GE Working to Bring Air Traffic Management into “The Cloud”

Press release:

18 September 2012

GE Working to Bring Air Traffic Management into “The Cloud”

 

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GE researchers working with NASA to enable NextGen air traffic management to be operated through cloud computing

Will transform the way air traffic is managed

Project part of GE’s global software initiative to build the “Industrial Internet”

NISKAYUNA, NY, September 18, 2012 – A global leader in avionics and software development, the General Electric Company (NYSE: GE) has embarked on an 18-month project with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to help bring NextGen air traffic management (ATM) technology into “The Cloud.” Cloud computing will enable airlines and air traffic controllers to perform their tasks by sharing not only real-time information but also data analysis and decision support tools to improve aircraft operations and airspace efficiency.

Cloud computing is computing that allows a user to tap into a remote location where data storage and computational capabilities are virtually limitless. It already is revolutionizing how information storage and business operations are managed on the ground but has been slower to progress in the aviation sector, especially in safety critical areas such as the ATM arena.

Today, homeowners can use cloud computing to store music, photos, videos and other files in a remote, secure place. If the hard drive on their home computers fails, the information stored in the cloud will not be compromised. Beyond common applications in the home, you are beginning to see more prevalent use of cloud computing in everyday business operations. For example, commercial airlines already are beginning to replace their data centers with cloud computing, which is saving them millions of dollars in capital and maintenance costs.

GE’s program with NASA will identify opportunities within ATM that can benefit from cloud computing.

Liling Ren, electrical engineer and project leader from GE Global Research, “Cloud computing has the potential to fundamentally change how air traffic management operates today. With the transition to it, airlines, pilots, and air traffic controllers will be able to achieve increased information exchange, sharing of decision support automation capabilities that tell them more accurately and reliably about a plane’s current position and future flight path. This will enable them to improve traffic flow and plan more preferable routes and altitudes, which ultimately means more predictable and efficient travel that is on-time for passengers.”

A key program objective is to explore how air traffic controllers, airlines and aircraft can interact more efficiently in a cloud computing environment. Today ATM functionalities and capabilities are developed and hosted separately by each of these entities. The expectation is that this project can help accelerate the transition of NextGen ATM technology, which traditionally would take years or even over a decade to complete.

The effort to bring cloud computing to air traffic management is part of GE’s efforts to build the Industrial Internet. The Industrial Internet represents the next evolution in product development, creating a living network of intelligent machines and systems that allows customers to realize new heights of efficiency and performance in their operations.

In November 2011, GE announced an aggressive expansion of its software programs to harness big data and take industrial product development to the next level. The company has opened a global software headquarters in San Ramon, California, which will employ 400 new software professionals to support these efforts across GE’s business portfolio.

GE researchers will combine its growing capabilities in software with deeply embedded experience in aviation and avionics to revolutionize air traffic management. GE is a key avionics integrator, offering Flight Management System (FMS) capabilities to the world’s most widely operated commercial fleets.

About GE Global Research

GE Global Research is the hub of technology development for all of GE's businesses. Our scientists and engineers redefine what’s possible, drive growth for our businesses and find answers to some of the world’s toughest problems.

We innovate 24 hours a day, with sites in Niskayuna, New York; San Ramon, California; Bangalore, India; Shanghai, China; Munich, Germany; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Visit GE Global Research on the web atwww.ge.com/research. Connect with our technologists athttp://edisonsdesk.com and http://twitter.com/edisonsdesk.

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Press release:

EMC Named 2012 Public Company of the Year by Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council

15th Annual Awards Event Celebrates the Depth and Breadth of the State’s Vibrant Technology Ecosystem

HOPKINTON, MASS , SEPTEMBER 17, 2012 - 

EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) announced today that it has been named 2012 Publicly Traded Company of the Year by the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC), the region’s leading technology association and the premier network for tech executives, entrepreneurs, investors and policy leaders. Now in its 15th year, the annual Technology Leadership Awards program recognizes outstanding achievement across the Massachusetts vibrant technology community. 

The Company of the Year award was presented to EMC® last week during the 2012 MassTLC Awards gala in Boston. Jeff Nick, EMC’s Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, accepted the award on the company’s behalf.

