Data Center Management is the official magazine of AFCOM, the leading association for data center management professionals. This bi-monthly publication is sent exclusively to members of AFCOM and covers all areas of the data center, including technology, infrastructure and general management. This editorial calendar provides a brief synopsis of the trends and issues Data Center Management will be covering in 2012. Bonus/Digital articles are scheduled to run on the digital version of Data Center Management, available on www.afcom.com.

Click here to download a pdf version of the Data Center Management Magazine editorial calendar.

 

January/February 2012

 

Introducing the Next Darlings of the Data Center

The title of "Data Center Darlings" usually goes to technologies that are deemed most necessary, efficient and effective, and implemented in the majority of organizations. Historically, that's been the EMCs, Microsofts and VMwares of the world. These days, it's not so cut and dried. So what technologies and companies will grab the most attention in 2012?

Cloud Buzz Reaches Fever Pitch

The buzz around the cloud seems to have reached fever pitch. IDC reports that the number of applications running on virtual machines has exceeded physical servers for the first time. However, this platform requires enhanced security. This article will address integrated security models for the virtual world that secure across logical boundaries.

Data Center on a Microchip

Nanotechnology has made it possible to put an entire data center onto a microchip, and several companies are already doing so. This is bringing the industry ever closer to chips that can literally perform the work of entire computer rooms and even data centers. What does this mean for you and your organization?

Hijacking the Hackers

Lone hackers are long gone. Attempts to breach data have become industrialized and, in some cases, nationalized making it even more difficult for data center managers. Here, we examine the modern evolution of hacking, the new threats it poses, and the solutions for thwarting them and what may be on the hacker horizon.

Supercomputers: Super-fast, Super-smart, And Super-expensive

The fastest computer to date combines a cluster of 672 server cabinets filled with over 68,000 processors, with a combined ability to make 8.2 quadrillion calculations per second (8.2 petaflops)—about the equivalent of a million desktop PCs. Supercomputers are becoming more and more prevalent, but do the benefits outweigh the costs of building and the huge drain on electricity?

Bonus Article: What's Hot in Cooling Technologies?

With energy costs going nowhere but up, companies are looking very closely at how to keep data centers at just the right temperature and running efficiently. From cold aisle cooling to liquid cooling, the options can be daunting. This article reviews technologies available today and where the trends are headed.

 


March/April 2012

 

Disaster Recovery Options Under the Cloud

On one hand, cloud platforms provide a safeguard against disasters; however, they also can be nuisances as several companies discovered recently when the FBI confiscated servers at a collocation facility. Learn the pros and cons of clouds as disaster recovery options and how these strategies differ from the norm.

Managing Virtual Server Sprawl

First came the adoption of virtualization to eliminate physical servers. Now data center managers are encountering virtual server sprawl. Find out ways to avoid this new kind of sprawl, and those management techniques you can deploy to assure that your data center stays streamlined.

Tracking and Securing Data

Bottom line: Data centers contain a lot of "stuff." With the massive amounts of traffic that flow through them—and the constant coming and going of people—how do you ensure data security?

Data Center Efficiency, Capacity Growth, Less Space

Gartner recently addressed the steps that data center managers could take to enhance efficiency, allow for 300 percent capacity growth but do so using 60 percent less space. Data center managers will benefit from what works, what doesn't and how to apply the finer details in their real-world environments.

Recharging the IT Budget Chargeback Debate

The heated debate over chargeback practices may have lost some steam over the past couple of years, but it has re-emerged with a vengeance. This article reviews the current state of IT budget chargeback practices; outlines which IT budget line items are typically charged back to business units and how much of the IT budget is usually recovered; and recommends specific cost allocation strategies.

Bonus Article: Adding New Storage: The Dos and Don'ts

This article addresses the four main reasons to add storage and what's wrong with popular approaches. Additionally, you'll learn new technologies that add value and save money.


May/June 2012

 

Data Center World Coverage

This article will offer an overview of AFCOM's conference and trade show.

Walking Off the Cloud

Moving to a cloud can be a lot easier than moving back or, for that matter, moving your cloud to a different provider. This article will address both the contractual stumbling blocks and the other requirements for successfully navigating a provider change.

Rediscovering the Lost Network

The hectic pace of planned and unplanned changes—IT integration of branches and locations due to mergers and acquisitions; disruptive technology; global corporate expansions; office reallocations; purchasing of new hardware; and data center consolidation projects—have ushered in the need for a complete re-discovery of the infrastructure, hardware assets and port-to-port connectivity.

IT Strategic Planning More Important Now than Ever

During times of economic uncertainty, strategic planning becomes even more of a necessity. This article addresses the fundamental components of an IT strategic plan; assesses current adoption trends by organization size and industry sector and concludes with ways for IT to continually engage in strategic planning as priorities shift from growth to restraining costs.

Countering Threats From Phishing and Pharming

Phishing attacks are growing in number and in technical sophistication with a significant portion coming in the form of pharming. This article explains the evolution of phishing attacks and outlines the counter measures that organizations need to defend effectively against them.

Bonus Article: Dealing With Big Data

According to Gartner, enterprise data will grow by 650 percent over the next five years. Unstructured or Big Data has already proven difficult to manage and process and will only increase in complexity. Learn the top five ways to deal with data growth.


