Network cable form used in any infrastructure of network serves as the most significant networking aspect in several industries.

Types of Network cables

Coaxial cable

A single conductor of copper is there in the middle of coaxial cable. Insulation is provided by plastic layer between center conductor and braided metal shield. The outer interference that comes from the fluorescent lights, motors and other computers is blocked by the metal shield.  Installation of coaxial cable is complex and offers extreme signal obstruction resistance. Enormous lengths of cable between devices of network are handled by it compared to twisted pair cable. Thick coaxial and thin coaxial are the two forms of coaxial cables.

The coaxial cable has the unique design that allows its installation near metal objects as well without any losses in power that takes place in lines of transmission. The transmission capability of coaxial cable is 80 times more in comparison to the twisted pair cable. The main use of such cables is in the feedlines that connect radio receivers and transmitters with antennas, cable television distributed signals and connections of computer network.

Unshielded twisted pair

This form of network cable is the most admired one in the world and is perfect for both computer networking and conventional telephone networking. Following are the various schemes of wiring available for UTP:

• CAT 1 useful for the telephone wire
• Speeds of upto 4 Mbps are supported by CAT2 and are frequently used for the token ring networks.
• For the token ring networks that have higher speeds of network, the wiring scheme used is CAT 3 and CAT4.
• CAT5e has replaced CAT5 since they offer improved crosstalk specification that allows support speeds of up to 1 Gbps. This is world’s most used specification of network cabling.
• Speeds of over 1 Gbps are supported by CAT6 for over 100 meters of length and for 55 meters, the speed is 10 Gbps. A distinct cable analyzer must be used by companies using CAT6 cabling for requesting overall test report.
• A fresh pattern of copper cable is CAT7 that supports 10 Gbps speeds and 100 meters length.

STP or shielded twisted pair cable

This distinct copper telephone wiring form is used in the installations of businesses. The general telephone wires of twisted pair are added with external shield that acts as the ground. STP serves to be the most suitable solution if you are in search of cable for the place having electrical current risk in UTP or potential interference. With the help of shielded cables, the distance between cables could also be expanded.

Fiber optic cable

Center glass core is there in the fiber optic cable and several protective material layers surround it. The electrical obstruction problem is removed by this cable with the transmission of light in place of electronic signals. This is the reason why they serve as the perfect options for some atmospheres having electrical interference in enormous amount. For networks connection between buildings, it serves as the standard choice on account of its resistance to moisture and lighting.

A glass threads bundle is present in the fiber optic cable, each having the capability of spreading the messages that are modulated on the light waves. The structure and design of fiber optic cable is complicated. Outer optical casing is there in this form of cable that surrounds light and catch it inside central core. Configuration of inner section of cable must be done in two ways: multi-mode and single mode. While the difference is small, the fiber optic cables usage and performance are affected tremendously.

Comparison Table

Download the comparison table: types of network cables comparison

Copper, Fiber or both? Aligning choice with business outcomes

Copper cabling (currently Category 6A for most new builds) remains the workhorse for desk‑top and wireless access‑point connections. It delivers 10 Gbps up to 100 metres, supports Power over Ethernet ++ for IoT endpoints, and is economical when routes are short and patching flexibility is needed. Fiber, by contrast, offers virtually limitless bandwidth, intrinsic immunity to electromagnetic interference and longer reach, making it ideal for risers, data‑centre trunks and sprawling industrial estates.

Most enterprises now deploy a hybrid architecture: multi‑core OM4 or OS2 fiber for backbone links and copper for the horizontal. The split is not merely technical — it reflects risk tolerance, budget horizon and growth plans. A site anticipating high‑density Wi‑Fi 7 or augmented‑reality workflows may justify Cat 8 to each consolidation point, whereas a professional‑services office with stable head‑count may be better served by Cat 6A and a disciplined refresh cycle.

Standards, Compliance and the UK Regulatory Backdrop

British businesses must navigate a web of standards that govern safety, performance and fire behaviour. BS 6701 sits at the heart of UK cabling practice, referencing the ISO/IEC 11801 series for generic cabling design and BS EN 50173 for performance classes. Since 2017, the EU Construction Products Regulation (CPR) has forced manufacturers to declare reaction‑to‑fire classes (Eca through B2ca) for cables used in fixed installations — a requirement that still applies in Great Britain post‑Brexit. Choosing the correct Euroclass is more than a checkbox; it dictates evacuation time in an emergency and may influence insurance premiums.

A compliant design will also respect BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations) for segregation from power circuits, and Adopted Guidance from The Joint Code of Practice (JCoP) on hot works and penetrations. Skimping on these details passes risk down the supply chain, exposing facilities managers to contractual disputes and costly remedials.

Planning for Capacity

Unlike laptops or access points, cabling should last through at least two device refresh cycles — typically 15 years. Forward‑looking surveys therefore model not today’s bandwidth but tomorrow’s. Questions worth asking include:

• Device density: How many IoT sensors or wireless radios could occupy each zone in five years?
• Power budget: Will you be driving LED lighting or pan‑tilt‑zoom cameras over PoE++?
• Pathway headroom: Are tray and basket routes sized for 40 % spare fill to accommodate moves and adds without invasive works?
• Building fabric: Are there heritage constraints that limit containment routes or require non‑intrusive fastening methods?

By treating cabling as a strategic asset rather than a sunk cost, organisations avoid the expensive game of perpetual catch‑up.

Installation Best Practice

Cutting‑edge components can be hobbled by poor workmanship. The following disciplines separate robust networks from intermittent nightmares:

• Bend‑radius discipline: Both copper pairs and fiber strands lose performance when over‑bent. Adhere to the manufacturer’s minimums; train installers to spot and rectify tight loops during fix.
• Separation from noise sources: Maintain at least 200 mm clearance from fluorescent ballasts, high‑voltage conduits and lift motors, or employ shielded solutions where proximity is unavoidable.
• Cable management and labelling: Neatly dressed looms with velcro (never plastic ties) allow airflow, simplify audits and cut Mean Time To Repair. A structured labelling scheme — typically floor‑rack‑port — can shave hours off troubleshooting.
• Containment integrity: Fire‑stopping around penetrations using intumescent pillows protects compartmentation, a legal requirement under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Testing and Certification

Lives and livelihoods run over cabling; proof matters. A credible contractor will test 100 % of links with calibrated field testers, typically a Fluke Networks DSX or similar, capturing not just pass/fail but parameters such as insertion loss, NEXT, return loss and propagation delay. Results should be supplied in an open format (PDF or XML) and retained with O&M manuals. For fiber, OTDR traces complement light‑source and power‑meter tests, revealing micro‑bends and splice anomalies that visual inspections miss. Certification at hand‑over shifts risk away from the client and accelerates sign‑off for landlords or main contractors.

Lifecycle and Sustainability

Corporate sustainability targets now reach into the comms room. While cables themselves are low‑energy consumers, their production and disposal carry a carbon footprint. Best practice includes:

• Modular containment that can be re‑used when walls are repositioned.
• Halogen‑free sheathing to minimise toxic emissions if a fire occurs.
• Take‑back schemes where off‑cuts and decommissioned looms are recycled into new polymer or copper products.

Embedding these principles early aligns the network with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives and scores points in tenders that evaluate life‑cycle impact.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

1. Design‑by‑spreadsheet: Relying solely on CAD counts without a physical walk‑through leads to surprise obstructions and under‑budgeted containment.
2. Over‑specification without justification: Deploying MPO‑terminated OS2 trunks for a low‑rise office drives up costs without tangible benefit. Align specification with a documented business case.
3. Lack of change control: Untracked moves and additions erode the accuracy of as‑built drawings, hampering future upgrades. Institute a simple permit‑to‑patch process.
4. Ignoring warranty conditions: Using non‑approved patch cords can void 25‑year system warranties. Verify component interoperability beforehand.

What forward‑thinking firms are exploring

• Single‑Pair Ethernet (SPE): Promises lower‑cost networking for sensors over 1,000 metres, potentially supplanting RS‑485 in factories.
• Wi‑Fi 7 densification: Access points capable of 30 Gbps aggregate throughput will demand multiple Cat 6A or a single Cat 8 link — plan pathways now.
• Edge Compute and Micro‑DCs: As enterprises localise processing for AI workloads, fiber backbones and high‑density cabinet patching will become decisive.
• Smart‑building convergence: Lighting, security and HVAC increasingly ride the IT cabling plant, collapsing departmental silos and intensifying PoE power draws.

Monitoring these trends keeps the cabling conversation strategic rather than reactive.

Data Cabling as Critical Infrastructure

Data cabling rarely features on glossy strategy decks, yet it underpins every digital initiative from hybrid work to analytics at the edge. Approached correctly, it is a once‑a‑decade investment that repays itself through reliability, agility and regulatory peace of mind. Ignore it, and you invite operational bottlenecks, compliance headaches and costly re‑work. Whether you manage a heritage listed HQ or a new build logistics hub, placing data cabling on the agenda today is a concise gesture towards tomorrow’s competitiveness.

Scalability in networking is essential to ensure that networks can meet the changing demands of an organization. It enables seamless expansion as new devices are added, additional users join the network, or network traffic increases due to business growth or new applications. Scalable networks can handle increased bandwidth requirements, provide consistent performance, and accommodate future growth without significant disruptions or bottlenecks.

In this blog, we will discuss the two main aspects of scalability in network infrastructure.

What is Scalability?

Scalability in networking refers to the ability of a network infrastructure to accommodate growth, handle increased traffic, and support additional devices or users without compromising performance or functionality. It involves designing and implementing network systems that can easily adapt and expand as the demands and requirements of the network grow over time.

Effective network scalability contributes to improved reliability, fault tolerance, and ease of management. It allows for flexible resource allocation, load balancing, and efficient utilization of network resources. Scalable network architectures and technologies enable organizations to adapt to evolving business needs, embrace new technologies, and support the expanding requirements of modern networking applications and services.

There are two main aspects of scalability in networking: Horizontal Scalability & Vertical Scalability.

What is Horizontal Scalability?

Also known as “scale-out,” it involves adding more resources, such as servers, nodes, or instances, to the existing system.

• Horizontal scalability focuses on distributing the workload across multiple resources, allowing for increased capacity and handling of higher traffic.
• It typically involves load balancing techniques to distribute the workload evenly among the added resources.
• Horizontal scalability is well-suited for distributed systems and environments with dynamic or unpredictable workloads.
• Adding more resources in a horizontally scalable system is usually straightforward, as the resources can be added independently and seamlessly integrated into the system.
• It offers improved fault tolerance and availability, as failures or performance issues in one resource can be mitigated by others.
• Examples of horizontal scalability include adding more servers to a web application cluster or scaling out virtual machines in a cloud environment.

What is Vertical Scalability?

Also known as “scale-up,” it involves increasing the capacity or capabilities of existing resources, such as servers, devices, or hardware components.

• Vertical scalability focuses on upgrading or enhancing the performance of individual resources to handle increased demands.
• It typically involves upgrading the hardware components, such as adding more memory, increasing processing power, or expanding storage capacity.
• Vertical scalability is often suitable for systems with predictable workloads or where a single resource can handle the expected growth for an extended period.
• Upgrading or expanding resources in a vertically scalable system may require downtime or interruptions to the existing system.
• It can provide higher performance and processing power, making it useful for applications that require significant computational capabilities.
• Examples of vertical scalability include upgrading a server’s CPU, increasing the RAM capacity of a database server, or expanding the bandwidth of a network link.

Comparison: Horizontal vs Vertical Scalability

Horizontal scalability and vertical scalability are two approaches to addressing the scalability needs of a system or infrastructure. Here’s a comparison between horizontal scalability and vertical scalability:

Download the comparison table: Horizontal vs Vertical Scalability

Final Words

In summary, horizontal scalability involves adding more resources to distribute the workload and handle increased traffic, while vertical scalability involves upgrading or enhancing existing resources to handle increased demands. Horizontal scalability focuses on distributed systems and dynamic workloads, while vertical scalability is suitable for systems with predictable growth or applications that require increased processing power. Both approaches have their benefits and considerations, and the choice between them depends on factors such as system architecture, workload characteristics, and future growth expectations.

GPU and CPU work together to maximize system performance. Central processing units (CPUs) excel at many computing tasks, whereas GPUs excel at parallel processing. Some systems combine the CPU and GPU for efficiency and simplicity. 

This is beneficial since devices’ most critical elements are space, money, and energy efficiency. Learning about their personalities and cooperation will help you understand the ever-changing world of computer processing. The RDPs are also cost friendly as they are virtual desktops, can be used remotely and easy to use when you need it, they also come with multiple configurations and GPU server.

What is a Central Processing Unit (CPU)?

The CPU, a silicon chip attached to a motherboard socket, is essential to every computer system. Some call that section of your computer the “brains”. A computer’s processing power comes from billions of tiny transistors and software instructions in the CPU. 

Running programs from memory is the system’s task. Like trillions of switches, billions of on-off switches manage power and transform tasks into binary numbers.

Most modern robots can do 1–5 billion operations per second. Although data is normally accessible in the order in which it is put, random access memory (RAM) permits data retrieval in any order.

The CPU’s main job is to read RAM instructions, decode them, and execute them. They perform sequential operations.

A CPU’s primary functions are:

• Fetch: The CPU fetches instructions from program memory or RAM. The command might be numbers, letters, addresses, or characters. The central processing unit executes the request. The next RAM instruction is represented by integers or numbers in these instructions.

• Decode: The CPU may execute instructions from its instruction set after data receipt. Reading numbers from or sending them to a device, adding numbers, executing Boolean logic, storing numbers from the CPU to RAM, comparing numbers, and jumping to RAM are common commands.

• Execute: Instructions are sent to the instruction decoder, which turns them into electrical signals. These signals are forwarded to CPU sections for processing. Once the next command arrives, everything starts again.

How does a CPU work?

The CPU is the computer’s brain. A control unit coordinates the system’s numerous operations. Sequentially, the control unit must access the main memory for instructions. This ensures that orders are fulfilled in sequence. 

It then interprets these instructions to activate operational components at the proper times to complete their responsibilities. After the main memory transmits data, ALUs process it. These ALUs execute addition, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. 

Their logic processes include data comparison and issue resolution using predetermined decision criteria. The central processing unit (CPU) coordinates several jobs to conduct a variety of calculations and activities. This streamlines instruction processing.

CPU Features

Cores 

A CPU’s cores, which are like processors, are its primary processing units. Their many cores distinguished Early CPUs. Thanks to technology, modern computers may employ CPUs with 22 to 64 cores. 

Performance and efficiency increase with core count. This is because additional cores allow several jobs to run simultaneously. Multitasking is easy with this multicore design, which lets the CPU do many activities.

Simultaneous Multithreading/Hyperthreading 

Intel CPUs use Hyperthreading, or Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT), to boost CPU performance. This breakthrough allows several software threads on one CPU core. This transformation divides a physical core into two logical ones. 

This innovation allows multiple jobs to be executed simultaneously, increasing efficiency. SMT optimizes resource consumption to keep the CPU productive even with unexpected workloads. This makes computer usage simpler and quicker.

Cache 

Any processor design includes a CPU cache, which offers high-speed memory directly incorporated into the CPU. To speed up access to commonly used data and instructions, the cache has three levels, L1 being the quickest and L3 the most utilized. Data access is faster because of the CPU cache. Smart cache arrangement boosts CPU performance and responsiveness. The CPU processes data faster due to its position.

Memory Management Unit (MMU)

The Memory Management Unit, which monitors memory and caching processes, is a crucial CPU component. The memory management unit (MMU) connects the CPU and RAM to transmit data efficiently throughout the fetch-decode-execute cycle. 

Its main job is to convert program addresses into RAM addresses. The CPU may access and handle system memory data via this translation. Translation is essential to preserve memory hierarchy.

