The Federal Communications Commission has identified 51 U.S. mobile carriers that still have Huawei and ZTE 5G gear in their networks despite a government policy that bans that equipment from US service-provider networks.
5G resources
What is 5G? Fast wireless technology for enterprises and phones
How 5G frequency affects range and speed
Private 5G can solve some problems that Wi-Fi can’t
Private 5G keeps Whirlpool driverless vehicles rolling
5G can make for cost-effective private backhaul
CBRS can bring private 5G to enterprises
Verizon, CenturyLink (which plans to rebrand as Lumen), and Cincinnati Bell are among the most prominent names on the list, and most of the others are small regional providersTo read this article in full, please click here
IBM doesn’t want any distractions on the road to becoming a prodigious hybrid-cloud player, and today it eliminated one of those diversions by spinning off the $19 billion Managed Infrastructure Services unit of its Global Technology Services division.The move creates an as-yet-unnamed firm, tentatively dubbed “NewCo,” which won’t actually be created until 2021 but will quickly be a big provider of managed infrastructure services. It will employ about 90,000 staffers, have more than 4,600 clients in 115 countries—including more than 75% of the Fortune 100—have a backlog of $60 billion in orders, and more than twice the scale of its nearest competitor, IBM stated. That would include Accenture, Fujitsu and Huawei.To read this article in full, please click here
The open-sourced Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) NOS is rapidly growing a community of developers and users that could change the way many networks are run by large enterprises, hyperscalers and service providers.The Linux-based NOS, developed and open sourced by Microsoft in 2017, decouples network software from the underlying hardware and lets it run on switches and ASICs from multiple vendors while supporting a full suite of network features such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), remote direct memory access (RDMA), QoS, and other Ethernet/IP technologies.One of the keys to SONiC is its the switch-abstraction Interface, which defines an API to provide a vendor-independent way of controlling forwarding elements such as a switching ASIC, an NPU or a software switch in a uniform manner, according to the SONiC GitHub community site.To read this article in full, please click here
Pluribus has fine-tuned its switch fabric software to support larger, distributed multi-vendor data centers. Specifically, the company has enabled its Adaptive Cloud Fabric to scale from its current level of support for 64 nodes to up to 1,024 switches in a unified fabric. The scale-up is part of the company's recently upgraded core network operating system, Netvisor One, which is a virtualized Linux-based NOS that provides Layer 2 and Layer 3 networking and distributed fabric intelligence. The NOS virtualizes switch hardware and implements the company's Adaptive Cloud Fabric. Adaptive Cloud Fabric operates without a controller and can be deployed across a single data center, or targeted to specific racks, pods, server farms or hyperconverged infrastructures, the company said.To read this article in full, please click here
In recent days Intel and Nvidia have introduced or announced new networking products with a common goal of offloading networking traffic to the network processor, thus freeing up the CPU for computational work.Intel announced a new networking initiative to capitalize on what it calls “a perfect storm of 5G, edge buildout and pervasive artificial intelligence” with an expanded lineup of hardware, software and solutions for network infrastructure.This includes enhancements to Intel’s software reference architecture, FlexRAN; Intel virtualized radio access network (vRAN) dedicated accelerator; network-optimized next-generation Intel Xeon Scalable and D processors (codenamed “Ice Lake”); and upgraded Intel Select Solutions for Network Function Virtualization Infrastructure (NFVI).To read this article in full, please click here
Microservices-style applications rely on fast, dependable network infrastructure in order to respond quickly and reliably, and the service mesh can be a powerful enabler.At the same time, service-mesh infrastructure can be difficult to deploy and manage at scale and may be too complex for smaller applications, so enterprises need to carefully consider its potential upsides and downsides in relation to their particular circumstances.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.]
What is a service mesh?
