Architectural Considerations for Open RAN Deployments

With the introduction of Open RAN solutions, communication service providers (CSPs) now have much more flexibility in architecting and deploying their RAN systems. Traditionally, RAN systems are built by a single vendor and feature all the functionality in a single base station unit. With Open RAN, however, CSPs now have the option of choosing best-of-breed RAN solutions from multiple vendors and deploying those RAN functions—specifically, the centralized unit (CU), distributed unit (DU) and radio unit (RU)—in a disaggregated fashion across their network.

Open RAN is a positive development for the industry because it brings more vendors into the field, which drives faster innovation and lower prices. For example, RAN vendors can now sell their solutions as software running on a cloud-native environment. Yet, as with any innovation, Open RAN requires a thoughtful approach to get the most value from it, particularly as it now intersects the previously disparate worlds of server, cloud and mobile network technologies.

When Does it Make Sense to Separate RAN Functions?

Although Open RAN allows for geographically separating the CU, DU and RU functions, CSPs don’t have to take this route. They can deploy Open RAN as they would a traditional base station, with all the RAN functions located at the cell site. In this case, the RU is co-located at the cell tower along with the CU and DU at the tower’s base in a server rack configuration. The deciding factor of where the CU, DU and RU belong depends on various considerations, including timing, bandwidth, fiber availability and latency.

In many cases, operators will deploy the CU in a centralized site using a mid-haul connection, such as the mobile cloud core. So long as there is enough bandwidth available between the CU and DU, a centralized CU configuration works well and enables operators to consolidate CU functions on fewer servers, which reduces costs and power consumption. In some cases, the operator may also wish to centralize the DU functions to reduce the footprint at the cell tower site. However, the strict latency and phase timing requirements of the DU-to-RU front-haul connection and the high costs of access transmission resources tend to preclude operators from placing the DU in the mobile core network itself.

Bringing O-RAN to the Edge

Open RAN systems need management for automation, operation and optimization. The O-RAN Alliance has opened these interfaces to allow for the creation of a Radio Intelligent Controller (RIC) that can be delivered in near-real time or non-real-time versions with their supporting applications to improve performance. Non-real-time RICs and their associated r.Apps have a less stringent latency limit, which supports their deployment in the centralized telecom cloud. Meanwhile, near-real-time RICs and their x.Apps must be located within 10ms (round trip) from the RU/DU radio systems. Therefore, they are better deployed wherever they can serve multiple cell sites. For many operators, this will mean creating small “edge” data centers (e.g., a few racks of servers) to run the near-real time RIC and its applications, some of which will also require local storage.

The operational requirements of the RAN have renewed interest in building edge data centers for automation, operation and optimization solutions. These can also host the CU functions of the Open RAN, as well as MEC capabilities and/or 5G standalone user plane functions (UPFs) and N6 firewalls. This setup can support many 5G applications, from augmented/virtual reality gaming services for consumers to a wide area, low-latency solutions for the enterprise. To date, operators have primarily deployed multi-access edge computing (MEC) for their wide area network, as services in the core network telecom cloud. As O-RAN is deployed, these smaller edge sites are needed to optimize the overall network architecture and to support functions like the Ran Intelligent Controller.

Source: dell.com

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Why Offload Virtualized Network and Security Services?

We live in a time where the only true constant is change. Modern organizations continue to experience increasingly larger amounts of data traffic across their IT infrastructures from demanding applications like artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data. At the same time, the location of these applications is moving away from centralized architectures and becoming more distributed across data centers, the network edge and into multi-cloud environments. With an ever-increasing number of cyberattacks, security continues to be a major concern for all organizations.

It’s been very exciting to watch PC/server processing technologies evolve over the years, starting with the basic Central Processing Unit (CPU) which acts as the main controller for all applications and associated services like networking and security, to more recent Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) with parallel processing that helps accelerate computer graphics workloads. The Data Processing Unit (DPU) is the latest innovation in this space, with unique capabilities that include offloading infrastructure services from the CPU and enhancing their performance with built-in hardware accelerators.

Later this year, VMware and Dell Technologies will once again be breaking barriers together with the release of a jointly developed solution under the umbrella of Project Monterey that offloads NSX-T networking and security services to the DPU.

Offloading NSX-T networking services tasks from the server CPU to the DPU will allow the DPU to now take over handling of these services. For example, functions like virtual switching or packet processing leveraging hardware acceleration, will be processed by the DPU. This offloading has two key benefits for IT organizations. First, it saves server CPU cycles for applications and virtualization activities. Secondly, it improves virtual networking function performance using hardware accelerators. Using these accelerators will help meet real-time and delay-sensitive demands for modern applications that are such as distributed databases, video streaming and telco radio networks.

As with networking, the DPU offload of NSX-T security tasks will allow the DPU to relieve the CPU of these services. Offloading virtual security services to the DPU has two key benefits for an IT organization. It will provide distributed layer 4-7 virtual firewall security to take place on the DPU with no network performance impact. Additionally, implementing micro-segmentation on the DPU will help reduce the attack surface for cyberthreats to a minimum and enable a zero-trust architecture inside the data center.

Today’s enterprise organizations are being challenged with the demands of modern workloads and applications. To help with these challenges, a technology shift is occurring for virtual infrastructures with a distributed control fabric architecture by leveraging innovative DPU technology.

Dell and VMware are working closely together to help bring this unique DPU-based solution, that will offload virtual network and security services from the CPU to the DPU, with even more innovation to follow.

Source: dell.com

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Voices From the Front: Delivering Multi-Cloud Consistency

Most organizations today pursue a multi-cloud strategy, comprising two or more clouds, public and private. It’s because they want access to best-of-breed capabilities from any provider who can help them achieve their business outcomes.

