Microsoft SQL Server Switching to Open Database Connectivty

Microsoft just announced on Monday a roadmap shift indicating that it will shift focus on supporting the Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) approach for SQL Server application programming interfaces in the very near future. This is an important announcement for C/C++ developers who are writing applications for relational database management systems, especially if they are using other Microsoft-supported APIs like Object Linking and Embedding Database (OLE DB).

In addition to that, Microsoft has announced that it will be slowly cutting ties with OLE DB support. According to Microsoft, there will be a 7-year phase out period for OLE DB which will correspond with the life cycle support period of SQL Server code-named "Denali" after that product launches. Denali will be the last Microsoft SQL Server database management product to support OLE DB.

According to a blog post from Microsoft, "OLE DB will supported for seven years from launch, the life of SQL Server Code Name 'Denali' support, to allow you a large window of opportunity for change before depreciation. We encourage you to adopt ODBC in any future version or new application development."

Microsoft has yet to announce a release date for Denali though the common expectation is that Denali will be released in the fourth quarter of this year. In addition to that, it is also expected that details will come from Microsoft's PASS Summit 2011 event in October.

Interestingly enough, Microsoft is accepting that the OBDC open standard it developed with Simba Technologies back in 1992 has become the widely accepted standard for database APIs. ODBC has overshadowed the other attempts by Microsoft to improve on the standard with its OLE DB according to Simba's history of ODBC.

According to Microsoft, "This depreciation applies to the Microsoft SQL Server OLE DB provider only. Other OLE DB providers as well as the OLE DB standard will continue to be supported until explicitly announced." However, a Microsoft FAQ does indicate that ADO will also be affected by the phase out of OLE DB.

"Providers like ADO.net which can run on top of OLE DB will not support OLE DB once the latter is depreciated," says the FAQ. "At that time the clients using the underlying provider need to update their application to use a different provider."

If you are a developer, then you should consider moving to ODBC over the 7-year period in order to align with this general plan. OLE DB was the proprietary technology of Microsoft, however, Microsoft has now admitted that ODBC was a better choice.

According to the FAQ, "OLE DB was introduced primarily to provide uniform data access to non-relational data as well as relational data. But it is Microsoft's proprietary technology that worked only on Microsoft platforms. When it comes to uniform data access to SQL Server from different platforms, ODBC has always been a better choice and that was consistently quoted by all of our customers in various surveys, SDRs and forums. By fully aligning with ODBC, Microsoft will be focusing on one set of industry standard APIS that are widely used by many of our customers."

Source: Redmondmag.com - Microsoft Shifting To Open Database Connectivity for SQL Server

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Red Hat Virtualization No Longer Windows Exclusive

Considering that it's a Linux Vendor, it isn't a surprise that Red Hat obviously wants its customers to run its technologies on Linux. However, when it comes to the Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) management system, customers have always been forced to run the system on Microsoft Windows. However, that is all about to change.

According to Navin Thadani, Senior Director of Red Hat's Virtualization Business, "The management system has been re-written as a Java app that runs on top of a RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) server. So we've removed the Microsoft Windows server dependency."

Thadani did note that RHEV will still support Active Directory for authentication work. Now the system uses the open source PostgreSQL database as well. The new RHEV update is said to be a zero-downtime upgrade according to Thadani. In addition to that, the new Windows-free management piece will not cost anything extra other than that which Red Hat has previously charged for the RHEV versions that had Windows dependencies.

"The way we price RHEV is that we don't charge for the management system separately," Thadani added. "Ours is a single price for the management system and the hypervisor baked into a dollars-per-socket, per-year price." Thadani also added that enterprises just need to count the number of CPU sockets they will use and that is how much they will pay. Thadani also added that he believes that Red Hat's pricing can be 1/7 the cost of VMware. VMware recently changed its pricing model for vSphere. Pricing is now based on virtual RAM allocations.

