New Series: CS 101

Historically, my background is far closer to the systems side of things, but as I’ve picked up software development experience over the past few years, I’ve come to appreciate the fundamentals of computer science that others in my shoes may not have been exposed to. That said, I have been working on a pseudo-formal blog series on computer science fundamentals.

These fundamentals have a wide variety of applications. Those with more of an IT-focused background will learn that even if you don’t use graph theory, or optimize algorithms in your day job, many of these concepts are at the crux of many of the technologies that we use every day. If, like me, you’ve become bored with the endless cycle of IT certifications, learning these concepts could be a great addition to your skill set, as you can leverage these concepts to extrapolate details from some of the “closed” products we use from IT vendors.

Finally, it’s important to remember that the most important part of any of this is how this knowledge is applied. As you read the posts that I’ll release in the next few weeks, remember that understanding how to optimize a piece of code is useful, Continue reading

Open vSwitch Now a Linux Foundation Project

News emerged today that Open vSwitch (OVS) has formally moved over to the Linux Foundation. This is something that has been discussed within the OVS community for a while, and I for one am glad to see it happen.

Why am I glad to see it happen? The project can finally shed itself of the (unfair) claims that the governance under Nicira (and later VMware) wasn’t “open enough.” These accusations persisted despite numerous indications otherwise. Thomas Graf, an OVS committer—who does not work for VMware, for the record—came to this conclusion in his OVSCon 2015 presentation:

OVS is one of the most effective and well governed open source projects I’ve worked on.

Moving to the Linux Foundation allows OVS to continue to grow and flourish without continued accusations of unfair governance. The project intends to continue to use its existing governance model, in which technical leadership of the project is determined by the committers, and committer status is determined by your involvement in the project via code contributions and code reviews.

For more information, refer to the official Linux Foundation press release.

Deep Learning Chip Upstart Takes GPUs to Task

Bringing a new chip to market is no simple or cheap task, but as a new wave of specialized processors for targeted workloads brings fresh startup tales to bear, we are reminded again how risky such a business can be.

Of course, with high risk comes potential for great reward, that is, if a company is producing a chip that far outpaces general purpose processors for workloads that are high enough in number to validate the cost of design and production. The stand-by figure there is usually stated at around $50 million, but that is assuming a chip requires validation, …

Deep Learning Chip Upstart Takes GPUs to Task was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

NSF investing $12M in quantum systems to secure networks

While some are focused on threats to IT security posed by coming quantum computers, the National Science Foundation is putting $12 million into developing quantum technologies designed to protect data traversing fiber-optic networks. The NSF will support six interdisciplinary teams consisting of 26 researchers at 15 institutions to perform fundamental research under the Advancing Communication Quantum Information Research in Engineering (ACQUIRE) area within the NSF Directorate for Engineering's Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

NSF investing $12M in quantum systems to secure networks

While some are focused on threats to IT security posed by coming quantum computers, the National Science Foundation is putting $12 million into developing quantum technologies designed to protect data traversing fiber-optic networks. The NSF will support six interdisciplinary teams consisting of 26 researchers at 15 institutions to perform fundamental research under the Advancing Communication Quantum Information Research in Engineering (ACQUIRE) area within the NSF Directorate for Engineering's Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT’S ALIVE! DARPA looks to build programmable, self-healing, living building materials

Perhaps one day we’ll see bridges that repair themselves or houses that could restore walls after a fire.Sounds a bit like science fiction yes but a new program announced by the masters of making science fiction fact, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, this week announced a program that would combine the structural properties of traditional building ingredients with attributes of living systems to offer a class of living material that could be grown where needed, self-repair when damaged and respond to changes in their surroundings.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IT’S ALIVE! DARPA looks to build programmable, self-healing, living building materials

Perhaps one day we’ll see bridges that repair themselves or houses that could restore walls after a fire.Sounds a bit like science fiction yes but a new program announced by the masters of making science fiction fact, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, this week announced a program that would combine the structural properties of traditional building ingredients with attributes of living systems to offer a class of living material that could be grown where needed, self-repair when damaged and respond to changes in their surroundings.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Black Hat and DEF CON: The song remains the same

Yes, history repeats itself. I’m looking at the July 20-27, 2009, issue of Network World.The front page headlines are:- Black Hat to expose attacks- Microsoft’s embrace of Linux seen as strategic- Data Loss Prevention Clear Choice Test- Burning Questions:1) Are mobile Web apps ever going to grow up?2) How much longer are you going to hang onto that Ethernet cable?3) Do you have any idea how much money you’re wasting on international wireless services?I saw Network World's Tim Greene, author of the 2009 Black Hat article, sitting in the working press area, seven years later, typing furiously.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Black Hat and DEF CON: The song remains the same