We speak with customers like you every day who tell us overwhelmingly that multi-cloud is absolutely working for them. But they also admit that in making the move to multi-cloud, they’ve encountered unwanted complexity, almost as if by default. This is why so many organizations today seek a strategic partner like Dell to help simplify multi-cloud – by design.

At Dell Technologies World this past May, we announced new solutions designed to help simplify the multi-cloud experience across all your environments. Today, we’re revisiting a Silicon Angle chat with Caitlin Gordon, our VP of Product Management, and the latest on Project Alpine.

Experience Multi-Cloud by Design

Multi-cloud is about more than making use of multiple clouds. It’s about removing complexity, wherever possible, to derive more value from it.

Every public cloud is a disparate silo, a closed ecosystem, each with its own specialties and peculiarities, its own tools and technicalities. This creates several challenges that limit application interoperability or minimize your control of data. Yet, there are ways to overcome these challenges, unify operations among diverse cloud environments and create more consistency throughout your multi-cloud enterprise.

By implementing multi-cloud by design, you can take advantage of simplified cloud experiences everywhere – anywhere that applications and data reside – while increasing IT agility and control. You can move applications among clouds and connect data with ease while avoiding vendor lock-in. You can gain financial flexibility with transparent pricing and predictable monthly payments. And you can maintain more control of your data to minimize risk and maximize performance – all on your terms.

Consume Dell Storage as-a-service in the Major Public Clouds

One way we enable multi-cloud by design is with Project Alpine, a strategic initiative that brings the software of our flagship block, file and object storage platforms to AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. This creates consistency, connectivity and compatibility between Dell storage deployed on-premises and in the major public clouds.

For example, if you’ve deployed Dell PowerScale in your data center, you’ll be able to procure its software as a virtual appliance for file services in public cloud marketplaces. As a result, your IT teams can use the same management tools they’re already familiar with – down to the user interface – so no additional training will be needed. In addition, you’ll get cloud bursting capabilities, enabling you to easily scale on-premises resources by quickly spinning up equivalent services in a public cloud. And with Dell storage virtual appliances in the public cloud of your choice, there’s no need for time-consuming and costly application refactoring.

Project Alpine combines the best of both worlds, bringing together the Dell Technologies innovation you trust with the public cloud ease and agility you love.

Source: dell.com

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Sweet On Dell Technologies: Getting Stronger

I recently celebrated my 25th year at Dell. It’s been an incredible journey. I’ve been part of the dotcom boom and bust, Dell’s LBO, the EMC acquisition, our return to public markets and the spin-off of VMware—not to mention a global pandemic and the economic uncertainty it continues to spread today.

And the journey continues. We just announced record first quarter results where we beat market expectations across every financial measure—record Q1 revenue of $26.1 billion, up 16%; record Q1 non-GAAP operating income of $2.1 billion, up 21%; and record Q1 non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $1.84, up 36%. And we did it on the heels of a record fiscal year 2022. That’s tough to do, but even tougher for a company of our size and scale in today’s complex macro environment.

There are a lot of reasons Dell Technologies has gotten stronger through the years while many of our competitors have stalled out, gotten smaller or gone away. Here are three:

1. Our willingness to reinvent ourselves to stay relevant and aligned to the evolving needs of our customers. I credit our founder and CEO Michael Dell for relentlessly pursuing his vision, even when it meant taking bold moves and thoughtful risks to create the most essential tech company for the data era.

2. Our unique capabilities and competitive advantages that position us to grow, win and create value for our stakeholders, even in uncertain times:

◉ Our end-to-end solutions portfolio. It allows us to partner with customers in ways others can’t and gives us the freedom to flex and lean into growth areas as they arise—like the PC space when the world shifted overnight to work/learn from anywhere and consequently reset to a permanently higher total addressable market.

◉ The largest direct sales and channel partner ecosystem in the industry, giving us unparalleled market reach and profitability potential versus our non-direct competitors.

◉ A global services footprint to support the complex and evolving IT needs of our customers.

◉ A world-class flexible and global supply chain. For decades, this has given us an enviable cost position, speed, security, sustainability and, most important, continuity of supply—allowing us to deliver for our customers when many of our competitors could not.

◉ Leading financial services capabilities that give customers access to innovative technologies and foster deep customer loyalty to Dell.

◉ A unique commercial alliance with VMware that delivers co-engineered solutions with faster time-to-market, solidifying our position at the center of the multi-cloud world. It’s a 20-year partnership we continue to invest in and prioritize to the benefit of our customers.

3. Our customer-obsessed, results-oriented culture, an enduring byproduct of our direct heritage and the reason I’m still here a quarter century in…and counting.

No other tech company has this combination of capabilities at our scale, and that’s why we continue to make strategic progress even as we navigate enormous change and disruption. Our track record of growth and profitability is perhaps the best proof I can point to. And as we grow, we’re delivering long-term value back to our shareholders—in Q1, we returned $1.75 billion in share repurchases and dividends.

All signals indicate more change and disruption are on the horizon, but I’m confident Dell will continue to execute with focus, discipline and drive. It’s what we do. And we’ll use our differentiated capabilities and scale to our advantage—and even more importantly, to the advantage of our customers, partners, team members and shareholders around the world.

Source: dell.com

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World Youth Skills Day: The Power of Partnerships

Today, World Youth Skills Day, is a natural moment for us to reflect on how we can collectively support the almost two billion young people without adequate access to skills and opportunities.

That’s why Justin van Fleet, Executive Director of Global Business Coalition for Education, and I recently sat down for a conversation to discuss the ongoing partnership which is focused on skill-building, as well as how businesses can prepare today’s youth for success in the future workforce. A great partner to tap into as their mission is to ensure every child has the best start in life, a safe place to learn, and skills for the future.

