NetApp posted some SPC results showing their 3040 box performing pretty well in SPC-1 relative to an EMC box.
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Ate at Delmonico’s in NYC
I was helping out a customer with some backup issues in the Wall street area and they happened to be literally across the street from Delmonico’s.
We need more wizards!
No, I don’t mean Gandalf, I mean the software kind. And before I’m accused of being Gates’ live-in cabana boy (it’s all baseless rumors), let me clarify.
(Very) Preliminary Windows Server 2008 impressions and Vista Multimedia Performance under battery power
Out of curiosity, I very briefly tried the new Server 2008 Release Candidate (freely available from Microsoft). I’ve been using Vista 64-bit since I need to see all the memory in my machine and, while it works mostly OK, there are some low-level scheduling issues with it – for instance, sound is really choppy on battery power, no matter what I do with the power settings, so I can’t use the thing to watch a DVD or listen to music on the plane. Many others seem to be having the same issues, despite the funky Multimedia Class Scheduler nonsense that Microsoft put in the OS that makes networking slower (great info here), even though older incarnations were not suffering from media playback issues under load. And no, if I disable the Multimedia Scheduler it does NOT work better, it actually gets worse, which means that the service is there to fix some other kludge-y issue Microsoft introduced with the scheduler or something like excessive power throttling of certain devices.
My opinion on the Sun/NetApp altercation: Both companies should be grateful instead of resorting to lawsuits
Since opinions are like you-know-what, and since I’m decidedly anatomically complete in that respect (some, indeed, claim all of me is composed of implied anatomical part, so maybe that’s why I’m so opinionated), I thought I’d throw my $0.2 in the pot and not stay silent. The whole issue irks me quite a bit, actually.
Ate at the Staghorn steakhouse in NYC
At the insistence of my colleagues (that seem to enjoy the steak posts more than the high-falutin’ technology ones) I decided to visit another NYC steakhouse.
Ate at The Old Homestead in NYC
I’ve been hopped up on uppers all day (relax, just a huge amount of chocolate-covered high-test espresso beans, though the amount of caffeine was surely enough to get me disqualified from competing in any sport – every time I pee it smells like freshly-brewed coffee). Needing something to relax me, and since my bowel movements have been altogether too easy lately, I thought I’d go for steak. Two birds with one stone.
WAN acceleration for remote workers
The deluge of WAN accelerators from Cisco, Riverbed, Juniper, Expand, Packeteer,Bluecoat, Silverpeak etc. etc. is proving good for datacenters. Not sure how many vendors will remain viable in a year or two, but the selection at the moment is decent.
Processor scheduling and quanta in Windows (and a bit about Unix/Linux)
One of the more exotic and exciting IT subjects is the one of processor scheduling (if you’re not excited, read on, practical stuff to be seen later in the text). Multi-tasking OSes just give the illusion that they’re doing things in parallel – in reality, the CPUs rapidly skip from task to task using various algorithms and heuristics, making one think the processes truly are running simultaneously. The choice of scheduling algorithm can be immensely important.
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Ate at AJ Maxwell’s in Manhattan
Once more, dear reader, I place my colon’s health at peril for your reading pleasure and culinary edification.
Ate at Bobby Van’s in Manhattan
After the glowing reviews of a colleague I ate at Bobby Van’s on 230 Park. It’s considered to be one of the better NYC steakhouses (there are 4 in the chain, most in NYC).
I got a bone-in ribeye and some mushrooms.
I asked for a 145°F internal temperature and the decrepit waiter looked at me like I had three heads. “What does that mean?” I said medium rare…
The steak was pretty good, slightly overcooked but not as flavorful as what I had at Flames. It was also a bit dry for a ribeye and totally unseasoned. Still, not a bad cut.
The mushrooms provided some lubrication.
Not a religious experience, I’ll try the Old Homestead tomorrow hopefully.
D
Just how much is your antivirus harming your I/O?
I just got a new corporate laptop, a nice, shiny T60 (OK, it’s IBM black and therefore thoroughly incapable of reflecting on any part of the spectrum).
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Ate at Murphy’s Style Grill, in Red Bank, NJ
Will be demonstrating Cisco’s WAAS tomorrow in NYC, so today we spent some time going through a testing protocol so we can show people different things.
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This has been one of the worst trips ever – because of one of the silliest DR exercises ever
Well, aside from visiting Flames and helping fix a severe customer problem. Those were rewarding. I still haven’t pooped that steak, BTW.
I was supposed to only stay for 1 day in Manhattan, fix the issue, ba da bing. I ended up staying an extra day – had no extra clothes and no time to get anything. Washed my undies on my own and used the hair dryer over a period of hours to dry them. I learned my lesson now and will always have extra stuff with me.
ZFS in OSX
Not amazing news but an official announcement nonetheless: Saw this (www.macnn.com/articles/07/06/06/zfs.in.leopard/) and I couldn’t resist posting. This means a few things: