Enfabrica has introduced the MegaNIC, a cutting-edge network interface card tailored for backend GPU applications, designed to address network congestion effectively. The device utilizes their new ACF-S ASIC, supporting advanced features like PCIe lane switching, Ethernet connectivity, and top-of-rack routing, all enhanced by software-defined networking to improve GPU interconnectivity. With its “Millennium” chip offering an 8 Tbps bandwidth and capable of connecting up to four GPUs via high-speed Ethernet links, the MegaNIC aims to boost performance and reduce power use in large-scale GPU superclusters. Read more in this article by Ray Lucchesi following Enfabrica’s presentation at AI Field Day 5.
Ethernet is not Ready to Replace InfiniBand Yet
AI networking is making huge strides toward standardization but Ethernet isn’t ready to displace the leading incumbent InfiniBand yet. In this episode of the Tech Field Day Podcast, Tom Hollingsworth is joined by Scott Robohn and Ray Lucchesi to discuss the state of Ethernet today and how it is continuing to improve. The guests discuss topics such as the dominance of InfiniBand, why basic Ethernet isn’t suited to latency-sensitive workloads, and how the future will improve the technology.
GCP Cloud Run and VertexAI
Ray Lucchesi takes a deep dive into Project Gemini at Cloud Field Day 20, showcasing Google Cloud Platform’s (GCP) integration of Cloud Run and VertexAI. His analysis presents a future where cloud applications can effortlessly scale while leveraging powerful machine learning models to deliver intelligent and responsive services. Lucchesi’s article highlights GCP’s efforts to streamline the deployment of cloud-native applications and ML capabilities, marking a significant step in simplifying complex cloud operations for developers and enterprises.
Computational (DNA) Storage – End of Evolution Part 4
Ray Lucchesi explains the progression of DNA storage as presented by SNIA at the recent Storage Field Day event. The author explains the concept of computational storage in DNA strands and elaborates on the potential efficiency of this methodology in terms of data density and orchestration. The article implies that the technology is still in its nascent phase with accuracy rates around 70-80%, but suggests a promising future with the incorporation of innovative features like error-correcting codes (ECC).
155: GreyBeards SDC23 Wrap Up Podcast With Dr. J Metz, Technical Dir. Of Systems Design AMD and Chair of SNIA BoD
Dr. J Metz, Technical Director of Systems Design at AMD and Chair of SNIA BoD, recently made a guest appearance on the GreyBeards on Storage podcast, detailing highlights from the Storage Developers Conference 2023 and Storage Field Day and charting the ongoing research directions of SNIA. The discussion touched on topics from DNA data storage and Smart Data Transfer Interfaces (SDXI) to challenges and future opportunities in storage and memory sectors. With a track record of deconstructing complex systems and technologies, Dr. Metz’s expertise in storage networking constitutes essential listening for professionals and enthusiasts in the IT industry.
Dell EMC PowerStore X and the Edge
Ray Lucchesi attended the Dell exclusive Tech Field Day event this past summer and couldn’t figure out why it struck a nerve in him until now! He was very interested in the presentation’s Dell gave on PowerStore X appliances and AppsON technologies. Want to read more from Ray, check out his thoughts here!
CTERA, Cloud NAS on Steroids
The GreyBeard himself, Ray Lucchesi, breaks down the Storage Field Day presentation of CTERA, which he attended as a delegate. He describes their cloud NAS service, which he believes is akin to other cloud NAS offerings, except on steroids. Read the entire post to learn more, and watch CTERA’s performance for all of their product overview.
Kasten, Kafka & the Quest to Protect Data
Ray Lucchesi, delegate at June’s Cloud Field Day, details his experience at the event, and his takeaways from the presentation by Kasten by Veaam. He hones in on how the product can be used to backup Apache Kafka instances, diving into deep technical detail about his takeaways. Watch the presentation from Kasten by Veeam to learn the basis behind Lucchesi’s breakdown.
New Era of Graphical AI Is Near
This post by one of the GreyBeards himself, Ray Luchessi, describes how Intel is changing the game when it comes to AI-driven graphs. Lucchesi experienced Intel’s presentation from May’s AI Field Day event firsthand as a delegate, and has some strong opinions regarding their Katana AI product. Read all about them here, and watch the associated AI Field Day presentation for more technical information from Intel.
