Leaf-and-Spine Fabrics versus Fabric Extenders

One of my readers wondered what the difference between fabric extenders and leaf-and-spine fabrics is:

We are building a new data center for DR and we management is wanting me to put in recommendations to either stick with our current Cisco 7k to 2k ToR FEX solution, or prepare for what seems to be the future of DC in that spine leaf architecture.

Let’s start with “what is leaf-and-spine architecture?”

If you’re at Mobile World Congress, Internet security is your business

IDG Contributor Network: Infrared lasers must replace data center wiring, say engineers

Eliminating a “tangled Christmas tree lights” wiring scenario in data centers is imperative and can be achieved with infrared, reckons an academic network engineering team.Infrared lasers should be installed on the top of data center racks and be used to transmit information. It would be far superior and cheaper than fiber optic, and it would be better than attempted, but lacking, radio signaling.Radio doesn’t work, says Mohsen Kavehrad, the W. L. Weiss Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State and one of the developers, in an article on the school’s website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Infrared lasers must replace data center wiring, say engineers

Eliminating a “tangled Christmas tree lights” wiring scenario in data centers is imperative and can be achieved with infrared, reckons an academic network engineering team.Infrared lasers should be installed on the top of data center racks and be used to transmit information. It would be far superior and cheaper than fiber optic, and it would be better than attempted, but lacking, radio signaling.Radio doesn’t work, says Mohsen Kavehrad, the W. L. Weiss Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering at Penn State and one of the developers, in an article on the school’s website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

REVIEW: Deep dive into Windows Server 2016

Windows Server 2016 was officially released in September, but we waited until all of the bits were at production level before taking a deep dive into Microsoft’s flagship server operating system.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

New products of the week 2.27.17

New products of the weekImage by Transition NetworksOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.ONLYOFFICE app for ownCloudImage by ascensioTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New products of the week 2.27.17

New products of the weekImage by Transition NetworksOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.ONLYOFFICE app for ownCloudImage by ascensioTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Oldies but goodies make presence felt amid glitzy startups at RSAC

SAN FRANCISCO -- The sprawling show floor at this year’s RSA Conference featured hundreds of shiny, new companies, from Acalvio to ZingBox. It seemed like every vendor in the hall managed to incorporate into its marketing pitches at least one of the 2017 hot buzzwords – Advanced Threat Protection, machine learning, AI, threat intelligence, IoT.But three of the original anti-virus vendors – Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro – were out in full force at the show as well, scoffing at the unproven point products of the startups and touting their own reorganizations, renewed focus and broad product portfolios. According to Gartner, the Big 3 lead the way in endpoint security market share, with Symantec, at $3.6 billion in annual revenue, out front, McAfee second, followed by Trend Micro.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Big 3 endpoint vendors battle glitzy startups at RSAC

SAN FRANCISCO -- The sprawling show floor at this year’s RSA Conference featured hundreds of shiny, new companies, from Acalvio to ZingBox. It seemed like every vendor in the hall managed to incorporate into its marketing pitches at least one of the 2017 hot buzzwords – Advanced Threat Protection, machine learning, AI, threat intelligence, IoT. But three of the original anti-virus vendors – Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro – were out in full force at the show as well, scoffing at the unproven point products of the startups and touting their own reorganizations, renewed focus and broad product portfolios. According to Gartner, the Big 3 lead the way in endpoint security market share, with Symantec, at $3.6 billion in annual revenue, out front, McAfee second, followed by Trend Micro.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Oldies but goodies make presence felt amid glitzy startups at RSAC

SAN FRANCISCO -- The sprawling show floor at this year’s RSA Conference featured hundreds of shiny, new companies, from Acalvio to ZingBox. It seemed like every vendor in the hall managed to incorporate into its marketing pitches at least one of the 2017 hot buzzwords – Advanced Threat Protection, machine learning, AI, threat intelligence, IoT.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

5G is coming, but don’t get carried away, T-Mobile USA’s CTO says

T-Mobile USA's Chief Technology Officer Neville Ray prescribed a dose of reality for the 5G mania overtaking Mobile World Congress this week, telling Ericsson’s kickoff press briefing Monday morning he’s still in the LTE business.“5G is not ready yet,” Ray said. “It’s maturing quickly, but it’s not real today, and I can’t go and deploy a 5G radio to serve my customers with and give them a handset.”For one thing, using millimeter-wave frequencies like 28GHz for mobile services is still a big technical challenge, Ray said. He dismissed so-called commercial 5G deployments in the U.S. involving fixed-wireless service to homes, including one involving Ericsson and Verizon, as fringe use cases for the technology.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dell Adds Gateways for Industrial Internet of Things

Dell's edge gateways provide some analytics at the edge.

Nokia Says ‘5G First’ Will Deliver from Core to Cloud

It's based on Verizon's 5G specifications.

Shedding the Lights on Operations: REST, a NMS and a Lightbulb

It’s obvious I’ve caught the automation bug. Beyond just automating the network I’ve finally started to dip my toes in the home automation pool as well.

The latest addition to the home project was the Philipps hue light bulbs. Basically, I just wanted a new toy, but imagine my delight when I found that there’s a full REST API available. 

