When you're trying to find your way around the Linux file system and want some information on specific commands, the whereis, whatis, and which commands can help. Each provides a different view of the command you're asking about. In this post, I'll compare these commands and explain what they tell us and what they don't tell us.which
The which command is the simplest of the three. When you use it to ask about a Linux command, it will run down your search path looking for executable files by the name you specify. These can be commands that are available on your system as well as scripts. As long as the files provide you with execute privilege, they fit the bill. Here are some examples:To read this article in full, please click here
The enhancement and adoption of SONiC, the open-source network operating system, could accelerate now that its development has been given over to the the Linux Foundation, experts say.Software for Open Networking in the Cloud had been overseen by Microsoft, which has now ceded that role to the Linux Foundation.
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The shift could result in the scale and use of the NOS grow as the foundation provides a trusted hub for over 450,000 developers to code, manage and advance open technology projects.To read this article in full, please click here
Key US government security organizations are warning industrial control system (ICS)/supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA)-basednetworks are being threatened by bad actors armed with custom software tools.The Department of Energy (DOE), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a joint warning that certain advanced persistent threat (APT) actors have shown the ability to gain full system access to compromised ICS/SCADA systems.
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Fujitsu announced it will launch a cloud service based on the same hardware used in the world's fastest supercomputer, Fugaku.The first step in what it calls Fujitsu Computing-as-a-Service (CaaS) will be Fujitsu Cloud Service HPC, which offers the high-performance computing power of the Fujitsu Supercomputer PRIMEHPC FX1000, which is based on the A64FX 64-bit Arm processor Fujitsu developed specifically for Fugaku.
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Cisco is introducing a new payment scheme for customers to encourage the recycling of its hardware, alongside a new partner incentive to repurpose or recycle end-of-use products.The two schemes aim to help Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins build on the vendor’s 2018 sustainability pledge and a commitment to have 100% of hardware returned at the end-of-use.Building the circular economy
The Cisco Green Pay payment scheme will see customers offered a 5% incentive on Cisco hardware at the outset of their purchase and a predictable payment strategy over five years. Once the term is up, the product is recovered by Cisco free of charge and the customer receives a certificate confirming that it has entered the circular economy.To read this article in full, please click here
Edge computing is rapidly shedding its reputation as a fringe concept, and both adopters and vendors are focusing their sights on the technology's next goal: fully autonomous deployment and operation.The edge deployment experience is drawing closer to the simplicity of unboxing a new mobile phone, says Teresa Tung, cloud first chief technologist at IT advisory and consulting firm Accenture. "We're seeing automated technology that simplifies handling the edge’s unique complexity for application, network, and security deployments."The ability to create and manage containerized applications enables seamless development and deployment in the cloud, with the edge simply becoming a specialized location with more stringent resource constraints, Tung says. "Self-organizing and self-healing wireless mesh communications protocols, such as Zigbee, Z-Wave, ISA100.11a, or WirelessHART can create networks where devices can be deployed ad hoc and self-configure."To read this article in full, please click here
The &&, ||, and ! operators allow you to run a lot of useful commands on Linux, but you first need to get used to syntax that is a little trickier than the if-then-else command you might normally use.To get started, I should explain that one thing the command examples in this post have in common is the use of something that I might call a shorthand “if” test. Here’s an example:$ [ -f donuts ]
$ echo %?1
The -f donuts command asks if there is a file (-f) named “donuts”. Unless we display the return code afterwards with "echo $?", the result of the test is not displayed. In this case, it’s false (i.e., not zero), so we know the file doesn’t exist. No donuts for us!To read this article in full, please click here
You want edge computing? How about 250 miles straight up? HP Enterprise has announced that the Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2) on the International Space Station (ISS) has successfully completed 24 research experiments in less than a year.The SBC-2 is the first in-space commercial edge computing and AI-enabled system to run on the ISS, according to HPE, and was installed in May 2021. The experiments involved real-time data processing and testing of new applications to prove reliability in space to increase autonomy for astronauts. HPE said the experiments reduced the time-to-insight from days and months to minutes.How to choose an edge gateway
SBC-2 consists of HPE’s Edgeline Converged EL4000 Edge system, which is designed to perform in harsher edge environments, including space. SBC-2 is also made up of the HPE ProLiant DL360 high-performance server designed for workloads like HPC, and AI.To read this article in full, please click here
As data centers evolve, the skills needed to run them change as well, creating both a challenge and opportunity for current data-center workers.By necessity, modern data centers are at the forefront of efficiency for energy consumption, space utilization and automation. That efficiency extends to the personnel that staffs them and who must swiftly implement hardware, software, and architecture changes as best practices improve. That calls for new roles in administration, management, and planning.Existing career fields and legacy skill sets won’t cut it in many cases, but IT pros will be able to augment their existing skills to fill new roles as they open up—jobs with a more forward-looking focus.To read this article in full, please click here
Microsoft has announced the public preview of its new Azure virtual machines powered by the Arm-based Ampere Altra server processors.The VM series includes the general-purpose Dpsv5 and memory-optimized Epsv5 virtual machines, which Microsoft claims can deliver up to 50% better price-performance than comparable IBM x86-based VMs.The new VMs have been specifically engineered to efficiently run scale-out workloads, web servers, application servers, open-source databases, cloud-native and rich .NET applications, Java applications, gaming servers, and media servers.To read this article in full, please click here
Advanced Micro Devices took a big step toward competing in data-center networking with its announced agreement to acquire Pensando for approximately $1.9 billion. AMD wants the DPU-based architecture and technology Pensando is developing that includes intelligent, programmable software to support software-defined cloud, compute, networking, storage, and security services that could be rolled out quickly in edge, colocation, or service-provider networks.What is SDN and where it’s going
“There are a wide range of use cases—such as 5G and IoT—that need to support lots of low latency traffic,” Soni Jiandani, Pensando co-founder and chief business office told Network World last November:“We’ve taken a ground-up approach to giving enterprise customers a fully programmable system with the ability to support multiple infrastructure services without dedicated CPUs.”To read this article in full, please click here
Today’s announcement of IBM’s new z16 mainframes promises a system that caters to enterprise needs that include support for AI, security, hybrid cloud, and open source efforts well into the future.The new, more powerful and feature-rich Big Iron boasts an AI accelerator built onto its core Telum processor that can do 300 billion deep-learning inferences per day with one millisecond latency and includes what IBM calls a quantum-safe system to protect organizations from anticipated quantum-based security threats.