118: GreyBeards Talks Cloud-Native Object Storage With Greg DiFraia, Scality and Stephen Bacon, HPE
In one of the latest GreyBeards On Storage Podcasts, Ray Lucchesi and Keith Townsend talk with HPE’s Stephen Bacon and Scality’s Greg DiFraia to talk about their joint partnership to release ARTESCA: a new cloud native object storage solution. The Scality-HPE solution ARTESCA was announced at a Tech Field Day Exclusive event last month where Ray was a delegate. On the podcast they discuss the direction of the IT world, edge solutions, and of course ARTESCA! Head over to the GreyBeards On Storage page to listen to the full, enlightening conversation
115-GreyBeards Talk Database Acceleration With Moshe Twitto, CTO&Co-founder, Pliops
Earlier this year, Ray Lucchesi had the opportunity to join us as a delegate at Storage Field Day and got to learn about Pliops at the event. In this episode of the Greybeards on Storage podcast, they are joined by Moshe Twitto, CTO and Co-Founder at Pliops, to discuss Pliops’ technology. To learn more and listen to the full conversation, check out this episode!
Storageless Data!?
At Storage Field Day in January, Ray Lucchesi had the opportunity to join us as a delegate and see Hammerspace’s presentation. At the event, Hammerspace showcased its vision for storageless data. In this blog, Ray explains, “Essentially, Hammerspace creates a global file system for your data, across any locations you wish to use it, with great caching, optimized data transfer and with real storage behind it.” For more of Ray’s thoughts on Hammerspace and storageless data, check out his blog!
Data Science Storage With NetApp’s Python Toolkit
At Storage Field Day in January, Ray Lucchesi had the opportunity to join us as a delegate and see NetApp’s presentation on its NetApp Data Science Toolkit. On his blog, Ray focuses on the Python SDK to manage NetApp storage for data scientists and AI researchers. He was impressed by this concept, as he comments: “I’m not a data science expert but a Python SDK for storage management just makes so much sense to me I just had to take a look.” For more of Ray’s analysis, check out his blog!
The Rise of MinIO Object Storage
Ray Lucchesi saw MinIO present at Storage Field Day in January and thought they had a great session. In a post on his Ray on Storage blog, Ray details the advantages of the open source nature of their products as well as the MinIO Subscription Network “SubNet.” Check out his full post on his blog or watch the MinIO presentations on the Tech Field Day website!
Is Hardware Innovation Accelerating – Hardware vs. Software Innovation (Round 6)
As he looks at the IT Industry, Ray Lucchesi sees something changing. As a delegate at the first ever AI Field Day late last year, he got to see several sponsors present on their latest innovations in the field. In an ongoing segment on his blog, RayOnStorage, Ray looks at the differences between hardware and software innovation. As part of his post, he considers some of the incredible progress being made in hardware like neuromorphic chips, including those that Ray saw BrainChip present on. Ray writes that Intel is also helping to push the hardware innovation forward with their work. Be sure to check out Ray’s full analysis, as well as BrainChip and Intel’s presentations from AI Field Day on our website!
Ok, Maybe Neuromorphic Chips Aren’t a Deadend
AI Field Day delegate Ray Lucchesi had previously pronounced neuromorphic chips “dead” because of how complex they were to program and use. Well, AI Field Day presenter BrainChip might have proven Ray wrong. On the “Ray On Storage Blog”, Ray writes that BrainChip impressed the delegate panel with both their software stack and hardware and might have just proved that neuromorphic chips aren’t a dead end after all. Check out Ray’s post as well as the BrainChip presentations at AI Field day on our website!
106: Greybeards Talk Intel’s New HPC File System With Kelsey Prantis, Senior Software Eng. Manager, Intel
At Storage Field Day, delegate Ray Lucchesi had the opportunity to see Intel present on their new Optane Persistent Memory (PMEM) technology. In the latest episode of his podcast, GreyBeards On Storage, he talks with Intel’s Senior Software Engineering Manager Kelsey Prantis about Intel’s DAOS (Distributed Architecture Object Storage), a new HPC (high performance computing) file system. Ray writes that “DAOS represents the birth of a new generation of HPC storage.” Check out Ray’s GreyBeards On Storage podcast to hear their informative conversation!
Storage That Provides 100% Performance at 99% Full
When Ray Lucchesi heard Qumulo at Storage Field Day claim they could provide 100% performance even at 99% storage capacity, he was doubtful. After all, most storage systems drop significantly in performance while being at much lower storage usage. However, as he details in his latest post, Qumolo pulls it off! Ray writes that by stopping the “garbage collection” Qumulo is able to reach incredible performance even while at high storage capacity.
Can We Back Up a PB?
In this post, Ray Lucchesi considers the conundrum of backing up a petabyte, something that conventional IT would say isn’t feasible. This would require scanning the numerous file systems within that PB, daily scanning the hundred of TB changes, then transferring all of that to the backup storage. Instead, organizations rely on costly replication to protect against outages. At Cloud Field Day, Ray heard how Igenous is doing this scale of backup today, using a unique engine to scan and index PB scale data repositories, while still providing admins visibility into what is backed up. Be sure to check out Ray’s post and Igneous’ entire presentation on our YouTube channel.
