Top 5 VPN services for personal privacy and security

Virtual private networks (VPNs) encrypt internet connections between two points, to secure them from casual snoopers and hackers. These VPN services are particularly useful when accessing the internet from an untrusted location, such as a hotel, café or coworking space.A plethora of modern VPN services, with dedicated connectivity apps, have put an end to the maddening manual configuration VPNs once required. No two VPN offerings are alike, however, and it can be a challenge to find the right VPN. Here's a look at some of the top VPNs for privacy and security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco vs. Arista: The Battle for Market Share, Money & Pride (Part 2)

Part 2 of the timeline highlighting the hurdles both companies have jumped through to stay on top.

Cisco vs. Arista: The Battle for Market Share, Money & Pride

Here is a timeline highlighting the hurdles both companies have jumped through to stay on top.

5 WiFi Networking Predictions For 2017

9 Things IT Pros Want For 2017

IDG Contributor Network: Don’t make risk and compliance the enemy of financial services innovation and reinvention

The financial services industry lives with a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it is at the heart of everything from economic health and growth to the daily reality of how consumers pay for housing, transportation or even a coffee on the go to start their day.Because our world is powered by transactions, both consumers and businesses alike look to the financial services industry to constantly innovate. That’s the good part of the mixed blessing: the opportunity to improve and reinvent. + Also on Network World: Financial services firm adopts agile for digital development + On the other hand, there is a constant challenge around juggling changes. In an era when financial institutions are more highly regulated than ever before, risk and compliance mandates add an entirely new level of complexity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Don’t make risk and compliance the enemy of financial services innovation and reinvention

The financial services industry lives with a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it is at the heart of everything from economic health and growth to the daily reality of how consumers pay for housing, transportation or even a coffee on the go to start their day.Because our world is powered by transactions, both consumers and businesses alike look to the financial services industry to constantly innovate. That’s the good part of the mixed blessing: the opportunity to improve and reinvent. + Also on Network World: Financial services firm adopts agile for digital development + On the other hand, there is a constant challenge around juggling changes. In an era when financial institutions are more highly regulated than ever before, risk and compliance mandates add an entirely new level of complexity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 things Amazon needs to do in 2017

As you may have noticed, 2016 was a very good year for Amazon, pretty much across the board. Amazon Web Services’ cloud business soared, growing insanely fast, dwarfing its competitors and generating big profits. On the retail side, Amazon dominated the holiday season, even as it experimented with drone deliveries and other shipping innovations. Known for its online sales, Amazon finally introduced retail stores as well. And the company’s voice-powered assistant, Echo, clearly outshone Apple’s Siri and forced Google to play catchup with Google Home.  As one report noted: To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Generating OSPF, BGP and MPLS/VPN Configurations from Network Data Model

Over a month ago I decided to create a lab network to figure out how to solve an interesting Inter-AS MPLS/VPN routing challenge. Instead of configuring half a dozen routers I decided to develop a fully-automated deployment because it will make my life easier.

I finally got to a point where OSPF, LDP, BGP (IPv4 and VPNv4) and MPLS/VPN configurations are created, deployed and verified automatically.

The weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories of 2016

A significantly zany yearImage by Reuters/ Thomas PeterAs we close out the year and look at some of the, shall we say more interesting, stories of the year we find quite a tech collection. Everything from NASA’s poop challenge and the most significant advances in Ethernet’s illustrious history to the rise of robot doctor overlords. Take a look at 30 of the year's weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories of 2016

A significantly zany yearImage by Reuters/ Thomas PeterAs we close out the year and look at some of the, shall we say more interesting, stories of the year we find quite a tech collection. Everything from NASA’s poop challenge and the most significant advances in Ethernet’s illustrious history to the rise of robot doctor overlords. Take a look at 30 of the year's weirdest, wackiest and coolest sci/tech stories.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nokia and Apple trade accusations in patent lawsuits

An international patent dispute has broken out between Apple and Nokia over the Finnish mobile network vendor's licensing terms for the widely used H.264 video codec and other technologies.Nokia on Wednesday filed lawsuits against Apple in Germany and in the U.S., alleging that the smartphone giant has infringed 32 of its patents.Nokia's five lawsuits follow an Apple lawsuit filed in California Tuesday. The U.S. company accused Nokia of working with patent assertion firms Acacia Research and Conversant Intellectual Property Management to "extract and extort exorbitant revenues unfairly and anticompetitively" from Apple and other smartphone makers. Nokia was not named as one of eight defendants in the Apple lawsuit.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Need a holiday recipe? AllRecipes and Microsoft Azure cloud have you covered

