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Blog Archive

IBM 701 Part 2 IBM 701 Part 2
Nathan had a problem. The “Defense Calculator,” as the IBM 701 was initially... →

IBM 701 IBM 701
Being the son of a company’s CEO is tricky. It’s also challenging to be a rising ... →

The EDSAC The EDSAC
The group huddled expectantly around a teleprinter in the hot... →

For the Love of Software For the Love of Software
I’ve been through a lot since 2005. I invented... →

The Day the World Changed The Day the World Changed
In retrospect, taking a beautiful woman to a study session.... →

8 Reasons “n Ways” Posts are a Waste of Time 8 Reasons “n Ways” Posts are a Waste of Time
I’m a coder and that’s what I’m passionate about, but I’ve learned to... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: The Gun Room Silicon Valley 90’s Style: The Gun Room
“I’m concerned,” admitted Anne, the newest hire... →

Silicon Valley 90's Style: TCP/IP Silicon Valley 90's Style: TCP/IP
On the drive down Middlefield Road into Redwood City, the complete lack... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: The Making of Memory Silicon Valley 90’s Style: The Making of Memory
Once I had the status-driven SCSI driver, it was easy to.... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Disk Drivers over Lunch Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Disk Drivers over Lunch
Palo Alto in 1990 was great for a young family (except for the... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Two Tape Drives Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Two Tape Drives
The day was bright and sunny, and there was a bit of extra spring in... →

Manifesto of a New Generation Tech Company Manifesto of a New Generation Tech Company
When I was first starting off in the technology industry... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Orientation Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Orientation
My cubicle in the Adaptive offices was sandwiched between two coworkers: Krish... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: How to Port Unix Silicon Valley 90’s Style: How to Port Unix
When I’m working on an exciting project, waking up early is never a problem. One morning... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Pass The Message Silicon Valley 90’s Style: Pass The Message
It's 1990 and I'm in Silicon Valley to do another port of Unix for a telecom equipment company... →

Silicon Valley 90’s Style Silicon Valley 90’s Style
It was my first ever California interview, and it seemed to be going well. I sat in a stuffy... →

A Kid’s New World A Kid’s New World
Sometimes, when I need a break from coding or designing, my eyes fall on the three small pieces... →

The All Nighter The All Nighter
The lab was dark except for a pool of light around a blue and white workbench... →

Software Design Secrets Software Design Secrets
Software design is an art. It’s the product of... →

The Flight Part 4 The Machine Room
If you like attention, try banging around a mainframe room with... →

The Flight Part 4 The Flight Part 4
At 5,000 feet above sea level, the take-off roll at Albuquerque... →

Oklahoma to Albuquerque on a Gusty Day Oklahoma to Albuquerque on a Gusty Day
Professor Niklaus Wirth and I taxied out to runway one-seven just as... →

The Flight Part 2 The Flight Part 2
I was beginning to think my plan had a flaw. I followed Niklaus Wirth’s flight online, and I knew...→

The Flight The Flight
It was a clear but gusty day, and all of a sudden the right wing wanted to be much higher than the left. I jammed the wheel...→

Mentors and Mainframe Cores Mentors and Mainframe Cores
n my recent blog post, Software Tools and Punchcards, I shared a few stories about one of my early mentors...→

Underlying C Underlying C
A few months ago a friend directed me to an academic project, one that aimed to update C for the modern programmer. It’s not the...→

Re-Evolution, not Revolution Re-Evolution, not Revolution
Most Coraid customers are happy using our storage appliances without digging into the technology or the design philosophy that lies...→

Ode to the Humble Ethernet Frame Ode to the Humble Ethernet Frame
The humble Ethernet frame is an impressive thing. Its five simple parts have an amazing history and an equally amazing career. Ethernet...→

G. R. Moves to Georgia G. R. Moves to Georgia
When I arrived at the Murray Hill facility for my first day as an employee of Bell Labs, my ID badge wasn’t ready. When Dennis Ritchie realized this, he...→

Small Teams are Beautiful Small Teams are Beautiful
Ever since I founded Coraid in 2000, customers have asked, “How large is your company?” “Why do you want to know?” I reply. Without hesitation they explain...→

Step in the Box Step in the Box
In the days of the mainframe, systems programmers kept odd hours. I guess we still do. People are apt to get emails from me at all hours. Today is a lot easier...→

Storage is Address Translation Storage is Address Translation
One of the things I’m known for is NAT, or Network Address Translation. This leads many to ask, “What are you doing in the storage...→

Software Tools and Punchcards Software Tools and Punchcards
Building slick IT products out of Bell Labs technology is one of the many things I owe Bob. When I was the new kid at the University of...→

The Importance of Syslog Servers The Importance of Syslog Servers
As the old adage goes, it’s not if a drive fails, but when. A modern 3.5” drive rotates from 7200 – 10,000 RPM. If you do the math, that’s...→

