Ripple: The Most (Demonstrably) Scalable Blockchain

 

Ripple’s XRP Ledger is a blockchain-based payment network that transfers funds between any type of currency within a few seconds with average transaction costs of a fraction of a penny. The core of this peer-to-peer network is an open source C++ application called rippled. Ripple’s goal is to supplant the world’s existing legacy payment networks. As such, scalability is a continuous goal. This document describes how the rippled team has integrated performance engineering into its development processes, and how this has contributed to throughput gains of over 1000%.

Performance engineering practices deliver benefits in addition to measurable performance gains. These include the ability to report on the capabilities of the software so that users can feel confident that their needs will be met by the system. Performance engineering informs capacity planning and optimal configuration of environments to support the application. Many performance problems are caught and addressed before customers notice them. As process automation improves, each change to the software can be quickly assessed for improvement or regression. This methodology also makes better use of developer time by helping choose the most effective tasks for improving performance. Any software project serious about supporting global scale should integrate performance engineering Continue reading

Arrow Electronics gives IoT a voice, connects devices to communications tools

Companies get into IoT for multiple reasons. In the case of Arrow, the Internet of Things (IoT) was thrust upon it. Now, however, Arrow Electronics is trailblazing into IoT platform services.Last year, Arrow did nearly $24 billion in revenue that was largely split between two businesses: electronic components and enterprise computing solutions. Historically, these two divisions had little overlap, but IoT has bridged the two units.+ Also on Network World: Forrester: 3 ways IoT can drive business value + A similar story is occurring at organizations everywhere as IoT converts disconnected things into computing peripherals. For example, hospital refrigerators that store blood and medicine are increasingly integrated into intelligent building management and communications systems.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Small Actions, Big Impact: Making the Internet More Secure

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month in the United States (or Cyber Security Month in Europe) and we’ve never been so aware of the need for cybersecurity. Since the start of last October, we’ve seen massive DDoS attacks, including one that took parts of the Internet offline by targeting Internet infrastructure; countless data breaches, with nearly 2 billion records lost or stolen in just the first half of 2017; and a virulent case of ransomware which crippled the systems of major companies, healthcare providers, and average users. The seriousness of the cyber threats facing us is clear, but what isn’t clear to most are the solutions.

We all play a role in making the Internet more secure. And each of us have to take action if we want to be safer, our privacy to be better protected, and the opportunities enabled by the Internet to grow. This month, take a few small steps to make the Internet more secure. Even small actions, if done by many, can have a big impact.

To start, take the time to update your devices and software. Running updates is one of the easiest actions you can take. Updates can patch vulnerabilities, making it Continue reading

Ansible Tower 3.2: Available Now

Ansible 2.3 Networking Update

We're happy to announce that Red Hat Ansible Tower 3.2 is now generally available.

With Red Hat® Ansible® Tower 3.2, we're working to make sure you can automate more flexibly, and manage more globally across your enterprise. For more information:

Go get it now via local install, Vagrant, or Amazon AMI. Ansible Tower 3.2 is available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, CentOS 7, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 16.04. If you have any questions, or run into any issues, don't hesitate to contact us via the Red Hat Customer Portal.

The King is dead?! Heck, no!

It’s been about a year and a half since I asked the question in this blog, “Is the Cisco 6500 Series invincible?” I believe enough time has passed and that I should revisit that question — especially since people in the industry have been talking, tweeting and writing about the demise of the venerable Catalyst 6500 chassis family for years. But don’t worry, the King is not dead because Cisco is having none of that! + Also on Network World: 4 resources to find free Cisco skills and certification labs + Aside from being a major revenue stream for Cisco, the 6500 chassis family remains a solid platform that the company has made extensible by creating the Catalyst 6800 family. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The King is dead?! Heck, no!

It’s been about a year and a half since I asked the question in this blog, “Is the Cisco 6500 Series invincible?” I believe enough time has passed and that I should revisit that question — especially since people in the industry have been talking, tweeting and writing about the demise of the venerable Catalyst 6500 chassis family for years. But don’t worry, the King is not dead because Cisco is having none of that! + Also on Network World: 4 resources to find free Cisco skills and certification labs + Aside from being a major revenue stream for Cisco, the 6500 chassis family remains a solid platform that the company has made extensible by creating the Catalyst 6800 family. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

CYA! Cover Your Assets (By Securing Them) (Thwack)

Still using local accounts for device access? Don’t know what a Term Process is? You need to CYA!

On the Solarwinds Thwack Geek Speak blog I looked at a variety of security (and related) features which should be configured on all devices. Please do take a trip to Thwack and check out my post, “CYA! Cover Your Assets (By Securing Them)“.

CYA! Cover Your Assets (By Securing Them)

 

Please see my Disclosures page for more information about my role as a Solarwinds Ambassador.

