A Simple Kubernetes Context Switcher

I recently needed to find a simple way of switching between Kubernetes contexts. I already use powerline-go (here’s the GitHub repo), which allows me to display the Kubernetes context in the prompt so I always know which context is the active (current) context. However, switching between contexts using kubectl config set-context <name> isn’t the easiest approach; not to mention it requires merging multiple config files into a single file (which is itself a bit of a task). So, I set out to create a simple Kubernetes context switcher—and here’s the initial results of my efforts.

Before I go any further, I’d like to stress 2 important points. First, I’m not a programmer, so keep that in mind. Second, this is a simple Kubernetes context switcher—it’s not meant to address any and every possible use case out there, nor do I claim any sort of sophistication in the code.

With those disclaimers out of the way, allow me to introduce kcs: the simple Kubernetes context switcher. kcs is built on the idea that it’s easiest to manage Kubernetes contexts in their own files, rather than trying to merge config files. So, it makes the assumption that you’ll store your Continue reading

Refresh Stale DNS Records on 1.1.1.1

You can now refresh 1.1.1.1’s DNS cache for domain names by using the purge cache tool. This is useful for domain owners who have updated their DNS records and want to make sure it is reflected for people who are using 1.1.1.1 as their public DNS resolver.

When a client queries for a domain against 1.1.1.1, the resolver returns the IP address from its cache. The cache TTL for a DNS entry is 3 hours. If the host specifies a cache TTL that is shorter than 3 hours, the resolver respects that. This means, when a domain owner changes the DNS host from one to another, in the worst case, she will have to wait for at least 3 hours before the old IP address expires from 1.1.1.1’s cache. With the help of the purge cache tool, a domain owner can now easily refresh 1.1.1.1’s DNS cache and will not have to wait for the cached entry to expire.

To purge a DNS record, you enter the name of your domain, pick the DNS record type and hit the ‘Purge Cache’ button.

You can Continue reading

How we chose the 10 AI-powered startups to watch

The selection process for this roundup started back in May at the tail-end of a previous, but closely related competition, 10 Hot IoT startups to watch.AI wasn’t a key selection criterion then. Some startups had it, some did not, but enough of them focused squarely on AI that it made sense to look more closely at this subsector of the overall IoT market.[ Check out our corporate guide to addressing IoT security. ] This roundup considered about 20 companies from the previous contenders that had strong AI components. Notice of the search for candidates was posted on HARO, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., and all told, just under 40 startups were considered.To read this article in full, please click here

10 Hot AI-powered IoT startups

Plants, factories, and manufacturers in general are embracing IoT, which in turn is driving the use of artificial intelligence at the edge of corporate networks as a way to streamline industrial processes, improve efficiency and detect maintenance issues before they become problems – perhaps even big problems that could force plant shutdowns.To read this article in full, please click here(Insider Story)

Dell Moves One Step Closer To Composable With PowerEdge MX

There is a certain level of impatience in the IT industry to create truly composable infrastructure from disaggregated compute, storage, and networking. …

Dell Moves One Step Closer To Composable With PowerEdge MX was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at .

Cohesity’s Helios Uses Machine Learning to Manage Secondary Data

The cloud service gives companies visibility and mobility across all of their secondary data and applications from a single dashboard. It also uses machine learning and analytics to power a bunch of new infrastructure management features.

BrandPost: Multi-Layer Networks? Intelligent Multi-Layer Orchestration Has Arrived

Kailem Anderson, Vice President of Product Management for Software and Services, Ciena There are many challenges that service providers must deal with in multi-layer networks. A majority of them stem from the lack of coordinated visibility and orchestration across the optical and IP/MPLS layers. Ciena’s Kailem Anderson details these challenges and the benefits that multi-layer orchestration can bring. For even more details, also be sure to attend our upcoming Light Reading webinar.To read this article in full, please click here

BrandPost: Why Smart Cities Need Adaptable Pipes

Daniele Loffreda, Senior Advisor, Industry Marketing For cities to evolve and realize the full benefits of becoming “smart,” they will require real-time access to multiple sources of data from different locations. Ciena’s Daniele Loffreda explains what is needed from the next-generation of networks to make smart cities a reality.Apple CEO, Tim Cook, said it best during a commencement address at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) last year when he proclaimed science and technology are worthless, if they aren’t motivated by the desire to help people. This belief can be just as correctly applied to the planning and development of smart city initiatives.To read this article in full, please click here

Internet Native Applications

I grew up with DOS and Windows 3.1. I remember applications being fast - instant feedback or close to it. Today, native applications like Outlook or Apple Mail still feel fast - click compose and the window is there instantly and it feels snappy. Internet applications do not.

My first Internet experience was paying $30 for a prepaid card with 10 hour access over a 14.4k modem. First, it was bulletin boards and later IRC and the WWW. From my small seaside town in Australia, the Internet was a window into the wider world, but it was slooooooow. In a way, it didn’t matter. The world of opportunities the Internet opened up, from information to music, to socializing and ecommerce, who cared if it was slow? The utility of the Internet and Internet applications meant I would use them regardless of the experience.