Control Unit

The Control Unit, the CPU’s command and control hub, coordinates all processor functions. As the master controller, it controls the logic unit, input/output devices, RAM, and other components based on instructions. 

Coordinating its functions, the Control Unit executes program instructions sequentially. It monitors the CPU during fetch, decode, and execution. The central processing unit (CPU) acts like an orchestra director, ensuring that all CPU sections work together in perfect harmony and effectively.

What is a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU)?

Graphics are created by the graphics processing unit (GPU), sometimes known as a video card or graphics card. They may be integrated with the motherboard and share memory with the CPU or discrete and have their memory. Due to their small architecture and CPU resource sharing, integrated GPUs perform poorly compared to discrete GPUs.

When the CPU handled everything, computers could have been more efficient at 3D graphics and other demanding tasks. It required a separate microprocessor due to its high stress. Graphics processing units (GPUs) are like specialized CPUs—they can multitask well. Indeed, CPUs formerly performed the same duties as GPUs.

GPUs can accomplish tasks concurrently, unlike CPUs. Despite their small size, GPUs have a high core count. CPUs are more “generalist” than GPUs hence they have fewer capabilities. However, GPUs can efficiently perform more mathematical and geographical functions.

How does a GPU work?

GPUs struggle with mathematical and geometric calculations. Polygonal coordinates are converted into bitmaps, which are translated into screen signals to generate film and video game images. The conversion demands a powerful GPU. The most significant GPU features are:

• Massive ALUs: GPUs can handle huge data sets over several streams with their numerous ALUs. This is due to their massive ALU count. This makes many tough mathematical jobs easy for them. Due to its hundreds of cores, GPUs can process several threads concurrently.

• Port connectivity: various ports offer GPU-to-screen connections. Display and GPU must have port availability. Connections like VGA, HDMI, and DVI are standard.

• Ability to do floating-point math: GPUs can do floating-point arithmetic on numerical representations near actual values. Modern GPU-integrated graphics cards can easily handle double-precision floating-point numbers.

• Suitable for parallel computing: GPUs provide parallel computing since they’re designed for parallelizable tasks.

The CPU produced visual rendering output until GPUs were introduced in the 1990s. A GPU may speed up a computer by taking over computationally heavy activities like rendering from the CPU. The GPU can do several calculations at once, speeding up software processing. The transition also led to increasingly complicated and resource-intensive software.

GPU vs CPU: Key Differences

Computer software function

CPU stands for “central processing unit.” All current computers use CPUs, a general processor. It runs important instructions and operations to keep the machine and operating system running correctly. They call it a computer’s “brain” because of this. 

As indicated, the CPU includes the ALU, CU, and memory. The ALU does logical and mathematical operations on memory data, while the control unit controls data flow. CPUs determine program speed.

People commonly refer to a GPU as a video card, graphic card, or graphics. For visual data management, a GPU is needed. This step includes converting data like photos from one visual format to another. It can produce two-dimensional or three-dimensional pictures and render graphics, a typical 3D printing method.

Operational Emphasis

CPUs are designed for reduced latency. Optimizing a computer for low latency to execute multiple instructions or communicate data fast is typical. The time a CPU takes to reply to a device request is called “latency”. This latency is measured by clock cycles. 

Cache misses and misalignments may increase CPU delay. Latency typically causes page and app load delays and other performance issues. 

However, the GPU prioritizes throughput. Throughput is the greatest number of identical instructions each clock cycle. This occurs when one instruction’s operands are not reliant on a previous instruction. Low throughput may be caused by memory bandwidth, algorithm branch divergence, and memory access latency.

Operational Tasks

Main CPU tasks include fetching, decoding, executing, and writing back. 

• Fetch: A CPU “fetch” retrieves instructions from RAM. 
• Decode: The instruction decoder converts instructions to determine whether further CPU components are required. 
• Execute: To “execute” is to follow directions.
• Writeback: Caching called “writeback” moves data to more critical caches or memory.

GPUs excel in video and graphics processing. The application supports texture mapping, hardware overlay, MPEG decoding, and screen monitor output. This streamlines picture creation and reduces labor. The GPU can do floating-point and three-dimensional computations.

The use of cores

Modern CPUs feature two to eighteen cores, each of which may multitask with its functions.  Multiple threads, or virtual cores, may be created using simultaneous multithreading. A four-core CPU can create eight threads. 

A CPU with multiple cores can run more programs and perform more demanding tasks, making it more efficient. Central processing unit cores excel in DBMS operations and serial computing. 

While GPU processors are slower than CPU cores in serial computation, they’re lightning-quick in parallel. This is because GPUs have hundreds of weaker cores that excel at simultaneous processing. Cores in graphics processing units (GPUs) compute graphical tasks.

How GPU and CPU work together?

CPUs and GPUs work better when they team up. GPUs improve data speed and concurrency, while CPUs can handle many jobs. GPUs were originally designed for computer games, but they today speed up complex processes and manage massive amounts of data.

A CPU and GPU, which excel at distinct tasks, provide a dynamic computing environment. Due to its adaptability, the CPU executes applications and system tasks well. GPUs can conduct complicated mathematical calculations and visual rendering due to their many parallel processing cores. Cooperation boosts system performance by effectively sharing computing duties.

GPUs are superior for parallel processing and specialized applications, while CPUs are still needed for general computing. The CPU’s versatility makes it essential to every system; it can perform complicated activities. 

GPU excels at massive parallel processing. This improves data-intensive applications like scientific simulations and machine learning. The CPU and GPU combine general-purpose computation with high-throughput, specialized tasks to improve system performance.

Conclusion

The CPU and GPU work together to power computers. The CPU is a computer’s “general-purpose brain” that processes instructions and performs several activities. Meanwhile, a graphics processing unit (GPU) executes some computational functions and may produce visuals. 

This partnership improves system performance by combining the CPU’s flexibility with the GPU’s parallel processing. Sharing graphics with the CPU boosts efficiency, especially in tiny devices. 

One may learn how contemporary computers perform smoothly and appreciate the CPU and GPU’s crucial contributions to the computing experience by studying their responsibilities and how they work together.

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Snapdragon vs MediaTek: Which one is better?

Snapdragon vs Exynos: Which one is better?

Today we look more in depth to understand network availability, redundancy, resilience and diversity enablers, how different they are from each other but still inter-related to each other.

Network Availability

Is network uptime which is a measure of how seamlessly clients could access resources such as servers, printers available on network. Network availability calculation is based on two key values: 

• network uptime 
• total duration of the given period 

It is constantly monitored within organizations to maximize availability of their hosted services and applications. Determining overall availability and uptime requires tracking network devices for configuration errors, CPU over usage or other performance issues which could lead to network slowdown and failures. Network availability can be improved further by building redundancy of key components, diversification of them and self-recovery and self-healing resilient systems.  

Network Redundancy

In network redundancy backup network resources are used to minimize or prevent downtime due to power outage, hardware issues, human errors, systems failure or cyber-attacks. Running critical core network services and building duplicate network infrastructure is required to achieve redundancy. 

It ensures multiple pathways of data transmission are available to route traffic to alternate routes. If one path fails or becomes unavailable due to any said factors there is always an alternate path. But being redundant does not necessarily mean you are full proof from network outages. So we need to look at other enablers also to understand what role they play.

Network Resilience 

Redundancy acts as a measure to enhance resilience which allows proactive or reactive response to changes which would impact systems. Requirements of resilience could be diverse and may be evolving, specifically in environments which are dynamic and scalable and any fault of one system would have a cascading effect on the entire chain of services. 

Resilience is more prophetic in nature and involves forecasting of faults, isolating impacted components, providing protection against potential faults, removing faults and initiating recovery from fault state and restoring systems to optimal performance. Resilience is measured in terms of systems availability at any given instance, having frequency or delays in fault occurrences and speed of recovery from faulty state. 

Network Diversity

A duplicate or alternate instance does not mean the organization network is fully protected so network diversity comes into picture here. It takes network redundancy to the next level while duplicating network infrastructure geographically on a diverse path in another data center or on cloud. 

Geographically diverse networks protect against natural calamities such as weather events, construction and localized incidents at a single location. If a redundant site is in different city, or state or region then chances of incident impacting both locations at the same time is remote possibility, however to achieve near to absolute resiliency one can opt for cloud based disaster recovery solutions. 

Conclusion

In a nutshell though network availability, redundancy, resilience and diversity seems differ from each other but these are crucial components of resilience disciplines as redundancy is for fault tolerance, diversity is for survivability, resiliency is self-healing and recovery from faults and end objective is to achieve network availability in a seamless manner.

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Top 10 Trends Impacting Infrastructure & Operations

Colocation vs Carrier Neutral Data Center : Detailed Comparison

You should look into Xfinity internet prices because Xfinity is one of the best internet service-providing companies in the United States for internet and cable TV. Here is a comparison between having a wired connection and a wireless connection. 

What are the main differences between an Ethernet and a wireless connection?

The main difference between the two, a Wi-Fi connection makes use of wireless signals while an Ethernet connection uses a wire that connects your device directly to the router. A Wi-Fi connection gives you more mobility since you are not limited to the length of a wire. However, if you are connected through an Ethernet cable, you would have to make sure you stay within the length of the wire, otherwise, you could damage either the wire or the router.

Which one of the two is better when it comes to speed?

Although there are quite a several things that determine whether or not an internet connection is fast. Several factors contribute to the speed of the internet whether it is a wired connection or a wireless connection. 

It is a well-established fact that an Ethernet connection is usually faster than a Wi-Fi connection. While using an Ethernet connection, the speeds can go up to 10Gbps of internet speed and in certain cases, it can even go higher. However, Wi-Fi speed can only go up to 6.9Gbps and average Wi-Fi speeds are even slower. Most of the time Wi-Fi speeds are under 1Gbps. 

Out of the two types of connections, which one is more secure?

As crazy as it might seem, using the air as a medium can make you a lot less secure. While you are using a wired Ethernet connection, your data is more secure because you have to use a wire to connect your device to the internet through a router. Since you are using a cable to do so, your data is a lot more secure since data is traveling between the router and your device. 

However, when it comes to a wireless connection, you are using the air for your data to travel through and your data can very easily be captured by anyone in the vicinity. This makes your data more vulnerable to being breached and this makes you a lot less secure and can make your system or your device easy to be attacked. 

Which of the two is more reliable?

There are a lot of other devices installed in houses that use signals to work efficiently. While you are using a wireless wifi connection, you could face signal interference amongst devices, which is why your internet might become slower. Similarly, electrical devices present in your house can cause problems with your internet signals. Pieces of furniture and other physical objects can get in the way of internet signals and make your internet slower. 

An Ethernet connection can tend to be more reliable since it has a layer of insulation in it which is why the cable is as protected from interference as possible. Since you are using a cable instead of signals traveling through the air, your Ethernet connection is not affected by physical objects that get in the way. 

Which of the two connections is better for large files? 

When it comes to uploading files that have a large size or if you are streaming movies and videos, then an Ethernet cable is what you would want to use. This is because an Ethernet connection experiences a lot less latency and can transfer data a lot faster. You could also do the same while downloading content too.

 For instance, if you have a PS4 and you wish to download a game faster, you can connect your PS4 to the router with an Ethernet cable and then download your game in rest mode so that your game downloads as fast as possible. 

Wrapping Up

These are some of the reasons why having an Ethernet cable is a lot better than having a wireless connection. It is a lot faster, it is more secure and it is reliable. If you have certain devices that require a fast internet connection such as a PC or a gaming console, be sure to get a router and connect it to your devices through an Ethernet cable for a fast internet experience. 

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Difference between Network Bridge and Router

Router vs Firewall

Be Careful Where You Place It

While having a laptop can be quite convenient in that you can use it anywhere including while you’re in bed or chilling on the sofa, it’s important to bear in mind that placing your laptop on a soft surface is one of the quickest ways to get it to overheat. This is because the surface will prevent air from getting into the vents at the bottom of your laptop, causing it to overheat when the air can’t properly circulate through them. 

Use a Cooling Mat

If you really want to game while you’re all comfortable in bed, then you can get around this by using one of these gaming laptop cooling pads. Cooling mats are like a tray to place your laptop on to keep it cool, and some have fans built into them to blow cool air into your laptop’s vents no matter where you have placed it. You will usually be able to plug it into your laptop’s USB port, or separately into a wall socket depending on what you prefer. All you need to do is place your laptop on the cooling mat, switch the cooling mat on and use your laptop as normal. 

Raise It Up

Using a solid object like a book, or investing in a laptop stand to place your laptop on when you’re using it at a desk or table will give it a slight tilt and allow for more airflow to get underneath your laptop and through the vents. The additional circulation will help keep your laptop cooler so you can enjoy gaming for longer, even if you’re playing a resource-heavy game that’s going to use a lot of power and generate more heat. When choosing the object to place under your laptop, make sure that it is hard or solid, for example a book, and double-check to make sure that it is not blocking any of the vents at the bottom. 

Keep Your Environment Cool

The environment where you use your laptop should be kept as cool as possible to prevent overheating. While this might be difficult to achieve in the summer, having the AC switched on or even having a fan in the room can make a difference to how hot your laptop gets while you’re gaming. The cooler the environment, the lower the chance of your gaming laptop heating up while you are using it. This is because the cool air from the room will cool the heat that is coming from the laptop, preventing overheating. If you don’t have AC, then consider using a table fan or a simple standing fan that is pointed in the direction of your laptop, or simply open the windows to allow more fresh air in. 

Clean the Air Vents

You might not even think about cleaning the air vents most of the time, but the truth is that over time they can get clogged and blocked with dust and dirt, which can massively contribute to an overheating laptop. Since the main thing that your laptop needs to stay cool is for air to flow properly through the vents, when they are blocked, the airflow is going to be hugely reduced, which will lead to problems. Because of this, it’s a good idea to regularly check your vents and make sure that they’re clean. If they are blocked, you can use compressed air to clean them effectively and safely. 

Overheating is a common issue with laptops, but the good news is that the fixes are simpler than you might think. If you have a gaming laptop, taking these steps to prevent overheating can help it perform better and last longer.

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Types of Network cables

Supercomputer vs Minicomputer: Detailed comparison

Microcomputer vs Minicomputer

The mobiles with Exynos processors are sold in Asian and European countries whereas the phones with snapdragon are sold in the US. Do you wonder why? 

Here in this article, you will know about it and the major differences between the Samsung Exynos processor and Qualcomm Snapdragon Processor. Okay without further adieu let’s start the article with a short introduction to both the products. 

What is Snapdragon?

Snapdragon is the SoC (System On a Chip) produced by the American-based multinational corporation Qualcomm technologies Inc. They are one of the top manufacturers of Semi-conducting chips used in Wireless Technologies, Consumer electronics like Cars, Mobiles, and other Gadgets, and also in the Telecommunication industry. 

The Snapdragon is considered the best chipset in the market for Mobile or Smartphones and almost became a monopoly. The chipset uses the ARM Architecture and has an integrated GPU named Adreno which is also produced by Qualcomm Technologies Inc. 

Snapdragon processors are well known for their gaming performance and high battery life. You can find the Snapdragon processors in high-end phones like Oppo, Huawei, One Plus, Samsung, etc… 

Features of the Snapdragon processor

Here are the salient features of the Snapdragon processor-

• It is one of the most secure chipsets in the market
• It promises high endurance and battery life
• Heats less compare to MediaTek and Intel 
• Uses in-house designed Graphics plug which boosts the gaming and graphics performance. 
• Currently ranks first in various benchmark tests. 
• It’s expensive to afford

What is Exynos?

Exynos, which was formerly known as Hummingbird is an ARM architecture-based processor (SOC) designed by the Semiconductor producing subsidy of Samsung Electronics. It is mostly based on the ARM Cortex core with some exemption to High-End features of the Samsung M Series. 

