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Blogs - Tags - costs Blogs urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries 0 30 17 2015-05-15T16:43:55-04:00 IBM Connections - Blogs urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-4177b3f1-a724-41be-9cb5-9acbb64bbf94 Making Green by Going Green CristineFelt 310002Q8BY active false CristineFelt 310002Q8BY active false d13a8e32-0870-49cb-9b0d-ba0e34fa6561 Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2017-02-27T04:04:50-05:00 2017-02-27T04:07:18-05:00
Now is the perfect time to go green because there are so many wonderful things you can do with your home to save money and help the planet in the process. And with the money you save, you can make even greener.

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No Cost / Small Impact:

Consume less energy. The majority of electrical consumption in homes is from air conditioning and other large electrical appliances. Run these appliances less and when you do, put air conditioners up a few degrees, and heaters down. You may not notice the difference, but your electric bills will be smaller. A sneakily large amount of energy consumption is from sources you might not suspect, like lights and appliances being plugged in unnecessarily. So unplug TVs, Blu-ray players, and even microwaves which often stay in standby mode when turned off, causing them to continually use electricity.

If you have any incandescent lighting, replace it immediately with energy saving LED Lighting whose higher price is offset in a short period of time by the electricity savings. Be conscious about the use of lights during daytime hours. Natural lighting is often enough for you to see clearly during the day. And open curtains and drapes to let more of this natural light in. Replace all of your outdoor lightings with solar lighting. These cheap alternatives work really well at storing enough energy during daylight hours to illuminate areas around your home at night. You can keep adding more if you need more light.

Small Cost / Medium Impact:

Switch to green packaging. Minimizing the amount of packaging you use in both weight and volume saves money and the environment. Remember those products have to be packaged and shipped, all of which takes even more, energy sometimes then their being manufactured. So use less plastic and other "disposable" products. If you don't already, use reusable bags for all of your shopping (not just the supermarket), and if someone tries and give you plastic packaging in a restaurant or store, ask if they have an alternative in paper or a recycled material.

Medium Cost / Big Impact:

Add More Insulation. Often houses are poorly insulated and lose their heat or cool quickly causing their HVAC units to turn on more often and use more electricity. A solution for this is to hire a contractor to install radiant, barrier and extra insulation in attics and walls. This process is not very expensive, and a will make an immediately noticeable difference. This one project could reduce your heating and cooling costs by 30% and help save the planet.

Big Cost / Huge Impact:

Install Solar Energy Panels. Unless you live in a place where the sun rarely shines, putting solar PV panels on your roof is likely to save you tens of thousands of dollars. The average 20-year savings for Americans who went solar in 2011 were projected to be a little over $20,000. In the populous states of New York, California, and Florida, the projected savings were over $30,000. In the sunny but expensive paradise known as Hawaii, the projected savings were nearly $65,000! If you're not in California or another sunny area, don't worry. Even areas in cold climates or with many cloudy days, such as New England and the Pacific Northwest can still benefit from solar since systems can capture sunlight scattered by clouds or humidity, not just direct sunlight. Also, solar panels work even more efficiently in colder temperatures.

With the money you save from all of your hard work you can actually make more money by investing it in companies that support going green. The great part is you don't need a lot to start and you don't need to be an expert. There are many companies today supporting strategies for Micro-Investing with technology that tracks your investments. Micro-investing allows would-be-investors with small starting capital to bypass the roadblocks that usually keep them out of the game – minimum investment levels, trading costs, market research, and really just not having a ton of money. So now you can win in many ways!

 Now is the perfect time to go green because there are so many wonderful things you can do with your home to save money and help the planet in the process. And with the money you save, you can make even greener. No Cost / Small Impact: Consume... 0 0 2169 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-4b6c06be-9d15-4bbf-8c34-927b41768c4d Tech for Life 2017-08-17T08:48:24-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-a9913fb0-f972-436b-b3f5-8a56b197fe03 Managing Costs in the Cloud Part 2 JohnCrawfordIBM 100000BANX active false JohnCrawfordIBM 100000BANX active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2014-09-04T16:22:23-04:00 2014-09-04T17:19:50-04:00
 Managing Costs in the Cloud
 With IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator

 By Paul Quigley

 This is the second of a two-part blog focusing on implementing IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator 2.3 with IBM SmartCloud Cost Management to help you measure cloud resource usage and accurately charge your customers for their cloud resource usage. Part 1 focused on the architecture and products involved. Part 2 will focus on the cloud service usage data collected and the reports that are available.

 What type of cloud service usage data is collected?

 SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise produces cloud service usage data per virtual machine, including:

 Architecture (for example, x86 versus Power)

 Number of virtual CPUs allocated

 Amount of memory allocated (GB)

 Amount of disk allocated (GB)

 Software license charges, for example, DB2 and WebSphere

 Sized-hosting charges based on the select flavor, such as tiny, and small

 Operating system deployed

 Image deployed

 vSys pattern deployed

 As well as other data

 How is the cloud service usage data collected?

 The diagram below provides a high-level overview of the data collectors, rate templates, cloud reports, and how they are related.

 Click on iImage to view in separate window

 SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise provides four job files to collect data across three different data collectors, as follows:

 Metering Control System (MCS)
 1) Collects cloud service usage data instance from OpenStack, nova, per virtual machine(VM)
 2) Collects KVM volume data from OpenStack cinder

 REST volume job
 3) Uses the IaaS REST API to capture VMware and PowerVM volume data

 Keystone job
 4) Uses the REST API to retrieve contextual data (domains, projects, and users) from OpenStack Keystone Identity Service

 Each data collector collects specific data on an hourly basis, logging the data to files with common source resource (CSR) records.

 Data from the CSR files is merged and correlated in SmartCloud Cost Management by running jobs to process the data. By default, this occurs at 21:30 each day. The new (merged) file is then used for analysis, reporting, and billing.

 Merging the CSR files allows you to see reports based on the tenancy data. For example, customer "A" can only see their cloud service usage data and customer "B" can only see theirs. Invoices can be generated using different rate structures for each customer.

 When a report is requested, SmartCloud Cost Management will apply the appropriate rate tables and tenancy data, as you will see in the examples later in this blog.

 Defining rates for chargeback

 SmartCloud Cost Management supports several rate templates for cloud resources, such as:

 Infrastructure charges:
 Architecture (Power, x86)
 Resource (CPU Hour, Memory GB Hour, Storage GB Hour

 License charges:
 Windows Server 2012, WebSphere Application Server 8, WebSphere MQ 7, DB2 10, etc.

 Hosting charges, such as:
 Development versus test versus production
 LPAR, KVM, VMware
 Base operating system

 Sized-hosting charges, such as:
 Development, test, production
 LPAR, KVM, VMware
 Tiny VM, small VM, medium VM, large VM, extra Large VM

 Once the rates are applied against the cloud service usage data, you have a chargeback mechanism and can generate an invoice to send to your customers.

 Tip: The cloud service usage data tells you how long cloud resources have been reserved, not necessarily in use. To more accurately reflect actual cloud usage, you can use the infrastructure charges as a base cost and define additional costs based on license, operating system, size of VM, and so on, using the license, hosting, and sized-hosting rate templates.

 Cloud costing example

 Using the default license charges rates, suppose you provision a virtual machine with Windows Server 2012, DB2 v10, and WebSphere Application Server v8.

 For every hour that the virtual machine is provisioned, the cost would be:

 Windows Server 2012 @ $.25 per hour

 DB2 v10 @ $.05 per hour

 WAS v8 @ $.10 per hour

 Total cost = $.40 per hour

 Example invoice

 Let's look at an example invoice. In this case, the customer is Customer P.

 Click on image to view in separate window

 Notice, for example, the infrastructure charges of $353.60 for their x86 platform. The cost is further broken down by CPU, memory, and disk, as well. The invoice also includes additional costs for software licensing and hosting charges.

 Example usage report

 Let's look at an example usage report. In this case, this is a Project Summary report looking at all virtual machines across all projects. The bar graph shows the provisioned virtual machines from 0 through 1000 days.

 Click on iImage to view in separate window

 The data has been filtered for only the virtual machines that have been deployed in the last 51 to 100 days. There are approximately 20 virtual machines that have been deployed. All virtual machines are active. Looking at the pie chart, you can see that the virtual machines have been deployed evenly across several projects. The table at the bottom of the report provides details regarding each virtual machine.

 Demonstration

 Click Managing cloud costs in a multitenancy environment End-to-End Solution Demonstration to see a demonstration of several cloud cost management reports.

 Summary

 SmartCloud Orchestrator creates cloud service usage and tenancy data as it provisions virtual machines. Several data collectors are used to collect the virtual machine resource data as well as tenancy data.

 With SmartCloud Cost Management you can understand your costs and track, allocate, and invoice based on actual resource use by department, user, and many additional criteria. Reports can be run to generate invoices (bills) based on customer usage of cloud resources.

 For more information

 For more information about IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator, visit
 http://www.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/smartcloud-orchestrator/.
 For more information about IBM SmartCloud Monitoring, visit
 http://www.ibm.com/software/tivoli/products/smartcloud-monitoring/.
 For more information about IBM SmartCloud Cost Management, visit
 http://www.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/smartcloud-cost-management.

 About the Author

 Paul Quigley is a Senior Technical Enablement Specialist with the IBM Cloud and Smarter Infrastructure Enablement team, with expertise in Tivoli Service Automation Manager, Tivoli Provisioning Manager, and Smart Cloud Orchestrator.
 Managing Costs in the Cloud With IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator By Paul Quigley This is the second of a two-part blog focusing on implementing IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator 2.3 with IBM SmartCloud Cost Management to help you measure cloud resource... 0 0 3499 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-6850db97-7e90-495f-b3f0-9b3844f6d488 A View From The Cloud 2015-03-09T11:15:29-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-5370d1c6-9ef7-434b-ac6c-1b6ccd1cd2af Managing Costs in the Cloud JohnCrawfordIBM 100000BANX active false JohnCrawfordIBM 100000BANX active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2014-07-28T14:00:36-04:00 2014-07-29T09:41:13-04:00
 Managing Costs in the Cloud

 with IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator

 by Paul Quigley

 Many IT shops deal with cost restrictions while trying to maintain the most effective use of their resources. As companies move more of their daily business applications and resources to the cloud, that need becomes even more critical.