Performance improved from the 90s, but in 2008 when I switched from Outlook downloading my Yahoo! email over IMAP to Gmail in the browser, it wasn’t because it was faster - it wasn’t - it was because features like search, backed up mail, and unlimited storage were too good to resist. The cloud computing power Continue reading

Worth Reading: Practice Hours

Often times musicians have “sacred” practice hours. They don’t do it for an artist, band, or for anyone other than themselves. It’s their time to sit down and focus on a technique, song that they want to learn, or whatever their heart desires. —Stephanie Winn Provence @Free Code Camp

Automation Everywhere At AnsibleFest austin

AnsibleFest is fast approaching! We couldn’t be more excited to be holding our 13th AnsibleFest in Austin, TX. It must be true that everything is bigger in Texas, because this year's AnsibleFest is on track to be the biggest one ever. We have more sessions, more content, and more opportunities to learn from Ansible, from partners, and from each other. So much more in fact, we have made AnsibleFest a multi-day event for the first time ever.

This year, we have so much content that we’ve created six tracks. Plus, we have a new Getting Started Hub for those of you beginning on your automation journey with Ansible or Red Hat Ansible Tower. If you want to get a deeper dive, we will be offering onsite Ansible Automation and Ansible Network Automation Technical Workshops.

This year’s breakout sessions are split into six tracks of content:

• Best Practices
• Community & Culture
• Technical Deep Dives
• Business Solutions
• Network Automation
• Ansible Integrations
• And more

To give you more insight into what to expect, we will be blogging about each track in the coming weeks. We will highlight some of the most exciting, interesting, and useful content for attendees (although, let’s be honest it’s Continue reading

Alibaba Rolls Own Distributed File System for Cloud Database Performance

There is much value in separating storage from compute, particular for cloud database deployments. …

Alibaba Rolls Own Distributed File System for Cloud Database Performance was written by Nicole Hemsoth at .

Foundries.io Tightens Edge, IoT Integration to Boost Security

The firm sees constant and long-term updates as key to maintaining edge and IoT security.

Integrating redirection.io with Cloudflare Workers

The following is a guest post by Xavier Lacot, a developer at redirection.io and founder at JoliCode. He works primarily on Web and mobile projects as a consultant, trainer and technical expert.

What is redirection.io

Redirection.io is a Web traffic redirection manager. It provides a collection of tools for website administrators, SEO agencies, and developers, which help analyze HTTP errors, setup HTTP redirections, customize HTTP responses, and monitor the traffic efficiently.

The main part of a traditional redirection.io setup is the proxy, a software component which parses every request to check if a redirection or another response override is required. This "proxy" can be of several types - we provide libraries in several languages - but this setup can be simplified for Cloudflare clients by taking advantage of Cloudflare Workers.

Here come Cloudflare Workers

Earlier this year, Cloudflare unveiled its Workers product, a smart way of running code on the edge of Cloudflare locations. This computing feature is particularly interesting, as it allows performing several traffic operations without requiring any change on your own platform, code, or infrastructure: just enable Workers, write some code, and let Cloudflare handle the magic ✨

In practical terms, Workers Continue reading

DHCP defined and how it works

The ability to network devices quickly and easily is critical in a hyper-connected world, and although it has been around for decades, DHCP remains an essential method to ensure that devices are able to join networks and are configured correctly. DHCP greatly reduces the errors that are made when IP addresses are assigned manually, and can stretch IP addresses by limiting how long a device can keep an individual IP address. [ Now read 20 hot jobs ambitious IT pros should shoot for. ] DHCP definition DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol and is a network protocol used on IP networks where a DHCP server automatically assigns an IP address and other information to each host on the network so they can communicate efficiently with other endpoints.To read this article in full, please click here

DHCP defined and how it works

The ability to network devices quickly and easily is critical in a hyper-connected world, and although it has been around for decades, DHCP remains an essential method to ensure that devices are able to join networks and are configured correctly. DHCP greatly reduces the errors that are made when IP addresses are assigned manually, and can stretch IP addresses by limiting how long a device can keep an individual IP address. [ Now read 20 hot jobs ambitious IT pros should shoot for. ] DHCP definition DHCP stands for dynamic host configuration protocol and is a network protocol used on IP networks where a DHCP server automatically assigns an IP address and other information to each host on the network so they can communicate efficiently with other endpoints.To read this article in full, please click here

Keysight Provides NTT DoCoMo With 5G Network Emulation for 5G NR Devices

Keysight and NTT DoCoMo have been collaborating on 5G research since 2015 when the two companies worked on mmWave channel measurement.

Arista Taps VMware, Zscaler to Create Consistent Cloud Security

VMware’s software will bring common security policy enforcement to virtual and physical workloads. Zscaler brings its north-south traffic security.

History of Networking: Ross Callon on MPLS

North America Will Be First With 5G, IHS 5G Survey Says

Lower latency, high capacity, and lower cost per bit are the three big draws for operators to deploy 5G.