Unlike the snapdragon processor, the Exynos chipsets are only used in the Samsung self-produced mobile phones. They also have an integrated GPU named Mali. Samsung is the biggest mobile phone manufacturer in the globe and because of it, the Exynos Processor covers nearly a large part of the Asian and European countries. 

Snapdragon vs Exynos Debate and its history:

This debate and comparison between these two processors started ever since Samsung started to release two versions of the same product with different processors. Yes Samsung itself uses a Snapdragon instead of its house-made Exynos processor. 

There are various reasons for this decision some of them are – 

• To meet the global demand
• To reduce the cost of the mobiles in the Asian countries to meet the consumer budget
• To escape the monopoly of Qualcomm and secure themselves from future risks. 

But this decision made by Samsung confused people whether they should buy the Snapdragon version or Exynos version. Samsung avoided it by selling the Snapdragon version only in the American countries and Exynos in the Asian and European countries. 

Okay, Which is better?

Here is a side-by-side comparison between the two processors for you to make a decision. 

Snapdragon vs Exynos

Comparison between Snapdragon and Exynos Processor:

Parameter	Snapdragon	Exynos
CPU Cofiguration	1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.84GHz 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.4GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz	1x Cortex-X1 @ 2.9GHz 3x Cortex-A78 @ 2.8GHz 4x Cortex-A55 @ 2.2GHz
GPU	Adreno	Arm Mali
AI	Hexagon	Tri-core NPU
On-Device Display	4K at 60Hz QHD+ at 144Hz	4K at 60Hz QHD+ at 144Hz
Cost	Expensive	Comparatively low price
Availability	On various phones	Only on the Samsung Phones
Modem	LTE Cat. 24, up to 3000 Mbps down, 422 Mbps up; 5G SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave, up to 7.35 Gbps down, 3.67 Gbps up	LTE Cat. 22, up to 2500 Mbps down, 316 Mbps up; 5G SA/NSA/Sub6/mmWave, up to 7.5 Gbps down, 3 Gbps up
Manufacturing Node	5nm EUV	5nm

Download the comparison table: Snapdragon vs Exynos

Final Words

Are you still confused? It’s simple. The fact that Samsung itself is going for the snapdragon processor makes the Snapdragon winner. However, in past years, Exynos has been improving its processor performance. By the results, we may expect Exynos to take over the Snapdragon in the future. 

If you have any other further doubts or questions about the Processor of the mobile phones. Please leave them in the comment section below. And let us know your thoughts on this article.

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Snapdragon vs Kirin: Which one is better?

Snapdragon vs MediaTek: Which one is better?

You can’t decide the winner until they are released, but so far who is the winner? If you are interested in knowing about the features of Snapdragon and Kirin processors, you are in the right place. 

Here in this article, you will get to know about the snapdragon and Kirin processors and their features and the final answer which one is better. But before getting into the article you should understand what a processor means? 

Role of Processor in SmartPhone:

A processor is considered as the brain of the phone, they are not there only for processing they do more than that. it involves various processes like computing, processing, displaying, etc… 

First of all, the word processor itself is not the right name for it. They are called SOC which is abbreviated as System On a Chip. The number of cores and in a chipset determines the performance of the processor. Better performance is needed for a good gaming experience. 

The most famous and widely used processor is the Snapdragon and Kirin is also one of the best processors in the market. Alright, without further adieu let’s get into the content with a short introduction to both the products. 

What is Snapdragon? 

Snapdragon is a Chipset series produced by the semiconductor manufacturing American-based multinational corporation Qualcomm Technologies Inc. The Snapdragon is considered the best chipset in the mobile or smartphone market and almost became a monopoly.

Snapdragon processors are well known for their gaming performance and high battery life. You can find the Snapdragon processors in high-end phones like Oppo, Huawei, One Plus, Samsung, etc… 

This Processor uses the ARM architecture or AMD and has an Adreno graphics processing unit. It introduced the first 1 GHz Processor for mobile phones. These chips are used for semiconductor chips for Wireless communication, HD televisions, handheld mobile devices, smartphones, other digital consumer products, and 5G & 4G mobile communications, etc…

Features of Snapdragon

Here are the characteristics of the snapdragon Processor:

• Low battery consumption
• Less heat rising rate or temperature compared to Intel or MediaTek
• Uses in-house designed Graphics plug which boosts the gaming and graphics performance. 
• Currently ranks first in various benchmark tests. 
• It’s expensive to afford

What is Kirin? 

Kirin is a SoC product series developed by HiSilicon a Chinese semiconductor company that is fully owned by Chinese technical giant Huawei. It is one of the reputed largest domestic disc designers of integrated circuits in China and Asian countries. These processors have purchased a license for the ARM architecture and use them in their CPU design. 

Unlike the snapdragon processor, the Kirin chipsets are only used in the Huawei self-produced mobile phones. They also have an integrated GPU named Mali. Huawei is the biggest player in the smartphone market, especially in China and Asian countries. Thus the Kirin processors are used in many devices. 

Features of Kirin

Pros or Features of the Kirin Processors: 

• It provides the highest clock speed compared to other Processors in the market. 
• And comparatively, it is mid-priced. 
• It leads in the single-core performance
• Provides good graphics performance with integrated GPU and promising Gaming Experience. 

Comparison Between Snapdragon & Kirin 

Below table enumerates the differences between the two types of mobile processors in detail:

PARAMETER	SNAPDRAGON	KIRIN
CPU	1 x 2.84GHz (Cortex-X1) 3 x 2.4GHz (Cortex-A78) 4 x 1.8GHz (Cortex-A55) 6.03% faster than Kirin	1 x 3.13GHz (Cortex-A77) 3 x 2.54GHz (Cortex-A77) 4 x 2.04GHz (Cortex-A55)
GPU used	Adreno	Mali
AI	Hexagon 780 Second to Kirin in Benchmark	Dual Big Core + Tiny Core NPUs Sits on the top of Benchmark tests.
Download and Upload speed	Download Speed – 2000MBits/s Upload Speed – 318MBits/s	Download Speed – 1400MBits/s Upload Speed – 200MBits/s
5G support	Higher	Lower

Download the comparison table: Snapdragon vs kirin

Final Words

If we consider all the facts, it is still hard to decide which is the best choice, and there is no doubt both are the best in their way. However, Snapdragon processors are also available in third-party mobile phones but the Kirin processor is used only in Huawei phones. In this aspect, snapdragon once again proves its monopoly. 

If you have any further questions or doubts regarding these processors or if you want to know about any related content please leave them in the comment section below.

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Snapdragon vs MediaTek: Which one is better?

Microcontroller vs Microprocessor: Detailed Comparison

The Snapdragon and MediaTek are the two most famous and common processors you will come across when you’re buying electronic gadgets. Which one is better? The answers may vary from one person to another based on their needs and budget. 

However, here in this article, the major differences between them are listed so that you can easily select the perfect one for you. Before seeing them, you should first understand what a Processor in a smartphone is. 

What is a Processor? 

A Processor is considered the major component of the system; it involves various processes like computing, processing, displaying, etc… In short, a processor is like the brain of the smartphone or other devices that decide your device’s performance. 

The clock speed and number of cores in a processor decide the performance of your phone. Multi-usage of application, internet browsing, gaming, and editing all depends on the Processor. 

The well-known processors in the market are MediaTek and Snapdragon. Let’s see about them in detail. 

What is MediaTek?

MediaTek is a Taiwanese semiconductor company that started in 1997. It provides semi-conduction chips for Wireless communication, HD televisions, handheld mobile devices, smartphones, or other digital consumer products. 

You can find the MediaTek Processors in most Chinese-based smartphones like Sony, and in entry-level phones like Nokia 1, Nokia 3, Nokia 3.1, and Redmi 6 and 6A. The Helio Chips produced by MediaTek are affordable and Powerful compared to other market Chipsets. 

Features of MediaTek Processors

Here are the features of MediaTek Processors: 

• Supreme Process Power
• Chipsets have more cores per processor which helps in the computing speed. 
• Not economical in Power consumption. 
• High temperature or heating rate due to the use of multiple processors. 
• There is no premium or self-produced Graphics Chip (GPU). Only a small third-party chip is integrated within the chipsets. 
• Low and affordable in price. 

What is Snapdragon? 

Snapdragon is a Mobile Processors or Chipset produced and marketed by an American multinational corporation named Qualcomm Technologies Inc. As MediaTek they also produce chipsets and mini-processors for Wireless Technologies, 5G and 4G mobile communications, etc… 

This Processor uses the ARM architecture or AMD and has an Adreno graphics processing unit. It introduced the first 1 GHz Processor for mobile phones. You can find the Snapdragon processors in high-end phones like Samsung, Huawei, OnePlus 7, Oppo, etc… 

Features of Snapdragon Processor

Here are the major characteristics of the Snapdragon Processor – 

• Low battery consumption
• Less heat rising rate or temperature compared to Intel or MediaTek
• Currently the best Processor in the market with the highest Benchmark test results. 
• Comes with the in-built Adreno GPU Chip produced by Qualcomm. 
• High price compared to the market rate. 

Difference between the MediaTek and Snapdragon:

Here is a side-by-side comparison between the MediaTek and Snapdragon so that you can easily make your choice. 

PARAMETER	SNAPDRAGON	MEDIATEK
Origin	From Qualcomm established in 1985 in San Diego	Established 1997 in Hsinchu
CPU and GPU Performance	A high graphic performance especially for gaming and high-end segments.	Above Average graphic performance.
Battery Consumption	Low Consumption	High Energy consumption
Heating Rate or Temperature	Low	High
Cost	Expensive	Mid and Affordable cost
CPU Configuration	octa-core – 4x ARM Cortex A55, Clock frequency: up to 2.05 GHz + 4x Cortex A76, Clock frequency: up to 2.05 GHz – 12 nm, 64 bit	octa-core – 8x Kryo 470 (2 x Kryo 470 Gold – Cortex A76 Clock frequency: Up to 2.2 GHz+ 6 x Kryo 470 Silver – Cortex A55 Clock frequency: Up to 1.8 GHz) 8 nm, 64 bit

Download the comparison table: Snapdragon vs Mediatek

Final Words

Still, confused? Here is a way out for you 

The processing power of both the chipsets is neck and neck. So you should decide only based on the energy consumption and heat. In this case, Snapdragon wins, it provides higher endurance than MediaTek. But When it comes to cost efficiency, MediaTek wins back. 

So if budget is not a problem for you go for Snapdragon, otherwise, you can opt for MediaTek which is still affordable and efficient.

Quick Facts!

MediaTek has recently launched a new chipset named Dimensity 1050,  which has the feature of first ever mmWave 5G processor. This could be a strong competitor to Snapdragon 778G SoC.

Continue Reading:

Microcontroller vs Microprocessor: Detailed Comparison

Time-sharing and Multi-tasking Operating Systems

Highly competitive and agile market demands businesses to run 24*7 and ensure data availability and accessibility with improved resilience and reliability.

Data replication technologies help businesses to quickly recover from a disaster , catastrophe, hardware failure, or a system breach in the event the data is compromised.

In this article, we will get deeper understanding about Database replication, why it is required? Its benefits and so on.

Database Replication

Database replication technologies facilitate the process of storage / retrieval of same data at many locations. Maintaining a replica of databases at multiple location also helps to access data faster hence improving user experience , running multiple replicas of same data on multiple servers enhance accessibility and also frees resource intensive Write operations onto replicas hence freeing processing cycles on Primary server.

Database Replication: Types

Transactional Replication –

Initial copies of full database is received by user and post that only updates are sent. The sender is referred as ‘Publisher’ and receiver is referred as ‘Subscriber’. Data copy happens in real time from Publisher to receiver in sequential order. Consistently and accurately all changes are replicated. It is a periodic in nature and more complex as complete transaction history on database replica is monitored. It is majorly used in scenarios where there are frequent data changes at the source.

Snapshot Replication –

Snapshot as name refers is the actual snap of data at a specific time which is captured and send to users.  Usually it is used to perform initial sync between publisher and subscriber. No change tracking happens in Snapshot replication and used where data changes are less frequent such as change in exchange rates or price lists are updated once a day and it gets replicated to branch servers from main server once a day.

Merge Replication –

Multiple databases are combined into one single database. In Merge replication changes are sent from one publisher to multiple subscribers.  It is a bi-directional replication in a server-client environment and connection is not continuous. Whenever the network connectivity is established replication occurs by Merge agents. This is one of the most complex type of replication and a typical scenario where it could be used is a central warehouse connected to stores so informed requires update in central database and store databases on inventory, delivery etc.

Advantages /Disadvantages of Database Replication

Below table describes the advantages and disadvantages of Database replication:

Download the table here.

Comparison of different types of Replication

Download the table here.

Database Replication on Cloud

Widespread data availability, Analytics , data integration across multiple platforms, are some of the key reasons for choosing a Cloud based replication.

Data residing on a cloud instance(Primary instance) is replicated or copied to another cloud instance (Standby instance) . Data transmission mechanism can be synchronous or asynchronous depending on the Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) and Recovery Point Objectives (RPO) requirement of the organization.

In the event of disaster , it is vital that the secondary instance is in a different geographical region from Primary instance (Cloud instance connected over WAN link).

Cloud based replication keeps data offsite so in event of major disaster like fire, flood, earthquake etc. when primary instance is unavailable still the secondary instance is operational over cloud and data and applications can be recovered.

Cloud based replication costs are less as compared to in-house data center . Building a secondary site is a costly affair and organizations can save costs incurred on hardware, maintenance, and support.

On demand scalability s another reason organizations prefer to maintain business agility.

Data replication happens on cloud to that providers can assure their users high availability and Disaster recovery.

Continue Reading:

Data Center vs Disaster Recovery Center

Database and Data Warehouse

In the IT community, with the term Zentyal Server (previous eBox Platform) we define a unified network server that provides simplified and efficient computer network administration services for small and medium size organizations. 

The main ability is that it can perform as a gateway, an infrastructure manager, a unified threat manager, an office server, a unified communication server or a combination of the above. 

These features are tightly integrated in the software and automate most tasks. The main advantage is to avoid mistakes and save time for system administrators. Unfortunately, the standard version Zentyal Server 7.0 is not available for free any more, only the Development edition. Finally, Zentyal is released under the GNU General Public License (GPL) terms and runs on top of Ubuntu Linux OS. 

Zentyal Linux Server: Features & Services

According to the manufacturer (developers) website of Zentyal, we addressed the main features and services that it provides in the latest version 7.0 and we present them below:

• Domain and Directory Server: The most advanced benefit is that it offers an easy to use Windows Server alternative solution. The software comes with an internal native compatibility with Microsoft Active Directory allowing to join Windows clients to the domain and manage them easily, causing no disruption to the main users. The system administrator of the organization can set up a stand-alone server or additional DC of a Windows domain, manage GPOs with RSAT and forget the cost expenses of any related CALs.

• Mail Server: In addition, in the latest Zentyal 7.0 edition, the developers include the latest industry-standards for SMTP and POP3/IMAP mail servers built upon the most established technologies and protocols. Therefore, the company’s system administrator can provide the users with the opportunity to deploy Zentyal as a mail server, domain & directory server all-in-one solution. Finally, Zentyal 7.0 integrates ActiveSync, unlimited virtual mail domains and user management.

• Gateway and Infrastructure Server: Furthermore, Zentyal 7.0 provides to the users the ability to unify and easily manage all the basic network infrastructure services and offers reliable and secure Internet access. To be more specific, it covers services from DNS/DHCP, CA, VPNs, backup to gateway, firewall and HTTP proxy. Finally, the organization’s system administrator can backup, authenticate users in HTTP proxy and block Domain-based HTTPs web pages.

• Technical Support: Now in case the user is not quite sure if he has the necessary knowledge to set up and maintain Zentyal Server in house, he can count on the Zentyal Support Team. This particular team has extensive experience in providing support for commercial Zentyal deployments. Finally, they support all the related problems with Zentyal 7.0 features and Windows based migrations that the user may require. Unfortunately for the Development edition of Zentyal, advice and support is provided by community and development team members via Forum and GitHub.

