Four Cisco Systems executives who led “spin-in” ventures that became important parts of the company have resigned.The longtime leaders decided to leave the company on June 17 because of “a disconnect regarding roles, responsibilities and charter” after a new Cisco business unit was announced, according to an internal memo posted Monday by CEO Chuck Robbins and seen by IDG News Service. The move was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.Engineers Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain and Luca Cafiero, and marketer Soni Jiandani, nicknamed “MPLS” after their first initials, started several companies with Cisco’s backing that later were absorbed back into the networking giant. The companies included Andiamo Networks in storage, Nuova Systems in data-center switching and Insieme Networks in SDN (software-defined networking).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Nest co-founder and CEO Tony Fadell is leaving the company, a move that may mark a shift in strategy for one of the early stars of the Internet of Things.Fadell founded the startup, which makes connected thermostats and other smart-home gear, in 2011 with co-founder Matt Rogers. Google bought Nest in 2014. In a blog post on Friday, Fadell didn’t say much about why he was leaving but said he would become an advisor to Alphabet, the parent company of Nest and Google, and its CEO, Larry Page.The resignation came after news reports that said Nest was suffering from internal turmoil. In his parting note, Fadell said the company was growing fast and had a bright future.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Internet of Things is no good without a way to act on the data it generates. A new partnership between two of the biggest IoT players promises to put smart collection and advanced analysis of data right where it’s needed.IBM and Cisco Systems have worked out how to run components of IBM’s Watson IoT analytics on Cisco edge devices. This will bring more intelligence closer to where the action is, helping enterprises run things like factories and oil rigs more efficiently.MORE: 10 Internet of Things Companies to WatchTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The latest entrant in the Internet of Things is legendary gaming company Atari, which plans to make consumer devices that communicate over the SigFox low-power network.The devices will be for homes, pets, lifestyle, and safety. Over the SigFox network, users will be able to see the location and status of their devices at all times, the companies said. They’re set to go into production this year.The Atari brand dates back to the 1970s, when the company introduced the early video game Pong and went on to make a series of popular video games and consoles. The company in its current form hasn’t been selling any form of hardware.SigFox is one of several startups building specialized networks for IoT devices. Its technology is designed to carry tiny amounts of data in two directions with low-power consumption so small, battery-operated devices can run for years without recharging.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Juniper Networks’ Unite architecture is living up to its name, bringing more enterprise network gear into its system for simplified management and scaling.The latest additions to the lineup are entry-level and midrange access switches that also include other features for ease of use.Unite, introduced last year for the EX9200 core switches and other Juniper and third-party components, is designed to help enterprises turn their own infrastructure into private clouds and link those to public clouds in a hybrid architecture. It’s built around Junos Fusion Enterprise software, which collapses multiple network layers into one for simpler management. That gives administrators a single point of management.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Juniper Networks’ Unite architecture is living up to its name, bringing more enterprise network gear into its system for simplified management and scaling.The latest additions to the lineup are entry-level and midrange access switches that also include other features for ease of use.Unite, introduced last year for the EX9200 core switches and other Juniper and third-party components, is designed to help enterprises turn their own infrastructure into private clouds and link those to public clouds in a hybrid architecture. It’s built around Junos Fusion Enterprise software, which collapses multiple network layers into one for simpler management. That gives administrators a single point of management.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The thousands of endpoints in IoT systems may have to protect themselves against thousands of dangers. A decades-old IT lab wants to tell you if they’re up to the task.On Wednesday, ICSA Labs announced a program to test the security features of IoT devices and sensors. If the products pass, ICSA will give them a seal of approval. It can also keep testing them periodically to make sure they’re still safe.Consumers and enterprises are wary about security in the Internet of Things, where hardware, software and even use cases are brand new in many cases. Tiny connected devices that run all the time in the background could be vulnerable to completely new kinds of attacks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The thousands of endpoints in IoT systems may have to protect themselves against thousands of dangers. A decades-old IT lab wants to tell you if they’re up to the task.On Wednesday, ICSA Labs announced a program to test the security features of IoT devices and sensors. If the products pass, ICSA will give them a seal of approval. It can also keep testing them periodically to make sure they’re still safe.Consumers and enterprises are wary about security in the Internet of Things, where hardware, software and even use cases are brand new in many cases. Tiny connected devices that run all the time in the background could be vulnerable to completely new kinds of attacks.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Satellite-based data centers with room for petabytes of data may start orbiting Earth as early as 2019. But when it comes to keeping secrets safe from the long arm of the law, the black void may not be far enough.Cloud Constellation, a startup in Los Angeles, is looking upward to give companies and governments direct access to their data from anywhere in the world. Its data centers on satellites would let users bypass the Internet and the thousands of miles of fiber their bits now have to traverse in order to circle the globe. And instead of just transporting data, the company’s satellites would store it, too.The pitch goes like this: Data centers and cables on Earth are susceptible to hacking and to national regulations covering things like government access to information. They can also slow data down as it goes through switches and from one carrier to another, and all those carriers need to get paid.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Satellite-based data centers with room for petabytes of data may start orbiting Earth as early as 2019. But when it comes to keeping secrets safe from the long arm of the law, the black void may not be far enough.Cloud Constellation, a startup in Los Angeles, is looking upward to give companies and governments direct access to their data from anywhere in the world. Its data centers on satellites would let users bypass the Internet and the thousands of miles of fiber their bits now have to traverse in order to circle the globe. And instead of just transporting data, the company’s satellites would store it, too.The pitch goes like this: Data centers and cables on Earth are susceptible to hacking and to national regulations covering things like government access to information. They can also slow data down as it goes through switches and from one carrier to another, and all those carriers need to get paid.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you manage your whole LAN in the cloud, why not add in the desk phones, too?That's what Cisco's Meraki division has done. Its first phone, the MC74, can be managed on the same dashboard Meraki provides for its switches, Wi-Fi access points, security devices, and other infrastructure.Cisco bought Meraki in 2012 when it was a startup focused on cloud-managed Wi-Fi. The wireless gear remains, but Cisco took the cloud management concept and ran with it. Now Meraki’s approach is the model for Cisco’s whole portfolio.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
If you manage your whole LAN in the cloud, why not add in the desk phones, too?That's what Cisco's Meraki division has done. Its first phone, the MC74, can be managed on the same dashboard Meraki provides for its switches, Wi-Fi access points, security devices, and other infrastructure.Cisco bought Meraki in 2012 when it was a startup focused on cloud-managed Wi-Fi. The wireless gear remains, but Cisco took the cloud management concept and ran with it. Now Meraki’s approach is the model for Cisco’s whole portfolio.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Oracle and Google’s fierce court fight over the code inside Android went to a jury on Monday after closing arguments that sharply differed on the most basic issues.
