A State-of-the-Art Data Center for Large-Scale AI

The Israel-1 System

Israel-1 is a collaboration between Dell Technologies and NVIDIA to build a large-scale, state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) facility located in NVIDIA’s Israeli data center. Israel-1 will feature 2,048 of the latest NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs using 256 Dell PowerEdge XE9680 AI servers and a large NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet AI network fabric featuring Spectrum-4 switches and NVIDIA BlueField-3 SuperNICs. Once completed, it will be one of the fastest AI systems in the world, serving as a blueprint and testbed for the next generation of large-scale AI clusters. The system will be used to benchmark AI workloads, analyze communications patterns for optimization and develop best practices for using Ethernet as an AI fabric.

In the Israel-1 system, each Dell PowerEdge XE9680 is populated with two NVIDIA BlueField-3 DPUs, eight BlueField-3 SuperNICs and eight H100 GPUs. The H100 GPUs in each server are connected with a switched NVIDIA NVLink internal fabric that provides 900GB/s of GPU-to-GPU communication bandwidth. The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 servers are interconnected with Spectrum-X Ethernet AI infrastructure.

Each Spectrum-4 Ethernet switch provides 51.2 Tb/s of throughput and is deployed in conjunction with the 400 Gb/s BlueField-3 SuperNICs to interconnect the 2,048 GPUs in the system. Within each Dell PowerEdge XE9680, eight BlueField-3 SuperNICs are connected to the Spectrum-X host fabric and two BlueField-3 DPUs are connected to the storage, control and access fabric, as shown in Figure 1. The BlueField-3 SuperNIC is a new class of network accelerators, designed for network-intensive, massively parallel computing.

Figure 1 – Israel-1 Networking Model

The combination of NVIDIA Spectrum-4 and BlueField-3 SuperNIC  demonstrates the viability of a purpose-built Ethernet fabric for interconnecting the many GPUs needed for generative AI (GenAI) workloads. Solutions with a scale like Israel-1 are expected to become more and more common in the future. The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 can leverage any fabric technology to interconnect the hosts of such systems.

The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 Server

The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 is purpose-built for the most demanding AI/ML large models. It is the first Dell server platform equipped with eight GPUs connected through switched high-bandwidth NVLink interconnects. With its 10 available PCIe slots, the Dell PowerEdge XE9680 is uniquely positioned to be the platform of choice for AI/ML applications. Its innovative modular design is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 – Dell PowerEdge XE9680 Design

The top part of the chassis hosts the compute and memory subsystems, with two 4th Generation Intel Xeon Processors and up to 4TB of RAM. The bottom part of the chassis provides 10 PCIe Gen5 slots, able to accommodate up to 10 Gen5 PCIe full-height devices, and PCIe Gen5 connectivity to a variety of GPU modules, including the H100 GPU system used in the Israel-1 supercomputer. The Dell PowerEdge XE9680 H100 GPU system includes the NVLink switching infrastructure and is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3 – PowerEdge XE9680 H100 GPU Assembly

The internal PCIe architecture of the Dell PowerEdge XE9680 is designed with AI applications in mind. NVIDIA GPUs and software implement GPUDirect RDMA, which allows for GPUs on separate servers to communicate over an RDMA-capable network (such as RoCE) without host CPU involvement. This reduces the latency and improves throughput for GPU-to-GPU inter-server communications common in AI workloads. Figure 4 shows a detailed internal view of the Dell PowerEdge XE9680.

Figure 4 – Internal Architecture of the Dell PowerEdge XE9680

Each of the eight Dell PowerEdge XE9680 PCIe slots is designed with a direct connection to one of the eight GPUs through the set of embedded PCIe switches with x16 PCIe 5.0 lanes, each providing full 400 Gb/s bandwidth to each GPU pair. This allows efficient server-to-server communication for the GPUs through the BlueField-3 SuperNICs and delivers the highest throughput coupled with the lowest latency for GPUDirect and other RDMA communication.

Networking for AI

Networking is a critical component in building AI systems. With the emergence of AI models like large language models or multi-model GenAI, networking design and performance have taken center stage in determining AI workload performance. There are two main reasons to use network fabrics specifically designed for AI workloads:

• Communication between server nodes for parallel processing. As model size and data size grow, it takes more compute power to train a model. It is often necessary to employ parallelism, a technique that uses more than a single server to train a large model in a reasonable time. This requires highly effective data bandwidth with very short tail latency to exchange gradients across the servers. Typically, the larger the model being trained, the larger the amount of data needed to be exchanged at each iteration. This functionality is provided by Spectrum-X network fabric.
• Data access. Access to data is critical in the AI training process. Data is usually hosted on a central repository and accessed by the individual servers over the network. In large-model training, it is also necessary to save the state of training at periodic intervals. This process is referred to as checkpointing and is necessary to resume training in case there is a failure during the lengthy process. This function is usually provided by a storage network fabric to isolate the server-to-server communication network from the I/O access network and avoid having one type of traffic interfere with the other one, which would create more potential for congestion.

