Brian Zaugg Information Technology Consultant

The expanded simulation requirement imposed by RMS’ customers has driven the company to analyze next generation NAS solutions for the organization’s high performance computing environments. Before the simulation requirements, the RMS storage strategy emphasized a single vendor NAS solution. The challenges presented by adding thousands of cores of high performance compute capability per quarter has caused the company to adapt the storage strategy to include a next generation NAS solutions that provide more scalable performance.

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Wireless networks are a key enabling technology for the modern information age. The proliferation of Wi-Fi hotspots, cellular data networks, and generally ubiquitous and pervasive networks, combined with mobile devices that support the global positioning system and the varied wireless standards, has led to an access anywhere paradigm that transforms the delivery of services. One of the transformative, emerging uses of wireless technologies is the mobile banking application. Mobile banking applications that utilize wireless networks provide a secure and convenient means for customers to access financial services.

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Peer-to-peer networks provide novel features compared to traditional networks. The One Laptop per Child project has leveraged P2P in the design and implementation of a mesh network that provides Internet connectivity to children in the poorest, most remote places of the Earth. By utilizing the P2P model, OLPC hopes to connect the world’s neediest children to the vast educational resources available on the Internet.

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Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is a cost-effective and feature rich RDBMS that would be suitable for any size business. The current product does not have some key features indicated, by academic research, for future capabilities.

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SunOS 4.1.4 died of manufacturer induced termination of support and maintenance. With the passing of SunOS, the compiler and supporting software development tools that were used to build the kernel became separate saleable products instead of operating system components, since the SVR4 kernel supported dynamically loadable modules. SunOS 4.1.4 provided a robust and stable operating system for Sun workstation and server products for nearly a decade. With the passing of SunOS 4.1.4, the architectural legacy of Sun BSD systems also fades into history, replaced by SVR4 and Solaris 2.x and subsequent System V versions of Solaris. (“End of Service Life Status for Solaris Operating System,” 2010)

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The use of the GPU to service computation instead of rendering video game images is an innovative use of a specialized processor. The GPU is to SIMD processors what Beowulf was to vector and MPP systems. Existing GPU’s are not equivalent to SIMD, as indicated in Suda et al’s 2009 article. (Suda, et al., 2009) However, the low cost CMOS solution has potential to be developed into a replacement, much like Beowulfs replaced vector-processing machines.

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Cloud computing, also known as grid or utility computing, is a disruptive technological model for delivering information technology services. By providing elastic, scalable, pay-as-you-go services, cloud computing providers enable organizations and individuals to develop and deploy information systems without the costs associated with traditional information technology. However, the utilization of cloud computing services introduces unique security risks. A literature review is performed to survey current research regarding cloud computing security threats and technologies that may mitigate the risks.

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The modern world creates and stores digital information at an accelerating and large rate. The exponential growth of stored digital information presents cost and management challenges. Several modern technologies, including data de-duplication, hierarchical storage management, and grid storage offer potential solutions to information management challenges by improving the efficiency of underlying storage devices. A review of the literature is conducted to provide a summary of current research regarding information and storage management strategies and technologies.

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Modern businesses depend upon information technologies for nearly every facet of enterprise operations. IT has provided significant productivity and agility benefits to companies that make the investment. However, there are also risks associated with the reliance on IT.

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Ten to fifteen years ago, the security threats to information systems were primarily mischievous in nature. Malicious elements focused on defacing web sites and hacking into computers as a demonstration of technical skill. The most damaging malware of the previous decade was simply destructive in nature, deleting data or denying service. Modern malware is much more insidious, seeking to compromise systems and stealthily steal valuable information. Modern security threats are primarily an organized criminal activity that is focused on making money through the sale of illicitly acquired information.

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