SoftIron: Bringing Private Cloud in a Box to the Enterprise

Following their recent press release, SoftIron made an impression on Ken Nalbone at Cloud Field Day 19 with their proprietary on-prem private cloud stack, boasting end-to-end control over a solution that is both software and hardware inclusive, often referred to as secure providence. Contrary to solutions pieced together with components from various suppliers, SoftIron’s HyperCloud presents a cloud-native infrastructure designed for easy deployment, management, and scale on premises. Differentiated by custom design and competitive prices despite utilizing third-party chips like AMD’s, SoftIron’s approach addresses the need for a unified, consumption-driven private cloud offering, representing a burgeoning alternative in the space traditionally occupied by giants like VMware.


Why Build a Storage Array in the Cloud?

In this LinkedIn Pulse article, Ned Bellavance discusses the challenges of multicloud environments and introduces Dell Technologies’ APEX Block Storage, a solution aiming to provide consistent, high-performance storage across various public cloud vendors and private data centers.


Performance Optimization (Platform 9 Edition)

Performance optimization is critical for ensuring the efficiency and efficacy of applications, whether they are deployed on the cloud, using bare metal, or with Kubernetes, as highlighted by Michael Levan. At the heart of performance optimization are three key questions regarding the expected performance, knowledge of how applications are performing, and data to understand this performance, all of which are addressed in this insightful blog post. Platform 9 offers tools like Proactive Ops and Elastic Machine Pool (EMP) to aid in these efforts, providing a robust management plane and smart scaling solutions to maintain optimal resource utilization and reduce costs.


SoftIron HyperCloud Is True Private Cloud

Cloud repatriation is a hot topic, as Ned Bellavance discusses in this LinkedIn Pulse article. At Cloud Field Day 19, SoftIron’s HyperCloud offering emerged as a noteworthy solution, promising a cohesive private cloud experience with their own U.S. and Australia-manufactured hardware and tight integration of custom-built software. This ‘true’ private cloud solution differs from the piecemeal approach others take, aiming to provide an alternative pathway for those considering moving off VMware or repatriating workloads back from the public cloud.


Boosting ML and AI Workloads (Neuroblade)

To hasten the development of Large Language Models and AI/ML workloads, NeuroBlade’s innovative SPU hardware, pluggable into a PCIe slot, promises to amplify existing GPU capabilities by around 30%. As computational demands escalate, particularly for the training of intelligent models, the SPU aims to significantly boost server performance, potentially relieving some pressure from the surging GPU market. To Michael Levan, this advancement serves as a testament to Neuroblade’s commitment to accelerating the pace at which AI and ML technologies evolve and become more efficient.


Hybrid and Private Cloud (Enter Softiron)

As businesses re-evaluate cloud strategies, the concept of cloud repatriation becomes increasingly relevant, making the case for bringing select workloads back to private datacenters. Key to a successful private cloud strategy is the ability to scale; solutions offered by companies like SoftIron facilitate scaling out to public clouds, ensuring flexibility and extending storage capabilities beyond on-prem limitations. Read on in this DEV Community article by Michael Levan.


An Introduction to NeuroBlade

Opening Cloud Field Day 19, Elad Sity, CEO and Founder of NeuroBlade, highlighted the company’s mission to revolutionize big data analytics through hardware acceleration. Boasting a team of over 120 employees and substantial funding, NeuroBlade is pioneering the SQL Processing Unit (SPU), which promises significant performance boosts for data queries at reduced costs. With strategic partnerships and clients like Meta, NeuroBlade is poised to redefine the trajectory of data analytics efficiency, although the extent of their collaboration with major cloud providers remains a question for Ken Nalbone.