Being first doesn't guarantee success in the technology industry. Remember the Netscape browser? Still, it can have its advantages, such as a different or unique approach to things.Such is the case with Slackware Linux. Slackware was the first formalized Linux distro, released in 1993, just two years after Linus Torvalds posted the Linux kernel. It was overtaken and overshadowed by Red Hat, SuSe, and Ubuntu, but it never went away. Now it's coming out of the shadows with an upgrade.Slackware creator Patrick Volkerding recently posted a beta version of Slackware 15, the first update to the distro since version 14.2 in 2016. If you think that's ancient, you should see their website.To read this article in full, please click here
Coming soon to a factory floor near you: Google AI.Google Cloud and Siemens have announced an agreement that calls for Siemens to integrate Google Cloud's AI and machine learning technologies into its factory automation products.Google Cloud's AI/ML capabilities will be combined with Siemens Digital Industries' factory automation portfolio, allowing manufacturers to harmonize their factory data, run cloud-based AI/ML models on top of that data, and deploy algorithms at the network edge. This enables applications such as the visual inspection of products or predicting the wear-and-tear of machines on the assembly line.To read this article in full, please click here
If you're a Linux user, you are undoubtedly familiar with the "dock"--that column of icons lined up on the side of your screen that includes important applications, your favorites. It allows you to open the applications simply by left clicking on one of the icons. Sandra Henry-Stocker / IDG But did you know that you can add or remove applications from your dock and sometimes even change the location of the dock on your screen? This post shows you how to make these changes on Ubuntu.To read this article in full, please click here
I consider myself a techno-optimist. Technology has improved life for humanity in countless ways, like the wheel, the printing press, selfie sticks—these marvels have enriched us all.So too has Wi-Fi. If not for Wi-Fi, no one could idly stream YouTube videos on company laptops through rogue hotspots at a busy-but-socially-distanced coffeeshop when we’re supposed to be doing our jobs. Which is to say none of us could fully leverage the remote network-connectivity tools that allow enterprise employees to be productive any time and from anywhere.To read this article in full, please click here
The U.S. military is devoting time and resources into research on improving the signal quality and security of 5G--efforts that, if history is any indication, eventually will result in technologies that are available to commercial enterprises. 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 As Breaking Defense reports, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded roughly $500,000 in “exploratory” funding to wireless startup MixComm to demonstrate whether silicon-based millimeter wave (mmWave) power amplifiers can economically boost radio signals so the Department of Defense (DoD) can leverage 5G wireless connectivity globally.To read this article in full, please click here
OK, help me understand this. Microsoft just spent almost $20 billion to buy Nuance, the company that supplies the popular Dragon speech-to-text tool. Microsoft already has speech-to-text available in Windows 10 and through Azure, and even a partnership with Nuance. Nuance’s single big jump in stock price in its history coincides with Covid and WFH, which is now (hopefully) passing. Nuance revenue boom? Apparently, ending. The Dragon product? Incremental to Microsoft’s current position. Health care vertical? Interesting, but not a cash cow.To read this article in full, please click here
Organizations using Pulse Secure’s mobile VPN should patch vulnerabilities reportedly being exploited in the wild, possibly by a “Chinese espionage actor”.The patch–available here–is considered important enough that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) gave federal agencies a deadline of April 23 to apply them.Backup lessons from a cloud-storage disaster CISA’s guidance states that federal users of Pulse Connect Secure VPNs must use the company’s free utility to ascertain whether their devices are vulnerable.To read this article in full, please click here
The largest cloud provider based in Europe, OVHcloud, suffered a catastrophic fire last month that destroyed one of its data centers and smoke-damaged a neighboring one. OVHcloud customers with data in the burned-out data cener who had their own disaster recovery measures in place or who purchased the off-site backup and disaster-recovery services offered by OVHcloud have been able to resume operations. Those who did not lost data that will never come back.Some losses were complete, such as those described on Twitter by rounq.com who is still waiting for backups and redundancy that he thought were already in place, according to his tweets. Companies that had some type of off-site backup seemed to be up and running again, such as Centre PompidouTo read this article in full, please click here
