Two Takes On ASIC Design

Making ASICs is a tough task. We learned this last year at Cisco Live Berlin from this conversation with Dave Zacks:

Cisco spent 6 years building the UADP ASIC that powers their next generation switches. They solved a lot of the issues with ASIC design and re-spins by creating some programmability in the development process.

Now, watch this video from Nick McKeown at Barefoot Networks:

Nick says many of the same things that Dave said in his video. But Nick and Barefoot took a totally different approach from Cisco. Instead of creating programmable elements in the ASIC design, then abstracted the entire language of function definition from the ASIC. By using P4 as the high level language and making the system compile the instruction sets down to run in the ASIC, they reduced the complexity, increased the speed, and managed to make the system flexible and capable of implementing new technologies even after the ASIC design is set in stone.

Oh, and they managed to do it in 3 years.

Sometimes, you have to think outside the box in order to come up with some new ideas. Even if that means you have to pull everything out of the box. Continue reading

Introducing Docker 1.13

Today we’re releasing Docker 1.13 with lots of new features, improvements and fixes to help Docker users with New Year’s resolutions to build more and better container apps. Docker 1.13 builds on and improves Docker swarm mode introduced in Docker 1.12 and has lots of other fixes. Read on for Docker 1.13 highlights.

Docker 1.13

Use compose-files to deploy swarm mode services

Docker 1.13 adds Compose-file support to the `docker stack deploy` command so that services can be deployed using a `docker-compose.yml` file directly. Powering this is a major effort to extend the swarm service API to make it more flexible and useful.

Benefits include:

  • Specifying the number of desired instances for each service
  • Rolling update policies
  • Service constraints

Deploying a multi-host, multi-service stack is now as simple as:

docker stack deploy --compose-file=docker-compose.yml my_stack

Improved CLI backwards compatibility

Ever been bitten by the dreaded Error response from daemon: client is newer than server problem because your Docker CLI was updated, but you still need to use it with older Docker engines?

Starting with 1.13, newer CLIs can talk to older daemons. We’re also adding feature negotiation so that proper errors are returned if a new Continue reading

HPE Gets Serious About Hyperconverged Storage With SimpliVity Buy

Rumors have been running around for months that Hewlett Packard Enterprise was shopping around for a way to be a bigger player in the hyperconverged storage arena, and the recent scuttlebutt was that HPE was considering paying close to $4 billion for one of the larger players in server-storage hybrids. This turns out to not be true. HPE is paying only $650 million to snap up what was, until now, thought to be one of Silicon Valley’s dozen or so unicorns with over a $1 billion valuation.

It is refreshing to see that HPE is not overpaying for an …

HPE Gets Serious About Hyperconverged Storage With SimpliVity Buy was written by Timothy Prickett Morgan at The Next Platform.

Avaya says bankruptcy is a step toward software and services

Networking and collaboration vendor Avaya declared bankruptcy on Thursday, calling the move part of its transition from a hardware to a software and services company. Avaya emerged from Lucent Technologies in 2000 with a focus on phone switches, enterprise networking gear, and call-center systems. But with the shift toward mobile phones and cloud-based tools for communication, and a tight market for enterprise network equipment, the company has been changing its focus. It plans to keep operating during the bankruptcy thanks to its cash from operations and US$725 million in financing that still needs approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Avaya said its foreign affiliates aren’t included in the filing and won’t be affected.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Avaya says bankruptcy is a step toward software and services

Networking and collaboration vendor Avaya declared bankruptcy on Thursday, calling the move part of its transition from a hardware to a software and services company. Avaya emerged from Lucent Technologies in 2000 with a focus on phone switches, enterprise networking gear, and call-center systems. But with the shift toward mobile phones and cloud-based tools for communication, and a tight market for enterprise network equipment, the company has been changing its focus. It plans to keep operating during the bankruptcy thanks to its cash from operations and US$725 million in financing that still needs approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Avaya said its foreign affiliates aren’t included in the filing and won’t be affected.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Avaya Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Protection

Not much of a surprise, the Avaya business has been doing OK but the company has a large about of debt that is dragging it down. Chapter 11 likely to allow restructuring of debt and plan a path forward.

