LSI is a leading global provider of storage and networking solutions, with a portfolio of more than 10,000 patents and a long history of leading and contributing to a wide range of industry standards and technologies in the storage and networking markets. The company develops innovative silicon, systems and software technologies.
I recently met up with Vic Mahadevan, Vice President of Product Marketing and Management, Engenio Storage Group, to find out more about LSI's foray into cloud computing.
"The whole notion of cloud computing is very exciting. People like Cisco, Intel, etc. are looking at it as a utility-based business model. The ability of flexibility and growth on demand is huge," he said.
LSI supplies its solutions to all the leading makers -- IBM, HP, Dell, etc. "Users get to use our technology under cover. The beauty of the model is -- it is good for both small and big companies," he added.
Why should someone buy a single disk? You can outsource the entire capability to a utility company. If others take it, you can scale and grow without locking your capital expenses. Everything is on demand, and that shift will happen over the next five years.
As for cloud computing itself, Mahadevan agrees that a lot of talk has going on. "The technology to make that happen is happening right now. There'll be an amazing shift over the next couple of years. Customers are also getting excited as they feel they can leverage what they have," he added.
LSI is offering a series of products -- external, mid-range and entry level storage systems. The storage arrays are part of the storage virtualization phenomena.
Mahadevan said: "We have tech that allows you to pool storage on all the servers into a virtual SAN. It is called the serverization of storage. We need to do partnerships -- wtih VMWare, Oracle, Microsoft, etc., to ensure that we can also provide the applications." LSI sells its solutions via OEM partners.
Product roadmap
LSI recently released an 8G Fiber Channel; 446 drive bay enclosure, as well as security encrypted drives. It worked with Seagate as a user would require a key to unlock the drive.
The 8G Fiber Channel is LSI's next transition of the 4G Fiber Channel. As for the 446 drive, you can put in two TB drives and get close up to 1 PB of storage in one enclosure. The security drives gives users an added degree of security. All of these technologies are tied to the applications. Users are only concerned about the applications.
LSI works closely with a number of partners, such as Brocade, Emulex, etc. All of the chips are developed in-house, using LSI technologies. "We are leaders in 2G, 4G, 8G, etc. The 446 drive enclosure was developed in-house as well," noted Mahadevan.
Global and India plans
LSI has sufficiently grown its India facility. Mahadevan said that the company had already touched 700 people in India. "It is good to see the amount of product, chip and application talent in India," he added.
LSI is currently working on a lot of new products. The additional ones will be coming out soon. Especially, LSI will be refreshing its mid-range storage lines in Q3-09.
Mahadevan said: "From a customer point of view, I see them tracking the utility model. It will probably start in India by 2010, that's when the momentum will really start. The interesting thing is, it would be a huge opportunity for the SMB market."
Citing examples, he said that microfinance is available in rural India. If SMBs can avail of the applications for farming, garments, etc., that would make it easy for those SMBs to build new businesses.
"All of this will allow us to unleash the power of the people. Lot of applications will be further developed in India. You can also develop applications that can be probably used worldwide, based on the utility model," he said.
Storage trends
According to Mahadevan, LSI's see a lot of activity going on in FC and iSCSI worlds -- moving from 1G to 10G in 2010. "We are doing a lot of work in that area. 1G iSCSI is coming out in Q3 and 10G in H1-09," he added.
As for cloud computing, that will happen as well. Some enterprises have already done it, while others are in the process of implementing it. He said: "There'll always be a tipping point. We think it could be in 2011, especially in India. Otherwise, it will be in 2010. There's lot of pressure on CIOs to cut costs and make yourself more efficient."
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label networking. Show all posts
Friday, May 1, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Welcome to PC's Telecom Blog!
Welcome to PC's Telecom Blog (http://pctelecoms.blogspot.com)!
Hi friends, I've been thinking about adding a telecom blog to my network for a very long time! The reason being, I started my career in electronics and telecom back in 1989.
I had the privilege of being part of Asian Sources Telecom Products -- a site, which I managed and built, with the help of my team and colleagues at Asian Sources Media, and later, Global Sources. Later, I moved on to Wireless Week, USA, as Asia Pacific Editor for the Asian Edition.
Back in India, I managed Convergence Plus for a short while, before launching four sites for CIOL in 2004 -- Mobility, Networking, Storage and Security.
Given this background in telecommunications, it is apt for me to start a blog on this subject as well. Telecom has been my forte, and well, it is a subject that has also won me four awards in technology journalism, while at Global Sources.
Again, this blog has been spun out off my award winning blog! That blog remains unchanged, and will continue to carry top-quality, world class content!