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With the advent of the latest generation of IBM mainframes – the z16 – Big Blue is furthering one of the most successful technology systems the IT world has known. Here are a few key moments in the history of the Big Iron:IBM 360
In 1964 IBM began what many would consider the first true series of mainframes, the IBM 360. At the time IBM said its central processors included 19 combinations of graduated speed and memory capacity. The system also included more than 40 types of peripheral equipment for entering, storing, and retrieving information. Built-in communications capability made the System/360 available to remote terminals, regardless of distance.To read this article in full, please click here
Fortinet has made available a new release of its core FortiOS software that includes features the vendor says will help enterprises more tightly meld security and networking controls.FortiOS 7.2, has 300 new features including AI support to help stop network threats more quickly, sandboxing to help fight ransomware threats, and improved SD-WAN, branch, and edge orchestration.How to choose an edge gateway
FortiOS is the vendor’s operating system for the FortiGate family of hardware and virtual components. FortiOS implements Fortinet Security Fabric and includes network security such as firewalling, access control, and authentication in addition to SD-WAN, switching, and wireless services. To read this article in full, please click here
NOC (pronounced “knock,”) stands for a network operations center, and if the term conjures up images of a NASA-like control room, you would not be too far off from reality – at least at some organizations.While the role of a NOC can vary, the general idea is to create a room or centralized facility where information technology (IT) professionals can constantly monitor, maintain and troubleshoot all aspects of a network. The NOC must also be equipped with all of the technology required in order to support those operations, including monitors, computers, telecommunications equipment and a fast connection to network resources.NOCs were created for two main reasons. The first was to give IT staffers a central location to work from, instead of having them run around trying to fix problems or perform preventative maintenance, like patching systems, from different locations.To read this article in full, please click here
The conventional wisdom is that you should update your IT gear, namely the servers, every three-to-five years, which is usually when service warranties run out. However, some companies hold onto their gear for longer than that for a variety of reasons: lack of funds, business uncertainty, on-premises versus the cloud, and so forth.And for a while, the CPU guys were helping. New generations of processors were only incrementally faster than the old ones making it hard to justify an upgrade. The result was longer lifecycles for server hardware. A 2020 survey by IDC found 20.3% of respondents holding on to servers for six years and 12.4% keeping servers for seven years or more.To read this article in full, please click here
As SD-WAN adoption continues to flourish, the market has begun to stabilize and competitive pressures have begun to force prices lower, according to research from TeleGeography.SD-WAN costs are apparently becoming more accessible, particularly at the lower-capacity end of the market, according to TeleGeography’s research, which said that median non-recurring charges for SD-WAN implementations—meaning charges for the SD-WAN appliances themselves, not for additional managed services—have decreased by about 15% compounded annually since 2018.To read this article in full, please click here
When it comes to hot networking topics what is really interesting right now is seeing how networking and security are evolving together in terms of WAN and cloud networking—at least for David Hughes, Aruba’s chief product and technology officer.In an interview from Aruba’s Atmosphere 2022 event, Hughes told Network World that idea of a network and security perimeter as is becoming outdated.SD-WAN buyers guide: Key questions to ask vendors
“The idea that you use firewalls, especially next-gen firewalls, to have an outside and an inside, and everything inside is good and everything outside it’s bad—that idea is fast becoming obsolete,” Hughes said.To read this article in full, please click here
The old saying “adversity makes for strange bedfellows” has been proven true, with Nvidia saying it is now willing to work with Intel’s foundry business to manufacture its chips.Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang dropped the news on a press call when he was asked . about diversifying the company’s supply chain, which relies on TSMC for its chip manufacturing, and TSMC is both overloaded with orders and in a politically unstable region of the world (Taiwan).Huang said his company realized it needed more resilience going forward, and so over the last couple years has added to the number of process nodes it uses, and is in more fabs than ever. “So we've expanded our supply chain, supply base, probably four-fold in the last two years,” Huang said.To read this article in full, please click here
The global enterprise IoT market grew by 22% to a total of $157.9 billion in 2021despite some adverse conditions labncluding labor and chip shortages, according to a study released today by Germany-based research firm IoT Analytics.That figure is slightly lower than the 24% that the company projected in previous reports, but it’s still a substantial rate of growth, and one that IoT Analytics expects will be sustained for the next five years, for a projected total market size of $525 billion by 2027.One of the main factors driving enterprise IoT growth below previous estimates was a shortage of skilled workers, according to the report. Businesses in 2021 had trouble finding enough IoT-conversant hires to move digital transformation and IoT projects forward, with job postings related to IoT growing by 41% between July 2021 and Mach 2022. The firm also cited other research, from Inmarsat, as saying that a paucity of in-house IoT knowledge is one of the key blockers to more widespread IoT deployment.To read this article in full, please click here