A new survey by the Uptime Institute found that power issues are becoming less of a problem for data center operators, but networking and software issues are emerging as an increasingly bigger problem.The Uptime Institute's third Annual Outage Analysis notes that while improvements have been made with technology and availability, outages remain a major industry, customer, and regulatory concern. The report also shows that the overall impact and direct and indirect cost of outages continue to grow. When asked about their most recent significant outage, more than half of respondents reported an outage in the past three years and estimated its cost at more than $100,000; among those respondents, almost one-third reported costs of $1 million or above.To read this article in full, please click here
Open source software has been a key underpinning of enterprise IT for years, so it’s no surprise that it’s helping to drive the infrastructure part of the equation forward just as much as application development.Some projects are much more influential than others, and here are five that are doing the most to help enterprise infrastructure keep pace with the demands of an ever-more sophisticated operating environment.OpenStack OpenStack is notable in part for being an open-source competitor to the most important proprietary virtualization software on the market—VMware’s VSphere. For the basic task of virtualizing servers into a flexible pool of computing resources, the difference appears to be ease of use—it’s simpler to use VMware when there isn’t a lot of in-house virtualization or private-cloud expertise.To read this article in full, please click here
In today’s IT profession, how important are certifications? Do you need them to do your job, stay relevant, or receive a promotion? Or is on-the-job training enough?Some IT professionals get certifications because they are required, some get them for monetary reasons, and some get them for their own personal growth. At work, it’s a big topic of discussion. Here’s my experience and what I decided.Network pros react to Cisco certification curriculum When I began my IT career as a network engineer, I was unfamiliar with certifications, but getting the CompTIA Security+ certification was a requirement for my job because of the sensitivity of my work. By getting the certification I would know more about securing networks and keeping them secure. I had to try three times before passing the exam because I had to learn how to take the test, not because I hadn’t mastered the material. That taught me to stay relaxed and reread the questions during the exam, and it taught me that persistence pays off. Obtaining the Security+ certification gave me a level of confidence that I could obtain more certifications, so I decided to try for the CompTIA Network+ certification to increase my Continue reading
Hot on the heels of its pending spin-off of VMware, Dell is now reportedly looking to sell off its Boomi cloud business for $3 billion. Bloomberg first broke the news, citing people familiar with the matter.Dell is working with a financial adviser on the sale, sources told Bloomberg, and the idea is said to be in the early stages. One thing about Dell, it does not rush these decisions. The VMware spin-off, which has been discussed for years, started last summer and only now is coming to fruition.Boomi provides an integration platform as a service (iPaaS), which enables the connection of applications and data sources. The platform provides API, lifecycle management, and event-driven architecture features for cloud integration. Dell acquired Boomi in 2010.To read this article in full, please click here
Juniper Networks Manoj Leelanivas Like most of its competitors, Juniper Networks is leaning hard on developing all manner of software components—from automation to intent-based networking—in order to address the changing needs of enterprise-network customers. Moving into the software realm is no small task as Juniper has to integrate products from a number of acquisitions including Mist, 128 Technologies, Apstra, and NetRounds. At the same time it continues to develop its own Junos software and invest in key open-source projects such Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) among other undertakings. Network World talked with Manoj Leelanivas, Juniper’s executive vice president and chief product officer about the company’s software directions and how it is preparing for challenges of the future. Here is an edited version of that conversation. To read this article in full, please click here
In the IT world, specifically in networking, there aren’t many aspects that are as much of an enigma as subnetting—the act of creating subnetworks.Subnets are logical divisions of an existing network that are defined by both class of IP address and the subnet mask. Often, consultants provide network design services to budding businesses to help establish a network that fits their needs at the time. But as the business grows or its needs change there may come a time when the initial network structure no longer works.IPv6 deployment guide I’m currently working on a project that fits that description to a tee. The network was conceived by consultants when there were not as many devices and users to accommodate. As the needs of the business grew, it became painfully obvious that a single /24 subnet that accommodates up to 254 hosts wasn’t enough anymore. So I’m building out a new network structure that can accommodate all of the devices we currently have, separated by types of devices, and with room for growth.To read this article in full, please click here
