Data center network monitoring best practices part 2: Network alerting, a deeper dive

Network monitoring without alerting is like having a clock without any hands. In the previous post, Eric discussed setting up a monitoring strategy, and in it we scraped the surface of network alerting. In this post we dive into alerting more deeply.

Network alerting on relevant data

Alerting comes in many forms. In the previous post, we discussed how metrics can be set with thresholds to create alerts. This is the most basic level of alerting. CPU alerts are set at 90% of utilization. Disk usage alerts are set to 95% of utilization. There are at least two drawbacks with this level of alerting.

First, by alerting on metric thresholds, we limit ourselves to the granularity of the metrics. Consider a scenario where interface statistics are gathered every five minutes. That limits the ability to capture anomalous traffic patterns to a five minute interval, and at the fast pace of modern datacenters, that level of granularity isn’t acceptable. Limiting the alerting ability based on the thresholds.

Secondly, there are many times when alerts from certain metrics don’t create any actionable activities. For example, an alert on CPU utilization may not directly have an impact on traffic. Since switch CPUs should Continue reading

Intel Moves Xeons To The Moore’s Law Leading Edge

In the wake of the Technology and Manufacturing Day event that Intel hosted last month, we were pondering this week about what effect the tick-tock-clock method of advancing chip designs and manufacturing processes might have on the Xeon server chip line from Intel, and we suggested that it might close the gaps between the Core client chips and the Xeons. It turns out that Intel is not only going to close the gaps, but reverse them and put the Xeons on the leading edge.

To be precise, Brian Krzanich, Intel’s chief financial officer, and Robert Swan, the company’s chief financial …

Intel Moves Xeons To The Moore’s Law Leading Edge was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

NSA ends surveillance tactic that pulled in citizens’ emails, texts

The U.S. National Security Agency will no longer sift through emails, texts and other internet communications that mention targets of surveillance.The change, which the NSA announced on Friday, stops a controversial tactic that critics said violated U.S. citizens' privacy rights.The practice involved flagging communications where a foreign surveillance target was mentioned, even if that target wasn't involved in the conversation. Friday’s announcement means the NSA will stop collecting this data.“Instead, this surveillance will now be limited to only those communications that are directly ‘to’ or ‘from’ a foreign intelligence target,” the NSA said in a statement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

NSA ends surveillance tactic that pulled in citizens’ emails, texts

The U.S. National Security Agency will no longer sift through emails, texts and other internet communications that mention targets of surveillance.The change, which the NSA announced on Friday, stops a controversial tactic that critics said violated U.S. citizens' privacy rights.The practice involved flagging communications where a foreign surveillance target was mentioned, even if that target wasn't involved in the conversation. Friday’s announcement means the NSA will stop collecting this data.“Instead, this surveillance will now be limited to only those communications that are directly ‘to’ or ‘from’ a foreign intelligence target,” the NSA said in a statement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Stealthy Mac malware spies on encrypted browser traffic

A new malware program that targets macOS users is capable of spying on encrypted browser traffic to steal sensitive information.The new program, dubbed OSX/Dok by researchers from Check Point Software Technologies, was distributed via email phishing campaigns to users in Europe.One of the rogue emails was crafted to look as if it was sent by a Swiss government agency warning recipients about apparent errors in their tax returns. The malware was attached to the email as a file called Dokument.zip.What makes OSX/Dok interesting is that it was digitally signed with a valid Apple developer certificate. These certificates are issued by Apple to members of its developer program and are needed to publish applications in the official Mac App Store.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Stealthy Mac malware spies on encrypted browser traffic

A new malware program that targets macOS users is capable of spying on encrypted browser traffic to steal sensitive information.The new program, dubbed OSX/Dok by researchers from Check Point Software Technologies, was distributed via email phishing campaigns to users in Europe.One of the rogue emails was crafted to look as if it was sent by a Swiss government agency warning recipients about apparent errors in their tax returns. The malware was attached to the email as a file called Dokument.zip.What makes OSX/Dok interesting is that it was digitally signed with a valid Apple developer certificate. These certificates are issued by Apple to members of its developer program and are needed to publish applications in the official Mac App Store.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Joining together to fight spam

Last October, in the vibrant city of Bangkok, the Internet Society joined regulators for an in-depth conversation about how to eliminate spam and its harmful effects. Our kind hosts were the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) and the International Institute of Communications (ICC). The CRTC has published a comprehensive and insightful report on the workshop, capturing the key issues, observations, and ways forward. We encourage you to read it carefully. First and foremost, take note of the answer to “why act now?” – it’s a shared responsibility. —The Internet Society

The post Worth Reading: Joining together to fight spam appeared first on rule 11 reader.

Google’s Chrome will soon start warning you more about HTTP pages

A Google effort to push websites to implement encryption is expanding. Starting in October, the company will roll out new warnings to flag HTTP connections as insecure in its Chrome browser.For users, it means Chrome will display the words “not secure” in the browser’s address bar whenever they type any data into web pages that connect over HTTP.However, for users who like to browse through Chrome’s privacy-enhancing Incognito mode, the warnings will appear by default on all HTTP pages visited, not only when the user enters information onto the page.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s Chrome will soon start warning you more about HTTP pages

A Google effort to push websites to implement encryption is expanding. Starting in October, the company will roll out new warnings to flag HTTP connections as insecure in its Chrome browser.For users, it means Chrome will display the words “not secure” in the browser’s address bar whenever they type any data into web pages that connect over HTTP.However, for users who like to browse through Chrome’s privacy-enhancing Incognito mode, the warnings will appear by default on all HTTP pages visited, not only when the user enters information onto the page.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

TSA: “As you can imagine, live anti-tank rounds are strictly prohibited altogether.”

I have detailed the crazy things that the TSA has found in airline travelers checked bags over the past few years but…every once and awhile, something new and cracked turns up. TSA/22MM tank round LAX Recently the agency’s agents reported that a live 22 MM anti-tank round was discovered by TSA agents in a checked bag at Los Angeles (LAX) airport.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

TSA: “As you can imagine, live anti-tank rounds are strictly prohibited altogether.”

I have detailed the crazy things that the TSA has found in airline travelers checked bags over the past few years but…every once and awhile, something new and cracked turns up. TSA/22MM tank round LAX Recently the agency’s agents reported that a live 22 MM anti-tank round was discovered by TSA agents in a checked bag at Los Angeles (LAX) airport.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Legal war with Apple hits Qualcomm’s revenue projections

The legal fight between Apple and Qualcomm on licensing modem technology is turning uglier every day.Apple has filed lawsuits against Qualcomm in countries like the U.S., U.K., China and Japan, accusing the chipmaker of using its dominant market position to overcharge licensing fees.The iPhone maker itself doesn't pay licensing fees directly to Qualcomm. The fees are paid by partners like Foxconn, which makes the iPhone and iPad for Apple.Qualcomm is now accusing Apple of interfering with the licensing payments owed by those partners. Its revenue forecasts for the third quarter are affected, Qualcomm said.The chipmaker on Friday revised its revenue projections for the third fiscal quarter. It is projecting revenue to be between US$5.3 billion and $6.1 billion. That range runs between a decrease of 12 percent and an increase of 1 percent, compared to the same quarter last year. The forecast removes royalty revenues from Apple's contract manufacturers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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