June 2012

This special issue will discuss the trends revealed in AFCOM's State of the Data Center Survey.

 

July/August 2012

 

Flash Technology Pretty Cool

Flash technology is one of the coolest technologies around in storage. Typically, OEMs are packaging it as Solid State Drives (SSD) that replace hard disk drives (HDDs) in many devices. This article looks at some of the cooler implementations from the eyes of data center managers and innovative ways they are using this technology to boost production, cut costs and organize tiers of storage more efficiently.

Data Center Temperatures: Should They Rise or Should They Fall?

Data center best practices have advocated a very narrow temperature-operating band for many years. Recently, however, it has been shown that they can safely operate at both higher and lower temperatures. What does this mean for data center managers?

Vendor Lock-in versus Best-of-Breed

Vendor lock-in possibly reached its zenith in the late '90s. Some companies gained reputations for charging hefty support fees that kept rising year over year for a customer base that, in many cases, had little options. That's no longer the case, and the tide may be shifting toward multi-vendor relationships.

Wireless LAN Boom Continues

At the turn of the millennium, there weren't that many Wireless LANs. Now, it's anticipated that this market will grow to $7 billion by 2014. One of the big drivers of growth has been the recent technology upgrade cycle to 802.11n. The proliferation of mobile devices is another source of WLAN expansion. As a result, certain policies must be put in place to standardize the growth.

Data Center Monitoring Best Practices

In today's world, downtime can be extremely costly. This article will describe best practices for monitoring and keeping the data center up and running.

Bonus Article: The Key to Delivering Private Cloud Payback

This article looks at how automation and virtualization can transform parts of the data center into a private cloud—and how to make it pay off.

Bonus Article: Combating Back Door Vulnerabilities

Although IT professionals usually adhere to strict security guidelines when dealing with user systems, they sometimes drop their guard when they implement systems and procedures in the data center itself. This article highlights security weaknesses and outlines common sense management practices that can close such back door vulnerabilities.

 

Sept/Oct 2012

 

The Challenges Cloud Computing Poses for Networks

Today's cloud-based infrastructures and complex data centers need networks that are capable of carrying multiple types of data, each with different types of requirements. So, how do you evaluate the readiness of a network for cloud computing and correct what is needed to make it work?

The Morning After

Mergers and acquisitions are a fact of life that typically leaves data centers scrambling to blend systems and consolidate operations. This article discusses "morning after" strategies to address the immediate transition and then to build strong, effective IT resources for the combined companies.

IT Security Outsourcing Rising as Threats Grow

Outsourcing at least a portion of IT security operations makes increasing sense in today's online business environment. That said, it's important to know the availability of outsourcing services, changes in the industry responsible for the shift in attitude, and the cost and benefits of security outsourcing.

Powering Down Processors

New technologies will enable processors to throttle clock speed up and down based on current workload, saving power and cooling costs. Learn how this powering down works, where and when data center managers can expect to see the technology, and how different data centers can best leverage it.

Avoiding Third-Party Caused Outages

Obviously, data centers must avoid outages—and the negatives associated with it—at all costs. But how is that done when a third-party cloud provider you rely on goes down? This article will review real-life cases and how the outages were handled, could have been prevented, and how they were ultimately resolved.

Bonus Article: The Rise of Predictive Analytics in Networking
Predictive analytics is applicable in several forms, most notably in business intelligence (BI), but it also plays a role in IT operations such as networking. Predictive analytics for IT is about understanding vast amounts of real-time data to forecast performance issues before they affect users. A greater analytic approach is needed these days, particularly in light of the rise of virtualization. Cloud computing has seized upon virtualization to propel IT toward the vision of IT as a Service (ITaaS).

 

November/December 2012

 

Data Center World Coverage

This article will offer an overview of AFCOM's conference and trade show.

Making the Case for Mainframe Migration

Mainframe computers still occupy a major position in the hardware inventory of many data centers. However, the economic performance of mainframes is often not as good as that of other hardware platforms, especially in a mix with other classes of servers. For organizations with such heterogeneity, these findings may be used to justify migration of mainframe applications to other server platforms or, at a minimum, undertake a server consolidation strategy.

Ordering a Data Center in a Box

Several vendors are now making what are called "data centers in a box, "shipping containers complete with pre-configured servers, storage and networking…even cooling. Learn how to order "data centers in a box" that meet your specifications and how they typically perform.

Re-architecting Backup for a Virtual Reality

It's often the case that after companies tap into virtualization, virtual sprawl ensues and makes their infrastructure hard to manage. The solution is better management and more robust backup/data protection processes designed specifically for today's IT landscape. Data center managers need to consider five key areas.

Saving Money on Smart Energy

Remodeling a data center to reduce energy costs is something every IT manager thinks about, but it is often approached the wrong way. Starting small can actually lead to a big decrease in cost. Individual server components, followed by servers and other IT gear should be the top priority when it comes to energy savings. This article will help you do the math.

Bonus Article: Leveraging ITIL to Better Manage Outsourcing Relationships

ITIL is an effective tool for managing internal IT processes. It can also serve as a framework for managing the relationship with an outsourcing service provider. This article shows specifically how ITIL Incident Management and Problem Management can be used to optimize an outsourcing relationship.

 

Click here to download a pdf version of the Data Center Management Magazine editorial calendar.

 

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