• Competitive Pricing: Although most Linux based distributions are free to the IT community and users. The standard license package for Zentyal Server 7.0 starts at 25$, for up to 25 user’s enterprise network (Microservices). The Zentyal team also provides a server-based pricing plan with no user or device CALs requirements. Finally, optional support subscriptions are also available.

Conclusion 

Zentyal Linux Server has been developed with the main purpose of bringing Linux closer to SMBs and to allow them to make the most of its potential initial design strategy as a corporate server. Initially based on the popular Ubuntu Linux distributions, it has become the most wanted open source alternative to Windows Small Business Server. In addition, Zentyal allows ICT professionals to manage all network services such as Internet access, network security, resource sharing, network infrastructure or communications through one single platform.

Later on, commercial subscription services target two clearly different types of customers. Firstly, professional subscription is aimed at small businesses and ICT providers with a limited number of servers that must be kept always updated and running.

Finally, the Enterprise Subscription is aimed for large businesses or managed service providers who need to monitor and administer multiple Zentyal remote servers at the same time.

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What is Tomcat Web Server?

What is an Apache Server?

Google NTP Server: Network Time Protocol

In this article we will look at some Tower servers which made their place in top 10 and shaped the IT and business landscape.  Understand their strength and features.

Top 10 – Tower Servers 

Dell PowerEdge T30

It can be brought as bare bone or a fully configured server. It has Intel Xeon E3-1225 v5, supports six SATA disks, 64 GB memory. It has fast quad – core Xeon processor and can accommodate six internal disks. However, it has few limitations single Gigabit network port, no hot swapping of disks.

Dell PowerEdge T20

It has bare bone version without hard disks. It has Haswell-based Pentium processor which has clock speed of 3GBz and supports up to 32 GB DDR3 ECC RAM, expansion capabilities include four SATA ports (32 TB if use 8 TB hard disks), four I/O slots and 10 USB ports. It is cost effective model and compact mini tower Dell Server having easy access to internals. It has certain limitations such as it is more of a desktop than server CPU and it has no drives or OS.

Lenovo ThinkServer TS150

It has built on best of ThinkServer tradition. It is 4U enterprise class server and it comes with support for RAID 0,1,10 and 5 via an onboard controller. It can accommodate up to four 3.5” HDDs and it can go up to 40 TB of storage. It has 64 GB of memory. It is most affordable ThinkServer model and quite in operations.

HPE ProLiant ML350 Gen 10 

It is packed with Intel Xeon scalable processors, and offers big performance boost over earlier models. It requires separate storage however but supports wide support for graphics and computing options. it can be turned into rack server as business grows without additional investment. It supports up to 16 GB memory and scalable and decent in design. Limitations are it is a hefty machine and don’t come with hard disks.

Fujitsu Primergy TX1310 M1

It is an entry level, SMB focused server. It is designed to run silently 24/7 and has RAID 0/1/10 but not 5. This model has Intel Xeon E3-1226 V3, two 1 TB hard disks and 16 GB memory. It comes with optical drive and two Gigabit Ethernet ports for redundancy, four DIMM slots and four storage bays, this server supports up to 32 TB of storage and 32 GB of memory. It has some plus features such as good guarantee and has an optical drive. Some limitations are no RAID 5

HP ProLiant Microserver Gen8 

It is small in size and light weight. It has Intel Xeon E3 family, up to 16 GB memory, system management processor, two Gigabit Ethernet ports, one PCIe slot, support for RAID 0/1/10, a DVD writer, up to four hard disks, an internal MicroSD card slot, integrated Matrox G200 graphics chip and seven USB ports. It is professional built with ease of access and compact in size. It has no hot swap disks and quieter in operation.

Lenovo ThinkServer TS460

It is a big server with 50 Litre volume and 25Kg weight, this is 5 U server runs on Intel Xeon E3 model with Turbo Boost technology with three years onsite warranty. Supports up to 64 GB of memory, and integrated RAID controller with four RAID types, DVD writer, four fans, a 300W PSU and two Gigabit Ethernet ports. Up to eight hard drives and eight USB ports, lockable door and support for ECC memory, Serial and VGA connector. Limitations are costly and a big machine.

HP ProLiant ML350 G9 5U

Expensive but loads of features such as dedicated, integrated graphics card, three years onsite warranty, four Gigabit Ethernet ports and support for 12 Gbps SAS (takes only 2.5” drives). Runs on Intel Xeon E5-2603 V3 processor, and supports two CPUs, it has six cores and 24 memory slots allows to hit 3 TB of memory, lockable front door, and storage controller. It has six core CPU which is ideal for intensive loads but definitely highly priced.

Scan 3XS SER-T25

Specially designed for SMB segment, Two broadband based Intel Xeon E5-2603- V4 processors with 12 cores and 30 MB of cache. 64GB of DDR4 ECC memory, 1 TB WD enterprise class hard drive, two Intel Gigabit Ethernet ports, a 1000W Gold PSU and support for eight hard disk drives. It is compact and powerful but highly priced.

ASUS TS500 

It has latest Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 V3, eight DDR4 DIMMs, six expansion slots, three 5.25” media bays and single 500W 80 plus bronze power supply. It has four 3.5” hot swap SATA/SAS HDD bays upgradable to eight HDD bays for flexible storage requirements. Other key specs included 10 SATA ports, a DVD write, eight USB ports, a PS2 port, a VGA one and three Gigabit Ethernet ports. It is perfect for server and workstation use and robust power and flexibility.

Comparison Table: Tower Servers

Below table summarizes the comparison between all these products:

PRODUCT	PROCESSORS	MEMORY	DRIVES SUPPORTED	FEATURES
Dell PowerEdge T30	Intel Xeon E3-1225 v5	64 GB	Upto six SATA	Fast quad core processor
				Six internal disks
Dell PowerEdge T20	Intel Pentium G3220	4 GB	No drives	Very cheap
				Compact mini tower
Lenovo ThinkServer TS150	Intel Xeon E3-1200 v6	64 GB	Up to 40TB HDD	Most affordable
				Whisper quiet
HPE ProLiant ML350 Gen 10	Intel Xeon Scalable 4210	16 GB	No drives	Scalable
				Decent design
Fujitsu Primergy TX1310 M1	Intel Xeon E3-1226 v3	16 GB	2 *1 TB HDD	Good guarantee
				Optical drive
HP ProLiant Microserver Gen8	Intel Celeron G1610T	4 GB	No drives	Good quality
				Compact in size
Lenovo ThinkServer TS460	Xeon E3-1200 v6	64 GB	80 TB	Three years onsite warranty
HP ProLiant ML350 G9 5U	Intel Xeon E5-2603	8 GB	No drives	Six-core Xeon CPU
Scan 3XS SER-T25	Dual Intel Xeon E5-2603 v4	64 GB	1 TB HDD	Compact and quiet
ASUS TS500	Intel Xeon E5-2600	As per order	No drives	Good fit for server / workstation use

Download the comparison Table: Top 10 Tower Servers

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Top 10 Blade Servers

Top 10 Rack Servers

In this article we will look at some blade servers which made their place in the top 10 and shaped the IT and business landscape. Understand their strengths and features.

Top 10 – Blade Servers 

Dell PowerEdge FX2 Chassis

FX2 chassis has density and efficiency of blades with lower costs and simplicity. It has rapid ability to scale up and come up as a popular option for big server farms which want stripped down compute blades. It comes in a 2U rackmount form factor which can be configured to hold 4 half-width, 8 quarter width sleds or 2 full width sleds. It is a great option to reduce downtime as so many blades are packed together which can failover without impacting others. It is a good choice for an entry level infrastructure but lacks storage and computing power of many other products available in the market. 

HPE ProLiant BL460

It is designed for a wide range of configuration and deployment choices. The standalone blades are not expensive but with the BLc7000 enclosure price shoots up. It can scale up to 26 cores, 12 GB SAS and 2.0TB of HPE DDR4. Keeping security in mind, major firmware is anchored directly into the architecture, running millions of lines of firmware code before the server operating system boots. It offers a secure recovery option as well and firmware can be recovered to a good state after compromised code is detected. It is a good choice for the small and medium business segment.      

Lenovo ThinkSystem SN550

It is part of Lenovo Flex system orchestration platform, having claims of ability to run applications with up to 80% better density than a standard rack based deployments.it has flexible blade servers which are optimized for cloud, server virtualization, database and virtual desktop infrastructure. It supports up to 28 cores.

Cisco UCS B200 M5

They are considered smart choice for those already using Cisco. They are a good option for those who focus on networking rather than computing on storage. It has 28 cores per socket, up to 24 DDR4 DIMMs for improved performance, up to two GPUs. It can also accommodate up to two small form factor (SFF) HDD/SSD/NVMe drives or 2 SD cards or M.2 SATA drives. 

Huawei Fusion Server E9000 

It is a converged architecture-based blade server having four socket blades that puts it in the upper category. Its infrastructure is designed to converge computing, storage, networking and management.  It has 16 slots in a 12U chassis which includes a redundant power supply unit, heat dissipation modules, management modules, and switch modules. It can be installed in a standard 19” rack at depth. It supports management features like lifecycle management, automated firmware upgrade, automated OS deployment, stateless computing and Restful APIs.

Fujitsu Primergy BX400 S1

It is considered a data centre on wheels. It is a dual socket server blade ideally suited for web infrastructure workloads and HPC. It harnesses Intel Xeon E5-1600 v4 processors, up to two with 44 cores each, 2 TB of memory, two hot plug disk drives, and two additional mezzanine cards. It offers direct attached storage and can support up to 10 hot pluggable SAS or SATA hard disks. 

NEC Express5800 Blade Enclosure M

It is one of the cheapest blade server’s ideal for reducing computing footprint or upgrading an aging server in infrastructure. It is also built to have easy setup and configuration connectivity through its management module. It is not meant for large organizations however due to its managing, storage and networking options are not enough. 8 compute blades and six switch modules can fit into the chassis. It provides monitoring status of each blade, easier cabling using KVM switches, redundant power supply modules and fans to ensure servers run with high availability. 

Dell PowerEdge MX840C

This model is part of PowerEdge MX Kinetic infrastructure ecosystem, with dense compute, and loads of memory. expandable storage subsystem, it is meant to deliver flexibility and agility required for demanding and shared resource environments. It can scale up to 448 cores per chassis. It has 48 DDR4 DIMMs slots and 8 2.5” drive bays for SAS/SATA disk drives. It enables maximum utilization, and avoids over provisioning. 

HPE Synergy 660 

It can host four Xeon scalable processors. Quick deployment of IT resources via single interface. It supports both two socket and four socket full height compute modules, as well as 6 TB memory, and up to four SFF drives. It is ideal for higher performance and scalability requirements centric applications. 

SuperMicro SuperBlade 

Each node includes up to four 28-core Xeon scalable CPUs with 3 TB DDR24 2666 MHz in 48 DIMM slots. Chassis has support for NVMe/SAS3 HDD blades, option 100G EDR InfiniBand/Intel Omni-Path or 10G mezzanine HCA.

Comparison Table: Blade Servers

Below table summarizes the comparison between all these products:

PRODUCT	PROCESSORS	CORES	RAM	FORM FACTOR	FEATURES
Dell PowerEdge FX2 Chassis	4 Intel Xeon E5-4600	36	512 GB	Full/Half/Quarter width	Scalable, Entry level for large server farms
HPE ProLiant BL460	2 Xeon scalable	52	2 TB	Half height	Good for SMBs
Lenovo ThinkSystem SN550	2 Xeon scalable	56	3 TB	Full width	Fit for IBM environments
Cisco UCS B200 M5	2 Xeon scalable	56	3 TB	Half width	Ideal for cisco networks
Huawei Fusion Server E9000	2 Xeon scalable	56	1.5 TB	Half width	Good performance
Fujitsu Primergy BX400 S1	2 Xeon E5-2600	88	2 TB	Half height	Ideal for web infrastructure workloads
NEC Express5800 Blade Enclosure M	2 Xenon 5500 series	8	128 GB	Full width	Server consolidation
Dell PowerEdge MX840C	2 Xeon scalable	112	9 TB	Double width	High end, high performance
HPE Synergy 660	4 Xeon scalable	96	6 TB	Full height	Top line performance
SuperMicro SuperBlade	4 Xeon scalable	112	12 TB	Half height	Budget price, 4 socket Xeon

Download the comparison Table: Top 10 Blade Servers

Continue Reading:

Blade Server vs Rack Server vs Tower Server

Top 10 Rack Servers

In this article we will look at some Rack servers which made their place in the top 10 and shaped the IT and business landscape in the year 2021.  Understand their strengths and features.

Top 10 – Rack Servers 

Cisco UCS C240 M6

It is a 3rd generation AMD EPYC processor. It includes 32 DIMM slots, 8 TB capacity, RAID control, and an internal dual M.2 drive option. It is a two socket, 2 RU form factor and offers high performance computing. It has upgrade capacity for additional DDR4 DIMMs, right PCIe 4.0 slots, 28 storage interface slots, up to 960 GB for M.2 boot options, and support up to five GPUs. This server is ideal for an array of tasks including storage, I/O intensive applications, and high-performance computing. 

Dell EMC PowerEdge R750 

It offers 24 NVMe drivers and eight PCIe 4.0 slots for throughput. It has 3rd Gen Intel Xeon scalable processors (80 Nos). for memory it carries 32 DIMM slots, up to 8 TB capacity, and can take six different disk types.

It is designed to manage demanding high workloads ranging from database analytics to Artificial intelligence, virtualization, and machine learning. 

Fujitsu PRIMERGY RX4770 M5 

It is a 2U, quad socket server having 3rd Gen Intel Xeon processors. Having 28 cores per socket and 12 DIMM slots per CPU, this server can have 15 TB of memory. It is flexible and supports twelve operating systems to choose from. 16 general slots for NVMe adapters and 8 PCIe 3.0 slots. 

HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 

It is meant for high performance computing segments, data warehousing and analytics operations. It has 2 Intel Xeon scalable processors, up to 28 cores, 3 TB with 24 DIMMs and 2666MT/s, up to 16 GB NVDIMMs option, up to 8 PCIe 3.0 slots, and maximum storage of 232 GB. It has a robust security feature which includes a series of validation checks between system components which run every 24 hours to test and verify any modifications or changes to easily detect any malware and compromised code.

Huawei Fusion Server Pro 2288H V5

It is a 2U, 2-socket server that is well suited for an array of workloads. From big data processing to databases and cloud computing it is suited for modern tasks and power consumption reduction is 15% without any change in performance. It has 28 NVMe drives. 12 intel Optane persistent memory modules, the 228H V5 can achieve up to 7.5 TB memory capacity and has 10 PCIe 3.0 slots.

IBM Power System S922 

It has IBM homegrown POWER9 processor and is fit for organizations requiring resilient and cloud enabled servers. It has top notch processing power with 4 TB memory, easing cloud applications, analytics, and any other demand intensive workloads. 

It has fifteen PCIe 4.0 slots and two U.2 modules slots for expansion. It has an embedded POWER VM hypervisor which can consolidate workloads to reduce overhead costs.

Inspur NF8480

This 4U four socket module server which is fit for high performance computing, Artificial intelligence, and has 50 slots of SAS, SATA and NVMe drives. Has 19 slots for PCIe 3.0 drives with memory capacity of 7.5 TB. It is highly scalable and flexible who need full height and half height options for I/O balance and expansion.

Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630 

It has 7.5 TB memory capacity, 123 TB storage capacity. It comes with the latest Intel Xeon processors, four PCIe 4.0 slots, and four NVMe ports. It is able to cope up with harsh environments and keeps energy costs low as compared to the amount of raw computing power it has. 

