PlexxiPulse—Our Newest Board Member

This week we announced that Clark Masters, Senior Vice President of HANA Cloud Computing at SAP, has been appointed to our Board of Directors—filling the seat vacated when Rich Napolitano was named Plexxi CEO last November. At SAP, Clark is responsible for strategy and advanced architectures relating to in-memory database operation in public and private clouds. With more than 30 years of technology and industry leadership, he brings a wealth of high-technology vision, knowledge and execution to our board. Clark will help to support our ongoing expansion and efforts to drive the networking industry’s transition to an application and data-focused era. Join us in welcoming Clark to the Plexxi team!

Below please find a few of our top picks for our favorite news articles of the week. Have a great weekend!

Enterprise Networking Planet: SDN Gets Some Help with Scalability
By Arthur Cole
Nearly everyone who is contemplating software defined networking (SDN) these days is thinking about scale-out architectures.  Big Data and the Internet of Everything have the enterprise industry spooked that if a solution does not scale, it isn’t likely to be taken seriously. What most IT executives may not realize, however, is that scale is not actually Continue reading

From SDN to SDx — How Limitless Is It?

SDN is just the beginning, FireHost learns during the company-wide migration.

Billions of reasons to listen to these Unicorn startup founders

Bob Brown/NetworkWorld TIE Startup Con "Unicorn" panel (L-R) Moderator Deepak Sindwani of Bain, WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey, Actifio CEO Ash Ashutosh Unicorns are all the rage these days, and we’re not talking about the ones in fantasy stories or on your kids’ bedspreads. The unicorns that people at events like last week’s TIE Startup Con (formerly TIEcon East) are agog over are private companies with valuations of $1 billion or more, such as co-working office space provider WeWork and data virtualization company Actifio, whose founders talked shop during the opening panel at the Cambridge, Mass., get-together for entrepreneurs and investors.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Featured Article: Brownfield SDDC Deployment – You May Be Closer to SDN Than You Think!

Two recurring themes in any SDN discussion include interoperability and budget

Visitors to top porn sites hit by malvertising attack

In the latest attack involving malicious advertisements, hackers managed to launch Flash Player exploits against the visitors of several popular porn websites.It’s not clear how many users were impacted, but the affected websites have over 250 million monthly visits combined, according to researchers from Malwarebytes who spotted and analyzed the attack.The malicious ads were posted through an advertising network called AdXpansion that was abused in similar incidents in the past.The attackers managed to distribute through the network a Flash-based ad that attempted to exploit a vulnerability in Flash Player.The flaw affects Flash Player through version 17.0.0.134, which was released within the last two months, the Malwarebytes researchers said in a blog post Thursday. Affected sites listed in the blog post include Drtuber.com, Nuvid.com, Hardsextube.com and Justporno.tv.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: GPS breakthrough: Low-cost accuracy within centimeters

There's been talk for years of a more accurate Global Positioning System. The current GPS system tells you roughly where you are, but it's only accurate to within a few feet. That vagueness means that although it's fine for mapping, it isn't good enough for narrowly targeted proximity or geo-fencing that can be used in e-commerce.Existing GPS has been used in toll-road billing, and has been fine-tuned for surveying with large, expensive antennas, but it's currently not much good for tracking customers as they choose a concert seat, for example.Galileo The European Space Agency is building a new, highly-accurate system called Galileo that they say will be fully functional by about 2020.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: GPS breakthrough: Low-cost accuracy within centimeters

There's been talk for years of a more accurate Global Positioning System. The current GPS system tells you roughly where you are, but it's only accurate to within a few feet. That vagueness means that although it's fine for mapping, it isn't good enough for narrowly targeted proximity or geo-fencing that can be used in e-commerce.Existing GPS has been used in toll-road billing, and has been fine-tuned for surveying with large, expensive antennas, but it's currently not much good for tracking customers as they choose a concert seat, for example.Galileo The European Space Agency is building a new, highly-accurate system called Galileo that they say will be fully functional by about 2020.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

7 reasons to ditch your iPad for the Surface 3

Microsoft’s Surface 3 tabletImage by ShutterstockMicrosoft is releasing its new 10-inch tablet that runs on Windows 8.1. With a starting price of $499, the Surface 3 is pitted squarely against Apple’s iPad Air 2 tablet, and is a highly compelling option if you are looking to get a new tablet or replace your iPad.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Special Ansible Tower Offer

To celebrate the release of O'Reilly's Ansible Up and Running: Automating Configuration Management and Deployment the Easy Way by Lorin Hochstein we are offering a special package for Ansible fans. Buy an Ansible Tower Starter Kit and get a physical copy of the book, 2 Ansible t-shirts, 2 Ansible hats, stickers, pins and an Ansibull.