The federal jury in San Francisco is now deciding whether Google’s use of copyrighted Java code constitutes fair use, an exemption that would free the company from having to pay Oracle damages.
At issue is "declaring code" that's part of 37 Java APIs Google used. Google says it simply used selected parts of Java to create something new in the form of Android.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Economic uncertainty is still putting a damper on some network spending, and that won't change in the next few months, Cisco Systems said Wednesday.The dominant networking vendor reported slightly higher sales for the three months ended April 30 but said enterprises remained cautious about replacing LANs that still work. That continues a trend the company identified in February, the last time it posted financial results.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 15 more useful Cisco sites
At that time, Cisco cited January's stock-market fluctuations. Stocks have regained ground since then, but orders for campus network gear haven’t rebounded, CEO Chuck Robbins said Wednesday. Overall switching revenue was down 3 percent in the quarter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Economic uncertainty is still putting a damper on some network spending, and that won't change in the next few months, Cisco Systems said Wednesday.The dominant networking vendor reported slightly higher sales for the three months ended April 30 but said enterprises remained cautious about replacing LANs that still work. That continues a trend the company identified in February, the last time it posted financial results.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: 15 more useful Cisco sites
At that time, Cisco cited January's stock-market fluctuations. Stocks have regained ground since then, but orders for campus network gear haven’t rebounded, CEO Chuck Robbins said Wednesday. Overall switching revenue was down 3 percent in the quarter.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Microsoft has come out against a proposal for the U.K. to leave the European Union, joining other tech giants that oppose the controversial measure.The so-called Brexit (Britain exit) referendum will ask U.K. voters on June 23 whether the country should leave the 28-state EU. Proponents say membership in the union has hurt Britain’s economy and opens the country up to too much immigration.Boris Johnson, London’s colorful former mayor, has compared the EU to Hitler. Polls suggest the vote may be tight.IBM, Cisco Systems, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise also oppose Brexit. As multinational companies, they often rely on flows of capital and employees across borders.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A cheaper alternative to DRAM just took a step closer to enterprise data centers as IBM unveiled a way to make it more dense.PCM (phase-change memory) is one of a handful of emerging technologies that aim to be faster than flash and less expensive than DRAM. They could give enterprises and consumers faster access to data at lower cost, but there are challenges to overcome before that happens.Density is one of those, and IBM says it’s achieved a new high in that area with a version of PCM that can fit three bits on each cell. That’s 50 percent more than the company showed off in 2011 with a two-bit form of PCM. Greater density lets IBM squeeze more capacity out of what is still a pricey technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A cheaper alternative to DRAM just took a step closer to enterprise data centers as IBM unveiled a way to make it more dense.
PCM (phase-change memory) is one of a handful of emerging technologies that aim to be faster than flash and less expensive than DRAM. They could give enterprises and consumers faster access to data at lower cost, but there are challenges to overcome before that happens.
Density is one of those, and IBM says it’s achieved a new high in that area with a version of PCM that can fit three bits on each cell. That’s 50 percent more than the company showed off in 2011 with a two-bit form of PCM. Greater density lets IBM squeeze more capacity out of what is still a pricey technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
See what IoT movers and shakers are looking at this weekImage by Stephen LawsonThe Internet of Things World show in Silicon Valley this week is a showcase for a lot of hard-core enterprise technologies, plus some connected objects for consumers. A lot of what’s on show took two or more companies to put together, highlighting the importance of partnerships and ecosystems in IoT.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
IT professionals are looking to software-defined networking to automate what are still complex and vulnerable systems controlled by human engineers. Major General Sarah Zabel knows where they’re coming from.Zabel is the vice director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), which provides IT support for all U.S. combat operations. Soldiers, officers, drones, and the president all rely on DISA to stay connected. Its network is the epitome of a system that’s both a headache to manage and a prime hacking target.Zabel was a featured speaker on Tuesday at the Open Networking User Group conference, a Silicon Valley gathering of enterprise IT leaders who want to steer vendors toward technologies that meet their real needs. Members include large retailers, financial institutions, and manufacturers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Stephen Lawson