I’ve got a REST API and a light bulb and suddenly I was inspired!

The Project

Network Management Systems have long suffered from information overload.

Notifications have to be tuned and if you’re really good you can eventually get the stream down to a dull roar. Unfortunately, the notification process is still broken in that the notifications are generally dumped into your email which if you are anything like me…

Yes. That’s really my number as of this writing

One of the ways of dealing with the deluge is to use a different medium to deliver the message. Many NMS systems, including HPE IMC, has the capability of issuing audio alarms, but let’s be honest. That can get pretty annoying as well and it’s pretty easy to mute them.

I decided that I would use the REST interfaces of the Continue reading

How to watch The Oscars on your iPhone and iPad

Later this evening, the 89th Academy Awards ceremony will kick off live from Los Angeles. With Jimmy Kimmel assuming hosting duties once again, we'll undoubtedly be greeted with a number of hilariously crafted sketches as we learn which films and actors were Oscar worthy in 2016.If you're one of millions who have cut the cord, or even if you just so happen to be on-the-go during tonight's televised broadcast, there's no need to fret. Indeed, catching all of the festivities straight from your iOS device is certainly doable, though there are some restrictions which we'll get to in a second.The Oscars ceremony is set to air on ABC and will begin at 8:30 on the east coast and 5:30 on the west coast. That said, here's how you can ensure that you won't miss even a second of the festivities.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Best iPhone 8 concept design videos of 2017, so far

Apple’s much anticipated 10th anniversary smartphones, possible the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone 10, iPhone X or some combination of these, are expected to arrive in the fall of 2017. Creative minds are sharing videos of their design concepts, and who knows, maybe Apple will be inspired? Take a look...Now you see it This iPhone 8 design with a transparent screen, ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and piezoelectric speaker comes from designer Georgy Pashkov. Apple of your Eye Iskander Utebayev and Ran Avi's "Just iPhone 8" conceives the camera lens being sort of in the middle of the smartphone, in the Apple logo. Now that's a fresh twist.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Lenovo to integrate Amazon Alexa in Moto smartphones

Lenovo is working with Amazon to get the Alexa voice assistant into a range of Motorola smartphones, and in the process, looking to depose Google's voice assistant technology.The partners will first focus on developing an Alexa "Mod," a block that will attach to a Moto Z modular handset. The companies will then integrate Alexa directly into a variety of Moto handsets and devices, Lenovo said during a press conference in Barcelona on Sunday.The Moto Z is much like Google's Project Ara, where individual parts like speakers and projectors can be added to boost the functionality of the handset.The exact details of the Alexa Mod for Moto Z weren't provided, but an onstage image showed a speaker that could hook up to the handset. It looked like a flatter and curved version of Amazon's Echo or Echo Dot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung’s Galaxy S8 launch set for March 29

At Mobile World Congress (MWC) over the weekend, Samsung finally gave us a clue as to when we might see an official launch introduction for the company's highly anticipated Galaxy S8. To be sure, you can bet that Samsung is eagerly counting down the days so that they can firmly put the fiasco that was the explosion-prone Galaxy Note 7 behind them once and for all.Cutting right to the chase, Samsung's Galaxy S8 will be unveiled at what will presumably be an extravagant launch event on March 29 in New York City. To help build excitement for the event, we were also graced with a short but sweet teaser video which takes us on an incredibly quick journey through the history of cellular phones.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cloud companies are eyeing cell services, Nokia CEO says

Enterprises and cloud companies will start trying their hands at cellular this year, Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri predicts.“Enhanced reality” and events such as concerts may be where cloud giants first get into mobile services, Suri said at a Nokia event in Barcelona on the eve of Mobile World Congress.“The first webscale players will enter the wireless access domain with mainstream technologies,” Suri said. Webscale usually refers to operators of big clouds, like Google, Facebook, and Alibaba. Suri didn’t name any names.For enterprises, an emerging technique called network slicing will allow them to virtually run their own private services on mobile operator networks. Meanwhile, systems that bring LTE to unlicensed or shared frequencies, like LAA (Licensed Assisted Access), will also help open doors to private cellular networks. Nokia is already working with some energy utilities on these kinds of deployments, and at MWC it will join Qualcomm in demonstrating a private LTE network, Suri said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cloud companies are eyeing cell services, Nokia CEO says

Enterprises and cloud companies will start trying their hands at cellular this year, Nokia President and CEO Rajeev Suri predicts.“Enhanced reality” and events such as concerts may be where cloud giants first get into mobile services, Suri said at a Nokia event in Barcelona on the eve of Mobile World Congress.“The first webscale players will enter the wireless access domain with mainstream technologies,” Suri said. Webscale usually refers to operators of big clouds, like Google, Facebook, and Alibaba. Suri didn’t name any names.For enterprises, an emerging technique called network slicing will allow them to virtually run their own private services on mobile operator networks. Meanwhile, systems that bring LTE to unlicensed or shared frequencies, like LAA (Licensed Assisted Access), will also help open doors to private cellular networks. Nokia is already working with some energy utilities on these kinds of deployments, and at MWC it will join Qualcomm in demonstrating a private LTE network, Suri said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here