In addition to the new management server, the other major change in RHEV 3.0 is a new version of KVM. KVM is the core virtualization hypervisor that powers the solution. According to Thadani, "We've replaced the underlying hypervisor to the new KVM that's going to be shipping in RHEL 6.2. With that, we've picked up performance enhancements, including Transparent Huge Pages for database performance, paravirtualized interrupt controllers, async I/O and an entire rewrite of the networking infrastructure."

Thadani also explained that the networking stack has also been moved from userspace to kernel space to deliver better performance to users. Now, the system can scale up to 128 CPUs with 2TB of RAM at the host level, providing for larger virtual machines.
In addition to that, Red Hat is making it easier to provision and deploy new virtual machines as well as create templates and make virtual machines. There is also a new built-in reporting infrastructure that leverages an embedded Jasper Reports engine.

RHEV is not all about server virtualization exclusively, there is also a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) component as well. "We've made improvements to VDI in the area of WAN optimization," Thadani added. The last major release of RHEV was when version 2.2 was released in 2010. When asked about number of customers, Thadani stated, "We've got many, many customers around the world and across industry segments." RHEV 3.0 is currently in beta testing with general availability slated for the end of this year.

Source: Server Watch - Red Hat Revs up Virtualization, Without Windows

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Raytheon Unveils Interoperable Server System

Raytheon has just developed a new server-based system that links 4G LTE and P25 systems over the same network. When this happens, it ensures that public safety officials will be able to stay connected when they need to the most. It would allow firefighters using a legacy FM handheld, EMS with a P25 radio or a police officer with an LTE-linked mobile data computer in his squad car to stay connected, no matter what.

The new server from Raytheon is suitable for a wide variety of interoperability applications and is also scalable, making it usable in small towns or big cities, whichever is needed. The system uses gateways, like Raytheon's newly released ACU-5000, for local interoperability. It also uses these gateways to convert non-IP communications, like the ones from radios, telephones and the like, for transfer to the server. IP-based communications are brought directly to the server.

According to Director of Civil Communications Solutions for Raytheon's Network Centric Systems Business Bill Iannacci, "Interoperability in a large-scale disaster is critical. Raytheon's interoperable server solution promotes customer choice, as it integrates the existing equipment of each city and has built-in abilities to support next-generation communications technology. This allows municipalities to upgrade hardware, from their preferred vendors, as budgets allow."

Raytehon's Audio Connect Unit (ACU) technology initiated the radio interoperability gateway concept in the late 1990's and the newer server system assists its users by incorporating all the lessons learned since then. The understanding that during a disaster or other type of incident that requires inter-agency interoperability, most of the links will be local was one of the most prominent lessons learned. This new system maintains this local interoperability, as well as the means to control it, even if infrastructure failure breaks the network link to the server.

Source: PR Newswire - Raytheon Debuts an Interoperable Server System With Digital and Analog Interfaces for Legacy FM Radio, P25 and 4G LTE

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Apple's Lion Server Takes A Different Turn

So Mac OS X Lion has just been released and the first app to hit the Lion app store is surprising many users. That app is Mac OS X Lion Server, which will cost you $49, a mere fraction of the $499 price tag that was on Snow Leopard's Server. With that the Mac OS X Server that everybody knew is no more. In addition to that, just to make the deal a little sweeter, Apple is giving you Xsan, the SAN software that the company used to sell for $999. With Mac OS X Lion Server you can turn a Mac Pro with a fiber channel card into a super fast bulletproof distributed storage server for Mac networks.

While you may already be drooling over these kinds of prices, it all seems a little odd, and it raises a few questions. Many critics will undoubtedly point the Lion Server drop in price, the abolishment of node-locked licensing, and simplification of the administrative GUI as a foreshadowing of Apple leaving the server market completely. The price of $49 does not mitigate the risk of implementing a server platform that appears to be in decline.