 Several questions are becoming increasingly common:

 How can I measure cloud resource usage?

 How much do my cloud resources cost?

 How can I accurately charge my customers for their cloud resource usage?

 This two part blog post will focus on implementing IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise  2.3 with IBM SmartCloud Cost Management to help you accomplish those goals. Part 1 will focus on the architecture and products involved. Part 2 will focus on the cloud service usage data collected and the reports that are available.
 First, let's start by understanding a little about SmartCloud Orchestrator (SCO). SmartCloud Orchestrator provides an open and extensible cloud management platform for managing heterogeneous hybrid environments, with the following features and benefits:

 Standardization and automation of cloud services through a flexible orchestration engine and a self-service portal.

 Reusable workload patterns to enable dynamic cloud service delivery.

 Built on open standards, OpenStack, for unparalleled interoperability.

 To summarize – self-service user interface, built on open standards, extensible, standardized, automated services, orchestration, and workload patterns.

 IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise (SCOE) packages SmartCloud Orchestrator with several other products for the cloud, to provide the functionality you need to manage your cloud, as shown in the Infrastructure as a Service adoption pattern below:

 As customers adopt the Infrastructure as a Service pattern, they have several products available to them. Many are provided with SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise.

 SmartCloud Provisioning (SCP) for the basic provisioning of cloud resources. SmartCloud Provisioning is available as a separate product, providing a subset of the SmartCloud Orchestrator function.

 SmartCloud Orchestrator (SCO) for more advanced functions such as extensibility and orchestration. SmartCloud Orchestrator included, for example, SmartCloud Provisioning, OpenStack, and Business Process Manager.

 SmartCloud Monitoring (SCM) for monitoring of cloud resources, including the cloud infrastructure. SmartCloud Monitoring includes IBM Tivoli Monitoring for Virtual Environments (ITM for VE) 184.108.40.206 with additional reports, installation wizards, and IBM Tivoli Monitoring 18.104.22.168 OS monitoring agents.

 SmartCloud Cost Management (SCCM) for collecting cloud usage, metering, and accounting data; providing charge-back capabilities.

 IBM Endpoint Manager for Patch Management (IEM) for managing fixes to the provisioned virtual machines.

 The following products are also provided with SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise, though not shown in the IaaS adoption diagram:

 IBM Tivoli System Automation Application Manager and IBM Tivoli System Automation for Multiplatforms for high availability (HA) of your cloud infrastructure, including the SmartCloud Orchestrator machines.

 Jazz for Service Management for reporting and dashboarding.

 SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise integrates provisioning, metering, usage and accounting as well as monitoring and capacity management with patch management of cloud resources.

 Using SmartCloud Orchestrator and SmartCloud Cost Management, you can provision virtual machines to the cloud, measuring the usage of cloud services, applying costs against the usage data, and providing charge-back capabilities.

 SmartCloud Cost Management provides visibility into the usage and cost of your cloud infrastructure and other non-IT resources. The software helps you track and assess shared computing resource usage accurately, and better manage the cost of your cloud and IT services. The most common application involves billing an enterprise's internal business units or a cloud provider's external customers according to the services and resources the users consume, providing reports that detail resource consumption.

 SmartCloud Cost Management collects usage and tenancy data from the cloud and processes the data for analysis, billing, and reporting.

 The cloud data is available through interactive reports that show details for the following items:

 Projects and tenants, showing trends

 Information on the users and instances for each project and tenant

 An analysis of the durations of the instances for each project and tenant

 Let's take a quick look at the environment. The SmartCloud Orchestrator topology includes several central servers and reg

 The central servers provide the SmartCloud Orchestrator functionality, such as authentication through keystone, pattern management through IBM Workload Deployer (IWD), and orchestration through Business Process Manager (BPM).

 OpenStack processes are run on the region server. Each region server connects to a hypervisor such as Power, KVM, or VMware. Metering data is collected at the OpenStack level; capturing all cloud service usage data through the IaaS Gateway (IaaS GW) and REST APIs.

 To enable cloud cost management with SmartCloud Orchestrator, you must install several components:

 SmartCloud Cost Management 22.214.171.124

 Jazz for Service Management 22.214.171.124, including:

 IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition 10.1

 IBM WebSphere Application Server 22.214.171.124

 IBM Tivoli Common Reporting 184.108.40.206

 All components are available with the SmartCloud Orchestrator Enterprise package or as separate products and should be installed on machines (physical or virtual) within your cloud management environment, as shown in the diagram.

 Part 2 of this blog will focus on the cloud service usage data collected and the reports that are available.

 Paul Quigley is a Senior Technical Enablement Specialist with the IBM Cloud & Smarter Infrastructure Enablement team, with expertise in Tivoli Service Automation Manager, Tivoli Provisioning Manager, and Smart Cloud Orchestrator.
 Managing Costs in the Cloud with IBM SmartCloud Orchestrator by Paul Quigley Many IT shops deal with cost restrictions while trying to maintain the most effective use of their resources. As companies move more of their daily business applications... 0 0 4662 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-6850db97-7e90-495f-b3f0-9b3844f6d488 A View From The Cloud 2015-03-09T11:15:29-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-18874fd1-da3b-4003-a0ec-6fd303e7f7f1 Whitepaper: Reduction of storage costs made easy mipi 270004DGB0 active false mipi 270004DGB0 active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2014-01-09T11:21:45-05:00 2014-01-20T11:54:28-05:00

 Actually, this is a very simple question: "why buy expensive storage, if it is possible to achieve the same with a much cheaper storage?"

 This sounds very reasonable, but often it is just difficult to implement. Let´s have a closer look on a typical top level target system for storage planning:

 This whitepaper shows how analysis can help to reduce costs very quickly

 This Whitepaper

 Two customer examples from big to small

 The heatmap is the key to success

 What are the financial implications of such analyses?

 And the savings are not even finished yet!

 How much can be saved in a much smaller environment?

 And what is the key to gain all this?

 A ctually, this is a very simple question: "why buy expensive storage, if it is possible to achieve the same with a much cheaper storage?" This sounds very reasonable, but often it is just difficult to implement. Let´s have a closer look on a... 0 0 2557 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-0fe3bf75-d27b-4a36-a090-48498096b48b The BVQ Blog 2017-06-27T12:30:42-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-cf5ac3f0-5e33-4ccf-8942-be01b1e51b79 Linear Tape File System - Enterprise Edition (LTFS-EE) - New enhancements – KeithA.Thuerk 110000F2GW active false KeithA.Thuerk 110000F2GW active false Comment Entries Likes true 2014-01-03T11:36:55-05:00 2014-02-05T13:17:46-05:00
 What:
 Linear Tape File System - Enterprise Edition (LTFS-EE) - New enhancements –
 With the explosion of digital information worldwide, organizations are struggling to manage storage costs while meeting end-user demands for accessibility. LTFS EE helps to reduce IT expenses by transparently replacing tiered disk storage (Tier 2 and Tier 3) with IBM tape libraries. The PGA1 release of LTFS EE became generally available on December 20, 2013. This session will overview LTFS EE, highlighting the enhancements in the new PGA1 release. The session will include a live demo with time for Q&A.

 When:
 This webinar has been completed. Please feel free to access the materials using the links below.

 Audio available at: http://ibmstg.adobeconnect.com/replay-acceleratewithats-jan16/

 Presentation available at: http://ibmstg.adobeconnect.com/acceleratewithats-ltfs-ee-jan16/

 Speakers:
 Jeff Ziehm - ATS

 Find out about upcoming Accelerate with ATS webinars by subscribing to our blog:
 www.tinyurl.com/ATSAccelerate
 or
 https://www.ibm.com/developerworks/mydeveloperworks/blogs/accelerate/?lang=en

 Join our Accelerate mailing list to hear about upcoming webinars by sending an email to
 firstname.lastname@example.com
 What: Linear Tape File System - Enterprise Edition (LTFS-EE) - New enhancements – With the explosion of digital information worldwide, organizations are struggling to manage storage costs while meeting end-user demands for accessibility. LTFS EE helps to... 0 0 4924 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-7f902e45-5126-43f5-a769-cd45e7b87fa7 Accelerate with IBM Storage 2017-08-15T14:53:53-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-7e6f8b74-4244-459e-9372-602f0e305fe7 Analytical storage planning reduces procurement costs mipi 270004DGB0 active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2013-09-20T04:14:27-04:00 2013-09-20T04:14:27-04:00
 A very useful method is the analytical storage planning based on measurement data. In the following example, the MS Exchange-area of a company was analyzed to determine the required supply power.

 see attached picture

 Fig 2: measured values allow a very precise planning of power consumption and thereby reduce purchasing costs and operating costs. Another positive effect is the safety which results from this planning. These measurements show exactly how much power is needed for an environment. If this demand is covered by the infrastructure, there is no danger of performance degradation due to an incorrectly planned infrastructure.

 Here the simple interpretation of the measured values showed a power requirement of 2500 IOPS. With the in-depth analysis of the data streams´ behavior, it was detected, that from the needed 2500 IOPS more than half of the power is generated by the SVC´s caches.

 The improved planning basis now uses a value of 1094 required IOPS, which have to be supplied by the storage infrastructure. This performance can be provided by using RAID 6 with ¼ of the previously estimated disks.

 Link: This Whitepaper
 Link: BVQ Use Case: Cost Effective Storage Planning

 A very useful method is the analytical storage planning based on measurement data. In the following example, the MS Exchange-area of a company was analyzed to determine the required supply power. see attached picture Fig 2: measured values allow a very precise... 0 0 3219 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-0fe3bf75-d27b-4a36-a090-48498096b48b The BVQ Blog 2017-06-27T12:30:42-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-b2383f53-fe84-411a-b782-17d9d20c217e new documents in BVQ wiki (reporting and accounting) mipi 270004DGB0 active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2013-05-03T02:08:29-04:00 2013-05-03T02:08:29-04:00
 I have added two new documents in the BVQ wiki

 in the English section a customer presentation about BVQ Reporting - this file is also available in german

 English main page, bvq_reporting_en.pdf
 German main page, bvq_reporting.pdf

 In the German section a spec sheet about BVQ Accounting - (this will be translated soon into english)

 BVQ Accounting Steckbrief 2013.pdf
 I have added two new documents in the BVQ wiki in the English section a customer presentation about BVQ Reporting - this file is also available in german English main page , bvq_reporting_en.pdf German main page , bvq_reporting.pdf In the German section... 0 0 2859 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-0fe3bf75-d27b-4a36-a090-48498096b48b The BVQ Blog 2017-06-27T12:30:42-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-74aec705-3f4f-4b55-bbb7-b7763a2bda7b Drivers and inhibitors in the journey to the cloud JohnCrawfordIBM 100000BANX active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2012-10-30T14:17:52-04:00 2012-10-30T14:17:52-04:00

This article originally appeared in the IBM "ThoughtsOnCloud" blog earlier this fall.

