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Category Archives for "Networking – The New Stack"

Enhancing Kubernetes Networking with the Gateway API

Kubernetes, the stalwart of container orchestration, has ushered in a new era of application deployment and management. But as the Kubernetes ecosystem evolves, networking  within these clusters has posed persistent challenges. Enter the Gateway API, a transformative solution poised to redefine Kubernetes networking as we know it. At its core, the Gateway API represents a paradigm shift in Kubernetes networking. It offers a standardized approach to configuring and managing network routing, traffic shaping, and security policies within Kubernetes clusters. This standardization brings with it a host of compelling advantages. Firstly, it simplifies the intricate world of networking. By providing a declarative and consistent method to define routing rules, it liberates developers and operators from the complexities of network intricacies. This shift allows them to channel their energies toward refining application logic. The Gateway API doesn’t stop there; it brings scalability to the forefront. Traditional Kubernetes networking solutions, like Ingress controllers, often falter under the weight of burgeoning workloads. In contrast, the Gateway API is engineered to gracefully handle high loads, promising superior performance for modern, dynamic applications. NGINX, now a part of F5, is the company behind the popular open source project, NGINX. NGINX offers a suite of technologies Continue reading

Cilium CNCF Graduation Could Mean Better Observability, Security with eBPF

eBPF (extended Berkeley packet filter) is a powerful technology that operates directly within the Linux kernel, offering robust hooks for extending runtime observability, security, and networking capabilities across various deployment environments. While eBPF has gained widespread adoption, organizations are encouraged to leverage tools and layers built on eBPF to effectively harness its functionality. For instance, Gartner advises that most enterprises lack the expertise to directly utilize Cilium offers additional capabilities with eBPF to help secure the network connectivity between runtimes deployed on Docker and Kubernetes, as well as other environments, including bare metal and virtual machines. Isovalent, which created Cilium and donated it to the CNCF, and the contributors are also, in parallel, developing Cilium capabilities to offer network observability and network security functionality through Cilium sub-projects consisting of Hubble and Tetragon, respectively. This graduation certifies that Cilium — created by

Performant and Programmable Telco Networking with eBPF

To keep the world connected, telecommunication networks demand performance and programmability to meet customers when and where they are, from streaming the winning goal of the world cup to coordinating responses to the latest natural disaster. When switchboards were still run by human operators, telco companies were all about custom hardware with “black boxes” from vendors providing the speed the network needed. These black boxes controlled the performance of the network, which also made it dependent on where they were actually deployed. As telcos moved from traditional phone calls to additional services like messaging and mobile data, the demands on the network pushed the boundaries of what was possible. Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) sought to allow telcos to use “white box” commodity hardware to scale out throughput and increase flexibility. Technologies like the Data Plane Development Kit (

Create a Samba Share and Use from in a Docker Container

Overview This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to create a Samba share from within a Docker container using Ubuntu Server as the host operating system. The tutorial covers two main topics: Installing and configuring Samba on an Ubuntu server Install Samba with sudo apt-get install samba -y Start and enable the Samba service Set a password for users who will access the share Creating a persistent Docker volume mapped to the Samba share: Create a new group and add users to it, setting permissions accordingly Create a persistent Docker volume with docker volume create –opt type=none –opt o=bind –opt device=/data public Deploying an NGINX container using the Docker volume: Mount the Docker volume to the /usr/share/nginx/html directory in the NGINX container Run a new NGINX instance with docker run -d –name nginx-samba -p 8090:80 -v public:/usr/share/nginx/html nginx Testing the setup: Verify that the index.html file is served correctly from the Samba share The article concludes by noting that this setup may not be suitable for production environments, but it can be useful for development or internal services/apps. Key takeaways: Install and configure Samba on an Ubuntu server Create a persistent Docker volume mapped to a shared directory Continue reading

CIOs, Heed On-Premises App and Infrastructure Performance

Although legacy applications and infrastructure may not be a popular topic, their significance to organizations is crucial. As cloud native technologies are poised to become a dominant part of computing, certain applications and infrastructure must remain on premises, particularly in regulated and other industries. Amid the buzz surrounding no-code and low-code platforms, technologists must prioritize acquiring the appropriate tools and insights to manage on-premises environments’ availability and performance. Consumer expectations for flawless digital experiences continue to rise, so companies must optimize their on-premises customer-facing applications to accommodate. For Some, On-Premises Infrastructure Will Remain Essential Much of the recent digital transformation across multiple industries can be attributed to a substantial shift to the cloud. Cloud native technologies are in high demand due to their ability to expedite release velocity and optimize operations with speed, agility, scale and resilience. Nevertheless, it’s easy to overlook the fact that many organizations, especially larger enterprises, still run their applications and infrastructure on premises. While this may seem surprising, it’s partially due to the time-consuming process of seamlessly and securely migrating highly intricate, legacy applications to the cloud. Often, only a portion of an application may be migrated to the cloud while major components will remain Continue reading

