OpenSolaris Storage Summit / SNIA Storage Developer Conference In Review
Its been a long week... here's a wrap up review. Sunday was the first OpenSolaris Storage Summit. There were two keynote presentations, I did the morning keynote on the topic of Cloud Computing (what it is, how it relates to storage, etc) and the afternoon (moved to be after mine actually) was Mike Shapiro talking about ZFS Hybrid storage and the new era of Solid State Drives (SSD). Assorted other talks included updates on various ...
Sorta like getting hit in the face with a bat…
Seriously... I just can't take it anymore. Doesn't this: Remind you of this: Or, if you have less imagination or love for Adam West.... I'm just sayin'....
OpenSolaris Town Hall Today
Today, the 16th, 3-5PM Pacific. Calling information is here: OpenSolaris Community Town Hall Meeting. I know its a hard time for west coast workers, but it should be worth your time if you can attend.
COMSTAR COMETH: Introduction & iSCSI Target for COMSTAR
The OpenSolaris COMSTAR project is one of the cornerstones of Sun's Open Storage initiative. Quite simply, it uniquely separates and abstracts back-end storage from the means by which you allow access to it. To be more specific, through COMSTAR's SMTF I can allocate some raw disk and then provide it to my SAN through an FC Target or iSCSI Target or SAS Target or you name it. Just think about this... you can now, with 100% open source ...
The Most Exciting 5 Laps in the Last 5 Years of Formula1
I know many of you who read this blog dislike my posting about Formula 1 from time-to-time, but this one is worth a look. The Belgian Grand Prix on the legendary Spa-Francorchamps circuit is perhaps one of the most challenging of the season, and certainly my favorite of all F1 tracks (although, I still have a soft spot for the A1 Ring). Spa challenges drivers unlike any other track during the year and is always exciting, but this year ...
Solaris Core Analysis, Part 2: Solaris CAT
In Part 1 we discussed core analysis in general and some basic mdb commands for high level investigation. When you dig deeper things can get confusing and complex because everything is referenced by address. This is where the Solaris Crash Analysis Tool comes in. Solaris CAT has been around for a long time, but only as of version 5.0 released on June 18th of this year has it been available for Solaris X86/X64. You can find the Solaris ...
Solaris Core Analysis, Part 1: mdb
Solaris is one of the most stable operating systems available... but lets face it, stuff happens. Solaris does panic, but I want everyone to be clear, a "panic", despite the seemingly contradictory name, is by its nature a controlled event. When the kernel encounters behavior that is uncorrectable and will cause irreparable harm to the running system or, even worse, corrupt data, the system will voluntarily tap out using the panic system ...
SA Pro Episode 0: Education and Qualifications
The very first episode of SA Pro is here! In the podcast we'll use one of two formats, classic 1-on-1 interview style and a round-table discussion format. This episode is the latter. Together with Joe Moore of Siemens and Mark Imbriaco of 37signals we discuss the following questions: What is the mark of a good SA? What are the essential qualifications? Does formal education and/or certs matter? Whats really new and ...
SAPro is coming…
Systems Administration is a lonely job. There is very little support for professionals and we're all very divided. There is, I find, a common desire to know what "the other guy" is doing or thinking, what tools they use, how they arrange their day, how they deal with stress, how they select one gig over another, how they provide for a wife and family in it all. A podcast is a great way to do this, but there isn' t much out there. ...
Brocade To Buy Foundry
This isn't new, but simply new to me, at least if I saw it before I didn't pay sufficient attention... Brocade Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Foundry Networks, press release dated 7/21/08. I mean, is commentary even required? This, naturally, just adds a massive blow in the "fibre channel is dead" debate; assuming there is anyone that will continue to argue the point. Clearly 4Gb FC-Fabric has a useful place, but its clear ...