xPU Accelerator Offload Functions

David McIntyre
As covered in our first xPU webcast “SmartNICs and xPUs: Why is the Use of Accelerators Accelerating,” we discussed the trend to deploy dedicated accelerator chips to assist or offload the main CPU. These new accelerators (xPUs) have multiple names such as SmartNIC, DPU, IPU, APU, NAPU. If you missed the presentation, I encourage you to check it out in the SNIA Educational Library where you can watch it on-demand and access the presentation slides. This second webcast in this SNIA Networking Storage Forum xPU webcast series is “xPU Accelerator Offload Functions” where our SNIA experts will take a deeper dive into the accelerator offload functions of the xPU. We’ll discuss what problems the xPUs are coming to solve, where in the system they live, and the functions they implement, focusing on: Read More

Keeping Edge Data Secure Q&A

David McIntyre
The complex and changeable structure of edge computing, together with its network connections, massive real-time data, challenging operating environment, distributed edge cloud collaboration, and other characteristics, create a multitude of security challenges. It was the topic of our SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) live webcast “Storage Life on the Edge: Security Challenges” where SNIA security experts Thomas Rivera, CISSP, CIPP/US, CDPSE and Eric Hibbard, CISSP-ISSAP, ISSMP, ISSEP, CIPP/US, CIPT, CISA, CDPSE, CCSK debated as to whether existing security practices and standards are adequate for this emerging area of computing. If you missed the presentation, you can view it on-demand here. It was a fascinating discussion and as promised, Eric and Thomas have answered the questions from our live audience. Q. What complexities are introduced from a security standpoint for edge use cases? Read More

Storage Implications of Doing More at the Edge

Alex McDonald
In our SNIA Networking Storage Forum webcast series, “Storage Life on the Edge” we’ve been examining the many ways the edge is impacting how data is processed, analyzed and stored. I encourage you to check out the sessions we’ve done to date: On June 15, 2022, we continue the series with “Storage Life on the Edge: Accelerated Performance Strategies” where our SNIA experts will discuss the need for faster computing, access to storage, and movement of data at the edge as well as between the edge and the data center, covering: Read More

Dynamic Speakers on Tap for the 2022 SNIA Persistent Memory + Computational Storage Summit

SNIA CMSI
Our 10th annual Persistent Memory + Computational Storage Summit is right around the corner on May 24 and 25, 2022.  We remain virtual this year, and hope this will offer you more flexibility to watch our live-streamed mainstage sessions, chat online, and catch our always popular Computational Storage birds-of-a-feather session on Tuesday afternoon without needing a plane or hotel reservation! This year, the Summit agenda expands knowledge on computational storage and persistent memory, and also features new sessions on computational memory, Compute Express Link TM (CXL)TM, NVM Express, SNIA Smart Data Accelerator Interface (SDXI), and Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express (UCIe). Read More

Storage Edge Use Cases Q&A

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Our “Storage Life on the Edge” webcast series continued on March 22, 2022 where our expert panelists, Stephen Bates, Bill Martin, Mayank Saxena and Tong Zhang highlighted several real-world edge use cases, the implications for storage, and the benefits of computational storage standards. You can access the on-demand session and the presentation slides at the SNIA Educational Library. The panel answered several questions during the live event. We only had time to get to a handful. As promised, here are answers to all of them.

Q.  I have heard NVMe® is developing an open and vendor-neutral standard for computational storage devices. How important do you think standards like this one are for mass adoption of these types of devices on the edge and why?

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SmartNICs to xPUs – Why is the Use of Accelerators Accelerating?

Alex McDonald
As applications continue to increase in complexity and users demand more from their workloads, there is a trend to again deploy dedicated accelerator chips to assist by offloading work from the main CPU.  These new accelerators (xPUs) have multiple names such as SmartNIC (Smart Network Interface Card), DPU, IPU, APU, NAPU. How are these different than GPU, TPU and the venerable CPU? xPUs can accelerate and offload functions including math, networking, storage functions, compression, cryptography, security and management. It’s a topic that the SNIA Networking Storage Forum will spotlight in our 3-part xPU webcast series. The first webcast on May 19, 2022 “SmartNICs to xPUs – Why is the Use of Accelerators Accelerating?” will cover key topics about, and clarify questions surrounding, xPUs, including… Read More

Experts Discuss Key Edge Storage Security Challenges

David McIntyre
The complex and changeable structure of edge computing, together with its network connections, massive real-time data, challenging operating environment, distributed edge cloud collaboration, and other characteristics, create a multitude of security challenges. It’s a topic the SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) will take on as our “Storage Life on the Edge” webcast series continues. Join us on April 27, 2022 for “Storage Life on the Edge: Security Challenges” where I’ll be joined by security experts Thomas Rivera, CISSP, CIPP/US, CDPSE and Eric Hibbard, CISSP-ISSAP, ISSMP, ISSEP, CIPP/US, CIPT, CISA, CDPSE, CCSK as they explore these challenges and wade into the debate as to whether existing security practices and standards are adequate for this emerging area of computing. Our discussion will cover: Read More

5G, Edge, and Industry 4.0 Q&A

Alex McDonald
The confluence of 5G networks, AI and machine learning, industrial IoT, and edge computing are driving the fourth industrial revolution – Industry 4.0. The impact of the industrial edge and how it is being transformed were among the topics at our SNIA Cloud Storage Technologies Initiative (CSTI) webcast “5G Industrial Private Network and Edge Data Pipelines.” If you missed it, you can view it on-demand along with the presentation slides in the SNIA Educational Library. In this blog, we are sharing and clarifying answers to some of the intriguing questions from the live event. Q. What are some of the key challenges to support the agility and flexibility requirements of Industry 4.0? Read More

Our Storage Life on the Edge Webcast Series Continues….

SNIA CMSI
The second webcast in our Storage Life on the Edge series is coming up on March 22, 2022 at 10:00 am Pacific time.  This panel, moderated by Bill Martin, SNIA Compute, Memory, and Storage Initiative Chair, takes a deeper dive to focus on edge use cases in the computational storage space. Our panelists Mayank Saxena from Sansung, Stephen Bates from Eideticom, and Tong Zhang from ScaleFlux will discuss edge to cloud use cases where storage and compute resources need to be deployed in practical topologies that deliver the very best in application performance. They’ll examine high performance edge data needs, database acceleration solutions, meeting retail chain challenges, and more. You won’t want to miss their panel discussion and the chance to ask your questions live. Register here to attend. We’ll look forward to seeing you! The post Our Storage Life on the Edge Webcast Series Continues…. first appeared on SNIA Compute, Memory and Storage Blog.

Processing and Managing Edge Data Q&A

Tom Friend
The SNIA Networking Storage Forum (NSF) kicked off our “Storage Life on the Edge” webcast series with a session on managing data from the edge to the cloud and back. We were fortunate to have a panel of experts, Dan Cummins, John Kim and David McIntyre to explain key considerations when managing and processing data generated at the edge. If you missed this introductory session, it’s available on-demand, along with the presentation slides at the SNIA Educational Library. Our presenters spent a good percentage of time answering questions from our live audience. Here are answers to them all. Q. Could an application be deployed simultaneously at near-edge, far edge and functional edge? Read More