Utilizing Tech Season 6 - Utilizing AI
By Tech Field Day
Season 6: Utilizing AI
Season 5: Utilizing Edge Computing
Season 4: Utilizing CXL
Season 1-3: Utilizing AI
Utilizing Tech Season 6 - Utilizing AIApr 20, 2021
06x12: Reflecting on a Half-Year of AI Innovation
We knew that 2024 would be the year of AI right from the start, but this season of the podcast has seen incredible development and change. This final episode of Utilizing Tech Season 6 features hosts Frederic Van Haren, Allyson Klein, and Stephen Foskett discussing the current state of AI infrastructure half-way through 2024. In addition to AI Field Day, we experienced NVIDIA GTC and numerous product introductions over the last few months. It's truly an ecosystem play now, with every company showing how well they can partner to build AI infrastructure. At the same time, a few superusers of AI are responsible for the basic models, including Google, Amazon, and Microsoft, and of course OpenAI and the other dedicated generative AI firms. The key to bringing this to the enterprise market is transfer learning, which will see a few base models tuned and trained for specific use cases. This season saw a range of guests discussing storage, data platforms, connectivity, and application development, and every one is focused on delivering practical AI solutions in the enterprise.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Allyson Klein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allysonklein/ Frederic Van Haren: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Follow Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/ X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
Tech Field Day Website: https://www.TechFieldDay.com LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/Tech-Field-Day X/Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/TechFieldDay
Tags: #UtilizingAI, #UtilizingTech, #YearofAI, @UtilizingTech, @TechFieldDay, @TheFuturumGroup, @SFoskett, @FredericVHaren, @TechAllyson,
06x11: Considering the Promise of Quantum Computing in AI with Dr Bob Sutor of The Futurum Group
Both AI and quantum computing seemed entirely theoretical just a few years ago, yet generative AI is everywhere today. This episode of Utilizing Tech considers the promise of quantum computing generally and the applicability of this technology in AI with Dr. Bob Sutor of The Futurum Group, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. One big challenge for quantum computing is the difficulty of storing data for calculations, a severe limitation for using the technology in AI. But there is the possibility of pairing classical computers with quantum processors to bring the best of both concepts. Both AI and quantum computing deal with linear algebra, so there is an affinity between the technologies, but it is likely that each will find use cases in different areas. Ultimately there is still a lot of development to do but quantum technology shows great promise in AI and beyond.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Alastair Cooke: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alastaircooke/
Guest: Bob Sutor, Vice President and Practice Lead od Emerging Technologies at The Futurum Group: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bobsutor/
Follow Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/ X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
Tech Field Day Website: https://www.TechFieldDay.com LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/Tech-Field-Day X/Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/TechFieldDay
Tags: @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @TechFieldDay, @SFoskett, @DemitasseNZ, @TheFuturumGroup, #UtilizingAI, #AI,
06x10: Using AI in Modern Applications with Matthew Wallace
As we consider the impact of AI on modern applications, we should consider the ways that this technology will improve these products. This episode of Utilizing Tech brings Matthew Wallace, CTO of Kamiwaza AI, to discuss the adoption of AI in application development with Allyson Klein and Stephen Foskett. Large SaaS providers were the first to add AI-powered features but this technology is rapidly coming to market across the spectrum of applications. Matthew likens this to the evolution from spreadsheets to SaaS tools and cloud, which was a similar revolution. He mentions tools like ?, Cursor, Llama2, Mixtral, and more. We also discuss retrieval-automated generation (RAG), which enables LLMs to bring in external data at run time. We must also consider the source of the data, both in training and RAG, and questions of sovereignty, privacy, copyright, and safety. Looking forward, Matthew expects companies to customize their own models based on use case specific data. Looking forward, we expect new frameworks and models to be adopted rapidly to bring maturity and reliability to AI in enterprise applications throughout 2024.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Allyson Klein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allysonklein/
Guest: Matthew Wallace, CTO and Cofounder of KamiwazaAI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewwallaceco/
Follow Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/ X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
Tech Field Day Website: https://www.TechFieldDay.com LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/Tech-Field-Day X/Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/TechFieldDay
Tags: @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett, @TechAllyson, @KamiwazaAI, @TechFieldDay, #AIFD4, #AI, #UtilizingAI,
06x09: Modern Application Development Using AI with Paul Nashawaty of The Futurum Group
AI is accelerating application development and modernization in many ways, but developers are just ramping up their use of the technology. This episode of Utilizing Tech includes Paul Nashawaty, who focuses on application development at The Futurum Group, discussing this topic with Allyson Klein and Stephen Foskett. Use cases for AI include documentation, chatbots, data integration, programming co-pilots, and more. Regardless of how AI is used, organizations must accept that they are ultimately responsible for the products and outputs produced. Accelerating testing and thus the entire DevOps release cycle is one area where AI is making incredible growth. Another popular concept is retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) which brings existing datasets to generative AI to improve results. There is currently a lack of confidence in AI-based solutions and concern about the complexity and level of effort required to bring them to market, so vendors must help make deployment easier and better integrated. Product vendors are addressing this by delivering solutions with partners and popular platforms and frameworks. Open source tools and open data are also helping to move AI technologies forward. Developers want invisible infrastructure and platforms that just work, and the emerging AI PC segment promises more processing power on the desktop. 2024 is shaping up to be the year of AI in application development.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Allyson Klein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allysonklein/
Paul Nashawaty, Practice Lead, Application Development Modernization at The Futurum Group: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulnashawaty/
Follow Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/ X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech Tech Field Day Website: https://www.TechFieldDay.com LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/Tech-Field-Day X/Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/TechFieldDay
Tags: #UtilizingAI, #AppDev, #AI, @TheFuturumGroup, @GestaltIT, @TechFieldDay, @SFoskett, @TechAllyson, @PNashawaty,
06x08: Operationalizing AI with VAST Data
We are at a turning point, as AI has matured from theoretical experimentation to practical application. In this episode of Utilizing Tech, Neeloy Bhattacharyya joins Allyson Klein and Stephen Foskett to discuss how VAST Data's customers and partners are making practical use of AI. Data is the key to successful AI-powered applications, and VAST Data supports both unstructured and structured data sets. Neeloy emphasizes the interactive nature of AI application development and the flexibility required to support this. He also discusses the need for structured data to support LLMs and the challenges of keeping these up to date and synchronized. One of the biggest issues in deploying AI applications is the complexity inherent in these systems. That's why it's heartening to see companies working together to created integrations and standardized platforms to make AI easier to deploy. Collaboration is the key to making AI practical. Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Allyson Klein: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allysonklein/ Guest: Neeloy Bhattacharyya, Director of AI/HPC Solutions Engineering at VAST Data: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neeloybhattacharyya/ Follow Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/ X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech Tech Field Day Website: https://www.TechFieldDay.com LinkedIn: https://www.LinkedIn.com/company/Tech-Field-Day X/Twitter: https://www.Twitter.com/TechFieldDay Tags: #UtilizingAI, #AI, #Data, @VAST_Data,
