Links List 9.19.08

Posted September 19th, 2008 by Joe Pendry

Microsoft sent a warning to users this week after an unstable update was accidentally released for Exchange 2007. This update was intended to be released for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 1 after the company had further tuned it and fixed bugs. However, an accidental early release is causing headaches for IT teams across the country. Microsoft explained that an issue with the Exchange Web Service component is leading the update to send some servers into a continuous crash cycle.

VMware and Cisco shared their public partnership and commitment to take virtualization to the next level. At VMworld 2008, both companies made a trio of announcements. VN-Link and Cisco Nexus 1000V will integrate with VMware’s vNetwork Distributed Switch framework. Together they plan to accelerate the use of desktop virtualization, and their partnership will extend to consulting, training and certification.

Google announced earlier this month the concept of data centers on the sea to alleviate energy use and to save on taxes. Google will use a fleet of barges to create wave power and its own computer navy. The data centers provide alternative energy efforts (tidal wave power) and the fleet will be tax exempt.

Network downtime is still a nightmare for many companies. Survey results released by Avocent at VMworld 2008 this week revealed that network downtime continues to create problems for a majority of some 300 executives and IT managers polled. For instance, 86% of companies stated that any unplanned downtime causes a business issue and an average of 12% reported losing employee productivity due to those unplanned events. More worrisome, another 35% stated they had lost mission-critical data due to unplanned downtime.