Sybase chairman John Chen slams Oracle’s approach of encouraging customers to
build their e-businesses using all-Oracle software, from The Standard.

The Register observes, “it doesn’t fix any of Windows’ underlying
problems – terrible hardware latencies for multimedia, registry bloat, security
… we suspect you know these pretty well. But that would hardly be fair, as it
doesn’t claim to. It isn’t cross platform either, and there are no plans to
implement it on non-Windows operating systems.”

3G LAB, the Cambridge-based Open Source software provider for the mobile Internet, today on their website announced the launch of Alligata Server- a supported Open Source integrated WAP & SMS gateway.

Workstation Solutions, Inc. announced major enhancements to Quick Restoreâ„¢ 2.7 that provide increased performance and scalability in data protection of network attached storage (NAS) and other platforms. –Anonymous Reader Quick Restore’s new performance, scalability, and ease-of-use features allow customers to backup and restore critical business information rapidly and cost-effectively.

Workstation Solutions simultaneously announced major alliances with three influential storage server companies whose customers can use Quick Restore 2.7 to protect data on the industry’s foremost NAS servers. (See separate release.) Quick Restore 2.7 supports the new Network Appliance F840 and F840c enterprise filers, high-end storage servers that can scale to support thousands of users and up to six TB of data, as well as the entire Network Appliance product line. Quick Restore 2.7 also supports the new VA Linux 9205 NAS server, an ultra dense storage appliance that leverages VA’s expertise in Open Source software and high-density Linux systems engineering. In addition, Quick Restore provides rigorous, reliable data protection for Mirapoint Internet Message Servers, which are dedicated appliances that efficiently route, store, and provide access to email messages.

“Quick Restore far outshines its competition when it comes to NDMP-based backup solutions for NAS systems,” said Paul Mikulencak, systems administrator in charge of backup and recovery for the Athlon
design team at Advanced Micro Devices, a $2.5 billion supplier of integrated circuits and the world’s
second-largest supplier of Microsoft Windows compatible PC processors. “In an environment like ours, with almost 15 terabytes of data spinning on 27 NetApp filers, and backed up on 38 tape drives residing on five different tape libraries, you can’t afford to take chances. We’ve found that Workstation Solutions provides not only the best product, but by far the best product support, of any backup solution out there.”

The proven Quick Restore data backup and recovery software provides seamless integration among NAS, Linux, UNIX, and Windows platforms in heterogeneous network environments. Quick Restore is based on the Network Data Management Protocol (NDMP), an open standard that enables interoperability among NAS server platforms and backup applications. It uses NDMP for local or remote backup of NAS systems to industry-leading tape drives and libraries. Workstation Solutions has unique expertise in NAS and Linux, offering the first backup solution in the industry to support all four possible configurations defined by NDMP and the first enterprise-ready Linux-based backup server.

The new features provide customers with highly flexible and cost-effective data protection solutions that are tailored precisely to their environment, according to Jim Ward, president of Workstation Solutions. “With this new version, we offer more NAS and Linux platforms, plus features designed to ease the job of the system administrator,†said Ward. “Quick Restore enables customers to build the backup and recovery system that fits their needs.â€

Specific features of Quick Restore 2.7 include:

* Direct access recovery for NetApp filers for faster recovery of files from tape
* Support of NetApp’s new Data ONTAP 6.0, whose features include increased storage capacity, faster snapshots, enhanced data integrity, and improved system management for NetApp Filers
* Quick Restore server on SuSE 6.4 and 7.0, allowing users to administer backups from an economical SuSE-Linux based server. (Licensed Quick Restore users can download all Linux and FreeBSD client software for no charge.)
* Enhanced backup status reports and improved tape library barcode management providing ease of use for the system administrator
* Ability to set backup windows allowing control over when system resources will be used for scheduled backups so that scheduled backups do not compete with day-to-day operations.

Pricing and Availability

Quick Restore 2.7 is available immediately from Workstation Solutions. List pricing begins at $2500.

Quick Restore 2.7 can be used with a host of new devices from Compaq, Exabyte, HP, Breece Hill, Spectra Logic, ADIC, Qualstar, and StorageTek.

About Workstation Solutions
Workstation Solutions provides the Quick Restore enterprise backup and recovery software to Fortune 1000 companies, government agencies, e-businesses, and ISPs, such as Advanced Micro Devices, Boeing, Department of Defense, Genome Therapeutics, Intel, Johns Hopkins, Motorola, and NASA. Quick Restore protects data on heterogeneous networks of NAS, UNIX, Linux, and Windows systems. Workstation Solutions was an early adopter of the NDMP protocol and is a leader in the NDMP Working Group of the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA), defining the architecture and standardization of NDMP. Visit www.worksta.com.

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The anti-defamation league has published an interesting guide to what it calls symbols of hate, like swastikas and upside-down crosses.

The Register reports that Intel is predicting one of the steepest ramps in its history for the
Pentium 4, the new company flagchip due to be unleashed on
November 20th. This may simply be another aspect of the
company’s marketing plan to focus attention on the new high price,
low availability one and away from the travails of the Pentium III, but
it might mean that Intel is getting its fabbing problems licked.

“As we have said before, we are adopting DDR
technology for servers, and exploring DDR on
desktop,” said Paul Otellini, vice-president of the Intel
Architecture Group in Santa Clara, Calif. From TechWeb.com.

ZDCOUK reports that major software firms may be neglecting security vulnerabilities and
putting their users at serious risk, according to bug-hunters at
Swedish security firm Defcom. The group says the situation has
forced it to consider publicising the details of several exploits
which would cause the companies involved severe embarrassment.

Red Hat is continuing its Red Hat University initiative by getting North Carolina State University hooked up. From BusinessWire.com.

From Linux.com: Samba is, by far, the most crucial tool in a successful NT to Linux migration. This
package serves Microsoft’s SMB protocol, enabling Windows Clients to see the Linux
machine as a file and print server; this closes the gap between the unix server-centrix
mentality and the Windows peer-to-peer mentality.