IDG Contributor Network: Hello World – Welcome to The Agile Data Center

Some of the best technology in the world has begun with a simple "Hello World". I wanted to do the same and introduce myself along with this new blog entitled "The Agile Data Center". With this blog I will be focusing on some of the latest technologies around modernizing data center software and hardware, as well as aligning skill sets and introducing new roles in the IT space. So what defines an agile data center and why should you care? Growing up in the technology space I've worked for companies such as VERITAS, Symantec, SAP, and EMC. During that time and especially now I can see and realize that most companies have not aligned business and IT. While this has "worked" for a number of years, companies are now becoming quickly disrupted by startups that have successfully aligned IT and can keep up with the rapid pace of business.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Hello World – Welcome to The Agile Data Center

Some of the best technology in the world has begun with a simple "Hello World". I wanted to do the same and introduce myself along with this new blog entitled "The Agile Data Center". With this blog I will be focusing on some of the latest technologies around modernizing data center software and hardware, as well as aligning skill sets and introducing new roles in the IT space. So what defines an agile data center and why should you care? Growing up in the technology space I've worked for companies such as VERITAS, Symantec, SAP, and EMC. During that time and especially now I can see and realize that most companies have not aligned business and IT. While this has "worked" for a number of years, companies are now becoming quickly disrupted by startups that have successfully aligned IT and can keep up with the rapid pace of business.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: Software defined—you keep using those words…

Software Defined Networks (SDNs), are everywhere, and everyone is either building one, selling one, or using one. Everyone, that is, except—probably—you. Don’t feel too bad if you’re feeling left out, because it’s hard to know, precisely, what you’re actually being left out of. After all, can you actually define what an SDN is? -ECI

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Microsoft has had enough of OEM bloatware

One of the best things about a build-your-own PC is you can make sure no crapware/bloatware is installed, since you are buying a bard hard drive to start. No unwanted apps or utilities that cause more harm than good. You install the OS and the apps you want. Unfortunately, not everyone is as good with a screwdriver as me, and most folks prefer to buy a brand-name PC. That's especially true for laptops, since the white box/builders market is primarily for tower builders. So, laptop buyers have no choice but to put up with unwanted apps that clog the hard drive and memory.+ Also on Network World: Windows 10 Anniversary Update: A guide to the builds +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Docker just made it easier to natively orchestrate containers

This week container lovers are convening in Seattle for the annual Dockercon conference and a major theme this year is how to manage containers at scale.To kick off the conference Docker – the company that open sourced the popular container runtime of the same name and now sells commercially supported software for running containers – announced native integration of container orchestration platform named Swarm into its product.Swarm has been an open source project for managing groups of containers, but Docker today announced that its container runtime will ship with an optional Swarm Mode.+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: HPE looks to move data between computers at the speed of light | Platform 9 is the latest to ease container deployment woes +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The FCC is about to take a big step to superfast 5G networks

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission will move to open up high-frequency spectrum to not-yet-available 5G mobile services in an effort to bring the superfast wireless connections to U.S. consumers.The FCC, during its July 14 meeting, will vote on a proposal to open up a whopping 14 gigahertz of high-band spectrum to unlicensed wireless use, Chairman Tom Wheeler said Monday. Wheeler didn't offer a lot of details about the proposal during his speech."We will be repeating the proven formula that made the United States the world leader in 4G," Wheeler said in a speech. "It’s a simple formula: Lead the world in spectrum availability, encourage and protect innovation-driving competition, and stay out of the way of technological development."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IBM leverages machine learning for hyper-local weather

It's been just about six months since IBM closed its acquisition of The Weather Company, but it's not resting on its laurels. This week Big Blue moved to leverage The Weather Company's go-to-market strength to launch Deep Thunder, a machine learning-driven weather model developed by IBM Research to help industries ranging from aviation and agriculture to retail better predict the business impact of weather."One of the greatest things about being part of IBM is having a relationship with IBM's Research arm," says Mary Glackin, head of Science & Forecast Operations for The Weather Company.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Do third-party vendors have a bullseye on their backs?

Because there are so many different kinds of third parties, identifying whether they do or don’t have the right infrastructure or security protocols can be a challenge. Moreover, doing the proper due diligence needed to vet third-party vendors can be costly and time consuming.As so many organizations rely on a variety of different providers, third parties can become the gateways to the network. In order to mitigate the risk of a breach from a third party, enterprises need to design a vetting process and understand the language of the service-level agreemen in order to best evaluate their contracts.[ ALSO ON CSO: How to achieve better third-party security: Let us count the ways ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Do third-party vendors have a bullseye on their backs?