The design principle of the Israel-1 cluster takes these requirements into account, with eight BlueField-3 SuperNICs in each Dell PowerEdge XE9680 dedicated to server-to-server communications, plus two additional BlueField-3 DPUs handling the data storage I/O traffic, as well as acting as the control plane for the system.

The use of BlueField-3 SuperNICs, along with Spectrum-4 switches, is one of the most critical design points of the Israel-1 system. Since AI workloads exchange massive amounts of data across multiple GPUs, traditional Ethernet networks may suffer from congestion issues as the fabric scales. NVIDIA has incorporated innovative mechanisms such as lossless Ethernet, RDMA adaptive routing, noise isolation and telemetry-based congestion control using BlueField-3 SuperNICs and Spectrum-4 switches. These capabilities significantly improve AI workload scalability compared to standard Ethernet networks.

The Right Combination for a Large-Scale AI System

The combination of the Dell PowerEdge XE9680 AI server with its 10 PCIe Gen5 slots, the latest NVIDIA DPUs and SuperNICs, the NVIDIA HGX 8x H100 GPU module and Spectrum-X Ethernet for AI networks creates the ideal building blocks for AI systems. Dell is collaborating with NVIDIA on this system and looks forward to sharing the learnings and insights gathered from running and testing AI workloads on the system to help organizations build systems optimized for AI.

Source: dell.com

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Harness Hybrid Quantum Computing with Dell Technologies and NVIDIA

GenAI is just one piece of a larger, accelerated compute puzzle. Quantum computing, a multidisciplinary field that utilizes quantum mechanics to solve complex problems, is another transformative technology with great promise. It has the potential to dramatically improve the process of finding optimal solutions across multiple domains, from novel drug development and financial analysis to supply chain and other emerging problems.

For businesses to harness this incredible potential, they must have the tools and environments to experiment with and develop quantum solutions. Hybrid quantum computing is an answer to that, linking elements of classical and quantum computing to deliver optimal solutions to complex problems.

In a recent collaboration with NVIDIA, Dell Technologies benchmarked and validated the power of its hybrid quantum computing platform, one built by combining the PowerEdge platform with NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs and NVIDIA cuQuantum.

Previously, by leveraging the PowerEdge R740xd paired with IonQ’s simulation engine and quantum processing unit (QPU), Dell Technologies demonstrated and made available a hybrid quantum platform.

At Dell Technologies, we understand that our customers want flexibility and options for their quantum computing journey. Through our collaboration with NVIDIA, we simplified this journey of discovery, identification and deployment, ensuring it can happen with as little friction as possible. The validation of the NVIDIA cuQuantum Appliance on PowerEdge servers further reaffirms this journey.

Dell Technologies’ hybrid quantum computing platform, powered by NVIDIA technology, represents a major extension to Dell Technologies’ abilities to provide hybrid quantum computing solutions to the market. Let’s take a deeper look at the components of this work and their role in enabling the quantum journey.

NVIDIA cuQuantum

NVIDIA cuQuantum is a tool designed to simulate quantum circuits at a large scale by providing a software development kit (SDK) of optimized libraries and tools that accelerate quantum computing workflows. Pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in quantum computing, cuQuantum offers several key advantages:

• Scalability. cuQuantum is designed to handle large-scale, complex quantum circuit simulations. This scalability is crucial as quantum computing continues to grow and evolve.
• Speed. Leveraging NVIDIA’s advanced GPU technology, cuQuantum delivers high performance, enabling faster and more efficient quantum simulations.
• Flexibility. cuQuantum is designed to work seamlessly with existing quantum software stacks, making it a versatile tool in any quantum computing toolkit.

Dell Technologies PowerEdge XE9680

On the other side of this powerful duo are the PowerEdge accelerated servers. Known for their reliability and performance, PowerEdge servers are the backbone of many data centers worldwide. Here’s why they’re an ideal match for NVIDIA cuQuantum:

• Reliability. PowerEdge servers are renowned for their reliability, providing the stable foundation needed for the demanding workloads of quantum simulations.
• Versatility. With a wide range of configurations, PowerEdge servers can be tailored to meet the specific needs of any quantum computing application.
• Global support. Dell Technologies’ global reach ensures users have broad access to support and services, minimizing downtime and keeping quantum simulations running smoothly.

