Qualcomm pushing vague term “platforms” over “processors” for Snapdragon line

Qualcomm's plea this week to start referring to its Snapdragon processors as the Qualcomm Snapdragon Mobile Platform reminds me of my early days at Network World when every vendor insisted it was selling a "solution" and not a switch or router or server.Interviews often went something like this:"So what is your company announcing today?""A solution""Yeah, but what is it? Is it a router? Is it a switch? Is it software? Is it hardware? Is it a service?""It's a solution."Qualcomm's solution to people underestimating all that its Snapdragon processors do, and to distinguish them from lower-end products in its line, is to introduce a "new naming structure" to, you guessed it, "represent [our] full suite of solutions."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Community Forum Launches the Search for 25 Under 25

Linux networking: It’s not just SDN

Oftentimes, Cumulus Linux gets confused for an SDN (software-defined networking) solution. In conversations with potential customers, I’ve noticed that some of them find it difficult to distinguish between SDN, open networking and Cumulus Linux. When I talk to network engineers, I start by clarifying the SDN buzzword head on. The term gets overused, and is often defined by other confusing acronyms or marketing jargon. To complicate things further, SDN is often thought of as equivalent to OpenFlow, which is flawed in my opinion.

What is SDN?

If I were to more accurately describe SDN based on my experiences in the networking industry, I would define it more broadly. Instead of defining SDN as a specific solution (such as OpenFlow), I define SDN as a highly automatable and programmable network infrastructure.

What SDN providers exist today?

• OpenFlow: Many companies and communities drive OpenFlow solutions, but today there is no guarantee any one solution can interoperate with any other.
• Proprietary or vendor-specific: Solutions such as Cisco’s ACI and Juniper Contrails are closed solutions that are positioned as SDN. Arguably, certain OpenFlow solutions can fall under here as well since they don’t all adhere to an OpenFlow standard.
• Network virtualization with technologies Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Smarter authentication makes mobile experiences more secure, user friendly

To make our lives easier, digital experiences have become much more interconnected and the volume of personal data captured in the cloud is growing exponentially. While these trends make us more productive, they can also make security breaches much more damaging. Once a hacker gains access to one aspect of your digital life, he can easily reach across multiple applications and accounts, laying a path of destruction and heartache.Today’s mobile and digital experiences need authentication strategies that keep up with the constantly changing digital ecosystem, and simple passwords are not enough.Authentication must be fast, easy to use Multifactor authentication strategies are growing in popularity, but the tradeoff of usability and security is a constant balancing act. If authentication solutions are not simple, quick and easy, users will find ways around them. And if they are not secure, hackers will quickly exploit weaknesses. Sophisticated smart authentication strategies are coming to market that are less visible and easier to use than messaging-based two-factor authentication approaches or biometrics. Approaches such as behavioral biometrics and adaptive authentication are leveraging data and sophisticated algorithms to create more secure and easier-to-use experiences.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Smarter authentication makes mobile experiences more secure, user friendly

To make our lives easier, digital experiences have become much more interconnected and the volume of personal data captured in the cloud is growing exponentially. While these trends make us more productive, they can also make security breaches much more damaging. Once a hacker gains access to one aspect of your digital life, he can easily reach across multiple applications and accounts, laying a path of destruction and heartache.Today’s mobile and digital experiences need authentication strategies that keep up with the constantly changing digital ecosystem, and simple passwords are not enough.Authentication must be fast, easy to use Multifactor authentication strategies are growing in popularity, but the tradeoff of usability and security is a constant balancing act. If authentication solutions are not simple, quick and easy, users will find ways around them. And if they are not secure, hackers will quickly exploit weaknesses. Sophisticated smart authentication strategies are coming to market that are less visible and easier to use than messaging-based two-factor authentication approaches or biometrics. Approaches such as behavioral biometrics and adaptive authentication are leveraging data and sophisticated algorithms to create more secure and easier-to-use experiences.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please Continue reading

CoreOS Donates its rkt Container Technology to CNCF

rkt is a key component of cloud native computing.

Trump budget would fund border wall, but slash science and research

President Donald Trump's federal budget outline released Thursday represents a major shift in U.S. priorities. It would increase defense spending, boost immigration enforcement and include in seed money for a wall along the southern border.It does all of that, in part, by cutting science funding.[ Further reading: The march toward exascale computers ] Science and technology groups are warning that U.S. leadership will suffer if the budget, which would cover the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, is adopted.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wind River’s Titanium Control Platform Eases IoT Transition

Legacy M2M systems are becoming expensive to maintain.

Facebook Tests its White Box Transponder in Europe

It worked with Coriant and Telia Carrier.

31% off Luma 3-Piece Whole Home Mesh WiFi System – Deal Alert

Regardless of your home’s size or shape, these 3 powerful Luma devices work together to create an extremely fast, ultra-secure surround WiFi network that’s customized for your home. No more fiddling with extra WiFi extenders to manage dead spots and weak zones. Luma puts you in control. With a few simple taps, you can pause the internet, filter what your kids are looking at online, or set house rules for your network. Luma also secures your devices and neutralizes threats, keeping you in control of your network. The Luma whole house WiFi system averages 4 out of 5 stars from over 1,100 people on Amazon (read recent reviews), where its typical list price of $399 has been reduced 31% to $275.95. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

31% off Luma 3-Piece Whole Home Mesh WiFi System – Deal Alert

Regardless of your home’s size or shape, these 3 powerful Luma devices work together to create an extremely fast, ultra-secure surround WiFi network that’s customized for your home. No more fiddling with extra WiFi extenders to manage dead spots and weak zones. Luma puts you in control. With a few simple taps, you can pause the internet, filter what your kids are looking at online, or set house rules for your network. Luma also secures your devices and neutralizes threats, keeping you in control of your network. The Luma whole house WiFi system averages 4 out of 5 stars from over 1,100 people on Amazon (read recent reviews), where its typical list price of $399 has been reduced 31% to $275.95. See this deal now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Oracle Stock Up 7% after Q3 Earnings, Cloud Continues to Impress

Oracle's cloud revenues have its investors excited.

