Certification – Major News for Expert Level Recertification

Certification – Major News for Expert Level Recertification

Everyone holding an expert level Cisco certification knows the pain of recertifying. Recertification today is achieved by taking any expert level written exam which means you can take the written in the track you are already certified in (the “safe bet”) or in another track if you want to learn something new. The quality of these written exams have varied over the years. Some revisions have been very difficult to pass even for people that are masters of their trade due to the pool of questions not being as high quality as can be expected from an expert level exam. This has been debated for years.

Every two years the pain of recertifying kicks in. Taking the written exam costs around 400$ per attempt depending on local rates, VAT etc. Many people have had to go through multiple attempts to recertify and some have chosen other written exams than their own track because the written of that track was not up to par quality-wise.

Over the years we have been many that have suggested that there must be a better path to getting recertified. Many of us go to Cisco Live, write Continue reading

Docker Enterprise Edition Now on G-Cloud 9 Framework

 G-Cloud 9

Docker Enterprise Edition (EE) has been accepted to G-Cloud 9, further exemplifying Docker’s commitment to delivering tools for application modernization and innovation across the UK public sector.

G-Cloud 9 is the UK government’s latest framework that is designed to simplify and accelerate adoption of cloud-based services within the public sector. The inclusion of Docker Enterprise Edition subscriptions, training and Professional Services Organization (PSO) within HM Government Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) G-Cloud 9 Framework gives UK public sector organizations the opportunity to procure the de facto container solution through the online store known as the “Digital Marketplace” without needing to run a full tender, competition or lengthy procurement process.

Docker’s meteoric rise within enterprise-class business has been built on its ability to be agnostic, agile and secure – whether for hybrid cloud migration, modernizing the application stack or adopting a DevOps methodology.

Bringing application modernization to the public sector

With the UK government’s shift to cloud and DevOps, and move away from locked-down IT contracts in favor of smaller suppliers, Docker perfectly addresses these needs by giving  UK public sector organizations the ability to innovate, transform, define, select and control their infrastructure. Additionally, these organization can retain staff who now feel engaged as they can run their programs Continue reading

How The Intercept Outed Reality Winner

Today, The Intercept released documents on election tampering from an NSA leaker. Later, the arrest warrant request for an NSA contractor named "Reality Winner" was published, showing how they tracked her down because she had printed out the documents and sent them to The Intercept. The document posted by the Intercept isn't the original PDF file, but a PDF containing the pictures of the printed version that was then later scanned in.

The problem is that most new printers print nearly invisibly yellow dots that track down exactly when and where documents, any document, is printed. Because the NSA logs all printing jobs on its printers, it can use this to match up precisely who printed the document.

In this post, I show how.

You can download the document from the original article here. You can then open it in a PDF viewer, such as the normal "Preview" app on macOS. Zoom into some whitespace on the document, and take a screenshot of this. On macOS, hit [Command-Shift-3] to take a screenshot of a window. There are yellow dots in this image, but you can barely see them, especially if your screen is dirty.

We need to highlight the yellow Continue reading

BrandPost: Selecting the Right Managed SD-WAN Service Provider

Many of you are already aware that an SD-WAN enables distributed enterprises to connect users to applications with the flexibility to use any combination of underlying transport technologies (MPLS, broadband, LTE), bring branch offices online quickly and become more agile, all while saving money.THE VALUE OF CHOOSING AN SD-WAN MANAGED SERVICEHowever, finding the right SD-WAN solution for your business can take time and may not always be the highest business priority, given other digital transformation project priorities. The accelerating pace of technological change within the SD-WAN segment can also lead to confusion. It’s no surprise that many enterprises considering an SD-WAN to simplify their branch WAN deployments are turning to managed service providers to deploy and manage an SD-WAN as a managed service. As I wrote in my previous blog, there is tremendous value in working with a managed service provider for an SD-WAN.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Defining Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity, as defined by Merriam-Webster, is “measures taken to protect a computer or computer system (as on the Internet) against unauthorized access or attack.”

