Service chaining, not box chaining, in the WAN

Services are a relatively new concept in WANs. Devices and configurations were traditionally what made up a WAN, with routers, switches, load balancers, firewalls, proxy servers and other components positioned at appropriate points in the network. Enterprises have long grown accustomed to the use of appliances—or “middle boxes” to perform a single function, and the maintenance and management of these devices can be a real headache for IT teams.+ Also on Network World: SD-WAN: What it is and why you’ll use it one day +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Service chaining, not box chaining, in the WAN

Services are a relatively new concept in WANs. Devices and configurations were traditionally what made up a WAN, with routers, switches, load balancers, firewalls, proxy servers and other components positioned at appropriate points in the network. Enterprises have long grown accustomed to the use of appliances—or “middle boxes” to perform a single function, and the maintenance and management of these devices can be a real headache for IT teams.+ Also on Network World: SD-WAN: What it is and why you’ll use it one day +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Steve Jobs resigned as Apple CEO 5 years ago tomorrow

Apple’s post-Steve Jobs leadership era began officially on Aug. 24, 2011 – five years ago tomorrow -- with the announcement of his resignation and the appointment of Tim Cook as new CEO.The news of his resignation, while not unexpected, was momentous.Jobs made the announcement in a letter addressed to “the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community” and posted to the company’s website: I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why are GitHub and WordPress.com censoring content?

The Great Equalizer. The Great Democratizer. Many such phrases have been used to describe the internet over the years—mostly focusing on the rapid dissemination of uncensored information.Even social media sites (such as Twitter) have played critical roles in real-world revolutions. The ability for the average person to spread ideas, news and information—without corporate or government censorship—has brought about massive power and freedom to the people of the world.But what happens when the key websites and services—the ones we rely upon to spread those messages—censor that content? That’s a bad thing, right? Well, this seems to be happening a lot recently, especially in relation to leaked content (regardless of the type of content or the source from which it originated).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Netgear joins Wi-Fi mesh wave with Orbi system

Over the past few weeks I’ve written about Wi-Fi startups eero and Luma and how their new wireless mesh systems are changing the home network wireless market with easier setup and larger coverage than compared with traditional Wi-Fi routers and range extenders.One of the market leaders in that space, Netgear, is now on board with their own system, which not only validates the concept provided by eero and Luma, but now provides some big-time competition for those two companies.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Specialized Supercomputing Cloud Turns Eye to Machine Learning

Back in 2010, when the term “cloud computing” was still laden with peril and mystery for many users in enterprise and high performance computing, HPC cloud startup, Nimbix, stepped out to tackle that perceived risk for some of the most challenging, latency-sensitive applications.

At the time, there were only a handful of small companies catering to the needs of high performance computing applications and those that existed were developing clever middleware to hook into AWS infrastructure. There were a few companies offering true “HPC as a service” (distinct datacenters designed to fit such workloads that could be accessed via a …

Specialized Supercomputing Cloud Turns Eye to Machine Learning was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

72% off Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker – Deal Alert

The Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Next Generation Ultra Portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker currently averages 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 8,300 people on Amazon (read reviews).  It's regular list price is $99.99, but with the current 72% discount on Amazon, you can get it for just $27.99. The OontZ Angle 3 connects effortlessly to your device via bluetooth. It is designed to be loud and clear, with rich bass delivered through their proprietary passive subwoofer design. IPX5 water resistance makes the unit splashproof, rainproof, dustproof, and sandproof. A good consideration for the beach, poolside, in the outdoor shower, car, boat or golf cart. At only 9 ounces and just 5 inches long, it's very light and easy to fit in a backpack. Its high capacity rechargeable 2200 mAh battery lasts for up to 7 hours of playtime.  Check out the dramatically discounted OontZ Angle 3 from Cambridge Soundworks now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Samsung bets on Tizen smartphones again with a new launch in India

Samsung Electronics continues to place its bets on the Tizen operating system for smartphones, with the launch Tuesday in India of a 4G enabled smartphone priced at 4,590 rupees (US$68).The company’s Tizen phones have not very successful in the country, and the new device is not likely to disrupt the market in which Android phones dominate, said Vishal Tripathi, research director at Gartner. “The previous Tizen phones were good, but people were not used to the operating system,” he added.The Z2 is the third Tizen phone the company is launching in India. It was preceded by the Z1 and Z3. India has been a primary target market for Samsung's Tizen phones because of the country's large number of price-sensitive customers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LinuxCon: Q&A with inventor of, um, Microsoft PowerShell

Yes, the idea of sitting down with a Microsoft technical fellow at a Linux conference is still somewhat counterintuitive, but times have changed – Redmond is no longer the inimical enemy of all things open-source. Twitter Jeffrey Snover, PowerShell creator Quite the opposite, these days, Microsoft, under the leadership of CEO Satya Nadella, has begun to embrace open-source in a big way, releasing key software components like .NET as open-source, making its Azure cloud Linux-compatible, and acquiring companies that boost its presence in the open-source world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Ciena CEO: We’re not just about service providers

For more than 15 years, Gary Smith has been at the helm of Ciena, leading the company through the so-called ‘telecom nuclear winter’ following the early 2000s dot-com bust to its global leadership position today in the optical networking and metro Ethernet markets. In this installment of the IDG CEO Interview Series, Smith talked with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about Ciena’s expanding enterprise business, including its data center connectivity strategy. He also discussed how Ciena is reshaping the portfolio of WAN services for enterprise customers – from the explosion of Ethernet services, to on-demand links and, ultimately, the software-defined WAN. Smith also explored the back-office work and revenue challenges ahead for service providers as big IT shops push for a more dynamic WAN.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Ciena CEO: We’re not just about service providers

