BrandPost: How to Know if An Active-Active Architecture Right for You

Software defined WANs (SD-WANs) have gained market momentum so quickly because their value proposition is multi-faceted. Some enterprises have looked to SD-WAN as a way to dramatically lower network transport costs, while others are building SD-WANs to automate network operations. One of the more common use-cases I have seen is to shift toward an “active-active” architecture.ACTIVE-ACTIVE WAN ARCHITECTUREHistorically, WANs are built on the concept of “active-passive”, where a branch can be connected using two or more links, but only the primary link is active and passing traffic.  In this scenario, the backup connection only becomes active in the event the primary connection fails. While this might seem sensible, it’s highly inefficient as enterprises are paying for far more bandwidth than they are actually leveraging. This inefficient architectural design is driving increased interest in active-active configurations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco buys Springpath, adds fuel to the HCI fire

Last December, I wrote a post looking at “What to expect from Cisco in 2017”. It’s a foregone conclusion that Cisco will make a number of acquisitions every year, so that’s not hard to predict. The tough part is guessing the potential targets.One of the easier acquisitions to predict was Springpath because Cisco’s HyperFlex hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solution is an OEM of Springpath. The two companies have been working very closely since Springpath was founded in 2012. The product has been extremely well received by customers and channel partners, resulting in a little more than 1,800 customers to date. In fact, nearly customer and channel partner wanted the companies to join. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco buys Springpath, adds fuel to the HCI fire

Last December, I wrote a post looking at “What to expect from Cisco in 2017”. It’s a foregone conclusion that Cisco will make a number of acquisitions every year, so that’s not hard to predict. The tough part is guessing the potential targets.One of the easier acquisitions to predict was Springpath because Cisco’s HyperFlex hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI) solution is an OEM of Springpath. The two companies have been working very closely since Springpath was founded in 2012. The product has been extremely well received by customers and channel partners, resulting in a little more than 1,800 customers to date. In fact, nearly customer and channel partner wanted the companies to join. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

My Three Favorite New Features in Docker Enterprise Edition

I’ve been at Docker for just over two years now, and I’ve worked with every version of Docker Enterprise Edition (née Docker Datacenter) since before there even was a Docker Enterprise Edition (EE). I’m more excited about this new release than any previous release.

There are several new features that are going to ease the management of your applications (both traditional and cloud-native) wherever you need them to run: the cloud or the data center, virtual or physical, Linux or Windows – and now even IBM Z mainframes.

It would take too long to discuss all of the new features, so with that in mind, I’m going to talk about my three favorite features in Docker EE 17.06.

Hybrid-OS Clusters

Docker and Microsoft introduced support for Windows Server containers last fall. This was a major milestone that helped Docker move towards the goal of embracing apps across the entirety of the data center. With this latest release Docker extends hybrid OS operations even further: IT admins can now build and manage clusters comprised of Linux, Windows Server 2016, and IBM Z mainframes  – all from the same management plane. This means you can manage applications comprised of both Windows Continue reading

SDN: Technology to cut costs, speed new services

Software-defined networking (SDN) is defined by a decoupling of the control and packet-forwarding planes in a network, an architecture that can slash operational costs and speed the time it takes to make changes or provision new services.Since all the intelligence resides in software – not baked into monolithic specialty hardware – customers can replace traditional switches with commodity devices to save on capital costs. SDN also makes it possible for the network to interface with applications directly via APIs to improve security and application performance.So what is SDN? Traditional networks are made up of devices with integrated control and data-forwarding planes so each box needs to be configured and managed independently. Because of this, even simple changes to the network can take weeks or even months to complete because the changes have to be made to each device. This was acceptable when network changes were typically made independently from business changes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SDN: Technology to cut costs, speed new services

Software-defined networking (SDN) is defined by a decoupling of the control and packet-forwarding planes in a network, an architecture that can slash operational costs and speed the time it takes to make changes or provision new services.Since all the intelligence resides in software – not baked into monolithic specialty hardware – customers can replace traditional switches with commodity devices to save on capital costs. SDN also makes it possible for the network to interface with applications directly via APIs to improve security and application performance.So what is SDN? Traditional networks are made up of devices with integrated control and data-forwarding planes so each box needs to be configured and managed independently. Because of this, even simple changes to the network can take weeks or even months to complete because the changes have to be made to each device. This was acceptable when network changes were typically made independently from business changes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SDN: Technology to cut costs, speed new services

