Linda Musthaler
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Linda Musthaler
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NetBeez helps narrow down root causes of issues in virtual environments
Ryan Riffle is the network manager for an insurance firm with just under 2,000 employees. The company operates a primary data center, plus another for disaster recovery, to serve two major offices in the south-central US and smaller branches around the country. Three years ago, the company installed a software-defined network based on VMware NSX technology, and now more than 99% of the network operates in a virtual environment.The flexibility of the software-defined network provides a lot of benefits. Riffle says the company was able to improve its security posture with micro-segmentation for business applications at the virtual layer. (The company does not allow use of its name for the appearance of endorsing any product or vendor.) What’s more, there is no longer a need to have physical third-party appliances that had to be managed differently from the virtual server environment. They were able to remove physical devices, including a hardware firewall, routers and load balancers.To read this article in full, please click here
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Survey: Digital transformation can reveal network weaknesses
Digital transformation is a catch-all phrase that describes the process of using technology to modernize or even revolutionize how services are delivered to customers. Not only technology but also people and processes commonly undergo fundamental changes for the ultimate goal of significantly improving business performance.Such transformations have become so mainstream that IDC estimated that 40% of all technology spending now goes toward digital transformation projects, with enterprises spending in excess of $2 trillion on their efforts through 2019.To read this article in full, please click here
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A new spin on interconnects for colocation data centers
It has been almost a year since I first wrote about Stateless, Inc., a startup devoted to bringing software-defined interconnects (SD-IX) to colocation data centers. At that time, the company was just announcing its plans to reinvent the means to connect workloads across data centers, hyperscale clouds and on-premises footprints using SD-IX. The intent was to give colo service providers a simpler way to quickly deploy network services for their tenants. Those plans have come to fruition and the company has announced the general availability (GA) of its Luxon SD-IX platform.To read this article in full, please click here
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A new spin on interconnects for colocation data centers
It has been almost a year since I first wrote about Stateless, Inc., a startup devoted to bringing software-defined interconnects (SD-IX) to colocation data centers. At that time, the company was just announcing its plans to reinvent the means to connect workloads across data centers, hyperscale clouds and on-premises footprints using SD-IX. The intent was to give colo service providers a simpler way to quickly deploy network services for their tenants. Those plans have come to fruition and the company has announced the general availability (GA) of its Luxon SD-IX platform.To read this article in full, please click here
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SASE is more than a buzzword for BioIVT
It seems the latest buzzword coming from those analysts at Gartner is SASE (pronounced “sassy”), which stands for “Secure Access Service Edge.” Network World has published several articles recently to explain what SASE is (and perhaps isn’t). See Matt Conran’s The evolution to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is being driven by necessity as well as Zeus Kerravala’s article How SD-WAN is evolving into Secure Access Service Edge.To read this article in full, please click here
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SASE is more than a buzzword for BioIVT
It seems the latest buzzword coming from those analysts at Gartner is SASE (pronounced “sassy”), which stands for “Secure Access Service Edge.” Network World has published several articles recently to explain what SASE is (and perhaps isn’t). See Matt Conran’s The evolution to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is being driven by necessity as well as Zeus Kerravala’s article How SD-WAN is evolving into Secure Access Service Edge.To read this article in full, please click here
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A VPN service that gets around the Great Firewall of China legally
The saying goes that China is the world’s factory. For many companies around the world, their products or components of their products are produced in mainland China. At the same time, China’s population of more than a billion people makes it one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Thus, for either production or sales, many companies want to do business in China and have established facilities there.On the networking front, this means that multinational companies need to extend their wide area network into China to support their large or rapidly growing operations—and that’s easier said than done.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] Many organizations had done this using VPNs, but in early 2018, the Chinese government placed restrictions on IPsec traffic to basically block it from going in and out of the country. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said these restrictions are in accordance with the China Cross-border Data Telecommunications Industry Alliance (CDTIA), which was created to regulate cross-border data communication.To read this article in full, please click here
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A VPN service that gets around the Great Firewall of China legally
The saying goes that China is the world’s factory. For many companies around the world, their products or components of their products are produced in mainland China. At the same time, China’s population of more than a billion people makes it one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Thus, for either production or sales, many companies want to do business in China and have established facilities there.On the networking front, this means that multinational companies need to extend their wide area network into China to support their large or rapidly growing operations—and that’s easier said than done.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] Many organizations had done this using VPNs, but in early 2018, the Chinese government placed restrictions on IPsec traffic to basically block it from going in and out of the country. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said these restrictions are in accordance with the China Cross-border Data Telecommunications Industry Alliance (CDTIA), which was created to regulate cross-border data communication.To read this article in full, please click here
