Top 10 Networking and Security Sessions

At VMworld 2016, we showed network virtualization has gone mainstream and that NSX is the sure-fire way for you to bring your data center into the future with unparalleled security, speed, and agility.

A year on, NSX is taking its show on the road, and its destination is… everywhere. Not satisfied to help you master only the data center, NSX is setting out to help you conquer the cloud, remote and branch offices (ROBO), and even containers. To help you get there, VMworld 2017 has 70+ networking and security sessions and 60+ NSX customers to show you the way forward firsthand. And as an added bonus, VMware will be launching an exciting new security product, to help ensure your applications stay secure!

So take a look at the list of the top, can’t-miss networking and security sessions below. You should also check out the schedule builder on VMworld.com to reserve your spot in the top networking and security sessions as well as to discover the whole range of introductory and deep dive NSX sessions covering the entire use case spectrum.

See you at VMworld US 2017!

Power outage hits the island of Taiwan. Here’s what we learned.

At approximately 4:50pm local time (8:50am UTC) August 15, a major unexpected power outage hit the island of Taiwan with a significant amount of its power generation facilities going down.

Blackout!

Most of the island was hit with power outages, shortages and rolling blackouts, with street lights not functioning, nor power in many of Taipei’s shopping malls, and much other infrastructure.

Blackouts of this scale are very rare. Usually, during an outage of this scale, it would be expected that Internet traffic would greatly drop, as houses and businesses lose power and are unable to connect to the Internet. I’ve experienced this in the past, working at consumer ISPs. As households and businesses lose power, so do their modems or routers which connect them to the Internet.

However, during yesterday's outage, something different happened. I'd like to share some insights from yesterday's outage.

Photo: Taipei 101 Dark during the Blackout -
Source: David Chang/EPA

Even when the power is out, the Internet still operates

Most Telecom and Data Center facilities are built with redundancy in mind and have backup power generation. Our Data Center partner, Chief, was able to switch to backup power generation without any service interruption, allowing Continue reading

Extreme Networks Plans to Go Toe-to-Toe Against Cisco

Extreme is already training Brocade salespeople.

BrandPost: Going With Managed SD-WAN? Here’s How to Choose a Partner

SD-WAN is gaining tremendous traction among enterprises owing to the benefits it offers — cost savings from efficient use of low-cost Internet and wireless links, centralized control and management, network agility, speed to deployment of new sites, and optimized cloud connectivity—to list a few. And while a DIY model provides enterprise IT managers unprecedented flexibility and control over their WAN, a managed SD-WAN service may be better suited for businesses that prefer a turn-key service due to factors discussed in my previous blog.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 free tools every network needs

In the real estate world, the mantra is location, location, location. In the network and server administration world, the mantra is visibility, visibility, visibility. If you don't know what your network and servers are doing at every second of the day, you're flying blind. Sooner or later, you're going to meet with disaster.Fortunately, many good tools, both commercial and open source, are available to shine much-needed light into your environment. Because good and free always beat good and costly, I've compiled a list of my favorite open source tools that prove their worth day in and day out in networks of any size. From network and server monitoring to trending, graphing, and even switch and router configuration backups, these utilities will see you through.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 free tools every network needs

In the real estate world, the mantra is location, location, location. In the network and server administration world, the mantra is visibility, visibility, visibility. If you don't know what your network and servers are doing at every second of the day, you're flying blind. Sooner or later, you're going to meet with disaster.Fortunately, many good tools, both commercial and open source, are available to shine much-needed light into your environment. Because good and free always beat good and costly, I've compiled a list of my favorite open source tools that prove their worth day in and day out in networks of any size. From network and server monitoring to trending, graphing, and even switch and router configuration backups, these utilities will see you through.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 free tools every network needs

"I am all about useful tools. One of my mottos is 'the right tool for the right job.'" –Martha StewartIf your "right job" involves wrangling computer networks and figuring out how to do digital things effectively and efficiently or diagnosing why digital things aren't working as they're supposed to, you've got your hands full. Not only does your job evolve incredibly quickly becoming evermore complex, but whatever tools you use need frequent updating and/or replacing to keep pace, and that's what we're here for; to help in your quest for the right tools.[ Don’t miss customer reviews of top remote access tools and see the most powerful IoT companies . | Get daily insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] We've done several roundups of free network tools in the past, and since the last one, technology has, if anything, sped up even more. To help you keep up, we've compiled a new shortlist of seven of the most useful tools that you should add to your toolbox.To read this article in full, please click here

Worth Reading: The TCP Tortoise

As LinkedIn migrated to serving its pages on HTTP/2 earlier this year, it became imperative that we identify and use the most optimal transport layer strategy for our users’ network. Being a Transmission Control Protocol-centric (TCP) infrastructure, we initiated an effort to study the effects of different TCP congestion control strategies in different geographies. We found that with the right strategy, we could significantly improve our site speed, resulting in up to 7% faster content downloads. —Prasanna Vijayanathan @ Linkedin

The post Worth Reading: The TCP Tortoise appeared first on rule 11 reader.