This blogs will now include specific blog posts related to telecommunications, as well as press releases, industry updates, new products, features, statistics, etc. It will cover wireless, wireline, broadband, networking, optical networking, Test & Measurement, etc.
Thanks for your kind support as always. Suggestions for improvements are always welcome! :)
Hi friends, I've been thinking about adding a telecom blog to my network for a very long time! The reason being, I started my career in electronics and telecom back in 1989.
I had the privilege of being part of Asian Sources Telecom Products -- a site, which I managed and built, with the help of my team and colleagues at Asian Sources Media, and later, Global Sources. Later, I moved on to Wireless Week, USA, as Asia Pacific Editor for the Asian Edition.
Back in India, I managed Convergence Plus for a short while, before launching four sites for CIOL in 2004 -- Mobility, Networking, Storage and Security.
Given this background in telecommunications, it is apt for me to start a blog on this subject as well. Telecom has been my forte, and well, it is a subject that has also won me four awards in technology journalism, while at Global Sources.
Again, this blog has been spun out off my award winning blog! That blog remains unchanged, and will continue to carry top-quality, world class content!
This blogs will now include specific blog posts related to telecommunications, as well as press releases, industry updates, new products, features, statistics, etc. It will cover wireless, wireline, broadband, networking, optical networking, Test & Measurement, etc.
Thanks for your kind support as always. Suggestions for improvements are always welcome! :)
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Dexcel on growth drivers for Indian embedded design industry
It is my endeavor to write about semiconductors, solar/PV, EDA. FPGAs, embedded, etc., and related companies and solutions via this blog. One of the pleasures of writing a semicon blog is in being able to connect with and make a whole lot of friends from different countries, cultures, and companies, as well as bloggers.
One such gentleman is Ravinder Gujral or Ravi, as he's popularly called, Director – Business Development, Dexcel Electronics Designs Pvt. Ltd. Dexcel, based very much in Bangalore, India, is among one of the emerging companies in the embedded space in the country. Ravi contacted me, like several others, via my blog! Likewise, I was elated to find myself a new friend and reader! Later, we met during Altera's SOPC event, where Dexcel was exhibiting as well.
Dexcel is an electronics design house with capabilities in embedded systems development, firmware Designs and development, DSP processors based designs, imaging software, device drivers, Linux porting, system level designs and development, application and automation software, development of audio and video codec, telecom related stacks, board designs and FPGA based digital designs services, and providing end-to-end solutions to customers.
Dexcel has an alliance and partnership with Altera (ACAP and DSP partner), and with Analog Devices (DSP collaborator), Texas Instruments (DSP third party Network Member), Actel (solution partner), Atmel (AVR 8-Bit RISC Consultants), Montavista Linux developer, etc. Quite impressive!
Estimate of Indian embedded industry
Naturally, our discussion veered toward embedded. Providing his estimate of the embedded design industry in India, Gujral said as per the survey conducted by the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and Frost & Sullivan, the projected Indian semiconductor and embedded design industry will grow from $3.25 billion in 2005 to $14.42 billion in 2010 and to $43.07 billion in 2015. The Indian design organizations are moving beyond simple labor-cost arbitrage to become true contributors to product innovation.
Going forward, it is important to keep an eye on the drivers for embedded design. The main growth drivers for embedded software in the coming period will be mobile communications, military applications, networking devices and providing more intelligence and connectivity to consumer devices.
Gujral said: "The explosion of embedded devices is made possible mainly due to the rapid growth of semiconductor chips each year, and semiconductor devices becoming faster, cheaper and less power hungry. As the Indian domestic market is growing rapidly, this growth trend will continue. Simultaneously, there are technical challenges to design such products and services, and the availability of technical qualified resources has become more important."
Localizing product designs and manufacturing
Given that India's strength has been in embedded, would the biggest growth factor for embedded come from the localization of product design and manufacturing from India?
Indeed, it is! Gujral noted: "The growth factor for embedded companies will come from localization of product design and manufacturing from India. However, we should be doing well in localization of product design, rather than in manufacturing. Indian design engineers are strong in product innovation and design processes, while on the other hand, our manufacturing ecosystem is not as competitive as China."
Going forward, India should be focused on fine tuning its design processes and best practices to become more efficient and productive, compared to counterpart in the US and Europe. "We have to develop strong domain technical knowledge to bring more innovation in product development," added Gujral.
