THE NEXT PLATFORM

The Next PlatformPlatformStack formally launched February 23, 2015, in partnership with The Register. It will offer in-depth coverage of high-end computing at large enterprises, supercomputing centers, hyperscale data centers, and public clouds. If you’re looking for a more detailed overview of the vision, read the Editors’ Introduction or, if that’s too wordy, a) you might be in the wrong place and b) reach out to the editorial staff for more specific info if you need it. In essence... , The Next Platform was founded on a few central concepts… Some companies are building their own platforms for internal use, while others are building platforms for others to use to run their applications as a service. Inspiration for platform designs is coming from the hyperscale data center operators that have pushed the boundaries of scalability for new kinds of analytics, as well as from supercomputing centres that have been scaling up simulation and modelling workloads for decades. Regardless of where the inspiration originates, all platforms have some common characteristics. They are based on an integrated stack of hardware and software, tuned to run specific workloads, and outfitted with orchestration tools to automatically react to changes in those workloads. The idea is to break down as many silos in the data center as possible, virtualising system components and mashing them up in interesting ways to increase the efficiency of the underlying servers, storage, and networks. The Next Platform will step behind the headlines and provide analysis to help readers understand what technologies are used to solve particular problems, how they are integrated with other systems and applications, why organisations choose particular technologies to solve their problems, and why they do not pick something else.More