Zeus Kerravala
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Zeus Kerravala
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Review: HPE OfficeConnect switch, access point easy to deploy, manage
The role of Wi-Fi has changed in most companies and is no longer something that’s merely convenient. Rather, it’s critical to a business’s ability to ensure its customer are happy and workers are productive.Given the growing importance of Wi-Fi, it’s essential vendors make products that are easy to set up, particularly for small businesses where the technical acumen of the person setting the product up is likely to be low.HPE had inquires as to the importance of having the product be easy to setup and manage, and I said that I felt it was the most important attribute. In fact, I chose the solution for my house — which includes four indoor access points (APs), one outdoor AP, and a 48 port Ethernet switch — based on how easy the product was to operate. I'm very technical, but I really can't be bothered to fiddle around with doing things in a CLI.To read this article in full, please click here
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Review: HPE OfficeConnect switch, access point easy to deploy, manage
The role of Wi-Fi has changed in most companies and is no longer something that’s merely convenient. Rather, it’s critical to a business’s ability to ensure its customer are happy and workers are productive.Given the growing importance of Wi-Fi, it’s essential vendors make products that are easy to set up, particularly for small businesses where the technical acumen of the person setting the product up is likely to be low.HPE had inquires as to the importance of having the product be easy to setup and manage, and I said that I felt it was the most important attribute. In fact, I chose the solution for my house — which includes four indoor access points (APs), one outdoor AP, and a 48 port Ethernet switch — based on how easy the product was to operate. I'm very technical, but I really can't be bothered to fiddle around with doing things in a CLI.To read this article in full, please click here
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What do ogres, onions and SD-WAN security have in common? Layers!
Remember this scene from the movie Shrek? The big ogre was explaining to Donkey that ogres are very complicated, and like onions, they have layers. Donkey, of course, didn’t like the analogy because not everyone likes onions and would have preferred cake as everyone likes cake, but he did seem to understand that ogres did indeed have layers after it was explained to him. Orges and onions have layers, but what else does? Or at least should? Security for SD-WANs — but that may not seem obvious to everyone.Also read: The case for securing the SD-WAN | Sign up: Get the latest tech news sent directly to your in-box This week SD-WAN provider, Aryaka, which is now neck and neck with VeloCloud/VMware in market share, according to IHS Markit, announced Passport, a multi-layered security platform and ecosystem that provides best-of-breed security at every level of a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).To read this article in full, please click here
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What do ogres, onions and SD-WAN security have in common? Layers!
Remember this scene from the movie Shrek? The big ogre was explaining to Donkey that ogres are very complicated, and like onions, they have layers. Donkey, of course, didn’t like the analogy because not everyone likes onions and would have preferred cake as everyone likes cake, but he did seem to understand that ogres did indeed have layers after it was explained to him. Orges and onions have layers, but what else does? Or at least should? Security for SD-WANs — but that may not seem obvious to everyone.Also read: The case for securing the SD-WAN | Sign up: Get the latest tech news sent directly to your in-box This week SD-WAN provider, Aryaka, which is now neck and neck with VeloCloud/VMware in market share, according to IHS Markit, announced Passport, a multi-layered security platform and ecosystem that provides best-of-breed security at every level of a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).To read this article in full, please click here
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What do ogres, onions and SD-WAN security have in common? Layers!
Remember this scene from the movie Shrek? The big ogre was explaining to Donkey that ogres are very complicated, and like onions, they have layers. Donkey, of course, didn’t like the analogy because not everyone likes onions and would have preferred cake as everyone likes cake, but he did seem to understand that ogres did indeed have layers after it was explained to him. Orges and onions have layers, but what else does? Or at least should? Security for SD-WANs — but that may not seem obvious to everyone.Also read: The case for securing the SD-WAN | Sign up: Get the latest tech news sent directly to your in-box This week SD-WAN provider, Aryaka, which is now neck and neck with VeloCloud/VMware in market share, according to IHS Markit, announced Passport, a multi-layered security platform and ecosystem that provides best-of-breed security at every level of a software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).To read this article in full, please click here
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Cisco’s intent-based networks now available for the WAN
If you read my Valentine’s Day post, you know I love intent-based networks (IBN), as the technology is the biggest change in networking in decades.Cisco wasn’t the first vendor to offer an IBN solution, but they’ve certainly been the most vocal about the need and has been the network industry's biggest evangelist. Also read: Getting grounded in intent-based networking The value proposition of IBN is to simplify networking dramatically with the long-term vision of having a fully autonomous network. With IBN, the operations of the network are driven by business intent to ensure policies are adhered to and application performance remains optimized.To read this article in full, please click here
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Cisco’s intent-based networks now available for the WAN
