No-Hassle Hardware Replacement with DCNM

Continuing my look at Cisco’s Data Center Network Manager (DCNM) software, I had to swap out a faulty spine switch recently, and got a chance to find out whether I could use DCNM to make the RMA process a little less painful than it would normally be.

Using DCNM for RMA

If I had a dream, albeit a rather sad one, it would be to be able to swap out a hardware component in my network quickly and efficiently, and not have to mess around.

DCNM has all the elements to make this feasible. Given a device serial number, I’ve already confirmed that DCNM can automatically deploy the correct firmware version and base configuration when deploying a new fabric, so there’s no reason it couldn’t be used to do the same thing for a replacement switch, but this time deploying the complete, production configuration in one step. Happily I already have the configuration for the spine switch I’m replacing, because DCNM takes frequent backups. I also have the appropriate firmware loaded to DCNM’s software repository because I used it to build the fabric in the first place. So how do I approach the RMA?

Telling DCNM About The New Hardware

Once the replacement switch was received Continue reading

VMware NSX Micro-segmentation Day 1 Book Available!

VMware NSX Micro-segmentation Day 1 is available for free download! VMware NSX Micro-segmentation Day 1 is a concise book that provides the necessary information to guide organizations interested in bolstering their security posture through the implementation of micro-segmentation.VMware NSX Micro-segmentation Day 1 highlights the importance of micro-segmentation in enabling better data center cyber hygiene. It also provides the knowledge and guidance needed to effectively design and implement a data center security strategy around micro-segmentation.

VMware NSX Micro-segmentation covers the following topics.

• Micro-segmentation Definition
• Micro-segmentation and Cybersecurity standards
• NSX components enabling micro-segmentation
• Design considerations for micro-segmentation
• Creating a grouping framework for micro-segmentation
• Policy creation tools for micro-segmentation

The post VMware NSX Micro-segmentation Day 1 Book Available! appeared first on The Network Virtualization Blog.

BrandPost: How to Sidestep Common Enterprise Storage Mistakes

While the move toward truly digital environments provides IT with an exciting opportunity to contribute to the organization’s future, it also increases the workload on IT infrastructure. And when resources are taxed, mistakes are made. Unfortunately, the process of building storage environments capable of satisfying the demands of the new digital economy isn’t exempt.Some mistakes are understandable, painless, and easy to correct. But others can be harmful enough to put your company on the path to failure – especially if left unaddressed. Here are three prime examples of common storage mistakes and how you can avoid them.Mistake 1: Undervaluing the role visibility plays in today’s digital environment. When always-on performance is a prerequisite, failing to embrace visibility tools means that you are essentially operating in the dark and surviving on chance. Dynamic visibility tools combined with a Fibre Channel-based storage fabric can give you the ability to rapidly troubleshoot current or looming problem areas.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

10 tips for helming IT through ups and downs

Most organizations experience growth in fits and starts, with alternating periods of expansion and contraction. IT used to have to react to those twists and turns on the fly. But now, with a role more tightly aligned with business, IT is instead helping lead through such changes.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Cloud made easy: Get started with Digital Ocean

When the boss wants a prototype as soon as possible or a client needs something tomorrow, the cloud is the best place to turn. You can have a fully configured machine serving data in minutes.One of the most developer-friendly options is DigitalOcean, a cloud that offers fast machines at reasonable prices, delivering them in seconds. It doesn’t offer the fancier features that the major cloud providers do—at this writing—but it does package raw machines in a way that’s a breeze to deploy. If you’re a developer with an idea that needs a home, DigitalOcean’s machines are blank slates ready to go.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to lock down your security system

Keeping the network safeImage by ThinkstockAs long as data is online there will always be concerns over cyber security. There are many steps a business can take to help better protect their physical security systems from cyber threats. From simple things like not using default or simple passwords, to more advanced steps like using PKI certificates and making sure you download the latest firmware - each are important to keeping your data, and your network, secure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How to lock down your security system

Keeping the network safeImage by ThinkstockAs long as data is online there will always be concerns over cyber security. There are many steps a business can take to help better protect their physical security systems from cyber threats. From simple things like not using default or simple passwords, to more advanced steps like using PKI certificates and making sure you download the latest firmware - each are important to keeping your data, and your network, secure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

