Dell strengthens data center stack with shiny new assets

Just a few years back, Dell said it didn't want to mimic sloppy behemoths like IBM or HP and, instead, wanted to be lean and focus on the mid-market.But after a US$67 billion merger with EMC in 2016, the new company called Dell Technologies is a full-bodied systems integrator, offering hardware, networking, storage, and services.In the meanwhile, the company's rivals slimmed down. The new Hewlett-Packard Enterprise focuses on data-center hardware, while IBM focuses on software.Dell Technologies is taking a page from Alphabet, a bunch of autonomous companies like Google working together. Dell Technologies includes hardware company Dell and storage provider EMC, with many independent operational units that have combined to strengthen the company's infrastructure stack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dell strengthens data center stack with shiny new assets

Just a few years back, Dell said it didn't want to mimic sloppy behemoths like IBM or HP and, instead, wanted to be lean and focus on the mid-market.But after a US$67 billion merger with EMC in 2016, the new company called Dell Technologies is a full-bodied systems integrator, offering hardware, networking, storage, and services.In the meanwhile, the company's rivals slimmed down. The new Hewlett-Packard Enterprise focuses on data-center hardware, while IBM focuses on software.Dell Technologies is taking a page from Alphabet, a bunch of autonomous companies like Google working together. Dell Technologies includes hardware company Dell and storage provider EMC, with many independent operational units that have combined to strengthen the company's infrastructure stack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Dell strengthens data center stack with shiny new assets

Just a few years back, Dell said it didn't want to mimic sloppy behemoths like IBM or HP and, instead, wanted to be lean and focus on the mid-market.But after a US$67 billion merger with EMC in 2016, the new company called Dell Technologies is a full-bodied systems integrator, offering hardware, networking, storage, and services.In the meanwhile, the company's rivals slimmed down. The new Hewlett-Packard Enterprise focuses on data-center hardware, while IBM focuses on software.Dell Technologies is taking a page from Alphabet, a bunch of autonomous companies like Google working together. Dell Technologies includes hardware company Dell and storage provider EMC, with many independent operational units that have combined to strengthen the company's infrastructure stack.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Mirantis scores sweet Vodafone deal. More fuel for the OpenStack fire

I’ve been covering Mirantis for the longest time. They’re an easy company to write about. Seemingly every drama in the IT industry has some kind of Mirantis involvement, and while that might be a slight exaggeration, it’s fair to say that they’re good at providing fodder for the peanut brigade.Most recently, Mirantis has been undergoing something of a transformation, as market dynamics and the realities of their initially chosen areas (that of being a specialist OpenStack service shop) didn’t really prove viable. In recent months, Mirantis has significantly cut staffing levels and pivoted somewhat to being a service provider across a variety of open-source cloud operating systems (most notable Kuberenetes).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Intel sold you out

There should be prizes for this. Let’s call them The Oopsies. The most bafflingly easy servers to hijack, turn out to be those running Intel’s Active Management Technology (AMT).People warned me about this, and I pooh-pooh’d it. Please hand me a scraper so that I can wipe the egg off my face. The servers are so wickedly simple to jack that a third-grader can log into them and merrily do essentially root damage.+ Also on Network World: The insecurities list: 10 ways to improve cybersecurity + That the largest server CPU provider on earth doesn’t fall all over itself in sincere apologies (United Airlines gone wrong?) doesn’t surprise me. No one falls on their sword anymore. No one takes product managers out behind the cafeteria and strips the access key fob from the management toy room. It’s all just jolly. Oops. Sorry, folksTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Intel sold you out

There should be prizes for this. Let’s call them The Oopsies. The most bafflingly easy servers to hijack, turn out to be those running Intel’s Active Management Technology (AMT).People warned me about this, and I pooh-pooh’d it. Please hand me a scraper so that I can wipe the egg off my face. The servers are so wickedly simple to jack that a third-grader can log into them and merrily do essentially root damage.+ Also on Network World: The insecurities list: 10 ways to improve cybersecurity + That the largest server CPU provider on earth doesn’t fall all over itself in sincere apologies (United Airlines gone wrong?) doesn’t surprise me. No one falls on their sword anymore. No one takes product managers out behind the cafeteria and strips the access key fob from the management toy room. It’s all just jolly. Oops. Sorry, folksTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iPhone 8 may be released in October

For anyone eagerly anticipating the release of the iPhone 8, we have some good news to share. Amid reports that production difficulties and component shortages may have resulted in the iPhone 8 hitting stores as late as November, a new report via Digitimes saysiPhone 8 mass production is on track and that the device will go on sale sometime in October.According to the report, Apple's key partners in the supply chain will begin ramping up component production in June. Specifically, TSMC will reportedly begin producing Apple's next-generation A11 processor towards the later half of June. What's more, some of the yield issues that Apple was previously facing have reportedly been addressed. All that said, mass production is reportedly on track to get underway sometime in August or September.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to use PowerShell with DISM