Software defined networking is defined by a decoupling of the control and packet-forwarding planes in a network, an architecture that can slash operational costs and speed the time it takes to make changes or provision new services.Since all the intelligence resides in software – not baked into monolithic specialty hardware – customers can replace traditional switches with commodity devices to save on capital costs. SDN also makes it possible for the network to interface with applications directly via APIs to improve security and application performance.So what is SDN? Traditional networks are made up of devices with integrated control and data-forwarding planes so each box needs to be configured and managed independently. Because of this, even simple changes to the network can take weeks or even months to complete because the changes have to be made to each device. This was acceptable when network changes were typically made independently from business changes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco brings its SDN to Amazon, Microsoft and Google’s public cloud

Today Cisco announced it is developing a way to integrate its software defined networking product named Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) with public cloud infrastructure from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.By extending ACI from the data center to the public cloud, Cisco is making it easier for customers to manage a hybrid network that spans both environments. Having common network management across this hybrid environment allows customers to implement fine-grained security policies and manage applications across both, Cisco says.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: What SDN is and where it's going + To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cisco brings its SDN to Amazon, Microsoft and Google’s public cloud

Today Cisco announced it is developing a way to integrate its software defined networking product named Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) with public cloud infrastructure from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform.By extending ACI from the data center to the public cloud, Cisco is making it easier for customers to manage a hybrid network that spans both environments. Having common network management across this hybrid environment allows customers to implement fine-grained security policies and manage applications across both, Cisco says.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: What SDN is and where it's going + To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Master of None

Should you be a johnny do-it-all, or so deep that no-one understands what you are saying? It’s time to talk about the shape of knowledge—and how important it is to be intentional about the shape of your knowledge.

The post Master of None appeared first on rule 11 reader.

IDG Contributor Network: How tech giants are putting big data to work

Apple, Amazon and Microsoft may have made themselves globally recognized, billion-dollar brands by producing the most innovative products and services, but these days they’re finding a new way to dominate the market: exploiting big data. The profitable strategies used by these tech giants are now being studied across the industry, as more and more entrepreneurs try to find their golden ticket to fortune by tapping into their stores of data and metadata.So how are today’s tech giants putting big data to work? Are their strategies replicable, and can they be used by other industries to achieve success? How, exactly, does big data stand to change the future?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to set up an all open-source IT infrastructure from scratch

Hypothetical: You need to set up the IT infrastructure (email, file sharing, etc.) for a new company. No restrictions. No legacy application support necessary. How would you do it? What would that ideal IT infrastructure look like?I decided to sit down and think of my ideal setup — based on quite a few years of being a vice president of engineering at various companies — and document them here. Maybe you’ll find my choices useful; maybe you’ll think I’m crazy. Either way, these are good things to consider for any organization. Run services on your own servers  The first thing I’m going to decide on, right up front, is to self-host as many services as I possibly can. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to set up an all open-source IT infrastructure from scratch

Hypothetical: You need to set up the IT infrastructure (email, file sharing, etc.) for a new company. No restrictions. No legacy application support necessary. How would you do it? What would that ideal IT infrastructure look like?I decided to sit down and think of my ideal setup — based on quite a few years of being a vice president of engineering at various companies — and document them here. Maybe you’ll find my choices useful; maybe you’ll think I’m crazy. Either way, these are good things to consider for any organization. Run services on your own servers  The first thing I’m going to decide on, right up front, is to self-host as many services as I possibly can. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to set up an all open-source IT infrastructure from scratch

Hypothetical: You need to set up the IT infrastructure (email, file sharing, etc.) for a new company. No restrictions. No legacy application support necessary. How would you do it? What would that ideal IT infrastructure look like?I decided to sit down and think of my ideal setup — based on quite a few years of being a vice president of engineering at various companies — and document them here. Maybe you’ll find my choices useful; maybe you’ll think I’m crazy. Either way, these are good things to consider for any organization. Run services on your own servers  The first thing I’m going to decide on, right up front, is to self-host as many services as I possibly can. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here