Increased programmability brings more options to networks

Options. Everyone needs options. Whenever I travel somewhere with my wife, Christine, even if it’s for a weekend, she needs to check a bag. When I ask her why, she says, “A girl needs options,” hence the oversize luggage.While it’s been easy for someone like my wife to have options, network engineers have never really had the same luxury. Network switches were typically built with fixed functionality, so an organization would need to purchase a wide range of equipment to meet all their needs. Network professionals need greater flexibility from the network Recently, the chip manufacturers have been building more programmable, flexible products. One of the examples of this is the Cavium XPliant processor that is the silicon that powers Arista’s 7160 switch. Another example is the Barefoot Networks Tofino processor. In addition to being one of the most scenic places on the planet, Tofino is a powerful system on a chip with a fully programmable parser and pipeline. The chip supports 256x 25 Gig-E Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) at speeds of 1, 10, 25, 40, 50, and 100 Gig-E.To read this article in full, please click here

Increased programmability brings more options to networks

Options. Everyone needs options. Whenever I travel somewhere with my wife, Christine, even if it’s for a weekend, she needs to check a bag. When I ask her why, she says, “A girl needs options,” hence the oversize luggage.While it’s been easy for someone like my wife to have options, network engineers have never really had the same luxury. Network switches were typically built with fixed functionality, so an organization would need to purchase a wide range of equipment to meet all their needs. Network professionals need greater flexibility from the network Recently, the chip manufacturers have been building more programmable, flexible products. One of the examples of this is the Cavium XPliant processor that is the silicon that powers Arista’s 7160 switch. Another example is the Barefoot Networks Tofino processor. In addition to being one of the most scenic places on the planet, Tofino is a powerful system on a chip with a fully programmable parser and pipeline. The chip supports 256x 25 Gig-E Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) at speeds of 1, 10, 25, 40, 50, and 100 Gig-E.To read this article in full, please click here

Exploring Kubernetes with Kubeadm, Part 1: Introduction

I recently started using kubeadm more extensively than I had in the past to serve as the primary tool by which I stand up Kubernetes clusters. As part of this process, I also discovered the kubeadm alpha phase subcommand, which exposes different sections (phases) of the process that kubeadm init follows when bootstrapping a cluster. In this blog post, I’d like to kick off a series of posts that explore how one could use the kubeadm alpha phase command to better understand the different components within Kubernetes, the relationships between components, and some of the configuration items involved.

Before I go any further, I’d like to point readers to this URL that provides an overview of kubeadm and using it to bootstrap a cluster. If you’re new to kubeadm, go read that before continuing on here.

<aside>Quick side note: it’s my understanding that at some point the intent is to move kubeadm alpha phase out of alpha, at which point the command might look more like kubeadm phase or similar (that hasn’t been fully determined yet as far as I know). If you’re reading this at some point in the future, just make note that this was written back Continue reading

BMC retools its service management offerings for AI, cloud era

Many if not most large enterprises run hybrid computing environments and are looking for management software flexible enough to run in and manage assets across private and public clouds.Against this backdrop, BMC has rebuilt its venerable IT service-management product suite to run on a range of cloud platforms while incorporating machine learning to enhance predictive-analysis capabilities.[ Now see who's developing quantum computers.] The BMC Helix Cognitive Service Management is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering that runs on Amazon Web Services as well as BMC's own cloud. It will be available for Azure in the fourth quarter and for Google Public Cloud at the end of the year or beginning of next year, BMC said.To read this article in full, please click here

BMC retools its service management offerings for AI, cloud era

Many if not most large enterprises run hybrid computing environments and are looking for management software flexible enough to run in and manage assets across private and public clouds.Against this backdrop, BMC has rebuilt its venerable IT service-management product suite to run on a range of cloud platforms while incorporating machine learning to enhance predictive-analysis capabilities.[ Now see who's developing quantum computers.] The BMC Helix Cognitive Service Management is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) offering that runs on Amazon Web Services as well as BMC's own cloud. It will be available for Azure in the fourth quarter and for Google Public Cloud at the end of the year or beginning of next year, BMC said.To read this article in full, please click here

Universal Cloud Networking with Arista 7170

There is a shift happening in the world of Artificial Intelligence requiring a new breed of servers, storage and cloud networks. Artificial intelligence applications for patterns, photos and speech recognition have driven a processor evolution from CPUs to NPUs to now, GPUs. Networking is witnessing a parallel evolution and pushing the scale of shuttling massive data between machines. It creates an ever-increasing need for control over the way networks are rebuilt. Building these networks requires both, programmable paths to drive intelligence and uncompromised performance. Doing both hasn’t been easy until now.

