CommitWork presentation “Moving from a J2EE Oracle WebLogic-based application to a NSJSP-based application“ at the HP-Discover 2011

Availability Digest Says IPv6 is Here – Like it or Not

The 4,294,967,296 unique addresses of the Internet’s original 32-bit Internet Protocol (IPv4) are about to be depleted.  Up next are 128-bit IPv6 addresses.  IPv4 and IPv6 are incompatible; and translation between the two will impact Internet performance.  Several approaches exist for protocol conversion, and the Digest discusses them in its April issue.

Also in this month’s Digest:

-  The theft of several million £ British pounds of computer hardware and networking equipment from Vodafone’s offices in Basingstoke left hundreds of thousands (in some reports millions) of Vodafone customers in Southern England without voice, text messaging, or mobile Internet services.  “Vodafone Downed by Burglars” investigates why Vodafone’s disaster plans did not include theft of equipment and why Vodafone chose the path of minimal communication with its affected customers. 

- With their continually increasing importance to global communication, social networks are discovering that their availability and performance are becoming ever more critical to users.  The Digest examines user demands and those social media that are succeeding at matching expectations. 

-  EMC’s SRDF data-replication engine is a storage-array replicator that provides consistent target database copies kept current via either asynchronous or synchronous replication. SRDF (Symmetrix Remote Data Facility) is the Digest’s Product Review in April. 

Published monthly, the Digest is free and lives at www.availabilitydigest.com.  Please visit our Continuous Availability Forum on LinkedIn.  We’re at 241 members and counting. 

 

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NonStop - A Running Commentary - April, ‘11

The opinions expressed here are solely
those of the now self-employed author

Following my blogs? Check out:

Real Time View at http://www.itug-connection.blogspot.com/

…. And check out the Group on LinkedIn, Real Time View

comForte Lounge at http://comfortelounge.blogspot.com/

…. And check out the Group on LinkedIn, comForte Lounge

Buckle-Up at http://www.buckle-up-travel.blogspot.com/

…. And check out the SubGroup on LinkedIn, Pyalla Track Days

The other night, as I watched television, there was a commercial that at first I laughed at, and then, in a moment of sobriety, wondered how many others may have wondered if this describes them and in some ways, the work they do, not to mention their routine environment.

The commercial described that moment of shock a family goes through when they walk into their house only to find out that they have been burglarized. As awareness hits the father, he bemoans the loss of his big-screen TV and his expensive HiFi equipment. Then one family member points to their desktop PC, lying on the floor. “But Dad! They didn’t take the PC!”

Don’t wait until this happens before you realize you need to upgrade your PC!

Much of the message surrounding modernization carries with it a similar message. Almost as if we don’t really know what constitutes modernization and a modern computing environment until we find that we cannot attract any new recruits to work with us. Not for them are yesterday’s block-mode green screens! Not for them are line-at-a-time editors! Not for them are days predicated on waiting for “time on the computer!”

OK, so it may not be quite this bad everywhere, but as our ranks of developers continue to swell with college hires, who don’t even know what it’s like without Social Media Apps on our phones, movies on our tablet PCs, and full two-way video on our laptops – or indeed all of the above on any of the devices … yes, today, even what we mean by modern may be outdated.

However, what’s not outdated is our need to access the information we already have! Indeed, for many of us it’s all about turning disks full of data stored within various file and data base systems into information that’s useful and helps us grow our business. As crass as it may sound, we do have gold lying in the groves of all those disks we just don’t pay any attention to any longer - you know, those things that just round in the dark.

In a paper I just finished for Attunity (watch for an email from Attunity next month providing a link to where you can download it) I revisited the topic of modernization and, in particular, putting a modern face on data we have stored under file management systems that may not be as fashionable as they once were. Here I am talking about retrieving data from Enscribe files and turning it into useful information either alone, solely from single Enscribe files, or in combination with data from other file systems whether something a little more modern like NS SQL/MP or perhaps even data from other external servers, modern or not!

For years city planners have wrestled with modernization. How to protect a globally recognized city-scape, that often dates back hundreds of years, and yet, can be rescued in new and interesting ways to the betterment to the local community without resorting to bringing it all down. As another television commercial reminded me recently, and a message at odds with what most of us in IT favor, “before we can rebuild it, we must first tear it down!”

Attunity does a great job with their Attunity Connect and Attunity Federate products and I have touched on these before in other social media channels. But this month, there’s a little more impetus for me to cover this subject as along with writing a paper on this matter, Attunity have asked me to present a webinar they have scheduled for European users early in May. Under the title of “Don’t stop the NonStop!” I will walk through the material I covered in the paper, which so happens, carries a title by the same name.

Registration will be required and I sure would like to have you listen in and then email me later, so check out the link:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/225162193

Before I leave the subject however, part of the motivation behind the modernization message is to help lessen the time we spend on maintaining legacy systems and to increase the amount of time we have to be creative, to be inspirational, and to innovate – to move our company not just into new markets that may be a bit of a stretch and indeed prove to be outside our box, outside our market quadrant, if you like! Yes, we all want to be seen working with modern platforms and with applications tuned to the needs of our new, modern customers and partners. Trapped into thinking about what we have always considered will not help us, or our companies.

With this very much on my mind, and involved as I was with posting to blogs and writing papers, from out of almost nowhere, Jim Tomaney, General Manager, Europe for FSS Technologies, emailed me with an update that included time he, a Gen-Xer was having with his son, a Gen-Yer, and how there’s really nothing new in the attitudes of the two. Mind you, as a baby-boomer, I didn’t have too much difficulty relating to either … all they wanted was a reliable service delivering selected movies to their TV. “This should JUST work!!’ his son had said, according to Jim who then became quite profound, proposing that “no matter how clever we get with multi-channel customer interfaces and access routes, the Gen Y consumer is as expectant on quality as Gen X - in fact more so, as he expects everything to work that way, not just payments.” 

