About a year ago, I started planning some changes to the IT infrastructure here at the home office. For years, I have had a huge number of servers, largely to support the work I do across different platforms. However, as more and more OS seem to gravitate towards x86 and with virtualization like VMware and Parallels becoming easier to use and more efficient, I've found I can easily start reducing the number of servers, and the number of platforms to, basically, one: x86.

My problem is one actually experienced by many companies; they need a server but can't afford to dedicate a single room to the task of holding the box, so it has to live somewhere in the office. Even in an office where there are lots of computers already, having a quiet and efficient solution helps to lower the ambient noise in the room.

While reading LinuxJournal (I think) the other day, I came across an advert for ATA over Ethernet (AoE), from Coraid.

I'd never heard of it before, but as someone in the process of updating the machinery from big, and noisy servers that sit in my office to something quieter (of which more another day). The thought of having remote access to some large disk over the network, without having to relocate a potentially noisy box elsewhere appeals.

Many will be shouting 'Network Attached Storage' (NAS) about now, but I have problems with NAS. The first is that most do not support NFS, a problem in a network with a large number of Unix and Linux servers, rather than Windows boxes (which of course is supported by all of them). My second issue is just one of additional expense; I already have servers, adding another just for storage seems excessive when I could just extend the space I have on the servers I already have.

While reading LinuxJournal (I think) the other day, I came across an advert for ATA over Ethernet (AoE), from Coraid.

I'd never heard of it before but, as someone in the process of updating the machinery from big and noisy servers that sit in my office to something quieter (of which more another day), the thought of having remote access to some large disk over the network, without having to relocate a potentially noisy box elsewhere, appeals.

Many will be shouting 'Network Attached Storage' (NAS) about now, but I have problems with NAS. The first is that most do not support NFS, a problem in a network with a large number of Unix and Linux servers, rather than Windows boxes (which of course is supported by all of them). My second issue is just one of additional expense; I already have servers, adding another just for storage seems excessive when I could just extend the space I have on the servers I already have.

In case you missed it, WWDC was this week.

Fortunately, the Internet troubles I had earlier in the week (when a cable was replaced due to a very bad line, probably damaged in a recent storm) didn't prevent me from keeping up to date with what was going on. While it is ever so tempting to talk about the disappointments at WWDC and how, once again, the hype expectation didn't quite equal the reality, there was still quite a lot of good stuff if you knew what you were looking for.

Of interest, particularly to developers, is the introduction of support for the DTrace debugging tool, which was first introduced as part of Solaris 10. I'm working on some detailed pieces on Solaris 10 features over the next week where DTrace will be one of the pieces I cover.

In case you missed it, WWDC was this week.

Fortunately, the Internet troubles I had earlier in the week (when a cable was replaced due to a very bad line, probably damaged in a recent storm) didn't prevent me from keeping up to date with what was going on. While it is ever so tempting to talk about the disappointments at WWDC and how, once again, the hype expectation didn't quite equal the reality, there was still quite a lot of good stuff if you knew what you were looking for.

Of interest, particularly to developers, is the introduction of support for the DTrace debugging tool, which was first introduced as part of Solaris 10. I'm working on some detailed pieces on Solaris 10 features over the next week where DTrace will be one of the pieces I cover.

As reported late last week, and to be honest, as we all expected, VMWare Virtualization for Mac OS X was announced at WWDC on Monday. At the same time, Microsoft have announced what many expected too - Microsoft kills Virtual PC for Mac.

The VMware announcement wasn't a surprise, but even with the information they have provided, there is still some mysticism about exactly what product from the VMware stable will be available. Will it be the VMware workstation product, or, considering the announcement of new Mac Pro and Xserve units, we will also see the server product?

As reported late last week, and to be honest, as we all expected, VMWare Virtualization for Mac OS X was announced at WWDC on Monday. At the same time, Microsoft have announced what many expected too - Microsoft kills Virtual PC for Mac.

The VMware announcement wasn't a surprise, but even with the information they have provided, there is still some mysticism about exactly what product from the VMware stable will be available. Will it be the VMware workstation product, or, considering the announcement of new Mac Pro and Xserve units, we will also see the server product?

Robert Mitchell has a great piece, Skype Slips into Business that looks in some detail about how Skype is being used in a variety of business environments.

I resisted Skype for a long time, but now find it invaluable. I'm also recommending it to associates, especially those smaller companies that have multiple sites, but don't (understandably) want to spend hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds communicating between sites.

In the article, the usage of Skype by support and their employment of SkypeOut as part of a solution for providing unified access to a group resource, is interesting. The article also highlights some of the limitations of the Skype environment.

Robert Mitchell has a great piece, Skype Slips into Business, that looks in some detail about how Skype is being used in a variety of business environments.

I resisted Skype for a long time, but now find it invaluable. I'm also recommending it to associates, especially those smaller companies that have multiple sites, but don't (understandably) want to spend hundreds, or even thousands, of pounds communicating between sites.

In the article, the usage of Skype by support and their employment of SkypeOut as part of a solution for providing unified access to a group resource, is interesting. The article also highlights some of the limitations of the Skype environment.

According to Tom Yager at InfoWorld, VMware will announce, if not release, their VMware software for OS X next week. You can get more details in his post, VMWare for Mac to debut August 7.

August 7th is, of course, the first of Apple's WWDC, and yet another year when I am unable to make it.

We've been hearing rumours, including from VMware themselves, that they would be working on a version of the Virtual Workstation (and perhaps other) software for OS X for almost as long as OS X on Intel hardware was announced.