On Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT, @eWEEKnews will host its 10th Tweetchat event. The topic will be “Software-Defined Data Centers: Wave of the Future.” It will be moderated by yours truly, who serves as eWEEK’s editor of features and analysis.
Some quick facts:
Topic: “Software-Defined Data Centers: Wave of the Future.”
Date/time: Oct. 9, 2013 @11a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT
Hosted by: @eWeekNews
Moderator: Chris Preimesberger: @editingwhiz
Tweetchat handle: Use #eWeekChat to follow/participate in the chat
Chatroom real-time links: We have two: http://tweetchat.com/room/eweekchat or http://www.tchat.io/rooms/eweekchat
eWEEKchat Event news page: https://www.eweek.com/innovation/eweekchat-events/
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Data centers are now, in effect, becoming large de facto computers. In eWEEKchat No. 10, we will discuss the impact of what are being called software-defined data centers—fully automated data centers that think and act as one unit under a single management control system. Some large, cutting-edge Web services providers, such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, are already using this concept on a daily basis.
“Software-defined networking” became a commonly used IT buzzword about four years ago, following its origins at Stanford University around 2005. The concept of software-defined storage—which at this point is more of a marketing term than anything else—has been picking up momentum for about the last year or so.
Now we’re told that software-defined data centers are on the horizon—in fact, many are now in testing phases. Tier 1 all-purpose IT providers such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems, Oracle, Microsoft and Avaya are now offering goods and services in this sector.
The place where all these things come together is in OpenStack, the open-source, open-standards enterprise IT system that is fast becoming a de facto standard. This is what IBM, Avaya and several other companies have chosen as the operational paradigm for how they are building out software-defined environments.
OpenStack is a global collaboration of developers and cloud computing technologists producing the ubiquitous open-source, cloud computing platform for public and private clouds. The project aims to deliver solutions for all types of clouds by being simple to implement, massively scalable and feature-rich. The IT consists of a series of interrelated projects delivering various components for a cloud infrastructure solution.
OpenStack, founded by Rackspace Hosting and NASA, has grown into a global software community of developers collaborating on a standard and massively scalable open-source cloud operating system. Its mission is to enable any organization to create and offer cloud computing services running on standard hardware.
Where is this all going, and how does it impact conventional IT? In this eWEEKChat, we will discuss all of the above and more. Let your friends know about this valuable discussion.
For a bit of background, here’s how a Tweetchat works:
Who: All those who use the Internet.
What: A Tweetchat is an online conversation held at a prearranged time following a specific hashtag. In eWEEK’s case, we will be using #eWeekChat for all of our Tweetchats. Chatroom real-time links: http://tweetchat.com/room/eweekchat or http://www.tchat.io/rooms/eweekchat.
When: Wednesday, Oct. 9, at 11 a.m. PDT/2 p.m. EDT/7 p.m. GMT.
Where: The chat can be followed on Twitter using the hashtag #eWeekChat. A link to the recap (so you can see a record of what everybody tweeted) will be posted on this blog the following Friday, Oct. 11.
Why: The whole idea is to facilitate additional industry dialogue and provide a forum for questions, idea sharing and problem solving. We also want your input on what you’d like to discuss during future chats, so please leave a comment on this post or tweet @eweeknews with topic ideas.
Participants will be able to ask questions of eWEEK staff members and special guests or simply add their thoughts to the conversation. The only restrictions are that we stay on topic and that you say what you need to say succinctly (140 characters).
You may not have participated in a Tweetchat previously. They generally move pretty fast, but you can learn a lot. We’ll also post a record of all the comments so that you can refer to it afterward. Here’s the Storify page containing all of our previous eWEEKChat compilations.
Please note that to maintain a semblance of order, please prefix your question or comment with the number of the question we are currently discussing. As an example, the moderator may post: “Q1: Do you worry that a software-defined data center might take things into its own hands and make decisions that could undermine the business?”
To which you might answer: “A1: Well, there’s always the power shutoff.” Or you might not answer that way.
A Tweetchat is a venue that is easy to use on any type of device, too. By the way, did you know that eWEEK is the only mainstream IT trade publication that has specific apps for Android and iOS devices?
Hope to connect with you Oct. 9, and use your collaboration network to tell your friends. Let’s have fun with this.