The EMC selection was made by an esteemed judging panel comprising executives, investors, analysts, media and thought leaders from across Massachusetts. The judging committee reviewed all of the top- performing public companies headquartered in the region, taking into account a number of financial factors including revenue growth, operating profits measured by EBITDA, and market capitalization.

See all the 2012 winners at www.masstlc.org

MassTLC QUOTE:

Tom Hopcroft, President and CEO of MassTLC

“We’re thrilled to award a company of EMC’s caliber with the 2012 Company of the Year for publicly-traded companies. EMC’s IT industry market leadership is widely recognized not only in Massachusetts but also around the world. EMC stands as a clear example of outstanding and sustained achievement by the individuals and organizations in Massachusetts that are defining the future of the technology sector.” 

EMC EXECUTIVE QUOTE:

Jeff Nick, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, EMC

“On behalf of EMC and the more than 55,000 EMC employees worldwide, I’m honored to accept this award and be recognized by MassTLC, our executive peers, investors, analysts and media across the Massachusetts IT community. The IT industry is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of transformation and growth, and EMC is fortunate to be a leader in this shift.  Nowhere does that play out more prominently than right here in Massachusetts, with its thriving culture and history of innovation and technology achievement.”

ABOUT THE MASS TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP COUNCIL, INC.

The Mass Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) is the region’s leading technology association and the premier network for tech executives, entrepreneurs, investors and policy leaders.  MassTLC’s purpose is to accelerate innovation by connecting people from across the technology landscape, providing access to industry-leading content and ideas and offering a platform for visibility for member companies and their interests.

With a membership of 500 companies and growing, MassTLC is a vibrant tech community that serves its members in a myriad of ways including:

• Organizing and running active cluster communities including Big Data, Cloud, Mobile, Software Development, Energy, Healthcare, Robotics and Digital Games
• Hosting Boston’s most exciting annual tech event, the MassTLC Innovation unConference
• Shining the spotlight on leaders in tech with an Annual Awards Program
• Supporting workforce development where you need it most
• Connecting companies with policy leaders
• Celebrating the technologies and leaders of the region

For more information on MassTLC visit www.masstlc.org

ABOUT EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset – information – in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com

Logitech Shareholders Approve Resolutions, Including Dividend, at Annual General Meeting

Press Releases

Logitech Shareholders Approve Resolutions, Including Dividend, at Annual General Meeting

LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Logitech International (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI) announced that at its annual general meeting held here today, the Company’s shareholders approved a one-time dividend, to be distributed out of capital contribution reserves, in the amount of CHF 125,650,814. Logitech shareholders eligible for the estimated CHF 0.80 per share dividend must own shares at the close of trading on Sept. 12, 2012 on the SIX Swiss Exchange or the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The dividend will be distributed on Sept. 18, 2012. Shareholders will find information about the dividend on the Logitech corporate website at http://ir.logitech.com.

Also at the meeting, Logitech’s shareholders elected to the board of directors Didier Hirsch, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Agilent Technologies. Re-elected to the board were Erh-Hsun Chang, former Logitech senior operations executive, and Kee-Lock Chua, president and chief executive officer of the Vertex Group.

The shareholders approved all other resolutions put before them.

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Logitech, the Logitech logo, and other Logitech marks are registered in Switzerland and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information about Logitech and its products, visit the company’s Web site at www.logitech.com.

(LOGIIR)

GE’s PACSystems RSTi Standards-Based Distributed I/O Delivers High Performance and System Flexibility

Press release:

05 September 2012

GE’s PACSystems RSTi Standards-Based Distributed I/O Delivers High Performance and System Flexibility

 

• PROFINET connectivity provides high-speed I/O throughput with connectivity to hundreds of third-party devices
• Leverages GE’s expertise in automation and ruggedized computing
• Simplifies system design without sacrificing performance to meet the needs of the Industrial Internet

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA — SEPTEMBER 5, 2012—GE Intelligent Platforms (NYSE: GE) today announced the availability of its PACSystems® RSTi, a new, innovative standards-based granular machine I/O integrated with the company’s PACSystems controllers on PROFINET that meets the needs of the Industrial Internet. The RSTi is based on global standards and delivers on the PROFINET promise of a consistent and standard high performance communication link between field I/O and controller. The unit’s integration into the control system also simplifies development and commissioning that results in increased productivity.