06x07: Evolving Connectivity for AI Applications with Ultra Ethernet with J Metz
Ultra Ethernet promises to tune Ethernet for the needs of specialized workloads, including HPC and AI, from the lowest hardware to the software stack. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Dr. J Metz, Steering Committee Chair of the Ultra Ethernet Consortium, discussing this new technology with Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett. The process of tuning Ethernet begins with a study of the profile and workloads to be served to identify the characteristics needed to support it. The group focuses on scale-out networks for large-scale applications like AI and HPC. Considerations include security, latency, ordering, and scalability. The goal is not to replace PCIe, CXL, or fabrics like NVLink but to extend Ethernet to address the connectivity and performance needs in an open standardized way. But Ultra Ethernet is more than hardware; the group is also building software features including a Libfabric interface and are working with OCP, DMTF, SNIA, and other industry groups.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Guest:
J Metz, Chair of the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and SNIA, Technical Director at AMD: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jmetz/
06x06: AI Is My Co Pilot with Chris Grundemann
Everyone uses AI today, whether they know it or not, and it's critical for users of this technology to understand its capability and limitations. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Chris Grundemann, a fellow podcast host and Tech Field Day delegate, talking the many ways we use AI every day. Like Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett, Chris uses AI to assist with content creation in many ways, from summarization and organization of data to image generation. Content creators are using AI tools like ChatGPT, Stable Diffusion, and more to process data, but we all agree that it's best to spend time and effort to refine the output, especially when it comes to tone and voice. We are also using AI based tools for coding and structuring data, especially interactively. Although some have suggested that AI will replace content creators or coders, the technology is instead democratizing access and making it easier to use on a daily basis. It also makes computing more available to those who were previously locked out, expanding the impact of the technology we have spent decades creating.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Guest:
Chris Grundemann, Managing Director at Grundemann Solutions: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cgrundemann/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
#UtilizingAI #Storage #AI #Datacenter #Hyperscale @UtilizingTech
06x05: Great AI Needs Great Storage with Ace Stryker of Solidigm
Many people involved in artificial intelligence don't spend much time considering storage infrastructure. That's the topic of this episode of Utilizing AI, which features Ace Stryker of Solidigm discussing the role of flash storage in AI infrastructure with Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett. Considering the cost of GPUs and the rest of the AI stack, idle time is the enemy. That's why it's critical to have a low-latency storage layer to support tasks like training.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Guest: Ace Stryker, Director of Product Marketing at Solidigm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/acestryker/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingAI #FlashStorage #AI @Solidigm @UtilizingTech
06x04: Keeping Your GPUs Fed with a Data Pipeline from Hammerspace with Molly Presley
AI training is a uniquely data-hungry application, and it requires a special data pipeline to keep expensive GPUs fed. This episode of Utilizing Tech focuses on the data platform for machine learning, featuring Molly Pressley of Hammerspace along with Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett. Nothing is worse than idle hardware, especially when it comes to expensive GPUs intended for ML training. Performance is important, but parallel access and access to multiple systems is just as important. Building an AI training environment requires identifying and eliminating bottlenecks at every layer, but many systems are simply not capable of scaling to the extent required by the largest GPU clusters. But a data pipeline goes way beyond storage: Training requires checkpoints, metadata, and access to different data points. And different models have unique requirements as well. Ultimately, AI applications require a flexible data pipeline not just high-performance storage.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Guest: Molly Presley, Head of Global Marketing at Hammerspace: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollyjpresley/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingAI #AI #AITraining @Hammerspace_Inc @UtilizingTech
06x03: AI PCs, Renewed Focus on AI Safety, and More with David Kanter of MLCommons
AI is powering breakthroughs across all domains. In this episode of Utilizing AI Podcast brought to you by Tech Field Day, part of The Futurum Group, David Kanter, Founder and Executive Director of MLCommons, joins hosts, Stephen Foskett and Frederic Van Haren, to talk about MLCommons’ role in driving valuable AI solutions, and helping organizations overcome the challenges around AI safety. MLCommons’ set of benchmarks provides transparent ratings and reviews of a wide range of products guiding buyers towards better purchase decisions.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Guest: David Kanter, Founder and Executive Director, MLCommons: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kanterd/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingTech #AI #MLPerf #UtilizingAI #AISafety @MLCommons @UtilizingTech
06x02: Private AI is a Reality with Chris Wolf of VMware by Broadcom
AI is all about data, so it is no surprise that enterprises are deploying their own private AI inside the firewall. This episode of Utilizing Tech brings Chris Wolf, Global Head of AI and Advanced Services at VMware by Broadcom, to discuss private AI with Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett. Companies looking to deploy AI are finding that it doesn't require nearly as much hardware as expected, software is widely available, and are reluctant to trust sensitive data to a service provider. VMware by Broadcom is deploying their own private AI code assist, keeping proprietary software and standards inside the firewall. But the solution also helps the AI team be more agile and responsive to the needs of the business and customers. One of the first use cases they found for private AI was customer support, and this is tightly integrated with internal documentation and sources to ensure valid responses. The biggest challenge is to integrate unstructured data, which can be spread across many locations, and this is actively being investigated by companies like Broadcom as well as projects like LlamaIndex. VMware has contributed back to the open source community, notably with the Ray workload scheduler, open source models, and related projects. It's important to build community and long-term engagement and support for open source as well, and this is in keeping with the overall trends in the AI community. Organizations looking to get started with private AI should consider the VMware by Broadcom reference architecture, which incorporates best practices at a smaller scale and pick a use case that provides immediate value.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Chris Wolf, Global Head of AI and Advanced Services at VMware by Broadcom: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cswolf/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingAI, #AI, #PrivateAI, @VMware, @Broadcom, @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @SFoskett, @FredericVHaren,
06x01: The Bedrock of AI is Data with Nick Magnuson and Clive Bearman of Qlik
Data is the foundation on which AI models are built, and integration of enterprise data will be the key to generative AI applications. This episode of Utilizing Tech brings Nick Magnuson and Clive Bearman from Qlik to discuss the integration of data and AI with Frederic Van Haren and Stephen Foskett. Enterprises sometimes worry that their data will never be ready for AI or that they will feed models with too much low-quality data, and overcoming this issue is one of the first hurdles. Another application for machine learning is improving data quality, organizing and tagging unstructured data for applications. The concept of curated data is an interesting one, since it promises to elevate the value of enterprise data. But what if a flood of data causes the model to make the wrong connections? If data is to be a product it must be profiled, tagged, and organized, and ML can help make this happen. The trend of generative AI is driving budgets and priorities to make data more useful and organized, but even unstructured data streams can be valuable. The application of large language models to structured data is promising as well, since it enables people to query these data sets even if they lack the background and skills to construct queries.
