OVS Integration with Debian Network Scripts

I had a reader contact me recently with some questions regarding the use of Open vSwitch (OVS) on Debian “Jessie” 8.5 and using the OVS integration with the Debian network scripts. For those of you that might be unfamiliar with this functionality, it’s the ability to configure OVS via instructions and directives found in the /etc/network/interfaces file. As I was helping this reader, I came across a couple potential “gotchas” that I wanted to point out here.

First, I’ll point you to the documentation for the Debian network scripts integration, which is found in this file in the “Debian network scripts integration” section. This documentation provides the complete breakdown of the various commands that can be used in /etc/network/interfaces to configure OVS.

Based on that documentation, you could create an OVS bridge and add a physical port to that bridge by including the following stanzas in /etc/network/interfaces:

allow-ovs ovsbr0
iface ovsbr0 inet manual
  ovs_type OVSBridge
  ovs_ports eth1

allow-ovsbr0 eth1
iface eth1 inet manual
  ovs_bridge ovsbr0
  ovs_type OVSPort

Now for the gotchas…

The Debian “Jessie” repos include version 2.3.0 of OVS; the latest release in the 2.3.x train is 2.3.3. As it turns Continue reading

Technology Short Take #68

Welcome to Technology Short Take #68, my erratically-published collection of links, articles, and posts from around the web—all focused on today’s major data center technologies. I’ve been trying to stick to a schedule that has these posts published on a Friday, but given the pending holiday weekend I wanted to get this out a bit early. As always, I hope that something I’ve included here proves useful to you.

Networking

• Brent Salisbury retweeted a ton of MACVLAN- and IPVLAN-related posts right after I published the last Technology Short Take, so they had to get bumped to this one. First, we have this post on HiCube, which covers MACVLAN vs. IPVLAN. Next, we have a pair of articles by Sreenivas Makam; the first covers MACVLAN and IPVLAN basics, while the second tackles the Docker MACVLAN and IPVLAN network plugins. Both articles are useful, IMHO, especially considering that MACVLAN is no longer experimental as of the Docker 1.12 release.
• I recently came across this mention of in-band network telemetry (INT), which looks really powerful. I think this will be something worth watching.
• Oh, and while we’re discussing P4: Diego Dompe has an article talking about OpenSwitch and P4 that Continue reading

Box Shuttle makes it easier to ditch on-prem file storage

Businesses that want to get their files out of on-premises data centers and into the cloud now have a new option from Box. On Wednesday, the company launched Box Shuttle, which includes tools and consulting services to help businesses move potentially terabytes of data from legacy applications into the Box cloud.Box will work with customers to develop a migration plan for getting their data out of private data centers into its cloud service. It will help figure out what content customers should keep, archive and delete.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Configuring OpenSwitch

switch(config)# sflow collector 10.0.0.50
switch(config)# sflow sampling 4096
switch(config)# sflow polling 20
switch(config)# sflow enable

Changing the World, The Era of Hyper-Converged

Terror-suspect database used by banks, governments, has been leaked

A database described by some as a "terrorism blacklist" has fallen into the hands of a white-hat hacker who may decide to make it accessible to the public online.The database, called World-Check, belongs to Thomson Reuters and is used by banks, governments and intelligence agencies to screen people for criminal ties and links to terrorism.Security researcher Chris Vickery claims to have obtained a 2014 copy of the database. He announced the details on Tuesday in a post on Reddit."No hacking was involved in my acquisition of this data," he wrote. "I would call it more of a leak than anything, although not directly from Thomson Reuters."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Terror-suspect database used by banks, governments, has been leaked

A database described by some as a "terrorism blacklist" has fallen into the hands of a white-hat hacker who may decide to make it accessible to the public online.The database, called World-Check, belongs to Thomson Reuters and is used by banks, governments and intelligence agencies to screen people for criminal ties and links to terrorism.Security researcher Chris Vickery claims to have obtained a 2014 copy of the database. He announced the details on Tuesday in a post on Reddit."No hacking was involved in my acquisition of this data," he wrote. "I would call it more of a leak than anything, although not directly from Thomson Reuters."To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

System Software, Orchestration Gets an OpenHPC Boost

System software setup and maintenance has become a major efficiency drag on HPC labs and OEMs alike, but community and industry efforts are now underway to reduce the huge amounts of duplicated development, validation and maintenance work across the HPC ecosystem. Disparate efforts and approaches, while necessary on some levels, slow adoption of hardware innovation and progress toward exascale performance. They also complicate adoption of complex workloads like big data and machine learning.

With the creation of the OpenHPC Community, a Linux Foundation collaborative project, the push is on to minimize duplicated efforts in the HPC software stack wherever …

System Software, Orchestration Gets an OpenHPC Boost was written by Nicole Hemsoth at The Next Platform.

Datanauts 040: Hands-On Learning Series – CoreOS & AppVeyor

Todays Datanauts show is all about learning new technologies. Ethan and Chris have each spent time digging into a technology thats unfamiliar to them: building a DNS service using CoreOS for Ethan, and using AppVeyor to built a test environment for PowerShell scripts for Chris. The post Datanauts 040: Hands-On Learning Series – CoreOS & AppVeyor appeared first on Packet Pushers.

