Good post by Werner Jaeckle (thank you)
Tape storage has been around since more than 60 years now. Since 1952, to be exact, when IBM invented the concept of magnetic tape storage. There have been many great inventions and improvements in that time frame, and although the statement “Tape is dead!” was exclaimed quite regularly over the last two decades, tape storage is still here! And I believe it’s here to stay, at least for as far into the future as I dare to look.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/tape-storage-just-not-dead-or-alive-and-kicking/
Post by Luca Dell’Oca (thank you)
Yesterday, on Sunday 22nd September VMware released in its website the new vSphere 5.5 suite, just like vCloud 5.5.
Many guys already started to download the new software. For sure it’s a good time to test the new versions in a test or pre-production environment, so to verify all the upgrades and all consequences on the actual environment; but if you are running a production environment and you want to keep it in good shape, I’m suggesting you to wait, for several good reasons.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/vsphere-5-5-available-for-download-hold/
Good post by Rob Enderle (thank you)
One of the fascinating things about this year’s BMC survey results, which I was briefed on last week, was that more than 30 years after the market concluded that the mainframe was dead, it is actually getting stronger. This isn’t a zombie technology; it appears to be an immortal one.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/bmc-survey-the-mainframes-undeath/
Post by Michael Larabel (thank you)
Just days after a brand new cloud operating system was released, IBM is out with a new operating system of its own. FusedOS is IBM’s new research project that’s now an open-source general purpose OS.
FusedOS is self-described as “General-purpose operating systems provide a rich set of functionality to support a broad set of applications, whereas specialized systems such as the IBM Blue Gene/Q are tailored to a specific category of applications.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/ibm-releases-fusedos-operating-system/
Flash (Alert)
Abstract
A number of security vulnerabilities have been discovered in the OpenSSL libraries included in Tivoli Storage Productivity Center. These libraries are used for communications with the Storage Resource agent and some storage systems.
Content
VULNERABILITY DETAILS:
DESCRIPTION:
The vulnerabilities include a weakness in the handling of CBC ciphersuites in SSL, TLS and DTLS, a flaw in the OpenSSL handling of CBC ciphersuites in TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 on AES-NI supporting platforms which can be exploited in a DoS attack, and a flaw in the OpenSSL handling of OCSP response verification, which can be exploited in a denial of service attack. For more information, see the OpenSSL security advisory located at http://www.openssl.org/news/secadv_20130204.txt.
CVE ID: CVE-2013-0169
CVSS Base Score: 4.3
CVSS Temporal Score: See http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/81902
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:P/I:N/A:N)
CVE ID: CVE-2013-0166
CVSS Base Score: 5
CVSS Temporal Score: See http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/81904 for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P)
CVE ID: CVE-2012-2686
CVSS Base Score: 5
CVSS Temporal Score: See http://xforce.iss.net/xforce/xfdb/81903 for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS Vector: (AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P)
AFFECTED VERSIONS:
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center 5.1.0 through 5.1.1.1
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center 4.2.0 through 4.2.2 FP3
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center 4.1.x
System Storage Productivity Center (refer to Tivoli Storage Productivity Center version)
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center for Replication is not affected.
REMEDIATION:
The solution is to apply an appropriate Tivoli Storage Productivity Center fix pack fix for each named product, and the solution should be implemented as soon as practicable. To apply the appropriate fix pack, go to the Latest Downloads for Tivoli Storage Productivity Center technote and find a fix pack that at least meets the minimum value listed in the table below.
Vendor Fix(es):
Tivoli Storage Productivity Center APAR Fixes
| Affected TPC Version | APAR | Fixed TPC Version | Availability |
| 5.1.x | IC95921 | 5.1.1.2 | September 2013 |
| 4.2.x 4.1.x |
IC95922 | 4.2.2.170 (FP4) | July 2013 |
Latest Downloads for Tivoli Storage Productivity Center
Workaround(s):
None
Mitigation(s):
None
REFERENCES:
RELATED INFORMATION:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
None
CHANGE HISTORY:
None
*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Flash.
Note: According to the Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST), the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) is an “industry open standard designed to convey vulnerability severity and help to determine urgency and priority of response.” IBM PROVIDES THE CVSS SCORES “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. CUSTOMERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF ANY ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL SECURITY VULNERABILITY.
See more details here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/security-bulletin-tivoli-storage-productivity-center-affected-by-vulnerabilities-in-openssl-cve-2013-0169-cve-2012-2686-cve-2013-0166/
Good post by Chris M Evans (thank you)
It’s been another interesting week in IT. Following on from recent rumours, Nirvanix have finally publicly announced they are closing down, replacing their website with a single holding page directing customers to IBM. Yesterday, Violin Memory released their shares to the public and floated on the New York Stock Exchange. Unfortunately there wasn’t a lot of appetite to buy and their shares dropped from the opening $9 to close at $7.02, a drop of some 22%.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/the-psychology-of-pricing/
IBM System Storage SAN24B-5 Switch Installation, Service and User Guide (2498-F24). Get the Guide here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 30, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/30/ibm-system-storage-san24b-5-switch-installation-service-and-user-guide/
Good Post by Jason Davison (thank you)
I recently participated in a Vendor Day Summit for a large prospective client and I had the opportunity to talk with them about their storage management needs. Over the past 2 years, they have seen over 200% growth in the total capacity of their storage infrastructure and near-term projections are expected to continue this trend. Storage growth has also led to performance concerns with tier 1 applications due to the increased demand on the infrastructure. So, we came to the summit to talk to the client about IBM SmartCloud Virtual Storage Center (VSC), IBM’s flagship storage management solution that combines our market leading technologies from IBM SAN Volume Controller, IBM Tivoli Storage Productivity Center, and IBM FlashCopy Manager along with intelligent analytics and automated management to reduce administrative complexity.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 27, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/improving-storage-management-operations/
Post by Chris M Evans (thank you)
Flash storage for the enterprise hasn’t been around for long. It was in 2009 EMC decided to put Enterprise Flash Drives in its flagship VMAX platform.
Since then we have seen an abundance of flash technology deployed from the server to the array in an attempt to plug the widening gap between IOPS and capacity inherent in spinning disk hard drives – the so-called I/O density problem.
Read on here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 27, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/flash-caching-software-market-roundup/
VMware vSphere® Metro Storage Cluster (VMware vMSC) is a new configuration within the VMware® Hardware Compatibility List (VMware HCL). This type of configuration is commonly referred to as a stretched storage cluster or metro storage cluster. It is implemented in environments where disaster/downtime avoidance is a key requirement. This case study was developed to provide additional insight and information regarding operation of a VMware vMSC infrastructure in conjunction with VMware vSphere. This paper will explain how vSphere handles specific failure scenarios and will discuss various design considerations and operational procedures.
Get the Whitepaper here
Posted by rogerluethy on September 27, 2013
https://rogerluethy.wordpress.com/2013/09/27/vmware-vsphere-metro-storage-cluster-case-study/
Storage CH Blog 