The RSTi family of PROFINET-based granular I/O is part of GE Intelligent Platforms’ High Performance Platform that leverages industry standards as well as the company’s experience in embedded technology and automation to deliver long-life higher performance solutions that are easy to configure, manage and upgrade.

“The RSTi, like all of our new control solutions, is based on open standards, leveraging our expertise in automation and ruggedized computing to meet the needs of the Industrial Internet,” said Bill Black, Controllers Product Manager for GE Intelligent Platforms. “In designing our distributed network architecture GE set a goal of making distributed I/O configuration and operation as simple as traditional rack-based systems. With the introduction of RSTi this capability is extended to an entire new range of applications that benefit from the combination of a wide range of high-density, small form-factor I/O types.”

The RSTi provides simplified installation by placing the granular I/O closer to the field devices using standard Ethernet cabling. The distributed nature of the unit provides the flexibility to expand and reconfigure field devices without impacting control-to- device wiring unlike centralized control systems that require new wiring to be installed back to the central control cabinet, thereby lowering the total cost of ownership by reducing the high cost of field wiring. OEMs can build machines in sections with local I/O drops which can easily be assembled at the customer site, connected to the controller by a high performance network, one standard Ethernet cable versus hundreds of wires. And, the compact size will be attractive to equipment builders and end users alike because it allows the modules to be closer to the control devices and therefore reduces wiring and hardware cost.

“Equipment builders are continuously looking for ways to improve the performance of their equipment while augmenting usability and reducing size and complexity,” continued Black. “These requirements extend to the control system. With PACSystems GE provides high performance control solutions with best-in-class integration of distributed, networked, I/O ideally suited for demanding applications.”

The RSTi extends the capabilities of the PROFINET-enabled solution with the addition of a comprehensive line of granular slice I/O that allows users to simplify panel design and reduce the overall size of the control panel while benefiting from the performance, maintainability and upgradeability of the PACSystems platform. There are more than 80 different module types to choose from for discrete, process, motion and specialty applications. In addition, communications protocols like PROFINET, PROFIBUS DP, DeviceNET, MODBUS/TCP, MODBUS serial, Ethernet/IP, EtherCAT, CANopen and CC-Link are available. Users can standardize on the RSTi for a wide range of applications which, in turn, reduces spare parts, training and support costs.

For more information: www.ge-ip.com/rsti.

New Line From Logitech UE Delivers Pure Undiluted Music, Anytime, Anywhere

Press Releases

New Line From Logitech UE Delivers Pure Undiluted Music, Anytime, Anywhere

New Products Offer Wireless Freedom, Easy Discovery and Sharing of Music

"Today’s fans have their music with them wherever they go – they carry it with them on their tablet or smartphone..."

NEWARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Logitech (SIX:LOGN) (NASDAQ:LOGI) responded to music fans who want pure, undiluted music wherever they go with the launch of a new line of Logitech UE™ products. The products enable people to enjoy their music when and how they want, delivering seamless wireless audio, facilitating discovery and making sharing simple with a complete line of music products that take you from morning to night. The new offering includes earphones, headphones, wireless speakers, and a smart radio.

“Today’s fans have their music with them wherever they go – they carry it with them on their tablet or smartphone,” said Rory Dooley, Logitech senior vice president of music. “But no matter how or where you choose to store or access your favorite music, this lineup is the best way for you to experience it. Whether you want to be completely immersed in your favorite song, to share music with friends, or to discover new favorites, Logitech UE is the clear choice.”

As people shift away from traditional methods of music consumption toward services that are easily accessed through mobile devices, they are increasingly able to surround themselves with their favorite music no matter where they go or who they’re with.

Combining Logitech’s expertise in seamless connectivity with UE’s heritage of providing great sound in the tiniest of packages, the new lineup blends form and function to deliver the right sound for any situation.