You can visit www.thoughtsoncloud.com for other interesting and pertinent articles

Drivers and inhibitors in the journey to the cloud

 by Maamar Ferkoun

While many companies are considering moving their applications to the cloud, there is still reluctance to do so in
light of some considerations and the potential pitfalls that might be encountered.

So let's have a look at some of the inhibiting and driving factors to move to the cloud-facing organizations today:

Inhibitors

By far, security has been at the forefront of the inhibiting factors for moving applications to the cloud. The
 lack of control of the infrastructure has left many companies skeptical about the assurance that the cloud
 service provider can ensure the infrastructure is secure and the customers' data and applications are
protected and whether all proper security measures are being taken so that the information security is
in no way compromised outside their premises.

Among the key elements of the security inhibitors are privacy, legal and physical security (the list is not
exhaustive).

Another element that often acts as an inhibitor is the compliance factor. This usually relates to the
 numerous governmental and industry regulations governing the storage and use of the data as
well as the audit trails and reporting practices among others.

Last but not least of the inhibiting factors is the "vendor lock-in" paradigm which might prevent interoperability
should you plan to shift to another service provider.

Drivers

Among the drivers, one attraction has certainly been the agility factor. Being able to add capacity in no time to
increase productivity, sales and revenue without the hurdle of having to invest in massive infrastructure or the
 time you would have to invest in setting it up.

Scalability no longer being a constraint allows organization to make decisions faster when increasing resource
 allocations in a minimum amount of time while adapting to ever changing conditions on the ground.

As to costs, these do take a significant part in the decision making process. The most obvious aspect lies in the
 fact that money is no longer being spent on hardware and software required to establish or expand an infrastructure.
With the availability of the pay-per-use model you only pay for what is truly consumed, thus further reducing the cost
pressure. Scalability is another aspect that brings in further cost reduction as the organization grows thus inducing
 economies of scale.

Summary

Cloud computing might not constitute the miracle solution to cost control maintenance, but is certainly an option to
consider when it comes to addressing constraints due to agility, regulatory compliance and security.

 Maamar is part of the Worldwide Technical and Service Delivery team covering the Cloud solutions portfolio, currently covering the
Asia Pacific region. Maamar has been with IBM for the last 15 years across different teams and project in the Asia Pacific region.
His area of expertise covers best practices such as ITIL, Cobit and ISO20000 standard as well as well as a range of Cloud offerings.
 He has co-authored three IBM Redbooks. Maamar is currently living in Singapore and Hong Kong. You can follow him
on Twitter at @MaAsiaPacific.

 This article originally appeared in the IBM "ThoughtsOnCloud" blog earlier this fall. You can visit www.thoughtsoncloud.com for other interesting and pertinent articles Drivers and inhibitors in the journey to the cloud by Maamar Ferkoun... 0 0 5072 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-6850db97-7e90-495f-b3f0-9b3844f6d488 A View From The Cloud 2015-03-09T11:15:29-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-b679ac94-ed73-450e-a37c-74d3f33bd2be Taking the Sting Out of Virtualization Licensing Costs with KVM Virtualization+IBM 2700039S5C active false Comment Entries Likes true 2012-09-28T12:12:08-04:00 2012-09-28T12:33:04-04:00
Whether you're just testing the waters or have already dove head first into server virtualization, cost reduction continues to be a primary driver of data center optimization. Although virtualization is helping to reduce capital expenses, IT managers are getting stung with increasingly expensive virtualization software licensing costs.

One of the key value propositions for KVM is the potential to reduce the overall cost of ownership for virtualization solutions. To assess the potential savings, you can do a pricing analysis of a KVM stack compared to its competitors (i.e. VMware and Microsoft). Sounds easy, but unfortunately it's more complex than it seems because virtualization software vendors have different pricing terms and conditions, software is rarely sold at list prices and each data center is configured differently with various platforms, workloads, etc. to account for.

There isn't a standard formula for calculating or comparing competitive hypervisor stacks, but one way to view the cost differences is through an analysis of publically available pricing information. Although this comparison won't give you the exact cost differences for your particular environment, it will show you the overall magnitude of cost differences between the hypervisor solutions and how each solution is priced.

Pricing Analysis Methodology
The first step is to identify a standard server configuration to price each of the software solutions. This is important because each vendor has significantly different terms and conditions that are based on the server configuration. For this analysis we chose a standard IBM System x server with 2-sockets and 48GM of RAM (model: IBM x3550 M3, 2x6C, 2x500GB HDD, 48GB RAM, 2x 6Gb HBA, ServerRAID).

The next step is to identify the hypervisor stacks to compare, and determine the price and licensing structure for each solution. The figure below shows how we've isolated the hypervisor and hypervisor management solutions along with their associated license, subscription and support prices. To get as close to an accurate comparison, we included the server, operating system, hypervisor, hypervisor management tool and systems management tool for each stack. You'll see that the KVM stack utilizes the version of KVM that comes with Red Hat Enterprise Linux combined with IBM management tools - IBM Systems Director and IBM Systems Director VMControl.

Pricing Analysis Results
Now that we have all of the pricing data, let's analyze different operating scenarios. For the purposes of simplicity, the following basic parameters were selected:

Compared 3 different types of workload environments:

Scenario #1: 100% Linux-based workloads

Scenario #2: 50% Linux-based / 50% Windows-based workloads

Scenario #3: 100% Windows-based workloads

Utilized retail prices for each solution (licensing, subscription, support)

Analyzed a 3-year total cost of ownership

For each stack we used a total quantity of 20 servers

Here are the results for Scenario #1: 100% Linux-based workloads including the detailed pricing data:

Following the same methodology, Scenario #2: 50% Linux-based / 50% Windows-based workloads results were similar:

Lastly for Scenario #3: 100% Windows-based workloads the results were a bit different:

Conclusion and takeaways
Before we summarize the results please keep in mind that this analysis showcases the overall magnitude of cost differences between the different stacks in a general setting. It is always important to consider the configuration of your data center, your existing enterprise software agreements and workload needs when conducting a detailed cost analysis.

Now in terms of the pricing analysis, the results above show:

For 100% Linux-based environments there is an especially strong case for attaining significant cost advantages for KVM, upwards of 42% savings compared to VMware.

Similarly for Mixed environments (50% Linux, 50% Windows) KVM demonstrated a strong cost saving potential, up to 35% compared to VMware.

For 100% Windows-based environments, Microsoft is less expensive, but it is important to note that it if you're running a 100% Windows shop, it is unlikely you would be using KVM to manage that environment.

Lastly, you will notice that VMware is the most expensive solution across every scenario.

As you consider your virtualization needs, the bottom line is that KVM can help protect you from the sting of increasingly expensive virtualization licensing costs especially for Linux and Mixed workload environments.

David Hsu
Program Director, WW IBM Linux and KVM Marketing

Pricing Data Sources:

IBM Pricing:
 IBM System x Hardware (x3550 M3)
 http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/americas/content/home/store_IBMPublicUSA/en_US/evp/3550M3.html
 IBM System x Software License and Support Costs
 http://www-304.ibm.com/shop/americas/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/default/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=-840&storeId=1&langId=-1&dualCurrId=73&categoryId=4611686018425093833

VMware Pricing:
 http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/pricing.html
 Red Hat Pricing:
 https://www.redhat.com/wapps/store/catalog.html
 Microsoft Pricing:
 "Windows Server, System Center, and Forefront Licensing Guide", 2011
 http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/D/9/0D9DDF52-A855-487B-9B74-5A09A9389551/Windows%20Server%20System%20Center%20and%20Forefront%20Pricing%20and%20Licensing%20Guide.pdf
 "Comprehensive Resource for Licensing and Pricing" Fully Packaged Product (FPP) Retail Pricing – Windows Server 2008 R2
 Microsoft License Advisor: Microsoft® Windows® Server Datacenter Single Software Assurance OPEN Level C 1 Proc
 "Microsoft Private Cloud A comparative look at Functionality, Benefits, and Economics," August 2011
 Whether you're just testing the waters or have already dove head first into server virtualization, cost reduction continues to be a primary driver of data center optimization. Although virtualization is helping to reduce capital expenses, IT managers are... 0 0 18095 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-984e7f1e-de60-4ce6-ad0f-1b551451df94 Virtualization@IBM 2014-12-17T12:12:10-05:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-3fd0ce77-8cce-44f5-b77f-5e8dbb970a2f How a banking group achieved an ROI of over $4 million ErikaHorrocks 270004AK9X active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2012-07-31T14:16:32-04:00 2012-08-06T15:38:55-04:00

We all hope for substantial gains from IT investments, but imagine achieving a return on investment (ROI) of more than AUD $4 million within the first year. That's a pretty impressive result!

Like most organizations today, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) faced significant pressures to reduce costs. The bank had a substantial increase in the demand for its IT services and realized that simply adding more resources to keep up with the demand was not the answer. Instead, they needed to achieve greater efficiency and productivity. The company has reduced project start-up time from three months to four weeks and has substantially reduced training time.

With help from the IBM Rational team, they identified several areas for improvement. For example:

For every six weeks of testing, teams spent two weeks setting up the appropriate environments.

In addition, because the bank lacked a central repository, assets were scattered throughout the company on various personal computers or multiple LANs, which of course increased delays and the risk of assets being lost.

Finally, there was the stress of audits to ensue that the bank had the necessary traceability to demonstrate compliance with processes and regulations.

ANZ launched a company-wide initiative to achieve its business goals of greater traceability, increased agility through collaboration, and automation for improved quality. Because the company has delivery centers around the globe, the solution had to support geographically distributed teams.

After evaluating 26 technology solutions for their company-wide initiative, ANZ Banking Group chose IBM Rational software. With help from Rational solutions, ANZ now has a single consistent, scalable development environment that provides the needed traceability, collaboration, and automation.