The pandemic has deepened the youth skills gap and heightened the employment crisis. Emerging technologies are transforming workforce needs with an alarming number of jobs historically held by youth at risk of becoming completely automated. According to a PWC survey, 36% of CEOs say they’re focused on improving productivity through technology, which is more than double the percentage from 2016.

Why are partnerships so important to addressing the youth skills gap?

Justin: Today 260 million young people are not going to school and it is estimated that by 2030, more than half of all young people, won’t have the most basic skills to enter the workforce. We’re leaving behind half of the next generation of potential.

The challenge of ensuring our youth are equipped with the skills they need to thrive in today’s workforce is bigger than any one organization. That is where partnership comes into the fold. Whether that be a company like Dell, an organization like us, city leaders, or youth-serving organizations and other businesses – we can start to create these new ecosystems and resources for young people so they can progress through the education system and can succeed. Dell Technologies understands these challenges and has the expertise to build skills.

Why has Dell Technologies partnered with the Global Business Coalition?

Jessica: Dell started partnering with the Global Business Coalition before the pandemic. It started with an engagement in EMEA while trying to identify organizations that we could potentially extend an invitation to be part of our strategic grant program. Our team had been in touch with the Global Business Coalition and through conversations we engaged in a partnership around the Bright Ideas, Bright Cities Challenge. The purpose was to encourage cities to come up with ideas to prepare and empower young people with the next generation of skills they will need.

How important is it to work on youth skills at a city level?

Justin: It’s extremely important to work on issues at the community level. If we look at where people are – we look at cities where there’s an opportunity for mayors to work with city council to make decisions that affect education, school systems, job training programs. These decisions can affect hundreds of thousands of young people in a more flexible nature than some of the national policy structures. The idea was to find a more collaborative way to bring these ideas together at a local level.

The Big Ideas, Bright Cities Challenge was born from this idea, encouraging U.S. cities to come up with big ideas to help prepare the next generation. We had over 50 cities participate, and every idea reflected the diversity of the participants. The winning organization – Action Greensboro – connects young people, including low income and first-generation college students, with paid internships with women and minority owned small businesses.

Any advice for other businesses willing to engage in skills and education?

Jessica: Definitely would say not being afraid to bring partners into the fold is great advice. Finding the right strategic partner that aligns with your own company’s mission, vision, values and goals will give you a common foundation from day one. Secondly, I think it’s important to build your business case internally to secure support from the top-down and secure teammates for the most sustainable impact. Lastly, start small and expand. While there is lots of work to be done, you have to focus on the quality of the initiatives versus the quantity to start.

Another way for businesses to engage is through leveraging the passion and expertise of their employee base. Through our Pro Bono Portfolio, we aim to support the digital transformation of charities around the world. iNERDE and Junior Achievement Americas are just two examples of charities we’ve supported.

What are some of the most encouraging success stories you’ve encountered as part of your work in equipping the next generation with skills they need to succeed?

Justin: This project with Dell is definitely at the top of my list. We have also been able to mobilize partners, businesses and governments together around education and skilling for over the 75 million children and young people with their education disrupted due to conflict. We’ve set up a fund and mobilized resources for children in crisis so that they don’t fall behind. We’ve created programs for children affected by the conflict in Syria, in South Sudan and now in Ukraine. Finally, we have an MBA program where we have 20 new students affected by the Syria conflict.

Jessica: Some of the most successful models that I’ve seen all have some sort of hands-on learning. While traditional learning models still exist, from what I’ve seen, some of the best ways young people are able to grasp a concept or a skill– allowing them to be able to execute or become proficient–always has some sort of hands-on component. That’s why we at Dell support hands-on opportunities. In the end, you want to be able to show some employer down the road that yes, not only do I learn to understand the concepts of a particular job or skill set, but I’ve also had hands on experiences as well to learn it.

Source: dell.com

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Integration-as-a-Service: Transforming the Integration Experience

Integration-as-a-Service (INaaS) is a Dell Technologies integration service that enables Dell Digital and business teams to build, migrate, monitor and manage a wide range of integration solutions through a unified, easy-to-use, secure and compliant online portal.

Data Integration Platforms (DIP) is an internal organization within Dell Digital which accelerates business outcomes by providing secure, robust & ‘as-a-service’ platform solutions. These DIP solutions enable the enterprise applications to integrate anything, anywhere and anytime. INaaS plays a key role in facilitating these integration services.

INaaS Scope and Vision

INaaS is one of several frameworks which together are transforming Dell’s Data ecosystem. INaaS key goals are to:

◉ Provide a cloud-like platform experience for all user personas

◉ Enable self-service capabilities, addressing time-to-availability

◉ Assess total cost of ownership for each integration

◉ Optimize infrastructure spending

The INaaS portal is a one-stop shop for users to manage the Integration requests/services. The focus is to create a cloud-like experience on the current integration infrastructure and leverage the DevOps processes in the back end to perform the actual operations on the integration platform. This portal serves as a control interface for administrative actions and workflow capabilities. It provides various metrics to deduce usage of the INaaS services. It is compliant to Dell Design System standards, built on extendable architecture/framework and supports co-development models to launch new utilities and accelerate outcomes.

Self-Service Utilities

‘Build’, ‘Migrate’ and other utilities allow developers to perform Day-1 and Day-2 pre-packaged operations. Developers can set up an integration solution, across any data integration platform, in a secure and governed way without direct involvement from anyone else. These utilities minimize IT engagements, deliver high quality solutions, and accelerate outcomes by removing barriers to resources. The utilities are simple, yet powerful and scalable to be easily adopted by anyone.

