As someone who has been following enterprise WAN architectures for decades, I find their evolution fascinating, especially the number of new technologies that have been deployed in isolation. For example, WAN optimization and SD-WANs are often discussed as separate solutions. From my perspective, I can’t fathom why a business would deploy an SD-WAN and not implement WAN optimization as part of it. If you’re going to go through the work of modernizing your WAN architecture, then why wouldn’t you integrate optimization technologies into your deployment right from the start?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Most of the discussion to date on the benefit of SD-WANs has focused on how an SD-WAN enables a network organization to reduce or eliminate its spend on expensive MPLS circuits.That is clearly an important benefit. However, as many early adopters of SD-WANs can attest to, SD-WANs have other important benefits.I am going to use this blog to summarize an interview I recently had with an IT professional who is in the midst of rolling out an SD-WAN solution. As described below, the benefits of the new solution include better performance, better visibility and the reduced cost and complexity that comes from removing Cisco routers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
It’s hard to pick the best disaster recovery software for your organization’s needs, but advice from people who have actually used them live in their networks can help you make informed decisions.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
There are many ways to search for files on Linux systems and the commands can be very easy or very specific -- narrowing down your search criteria to find what just you're looking for and nothing else. In today's post, we're going to examine some of the most useful commands and options for your file searches. We're going to look into:
quick finds
more complex search criteria
combining conditions
reversing criteria
simple vs detailed responses
looking for duplicate files
There are actually several useful commands for searching for files. The find command may be the most obvious, but it's not the only command or always the fastest way to find what you're looking for.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Do you have a ball of tangled up wires and adapters somewhere in the bottom of your bag? This Universal Electronics Accessories Travel Organizer provides a flexible organization solution for your electronics and computer accessories. It helps make you better organized with all the small items and gadgets. Made of durable and weather-resistant nylon with well padded semi-flexible covers. It's compact size of 8.8“ x W 6.1"allows it to easily stored in you laptop bag or backpack. This travel organizers typical list price of $18.99 has been reduced 53% to just $9. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
A compact power bank, a car jump starter, and a LED flashlight, all fit into a minimal and portable design. Whether it is your car or your USB devices, never run out of power again. Store it in the glovebox or simply drop it in your bag. Have a concentrated 14000mAh source of power always with you -- enough for up to 20 vehicle jumpstarts or many device recharges before the unit itself needs to be recharged. RAVPower's jump starter typically lists for $160 but is currently discounted 62% on Amazon to just $64. See the discounted car jumper now on Amazon. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Many years ago, when Arista Networks was in its infancy, its charismatic and sometimes controversial (at least to the folks at Cisco) CEO talked about how the company’s software-first approach would disrupt the networking industry. Just a few years later, the company stands a $1.7 billion revenue company with a dominant position in the webscale industry and a market cap of over $13 billion, so clearly CEO Jayshree Ullal’s prophecy came true.Arista’s software rigor enabled the company to quickly jump into verticals where low latency and high performance mattered. Also, because of Arista’s software prowess, the company has been able to expand its addressable market to see to the networking needs of dense virtualization and containerized environments, as well as private cloud deployments, and quickly adapt the latest and greatest silicon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Edge computing allows data produced by internet of things (IoT) devices to be processed closer to where it is created instead of sending it across long routes to data centers or clouds.Doing this computing closer to the edge of the network lets organizations analyze important data in near real-time – a need of organizations across many industries, including manufacturing, health care, telecommunications and finance.“In most scenarios, the presumption that everything will be in the cloud with a strong and stable fat pipe between the cloud and the edge device – that’s just not realistic,” says Helder Antunes, senior director of corporate strategic innovation at Cisco.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Combining power to operate equipment, as well as delivering substantial data rates that are good enough for video — in the same piece of radio kit — is now obtainable, scientists say.The developing system works similar to how charging pads provide power to a toothbrush or a mobile phone without having to be connected through wires. However, in this case, the apparatus doesn’t need any physical contact with the device and data can be sent at the same time.Magnetic fields are being used to transmit power through the air, North Carolina State University researchers say in a press release.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Just a month ago we had research that indicated on-premises data center investments were dropping in priority as companies moved to the cloud. Now a second report confirms this suspicion that companies are de-emphasizing their on-premises data centers in favor of the cloud.The numbers come from Synergy Research, which show that spending on traditional, non-cloud data center hardware and software dropped 18 percent between the second quarters of 2015 and 2017. During that same period, public cloud spending grew 35 percent. The overall market for data center equipment grew by 5 percent to a total of more than $30 billion. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