More specifically, PowerEdge XE9680 servers are equipped with eight NVIDIA H100 or A100 Tensor Core SXM GPUs. This increases the ability to harness the incredible computational power in a 6RU footprint with large memory, CPU and storage capabilities, giving you the opportunity to quickly discover, identify and deploy quantum computing algorithms.

An example of this synergy can be seen in some of our latest benchmark test results. The benchmark tests were executed on systems running cuQuantum: a PowerEdge XE9680 using four of its eight H100 GPUs and a PowerEdge R740xd using its full complement of four A100 GPUs. The algorithms included quantum volume (QV), which is a pure quantum benchmark, the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA), typically used for optimization problems, and quantum phase estimation (QPE), a fundamental subroutine for chemistry and biology problems. Testing demonstrated the dramatic performance of the GPUs, with the A100 GPU configuration running 140x faster than on a single Xeon CPU and with the NVIDIA H100 running up to 400x faster.

Better Together

NVIDIA cuQuantum, combined with PowerEdge servers, creates a powerful platform for quantum computing. This combination allows researchers and businesses to explore the potential of quantum computing more effectively and efficiently.

The future of quantum computing looks bright, and it’s being shaped by foundational innovation taking place at this very moment. By coupling Dell Technologies’ foundational compute and storage capabilities with NVIDIA’s prowess in AI acceleration and software frameworks, organizations can be at the forefront, driving innovation and discovery in their sectors.

Source: dell.com

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Dell Connected PCs: Empowering Future Work and Learning

In today’s landscape of remote work and learning, the demand for uninterrupted connectivity has reached unprecedented levels. Dell’s Connected PCs, renowned for their robust security, high-speed connections and always-on reliability, have become essential for enhancing productivity, user experience and security.

These devices seamlessly combine smartphone-like connectivity with PC capabilities, thanks to integrated mobile broadband modules. This ensures secure access to both 4G and 5G cellular networks, offering a secure and high-speed connection even when you’re away from trusted Wi-Fi networks.

Let’s explore the diverse range of applications for these PCs, which I’d like to delve into today. Imagine scenarios like a natural disaster or a mass casualty incident, where the need for a dependable network connection is crucial for managing communication across hospitals, sharing medical data with emergency responders, coordinating emergency evacuations and relief efforts. In these critical situations, having a reliable connection could make the difference between life and death.

Disasters and Disruptions

Disasters or internet disruptions can result in significant productivity losses, and Connected PCs can help minimize these interruptions, enabling employees to continue working with a cellular connection. According to Gartner’s “Top Growth Trends in WAN Branch Office Connectivity for 2023” report, published in February 2023, “By 2025, 10% of enterprise sites will use 5G as a primary or backup fixed wireless connectivity option in their WANs, up from less than 1% in 2021.”

Dell’s Connected PCs, including the Rugged series, play a vital role in healthcare and emergency services. They empower first responders and healthcare providers to communicate critical information during emergencies, natural disasters, and other critical situations. These devices support real-time coordination, and the sharing of sensitive medical data, and they aid in search and rescue operations, weather tracking and remote missions.

Field Services

Connected PCs are also an excellent choice for field services such as oil and gas, construction and agriculture, providing real-time data access and communication in remote areas. For instance, field workers and service representatives can access customer data and provide real-time support or process orders even in areas without Wi-Fi access. They also prove invaluable for utility meter readings, where field technicians need mobile broadband-equipped PCs to access data and readings and to transmit information in real-time. Construction engineers and project managers can also benefit by accessing plans and status updates on the go.

According to Forrester Research Inc.’s report “Get Connected With Private 5G In Rural America,” dated December 2022, “Albemarle Corporation, a specialty chemicals company with leading positions in lithium, bromine, and refining catalysts, implemented a private 5G network at its lithium mine in Kings Mountain, North Carolina. The initial 5G trial included enhancing the company’s hybrid work environment and reducing global travel through remote operations support while workers conducted surveys, technical assistance, and maintenance activities.”

Research and Education

Connected PCs have a significant impact on e-learning and remote education. They empower higher education researchers with access to global digital libraries and academic databases, making virtual classes more accessible for educators and students at various educational levels, regardless of their location.

Another critical application is in professions such as environmental scientists, geologists, wildlife conservationists and researchers who rely on maps, research databases, sensor data and wildlife tracking in remote areas to make quicker analyses and improve decision-making for global environmental and wildlife protection.