Highlights of the new lineup include:

Logitech UE Boombox

The Logitech UE™ Boombox is an on-the-go speaker that lets you use your smartphone or tablet to play and control your music from up to 50 feet away. Up to eight Bluetooth®-enabled devices can be paired with the speaker – with up to three connected at the same time – so you and your friends can take turns playing music. With eight custom-tuned drivers, the Logitech UE Boombox delivers sound that is rich, balanced and clear, with enough bass to make every song feel as real and as raw as it should. An integrated, sculptured aluminum handle makes it easy to roam – from the kitchen, to the bedroom, to a party at a friend’s house or anywhere in between – with uninterrupted music at your side. With a six-hour rechargeable battery, you won’t have a power outlet holding you down. The Logitech UE Boombox will be available for a suggested retail price of U.S. $249.99.

Logitech UE Mobile Boombox

The Logitech UE™ Mobile Boombox is an ultraportable speaker that connects to your smartphone or tablet to play and control your music from up to 50 feet away. Because two mobile devices can be connected at the same time, you can keep your two most-frequently used devices connected. Designed to give you surprisingly big sound in a portable package, the Logitech UE Mobile Boombox includes a rechargeable battery that delivers up to 10 hours of music, depending on use, settings and conditions, and can even double as a speakerphone for voice or video calls. With metal finishes, vibrant accents and a grip-action rubber casing, it is built to look good, feel great in your hand, and withstand a little rough and tumble. The Logitech UE Mobile Boombox will be available for a suggested retail price of U.S. $99.99.

Logitech UE Smart Radio

The Logitech UE™ Smart Radio is a dedicated music device that can play Internet radio, online music services and the music on your PC or Mac® – all through one simple, unified interface. The color screen displays album art, track and station information. And you can save your favorite stations and playlists for one-touch access to the music you listen to most. What’s more, the Logitech UE Smart Radio Controller app for iPhone®, iPad® and Android devices transforms your smartphone or tablet into a master music controller, giving you seamless navigation of your music services, radio stations and personal music collection. The rechargeable battery lets you take your music with you around the home, with up to six hours of continuous playback depending on use, settings and conditions. The Logitech UE Smart Radio will be available for a suggested retail price of U.S. $179.99.

Logitech UE 900 Noise-Isolating Earphones

Logitech UE™ 900 Noise-Isolating Earphones deliver sound that is surpassed only by Logitech UE’s professional custom in-ear monitors. Thanks to four-armature speakers and a three-way crossover in a universal fit, you’ll hear a wide soundstage with soul-satisfying bass, heavenly highs and a crisp, piano-like timbre. The unique UE sound signature faithfully recreates the original recording – and adds a low-end kick. Five silicon and three Comply® Foam tips, each designed with a large-bore opening, ensure audio is delivered cleanly. Two detachable, braided cables – one with a mic and controls, and one without – let you swap out the standard cable for a cable with mic and controls. And ear loops offer a secure, comfortable fit no matter what you’re doing. The Logitech UE 900 Noise-Isolating Earphones will be available for a suggested retail price of U.S. $399.99.

Logitech UE 9000 Headphones

With the Logitech UE™ 9000 Headphones, there are no wires and no distractions. They connect wirelessly to your favorite Bluetooth devices, but also include an optional cable should you want to go wired or run out of power – plus, they fold flat when you’re on the go. The high-resolution drivers of the Logitech UE 9000 Headphones deliver pure, undiluted audio that’s distinctly UE – rich, clear and perfectly tuned – for a spacious soundstage and a remarkable level of power, punch and clarity. Powered by a long-life battery, our proprietary Bluetooth implementation provides freedom from cords without sound-quality compromises. Listen wired or wirelessly – so the music never has to stop. Active noise canceling technology filters out ambient noise for a more immersive experience. With asymmetrical memory foam cushions, articulating joints and an around-the-ear design, the Logitech UE 9000 Headphones conform to the contours of your head, so you’ll be comfortable for those extended listening sessions. Logitech UE 9000 Headphones also feature intuitively and discreetly placed controls that respond to the touch of your fingertips, so you can select songs, turn up the volume, or answer a call – naturally and easily. The Logitech UE 9000 Headphones will be available for a suggested retail price of U.S. $399.99.

Logitech UE 6000 Headphones

Tune in to the music and tune out everything else with your Logitech UE™ 6000 Headphones. They connect to your favorite devices, fold up like sunglasses when you’re on the go and come with a splitter to make sharing simple. The distinct UE sound signature provides pure, undiluted audio with a wide-open soundstage and a remarkable level of detail in all your music. Active noise canceling technology filters out ambient noise for an immersive listening experience. The Logitech UE 6000 Headphones feature plush memory foam cushions; breathable, soft-as-leather surfaces; and an around-the-ear design. The Logitech UE 6000 Headphones will be available for a suggested retail price of $199.99.