If you read my Valentine’s Day post, you know I love intent-based networks (IBN), as the technology is the biggest change in networking in decades.Cisco wasn’t the first vendor to offer an IBN solution, but they’ve certainly been the most vocal about the need and has been the network industry's biggest evangelist. Also read: Getting grounded in intent-based networking The value proposition of IBN is to simplify networking dramatically with the long-term vision of having a fully autonomous network. With IBN, the operations of the network are driven by business intent to ensure policies are adhered to and application performance remains optimized.To read this article in full, please click here
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Super Bowl LII set football and Wi-Fi network records
Super Bowl LII was played about a month ago, and much to the chagrin of New England Patriots fans, the team lost despite a number of records being set by Tom Brady and his team. In a losing effort, the QB threw for over 500 yards, something that had never been done before. Also, no losing team has ever had as many yards or points. It was certainly one of the most memorable games in recent history, particularly for the long-suffering Philadelphia Eagles fans.Records were also set in the stands with new highs in Wi-Fi network usage. For the fifth consecutive year, Extreme Networks was the Official WiFi Analytics provider of the Super Bowl, and its ExtremeAnalytics (formerly known as Purview) captured all the data transferred over the stadium Wi-Fi network. (Note: Extreme is a client of ZK Research.) The NFL and its individual teams have been using the data to better understand what fans do on their mobile devices during games in hopes of creating an overall better experience. Some of the highlights from the big game are listed below.To read this article in full, please click here
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Super Bowl LII set football and Wi-Fi network records
Super Bowl LII was played about a month ago, and much to the chagrin of New England Patriots fans, the team lost despite a number of records being set by Tom Brady and his team. In a losing effort, the QB threw for over 500 yards, something that had never been done before. Also, no losing team has ever had as many yards or points. It was certainly one of the most memorable games in recent history, particularly for the long-suffering Philadelphia Eagles fans.Records were also set in the stands with new highs in Wi-Fi network usage. For the fifth consecutive year, Extreme Networks was the Official WiFi Analytics provider of the Super Bowl, and its ExtremeAnalytics (formerly known as Purview) captured all the data transferred over the stadium Wi-Fi network. (Note: Extreme is a client of ZK Research.) The NFL and its individual teams have been using the data to better understand what fans do on their mobile devices during games in hopes of creating an overall better experience. Some of the highlights from the big game are listed below.To read this article in full, please click here
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Juniper’s new products help prepare networks for hybrid, multi-cloud
Earlier this week, Juniper Networks announced a bevvy of new networking products. (Note: Juniper Networks is a client of ZK Research.) In his blog post about the products, Andy Patrizio did an effective job covering the basics of the news. But left out some important points, and I wanted to make sure those got called out, including Juniper's tagline “multi-cloud ready." Hybrid, multi-cloud is inevitable As I’ve pointed out in many of my posts, hybrid multi-cloud environments are inevitable for most organizations. Small businesses may be able to build an IT strategy that is all public cloud, but any large company is going to choose a mix of private and public clouds.To read this article in full, please click here
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Juniper’s new products help prepare networks for hybrid, multi-cloud
Earlier this week, Juniper Networks announced a bevvy of new networking products. (Note: Juniper Networks is a client of ZK Research.) In his blog post about the products, Andy Patrizio did an effective job covering the basics of the news. But left out some important points, and I wanted to make sure those got called out, including Juniper's tagline “multi-cloud ready." Hybrid, multi-cloud is inevitable As I’ve pointed out in many of my posts, hybrid multi-cloud environments are inevitable for most organizations. Small businesses may be able to build an IT strategy that is all public cloud, but any large company is going to choose a mix of private and public clouds.To read this article in full, please click here
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Private data centers still alive and kicking
Earlier this month, Cisco updated its Global Cloud Index (GCI), giving rise to a number of news stories that were filled with doom and gloom for corporate IT departments. (Note: Cisco is a client of ZK Research.)For example, one of the articles stated that based on the GCI, cloud computing would virtually replace traditional data centers within three years. While it's true public clouds are growing, private clouds are also increasing. It's a multi-cloud era, as Cisco's Kip Compton writes.To read this article in full, please click here
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Private data centers still alive and kicking
Earlier this month, Cisco updated its Global Cloud Index (GCI), giving rise to a number of news stories that were filled with doom and gloom for corporate IT departments. (Note: Cisco is a client of ZK Research.)For example, one of the articles stated that based on the GCI, cloud computing would virtually replace traditional data centers within three years. While it's true public clouds are growing, private clouds are also increasing. It's a multi-cloud era, as Cisco's Kip Compton writes.To read this article in full, please click here
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Modernized infrastructure that I love
Today is Valentine’s Day, and that means showing appreciation to the people you love. I love my kids; my cats; my new puppy, Bodhi; and most of all my wonderful and amazing wife, Christine. She’s a kind, warm and loving person who has been fighting a rare illness called CVID for the past few years and still keeps a smile on her face and stops to smell the roses — something I’m not very good at.I would also like to use this Valentine’s Day to show appreciation for cool infrastructure innovation because the new stuff is becoming super important.To read this article in full, please click here
