Global WAN powerhouse BT is out to turn its sprawling network into dynamic beast that can accommodate today’s rapidly evolving needs. Network World Editor in Chief John Dix talked about the plans with Keith Langridge, Vice President of Network Services at BT Global Services, and Sunil Khandekar, Founder and CEO of Nuage Networks from Nokia, a critical new supplier that will enable some of the change.
BT
Keith Langridge, Vice President of Network Services at BT Global ServicesTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco Systems has fixed a critical vulnerability that could allow hackers to take over servers used by telecommunications providers to remotely manage customer equipment such as routers.The vulnerability affects Cisco Prime Home, an automated configuration server (ACS) that communicates with subscriber devices using the TR-069 protocol. In addition to remotely managing customer equipment, it can also "automatically activate and configure subscribers and deliver advanced services via service packages" over mobile, fiber, cable, and other ISP networks."A vulnerability in the web-based GUI of Cisco Prime Home could allow an unauthenticated, remote attacker to bypass authentication and execute actions with administrator privileges," Cisco said in its advisory.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco this week issued a notice that faulty clock timing chips in some of its switches, routers and security appliances could fail after about 18 months of service – causing those devices to crash and not recover.
The notice includes some of the company’s most widely deployed products, from certain models of its Series 4000 Integrated Services Routers, Nexus 9000 Series switches, ASA security devices to Meraki Cloud Managed Switches. Clock components are critical to the synchronization of multiple levels of a given device.
+More on Network World: Cisco amps-up Tetration platform with better security, reduced footprint, AWS cloud option+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
One of the major challenges that’s long faced enterprise network is the ability to spin up new network services. SD-WANs make this a lot easier through service insertion and service chaining.Suppose for a moment you want to construct a secure perimeter around your compute resources in your data center and Amazon Web Services (AWS) implementation. Normally, you’d introduce a firewall and an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) into each location. That way, should a security incident happen in one location, such as a malware outbreak or a denial of service attack, you would be able to mitigate that event without any reengineering work. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
You can’t manage what you can’t see. That phrase that has been used over and over again with network managers as they look to get a better handle on the goings on in their networks. The problem is pervasive visibility is hard. Collecting information from multiple systems, rolling it up into an aggregated view and then trying to do some kind of manual machine learning on it is next to impossible. I suppose if Mr. Spock were running the network, things might be OK. But the last time I checked, the U.S. wasn’t accepting H1-Bs from Vulcan, so humans will have to do. + Also on Network World: Cloud monitoring: Users review 5 top tools +
The need for visibility has created a rising tide in the network packet broker market, and most of these do a fine job in the enterprise space, but the RISC-based processers that some of them use do not operate at cloud speeds when there are multiple 100 Gig-E connections that need to be tapped. I want to be clear that I’m making distinction between an enterprise monitoring cloud traffic and an actual cloud provider monitoring its internal traffic. The latter is Continue reading
Sony. Anthem. The Office of Personnel Management. Target. Yahoo. The past two years have seen one mega-breach after another—and 2017 promises to be the most catastrophic year yet.Security experts have long warned that most organizations don’t even know they’ve been breached. Attackers rely on stealth to learn about the network, find valuable information and systems, and steal what they want. Only recently have organizations improved their detection efforts and started investing the time, capital, and people needed to uncover vulnerabilities. When they do, the results are often alarming.[ 18 surprising tips for security pros. | Discover how to secure your systems with InfoWorld's Security Report newsletter. ]
“I think we are going to find more, not less, breaches in 2017,” says Ray Rothrock, CEO of RedSeal, a security analytics firm.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Hewlett Packard Enterprise has acquired Niara, a startup that uses machine learning and big data analytics on enterprise packet streams and log streams to detect and protect customers from advanced cyberattacks that have penetrated perimeter defenses.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Operating in the User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) market, Niara’s technology starts by automatically establishing baseline characteristics for all users and devices across the enterprise and then looking for anomalous, inconsistent activities that may indicate a security threat, Keerti Melkote, senior vice president and general manager of HPE Aruba and cofounder of Aruba Networks, wrote in a blog post on Wednesday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
During his campaign, U.S. President Donald Trump called the Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules a "top-down power grab," leading many observers to expect a quick repeal.Trump's presidency is still in its infancy and it's unclear what his administration will do about the hot-button issue.It's difficult to determine what direction the unpredictable Trump administration will take, said Nathan White, senior legislative manager at Access Now, a digital rights group."The world is a very complicated place right now," he said. "I don't think we can get too far out front and predict the future."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The latest network hardware from Cisco Systems gives new meaning to the words “light switch.”The Catalyst Digital Building Series Switch is an Ethernet switch designed to link different kinds of building infrastructure over a network. It will be available worldwide in the second quarter. It uses Cisco’s enhanced version of PoE (Power over Ethernet) to run things like lights and cameras while collecting data about those devices over the same standard cable.The switch embodies the merger of IT and OT (operational technology), one of the big enterprise trends that the internet of things is driving. The line is blurring between information systems like servers and building systems like lighting, heating, and physical security. The new technology could make buildings run better. It might also help to turn IT folks and facilities experts into a bit of both.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Bill Hineline had two requirements as he was searching last year for a new tool to keep tabs on the hundreds of interconnected applications that keep United Airline's planes flying. It had to ensure critical flight operations software was working and it had to meet customers' demands for accessing information from smartphones and tablets. The airline's director of application performance management also wanted a cloud application rather than another on-premises tool to manage internally. United Airlines
Bill Hineline, director of application performance management at United Airlines.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
