Knowledge Sharing 2022 | Dell Learning

2022 Knowledge Sharing Winners and Articles

Click here to watch a recording of the 2022 Awards Ceremony.

2022 Competition First Place Winner

Surviving Ransomware – A Story of Preparation

Bruce Yellin

Surviving ransomware’s rampage is a story of preparation. No organization, whether it leverages a local data center or has operations in the cloud, is immune from a ransomware attack.

In this article, awarded 1^st Place in the 2022 Knowledge Sharing Competition, Bruce Yellin explores the current state of ransomware and its dangers. He provides real life examples of attacks, how the attacks have been or can be handled and offers valuable insight into what you can expect and ways to prepare for and survive an inevitable attack.

Grabbing the readers’ attention from the beginning, Bruce does a thorough job of explaining every piece of information related to ransomware. His use of tables and graphics throughout is a clever and engaging way to emphasize the content. Highly recommended as a valuable resource for all audiences; even those with limited knowledge of ransomware can quickly gain confidence on the topic after reading this article.

2022 Competition Second Place Winner

Quantum Supremacy: Datacenter Transformation

Sneha Venkatesh
Associate Sales Engineer Analyst
Dell Technologies

Sai Ganesh
Specialist 2, Inside Product
Dell Technologies

Parikshit Patil
Associate Sales Engineer Analyst
Dell Technologies

Quantum computing is the next great step in the data-driven revolution, according to Knowledge Sharing authors Sneha Venkatesh, Sai Ganesh, and Parikshit Patil.

This article, awarded 2nd Place in the 2022 Knowledge Sharing Competition, sets a technological and operational baseline for those new to this subject. The authors present clear differences between quantum computers and classical computers as well as a hint to what the future of the IT industry could look like with the rise of quantum computers.

2022 Competition Third Place Winner

5G Cybersecurity

Anitha Rosely
Specialist 2, Inside Product
Dell Technologies

Haseeb Makarabbi
Senior Sales Engineer Analyst
Dell Technologies

Higher data speed is top of mind when people think of 5G, but it's not the only advantage or use case 5G offers. Due to its low latency, low power consumption, and high data capacity, 5G opens many possibilities for IoT devices to be connected on a scale never seen before. However, as common to all new technology, there will always be vulnerabilities that come with it.

In this article, awarded 3rd Place in the 2022 Knowledge Sharing Competition, Anitha Rosely and Haseeb Makarabbi explore 5G attack scenarios and mitigations and detail the best way to handle all the new vulnerabilities that, if not addressed effectively, could become more dangerous in 5G.

Best of Artificial Intelligence

Conversational AI: Redefining Human Experiences

Mohammed Hashim
GTM Leader – Digital Infrastructure
Brillio

Conversational AI is a form of advanced AI that facilitates real-time human-like conversation between a human and a computer. According to Gartner, CAI adoption rates are expected to almost double over the next two to five years.

In this article, awarded Best of Artificial Intelligence in the 2022 Knowledge Sharing Competition, Mohammed Hashim presents a comprehensive analysis of the current state of CAI. He discusses the fundamentals and adoption strategy of Conversational AI, the Global CAI market, CAI technology, solution models, top platforms, practical use cases, risk mitigations and the future of CAI.

Best of Scale-out Storage

Computer Vision Applications with PowerScale

Sneha Venkatesh
Associate Sales Engineer Analyst
Dell Technologies

Sai Ganesh,
Specialist 2, Inside Product
Dell Technologies

Parikshit Patil
Associate Sales Engineer Analyst
Dell Technologies

Computer vision’s AI-based applications input huge amounts of unstructured data, consequently increasing the storage requirements for these applications.

In this article, awarded Best of Scale-out Storage in the 2022 Knowledge Sharing Competition, Sneha Venkatesh, Sai Ganesh, and Parikshit Patil examine the massive amount of data utilized for training sets, as well as data created by Deep Reinforcement Learning networks. The authors then explain how the PowerScale scale-out platform leverages its powerful processors to provide an excellent solution for storage of these large amounts of data.

