For most businesses, the decision of “to cloud or not to cloud” has been answered with a resounding yes. The burning question now is which cloud provider to use, and that has no easy answer because every cloud provider has different pricing models and strengths and weaknesses.The reality is that almost every business of any significant size will embrace the concept of multi-cloud where a combination of Microsoft Azure, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), and others are used.Multi-cloud rapidly becomes the norm
Several factors are driving companies to multi-cloud — some business related and others technical that will continue to force this architecture upon companies. Pricing considerations and avoiding being beholden to a single vendor are a couple of issues that business leaders might be concerned with, whereas tools, innovation and functionality are factors that developers and IT individuals would prioritize when making a choice.To read this article in full, please click here
There’s a shake-up – and a scandal – in the Top500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers.The U.S. has retaken first place in the Top500 list after five years of dominance by China. Computers built by IBM for the U.S. Department of Energy have pushed the previous two record-holders, both Chinese, into second and fourth place.[ Now see who's developing quantum computers.]
But the previous fourth placeholder, Japan’s Gyoukou, is nowhere to be found, after one of its creators was arrested on suspicion of fraud.To read this article in full, please click here
As the cloud computing market has soared, businesses have begun incorporating a mix of cloud services to meet their Digital Transformation (DX) objectives. Multi-cloud and hybrid cloud environments are fast becoming the option of choice. In fact, according to a recent Information Age article, 451 Research determined that the future of IT is multi-cloud and hybrid with 69 percent of survey respondents planning to incorporate some form of multi-cloud environment by 2019.To read this article in full, please click here
The next great leap forward in progress will be marked by an exponential growth in connection and connectivity. As sensors become smaller and more energy efficient, mobile devices become more capable and our networks become more robust, industries as disparate as healthcare, transportation, education, government and entertainment will find opportunities for new efficiencies, new ways of interacting with consumers and transformative approaches to serving their communities.In short, advancements in network technology are helping us achieve great things. We’re seeing the well documented benefits of agility, reliability and performance of networks in healthcare, where wireless networks are supporting complex EHR systems and M2M communications are delivering moment-to-moment information on patient status and improving health outcomes. There’s also been an emergence of new educational (and job) opportunities provided via emerging eSports programs in K-12 and higher education settings.To read this article in full, please click here
With the upcoming release of Windows Server 2019 this fall, it’s time for enterprise IT pros who work in Microsoft shops to start planning their migration to the new operating system.As with any major release, it takes time to get familiar with what’s new and to start getting hands-on experience implementing new features. In this case, the enhancements include improved security and enhanced data-center capabilities.[ Check out AI boosts data-center availability, efficiency. Also learn what hyperconvergence is and whether you’re ready for hyperconverged storage. | For regularly scheduled insights sign up for Network World newsletters. ]
So far among those who have been experimenting with the Insider Preview of Windows Server 2019 the most areas commonly deployed first are:To read this article in full, please click here
I have had many people ask me about what Cisco Live is like, from my perspective as a long-time attendee and a member of the Hall of Fame Elite for speakers. While my perspective may be a bit different than your average attendee, I thought I’d give it a shot and write it up.Cisco Live is an amazing event. Some years, I may present at Cisco Live up to 4 times per year, and this was one of those years.