If you liked this post, please do click through to the source at CYA! Cover Your Assets (By Securing Them) (Thwack) and give me a share/like. Thank you!

REVIEW: Users assess network virtualization software from VMware and Micro Focus

Network virtualization is a process of abstraction that separates the network from its underlying physical hardware, allowing for the customization of network infrastructures through aggregation and provisioning measures. Among the potential benefits of network virtualization are faster provisioning of networks, easier management of networks, and more efficient use of resources.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

REVIEW: Users assess network virtualization software from VMware and Micro Focus

Network virtualization is a process of abstraction that separates the network from its underlying physical hardware, allowing for the customization of network infrastructures through aggregation and provisioning measures. Among the potential benefits of network virtualization are faster provisioning of networks, easier management of networks, and more efficient use of resources.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

What is convergence in different field of networking ?

What is convergence ?   This term has different meaning for different networking groups. In this post, I will explain the two most common usage. This kind of knowledge definitely will differentiate you from the others ?   If you are a layer 3 person, I mean if you are familiar with routing, most probably […]

The post What is convergence in different field of networking ? appeared first on Cisco Network Design and Architecture | CCDE Bootcamp | orhanergun.net.

Introducing High Performance Virtual Machines

Bringing high performance virtual machines to oVirt!

Introducing a new VM type in oVirt 4.2.0 Alpha. A newly added checkbox in the all-new Administration Portal delivers the highest possible virtual machine performance, very close to bare metal.

What does it do?

Some of the magic includes:

  • Enable Pass-Through Host CPU
  • Enable IO Threads, Num Of IO Threads = 1
  • Set the IO and Emulator threads pinning topology

For the full feature set, see the very detailed High Performance VM feature page

Count me in! How do I set it up?

Simple. Go to the Administration Portal and from the vertical menu select Compute > Virtual machines. Click the New VM tab to open up the New Virtual Machine dialog box. In the General tab next to the Optimized for field, click the drop down menu and select High Performance. Click OK. Depending on your current configurations, a smart pop-up may open with a list of additional recommended manual configurations, specific to your setup. To address these recommended changes, click Cancel.

New Virtual Machine dialog box with the High Performance VM type highlighted

Few IT departments engage in future planning

It’s an old cliché: If you fail to plan, you better plan to fail. That seems to apply to a new study by CompTIA that finds only 34 percent of businesses surveyed plan their IT infrastructure beyond one year.The reasons are legitimate: the disruption brought about by the migration to cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. Both are seriously disruptive and can make long-term planning a challenge. To stay flexible to changes as they undergo a digital transformation, businesses are reticent to plan beyond one year out. + Also on Network World: Cost optimization gains ground in IT infrastructure decisions + The report, titled "Planning a Modern IT Architecture," also found some of the usual problems dogging IT shops. Four in 10 companies said they lacked the budget for heavy investment in new architecture, and one-third said they don’t have the knowledge on emerging technologies and new trends to formulate an integration plan. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Few IT departments engage in future planning

It’s an old cliché: If you fail to plan, you better plan to fail. That seems to apply to a new study by CompTIA that finds only 34 percent of businesses surveyed plan their IT infrastructure beyond one year.The reasons are legitimate: the disruption brought about by the migration to cloud computing and Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. Both are seriously disruptive and can make long-term planning a challenge. To stay flexible to changes as they undergo a digital transformation, businesses are reticent to plan beyond one year out. + Also on Network World: Cost optimization gains ground in IT infrastructure decisions + The report, titled "Planning a Modern IT Architecture," also found some of the usual problems dogging IT shops. Four in 10 companies said they lacked the budget for heavy investment in new architecture, and one-third said they don’t have the knowledge on emerging technologies and new trends to formulate an integration plan. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Enterprise Network on GNS3 – Part 2 – Access Layer

This is the second from the series of the articles that discuss a complete configuration of the enterprise network. Our enterprise campus network consists of the core, distribution and access layer. This network infrastructure design is called a three-tier network model. Each layer has specific function. The access layer provides access for end users to the network . They are two access switches located inside the access layer. The access switches OpenSwitch-Acc-I and OpenSwitch-Acc-II are OpenSwitch Qemu appliances installed on VMware VMDK disks. The switches run OpenSwitch network OS version 0.4.0 and they have assigned 1024 MB memory by GNS3. More details about building OpenSwitch appliance prior to version 2.0 can be found here.

The ports Ethernet 3 a and 4 on both switches are configured as access ports and they connect PC1 and PC4 to the campus network. The ports Ethernet 1 and Ethernet 2 are uplinks that connect access switches to the distribution switches. They are configured as trunk ports, carrying traffic from multiple VLANs. Thanks to redundant uplink connection, the access switches remain connected to the upper layer, even in case of the failure one of the distribution switches.

Picture 1 - Access Switches Connected Continue reading

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