Intel has been stepping up their game in the AI ecosystem. Both Meteor Lake and the latest Emerald Rapids Xeon SP processors are being positioned as edge computing powerhouses. From running AI workloads on end-user systems to providing support for AI frameworks throughout the infrastructure Intel is looking to break into the market that is dominated by big players right now. Perhaps we can take a quick look at why Intel sees so much promise here but also the hurdles they’ll have to clear to stake a claim.
1:08 – Samsung Validates CXL Memory with Red Hat
If you were waiting for some real-world usage of CXL before jumping on board then wait no longer. Samsung revealed they have successfully verified CXL memory in a user environment working with Red Hat. The memory is optimized for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.3 and was verified in KVM and Podman environments. The goal is for customers to adopt CXL from Samsung without the need to adjust any additional hardware. Support for CXL memory will come from the Samsung Memory Research Center and covers a wide range of devices.
Read More: Samsung verifies CXL memory with Red Hat for wider data center adoption
5:09 – Cisco to Acquire Isovalent
Cisco decided to spend some Christmas money early by announcing their intent to acquire cloud-native networking and security company Isovalent. The company is famous for the development of eBPF, a critical component for systems visibility. eBPF powers Cilium, an open source project that utilizes the tool to provide security and connectivity for things like Google GKE, Amazon EKS Anywhere, and more. Isovalent has had over $70 million in investment up to the acquisition. The deal is expected to close sometime in Q2 of 2024.
Read More: Cisco to Acquire Cloud Native Networking & Security Leader Isovalent
8:30 – Broadcom Presses Pause on VMware Partnerships
VMware customers aren’t the only folks getting some interesting emails. Before the break Broadcom announced to all existing VMware partners that their agreements would be vacated on February 4. They will need to reapply to the program in order to continue to be VMware partners going forward. At that time, Broadcom will let them know if they are eligible to continue under the revised rules for the program. Insider sources have said that companies will need to be over $500,000 in revenue to be considered for the program, which could leave out a lot of smaller MSPs and other companies.
Read More: Broadcom Hands VMware Partners ‘Termination Notice’
12:49 – Mitchell Hashimoto Says Goodbye to HashiCorp
Mitchell Hashimoto announced mid-December that he would be departing HashiCorp at the end of the year. This follows him stepping down as the CEO back in 2016 and leaving the board of directors in 2021. While the blog post detailing his departure was positive and focused on the relationships and successes of HashiCorp there is speculation about whether or not recent licensing changes at the company played a part in his decision to move on. His post also didn’t mention any plans going forward aside from a focus on family but people are already wondering what his next project might be.
Read More: Mitchell reflects as he departs HashiCorp
16:52 – Intel Launches Emerald Rapids
Intel launched the 5th generation Xeon SP line in December. The “Emerald Rapids” Xeons are manufactured on the 10-nanometer Intel 7 process and introduce the new “Raptor Cove” core. Despite taking their place as Intel’s top server CPU, Emerald Rapids faces stiff competition from AMD’s Epyc lineup and Arm server CPUs. This release also coincides with a challenging server market amid with industry growth still sluggish. How excited should we be about Emerald Rapids?
Read More: Intel “Emerald Rapids” Xeon SPS: A Little More Bang, A Little Less Bucks
23:08 – Adobe Acquires Figma
Sometimes you roll the dice and come up short. In the case of Adobe that’s going to be about $20 billion short as they called off their proposed acquisition of Figma in mid-December. The deal was facing major scrutiny from EU regulators about reducing competition in the creativity software market. The news came as Adobe rejected proposals to remedy the situation in order to allow the purchase to continue. Adobe has stated that they will be exploring ways to utilize AI to help augment the features in their flagship software suite.
Read More: Adobe gives up on $20 billion acquisition of Figma
26:38 – Intel’s AI Ecosystem and AI PCs
Intel has been stepping up their game in the AI ecosystem. Both Meteor Lake and the latest Emerald Rapids Xeon SP processors are being positioned as edge computing powerhouses. From running AI workloads on end-user systems to providing support for AI frameworks throughout the infrastructure Intel is looking to break into the market that is dominated by big players right now. Perhaps we can take a quick look at why Intel sees so much promise here but also the hurdles they’ll have to clear to stake a claim.
Read More: AI Everywhere – Intel introduces the Core Ultra, Intel EVO and the AI ecosystem up to Gaudi
41:44 – The Weeks Ahead
Cloud Field Day 19 – January 31 – February 1
Cisco Live EMEA – February 6 – February 7
AI Field Day 4 – February 21 – February 22
Networking Field Day 34 – February 28 – February 29
The Gestalt IT Rundown is a live weekly look at the IT news of the week. Be sure to subscribe to Gestalt IT on YouTube for even more weekly video content.