Cancun, Mexico – December 2017
Barcelona, Spain – February 2018
Melbourne, Australia – March 2018
Orlando, Florida, USA – June 2018
When I was a young buck and started attending Cisco Live they were actually called “Networkers” and to me, that still describes the best part of Cisco Live. Not networking in the technology sense, but the human networking that goes on. It’s like a reunion with the people that I get to see year after year; and I get to meet new people every single time.To read this article in full, please click here
CIOs, network administrators and data-center managers who see a need to run full-fledged, unmodified enterprise software at the edge of their networks, on factory floors and oil rigs, now have an opportunity to do so.HPE is certifying complete enterprise software stacks for its EdgeLine converged infrastructure devices, allowing enterprises to run the exact same applications in the data center, in the cloud or at the network edge.[ Check out AI boosts data-center availability, efficiency. Also learn what hyperconvergence is and whether you’re ready for hyperconverged storage. | For regularly scheduled insights sign up for Network World newsletters. ]
The certifications will cover software from vendors including Microsoft, SAP, PTC, SparkCognition and Citrix to run on its EdgeLine EL 1000 and EdgeLine EL4000 systems, the company said Wednesday at its Discover conference in Las Vegas.To read this article in full, please click here
Flash storage has quickly taken off, thanks to its ability to use less capacity with greater speed. Flash boosts performance and enables companies to reap benefits like reduced power consumption and consolidated apps per machine.Initially quite expensive, flash storage had been used reservedly, such as for subsets of application data. Although improvements and efficiencies in the technology have resulted in lower prices, there are still cases where using hard disk drives (HDDs) is either more efficient or more economical. And this is why we’re now seeing the emergence of hybrid flash storage solutions.Let’s take a look at the options.All-flash arraysTo read this article in full, please click here
When I began my journey in 2015 with SD-WAN, the implementation requirements were different to what they are today. Initially, I deployed pilot sites for internal reachability. This was not a design flaw, but a solution requirement set by the options available to SD-WAN at that time. The initial requirement when designing SD-WAN was to replace multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and connect the internal resources together.Our projects gained the benefits of SD-WAN deployments. It certainly added value, but there were compelling constraints. In particular we were limited to internal resources and users, yet our architecture consisted of remote partners and mobile workers. The real challenge for SD-WAN vendors is not solely to satisfy internal reachability. The wide area network (WAN) must support a range of different entities that require network access from multiple locations.To read this article in full, please click here
Water cooling for enterprise servers is slowly creeping in from the fringes to the mainstream of data center use as vendors and end users alike realize the limitations of air cooling. With increased compute density, fans just don’t cut it anymore, and water cooling is far more efficient.Several vendors have adapted their cabinets to accommodate water-cooling systems, and now Lenovo is the latest to get religion on the subject with Neptune, a series of technologies for the data center. The company announced the new system at the International Supercomputing Conference (ISC) in Frankfurt, Germany.[ Learn how server disaggregation can boost data center efficiency. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ]
Neptune is a three-pronged approach, borrowed from the legend of the Roman god of the seas Neptune, who wields a three-pointed spear. It offers direct-to-node liquid cooling, rear door heat exchangers, and hybrid cooling that mixes air and liquid, all of which is documented in a lighthearted blog post by the company.To read this article in full, please click here
NVMe (non-volatile memory express) is shaking up the enterprise storage industry.A communications protocol developed specifically for all-flash storage, NVMe enables faster performance and greater density compared to legacy protocols. It's geared for enterprise workloads that require top performance, such as real-time data analytics, online trading platforms and other latency-sensitive workloads.[ Check out AI boosts data-center availability, efficiency. Also learn what hyperconvergence is and whether you’re ready for hyperconverged storage. | For regularly scheduled insights sign up for Network World newsletters. ]
NVMe vs. serial-attached SCSI (SAS)
NVMe is aimed at reducing the software overhead between applications and storage in all-flash systems.To read this article in full, please click here
[ Check out our corporate guide to addressing IoT security. ]
HPE's pledge to pump billions of dollars into developing edge systems shines a light on the company's ambition to be the leading end-to-end computing infrastructure provider.CEO Antonio Neri made the investment announcement at the company's Discover conference Tuesday in Las Vegas, in his first appearance at the company's annual event as chief executive. He took over the CEO role from Meg Whitman in February.To read this article in full, please click here