Communications giant Verizon last week launched 5G for Business Internet in 21 new markets, targeting SMBs and enterprises alike. 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 fixed-wireless plans provide download speeds of 100Mbps ($69/month), 200Mbps ($99/month), and 400Mbps ($199/month) with no data limits. Upload speeds are slower. Verizon is also offering a 10-year price lock for new customers with no long-term contract required.To read this article in full, please click here
There are quite a few tools that can help test your connectivity on the Linux command line. In this post, we'll look at a series of commands that can help estimate your connection speed, test whether you can reach other systems, analyze connection delays, and determine whether particular services are available.ping The ping command is the simplest and most often used command for doing basic connectivity testing. It sends out packets called echo requests and are packets that request a response. The command looks for the responses and displays them along with how long each response took and then reports what percentage of the requests were answered.To read this article in full, please click here
VMware has unveiled an integrated package of cloud security, access control and networking software aimed at addressing the key needs of today's COVID-19-driven remote workforce.VMware Anywhere Workspace brings together the company’s core enterprise software products, including its Workspace ONE unified endpoint management, Carbon Black Cloud cloud-native endpoint security, and secure access service edge (SASE) components, into a single system to support a widely distributed workforce. Read more: Who's selling SASE, and what do you get? "Enterprises are moving from simply supporting remote work to becoming distributed, anywhere organizations. Companies are rethinking where teams work, how they work, and how they support customers from wherever they are," Sanjay Poonen, chief operating officer, customer operations with VMware, wrote in a blog about the announcement. "To be successful, this means investing in technology and a long-term strategy to be a stronger, more focused and more resilient organization." To read this article in full, please click here
Wi-Fi has transformed the way we live, allowing us to work from any location, shop from the comfort of our armchairs, and benefit from a wide range of connected devices that would have been impossible if we were constrained by cables.The number of connected devices is growing faster than the number of global Internet users with smart home devices like thermostats, smoke alarms and lighting systems making life more comfortable, safer, and more convenient.By 2023, Internet of Things (IoT) will account for half of the global device market and connected home applications will be the largest category. This is a huge opportunity for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) to offer additional services and generate revenues.To read this article in full, please click here
The Albuquerque water authority says recent network upgrades give it greater visibility and control over its remote sites and makes for faster responses to leaks and other problems.The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority manages more than 3,000 miles of water-supply pipeline covering more than 650,000 users. The authority manages 135 remote locations, which include well sites, tanks, and pump stations, all of which have programmable logic controllers (PLC) connected to a dedicated, fixed-wireless network running at 900MHz back to the core network.[Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters.] “The [main treatment] plant was built [about] 15 years ago,” said Kristen Sanders, the authority’s chief information security officer. “So if a piece of equipment went out, replacing it would be about shopping on eBay.” Also the authority’s fiber backbone that connects the sites with the main plant was past it’s service life and had to be replaced.To read this article in full, please click here
Cisco is offering a new tool that it says democratizes the use of key telemetry streams to help customers more effectively populate analytics applications and efficiently run enterprise network management systems.Telemetry metrics are generated from enterprise resources, such as switches, routers, wireless infrastructure and IoT systems, and used by business and technology applications to monitor trends and help IT respond to threats or react to changing network conditions. Read more: Top metrics for multicloud management As use of monitoring and analytics programs grows, so does the need to grab advanced, dependable telemetry data to help feed those applications.To read this article in full, please click here