SQL Server 2017 on Linux boosts efficiency for analytics firm

Microsoft has doubled down on its love for open source by bringing SQL Server 2017 to Linux, and it seems this support can help lighten the load for enterprises that already have in-house Linux expertise but also a need for SQL's functionality.While it's not available until later this year, an early adopter has found a significant upside to the new support for Linux.dv01, a software firm that makes a reporting and analytics platform to give financial institutions insight into consumer lending, has jumped the line and is running SQL Server 2017 on Linux rather than Windows for some of its workloads.MORE: Microsoft SQL Server on Linux - YES, Linux!To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

57% off 299-Piece All-Purpose First Aid Kit – Deal Alert

This full-fledged, easy-to-tote first aid softpack is designed to save time and frustration in the midst of an emergency. It's compact and portable, but contains 299 physician-recommended supplies.  Among the items neatly organized inside the zippered kit is a first aid guide, vinyl gloves, bandages, cold compress, gauze pads, trauma pad, cotton-tipped applicators, first aid tape roll, antiseptics and all three common OTC pain medications. The kit is currently a #1 best seller on Amazon, averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 280 customers, and its typical list price of $26.74 has been reduced 56% to just $11.59. Click over to Amazon to see this deal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Videos: PowerShell 101

Mitja Robas started his PowerShell for Networking Engineers presentation with a brief introduction to PowerShell and a few simple hands-on examples. Enjoy the videos ;)

Networking Pros Will Need These Skills

Packet Blast: Top Tech Blogs, June 2

Aerohive makes Connect available across its entire product line

Earlier this year Aerohive rolled out Connect, which is a low-cost offering it wanted to use to disrupt the incumbent vendors. Connect is basic WiFi connectivity that is managed through Aerohive’s cloud portal. Customers that want more advanced features can upgrade to Select at a later date and unlock all of the other configuration parameters. Given Aerohive’s relatively small size compared to Cisco and HPE/Aruba, an aggressive strategy like this certainly made sense.Customers that choose the Connect solution can start with an access point with a price as low as $229. It’s important to note that despite the price, these are full feature, business grade access points that have the same set of functions as ones that are two to three times the price. If all the customer wants is connectivity, then that initial price is all that they will ever pay.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BGP Optimal-route-reflection (BGP-ORR)

Been a while since my last update, been quite busy! but I thought I’d do a post on something BGP related, as everyone loves BGP!

There’s an interesting addition to BGP route-reflection that’s found it’s way into a few trains of code on Juniper and Cisco, (I assume it’s on others too) that attempts to solve one of the annoying issues that occurs when centralised route-reflectors are used.

It all boils down to the basics of path selection, in networks where the setup is relatively simple and identical routes are received, at different edge routers within the network – similar to anycast routing.

Consider the below lab topology;

The core of the network is super simple, basic ISIS, basic LDP/MPLS with ASR-9kv as an out-of-path route-reflector, with iBGP adjacencies configured along the green arrows, the red arrows signify the eBGP sessions, between AS 100-200 and AS 100-300, where IOSv-7 and IOSv-8 advertise an identical 6.6.6.6/32 route. IOSv-3 and IOSv-4 are just P routers running ISIS/LDP only, for the sake of adding a few hops.

With everything configured as defaults, lets look at the path selection;

Microsoft rolls out its first Azure container tool from Deis

Just one month ago, Microsoft acquired Deis, an open source software developer focused on making Kubernetes easier to use. One month later, the acquisition pays off in the form of the first product from the group, called Draft.Draft is a tool designed to simplify and ease development of applications running on any Kubernetes cluster. Microsoft made the announcement at the CoreOS Fest in San Francisco, a conference discussing container technology. It also posted the news on the Azure blog. Gabe Monroy, lead project manager for containers on Microsoft Azure and former CTO of Deis, made the announcements.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Nosy neighbors and cloud privacy

You get your run-of-the-mill noisy neighbours – the ones who occasionally have friends round and play music a little too loud until a little too late. And then in the UK at least you get what we used to call “Asbos,” named after the Anti-Social Behaviour Orders that were introduced to try and curb deliberate disturbances of the peace. The same thing happens on the public cloud. You have accidental interference from neighbouring processes, and then you have your cloud ASBOs – which make deliberate attacks on neighbouring processes. —the morning paper

The post Worth Reading: Nosy neighbors and cloud privacy appeared first on rule 11 reader.

CCNA Wireless – CCNA Wireless Notes Chapter 4

Antenna Characteristics

Different antennas are needed for different applications. An open office space is very different to to a strip of closed offices. How do you cover a large open area such as a lobby? Covering an outdoor area is different than an indoor one and so on.

Radiation Patterns

Antenna gain is normally measured against an isotropic antenna, measured in dBi. This antenna only exists in theory though. It’s shaped like a tiny round point that when alternating current is applied, radiates a signal equally in all directions, in the form of an ever-expanding sphere.

The relative signal strength around an antenna, showed on a plot, is known as the radiation pattern.