For more than 15 years, Gary Smith has been at the helm of Ciena, leading the company through the so-called ‘telecom nuclear winter’ following the early 2000s dot-com bust to its global leadership position today in the optical networking and metro Ethernet markets. In this installment of the IDG CEO Interview Series, Smith talked with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about Ciena’s expanding enterprise business, including its data center connectivity strategy. He also discussed how Ciena is reshaping the portfolio of WAN services for enterprise customers – from the explosion of Ethernet services, to on-demand links and, ultimately, the software-defined WAN. Smith also explored the back-office work and revenue challenges ahead for service providers as big IT shops push for a more dynamic WAN.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Ciena CEO: We’re not just about service providers

For more than 15 years, Gary Smith has been at the helm of Ciena, leading the company through the so-called ‘telecom nuclear winter’ following the early 2000s dot-com bust to its global leadership position today in the optical networking and metro Ethernet markets. In this installment of the IDG CEO Interview Series, Smith talked with Chief Content Officer John Gallant about Ciena’s expanding enterprise business, including its data center connectivity strategy. He also discussed how Ciena is reshaping the portfolio of WAN services for enterprise customers – from the explosion of Ethernet services, to on-demand links and, ultimately, the software-defined WAN. Smith also explored the back-office work and revenue challenges ahead for service providers as big IT shops push for a more dynamic WAN.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Many hospitals transmit your health records unencrypted

About 32% of hospitals and 52% of non-acute providers -- such as outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities and physicians' offices -- are not encrypting data in transit, according to a new survey.Additionally, only 61% of acute providers and 48% of non-acute providers are encrypting data at rest.This "leaves the door wide open to potential tampering and corruption of the data, in addition to a large potential for a breach," the report stated. "If a computer, laptop, thumb drive, or backup were to be stolen, any person would be able to access such information." HIMSS The survey, conducted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a Chicago-based trade group for the health information technology sector, also revealed that many of the facilities' networks don't even have firewalls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Many hospitals transmit your health records unencrypted

About 32% of hospitals and 52% of non-acute providers -- such as outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities and physicians' offices -- are not encrypting data in transit, according to a new survey.Additionally, only 61% of acute providers and 48% of non-acute providers are encrypting data at rest.This "leaves the door wide open to potential tampering and corruption of the data, in addition to a large potential for a breach," the report stated. "If a computer, laptop, thumb drive, or backup were to be stolen, any person would be able to access such information." HIMSS The survey, conducted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a Chicago-based trade group for the health information technology sector, also revealed that many of the facilities' networks don't even have firewalls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Many hospitals transmit your health records unencrypted

About 32% of hospitals and 52% of non-acute providers -- such as outpatient clinics, rehabilitation facilities and physicians' offices -- are not encrypting data in transit, according to a new survey.Additionally, only 61% of acute providers and 48% of non-acute providers are encrypting data at rest.This "leaves the door wide open to potential tampering and corruption of the data, in addition to a large potential for a breach," the report stated. "If a computer, laptop, thumb drive, or backup were to be stolen, any person would be able to access such information." HIMSS The survey, conducted by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), a Chicago-based trade group for the health information technology sector, also revealed that many of the facilities' networks don't even have firewalls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Side channel power, the new security front

Side channels used to be avenues for cyber attacks. Today, one side channel has been elevated to a new front line for cyber defense, and it may go on to be a bulwark for the internet of things (IoT).To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)

Linux at 25: Containers and unikernels prove less is more

If there’s been one constant through Linux’s 25 years in the wild, it’s change. The kernel itself has been through dozens of revisions; Linux distributions for most every use case have emerged; and the culture of Linux has evolved from weekend hobby project to an underpinning of worldwide IT infrastructure.Now we’re seeing the first versions of the next wave of Linux change. Containerization, unikernels, and other experiments with form are reshaping Linux from the inside out, opening up unheralded avenues for how the open source operating system that could (and did!) can do it all over again.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

5 missing features we wish were in Android 7.0 Nougat

Android 7.0 Nougat is beginning its slow rollout to Android devices around the world. Most phones will take time to update, but Nexus owners can already play with Google’s latest and greatest OS. Nougat brings some cool new features like split-screen multitasking, bundled notifications, and Daydream VR. Even with all the improvements, there are still some nagging deficiencies in the Android feature set. Here are the five most glaring omissions from Android 7.0.Restart option Come on, Google. You’re just being stubborn.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The best educational apps and games to jumpstart the school year

Learning is fun!Image by Derek WalterParents everywhere grapple with the question of how much “screen time” to allow for their children—and part of the challenge to this question stems from how many apps and games are mindless diversions.So to help you out, we’ve pulled together a group of higher-quality choices that are both educational and fun. Any guilt you have about screen time will be vastly diminished when your kid is learning about the solar system, practicing multiplication, or using logic to solve a puzzle. Check out some of our top choices for making learning something that can happen anytime.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Imperva: Application layer DDoS attacks are on the rise.

Application layer DDoS attacks are becoming more common, perhaps because they cost less for malicious actors to execute and can more effectively evade defenses than network layer attacks, Imperva says.One such attack generated 8.7Gbps at its peak, “unheard of in relation to application layer assaults,” in an effort to thread its way through the DDoS mitigations that had been set up to defend against such attacks, according to Imperva’s “DDoS Threat Landscape Report 2015-2016” released today.Application layer attacks can be measured in responses per second required from the application targeted, and they generally require less volume than network layer attacks to succeed, the report says. That means they require fewer botnet resources, if botnets are the platform from which the attack is launched.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here