The internet of things (IoT) is a catch-all term for the growing number of electronics that aren't traditional computing devices, but are connected to the internet to send data, receive instructions or both.There's an incredibly broad range of ‘things’ that fall under the IoT umbrella: Internet-connected ‘smart’ versions of traditional appliances such as refrigerators and light bulbs; gadgets that could only exist in an internet-enabled world such as Alexa-style digital assistants; and internet-enabled sensors that are transforming factories, healthcare, transportation, distribution centers and farms.What is the internet of things?
The IoT brings internet connectivity, data processing and analytics to the world of physical objects. For consumers, this means interacting with the global information network without the intermediary of a keyboard and screen (Alexa, for example).To read this article in full, please click here
For the most part the dire warnings about running out of internet addresses have ceased because, slowly but surely, migration from the world of Internet Protocol Version 4 (IPv4) to IPv6 has begun, and software is in place to prevent the address apocalypse that many were predicting.But before we see where are and where we’re going with IPv6, let’s go back to the early days of internet addressing.What is IPv6 and why is it important?
IPv6 is the latest version of the Internet Protocol, which identifies devices across the internet so they can be located. Every device that uses the internet is identified through its own IP address in order for internet communication to work. In that respect, it’s just like the street addresses and zip codes you need to know in order to mail a letter.To read this article in full, please click here
Did you ever order something online from a distant retailer and then track the package as it makes strange and seemingly illogical stops all over the country?That’s similar to the way IP routing on the Internet works. When an internet router receives an IP packet, that packet carries no information beyond a destination IP address. There is no instruction on how that packet should get to its destination or how it should be treated along the way.Each router has to make an independent forwarding decision for each packet based solely on the packet’s network-layer header. Thus, every time a packet arrives at a router, the router has to “think through” where to send the packet next. The router does this by referring to complex routing tables.To read this article in full, please click here
Hyperconvergence is an IT framework that combines storage, computing and networking into a single system in an effort to reduce data center complexity and increase scalability.Hyperconverged platforms include a hypervisor for virtualized computing, software-defined storage, and virtualized networking. They typically run on standard, off-the-shelf servers and multiple nodes can be clustered to create pools of shared compute and storage resources, designed for convenient consumption.The use of commodity hardware, supported by a single vendor, yields an infrastructure that's designed to be more flexible and simpler to manage than traditional enterprise storage infrastructure. For IT leaders who are embarking on data center modernization projects, hyperconvergence can provide the agility of public cloud infrastructure without relinquishing control of hardware on their own premises.To read this article in full, please click here
An IP address is a long string of numbers assigned to every device connected to a network that uses Internet Protocol as the medium for communication; it’s the digital world’s equivalent of the mailing address associated with your home or workplace.The way Internet Protocol works is that information is transmitted over the network in discrete chunks called packets; each packet is mostly made up of whatever data the sender is trying to communicate, but also includes a header, consisting of metadata about that packet.Among other pieces of data stored in the packet header are the IP address of the device that sent the packet and the IP address of device where the packet is heading. Routers and other network infrastructure use this information to make sure the packets get to where they’re supposed to go.To read this article in full, please click here
The internet of things (IoT) is a catch-all term for the growing number of electronics that aren't traditional computing devices, but are connected to the internet to send data, receive instructions or both.There's an incredibly broad range of ‘things’ that fall under the IoT umbrella: Internet-connected ‘smart’ versions of traditional appliances such as refrigerators and light bulbs; gadgets that could only exist in an internet-enabled world such as Alexa-style digital assistants; and internet-enabled sensors that are transforming factories, healthcare, transportation, distribution centers and farms.What is the internet of things?
The IoT brings internet connectivity, data processing and analytics to the world of physical objects. For consumers, this means interacting with the global information network without the intermediary of a keyboard and screen (Alexa, for example).To read this article in full, please click here
Electronics on missiles and military helicopters need to survive extreme conditions. Before any of that physical hardware can be deployed, defense contractor McCormick Stevenson Corp. simulates the real-world conditions it will endure, relying on finite element analysis software like Ansys, which requires significant computing power.Then one day a few years ago, it unexpectedly ran up against its computing limits.10 of the world's fastest supercomputers
"We had some jobs that would have overwhelmed the computers that we had in office," says Mike Krawczyk, principal engineer at McCormick Stevenson. "It did not make economic or schedule sense to buy a machine and install software." Instead, the company contracted with Rescale, which could sell them cycles on a supercomputer-class system for a tiny fraction of what they would've spent on new hardware.To read this article in full, please click here
Beamforming is a technique that focuses a wireless signal towards a specific receiving device, rather than having the signal spread in all directions from a broadcast antenna, as it normally would. The resulting more direct connection is faster and more reliable than it would be without beamforming.Although the principles of beamforming have been known since the 1940s, in recent years beamforming technologies have introduced incremental improvements in Wi-Fi networking. Today, beamforming is crucial to the 5G networks that are just beginning to roll out.To read this article in full, please click here
The next step in the evolution of wireless WAN communications - 5G networks - is about to hit the front pages, and for good reason: it will complete the evolution of cellular from wireline augmentation to wireline replacement, and strategically from mobile-first to mobile-only.To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)
5G wireless is an umbrella term to describe a set of standards and technologies for a radically faster wireless internet that ideally is up to 20 times faster with 120 times less latency than 4G, setting the stage for IoT networking advances and support for new high-bandwidth applications.What is 5G? Technology or buzzword?