"Using the Rational software makes us more agile," says Ben McCoy, service optimization manager at ANZ. With standard tools and processes across the enterprise, the company has reduced project start-up time from three months to four weeks and has substantially reduced training time.

"Execution is quicker, so we can respond a lot better to program needs," says McCoy. Through the increased level of automation, ANZ has been able to reduce the number of people needed for each project. In the past, they would typically assign seven people to each project. Now, they assign just three or four. Additionally, teams can now deploy components in 15 minutes, a process that previously took three days.

"Our costs are flat, even though our demand has increased by about 30 to 35 percent. We're doing more with the same amount of resource," says Frank Fabian, head of testing environments.

ANZ not only achieved an ROI of over AUD $4 million from cost savings and efficiency improvements within the first year, they did it while taking on an increasing amount of work And the future looks bright , because they expect to exceed their target of an AUD $8.5 million ROI for the second year.

Read the full case study for details: ANZ achieves an ROI of AUD 4.27 million through efficiency improvements

About the author
 Valerie Hamilton is a Certified Senior IT Specialist and Level 2 Board Member for Americas IT Specialist Profession Certification. She has a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science (specializing in Systems Engineering) as well as 23 years of experience in the software industry. We all hope for substantial gains from IT investments, but imagine achieving a return on investment (ROI) of more than AUD $4 million within the first year. That's a pretty impressive result! Like most organizations today, Australia and New Zealand Banking... 1 0 5987 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-38ec41bf-1707-4611-9e09-dcc2fb5ebe03 The Invisible Thread 2017-08-11T04:48:12-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-c326d673-ffff-4f2d-8bf8-fdd3d19b3bcc Make smarter decisions with application portfolio management ErikaHorrocks 270004AK9X active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2012-07-25T10:03:45-04:00 2012-07-31T09:41:47-04:00

As software plays an increasingly critical role in the business performance of corporations, IT faces considerable pressure to support new business initiatives while cutting costs. Over the last 30 years, billions of dollars have been invested in software applications, but typically, these investments are poorly leveraged. Too often, a complex and poorly understood application portfolio consumes a large percentage of IT funds, leaving corporate business and IT leaders challenged to find the funds needed for business innovation.

The compelling case for application portfolio management

As companies struggle to fund new applications to support the competitive business needs, CIOs and other technology leaders are beginning to view IT budgets from a larger perspective. We frequently see three cascading problems related to IT budgets in mature companies:

 First, a substantial percentage of IT funds are spent on maintaining and operating an application portfolio that is growing and becoming increasingly stale. If you do an Internet search on the terms "70-80 percent spent on maintenance," you will find numerous citations across many industries regarding the high cost of simply keeping the lights on, especially in the IT arena. In IBM's experience, the 70-80 percent figure is roughly correct; little funding is left for innovation.

Second, the growing and aging application portfolio leads to reduced business agility, since it takes too long for updates to these systems to yield any effective response to an emerging business or marketplace need.

Third, the aging portfolio exposes the company to multiple risks, including compliance risk, risk of losing people with critical skills or application knowledge, and risk associated with using old technology.

It appears that our industry has gotten the 80/20 rule wrong. Over the last decade, IBM has observed many large and medium-sized companies that have invested in transparent and objective project portfolio management processes that typically provide good governance over the 20-30 percent of IT funds spent on new projects. Few companies, however, have a similar governance process for the money spent on basic operational and maintenance expenses. This is where application portfolio management can make a difference.

Application portfolio management (APM) is the practice of continuously assessing the applications that run your business in terms of their business value, enhancement potential, cost, and risk. APM enables teams to make decisions about what actions to take with each of the portfolio elements. It provides a transparent and objective process for managing investments in existing applications and can help teams make better and faster decisions by using information-gathering and analytics capabilities.

In most organizations, information about the application inventory, the associated technology, financial performance, business value, technical debt, and service quality is distributed across discrete and isolated organizations, a myriad of spreadsheets and systems, or in people's heads. This prevents meaningful comparison and analysis of this information to enable timely decision-making.

When companies begin an APM initiative, they produce an application inventory that contains the information and analytics that they will need to determine which applications can be discontinued or which enterprise modernization approach will be the most favorable for an application. APM feeds the project management process with project proposals for taking action to address the cost of management and maintenance. Actions can range from discontinuing or modernizing applications to replacing them with packaged applications.

Application portfolio management use scenarios

Let's look at some typical scenarios in which application portfolio management can be adopted, including what drives companies to adopt them, the benefits derived, and the typical payback time.

Consolidation: Consolidation is often driven by mergers and acquisitions, and duplicate applications can increase as a result of organizational silos. Many organizations start with a consolidation and simplification of their application portfolio, because this approach can provide a fast payback time, allowing savings to be reinvested in further optimizations of the portfolio. The IBM CIO office, as a part of their first wave of APM adoption, reduced their application count by 55 percent, thereby reducing application maintenance costs by 40 percent over a three-year period. The goal is to reduce the application count by an additional 50 percent by 2015 and to reduce charge-back costs by 30 percent.

 Modernization: Enterprise modernization can have a significant impact on the long-term performance of a company. Benefits include the ability to reduce hardware, licensing, and maintenance costs, improve business agility, open up new business opportunities, and reduce risk associated with aging skills and technology. APM can help companies prioritize their existing assets to highlight those that could yield maximum returns with an enterprise modernization program.

Investment management: Investment management is an objective and transparent process for aligning funds spent on application maintenance and renovation with organizational priorities. This includes establishing an investment model based on facts, and it is an effective process for prioritizing competing needs within a constrained budget.

 SLA optimization: Better alignment of service level agreements (SLAs) with the business criticality of an application can help you optimize operational spending. An IBM customer in the financial services industry used IBM's APM solution to reduce the number of SLAs from 17 to 4, while avoiding the assignment of high SLA levels to applications that were not business-critical, consequently reducing operational cost.

 Compliance: When an application inventory has been established, it is easy to extend its use to manage regulatory and industry compliance.

Cloud: Taking advantage of the cloud is on top of many CIOs' minds, but which applications should be moved to the cloud first? By adding a survey to the APM repository, looking at factors such as seasonal fluctuations in load and technology alignment with the cloud operating environment, a prioritized list of the assets can be made for cloud deployment of each application.

Relocate or reassign: Similar to the cloud scenario, a survey can be added to determine which applications would be the most appropriate to move to a lower-cost country or be outsourced. This survey could include factors such as expected feature churn or mapping required to available skills.

Read the full whitepaper here: http://ibm.co/MUhYLE

To learn more about IBM Rational's solution for Application Portfolio Management, visit us at:  http://www-142.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/category/SWY20

About the author

<img 10px;"="" 88"=""
Per Kroll is Chief Solution Architect and Program Director for Portfolio Strategy and Management. As such, he is driving solution architecture for portfolio strategy and management, including application portfolio management, demand management, and delivery management. He is also development manager for IBM Rational software for process, enterprise architecture, and next-generation analytics. Per has written more than 30 articles, and he is the author of two books that sold more than 30,000 copies and were translated into six languages. He also co-authored The Rational Unified Process Made Easy – A Practitioner's Guide with Philippe Kruchten and Agility and Discipline Made Easy – Practices from OpenUP and RUPwith Bruce MacIsaac. Per is a frequent speaker at conferences and a member of the IBM Academy of Technology.

 As software plays an increasingly critical role in the business performance of corporations, IT faces considerable pressure to support new business initiatives while cutting costs. Over the last 30 years, billions of dollars have been invested in software... 3 0 9969 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-38ec41bf-1707-4611-9e09-dcc2fb5ebe03 The Invisible Thread 2017-08-11T04:48:12-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-11be39af-1cea-4881-8b6f-3b65abd23a85 Backup Costs with/without Compression mholzbauer 270002B9KX active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2012-01-20T05:20:30-05:00 2012-01-26T06:34:02-05:00
Here is a short calculation of Informix Backup costs with and without compression.
Informix backup can be compressed in different ways:
- ontape to disk (with ONCONFIG Parameters BACKUP_FILTER and RESTORE_FILTER)
- onbar to tape (with ONCONFIG Parameters BACKUP_FILTER and RESTORE_FILTER)
- onbar to tape (with TSM compression)

The compression size depends on the compression tool/algorithm and the data
(CHARs versus VARCHARS, BYTE, TEXT, BLOBs and so on).
Compression time (Backup Time) depends only on the compression tool/algorithm,
the number of CPUs the tool can use and the CPU frequency.

For the example calculation we assume, that the resulting (compressed) backup size
is between 25% and 45% and the monthly storage costs for the backup is about
0.15 USD per GByte per month (or 1.80 USD per GByte per year).
We also assume, that we need one full backup per instance per day (to shorten the
recovery time) and about 10 GByte logfiles to backup.

You can test your backup time and compression size with following commands:

$ time (ontape -s -L 0 -F -t STDIO | wc -c)
 1443889152
(; ontape -s -L 0 -F -t STDIO | wc -c; )
14.25s user 1.43s system 79% cpu 19.604 total

$ time (ontape -s -L 0 -F -t STDIO | gzip -1c | wc -c)
 266601916
(; ontape -s -L 0 -F -t STDIO | gzip -1c | wc -c; )
48.81s user 1.83s system 109% cpu 46.056 total

$ echo "scale=2; 266601916/(1443889152/100)" | bc
18.46

In this example the resulting backup size is 18.45% with compression, but backup time doubles.
So, lets try another compression tool (with parallel compression):

$ time (ontape -s -L 0 -F -t STDIO | pigz -1c -b 1024 | wc -c)
 266990723
(; ontape -s -L 0 -F -t STDIO | pigz -1c -b 1024 | wc -c; )
66.02s user 7.07s system 281% cpu 25.931 total

Backup size is about the same as above, but compression time is reduced.
This is what we want (and need).