Hasura Launches New Data Network for APIs Only

Data networks are generally used for file sharing, application operations or internet access, but what about a network strictly for distributing application programming interfaces? After all, an API is pretty esoteric, given that it is not standard data but a set of rules that define how two pieces of software can interact with each other. Well, that out-of-the-ordinary system now exists, and it’s designed to do a ton of heavy lifting behind the scenes that developers will appreciate. Bangalore- and San Francisco-based Hasura DDN, a new edge network using Graph Query Language and designed for transporting real-time, streaming and analytical data. It enables developers to run low-latency/high-performance data APIs at a global scale, with no additional effort and no additional fees, according to the company. Hasura CEO and co-founder

Red Hat Launches OpenStack Platform 17.1 with Enhanced Security

VANCOUVER — At OpenStack Platform 17.1. This release is the product of the company’s ongoing commitment to support telecoms as they build their next-generation 5G network infrastructures. In addition to bridging existing 4G technologies with emerging 5G networks, the platform enables advanced use cases like Red Hat OpenShift, the company’s

WithSecure Pours Energy into Making Software More Efficient

WithSecure has unveiled a mission to reduce software energy consumption, backing research on how users trade off energy consumption against performance and developing a test bench for measuring energy use, which it ultimately plans to make open source. The Finnish cyber security firm has also kicked off discussions on establishing standards for measuring software power consumption with government agencies in Finland and across Europe, after establishing that there is little in the way of guidance currently. Power Consumption Power consumption by backend infrastructure is a known problem. Data centers, for example, account for up to 1.3% of worldwide electricity consumption, user devices consume more energy than networks and data centers combined. Sphere 2023 in Helsinki, saying that most of the firm’s own operations run in the cloud, which gives it good visibility into the resources it was using and their CO2 impact. Most of the data centers Continue reading

How to Decide Between a Layer 2 or Layer 3 Network

As communication service providers (CSPs) continue to provide essential services to businesses and individuals, the demand for faster and more reliable network connectivity continues to grow in demand and in complexity. To meet these demands, CSPs must offer a variety of connectivity services that provide high-quality network performance, reliability and scalability. When it comes to offering network connectivity services, CSPs have many options when providing Layer 2 (data link) or Layer 3 (network or packet layer) connectivity of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model for network communication. This article will explore some of the advantages and benefits of each type of connectivity, in order for CSPs to determine which one may be better suited for different types of environments or applications. What Is Layer 2 Connectivity? At a basic level, Layer 2 connectivity refers to the use of the data link layer of the

Wireshark Celebrates 25th Anniversary with a New Foundation

No doubt, countless engineers and hackers remember the first time they used newly-developed microscope to view cells for the first time ever: What was once just an inscrutable package had opened up to reveal a treasure trove of useful information. This year, the venerable Wireshark has turned 25, and its creators are taking a step back from this massively successful open source project, to let additional parties to help govern. This month, Sysdig, the current sponsor of Wireshark, launched a new foundation that will serve as the long-term custodian of the project. The

This Week in Computing: Malware Gone Wild

Malware is sneaky AF. It tries to hide itself and cover up its actions. It detects when it is being studied in a virtual sandbox, and so it sits still to evade detection. But when it senses a less secure environment — such as an unpatched Windows 7 box — it goes wild, as if Tudor Dumitras, in a recently posted talk from red pills, which helps malware detect when it is in a controlled environment, and change its behavior accordingly. As a result, many of the signatures used for commercial malware detection packages may not Continue reading

JWTs: Connecting the Dots: Why, When and How

JSON web tokens (JWTs) are great — they are easy to work with and stateless, requiring less communication with a centralized authentication server. JWTs are handy when you need to securely pass information between services. As such, they’re often used as ID tokens or access tokens. This is generally considered a secure practice as the tokens are usually signed and encrypted. However, when incorrectly configured or misused, JWTs can lead to broken object-level authorization or broken function-level authorization vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can expose a state where users can access other data or endpoints beyond their privileges. Therefore, it’s vital to follow best practices for using JWTs. Knowing and understanding the fundamentals of JWTs is essential when determining a behavior strategy. Curity is a leading IAM and API security technology provider that enables user authentication and authorization for digital services. The Curity Identity Server is highly scalable, handles the complexities of the leading identity standards, making them easier to use, customize and deploy. Learn More The latest from Curity $(document).ready(function() { $.ajax({ method: 'POST', url: '/no-cache/sponsors-rss-block/', headers: { 'Cache-Control': 'no-cache, no-store, must-revalidate', 'Pragma': 'no-cache', 'Expires': '0' }, data : { sponsorSlug : 'curity', numItems : 3 }, success : Continue reading