Self-Discovery and Smart Monitoring

Self-Discovery is a home-grown framework across all the Integration platforms to automatically identify the integration solutions hosted on each platform. This framework enables users to catalog the existing integration solutions and track transactions by each integration. ‘Smart Monitoring’ enables a standardized approach across all platforms to track overall health. This service also generates alerts based on the weightage of a degraded component. Several reportshave been developed as part of this effort to offer a single consolidated view and provide data-driven and insightful/value-based conversations with our customers. The data alsos provide insights to optimize our platform resources based on the actual consumption.

Total Cost of Ownership, Capacity Buy Back

Metering and showback involve capturing chargeable usage at the right level of granularity in the integration platform.  The metering system  then calculates the total cost of ownership for each integration. Examples of this could be measuring file sizes in GB for MFT platforms, EDI message counts for B2B, time taken by queries in seconds for Streaming, CPU time for Messaging etc. ‘Transaction Cost Metrics’ calculates the cost of each transaction using a simple averaging technique of total OpEx and CapEx by platform over the total volume each platform supports.

‘Capacity Management’ is an extension of transaction monitoring and metering. Like any cloud vendors, to ensure lower cost solutions, it is important to shed excess capacity and keep the platforms lean. At the same time, it needs a fine balance to have enough capacity to support burst volume and organic expansion. ‘Infrastructure Utilization’ and ‘Zero Transaction Metrics’ allow the platform team to identify inactive or obsolete integration solutions. These solutions optimize the platform size dynamically.

Delivering Business Value, User Experience

Different user personas need and expect different experiences. Over the last three years, INaaS has matured significantly and has been adopted across the enterprise. The portal currently handles about 700+ platform engagement requests and around 2,000 self-service requests a month, across nine different integration platforms. Business value gained is driven by the efficiencies gained by Developers, Platform Engineers, Reliability Engineers and Customers. There are added benefits related to improved security and compliance from a Dell-controlled secure ecosystem. Another benefit is a cost model to incentivize efficient utilization and reward efficient resource utilization by giving back resources due to faster and improved quality of integration solution delivery.

The framework is also being extended to include forecasting techniques, which will capture demand profile data. It will make decisions on future needs of integration solutions to perform business functions and adopting the hybrid cloud strategy. This new forecasting technique will transform the on-premise integration platforms experience like on cloud.

Looking ahead, we are focused on expanding the utilities for 100 percent end-to-end activities across three platforms by end of this year and across all integrations platforms next year.

Source: dell.com

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Customer Choice Comes First: Dell and AWS EKS Anywhere

Dell Technologies collaborates with a broad ecosystem of public cloud providers to help our customers support container-based cloud-native environments and place data and applications where it makes the most sense. With that in mind, we’re happy to announce that Amazon EKS Anywhere has been validated on Dell PowerFlex software defined infrastructure bare metal.

Amazon EKS Anywhere is a deployment option for Amazon EKS that enables customers to easily create and operate Kubernetes clusters on-premises with easy connectivity and portability to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Deploying Amazon EKS Anywhere on Dell Technologies infrastructure streamlines application development and delivery by allowing organizations to easily create and manage on-premises Kubernetes clusters. This further increases productivity for DevOps teams that want to leverage end-to-end automation and management of IT operations for cloud-native application development.

The rise of DevOps is leading businesses and information technology (IT) organizations everywhere to rethink how they develop and manage their infrastructure. This shift requires a developer-oriented model involving automated processes, rapid resource delivery and reliable infrastructure. Amazon EKS Anywhere drives operational simplicity through Kubernetes orchestration by helping customers automate cluster management, reduce support costs and eliminate the redundant effort of using multiple open-source or third-party tools for operating Kubernetes clusters.

Dell PowerFlex is engineered to streamline operations and boost agility with intelligent, software-driven automation. PowerFlex Manager, a unified management toolset for PowerFlex systems, simplifies IT operations and lifecycle management tasks by providing extensive automation which leads to a 47% reduction of total cost of operations and makes IT infrastructure teams over 70% more efficient. Combining automated Kubernetes cluster management with intelligent, automated software-defined infrastructure is an impactful option for customer on-premises Kubernetes deployments. This allows IT organizations to provide infrastructure as code and empower their DevOps teams to be the innovation engine for their businesses.

Today’s announcement includes certification of another DevOps-ready platform, and a second PowerFlex configuration for running Amazon EKS Anywhere on PowerFlex. Adding to the previously announced Amazon EKS Anywhere on PowerFlex with VMware in January 2022, customers can now deploy and run their Amazon EKS Anywhere on PowerFlex using bare metal or VMware vSphere.

Dell PowerFlex is an unbounded software-defined infrastructure that maximizes IT ecosystem flexibility. Capabilities such as unified block and file storage, NVMe/TCP connectivity and broad operating system (OS)/hypervisor/platform support flexibility to consolidate disparate, heterogeneous workloads onto a common platform. This gives our customers more flexibility and choice by letting them decide where and how they run their containers and cloud-native apps.

Customers will enjoy the incredible performance, flexibility, automation and ease of operations of Dell PowerFlex Software defined infrastructure and the flexibility of the Amazon EKS Anywhere managed service.

The PowerFlex container storage module (CSI) was used for the validated bare metal configurations. The CSI driver is leveraged by DevOps and platform teams to deliver dynamic and automated provisioning capabilities of EKS-A.  Persistent Storage Volumes utilizing native Kubernetes application programming interfaces (APIs), allowing infrastructure as code operations. Dell also provides additional container storage modules (CSMs) for observability, authentication, resiliency and replication to further enhance storage proficiency.