One such gentleman is Ravinder Gujral or Ravi, as he's popularly called, Director – Business Development, Dexcel Electronics Designs Pvt. Ltd. Dexcel, based very much in Bangalore, India, is among one of the emerging companies in the embedded space in the country. Ravi contacted me, like several others, via my blog! Likewise, I was elated to find myself a new friend and reader! Later, we met during Altera's SOPC event, where Dexcel was exhibiting as well.Dexcel is an electronics design house with capabilities in embedded systems development, firmware Designs and development, DSP processors based designs, imaging software, device drivers, Linux porting, system level designs and development, application and automation software, development of audio and video codec, telecom related stacks, board designs and FPGA based digital designs services, and providing end-to-end solutions to customers.
Dexcel has an alliance and partnership with Altera (ACAP and DSP partner), and with Analog Devices (DSP collaborator), Texas Instruments (DSP third party Network Member), Actel (solution partner), Atmel (AVR 8-Bit RISC Consultants), Montavista Linux developer, etc. Quite impressive!
Estimate of Indian embedded industry
Naturally, our discussion veered toward embedded. Providing his estimate of the embedded design industry in India, Gujral said as per the survey conducted by the India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and Frost & Sullivan, the projected Indian semiconductor and embedded design industry will grow from $3.25 billion in 2005 to $14.42 billion in 2010 and to $43.07 billion in 2015. The Indian design organizations are moving beyond simple labor-cost arbitrage to become true contributors to product innovation.
Going forward, it is important to keep an eye on the drivers for embedded design. The main growth drivers for embedded software in the coming period will be mobile communications, military applications, networking devices and providing more intelligence and connectivity to consumer devices.
Gujral said: "The explosion of embedded devices is made possible mainly due to the rapid growth of semiconductor chips each year, and semiconductor devices becoming faster, cheaper and less power hungry. As the Indian domestic market is growing rapidly, this growth trend will continue. Simultaneously, there are technical challenges to design such products and services, and the availability of technical qualified resources has become more important."
Localizing product designs and manufacturing
Given that India's strength has been in embedded, would the biggest growth factor for embedded come from the localization of product design and manufacturing from India?
Indeed, it is! Gujral noted: "The growth factor for embedded companies will come from localization of product design and manufacturing from India. However, we should be doing well in localization of product design, rather than in manufacturing. Indian design engineers are strong in product innovation and design processes, while on the other hand, our manufacturing ecosystem is not as competitive as China."
Going forward, India should be focused on fine tuning its design processes and best practices to become more efficient and productive, compared to counterpart in the US and Europe. "We have to develop strong domain technical knowledge to bring more innovation in product development," added Gujral.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Now, UK seeks semicon ties with India!
Just a couple of days ago, I had touched upon the growing global interest in the Indian semiconductor industry. Well, late last evening, I was present at the release of an important study that seeks collaborations between semicon firms from India and the UK! Talk about interest!!
The India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and the UK Trade & Investment and Science & Innovation Network has launched a study titled "Scope for collaboration between India and the UK in semiconductor driven industry 2008". The report was launched by Richard Hyde, head - British Trade Office, Bangalore and ISA chairman Jaswinder Ahuja.
Given India's growing presence in the global semicon industry, the study comes at the right time. UK and Indian semiconductor firms can collaborate to boost India's IP creation and build next-generation products. There are potential synergies between the two nations in areas such as design, applications and devices.
Indian semicon firms specialize in VLSI, hardware/board-level design and embedded systems in wireless communications, computing and networking. In turn, the UK's strength lies in IP creation and complete product development.
Richard Hyde remarked that there was lot of compatibility between the UK and Indian semiconductor companies. The study also laid the foundation for the forthcoming Semi Conclave, scheduled for September 15-16 in Bangalore, to be followed by similar events in Hyderabad and New Delhi. "It will bring together the industry and the academia, along with a visiting delegation from the UK." This event will be jointly organized by ISA, UKTI and SIN.
V. Ravichandar, CMD, Feedback Consulting said the first challenge while preparing the study was to find high-quality data. The ISA in India and the NMI in the UK had such data.
He added: "Firms that exist in India and the UK are essentially design firms. They become complementary as you collaborate." He highlighted IP creation and product development as the strength of the UK firms, and computing, networking and communications as the strength of the Indian semiconductor firms.
The best fit -- Indian universities and UK universities -- can be leveraged in the short run. Commenting on clusters, while these were built around places such as Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi in India, the UK has clusters in South-East England -- in hardware design, Scotland, East England -- software engineering, and a balance mix of companies in the South-West of England. India can provide skills in VLSI and EDA, as well as the large talent pool.