Yes, history repeats itself. I’m looking at the July 20-27, 2009, issue of Network World.The front page headlines are:- Black Hat to expose attacks- Microsoft’s embrace of Linux seen as strategic- Data Loss Prevention Clear Choice Test- Burning Questions:1) Are mobile Web apps ever going to grow up?2) How much longer are you going to hang onto that Ethernet cable?3) Do you have any idea how much money you’re wasting on international wireless services?I saw Network World's Tim Greene, author of the 2009 Black Hat article, sitting in the working press area, seven years later, typing furiously.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: The geeks guide to the Barton Aquaduct

The Grade II-listed Barton Swing Aqueduct in Salford was built to solve the knotty problem of how to get the Bridgewater Canal across the proposed Manchester Ship Canal. And bar some routine maintenance, the odd lick of paint and a change of power source from steam to electricity, it has been doing the same job on a daily basis for over 120 years. What makes the Barton Aqueduct even more interesting is that not only was it the first swing aqueduct to be built but it was also the last. To this day it is unique. And not just in the UK. Scour the globe and you’ll not find another one. —the Register

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33% off Kinsa Smart Thermometer – Deal Alert

Kinsa Smart Thermometer takes accurate readings in just 10 seconds. It is also incredibly durable, comfortable, and easy to use.  With the free iOS & Android app it remembers and records fever, symptoms and medications for each family member on your phone so you don’t have to. Keep track for yourself, another caregiver, or your doctor.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Adware turns a tidy profit for those who sneak it into downloads

If you've ever downloaded software, chances are you've experienced an all-too-common surprise: ads or other unwanted programs that tagged along for the ride, only to pop up on your PC uninvited. Turns out there's a highly lucrative global industry making it happen, with "layers of deniability" to protect those involved.That's according to researchers from Google and New York University's Tandon School of Engineering, who will present this week what they say is the first analysis of the link between so-called "pay-per-install" (PPI) practices and the distribution of unwanted software.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

90% off Become an Ethical Hacker With This Complete eLearning Bundle – Deal Alert

With cyberattacks putting everyone on edge, companies are looking for ethical hackers--IT pros paid handsomely to hack their network, expose security flaws, and fix them before someone else breaks in. Learn the tools of the ethical hacking trade with the Become an Ethical Hacker Bundle, now only $44.99 for a limited time.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

AT&T fined after suspected drug traffickers slip charges into phone bills

AT&T will pay a $7.75 million fine for allowing suspected drug traffickers to add millions of dollars in bogus directory assistance charges to its customers' land-line bills.The extra charges of about $9 a month were discovered during an investigation of two Cleveland-area companies for drug-related crimes and money laundering, the Federal Communications Commission said Monday."A phone bill should not be a tool for drug traffickers, money launderers, and other unscrupulous third parties to fleece American consumers," FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc said in a statement. The settlement will allow AT&T customers "charged for this sham service" to get their money back, he said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Riding the Wave of Linux Greatness

We at Cumulus Networks firmly believe that Linux networking is awesome, as it provides a high function, extensible platform for networking. Linux has always been the platform of choice for decades; every system today starts with Linux as its base and builds around it.

With the advent of the virtual machine and container networking, the constructs that used to be relegated to physical switches are applicable on servers, we thrive on the fact that Cumulus Linux networking IS Linux networking.

So, what does it take to bring that the greatest and latest in Linux to you? It takes two things really:

  • The latest Linux kernel, with all the new features and facilities.
  • The latest system libraries that enable those features for applications and the latest versions of the huge ecosystem of Linux software packages.

Kernel at the Core

The kernel is the center of the Linux operating system. We work closely with the Linux kernel community to add new networking features or extend Linux networking APIs for NOSes. With Cumulus Linux 3.0, we started with Linux kernel version 4.1 and networking patches from even more recent kernels. This provides networking applications with the latest Linux APIs, Continue reading

The Middle Ground for the Nvidia Tesla K80 GPU

Although the launch of Pascal stole headlines this year on the GPU computing front, the company’s Tesla K80 GPU, which was launched at the end of 2014, has been finding a home across a broader base of applications and forthcoming systems.

A quick look across the supercomputers on the Top 500 list shows that most sites are still using the Tesla K40 accelerator (launched in 2013) in their systems, with several still on the K20 (emerged in 2012). The Comet supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (sports 2 K80s across 36 out of 1944 system nodes), an unnamed energy …

The Middle Ground for the Nvidia Tesla K80 GPU was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

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