Hosts: Stephen Foskett, Organizer of Tech Field Day: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/ Frederic Van Haren, CTO and Founder of HighFens, Inc.: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fredericvharen/
Guests: Nick Magnuson, Head of AI, Qlik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-magnuson-0a253931/ Clive Bearman, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Qlik: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clivebearman/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
06x00: Looking Forward to the Year of AI with Frederic Van Haren and Mark Beccue
In the two years since we focused on AI on this podcast, OpenAI added a simple conversational interface to their deep-learning model and AI has exploded on society. This season of Utilizing Tech focuses on practical applications for artificial intelligence and features co-hosts Frederic Van Haren and Mark Beccue along with Stephen Foskett. In this episode we return to AI with a look back at the incredible impact that generative AI has had on society. Humans traditionally interfaced with machines using keyboard and mouse, touch and gesture, but ChatGPT changed all that by enabling people to communicate with computers verbally. But this is just one of many potential AI model components that can be used to build business applications. The true power of generative AI will be realized when these other components appear, and when they are able to integrate custom data. We will also see innovation in the AI infrastructure stack, from GPUs to NPUs to CPUs, storage and data platforms, and even client devices.
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
X/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @TheFuturumGroup, @SFoskett, @FredericVHaren, @FutureBec, #UtilizingAI, #AI, #GenerativeAI, #AINetworking,
05x22: Edge Innovation is Coming from All Directions
As we've discussed all season on Utilizing Edge, innovation is coming from all directions, including hardware, software, and applications. This special crossover episode of the On-Premise IT and Utilizing Tech podcasts features Edge Field Day delegates Brian Knudtson, Ned Bellavance, and Jody Lemoine discussing their perspectives about edge innovation with Stephen Foskett. The primary drivers at the edge are integration, efficiency, and connectivity, as well as the unique needs of the applications there. Starting with hardware, customers are headed in two directions, with more enterprise availability features deployed in some locations and less-capable hardware in others, both in terms of compute and networking. At the software level, most edge infrastructure is hyper-converged, meaning that multiple layers of the stack are integrated in software and managed as one. Although intended as an application platform, Kubernetes is being deployed as a packaging abstraction and distribution solution at the edge.
Host:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sfoskett/
Guests:
Ned Bellavance: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ned-bellavance/
Brian Knudtson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bknudtson/
Jody Lemoine: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodyl/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #EFD2, #Edge, #UtilizingEdge, @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @SFoskett, @Ned1313, @GhostInTheNet, @BKnudtson,
05x21: The New Direction of Hardware Led by Edge Computing
Edge is leading the hardware industry into a new era of innovation. In this episode of Utilizing Tech, Stephen Foskett, and co-hosts, Allyson Klein and Alistair Cooke, sit down to dissect this. In the wake of Intel’s discontinuation of its NUC product line, a question that is in everyone’s mind is, what’s next. Intel, and many behemoths like it, have a proud legacy of knowing how to break a stalemate and preserve the churn, and even if that means stepping up and pulling the plug on an old product. It oxygenates the marketplace, welcoming new solutions and keeping the wheel of innovation moving. In the context of the emerging paradigm of edge, this change will likely propel the market towards a new breed of powerful, low-cost, pocket-size hardware that delivers breakthrough energy-efficiency and compute performance with little infrastructure.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ
Allyson Klein: https://www.twitter.com/TechAllyson
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #Edge, #NUC, @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @SFoskett, @TechAllyson, @DemitasseNZ,
05x20: Personal and Mobile Devices at the Edge with Mark Houtz and Jim Czuprynski
Personal devices are increasingly being used across enterprise IT, from smartphones to wearable devices, and these are becoming the true edge. This episode of Utilizing Edge brings Field Day delegates Mark Houtz and Jim Czuprynski together with Stephen Foskett to discuss the personal side of the edge. Mobile Device Management (MDM) has been used to manage smartphones and similar technology is used for personal computers, but it seems inevitable that there will be a mixing of business and private data. The mix and match of personal devices at the edge is sure to be a topic of future focus.