To take advantage of this offer simply purchase an Ansible Tower Starter Kit here and enter ansiblefan at checkout. Offer expires on 6/5/15 or while supplies last. Quantities are limited so act fast. 

*Offer available to NEW Ansible Tower customers only.

iPexpert’s Newest “CCIE Wall of Fame” Additions 5/8/2015

Please join us in congratulating the following iPexpert students who have passed their CCIE lab!

This Week’s CCIE Success Stories

• Jon Major, CCIE #47884 (Routing & Switching)
• Arash Tabarestani, CCIE #48300 (Data Center)

This Week’s Testimonials

Arash Tabarestani CCIE #48300 (Data Center)
The 5-day bootcamp with Jason Lunde helped me the most, before the bootcamp I was totally lost, after the bootcamp, I just practiced the Worksbooks on iPexperts proctorlabs, and reviewed the bootcamp videos.

We Want to Hear From You!

Have you passed your CCIE lab exam and used any of iPexpert’s self-study products, or attended a CCIE Bootcamp? If so, we’d like to add you to our CCIE Wall of Fame!

All hail the next big job, the Chief IoT Officer

In the near future, you may hear about the appointment of a Chief Internet of Things (IoT) Officer. Before you roll your eyes and chortle at the thought of another chief-of-something, consider the problem.First, companies are beginning to make and implement smart, connected, data-producing products. That can be anything -- automobiles, assembly line robots, washing machines and even coffee makers. This data can be used in predictive analytics to avoid product failures, as well as to schedule maintenance around when a product actually needs it. These products, mechanical and electronic, will likely get ongoing software updates.INSIDER: 5 ways to prepare for Internet of Things security threats Second, connected products are now part of a broader system. Or as Michael Porter, a Harvard economist, pointed out at this week's ThingWorx conference, you aren't just selling a tractor, you are selling a tractor that is becoming part of a smart farm, a system. Things have to be able to work together.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

All eyes on Android at Google I/O

While Google is known for a multitude of technologies, including search and cloud services, it's the Android mobile development platform that will take center stage at the Google I/O developer conference in San Francisco the last week in May.Sessions at the conference will spotlight a multitude of topics related to Android, including Android application architecture, the Android Backup feature for backing data, Android Wear wristwatches, Android Auto, and TV technologies and application testing.[ Get the best office productivity apps for your Android device, and explore 12 great Lollipop APIs every Android developer will love. | Keep up on key mobile developments and insights with the Mobile Computing newsletter. ] "One of the reasons over a billion users love Android is that they get to pick the device that's just right for them," reads one conference session description. "This can make it harder to test on all of your users' devices before release. Apps that are tested thoroughly get better reviews and make more money (fact!). We're here to help -- hear about the new ways Google can help maximize the success of your next app launch with cheaper and easier testing strategies."To read this article Continue reading

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, May 8

Surgical robot can be taken over by hackersThe dark underside of the revolution in medical technology is that security is usually an afterthought, if it’s considered at all. Now researchers at the University of Washington have proved another nightmare scenario by taking over a tele-operated surgical robot, Computerworld reports. One of the problems is that the device communicates with the remote control console using a publicly available protocol that’s easy to hijack.NSA data dragnet broke the law, appeals court rulesTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, May 8

Surgical robot can be taken over by hackersThe dark underside of the revolution in medical technology is that security is usually an afterthought, if it’s considered at all. Now researchers at the University of Washington have proved another nightmare scenario by taking over a tele-operated surgical robot, Computerworld reports. One of the problems is that the device communicates with the remote control console using a publicly available protocol that’s easy to hijack.NSA data dragnet broke the law, appeals court rulesTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Once fighting for the low end, Chinese smartphone vendors focus on pricier products

