MODULAR DATA CENTERs

1.   Modular data center system's are a portable method of deploying data center capacity ie an alternative to the typical building set up like traditional data center.

2.   In general Modular data centers come in two types of form factors. 

-    Containerized Data Centers  fits data center repository (servers, storage and networking equipment) into a standard shipping container.A perfect example of this is the NEBULA@NASA.Few details of this are mentioned below :

How Nebula Looks Like ?

Features :

    -  40-foot long container

    -  Designed in consultation with CISCO

    -  built inside a FOREST container from Verari Systems

    -  Self-service platform built from open source software

    -  Each shipping container data center can hold up to 15,000 CPU cores

    -  Can accommodate files as large as eight terabytes 

    -  Can accommodate an individual file system of 100 terabytes

    -  Makes easier for NASA scientists to share large/complex data sets

2.   Another form of modular data center fits data center equipment into a facility composed of Prefabricated components.Example is HP’s version of this type of modular data center, which it calls Flexible Data Center.How this looks like is shown below :

HP LaserJet Pro printers : Telnet Vulnerable

1.    A critical vulnerability discovered in few LaserJet Pro printers that could give remote attackers access to sensitive data. The latest breach expose by Germany security expert, Christoph von Wittich.In brief points below :

-   HP LaserJet Professional printers contain a telnet debug shell which could allow a remote attacker to gain unauthorized access to data.

-   Christoph von Wittich,the guy detected the vulnerability during a routine network scan of his company's corporate network.

-   Vulnerability could also be used for a denial-of-service attack.

-   As long as the printer is not connected to the Internet, this vulnerability should not cause much trouble for the end user,".

-  Effected printers include

      HP LaserJet Pro P1102w
      HP LaserJet Pro P1102
      HP LaserJet Pro P1606dn
      HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro M1213nf MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro M1214nfh MFP
      HP LaserJet ProM1216nfh Multifunction Printer,
      HP LaserJet Pro M1217nfw Multifunction Printer,
      HP LaserJet Pro M1218nfs MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro M1219nf MFP
      HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw
      HP LaserJet Pro CP1025nw

2.    Now for HP something like this is not new....even in past about 2 years back in dec 2011,a vulnerabilty was discovered wherein "Print of one malicious document can expose your whole LAN".

3.    In-fact I discussed a past case at Feb 2012 last year here....3 months after that happened.HP seems to be busy with printing only....high time they start focusing serious work on security aspects too!!!!

4.    Thanks THN....The Hacker News

COWS & DATA CENTRES : LINKED!!!!

1. Cows and data centers ???Whats the link.......any guesses....strange you may find but this has come from HP who feel that both entities are connected...read on for the link///

2. According to HP Labs, the estimate dairy cow produced is about 55 kg of manure per day, and thus 20 metric tons per year. The manure that one dairy cow produces in a day can generate 3.0 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electrical energy.A medium-sized dairy farm with 10,000 cows produces about 200,000 metric tons of manure per year. This farm can fulfill the power requirements of a medium sized 1 megawatt (MW) data center.The heat generated by the data center need not be wasted. Instead, it can be used to break down animal waste which results in the production of methane.Methane can then be used to generate power for the data center.HP Labs researchers say that this symbiotic relationship allows the waste problems faced by dairy farms and the energy demands of the modern data center to be addressed in a sustainable manner.

3. Actually HP should have not just come up with the idea...with the strong hold they have in the market..it would have more suited them to actually attempt the same on ground rather then advising and making statistical data of the dung!!!!

4. Thanks http://www.informationweek.in

HP in the racists scoooop!!!

1. Phenominal is the pace at which the IT Sector is growing and Interesting are the ways in which few errors happen one of which I am mentioning down.....

2. The issue has attracted worldwide attention this month, when a US Black man known as "Black Desi" posted a YouTube video that showed his HP webcam built in to its new computers refusing to track his face but on the other hand it could do so just fine for his white friend Wanda.Titled "HP computers are racist", the YouTube video quickly attracted more then 500,000 hits and showed Black Desi's webcam working as it should when his work colleague "White Wanda" stepped in front of the camera, but when "Black Desi" got in front, no face recognition took place.

3. What does HP have to say about it?

""

"We thank Desi, and the people who have seen and commented on his video, for bringing this subject to our attention," it said in a blog on its help page.

"The technology we use is built on standard algorithms that measure the difference in intensity of contrast between the eyes and the upper cheek and nose. We believe that the camera might have difficulty 'seeing' contrast in conditions where there is insufficient foreground lighting," the blog added.

""

4. So what would have happened is like this !!!!!HP would have conducted all QC tests in their labs which in all probablity would have involved only the whites......HP by now mut have enrolled few Blacks for better QC of their products in their labs......well that was just in good humour....

5. To errrrrr is human.....and to IT errrrr is HP.

HP and VLC at logger heads?

1. One fine evening last week,suddenly my speakers of laptop dozed of permanently...I mean no sound output.I took it as a regular audio driver conflict since I keep installing and uninstalling softwares on my laptop.So in next few days...i tried fiddling with the drivers....did fresh installations...but kuch kaam na aaaya!!!

2. Since I am addicted to keep the speakers ON for music everytime I am working,I thought the layman's idea of formatting would come as the best and easiest solution...so I went ahead and formatted the system and installed a fresh Vista premium OS.But.......sameproblem stood again.....I thought may be my speakers have conked off............which is unlikely otherwise........

3. Today came another close friend of mine Sunil with a similar problem....in his notebook Compaq.He gave me an astoundingly unbelievable news......that after he called up his HP auth dealer with the problem he got this answer ........"The laptop will not cover under warranty if its identified that the diagonse report finds the user used the VLC player.".............

4. Shocking indeed for me..............I have been using VLC Player of and on with media player classic at times regularly.When I googled on this i got few threads which said the same thing.......these threads include the following links :

a. http://www.infoinfi.com/2009/01/29/hp-and-vlc-player-on-conflict/

b. http://forum.videolan.org/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=57589

5. So did i screw my speakers because of VLC ? Pl answer...............any one....?????

6. The extract of one of the threads is reproduced below :

" The Biggest Computer system vendor HP (Hewlett Packard) reporting their laptop customers to not to use VLC Player.VLC Player is the popular open source video player software among a lot of computer users. Recently HP laptop users facing a inbuilt speaker problem, which is often getting malfunction across the users. The official HP service center executives advicing the laptop users to stop using the VLC player to watch, play media files. They reporting that playing a media files using VLC Player causing the damage to the built in speakers.As an additional information the official HP service center executives informing the customers bring the laptop to service for the build in speaker problem that , “the laptop will not cover under warranty if its identical that the diagonse report finds the user used the VLC player.” "