Example A):

1 Instance (90 GByte Data per full Backup + 10 GB Logical Logfiles per day)

Backup Volume:

DAYS BACKUP
STORED	SIZE
UNCOMPRESSED 	SIZE 45%
COMPRESSED 	SIZE 25%
COMPRESSED

1 Day	100 GB	45 GB	25 GB

30 Days	3 TB	1.35 TB	0.75 TB

90 Days	9 TB	4.05 TB	2.25 TB

Yearly backup costs:

DAYS BACKUP
STORED	COST
UNCOMPRESSED 	COST 45%
COMPRESSED 	COST 25%
COMPRESSED

1 Day	180 USD	81 ( -99) USD	45 ( -135) USD

30 Days	5400 USD	2430 (-2970) USD	1350 ( -4050) USD

90 Days	16200 USD	7290 (-8910) USD	4050 (-12150) USD

Example B):
100 Instances (90 GByte Data per full Backup + 10 GB Logical Logfiles per Day)
or
10 Instances (990 GB Data per full Backup + 10 GB Logical Logfiles per Day)

Backup Volume:

DAYS BACKUP
STORED	SIZE
UNCOMPRESSED 	SIZE 45%
COMPRESSED 	SIZE 25%
COMPRESSED

1 Day	10 TB	4.5 TB	2.5 TB

30 Days	300 TB	135 TB	75 TB

90 Days	900 TB	405 TB	225 TB

Yearly backup costs:

DAYS BACKUP
STORED	COST
UNCOMPRESSED 	COST 45%
COMPRESSED 	COST 25%
COMPRESSED

1 Day	18000 USD	8100 ( -9900) USD	4500 ( -13500) USD

30 Days	540000 USD	243000 (-297000) USD	135000 ( -405000) USD

90 Days	1620000 USD	729000 (-891000) USD	405000 (-1215000) USD

Have fun !

 Here is a short calculation of Informix Backup costs with and without compression. Informix backup can be compressed in different ways: - ontape to disk (with ONCONFIG Parameters BACKUP_FILTER and RESTORE_FILTER) - onbar to tape (with ONCONFIG Parameters... 0 2 6307 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-5991b963-05a1-412d-a39c-67e326cea321 Informix Administrators Blog 2016-06-29T13:44:26-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-7432cbad-5a53-4980-9323-a42fe958e49d See what a project will cost before you provision it in the Cloud jbuckley 2700019NHW active false 9e696bfa-94af-4f5a-ab50-c955cca76fd0 Comment Entries Likes true 2011-11-21T10:42:54-05:00 2011-12-12T04:46:57-05:00
Most generally accepted definitions of Cloud Computing imply the notion of Pay per use. For a Service Provider this means defining how they intend to bill for Cloud Services, while for a Cloud enabled DataCentre in the enterprise this implies some form of showback/chargeback model. As for those consumers actually using the Cloud, they want to understand the financial implications (what will it cost?) before committing their workloads to it.

 .

 As a Cloud User

Do you want to see what your project will cost before you provision it?

See a price list for all the services you can provision - comparing prices for different options?

Use a calculator to help you predict what a project will cost per month (or day or year)?

See what the effect of changing the resources used by a project will do to the cost?

As a Cloud Provider

Do you want to define different prices for a Service depending on the options that the user chooses?

Set different prices for each service for different customer groups?

.

The following screenshots illustrate how the new cloud cost management capability delivers solutions to these problems. The new TSAM Extension for Usage and Accounting is available to download now via the ISM Library.

See the Prices for the different Cloud offerings and compare different options

The first dropdown in the view shown below shows the Offerings that are available to the customer. Offerings can be anything the Cloud provider chooses to make available, for example: Virtual Servers, Storage or even PaaS or Saas offerings. The consumer can see up front what the different rates are for each component, and compare these across different offering types.
.

.

See what it would cost per month to run a new project in the Cloud

In this example, we want to have one machine to run an Application Server and one machine to run a Database and we need additional Tier1 storage in order to store the database data. The calculator shows how much this will cost per month overall and in terms of the two Service Offerings that this particular Cloud provides.
.

 .

Different customers can be assigned to different subscriptions

A subscription is a means to segment your customers into different groups such as by geography or customer type (direct, business partners etc).

In this example, the RATIONAL and TIVOLI customers are assigned to the US (United States) subscription. Customers with this subscription share the same set of available offerings and pay the same price for those offerings.
.

.

Offerings are defined once and then added to Subscriptions

Once they are part of a subscription, the actual rate values (price per unit) can be defined for each element of the offering template.

.

If you wish to join the TUAM group to get more involved in reviewing new features and testing beta capability, then let me know and I can send you an invite.
   Most generally accepted definitions of Cloud Computing imply the notion of Pay per use . For a Service Provider this means defining how they intend to bill for Cloud Services, while for a Cloud enabled DataCentre in the enterprise this implies some form of... 2 1 6037 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-4e12bbee-372e-4db9-9117-2a57f8345f2b Cloud/Virtualization Management 2017-06-12T09:38:28-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-864b5fec-429f-4d44-90ad-d92036d081b5 IBM Tivoli Service Automation Manager - Extension for Usage and Accounting v1.0 is now available!! jbuckley 2700019NHW active false 9e696bfa-94af-4f5a-ab50-c955cca76fd0 Comment Entries Likes true 2011-09-07T11:41:46-04:00 2012-02-21T10:18:33-05:00

Tivoli Usage and Accounting Manager (TUAM) development are pleased to announce the release of the IBM® Tivoli® Service Automation Manager (TSAM) - Extension for Usage and Accounting v1.0.
This TSAM extension delivers cloud cost management capability by enhancing the integration, reporting and services between TUAM and TSAM. The extension allows cloud users to view historical invoice reports that show the charges associated with each project.

 The Usage and Accounting v1.0 extension provides the following features:

Easier Cloud Usage Report Access - Enabling Cloud users to access and view historical Usage and Accounting Manager Cognos reports directly from TSAM. Single sign on is configured between the two systems to allow for easier report access.

Role-based Report Security - Security access can now be configured to ensure that users that belong to the TSAM Cloud security groups can only access the TUAM Cognos reports that they are assigned to. For example, users that belong to the Cloud Customer and Cloud Team administrator user groups in TSAM can now be assigned access to specific TUAM Cognos reports.

Account Code Report Security - Account code security is used for customer and team reporting data segregation based on cloud roles in TSAM. This is achieved by data synchronization between TSAM and TUAM which involves aligning TSAM entities such as customers, teams, security groups and users with TUAM entities such as clients, users and user groups. After the synchronization process has completed, account code security is applied to the reports that TSAM users access.

The following table shows the evolution in the TSAM/TUAM integration.

.
.

The diagram below show how the Usage and Accounting v1.0 extension facilitates the integration between TSAM and TUAM.

For more information about the Usage and Accounting v1.0 extension, log on to the Information Center.

The extension is available free of charge and is part of the TUAM 126.96.36.199 FixPack, which is available on Fix Central.

Note: A Rates Preview and Charges Preview of costs is available now on the ISM Library as fully supported.

 Tivoli Usage and Accounting Manager (TUAM) development are pleased to announce the release of the IBM® Tivoli® Service Automation Manager (TSAM) - Extension for Usage and Accounting v1.0. This TSAM extension delivers cloud cost management capability by... 8 2 8620 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-4e12bbee-372e-4db9-9117-2a57f8345f2b Cloud/Virtualization Management 2017-06-12T09:38:28-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-07739cac-bdc8-4099-ac65-f905fd92bb24 Innovate, Innovation, Muppets, Execs look at Idle Capacity Costs.... systemzblogger 2700017BYR active false Comment Entries Likes true 2010-06-15T09:56:13-04:00 2010-06-24T09:24:50-04:00 Just got back from Innovate 2010 and I encourage you to view the Keynotes; they will fire you up on innovation, the future, systems of systems and the future-- fer sure!
Take a look at the current IBM System Magazine to learn, among other things, how tape is far from dead -- 29.5 B bits per square inch demonstrated (44x today's capacity)??
The mainframe mag, zJournal, is now at the mainframezone, and the current issue has an article on mashups and Web 2.0 with the mainframe. (have you looked at CICS support for PHP?)

...and IBM has demonstrated a Graphene transistor based chip at 100Ghz -- as in single layer of carbon atoms exceeding cut off frequencies of silicon chips with the same gate length, is getting involved in more auto systems with Daimler, and there is a nice retrospective on Disney and IBM (with videos!) here.

So, I ran across a couple of interesting articles recently that, as a architect working with large systems and large enterprises made me stop and think.
First, in the Financial Times from June 8, a nice bit of thought on outsourcing, governance, and a reminder how key tech is and the importance of managing technology correctly!

Secondly, in the current issue of Strategic Finance (oops, sorry the specific article is for IMA members only it seems..) a good discussion on how to handle Idle Capacity Costs (pg 55). Without going into the detail, the point is execs at your enterprise are looking at these things.

And... what system helps manage resources to minimize excess capacity, maximize utilization?
... and oh by the way have you looked at moving to or consolidated non-System z systems on z lately?
Or would rather wait for your manager to ask why not?

 Just got back from Innovate 2010 and I encourage you to view the Keynotes ; they will fire you up on innovation, the future, systems of systems and the future-- fer sure! Take a look at the current IBM System Magazine to learn, among other things, how tape is... 0 0 4299 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-95d37278-1663-4f69-9180-8e1915eafc07 Enterprise Class Innovation: System z Perspectives 2014-06-12T16:42:52-04:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-924b81ab-4591-41cf-a2db-74f40560e61b An Interesting Idea SC_Manager 270002HW8N active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2010-02-18T18:13:27-05:00 2010-02-18T18:13:48-05:00 I attended the CSCMP Chicago Roundtable event at RR Donnelley last week (February 11, 2009) and heard an interesting presentation by my colleague Jay Jayaraman. He discussed a project we are working on where a manufacturer of a commodity has the choice of exchanging product with a competitor. The idea is that a company can source an order from a competitor's location that is closer to the intended customer than its current manufacturing base. The impetus being a saving on transportation costs. The key is that both companies can benefit from the swap since they both can reduce transportation costs, and each company keeps their relationships with their customers. Of course, this scenario can only work with commodity-type products.

To take full advantage of the situation, our network modeling and production planning tool, LogicNet Plus XE, can be used to determine the best possible swaps as well as understand all the constraints that impact the results. Doing this type of analysis with Excel can lead to omissions and sub-optimization.