Logitech UE 4000 Headphones

The powerful, high-sensitivity drivers in the Logitech UE™ 4000 Headphones make your music come alive with depth, authenticity and emotion. You can immerse yourself in your music with these compact on-ear headphones that come with a zippered, microfiber-lined travel pouch. On-cord mic and controls let you answer calls, change tracks and adjust volume – all without taking your phone or device out of your pocket. The Logitech UE 4000 Headphones also feature plush memory foam cushions; breathable, soft-as-leather surfaces; and an on-the-ear design. The Logitech UE 4000 Headphones will be available for a suggested retail price of $99.99.

Availability

All of these new music products, compatible with your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, are expected to be available in the U.S. and Europe beginning in September 2012 at Apple Store locations. For more information, please visitwww.LogitechUE.com or our blog.

About Logitech

Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Cisco and EMC Take “Three Paths to the Cloud” Strategy to the Next Level

EMC Press Release

Cisco and EMC Take “Three Paths to the Cloud” Strategy to the Next Level

New Joint Reference Architectures, Aligned Channel Incentives and Integrated Customer Support Accelerate VSPEX Momentum New Offerings Support VCE Vblock in Delivering Customers Unmatched Cloud Infrastructure Choice and Flexibility

VMworld – San Francisco, CA - August 28, 2012

Cisco and EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) today announced further collaboration to help accelerate IT transformation by providing customers with unrivaled choice and flexibility via "three paths to the cloud" — custom-design infrastructure, validated reference architectures, and pre-integrated converged infrastructure. Cisco® and EMC® introduced new joint reference architectures, aligned channel partner incentives, and integrated customer support to speed customers' path to the cloud.

Building on a decade-long partnership, Cisco and EMC now provide enterprise and service provider customers with an unmatched menu of options to build cloud infrastructure. The "three paths to the cloud" include:

• Implement a custom-designed infrastructure with best-of-breed products
• Install validated, easy-to-deploy reference architectures with Cisco solutions for EMC VSPEX™ Proven Infrastructure
• Purchase a pre-integrated converged infrastructure with VCE™ Vblock™ System.

Partnership Highlights:

• The two new Cisco® Validated Designs (CVD) for EMC VSPEX are unified computing reference architectures tailored to SMB and mid-market customers. Designed to accelerate the journey to the private cloud, the CVDs are Cisco Solutions for EMC VSPEX for Microsoft Hyper-V Architectures andCisco Solutions for EMC VSPEX for VMware vSphere 5.0 Architectures.
• More than 200 Cisco and EMC Velocity™ channel partners within the global VSPEX community have been trained to resell and deploy EMC VSPEX with Cisco Unified Data Center.
• Cisco and EMC have also aligned their channel incentive structures to simplify the process of accruing incentives and boost partner profitability.
• Cisco and EMC have implemented a customer support framework for VSPEX for collaborative case management.
• VCE — Cisco and EMC's joint venture with VMware — pioneered a groundbreaking integrated data center offering with end-to-end vendor visibility, enabling the leading time-to-market and one of the lowest TCO for converged cloud infrastructure.
• VCE's fully productized converged infrastructure standardizes processes and life cycle management to significantly improve application availability and enable VCE's unique seamless support experience.
• VCE continues to gain traction in enterprise data centers as well as in cloud service providers with hundreds of VCE Vblock Systems in production at mission-critical data centers worldwide.
• VCE demand continues its strong growth in the most recent fiscal quarter and remains on track to reach a $1 billion revenue run rate.

Customer Quotes:

Rajinder Gill, Group Finance Director, Minor, Weir & Willis Ltd

"Our business needed a complete network and infrastructure upgrade in order to implement a new ERP system. VSPEX was an obvious fit for our environment and working closely with Synapse, we reduced our deployment and integration time. The prior validation work performed by Cisco, EMC and Synapse on VSPEX reduced our risk and complexity. Because of the tight integration between EMC, Cisco and VSPEX, we have decided to leverage the VSPEX platform as the primary core of our network and infrastructure for all current and future applications."

