Divergent Paths to a Network World. An Approach to the IT from Savings Banks Industry

This study provides information on how the process of technological globalization was implemented prior to the Internet and what its limits were, which certainly helps to understand how computers are changing the world. One can see divergent patterns in the process of introducing computers (using the worldwide savings bank industry as a reference). However, the foundations of this divergence should be situated within an idiosyncratic and not an asymmetric landscape as a consequence of the role that adoption/appropriation processes (the end-user as an active participant) play in the perspective of technological diffusion

Divergent Paths to a Network World. An Approach to the IT from Savings Banks Industry

This study provides information on how the process of technological globalization was implemented prior to the Internet and what its limits were, which certainly helps to understand how computers are changing the world. One can see divergent patterns in the process of introducing computers (using the worldwide savings bank industry as a reference). However, the foundations of this divergence should be situated within an idiosyncratic and not an asymmetric landscape as a consequence of the role that adoption/appropriation processes (the end-user as an active participant) play in the perspective of technological diffusion

Optical Switching for Scalable Data Centre Networks

This thesis explores the use of wavelength tuneable transmitters and control systems within the context of scalable, optically switched data centre networks. Modern data centres require innovative networking solutions to meet their growing power, bandwidth, and scalability requirements. Wavelength routed optical burst switching (WROBS) can meet these demands by applying agile wavelength tuneable transmitters at the edge of a passive network fabric. Through experimental investigation of an example WROBS network, the transmitter is shown to determine system performance, and must support ultra-fast switching as well as power efficient transmission. This thesis describes an intelligent optical transmitter capable of wideband sub-nanosecond wavelength switching and low-loss modulation. A regression optimiser is introduced that applies frequency-domain feedback to automatically enable fast tuneable laser reconfiguration. Through simulation and experiment, the optimised laser is shown to support 122×50 GHz channels, switching in less than 10 ns. The laser is deployed as a component within a new wavelength tuneable source (WTS) composed of two time-interleaved tuneable lasers and two semiconductor optical amplifiers. Switching over 6.05 THz is demonstrated, with stable switch times of 547 ps, a record result. The WTS scales well in terms of chip-space and bandwidth, constituting the first demonstration of scalable, sub-nanosecond optical switching. The power efficiency of the intelligent optical transmitter is further improved by introduction of a novel low-loss split-carrier modulator. The design is evaluated using 112 Gb/s/λ intensity modulated, direct-detection signals and a single-ended photodiode receiver. The split-carrier transmitter is shown to achieve hard decision forward error correction ready performance after 2 km of transmission using a laser output power of just 0 dBm; a 5.2 dB improvement over the conventional transmitter. The results achieved in the course of this research allow for ultra-fast, wideband, intelligent optical transmitters that can be applied in the design of all-optical data centres for power efficient, scalable networking

Du mythe de l’automatisation au savoir-faire des petites mains : une histoire des datacenters par la panne

Cet article se propose de mettre au jour le processus historique de concentration des serveurs, initié dans les plus anciennes salles informatiques et aboutissant au nec plus ultra des centres de données (datacenters) sécurisés contemporains. Dans un univers pourtant conçu pour les supprimer, les pannes persistent de façon paradoxale en raison d’un phénomène de récursivité sécuritaire. Enfin, la permanence de l’action technique et du savoir-faire humain dans un univers industriel prétendument automatisé est frappante, à tel point que l’article rattache cette sociographie des infrastructures du numérique à une histoire globale de l’industrialisation, visant à montrer que loin des discours lénifiants sur l’innovation disruptive, les petites mains qui réparent et effectuent la maintenance quotidienne sont au cœur du déploiement des macro-systèmes techniques contemporains, offrant l’illusion d’une technique par nature fiable et disponible en permanence.This article aims to uncover the historical process of server concentration, initiated in the oldest computer rooms and leading to the ultimate contemporary secure datacenters. In a world designed to eliminate them, failures persist paradoxically due to a phenomenon of security recursion. Finally, the permanence of technical action and human know-how in an allegedly automated industrial world is striking, to such an extent that the article links this sociography of digital infrastructures to a global history of industrialization, aiming to show that far from soothing discourses on disruptive innovation, the small hands that repair and carry out daily maintenance are at the heart of the deployment of contemporary large technical systems, offering the illusion of reliable and permanently available technologies

Factors affecting the adoption of green data centres in Nigeria.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.Green technology adoption is a reasonable effort that organisations, which are into data centres, should endorse due to the environmental crisis in the world concerning electronic waste and emission of harmful gasses, amongst other environmental concerns. Countries worldwide, especially the developed countries like the United States of America, have improved their data centres for environmental sustainability. However, most organisations in developing countries are yet to improve the level of environmental sustainability in the area of Information Technology. The adoption of green data centres in Nigeria is essential because it influences the environment. Anecdotal evidence suggests that most organisations in developing countries lack efforts to go green; this may be attributed to a lack of knowledge on reducing land space and technological components, ultimately affecting productivity. Various factors influence the adoption of green technology, and this study aims to determine these factors in the context of green data centres. This study discovered factors that affect the adoption of green data centres in Nigeria using a descriptive qualitative research approach. Interview questions were aligned to the technology organisational and environmental (TOE) framework. Thematic data analysis using NVivo software was used to find themes that show the factors affecting the adoption of green data centres in Nigeria. Results indicate a lack of awareness, technical difficultly, lack of management support and inadequate policies for green data centres, as predominant factors affecting green data centre adoption

History of Data Centre Development

International audienceComputers are used to solve different problems. For solving these problems computer software and hardware are used, but for operations of those computing facilities a Data Centre is necessary. Therefore, development of the data centre is subordinated to solvable tasks and computing resources. We are studying the history of data centres’ development, taking into consideration an understanding of this. In the beginning of the computer era computers were installed in computing centres, because all computing centres have defined requirements according to whom their operation is intended for. Even though the concept of ‘data centre’ itself has been used since the 1990s, the characteristic features and requirement descriptions have been identified since the beginning of the very first computer operation. In this article the authors describe the historical development of data centres based on their personal experience obtained by working in the Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Latvia and comparing it with the theory of data centre development, e.g. standards, as well as other publicly available information about computer development on the internet