For example, my son’s virtual Montessori class included a student whose family really seized the opportunity during the pandemic to travel and learn remotely. They were traveling the world on a boat, and their son was learning remotely from various locations worldwide. Similarly, the teacher traveled abroad while teaching the class. Connected PCs ensured reliable internet access in these extraordinary scenarios.

The Future of Connectivity

Dell Connected PCs have a profound impact across multiple industries, ensuring secure, seamless and reliable connectivity. What’s more, their cellular connectivity adds an extra layer of security, making them ideal for professionals who require a secure connection for their work, especially in industries where data privacy and security are of paramount importance. From healthcare and field services to business operations and education, these PCs play a pivotal role in enhancing productivity, securing data access, and facilitating communication in both urban and remote settings.

Source: dell.com

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Foster Multicloud Innovation with Dell

Modern enterprises depend on their IT departments to facilitate operations and maintain a competitive edge in the market. Many businesses are embracing a multicloud approach to fuel their endeavors and expedite the deployment of applications. Dell Technologies’ portfolio of solutions can help enterprises quickly implement their multicloud strategy and greatly simplify overall operations.

Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure is a turnkey, on-premises infrastructure built collaboratively with Microsoft to extend and optimize Azure on-premises. The platform is the first offer in Microsoft’s newly created Premier Solutions category for Azure Stack HCI, representing highest levels of integrations and the fastest time to value.

Dell Networking for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure

The network considerations for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure are no different than those of any enterprise IT infrastructure: availability, performance and scalability. Dell APEX Cloud Platforms for Azure are manufactured in the factory according to your specifications and delivered to your data center ready for deployment. The overall solution has been tested with Dell PowerSwitch platforms. The nodes in the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure can attach to Dell networking Top-of-Rack (ToR) switch, which meets the Microsoft Azure Stack HCI network functional requirements.

Network Redundancy and Performance

APEX Cloud Platform for Azure utilizes physical top-of-rack switching for network communications and is engineered to enable full redundancy and failure protection across the cluster. For customer environments that require protection from a single point of failure, the adjacent network supporting the APEX Cloud Platform for Azure cluster must also be designed and configured to eliminate any single point of failure. Dell offers the following scalable Networking Topologies for APEX Cloud Platform for Azure, which customers can choose to implement to expand to maximum cluster size of 16 nodes.

• Fully converged. RDMA, cluster management and VM traffic traverse the same Ethernet connections, thus conserving switch ports and cabling required per node.
• Non-converged. Separates RDMA and host management / VM traffic onto separate network adapter interfaces. Ensures no contention between storage and LAN communications and can be easier to troubleshoot.

Dell-on-Dell Value Proposition

Having end-to-end stack from Dell Technologies enables customers to build a cohesive and efficient IT infrastructure, allowing them to focus on their core business objectives rather than managing complex and disparate infrastructure components. Dell-on-Dell value proposition for integrated networking, storage, and compute solutions offers the following benefits:

• Seamless integration of Dell networking with Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure, which simplifies deployment, management and maintenance, reducing the risk of inter-operability issues.
• Optimized and overall better system performance when Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure is deployed with Dell Networking.
• Single point of support across overall deployment, providing a consistent service experience.
• Competitive pricing for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure solution with networking offers compared to standalone components from various vendors.
• Reduced complexity and efficient management translate into lower operational expenses (OpEx).
• Regular and seamless system updates across the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Azure ecosystem.

Source: dell.com

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Dell and Hugging Face Simplify On-Premises GenAI Deployment

The rise of generative AI (GenAI) is one of the most fundamental trends in recent times. There has been a proliferation of AI software, models and platforms that can look both daunting and chaotic with many vendors driving a closed ecosystem of proprietary models. Enterprises face a unique set of challenges when it comes to adopting GenAI technologies. Choosing the right vendors and dealing with data privacy and security concerns each contribute to uncertainty. This uncertainty slows down progress and increases the time to value.

It’s no surprise with these challenges that over 82% of organizations surveyed in the Dell Generative AI Pulse Survey noted they preferred being largely in the data center on-premises or in a hybrid model based on the data and its sensitivity. This gives them more control over their models and to achieve better results and manage costs.

It is important to note that no one technology vendor has a monopoly on innovation. At Dell Technologies, we work with several ISVs and AI models such as the recently announced collaboration with Meta with their Llama 2 model. Our focus is to work with the right partners and offer a complete software ecosystem where our customers can get the best value with the most accuracy and the fastest path to results. Open-source models give customers the transparency, customization and community collaboration they need in their GenAI journey.