While much of the talk about the Internet of Things today concerns the economic growth and impending social change being fostered by it, IoT investors and enthusiast alike are increasingly turning their attention towards network security. One critical aspect of this security-debate, keeping the microchips which essentially “run” our connected society secure, is getting the much-needed attention it deserves for the first time.So what exactly are chipmakers doing to keep their products, and the IoT-at-large, secure? Are our networks still vulnerable to the kinds of botnet attacks which rocked the world as recently as a few months ago, and can they even really be secured? A quick dive into the world of chipmakers shows just how seriously today’s top innovators are taking the issue of IoT security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Like many IT products, SD-WAN products can sound insanely alike. Sit through presentations and read through the literature and then ask yourself what’s the practical difference between each vendor’s implementation? It can be difficult question to answer even for people in the business of answering those questions.A common approach for an initial cut in an evaluation process is to reduce the product list by focusing on features. By creating a table of specific product specifications, assigning a weighted scoring, many of my customer have come up with a score and by extension a tool for eliminating some products from their selection process.Such an approach while valuable in some respects, is insufficient even for an initial cut. There are too many elements to a purchase that are not measured by a features table. Or, there might be important unfamiliar features that you forget to include in the table.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Network managers don't need a primer on the threats that could befall their networks, from man-in-the-middle threats from rogue APs to the global ransomware epidemic. It's a bad situation that shows no signs of improving any time soon. It's not surprising, then, that Wireless Intrusion Prevention Systems are becoming increasingly popular.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
Setting up and managing an IT infrastructure isn’t what most small and mid-sized business owners signed up for when they opened their doors. At least not voluntarily. After all, IT is an intimidating field filled with fragmented components, esoteric expertise, and expensive hardware. That may be why the most powerful network solutions have felt out of reach for small businesses, only approachable by larger enterprises with deeper pockets.Whether they have the resources or not, though, every business is a digital business in today’s economy. They all rely on a functional IT framework on some scale. And for the 83% of small businesses that don’t have any dedicated IT staff, the ultimate responsibility of running the company network often falls to the person with the most at stake: the business owner. So too do the related concerns of cybersecurity, network reliability, malfunctioning equipment, employee access, and so on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
John Chambers, who served two decades as CEO of Cisco and for the last two years has been executive chairman, announced today that he will be leaving Cisco’s board of directors this year.Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins will be appointed chairman of Cisco’s board of directors when Chambers vacates the position.(Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins is seen on the left in the above photo with outgoing Executive Chairman John Chambers.) “With Chuck Robbins as CEO and Chairman, the company is now clearly his,” says Zeus Kerravala of ZK Research, a Cisco watcher. “Robbins will have the ability to move the company in the direction he wants to.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, is best known for its outstanding business-grade Wi-Fi products. What’s less well known about Aruba is that it has always had excellent security products. In fact, I’ve often described the company as a security vendor dressed up as a Wi-Fi vendor, as Aruba and security have gone hand in hand like the New England Patriots and winning. However, Aruba’s security positioning has always been tactical rather than strategic because its products were used for specific purposes, such as end point protection or wireless security. That shifted this week at APAC Atmosphere in Macau when the company introduced its 360 Security Fabric, which enables it to provide end-to-end security to address the needs of a world that is becoming increasingly digitized. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Earlier this summer, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) — the organization responsible for defining the standards that make up the Web — decided to embrace DRM (aka "EME") as a web standard. I wasn’t happy about this. I don’t know many who were.Shortly after that, the W3C agreed to talk with me about the issue. During that discussion, I encouraged the W3C to increase their level of transparency going forward — and if there is an appeal of their DRM decision, to make that process completely open and visible to the public (including how individual members of the W3C vote on the issue).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
These night lights turn themselves on & off from dusk to dawn, have offset prongs that won't block your second outlet, and feature long lasting LED bulbs that won't make any noticeable impact on your energy bill at only 2.2 Kwh per year. Their frosted white diffuser ring puts out just the right amount of soft light for you to find way in the dark without having to turn on any overhead lights. A pack of 6 is currently discounted 48% down to just $12.59. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Wi-Fi is one entry-point hackers can use to get into your network without setting foot inside your building because wireless is much more open to eavesdroppers than wired networks, which means you have to be more diligent about security.But there’s a lot more to Wi-Fi security than just setting a simple password. Investing time in learning about and applying enhanced security measures can go a long way toward better protecting your network. Here are six tips to betters secure your Wi-Fi network.Use an inconspicuous network name (SSID)
The service set identifier (SSID) is one of the most basic Wi-Fi network settings. Though it doesn’t seem like the network name could compromise security, it certainly can. Using a too common of a SSID, like “wireless” or the vendor’s default name, can make it easier for someone to crack the personal mode of WPA or WPA2 security. This is because the encryption algorithm incorporates the SSID, and password cracking dictionaries used by hackers are preloaded with common and default SSIDs. Using one of those just makes the hacker’s job easier.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
The Linux umask setting plays a big role in determining the permissions that are assigned to files that you create. But what's behind this variable, and how do the numbers relate to settings like rwxr-xr-x?First, umask is a setting that directly controls the permissions assigned when you create files or directories. Create a new file using a text editor or simply with the touch command, and its permissions will be derived from your umask setting. You can look at your umask setting simply by typing umask on the command line.$ umask
0022
Where the umask setting comes from
The umask setting for all users is generally set up in a system-wide file like /etc/profile, /etc/bashrc or /etc/login.defs — a file that's used every time someone logs into the system. The setting can be overidden in user-specific files like ~/.bashrc or ~/.profile since these files are read later in the login process. It can also be reset on a temporary basis at any time with the umask command.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here