The radiation pattern can be shown in a three-dimensional plot in form of a sphere where XY plane lies flat along the horizon and the XZ plane lies vertically along the elevation of the sphere. The first plane is referred to as H plane, horizontal, or also as the azimuth plane. The second one is known as the E plane, elevation.

Polar plots can also be used where concentric circles represent relative changes in signal strength as measured at a constant distance from Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Taking a critical look at Facebook Workplace

Amid the emergence of enterprise social networking (ESN) platforms over the past decade, creating a "Facebook-in-the-enterprise" became a kind of short-hand exhortation by vendors and customer aspirants alike: Could we recreate the success of the world's largest social network within the internal confines of an organization?Now that Facebook Workplace (formerly Facebook At Work) has more than a year under its belt, we can begin to answer that question. Some customers have indeed found success with the platform, but Real Story Group's evaluation of Workplace finds that what Facebook brings to enterprise social-collaboration is mostly a recognized brand name (you can download the evaluation here). Familiarity can help with initial adoption, but improving employee effectiveness and engagement over the long run may require more than what Workplace—or any other ESN—can offer.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Taking a critical look at Workplace by Facebook

Amid the emergence of enterprise social networking (ESN) platforms over the past decade, creating a "Facebook-in-the-enterprise" became a kind of short-hand exhortation by vendors and customer aspirants alike: Could we recreate the success of the world's largest social network within the internal confines of an organization?Now that Workplace by Facebook (formerly Facebook At Work) has more than a year under its belt, we can begin to answer that question. Some customers have indeed found success with the platform, but Real Story Group's evaluation of Workplace finds that what Facebook brings to enterprise social-collaboration is mostly a recognized brand name (you can download the evaluation here). Familiarity can help with initial adoption, but improving employee effectiveness and engagement over the long run may require more than what Workplace—or any other ESN—can offer.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE Shares Drop on Double-Digit Server Revenue Declines

The server revenue declines were primarily attributed to a single Tier 1 customer.

SDxCentral’s Top 10 Articles — May 2017

Verizon and AT&T exit the cloud business; Cisco acquires SD-WAN vendor Viptela for $610 million.

Portnox Updates Security Platform to Include Subscription Plan Management

MSPs can now rebrand the security platform.

Pulse Secure Snaps Up Brocade’s vADC Assets

Another piece of Brocade's IP networking business has been claimed.

IDG Contributor Network: How to add JBOC (Just a Bunch of Cloud) to your enterprise

Storage is a fast-evolving industry. Groundbreaking hardware technologies quickly become commoditized, which is a challenge for vendors, but a great benefit to customers. Today’s shiny new array soon becomes matched by a similarly capable JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disk) product that might not have as robust of vendor support, but costs the enterprise far less than a brand-name system. This commoditization extends into flash as well. While it is still growing in adoption in the enterprise, Gartner already sees JBOF (Just a Bunch of Flash) products on the horizon in this segment as well. Cloud storage is on the rise in tandem with flash, and smart data management software can help enterprises overcome the complexity of cloud adoption and easily integrate JBOC (Just a Bunch of Cloud) with their existing architectures. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Why web-scale is the future

While you may associate web-scale networking with cloud giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, it’s not just an architecture for the large scale enterprises anymore. The industry has looked at data centers like theirs and asked the question: “What are they doing that we can mimic at a smaller scale?” Through analysis of the way these organizations ran, the term “web-scale” was born, referring specifically to the hyperscale website companies that have built private, efficient, and scalable cloud environments. Since then, it’s become a growing model for organizations to adopt in their journey toward evolving for the future.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Why web-scale is the future

While you may associate web-scale networking with cloud giants like Facebook, Google, and Amazon, it’s not just an architecture for the large scale enterprises anymore. The industry has looked at data centers like theirs and asked the question: “What are they doing that we can mimic at a smaller scale?” Through analysis of the way these organizations ran, the term “web-scale” was born, referring specifically to the hyperscale website companies that have built private, efficient, and scalable cloud environments. Since then, it’s become a growing model for organizations to adopt in their journey toward evolving for the future.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Chaos in the enterprise: Managing IoT services across edge and cloud

Over recent years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has been a huge growth market. From consumer gadgets and wearables to connected cars and smart home devices, the proliferation has been rapid, and IHS predicts that the number of IoT devices globally will reach 30.7 billion by 2020 and 75.4 billion by 2025.IoT is also beginning to touch all aspects of the enterprise. This will only fuel its growth as industry sectors from healthcare to manufacturing become more dependent on IoT communications to drive business processes and missions critical systems.IoT is a key driver of the digital transformation (DX) that is taking place across industry sectors. As the demand for new digital and IoT services continues to grow, close monitoring and management of this transformation will be crucial ensure its success. The rise of IoT has been rapid and will continue to gather pace, to the point where we will soon see entirely new IT infrastructure emerge to support IoT applications and critical systems, spanning the edge, core, and cloud of the service delivery infrastructure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here