Our work with AWS reinforces the importance of on-premises infrastructure and Kubernetes orchestration integration in driving the future of IT. Customers can run their Kubernetes orchestration in the public cloud or on premises through a single console with Amazon EKS Anywhere, while having the reliability, security, ease of operations and global support that Dell Technologies infrastructure offers. At Dell Technologies, we are committed to transforming businesses and shaping the future of innovation and look forward to collaborating with AWS now and in the future on additional infrastructure platforms to make this vision a reality. Providing more choices for our customers is a key priority for both AWS and Dell.

Source: dell.com

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Is Private LTE/5G Better than Wi-Fi?

It’s a seemingly simple question: “Is private LTE/5G a better enterprise mobility solution than Wi-Fi?” In formulating an answer, however, it becomes clear how unfair that question really is. You can certainly compare cellular and Wi-Fi networks, but it’s largely an oranges-to-apples comparison because the two technologies have different strengths and weaknesses. So instead of landing on a definitive answer, let’s explore those differences and hopefully show that both Wi-Fi and cellular have their place in today’s connected enterprise.

Let’s first address the elephant in the room: cost. There is a clear bias among enterprises that Wi-Fi is cheaper than a private 4G/5G network. Depending on the application, however, the opposite may be true. A private 4G/5G network can be less expensive than installing a Wi-Fi network, particularly for applications where scale and service level assurance are needed. This lays the groundwork for any readers who might be thinking “We can’t afford a private 5G network.” With the expanse of mobile connectivity and new business applications being developed for wireless technology each day, the reality may soon be that you can’t afford not to have a private LTE/5G network.

Six Key Criteria for Enterprise Mobility Solutions

Typically, enterprises have bought wireless coverage the way homeowners buy carpet: by the foot. Measuring out square feet, however, can trip up enterprises when it comes to building enterprise mobility solutions. Coverage is only one aspect of the solution, albeit an important one. There are, in fact, six key criteria that enterprises need to measure when evaluating wireless technology.

Application

Let’s start with the most obvious question first—i.e., why do you need a wireless network in the first place? Wi-Fi networks are usually the result of IT-driven initiatives, such as providing connectivity as an extension of the LAN. The emphasis is on delivering best-effort connectivity at a relatively low cost with minimal complexity. Private mobile networks, on the other hand, are usually outcome-focused and driven by an operations team to support a specific use case where security, reliability and performance are critical.

Architecture

Wi-Fi networks feature a simple architecture; you can pretty much plug in your access points and routers, set up a password and you’re ready to roll. A private 4G/5G network is a more complex architecture with specific network functions in the core and RAN network that need to be addressed and managed. At first glance, it might appear to imply that private mobile networks are always more expensive. Depending on the deployment requirements and objective, however, a private mobile network may actually be cheaper to deploy.

Coverage

At its heart, Wi-Fi is an interference avoidance technology—although, with Wi-Fi 6, some interference mitigation schemes have been introduced. Furthermore, Wi-Fi must operate in an unlicensed shared spectrum. Consequently, the transmit power allowed for Wi-Fi access points (APs) is low and limits an AP’s coverage area. You can get much better range with a cellular network because the licensed 4G/LTE/5G spectrum has a higher transmission power. For example, you may be able to deploy a single 5G transmitter instead of a dozen (or more) Wi-Fi APs, which is one of the ways that 4G/5G can end up being more cost-effective than Wi-Fi in the long run.

Mobility

In Wi-Fi networks, a device cannot be associated or connected to two APs at the same time, resulting in a “break-before-make” handover with little coordination between APs to facilitate that handover. Furthermore, the technology only supports nomadic roaming. The resource coordination schemes and seamless roaming in LTE/5G networks give a performance edge over Wi-Fi networks. This make LTE/5G a much better choice for applications where seamless mobility is critical, such as an automated manufacturing floor or an airport where coverage areas may change dramatically over time.

Performance (Throughput/Latency)

Both Wi-Fi 6 and 4G/5G networks provide high throughput and low latency, particularly at mmWave spectrum for 5G. Overall, Wi-Fi performance is more susceptible to interference as the technology is based on interference avoidance. Wi-Fi 6 looks to solve some of those interference issues with an improved “listen before talk” mechanism, which allows access points to leverage an Overlapping Basic Service Sets (OBSS) feature that uniquely identify themselves using a “color.” This Wi-Fi 6 feature, coupled with the new OFDMA technology, improves reliability and lowers latency but the interference mitigation schemes in LTE/5G are still superior as it is built for interference mitigation.

As you add more users, you begin to see degraded performance in Wi-Fi systems with higher latencies and jitter. 4G/5G systems maintain high performance, ultra-low latency and good jitter performance even under high workloads due to better resource coordination and allocation schemes. Although both technologies offer good throughput and latency, the performance (especially jitter performance) is superior in LTE/5G, especially under load and when crossing cell boundaries.

Security

The last (but certainly not the least) consideration is network security. Wi-Fi networks have good security features—which have gotten even better with Wi-Fi 6—but are still vulnerable to AP-phishing, hacks and denial-of-service attacks because they’re using unlicensed spectrum. The “private” aspect of a private 4G/5G means enterprise data stays within the enterprise with very strong, built-in encryption at several layers to prevent hacking and unauthorized packet snooping/sniffing.

Wi-Fi or Private LTE/5G? Why Not Both

As you can see, both wireless technologies have their strengths. Combining the two technologies could make your enterprise even stronger. You may decide that Wi-Fi is great for day-to-day network connectivity but the business operations of your enterprise manufacturing facilities or retail locations would benefit from stronger coverage with enforceable SLAs. Alternatively, your business operations may require seamless mobility on-premise and/or with the broader city- or country-wide cellular network. Dell Technologies has you covered either way.

