servers

Features

• Closer look at Microsoft 'Aurora' Small Business Server

  Microsoft has been paying more attention lately to the small business audience, as well as the cloud. With the "Aurora" Small Business Server (SBS)--officially named Small Business Server 2011 Essentials, Microsoft delivers a solution that brings the two together--bridging local services and the cloud, and granting small businesses affordable access to big business tools.

• Server technology guide

  The fact is there is no onesize-fits-all server for small and medium businesses (SMBs). There are hundreds of choices across a dozen or so brands and far more configuration possibilities. Then there are the different approaches to server spend. Some buy on price, some on technology, some on brand, and some a mixture of factors at varying levels. Thankfully, there are some general guidelines on how to approach a new server purchase.

• Build a private Azure cloud with new Microsoft appliance

  Companies interested in taking advantage of what cloud computing has to offer, but reluctant to trust sensitive information off-site now have a new alternative with Microsoft's Windows Azure Platform appliance. Microsoft has teamed up with strategic hardware partners to develop an appliance-based approach allowing businesses to deploy and control their own cloud.

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  The great co-location debate

  With cloud computing growing in popularity, SMBs are questioning whether it is more practical to co-locate their data centers or completely bypass that option and head into the cloud? First, let's briefly clarify the two:

• IBM BladeCenter delivers speed, power savings

  Optimizing power consumption, CPU performance, and form factor is a never-ending battle in server design and IBM's Bladecenter HS22 succeeds on all counts.

• Data center derby heats up

  Network thoroughbred Cisco jumps into the blade server market. Server stallion HP adds security blades to its ProCurve switches. IBM teams up with Brocade. Oracle buys Sun. And everybody courts that prize filly VMware.

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  Inside Internode's data centre

  Computerworld gets an exclusive behind the scenes look inside Internode's Adelaide data centre with network guru Mark Newton