SAP’s ERP app for SMBs gets an overhaul for digital transformation

The digital transformation imperative is becoming increasingly urgent for companies large and small, and SAP wants to help. On Wednesday, the ERP giant set its sights squarely on SMBs with an updated app that's been enriched with analytics and other key features.Originally announced last year, SAP Business One 9.2 is the latest version of SAP's ERP app for small and medium-size businesses, and it's now generally available both on-premises and in the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Mobile ransomware use jumps, blocking access to phones

The number of users infected with mobile ransomware is skyrocketing, as hackers try to expand the number of potential victims they can target.Compared with a year ago, almost four times as many users are being attacked by mobile ransomware, security firm Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday.It's a troubling trend. Ransomware has typically targeted PCs by encrypting all the information that is inside the targeted machines, and then holding the data hostage in exchange for money.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Mobile ransomware use jumps, blocking access to phones

The number of users infected with mobile ransomware is skyrocketing, as hackers try to expand the number of potential victims they can target.Compared with a year ago, almost four times as many users are being attacked by mobile ransomware, security firm Kaspersky Lab said on Wednesday.It's a troubling trend. Ransomware has typically targeted PCs by encrypting all the information that is inside the targeted machines, and then holding the data hostage in exchange for money.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iPhone 7 to feature radically new home button design

The lack of a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack may not be the only big design change Apple introduces when it rolls out the iPhone 7 later this year. According to sources, and most recently a report from analysts Cowen and Company (via Business Insider), the home button on the iPhone 7 will be like nothing Apple has ever shipped before.Specifically, the iPhone 7's home button may sit flush with the entire device itself and will not be able to be pressed down. Instead, Apple will incorporate Force Touch technology such that when a user taps the home button, it will trigger a series of vibrations that will mimic the feeling of a pressed button.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iPhone 7 to feature radical new home button design

The lack of a traditional 3.5mm headphone jack may not be the only big design change Apple introduces when it rolls out the iPhone 7 later this year. According to sources, and most recently a report from analysts Cowen and Company (via Business Insider), the home button on the iPhone 7 will be like nothing Apple has ever shipped before.Specifically, the iPhone 7's home button may sit flush with the entire device itself and will not be able to be pressed down. Instead, Apple will incorporate Force Touch technology such that when a user taps the home button, it will trigger a series of vibrations that will mimic the feeling of a pressed button. While this may seem a bit far fetched, note that Apple already employs such technology on the company's MacBook line. And having used Apple's MacBook, I can attest that Apple's scheme of haptic feedback truly does mimic the feeling of a physical button.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

55% off DinoFire Wireless 2.4GHz Presentation Remote – Deal Alert

From executives to graduate students, anyone who presents can appreciate a good clicker. This one from DinoFire is currently discounted 55%, from $32.99 down to just $14.99, and receives an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars from over 200 customers (read reviews). Its generous 98-foot range lets you wander confidently around the room. It features up, down and red light buttons, as well as an on/off switch and low battery indicator. The DinoFire remote supports MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ACD See, website, iWork (Keynote & Numbers & Pages) Google Slides, and most major operating systems. Simply plug the receiver into your USB port and you're ready to go. When not in use, the receiver plugs into the remote for transporting in one piece. See the discounted presentation remote now on Amazon.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

802.11ac Wi-Fi gear driving strong WLAN equipment sales

The first quarter of 2016 has seen a 20% increase in wireless LAN equipment sales compared to the same period a year ago, according to a study released by IHS Technology, which credited the proliferation of 802.11ac wireless gear for the uptick.While the $1.2 billion in total sales represents a quarter-on-quarter downturn of 14%, that’s merely a seasonal demand issue, said IHS. Yet the year-on-year sales increase has been accomplished with equipment prices remaining relatively flat.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Top 5 storage vendors shows massive shift to the cloud + Resold hard drives on eBay, Craigslist are often still ripe with leftover dataTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

802.11ac Wi-Fi gear driving strong WLAN equipment sales

The first quarter of 2016 has seen a 20% increase in wireless LAN equipment sales compared to the same period a year ago, according to a study released by IHS Technology, which credited the proliferation of 802.11ac wireless gear for the uptick.While the $1.2 billion in total sales represents a quarter-on-quarter downturn of 14%, that’s merely a seasonal demand issue, said IHS. Yet the year-on-year sales increase has been accomplished with equipment prices remaining relatively flat.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Top 5 storage vendors shows massive shift to the cloud + Resold hard drives on eBay, Craigslist are often still ripe with leftover dataTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Worth Reading: APNIC’s cyber threat intellegence

Security automation and cyber threat intelligence can play a significant role by filtering out the noise floor created by unsophisticated and untargeted threats, providing insight to the evolution of sophisticated adversary tradecraft, and validating defensive security and response measures. -APNIC

The post Worth Reading: APNIC’s cyber threat intellegence appeared first on 'net work.

Salesforce now accessible from Outlook

The lovefest between Microsoft and Salesforce.com continues, this time with a new connector for Outlook that links Salesforce connections to the Outlook contact and calendar manager.Microsoft made the announcement via the Office blog, noting that sales reps rely on two primary tools Customer Relational Management (CRM) and email. "Yet, CRM and email have traditionally been disconnected tools, and sales reps have had to spend valuable time toggling between these apps," the company noted.Manually adding contacts or calendar events from email to CRM or having to move back and forth between the two waste a lot of time.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Need to integrate a few apps to solve a business problem? There is recipe for that

 Vijay Tella has been neck deep in application integration technology for years, first as the SVP of engineering at TIBCO, the company that introduced the information bus, and then at Oracle, where he helped launch the company’s booming middleware platform. Today Tella is founder and CEO of Workato, a company that is putting integration tools directly into the hands of app users.  Network World Editor in Chief John Dix recently caught up with Tella to learn more about how he is trying to democratize the world of app integration. Workato founder and CEO Vijay TellaTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here