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Category Archives for "Networking"

WISP/FISP Design – Building your future MPLS network with whitebox switching.

 

MPLS-Whitebox-drawings

The role of whitebox in a WISP/FISP MPLS core

Whitebox, if you aren’t familiar with it, is the idea of separating the network operating system and switching hardware into commodity elements that can be purchased separately. There was a good overview on whitebox in this StubArea51.net article a while back if you’re looking for some background.

Lately, in my work for IP ArchiTechs, I’ve had a number of clients interested in deploying IP Infusion with either Dell, Agema or Edge Core switches to build an MPLS core architecture in lieu of an L2 ring deployment via ERPs. Add to that a production deployment of Cumulus Linux and Edge Core that I’ve been working on building out and it’s been a great year for whitebox.

There are a number of articles written that extoll the virtues of whitebox for web scale companies, large service providers and big enterprises. However, not much has been written on how whitebox can help smaller Tier 2 and 3 ISPs – especially Wireless ISPs (WISPs) and Fiber ISPs (FISPs).

And the line between those types of ISPs gets more blurry by the day as WISPs are heavily getting into fiber and FISPs are Continue reading

WISP/FISP Design – Building your future MPLS network with whitebox switching.

 

MPLS-Whitebox-drawings

The role of whitebox in a WISP/FISP MPLS core

Whitebox, if you aren’t familiar with it, is the idea of separating the network operating system and switching hardware into commodity elements that can be purchased separately. There was a good overview on whitebox in this StubArea51.net article a while back if you’re looking for some background.

Lately, in my work for IP ArchiTechs, I’ve had a number of clients interested in deploying IP Infusion with either Dell, Agema or Edge Core switches to build an MPLS core architecture in lieu of an L2 ring deployment via ERPs. Add to that a production deployment of Cumulus Linux and Edge Core that I’ve been working on building out and it’s been a great year for whitebox.

There are a number of articles written that extoll the virtues of whitebox for web scale companies, large service providers and big enterprises. However, not much has been written on how whitebox can help smaller Tier 2 and 3 ISPs – especially Wireless ISPs (WISPs) and Fiber ISPs (FISPs).

And the line between those types of ISPs gets more blurry by the day as WISPs are heavily getting into fiber and FISPs are Continue reading

Robots, AI will run data centers

Artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are among new technologies that are driving a need for increased data center capacity, according to a telco, announcing an expansion recently.China Telecom said in a press release that these “rapidly maturing” technologies, such as machine learning and adaptive security, will propel investment in data centers. And that they are one reason for its data center-business enlargement.Interestingly, though, data centers themselves may end up using this new tech as heavily as the customers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Robots, AI will run data centers

Artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain are among new technologies that are driving a need for increased data center capacity, according to a telco, announcing an expansion recently.China Telecom said in a press release that these “rapidly maturing” technologies, such as machine learning and adaptive security, will propel investment in data centers. And that they are one reason for its data center-business enlargement.Interestingly, though, data centers themselves may end up using this new tech as heavily as the customers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Rough Guide to IETF 99: Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a buzzword around the Internet industry and the broader technology and innovation business. We are often asked what the IETF is doing in relation to IoT and in this short post I'd like to highlight some of the relevant sessions scheduled during the upcoming IETF 99 meeting in Prague. Check out the IETF Journal IoT Category or the Internet Society's IoT page for more details about many of these topics.

Mat Ford

Rough Guide to IETF 99: Back to Prague

Time to get ready for IETF 99! Starting a week from today, on Sunday, 16 July, the Internet Engineering Task Force will be in Prague, Czech Republic, where about 1000 engineers will spend a week discussing the latest issues in open standards and protocols. As usual, the agenda is packed, and the Internet Society is providing a ‘Rough Guide’ to the IETF via a series of blog posts all this week on topics of mutual interest:

Mr. Olaf Kolkman

Big buyouts hit the enterprise market, BMC and Bain eye companies

The leveraged buyout of Dell that resulted in its merger with EMC and the computer giant going private was the first of what appears to be many similar moves. Private equity firms are looking to gobble up some of the enterprise giants and in the process, take them private.BMC Software, which develops IT services software and data center automation software, among many other products, is looking to merge with CA, formerly Computer Associates. BMC is owned by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital, so any deal to acquire CA would take the company off the public market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Big buyouts hit the enterprise market, BMC and Bain eye companies

The leveraged buyout of Dell that resulted in its merger with EMC and the computer giant going private was the first of what appears to be many similar moves. Private equity firms are looking to gobble up some of the enterprise giants and in the process, take them private.BMC Software, which develops IT services software and data center automation software, among many other products, is looking to merge with CA, formerly Computer Associates. BMC is owned by Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital, so any deal to acquire CA would take the company off the public market.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why Do You Still Blog?

After recording an excellent session on social media at Cisco Live with The Network Collective (@NetCollectivePC), I started thinking about blogging and where it stands in the grand scheme of information sharing. With the rise of podcasting and video blogging now in full swing, I was even asked by my friend Michael Stump “Do you see blogging as a dying form of content?” For obvious reasons, I said “no”, but I wanted to explain two major reasons why.

Needle In A Haystack

One of the major reasons why I still blog through written form is searchability. When I started blogging almost seven years ago I wanted to create a place where I could put down my thoughts about topics and share them with everyone. More by accident than design, many of those thoughts became popular topics of conversation. Even today, some of my posts are being used to help people figure out problems and address issues that aren’t well documented in other places.

But why? How can posts many years old still be relevant to audiences today? Because of searching. Use of Google, DuckDuckGo, and even Bing allow people to search for specific error messages Continue reading

28% off SanDisk Ultra CZ48 32GB USB 3.0 100MB/s Flash Drive – Deal Alert

The SanDisk Ultra USB 3.0 Flash Drive takes the wait out of moving, sharing or backing up big files. Transfer a full-length movie in seconds with speeds up to 100MB/s. The included SanDisk SecureAccess software provides 128-bit AES encryption and password protection to keep your private files private. SanDisk's Ultra CZ48 flash drive with 32GB capacity is listed on Amazon for 28% off, so you can pick one up for a little over $14.  See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here