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An SD-WAN service that gets around the Great Firewall of China legally
The saying goes that China is the world’s factory. For many companies around the world, their products or components of their products are produced in mainland China. At the same time, China’s population of more than a billion people makes it one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Thus, for either production or sales, many companies want to do business in China and have established facilities there.On the networking front, this means that multinational companies need to extend their wide area network into China to support their large or rapidly growing operations—and that’s easier said than done.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] Many organizations had done this using VPNs, but in early 2018, the Chinese government placed restrictions on IPsec traffic to basically block it from going in and out of the country. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said these restrictions are in accordance with the China Cross-border Data Telecommunications Industry Alliance (CDTIA), which was created to regulate cross-border data communication.To read this article in full, please click here
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An SD-WAN service that gets around the Great Firewall of China legally
The saying goes that China is the world’s factory. For many companies around the world, their products or components of their products are produced in mainland China. At the same time, China’s population of more than a billion people makes it one of the world’s largest consumer markets. Thus, for either production or sales, many companies want to do business in China and have established facilities there.On the networking front, this means that multinational companies need to extend their wide area network into China to support their large or rapidly growing operations—and that’s easier said than done.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] Many organizations had done this using VPNs, but in early 2018, the Chinese government placed restrictions on IPsec traffic to basically block it from going in and out of the country. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said these restrictions are in accordance with the China Cross-border Data Telecommunications Industry Alliance (CDTIA), which was created to regulate cross-border data communication.To read this article in full, please click here
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Tokalabs Software Defined Labs automates configuration of lab test-beds
Network environments have become so complex that companies such as systems integrators, equipment manufacturers and enterprise organizations feel compelled to test their configurations and equipment in lab environments before deployment. Performance test labs are used extensively for quality, proof of concept, customer support, and technical sales initiatives. Labs are the perfect place to see how well something performs before it’s put into a production environment.The primary challenge of running a test lab is the amount of time it takes to provision the test environments. A network lab infrastructure might include switches, routers, servers, virtual machines running on various server clusters, security services, cloud resources, software and so on. It takes considerable time to wire the configurations, physically build the desired test beds, login to each individual device and load the proper software configurations. Quite often, lab staffers spend more time on setup than they do on conducting actual tests.To read this article in full, please click here
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Get ready for the convergence of IT and OT networking and security
Most IT networking professionals are so busy with their day-to-day responsibilities that they don’t have time to consider taking on more work. But for companies with an industrial component, there’s an elephant in the room that is clamoring for attention. I’m talking about the increasingly common convergence of IT and operational technology (OT) networking and security.Traditionally, IT and OT have had very separate roles in an organization. IT is typically tasked with moving data between computers and humans, whereas OT is tasked with moving data between “things,” such as sensors, actuators, smart machines, and other devices to enhance manufacturing and industrial processes. Not only were the roles for IT and OT completely separate, but their technologies and networks were, too.To read this article in full, please click here
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Get ready for the convergence of IT and OT networking and security
Most IT networking professionals are so busy with their day-to-day responsibilities that they don’t have time to consider taking on more work. But for companies with an industrial component, there’s an elephant in the room that is clamoring for attention. I’m talking about the increasingly common convergence of IT and operational technology (OT) networking and security.Traditionally, IT and OT have had very separate roles in an organization. IT is typically tasked with moving data between computers and humans, whereas OT is tasked with moving data between “things,” such as sensors, actuators, smart machines, and other devices to enhance manufacturing and industrial processes. Not only were the roles for IT and OT completely separate, but their technologies and networks were, too.To read this article in full, please click here
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Tempered Networks simplifies secure network connectivity and microsegmentation
The TCP/IP protocol is the foundation of the internet and pretty much every single network out there. The protocol was designed 45 years ago and was originally only created for connectivity. There’s nothing in the protocol for security, mobility, or trusted authentication.The fundamental problem with TCP/IP is that the IP address within the protocol represents both the device location and the device identity on a network. This dual functionality of the address lacks the basic mechanisms for security and mobility of devices on a network.This is one of the reasons networks are so complicated today. To connect to things on a network or over the internet, you need VPNs, firewalls, routers, cell modems, etc. and you have all the configurations that come with ACLs, VLANs, certificates, and so on. The nightmare grows exponentially when you factor in internet of things (IoT) device connectivity and security. It’s all unsustainable at scale.To read this article in full, please click here