Host:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.Twitter.com/SFoskett
Guests:
Jim Czuprynski:
https://mastodon.social/@jimthewhyguy@techfieldday.net
Matt Houtz: https://www.Twitter.com/Marko_With_A_K
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeComputing, Edge, #RaspberryPi, @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett, @JimTheWhyGuy, @Marko_With_A_Why, @GestaltIT, #EFD2,
05x19: The Intersection of Edge, Blockchain, and IoT with Jason Benedicic
Although blockchain technology has been tainted by scammers, the core idea of distributed consensus is relevant for certain edge applications. This episode of Utilizing Edge focuses on practical application of blockchain technology in edge and IoT, featuring Jason Benedicic, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Two key concepts in blockchain are the distributed ledger and consensus approach. There is a lot of work being done to apply blockchain in medical, finance, IoT, and proof of provenance. Although many applications can rely on authority or quorum, larger and more heterogeneous applications might benefit from consensus instead. The other aspect of blockchain, chain of custody and immutability of data, is potentially relevant in preventing supply chain attacks and dealing with transient devices. It's important to remember that many of the things that have put people off blockchain, from financialization to public exposure of transactions, are not necessarily required in all blockchains. Guest:
Jason Benedicic: https://www.twitter.com/JBenedicic Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #Edge, #Blockhain, #IoT, @GestaltIT, @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett, @DemitasseNZ, @JBenedicic,
05x18: Orchestration and Connectivity at the Edge
Computing and sensors have been deployed at the edge for decades, and this is certainly true in the agriculture sector. This episode of Utilizing Edge features Edge Field Day delegates Ben Young and Alastair Cooke discussing with Stephen Foskett the evolution of connectivity and orchestration at the edge. Governmental policies can have a huge impact on the deployment of technology, from connectivity to environmental regulations, as has the emergence of inexpensive sensors, batteries, and processors thanks to the mobile phone industry, along with solar power. Cloud-inspired automation and orchestration is another key enabler of technology in agriculture and at the edge, with zero-touch provisioning, management, and central maintenance. Containerized applications, caching, and cloud-derived control planes are very popular at the edge, though not exactly the same way as in the cloud.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ
Guest:
Ben Young: https://www.twitter.com/BenYoungNZ
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #Orchestration, #Edge, #UtilizingEdge,
05x17: Considering the Many Faces of Edge Following VMware Explore with Roy Chua and Brian Knudtson
VMware Explore 2023 featured a broad set of products and technologies, all of which could be included under the banner of edge. This episode of Utilizing Edge considers this dynamic and varied world with Roy Chua and Brian Knudtson, along with host Stephen Foskett. Virtualization, networking, storage, and orchestration are all key edge technologies, and VMware and its partners are deeply involved in bringing these technologies to the edge. VMware announced Edge Cloud Orchestrator, new security capabilities, integrated networking, client integration, and the exciting potential of private 5G networks. Dive into this episode to unravel the complexities and promising future of edge computing.
Host:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Guests:
Brian Knudtson: https://www.twitter.com/BKnudtson
Roy Chua: https://www.twitter.com/WireRoy Follow Gestalt IT
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT Tags: #EdgeComputing, #UtilizingEdge, #EFD2, @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett, @BKnudtson, @WireRoy, @GestaltIT
05x16: The Convergence and Standardization of IT and OT with Andy Foster of IOTech
Industrial control and operational technology systems face the same forces as IT applications and are rapidly being integrated into comprehensive edge infrastructure. This episode of Utilizing Edge brings Andy Foster of IOTech to discuss standardization of industrial IoT with Allyson Klein and Stephen Foskett. There are many more similarities between industrial control systems and information technology systems than many people realize. Both are impacted by standards in commodity hardware, networking and communications protocols, and cloud integration. And OT and IT are colliding at the edge, with a massive opportunity to leverage data.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Allyson Klein: https://www.twitter.com/TechAllyson
Guest:
Andy Foster, Product Director and Cofounder of IOTech
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-foster-673b268/
https://www.iotechsys.com/ Follow Gestalt IT
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #EdgeComputing, #IoT, #UtilizingEdge, @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett, @TechAllyson, @IOTechSystems, @GestaltIT,
05x15: Addressing Data Challenges in Media and Entertainment with Jimmy Fusil of Tsecond
Media and entertainment is one industry generating and moving vast amounts of data at the edge. This episode of Utilizing Edge brings Jimmy Fusil of Tsecond into a discussion with Alastair Cooke and Stephen Foskett about the unique data challenges in media and entertainment. There is a great need for local processing, secure data transport, and efficient storage utilization in managing the ever-increasing volume of data generated during film and TV production. The podcast explores the continued relevance of physical media, like tape, for long-term archiving, while also emphasizing the security measures necessary to protect creative privacy and prevent potential plot leaks in the industry. Fusil also discusses Tsecond’s groundbreaking product, Bryck, a portable NVMe storage device capable of holding up to a petabyte of data with a remarkable 40GBps data transfer speed. The discussion highlights how Bryck’s high-performance storage facilitates on-device data processing, ensuring quick backups and maintaining data integrity. It’s critical to consider edge storage solutions like Bryck in many data-intensive sectors beyond media and entertainment as well. Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ Guest:
Jimmy Fusil, M&E Expert and Business Development Manager, Tsecond
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmyfusil/ Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge #EdgeComputing #Bryck #EdgeStorage
05x14. Considering the Diversity of Edge Solutions with Brian Chambers and Alastair Cooke
Edge computing comes in many forms and brings many challenges, including bandwidth limitations, network reliability issues, and limited space. This episode of Utilizing Edge brings Brian Chambers, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett together to discuss the state of the edge in 2023. Industries like retail, multi-tenant environments, and industrial IoT find practical applications, but defining the edge remains an ongoing exploration. Implementation varies, from repurposing existing technologies to adopting modern approaches like containers and function as a service. The debate between virtual machines and containers continues, driven by organizational comfort. Despite constraints, edge environments offer greater control and accountability. The future promises more innovation and adoption, cementing edge computing’s significance in the tech landscape.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ
Brian Chambers: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeDiversity, #EdgeComputing, #EdgeSolutions, @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett, @DemitasseNZ, @BriChamb, @GestaltIT,
05x13. Dark Data at the Edge