A service mesh is infrastructure software that provides fast and reliable communications between the microservices that applications may need. Its networking features include application identification, load balancing, authentication, and encryption. To read this article in full, please click here
If there was any doubt Nvidia has arrived as an enterprise player, its deal with VMware should erase all doubt.The GPU developer and VMware announced at the recent VMworld 2020 conference that they plan to integrate their respective core technologies through a series of development and networking partnerships.As part of the collaboration, Nvidia’s set of AI software-research tools on the Nvidia NGC hub will be integrated into VMware’s vSphere, Cloud Foundation, and Tanzu platforms. This will help accelerate AI adoption, enabling enterprises to extend existing infrastructure for AI, manage all applications with a single set of operations, and deploy AI-ready infrastructure where the data resides, across the data center, cloud and edge.To read this article in full, please click here
As enterprise workloads continue to move off-premises and employees continue to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, securing that environment remains a critical challenge for IT.At its virtual VWworld 2020 gathering, VMware detailed products and plans to help customers deal with the challenges of securing distributed enterprise resources.More about SD-WAN: How to buy SD-WAN technology: Key questions to consider when selecting a supplier • What SD-Branch is and why you'll need it • What are the options for securing SD-WAN?
"Amid global disruption, the key to survival for many companies has meant an accelerated shift to the cloud and, ultimately, bolting on security products in their data centers," said Sanjay Poonen, VMware's Chief Operating Officer, Customer Operations. "But legacy security systems are no longer sufficient for organizations that are using the cloud as part of their computing infrastructure. It's time to rethink security for the cloud. Organizations need protection at the workload level, not just at the endpoint."To read this article in full, please click here
Networks of radio-connected, intelligent sensors will propel the healthcare industry forward as increasing numbers of patients need care, researchers say. Two academic institutions recently shared details about how IoT-based technology might help mitigate clinical errors and improve caregiving in hospitals – an environment that's under increased strain due to coronavirus cases – as well as at home.The School of Engineering at Stanford University is exploring how a combination of electronic sensors and artificial intelligence could be installed in hospital rooms and elder care homes to help medical professionals monitor and treat patients more effectively.To read this article in full, please click here
At its virtual VMworld 2020 conclave this week, VMware took the wraps off a number of security enhancements aimed at the growing COVID-driven remote workforce.For starters, the company boosted security for remote and mobile workers by extending its partnerships with zScaler and Menlo for its secure-access service edge (SASE) offering, VMware SD-WAN Zero Trust Service. VMware's SASE technology melds its Workspace ONE platform with its SD-WAN package. To read this article in full, please click here
Arista Networks has taken the wraps off extensions to its campus-networking portfolio that promise to help customers manage IoT devices, improve wireless connectivity and cope with COVID-era remote-networking requirements.When it comes to managing the campus and the edge it’s important for IT to understand what devices are in the network, what they're doing, and making sure they are properly segmented, said Ed Chapman, vice president of business development for Arista. Customers need to manage wireless and wired systems as one entity to gain visibility, intelligence, and analytics on the overall environment.To read this article in full, please click here
As the march towards 5G progresses, it’s apparent that more spectrum will be needed to fully enable it as a service, and the Federal Communications Commission has clearly taken the message to heart.
5G resources
What is 5G? Fast wireless technology for enterprises and phones
How 5G frequency affects range and speed
Private 5G can solve some problems that Wi-Fi can’t
Private 5G keeps Whirlpool driverless vehicles rolling
5G can make for cost-effective private backhaul
CBRS can bring private 5G to enterprises
The FCC recently finished auctioning off priority-access licenses for Citizen’s Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum for 5G, representing 70MHz swath of new bandwidth within the 3.5GHz band. It took in $4.58 billion and is one of several such auctions in recent years aimed at freeing up more channels for wireless data. In 2011, 2014 and 2015 the FCC auctioned off 65MHz in the low- to mid-band, between roughly 1.7GHz and 2.2GHz, for example, and the 700MHz band.To read this article in full, please click here
VMware is continuing its effort to remake the data center, cloud and edge to handle the distributed workloads and applications of the future.At its virtual VMworld 2020 event the company previewed a new architecture called Project Monterey that goes a long way toward melding bare-metal servers, graphics processing units (GPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), network interface cards (NICs) and security into a large-scale virtualized environment.Monterey would extend VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), which today integrates the company’s vShphere virtualization, vSAN storage, NSX networking and vRealize cloud management systems to support GPUs, FPGAs and NICs into a single platform that can be deployed on-premises or in a public cloud.To read this article in full, please click here
VMware is continuing its effort to remake the data center, cloud and edge to handle the distributed workloads and applications of the future.At its virtual VMworld 2020 event the company previewed a new architecture called Project Monterey that goes a long way toward melding bare-metal servers, graphics processing units (GPUs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), network interface cards (NICs) and security into a large-scale virtualized environment.Monterey would extend VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), which today integrates the company’s vShphere virtualization, vSAN storage, NSX networking and vRealize cloud management systems to support GPUs, FPGAs and NICs into a single platform that can be deployed on-premises or in a public cloud.To read this article in full, please click here
Reports hit the Web last week that the Windows XP source code has been leaked and posted to 4chan, one of the seediest boards not on the dark web.A link to a 42.9GB file was posted but quickly scrolled off. 4chan does not archive its posts so once the message scrolled off it was gone, but the link is getting around in other ways. The code is being hosted by Mega, a file-sharing service with its own dubious past.Reports from other sites say the code is legitimate. Microsoft has only said “We are investigating the matter."[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.]