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The true importance of cybersecurity can only be understood if our dependence on “computer systems” is understood. It is difficult to imagine a day using nothing that is actively dependent on technology. We depend on connected systems to purchase groceries, perform medical procedures, manage the delivery of utilities and facilitate communications. These systems facilitate safe travel and alert us of impending dangers. It is conceivable that a cyberattack could take the power grid offline making it difficult or impossible to fill a car with fuel, purchase groceries, receive healthcare and even gain access to the typical procedures to restore the grid itself.

In our world today, unless we are primitive camping, we are using products of computer systems continually. To state it differently, our lives would change drastically if these systems became under widespread compromise. Considering Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, most individuals in a civilized society depend on computer systems for most of the elements defined in the critical first two layers. Since we have built this dependence, we must also protect these systems Continue reading

Top 5 skills needed for the industrial IoT

Over the next five years, the demand for IT workers will get a big boost from an unlikely source: manufacturers looking for networking pros who can help them run the industrial internet of things (IIoT). Manufacturers in the US, Germany, Japan and China are on the cutting edge of something called Industry 4.0, which is digital transformation applied to manufacturing – bringing with it all the change, opportunities and challenges that represents. And it includes IoT devices that contribute to the manufacturing process.+Related: What is Industry 4.0?To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE highlights innovation in software-defined IT, security at Discover

At its Discover conference this week, HPE is pulling back the curtains on firmware security and advances in software-defined IT aimed to reduce costs and increase system flexibility for its users and help it stay ahead of competitors in next-generation infrastructure.There is plenty of competition in the market for converged and hyperconverged data center systems, but at the moment HPE has the lead in composable infrastructure, a term gaining currency in the system management world.Composable infrastructure allows data center managers to deploy infrastructure resources using software commands, notes Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights and Strategy.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE highlights innovation in software-defined IT, security at Discover

At its Discover conference this week, HPE is pulling back the curtains on firmware security and advances in software-defined IT aimed to reduce costs and increase system flexibility for its users and help it stay ahead of competitors in next-generation infrastructure.There is plenty of competition in the market for converged and hyperconverged data center systems, but at the moment HPE has the lead in composable infrastructure, a term gaining currency in the system management world.Composable infrastructure allows data center managers to deploy infrastructure resources using software commands, notes Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights and Strategy.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HPE highlights innovation in software-defined IT, security at Discover

At its Discover conference this week, HPE is pulling back the curtains on firmware security and advances in software-defined IT aimed to reduce costs and increase system flexibility for its users and help it stay ahead of competitors in next-generation infrastructure.There is plenty of competition in the market for converged and hyperconverged data center systems, but at the moment HPE has the lead in composable infrastructure, a term gaining currency in the system management world.Composable infrastructure allows data center managers to deploy infrastructure resources using software commands, notes Patrick Moorhead, founder of Moor Insights and Strategy.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

37% off DYMO LabelWriter 450 Turbo Thermal Label Printer – Deal Alert

The LabelWriter 450 Turbo rapidly handles all of your labelling and filing needs and nimbly prints postage. Printing 4-line address labels at an impressive 71 labels per minute, the LabelWriter 450 Turbo label printer saves you a lot of time. It connects directly to your PC or Mac, making it easy to print customized graphics, barcodes, address labels and more. You can even print directly from popular programs including Microsoft Word and the Mac Address Book. Plus, thermal printing technology eliminates the cost of ink and toner while the label printer’s sleek, compact design makes it a great addition to every workplace. It averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 1,350 people on Amazon (read reviews) where its typical list price of $69.95 has been reduced 37% to $44.15. See this deal on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

What is Industry 4.0?