On the other hand, Lion Server doesn't really resemble a last ditch effort by a dying market. Instead it seems to signal a shift in mission. As opposed to trying to displace enterprises Windows, Linux and Unix servers, Lion Server seems to focus primarily on providing easily managed native network services to work groups of iOS and Mac users. Lion Server's Profile Manager is key to enterprise deployments of iOS devices. Profile Manager has the ability to configure a user-owned device that is connected to a company infrastructure for company services that include ones not hosted by Mac OS X or iCloud.

Mac devices, like iPads or iPhones, that are owned by the company can also be locked down with profiles that apply certain defined groups of users or devices. All you have to do as the user is visit a web portal that Lion has set up and hosted automatically. After the profile is loaded, updates can be pushed to a certain device over the air and so can emergency commands such as remote wipe and password change. And that is only one of the many services offered by Lion Server. $49 equips your network with any combination of file, email, calendar, Web, chat, podcast, VPN, directory or backup services. And you know how committed Apple is to standards, so you can rely on the fact that Lion Server remains a good candidate for everyday use.

Source: InfoWorld - Apple's radical new Mac server strategy

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Microsoft Announces General Availability of SBS Essentials 2011

Microsoft just recently announced the general availability of Windows Small Business Server 2011 Essentials last week. The server, which was designed to support small businesses with around 25 users, is able to be purchased via Microsoft's volume licensing channels or from original equipment managers and retail outlets. Microsoft's volume licensing customers are also supposed to have had access to Windows SBS 2011 Essentials since May 1.

This announcement claims that most of Microsoft's OEM partners currently offer SBS 2011 Essentials server products. While that may be true, only HP's offering is easy to find at the moment. It's a little confusing because Microsoft provides links to six OEMs on its Windows SBS purchasing options page with most of those links leading to Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard offerings. Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard is slightly different in that it supports up to 75 users. Microsoft released SBS 2011 Standard to OEMs as well as volume licensing customers back in March.

Microsoft's announcement did indicate that more OEM server products using SBS 2011 Essentials software will be available "in the next few months". Windows SBS 2011 Essentials is designed to rely on cloud-based services, more so than Windows SBS 2011 Standard that is. One benefit that SBS 2011 Essentials has over SBS 2011 Standard is that no Client Access Licenses are required to use the Essentials version.

Microsoft is planning a means for better integration with Office 365, the latest collection of cloud-based services from Microsoft. This integration will be carried out via a Microsoft connector known as "Office 365 Integration Module for SBS Essentials". Microsoft expects the release of this module sometime this fall.

IT professionals can currently create new users manually in SBS 2011 Essentials as well as Office 365 and they can also use the same alias name in both the premises-based Essentials as well as in the cloud-based Office 365 suite. The integration module will automate porting user aliases created in Essentials into the Office 365 cloud.

More improvements to SMS 2011 Essentials will be coming in the future, either from Microsoft or one of its many partners. Microsoft did state in the announcement that "many more solutions for cloud backup, hosted email integration and online productivity are already on the market or will be available soon."

In addition to that, there is also an experimental connector currently available for Windows 7 users that is able to assist them in remotely monitoring SBS 2011 Essentials servers via their smartphones. It also works with the Windows Home Server 2011 as well as Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Essentials. The connector is currently available as a release candidate test version and is not recommended by Microsoft for use in production environments.

Source: Redmondmag.com - Windows SBS 2011 Essentials Released Broadly

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Embotics Releases V-Commander 4.0

Managing private cloud deployments is no small task. Virtualization is supposed to help enterprises consolidate server sprawl as well as realize operational efficiencies. However, it requires the right amount of management infrastructure in order to do so. Software vendor Embotics is looking to deliver on the promise of private cloud virtualization management with its new V-Commander 4.0 release. This new release is targeted specifically at the mid-market for enterprises that have between 250 to 2,000 servers. It also delivers provisioning and service automation features.