What is still unclear is whether the code is the whole codebase or just a portion. Those who have examined the code have said it covers Windows XP Service Pack 1, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003. The code has been circulating privately for years, according to the leaker. One theory is that the source of the code is an academic institution.To read this article in full, please click here
Network telemetry is far from new, but its importance is growing as data volume and network size relentlessly snowball. Streaming network telemetry gathers operational data from various network devices, combines the information, and then forwards it for inspection and study.Growing scale and the increasing use of automation in next-generation enterprise networks require a modern, more efficient approach to network data capture and analytics, says Bo Lane, vice president of global engineering for Kudelski Security, a cybersecurity technology provider. "Streaming telemetry allows enterprises to track network state, identify network problems and optimize network performance," Lane says. "In modern software-defined networks, problems or bottlenecks may be identified and autonomously remediated in near-real time."To read this article in full, please click here
The federal government's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has issued a rare emergency directive to federal government agencies to roll out a Windows Server patch within days, an indication of the severity of the exploit.The directive was issued on September 18, and agencies were given four days to apply the security update. It demands that executive agencies take "immediate and emergency action" to patch CVE-2020-1472, issued August 11.The vulnerability is in Microsoft Windows Netlogon Remote Protocol (MS-NRPC), a core authentication component of Active Directory from Windows Server 2008 to Server 2019. It has been named "Zerologon" because of how it works.To read this article in full, please click here
If you are a security admin with lots of systems running Cisco IOS and IOS XE software today is decidedly not your day.Cisco this week posted 25 “High” rated security advisories that stem from 34 vulnerabilities the company suggests should be fixed as soon as possible. The vulnerabilities impact a wide-range of Cisco gear as IOS and IOS XE are the company’s most widely used operating systems. The warnings affect firewalls, wireless access points and switches.Network pros react to new Cisco certification curriculum
For example, one of the highest rated threats--with an 8.6 out of 10 threat level, are multiple vulnerabilities in the Zone-Based Firewall feature of Cisco IOS XE Software that could let an remote attacker to cause the device to reload or stop forwarding traffic through the firewall,resulting in a denial of service (DoS).To read this article in full, please click here
Big Memory software startup MemVerge launched its Memory Machine software designed to turn DRAM and Intel Optane persistent memory into a software-defined memory pool, bringing DRAM performance to persistent memory (PMEM).For some use cases, SSDs just aren’t fast enough. “Despite all the great advances in storage, the latency difference between memory and storage remains at more than three orders of magnitude, making this data movement inefficient,” said Alper Ilkbahar, vice president and general manager of the memory and storage product group at Intel in a conference call with MemVerge.To read this article in full, please click here
Two wireless vendors say they have collaborated to significantly extend the useful range of millimeter-wave 5G transmissions beyond what had been widely considered its limits.
5G resources
What is 5G? Fast wireless technology for enterprises and phones
How 5G frequency affects range and speed
Private 5G can solve some problems that Wi-Fi can’t
Private 5G keeps Whirlpool driverless vehicles rolling
5G can make for cost-effective private backhaul
CBRS can bring private 5G to enterprises
Qualcomm and Ericsson have worked together in separate trials with two other companies to boost that distance from less than a mile (1.6km) to 3.8km in one case and to 5km-plus in the other, the companies claim.To read this article in full, please click here