It's fascinating how collaboration, even amongst "enemies", can lead to benefits for all…

P. Louis Bourassa
Technical Account Manager
IBM

 I attended the CSCMP Chicago Roundtable event at RR Donnelley last week (February 11, 2009) and heard an interesting presentation by my colleague Jay Jayaraman. He discussed a project we are working on where a manufacturer of a commodity has the choice of... 0 0 4287 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-8c0cd518-583c-40f6-884a-2d2a8c8fe4ec IBM Decision Optimization 2015-02-26T15:07:24-05:00 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entry-6a04f2af-e235-412f-9e91-e36c4fb57edc 5 Things You Can Do Today to Cut Costs Using Agile Development KarenLee 060000QJXR active false Comment Entries application/atom+xml;type=entry Likes true 2009-08-17T16:53:34-04:00 2009-08-17T16:53:34-04:00
Register today for this Live webcast that will be held on Sept. 10 and available for replay after Sept. 10 - "Five Things You Can Do Today to Cut Costs Using Agile Development"

In this economic downturn, organizations are looking to cut costs. Agile teams produce higher quality work, are quick to deliver and provide greater ROI. What can these teams do now to cut costs? Join us as Greg Rader provides his expertise and guidance on this pressing topic
 Register today for this Live webcast that will be held on Sept. 10 and available for replay after Sept. 10 - " Five Things You Can Do Today to Cut Costs Using Agile Development " In this economic downturn, organizations are looking to cut costs. ... 2 1 4137 urn:lsid:ibm.com:blogs:entries-8a861158-3acd-446d-9f7f-d6219a4a540f Rational Events #ibminnovate 2013-12-10T09:25:35-05:00


text:
Tag Archives: Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
Photo Gallery: Hiking and Backpacking in the North Cascades National Park Complex
By Michael Lanza
On my first trip to North Cascades National Park, I was sure I'd found heaven. The hard-earned views of a sea of jagged spires and snow- and ice-covered peaks stretching as far as you could see instantly cemented the place as one of my favorite mountain ranges. I've returned many times, backpacking, climbing, ski mountaineering, and dayhiking and backpacking with my family. But not many hikers and backpackers know much about Washington's North Cascades, one of America's least-visited national parks. I think the gallery of photos below from my various trips there will persuade you to put this park high on your list. Continue reading →
3-Minute Read: Backpacking 80 Miles Through the North Cascades National Park Complex
By Michael Lanza
I decided to tackle a big piece of unfinished business this fall. Over the course of several backpacking and climbing trips in Washington's North Cascades region over the years, I had yet to explore the very heart of the North Cascades National Park Complex, a sprawling swath of heavily glaciated mountains and deep, thickly forested valleys. So in the last week of September, with huckleberries ripe and tasty beside the trails, and the fall color giving the larch trees the appearance of glowing yellow in sunlight, my friend Todd Arndt and I set out for an 80-mile stroll. Continue reading →
10 Photos From 2016 Adventures That Will Inspire You to Get Outdoors
By Michael Lanza
What trips did you take in 2016 that reinvigorated you and fired your enthusiasm for the outdoors? Looking back through thousands of photos I took over the past year, I've selected some favorite images I captured on 10 memorable adventures in 2016—including several with my family. The list ranges from multi-day backpacking, river, and climbing trips in five states to outings as short as a half-day within an hour of my home. These trips occurred in seven national parks and an equal number of places managed as wilderness, from Washington's North Cascades to Dinosaur National Monument in Utah and Colorado, from California's Mount Whitney to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Perhaps more than anything, these pictures illustrate the diversity and wealth of natural beauty that we have many reasons to celebrate in America. Continue reading →
Ask Me: 7 Great, Uncrowded Places to Hike
Hi Michael,
I enjoy your photos and stories tremendously. My wife and I travel the last two weeks of August every summer, and, unfortunately, so do a lot of other people. We like long dayhikes, viewing wildlife and, most of all, quietly enjoying amazing natural surroundings. We often find the national parks way too crowded. It's pretty easy to lose most of the crowds by hitting the trail, but as soon as you're done hiking you are often faced with crowds, lines, and traffic.
Last year we spent our summer vacation in the Sawtooth Mountains and loved it. So many great hikes in a ridiculously beautiful, but not crowded area (by the way, Goat Lake was our favorite hike of the trip). Can you recommend any areas similar to Stanley, Idaho, and the Sawtooth Mountains—a quiet area with all the natural beauty of a national park? I know you speak fondly of the Wind River Range. Is there a centrally located small town that would make a good base for a vacation in the area? Anywhere else you can recommend?
Thanks, man.
Brooklyn, NY Continue reading →

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Samoa centre set for Saints
Northampton have bolstered their midfield options by signing Samoa centre George Pisi.
By Tony Curtis
Last Updated: 01/03/11 3:29pm
Northampton have bolstered their midfield options by signing Samoa centre George Pisi.
The 24-year-old is currently playing in the Top 14 after joining Clermont as a 'medical joker'.
However the former Blues back will now team up with the Saints in the summer after impressing boss Jim Mallinder in the autumn internationals.
Mallinder said: "George has improved a lot and we were impressed with what we've seen of him playing for Samoa in the autumn and Taranaki in the ITM Cup.
"He's a strong runner who likes to play with the ball in hand. Although he played for Samoa at centre he is comfortable in a number of positions, which will be good for our squad as a whole."
Pisi will replace London Irish-bound Joe Ansbro in the Saints squad, with Samoan relishing the chance to play in a talented backline.
"Playing against Chris Ashton and Ben Foden in the autumn was awesome and it'll be exciting to get the chance to play with them," said Pisi.


text: Meta Battle Subway PokeBase - Pokemon Q&A Login Register All Activity Questions Unanswered Tags Users Ask a Question Rules Chat Is Houndoom worth it? 0 votes 975 views I'm training my Houndoom, but I really want him to know the move Dark Pulse.. However I only have 1 TM of it.. Is he really worth it? Ps: He is not EV trained. If he isnt worth it, help me out with movesets please! houndoom moves gen-4 worth asked Sep 12, 2013 by AbsoLoveer97 Please log in or register to add a comment. Please log in or register to answer this question. 1 Answer 2 votes Best answer I'd say go for it. What is the chances of you using it on any other Pokémon that will be more useful? If you have already trained it a lot you will most probably use it in big battles, right? Plus the fact, Houndoom has great Sp. Attack, so using it on it would be very worthwhile. Hope I helped :) answered Sep 12, 2013 by Adam. selected Sep 13, 2013 by AbsoLoveer97 Please log in or register to add a comment. Related questions Is this a good competitive Houndoom? Is Mega-Houndoom worth using without drought? Can Houndoom learn any other grass type move than solar beam? Is Skull Bash worth it for Sharpedo? Which is better, Mega Manetric or Mega Houndoom? Who is Better: Arcanine or Houndoom? Who is better: Mega Absol or Mega Houndoom? How do you catch houndour/houndoom (this is 4th and 5th gen)? Useful Meta Posts How to change your username How to add a user avatar Why was my post hidden? The points system Question etiquette Flags vs Downvotes Anime FAQ


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SUNA V2 Hydro-Wiper
The Hydro-Wiper is an external anti-fouling system fully integrated with SUNA V2 nitrate sensor. The Hydro-Wiper keeps the SUNA V2 sample windows clean for several months even in the most aggressive fouling environments, helping prevent costly site visits for manual cleaning and loss of data.
Do not attempt removal of the wiper yourself. It requires a return to our service department for this task.
SUNA V2 Anti-fouling guard
The SUNA V2 anti-fouling guard is a semi-circular piece of perforated copper attached to a plastic armature that fits into the sample chamber. The anti-fouling guard provides passive fouling prevention through the release of copper ions that inhibit biological growth in the area. The anti-fouling guard provides a reliable and affordable approach to increase deployment time, decrease operating costs, and collect high quality data for mooring applications.
SUNA V2 Flow cell
The SUNA V2 flow cell is designed to adapt the SUNA V2 for flow through operations on moorings with pumped flow, ship-board underway systems or for laboratory testing and calibration. The flow cell attaches to the SUNA V2 sample chamber and tightly seals against the optical chamber windows. Nylon barbed fittings are provided to connected the flow cell to available pumped flow.
SBE 5P Pump
The pump module is a compact unit consisting of a centrifugal pump head and a long-life, brushless, DC, ball-bearing motor. The pump impeller and electric drive motor are coupled magnetically through the housing, providing high reliability by eliminating moving seals. The 5P has a 600-meter (1960 ft.) plastic housing.
Alkaline Battery Pack
Satlantic's reliable and user-friendly Alkaline Battery Packs are available in 102 Ah and 51 Ah capacities. The design of the internal battery compartment allows the user to easily change the D-Cell batteries with off-the-shelf replacements. The battery packs consist of an anodized aluminum pressure case, a D-cell battery compartment and a removable end-cap.


text:
Coriander Chicken
READY IN: 1hr
Recipe by Brian Holley
Quick and easy to make. This tastes wonderful, looks great. Yogurt gives it a creaminess and the almonds class. You can prepare the chicken the day before cooking.
Ingredients Nutrition
- 3 lbs skinless chicken pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 5 ounces plain yogurt
- 5 tablespoons oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoons ground coriander
- 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground mixed spice
- 1⁄2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1⁄2 teaspoon chili powder
- 4 fluid ounces warm water
- 1 chicken stock cube
- 1 ounce ground almonds
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, and sliced
- 1⁄4 teaspoon paprika
Directions See How It's Made
- Cut the chicken joints into two.
- Mix the garlic into the yogurt and pour over the chicken, leave to marinate over night.
- Heat the oil in a pot and fry the onions till golden. Remove the onion from the pot, keep aside.
- Fry the coriander, black pepper; mixed spice and turmeric for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and the yogurt marinade. Turn heat to medium and fry the chicken for 5 minutes.
- Add the chili powder, water, stock cube and the onions. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Stir in the almonds.
- Serve garnished with the sliced eggs and sprinkled with the paprika.


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help locating old databases/or help adding existing content to a new db
Hope someone can help. I used to be more active online and build a few sites on wordpress for myself and friends. The problem was that I was involved in a completely different project in the jungle and lost quite a bit of touch with those.
Im getting back on track now and my server helped me get my info back. yet it seems that on two of the sites (wp) there are database problems once one logs into them. Via FTP, I can see the info regarding the content of the sites is there but it doesnt seem to work if i just try and load the domain.
So can one find out where a db is if one has the name, the user and the passwords for this databases?
If the databases are gone, but the info is available on the FTP, how can i load my existing website into a new database?
Anyway hope my questions are clear, you are probably all pros and this may come off as a weird question but any help would be greatly appreciated.
- The topic 'help locating old databases/or help adding existing content to a new db' is closed to new replies.


