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Fabric computing or unified computing involves constructing a computing fabric consisting of interconnected nodes that look like a "weave" or a "fabric" when viewed/envisaged collectively from a distance.〔Compare: (What Is: The Azure Fabric and the Development Fabric )〕 Usually the phrase refers to a consolidated high-performance computing system consisting of loosely coupled storage, networking and parallel processing functions linked by high bandwidth interconnects (such as 10 Gigabit Ethernet and InfiniBand)〔(Massively distributed computing using computing fabrics )〕 but the term has also been used to describe platforms like the Azure Services Platform and grid computing in general (where the common theme is interconnected nodes that appear as a single logical unit).〔(Grid computing: The term may fade, but features will live on )〕 The fundamental components of ''fabrics'' are "nodes" (processor(s), memory, and/or peripherals) and "links" (functional connection between nodes).〔 While the term "fabric" has also been used in association with storage area networks and switched fabric networking, the introduction of compute resources provides a complete "unified" computing system. Other terms used to describe such fabrics include "unified fabric",〔(Unified Fabric: Benefits and Architecture of Virtual I/O )〕 "data center fabric" and "unified data center fabric".〔(Intel: Data Center Fabric )〕 Ian Foster, director of the Computation Institute at the Argonne National Laboratory and University of Chicago, has suggested that "grid computing 'fabrics' are now poised to become the underpinning for next-generation enterprise IT architectures and be used by a much greater part of many organizations".〔 IBM, TIBCO, Brocade, Cisco, HP, Unisys, Egenera, Avaya and Xsigo Systems manufacture computing-fabric equipment.〔 (Toolbox for IT: Data Center Fabric ) 〕〔 (Switch maker introduces a 'Data Center Fabric' architecture ) 〕 ==History== While the term has been in use since the mid to late 1990s〔 the growth of cloud computing and Cisco's evangelism of ''unified data center fabrics''〔(Cisco: Unified Data Center Fabric: Reduce Costs and Improve )〕 followed by ''unified computing'' (an evolutionary data center architecture whereby blade servers are integrated or ''unified'' with supporting network and storage infrastructure) starting March 2009 has renewed interest in the technology. Other companies offering unified or fabric computing systems include Liquid Computing Corporation and Egenera. There have been mixed reactions to Cisco's architecture, particularly from rivals who claim that these proprietary systems will lock out other vendors. Analysts claim that this "ambitious new direction" is "a big risk" as companies like IBM and HP who have previously partnered with Cisco on data center projects (accounting for $2–3bn of Cisco's annual revenue) are now competing with them.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fabric computing」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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