Authenticated Portal for Dell Customers on Hugging Face

We are announcing a partnership with Hugging Face to make the best open-source GenAI models available on-premises and optimized for Dell infrastructure. Hugging Face will make their tools, models and data sets available to Dell customers in an easy-to-access location.

The companies will create a new portal for Dell customers on the Hugging Face platform to offer simplified on-premises deployment of customized large language models (LLM) on the industry’s top-selling infrastructure technology portfolio.

Custom, Dedicated Containers, Scripts and Technical Documents

The Hugging Face Dell portal will include custom, dedicated containers and scripts for inferencing and fine-tuning the top generative AI models. This will help users easily and securely deploy open-source models available on Hugging Face with Dell servers and data storage systems. Over time, Hugging Face will release updated containers with optimized models for Dell infrastructure, offering improvement in performance and support for new GenAI use cases and models.

This partnership enables an enhanced user experience on-prem and drastically enhances the time to value for our customers building GenAI solutions. Customers can spend less time resolving library and driver versions and identifying dependencies and spend more time developing and implementing. It will help our customers with rapid prototyping and experimentation and accelerating innovation with Dell trusted infrastructure. Through this partnership, Dell and Hugging Face will bring AI to your data by helping organizations accelerate from idea to innovation with simplified, tailored and trusted solutions.

Get Started with the Dell Accelerator Workshop for Generative AI

Dell Technologies offers guidance on GenAI target use cases, data management requirements, operational skills and processes. Our services experts work with your team to share our point of view on generative AI and help your team define the key opportunities, challenges and priorities.

Source: dell.com

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The Secret Sauce Behind Dell Trusted Devices

Ever wonder what makes our devices the industry’s most secure commercial PCs?  Dell Technologies commercial PCs come equipped with two unique endpoint security capabilities: Dell SafeBIOS and Dell Trusted Device (DTD) software. Let’s break down each and look at how they work together to secure your device.

Dell SafeBIOS: Protecting the Device at the Deepest Levels

Dell SafeBIOS is a collection of capabilities that mitigate the risk of BIOS and firmware tampering with integrated firmware attack detection. It consists of Dell unique IP, as well as partner technology. We combine these capabilities to help ensure devices are secure at the BIOS level, an area that traditionally lacks protection but is most certainly known by hackers as an area to exploit if vulnerable. Attacks at the BIOS level can be stealthy and create havoc. And when malware owns the BIOS, it owns the PC and access into the network.

Some of these capabilities are industry standards, like Intel Boot Guard and BIOS Guard. The others are provided uniquely by Dell, such as Indicators of Attack, or IoA, which detects potentially malicious modifications to BIOS attributes. Another example of a Dell-provided capability is Image Capture for Forensic Analysis, which goes beyond a typical solution to simply revert to the known-good BIOS. This capability can capture the image of the corrupt BIOS and make it available for forensic analysis, helping harden the device. It gives security operations centers (SOCs) the ability to analyze what happened to help prevent future attacks.

Dell and our partner BIOS protections are independently strong. But security is a team sport, so Dell has joined forces with leading partners to bolster security “below the OS” where all too many attacks originate today.

Dell Trusted Device (DTD) Software: Maximizing Protections Through PC Telemetry

SafeBIOS IoA and Image Capture both demonstrate where Dell leads the industry in BIOS protections. So how do you benefit from all of that telemetry? This is where DTD software comes in. DTD software maximizes SafeBIOS capabilities by communicating endpoint telemetry between the device and a secure Dell cloud, providing unique below-the-OS insights into security “health.”

The data transmitted provides assurance that the BIOS is being measured. If any feature reports unexpectedly change, the IT administrator is notified of possible tampering.

DTD software provides telemetry to enable a number of features under Dell SafeBIOS such as IoA and BIOS Verification, which detect tampering of BIOS firmware. It also provides Intel ME (Management Engine) Verification, which verifies the integrity of highly privileged ME firmware by comparing ME firmware found on the platform with previously measured hashes (stored off-host), and our Health Score, a feature that aggregates various indicators into one easy-to-read security score.

The administrator can find notifications in the Windows Event Viewer, a log of application and system messages, including errors, information messages and warnings. It’s a useful tool for troubleshooting problems.

How DTD Software Improves Security and Manageability

One of the key advantages of DTD software is that it works in many of our customers’ environments, thanks to our extensive partner integrations. In fact, only Dell integrates device telemetry with industry-leading software to improve fleet-wide security. This results in true hardware-assisted security.