Oracle Server X8-2

Newest server in X86 series for middleware and application workloads. It has 1 U module which allows 64 TB of memory and 51.2 TB of storage space. It is based on the Platinum or Gold 2nd Gen Intel Xeon scalable processor. 

Dell EMC PowerEdge R840 

Four socket rack servers, 24 NVMe drives, and supports two GPUs for workload acceleration. It has 6 TB capacity and can be expanded up to 15 TB while using DC persistent memory and load reduction DIMM (LRDIMM). It is designed for data intensive workloads and ideal for high frequency trading, CPU virtualization and workload acceleration. 

Below table summarizes the comparison between all these products:

PRODUCT	FF /SOCKET	PROCESSORS	MEMORY	DRIVES SUPPORTED	FEATURES
Cisco UCS C240 M6	2 U – 2	Intel Xeon scalable	3 TB	26	I/O intensive applications
Dell EMC PowerEdge R750	2U – 2	3rd Gen Intel Xeon	8 TB	24	General purpose server
Fujitsu PRIMERGY RX4770 M5	2U – 4	3rd Gen Intel Xeon	15 TB	24	Enterprise class UNIX system
HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10	2U – 2	2nd Gen Intel Xeon	9 TB	30	General purpose server
Huawei Fusion Server Pro 2288H V5	2U – 2	2nd Gen Intel Xeon	3 TB	31	Ideal for big data processing
IBM Power System S922	2U – 2	IBM POWER9	4 TB		Ideal for mission critical workloads
Inspur NF8480	4U – 4	3rd Gen Intel Xeon	12 TB	50	I/O balance and expansion
Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630	1U – 2	3rd Gen Intel Xeon	6 TB	16	Compute intensive applications
Oracle Server X8-2	1U – 2	2nd Gen Intel Xeon	64 TB	8	Scalable and meant for intensive workloads
Dell EMC PowerEdge R840	2U – 4	2nd Gen Intel Xeon	15 TB	26	Ideal for virtualized applications

Download the comparison Table: Top 10 Rack Servers

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Blade Server vs Rack Server vs Tower Server

What is a Terminal Server?

Nowadays in the IT community we define with the term Terminal Server, any hardware device or computer server that provides terminals, such as PC computers, printers and other devices with a common connection point to a local (LAN) or wide area network (WAN). 

The common architecture used for terminal servers is by connecting the one side with their RS-232C interface, a RS-423 serial port or UDP and the other side of the terminal server connected through network interface cards (NIC) to a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), Dial-Up modems, to an X.25 network or a 3270 gateway.

How a Terminal Server Works?

Although the way a Terminal Server works depends on different vendor characteristics, Windows based Terminal Servers use the Operating System OS in order to support multiple user sessions. This is different from multi-session environments that Windows file servers mainly use, because the operating system renders a user interface (UI) for each of these sessions. 

Most end users connect to a terminal server by applying the remote desktop protocol (RDP) client. The RDP protocol is a desktop or mobile application whose job it is to connect to the terminal server and display the session’s contents.

On this type of architecture, the RDP client communicates with the terminal server through a connection port. The presence of a session manager component keeps all the user sessions separate and handles the relevant tasks such as allowing a user to reconnect after accidentally closing the RDP client. 

This kind of sessions are actually executed as a part of the terminal server services and the session manager is responsible for managing them. When a user asks for an interaction with a session through keyboard, mouse or touch inputs, those inputs are inserted within the RDP client. Then the RDP client transmits the inputs to the terminal server for processing. Finally, the terminal server is also responsible for executing all the needed graphical rendering, although it is the RDP client that actually makes the session visible to the users.

Advantages 

In the IT industry, many large enterprises have adopted Terminal Server technology for many years. The most essential advantages are presented below:

• Remote Access to Systems: The most essential advantage as mobility needs grow fast, is related to business executives and employees that need a robust remote access to their contacts, calendars and documents regardless of the current location and time. Therefore, Terminal Servers with a Remote Desktop environment, provide a great solution for today’s mobility requirements.

• Single Point of Maintenance: The next most essential advantage is that using a Terminal Server environment, most crucial applications are installed on a terminal server rather than on individual terminal desktops. As a result, all the required application updates become much easier because there is only one copy of each application. There is no need to verify that application-level patches are applied to every desktop in the company’s IT infrastructure.

• Hardware Optimization: Finally, last but not least is the fact that Terminal Servers offer to the IT department’s the ability to squeeze more life out of their desktop computers. As the economy has seen better days and every enterprise is looking to make the most of their IT budget, all the processing power that occurs resides in the Terminal Server end, therefore all the desktops are essentially acting as dumb terminals. 

This particular implementation means that all the in use existing desktop hardware remains a practical option for much longer than it would if all applications were executed at local Terminals. Finally, running applications on a terminal server may allow organizations to purchase lower-end desktop hardware, resulting in cost savings.

Conclusion 

We addressed in this article how the Terminal Servers can be a huge improvement for any kind of Business in terms of cost saving and productivity. Also, the most important thing is that this technology should be managed by a proper IT scientists and engineers team inside a company. Finally, we hopefully rest on future Windows NT and Linux editions that will improve Remote Desktop Protocol to be more secure and reliable for various networking equipment connection interfaces.

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Blade Server vs Rack Server vs Tower Server

What is a Web Server?

Organizations need to support digital infrastructures as infrastructure trends now focusing on new technologies such as Artificial intelligence (AI), Edge computing to support rapidly growing IT infrastructure and support agile business needs parallelly.

In this article, we will look at some infrastructure and operations trends in which shaped how support for digital infrastructure will grow over the years. Business continuity and disaster recovery are the prime focus for organizations had bought trends like colocation, cloud services, edge locations and more and more focus are on uptime guarantee.

Top 10 Trends Impacting Infrastructure & Operations 

Automation Strategy/Rethink

With growing automation maturity level in organizations and multi cloud adoption with new flourishing solutions providing a rich ground for poor tool choices made in the past leading to messy implementations and lack of scalability. Multiple vendors are coming up in market with new tools risking organizations to pick up or deploy duplicate tools leading to process overheads and hidden costs which cumulatively form a situation where scaling of infrastructure can’t be achieved as per business expectations. Top management is expected to employ a dedicated role to oversee automation forward and invent to build a proper automation strategy.

Hybrid IT versus Disaster Recovery (DR) choice 

Hybrid IT with on premises data centres, edge locations and cloud services are disrupting disaster recovery planning. Organizations are potentially exposing themselves when their traditional disaster recovery plans are not reviewed with hybrid infrastructure as resiliency requirements required to be evaluated at every stage of design right from the beginning and not just after the deployment.

A redundancy strategy which seamlessly responds to all infrastructure needs be it hybrid or cloud and address all IT abnormalities and interdependencies to support quick resumption of normal IT operations is the need of the hour.  Best way to achieve redundancy is to have a copy of your data which can be accessed onsite immediately as well as copy which is located off-site. Hybrid cloud helps in providing the secondary offsite backup location.

Scaling DevOps agility

Enterprise production teams are working in DevOps environments increasingly so the challenges of scaling DevOps must be addressed and ensure necessary skills are available to scale self-service platform services. A shared self-service platform services will provide a digital toolbox of I&O capabilities to help multiple DevOps teams to create, release and manage products along with ensuring consistency and streamlining of efforts at scale.

Infrastructure is everywhere and so is data

Infrastructure is everywhere as business needs it. Planning for explosive data growth is vital to business as technologies like Artificial intelligence and machine learning are being used as competitive differentiator more and more. The increased focus is on same workloads running across multiple locations and making data harder to secure. Availability and integrity of critical applications and data in the event of disaster is achieved via continuous replication and it captures all changes which occur considering real time replication strategy, write order fidelity and any point in time recovery.

Overwhelming impact of IoT

Far reaching and transforming effects of IoT projects and their intrinsic complexity can be a challenge for team to understand each piece of IoT puzzle. I&O must be involved at early stages in IoT planning discussions to understand proposed services model and its scale.

Distributed Cloud 

As more and more businesses are moving to cloud in a distributed model where public cloud services are available in different geographical locations while the provider remains responsible for operations, governance, updates, and evolution of the provided services. This model is likely to appeal organizations which are constrained by location of cloud services previously.

This trend is still in its early stages and operational leaders need to analyse if distributed cloud is right choice for their needs based on some questions such as how life cycle of hardware will be managed? What SLA would be needed? And how SLAs will be met? etc.

Immersive Experience

Operational leaders’ expectations are on rise, which are influenced majorly by wide and rich experience provided by consumer technology from digital giants. The functions considered value adds earlier and now forming the baseline expectations. User expects seamless integration, immediate feedback, and very high level of availability.

IT Democratization

Less code and no code platforms enable users to build at fast pace applications using minimal coding approaches. This has enabled citizen development to save resources and time. But a poorly developed approach risks increasing the complexity of IT group. Operational leaders need to build governance and support offerings which are not tough but easy for users.

Networking

Networking has evolved to delivery highly available networks and it is often achieved via careful change management. Some of the challenges which network teams are going to face going forward such as risk avoidance, technical debt, and vendor lock-in all mean more challenges and tough road ahead for network teams.

Multi-protocol lab switching technologies (MPLS) allow carriers to focus on developing IP networks which would support both public Internet and private WANs across IT infrastructure. In SD-WAN technologies there is a steep decline and focus is shifted towards Internet. Advances in machine learning and low costs high performance processors in today routers allow SD-WAN algorithms in making routing decisions. Performance data collected about each link will help businesses to make better purchasing decisions with internet carriers.

Hybrid Digital infrastructure management (HDM)

Operational leaders need to look at tools that challenge silos of visibility. Some vendors are already trying to address this however there are emerging tools which are not able to answer all challenges imposed by hybrid digital infrastructure management so I & O leaders need to do a careful examination to evaluate functionality promised and anticipate their own teams may be forced to fill gaps by integration of tools and growing their baseline.

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Top 10 trends in Automation Testing Tools

Top 10 Cybersecurity trends

Most CPU manufacturers try to achieve high CPU performance by increasing clock speed and cache sizes but that still does not let full potential utilization of CPU power. To make more efficient use of CPU power, multiple enhancements have been made over a period in CPU processing techniques to increase the processing power and optimize the utilisation of CPU / processors.

Today, we look at two techniques related to processing – Hyper Threading and Multi-Threading, and understand the key differences between them, their limitations, advantages, usage etc.

About Hyper-Threading

Hyper Threading technology allows a single processor to operate into two separate processors for the operating system, the applications and the programs using it. The physical processor is divided into two logical or virtual processors. The Hyper Threading technology was designed to enhance the performance of CPU. The amount of work performed by a CPU within a unit of time , core is the execution unit of CPU and Hyper Threading allows multiple threads to run on each core of CPU. More and more cores were added to CPU by manufactures to increase instructions executed by the CPU at a time.

Each physical core is recognized as two virtual or logical cores by operating system. A single processor runs two threads. Cores are increased virtually or logically, and they work independently. A Hyper Threading enabled CPU has 2 set of general-purpose registers, control registers, architecture components and they share same cache, bus, and execution units.

Origin of Hyper-Threading

Hyper threading technology was developed by Intel. It is the marketing name which is around since x86 realm. The idea behind this Simultaneous Multi-Threading (SMT) was that the single physical CPU appears to the Operating system as two virtual or logical processors. Hyper threading was officially announced at the Intel developer Forum and it was demonstrated on a Xeon processor. The test demonstrated that Single Xeon with Hyper threading enablement was 30% faster than normal Xeon processor.

How Hyper-Threading works?

Hyper Threading provides Thread level parallelism (TLP) for each processor to provide increased utilization of processor and resources.

Single processor is represented as two virtual or logical processors to the operating system. The processor works on two set of tasks simultaneously and utilizes resources which otherwise would be idle and helps to get more work done in same time window.

Multithreaded software divides workloads into processes and threads which can be independently executed, dispatched, and scheduled.

Hyper Threading allows a single Pentium 4 processor to function as two virtual or logical processors.

About Multi-Threading

Multithreading allows to create multiple threads within a single process to enhance throughput of computing. When processes are created for each task, it is resource consuming and intensive so Multi-Threading technology allows to divide a single process into multiple sub-processes and assign tasks to each sub-process or thread. Each thread is a lightweight process. There are two types of threads – Kernel thread and User thread.

• Kernel level threads are easy to manage but slower to create, Operating system supports creating of kernel threads. They are specific to operating system and Kernel level routine can be multi-threaded.
• User threads are easier to manage and create. They are implemented by a thread library at user level, is generic and can run on any operating system. They can’t take advantage of multiprocessing.

Different Models of Multi-Threading

There are many models of multi-threading : –

• Many to one model – Several user threads map to single kernel thread.
• One to one model – A single user thread is managed by each kernel thread.
• Many to many models – Several user threads are mapped to similar or small amount of kernel threads.

Origin of Multi-Threading

Multi-threading was first originated in 1950, however simultaneous multi-threading was part of IBM ACS-360 project in 1968. The first major processor was developed using SMT known as Alpha 21464(EV8).

How Multi-Threading works?

A Thread is a sequence of statements which are executed as part of program. Each program has one thread for execution. Multithread programs simultaneously execute two or more threads. The operating system provides multithreading support and quickly switches the CPU system between running threads. The operating system which assigns thread to CPU is called a ‘Scheduler’.

Execution of thread can be Concurrent and Parallel.

• In Concurrent execution, a Single processor switches execution processes between threads in a multi-threaded process.
• In Parallel execution, each threat in a process can run on a separate processor.

Hyper-Threading vs Multi-Threading

Below table summarizes the differences between the two technologies:

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Introduction to Hyper-Threading

IBM 360/ IBM SYSTEM 360

Servers comes in different shapes, sizes, and configurations. Organizations take decisions about which servers to deploy depending on availability of data center space, performance, budget, and scalability.

In this article we will explore more about various types of servers – Blade Server, rack sever & tower server and understand their advantages and disadvantages and how each category fits into specific server requirements of data centres.

About Blade Servers

Blade servers are printed circuit board assemblies within server enclosures and known for their high processing power and dense environment.  They are also known as expansions module.

Blade server enclosure has several modular circuit boards which are known as blades. These blades are stripped down to CPUs, network controllers and memory and some also has internal storage drives as well. The other components such as switches, ports and power supply or connectors are shared through chassis.

The enclosure typically fits as per rack unit measurements to save space. Blades can be clustered for high redundancy or can be managed individually by administrators as a separate server to assign it to specific applications and can have end user specific blades. This structure also supports hot swapping.

Blade servers have high processing power and they are designed to serve complex computing requirements. The high performance can be scaled if the data center where they are hosted have sufficient cooling and power requirements to support dense infrastructure.

Blade servers Pros and Cons

PROS:

• There is no separate need for power and cooling requirement as chassis supplies power to blades and this in turn reduces energy expenditure.
• Blade servers take up minimal space and have high processing power
• Blade servers can host multiple types of software and applications such as primary OS, hypervisors, databases, web services and other enterprise applications
• The monitoring is centralized, and it supports clustering for high availability, hot swapping feature which supports increased availability

CONS:

• Initial deployment and configuration costs are high.
• Highly dense blade servers require advanced climate control in data centres where they are hosted. Heating, cooling, ventilation is required expenditure to main high performance of blade servers.

About Rack Servers

 Mounted or standardized servers which can reach upto 10 feet height and good where space is a constraint in closely packed data center space. These are general purpose servers deployed to support broad range of applications and computing services. They are housed vertically to save space in data centres. Standard configuration for a rack server measured in units (1.75” tall * 19” wide).

Rack servers Pros and Cons

PROS:

• Rack servers are self-contained units designed to run intensive computing operations and house everything within required to run as a stand alone or in a networked environment it has its own power source, CPU, and memory.
• Highly efficient for use in data center having limited space. Easy to expand with additional memory, storage, and processors. If servers are clustered, then hot swapping can be done for rack servers for redundancy
• Ease of management and energy costs are low.