Universal Cloud Networking with Arista 7170

There is a shift happening in the world of Artificial Intelligence requiring a new breed of servers, storage and cloud networks. Artificial intelligence applications for patterns, photos and speech recognition have driven a processor evolution from CPUs to NPUs to now, GPUs. Networking is witnessing a parallel evolution and pushing the scale of shuttling massive data between machines. It creates an ever-increasing need for control over the way networks are rebuilt. Building these networks requires both, programmable paths to drive intelligence and uncompromised performance. Doing both hasn’t been easy until now.

Docker Enterprise Edition in Production: Stories from 9 Enterprise Organizations at DockerCon — Plus a Bonus!

One of the best things about conferences is meeting people and hearing their stories. I’ve been fortunate to work with several Docker customers this year on their DockerCon sessions. You’ll want to catch at least a few of these while you’re there next week. Make sure to add them to your schedule.

Here are the highlights from 9 amazing stories from Docker commercial customers that will be told at DockerCon, many from the world’s largest companies. There’s a bonus session, too!

Read on to learn more.

How Bosch built a “Container as a Service” platform. Till Schenk, IT Infrastructure Architect, will talk about building a centralized service based on Docker Enterprise Edition to serve a 62,000+ employee R&D organization. Hear about the architectural and operational decisions, the challenges Bosch faced, and how they’ve scaled up to 1,000 image repositories. 12:00 pm on Wednesday, June 13.

MetLife’s “ModSquad” talks about their production NoSQL DB on Docker. Jonell Taylor, a Platform Engineer on the MetLife internal innovation will explain the process they went through moving from traditional RDBMS to NoSQL on Docker Enterprise Edition. You’ll hear about the decisions they made impacting orchestration, availability, database replication, and disaster recovery. 1:50 pm on Continue reading

What happens if IoT security doesn’t get solved?

Sometimes, confirmation of the obvious can be really important. At least, that’s how I felt when I saw a new Bain & Company report, Cybersecurity Is the Key to Unlocking Demand in IoT. According to the consulting firm’s survey, 45 percent of Internet of Things (IoT) buyers say “concerns about security remain a significant barrier and are hindering the adoption of IoT devices.” Worries over IoT security are hardly news, of course. I’ve been writing about them here on Network World for a while, and a quick internet search for IoT security rains down more than a million hits.To read this article in full, please click here

What happens if IoT security doesn’t get solved?

Sometimes, confirmation of the obvious can be really important. At least, that’s how I felt when I saw a new Bain & Company report, Cybersecurity Is the Key to Unlocking Demand in IoT. According to the consulting firm’s survey, 45 percent of Internet of Things (IoT) buyers say “concerns about security remain a significant barrier and are hindering the adoption of IoT devices.” Worries over IoT security are hardly news, of course. I’ve been writing about them here on Network World for a while, and a quick internet search for IoT security rains down more than a million hits.To read this article in full, please click here

Wireshark Packet Capture: Tshark Vs. Dumpcap

Windows Server 2019 embraces SDN

When Windows Server 2019 is released this fall, the updates will include features that enterprises can use to leverage software-defined networking (SDN).SDN for Windows Server 2019 has a number of components that have attracted the attention of early adopters including security and compliance, disaster recovery and cusiness continuity, and multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud[ For more on SDN see where SDN is going and learn the difference between SDN and NFV. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] Virtual-network peering The new virtual networking peering functionality in Windows Server 2019 allows enterprises to peer their own virtual networks in the same cloud region through the backbone network.  This provides the ability for virtual networks to appear as a single network. To read this article in full, please click here

SDNs and NFV are complementary and core components of modernized networks

The terms software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect.  In a sense, the two are tied together as companies start using NFV as part of their SDN plans but that doesn’t have to be the case.Enterprises could maintain their current network architecture and shift to NFV or they could roll out an SDN and never leverage the benefits of NFV, so it’s important to understand what each is and the benefits of both.[ For more on SDN see where SDN is going and learn the difference between SDN and NFV. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] What is software-defined Networking SDNs are a fundamentally different way to think about networks.  Technically, SDNs can be defined as the separation of the management, control and data-forwarding planes of networks.  Many people, including technical individuals read that definition and say, “So what?”, but the separation of these planes has a profound impact on networks and enables things that have never been done before.To read this article in full, please click here

