Real Time View

Our memories may fade but when it comes to NonStop then, after all these decades, it’s still the premier fault tolerant system available today! We are preparing for a return to the road as we look ahead to upcoming events. Not just HPE Discover in Las Vegas but key Regional User Group (RUG) meetings as well. With just one road trip we plan on hitting Dallas for N2TUG and then pass through Phoenix and Scottsdale on our way to Las Vegas for 2017 HPE Discover. It may be the beginning of summer, where the temperatures in this part of north America really start to climb, but having the opportunity to spend time out on the highways, driving the company command center, is always something we look forward to doing. Each time we do it we find new things to look at and new places to stay and even though we may be old hands at all of this, there are still moments where our memories about a place isn’t as strong as we had expected them to be. With the passage of time, the details become haz...

When asked to talk with the architects and builders working on our home, we have to be careful about what we ask for and much is the same when we talk about NonStop with our CIOs – are we ensuring the right message about NonStop is always being communicated? I swore I wouldn’t build another house and yet, here we are some twenty years later, and having another go. Building isn’t for the faint of heart nor should anyone building a new home from scratch think that it can be done on budgets created early in the process. But perhaps the biggest issue that comes up early in the process is that there is a huge difference between the opinions of the architect, the project manager and the builder. When we last built a home – the one we just sold after a marathon effort – the architect, the project manager and the prime contractor were one and the same. But this isn’t the case today and you quickly realize that in dealing with these individuals you have to change the language you use even as ...

HPE continues to emphasize the three pillars of their strategy, hybrid IT; the intelligent edge; and services. It’s only natural for the NonStop community to look at where NonStop fits and it is clearly hybrid IT.   Coincidences and somewhat serendipitous situations often occur in our lives. For almost no reason at all, something will just appear or simply happens which take us completely by surprise to the point we are oftentimes left scratching our heads. “Didn’t see that coming,” being the operative thought whenever this does happen. And yet, perhaps it is because we have something on our minds that we become more sensitive to such incidents and let them take on more meaning than we would otherwise grant them.  Stuck in traffic on a minor road in Boulder, Colorado, waiting for the traffic lights to change, I just happen to glance at the license plate on the car ahead of me – AUSS1E. Go figure; there is another Aussie in Boulder. What a coincidence! But then again, B...

A temporary change of residence is a reminder that oftentimes situations develop that necessitates a move. Given how HPE executives have identified three pillars supporting their strategy – hybrid IT, the intelligent edge and services, NonStop too is on the move and hybrid IT is its target!   We pulled the company command center out of storage for a smog test – yes, these diesel pushers still need to pass the same smog regulations as cars do, but you have to take them to a special testing facility capable of handling the biggest of transportation rigs. There are lots of places that smog test cars, but only a few equipped to handle an RV. The RV did pass its smog test and is now all good to go for the next two years – hard to believe but 2017 will be the sixth summer we have ventured out onto America’s highways. For Margo and me, the picture above is also a reminder of where we once lived as the RV is parked alongside our former home in Boulder that is barely visible through t...

Sometimes you just have to work at it to fit a sizable  project into an already tight schedule but for the NonStop community, the creation of the digital publication has truly been a labor of love … Hustling the Jeep into the space normally occupied by our RV certainly shone the spotlight on just how little room there is to spare when we drive the RV into our allocated storage location. Blue skies above the facility go a good way to explain what was happening here – with temperatures along the front ranges soaring well into the 70sF (20sC) it was time to get the RV smog tested and begin the preparation for an early return to Americas highways. With the sale of our home and office and with a couple of week’s gap before we take up residence in our new home and office, this will become our temporary residence. Getting into and out of tight spots has become routine for Margo and me, but it still is a tentative situation first up as the winter months finally shake their hold. And n...

Clouds are coming and for NonStop it’s inevitable. One likely cause? The need to tap data from IoT – but be careful, clouds can burst and rain on our parade.  As I walked into the kitchen the other morning to pour the first cup of coffee of the day I happened to look out the window. The view of the mountains to the west caught me by surprise with a vista of a bright orange glow edging the clouds – it may not look all that impressive, but now I know why the Denver Bronco football team wears blue and orange. I am rarely the first to wake up in our household and it always takes me a while to get going but on this occasion, as I poured the coffee into my mug, I took just a little longer to take it all in – breathtaking, indeed. I often wonder how many times circumstances catch us out. Surprise us, perhaps, and even on occasion, simply take our breath away. Being IT professionals it takes a lot to really surprise us but on those occasions when we are surprised it’s rarely because ...

A week in Orlando discussing ATMs may not be appealing for everyone but for NonStop users, the history of NonStop is very much tied to the history of the ATM! It is not all that often that I meet truly famous people face to face, but at this year’s ATMIA US Conference the keynote speaker was NFL legend, Herman Edwards. A former defensive player who played for a number of NFL teams, most notably the Philadelphia Eagles before turning his hand to coaching the New York Jets. Today, you can see Edwards as an analyst on ESPN. “Doing the little things and executing vision,” was the title of his presentation at the ATMIA conference this year. To a packed hall, he walked attendees through a lively presentation liberally sprinkled with NFL anecdotes. However, for me his focus on cash was of particular interest especially given the focus of the event. “I’m a cash guy. My wife gives me an allowance; I take the check to the bank and get the cash. If I run out of cash then I’m done!”  Noth...