CONS:

• Densely populated racks require more cooling power which in turn raises energy costs. More the number of rack servers more will be the energy requirements.
• More efforts on troubleshooting and management.

About Tower Servers

Tower servers are characterized for their high optimization and customization to support organizations high configuration and scalability requirements.

Standalone chassis configuration with minimal components is the characteristic of tower servers. No high-end graphic cards and high RAM or peripherals.

Meant for mid-size businesses who want to maintain customized upgrade path and can be configured as general-purpose servers, web servers, email servers, network servers etc. Customization can be inhouse to have one powerful server hosting applications and processes.

Tower installations require separate keyboards, mouse and display monitors and network storage can be shared.

Tower servers Pros and Cons

PROS:

• Highly scalable as they come with minimal configuration and can be upgraded based on business needs and less expensive than a fully loaded server
• Cooling costs are low as due to low component density

CONS:

• Upgrade expenses could be high
• Servers don’t fit into racks and consume space in data center. Any upgrade or configuration change or troubleshooting require enclosure to be opened which is cumbersome
• In Multi tower environment , investment is required separately for each switch

Blade vs Rack vs Tower servers

Below table summarizes the key points of comparison between these three:

PARAMETER	BLADE SERVERS	RACK SERVERS	TOWER SERVERS
Definition	An enclosure composed of circuit board with minimal components. It houses multiple blades and have power and networking requirements served through chassis	No external hard enclosure but housed in slots of rack structure.	Standalone server built in vertical structure. They usually come within minimal parts and pre-loaded software and can be optimized for specific needs.
Power	Less	More	More
Maintenance	Less	More	More
Cost	Lower priced	Highly priced	Less expensive and cheaper
Size	Smaller in size and compact	Large	Comparatively large
Cabling	Less cabling requirement	More cabling requirement	More cabling requirement
Business model	Majorly used by large organizations	Ideal for small and mid-size businesses	Ideal for small businesses
Design	Modular	Standalone	Standalone
Mount inside	Chassis	Rack structure	Rack or stand alone
Operational cost	Lower costs to manage	High costs to manage	High
Examples	DELL M630, DELL M830, Lenovo Flex system x440, Lenovo x240MS, UCS B200M4, UCS B420M4	UCS C220 M4, HP DL360 Gen9, HP DL160 Gen9, DELL R630, Lenovo x3550 M5	HPE ProLiant, DELL PowerEdge

Download the comparison table: Blade vs Rack Vs Tower servers

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What is a Web Server?

Mainframe vs Minicomputer

In this article, we will understand the differences between the two and about its usage.

Microcontroller

Microcontroller’s history is dated back to 1960s. The invention of MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) also known by term “MOS transistor’. It was invented by Mohamed M. Atalla and Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs. It is a small system or computer on a single metal oxide semiconductor IC (Integrated Chip). It contains a CPU, memory, and Input/Output peripherals.

Another name for Microcontroller is ‘On-Chip microcomputer’

It is also known as embedded controller or microcontroller unit (MCU) – they are found in vehicles, Home appliances, medical devices, vending machines and so on. These are miniaturized personal computers made to control small functions of larger components.

If you look around you will find microcontrollers are functioning all around you such as microwave oven microcontroller sense door closure before popping popcorns, at traffic light signal to turn on / off lights at specified intervals etc.

Characteristics of Microcontroller 

• Slow speed of operation.
• Uses a micro CPU using lower frequency.
• Peripherals (Timers, counters etc.) are embedded in chip.
• Suitable for bit wise operations.
• Less expensive.
• Boolean operations supported.
• Majority used in real time applications.

Pros & Cons of Microcontroller

• Good for small and dedicated applications.
• One time programmable.
• Ease of application development.
• Ease of design and deployment.
• Can’t withstand high voltage.
• Not suited for parallel tasks.
• Complex architecture.
• Limited RAM.

Microprocessor

Microprocessor is also known as ‘Heart of Computer system’. It is an electronic component inside a computer or in other words a ‘Self-contained single chip microcomputer’.  It has a central processing unit (CPU) on a single IC (Integrated Chip) having non-volatile programmable memory, input / output capabilities.

A microprocessor can be configured to perform a task or a series of tasks. Most microprocessors operate at the clock speed between 1 and 40 MHZ.

Microprocessor is a brain of a computer and it comprises of Arithmetical and Logical Unit (ALU), Control Unit and Register Array. ALU unit is responsible for performing all arithmetic and logical operations on data received from input device or memory. Register acts like an accumulator (temporary fast access memory location) for data processing and control unit is responsible for controlling the flow of data throughout the systems.

Categories of Microprocessors

Microprocessors can be categorised into three types as per there architecture as under: –

RISC – Reduced Instruction Set Computer – Simplification of instruction set for computers to reduce execution time. Examples are Power PC: 601, 604, 615, 620, DEC Alpha: 210642, 211066, 21068, 21164 etc

CISC – Complex Instruction Set Computer – Reduction in number of instructions irrespective of number of cycles per instructions. Examples are IBM 370/168, VAX 11/780, Intel 80486 etc.

Special Processors – is a third category which is made to perform special functions such as Maths Coprocessor, Input/output processor, and Transistor computer.

Characteristics of Microprocessor 

• Microprocessors work at very high speed.
• They are smaller in size.
• Microprocessors are programmable.
• Microprocessors are low costs due to integrated circuit technology.
• Power usage is very less due to usage of metal oxide semiconductor technology.
• Reliable, failure rate is very low.
• Lower heat generation as semiconductor devices emit very less heat.

Comparison Table: Microcontroller vs Microprocessor

Below table summarizes the difference between Microcontrollers and Microprocessors:

Download : Microcontroller vs Microprocessor Comparison Table.

Quick Facts:

Intel 4004 was a 4-bit CPU released in 1971 by Intel. It is the first CPU on one chip.

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Microcomputer vs Supercomputer

Supercomputer vs Minicomputer

In this article, we will learn about some terminologies associated with computers. There categorization and classification are based on their size and data handling capabilities.

Let’s understand the difference between Microcomputer and Supercomputer.

What is a Microcomputer?

Another name of ‘Microcomputer’, which is commonly used is ‘Personal Computer (PC)’.  Advent of Microcomputers happened in 1970s and 1980s. The first microcomputer was the Micral based on Intel 8008 chip. The Altair 8800 is considered first successful commercial microcomputer. The microcomputer was invented by Mers Kutt when he and his team at Micro computer Machines, Toronto introduced a desktop computer having intel 8008 chip.

Microcomputer or Personal computers (PC) as the name suggest were small and inexpensive and usually contained a single Central processing unit (CPU) and a self-contained unit comprising Memory, storage, input, and output unit. They were designed for individual users to perform general functions or tasks. Majority of Laptops and Desktops are examples of Microcomputers. These systems are ideal for personal work such as watching movies, listening to music, or office work like working on spreadsheets, typing a letter etc.

Microcomputer Characteristics

• Smallest in size among all other type of computers or systems.
• Processing speed ranges from 70 to 100 MIPS.
• Only limited number / type of software can be installed on personnel computers.
• It is primarily designed for personnel work and single user interface.
• Low cost and easy to operate.
• No special skill or training is required to use it.
• Having a single semiconductor microchip.
• Multitasking can be performed such as printing, scanning, Net browsing, videos etc.

What is a Supercomputer?

History of Supercomputers

The first ‘Supercomputer’ was developed by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cray research center. CDC 6600, it had a single processor with 10 peripheral processors, and it was released in 1964. It was about the size of four filling cabinets and operating speed of 40 MHZ.

It has cooling functionality built with Freon which circulated in pipes around four cabinets and generated heat was exchanged with a chilled external water supply unit.

In 1976 , the Cray 1 was released and was used for Nuclear weapon modelling.

In 1982, the Cray X-MP supported four CPUs and in 1985 the Cray 2 was released, and it has 8 CPUs.

In 90s Japanese took over Supercomputer market and NEC SX-3, Fujitsu Numerical Wind Tunnel, and Hitachi SR2201 models of Supercomputers were launched.

The Supercomputer built in 1990 by Intel with name ‘Touchstone Delta’ had 512 microprocessors.

About Supercomputer

Extremely powerful and very expensive computers used in applications that require very high-speed computations. Supercomputers are designed to process trillions of instructions per second.

Computing power of Supercomputer is measured in FLOPS (floating-point operations per second). The Supercomputer comprises of tens of thousands of microprocessors which can perform billion and trillion of calculations (in split seconds). There evolution happened from Grid to cluster computing and performs true parallel processing.

Snippet: Fastest supercomputer in world was Sunway TaihuLight China’s National Research center of Parallel Computer Engineering & Technology (NRCPC)

Supercomputer Characteristics

• Supports hundreds of users at one point of time.
• Capable of handling massive data calculations which are beyond the capacity of humans.
• Very large in size can take up space sized up to two tennis courts.
• Very expensive and highly priced.
• Processing speed ranges from 100 to 900 MIPS.
• Designed to perform complex problems such as Modelling and Simulations of physical spectacles such as Climate changes, study molecular behaviour, data analytics related to astronomical observations, genetics sequencing ,virtual testing of nuclear weapons , high quality animations etc.

Comparison Table: Microcomputers vs Supercomputer

Below table summarizes the difference between microcomputers and supercomputers:

FUNCTION	MICROCOMPUTER SYSTEMS	SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEMS
Definition	A microcomputer or personal computer comprises of a CPU as a microprocessor, meant for individual/single user usage.  Introduced in 1970s as personal computer for general use.	A specific class of very powerful computers designed to replicate or simulate nature phenomena’s.
Features	Less expensive, no specific skill or training required for its usage, having single semiconductor chip, single user interface, supports multitasking such as scanning , printing etc.	Very expensive, very high processing speed ranging from 100 to 900 MIPS.
Architecture	Comprising a single integrated semiconductor chip for its CPU, memory, Input / output unit and storage.	Had multiple microprocessors, very large storage capacity, special cooling using cryogenic fluid, Operate on pair of lists of numbers.
Applications	Education , entertainment, data processing, making spreadsheets, presentations, and graphics etc.	Complex mathematical calculations, weather forecasting, astronomy, scientific research such as gene sequencing , data mining etc.
Drawbacks/ Limitations	Low computational power, single user interface, Limited applications support etc.	Very expensive, takes up lots of space, very high-power consumption, maintenance require a skilled staff, heating issues.
Examples	Laptop, desktop systems, IBM-PC, Pocket calculator, industrial embedded systems.	Cray Supercomputer, Sunway TaihuLight, IBM Sequoia, Fujitsu K computer.

Download the comparison table here.

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Mainframe vs Minicomputer

Microcomputer vs Minicomputer

In this article, we will take a look at the difference between Minicomputers and Supercomputers.

What is a Supercomputer?

History of Supercomputers

The first ‘Supercomputer’ was developed by Seymour Cray at Control Data Corporation (CDC) Cray research center. CDC 6600, it had a single processor with 10 peripheral processors, and it was released in 1964. It was about the size of four filling cabinets and operating speed of 40 MHZ.

It has cooling functionality built with Freon which circulated in pipes around four cabinets and generated heat was exchanged with a chilled external water supply unit.

In 1976, the Cray 1 was released and was used for Nuclear weapon modelling.

In 1982, the Cray X-MP supported four CPUs and in 1985 the Cray 2 was released, and it has 8 CPUs.

In 90s Japanese took over Supercomputer market and NEC SX-3, Fujitsu Numerical Wind Tunnel, and Hitachi SR2201 models of Supercomputers were launched.

The Supercomputer built in 1990 by Intel with name ‘Touchstone Delta’ had 512 microprocessors.

About Supercomputer

Extremely fast and very powerful and it can execute hundreds of millions of instructions per second. They are the fastest computers currently available in the market.

Supercomputers are very expensive and designed to perform very specialized operations involving processing of billion and trillion of calculations (in split seconds), that is why there computing power is not measured in terms of MIPS but in FLOPS (floating-point operations per second). The Supercomputer comprises of tens of thousands of microprocessors which can perform Their evolution happened from Grid to cluster computing and performs true parallel processing.

Characteristics of Supercomputer

• Supports hundreds of users at one point of time.
• Capable of handling massive data calculations which are beyond the capacity of humans.
• Very large in size can take up space sized up to two tennis courts.
• Very expensive and highly priced.
• Processing speed ranges from 100 to 900 MIPS.
• Designed to perform complex problems such as Modelling and Simulations of physical spectacles such as Climate changes, study molecular behaviour, data analytics related to astronomical observations, genetics sequencing ,virtual testing of nuclear weapons , high quality animations etc.

What is a Minicomputer?

Minicomputers are small digital computers which process data less than a Mainframe but more than Microcomputers. They have large storage capacity and more processing power than their nearest cousins ‘Microcomputers’.

Advent of Minicomputers changed the landscape of IT industry and brought systems in reach to general users. In 1960 Control Data Corporation (CDC), Packard Bell, and Digital Equipment Corporation introduced Minicomputers with PDP (Programmed Data Processor).

Minicomputers were used by small and medium industry segments for operating businesses. Minicomputer is also referred as ‘Mid-range’ system which could range from higher end SPARC, Power and Titanium based systems designed by Oracle Power Corporation and Hewlett-Packard.

The minicomputers are characterized by one or more processors, supported multiprocessing, and multi-tasking, and meant to be resilient for high workloads, they can be networked, they don’t require any specific power or cooling requirements.

Minicomputers are available in market today in the form of many electronic gadgets such as Smartphones, Tablet PC, iPAD, Drawing tablets, Desktop Mini PC and so on.

These small and powerful gadgets are packed with features and used for gaming, watching videos, net surfing, and a variety of computing tasks. Minicomputers were developed for tasks related to storage of records, calculations, controls etc.

Characteristics of Minicomputer 

• Smaller size than a Supercomputer computer
• Low in cost than a super and mainframe computer
• Less powerful than a super and mainframe computer but more powerful than microcomputers
• Perform multitasking and multiprocessing
• Suitable for individual use and small businesses
• Ease of use and maintenance
• Small and lightweight easy to carry
• Fast and reliable

Comparison Table: Supercomputer vs Minicomputer

Below table summarizes the differences between supercomputers and minicomputers:

FUNCTION	MINICOMPUTER SYSTEMS	SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEMS
Definition	A small size computer packed with power, having limited computation capabilities.  Introduced in 1960 for operating business and using scientific applications.	A specific class of very powerful computers designed to replicate or simulate nature phenomena’s.
Features	Less expensive, Lightweight, portable, fast, reliable, easy to use and maintain, multitasking, multiprocessing capabilities, don’t have specific needs to cooling / AC etc.,  can be charged and used without power, Networking capabilities	Very expensive, very high processing speed ranging from 100 to 900 MIPS, memory in gigabytes.
Architecture	Multiprocessor unit, Smaller in size then a mainframe but larger than Microcomputer, multitasking and multiprogramming supported, Time sharing, batch and Online processing capabilities.	Had multiple microprocessors, very large storage capacity, special cooling using cryogenic fluid, Operate on pair of lists of numbers.
Applications	Business accounting, Cataloguing, management, data retrieval, communications, file handling, database management, engineering computations etc.	Complex mathematical calculations, weather forecasting, astronomy, scientific research such as gene sequencing , data mining etc.
Drawbacks/ Limitations	Don’t have CD/DVD drive, Keyboard is smaller in size, Not enough storage capacity, small display etc.	Very expensive, takes up lots of space, very high-power consumption, maintenance require a skilled staff , heating issues.
Examples	IBM System/3, Honeywell 200, TI-990.	Cray Supercomputer, Sunway TaihuLight, IBM Sequoia, Fujitsu K computer, IBM Roadrunner, Trinity by Cray Inc.

Download the comparison table here.