Windows Server 2019 embraces SDN

When Windows Server 2019 is released this fall, the updates will include features that enterprises can use to leverage software-defined networking (SDN).SDN for Windows Server 2019 has a number of components that have attracted the attention of early adopters including security and compliance, disaster recovery and cusiness continuity, and multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud[ For more on SDN see where SDN is going and learn the difference between SDN and NFV. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] Virtual-network peering The new virtual networking peering functionality in Windows Server 2019 allows enterprises to peer their own virtual networks in the same cloud region through the backbone network.  This provides the ability for virtual networks to appear as a single network. To read this article in full, please click here

SDNs and NFV are complementary and core components of modernized networks

The terms software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect.  In a sense, the two are tied together as companies start using NFV as part of their SDN plans but that doesn’t have to be the case.Enterprises could maintain their current network architecture and shift to NFV or they could roll out an SDN and never leverage the benefits of NFV, so it’s important to understand what each is and the benefits of both.[ For more on SDN see where SDN is going and learn the difference between SDN and NFV. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] What is software-defined Networking SDNs are a fundamentally different way to think about networks.  Technically, SDNs can be defined as the separation of the management, control and data-forwarding planes of networks.  Many people, including technical individuals read that definition and say, “So what?”, but the separation of these planes has a profound impact on networks and enables things that have never been done before.To read this article in full, please click here

Windows Server 2019 embraces SDN

When Windows Server 2019 is released this fall, the updates will include features that enterprises can use to leverage software-defined networking (SDN).SDN for Windows Server 2019 has a number of components that have attracted the attention of early adopters including security and compliance, disaster recovery and cusiness continuity, and multi-cloud and hybrid-cloud[ For more on SDN see where SDN is going and learn the difference between SDN and NFV. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] Virtual-network peering The new virtual networking peering functionality in Windows Server 2019 allows enterprises to peer their own virtual networks in the same cloud region through the backbone network.  This provides the ability for virtual networks to appear as a single network. To read this article in full, please click here

Learn what the ‘zero trust’ security model really means | Salted Hash Ep 29

Host Steve Ragan reports from RSA 2018 conference, talking with Wendy Nather, director, advisory CISOs at Duo Security, about how organizations can build a zero trust model, including consistently authenticating users.

SDNs and NFV are complementary and core components of modernized networks

The terms software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) are often used interchangeably, which is incorrect.  In a sense, the two are tied together as companies start using NFV as part of their SDN plans but that doesn’t have to be the case.Enterprises could maintain their current network architecture and shift to NFV or they could roll out an SDN and never leverage the benefits of NFV, so it’s important to understand what each is and the benefits of both.[ For more on SDN see where SDN is going and learn the difference between SDN and NFV. | Get regularly scheduled insights by signing up for Network World newsletters. ] What is software-defined Networking SDNs are a fundamentally different way to think about networks.  Technically, SDNs can be defined as the separation of the management, control and data-forwarding planes of networks.  Many people, including technical individuals read that definition and say, “So what?”, but the separation of these planes has a profound impact on networks and enables things that have never been done before.To read this article in full, please click here

Integrating 3rd Party Firewalls with Amazon Web Services (AWS) VPC Networking

After figuring out how packet forwarding really works within AWS VPC (here’s an overview, the slide deck is already available to ipSpace.net subscribers) the next obvious question should be: “and how do I integrate a network services device like a next-generation firewall I have to use because $securityPolicy into that environment?”

Please don’t get me started on whether that makes sense, that’s a different discussion.

Christer Swartz, an old-time CCIE and occasional guest on Software Gone Wild podcast will show you how to do it with a Palo Alto firewall during my Amazon Web Services Networking Deep Dive workshop on June 13^th in Zurich, Switzerland (register here).

ServiceFabric: a distributed platform for building microservices in the cloud

ServiceFabric: a distributed platform for building microservices in the cloud Kakivaya et al., EuroSys’18

(If you don’t have ACM Digital Library access, the paper can be accessed either by following the link above directly from The Morning Paper blog site).

Microsoft’s Service Fabric powers many of Azure’s critical services. It’s been in development for around 15 years, in production for 10, and was made available for external use in 2015.

ServiceFabric (SF) enables application lifecycle management of scalable and reliable applications composed of microservices running at very high density on a shared pool of machines, from development to deployment to management.

Some interesting systems running on top of SF include:

• Azure SQL DB (100K machines, 1.82M DBs containing 3.48PB of data)
• Azure Cosmos DB (2 million cores and 100K machines)
• Skype
• Azure Event Hub
• Intune
• Azure IoT suite
• Cortana

SF runs in multiple clusters each with 100s to many 100s of machines, totalling over 160K machines with over 2.5M cores.

Positioning & Goals

Service Fabric defies easy categorisation, but the authors describe it as “Microsoft’s platform to support microservice applications in cloud settings.” What particularly makes it stand out from the crowd Continue reading