Rob Walters, Vice President, Product Management, SunGard Availability Service

"As a service provider we want our development teams working on value-added services that differentiate our offerings in the marketplace, rather than integrating best of breed infrastructure components. Vblock helps us to do that successfully for our multi-tenant enterprise cloud, and the VSPEX reference architectures will make the process of delivering tailored solutions to our customers’ private cloud needs much easier. The collaborative support framework that is part of VSPEX is particularly critical, as it will avoid the difficulties so often encountered with multi-vendor solutions."

Channel Partner Quotes:

Joe Coxon, Business Development Manager, Synapse

"Many of the customers we work with want to deploy a cloud, but aren't quite sure how to do so quickly and easily. VSPEX is a powerful solution that helps us deploy clouds for our customers quickly and efficiently. By leveraging our expert understanding of client requirements, and Cisco's and EMC's industry-leading technologies, we can deliver a complete solution that matches our customers' business needs."

Dave Hart, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, Presidio

"We deliver the ultimate in choice and flexibility to our customers by offering solutions based on EMC and Cisco technologies. We're seeing a lot of demand for Vblock Systems with larger enterprise and service provider customers and VSPEX configurations allow us to reach a broader market. Both enable us to provide our unique expertise and differentiated value to help customers meet their business requirements."

Cisco Quote:

Rick Snyder, Vice President, Global and Strategic Partners, Cisco

"Cisco and EMC partner every day in the engineering labs and in the field, helping customers around the world transform their data centers and strengthen their business. Through VCE we've unleashed market-moving innovation through the pre-engineered, pre-integrated Vblock Systems. Now, we're working together to meet customer demand with Cisco Validated Designs for EMC VSPEX and aligned channel incentives to accelerate VSPEX adoption."

EMC Quote:

Josh Kahn, Vice President, Solutions Marketing, EMC Corporation

"VCE enables customers to standardize on a converged infrastructure solution, dramatically accelerating their journey to the cloud. We are very pleased with VCE's momentum and the benefits it is delivering to customers around the world. Building upon this, we are very excited to accelerate our partnership with Cisco on VSPEX to address market requirements for best-of-breed reference architectures offered exclusively via the channel. Channel partners are seeking solutions that reduce complexity and simplify the deployment for their customers."

Additional Resources:

Related Links

• Cisco Solution for EMC VSPEX for Microsoft Hyper-V Architectures
• Cisco Solution for EMC VSPEX for VMware vSphere 5.0 Architectures
• Learn more about EMC VSPEX
• Learn more about Vblock Systems

Follow Cisco Online:

• Connect with Cisco via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn.
• Join the Cisco Worldwide Channels conversation on Twitter, Facebook, and Cisco Channels Blog
• Follow @VCE on Twitter

Follow EMC at VMworld:

• EMC Community Network: To view everything EMC at VMworld, visithttps://community.emc.com/go/vmworld
• Twitter: For continuous news and event updates for EMC at VMworld, follow EMC on Twitter at@CloudEMC and @EMCCorp and join the conversations using #EMC and #VMworld, as well as #EMCChannel and #VSPEX.
• Facebook: To view highlight videos, interviews and more, like EMC on Facebook
• Flickr: View photos of EMC at VMworld on Flickr and tag your VMworld photos with "EMC and VMworld"

About Cisco

Cisco, (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

About EMC

EMC Corporation (NYSE: EMC) is the world's leading developer and provider of information infrastructure technology and solutions that enable organizations of all sizes to transform the way they compete and create value from their information. Information about EMC's products and services can be found at www.EMC.com.

EMC VFCache First to Deduplicate Server Flash Cache

EMC Press Release

EMC VFCache First to Deduplicate Server Flash Cache

Drives New Levels of Efficiency with Deduplication; Interoperable with VMware vSphere vMotion; Builds Foundation for Integration with EMC VMAX

VMworld – San Francisco, CA - August 28, 2012

News Summary:

• EMC VFCache™ solution delivers in-line deduplication of cached data—an industry first.
• EMC VFCache is now interoperable with VMware™ vSphere® vMotion® technology.
• EMC VFCache delivers new capabilities that form the foundation for integration with the EMC® VMAX® Family.
• Significant VFCache hardware and software updates improve performance and capacity, including support for Cisco UCS Blade Servers.