There’s a land grab happening now between networks to link small, battery-powered IoT devices.If countless forecasts are true, there will soon be a lot more tiny, low-power devices like sensors out in the world. The 2G networks that connected many of these to the cloud are gradually going away and newer, more specialized networks are emerging. Vendors are pushing different LPWANs (low-power, wide-area networks) to do the job and trying to get more users and network operators on their side. Their survival may depend on building up a big ecosystem of devices.On Monday, U.S. network operator Ingenu partnered with distributor and system builder Arrow Electronics, which will offer Ingenu’s RPMA (Random Phase Multiple Access) technology when it develops IoT systems for enterprises and smaller businesses in the U.S.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
For the past half year Netgear has been working on fixing a serious and easy-to-exploit vulnerability in many of its routers. And it's still not done.While Netgear has worked to fix the issue, the list of affected router models increased to 30, of which only 20 have firmware fixes available to date. A manual workaround is available for the rest.The vulnerability was discovered by Simon Kenin, a security researcher at Trustwave, and stems from a faulty password recovery implementation in the firmware of many Netgear routers. It is a variation of an older vulnerability that has been publicly known since 2014, but this new version is actually easier to exploit.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.Network advances often require cable upgrades, but rewiring takes time and money. Often the existing cable can be leveraged, or the extent of the upgrade minimized, using ]media converters, one of the least glamorous yet most common and perhaps most versatile tools in a network manager’s toolbox.New media converters and extenders are available that support Power-over-Ethernet (PoE and PoE+) and legacy cabling types such as coax and 2-wire. These devices enable increased utilization of existing network cabling while upgrading network performance.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Large IoT systems usually have more than one job and need to work with other systems to be effective. Simplifying all this is one of the main things enterprise IoT platforms are designed to do.But it’s a moving target, so vendors need to keep adding new capabilities to their platforms. On Tuesday, Nokia announced updates to its Impact software platform to cover IoT applications including lighting, video analytics and parking management. There are also updates to accommodate new low-power networks.Impact is one of several software platforms designed to make IoT into more than a bunch of disparate sensor networks or automation systems. One application, like smart street lighting, may make another one, like connected parking meters, more effective. Data is the key, and integration can make all data more valuable.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Did you forget to turn off the window A.C.? How about that curling iron? Want the living room lamp to turn on when the sun goes down—automatically? The Wemo Switch gives you control of your lamps and small appliances whenever you want, wherever you choose, with tons of options for scheduling and automation. Paired with Amazon Alexa, you can control your lamps and appliances with just the power of your voice. When Wemo works with Nest Thermostat, you can set your lights to turn off automatically when you leave the house, and on when you get home again. No central hub or subscription is required. Wemo also has an on/off switch on the unit, in case the Wi-Fi goes down. This smart plug is currently discounted 30% down to just $34.99. For more information and buying options, see the discounted WiFi Smart Plug on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
F5 Networks CEO and President John McAdam, thrust back into that role in late 2015 under unusual circumstances, has announced that Ciena SVP and COO Francois Locoh-Donou will succeed him on April 3.McAdam joined F5 in 2000 and served as CEO and President until July 2015, when he handed the reins to Manuel Rivelo. But Rivelo stepped down in December of that year for unspecified personal conduct issues, and McAdam jumped back into the fray at the Seattle company, which he has helped to build into an application delivery powerhouse generating about $2B in annual revenue. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
DARPA says there are now 30 contenders for its $3.75 million Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) whose goal is to get mobile devices more intelligent access to the ever-tightening wireless spectrum.+More on Network World: Intelligence agency opens $325,000 advanced, automated fingerprint gathering competition+ The defense research agency last March announced Spectrum Collaboration Challenge and said the primary goal of the contest was to infuse radios with “advanced machine-learning capabilities so they can collectively develop strategies that optimize use of the wireless spectrum in ways not possible with today’s intrinsically inefficient approach of pre-allocating exclusive access to designated frequencies.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
While I acknowledge that my first choices for podcast listening tend toward entertainment (All Songs Considered, The Moth, This American Life), I also encourage myself to consume to those that might help me better understand networking and keep up on the general technology scene. Here’s a short list of podcasts that enterprise IT pros might find useful --and even enjoyable.Voices from DARPA
I’ll admit that this podcast intimidated me before I first listened to it, but it’s actually quite digestible even if you’re not a Ph.D. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency kicked off the series in September and pumps out one or two episodes per month, based on interviews by Ivan Amato with program managers from DARPA’s six technical offices (Biological Technologies, Defense Sciences, Information Innovation, Microsystems Technology, Strategic Technology, and Tactical Technology). Topics have included “Molecule Man”, “Space Sentinel” and “The Semiconductor Whisperer”, the latter of which gives a great short history of semiconductors and a look to the future. All episodes so far are less than 30 minutes long and several are under 20 minutes long. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Taking to President Trump’s favored communications platform, Twitter, a who’s who of prominent technology and business leaders are speaking out against the new administration’s ban on Muslims from certain countries entering the United States.Mark Cuban, entrepreneur
Twitter
David Karp, Tumblr
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Mark Benioff, Salesforce.com
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Jack Dorsey, Twitter
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Elon Musk, entrepreneur
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Satya Nadella, Microsoft
Twitter
Here is Nadella's message.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Cisco Systems tried to give Android devices the same kinds of integration it later provided for iPhones and iPads but gave up because the Android ecosystem was too fragmented.A Cisco-Apple partnership announced in 2015 gives iOS devices capabilities that other wireless clients don’t have on Cisco-based enterprise networks. Among other things, enterprises can designate work-related applications like videoconferencing for priority on the wireless link between iOS devices and a Wi-Fi access point.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here