2022 Articles Selected for Publishing

January
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Cyber-physical Systems Smart Data Handling	Edge	Mohamed Sohail Advisory Consultant, Data Center & Business Resiliency Dell Technologies	IoT has dramatically increased threats to critical assets. Organizations need to expand security programs to include cyber-physical systems as IoT and other devices heavily interact with many endpoints, most having a dynamically changing security profile. This article proposes a new and efficient method to overcome many of the issues being faced in the current architectural framework. The author illustrates an efficient and tested methodology of some of the main challenges, and how to address them.
SDN for Securing IoT Systems	Internet of Things	Gaushil Patrick, and Golla Venkata, and Harsha Vardhan	Conventional security measures fall short of adequately protecting IoT systems without noticeable impact on performance. This article posits a software-defined network (SDN) approach to protect the network in a more efficient and flexible way. A comprehensive survey of the security features is introduced along with discussion of improvements and challenges provided by SDN.
Decentralized Storage: Intro to Metaverse	Storage	Nidhi Shree N Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies and Sai Ganesh Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies	Since its emergence, the World Wide Web has made significant progress. This article chronicles the evolution of the web – from version 1.0 to 2.0, to 3.0 – and the future of decentralized storage in the Metaverse and Web 3.0 technology along with its key components, applications and challenges.
DARQ Technologies	Artificial Intelligence	Athira Anirudhan Inside Product Specialist 2 Dell Technologies Amal D Nair Inside Product Specialist 2 Dell Technologies and B Ranjeeth Inside Product Specialist 2 Dell Technologies	DARQ is an emerging technology touted as the catalyst in the next technology disruption to deliver new capabilities for businesses. This article deep dives into subsets of DARQ to detail how each bring their own benefits and simplicity to modern problems. The authors discuss how embracing these technologies and employing them will benefit organizations in more ways than we can imagine.

February
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Roadmap to 5G	5G	Aditya Garg Customer Experience Engineer Dell Technologies Eisha Raghav Customer Experience Engineer Dell Technologies and Samreen Abbas	The technology sector has adopted 5G to keep up with unrelenting innovation and advancement. This article offers an in-depth discussion about 5G, how it is on the road to revolutionizing every possible sector around the globe, the challenges, and ways to overcome them while using it to its full efficiency. The authors highlight the incorporation of 5G in mobile network codes (MNCs) and explore how it can affect the business as well.
Tech-Induced Easy Prescription	API	Shri Vishnu S Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies and Krithika Jagannath Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	As has occurred during the Covid-19 Pandemic, most medical consultations are held online/over a phone call, which increases the likelihood of miscommunication. This article posits a unique application-based solution to solve the problem of illegible handwritten prescriptions and a great solution to efficiently perform consultations during a pandemic such as COVID-19. The authors present an idea that will help doctors generate E-prescription by voice commands and send the same to the patient as SMS/PDF.
Swinging Between Classical and Quantum Bits	Quantum	Rajasekhar Nannapaneni Senior Principal Site Reliability Engineer Dell Technologies	Problems or use cases which can’t be solved using classical computers can be solved using quantum computers by leveraging quantum properties. Constant change of applications and their requirements necessitates flexibility in switching between Classical and Quantum Computing. This article examines the process of toggling between classical data and quantum data to solve complex and next-generation problems such as Quantum Cryptography.
APEX Cloud Economics	Cloud	Yashas Vishwas, Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies Thejushree K and Prajwala Kumar	This article covers topics that you should consider when selecting short- and long-term cloud solutions to realize better ROI on your cloud investment and how APEX cloud services is positioned to help you attain these goals. Best practices from Dell Technologies and other top cloud service providers for building a TCO model that align with the key financial stakeholders and business decision makers are also presented and discussed.

March
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Cloud Effects on Edge Computing	Cloud	Uddharsh Vasili Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies Titiksha Sahai and Sankalp Sharma Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	This article highlights the various benefits of cloud computing at edge locations for applications such as self-driving cars, healthcare, streaming services, VR/AR and smart homes. Also discussed is how Dell Technologies is leading the way in assisting industries in driving higher results through cloud offerings such as DCaaS, VCF over VxRail, and more.
HPC: The Future of Computing is Now	Data Science	Karishma R Supervisor, Inside Sales Management Dell Technologies	This article takes an in-depth look at what High Performance Computing (HPC). The author discusses how it works, its high-level architecture, where and in which industry it can be used, benefits and challenges, HPC in the cloud compared with traditional HPC, a few HPC use cases and finally Dell Technologies innovation and solutions in HPC.
ObjectScale: Next Evolution in Object Storage	Storage	Nithin Shankar Inside Product Specialist 2 Dell Technologies and Kshitij Yadav Inside Product Specialist 2 Dell Technologies	Organizations that need to store huge volumes of unstructured data should look past their present storage arrangements and assess new methodologies. This article details how the ObjectScale scale-out, software-defined object storage platform works, deployment options and how its advantages enable a high degree of adaptability, accessibility and security while controlling storage costs.
Multiple Access Technique 5G Wireless Network	Networking	Swathi Prabhu Associate Sales Engineer Analyst CXE Dell Technologies and Rajat Palkar Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	Conventional multiple access schemes, i.e. FDMA, TDMA and OFDMA, will struggle to meet the many new requests expected for 5G organizations. A new multiple access scheme must be developed which can increase the capacity of the system. This article explores how nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) will eclipse orthogonal multiple access (OMA) procedures used to allocate resources in today’s wireless networks.