5 quirky dating apps to try this Valentine’s Day

Tired of Tinder? Bored with Bumble? Luckily for you, there’s a new crop of iOS dating apps that might help you score a last-minute date this Valentine’s Day—or at least give you some much-needed amusement to get through another Singles Awareness Day.While matching and swiping has become the law of the land when it comes to online dating, these new apps take a slightly different approach. Here are the dating apps vying to help you find love in quirky new ways.Hater Hater Haters gonna hate, so why not have an app that’s going to help them date as well. While we tend to think compatibility comes from having shared likes, Hater (iTunes) leverages the power of shared dislikes to make a connection. Yep, this app will match you with someone who hates the same things you do, whether that happens to be turnips or Trump.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA: We’re on cusp of merging human and machine

We are at the point where computers and machines are no longer going to be simply tools. Computers are becoming, literally, part of us."There are a couple of very interesting things happening as we speak facilitating humans and machines working together in a very different way," said Justin Sanchez, director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA.Smart exoskeletons help people with paralysis walk again, give soldiers extra strength and endurance, and implanted computer chips help the blind see again or help others feel a sense of touch in a prosthetic foot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Driving digital strategy with customer journey maps

Providing stand-out customer experiences starts with creating “customer journey maps.” It’s not something CIOs typically know much about, but if you’re headed down the path to becoming a digital business, that’s going to have to change, according to a Forrester Research Inc. report.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Windows 10 will soon have a very different security system

Microsoft announced a new service called Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP) last year specifically for enterprises, meant to help detect, investigate and respond to attacks on their networks. It was released with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and is built on the existing security in Windows 10. WDATP offers a new post-breach layer of protection to the Windows 10 security stack, as well as a cloud service to help detect threats that have made it past other defenses and trace how far they penetrated into the enterprise. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows 10 will soon have a very different security system

Microsoft announced a new service called Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection (WDATP) last year specifically for enterprises, meant to help detect, investigate and respond to attacks on their networks. It was released with the Windows 10 Anniversary Update and is built on the existing security in Windows 10. WDATP offers a new post-breach layer of protection to the Windows 10 security stack, as well as a cloud service to help detect threats that have made it past other defenses and trace how far they penetrated into the enterprise. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Top Chinese Supercomputer Blazes Real-World Application Trail

China’s massive Sunway TaihuLight supercomputer sent ripples through the computing world last year when it debuted in the number-one spot on the Top500 list of the world’s fastest supercomputers. Delivering 93 teraflops of performance – and a peak of more than 125,000 teraflops – the system is nearly three times faster than the second supercomputer on the list (the Tianhe-2, also a Chinese system) and dwarfs the Titan system Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Cray-based machine that is the world’s third-fastest system, and the fastest in the United States.

However, it wasn’t only the system’s performance that garnered a lot …

Top Chinese Supercomputer Blazes Real-World Application Trail was written by Jeffrey Burt at The Next Platform.

Wireless Mesh Networks In The Enterprise

New products of the week 2.13.17

New products of the weekImage by ZenossOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.USM AnywhereImage by alienvaultTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New products of the week 2.13.17

New products of the weekImage by ZenossOur roundup of intriguing new products. Read how to submit an entry to Network World's products of the week slideshow.USM AnywhereImage by alienvaultTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

How San Diego fights off 500,000 cyberattacks a day

Nearly 27 years of network and cybersecurity experience with the Department of Defense didn’t prepare Gary Hayslip for the collection of disparate technologies he encountered when he joined the city of San Diego.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

How San Diego fights off 500,000 cyberattacks a day

Nearly 27 years of network and cybersecurity experience with the Department of Defense didn’t prepare Gary Hayslip for the collection of disparate technologies he encountered when he joined the city of San Diego. “Cities don't get rid of anything. If it works, why get rid of it? So you end up having a lot of diverse technologies connected together. You may have something that's 15 years old connected to stuff that's state of the art,” says Hayslip, whose DoD tenure included 20 years of active-duty military service and seven years working in civil service for the military. “Police cars, ambulances, libraries, water treatment facilities, golf courses … One of the things you learn real quickly: the city of San Diego is $4 billion business. And cities don’t shut down. They run 24/7,” he says. “My almost 27 years in DoD did not prepare me for how interesting city networks are."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

10 super-user tricks to boost Windows 10 productivity

Whether you love it or hate it, Windows 10 is here to stay. Unlike previous versions of Windows, there are fewer readily apparent differences between versions. In other words, the Professional version looks a lot like the Home version and it can take some digging to figure out how to leverage the advanced features of Pro.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

REVIEW: Windows 10 Yoga Book: The good, the bad, the useful

Lenovo has introduced tablets with unique designs over the years, and their latest Yoga Book, released in October, is one of the most intriguing examples. This hybrid device looks like a mini notebook, but it’s technically a tablet with a swing-open digital drawing and writing pad that can capture your handwriting or sketching when you use its included digital pen.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)