As the world has become more cloud- and IoT-centric, the network has increased in value. That is why there has been so much focus on network evolution, particularly in the data center and the wide area network.One part of the network that has lagged in innovation, however, is the network edge. Over the years, the edge of the network has been considered by many to be a commodity. And for many businesses, it is in dire need of a refresh. I’ve talked to some organizations that are running network edge infrastructure that’s approaching 10 years old and haven’t even had a software upgrade in years.[ Related: Getting grounded in intent-based networking ]
The network edge needs to evolve
However, in the words of the esteemed song writer Bob Dylan, “The times, they are a changing” — and so is the role of the network edge.To read this article in full, please click here
As business leaders, we make decisions every day that have the potential to create some level of technical debt. We choose to deploy a new business application that streamlines HR processes but may require frequent patching, or we expedite delivery of a new product feature knowing there will be increased management overhead. To some extent, technical debt is unavoidable, but when debt accumulates over time, it will limit business velocity and stifle an organization’s ability to innovate.For many enterprises, substantial technical debt is created by legacy applications, disparate platforms and processes, and outdated technology, and it is dragging down modernization initiatives. Organizations need to modernize their IT stack to compete in a digital economy, but – similar to the challenges of personal finance – you cannot begin to truly invest until you’ve paid off the debt you owe.To read this article in full, please click here
Net neutrality officially ended on June 11, 2018, and many people are concerned that this is the end of an open internet. Many supporters of it believe the internet should be regulated no different than the phone system or power utility and that this change will decrease the performance of it. Opponents of net neutrality, argue that the end of it will now increase competition among the various internet service providers (ISPs) and increase coverage, improve performance, and lower costs.What is net neutrality?
Net neutrality became effective by the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) under President Barack Obama in 2015. It is a set of rules that ensured ISPs treated all data transmissions, irrespective to content, that flowed through their infrastructure equally. Net neutrality protections prevented ISPs from slowing web services, blocking access to sites, or charging content organizations for faster delivery of streaming movies or videos. It is believed that antitrust laws did not go far enough in ensuring that all content received equal treatment.To read this article in full, please click here
David Goeckeler doesn’t wear all of the hats at Cisco but he certainly wears one of the biggest.Responsible for 20,000 engineers and $32 billion worth of the networking giant’s business, Goeckeler, executive vice president and general manager, masterminds Cisco's network and security strategy which now features ever more emphasis on software. In fact, at the recent Cisco Live, Goeckeler emphasized that notion saying, “all the routers and switches and wireless access points (and in big networks there are going to be tens of thousands of those in a single enterprise network) we're thinking about that as one large software system.”To read this article in full, please click here
While major cloud providers such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google have spent billions investing in their own networks to provide high-speed backbones, as have connectivity players like Verizon Enterprise, the fact remains that you still have to contend with regular internet traffic on a daily basis.And if your connections to the cloud seem slow, blame Netflix and YouTube, as they account for half of all internet traffic.With that headache in mind, the Oracle Internet Intelligence group has launched a free map of the global health of the internet, allowing enterprises to see where there are bottlenecks in internet traffic and perhaps route around them to their cloud providers.To read this article in full, please click here
A new global backbone provider emerged from stealth last week, giving organizations even more choice in how they build their Internet-based SD-WANs. Mode introduced what it calls a “software-defined core” (SD-CORE) network that offers IT “affordable private network reliability and quality of service” across the globe.The company joins Aryaka and Cato Networks as one of the few independent backbone providers helping enterprises solve the variability problems of the Internet core. "Internet testing results: Why fixing the internet middle mile is essential for SD-WAN performance," middle-mile performance, forms the biggest challenge for delivering stable, global, low-latency connections.To read this article in full, please click here
Software and programmable intelligent networks were hot topics at Cisco Live last week, and one of the key components of that discussion was the direction of the company’s SD-WAN strategy.Central to that dialog is how Cisco plans to use and integrate the SD-WAN technology it acquired last year when it bought Viptela for $610 million. For the moment, Cisco says Viptela has brought with it interest to the tune of about 800 new customers in recent months.To read this article in full, please click here
With Windows Server 2019, Microsoft is adding resiliency and redundancy enhancements to the Shielded Virtual Machines security controls it introduced with Windows Server 2016.To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)