DTD software can send telemetry to third-party security software, such as CrowdStrike Falcon and VMware Carbon Black, as well as endpoint managers, such as Microsoft Intune and Carbon Black Cloud, and SIEMs, such as Splunk.

Dell helps reduce the attack surface with hardware-assisted security.

Not only do these integrations improve threat detection and response with a brand-new set of device-level data, but they also help you make the most of your software investments. Knowing how much our customers value the ability to view (e.g., security alerts) within their preferred environments, we continue to release updates to DTD software enabling greater integration capabilities. This fall, for example, we expanded key feature integrations in the Intune environment. Now, Intune admins can view additional data from BIOS Verification, Intel ME Firmware Verification and Secured Component Verification (or SCV, a Dell-unique component integrity check), with added capabilities coming in future DTD releases.

Take Advantage of Dell’s Built-in Security

If you own or manage Dell commercial PCs, you’re likely already benefiting from these protections—all included in the cost of the device.

All Dell commercial PCs include Dell SafeBIOS and immediately improve the security of any fleet with these built-in features.

If you’ve purchased a commercial device since August 2023, your PC shipped with DTD software. We now pre-install DTD software at our factories and ship with the “standard” image. For older devices or for organizations that prefer to use their own image, go here to download and install the software.

Source: dell.com

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Orchestrating Success: Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks as the Maestro

Imagine an orchestra without a maestro. Each musician playing their own tune and chaos reigning supreme. Now, imagine building a modern telecom cloud network without an engineered solution designed to meet today’s open standards or capable of setting the stage for tomorrow’s technological advancements. You’d be dealing with the equivalent of a symphonic mess.

Just as there are hurdles an orchestra encounters while striving to create the perfect performance, there are challenges communication service providers (CSPs) face building and deploying a modern cloud network. CSPs must contend with interoperability issues as they move toward a horizontal cloud stack. There are resource management challenges across infrastructure lifecycles and inefficiencies created for day zero through day two operations. Then there is the pressure of rapid technological changes and having the ability to quickly adopt the latest technologies into their infrastructure. This includes 5G, cloud-native technologies and open-source software that disaggregate network functions from the underlying hardware.

Orchestrating a telco cloud network efficiently across densely populated urban areas and out to far-lying rural landscapes, while keeping costs in check, is no small feat. That’s precisely where Dell Technologies and Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks step in to take center stage.

The Composers: Dell’s Engineering Team and Cloud Platform Partners

In this symphony of telecom innovation, the Dell Technologies engineering team takes on the role of the composer. They work in harmony with leading telecom cloud platform vendors, like Red Hat and Wind River, to craft the perfect score for the Telecom Infrastructure Blocks. Just as a composer creates a musical masterpiece, Dell’s engineers integrate, test and validate the Telecom Infrastructure Blocks to address specific 5G Core and vRAN/Open RAN (ORAN) workload requirements.

The Maestro and the Wand: Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks

This is where the magic happens. Telecom Infrastructure Blocks are pre-validated, integrated and engineered telco multicloud foundation building blocks. They consist of Dell PowerEdge servers along with software licenses for Dell Bare Metal Orchestrator, Bare Metal Orchestrator Modules and our cloud platform partner’s software.

This maestro is the heart and soul of the operation, directing every telecom infrastructure component’s move. Trying to deploy a modern telco cloud without it is like an orchestra without a conductor—a disorganized mess. To ensure everything operates harmoniously, Bare Metal Orchestrator Modules integrate with the cloud software to deliver a seamless deployment and lifecycle management experience of the entire cloud stack. The declarative automation capabilities of Bare Metal Orchestrator make it possible for CSPs to simply define the desired outcome of their infrastructure environment, and it does the rest. Bare Metal Orchestrator then translates that outcome into the steps needed to compose and deploy all necessary elements of the stack. Picture the conductor waving a wand and the servers’ memory, networking, storage and processors working together to meet the unique telecom workload requirements, like well-trained musicians.

The Performance Stage: Dell Factory Integration

This is where factory integration of the Dell PowerEdge servers and cloud platform software takes place. This reduces the time and cost of infrastructure deployment while helping to accelerate the onboarding of new technology. Integration in the Dell factory also minimizes the potential for configuration errors. Think of it as the moment before the curtain rises, where the orchestra fine-tunes their instruments, ensuring everything is in perfect harmony.

The Orchestra: Dell PowerEdge Servers Taking the Stage

Now, let’s talk about the orchestra: the compute servers, which each take up a vital role in creating the symphony of telecom services. Like different sections of an orchestra, these servers handle memory, networking, storage and processors with acceleration capabilities.

