Posts Tagged ‘ Linux ’

Your Favourite Technology Will Not Kill Anything

Your Favourite Technology Will Not Kill Anything

I have a request. I hope it is not too onerous, because something is really starting to grind my gears. Can we in IT please all stop claiming that any technology is going to kill another? The latest I am reading, for example, is that NoSQL (for want of a better term) will kill off SQL. No, it won’t. My hyperbole aside, I know this with complete and utter certainty, even though I am barely conversant in database technologies. Seriously, SQL hasn’t even killed off VSAM – first released in 1974 – which is still the foundation for a huge volume, perhaps even the majority, of our daily financial, logistics, retail, and government business. In fact, not only are we still storing data in VSAM, we are still programming in COBOL, and even doing it on 20 year old mainframes. So realistically, an upstart like NoSQL has no chance of…

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Is KVM a credible choice for x86 server virtualization?

Is KVM a credible choice for x86 server virtualization?

The other day I saw someone post a poll question, “Is KVM a credible choice for x86 virtualization?” My immediate response was – “Is that even a credible question?” If you read my many contributions to TechTarget, you will know I am no great supporter of KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine). In my analysis, it does not offer any significant advantages to the many alternatives. It does, however, introduce many significant challenges. The only significant and unique benefit of KVM for server virtualization (as noted by Sander van Vugt in our (virtual) debate on Xen vs.KVM Linux Virtualization Hypervisors) is that KVM is part of the Linux kernel. This ensures broad standardization, patch compatibility, simpler upgrades, and a low-impact on-ramp for existing Linux IT shops. Yet this is a solution for a problem that does not really exist.

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