Its possible that the business could be broken up or pieces sold off to pay down debt but the lack of buyers for Brocade (either whole or in part) suggests that is unlikely for networking. Other parts of Avaya might be sold off

Link: Avaya Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Protection – http://www.avaya.com/en/about-avaya/newsroom/news-releases/2017/pr-us-170119a/

Customer FAQ: http://www.avaya.com/en/documents/filing-faqs.pdf has more info:

As a result of the terms of Avaya’s debt obligations and the upcoming debt maturities, we need to recapitalize the Company and believe the restructuring process is the best path forward at this time. Our businesses are healthy and performing well, and we are executing at a high level.

Seems likely.

The post Avaya Inc. Files for Chapter 11 Protection appeared first on EtherealMind.

Air Force goes after cyber deception technology

A little cyber-trickery is a good thing when it comes to battling network adversaries.The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) tapped into that notion today as it awarded a $750,000 grant to security systems developer Galios to develop a cyber deception system that will “dramatically reduce the capabilities of an attacker that has gained a foothold on a network.”Specifically, Galios will develop its Prattle system for the Air Force. Galios describes Prattle as a system that generates traffic that misleads an attacker that has penetrated a network: making them doubt what they have learned, or to cause them to make mistakes that increase their likelihood of being detected sooner.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Air Force goes after cyber deception technology

A little cyber-trickery is a good thing when it comes to battling network adversaries.The Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) tapped into that notion today as it awarded a $750,000 grant to security systems developer Galios to develop a cyber deception system that will “dramatically reduce the capabilities of an attacker that has gained a foothold on a network.”Specifically, Galios will develop its Prattle system for the Air Force. Galios describes Prattle as a system that generates traffic that misleads an attacker that has penetrated a network: making them doubt what they have learned, or to cause them to make mistakes that increase their likelihood of being detected sooner.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Inside the mind of cyber criminals

Information sharing amongst security specialists is crucial; in the eyes of a criminal, no company is unique. As a rule of thumb, perpetrators will initially cast a wide net and move downstream toward the easiest prey. It’s more likely to become a victim via common attack vector, rather than to experience a highly sophisticated and tailored attack. On the other hand, security specialists should never underestimate the determination of an attacker. Highly valuable and quickly sold on underground information such as payment, healthcare, and personally identifiable records, as well as sensitive M&A information, must be identified as a targeted asset, quarantined, and stored encrypted. —Recorded Future

The post Worth Reading: Inside the mind of cyber criminals appeared first on 'net work.

oVirt Community Newsletter December 2016

It's a new year with new opportunities for oVirt to show up its virtualization features! We're getting ready for DevConf.CZ in Brno next week, and FOSDEM in Brussels the week after that! We look forward to meeting European developers and sysadmins to share your experiences!

Here's what happened in December of 2016.

Software Releases

oVirt 4.0.6 Release is now available

In the Community

Happy New Documentation!

oVirt System Tests to the Rescue!—How to Run End-to-End oVirt Tests on Your Patch

CI Please Build—How to build your oVirt project on-demand

The Need for Speed—Coming Changes in oVirt's CI Standards

Еxtension of iptables Rules on oVirt 4.0 Hosts

New oVirt Project Underway

Deep Dives and Technical Discussions

KVM/Linux Nested Virtualization Support For ARM

Virtual Machines in Kubernetes? How and what makes sense?

ANNOUNCE: New libvirt project Go XML parser model

Using OVN with KVM and Libvirt

New libvirt project Go language bindings

CI tools testing lab: Making it do useful work

CI tools testing lab: Integrating Jenkins and adding Zuul UI

CI tools testing lab: Adding Zuul Merger

CI tools testing lab: Setting up Zuul Server

CI tools testing lab: Adding Gerrit

CI tools testing lab: Initial Continue reading

As with PCs, you can now customize Raspberry Pi-like computers

The Raspberry Pi 3 is a great product, but it can't be customized. People may desire more storage or a faster processor, but have to settle for features on the board computer.The lack of customization with board computers is driven by their low prices. Buyers get features commensurate with the low price of boards like the US$35 Raspberry Pi and $15 Pine64.No one's complaining about the low prices, but the one-size-fits-all nature may not be for everyone. Taking a page from PC makers, Via Technology is now making it possible to configure board computers to specific needs through its website.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Encrypted email service ProtonMail is now accessible over Tor