◉ Memory. The strings section, providing a foundational base for the network’s performance.

◉ Networking. Think of it as the woodwinds section, facilitating the smooth flow of data and communication.

◉ Storage. The brass section, offering robust support and structure.

◉ 4th Generation Intel® Xeon® Processors. The percussionists, adding power and speed to the overall performance.

The Backstage Crew: Dell Services and Support Teams

In the world of telecom, Dell Services and Support Teams are the backstage crew of our orchestra. They ensure smooth performance and assistance when needed. Imagine the panic if a musician’s instrument breaks during a concert. Just as an instrument repair technician is on hand to support the orchestra, so is Dell’s support team. They stand at the ready to provide support in case of issues, guaranteeing the performance meets the highest telco standards, including rapid response times and service restoration.

The Concert: Bringing it all Together

Just as an orchestra relies on the conductor and sheet music to create beautiful music, CSPs can depend on Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for a well-orchestrated foundation. These building blocks streamline the design, configuration, lifecycle management and automation of the telecom cloud infrastructure, ensuring the right notes are played at the right time—consistently and efficiently.

◉ Simplify operations. Telecom Infrastructure Blocks are pre-integrated and validated systems that simplify operations for CSPs, minimizing integration requirements and automating manual tasks. They break down infrastructure silos and allow for the deployment of a flexible, cloud-native network without constraints.

◉ Reduce risks. Telecom Infrastructure Blocks ensure a consistent telco-grade deployment, or upgrade, of the cloud platform, reducing operational risks. Dell’s unified support model meets telecom industry standards, providing peace of mind.

◉ Increase agility. Telecom Infrastructure Blocks accelerate the introduction of new technology with continuous integration testing and validation. This can help CSPs reduce costs, improve customer experiences and meet business objectives.

Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks serve as the maestro, orchestrating the telecom network’s success. They ensure all the hardware and cloud software components play in perfect harmony, so CSPs can achieve optimal operational cost structures, meet stringent SLAs and quickly adopt and deploy new technologies. It’s the symphony of modernization, played with simplicity, efficiency, speed and confidence. Don’t leave your network without a conductor—choose Dell Telecom Infrastructure Blocks for a symphonic performance in the telecom world.

Source: dell.com

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Antarctica: An EarthX Film Festival Recap

I recently had the privilege of attending the EarthX Film Festival in Dallas, Texas, an experience that left me both inspired and invigorated. EarthX is the largest environment-focused film festival in Texas—a testament to its commitment to bringing together like-minded people to share stories from around the world and explore the critical issues facing our planet and society.

A Celebration of Passion and Purpose

The theme of the evening, “Where Passion Meets Purpose,” provided the backdrop for an engaging selection of short films, each conveying a meaningful message about our connection to and responsibility for the environment. Among these inspiring films was Dell Technologies’ own creation, “Antarctica: At the Intersection of Technology and Climate Action,” which highlights the confluence of passion, purpose and technology in our collective effort to combat climate change.

The film chronicles the partnership between Dell, National Geographic explorer Mike Libecki, marine and microplastics researcher Abby Barrows and tech specialist and IoT architect technologist Josh Jackson on their expedition to Antarctica. The team conducted groundbreaking microplastics sampling of the air, snow and water to assess the reach and impact of plastic pollution on this pristine continent.

After thorough analysis via third-party labs, the results demonstrated that microplastics and plastic polymers are showing up in the air, snow and water samples on the Antarctic peninsula and surrounding islands.

“What was most surprising to me was the sheer number of airborne microplastics, especially along the Antarctic peninsula,” said Barrows about the initial lab test results. “My ambitious hope is that this research, and research like this, will help to usher in lasting change across the marine and tourism sectors regarding their use of plastics—from paints selected for boats to what clothes are made from. Specifically, I hope this data will be used to help inform the use of synthetics and plastics by visitors to fragile and remote ecosystems. Additional studies would increase our depth of understanding of airborne microplastics in remote areas.”

Accelerating Progress with Data

Josh, who supported the technologies used to conduct the Antarctica plastics research, joined me at the festival. He is a visionary technologist with a clear passion for the potential of technology to address climate action and explained the vital role of data analytics in understanding the impact humans have on the environment. “The education aspect is the biggest component of all of this,” said Josh. “Being able to do something with that data and presenting it in a visual way that people can easily consume will be what encourages change and action. Just talking about it isn’t enough anymore, you have to be able to visualize it and make it consumable to the end user.”