In this episode of the Utilizing Tech podcast, Stephen Foskett, Alison Klein, and Gina Rosenthal discuss dark data in edge computing. Dark data is unutilized or unknown data collected by organizations. The distributed nature and use of third-party apps can make it challenging to handle dark data, limiting insights and posing security risks. Establishing a stronger IT-business connection is crucial. Observability solutions and data analytics can aid in discovering and centralizing dark data. AI has potential for data hygiene improvement, but human-driven cleaning is still necessary. Despite challenges, edge computing offers better data management due to controlled deployments. Host: Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett Panelists: Allyson Klein: https://www.twitter.com/TechAllyson Gina Rosenthal: https://www.twitter.com/Digi_Sunshine Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/ Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #DarkData, #EdgeComputing, #Edge,
05x12: Hardware Beyond the NUC with Julian Chesterfield of Sunlight
Although we use Intel's NUC as a shorthand for the type of hardware deployed at the far edge, this recently-cancelled platform isn't all there is. This episode of Utilizing Edge looks beyond the NUC, to platforms from Lenovo, Nvidia, and more, with Julian Chesterfield of Sunlight, Andrew Green, and Stephen Foskett. ARM-based solutions, many using the Nvidia Jetson platform, are particularly interesting given their low cost and power consumption and strong GPUs for edge AI. A hyperconverged stack runs all of the components required for high availability, including storage and networking, in software spanning all of the nodes in a cluster, and this is commonly deployed on low-cost devices at the far edge. The trend to deploying applications at the edge is driven both by new hardware and software capabilities and the changing expectation of consumers and businesses.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Andrew Green, Analyst at GigaOm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-green-tech/ Guest:
Julian Chesterfield, CTO and Founder, Sunlight.io: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julian-chesterfield-3B74951 Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Utilizing Tech: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT Tags: #IntelNUC, #EdgeHardware, #EdgeComputing, #UtilizingEdge, @Sunlightio, @UtilizingTech, @SFoskett,
05x11: Building Resilient Infrastructure at the Edge with Craig Nunes of Nebulon
Edge infrastructure is susceptible to many of the same security risks as datacenter and cloud, but is often run in less protected environments. This episode of Utilizing Edge features Craig Nunes, Co-Founder and COO of Nebulon, talking to Brian Chambers and Stephen Foskett about the provision of reliable infrastructure services at the edge. Nebulon's product presents storage to servers in a managed way, monitoring and protecting storage in real time. Edge servers must have a known-good system image to ensure that they are secure, yet this is difficult to achieve in remote devices. Hosts: Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett Brian Chambers: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb Guest: Craig Nunes, COO and Co-founder, Nebulon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-nun... Follow Gestalt IT Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeComputing, #ResilientInfrastructure, #Security, #EdgeSecurity,
05x10: VMware’s Journey into Edge Computing with Saadat Malik
Perhaps no company is more important to the datacenter than VMware, but how are the company’s technologies applied at the edge? This episode of Utilizing Edge features Saadat Malik, VP and GM of Edge Computing at VMware, discussing the evolution of VMware at the edge with Brian Chambers and Stephen Foskett. The discussion delves into the evolution of VMware’s presence at the edge, highlighting the differences between datacenter and edge environments in terms of people and technology. Malik emphasizes the importance of outcomes and product-focused mindsets in edge environments, as well as the constraints posed by limited physical resources. VMware’s technologies in connectivity, storage, security, and management are showcased as key enablers of successful edge computing. The episode also touches upon the growing significance of AI and machine learning at the edge and the need for standardized solutions to drive edge growth and transformation. Hosts: Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett Brian Chambers: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb Guest from VMware: Saadat Malik, VP and GM of Edge Computing at VMware https://www.linkedin.com/in/saadatmalik/ Follow Gestalt IT Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeComputing, #Edge, #CustomEdge,
05x09: Delivering Mature IT Platforms at the Edge with Pierluca Chiodelli
Datacenter IT is used to having tight control over infrastructure and applications, but this is challenging to maintain at the edge. This episode of Utilizing Edge features Pierluca Chiodelli of Dell Technology discussing the modern edge application platform with Allyson Klein and Stephen Foskett. A typical edge environment features many different platforms, devices, and connections that must be deployed, managed, and controlled remotely. When looking at the modern edge, Chiodelli recognizes the different personas and needs and constructs a plan to achieve the required outcome at this location. Modern applications need specialized hardware and connectivity that must be supported, deployed, and managed.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Allyson Klein: https://www.twitter.com/TechAllyson
Guests:
Pierluca Chiodelli: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pierluca-chiodelli-3b743a4/
Follow Gestalt IT
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeComputing, #Edge
05x08: The Middle Mile is the Heart of the Edge
Between the so-called last mile and first mile lies the middle mile, the realm of colocation and network service providers. This episode of Utilizing Tech features Roy Chua and Allyson Klein, discussing the middle mile with Stephen Foskett. This middle area includes content delivery services like Varnish and Akamai, as well as companies like Cloudflare that are delivering content and compute there. The middle network includes providers like Equinix, Digital Realty, and Megaport, which provide connectivity to the cloud and service providers, the hyperscalers themselves, and some interesting networking startups like Packet Fabric and Graphiant. We must also consider observability, with companies like cPacket and Kentik as well as companies like Cisco and Juniper Networks.
Host: Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Guests:
Allyson Klein: https://www.twitter.com/TechAllyson
Roy Chua: https://www.twitter.com/WireRoy
Follow Gestalt IT
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gestalt-IT
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeComputing, #Edge
05x07: Economics of Edge Computing with Carlo Daffara of NodeWeaver
When it comes to edge computing, money is not limitless. Joining us for this episode of Utilizing Edge is Carlo Daffara of NodeWeaver, who discusses the unique economic challenges of edge with Alastair Cooke and Stephen Foskett. Cost is always a factor for technology decisions, but every decision is multiplied when designing edge infrastructure with hundreds or thousands of nodes. Total Cost of Ownership is a critical consideration, especially operations and deployment on-site at remote locations, and the duration of deployment must also be taken into consideration. Part of the solution is designing a very compact and flexible system, but the system must also work with nearly any configuration, from virtual machines to Kubernetes. Another issue is the fact that technology will change over time and the system must be adaptable to different hardware platforms. It is critical to consider not just the cost of hardware but also the cost of maintenance and long-term operation.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ
NodeWeaver Representative:
Carlo Daffara, CEO of NodeWeaver: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdaffara/
Follow Gestalt IT
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/Gest...