The creators of encrypted email service ProtonMail have set up a server that's only accessible over the Tor anonymity network as a way to fight possible censorship attempts in some countries.ProtonMail was created by computer engineers who met while working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The service provides end-to-end encrypted email through a web-based interface and mobile apps, but the encryption is performed on the client side, and the ProtonMail servers never have access to plaintext messages or encryption keys.On Thursday, Proton Technologies, the Geneva-based company that runs ProtonMail, announced that it has set up a Tor hidden service, or onion site, to allow users to access the service directly inside the Tor anonymity network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Encrypted email service ProtonMail is now accessible over Tor

The creators of encrypted email service ProtonMail have set up a server that's only accessible over the Tor anonymity network as a way to fight possible censorship attempts in some countries.ProtonMail was created by computer engineers who met while working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN). The service provides end-to-end encrypted email through a web-based interface and mobile apps, but the encryption is performed on the client side, and the ProtonMail servers never have access to plaintext messages or encryption keys.On Thursday, Proton Technologies, the Geneva-based company that runs ProtonMail, announced that it has set up a Tor hidden service, or onion site, to allow users to access the service directly inside the Tor anonymity network.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Under the hood: Lots of tech connecting self-driving cars

At CES earlier this month, I stepped into an autonomous car for the first time. Sure, there was a driver who was there in case something went wrong (it didn’t), but the most interesting part of the ride (other than when Sven, our driver, took his hands off the wheel and the car kept moving just fine) was learning more about all of the other connected technologies that will be needed or that will work along with the autonomous driving.The “test drive” I took was part of a collaborative effort between companies in this space – Microsoft, NXP Semiconductors, Swiss Re, Esri, IAV and Cubic Telecom (see video, above). Each company provided some of their technology to showcase how human beings will interact with (and benefit from) autonomous, self-driving cars.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Can the network help my cloud? Can cloud help my network?

I’m a life-long Trekkie, and one of the many great things about Star Trek is that the characters always face a big, nearly insurmountable challenge—and, of course, the heroes win in the end.If your organization is like many I see, the new year is ushering in a renewed urgency to embrace the possibilities of digital transformation. It probably feels like a big, perhaps insurmountable, challenge. Whether your organization is leading or being pushed into digital business, the cloud and the network are critical components in this business transformation.+ Also on Network World: More proof the cloud is winning big + As I shared in this blog, while moving applications to the cloud can be a helpful step in evolving IT, that by itself is not digital transformation. These apps running on your private cloud or in a public cloud service are important to running your business; however, most are likely not the source of your competitive advantage. Digital transformation is about accelerating the creation of new value for your customers and, most powerfully, helping your customers and partners create value for one another. But rest assured, the cloud and the network both play an important role.To read Continue reading

IDG Contributor Network: Can the network help my cloud? Can cloud help my network?

I’m a life-long Trekkie, and one of the many great things about Star Trek is that the characters always face a big, nearly insurmountable challenge—and, of course, the heroes win in the end.If your organization is like many I see, the new year is ushering in a renewed urgency to embrace the possibilities of digital transformation. It probably feels like a big, perhaps insurmountable, challenge. Whether your organization is leading or being pushed into digital business, the cloud and the network are critical components in this business transformation.+ Also on Network World: More proof the cloud is winning big + As I shared in this blog, while moving applications to the cloud can be a helpful step in evolving IT, that by itself is not digital transformation. These apps running on your private cloud or in a public cloud service are important to running your business; however, most are likely not the source of your competitive advantage. Digital transformation is about accelerating the creation of new value for your customers and, most powerfully, helping your customers and partners create value for one another. But rest assured, the cloud and the network both play an important role.To read Continue reading

iPhone 8 Rumor Rollup: iPhone X, leaving rivals in its dust & a classy new concept design

Dropping your iPhone in the toilet could soon be something you can laugh instead of cry about if the latest Apple iPhone 8 rumors are to be believed.That new phone line can't come soon enough for Apple, which Wall Street firms say is suffering iPhone 7 and 7 Plus revenue declines due to people holding out for the AMOLED curved-screen next big thing.WATER & DUST Apple Insider and others picked up on a Korea Herald report that the next big iPhone will be able to withstand being submerged at almost 5 feet for 30 minutes, giving it the highest rating possible for smartphone water resistance. (Not to be overlooked: the iPhone will likely also be more dust resistant.)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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