Optimizing software defined data center

The recent Fortune magazine article, Software-defined data center market to hit $77.18 billion by 2020, starts with the quote "Data centers are no longer just about all the hardware gear you can stitch together for better operations. There’s a lot of software involved to squeeze more performance out of your hardware, and all that software is expected to contribute to a burgeoning new market dubbed the software-defined data center."

The recent ONS2015 Keynote from Google's Amin Vahdat describes how Google builds large scale software defined data centers. The presentation is well worth watching in its entirety since Google has a long history of advancing distributed computing with technologies that have later become mainstream.
There are a number of points in the presentation that relate to the role of networking to the performance of cloud applications. Amin states, "Networking is at this inflection point and what computing means is going to be largely determined by our ability to build great networks over the coming years. In this world data center networking in particular is a key differentiator."

This slide shows the the large pools of storage and compute connected by the data center network that are used Continue reading

Coming Updates to the CCIE Program

With everything going on in the industry, what is happening to the CCIE program?

I recently watched a webinar on coming updates to the CCIE program. I have also been talking to the CCIE and CCDE program managers which I am proud to call my friends. The certifications are a big part of Cisco’s business, people are afraid that certifications will lose value as Software Defined Networking (SDN) gains more traction in the industry. What is Cisco’s response to the ever changing landscape of networking?

We have already seen Cisco announce the CCNA cloud and CCNA industrial which shows that Cisco follows the market. Will we see a CCIE cloud or CCIE SDN? Doubtful… Why? Because SDN is not a track in itself, it will be part of all tracks… The CCIE DC will be refreshed to include topics like Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) in the blueprint. When? It’s not official yet which means you have at least 6 months. My guess is that we will see an announcement before this year ends which would mean that the update is around a year away.

CCIE DC is the natural fit for SDN. What about the other tracks? Expect other tracks Continue reading

Windows-Linux File Synchronisation

My development environment usually consists of a host machine running Windows and a development Linux “headless” virtual machine. I create and edit files in a Notepad++ text editor and then transfer them over to the Linux VM. Until recently I’ve been using a hypervisor-enabled “shared” folder. However, Windows file system emulators in Linux do not support symbolic links and therefore breaks a lot of applications that rely on them. This prompted me to start looking for a new way to sync my files. That’s how I came across this new amazing file syncing app called Syncthing. Why is it amazing?

  • It uses peer-to-peer architecture. User traffic is not uploaded to a centralised server and is transferred directly between peers.
  • It is open-source. It doesn’t use any proprietary syncing protocols like BTSync.
  • As the result of open-source nature it has big community support with clients, wrappers and extension available for any major platform.
  • It is secure. All transfers are TLS-encrypted.
  • It’s simple to use. Windows version installs like any other Windows app, Linux version, like any other Linux app, will take a little tinkering.
  • It’s written in Golang, an extremely popular language amongst professional programmers and surely these guys can’t be Continue reading

Happy Father’s Day, from the Father of Hyperconvergence

One thing that's cool about my job as a tech business publication editor is getting to meet industry pioneers, as I did by phone this past week with Mohit Aron, widely considered to be the Father of Hyperconvergence as a co-founder of Nutanix and now the founder and CEO of startup Cohesity (you can read my Q&A with Aron here). Over the years I've met a bunch of industry Fathers, including Bob Metcalfe of Ethernet fame and Vint Cerf of Internet fame, as well as industry Mothers, like Radia Perlman of Spanning Tree fame.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Just Out: Metro- and Carrier Ethernet Encryptors Market Overview

Christoph Jaggi has just published the third part of his Metro- and Carrier Ethernet Encryptor trilogy: the 2015 market overview. Public versions of all three documents are available for download on his web site:

Citizens of Tech 008 – Solar Powered Dragonfly Modems

It’s late spring - June 12, 2015 to be precise, and on this day we sat down to discuss: Electronic Legos, Quantum Encryption, Solar Powered Flight, and more. So kick back and ready your ear holes to delve into the nerdfest that is the Citizens of Tech Podcast!

Author information

Ethan Banks

Co-host at Packet Pushers

Ethan Banks, CCIE #20655, has been managing networks for higher ed, government, financials and high tech since 1995. Ethan co-hosts the Packet Pushers Podcast, which has seen over 3M downloads and reaches over 10K listeners. With whatever time is left, Ethan writes for fun & profit, studies for certifications, and enjoys science fiction. @ecbanks
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The post Citizens of Tech 008 – Solar Powered Dragonfly Modems appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Ethan Banks.

Message Queues: RabbitMQ in Go and Python

I’ve been playing around with various message queue implementations for a few projects, and wanted to write a quick post on some basics. Message Queues Before we get into the detail of RabbitMQ, it’s worth briefly defining exactly what a message queue is, of which RabbitMQ is just one implementation. You may have heard message queues described as a “Publish/Subscribe” system, or “Pub/Sub” for short. This is a style of communication between software elements, where some components publish messages onto a queue, and others subscribe to that queue and listen for messages published on to it.

Message Queues: RabbitMQ in Go and Python

I’ve been playing around with various message queue implementations for a few projects, and wanted to write a quick post on some basics. Message Queues Before we get into the detail of RabbitMQ, it’s worth briefly defining exactly what a message queue is, of which RabbitMQ is just one implementation. You may have heard message queues described as a “Publish/Subscribe” system, or “Pub/Sub” for short. This is a style of communication between software elements, where some components publish messages onto a queue, and others subscribe to that queue and listen for messages published on to it.

What the FCC’s new robocall rules mean for your company’s marketing efforts

Marketers now face tougher restrictions on their use of “robocalls” and other automated telemarketing techniques thanks to a new set of declaratory rulings issued by the FCC on Thursday.Although the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 requires prior consent for autodialed, prerecorded or artificial voice calls to wireless and residential wireline numbers, marketers have still been able to exploit numerous loopholes to make questionable calls anyway.Now, in response to thousands of consumer complaints and nearly two dozen petitions, the FCC has affirmed consumers’ rights to control the calls they receive and made it clear that telephone companies can use robocall-blocking technology to help them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iPexpert’s Newest “CCIE Wall of Fame” Additions 6/19/2015

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

This Week’s CCIE Success Stories

  • Luis Garcia, CCIE #49023 (Data Center)
  • Hamed Zolghadri, CCIE #36789 (Data Center)

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!

Hackers had access to US security clearance data for a year

Hackers who breached a database containing highly personal information on government employees with security clearances had access to the system for about a year before being discovered, The Washington Post reported on Friday.The breach at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management dates back to June or July last year and was only discovered earlier this month.The database in question contains applications for security clearances, which ask for information on all aspects of a person’s life including social security numbers, passport numbers, names of former neighbors, and information on family members. It also asks about, over the past seven years, any contact with foreign nationals and problems with drug or alcohol abuse, debts or bankruptcy, imprisonment and run-ins with law enforcement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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