009/01/10/big-hyper-v-news-part-i-marathon-everrun-support.aspx

Advanced automation and management for the virtual datacenter Citrix Essentials™ provides a set of management and automation capabilities to help customers transform datacenters into proactive and automated delivery centers. The Citrix Essentials platform builds on, and extends, the capabilities of either the free Citrix XenServer™ or Microsoft Hyper-V™ base virtualization platform. http://www.citrix.com/English/ps2/products/feature.asp?contentID=1687093

Citrix XenServer Enterprise-class.  Cloud-proven.  Free. Citrix XenServer™ is the only enterprise-class, cloud-proven virtualization platform that delivers the critical features of live migration and centralized multi-server management at no cost. Learn more about Citrix XenServer   Citrix Essentials Advanced automation and management for the virtual datacenter Citrix Essentials™ for XenServer and Hyper-V™ provides a set of management and automation capabilities that extends the capabilities of either the free Citrix XenServer or Microsoft Hyper-V to help customers transform datacenters into proactive and automated delivery centers.   Learn more about Citrix Essentials for XenServer and Hyper-V

Game Changing Move Goes Well Beyond Free Hypervisors to Accelerate the Adoption of World-Class Virtual Infrastructure for Both Enterprises and Cloud Providers   Take a look here: http://www.citrix.com/English/ne/news/news.asp?newsID=1687130 -Todd

I'm off to Tech-ED 2009 for the week. We have our everRun Fault Tolerant capabilities to showcase with Exchange and SQL Server at the show this year. http://www.microsoft.com/events/TechEd2009/ Marathon Technologies Presents with Microsoft at Tech-Ed 2009 http://www.marathontechnologies.com/presents_microsoft_tech_ed_2009.html?newsid_press_release=1017 Marathon to Present on how Company's everRun Software Extends Microsoft's Windows Server High Availability to Continuous Availability   -Todd

Timothy Prickett Morgan has a post over at The Register to check out - Citrix is into virtualization for the long haul, has a slightly profitable business despite the downturn and has $905m in cash to carefully position itself to take on VMware and, more importantly, use Microsoft's marketing muscle to help soften up its rival. Also watch new videos: http://www.citrix.com/tv/#video/382 And more news and info from Citrix Synergy 2009: http://www.citrixsynergy.com/ NEW info to study from The Citrix Blog at Citrix Community: http://community.citrix.com/blogs/group/server-virtualization XenServer 5.5 ("Project George") beta release available XenConvert v2 Tech Preview - OVF and VMDK Support for XenServer StorageLink - Essentials for Hyper-V Deep Dive Webinar   Check it out... -Todd