Test Center Daily | InfoWorld Staff

Clocking VMware Workstation and Sun xVM VirtualBox performance

Randall C. Kennedy — 2008-09-11T03:00:00-08:00

The OfficeBench benchmark gauges Windows client performance by running a series of Microsoft Office workloads READ MORE

Pimp my datacenter wrap-up: Photos and words II

Curt Franklin — 2008-08-12T17:11:44-08:00

There's more to see from the Pimp My Datacenter project. In this slide show, Brian Chee walks you through the highlights of the electrical upgrade

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Pimp my datacenter wrap-up: Photos and words

Curt Franklin — 2008-08-11T15:00:23-08:00

Can't get enough information about pimping-out a datacenter? We have a slide show (with narration from Brian Chee) of highlights from the air-conditioning installation. READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Storage

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:07:00-08:00

Bossie winners for network and online backup, NAS server, file and directory comparison, disk monitoring, and storage administration READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Security

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:06:00-08:00

Bossie winners for application security, penetration testing, password cracking, network firewall, IDS, security log analysis, disk encryption, and gateway security READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Productivity applications

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:05:00-08:00

Bossie winners for sound editing, 3D modeling, Web browser, image editing, PDF creation, and office productivity suite READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Platforms and middleware

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:03:00-08:00

Bossie winners for server and desktop operating system, enterprise service bus, database, database admin tool, data migration, and desktop and server virtualization READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Networking

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:02:30-08:00

Bossie winners for IP telephony, log file analysis, Wi-Fi scanning, wireless networking, router, and server, network, and VoIP monitoring READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Enterprise applications

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:02:00-08:00

Bossie winners for content management, ERP, project management, application monitoring, BPM, reporting, portal, e-commerce, BI, and CRM READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Collaboration

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T12:00:00-08:00

Bossie winners in social networking, wiki, mail and calendar, remote control, and blogging software READ MORE

Best of open source software awards: Development tools

Doug Dineley — 2008-08-05T08:00:00-08:00

Bossie winners for object database, version control, Web client library, parallel programming, business rule management, rich Internet applications, JavaScript framework, and Web services testing READ MORE

Cloud versus cloud: Amazon EC2, Google App Engine, GoGrid, and AppNexus

Doug Dineley — 2008-07-21T03:00:00-08:00

By Peter Wayner Who wouldn't want to live in a "cloud"? The term is a perfect marketing buzzword for the server industry, heralding images of a gauzy, sunlit realm that moves effortlessly across the sky. There are no suits or ties in this world, just toga-clad Greek gods who do as they please and punish at whim, hurling real lightning bolts and not merely sarcastic IMs. The marketing folks know how to play to the dreams of server farm admins who spend all day in overgrown shell scripts and impenetrable acronyms. To test out these services, I spent a few... READ MORE

Ruby on Rails IDEs and editors compared

Doug Dineley — 2008-07-07T03:00:00-08:00

Martin Heller left no stone unturned in today's examination of Ruby on Rails IDEs and text editors (see "Lab test: Climb aboard Ruby on Rails". The nine tools for Windows, Mac, and Linux include both free and commercial products. Follow the link above for the full reviews. Below you'll find essential pros and cons for each product, and a quick comparison table showing price, OS support, and major features. Pros and cons Product Pros Cons Ruby in Steel Developer Edition 1.2 and Text Edition 1.1.5 Visual Rails Workbench; Fast debugging; Excellent IntelliSense; Supports standard Ruby, JRuby, and IronRuby Weak... READ MORE

Battle of the bare-bones balancers: Barracuda Load Balancer vs. Kemp Load Master

Doug Dineley — 2008-06-30T09:00:00-08:00

A load balancer for less than $2K? Barracuda Networks offers two models by that description, and Logan Harbaugh tested the posher one, the $1,999 Load Balancer 340. At the same time, he tested the $2,499 Kemp Load Master 1500, likewise a bare-bones load balancer in terms of features but a step up in manageability, thanks to easy drop-down configurations for features such as cookie persistence and health checking. Here are Logan's Bottom Line summaries. Click the links to read the full reviews. For a closer look at products in this space, including other reviews, see "Test Center guide: Load balancers... READ MORE

Load balancers and Web accelerators compared

Doug Dineley — 2008-06-30T03:00:00-08:00

Today's Test Center guide to load balancers and Web application accelerators by Logan Harbaugh pulls together all of his reviews in the space over the past two years, and zeros in on the key differences among the products. This chart provides an at-a-glance comparison. To get all the juicy stuff you'll have to read his guide. At bottom, the essential differences amount to the type of platform used (classic Intel appliance or proprietary switch hardware) and whether the system boosts application performance through compression, multiplexing, and other optimizations. The appliance vendors are in the minority, with Barracuda and Kemp... READ MORE