Source: dell.com

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Subscribe to Peace of Mind for Your Business PCs

As we find ourselves in mid-2022, companies are looking for ways to increase cash flow flexibility in the face of rising interest rates. IT services, and support specifically, may be one of the areas that get examined more closely. But when it comes to PC support, you can’t afford to cut back.

If anything, you are feeling like you need more support now that many of your end-users have moved to remote or hybrid work. Making sure they have high quality PC support (wherever they are) is essential because when their PC issues aren’t addressed quickly, your end-users are affected. If they can’t be productive, your business will be impacted. And in this environment, that is a risk you do not want to take.

Customer Situations

Here are some recent comments we have heard from customers about their individual challenges, some of which may sound familiar.

◉ We are already a Dell customer but want to tap into all the rich, telemetry-based features that you rolled out in the Fall of 2021, so that we can modernize our support experience for our IT staff and remote employees.

◉ With support services, I am receiving value over time – I would prefer to spread my payments over time. Our company is just starting out, and this allows me to balance my cash flow as well.

◉ It’s difficult to pay for both hardware and services upfront. We want to use our CapEx budget for the devices and our OpEx budget for support services.

Additionally, we hear from customers who are concerned about longer lead times due to supply chain issues across various industries. With inflationary pressures top of mind for many businesses, they want to ensure their IT services costs are predictable over the lifecycle of the device. And they are looking for a reputable entity that can provide them with world-class PC support and flexible payment options.

How Can You Get Better PC Support and Manage Costs at the Same Time?

We hear you, and we have come up with a solution to address both concerns.

We now offer a term-based subscription model for ProSupport Plus and ProSupport Flex, our most comprehensive support offerings. These offers give you access to our top of the line, modern support capabilities – whether you are a small business or a large enterprise. You commit to a subscription term, and we ensure that you have predictable support costs over the lifecycle of your device – and pay for them over time.

Go Beyond with Intelligent Support

With ProSupport Suite for PCs, we go well beyond traditional support like 24×7 access to in-region support experts, next business day hardware repair and accidental damage protection. Using sophisticated telemetry data and algorithms, we can take the support experience to a new level for both IT AND end-users by adding intelligence to support.

Intelligent support pinpoints potential issues before they arise, providing customized remediation, fleet-wide visibility of health, application experience and security scores on a single screen. These new, modernized workflows give you the IT insight you need to help users be effective wherever they are.

First and Only Support Subscription Model Like It

Dell is the first and only major PC brand to offer standalone commercial support services via a subscription model. Here’s how the term-based subscription model works:

◉ Pay for the hardware upfront and pay for the services over the committed term

◉ Choose a monthly or annual billing option

◉ View what you have entitled via a customer portal

◉ Auto-renew (if desired) at the end of the term so you don’t lose support for your client systems

Solve a Range of Challenges

Embrace your options. We are here for you in whatever way it works best for your business. Now you can:

◉ Get all the new capabilities that allow you to predict and resolve issues before employees experience downtime and lose productivity.

◉ Ensure predictable support costs for the term of your contract.

◉ Better manage your cash flow by aligning your support services’ expenses over the same period that you’re generating revenue.

◉ Pay for hardware and services from different buckets. Optimize your Capex budget to purchase the best system configuration and pay for services from a separate budget.

◉ Get reputable support from a name you can trust and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your PCs are covered by Dell Technologies services.

As every business leader knows, the key to success is to focus on what you can control. Macroeconomic factors and the resulting uncertainty are not in that realm. Choosing Dell as the partner to ensure that your employees have access to the best devices and the most comprehensive support certainly is.

Source: dell.com

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Rebuilding Remote Worker Devices from the Cloud

Imagine that your workforce has been sent home and is now working remotely (not too big a stretch of the imagination). You get a panic call from an end user that they have accidentally allowed some malware onto their computer. It appears to have evaded your security tools and now you can’t trust their Windows install. How are you going to fix it? How do you rebuild their device if they aren’t in the office?

For some organizations, this would be a nightmare scenario. Forrester reports that 71% of rebuilds today require reimaging in the office, but for you it is not a big issue. Why? Because your team has Dell laptops. Not just Dell laptops, but Dell laptops with ProSupport and our Ready Image, our cloud-based solution to remotely restore a clean Windows 10/11 image. You simply talk the user through recovering a clean Ready Image install onto that drive using our Self-Healing Image Recovery.

The shift in the way that we work, initially to remote working and then to hybrid working, brought  the need for better remote support solutions into sharp relief. Customers need to restore the image in several scenarios such as:

◉ Corrupted operating system

◉ Malware recovery

◉ After HDD/SSD replacement

While end users are increasingly IT savvy and prefer self-enabled solutions, few IT admins expect their end users to reinstall the operating system by themselves. These scenarios can become complicated and involve decisions that end users may not be prepared for. Our solution makes it possible for the IT admin to make the decisions, while enabling the user to initiate the process from wherever they are.

How does This Work?

Repeated boot failures will trigger Dell’s SupportAssist agent to assist with the recovery. This is enabled via the following BIOS Settings:

◉ SupportAssist OS Recovery – Unchecked

◉ BIOS Connect – On

◉ Dell Auto Recovery Threshold – Any desired value greater than zero (0)

IT admins then have access to our TechDirect portal (registration required) to set their recovery policies. Dell’s Ready Image is available for both Windows 10 and 11, in thirteen languages/variants and four regional language groupings. It is also available in the current shipping (N) and prior shipping versions (N-1 etc.)