According to Founder, CEO and President of Embotics Jay Litkey, "It's infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and we also integrate virtualization management capabilities. Traditionally, people look at IaaS vendors that are just focused on the provisioning of virtual machines, we have all of that and have included the same product real-time monitoring and virtualization management."

The V-Commander 4.0 release includes a new service catalog as well as approval workflow and rapid provisioning capabilities. The approval workflow component allows an enterprise to have a system which lets administrators approve which users gain access to virtual machine assets. In addition to that, the system also tracks the workflow of a service requests allowing both users and administrators to monitor status.

The service catalog is built by the organization using a drag and drop form builder. Litkey also explained that a lot of companies make a template of approved services available. The service catalog portal can also be used in order to request changes to an existing service. The rapid provisioning component comes into play once the service catalog item workflow request has been approved. The V-Commander software is able to run on either a physical or virtual appliance, and currently Embotics doesn't offer the product in a hosted Software-as-a-Service cloud model.

"We don't do that today, it's a conceptual type of deployment, and we haven't seen strong demands for it," Litkey stated. "Clearly, as the world evolves and the world moves to more cloud driven approaches, you can expect that we'll see an uptick in more people asking for it."Litkey explained that a lot of enterprises are more comfortable having automated management software deployed on-site. "People want to first be comfortable with automation within the walls of their own private cloud first."

V-Commander is also currently limited to the management of on-site private clouds as opposed to some form of hybrid deployment which includes public cloud components. Litkey did, however, hint that this could change in the future. "Since we have monitoring of capacity and the automation for creation and destruction of virtual machines, we'll have more investment to tie that information together to make intelligent decisions."

Litkey also noted that in V-Commander 4.0, there is an intelligent placement feature that determines where a new VM should be provisioned. With an improved tie-in to monitoring, the placement feature can be enhanced with historical and compliance data as well. "In 4.0, we started the process and we have more planned in terms of tying this knowledge together to do provisioning in an intelligent, automated fashion."

Source: A Serve Watch - Embotics Takes Command of Private Cloud Servers

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HP Not Letting Oracle Drop Itanium Support Without A Fight

So, if you haven't already heard, HP has no plans of letting Oracle off the hook for supporting Itanium. Oracle publicly announced back in March that it was officially discontinuing support of Oracle applications running on HP's Intel Itanium powered servers.

Jump forward three months and HP is starting to fight back by claiming that Oracle has a legal obligation to continue supporting Itanium. According to a statement made by HP, "HP believes that Oracle's March 22 statement to discontinue all future software development on the Itanium platform violates legally binding commitments Oracle has made to HP and the more than 140,000 shared HP-Oracle customers. Further, we believe that this is an unlawful attempt to force customers from HP Itanium platforms over to Oracle's own platforms."

HP has sent Oracle a formal legal demand letter telling the company that it needs to reverse its decision on abandoning Itanium. "HP believes that Oracle is legally obligated to continue to offer its software product suite on the Itanium platform and we will take whatever legal actions are available to us necessary to protect our customers' best interests and the significant investments they have made," HP stated.

Oracle, back in March, made numerous claims that HP apparently disagreed with. Not only did Oracle announce publicly that the company was discontinuing support for HP's Itanium but they also claimed that Intel was hopping on board and doing the same thing. According to Oracle, "Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life."

The unfortunate thing, for Oracle at least, is that both HP and Intel are refuting Oracle's claims. According to HP, "HP remains committed to a long-term mission-critical server roadmap, including Intel's Itanium processor. Similarly, Intel has repeatedly reinforced its ongoing commitment to the Itanium roadmap."

While HP is going after Oracle for Itanium support, other vendors have already begun abandoning the platform. Microsoft announced back in April of 2010 that it was ending support for Itanium. Will HP win out over Oracle or will Oracle's claims that Intel is dropping Itanium as well come true?

Source: Server Watch - HP Demands Oracle Support Itanium

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