Tags: #EdgeEconomy, #EdgeComputing, #Edge, @NodeWeaver
05x06: Achieving High Availability at the Edge with StorMagic
Although everyone wants high availability from IT systems, the cost to achieve it must be weighed against the benefits. This episode of Utilizing Edge focuses on HA solutions at the edge with Bruce Kornfeld of StorMagic, Alastair Cooke, and Stephen Foskett. Although it might be tempting to build the same infrastructure at the edge as in the data center, but this can get very expensive. Thinking about multi-node server clusters and RAID storage, the risk of a so-called split brain means not just two nodes but three must be deployed in most cases. StorMagic addresses this issue in a novel way, with a remote node providing a quorum witness and reducing the need for on-site hardware. Edge infrastructure also relies on so-called hyperconverged systems, which use software to create advanced services on simple and inexpensive hardware. Hosts: Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ StorMagic Representative: Bruce Kornfeld, Chief Marketing and Product Officer at StorMagic: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brucekornfeld/ Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeStorage, #EdgeComputing, @StorMagic
05x05. The Near Edge and the Far Edge with Andrew Green
The edge isn't the same thing to everyone: Some talk about equipment for use outside the datacenter, while others talk about equipment that lives in someone else's location. The difference between this far edge and near edge is the topic of Utilizing Edge, with Andrew Green and Alastair Cooke, Research Analysts at Gigaom, and Stephen Foskett. Andrew is drawing a line at 20 ms roundtrip, the point at which a user feels that a resource is remote rather than local. From the perspective of an application or service, this limit requires a different approach to delivery. One approach is to distribute points of presence around the world closer to users, including compute and storage, not just caching. This would entail deploying hundreds of points of presence around the world, and perhaps even more. Technologies like Kubernetes, serverless, and function-as-a-service are being used today, and these are being deployed even beyond service provider locations. Hosts: Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ Guest: Andrew Green, Analyst at GigaOm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-green-tech/ Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/ Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/UtilizingTech LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789 Tags: #UtilizingTech #EdgeComputing #UtilizingEdge @UtilizingTech @GestaltIT
05x04: Designing a Scalable Edge Infrastructure with Scale Computing
One of the main differentiators for edge computing is developing a scalable architecture that works everywhere, from deployment to support to updates. This episode of Utilizing Edge welcomes Dave Demlow of Scale Computing discussing the need for scalable architecture at the edge. Scale Computing discussed Zero-Touch Provisioning and Disposable Units of Compute at their Edge Field Day presentation, and we kick off the discussion with these concepts. We also consider the undifferentiated heavy lifting of cloud infrastructure and the tools for infrastructure as code and patch management in this different environment. Ultimately the differentiator is scale, and the key challenge for designing infrastructure for the edge is making sure it can be deployed and supported at hundreds or thousands of sites.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Brian Chambers: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb
Scale Computing Representative:
Dave Demlow: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ddemlow/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gestalt-it/
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #Edge, #EdgeComputing, #EdgeTechnology, #ScalableEdge, #EdgeInfrastructure, @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @AvassaSystems,
05x03: Developer-Friendly Edge Application Management with Avassa
There is a long-standing gulf between developers and operations, let alone infrastructure, and this is made worse by the scale and limitations of edge computing. This episode of Utilizing Edge features Carl Moberg of Avassa discussing the application-first mindset of developers with Brian Chambers and Stephen Foskett. As we've been discussing, it's critical to standardize infrastructure to make them supportable at the edge, yet we also must make platforms that are attractive to application owners.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Brian Chambers: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb
Carl Moberg, CTO and co-founder at Avassa
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlmoberg/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gestalt-it/
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #Edge, #EdgeComputing, #EdgeTechnology, #EdgeApplications, @UtilizingTech, @GestaltIT, @AvassaSystems,
05x02: Stakeholder Demands at the Retail Edge with Simon Gamble of Mako Networks
Edge has many different stakeholders, applications, and needs, and this is especially true in distributed retail environments. This episode of Utilizing Edge features Simon Gamble of Mako Networks talking with Brian Chambers and Stephen Foskett about the complexities of technology at the retail edge. The key according to Gamble is segmentation of brands, franchisees, and technical applications. In some cases a single location might even include multiple separate companies or tenants under the same roof. Video, sensors, IoT, and location-based services are coming to retail locations as well, and some of these leverage outside service providers as well. Although sharing infrastructure is desirable, segmentation and security is key. Retail edge environments are increasingly complicated, but there are many ways to consolidate, converge, and standardize to make them practical to implement.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Brian Chamber: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb
Mako Networks Representative: Simon Gamble, President of Mako Networks: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simongnz/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gestalt-it/
Tags: #UtilizingEdge, #EdgeComputing, #RetailEdge, #Edge, @GestaltIT, @MakoNetworks
05x01: Commoditization of Edge Infrastructure with ZEDEDA
Edge environments were historically very specialized, but virtualization and cloud technology is enabling companies to deploy commodity platforms at the edge. This episode of Utilizing Edge features Raghu Vatte of ZEDEDA discussing this commoditization with Alastair Cooke and Stephen Foskett. Although the transition is still getting started, standard compute platforms are rapidly being exploited at edge locations, from warehouses to retail to industrial. Even is some specialized hardware is still needed, a unified platform can increasingly absorb a majority of applications at the edge. Another factor contributing to commoditization is the standardization of application requirements, with most now virtualized or containerized with standards developing for I/O and shared hardware resources.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ
ZEDEDA Representative: Raghu Vatte, VP of Product Management and Customer Success, ZEDEDA: https://www.linkedin.com/in/raghushankar-vatte-970a9214/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gestalt-it/
Tags: #UtilizingEdge #Commoditization #EdgeComputing #EdgeInfrastructure @UtilizingTech @GestaltIT @ZededaEdge
05x00: What is the Edge and What Tech is Utilized There?
Although the technology is roughly similar to datacenter or cloud, the unique challenges of edge computing require new approaches to storage, networking, orchestration, deployment, and more. We were kicking off a new season of Utilizing Tech focused on edge computing, featuring Alastair Cooke and Brian Chambers as co-hosts along with Stephen Foskett. One of the key differences for edge computing is the strictly constrained resources there as well as the massive scale. What we now call edge has existed for decades but the proprietary hardware previously used has been largely replaced by commodity and internet-connected systems that inherit technologies like virtualization, containerization, and hyperconvergence. Businesses and consumers expect more interactivity and capability in retail, restaurants, and hospitality environments, and the IoT revolution is strongly affecting manufacturing, military, and industrial settings. But what is the edge really, and how do we deliver services there? That's the question we hope to answer in this season of Utilizing Edge.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Alastair Cooke: https://www.twitter.com/DemitasseNZ
Brian Chambers: https://www.twitter.com/BriChamb
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gestalt-it/
Tags: #UtilizingEdge #Edge #EdgeComputing #EdgeTechnology @UtilizingTech @GestaltIT
4x21: Why Would System Architects Utilize CXL?