April
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
A Smart Massive IIoT Upgrade Framework	Internet of Things	Mohamed Sohail Distinguished Member Technical staff Advisory Consultant, Business Resiliency Dell Technologies Mohammad Rafey Principal Software Engineer, AR Engineering Dell Technologies and Mohiey Mostafa Manager, Technical Support Dell Technologies	Managing large pools of Massive Intelligent IoT (IIoT) – i.e. deploying, maintaining, and managing software/firmware upgrades – creates a unique set of challenges. This article proposes a new and efficient method to overcome many of the issues that can arise in the current architectural framework. The authors illustrate an efficient and tested methodology of some of the main challenges, and how to address them.
ML and AI in Sports: An Overview	Artificial Intelligence	Harish Subramanian Customer eXperience Engineer – NA DPS Dell Technologies	Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning have had huge impacts on the sports industry, due to the vast amount of data and the applications of the collected data using the technology. This article highlights a few case studies to provide an overview of how AI/ML has integrated in various sports around the globe.
Container Security for Integrated Protection	Containers	Divya R Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies and Anirudh Sandur Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies	This article can serve as a keystone document for anyone looking to understand security methodologies around container architecture. It also provides a starting point to appropriately investigate container security best practices. Benefits of container security and a few use cases of VMware Carbon Black that illustrate best practices to be considered to automate DevOps with Full Lifecycle Container Security based on the environment.are also covered.
Isilon Performance Analysis - T-Analyzer	Storage	Nidhi Shree N Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies and Sai Ganesh Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies	This article explores the T-Analyzer tool and how it can aid in analysis of Isilon cluster performance metrics with the help of the logs generated using the T-Analyzer scripts. The authors discuss Post-Sales Performance Analysis, Performance Indicators Review, Understanding the Performance Metrics, and Future Enhancements.

May
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Demystifying Data Lakehouse - A New Paradigm!	Data Science	Abdul Mannan Senior Systems Engineer Dell Technologies	This article provides a brief history on the evolution of data management systems, from Data Warehouse to Data Lakes and now the Data Lakehouse. The author discusses Data Lakehouse architecture in detail, examining use cases, benefits and nuances of modern-day data management architectures.
Decentralized Application(dApp) on Blockchain	Blockchain	Karishma R Supervisor, Inside Sales Management Dell Technologies and Saran M S Application Engineer Oracle	Distributed application (dApp) developers leverage the open source model to create competitive products that connect to a distributed network, enabling users to choose and control how they interact with these applications. In essence, dApps restores power to users. This article describes aApps and their use on blockchain. The advantages and disadvantages of dApps versus traditional apps are discussed along with the 3 types of dApps. The authors explore Layer 1 and Layer 2 solutions and conclude with provide a brief summary of the future of dApps.
Robotic Fish - AI Security/Surveillance	Artificial Intelligence	Karuna K Sales Engineer Analyst Presales Center of Excellence, Dell Technologies	The vast majority of Earth’s undersea world remain a mystery as manual exploration is difficult and dangerous. An Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) is much more efficient, accurate and safe compared to humans for performing exploration. Taken further, bio-mimicked UUVs perform even better than traditional UUVs. In this article, the author describes a design of a bio-mimicked UUV – Robotic Fish – that offers versatility, incorporates greater technology and leverages a unique Fin Propulsion System that improve on design of traditional UUVs.
PowerScale Cybersecurity-Superna Airgap Guide	Storage	Lenin Ponnappa, Inside Product Specialist Shwetha L, Inside Product Specialist Dell Technologies and Prateek Bhat Inside Product Specialist Dell Technologies	This article covers the various types of threats and the importance of cyber security to fend off attacks. Ransomware attacks and types are explored, followed by a discussion on PowerScale integration with Superna Ransomware Defender to overcome ransomware and cyber threats.
When True Collaboration Means Going Global	Storage	Mathias Trocme, Sr Solutions Architect Dell Technologies Mickael Parnet, Technical Sales Representative – Compute Specialist Dell Technologies and Allan Guardini Sr Presale Specialist – Unstructured Data Division Dell Technologies	This article is relevant for any industry vertical leveraging a central repository to edit large files collaboratively while addressing and overcoming performance challenges. The authors discuss how to design and build similar architecture, along with providing valuable insight to sizing guidelines.

