How to Use Single Instancing to Control Storage Expense – eWeek

Single instancing, when combined with transformation, is a perfect example of “reduce, reuse and recycle” at work. Transformation is the process in which output is fed to another system, perhaps in a different (that is, transformed) print or presentation language. Single instancing reduces the overall storage footprint by storing information only once and reuses common composition elements from high-volume documents. High-speed retrieval and on the fly format transformation permits recycling of stored content and content repurposing.

Data Centers Go Underground – CIO.com

Energy efficiency also factored into Marriott’s decision, Blanchard says. While Marriott’s data center uses a traditional chiller as its primary cooling system, the backup is a prototype free cooling system. That prototype, designed by Iron Mountain, uses an air-to-air heat exchanger, drawing 55-degree air from the 1,000 acres of unused space within the mine. “The air is the exact temperature of what you would bring in with mechanical cooling,” Doughty says. Iron Mountain also is experimenting with a system that would pull cool water from an underground lake within the mine.

Is server virtualization boosting Linux adoption? – SearchEnterpriseLinux

In a recent report for the Linux Foundation, Framingham, Mass.-based International Data Corp. concluded that just as cost-cutting during the 2001-2002 recession made Linux a mainstream solution, virtualization and cloud computing will accelerate Linux adoption during the current economic slowdown.

GSA Outlines U.S. Government’s Cloud Computing Requirements – InformationWeek

The RFQ includes ground rules for being a cloud service provider to the U.S. government. Federal agencies will retain ownership of data and applications hosted online, and they can request full copies of data or apps at any time. In addition, cloud services are to be multi-tenant in architecture, be able to be provisioned securely and remotely, scale elastically, reside within the continental United States, and provide visibility into resource usage.

Locked out with your SSD out: Intel X25-M G2 firmware bug – Ars Technica

Intel has promised a firmware fix within two weeks for existing drives, and in the meantime has stopped shipping new drives. Major retailers like Newegg have also stopped shipping the drive. Though “the firmware fix will prevent the drive from becoming inoperable when using and modifying the BIOS password,” users with data lost will still be out of luck. Users with existing drives are advised not to set BIOS passwords, and if they have, not to change or remove them. If the password isn’t changed or removed, Intel says, everything should be OK.

And don’t forget more fresh-off-the-Web Green IT links at GigaOM Pro.