IDG Contributor Network: Attention spans in apps decrease signific…

Similar-looking ecommerce and media-oriented apps, like Facebook, are causing consumers to donate the same amount of attention to both kinds of apps. And that’s not very much, says Jampp, an ad placement network.So much so, that the firm says there’s been an 88 percent reduction in ecommerce app attention span year over year, based on the first quarter of 2016. Session length for ecommerce apps is down 35 percent.+ Also on Network World: Ecommerce needs to up its game, says UPS +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

OpenFlow and Firewalls Don’t Mix Well

In one of my ExpertExpress engagements the customer expressed the desire to manage their firewall with OpenFlow (using OpenDaylight) and I said, “That doesn’t make much sense”. Here’s why:

Obviously if you can't imagine your life without OpenDaylight, or if your yearly objectives include "deploying OpenDaylight-based SDN solution", you can use it as a REST-to-NETCONF translator assuming your firewall supports NETCONF.

Read more ...

DockerCon 2016 Organizer Summit recap

A huge part of Docker’s success can be attributed to the hard work and dedication of the 400+ Docker meetup organizers in 73 countries who collectively support a global community of over 115,000 members. Local Docker meetups help keep the community engaged and updated on all things Docker. With over 250 groups and counting, we are continuously humbled by the dedication and time these individuals take to organize events and all that they do for their local communities. Continue reading

A surge of Pokemon Go-related apps is out to steal your data

Privacy fears about the Pokemon Go app have been largely addressed, but dozens of other apps that piggy back on the popular game have raised further concerns.Since the game launched last week, a swarm of unofficial apps has emerged and is trying to capitalize on the title’s success. And many are hungry for your personal data.These unofficial apps have been offering cheats, tips and even songs from the hit game. But in exchange, they demand permission to access sensitive data on your phone, said Chad Salisbury, a security engineer with RiskIQ, which monitors mobile malware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

A surge of Pokemon Go-related apps is out to steal your data

Privacy fears about the Pokemon Go app have been largely addressed, but dozens of other apps that piggy back on the popular game have raised further concerns.Since the game launched last week, a swarm of unofficial apps has emerged and is trying to capitalize on the title’s success. And many are hungry for your personal data.These unofficial apps have been offering cheats, tips and even songs from the hit game. But in exchange, they demand permission to access sensitive data on your phone, said Chad Salisbury, a security engineer with RiskIQ, which monitors mobile malware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BRKRST-2042 – Highly Available Wide Area Network Design

Presented by: David Prall, Communications Architect, Cisco

For reference, David is the “father of IWAN”.

This session was not what I was expecting. I was expecting design and architecture, but it was all about features in IOS and IOS-XE (eg, FHRPs, talked about routing protocol timers, PfRv3, BFD). I guess I need to pay more attention to the session code (RST == routing; ARC == architecture).

Original article: BRKRST-2042 – Highly Available Wide Area Network Design

Copyright © 2016 Joel Knight . All Rights Reserved.

IBM and AT&T are cozying up to IoT developers

Big IoT partnerships are coming thick and fast these days. A deal between IBM and AT&T to help developers turn IoT ideas into reality is just the latest tie-up involving major enterprise vendors in this field.The partnership will combine AT&T’s connectivity with IBM’s Watson and Bluemix analytics platforms. Through APIs (application programming interfaces) and development environments, plus open-source tools, the two companies say they’ll make life easier for developers.IoT involves so many parts that it’s almost inevitable enterprises will be working with several vendors to get their infrastructure up and running. Devices that collect data, clouds that analyze it, and networks that link the two are just the main components of systems that can rival the complexity of anything in IT.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BRKEWN-2017 – Understanding RF Fundamentals and the Radio Design of 11n/ac Networks


Presenter: Fred Niehaus, Technical Marketing Engineer, Cisco Wireless Networking Group

Basic understanding of radio:

  • Every radio wave has a physical size (proportionate to its wavelength)
  • The lower the frequency, the physically longer the radio wave
  • Higher frequencies have shorter waves and as such, takes more power to move them greater distances
  • 5Ghz UNI 2 and UNI 2 Ext overlap with DFS (RADAR)
  • Dynamic Freq Selection (DFS) requires that if a radio is operating in UNI 2/UNI 2 Ext and it hears something that is not WiFi, it has to get off that channel

Antenna basics:

  • Directional or omnidirectional (360 degree)
  • Cisco color markings: blue: 5, black 2.4, orange 2.4 and 5ghz
  • Low gain omnidirectional antennas radiate in a beach ball pattern
  • Omni-direction dipoles in a pancake pattern
  • Yagis are directional; radiate more like a flashlight
  • Patch: multiple elements in a square form factor; radiates like a flashlight
  • Dipole: does not require a ground plane as the bottom half is the ground
  • Monopole requires a (conductive surface) ground plate; monopoles are shorter than dipoles and often used on APs (because of the smaller size) and they can use the metal in the AP as the ground plate.
  • Azimuth: how Continue reading

iPhone 7 to have nearly 15% bigger battery than the iPhone 6s

Noted iPhone leaker OnLeaks (aka Steve Hemmerstoffer of Nowhereelse.fr) published an interesting tweet earlier today indicating that the iPhone 7 may finally address one of the more longstanding complaints about Apple's iconic smartphone: battery life. To be clear, Apple has made tremendous improvements in the iPhone's battery technology over the years, but as we continue to demand more and more from our smartphones, many people find that they can't even go a full day on their iPhone with a single charge.That being the case, OnLeaks's tweet relays that the iPhone 7's battery will have nearly 15% more capacity than the iPhone 6s battery. Pretty reliable (not 100% but almost...) source told me #iPhone7 battery = 1960mAh (#iPhone6s = 1715mAh)To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

UNH SDN consortium promises interoperability testing, benchmarking

Looking to help business customers ensure their Software Defined Networking products and applications work and perform properly, the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) this week said it would form consortium to perform controller and switch interoperability, conformance and benchmark testing. The Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Consortium expects to open for business August 1 and the 28,000 square foot lab will be working with Spirent Communications and Ixia to develop performance tests said Timothy Winters, UNH-IOL Senior Executive, Software and IP Networking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

UNH SDN consortium promises interoperability testing, benchmarking

Looking to help business customers ensure their Software Defined Networking products and applications work and perform properly, the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) this week said it would form consortium to perform controller and switch interoperability, conformance and benchmark testing. The Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Consortium expects to open for business August 1 and the 28,000 square foot lab will be working with Spirent Communications and Ixia to develop performance tests said Timothy Winters, UNH-IOL Senior Executive, Software and IP Networking.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Microsoft customizes Surface tablets for enterprises

Microsoft is doing new things with its Surface tablets, and hoping that enterprises will find a lot to like.The company is taking steps to tailor the tablets to the needs of enterprises. The goal of customization is to differentiate the Surface from look-alike products, and to tie devices closely to a company's operations."We're going to meet the enterprise on their terms," said Hayete Gallot, general manager of Microsoft Devices, in an interview with the IDG News Service.Surface tablets have been successful with consumers and professionals, and Microsoft is giving it an additional enterprise twist. The effort comes as companies look to upgrade to Windows 10 PCs, with tablet-laptop hybrids like Surface being popular replacements.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here