Wondering what to have for Christmas dinner? AllRecipes.com will be a popular site to check this holiday season … and this year it’s using Microsoft Azure’s cloud.AllRecipes, founded in 1997 and owned by Meredith Corp., has undertaken a two-year migration to Azure, the IaaS public cloud. AllRecipes services 1.5 billion visitors each year who view an average of 95 recipes per second, 66% of which are done on mobile devices.The company’s load is cyclical: On a Sunday afternoon there is 60% more traffic on the website compared to a Monday morning. Just like a retailer, the holiday season is AllRecipe’s crunch time. Eight weeks in November and December including five days in particular – Christmas, Thanksgiving, the day before each and the Super Bowl – create the largest surge in traffic.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Driverless infrastructure

It turns out machines can deploy software much better than humans can. Why? Because software deployment is a set of mechanical procedures that can be driven by a declarative language. It is a process primed for a systematic approach done right, and reproducibly. This is especially important as patches and security fixes are applied to software — a ritual that should be repeatable and seamless. —The New Stack

The post Worth Reading: Driverless infrastructure appeared first on 'net work.

New Cumulus Linux features: Snapshots & Rollback

Sometimes you really need a do over

This is the 2nd blog in a 4-part series highlighting many of the Cumulus Linux features in our 3.2 release. In this post, we’ll be detailing a feature exclusive to Cumulus Networks  —  Snapshots.

You know the feeling — you just ran your favorite Linux command with the –force option and typed “yes” to the question “Are you sure?”.

The command generates WAY more output than you were expecting. The back of your neck starts to tingle.  And it’s late Friday afternoon no less.  This can’t be good.  You really need a do over.

We hear you. In order to help you undo, fix and mitigate command errors, we created snapshots and rollbacks — the newest Cumulus Linux features, now available in our 3.2 release.

With Cumulus Networks, web-scale networking is easier and more powerful than ever. We incorporate the best technology from the Linux desktop and server ecosystems. When we come across a desktop application that works well, we bring it to network switches.

In the latest version of Cumulus Linux, we deploy the Btree File System (BTRFS) for the root file system. BTRFS brings a number of Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: #WirelessSucks: Where do we go from here?

“The Wi-Fi doesn’t work.” After speaking to hundreds of customers of all sizes, this is consistently one of the top help desk complaints that I hear. Not surprisingly, this creates a common perception about wireless that is unflattering to say the least.Some of the time, this is a fair complaint. Wireless is a pervasive technology, and it is difficult to deliver a consistent and reliable experience across the exploding stream of different devices and device types.+ Also on Network World: Wi-Fi troubleshooting remains a challenge for most organizations + Other times, however, the Wi-Fi network is just getting a bad rap. It is guilty by association—i.e an easy target for people to blame when other issues might be at play. In fact, all of the following issues could impact network connectivity, casting a pall over the wireless experience:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: #WirelessSucks: Where do we go from here?

“The Wi-Fi doesn’t work.” After speaking to hundreds of customers of all sizes, this is consistently one of the top help desk complaints that I hear. Not surprisingly, this creates a common perception about wireless that is unflattering to say the least.Some of the time, this is a fair complaint. Wireless is a pervasive technology, and it is difficult to deliver a consistent and reliable experience across the exploding stream of different devices and device types.+ Also on Network World: Wi-Fi troubleshooting remains a challenge for most organizations + Other times, however, the Wi-Fi network is just getting a bad rap. It is guilty by association—i.e an easy target for people to blame when other issues might be at play. In fact, all of the following issues could impact network connectivity, casting a pall over the wireless experience:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Nokia accuses Apple of infringing 32 of its patents

Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia has filed lawsuits against Apple in Germany in the U.S., alleging that the smartphone giant has infringed 32 of its patents, including the widely used H.264 video codec.The patent infringement lawsuits, filed with the Regional Courts in Dusseldorf, Mannheim and Munich in Germany and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, cover patents related to displays, user interfaces, software, antennas, chipsets, and video coding, Nokia said Wednesday. Nokia is planning to file more lawsuits in other jurisdictions, the company said in a press release.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Reshaping the project manager role for the digital age

Recent IT labor market analysis from CEB reveals that "IT project manager" is the most difficult-to-fill IT role globally. This comes as no surprise to IT and project management leaders who have consistently struggled to find the right talent to oversee their most critical projects and programs. As organizations strive to digitize, the challenge of finding skilled IT project managers will only increase. The type of work that supports the typical organization’s digitization ambitions—rapid, often iterative, and typically involving new technologies or processes—is the type of work that the average, process-focused project manager isn’t well equipped to handle.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

10% off Oster Cordless Electric Wine Bottle Opener with Foil Cutter – Deal Alert

This cordless electric wine opener from Oster removes the cork in seconds with one-button operation, and opens up to 30 bottles before needing to be recharged. It features a foil cutter for easily removing seals and a comfortable soft-grip handle. Currently averages 4 out of 5 stars from over 4,300 people (read reviews). It's discounted 10% on Amazon, so you can get it right now for just $17.99. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here