“So while the industry gets seduced by payments started on my iPhone APP and completed at the ATM, or similar, we'd better stay focused on RAS - Reliability, Availability and Scalability - because consumers demand it.  That means, in the context of (the video delivery service) - context management is a NonStop application.  In 2011 your online film service needs to be as robust as your 1980s ATM system - is there still a place for the NonStop Server? I think you are going to find that there are more places than ever!”

I am now a lot more clear-headed than perhaps I was late that evening when I first saw the commercial where the desktop PC was left behind by burglars. Modernization, however, carries with it enormous potential; so much so that I sometimes wonder if we really have dared to look behind to curtain for a taste of what’s yet to come. Jim may be right! Who can tell? All I know for sure is there’s a very long way to go before NonStop has played its last card and for that, I am very thankful.

Looking forward to talking to you all next month …and yes, again, I remain as bullish as ever on all things NonStop!

Richard Buckle

Founder and CEO

Pyalla Technologies, LLC

Email:

richard@pyalla-technologies.com

LinkedIn - Real Time View user group:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1878133&trk=hb_side_g

LinkedIn - Pyalla Technologies User Group:

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2396887&trk=hb_side_g

 

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A Matrix-Based Approach to the Creation of Security Policies

As matrix management is a commonly understood business methodology, it becomes a logical extension to create a familiar matrix tool for use by security administrators.

The access matrix, or access control matrix, is a formal security model that sets the rights of users to access or be denied access to system resources and sensitive data.

Access matrices can serve as the user friendly, intuitive layers that interface with underlying software such as HP Safeguard.

For more information: http://www.tandemsecurity.com/service_trends_4.php

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Recent Catches

If you enjoy the adrenaline rush of hearing your pager go off, read no further.  If you would prefer a calmer, proactive approach to problem solving, here are some success stories:

·     Major NonStop batch site: We saw multiple CPUs drop to almost zero available main memory.  We identified the process and user, and the site is investigating.

·     Another NonStop batch site: We saw two batch jobs which were running in CPUs 1 and 2 and using a lot of memory, driving available memory to almost zero. We recommended moving the jobs to 4 & 5, who have lots of free memory.

·     Financial switches: At least three sites (two NonStop, one not) experienced significant slowdowns. In both cases we identified the offending back-end partners who were not performing to spec.

·     Bank: We’ve identified a pattern of the application going into stand-in mode when the back-end host starts to slow down.  We’re working with them to fine-tune their timings so that the app isn’t so sensitive.

Ban Bottlenecks®:

Dedicated NonStop performance /capacity experts.

1440x730 coverage (every minute, every day, with a 2-year historical perspective).

Implementing effective, disciplined, proactive capacity management programs.

Call for a free trial!

assist@banbottlenecks.com

1.415.256.8369

www.banbottlenecks.com

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comForte webinar: Survival of the Fittest – Modernize Your NonStop Applications today!

 

Today, many organizations heavily rely on NonStop platforms for their mission-critical applications as NonStop continues to deliver the outstanding reliability, availability, and scalability that drove the initial hardware selection. However, within the NonStop installed base, some organizations continue to wrestle with ongoing challenges, such as lack of access to the application on NonStop from other systems, failure to integrate with corporate SOA initiatives, old-style text-based user interface of legacy applications, and more. On the other hand, a growing number of organizations have given new life to their NonStop platforms, modernizing them, broadening and simplifying system access so they can gain even more value from their NonStop investments and their infrastructure overall.

 

Attend this webinar and find out how to do the seemingly impossible for your NonStop applications:

-          Do more, more effectively, with less

-          Cut costs without increasing risk

-          Modernize mission-critical legacy applications which are vital to your organization

-          Better align the “NonStop box in the corner” with your corporate IT strategy

 

About the Presenter

This webinar will be presented by Thomas Burg, Chief Technical Officer of comForte, who has more than 20 years of enterprise computing experience with an impressive background in systems programming, networking and computer security. Thomas is a recognized leader in the NonStop business and a regular attendee of key industry events such as GartnerITxpo and Infosecurity Europe. As the CTO of comForte, Thomas is responsible for comForte's product solutions and product management.

 

It all sounds interesting but you have not got the time? Please pass this invitation on to the right people in your team and have them report back to you on the outcome.

 

Webinar Details

Choose from one of these two events:

 

Webinar for the EMEA and Asia region:

Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

Time: 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM (GMT)

Register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/971488136

 

Webinar for the Americas and AustralAsia region:

Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

Time: 1:00 PM - 1:45 PM Pacific Time

Register at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/909527081

 

There is a time zone calculator "Show time in my time zone" on the registration page to help you determine which webinar is most convenient for you.

 

Kind Regards,

 

Thomas Gloerfeld

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User Groups

Information on User Group events can be found at http://www.connect-community.org

 

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BITUG Modernization SIG, London, May 11 www.bitug.com

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GTUG, Boeblingen, May 11-12 - Email for more Info

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Discover, Las Vegas, June 6-10

VNUG, Stockholm, Sept 5-7, 2011

CTUG, Toronto, October

GTUG, Germany, Nov

Discover, Vienna, Nov 29 - 1 Dec

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Tandemworld & LinkedIN

Tandemworld have created a Group on LinkedIN through which you can view the latest Tandemworld eNewsletter.

We cuurently have a number of highly experienced NonStop Specialists seeking new roles within the EMEA region. Should you have a requirement for a short term specialist (Contract) or a more longer term resource (Permanent) please Contact Us to enable us to assist you swiftly.

Please view this at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2602432&trk=hb_side_g

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