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Being blessed with kids is the best gift of the nature. We have seen on the internet in different viral videos how grandparents react to the news of the arrival of a new member in the family. Their reactions have always pleased us and now there's a photo which is pleasing us even more. But in this case everyone's happy except the mom.
Well, let me tell you the story. This couple, who's expecting another baby, has four kids and all boys and this time also it was revealed that it's a BOY.
They decided to share the news with the rest of the world in a pretty humorous manner. The father posted a picture on Reddit, with the caption: 'We're gonna have another boy!!!!'
The kids dressed up as superheroes and the mother is sitting on the couch posing as if she's crying. Here's the epic picture:
It was instantly a hit and it gained more than 4000 comments and now it's viral.
Well, it deserved to be viral; it completely explains what it feels like to have 6 boys in your family!
The picture is super cute, what do you think?


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|2125 Commerce Blvd, Mound, MN 55364
8:00a – 8:00p
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8:00a – 8:00p
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Email Us
- Everybody laughs at the idea but it's important to brush your pet's teeth. Not only does a dirty mouth smell bad and eventually cause teeth to fall out, there are a ton of other health problems that are caused or made worse by bad oral hygiene.People also think it's probably difficult to brush an animal's teeth or that it's kind of a hassle but it's not. Our office manager, Debbie, brushes Dexter's teeth every day. It takes two minutes and they both like it a lot. You can do it, too.
In the Jubilee Shopping Center (map)
- Honey, I'm sorry. You can'tFluffy got sick.
This is one tradeoff you do not want to have to make.Major medical, medical maintenance, a variety of deductibles.At Westonka Animal Hospital, the first month of pet insurance is free.Pet insurance is real.
- go to college
- pay the mortgage
- fix the car
- go out to dinner ever again
It works.
It saves pet lives.
- If you are concerned, you should probably bring your pet in.Come in right away if...
You might need to come in if...
- Labored breathing
- You suspect poisoning
- Repeated vomiting
- Cat not eating for 24 hours
- Male cat not urinating
- Not using back legs
- Difficulty giving birth
Simplify your to-do list.We will call you to schedule an appointment.Request CallOr, just call 952-472-4900New Client Form (pdf)Don't forget about ...Grooming
- Changes in eating or drinking
- Abnormal urinating or defecating
- Changed energy level/behavior
- Limping or not walking properly
Wellness and Preventative Care
- Washing
- Hair Cuts
- Nails
- Professional Oral Healthcare
- Wellness exams
- Internal health screens
- Vaccinations
- ID Chip
- Products Chosen Carefully to Nurture and Protect Your Pet
From the technicians to the Doctors, their professionalism shines through, leaving you peace of mind.Mary & TishWestonka Animal Hospital is by far the best we have ever been too.David GreerThey are very informative on the best ways to take care of my pets and help them live as long & as healthy as possible.Carol SPuppy Playtime1st & 3rd Saturdays, 12:30-1pmPuppies 8-16 weeks old meet and play. Socialization is one of the most important developmental needs for your puppy. Also, the puppies are really, really cute.No reservations required. Just show up.Kitten KindergartenWednesday 5:15 - 5:45Socialization for kittens.For Registration & Eligibility Information, click Info.
- Frontline Plus & Heartgard
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- Personalized Tags & Collars


text:
Monday 27 January 1936
It was Monday, under the sign of Aquarius. The US president was Franklin D. Roosevelt (Democratic).
Famous people born on this day include Ismail Kadare and Samuel C C Ting.
Rose-Marie, directed by W.S. Van Dyke, was one of the most viewed movies released in 1936
On TV people were watching Theatre Parade.
But much more happened that day: find out below..
You can also have a look at the whole 1936 or at January 27 across the years.
Old Newspapers
Have a look at the old newspapers from 27 January 1936 and get them!
Which were the most popular movies released in the last months ?
TV Series
Which were the most popular TV series released in the last 30 days ?
Find out your future
Get a FREE Numerology report based on the digits of 27 January 1936!
Wish him/her..
Historical Events
Which were the important events of 27 January 1936 ?
- UN ? International Holocaust Memorial Day
- Germany ? Gedenktag fnr die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism).
- Catholicism ? Catholic Schools Week.
- Poland ? Dzie? Pami?ci Ofiar Nazizmu (Memorial Day for the Victims of Nazism).
- Italy ? Giorno della Memoria (Memorial Day).
- Denmark ? Auschwitzdag (Auschwitz Day; commemoration day for the victims of the Holocaust and other genocide).
- Serbia ? St. Sava Day.
- United Kingdom ? Holocaust Memorial Day.
Famous Birthdays:
- Ismail Kadare: Albanian author / poet (Dimri i Madh).
- Samuel C C Ting: American physicist, Nobel laureate.
- Troy Donahue in New York City: New York, USA; actor (Surfside Six, Cockfighter, Hawaiian Eye).
- Troy Donahue: American actor and singer (d. 2001).
- Florin Piersic: Romanian actor.
- Samuel Ting: American physicist and academic Nobel Prize laureate
Make this date unforgettable
Search For Your Ancestors
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Don't miss our monthly news, no spam guarantee Click here to Subscribe
...and if 27 January 1936 was your Birth Date then Join our Birthday Club!
Genealogy: find out your family heritage
Which were the most popular books released in the last weeks ?
Remember when
What videogames would you be playing back in the days ?


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Let's say I have a crush on a girl, is it weird that I don't think of them in a sexual way?
I imagine myself getting to know them or wish I could spend more time with them etc.
Thinking of having sex with them or any other girl seems degrading treatment to me...
Is that bad?
Most Helpful Girl
Because you don't just her as an object, you see her as a person. That's a good thing.00|00|0
Most Helpful Guy
i completely understand what you are talking about. i'm similar in that i didn't entirely sexualize people I liked. I mean i couldn't help but recognize my sexual attraction to them but I didn't think about sex with them as opposed to how i could get to know them
I think it just shows that you don't see women purely for the sexual being then can be but more the human being they are00|00|1
Perfect explanation! Thanks!


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MacBook Air Black Screen: It Boots with Black Screen
MacBook Air Black Screen: Very rarely, your Mac may encounter some issue during system boot, like booting to a completely black screen. In some particularly rare cases, this situation can be interpret as a sign of a potential hardware problem. However, the issue relates more often to a software issue, which you can resolve with a few very simple troubleshooting steps. Thus, if your MacBook Air will not boot up past black screen and cursor, you should proceed as follows:
- Shut the MacBook Air down by holding the power button for ten seconds
- Restart the Mac and press shift at the same time until you see the progress bar start moving
- Once you reach the point where your screen goes dark and you see the cursor, type the first letter of the username for your computer, then hit Enter, then type your password, then hit Enter.
- After a moment, you should see the spinning beach ball and the screen should then move on to something along the lines of "Completing OSX Installation". Let it finish.
- Now the computer should go to its normal desktop and the issue should be fixed.
Don't worry if the screen of your Mac goes pitch black during this process, just hit the space bar, because the screen is just sleeping.
If some features and apps don't show up after the reboot, repeat the process.
Apparently this issue can be related to an automatic update that never quite got past the login screen.
People also suggest another way of fixing the issue, but don't use it unless you are a computer guru:
- Back up all your date with Time Machine so once you restart the computer, you get everything reloaded. Remember that if you haven't got all your files backed up then you might lose them
- Press command R as it starts up and keep holding until disk utility starts
- Go to disk utility and erase macintosh HD
- Go back to the menu and select install Mavericks OSX.
That can fix the issue. However we repeat that this method is recommended if you are an expert, because just installing Mavericks without erasing the old one won't work.
Some experts suggest that if the above tricks fail, a PRAM reset can do the trick, as many of the computer gurus have tried this solution and can attest to it.
As a potential solution to the black screen on boot, this is done upon restarting the Mac similar to an SMC reset:
- Reboot the Mac Air.
- As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the Command + Option + P + R keys together.
- As soon as you hear the boot sound again, the PRAM has been reset.
At this point let your Mac Air boot and load OS X again as usual, is it will no longer have the black display.
See also
- Apple Encyclopedia: all information about products, electronic devices, operating systems and apps from iGotOffer.com experts.
- iGotOffer.com: the best place to sell my old MacBook online. Top cash guaranteed. Free quote and free shipping. BBB A+ rated business.