Dell’s cloud interface allows IT admins to set the desired Windows build to be recovered. This enables you to recover the right build for the user, instead of recovering the build that the device shipped with, which could be months or years old, depending on the system’s age.

Secure by Design

This is a powerful feature that could raise security concerns within organizations, but we have engineered controls into the solution.

◉ The feature is controlled via the device BIOS

◉ When the feature is turned on in the BIOS, admins can control its use via TechDirect

◉ The TechDirect tile enables IT admins to enable and set policy at a device level or for your entire fleet

◉ The TechDirect portal offers Role Based Access Controls

User Experience

Once a suitably entitled device is enabled to use Ready Image, the user will begin the process and let Self-Healing Image Recovery work its magic. They will be required to connect the device to their home network which could include entering the SSID and password for the Wi-Fi, where Wi-Fi is supported. Download time will vary based on the available bandwidth on their network.

The image content is distributed via Content Delivery Network (CDN) technology to provide the best availability and performance, but typically the last mile connection is the bottleneck. Devices with an SSD usually perform significantly better than those with an HDD during the imaging phase.

Dell has taken our popular and widely used OS recovery tool and extended it to enable end users to recover our clean Ready Image to their devices, wherever they are. The TechDirect portal includes a web interface to allow IT admins to control the OS that their end user recovers. Built-in security protocols ensures that users can only recover the OS build an IT admin specifies and only if their device has been enabled to do so. Entitlement and enablement checks are performed at the point of execution allowing for real-time control in response to help desk calls.

Source: dell.com

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Dell’s PowerProtect Cyber Recovery Expands to Microsoft Azure

As critical data expands across multiple platforms and multiple clouds, it becomes an easy target for cyberattacks. Regardless of your data location, you still need strategies to reduce the impact of cyberattacks and improve cyber resiliency. Ransomware continues to wreak havoc on businesses no matter the size, industry, or location. Recently at Dell Technologies World, customers expressed their concerns about being more cyber-resilient. This supports that many organizations still lack confidence in their data protection solutions in the face of cyberthreats. The 2021 Global Data Protection Index reported that 67% of IT decision makers are not confident that all business-critical data can be recovered after a destructive cyberattack.

Customers want to unlock the benefits of multi-cloud with flexibility and choice, while still protecting their organization from ransomware and cyberattacks. Dell Technologies has expanded the availability of cyber recovery offerings so organizations can strengthen their cyber–resiliency posture in Microsoft Azure.

PowerProtect Cyber Recovery for Microsoft Azure lets organizations deploy an isolated cyber vault in Azure so they can securely protect and isolate data away from a ransomware attack. Unlike standard backup solutions, this logically air-gapped vault locks down management interfaces, requiring separate security credentials and multi-factor authentication for access. All managed from within the vault in Azure. If an attack occurs, it provides flexible recovery options, including recovery within the data center, a new Azure private network, or an Azure environment not impacted by the cyberattack to best support an organization’s needs.

PowerProtect Cyber Recovery for Microsoft Azure uses proven capabilities similar to Dell Technologies on-premises version but adapted to use the power of Azure. The PowerProtect Cyber Recovery software, which automates and orchestrates the data vaulting process, runs within an Azure virtual network (VNet), where it is isolated from normal access through secure design and Azure security capabilities. Data synced into the vault is protected with PowerProtect DD Virtual Edition (DDVE), offering proven security and efficiency. Administrative access to the Cyber Recovery management console, when necessary for changes, is provisioned through a secure jump host, with access further limited by IP whitelisting and multi-factor authentication.

PowerProtect Cyber Recovery for Microsoft Azure offers quick and easy deployment via Azure Marketplace. Using an Azure Resource Manager template, you can quickly deploy all necessary components needed within Azure, including automatic configuration of security groups, access control lists (ACLs) and private subnets. The base template can be modified or customized to provide additional enhancements or increased capacity.

Going beyond backup, Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery for Azure provides multiple layers of security, controls and data protection that allow organizations to resume normal business operations easily and confidently after a cyberattack. Microsoft understands the importance of data protection and business continuity.

“Dell Technologies cyber recovery solution will help our joint customers enhance their cyber resiliency,” said Jurgen Willis, VP, Azure Specialized Workloads and Storage. “Customers can purchase and deploy Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery through the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, allowing them to secure their Dell backups with a data-vault built on the secure Azure platform.”

PowerProtect Cyber Recovery for Microsoft Azure is the latest Dell data protection solution available as a transactable offer through Azure Marketplace enabling customers to use their existing Azure subscription. Dell Technologies is committed to providing fast access to Dell’s portfolio of data protection offerings for Azure with a simple purchase. What’s more, Dell Technologies gives you flexibility, allowing you to purchase Cyber Recovery for Azure how you want – either directly through Dell, or through Azure Marketplace.

At Dell Technologies, we are focused on helping you secure, protect, and recover data in the event of a cyberattack with the industry’s most innovative solutions. We stop at nothing to be your trusted partner for modern security solutions and services that enhance IT resiliency, reduce complexity, and provide peace of mind that your organization and its data are protected.

Source: dell.com

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Unveiling the New XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1

On the heels of its marquee XPS 13 Plus launch, where the system has been praised for its ‘futuristic redesign’, Dell continues this year’s rollout of its reimagined XPS portfolio with today’s launch of the iconic XPS 13 and the reveal of the upcoming XPS 13 2-in-1.

Today’s hybrid and mobile world means that your tools have to meet you wherever you are. Versatility and multi-tasking with ease are paramount, and Dell’s XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 deliver each in spades.