With the release of the Windows 10 Creators Update in early April, Microsoft changed the default command-line environment in Windows 10 from the Command Prompt (aka cmd.exe) to PowerShell. There, the old black-and-white command-line interface gives way to a new, blue-and-white style in the latest version of Windows 10.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

IDG Contributor Network: Red Hat rolls out the announcements at its annual summit

Last week open source company Red Hat held its annual summit. I didn't actually attended the event, but I took the opportunity to follow along virtually. Many of my analyst friends were there, and between their missives, some back-channel conversations and interaction with their AR/PR team, I got a pretty good handle on what was up.This comes at an interesting time for Red Hat. Its original business, Red Hat Linux in all its flavors, is going well, but newer open-source initiatives (OpenStack, OpenShift, Docker, etc.) have muddied the waters and created a requirement for Red Hat to embrace different areas.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Automating F5 Big-IP Using Ansible webinar

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The following blog contains answers to all questions asked during the Automating F5 BIG-IP using Ansible webinar.

Interested in exploring other Ansible webinars? Register for one of our upcoming webinars or watch an on-demand webinar.

Q: Can you pass the BIG-IP username and password by variable? Also, is there a way to mask the password in the Playbooks or manually feed the credentials as the Playbooks run? How can we ensure security here given that administrative passwords are clear text in the Playbooks themselves?

Yes, the BIG-IP username and password can be passed as a variable by referencing them from the inventory file or even provide them during runtime on the cli -- although this would show them in the process list if you did a 'ps'. You can also specify them in a vars_prompt; this would prevent them from being shown in 'ps'. The downside here is that this would limit the amount of automation you can provide because running the Playbook would require that either be typed in or specified with '-e' ('-e' auto fills vars_prompts that match). The recommended way is to get the vars from a secure location. Ansible provides Vault, Continue reading

Privacy: Bartering Data for Services

Data is the new currency. A phrase we’ve heard frequently in the wake of the story of Unroll.me selling user data to Uber.

Two keys to that story:

  • Users didn’t realize their data was being sold.
  • Free services can be considered a sophisticated form of phishing attack.

In both cases prevention requires user awareness. How do we get user awareness? Force meaningful disclosure. How do we force meaningful disclosure? Here’s an odd thought: use the tax system.

If data is the new currency then why isn’t exchanging data for use of a service a barter transaction? If a doctor exchanges medical services for chickens, for example, that is a taxable event at fair market value. It's a barter arrangement. A free service that sells user data is similarly bartering the service for data, otherwise said service would not be offered. 

How would it work?

  • Service providers send out 1099-Bs to users for the fair market value of the service. Fair market value could be determined using a similar for pay service or as a percentage of the income generated from the data being sold.

  • The IRS treats barter transactions as income received. Users would need to pay income Continue reading

US device searches at borders ignite resistance

Aaron Gach wasn't expecting U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to demand to search his smartphone when he returned to San Fransisco from Belgium in February.The artist and magician, a U.S. citizen, had just attended an art event near Brussels and was targeted for advanced screening by CBP after his flight landed in the U.S. During a series of questions from CBP agents ("Did you pack your bag yourself?"), they repeatedly asked to search his smartphone, Gach said."Do you understand that if you choose not to unlock your phone we may need to detain your other personal effects?" one agent told him, according to a description of the encounter that Gach posted online.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

US device searches at borders ignite resistance

Aaron Gach wasn't expecting U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents to demand to search his smartphone when he returned to San Fransisco from Belgium in February.The artist and magician, a U.S. citizen, had just attended an art event near Brussels and was targeted for advanced screening by CBP after his flight landed in the U.S. During a series of questions from CBP agents ("Did you pack your bag yourself?"), they repeatedly asked to search his smartphone, Gach said."Do you understand that if you choose not to unlock your phone we may need to detain your other personal effects?" one agent told him, according to a description of the encounter that Gach posted online.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to prevent your data from being searched at the US border

During the past two years, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has targeted ever larger numbers of travelers' smartphones and laptops for searches as they cross the border into the country.U.S. courts have generally upheld a so-called border search exception to the Constitution's Fourth Amendment, allowing CBP to search electronic devices without a court-ordered warrant. In April, a group of lawmakers introduced legislation to require warrants to search devices owned by U.S. citizens and other legal residents, but for now, the law allows for warrantless device searches.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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