What Makes A Good Protocol Design? What Makes A Good Protocol Design?
Not all protocols are equal. I've worked with good ones and bad ones. One of the worst was a protocol accidently defined to control parameters on a...→

What Makes a Protocol Great? What Makes a Protocol Great?
The last of the five qualities I look for in a good protocol design is generality. To refresh your memory, the first four qualities are: focus, unity... →

Clarity in Network Protocols Protocols: Seeing Clearly
In '' The Elements of Style'', Strunk and White didn't mince their words. They called the lack of clarity in writing as ''a destroyer of life, of hope.''... →

Protocol Memories Protocol Memories
Picture this: I arrive at Georgia Tech to borrow some computer time, a phrase that dates me, on their IBM RS6000. The administrator... →

No Single Point of Failure + Golden Images No Single Point of Failure + Golden Images
Over the past handful of weeks, I've written about the VSX and how it's able to work its magic. Today I want to talk about two other tricks... →

Is Software an Art? Is Software an Art?
My favorite compliment is when people comment on how simple my work is. I hear it occasionally about SRX, and back in the day people noticed the simplicity and unity... →

Snapshots and Shadows with the VSX Snapshots and Shadows with the VSX
In a few recent posts, I've been talking about all the nifty things the Coraid VSX does. Today I want to talk about... →

C vs Memory C vs Memory
There is a false belief among young programmers that C is a bad language. I’m writing today to dispel one aspect of that notion: the misbelief that managing... →

The Flexibility of Imaginary Disks The Flexibility of Imaginary Disks
The VSX is all about creating imaginary disks. This ability is one of the neat things about using the ATA-over-Ethernet protocol. If it’s talking to the protoco...→

Debugging the Kernel Debugging the Kernel
Today I’m chasing down a bug in the kernel. Although you don’t need to worry about kernel debugging, it’s always wise to understand the history...→

Logical Volumes and the VSX Logical Volumes and the VSX
Logical volumes are simple to create and manage using the Coraid EtherDrive VSX. For the uninitiated, logical volumes allow→

Do We Need Another Storage Protocol? Do We Need Another Storage Protocol?
Those were the words spoken by the CTO of a large storage firm to a prospective Coraid customer. The CTO had taken the prospect out to dinner to convince him not...→

Salvation from Intel:Risc Salvation from Intel:Risc
One good thing to come out of the disaster that is Intel's security vulnerability Spectre and Meltdown is the renewed interest in more modern RISC processors...→

The Diskless Storage Appliance The Diskless Storage Appliance
It was only natural, since I invented Network Address Translation (NAT), that I somehow find a way to use it in network storage...→

A Good Time With Schweitzer A Good Time With Schweitzer
It's not often that I do a guest shot on a podcast, but when Scott Schweitzer asked, I had to say yes...→

What Would 10PB Look Like? What Would 10PB Look Like?
Sometimes I stop and think about what Coraid storage can really do for folks. Over the years we have sold between 10,000 and 15,000 systems...→

New Coraid's Fifth Year New Coraid's Fifth Year
The new year always brings reflection. As Coraid enters its fifth year...→

Intel Flubs Intel Flubs Again
Intel is telling motherboard vendors not to install its latest fixes to mitigate the Spectre and Meltdown exploits... →

Never Obsolete Never Obsolete Storage without the Green
In the latest article by Storage Switzerland, George Crump examines how storage...→

True to Our Ideas True to Our Ideas
I’ve noticed that there are two types of tech companies: some are customer focused and...→

Simplicity is Not Optional Simplicity is Not Optional
Simplicity is necessary for long term success. This is true in all areas of business, especially...→

Problem with large RAIDs Dangers of Large RAIDs
Choosing the best size for a RAID depends on what you’re going to do with the LUN. If it’s for a VM, smaller is better...→

New Coraid h-Series SRX Hardware New Coraid Resurrects Network Storage Virtualizer VSX
In early 2013, senior management at now-defunct Coraid, Inc. canceled...→

New Coraid h-Series SRX Hardware New Coraid h-Series SRX Hardware
Two years after Coraid, Inc.’s demise, new hardware is once...→

Coraid Clarifies History Coraid Clarifies History
The Coraid™ brand of storage arrays is still alive and well...→

h-series AoE Returns to Storage Market with New Coraid™-Branded Software Release
For the first time in over 2 years, a new software release of...→

h-series Now Coraid is Really Back—Hardware and All
Two years, four months, and four days after the old Coraid Inc. finally closed its doors...→

HBA New Coraid EtherDrive HBA driver released for VMware ESX 6.0
SouthSuite, Inc. releases the EtherDrive HBA 7.0.4...→

Coraid SouthSuite Acquires Coraid IP
Founder returns Coraid appliances to the storage market...→