We're wrapping up this season of Utilizing Tech by asking the key question: Why would a system architect choose to utilize CXL in their designs? This episode of Utilizing CXL features Stephen Foskett, Nathan Bennett, and Craig Rodgers discussing the practical prospects and benefits of CXL.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Nathan Bennett: https://www.twitter.com/vNathanBennett
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #CXLFabric #CXLMemoryExpansion @UtilizingTech
4x20: The History and Future of CXL with Jim Pappas
Perhaps no one can tell the story of Compute Express Link (CXL) better than Jim Pappas, who was involved in the development of nearly every related technology, from PCI to UCIe. This episode wraps up the season of Utilizing Tech with Stephen Foskett and Craig Rodgers discussing the evolution of CXL with Jim Pappas, Director of Technology Initiatives at Intel and Chairman of the CXL Consortium. No matter how good the technology is, it needs widespread industry support, backwards and forwards compatibility, and open cooperation, and that's what made technologies like PCI, PCI Express, USB, and now CXL successful.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest:
Jim Pappas, Director of Technology Initiatives, Intel and Chairman of the CXL Consortium: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-pappas-3624442/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #CXL #CXLConsortium #UtilizingCXL @Intel @UtilizingTech
4x19: Enabling Mass Adoption of CXL-Attached Memory with Rambus
Moving memory and other resources off the system bus to CXL is exciting, but how do we ensure that these systems will be reliable, available, and serviceable? This episode of Utilizing Tech features Mark Orthodoxou, VP of Strategic Marketing for Datacenter Products at Rambus discussing with Stephen Foskett and Craig Rodgers the technology and standards required for mass adoption of CXL-attached memory. Rambus brings decades of experience and a breadth of technology to the deployment of memory in high-performance and highly-available systems. As a CXL Consortium member, Rambus is bringing this experience to CXL, enabling the technology across the ecosystem. Memory expansion with CXL is being deployed today, and memory pooling over CXL fabrics is coming, but it is disaggregation and rack-scale architecture that will ultimately be the result of the adoption of CXL.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Rambus Representative:
Mark Orthodoxou, VP of Strategic Marketing - Datacenter Products: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-orthodoxou-94b189/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL, #CXLAttachedMemory, #Datacenter, @RambusInc, @UtilizingTech
4x18: The Past and Future of CXL with Allyson Klein
CXL grew out of a long history of Intel platform technology and promises to revolutionize this platform. This episode of Utilizing CXL features Allyson Klein of TechArena, who shares her vision for the future of disaggregated servers with Craig Rodgers and Stephen Foskett. The foundation for CXL was laid with coherent interconnects and fabrics in previous decades, and the concept of tiered memory draws heavily on the history of Intel and Micron 3D XPoint and Optane Persistent Memory. As was the case for virtualization, CXL has an initial value proposition and a revolutionary future. CXL opens up virtually unlimited memory, pools of processors and offload engines, and unprecedented flexibility. Ultimately CXL will allow us to deliver compute resources that are truly balanced and matched to the needs of each workload. We also discussed UCIe, which promises to enable mix and match chiplets within future processors in a way that is compatible with CXL.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest Host:
Allyson Klein: https://www.twitter.com/TechAllyson
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #DisaggregatedServers #CXLFabrics #MemoryExpansion #CXL @UtilizingTech
4x17: Memory and More over CXL with UnifabriX
Memory expansion is the first application for CXL, and memory pooling is coming next, but this technology will eventually support storage, Ethernet, and more. This episode of Utilizing CXL brings Ronen Hyatt, CEO of UnifabriX, to discuss memory and more over CXL with Nathan Bennett and Stephen Foskett. UnifabriX demonstrated high-performance compute benchmarks using their Smart Memory Node at Super Computing 22 and claims to be the first to show a CXL 3.0 fabric. But the company is also promising NVMe storage and Ethernet connectivity over the CXL fabric. This enables each server to have the right type and capacity of connectivity, from basic Ethernet to DPU, with dynamic reconfiguration. The fabric can also contain an NVMe storage target that combines DRAM and flash and can be dynamically allocated.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Nathan Bennett: https://www.twitter.com/vNathanBennett
Guest:
Ronen Hyatt, CEO and Founder of UnifabriX: https://www.linkedin.com/in/execute/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #CXLStorage #Ethernet @UtilizingTech @UnifabriX
4x16: Transparently Tiering Memory in CXL with Hasan Al Maruf
Tiered memory will have different performance, so operating systems will need to incorporate techniques to adapt to pages with different characteristics. This episode of Utilizing CXL features Hasan Al Maruf, part of a team that developed transparent page placement for Linux. He began his work enabling transparent page placement for InfiniBand-connected peers before applying the concept to NUMA nodes and now CXL memory.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest Host:
Hasan Al Maruf, Researcher at the University of Michigan:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hasanalmaruf/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #TieringMemory #CXL #Linux @UtilizingTech @GestaltIT @UMich
4x15: Enabling the CXL Device Ecosystem with Marvell
Bringing CXL to market requires a wide variety of components, and Marvell is a key supplier to datacenter and cloud. This episode of Utilizing CXL features Shalesh Thusoo of Marvell, who discusses the many solutions they are creating to bring CXL to market. Current products are directly connecting memory to CPUs via CXL but soon we will see products enabling the sharing of memory between hosts to enable new applications.
