News IT leaders need to know

Source:- financialpost.com

VMware updates NSX

VMware has updated its NSX network virtualization platform with two new releases, VMware NSX for vSphere 6.3 and VMware NSX-T 1.1. NSX for vSphere features enhanced security, extension of a unified virtual network to remote datacentres, and better support for vCloud Director. NSX-T adds support for VMware Photon Platform, an enterprise cloud-native infrastructure platform, expanded support for KVM distributions from Canonical and Red Hat, updated support for OpenStack Newton and Mikata, and access to a beta program in container networking and security for applications frameworks supporting the Container Network Interface (CNI) project. Both are available now.

Oracle updates cloud pricing

The Register reports that Oracle’s updated cloud licensing effectively doubles the price of the product on Amazon Web Services (AWS). It notes, “Oracle’s new cloud licensing policy says an AWS vCPU is now treated as a full core if hyperthreading is not enabled. A user renting two AWS vCPUS therefore needs to pay full freight for both, effectively doubling the number of Oracle licences required to run it inside AWS. And therefore doubling the cost as well. The new policy also says: ‘When counting Oracle Processor license requirements in Authorized Cloud Environments, the Oracle Processor Core Factor Table is not applicable.’ That table says Xeon cores count as half a licence. Making the table inapplicable to the cloud again doubles the licence count required.” The Register says Oracle has not yet stated whether existing customers will be grandfathered, or how their agreements will be affected.

Solaris shifts to continuous delivery

In the wake of concerns that Oracle was killing its Solaris operating system after it removed Solaris 12 from its roadmap, the company has published a blog explaining its new strategy. It said that it is now using a continuous delivery model with more frequent updates to deliver patches and new features, rather than producing major releases. It has also extended the Oracle Solaris 11 and Oracle Solaris Cluster 4 Premier and Extended Support lifespans to January 2031 and January 2034, respectively. The company said, “By moving to a continuous delivery model based on Oracle Solaris 11, customers will have a seamless update experience to better fit their move to agile deployment models.”

Salesforce acquires Sequence

Salesforce has acquired 11 year old user experience design firm Sequence, whose customers include companies like Best Buy, Chipotle, and Apple. Sequence offers a range of services, including strategy, research, brand communication, design, development, and user interface design, prototyping, and usability testing. The Sequence blog announcing the acquisition says that team will “enhance Salesforce’s experience design capabilities, helping companies use the power of design to better connect with their customers in entirely new ways.” The deal closed on February 1, and financial terms were not disclosed.

Hewlett Packard Enterprise acquires Niara

HPE has announced that it has acquired user and entity behavioural analytics (UEBA) firm Niara. Niara’s technology will be used within HPE Aruba to enhance its ClearPass network security portfolio for wired and wireless networks. Niara’s software automates detection of attacks and anomalous behaviours, and integrates with the ClearPass network security platform so offending devices can be quickly dealt with. Terms of the deal were not announced.

Google announces additional Microsoft support on Cloud Platform

Google has announced that it is now providing pre-configured images for Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise and Windows Server Core on its Google Cloud Platform, as well as offering support for SQL Server AlwaysOn Availability Groups and persistent disk snapshots integrated with Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) on Windows Server. Customers can choose to launch Compute Engine VMs with SQL Server Enterprise Edition and Windows Server pre-installed and pay by the minute for the licenses, or bring their own SQL Server licenses.