text:
There have been some reports of grades seeming to go missing from Turnitin classlists where grades have been entered on GradeMark papers. This has been found to be a result of an assignment's Post Date being brought forward (to release feedback and grades early for instance). The grades have not been deleted or lost and are restored by the original Post Date (usually sooner).
Turnitin recommend that you do not bring forward the Post Date for assignments.
Those who have upgraded Google Chrome 42 or above will likey see an error when using the Chat collaboration tool in Vital.
The error will state "Chrome reports that the plug-in is not supported"
Google has disabled NPAPI plugin protocol supporting Chrome 42 (and above) by default.
The resolution/workaround for this is as follows:
1. Copy and paste "chrome://flags/#enable-npapi" into the URL bar of chrome
2. Click on the Enable link under "Enable NPAPI Mac, Windows"
3. Click on the "RELAUNCH NOW" button at the bottom of the screen
Please note that Firefox remains the University's recommended browser for Vital.
Audio clips that have been uploaded to VITAL using either the Audio tool found under the Build Content menu in the Create column, or the embed audio facility of the Embedded Media function on the standard text editor, will begin playing as soon as the page on which they are held is viewed, whatever Autoplay setting you have chosen (yes or no). With multiple audio clips on one page this leads to cacophony.
This is a Known Issue for Blackboard, the developers, who are working on a solution but cannot provide a date when this will become available or a workaround for this bug.
This problem does not occur in Internet Explorer or Firefox (which is the preferred browser for VITAL) and so viewing VITAL in Firefox is the quickest recommended fix for this at the moment.
Another option is, where you own the copyright to the audio clips, to upload these to University's streaming media server Stream.liv.ac.uk and then link to these or embed them in VITAL content items.
If the items are available to stream from elsewhere on the web (YouTube for instance) then again, you can embed these in VITAL content items and avoid the problem.
1. Build Content - Audio item
2. Text Editor, Insert Embedded media - Embedded Audio option
If you use the Qwickly Post Announcement tool link on the VITAL home page (screenshot below) for sending announcements to more than one module at a time, please be aware that the tool as accessed from this link does not send an email notification of the announcement to students.All that this tool does is to post the announcement in the What's New announcements section of each module that you select. If you tick the Email Announcement box as shown below to send an email alert immediately to students this also does not work.
WORKAROUND: Instead, if you access the Qwickly link on your VITAL home page...
...and select the Post Announcement option on the page that appears...
...this route will enable you to post the same announcement to multiple modules and if you select the Email Announcement box it will also be sent immediately as an email alert to students as you would expect.
(click image for larger version)
The third-party SignUp List tool, created by Durham University, accessed from the Tools drop-down menu has been upgraded to a newly-available version this summer and is available to use again.
It is now accessed from the Build Content menu, under the Create column listed as Single SignUp LIst and Multiple SignUp Lists.
This tool but can be used in two basic ways.
One planned functionality which is not yet available is the ability to specify that a student must/can only sign-up to a certain number of lists.
For a full guide to this tool please visit these web pages: http://projects.oscelot.org/gf/project/signup/wiki/?pagename=FrontPageThere is also an alternative Blackboard sign-up list, which is created with the Groups tool 'sign-up list only' facility. This tool but can be used in two basic ways.
Please not that feedback created with GradeMark cannot be fully accessed by students who are using an iPad. Instead Turnitin recommend that GradeMark feedback is viewed by students using a PC web browser. An iPad app is currently being developed by Turnitin for students to be able to view their GradeMark feedback in this way.
Please see this statement from Turnitin on iPad support for student users.
"...our developers do not test our website against iPad browsers. Therefore, when accessing their user accounts, students might not have the same level of functionality as they would with our supported browsers on a computer.
Our supported browsers are Firefox 15+, Chrome 23+, Safari 5+ and Internet Explorer 11 when used on a computer.
Because of this, there is no specific guide to use Turnitin on the iPad.
I would advise you to ask your students to check their feedback on a computer until our student app is released. It should be available in the next 6 months."
To view/ download your Turnitin receipt you must
1. Log into Vital and go to the module where you submitted your assignment.
2. Click on the Assessment content area
3. Click on View/Complete for the Turnitin assignment
4. Either click on the download button and select Digital receipt
or click on View. This will open up your submitted work. On the bottom left there is a printer icon which once clicked you can select the option to download a PDF of your digital receipt.
Maple T.A. content is currenlty not accessible within VITAL due to our Maple T.A. instance not being compatible with the version of Blackboard Learn that is now powering VITAL. We are waiting for Maplesoft to upgrade our instance of Maple T.A. to version 2016 but as yet we do not have a time scale for when this will be completed.
Students in the meantime can access existing Maple T.A. content by following the steps below provided to us by Maplesoft:
1) Navigate to the URL: https://place33.placementtester.com/liverpool/login/login.do
2) Click "Forgot your Password?"
3) Enter your email (ensure it is the one linked to your Blackboard account). An important note is that emails are case sensitive. If you are not sure about the case of your email, navigate to your Blackboard account and verify your email. For instance, firstname.lastname@example.com has capital A's.
4) You will be emailed new information. Return to the log-in page upon receiving it and then log in.
5) Click "My Profile" in the top right.
6) Click "Password Update" and set it to something more reasonable for future logins.
Note: Changing the password will not affect Blackboard linking of accounts.
The Retention Centre facility has been restored as a part of the 2016 VITAL upgrade this summer. (This remains subject to continued monitoring.)
To (re-)acquaint yourself with this useful monitoring tool please watch this quick video. Essentially you can use this to get alerts on some simple student module engagement data: inactivity in module, last access, missed due dates (Blackboard assessments only), missed test grades.
A long-standing bug with the Self and Peer Assessment tool meant that some students could end up with fewer than your specified number of other students' work or even no work to review in the second phase of this activity so that they could not complete the assessment. This bug has now been fixed and the Blackboard Self and Peer Assessment tool is fully usable again.
If you are interested in this form of assessment activity please contact the eLearning Unit for to discuss your requirements. There is also Turnitin PeerMark system to run self and peer review activities online which offers another approach to peer and self review assessments.
This link is to the official guide to using the Blackboard Self and Peer Assessment tool.


text:
Trading Your Paycheck for a Coin Purse
"The damned government has now ruined the money so badly that the little bit of metal in the old coins is now worth more than the face value of the coin, but the government can't wiggle out of paying for their sins by letting people not pay...taxes!"
JMR Arlo S. was cheery as he sent a link to Rense.com, whereupon one learns that somebody has figured out how to beat the inflationary destruction of the money by the actions and inactions by the Lying, Cheating Government (LCG) and the Lying, Cheating Federal Reserve (LCFR): Use old coins!
The headline was, "IRS Suffers Staggering Defeat". In short, the guy paid his employees with old silver dimes, silver dollars and old gold U.S. coins according to their face value. Thus, he could pay his workers with silver dimes, silver quarters, silver dollars and gold coins, and thus the employee made so little money (according to the face value of the coins) that they fell below minimum income reporting thresholds, and thus no income tax was due.
Mr. Rense explains, "In other words, if a worker is paid with such coins, his taxable 'income' (if any) can only be the face value indicated upon the coin money paid - i.e., $1.00 for a circulating silver dollar or $50 for a circulating gold U.S. coin."
The government, on the other hand, argued that the market value of those coins made them very valuable, and thus the employees owed taxes on the true value of their coins, not the paltry pittance of the face value. The IRS argued that, "Obviously, a $20 coin made of gold is worth at least $750, which is the market price of gold!"
So, "The essence of the argument is that under the Constitution, Congress is obligated by law to mint and circulate such coins as demand requires, and must establish the value of coins as they are used as legal tender, but the coins' market value, arising as valuable personal 'property,' is a distinct, separate attribute of such coins, and is of no legal consequence if the coins are used as legal tender." Hahaha! Fabulous!
The first Supreme Court argument underpinning the defendant's case was Ling Su Fan v. U.S. in 1910, which "establishes the legal distinction of a coin bearing the 'impress' of the sovereign: 'These limitations are due to the fact that public law gives to such coinage a value which does not attach as a mere consequence of intrinsic value. Their quality as a legal tender is an attribute of law aside from their bullion value. They bear, therefore, the impress of sovereign power which fixes value and authorizes their use in exchange.'"
If that was not enough, the second pillar of the defendant's argument is Thompson v. Butler from 1877, which, "establishes that the law makes no legal distinction between the values of coin and paper money used as legal tender: A coin dollar is worth no more for the purposes of tender in payment of an ordinary debt than a note dollar. The law has not made the note a standard of value any more than coin. It is true that in the market, as an article of merchandise, one is of greater value than the other; but as money, that is to say, as a medium of exchange, the law knows no difference between them."
Hahaha! The damned government has now ruined the money so badly that the little bit of metal in the old coins is now worth more than the face value of the coin, but the government can't wiggle out of paying for their sins by letting people not pay confiscatory income taxes! The government and the IRS are required to honor the face value of the coins! This is too, too fabulous!
But the most interesting part, mostly because I love to read it over and over, comes at the end, where we are reminded that "In 2005, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals refused to overturn a previous District Court ruling holding that the federal prosecutor is not entitled to absolute immunity for the unlawful raid."
Therefore, "In March 2007, the primary defendant, Bob Kahre, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the prosecutor and IRS agents who had conducted what he alleges to be an unlawful search and seizure raid"! Hahaha! Go get 'em, Bob!
Okay, that is old news, but still somehow comforting to know that I can use this as a club to beat the hell out of any public employee who does me harm without the legal authority to do so.
Mr. Rense is not interested in my reveling in the happy prospect of suing rambunctious government employees and retiring in luxury on the settlement, and says that the cover-up is the real story, as he reports that, "To this day, with exception of the single article by the Review Journal, no major media entity has published a news story regarding the outcome of this important federal criminal tax case."
And little wonder, eh? Since when were the news media and the school system NOT a couple of whores for the government? Hahahaha! Ugh.
Mogambo sez: I figure that the insiders, who are massively short, are colluding to manipulate the prices of gold, silver and oil down, only to let them rise, so that they can profit, not just with bets covering the guaranteed inflationary rise in prices thanks to central banks dangerously expanding the money supplies, but also on spread bets in the futures markets as they make the spreads widen and narrow.
You know they have to do it, you know they want to do it, you know that they are doing it, so you know it's coming, and so you know you can make money trading them as they reach extremes in the trend, or just constantly buying at the low prices after the manipulated pullbacks. What a wonderful world!
P.S. To get The Daily Reckoning sent directly to your inbox, sign up for our free email newsletter, or if you prefer to use RSS, subscribe to the Daily Reckoning RSS feed.


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Error reg divergence in AMG solver
Hi ppl!
I have been repeatedly encountering the following error-
Error: divergence detected in AMG solver: pressure correction Error Object: ()
I have been working with pretty much the same mesh for a while now and the error popped up when i tried using the 2nd order discretization. I also tried making the mesh a little better by modifying the BL but now i get the same error with both 1st and 2nd orders. Previous replies 2 this prob from this forum suggest lowering the under-relaxation factors but this doesn't seem 2 help!! any ideas??! also, i'd really appreicate it if someone could tell me why exactly this error is generated or where i could fine more info about it...thanks!!
Re: Error reg divergence in AMG solver
Hey, I can't help you with the details of how and why, but except what has already been suggested (UR coef), I remember having divergence problems when using extreme porous media coefficient sets. Are you using a porus medium?
Re: Error reg divergence in AMG solver
hey , thanks for the reply..i'm not using a porous medium so i dont think that's the prob...i'm still fighting with it and will post an updates! thanks!!
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text:
Instrument combo includes 3 large instruments, 5 medium instruments and 5 small instruments. All instruments are steel. Instrument combo may include syringes, pistol syringes, scalpels, retractors, trocars, trepans, chisels, mallets, probes, hooks, tweezers, forceps, scissors, bonesaws, mouth gags, neural pinwheels, clamps, and or speculum.
RENTAL PROP. 1 week rental price is listed. Replacement value is $400. Rental account required. Subject to availability. If you need to rent today or tomorrow, please contact us.