Quick Facts:

Fastest supercomputer in world was Sunway TaihuLight China’s National Research center of Parallel Computer Engineering & Technology (NRCPC)

The Blue Gene/P Supercomputer setup at Argonne National Lab spanned across 72 racks/cabinets having more than 250,000 processors having normal data center air conditioning and runs on High speed fibre optical network.

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Mainframe vs Minicomputer

Microcomputer vs Minicomputer

Minicomputers changed the digital landscape and were designed for direct interaction between systems and its users.

We would learn today about Mainframe and Minicomputer systems.

Mainframe

The first mainframe computer was ‘Harvard Mark’ which was developed in 1930s but was not ready to use till 1943s. It was bulky in size and weighted in tons.

Mainframe computers or as we call them as ‘Big iron’ were used for critical applications for bulk data processing, enterprise resource planning, large scale transaction processing and so on. Mainframes were characterised by hot swapping feature of hardware such as hard disks and memory, backward compatibility to older hardware, extensive Input/Output facilities, operated in batch mode , Virtualization and so on.

Mainframe term is derived from a term called ‘Large cabinet’ which comprises of a Central processing unit (CPU), main memory and a set of peripherals.  Mainframes were reliable and sturdy machines which provided high availability as they typically used for business-critical applications where downtimes could be catastrophic. Mainframes used sets of punched cards, magnetic tapes,  they operated in batch mode and supported Backoffice applications such as Payroll management, Customer order processing, Financial transactions, Inventory and production control, Payroll processing , Bulk storage of client information, scientific and engineering computations.

IBM Z is the only commercial sold mainframe in the market today.

Mainframe Characteristics

• Required specialized space to operate and skilled technicians
• Support large number of concurrent users
• Can process millions of transactions per second and handle volumes of data
• It is sturdy by design and can work for years smoothly without glitches with proper installation
• Supports large scale memory management
• Errors can be fix quickly without impacting the performance
• Protection of storage data and information and exchange of data on ongoing basis

Minicomputer

Minicomputers were very different from their larger counterpart ‘Mainframes’ in terms of price, function, usage and size.

Advent of Minicomputers changed the landscape of IT industry and brought systems in reach to general users. In 1960 Control Data Corporation (CDC) , Packard Bell, and Digital Equipment Corporation introduced Minicomputers  with PDP (Programmed Data Processor).

Minicomputers were used by small and medium industry segments for operating businesses. Minicomputer is also referred as ‘Mid-range’ system.

The minicomputers are characterized by one or more processors, supported multiprocessing, and multi-tasking, and meant to be resilient for high workloads, they can be networked, they don’t require any specific power or cooling requirements.

Minicomputers are available in market today in the form of many electronic gadgets such as Smartphones, Tablet PC, iPAD, Drawing tablets , Desktop Mini PC and so on.

These small and powerful gadgets are packed with features and used for gaming, watching videos, net surfing, and a variety of computing tasks. Minicomputers were developed for tasks related to storage of records, calculations, controls etc.

Minicomputer Characteristics

• Smaller size than a mainframe computer
• Low in cost than a super and mainframe computer
• Less powerful than a super and mainframe computer but more powerful than microcomputers
• Perform multitasking and multiprocessing
• Suitable for individual use and small businesses
• Ease of use and maintenance
• Small and lightweight easy to carry
• Fast and reliable

Comparison Table: Mainframe vs Minicomputers  

Below table summarizes the difference between Mainframe and Minicomputer systems:

FUNCTION	MAINFRAME SYSTEMS	MINICOMPUTER SYSTEMS
Definition	Mainframe is a client/server-based computer system. It has high processing power, memory, and storage to support massive data processing operations.	A small size computer with packed with power, having limited computation capabilities.  Introduced in 1960 for operating business and using scientific applications.
Features	High processing power, robust , reliable, long term performance	Costly, Lightweight, portable, fast, reliable, easy to use and maintain, multitasking, multiprocessing capabilities , don’t have specific needs to cooling / AC etc,  can be charged and used without power, Networking capabilities
Architecture	Client / Server or Centralized	Multiprocessor unit, Smaller in size then a mainframe but larger than Microcomputer, multitasking and multiprogramming supported, Time sharing and batch processing capabilities
Applications	ERP, Healthcare, Banking,  Education, Retail sector, Defense , scientific research etc	Business accounting, Cataloguing , management, data retrieval , communications , file handling, database management, engineering computations etc.
Drawbacks/ Limitations	Higher costs of procuring hardware, licensing, and software, cannot run on X86 architecture , Availability of skilled maintenance engineers is a challenge , character-based interface	Don’t have CD/DVD drive, Keyboard is smaller in size, Not enough storage capacity ,small display etc
Examples	IBM zSeries, System z9 and System z10 servers	IBM’s AS/400e, Honeywell200, TI-990 etc

Download the comparison table here.

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Microcomputer vs Minicomputer

Software Engineer vs Computer Engineer

Let’s realise the difference between Microcomputer and Minicomputer.

Microcomputer

Microcomputers came into existence and become popular in 1970s and 1980s. The first microcomputer was the Micral based on intel 8008 chip. the Altair 8800 is considered first successful commercial microcomputer. The microcomputer was invented by Mers Kutt when he and his team at Micro computer Machines, Toronto introduced a desktop computer having  intel 8008 chip.

Another commonly used name for Microcomputer is personal computer. Personal computers as the name suggest were designed for individual users to perform general functions or tasks. Majority of Laptops and Desktops are examples of Microcomputers. The microcomputer or personnel computer is comprising of components such as Central processing unit (CPU), Memory, storage, input, and output unit. These systems are ideal for personal work such as watching movies, listening to music, or office work like working on spreadsheets, typing a letter etc.

Microcomputer Characteristics

• Smallest in size among all other type of computers or systems
• Only limited number / type of software can be installed on personnel computers
• It is primarily designed for personnel work and single user interface
• Low cost and easy to operate
• No special skill or training is required to use it
• Having a single semiconductor micro chip
• Multitasking can be performed such as printing, scanning, Net browsing, videos etc.

Minicomputer

Minicomputers came into existence a way back in 1960s. The first Minicomputer was ‘Digital Equipment Corporation’ with PDP (Programmed Data Processor )and it was priced around USD 120,000. The minicomputers are characterized by small size but packed with power and multiple functionalities and are lightweight. Minicomputers are available in market today in the form of many electronic gadgets such as Smartphones, Tablet PC, iPAD, Drawing tablets , Desktop Mini PC and so on.

These small and powerful gadgets are packed with features and used for gaming, watching videos, net surfing, and a variety of computing tasks. Minicomputers were developed for tasks related to storage of records, calculations, controls etc.

Minicomputer Characteristics

• Smaller size than a mainframe computer
• Low in cost than a super and mainframe computer
• Less powerful than a super and mainframe computer but more powerful than microcomputers
• Perform multitasking and multiprocessing
• Suitable for individual use and small businesses
• Ease of use and maintenance
• Small and lightweight easy to carry
• Fast and reliable

Parameter	Microcomputer Systems	Minicomputer Systems
Definition	A microcomputer or personal computer comprises of a CPU as a microprocessor, meant for individual/single user usage.  Introduced in 1970s as personal computer for general use.	A small size computer with packed with power, having limited computation capabilities.  Introduced in 1960 for operating business and using scientific applications.
Features	Less expensive, no specific skill or training required for its usage, having single semiconductor chip, single user interface, supports multitasking such as scanning, printing etc.	Costly, Lightweight, portable, fast, reliable, easy to use and maintain, multitasking, multiprocessing capabilities , don’t have specific needs to cooling / AC etc.,  can be charged and used without power, Networking capabilities
Architecture	Comprising a single integrated semiconductor chip for its CPU, memory , Input / output unit and storage	Multiprocessor unit, Smaller in size then a mainframe but larger than Microcomputer, multitasking and multiprogramming supported, Time sharing and batch processing capabilities
Applications	Education , entertainment, data processing, making spreadsheets, presentations, and graphics etc.	Business accounting, Cataloguing , management, data retrieval , communications , file handling, database management, engineering computations etc.
Drawbacks/ Limitations	Low computational power, single user interface, Limited applications support etc.	Don’t have cd/DVD drive, Keyboard is smaller in size, Not enough storage capacity ,small display etc.
Examples	Laptop, desktop systems , IBM-PC, Pocket calculators , industrial embedded systems	IBM’s AS/400e, Honeywell200, TI-990 etc.

Download the difference table here.

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Data Center vs Disaster Recovery Center

What is a Meet Me Room?

Today we look at two common terminologies: Data center and Disaster Recovery Center, we come across in usual IT conversations.

Data Center

A data center is a centralized physical space to host computer systems and other infrastructure components such as network equipment, telecommunication links, storage systems etc. Data canters usually comprise of multiple power sources such as regular power supply from energy company, DG sets to provide power redundancy, multiple data communication links and other environmental controls such as air conditioning/cooling equipment, fire safety equipment’s, Security devices, access control equipment and so on.

Servers and network components are usually organized in ‘racks’.

Businesses in need of round the clock systems operations and high-speed connectivity requirements could depend on Data Centers for services to save running costs of IT operations.

Data Center – Types

Data Center design comprises of networking equipment such as routers, switches, firewalls. Storage equipment and Servers. Critical data and applications are hosted in Data Center to support business critical services hence data center security is very critical to Data Center design. Classification of Data Centers is determined by there ownership, technologies used for computing and storage , energy efficiencies etc.

Enterprise Data Centers are built and owned by organizations and optimized for their end users. They are usually in-house within company premises.

Managed Services  Data Centers are managed by 3^rd party service providers . Equipment is leased and not procured.

Colocation data centers are those where organizations rent space within Data Centers owned by other organizations. The infrastructure is provided by Data Center owner companies such as buildings, cooling , bandwidth , security (Physical / Logical) etc. and components such as Servers, Network equipment , storage etc. is provide by the organization.

Cloud data center – Data and applications are hosted on Cloud infrastructure such as IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure, or any other Public Cloud service provider.

Disaster Recovery Center

A disaster can strike at any point of time or anywhere. It may happen due to a network switch  failure to physical calamity – Flood, fire etc. happened in Geographical area where Data Center is located. In most of the cases Disasters can’t be predicted but we can plan to minimize damage to business and recover critical business data with meticulous planning.

Disaster Recovery Centers are setup to address the uninterrupted Business continuity requirements of organizations. Disaster Recovery Center is a specialized data center where the replication of data and computer processing is setup at off-premises location to ensure the services are not impacted when disaster strikes. While designing a Disaster Recovery Centers several factors are taken into consideration such as Primary site and DR site should not be in same Seismic zones.

In today’s competitive world organizations required to provide on demand services to their customers and ensure availability of services round the clock and minimize the downtime.

Gone are the days of traditional On Premises Data Centers and these are replaced by Virtualized systems on a mass scale. Use of virtualization technology makes it easy to protect critical data and applications by creating VM based backups and replicas which can be stored off-site or at remote location. So, Production load of Primary data center can quickly be moved onto a Disaster Recovery site / Center to quickly resume business operations.

Setting up Disaster Recovery Center is subset of ‘Business Continuity’

Disaster Recovery Center – RTO and RPO

RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) are two commonly used terms in Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery.

RTO defines timeframe within which systems need to be restored to their original state.

RPO defines how much data organization can afford to lose before it starts impacting the business.

Comparison Table: Data Center vs Disaster Recovery Center

PARAMETER	DATA CENTER	DIASTER RECOVERY CENTER
Definition	Data Center is physical space which hosts Computer systems and network equipment to support day to day operations	Disaster Recovery Center is an alternate facility which is used to recover and restore IT operations when Primary data Center is not available. It is having ready and up to date copy of critical applications and databases required to run the businesses
Location	Could be On Premises, Co-located outside or on Cloud	Off-Premises , Co-located outside or on cloud
Purpose	To facilitate daily work/operations	Backup site to support restoration of operations in the event of crash or disaster
Standards/Types	•Tier 1- Basic capacity with UPS •Tier 2 – Redundant capacity with cooling and power •Tier 3 – Concurrently Maintainable and any component can be taken out without affecting production •Tier 4 Fault tolerant insulated from any type of failure	•Hot – Real time replication from primary site •Warm – Backup facility with network connectivity and pre-installed hardware equipment •Cold – Backup facility having an office space with power, cooling system, air conditioning and communication equipment
Nature of Establishment	A permanent physical or virtual location (Located on cloud) to support organizations IT operations	A physical location that is temporary in nature or could be a virtually located on Cloud to support normal business operations during disaster

Download the comparison table here.

Disaster Recovery Center planning involves careful assessment of key points related to: 

• Identification of critical business processes to continue its vital processes
• Identification of data that requires to be protected and develop a backup schedule
• Data recovery techniques suitable for business
• Location of data to be determined will it be stored on site or off site
• Training of staff to quickly recover from a disaster or supervision on how to work during disaster
• Test and update Data Center recovery Plans

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Colocation vs Carrier Neutral Data Center

Database and Data Warehouse

Data Warehousing and Data Mining

In this article, we will discuss what is a web server? Its types, use and examples.

The term “Web Server” is defined as a server software or hardware that is designed to handle client requests on the World Wide Web. In normal conditions, a web server can be a part of one or two separate websites. A web server has the ability to process user requests that come over HTTP or HTTPs or other kind of protocols.

The main responsibilities of a web server are processing, storage and delivery of web pages to clients. The communication protocol used between the connection of a server and a client is the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The delivered content inside the web pages are usually HTML documents that includes images, style sheets and scripts.

Web Server response

Web server respond requests from clients in either of the following 2 ways:

• Sending the file to the client associated with URL that is requested
• Producing a response by summoning a script and then communicating with database for information

Web Server type: Static and Dynamic

Web Server can be provisioned as static Web server or Dynamic Web Server.

A static web server is simpler than the other type. It consists of a Server  ie hardware which includes the HTTP server software. Static, as the word stands, sends its hosted files in same form to the user browser.

Dynamic web server includes a static web server along with application server and a database (3 Tiered). “Dynamic”, as the name suggests, is different from former term since the application server updates the hosted files well before sending information to the user browser.

Some examples of Web server are –

• Apache HTTP Server
• Lighttpd
• Jigsaw Server
• Sun Java System Web Server
• IIS

 Where do we use Web Server?

Web servers are required by companies who are engaged in web hosting or else by web developers. E-Commerce and other Internet facing websites require a Web server, which stores and runs all the files and software essential to host an eCommerce website in addition to HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP databases and media files

The Best Open Source Web Servers

As history shows, the first web server was created back in 1991. Since then, there was a rapid evolution and many open source web servers have been invented, and the best of them are described below:

• Apache HTTP Server: This web server is commonly known in the IT industry as Apache or httpd in the Red Hat distributions. It is an open source implementation created by Apache Software Foundation in 1995. It is statistically significant is the amount of users that utilize this particular web server, which is 37% of all the websites. Apache is written in C language and is built in with a large number of modules. In addition Apache provides multi-protocol support such as IPv4 ,IPv6 ,HTTP, HTTP/2, and HTTPS.

• Nginx Web Server: Nginx web server was introduced by Igor Sysoev back in 2004. In addition to the fact that it is a high performance robust web server, it also acts as a load balancer, reverse proxy, IMAP/POP3 proxy server and API gateway. Nginx has a unique advanced technology providing low resource utilization, scalability and high concurrency. Users prefer Nginx web server because it can handle up to 500,000 requests per second with the lowest CPU utilization, commanding a market share of 31%.

• Lighttpd Web Server: Lighttpd web server is one of the open source editions that is specifically designed for speed critical applications. It has a very small footprint (less than 1 MB) and is very convenient with the server’s CPU utilization. It complies under the BSD license and it can be easily executed natively on Linux/Unix systems. Lighttpd’s embedded architecture is optimized to handle a huge volume of connections in parallel which is essential for high load performance web applications. Finally, Lighttpd web server also supports FastCGI, CGI, and SCGI for interfacing programs with the main web server.