The new Extreme Networks is off and rolling

The story of Extreme Networks is one of the more remarkable turnarounds I’ve seen in technology in years. About two years ago the company had a market cap of under $300 million, and I thought they were a sure-fire acquisition target for someone who wanted some decent technology on the cheap — because it was becoming apparently clear that the once-cool networking company had lost its way like so many others before it.Many of the brand names we have known in the past — Nortel, 3Com, Cabletron, Lucent, FORE systems and Foundry — all dropped as Cisco got bigger and HP Networking gobbled up the low end. There just didn’t seem to be room for another vendor. If an acquisition happened, it would likely fall on the scrap heap that so many other networking vendors have been tossed on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The new Extreme Networks is off and rolling

The story of Extreme Networks is one of the more remarkable turnarounds I’ve seen in technology in years. About two years ago the company had a market cap of under $300 million, and I thought they were a sure-fire acquisition target for someone who wanted some decent technology on the cheap — because it was becoming apparently clear that the once-cool networking company had lost its way like so many others before it.Many of the brand names we have known in the past — Nortel, 3Com, Cabletron, Lucent, FORE systems and Foundry — all dropped as Cisco got bigger and HP Networking gobbled up the low end. There just didn’t seem to be room for another vendor. If an acquisition happened, it would likely fall on the scrap heap that so many other networking vendors have been tossed on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The new Extreme Networks is off and rolling

The story of Extreme Networks is one of the more remarkable turnarounds I’ve seen in technology in years. About two years ago the company had a market cap of under $300 million, and I thought they were a sure-fire acquisition target for someone who wanted some decent technology on the cheap — because it was becoming apparently clear that the once-cool networking company had lost its way like so many others before it.Many of the brand names we have known in the past — Nortel, 3Com, Cabletron, Lucent, FORE systems and Foundry — all dropped as Cisco got bigger and HP Networking gobbled up the low end. There just didn’t seem to be room for another vendor. If an acquisition happened, it would likely fall on the scrap heap that so many other networking vendors have been tossed on.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cumulus content roundup: August

It’s time for another Cumulus content roundup! To bring you some of our favorite think-pieces about open source networking trends, both from our website and around the Internet, we’ve wrangled all the links into one convenient spot. From virtual network optimization to private clouds to hyperscale data centers, we’ve got all of the best topics covered. Take a look at these exciting new developments, and let us know what you think in the comments section below.

Cumulus Networks’ latest and greatest

Private cloud vs. public cloud: If you’re getting ready for a data center refresh or thinking about moving to a private cloud, this article is for you. We break down the major differences, benefits and use cases between each type of cloud environment, giving you the information you need to make the right choice for your organization. Read on and find out if it’s time for you to switch to a private cloud.

Monash University video: How did Cumulus Networks manage to migrate Monash University’s entire data center in just two weeks? Senior Consulting Engineer Eric Pulvino breaks it down for you and explains how Cumulus was able to do the impossible. Watch the video to learn more.

Continue reading

Thirteen Fellows to Attend AfPIF 2017

IDG Contributor Network: SDN and a life beyond the death of the internet

For decades, enterprises have relied on the public internet for business-critical SaaS applications and data traffic. The reason why is pretty simple: it’s cost-efficient, it’s easy to use and it’s already there. Compare that to the logistical, financial and implementation challenges of installing an alternative private network, and it’s clear why enterprises have been pretty content with the internet for their entire digital lives.But, it’s 2017. And, if there’s one thing clear about the public internet today, it’s that it no longer cuts it. Rampant DDoS attacks and other cyber threats posed by hackers, rogue employees and nation-states have not just revealed the security, reliability and transparency cracks in the public internet — they’ve blown them wide open.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: SDN and a life beyond the death of the internet

For decades, enterprises have relied on the public internet for business-critical SaaS applications and data traffic. The reason why is pretty simple: it’s cost-efficient, it’s easy to use and it’s already there. Compare that to the logistical, financial and implementation challenges of installing an alternative private network, and it’s clear why enterprises have been pretty content with the internet for their entire digital lives.But, it’s 2017. And, if there’s one thing clear about the public internet today, it’s that it no longer cuts it. Rampant DDoS attacks and other cyber threats posed by hackers, rogue employees and nation-states have not just revealed the security, reliability and transparency cracks in the public internet — they’ve blown them wide open.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: SDN and a life beyond the death of the internet

For decades, enterprises have relied on the public internet for business-critical SaaS applications and data traffic. The reason why is pretty simple: it’s cost-efficient, it’s easy to use and it’s already there. Compare that to the logistical, financial and implementation challenges of installing an alternative private network, and it’s clear why enterprises have been pretty content with the internet for their entire digital lives.But, it’s 2017. And, if there’s one thing clear about the public internet today, it’s that it no longer cuts it. Rampant DDoS attacks and other cyber threats posed by hackers, rogue employees and nation-states have not just revealed the security, reliability and transparency cracks in the public internet — they’ve blown them wide open.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: SDN and a life beyond the death of the internet

For decades, enterprises have relied on the public internet for business-critical SaaS applications and data traffic. The reason why is pretty simple: it’s cost-efficient, it’s easy to use and it’s already there. Compare that to the logistical, financial and implementation challenges of installing an alternative private network, and it’s clear why enterprises have been pretty content with the internet for their entire digital lives.But, it’s 2017. And, if there’s one thing clear about the public internet today, it’s that it no longer cuts it. Rampant DDoS attacks and other cyber threats posed by hackers, rogue employees and nation-states have not just revealed the security, reliability and transparency cracks in the public internet — they’ve blown them wide open.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: SDN and a life beyond the death of the internet

For decades, enterprises have relied on the public internet for business-critical SaaS applications and data traffic. The reason why is pretty simple: it’s cost-efficient, it’s easy to use and it’s already there. Compare that to the logistical, financial and implementation challenges of installing an alternative private network, and it’s clear why enterprises have been pretty content with the internet for their entire digital lives.But, it’s 2017. And, if there’s one thing clear about the public internet today, it’s that it no longer cuts it. Rampant DDoS attacks and other cyber threats posed by hackers, rogue employees and nation-states have not just revealed the security, reliability and transparency cracks in the public internet — they’ve blown them wide open.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Juniper SVP: Cloud Computing’s Next Wave Unifies Security and Connectivity

Juniper SVP expects its security business to recover by year-end.

Datrium Splits Provisioning to Boost Private Cloud Storage

Datrium claims its provisioning feature is more flexible than HCI systems.