Because there are so many different kinds of third parties, identifying whether they do or don’t have the right infrastructure or security protocols can be a challenge. Moreover, doing the proper due diligence needed to vet third-party vendors can be costly and time consuming.As so many organizations rely on a variety of different providers, third parties can become the gateways to the network. In order to mitigate the risk of a breach from a third party, enterprises need to design a vetting process and understand the language of the service-level agreemen in order to best evaluate their contracts.[ ALSO ON CSO: How to achieve better third-party security: Let us count the ways ]To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Take these security books with you on vacation

Real-life cyber mysteriesImage by ThinkstockWhy spend your beach time this summer reading fictional mystery novels when real world mysteries are swirling through the cyber sphere? BAE Systems has put together a summer reading list for cyber security professionals. It includes titles that cover the international underworld of money laundering, the greatest criminal minds in hacking, insights into understanding how cyber criminals think, the impact of potential cyber attacks and cyber wars on mission critical targets as well as practical advice and business lessons on cyber security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Take these security books with you on vacation

Real-life cyber mysteriesImage by ThinkstockWhy spend your beach time this summer reading fictional mystery novels when real world mysteries are swirling through the cyber sphere? BAE Systems has put together a summer reading list for cyber security professionals. It includes titles that cover the international underworld of money laundering, the greatest criminal minds in hacking, insights into understanding how cyber criminals think, the impact of potential cyber attacks and cyber wars on mission critical targets as well as practical advice and business lessons on cyber security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Docker Market Share Soars 30%, says Datadog Research

Study tracked 10,000 companies and their use of Docker.

30 days in a terminal: Days 2-5 — Social media in shell

My adventures, for the first day or so, in using nothing but a Linux terminal proved to be mostly successful. I ended up needing to jump through a few hoops to get my work done, but everything was doable.After having spent the full weekend within the confines of the shell, my results are much more of a mixed bag.In this article, I focus on social media: Twitter, Reddit, that sort of thing. For some of them, I have totally awesome solutions. Some I’m still struggling to find a solution for—with very little hope in sight.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Basics: What is the difference between routing, switching, bridging and forwarding

The terms routing, switching, forwarding and bridging have different meanings that have changed over time.

The post Basics: What is the difference between routing, switching, bridging and forwarding appeared first on EtherealMind.

DARPA wants to design an army of ultimate automated data scientists

Because of a plethora of data from sensor networks, Internet of Things devices and big data resources combined with a dearth of data scientists to effectively mold that data, we are leaving many important applications – from intelligence to science and workforce management – on the table.It is a situation the researchers at DARPA want to remedy with a new program called Data-Driven Discovery of Models (D3M). The goal of D3M is to develop algorithms and software to help overcome the data-science expertise gap by facilitating non-experts to construct complex empirical models through automation of large parts of the model-creation process. If successful, researchers using D3M tools will effectively have access to an army of “virtual data scientists,” DARPA stated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA wants to design an army of ultimate automated data scientists

Because of a plethora of data from sensor networks, Internet of Things devices and big data resources combined with a dearth of data scientists to effectively mold that data, we are leaving many important applications – from intelligence to science and workforce management – on the table.It is a situation the researchers at DARPA want to remedy with a new program called Data-Driven Discovery of Models (D3M). The goal of D3M is to develop algorithms and software to help overcome the data-science expertise gap by facilitating non-experts to construct complex empirical models through automation of large parts of the model-creation process. If successful, researchers using D3M tools will effectively have access to an army of “virtual data scientists,” DARPA stated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

DARPA wants to design an army of ultimate automated data scientists

Because of a plethora of data from sensor networks, Internet of Things devices and big data resources combined with a dearth of data scientists to effectively mold that data, we are leaving many important applications – from intelligence to science and workforce management – on the table.It is a situation the researchers at DARPA want to remedy with a new program called Data-Driven Discovery of Models (D3M). The goal of D3M is to develop algorithms and software to help overcome the data-science expertise gap by facilitating non-experts to construct complex empirical models through automation of large parts of the model-creation process. If successful, researchers using D3M tools will effectively have access to an army of “virtual data scientists,” DARPA stated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

E-book buyers will soon get settlement payments from Apple price-fixing case

Some buyers of e-books will begin to receive payments Tuesday as part of a settlement in a price-fixing case against Apple. People who purchased e-books between April 1, 2010, and May 21, 2012, will receive credits from e-book sellers, or will get a check if they opted out of receiving credits, according to Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro, a consumer-rights class-action law firm involved in the lawsuit against Apple. As part of the Apple settlement of the case, e-book buyers will receive US$6.93 for every purchase that was a New York Times bestseller and $1.57 for every other e-book. The settlement covers e-books purchased from Apple as well as from other retailers, including Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Network Break 92: LinkedIn Gets Rich; Cisco Goes Big With Tetration

The latest episode of the Network Break ponders the Microsoft/LinkedIn deal, looks at Ciscos new big data appliance, reviews acquisition news across the tech industry, and more! The post Network Break 92: LinkedIn Gets Rich; Cisco Goes Big With Tetration appeared first on Packet Pushers.

Getting to the point of dual homing

I wonder how many times I’ve seen this sort of diagram across the many years I’ve been doing network design?

It’s usually held up as an example of how clever the engineer running the network is about resilience. “You see,” the diagram asserts, “I’m smart enough to purchase connectivity from two providers, rather than one.”

Can I point something out? Admittedly it might not be all that obvious from the diagram, but… Reality is just about as likely to squish your network connectivity like a bug no a windshield as it is any other network. Particularly if both of these connections are in the same regional area. The tricky part is knowing, of course, what a “regional area” might happen to mean for any particular provider.

The problem with this design is very basic, and tied to the concept of shared link risk groups. But let me start someplace a little simpler than that—with the basic, and important, point that putting fiber in the ground, and maintaining fiber that’s in the ground, is expensive. Unless you live in Greenland, fiber can be physically buried pretty easily (fiber in Greenland is generally buried with dynamite by a blasting crew, or Continue reading