The top 10 tech startups for 2008
Hot tech startup: V-Kernel
Founded: 2007
Tech breakthrough: Algorithms that analyze data collected on virtual machines and predict future problems based on performance trends.
Business problem addressed: Managing and balancing virtual servers and billing users appropriately for consumption of specific resources.
What the technology does: V-Kernel offers a suite of Java- and AJAX-based appliances to manage virtual servers in EMC VMware ESX environments. Virtual machines, by definition, share hardware resources such as CPU, memory, storage, and network controllers. Resources have to be allocated and often billed. V-Kernel's software produces a chargeback report that measures the amount of hardware resources consumed by each virtual machine and allocates those costs to users based on cost metrics chosen by administrators. V-Kernel's Capacity Bottleneck Analyzer predicts shortages of resources on hosts, resource pools, and clusters, and it produces maps showing where virtual machines can be safely added to physical servers.
How the technology works: V-Kernel integrates with VMware's Virtual Center, pulling data on virtual machines from it, and updating itself as changes are made. (If necessary, the data can be pulled directly from the virtual machine, though that process is more difficult.) It can group services to resources by using VM IDs, and it uses an algorithm to proportionally allocate resources when multiple applications or services share multiple machines. As historical data accumulates, V-Kernel's algorithms spot and monitor performance and usage trends, and produce reports. Reports can be extended with custom fields.
Forward spin: V-Kernel currently supports only VMware, but other hypervisors, including those from Microsoft and Citrix, will be supported in the future. V-Kernel plans to release five to 10 new virtual appliances this year.
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Give your computer the finger: Touch-screen tech arrives 04 February, 2008 08:38:37
Time to kiss your mouse goodbye?The WIMP human-computer interface may have an uninspiring name, but Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointing devices have dominated computing for some 15 years. The keyboard, mouse and display screen have served users extraordinarily well. - +
The future of network security 01 February, 2008 12:05:40
Determining how to plan for a business environment in which everyone is connected and security expectations are high is not trivial. We all have to do it.Enterprise connectivity is exploding, driven by globalization, convergence, virtualization and social computing. As corporate perimeters dissolve, the security focus switches towards application and data-level security solutions. The question to ask is what are the longer-term implications for network security? Will it become redundant or could it grow more powerful? Only one thing seems certain: It will be different from today. - +
The LAN turns 30, but will it reach 40? 01 February, 2008 09:20:52
ARCnet idea came to an engineer while he was eating a meatball sandwichLAN technology recently passed a milestone -- it's been around for 30 years, some of them tumultuous. But while the LAN seems ubiquitous now, there are those who think its future may be more troubled than its past. - +
Juniper CEO comments on Ethernet switch scheme 31 January, 2008 11:40:24
Scott Kriens argues Juniper can challenge Cisco in switching because "the network has changed"Juniper's entry into enterprise switching with the EX line is rooted in extending a common operating system across the switching, routing and security domains of an enterprise network -- something that's lacking in what's viewed as a mature market dominated by Cisco. Juniper CEO Scott Kriens shared his thoughts on the company's opportunity -- and what it means for Cisco's current competitors -- with Network World President and CEO John Gallant and Managing Editor Jim Duffy at this week's EX launch in New York. - +
Adobe AIR set to take flight at Nasdaq, charity 25 January, 2008 10:26:00
Runtime promises to let companies extend rich Internet applications to desktopAdobe Systems is expected to release its Adobe Integrated Runtime (AIR) next month, ending the wait of organizations such as Nasdaq Stock Market and American Cancer Society for a way to tap the best attributes of a browser but without the browser -- to take some of their rich Internet applications to the desktop.
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