Data Management - Infoworld

Flexing NoSQL: MongoDB in review

Doug Dineley — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:00:00 +0000

The NoSQL movement has spawned a slew of alternative data stores, all of which attempt to fill voids left by traditional relational database implementations. But while it's easy to fit the various relational databases (MySQL, Oracle, DB2, and so on) under a single categorical umbrella, the NoSQL world is much more diverse, and the NoSQL label is too general.

Mobile, cloud, and big data pros in high demand for 2012

InfoWorld Tech Watch — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Recession-fueled stagnation is slowly drawing to an end as U.S. companies are signaling they're ready to sink some cash into growth and emerging markets. That spells opportunity for certain IT professionals.

Why big data means a big year for Hadoop

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:45:43 +0000

You can't have a conversation in today's business technology world without touching on the topic of big data.

Simply put, it's about data sets so large-in volume, velocity and variety-that they're impossible to manage with conventional database tools. In 2011, our global output of data was estimated at 1.8 zettabytes (each zettabyte equals 1 billion terabytes). Even more staggering is the widely quoted estimate that 90 percent of the data in the world was created within the past two years.

Microsoft reveals launch date for SQL Server 2012

ccraig — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:58:40 +0000

Microsoft has announced a March 7 online event for the launch of SQL Server 2012, the next generation of its database product.

The event will feature keynote addresses from Microsoft corporate vice presidents Ted Kummert and Quentin Clark, who will respectively give attendees a look at Microsoft's "data evolution vision" and a general overview of SQL Server 2012's features.

The Oracle flaw: Clarifications and more information

Eric Knorr — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:54:33 +0000

Since InfoWorld published "Fundamental Oracle flaw revealed" on Jan. 17, we've received abundant feedback from Oracle users and consulted with Oracle representatives, who went through the story point by point, offering clarifications and additional details, including information about the patches that address the flaw.

Enterprise Hadoop: Big data processing made easier

Doug Dineley — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

It's been a big year for Apache Hadoop, the open source project that helps you split your workload among a rack of computers. The buzzword is now well known to your boss but still just a vague and hazy concept for your boss's boss. That puts it in the sweet spot when there's plenty of room for experimentation.

Calling all Oracle customers

Eric Knorr — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

When I first heard from an anonymous source about a flaw in the Oracle database, I was skeptical. I'm well versed in the endless cycle of bugs and patches that surrounds the software industry. But this was different. Unless that source was blowing smoke, this was a vulnerability at the heart of the industry's most widely used and trusted enterprise database product.

Update: Fundamental Oracle flaw revealed

Eric Knorr — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

(Editor's note: This story has been updated to include clarifications and additional information, which appear in italics. For the latest developments, see the follow-on story "The Oracle flaw: Clarifications and more information.")

Oracle updates TimeTen in-memory database, aims at SAP HANA

admin — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:33:32 +0000

Oracle on Thursday rolled out an updated version of its TimesTen In-Memory Database, which is a key component of its upcoming Exalytics appliance as well as a competitor to SAP's HANA platform.

TimesTen 11g Release 2 is a relational database "designed to run in the application-tier to provide both rapid transaction response time and high throughput required by mission-critical applications," Oracle said in a statement.

Oracle reveals pricing for its SAP HANA rival Exalytics, signaling imminent release

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:35:41 +0000

Oracle made a splash on Tuesday when it announced the general availability of its Big Data Appliance, but the company also quietly released pricing information for Exalytics, another new member in its family of specialized hardware-software appliances and a likely competitor to SAP's HANA product, suggesting that a general-availability announcement for that product is imminent.

The year's best hardware, software, and cloud services

Doug Dineley — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:00:00 +0000

Was it the philosopher George Santayana who said, "Those who don't remember the past are condemned to repeat it?" Did he offer any hints for those of us who want to repeat the past, especially the successes? We're beyond the teary elegies of 2011 and deep into making resolutions for 2012. If we're going to stand half a chance of creating something great this year, it only makes sense to pause and celebrate what went right in 2011.

Architectural rule No. 1: Segregate everything

Matt Prigge — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Enterprise IT infrastructures now face such an explosion of applications, devices, and data that just running in place is hard enough. Nobody seems to have the time or resources to design new systems that actually improve operations. Nonetheless, there's one step you can take to make life easier and your infrastructure stronger as you deal with rampant growth: introduce logical separation wherever you can.

Which is best: Exchange 2010 archiving vs. third-party tools

J. Peter Bruzzese — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

Archiving products have been around for quite some time, but you may not need them with Exchange 2010's out-of-the-box archiving capabilities. Then again, maybe you do need a third-party archiving tool. Let's find out.

First look: Oracle NoSQL Database

Doug Dineley — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 11:00:00 +0000

For the last few years, the world of NoSQL databases has been filled with exciting new projects, ambitious claims, and plenty of chest beating. The hypesters said the new NoSQL software packages offered tremendous performance gains by tossing away all of the structure and paranoid triple-checking that database creators had lovingly added over the years. Reliability? It's overrated, said the new programmers who didn't run serious business applications for Wall Street banks but trafficked in trivial, forgettable data about people's lives. Tabular structure? It's too hidebound and limiting.

Fujitsu to team with Whamcloud in Lustre development

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:22:12 +0000

Fujitsu said Tuesday it will work with Whamcloud to develop new features for the open-source Lustre file system aimed at high-performance computing.

The Japanese company, which built the supercomputer currently rated as the world's fastest, said it will team with Whamcloud to expand the capabilities of Lustre as well as get feedback from the open-source community.

Big data prep: 5 things IT should do now

admin — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:41:36 +0000

Got your "big data" plan in place? If not, you may want to start thinking about implementing one.

Big data is being hailed -- or hyped, depending on your point of view -- as a key strategic business asset of the future. That means it's only a matter of time before the suits in the corner office want to know IT's thoughts on the matter.

The challenges of managing mountains of information

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 15:56:14 +0000

If you think the storage systems in your data centers are out of control, imagine having 449 billion objects in your database, or having to add 40 terabytes of new data each week.

The challenges of managing massive amounts of big data involve storing huge files, creating long-term archives and, of course, making the data accessible.

Dell puts recent acquisitions to work

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 21:56:46 +0000

Dell is implementing networking, storage, software, and hardware technologies it has gained from recent acquisitions in products that can help it move beyond servers to deliver more end-to-end solutions.

In the last year, Dell has bought nine companies, and at the Dell World trade show in Austin, Texas, it laid out how virtualization, cloud, storage, and networking technologies from those acquisitions are being built into pre-configured integrated systems and upcoming PowerEdge servers.

Exclusive: HP's new software guy hints at products to come

Eric Knorr — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 12:51:14 +0000

In August, HP announced it would spend $10 billion to acquire Autonomy, Britain's largest software company -- a leader in enterprise search, compliance, and cloud archiving with an impressive list of Fortune 50 customers.

Delphix CEO: Why database virtualization matters

Eric Knorr — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:00:00 +0000

Certain gaps threaten to derail the notion of a supremely automated IT infrastructure. One of these is a convenient, secure way to leverage the highest-value information owned by a company: typically, its customer and product databases.