June
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Technology Adoption Curve	Data Science	Ravisha Khurana Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Anusha Hegde Senior Analyst, Cybersecurity Operations Dell Technologies Samriddhi Jaiswal Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	Organizations find it challenging to bridge the gap between introducing new technologies to their workforce and the willingness of team members to accept and use new tools and processes. This article explores the findings of a survey plotted to Moore’s Technology Adoption Curve to understand technology adoption patterns of a global IT company's employees – what is in it for them and how easy or hard it is to adapt to the changes.
How EDA Fits in Cloud & Edge Environments	Cloud & Edge	Poorna Prashanth Manager, Inside Sales Dell Technologies	Event Driven Architecture (EDA) is an approach to build and develop applications that asynchronously communicate or integrate with other applications and systems via events. This article provides insights on the relevance of EDA in Edge and Cloud environments and will be a valuable resource for sales teams to drive initial conversation on Edge and Cloud solutions associated with decoupled microservices.
Is Data Treatment Essential at Edge Gateway?	Data Science	Marcio Monteiro Software System Principal Engineer Dell Technologies	This article dissects the anatomy of the edge gateway to gain a better understanding of the most common architectures. It employs a historical review of the edge to discuss new roles of the edge gateway treating data for leveraging a final solution. The author engouages discussion of how data handling can be eased by adopting an operational technology (OT) approach to well-known IT problems.
APEX: The Transformative Path Ahead	Cloud	Siva shankari Chandrasekaran Site Reliability Engineer IBM	APEX, Dell’s as-a-service Cloud Portfolio offering, paves the way for digital transformation by enabling cloud advantages such as simplicity, agility, and better control. This article describes what APEX is, how to begin with Cloud Adoption, the different models available, and how it works. The authors also opine on how APEX will be a 'Game Changer'.

September
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Data Reduction Demystified	Storage	John Powell, Advisory Systems Engineer, SPS Dell Technologies Ayyaswamy Thangavel, Advisory Systems Engineer, SPS Dell Technologies and Mark Elliott, Advisory Systems Engineer, SPS Dell Technologies	Data reduction ratio (DRR) has become an important component for all-flash and hybrid primary storage solutions – specifically as it pertains to efficiency and cost. This article explains in an agnostic and product-specific manner why DRR matters, the technology, mechanics, and math behind it, along with best practices and examples on how to determine what DRR should be used when sizing a solution.
Data Protection Solution for Multi-Clouds	Cloud	Pablo Calvo, Delivery Specialist Dell Technologies Mahmoud Elsayed, Senior Consultant Dell Technologies and David Cuesta, Principal Engineer Dell Technologies	Just because data is hosted on the cloud doesn’t mean it can automatically be recovered when a disaster, user errors, application errors, ransomware, or other malicious activities occur that result in data loss. This article presents a central cloud services solution capable of adapting to different providers such as Azure Cloud and AWS Cloud that eliminates the need for new training every day as well as helps reduce the cost for additional cloud backup services.
5G: Challenges, Solutions & Future Prospects	5G	Divya Jyothi V, Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies and Lavanya Srinivasachari, Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies	This article illustrates the evolution of 5G technology, key benefits, current challenges, and Industry solutions. The authors also address future prospects/opportunities with various use case scenarios on how 5G elevates the user experience.
Data Protection in a Quantum World	Data Protection	Bharath Krishnan, Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies Adil Ameen, Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies and Sunayana Devi, Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	Are Quantum Computers of the future a boon or a bane? Machines of such capabilities may usher in a new era of cyberattacks, all on a quantum level. What does the future hold for data protection in a Quantum World? This article examines this question, beginning with a brief introduction of Quantum Computing and what makes it such a necessity despite its complexities. It then explores the possibility of Quantum Computing becoming a double-edged sword that could massively disrupt the data protection industry as it exists today.