Dell’s Thinnest and Lightest 13-inch XPS laptop, the XPS 13 is Now Available

Because the course of a day can change with one email, text or spark of spontaneity, the XPS 13 (available with Windows 11 or Ubuntu 20.04) is your ultimate on-the-go companion. Artfully thin, light and compact with up to 12 hours of long battery life, it slips seamlessly into your backpack, bag or purse, while still delivering the premium performance you need with 12th Gen Intel® Core™ processors to multitask with ease.

True to the XPS aesthetic, it features our fifth generation, 4-side InfinityEdge display and enhanced sound for an immersive entertainment experience whether you’re streaming music, video-chatting friends or watching the latest blockbuster. High brightness, improved clarity, precise detail and vivid color bring your content to life, while larger speakers enable louder sound, deeper bass and a better overall audio experience. Eyesafe® technology intelligently manages light energy at the source, reducing harmful blue light without compromising your visual experience.

Expertly crafted from premium materials, the XPS 13 delivers an inclusive approach to expressive color, with unified tones inside and out that embody our mindful, minimalist approach. Available in softened shades of Sky and Umber, the tinted CNC machined aluminum is curated and premium.

Same Charter, New Blueprint

With XPS, our design charter is to simplify the user experience so that the technology almost blends into the background and the device serves as an extension of you. But sometimes it’s cool to understand how things are made, so let’s talk about all the advanced engineering that allowed us to achieve our design and experience goal.

In the past, you’ve seen XPS reimagine the front-of-screen experience with our trademark InfinityEdge design that propelled the industry to adopt thinner bezels and offer a greater viewing experience in the same or smaller footprint. In the spirit of pushing boundaries, or shrinking boundaries, our engineering team journeyed inwards with the same mission to get the XPS 13 as compact as possible for customers who prioritize mobility. This time, our engineers had to rethink the architectural layout under-the-hood.

XPS 13 9305 (left) compared to new XPS 13 9315 (right).

This kickstarted a long and ambitious journey to “miniaturize” the motherboard to be 1.8x smaller than the one found in our previous XPS 13 (2021). In fact, it’s the smallest motherboard ever created and fitted for a Dell PC. This engineering marvel created the architectural space needed to pack in a tapestry of new technologies and enlarge the speaker enclosures. The end result is an XPS 13 that is thinner and lighter, yet better sounding, high performing and long lasting.

Taking Versatility to New Heights, the XPS 13 2-in-1 is Launching This Summer

As the lines continue to blur between work, life, learning, the XPS 13 2-in-1 reflects just that. This XPS device provides the ultimate flexibility allowing you to effortlessly transition between streaming, working creating and sharing content, and connecting with whatever else moves you.

Enjoy premium performance anywhere with the first XPS device to offer 5G connectivity, which enables faster downloads, like WiFi speeds, but for mobile broadband. Streaming, downloading files, rich video content – all happens a lot faster with the speed of 5G, so you can be productive and entertained no matter the location. And when we say no matter the location, we mean it. The new XPS 13 2-in-1 also features eSIM technology, which allows you to go to different countries and connect to global carriers without having to switch SIM cards.

The XPS 13 2-in-1 lets you transition freely and fluidly from consumption to full productivity mode by attaching the magnetic XPS Folio, providing a complete laptop experience that supports three angle adjustments (100°, 112.5°, 125°) for flexibility and comfort. Express your creativity with a natural writing and inking experience with the XPS Stylus, comfortable for both left- and right-handed users, turning the device into a state-of-the-art sketchpad to bring your latest creative visions to life. The custom XPS Stylus magnetically attaches to the top to charge, and can provide up to 50 days of run time on average from a full charge. Both the XPS Folio and Stylus are sold separately.

Designed around an intuitive, landscape-first viewing mode – because that’s how we see the world – the stunning display panel delivers high brightness and precise detail with up to 3K resolution and vivid color, making content as dynamic as your ideas. The high-resolution 1080p front-facing webcam offers a crisp and clear image and is placed horizontally for practical and productive video calls. And the 4K world-facing camera empowers you to capture high-fidelity photos and edit content all on one versatile device.

Light and versatile, featuring an optional magnetic XPS Folio and custom XPS Stylus.

The XPS 13 2-in-1 offers two connectivity options, standard WiFi 6E or 5G with WiFi 6E, each featuring a sleek, minimalist design. The standard WiFi 6E model is constructed of machined aluminum, just like the XPS 13 and is available in the subtle blue Sky color. Unique to the 5G model, the back is made from Gorilla Glass 7 to optimize connectivity and eliminate signal interference. It’s available in a darker Slate hue.

Delivering on Our Commitment to Sustainability

In line with Dell’s longstanding commitment to reducing its environmental impact, the XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 chassis are crafted from low-carbon aluminum, produced using hydro-powered renewable energy sources, which offer a 70% reduction in carbon emissions compared to aluminum chassis produced in traditional coal-powered facilities. The XPS 13 and XPS 13 2-in-1 are EPEAT Gold registered, and both ship in 100% renewable or recycled packaging.

Final Words

Unsure of what to do with your old devices? With Dell Trade In, you can turn any eligible electronic device (Dell and non-Dell) into credit towards your next Dell.com purchase. While initially launching in the U.S., this program will expand to additional countries later this year.

And remember, with Dell Migrate, you can move important and hard to replace data and files from Windows-based PCs6 to your new XPS device—so you can get up and running fast.

Pricing and Availability

◉ XPS 13 [USD $999 | CAD $1,249] and XPS 13 Developer Edition [USD $949 | $1,199] is now available in U.S. and Canada, with Windows 11 or Ubuntu 20.04 respectively.

◉ XPS 13 2-in-1 will be available Summer 2022. Pricing to be confirmed nearer to availability date.

Source: dell.com

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