Palo Alto Networks Adds AI to Automate SASE Admin Operations

Whether one pronounces SASE as “sassy” or “sayce,” a secure access service edge is IT that is fast becoming central to enterprise systems as increasing amounts of data come into them from a multiplicity of channels. Palo Alto Networks this week revealed new capabilities to update its Prisma SASE platform by — you guessed it — adding Matt De Vincentes told The New Stack. “You can mix and match these components from multiple different vendors, and you get a potential stack when you have these capabilities kind of integrated together,” De Vincentes said. “But increasingly, we’re seeing a movement toward what we call single-vendor SASE, which is all of these capabilities brought together by a single thing that you can simplify. That’s exactly what we’re doing. “So all of the capabilities that a customer would need to build out this SASE deployment they can get through a single (SaaS) service. Then on top of that, with one vendor you can bring all the data together into one single data lake — and do some interesting AI on top of that.” AIOps Palo Alto Networks calls this Autonomous Digital Experience Management (ADEM), which also provides users end-to-end observability across their network, De Vincentes said. Since ADEM is integrated within Prisma SASE, it does not require additional appliances or agents to be deployed, De Vincentes said. Capabilities that AIOps for ADEM provides are, according to De Vincentes: proactively remediates issues that can cause service interruption through AI-based problem detection and predictive analytics; isolates issues faster (reduced mean time to repair) through an easy-to-use query interface; and discovers network anomalies from a single dashboard. PA Networks also announced three new SD-WAN (software-defined wide-area network) features for users to secure IoT devices, automate branch management, and manage their SD-WAN via on-premises controllers. Capabilities, according to the company, include: Prisma SD-WAN Command Center provides AI-powered and segment-wise insights and always-on monitoring for network and apps for proactive problem resolution at the branch level. Prisma SD-WAN with integrated IoT security enables existing Prisma SD-WAN appliances to help secure IoT devices. This enables accurate detection and identification of branch IoT devices. On-Prem Controller for Prisma SD-WAN helps meet customer regulatory and compliance requirements and works with on-prem and cloud controller deployments. Users can now elect to deploy Prisma SD-WAN using the cloud-management console, on-prem controllers, or both in a hybrid scenario, the company said. All new capabilities will be available by May 2023, except the Prisma SD-WAN Command Center, which will be available by July, the company said. The post Palo Alto Networks Adds AI to Automate SASE Admin Operations appeared first on The New Stack.

TrueNAS SCALE Network Attached Storage Meets High Demand

TrueNAS SCALE might not be a distribution on the radar of most cloud native developers, but it should be. Although TrueNAS SCALE is, by design, a network-attached storage solution (based on Debian), it is also possible to create integrated virtual machines and even Linux containers. TrueNAS SCALE can be deployed as a single node or even to a cluster. It can be expanded with third-party applications, offers snapshotting, and can be deployed on off-the-shelf hardware or as a virtual machine. Gluster for scalable ZFS features and data management. You’ll find support for KVM virtual machines, Kubernetes, and Docker. Even better TrueNAS SCALE is open-source and free to use. Latest Release Recently, the company launched TrueNAS SCALE 22.12.1 (Bluefin), which includes numerous improvements and bug fixes. The list of improvements to the latest release includes the following: SMB Share Proxy to provide a redirect mechanism for SMB shares in a common namespace. Improvements to rootless login. Fixes to ZFS HotPlug. Improved Dashboard for both Enterprise HA and Enclosure management. Continue reading

How Secure Is Your API Gateway?

Quick, how many APIs does your organization use? We’re talking for internal products, for external services and even for infrastructure management such as Amazon’s S3 object storage or Kubernetes. If you don’t know the answer, you are hardly alone. In survey after survey, CIOs and CISOs admit they don’t have an accurate catalog of all their APIs. Yet statistics shared by Mark O’Neill, chief of research for software engineering at Gartner, in 2022: 98% of organizations use or are planning to use internal APIs, up from 88% in 2019 94% of organizations use or are planning to use public APIs provided by third parties, up from 52% in 2019 90% of organizations use or are planning to use private APIs provided by partners, up from 68% in 2019 80% of organizations provide or are planning to provide publicly exposed APIs, up from 46% in 2019 API Gateways Remain Critical Infrastructure Components To deal with this rapid growth and the management and security challenges it creates, CIOs,

Bullet-Proofing Your 5G Security Plan

With latency improvements and higher data speeds, 5G represents exponential growth opportunities with the potential to transform entire industries — from fueling connected autonomous vehicles, smart cities, mixed reality technologies, robotics and more. As enterprises rethink connectivity, 5G will be a major investment area. However, according to Palo Alto Networks’

What David Flanagan Learned Fixing Kubernetes Clusters

People are mean. That’s one of the first things David Flanagan learned by fixing 50+ deliberately broken Kubernetes clusters on his YouTube series, “Klustered.” In one case, the submitter substituted a ‘c’ character with a unicode doppleganger — it looked identical to a c on the terminal output — thus causing an error that led to Flanagan doubting himself and his ability to fix clusters. “I really hate that guy,” Flanagan confided at the Civo Navigate conference last week in Tampa. “That was a long episode, nearly two hours we spent trying to fix this. And what I love about that clip — because I promise you, I’m quite smart and I’m quite good with Kubernetes — but it had me doubting things that I know are not the fault. The fact that I thought a six digit number is going to cause any sort of overflow on a 64 bit system — of course not. But debugging is hard.” After that show, Klustered adopted a policy of no Unicode breaks. “You only learn when things go wrong,” Flanagan said. “This is why I really love doing Klustered. If you just have a cluster that just works, Continue reading