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Tempered Networks simplifies secure network connectivity and microsegmentation
The TCP/IP protocol is the foundation of the internet and pretty much every single network out there. The protocol was designed 45 years ago and was originally only created for connectivity. There’s nothing in the protocol for security, mobility, or trusted authentication.The fundamental problem with TCP/IP is that the IP address within the protocol represents both the device location and the device identity on a network. This dual functionality of the address lacks the basic mechanisms for security and mobility of devices on a network.This is one of the reasons networks are so complicated today. To connect to things on a network or over the internet, you need VPNs, firewalls, routers, cell modems, etc. and you have all the configurations that come with ACLs, VLANs, certificates, and so on. The nightmare grows exponentially when you factor in internet of things (IoT) device connectivity and security. It’s all unsustainable at scale.To read this article in full, please click here
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Teridion’s entry in the MNS market supports enterprise wide-area networking
A few months ago, I wrote about the managed network services (MNS) market as the evolutionary direction of the network carrier. One of the companies that plays in this space is Teridion, with a service called Teridion for Enterprise. It’s a global WAN service with some unique capabilities to support performance and reliability that enterprises can really appreciate.Teridion for Enterprise is a cloud-centric solution all the way. The network is built in the cloud, and customers use commodity edge devices such as SD-WAN appliances or Cisco ISR boxes to connect. Customers request services, make changes and set policies through an easy and contemporary user interface; they pay only for the capacity they use; and all maintenance and management is completely handled by Teridion.To read this article in full, please click here
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Allied Telesis turns its networking focus to the U.S. market
I recently had the opportunity to talk to Mark Wutzke, chief solution architect with Allied Telesis, to learn about the company’s smart networking offerings. Perhaps you, like me, don’t know much about this networking company, though it’s been in business since 1987. That might be because the global company, until recently, has focused its efforts outside the U.S. However, that focus is beginning to change, so I wanted to learn what the company brings to the table that enterprises would be interested in.First, a little background on the company. Allied Telesis is headquartered in both Japan and the U.S. The company has global R&D centers and manufactures its own products. Among the products are intelligent switches and stackable chassis, industrial switches, wireless solutions, firewalls and routers, optics, NICs and media converters—basically end-to-end solutions from edge to core for LAN, WLAN and WAN. In addition, Allied Telesis writes its own operating system software for its equipment, as well as the network management software that provides many of the smart networking features the company is touting today.To read this article in full, please click here
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Beyond SD-WAN: VMware’s vision for the network edge
VeloCloud is now a Business Unit within VMware since being acquired in December 2017. The two companies have had sufficient time to integrate their operations and fit their technologies together to build a cohesive offering. In January, Neal Weinberg provided an overview of where VMware is headed with its reinvention. Now let’s look at it from the VeloCloud SD-WAN perspective.I recently talked to Sanjay Uppal, vice president and general manager of the VeloCloud Business Unit. He shared with me where VeloCloud is heading, adding that it’s all possible because of the complementary products that VMware brings to VeloCloud’s table.To read this article in full, please click here
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Meta Networks builds user security into its Network-as-a-Service
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is growing in popularity and availability for those organizations that don’t want to host their own LAN or WAN, or that want to complement or replace their traditional network with something far easier to manage.With NaaS, a service provider creates a multi-tenant wide area network comprised of geographically dispersed points of presence (PoPs) connected via high-speed Tier 1 carrier links that create the network backbone. The PoPs peer with cloud services to facilitate customer access to cloud applications such as SaaS offerings, as well as to infrastructure services from the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft. User organizations connect to the network from whatever facilities they have — data centers, branch offices, or even individual client devices — typically via SD-WAN appliances and/or VPNs.To read this article in full, please click here
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Meta Networks builds user security into its Network-as-a-Service
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) is growing in popularity and availability for those organizations that don’t want to host their own LAN or WAN, or that want to complement or replace their traditional network with something far easier to manage.With NaaS, a service provider creates a multi-tenant wide area network comprised of geographically dispersed points of presence (PoPs) connected via high-speed Tier 1 carrier links that create the network backbone. The PoPs peer with cloud services to facilitate customer access to cloud applications such as SaaS offerings, as well as to infrastructure services from the likes of Amazon, Google and Microsoft. User organizations connect to the network from whatever facilities they have — data centers, branch offices, or even individual client devices — typically via SD-WAN appliances and/or VPNs.To read this article in full, please click here