The film shows how technology captures and analyzes data, a crucial element in expediting climate research and, ultimately, action. While Antarctica focuses on microplastic data and analysis, the need for data to truly understand and address our collective impact is applicable to nearly every country, organization and individual around the world.

As the old saying goes, “We cannot change what we cannot measure”—and that is especially true when it comes to environmental sustainability. At Dell Technologies, we believe our broad portfolio of offerings can meet customers wherever they are on their sustainability journey. Whether it’s used to help organizations reduce their IT carbon footprint or to find efficiencies and eliminate waste in areas within the organization, technology is a key player in addressing the climate crisis.

Awareness of the issues and steps we can take in our everyday lives are key to our collective progress. We’re deeply grateful for being included as part of EarthX, and we hope that by highlighting the prevalence of microplastics in the most remote reaches of our planet and sharing our story through the documentary, we can inspire more urgent climate action. Together, we can act to combat the urgent climate crisis.

Source: dell.com

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Scaling Data and Analytics Productization: Key Strategies for Success

In the ever-evolving landscape of data-driven decision making, successfully scaling data and analytics productization demands a nuanced approach. While productization can be one of the most challenging stages, we will dive into the key strategies that serve as the cornerstones of this transformative journey.

Robust Infrastructure Focused on Scalability and Flexibility

Building a scalable and flexible infrastructure is more than selecting the right technology; it’s about crafting a resilient foundation capable of accommodating the growing complexities of data. On-premises hardware, carefully selected and optimized, forms the backbone of this infrastructure. It involves considering factors such as storage capacity, processing power and network bandwidth to ensure seamless data handling.

A strong starting point should include:

• Scalable storage solutions. Invest in storage systems that can scale horizontally or vertically to accommodate increasing data volumes without compromising performance.
• High-performance processing. Optimize processing capabilities to handle complex analytical workloads efficiently.

The emphasis is on creating an environment that can effortlessly adapt to the expanding demands of data processing and analysis. This will only increase in importance as AI begins to power more facets of every organization in the future.

Modularity, Reusability and Accessibility

This design philosophy is pivotal to enabling agility and collaboration within the organization.  On-premises and multicloud environments benefit significantly from a design that allows for the modular integration of new features and functionalities with ease. This not only facilitates scalability, but it also empowers different teams to contribute specialized components, creating a cohesive and adaptable data ecosystem.

A strong starting point should include:

• API-driven architectures. Adopt an architecture that relies on well-defined APIs, promoting interoperability between different components and systems.
• Containerization. Explore containerization technologies like Docker and Kubernetes to encapsulate and deploy modular components independently, fostering flexibility and scalability.

Reusability and accessibility complete this “philosophy of flexibility” by expanding data accessibility across the organization using technologies such as Data Virtualization and Open Data Formats.

With Data Virtualization and Open Data formats, multiple teams have an expansive reach across data silos, with open data formats (e.g., Iceberg, Parquet, etc.) allowing teams to easily share and reuse data, compounding the value of previous efforts on these data resources.

Embrace Automation and Continuous Streaming Data

Automation is the catalyst that propels scalability by reducing manual intervention, enhancing efficiency and minimizing errors. In the context of on-premises environments, this involves implementing automation tools tailored to local infrastructure. From data ingestion to analytics and reporting, automation ensures routine tasks are executed seamlessly, freeing up human resources for more strategic endeavors.

A strong starting point should include:

• Workflow orchestration. Implement tools for orchestrating end-to-end data workflows, ensuring seamless transitions between different stages of the data processing pipeline.
• Monitoring and alerts. Set up automated observability and monitoring systems to track system performance and data pipelines with alerts for potential issues that require attention.

The power of automation is the removal of manual processes in place of continuous operations.  Expanding this concept to your data ingestion and consumption is the logical next step. Moving to true Streaming Data pipelines can dramatically improve the latency and value provided for real-time, continuous business results. The batch or ad-hoc approach to data ingestion limits the possible use cases and value the organization can achieve. Moving to continuous streaming data ingestion is a logical next step and allows developers and data scientists to solve business problems in new and more streamlined ways.

Unlock the Full Potential of Your Data

In the dynamic landscape of data and analytics, the success of scaling productization lies in the three-way intricate balance of a robust infrastructure, modular/reusable/accessible design, with an efficient automation approach. Organizations that meticulously implement these strategies are well-positioned to navigate the challenges of scaling data and analytics productization, unlocking the full potential of their data assets across on-premises and multicloud environments.

Source: dell.com

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