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Modernized infrastructure that I love
Today is Valentine’s Day, and that means showing appreciation to the people you love. I love my kids; my cats; my new puppy, Bodhi; and most of all my wonderful and amazing wife, Christine. She’s a kind, warm and loving person who has been fighting a rare illness called CVID for the past few years and still keeps a smile on her face and stops to smell the roses — something I’m not very good at.I would also like to use this Valentine’s Day to show appreciation for cool infrastructure innovation because the new stuff is becoming super important.To read this article in full, please click here
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Dell-EMC expands its CI platform, simplifies data center operations
Standing up a private cloud using technology from multiple vendors is a time-consuming, complex process that involves months of post-deployment tweaking and tuning.In 2009, VMware, Cisco and EMC formed a joint venture called VCE that aimed to solve that problem. (Note: Cisco and VMWare are clients of ZK Research.) They created a converged infrastructure (CI) product called “Vblock” that brought together VMware software, Cisco servers and networking with EMC storage in a preconfigured, turnkey, validated solution so customers could essentially turn the product on and start using it.Also on Network World: Azure Stack: Microsoft’s private-cloud platform and what IT pros need to know about it Vblock had 90 percent of the heavy lifting done, with the other 10 percent being unique the organization. Customers loved it, with many saying Vblock was the only way to get a private cloud up and running inside a week. To read this article in full, please click here
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Dell-EMC expands its CI platform, simplifies data center operations
Standing up a private cloud using technology from multiple vendors is a time-consuming, complex process that involves months of post-deployment tweaking and tuning.In 2009, VMware, Cisco and EMC formed a joint venture called VCE that aimed to solve that problem. (Note: Cisco and VMWare are clients of ZK Research.) They created a converged infrastructure (CI) product called “Vblock” that brought together VMware software, Cisco servers and networking with EMC storage in a preconfigured, turnkey, validated solution so customers could essentially turn the product on and start using it.Also on Network World: Azure Stack: Microsoft’s private-cloud platform and what IT pros need to know about it Vblock had 90 percent of the heavy lifting done, with the other 10 percent being unique the organization. Customers loved it, with many saying Vblock was the only way to get a private cloud up and running inside a week. To read this article in full, please click here
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Dell-EMC expands its CI platform, simplifies data center operations
Standing up a private cloud using technology from multiple vendors is a time-consuming, complex process that involves months of post-deployment tweaking and tuning.In 2009, VMware, Cisco and EMC formed a joint venture called VCE that aimed to solve that problem. (Note: Cisco and VMWare are clients of ZK Research.) They created a converged infrastructure (CI) product called “Vblock” that brought together VMware software, Cisco servers and networking with EMC storage in a preconfigured, turnkey, validated solution so customers could essentially turn the product on and start using it.Also on Network World: Azure Stack: Microsoft’s private-cloud platform and what IT pros need to know about it Vblock had 90 percent of the heavy lifting done, with the other 10 percent being unique the organization. Customers loved it, with many saying Vblock was the only way to get a private cloud up and running inside a week. To read this article in full, please click here
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Aerohive’s Atom boldly goes where no Wi-Fi has gone before
The opening to “Star Trek: The Original Series” featured Captain Kirk proclaiming that space was the “Final Frontier” and that the Enterprise was going to “boldly go where no man has gone before.”In networking, Wi-Fi is really the final frontier, as it lets us explore strange new apps and seek out new tweets regardless of where we are. Untethered from cables, we are as free to roam around as the Enterprise was in space. There should be no question that good Wi-Fi is as important to us today as dilithium crystals were to the Enterprise.But what happens when Wi-Fi isn’t available? Or just as bad, when the connectivity is almost there but not quite strong enough to be useful. I recall being in a hotel where I couldn’t connect to Wi-Fi at the desk in the room, but I could connect if I sat in the hallway by the entry door, so I wound up sitting there all night trying to get work done. It’s easy to say that Wi-Fi should be everywhere, but sometimes it’s hard to achieve that because of interference or cabling problems.To read this article in full, please click here
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Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s new Wi-Fi products are ‘Stellar’
Historically, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise’s Wi-Fi strategy has been to be an Aruba OEM. Given Aruba’s high market share and strong technology, this makes sense because it gives Alcatel-Lucent a credible set of products to build a business around.However, as is the case with all things in life, one size doesn’t fit all, and Aruba’s products, as good as they are, aren’t for everyone. Aruba makes great technology, loaded with features, but they are a premium-price vendor and some customers have budget constraints.The Alcatel-Lucent Stellar line of access points To address this part of the market, last year Alcatel-Lucent introduced its own line of access points (AP) under the brand name “Stellar.” These products are designed to be lower cost and easier to deploy.To read this article in full, please click here