• Caddy Web Server: Caddy Web Server is a fast and powerful multi-platform that can also act as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and API All the functions are built-in with reliable independency strategy making Caddy very easy to install and use. In addition, Caddy supports HTTPS and can handle easily of SSL/TLS certification renewals. It has the advantage of an ideal web server because it runs applications written in GO and provides full support for IPv6 and HTTP/2. Further, it supports virtual hosting, advanced WebSockets technology, URL rewrites, redirects, caching and static file services with compression and markdown rendering. Caddy has a very small market share for only 0.05% of the market share.

Conclusion 

The Web Server technology refers to both Hardware and Software implementations. Regardless of the terms explained above, it is a critical foundation of the Internet’s topology. The services it provides, ensures that huge data can be stored on a hardware machine connected to the network, allowing this data to be available to any other machine (user) through the internet by using network protocols, such as HTTP.

As we described in this article, every user in technical and semi-technical role should be familiar with the meaning of this technology. Hope this article helps with insight of Web Server types and choosing the appropriate web server edition that best suits his needs.

Considering technology advancement and strides human mind is taking to explore and invent new ideas, it’s for sure that future of Web server concept is quite bright will tend to become more responsive and offer enhanced user experience.

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HTTP vs TCP

HTML & CSS Interview Q&A

Advantages

• A Meet Me Room can be used as a base area to control access to large site backbone interconnectivity.
• By avoiding local loop communication fees, a Meet-Me Room can distribute data traffic more cost effectively.
• Clients have the advantage of being able to access high bandwidth connectivity directly within the Meet-Me Room, thus avoiding the need first travel out of the data center to get to a telco facility.

Disadvantages

• Two MMR need to be provisioned to keep the redundant separate paths with ISP, and it is a cost effective approach to build two MMR in data center.
• A Meet Me Room can be classed as a point of failure.
• Anything that interrupts the connectivity of a direct connection, for example, interconnection points or cable joints will increase latency and decrease performance.
• Close attention must be paid to standards that include interconnection methods of cable counts, color codes and labeling.

Benefits of Meet Me Room: 3C’s

The main benefit can be summed up as the ‘3Cs’ of control, cost, and choice:

• Control. Making a Meet-Me Room an integral part of your data center allows you to make sure the same security and business continuity i.e. battery backup and generator backup for smooth power supplies, as well as securing from unauthorized access.
• Cost. Meet-Me Room can distribute traffic at a lower cost by avoiding certain local loop of ISP with in the data center. High bandwidth connectivity is available to users directly with in the Meet-Me Room, rather than having to first travel out of the data center to get to a carrier facility and then return to data center.
• Choice. Smart management of a Meet-Me Room includes offering the right choices to users. For colocation facilities, multiple carriers each with sufficient space for communication and cross-connect equipment.

Meet Me Room Design

Design and size of Meet-Me Rooms can vary as per the requirement of different colocation and data centers. For example, phoenix Nap’s Meet-Me Room is a 3000 square foot room with a dedicated cross-connect room. Generally, Meet-Me Room should provide sufficient expansion space for new carriers. Potential clients avoid leasing space within a data center that cannot accommodate new ISPs. One of the things Meet-Me Room should offer is 45U cabinets for carriers and network providers’ equipment. Meet-Me Room do not always have both AC and DC power options. If the facility only provides one type of power, the design should offer more space for additional carrier equipment. Cooling is an essential part of every Meet-Me Room. Data centers and colocation providers are responsible for installation of carrier equipment’s in the meet-me room. High performance cooling units ensure the Meet-Me Room temperature always stays within acceptable ranges.

Entrance for Carriers

Network carriers enter a data center’s MMR by running a fiber cable from the street to the cross-connect room by using meet-me vaults. It is also called as meet-me boxes. These kind of infrastructure points are important for securing carrier access to the facility.

Vaults

Meet-Me Vault is a concrete box for carrier’s, where fiber optic enters into the facility. Meet-Me Vault gains maximum redundancy; it requires more than one vault in large data centers. Meet-me vaults are dug under the area located at the perimeter of a data center. Closer the distance from the meet-me vaults to the provider’s cable network, the lower the costs are to connect to the facility’s infrastructure. Multiple entry points and well positioned Meet-Me Vaults attract more providers. Meet-Me Vault allows providers to bring high bandwidth connection without sharing the ducts. From the Meet-Me Vaults, cables go into the cross-connect room via the reinforced trenches.

Cross-Connect Room

A Cross-Connect Room (CCR) is a highly secure location within a data center, a place where carriers connect to customer’s equipment’s. Fiber pass from the Cross-Connect Room to the carrier’s equipment in the meet-me room or other places in the data center. The primary purpose is to establish cross-connects between tenants and different the service providers.

Conclusion

MMR is a critical point for uninterrupted Internet exchange and ensure smooth transmission of data between tenants and the carriers Enterprise, benefited by establishing a direct connection with their partners and the service providers.

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What Is CPE?

Types of Network cables 2021

Hyper-Threading (HT) concept was introduced by Intel on desktop CPUs with the Pentium 4 HT. Pentium 4 is a single CPU core and cannot perform multi-tasking and in order to address this situation, Hyper threading allows the two logical CPU cores to share physical execution resources. HT enables multiple threads which are sequences of instruction to be run by each core to make the CPU run more efficiently. CPU can execute more task in the same amount of time –

• 1 to 4 Physical processors up to 4 Threads
• 1 to 4 Hyper-Thread enabled processors = 8 Logical Processors = 8 Threads

Uses of Hyper-threading

When the hyper-threading is enabled, each logical core of processor can act independently and can be interrupted, halted and operated separately from the other virtual processor sharing the same core. In this process, when one logical core is idle, the second core can take over the resources of other logical core. Hyper threading allows the processor to work on more instruction threads in a given time. Hyper threading is a hardware-based virtualization at the processor hardware level. Applications that take benefit of hyper-threading are heavy-duty audio/video transcoding apps and scientific applications built for maximum multi-threaded performance. By using hyper-threading performance can be boost up to 30%.

Related – What is Hyper Converged Infrastructure?

How Hyper-Threading works

HT Technology is applied where multiple tasks are scheduled so that there will be no idle time on your processor. Video editing, 3D rendering are examples of hyper-threading. Hyper Threading does not increase the cores of processors; it will only help to handle the task efficiently. Hyper Threading technology enables each core to run two threads at same time parallelly.

Hyper-Threading Performance

Hyper Threading increases the performance of CPU cores by enabling hyper-threading feature. Multiple threads are sequences of the instructions to be run by each core to make the CPU operate more efficiently. CPU can execute more tasks in the same amount of time. Hyper threading only helps to handle the instructions. With Hyper Threading, the OS will recognize each physical core as 2 virtual or logical cores. Eventually, Hyper threading virtually doubles the number of cores that are on the CPU.  Dual-core processors acts like a virtual quad-core processor.

Hyper-Threading Technology Benefits

Hyper Threading Technology improves the utilization of CPU resources so that a second thread can be processed in the same processor. Hyper Threading provides two logical processors in a single processor package. Hyper Threading Technology offers:

• Improved overall system performance.
• Increased number of users.
• Improved throughput because tasks run on different threads.
• Improved reaction and response time.
• Increased number of instructions that can be executed at a same time.
• Compatibility with existing IA-32 software.

Disadvantages of using Hyper threading

HT is responsible for generating extra heat. Cores are made to perform additional calculations per cycle, which results in more leakage, consequently more heat, which negatively impacts overclocking.

Utilization of Processor Resources

Hyper Threading Technology improves performance of multi-threaded applications by increasing the utilization of the on-chip resources available in the micro architecture. The micro architecture provides optimal performance when executing a single instruction stream. A typical thread of code with a typical mix of Intel IA-32-based instructions, however, utilizes only about 35 percent of the micro architecture execution resources. HT Technology makes these underutilized resources available to a second thread of code, enhanced throughput and overall system performance. HT Technology provides a second logical processor in a single package for higher system performance. Systems containing multiple Hyper Threading Technology supported processors can expect further performance improvement.

Conclusion

Hyper Threading is a technology that allows processors to work more efficiently. This technology enables the processor to execute two series or threads of instructions at the same time thereby improving performance and system responsiveness.

With introduction of new infrastructure services focused at providing smooth application access for customers, there have been new and improved cost effective solutions w.r.t Data Center Infrastructure services like power, space etc and Multi service provider connectivity services. Aimed at providing customers with cost effective and reliable services, “Colocation” and “Carrier Neutral data Centers” will be the topic discussed in this article. Let’s understand both the concepts in more detail and how they differ –

What is Colocation?

Colocation data center is a setup where a company places its physical servers in a third-party data center. The facility of colocation data center takes the responsibility for managing servers and other data center equipment on a day-to-day basis, providing power and cooling as well as handling some basic network connectivity and maintenance issues that arise. Colocation Data Center maintains ownership and control of the servers and they rent rack space and the infrastructure required to run them and connect them to internet services.

Types of Colocation Facilities

Colocation Data Center facility is generally classified as one of the two types retail, wholesale and third type is hybrid cloud-based colocation facilities.

• Retail Colocation: Customer leases rack space within a data center.
• Wholesale Colocation: Customer leases a fully built data center space, at a very cheaper rate than retail vendors but with lower power and space requirements.
• Hybrid Cloud Based Colocation: Hybrid cloud based colocation is a mix of in house and outsourced data center services.

Benefits of a Colocation Data Center

• Lower Costs: Colocation Data Center saves the cost of customer in lease of space rather than with the option of building own Data Center. Otherwise equipment requires a huge room; the costs will be far lower by using a colocation option.
• Fewer Technical Staff: You don’t need to have a large IT staff employed to handle this work like cables, managing power, installing equipment, or any number of other technical processes
• Reliability: Colocation data centers are typically built with the redundancy purpose. This includes backup power generators, physical security, multiple network connections through multiple ISPs.
• Geographic Location: Customer can choose the location of data center geographically.
• Predictable Expenses: Costs associated with a colocation data center will be very predictable and genuine.
• Scalability: When your requirement is growing, new servers or other equipment added to the facility as per need.
• Availability: The advantage that draws enterprise businesses into data center colocation is close to 100% server uptime.
• Security: Data centers are equipped with the latest security technology to protect data center from attacks and including cameras and biometric readers, check-in desks that welcome inbound visitors.

Related – Data Warehouse vs Database

What is a Carrier-Neutral Data Center?

Carrier-Neutral or Network-Neutral data center is a facility that operates completely independent of the carrier service provider. This means multiple telecommunication operators have access to the facility because it is not owned or controlled by a specific single Internet Service Provider (ISP). Therefore, clients from these data centers have a variety of connectivity options to choose among.

There are many advantages of working with carrier-neutral data centers. If you are establishing servers in a data center, then you are dependent on their environment. Carrier-Neutral data centers help in fulfilling your connectivity needs. With Single carrier facility connectivity option will be limited. This will be a very tight situation when only single ISP available. Difficult to switch ISP if the ISP is increasing its service cost.

• Carrier-Neutral Data Center or Network-Neutral are fully independent of ISP.
• Many ISPs are allowed to connect to the data center, creating a more diverse and cost effective environment.
• Carrier neutral data center make it easier for local business to choose from a number of different carrier that best meet their performance and pricing requirement.
• When multiple carriers are available, redundancy take place due to decreased chances of a network failure.

Benefits of a Carrier-Neutral Data Center

• Redundancy: Carrier Neutrality means one or more WAN service providers are available for data center connectivity. By depending on multiple carriers you can fully eliminate downtime.
• Cost-efficiency: Carrier-Neutrality is very cheap and user can switch carriers at own discretion.
• Flexibility: Carrier Neutrality can switch between multiple carriers, hence customers can take advantage of routing.
• Low Latency: Carrier Neutral shares the bandwidth from the ISP and reduces the number of hops between carriers. By avoiding all other network devices, no extra latency is added providing your business the fastest connectivity possible.

Related – DATA CENTER VS CLOUD

Comparison Table : Colocation vs Carrier Neutral Data Center

KEY TERMS	COLOCATION DATA CENTER	CARRIER NEUTRAL DATA CENTER
Cost consideration	Colocation Data Center saves the cost of customer in lease of space rather than with the option of building own Data Center. Otherwise equipment requires a huge room; the costs will be far lower by using a colocation option.	Carrier neutral data center make it easier for local business to choose from a number of different carrier that best meet their performance and pricing requirement.
Objective	Aimed at offering physical space to customers for running applications.	Aimed at offering a wide variety of connection options to its colocation customers.
Reliability	Colocation data centers are typically built with the redundancy purpose. This includes backup power generators, physical security, multiple network connections through multiple ISPs.	Carrier Neutrality means that one or more carriers are available to connect data center to the internet. By depending on multiple carriers you can fully eliminate downtime.
Uptime	Advantage that draws enterprise businesses into data center colocation is 100% server uptime.	When multiple carriers are available, redundancy occurs due to decreased chances of a network failure.

Download the comparison table here.

Comparison between Colocation Vs Carrier Neutral Data Center

1. From Cost prospective, both data centers are very cheap resource for users which can utilize resource and service at very best price.
2. Objective of Colocation is more towards offering physical space to customers for running applications. On the other hand, Carrier Neutral facilities/Data Centers are aimed at offering a wide variety of connection options to its colocation customers.
3. From Reliability prospective, both data centers can provide reliable service to user like power, security network connection from ISP.
4. From Scalability prospective, both data centers are very flexible to adopt new changes in existing environment and highly scalable.
5. With respect to Uptime, both data centers are highly redundant and can provide 99.99% uptime to user.

Conclusion

A colocation data center offers physical and virtual space for companies to store and manage their servers and data infrastructure. A carrier-neutral facility is simply a data center that is entirely independent of these network providers.

CPE is generally used in order to initiate the route between the customer premises and the destination is the central office of the carrier that has given the equipment. In other words, it is an equipment that will connect the customer’s home or office to the official carrier’s central office from where all the services are provided.

Applications of CPE

CPE is used in many places. Talking about the examples, the telephone using which we talk are also a part of CPE. Moreover, there certain another real-life usage where we use CPE such as in models CSU/DSU which are also known as channel service unit or data service unit, PBX which stands for private branch exchanges. Along with this, there are many other real-life usages where we are using CPE on a daily basis.

Any equipment using which we can connect to different places can be treated as a CPE. Most probably the carrier will direct the final route of the network and it is called CPE. The modem might not directly be sold or leased by the carrier but it helps the computer network to reach the central office. There is a wired line that is directly connected to the modem which will define the route of your network to the central office. From the central office, all the routes are finally transferred according to the packets.

Whether the equipment is directly sold or given at lease it decided by the carrier itself. In most of the cases, a telephone is leased and not directly sold whereas the modem is directly sold to the customer. The customer can, later on, connect it with the cable to access the data and take advantage of the carrier service. Therefore, it depends on the carrier company on how they plan to distribute the Customer Premises Equipment.

Working of CPE

Now, let’s get a  little bit deep into the working of the CPE. The configuration of any of the CPE devices is done most of times by the carrier service itself. Also, there is constant monitoring of the CPE to ensure everything is alright. All of these things are either pre-configured or the customer is given a complete user manual and they just have to enter their login id and password in order to use the CPE.

Once the CPE is installed and the configuration is complete, one can start using the CPE. Let’s say a modem device is installed termination for any of the line. For instance, the line is T2. The modem is already configured or we can simply enter the details to continue working with it. We can then connect the computer with a modem and start using the data. There is a network protocol called the Simple Network Management Protocol used for monitoring. All the features, loopbacks, and other usage details are sent to the service provider. In this way, the service provider can decide if there is something wrong with the device or not. In the same way, the central office can know if the remote device is working properly and sending the data to the central office.

Some examples of CPE devices are –

• Telephone handsets
• cable TV set-top boxes
• Digital Subscriber Line routers