The next best fit lies in collaboration between the UK companies and the talent pool in India, which could go a long way in bringing down the research costs. Another fit could be between the companies in the UK and India, or the UK universities and Indian companies. However, the Indian companies might not be able to bring in the kind of funding required for high-end R&D as they are not mature enough.
Another fit could well be sharing of best practices, such as those brought by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and EUROPRACTICE.
"The Indian government also needs to come forward beyond the semicon policy." Ravichandar added. "There is scope for 30-40 percent reduction in R&D expenses, should collaborations happen between semicon firms from the UK and India."
Poornima Shenoy, president, ISA, added that the ISA had initiated a Country Series, focusing on specific geographies of relevance to the industry. The report with UKTI is the first in this series.
The India Semiconductor Association (ISA) and the UK Trade & Investment and Science & Innovation Network has launched a study titled "Scope for collaboration between India and the UK in semiconductor driven industry 2008". The report was launched by Richard Hyde, head - British Trade Office, Bangalore and ISA chairman Jaswinder Ahuja.
Given India's growing presence in the global semicon industry, the study comes at the right time. UK and Indian semiconductor firms can collaborate to boost India's IP creation and build next-generation products. There are potential synergies between the two nations in areas such as design, applications and devices.
Indian semicon firms specialize in VLSI, hardware/board-level design and embedded systems in wireless communications, computing and networking. In turn, the UK's strength lies in IP creation and complete product development.
Richard Hyde remarked that there was lot of compatibility between the UK and Indian semiconductor companies. The study also laid the foundation for the forthcoming Semi Conclave, scheduled for September 15-16 in Bangalore, to be followed by similar events in Hyderabad and New Delhi. "It will bring together the industry and the academia, along with a visiting delegation from the UK." This event will be jointly organized by ISA, UKTI and SIN.
V. Ravichandar, CMD, Feedback Consulting said the first challenge while preparing the study was to find high-quality data. The ISA in India and the NMI in the UK had such data.
He added: "Firms that exist in India and the UK are essentially design firms. They become complementary as you collaborate." He highlighted IP creation and product development as the strength of the UK firms, and computing, networking and communications as the strength of the Indian semiconductor firms.
The best fit -- Indian universities and UK universities -- can be leveraged in the short run. Commenting on clusters, while these were built around places such as Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and New Delhi in India, the UK has clusters in South-East England -- in hardware design, Scotland, East England -- software engineering, and a balance mix of companies in the South-West of England. India can provide skills in VLSI and EDA, as well as the large talent pool.
The next best fit lies in collaboration between the UK companies and the talent pool in India, which could go a long way in bringing down the research costs. Another fit could be between the companies in the UK and India, or the UK universities and Indian companies. However, the Indian companies might not be able to bring in the kind of funding required for high-end R&D as they are not mature enough.
Another fit could well be sharing of best practices, such as those brought by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and EUROPRACTICE.
"The Indian government also needs to come forward beyond the semicon policy." Ravichandar added. "There is scope for 30-40 percent reduction in R&D expenses, should collaborations happen between semicon firms from the UK and India."
Poornima Shenoy, president, ISA, added that the ISA had initiated a Country Series, focusing on specific geographies of relevance to the industry. The report with UKTI is the first in this series.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Cogs in the wheel
In engineering, it is imperative that all cogs of the wheel come together, so that the wheel rolls smoothly. Similarly, it is imperative that all key IT processes in an organization gel together and work as one.
Imagine the nightmare that enterprises, small and large, would have to go through should this did not happen!
The first basic IT asset is your company's network, or the intranet. We have seen several times that a company's network's down for some reason and mails can't be sent or received.
In such cases, the organizations or the enterprises who are 'stuck' with this situation, are literally crippled. Mails can't be received, mails can't be sent out, important mails are missed, business-critical processes are waylaid, and so on and so forth. I've been part of this nightmare several times.
Once, the undersea cable snapped during my stay in a company. I don't need to add the problem we had to face for at least half a day, as service providers worked furiously to rectify the cable and restore normal service.
Some advocate satellite as the best medium for managing data transmission. Maybe! Some others cite wireless. Perhaps!! Then, I hear from many that there are issues related with security and storage. However, those would only come into play once your basic network is operational smoothly.
In telecom, they have something called five nines, or 99.9999, which means the network is up and running for this percentage of time! You've noticed how people go beserk and start cursing their phones or the network, should they fail to receive a network, or are unable to connect to the network!
What they don't know or realize is the hard work that's involved in setting up, maintaining and operating a network! It's similar to what sometimes happens in offices when the network breaks down and we are unable to send/receive mails.
Maybe, it would be prudent to first manage the internal network as best as possible, before moving on to bigger, better things. The cogs in the wheel got to move smoothly.