This week when ZTE launched its latest phone, the Z9, the Chinese company wasn’t embarrassed to reveal its high price.The cutting-edge device will retail in the country starting at 3499 yuan (US$574), which is far more than the cost of low-end handsets that have flooded store shelves, and turned China into the world’s largest smartphone market.For years, Chinese handset vendors have been competing in the local market by offering cheap products that most people can afford. Prices have continually gone down, as rival companies have sought to undercut one another with Android phones at 599 yuan or even lower.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

New Linux rootkit leverages GPUs for stealth

A team of developers has created a rootkit for Linux systems that uses the processing power and memory of graphics cards instead of CPUs in order to remain hidden.The rootkit, called Jellyfish, is a proof of concept designed to demonstrate that completely running malware on GPUs (graphics processing units) is a viable option. This is possible because dedicated graphics cards have their own processors and RAM.Such threats could be more sinister than traditional malware programs, according to the Jellyfish developers. For one, there are no tools to analyze GPU malware, they said.Also, such rootkits can snoop on the host’s primary memory, which is used by most other programs, via DMA (direct memory access). This feature allows hardware components to read the main system memory without going through the CPU, making such operations harder to detect.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google PageSpeed Service customers: migrate to CloudFlare for acceleration

This week, Google announced that its hosted PageSpeed Service will be shut down. Everyone using the hosted service needs to move their site elsewhere before August 3 2015 to avoid breaking their website.

We're inviting these hosted customers: don't wait...migrate your site to CloudFlare for global acceleration (and more) right now.

CC BY 2.0 image by Roger
As TechCrunch wrote: "In many ways, PageSpeed Service is similar to what CloudFlare does but without the focus on security."

What is PageSpeed?

PageSpeed started as — and continues — as a Google-created software module for the Apache webserver to rewrite webpages to reduce latency and bandwidth, to help make the web faster.

Google introduced their hosted PageSpeed Service in July 2011, to save webmasters the hassle of installing the software module.

It's the hosted service that is being discontinued.

CloudFlare performance

CloudFlare provides similar capabilities to PageSpeed, such as minification, image compression, and asynchronous loading.

Additionally, CloudFlare offers more performance gains through a global network footprint, Railgun for dynamic content acceleration, built-in SPDY support, and more.

Not just speed

PageSpeed Service customers care about performance, and CloudFlare delivers. CloudFlare also includes security, SSL, Continue reading

German climate researchers prepare for rising seas of data

It’s nice to have the latest kit, but a supercomputer upgrade is about to bring the German Climate Computing Center, DKRZ, a big problem: a shortage of space.Not space for the computer itself, but for the data it generates.DKRZ runs climate models on its supercomputer, projecting how our planet’s weather will evolve over decades or even, in some cases, hundreds of millennia, from the last ice age and into the future.All those models generate huge volumes of data—40 petabytes of so far—that DKRZ archives for future reference, allowing researchers to analyze the models’ output in different ways. The center also offers to store the output from climate models run by other supercomputing centers, forming a world climate studies archive drawn on by researchers around the world.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

OpenFlow in HP Campus Solutions on Software Gone Wild

When I finished my SDN workshop @ Interop Las Vegas (including a chapter on OpenFlow limitations), some attendees started wondering whether they should even consider OpenFlow in their SDN deployments. My answer: don’t blame the tool if people use it incorrectly.

Two days later, I discovered HP is one of those companies that knows how to use that tool.

Nintendo says its new smartphone games will drive console sales

Nintendo expects that its new games for smartphones, built in partnership with Japanese mobile gaming company DeNA, will help boost sales of its consoles, as users “become familiar with the charms of video games.”The Japanese gaming console maker expects smartphones users will want to explore more premium experiences on its dedicated game systems, President Satoru Iwata said in a presentation posted to the company website Friday.To aid that shift, the company is working on an integrated membership service that aims to provide a bridge between smart devices and consoles, including the upcoming game system code-named NX, by allowing a consumer to access multiple devices and services with a single ID, Iwata said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here