From Marvell: This podcast contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, any statement that may predict, forecast, indicate or imply future events or achievements. Actual events or results may differ materially from those contemplated in this podcast. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Listeners are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and no person assumes any obligation to update or revise any such forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest:
Shalesh Thusoo, Vice President CXL Product Development, Marvell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaleshthusoo/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #CPU #CXL #Memory @Marvell @GestaltIT @UtilizingTech
4x14: How the CXL Consortium is Driving Adoption with Siamak Tavallaei
The CXL Consortium is an open industry standard group responsible for technical specifications and standards. This episode of Utilizing CXL brings Siamak Tavallaei, CXL president, to discuss the emergence of Compute Express Link. The goal of CXL is to disaggregate servers, moving memory away from the CPU and enabling users to compose servers more flexibly. We have already disaggregated storage from compute, and breaking the fixed memory interconnect will have a similar effect. But we also need the system to be manageable, with software to configure and orchestrate resources. The CXL Consortium is facilitating the development of all this in association with nearly every company in the IT industry.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Nathan Bennett: https://www.twitter.com/vNathanBennett
Guest:
Siamak Tavallaei of the CXL Consortium: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siamaktavallaei/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #CXLConsortium #CXL #SapphireRapids #Genoa #Epyc #CXLDevelopment
4x13: Enabling CXL in Heterogeneous Compute with Arm
Although the emergence of CXL in server CPUs is big news, the inclusion of this technology in ARM processor IP is just as important. In this episode of Utilizing CXL, Eddie Ramirez of ARM joins Craig Rodgers and Stephen Foskett to discuss CXL in the ARM-powered ecosystem. ARM develops processor IP that is used in CPUs as well as supporting processors throughout the datacenter. We begin with a discussion of CXL 1.1, which brings memory expansion to ARM CPUs. But ARM is also delivering CXL 2.0 which would allow memory pooling to increase the utilization of memory, and thus overall system efficiency. The next step is true heterogeneous compute, with accelerators like GPU and DPU sharing memory with CPUs in a flexible fabric that can leverage CXL.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest:
Eddie Ramirez, VP of Marketing at Arm: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-ramirez-41233a1/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
4x12: Mid-Season Look at the CXL Server Platforms
With both AMD and Intel supporting CXL in their newly-launched server platforms, it's worth taking a moment to consider what has been delivered to date. This special episode of Utilizing CXL brings hosts Stephen Foskett, Craig Rodgers, and Nathan Bennett together to look back at 6 months of CXL announcements now that real products are shipping. We were pleased to see the support delivered by Intel and AMD, but also from Astera Labs, Samsung, SK Hynix, and MemVerge, as well as promising developments from ARM, Elastics Cloud, IntelliProp, Marvell, and many others.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Nathan Bennett: https://www.twitter.com/vNathanBennett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #CXLServerPlatforms #CXL #SapphireRapids #Genoa #Epyc
4x11: Taking CXL To the Next Level with IntelliProp
CXL is being rolled out in production and more reliability, scalability, and security features are being added all the time. This episode of Utilizing Tech focuses on enterprise-grade CXL with John Spiers, CEO of IntelliProp, talking about the ongoing evolution of CXL. IntelliProp is bringing a CXL fabric solution to market the enables memory expansion outside the server over a fabric. CXL 3.0 introduces memory fabrics, but it will take more development to bring features like high availability, routing, peer-to-peer, failover, and re-routing while preserving cache coherency and enabling management, and IntelliProp is working to bring all this to the spec.
As we discussed in our last episode with Dan Ernst from Microsoft Azure, CXL delivers acceptable memory latency, and John expects that this will continue with fabrics to some extent. IntelliProp will profile memory and enable tiered memory that matches application needs. The company is also working to enable advanced features, including sharing memory between systems, in association with the CXL consortium.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Nathan Bennett: https://www.twitter.com/vNathanBennett
Guest Host:
John Spiers, CEO of IntelliProp: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwspiers/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #CXLFabric #MemoryLatency @UtilizingTech #CXL @Intelliprop
4x10: Pathfinding Cloud Architecture for CXL with Dan Ernst of Microsoft Azure
Cloud architects have long wished for more flexibility in how memory is provisioned in servers, and CXL is finally delivering on a decade of promises. In this episode of Utilizing Tech, Stephen Foskett and Craig Rodgers talk to Dan Ernst of Microsoft, who is deeply involved in bringing CXL-attached memory to fruition within Azure. Dan was previously involved in the Gen-Z effort, and feels that CXL picks up the baton and brings valuable real-world benefits to cloud server architecture. Memory has a bigger impact on overall IT platforms than many are aware, and is already the costliest component in large servers. Per Amdahl's Law, it makes sense to look for cost savings in memory. And this is doubly the case because DIMMs only come in certain sizes so memory is usually over-specified. CXL memory modules cost a bit more than a DIMM, but this is offset by efficient right-sizing, and CXL is already cheaper than 3D stacked DIMMs.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest Host:
Dan Ernst, Principal Architect working on Future Azure Cloud Systems, Microsoft Azure
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danernst/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #CXL #DIMMs #Azure #UtilizingCXL @Microsoft @Azure
4x09: Looking Forward to CXL in Production in 2023
As 2023 arrives, so do two server platforms that support CXL, along with associated chipsets, software, and memory expansion cards. This special episode of Utilizing Tech features the three hosts of this season, Stephen Foskett, Craig Rodgers, and Nathan Bennett, discussing the prospects for CXL in 2023. AMD recently introduced Genoa Epyc, featuring CXL and PCIe 5, and it is widely expected that Intel will introduce Sapphire Rapids Xeon very soon with similar support. We expect these new server platforms to be adopted quickly by hyperscalers and to reach the enterprise datacenter throughout the year. We wonder what CXL memory expansion might bring, from other types of DRAM to persistent memory and possible even Optane. The prospect for shared and pooled memory is perhaps a little further off, but we have already heard that this capability might come to CXL 1.1 via device-specific features. What could go wrong? Enterprise server vendors might not embrace composability for various reasons, and this could derail CXL in the datacenter. Another concern is security, especially for shared memory and devices. The big differentiator will be software that enables systems to take advantage of features from memory expansion to pooling to disaggregation to composability.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Nathan Bennett: https://www.twitter.com/vNathanBennett
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #Genoa #Epyc #SapphireRapids #DRAM #CXL
4x08: CXL Brings Flexibility to Server Configurations with Astera Labs
The key to building an ideal server is balance, and this is why CXL is important, since it helps overcome the inflexible nature of modern server architectures. In this episode of Utilizing CXL, Stephen Foskett and Craig Rodgers talk with Ahmad Danesh of Astera Labs about the company's CXL-based memory expansion technology. Although there are many CXL memory expansion chips coming to market, the industry is keen on interoperability testing to make sure everything works as expected. These products are differentiated based on their reliability, performance, and security, including trusted hardware and encryption. This is especially important with AMD Genoa having recently been launched and Intel Sapphire Rapids coming very soon. Security is very important as memory moves further from the CPU and is shared and pooled among multiple servers. Ahmad also suggests that CXL memory can perform as well as local memory, so specialized memory tiering software might not always be needed. But this technology also allows other types of memory to be used, including non-DDR5 DRAM and potentially future non-DRAM memory.
Hosts:
Stephen Foskett: https://www.twitter.com/SFoskett
Craig Rodgers: https://www.twitter.com/CraigRodgersms
Guest Host:
Ahmad Danesh, Sr. Director, Product Management, Astera Labs
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ahmaddanesh/
Follow Gestalt IT and Utilizing Tech
Website: https://www.UtilizingTech.com/
Website: https://www.GestaltIT.com/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/GestaltIT
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/1789
Tags: #UtilizingCXL #MemoryExpansion #Genoa #Epyc #AMD #CXL