Imagine the nightmare that enterprises, small and large, would have to go through should this did not happen!
The first basic IT asset is your company's network, or the intranet. We have seen several times that a company's network's down for some reason and mails can't be sent or received.
In such cases, the organizations or the enterprises who are 'stuck' with this situation, are literally crippled. Mails can't be received, mails can't be sent out, important mails are missed, business-critical processes are waylaid, and so on and so forth. I've been part of this nightmare several times.
Once, the undersea cable snapped during my stay in a company. I don't need to add the problem we had to face for at least half a day, as service providers worked furiously to rectify the cable and restore normal service.
Some advocate satellite as the best medium for managing data transmission. Maybe! Some others cite wireless. Perhaps!! Then, I hear from many that there are issues related with security and storage. However, those would only come into play once your basic network is operational smoothly.
In telecom, they have something called five nines, or 99.9999, which means the network is up and running for this percentage of time! You've noticed how people go beserk and start cursing their phones or the network, should they fail to receive a network, or are unable to connect to the network!
What they don't know or realize is the hard work that's involved in setting up, maintaining and operating a network! It's similar to what sometimes happens in offices when the network breaks down and we are unable to send/receive mails.
Maybe, it would be prudent to first manage the internal network as best as possible, before moving on to bigger, better things. The cogs in the wheel got to move smoothly.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Extreme targeting Ethernet networks
Extreme Networks recently launched a host of new Ethernet solutions aimed at global enterprises and service providers at its Partner Conference in Bali.
According to Mark Canepa, CEO, the company provide secure, converged Ethernet networks for enterprises and global service providers. The positioning is in the Ethernet space and Extreme does not worry about any other evolving or legacy technology for that matter. The solutions aim solve tough network challenges with meaningful insight and unprecedented control that simplifies networking operations.
Extreme announced a range of new solutions as well. Its BlackDiamond 12802R carrier Ethernet switch enables a wider range of metro deployments. It also announced some other new solutions as well. These include:
The Summit X250e Series, which has powerful application support in a 10/100 package; ExtremeXOS 12.0, which is a consistent, easy-to-manage stacking on every ExtremeXOS fixed configuration switch; Universal Port Manager, which allows simple automation for the entire enterprise policy lifecycle; and Summit WM200, Summit WM2000, which promise to deliver the future of wireless convergence today with modular, integrated WLAN.
Extreme's target markets for the year include WLAN, carrier Ethernet switches, security and L2+L3 Ethernet switches. The company's mission has been to provide secure, converged Ethernet networks for enterprises and global service providers who have complex networking needs.
Partnering with the channel is an essential part of Extreme Network's plan for success in Asia-Pacific. While Extreme builds great products and solutions, it also understands the network's big picture and the future path of technology. It extends the value of the infrastructure by developing key technology partnerships and helping customers learn how to use them.
The channels build great customer relationships and deep understanding. They, in turn, are able to understand the customer's big picture, and their future aspirations and plans. The channel extends the value of the customer's network by assembling the key components and delivering valuable services.
According to Mark Canepa, CEO, the company provide secure, converged Ethernet networks for enterprises and global service providers. The positioning is in the Ethernet space and Extreme does not worry about any other evolving or legacy technology for that matter. The solutions aim solve tough network challenges with meaningful insight and unprecedented control that simplifies networking operations.
Extreme announced a range of new solutions as well. Its BlackDiamond 12802R carrier Ethernet switch enables a wider range of metro deployments. It also announced some other new solutions as well. These include:
The Summit X250e Series, which has powerful application support in a 10/100 package; ExtremeXOS 12.0, which is a consistent, easy-to-manage stacking on every ExtremeXOS fixed configuration switch; Universal Port Manager, which allows simple automation for the entire enterprise policy lifecycle; and Summit WM200, Summit WM2000, which promise to deliver the future of wireless convergence today with modular, integrated WLAN.
Extreme's target markets for the year include WLAN, carrier Ethernet switches, security and L2+L3 Ethernet switches. The company's mission has been to provide secure, converged Ethernet networks for enterprises and global service providers who have complex networking needs.
Partnering with the channel is an essential part of Extreme Network's plan for success in Asia-Pacific. While Extreme builds great products and solutions, it also understands the network's big picture and the future path of technology. It extends the value of the infrastructure by developing key technology partnerships and helping customers learn how to use them.
The channels build great customer relationships and deep understanding. They, in turn, are able to understand the customer's big picture, and their future aspirations and plans. The channel extends the value of the customer's network by assembling the key components and delivering valuable services.
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