• IDC on 2012: Prepare for Cloud wars, mobile explosion, higher IT spending

  IDC researchers say some big battles will be brewing in 2012 in the cloud, mobile and Big Data arenas, so much so that "companies like Microsoft, HP, SAP, RIM, and others - including Apple- will face 'crossroads moments' in 2012. By the end of the year, we should have a good idea which vendors will - and won't - be among the industry's leaders at the end of the decade," said Frank Gens, senior vice president and chief analyst at IDC in a statement.

• iPad improvement: A great keyboard and network app

  I have written several times about my ongoing love affair with the iPad and, surprise, a wave of iPad-related products has been appearing in the Gibbs Universal Secret Underground Bunker.

• Brocade balances SAN base with new data center reality

  ith a 65% share of the SAN market, the company is in an enviable position to jump on next-generation data center opportunities

• Enterasys looks to head off Cisco, Brocade data center plans

  Enterasys, the networking division of Siemens Enterprise Communications this week unveiled it data center strategy, which hinges on partnerships and multivendor inclusion as well as the policy-based management capabilities of its switches.

• Brocade boosts 10G Ethernet density for data centers

  Brocade this week rolled out 10 Gigabit Ethernet and 8Gbps FibreChannel modules for its routers and storage-area network switches designed to increase the wire-speed density of both platforms to better support network consolidation and improve service levels.

• Special report: Emerging IEEE Ethernet standards could soothe data center headaches

  Cisco, HP and others are waging an epic battle to gain control of the data center, but at the same time they are joining forces to push through new Ethernet standards that could greatly ease management of those increasingly virtualized IT nerve centers.

• Analysis: Would you like a data center with that server?

  Faced with the continued commoditization of servers, IT vendors this year will try to differentiate their offerings by moving toward more highly integrated, unified compute platforms.

• What IT pros like best about next-generation technology

  Do hundreds of gallons of used vegetable oil belong anywhere near a data center, let alone inside? Phil Nail thinks so.

• Data centers in a box

  IT takes a close look at shipping container-based data centers

• Google, Microsoft spark interest in modular data centers

  Interest in modular data centers is growing, fueled by high-profile endorsements from Microsoft and Google. But the model raises new management concerns, and efficiency claims may be exaggerated.

Whitepapers about datacentre

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  Case Study: Australian Researchers Cut Backup Time By Nearly a Full Day with DXi Solution

  The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) set out to solve the backup and restore challenges created by expanding data volumes. When IT staff saw how Quantum’s DXi deduplication appliance reduced backup times by 20 hours, enabled restores in minutes, and saved 50 percent in tape media purchases, ACER bought a second unit for disaster recovery protection. Read on.

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  Data Deduplication For Dummies 2011

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  Estimating a Data Centre's Electrical Carbon Foot Print

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  Server and Storage Optimization Techniques