Follow EMC at VMworld:

• EMC Community Network: To view everything EMC at VMworld, visithttps://community.emc.com/go/vmworld
• Twitter: For continuous news and event updates for EMC at VMworld, follow EMC on Twitter at@CloudEMC and @EMCCorp and join the conversations using #EMC and #VMworld
• Facebook: To view highlight videos, interviews and more, like EMC on Facebook
• Flickr: View photos of EMC at VMworld on Flickr and tag your VMworld photos with "EMC and VMworld"

Full Story:

EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC) today at VMworld® 2012 set a new benchmark for enterprise Flash efficiency by delivering in-line cache deduplication on EMC® VFCache™, a server Flash caching solution that turbo-charges performance in mission-critical Oracle, Microsoft and SAP application environments—up to 3X in some cases. EMC also extended its leadership in VMware environments, with new interoperability between VFCache and VMware® vSphere® vMotion to enable seamless and flexible movement of virtual machines in environments accelerated by VFCache. EMC continues to invest in the industry's most comprehensive Flash portfolio, delivering all the performance benefits of Flash without sacrificing the benefits of network storage—high availability, disaster recovery, data integrity, and reliability. This unique approach is why EMC shipped a record amount of Flash capacity in the second quarter of 2012.

Technology Highlights:

• More Efficient: EMC is leveraging its leadership in deduplication for backup environments and applying that expertise to caching. With the addition of in-line deduplication of cached data for a larger effective cache, the cache size of VFCache is significantly increased in environments with applications leveraging high deduplication gains. This capability delivers better cost per gigabyte and extends the life expectancy of the card.
• Deeper Integration: VFCache is now more deeply integrated at the virtual, storage and server levels to maximize mission-critical application environments. VFCache now delivers:
  • Automation of VMware vSphere vMotion environments for efficient administration. VFCache interoperability with vSphere vMotion makes it faster and easier to achieve continuous up-time and fluid operations, complete environment maintenance, and enable seamless migrations—helping customers accelerate their journey to the cloud. Through the EMC VSI plug-in for VMware vCenter™, EMC enables VMware administrators to handle other priority tasks, and ensures business continuity with no system downtime when migrating operations.
  • Simplified management, more streamlined operations, and greater visibility into operational information. EMC VFCache contains the foundational capabilities to provide EMC VMAX storage administrators with more operational information, such as VFCache's relationships to specific LUNS, more performance statistics, and error condition reporting. These capabilities will support superior storage management relative to other solutions in the industry, and represent another key step toward EMC's vision of high performance automated tiered storage. Customers continue to benefit from VFCache's turbocharged performance with the protection for which EMC storage is trusted around the world. EMC is also committed to integrating VFCache with the rest of EMC's storage portfolio—including EMC VNX™—in 2013.
  • Support for Cisco's upcoming offering of LSI's customized PCIe Flash mezzanine cards for UCS B-Series Blade Servers (announced in May 2012).
• Better Performance: The latest version of VFCache supports multiple PCIe cards per server and delivers more capacity options—with support for new 700GB PCIe cards—to cache larger working sets and offer greater performance to customers. In addition, EMC continues to optimize and advance the performance of demanding enterprise workloads by lowering latency through tuning of the VFCache caching algorithms.

In addition to VFCache, customers with mixed workloads can choose from EMC's hybrid arrays armed with EMC FAST™ (Fully Automated Storage Tiering) technology that automates the movement of "hot" data onto Flash drives and moves "cold" data to high-capacity drives. For VDI or test and development environments with 100% "hot" data, customers will be able to leverage all-Flash arrays that will deliver the raw performance required with innovative new technologies from "Project X" through EMC's acquisition of XtremIO (announced in May 2012). For persistent data stores with performance intensive workloads—including high-frequency trading or online gaming—EMC will offer "Project Thunder", a server network attached appliance built entirely of high-speed PCIe Flash (announced in February 2012).

Availability

Deduplication and other new VFCache enhancements are available today through EMC and its channel partners.