It will be years before the technology reaches its full potential worldwide, but meanwhile some 5G network services are being rolled out today. 5G is as much a marketing buzzword as a technical term, and not all services marketed as 5G are standard.To read this article in full, please click here
Kids these daysImage by Ólafur Páll GeirssonThe National Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (NCCDC) is an annual event that seeks to get college students involved in cybersecurity. This year, as usual, the kids were playing defense, but many of the competitors had certain black-hat incidents in their past, having hacked systems as varied as insulin pump, a connect avionics system, and a beer kegerator.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Kids these daysImage by Ólafur Páll GeirssonThe National Collegiate Cybersecurity Competition (NCCDC) is an annual event that seeks to get college students involved in cybersecurity. This year, as usual, the kids were playing defense, but many of the competitors had certain black-hat incidents in their past, having hacked systems as varied as insulin pump, a connect avionics system, and a beer kegerator.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It would sure make things simple if there was one easy and obvious way to get a job or start a successful business in IT security. But it would also cut off a lot of potential career paths. We spoke to a host of different IT security pros and found that indeed there wasn't just one route to that coveted job.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Rickety branchesImage by PexelsYour gleaming corporate headquarters, filled with brand-new computers, may be what's on the front page of the company website, but we all know that in many large organizations, much of the day-to-day work happens in local branch offices, often small, poorly equipped, and understaffed. And of course, many companies and workers are embracing the flexibility offered by the internet to work at home full time. But these satellite worksites can end up causing big headaches for tech pros tasked with keeping company assets secure. We talked to a number of tech pros to find out more about the dangers—and the solutions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Rickety branchesImage by PexelsYour gleaming corporate headquarters, filled with brand-new computers, may be what's on the front page of the company website, but we all know that in many large organizations, much of the day-to-day work happens in local branch offices, often small, poorly equipped, and understaffed. And of course, many companies and workers are embracing the flexibility offered by the internet to work at home full time. But these satellite worksites can end up causing big headaches for tech pros tasked with keeping company assets secure. We talked to a number of tech pros to find out more about the dangers—and the solutions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When the story broke a week before the election about Macedonian teenagers creating fake pro-Trump news stories in order to harvest ad clicks, it triggered a serious feeling of déjà vu among those who work in cybersecurity.Scrappy bands of shady Eastern Europeans entrepreneurs taking advantages of weaknesses in our tech infrastructure to make a buck, and maybe fulfill sinister more designs? The debate over fake news is roiling the political world, but elements of it look very familiar to tech veterans—and represent a potentially new attack vector that IT needs to worry about.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
When the story broke a week before the election about Macedonian teenagers creating fake pro-Trump news stories in order to harvest ad clicks, it triggered a serious feeling of déjà vu among those who work in cybersecurity.Scrappy bands of shady Eastern Europeans entrepreneurs taking advantages of weaknesses in our tech infrastructure to make a buck, and maybe fulfill sinister more designs? The debate over fake news is roiling the political world, but elements of it look very familiar to tech veterans—and represent a potentially new attack vector that IT needs to worry about.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Getting the gang togetherImage by ThinkstockLast month, I presented you a chamber of horrors—the worst people you meet doing IT security, many of them your friends and, sadly, co-workers. But I don't like to dwell on the negative! So I asked a slew of IT pros about the best people, the ones they want on their side when facing down the toughest security challenges. There are a number of important roles to fill, and I'm not just talking about job titles: I mean attitudes, and abilities that verge on superpowers. IT security is a team sport, so who do you want on your team?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Getting the gang togetherImage by ThinkstockLast month, I presented you a chamber of horrors—the worst people you meet doing IT security, many of them your friends and, sadly, co-workers. But I don't like to dwell on the negative! So I asked a slew of IT pros about the best people, the ones they want on their side when facing down the toughest security challenges. There are a number of important roles to fill, and I'm not just talking about job titles: I mean attitudes, and abilities that verge on superpowers. IT security is a team sport, so who do you want on your team?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Set and forgetImage by ThinkstockWe talked to a host of tech experts about the state of security in the internet of things world, and found out the good, the bad, and the very ugly.Under attack by ... cameras?Image by ThinkstockTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Josh Fruhlinger