October
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
QLC Flash: The Latest Advancement in Storage	Storage	Keith Veigas Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies and Ritesh Agarwal Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	This article addresses the advantages of Quad Level Cells (QLCs) – the highest cell density of NAND flash – and examines under which workloads they will work best. QLC applications and characteristics are also discussed.
Serverless Computing: The Future Opportunities	Server	Tejesh V Inside Product Specialist Dell Technologies	Serverless does not mean that the there are no Servers. Serverless is a cloud-native development methodology that enables developers to create and execute apps without having to worry about managing servers. This article discusses Serverless Architecture, advantages and disadvantages, how Serverless computing is used for business, and future opportunities.
AIoT with Edge Computing in the 5G Era	Edge	Arathy Jeevan Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies and Vinesh Garimella Associate Sales Engineer Analyst Dell Technologies	IoT and AI combined may emerge as the next ‘smart revolution’. With advancements in 5G and Edge computing, AIoT systems will open doors to a new era of a data-driven world. This article explores the benefits, disadvantages, and security concerns of AIoT with Edge computing in the 5G Era.
How IT Changes to Advance Sustainability	Cloud	Mikhail Gloukhovtsev	Increasingly, companies are recognizing and embracing the realization that developing sustainable IT strategy can help them reduce their environmental impact. In this wide-ranging article, Mikhail Gloukhovtsev explores many thoughtful topics and offers insights and recommendations that will help readers develop and implement environmentally-friendly IT services.

November
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Trace ESXiHost in UCS Domain Using PowerShell	Virtualization	Dinesh Shaw Senior Principal Systems Development Engineer Dell Technologies	This article provides a PowerShell-based solution – with step-by-step instruction – that automates tracing and identification a UCS Server’s physical location within minutes, enabling System Administrators to take swift and appropriate action. This handy tool drastically reduces traditional manual effort, saving time and money.
Smart Power Management for Data Centers	Data Center	B Ranjeeth Specialist 2, Inside Product Dell Technologies and Karishma R Supervisor, Inside Sales Management Dell Technologies	Modern data center size has expanded exponentially leading to an upsurge in power consumption rates of data centers. This article highlights the necessity for intelligent power management in data centers. The authors discuss Advanced Characteristics of Intelligent Power Management, Smart Load Shedding, Integrated Management ability, Branch Circuit Protection, Three-Phase Power, and the benefits of Intelligent power management.
NetWorker Backup of IP-less DAG	Storage	Andreas Balthasar Service Consultant DextraData GmbH	This article proposes a best-practice for backing up an IP-less Microsoft Exchange Database Availability Group (DAG) with Dell EMC NetWorker. Using the current solution, if the selected Exchange node is down backup is no longer possible for the entire DAG unless backup is manually activated on another node. The solution in this article describes how to perform backups, even when nodes are down.
CloudIQ and Its Impact on APEX	Cloud	Kevin Paul Raj Customer Experience Engineer Dell Technologies Ryan Dsouza Customer Experience Engineer Dell Technologies and Pramod J Customer Experience Engineer Dell Technologies	This article details CloudIQ, the cloud-based proactive monitoring and predictive analytics application for Dell systems and its possible impact on APEX, Dell Technologies’ portfolio of as-a-Service offerings. The authors explore the impact that CloudIQ could have on APEX as a tool, how it would benefit stakeholders and the advantages to using such a tool with your infrastructure.

December
Title	Category	Author(s)	Summary
Computer Vision for Daily Tasks	Artificial Intelligence	Aditya Sharma Customer Experience Engineer Dell Technologies	Computer Vision is a subfield of Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence where humans teach computers to see and interpret the world around them. While humans and animals naturally solve problems using vision from a very young age, helping machines interpret and perceive their surroundings via vision is at the heart of computer vision. This article explores scenarios – healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, construction, and agriculture where computer vision can be applied and implemented.
Ubiquitous Computing	Security	Ashwani Kumar Customer Experience Engineer, Data Protection Dell Technologies Honey S Customer Experience Engineer, Data Protection Dell Technologies and Vibha Choudhary	Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp) is rapidly evolving and becoming an integrated part of solutions in numerous application domains. This article considers threats and their solutions for strengthening network security for Ubicomp. The authors cover a sampling of the main security solutions, i.e. how to achieve real-time network intrusion for data protection, device reliability, network Intrusion and authentication.
Rescuing Recycling	Green	Bruce Yellin	IT plays a major role in recycling by enabling companies to convert waste into new raw materials. This article discusses how recycling works, problems we face, its economic realities, and how computer science and other technologies are keys to its rescue. The science and economics of recycling is introduced, and how IT disciplines such as artificial intelligence, optical scanning, and more are making strides in rescuing recycling and protecting our planet.
Starting a Storage Conversation	Storage	Hok Pui Chan Sr. Systems Engineer Storage Platforms and Solutions Dell Technologies	Become a trusted advisor and the “go-to’ person for your customer’s problems. This article raises common storage topics and provides discussion points and some insights for follow-up questions in a storage discussion. Gaining a holistic view of your customer's requirements will help you architect the correct storage solution for them.