Customer Quotes:

Henrik Sørensen, SAP Operations Manager at L'Oréal Danmark SNS

"L'Oréal has made cosmetics for a century—and we are the worldwide cosmetic leader. We manage 27 global brands that are distributed throughout 130 countries. Information is gold to us—and drives our ability to innovate. The benefits of Flash technology are a key piece of L'Oréal SNS IT strategy. We use VFCache to boost the performance of our SAP application environment. With a powerful capability like deduplication—support for higher capacity drives—and VMware affinity, EMC is delivering L'Oréal SNS with an even better, faster and simpler way to achieve peak performance results for our mission-critical applications."

Scott Heffner, Network Operations Manager, Wentworth-Douglass Hospital

"Wentworth-Douglass Hospital has evolved and grown since its doors opened in 1906. We are now one of the largest acute care hospitals in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. Data is central to delivering the best care possible to patients, which is why we rely on EMC technologies—including VMAX 10K, EMC RecoverPoint™, Avamar®, and Data Domain® solutions—in a VMware virtualized environment. With new VFCache support for Cisco UCS blade servers, we will use VFCache in our virtual EMC VMAX environment to achieve the performance required of our demanding IT needs. One thing hasn't changed since 1906, and that is that the patient is still the center of our timeless tradition of providing compassionate and comprehensive care—EMC technologies help enable us to deliver exactly that."

Industry Analyst Quote:

Jeff Janukowicz, Research Director, Solid State Drives and Hard Drive Components, IDC

"IDC expects that annual Flash capacity shipped in the enterprise will grow by 20X by 2016 thanks to the ever-growing number of applications, the digitization of data, cloud and Big Data. Storage I/O is a critical performance bottleneck for many data intensive applications. Flash is the essential ingredient in the industry's race for application speed. With these latest updates to EMC VFCache, EMC is delivering efficiency that didn't previously exist for the customer. This addition to its comprehensive Flash portfolio is an important evolution."

Partner Quotes:

Eric Kaplan,VP Engineering at Ahead

"Ahead enables companies to take advantage of key technologies driving the next-generation data center. As our clients' trusted technology advisor, we partner with EMC to provide best-of-breed products and services to our customers, providing the support and direction they need to make IT a competitive advantage for their business. EMC VFCache helps our customers' applications reach the performance they need while delivering the data protection their business demands. With added capabilities for deduplication and user-initiated VMware vMotion, VFCache delivers new levels of efficiencies to our customers."

Steve Gillaspy, Sr. Director Product Management Unified Computing Systems, Cisco

"Flash storage has proven to be a very disruptive and opportunistic technology to drive application performance. We are working with EMC and other partners to continue to deliver solutions that help to enable our customers to run their mission-critical applications faster. With EMC VFCache and Cisco UCS Blade Servers, customers are finding a simpler way to drive efficiency and productivity in the data center."

Gary Green, Vice President, Global Strategic Alliances, VMware

"VFCache interoperability with VMware vMotion is about simplicity and automation for our customers. We're committed to delivering customers flexibility, efficiency and choice. As virtual environments continue to grow—and become more complex—it is interoperability like VFCache and vMotion, as well as continued innovation in PCIe Flash, that will address what customers need to handle the IT transformation occurring in the market today."

EMC Quote:

Mark Sorenson, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Flash Business Unit, EMC

"Since 2008 EMC has led the market in enterprise Flash innovation—setting in motion the industry's move to Flash enabled storage arrays. EMC is uniquely positioned to help customers take advantage of Flash technology, and we continue to invest and innovate to offer purpose-built solutions for specific use cases and deployment options. Our approach is 'no-compromise'—offering hybrid Flash enabled storage arrays, Flash in the server, and Flash via the network. With the addition of deduplication, VMware interoperability, and performance enhancements to VFCache, we're yet again setting the pace for the industry—and delivering customers—the most optimized and efficient offering."

Additional Resources:

• Read the Demartek evaluation report
• Read the VFCache data sheet
• Read about VFCache in virtualized Oracle environments
• Connect with EMC via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn

About EMC

EMC Corporation is a global leader in enabling businesses and service providers to transform their operations and deliver IT as a service. Fundamental to this transformation is cloud computing. Through innovative products and services, EMC accelerates the journey to cloud computing, helping IT departments to store, manage, protect and analyze their most valuable asset — information — in a more agile, trusted and cost-efficient way. Additional information about EMC can be found at www.EMC.com.