...from:
http://news.com.com/Oracle+uses+Apple+storage+gear/2100-1015_3
-5480045.html
Oracle uses Apple storage gear
Published: December 6, 2004, 3:21 PM PST
By Ina Fried
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
Apple Computer's rack-mounted storage system received a vote of
confidence Monday, with database giant Oracle endorsing the Xserve RAID
as part of an initiative to cut storage costs.
Oracle has identified the Apple product as one of several storage
systems that would make a good low-cost alternative to the types of
high-end monolithic storage systems that have traditionally been used
to store Oracle databases. Additionally, Oracle is using the Xserve
RAID in its own technology department to store e-mail, voice mail and
calendar information.
Oracle is using the Xserve RAID for a task once reserved for pricier
Fibre Channel-based disk arrays. The software giant noted in a white
paper that the Apple approach was about three times lower on a
cost-per-megabyte basis.
"Its performance is excellent," Oracle said in the document. Apple
said Oracle plans to use 50 to 100 terabytes of Apple storage. Apple
itself has been shifting much of its data storage capacity from EMC and
IBM systems onto Xserve RAID.
In addition to Apple's storage box, Oracle also identified systems
from HP, NetApp, EMC/Dell and Engenio as suitable candidates for its
Resilient Low Cost Storage Initiative.
Meanwhile, Apple also said Oracle is moving ahead with previously
announced plans to offer its 10g software for the Mac sometime before
the end of the year.
Apple hopes the ability of Oracle's software to run on Mac servers
will not only lead some businesses to move to the Mac but also help the
Mac appeal to many of those developing their own applications that run
on top of Oracle's software.
"That opens the door to a lot of people that maybe have not looked at
the Mac platform," said Brian Croll, a senior director of worldwide
software product marketing for Apple.
In addition to support from Oracle, Apple also plans to have its own
$999 storage file system software, dubbed Xsan, available shortly. The
software is still on track to be launched this fall, Apple said, giving
the company about two weeks to apply the finishing touches and start
shipping.
...from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/14/technology/14google.html?
oref=login&th
Google Is Adding Major Libraries to Its Database
By JOHN MARKOFF and EDWARD WYATT
Published: December 14, 2004
[...]
It may be only a step on a long road toward the long-predicted global
virtual library. But the collaboration of Google and research
institutions that also include Oxford, Harvard, the University of
Michigan, Stanford and the New York Public Library is a major stride in
an ambitious Internet effort by various parties. The goal is to expand
the Web beyond its current valuable, if eclectic, body of material and
create a digital card catalog and searchable library for the world's
books, scholarly papers and special collections.
[...]
Internet Dec 16, 2004 10:00 AM - 11:15 AM
LIVE WEBCAST: Getting Started with High Performance Computing
For General Audiences
Webcast to discuss high-level concepts of HPC, issues and obstacles in
setting up and using clusters, and to show some shortcuts you can take
in the process.
For more details and to register, please visit:
http://seminars.apple.com/goToEvent.html?id=31886&s=300
-------------------
Presenters:
• Elizabeth Kerr, Ph.D., Director of Worldwide Science and Technology
Markets, Apple
• Pear Urushima, Manager of Scientific Markets, Apple
• Douglas Brooks, Product Manager for Xserve, Apple
• Matt MacInnis, Manager of Research Computing, Apple
Topics:
• Types of applications used on HPC systems
• High level concepts of deploying your own HPC systems and software
• Types of clusters, and how to choose a model that works for you
• The Apple Workgroup Cluster for Bioinformatics
• Customer case studies and examples
• Live question and answer with webcast attendees
Products to be discussed:
• Xserve G5 and the Xserve G5 Cluster Node
• Xserve RAID
• The Apple Workgroup Cluster for Bioinformatics
• MATLAB and gridMathematica
Who should view this webcast:
• Scientists and engineers who need more computational power
• IT managers who support HPC deployments and scientific computing
environments
• Lab or department research managers
• Directors of research groups who want to expand their computational
capabilities
Logistics:
1-Register at the HPC Webcast Series Page
2-Install CAST:STREAM player 2.0 (or higher). Prior software
installation and setup required.
