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Category Archives for "Networking"

IDG Contributor Network: Roast chestnuts, not your data center

With the happiest of holidays soon upon us and New Year’s right around the corner, now is an appropriate time to reflect on data center managers around the world so that all their days may be merry and bright. But wait, is that an IT staff member attempting to forecast capacity with his head buried in an MS Excel spreadsheet? And another, tiredly walking the data center with a Stanley tape measure hooked on his belt while daydreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones he used to know?Our hearts go out to them, knowing that without accurate intel these data center managers won’t be able to take timely and appropriate actions, to say nothing about missing out on their CFOs’ figgy pudding. But they are not alone.To read this article in full, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Roast chestnuts, not your data center

With the happiest of holidays soon upon us and New Year’s right around the corner, now is an appropriate time to reflect on data center managers around the world so that all their days may be merry and bright. But wait, is that an IT staff member attempting to forecast capacity with his head buried in an MS Excel spreadsheet? And another, tiredly walking the data center with a Stanley tape measure hooked on his belt while daydreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones he used to know?Our hearts go out to them, knowing that without accurate intel these data center managers won’t be able to take timely and appropriate actions, to say nothing about missing out on their CFOs’ figgy pudding. But they are not alone.To read this article in full, please click here

It’s not to late! See Amazon’s Last Minute Gift Ideas, On Your Doorstep By Christmas – Deal Alert

If you still need to buy, don't worry -- there's still time. Amazon still has deals running every day, in every category imaginable, and with Prime shipping you'll have it by Christmas.  Discounted USB cords, chargers, phone accessories, BlueTooth speakers, splitters, and other gadgets. Jump over to Amazon's "Last Minute Deals" page. If you're not a Prime member, sign up for a free trial and you'll instantly get access to free 2-day shipping, which will be critical at this point. To read this article in full, please click here

2018 and the Internet: our predictions

At the end of 2016, I wrote a blog post with seven predictions for 2017. Let’s start by reviewing how I did.

Didn’t he do well Public Domain image by Michael Sharpe

I’ll score myself with two points for being correct, one point for mostly right and zero for wrong. That’ll give me a maximum possible score of fourteen. Here goes...

2017-1: 1Tbps DDoS attacks will become the baseline for ‘massive attacks’

This turned out to be true but mostly because massive attacks went away as Layer 3 and Layer 4 DDoS mitigation services got good at filtering out high bandwidth and high packet rates. Over the year we saw many DDoS attacks in the 100s of Gbps (up to 0.5Tbps) and then in September announced Unmetered Mitigation. Almost immediately we saw attackers stop bothering to attack Cloudflare-protected sites with large DDoS.

So, I’ll be generous and give myself one point.

2017-2: The Internet will get faster yet again as protocols like QUIC become more prevalent

Well, yes and no. QUIC has become more prevalent as Google has widely deployed it in the Chrome browser and it accounts for about 7% of Internet traffic. At the same time the protocol is working its Continue reading

2018 and the Internet: our predictions

At the end of 2016, I wrote a blog post with seven predictions for 2017. Let’s start by reviewing how I did.

Didn’t he do well
Public Domain image by Michael Sharpe

I’ll score myself with two points for being correct, one point for mostly right and zero for wrong. That’ll give me a maximum possible score of fourteen. Here goes...

2017-1: 1Tbps DDoS attacks will become the baseline for ‘massive attacks’

This turned out to be true but mostly because massive attacks went away as Layer 3 and Layer 4 DDoS mitigation services got good at filtering out high bandwidth and high packet rates. Over the year we saw many DDoS attacks in the 100s of Gbps (up to 0.5Tbps) and then in September announced Unmetered Mitigation. Almost immediately we saw attackers stop bothering to attack Cloudflare-protected sites with large DDoS.

So, I’ll be generous and give myself one point.

2017-2: The Internet will get faster yet again as protocols like QUIC become more prevalent

Well, yes and no. QUIC has become more prevalent as Google has widely deployed it in the Chrome browser and it accounts for about 7% of Internet traffic. At the same time the protocol is working its Continue reading

Wow, another Year Swooshed By…

Could you believe it? Another year swooshed by… and it’s high time to stop being snarky and cynical, disconnect from the Internet, and spend a few days with people who really matter – our families.

For me, there’s another large group of people that matter: my users.

Read more ...

VXLAN designs: 3 ways to consider routing and gateway design (part 2)

In my previous post, I focused on the concepts of what is called off box routing and centralized routing. They were two different yet similar solutions. The first one being the simplest solution leveraging an external gateway to route between VXLANs. The second solution integrated the edge device to be both an external gateway and VXLAN end point (VTEP).

To expand on my previous post, the next logical place to put a gateway in VXLAN designs is to distribute them all on the top of rack (TOR), also known as the leaf. This TOR acts as a VTEP in the VXLAN solution. Its primary purpose is to encapsulate and decapsulate traffic. This solution is also colloquially known as Anycast Gateway VXLAN Routing. Anycast Gateway VXLAN Routing can only be performed on ASICs that support routing in and out of tunnels (RIOT), as discussed in the previous post. For the rest of this post, when I refer to VXLAN Routing, I specifically mean Anycast Gateway VXLAN Routing unless otherwise noted.

In the simplest form, VXLAN Routing allows the TOR to perform a route lookup on the inbound packet before encapsulating the traffic into a VXLAN tunnel. There are two ways that Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: How the end of Net Neutrality will affect IoT

The ongoing debate over net neutrality has the internet abuzz, and for good reason; forthcoming changes to how internet service providers are regulated could fundamentally reshape the modern internet, with unknown implications for the internet of things. As the IoT continues to grow at a staggering pace, it’s important for its advocates to understand the ongoing hubbub surrounding net neutrality, and how its cessation will impact the IoT for years to come.So, what exactly is net neutrality, and what specific obstacles may spring up in the IoT’s path should it come to an end? By examining the heated ongoing debate surrounding net neutrality, IoT enthusiast can come to have an understand as to how vital a free and open internet is towards its continued success, and prepare themselves for a future where net neutrality is gone.To read this article in full, please click here

The time to deal with IoT security is now

In most cases, I try to turn a skeptical eye on hyperbole. So when a cybersecurity expert tells me that IoT security is a “ticking time bomb,” my initial reaction is not to worry about an upcoming “security apocalypse.”But I am already worried about security in the Internet of Things. So, I took the opportunity to ask Srini Vemula, global product management leader and security expert at SenecaGlobal, what’s really at risk as we hurtle toward 2020 and an estimated 20.4 billion connected devices.To read this article in full, please click here

The time to deal with IoT security is now

In most cases, I try to turn a skeptical eye on hyperbole. So when a cybersecurity expert tells me that IoT security is a “ticking time bomb,” my initial reaction is not to worry about an upcoming “security apocalypse.”But I am already worried about security in the Internet of Things. So, I took the opportunity to ask Srini Vemula, global product management leader and security expert at SenecaGlobal, what’s really at risk as we hurtle toward 2020 and an estimated 20.4 billion connected devices.To read this article in full, please click here