Learn Docker with our DockerCon 2017 Hands-On Labs

We’re excited to announce that DockerCon 2017 will feature a comprehensive set of hands-on labs. We first introduced hands-on labs at DockerCon EU in 2015, and they were also part of DockerCon 2016 last year in Seattle. This year we’re offering a broader range of topics that cover the interests of both developers and operations personnel on both Windows and Linux (see below for a full list)

These hands-on labs are designed to be self-paced, and are run on the attendee’s laptop. But, don’t worry, all the infrastructure will be hosted again this year on Microsoft Azure. So, all you will need is a laptop capable of instantiating a remote session over SSH (for Linux) or RDP (for Windows).

We’ll have a nice space set up in between the ecosystem expo and breakout rooms for you to work on the labs. There will be tables and stools along with power and wireless Internet access as well as lab proctors to answer questions. But, because of the way the labs are set up, you could also stop by, sign up, and take your laptop to a quiet spot and work on your own.

As you can tell, we’re pretty stoked on Continue reading

Adobe Reader, Edge, Safari, and Ubuntu fall during first day at Pwn2Own

Bug hunters have gathered again to test their skills against some of the most popular and mature software programs during the Pwn2Own hacking contest. During the first day, they successfully demonstrated exploits against Microsoft Edge, Apple's Safari, Adobe Reader, and Ubuntu Desktop.The Pwn2Own contest runs every year during the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, Canada. It's organized and sponsored by the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), an exploit acquisition program operated by Trend Micro after its acquisition of TippingPoint.This year the contest has a prize pool of US$1 million for exploits in five categories: virtual machines (VMware Workstation and Microsoft Hyper-V); web browser and plugins (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Flash Player running in Edge); local escalation of privilege (Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu Desktop); enterprise applications (Adobe Reader, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and server side (Apache Web Server on Ubuntu Server).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Adobe Reader, Edge, Safari, and Ubuntu fall during first day at Pwn2Own

Bug hunters have gathered again to test their skills against some of the most popular and mature software programs during the Pwn2Own hacking contest. During the first day, they successfully demonstrated exploits against Microsoft Edge, Apple's Safari, Adobe Reader, and Ubuntu Desktop.The Pwn2Own contest runs every year during the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, Canada. It's organized and sponsored by the Zero Day Initiative (ZDI), an exploit acquisition program operated by Trend Micro after its acquisition of TippingPoint.This year the contest has a prize pool of US$1 million for exploits in five categories: virtual machines (VMware Workstation and Microsoft Hyper-V); web browser and plugins (Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, and Flash Player running in Edge); local escalation of privilege (Windows, macOS, and Ubuntu Desktop); enterprise applications (Adobe Reader, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint) and server side (Apache Web Server on Ubuntu Server).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA plan would reinvent not-so-clever machine learning systems

Machine learning systems maybe be smart but they have a lot to discover.Innovative researchers with DARPA hope to achieve superior machine learning systems with a new program called Lifelong Learning Machines (L2M) which has as its primary goal to develop next-generation machine learning technologies that can learn from new situations and apply that learning to become better and more reliable than current constrained systems.+More on Network World: DARPA fortifies early warning system for power-grid cyber assault+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA plan would reinvent not-so-clever machine learning systems

Machine learning systems maybe be smart but they have a lot to discover.Innovative researchers with DARPA hope to achieve superior machine learning systems with a new program called Lifelong Learning Machines (L2M) which has as its primary goal to develop next-generation machine learning technologies that can learn from new situations and apply that learning to become better and more reliable than current constrained systems.+More on Network World: DARPA fortifies early warning system for power-grid cyber assault+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA plan would reinvent not-so-clever machine learning systems

Machine learning systems maybe be smart but they have a lot to discover.Innovative researchers with DARPA hope to achieve superior machine learning systems with a new program called Lifelong Learning Machines (L2M) which has as its primary goal to develop next-generation machine learning technologies that can learn from new situations and apply that learning to become better and more reliable than current constrained systems.+More on Network World: DARPA fortifies early warning system for power-grid cyber assault+To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Peering Through Opaque HPC Benchmarks

If Xzibit worked in the HPC field, he might be heard to say “I heard you like computers, so we modeled a computer with your computer so you can simulate your simulations.”

But simulating the performance of HPC applications is more than just recursion for comedic effect, it provides a key mechanism for the study and prediction of application behavior under different scenarios. While actually running the code on the system will yield a measure of the wallclock time, it does little to provide an explanation of what factors impacted that wallclock time. And of course it requires the system …

Peering Through Opaque HPC Benchmarks was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

What BGP Looking Glass servers are and how network administrators use them.

The post What BGP Looking Glass servers are and how network administrators use them. appeared first on Noction.