Terms

TCP segmentation offload

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TCP segmentation offload

Abbreviated as TSO, TCP segmentation offload is used to reduce the CPU overhead of TCP/IP on fast networks. TSO breaks down large groups of data sent over a network into smaller segments that pass through all the network elements between the source and destination. This type of offload relies on the network interface controller(NIC) to segment the data and then add the TCP, IP and data link layer protocol headers to each segment. The NIC must support TSO. TSO is also called large segment offload (LSO).

See “Understanding The Data Link Layer” in Webopedia’s Did You Know section.

Terms

ARM Servers

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ARM Servers

An ARM server, or advanced RISC machine server, is a computer server system comprised of a large array of ARM processors as opposed to the x86-class processors traditionally used in servers. ARM servers are touted for being able to provide similar or greater processing power than x86 server counterparts while consuming less energy and producing less heat.

As a result, ARM servers have become more and more popular in recent years and are now frequently deployed in enterprise data centers and cloud deployments. However, despite projections of massive growth for ARM servers, the road to mainstream adoption and gaining market share on Intel and its x86-based servers has not gone smoothly for ARM servers and ARM server processor manufacturers.

The Current State of the ARM Server Market

A number of ARM server chip manufacturers have attempted to push the ARM server industry forward, only to see their efforts come up short. Applied Micro Devices (AMD), Broadcom (with its Vulcan ARM server chips), Qualcomm (with its Amberwing processor designs), Calxeda, Cavium and others have put massive amounts of money into the ARM server market only to later cease operations or find themselves acquired by other companies.

In their place, companies like HP with its Moonshot server systems, AWS with its Graviton ARM server chip, and Huawei Technlogies, with its HiSilicon subsidiary, have been pushing the ARM server market forward.

Their efforts are helping ARM servers gain footholds in hyperscale, cloud and enterprise data center computing environments, but Intel and its x86 servers still outpace ARM server deployments by a huge margin.

Terms

TCP – Transmission Control Protocol

by BlogsAdmin

TCP – Transmission Control Protocol

Abbreviation of Transmission Control Protocol, and pronounced as separate letters. TCP is one of the main protocols in TCP/IP networks. Whereas the IP protocol deals only with packets, TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data. TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.

 

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XML Schema Definition – XSD

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XML Schema Definition – XSD

Short for XML Schema Definition, a way to describe and validate data in an XML environment. (A schema is a model for describing the structure of information.) XSD is a recommendation of the W3C.

XSD has advantages over earlier XML schema languages, such as DTD. Because XSD is written in XML, there is no need for a parser. XSD defines a richer set of data typessuch as booleans, numbers, dates and times, and currencies — which is invaluable for e-commerce applications. DTDs, on the other hand, express data types as explicit enumerations, which makes validation much more difficult and less accurate.

More important, XSD makes it easier to validate documents based on namespaces (used to qualify element and attributes names by associating them with namespaces identified by URI references. Namespaces prevent identically custom-named tagsthat may be used in different XML documents from being read the same way), something DTDs cannot do.

XSD is defined in the W3C’s XML Schema Working Group Working Draft published on May 6, 1999.

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SDS – software-defined storage

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SDS – software-defined storage

Storage infrastructure that is managed and automated by intelligent software as opposed to by the storage hardware itself. In this way, the pooled storage infrastructure resources in a software-defined storage (SDS) environment can be automatically and efficiently allocated to match the application needs of an enterprise.

Separating the Storage Hardware from the Software

By separating the storage hardware from the software that manages the storage infrastructure, software-defined storage enables enterprises to purchase heterogeneous storage hardware without having to worry as much about issues such as interoperability, under- or over-utilization of specific storage resources, and manual oversight of storage resources.

The software that enables a software-defined storage environment can provide functionality such as deduplication, replication, thin provisioning, snapshots and other backup and restore capabilities across a wide range of server hardware components. The key benefits of software-defined storage over traditional storage are increased flexibility, automated management and cost efficiency.

Software-Defined Storage is Not Storage Virtualization

Software-defined storage is sometimes confused with the term storage virtualization, but as an article from CRN explains, while the latter term involves separating capacity from specific storage hardware resources (and thereby pooling storage devices), SDS involves separating the storage capabilities and services from the storage hardware.

Prominent examples of software-defined-storage include OpenStack, EMC ViPR, Nexenta and HP StoreVirtual.

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architecture

by BlogsAdmin

architecture

The term architecture can refer to either hardware or software, or to a combination of hardware and software. The architecture of a system always defines its broad outlines, and may define precise mechanisms as well.

Open Architecture

An open architecture allows the system to be connected easily to devices and programs made by other manufacturers. Open architectures use off-the-shelf components and conform to approved standards. A system with a closed architecture, on the other hand, is one whose design is proprietary, making it difficult to connect the system to other systems.

Also see a diagram of n-tier application architecture in the quick reference section of Webopedia.