At its heart, Industry 4.0 is digital transformation applied to manufacturing – bringing with it all the change, opportunities and challenges that represents.Industry 4.0 connects the supply chain and the ERP system directly to the production line to form an integrated, automated and, potentially, autonomous manufacturing processes that make better use of capital, raw materials, and human resources.At the moment, Industry 4.0 is a bit of a fuzzy concept because it goes well beyond just connecting machines to other machines or automating another step in a production line with a robot, said Ned Hill, an economist at The Ohio State University who focuses on manufacturing and economic development.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Internet Shutdowns Are Not a Solution to Africa’s Challenges

Africa has made considerable gains with regards to the Internet in the last decades. It’s Internet penetration grew by more than 400%; its international bandwidth has been multiplied by 20 just in just 5 years between 2009 and 2014; during the same period Africa’s terrestrial backbone has doubled (Internet Society, Internet Development and Internet Governance in Africa, 2015). This achievement required considerable private and public investment and brought hope for Africans, particularly its youth.

Dawit Bekele

IDG Contributor Network: Bank battle for innovation and market share needs huge live data crunching

When there isn’t much else to choose between brands, customer service becomes an important differentiation, and in financial services the situation has become acute. As regulators continue to make it easier for customers to switch providers, financial institutions must spend as much time keeping existing account holders happy as they do wooing new ones. Issuing apps and making it easier for customers to bank and source products online is a good start, but account holders will soon notice and defect if such moves are really a thinly disguised attempt to reduce costs and close branches.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Bank battle for innovation and market share needs huge live data crunching

When there isn’t much else to choose between brands, customer service becomes an important differentiation, and in financial services the situation has become acute. As regulators continue to make it easier for customers to switch providers, financial institutions must spend as much time keeping existing account holders happy as they do wooing new ones. Issuing apps and making it easier for customers to bank and source products online is a good start, but account holders will soon notice and defect if such moves are really a thinly disguised attempt to reduce costs and close branches.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Cumulus co-founder featured on Packet Pushers!

A couple weeks ago, our co-founder, JR Rivers, sat down with the guys at Packet Pushers, in order to discuss how to build a better network with web-scale networking. We were so excited to be featured, that we decided to use this opportunity to launch a giveaway!

The podcast goes into detail covering the benefits of web-scale networking, but we want to hear your thoughts on it. We’ve put together a quick survey to hear what you think of web-scale principles and how you may have incorporated them into your organization. Simply fill out the survey to enter for a chance to win a free Apple Watch!

The podcast covers:

  • The emergence of web-scale IT
  • The traditional way of doing things and how it compares
  • Free Range Routing
  • Open networking and Linux
  • How organizations can get to SDN
  • The role of NetDevOps
  • The how and why of automation

Sound interesting? Grab your headphones and take a listen! You can hear the podcast now by visiting PacketPushers.com

And don’t forget to enter to win an Apple Watch!

 

 

 

The post Cumulus co-founder featured on Packet Pushers! appeared first on Cumulus Networks Blog.

Dealing with NIST’s about-face on password complexity

In the last few years, we've been seeing some significant changes in the suggestions that security experts are making for password security. While previous guidance increasingly pushed complexity in terms of password length, the mix of characters used, controls over password reuse, and forced periodic changes, specialists have been questioning whether making passwords complex wasn't actually working against security concerns rather than promoting them.Security specialists have also argued that forcing complexity down users' throats has led to them writing passwords down or forgetting them and having to get them reset. They argued that replacing a password character with a digit or an uppercase character might make a password look complicated, but does not actually make it any less vulnerable to compromise. In fact, when users are forced to include a variety of characters in their passwords, they generally do so in very predictable ways. Instead of “password”, they might use “Passw0rd” or even “P4ssw0rd!”, but the variations don't make the passwords significantly less guessable. People are just not very good at generating anything that's truly random.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T’s purchase of Vyatta Software bolsters its virtualization push

Last week, AT&T agreed to buy Vyatta Software’s network operating system, distributed services platform, software still under development, existing software licenses, and related intellectual property and other assets—including the vRouter product line. It will also acqui-hire some Brocade workers, mostly in California and the U.K.All about virtualization The point, it seems, is to further boost AT&T’s industry-leading virtualization efforts, particularly in the and areas of software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV). To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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