Use software license optimization tools to get your money’s worth out of SaaS

This vendor-written tech primer has been edited by Network World to eliminate product promotion, but readers should note it will likely favor the submitter’s approach.

Software as a Service (SaaS) breaks the shackles of traditional software licensing approaches, but savvy users still optimize their SaaS environments to avoid undue costs.

SaaS subscription models typically require a one to three year commitment. Customers are invoiced, usually on a monthly basis, and the license typically uses some sort of billing metric based on resource usage, such as the number of end users that can access the product. The flexibility of SaaS licensing models enables organizations to expand the use of the product according to their needs during the term of the subscription.

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Exporting RSA keys from Cisco ASA: Harder than it should be

Unlike Cisco IOS routers, which by default don't allow RSA private keys to be exported from NVRAM, Cisco ASAs don't protect private keys. But there's no command (of which I'm aware) to directly export the keys either.

Sometimes you need to squirrel away those keys. You can do it by getting a certificate that uses the keys, then exporting a certificate bundle (with private key included). Here's how.

First, create a key:
 crypto key generate rsa label mykey modulus 2048

Next, create a trustpoint which references the key, and generate a self-signed certificate:
 crypto ca trustpoint throwaway  
  keypair mykey  
  enrollment self  
 crypto ca enroll throwaway noconfirm

Now the throwaway trustpoint has a certificate. Export that certificate to the terminal.
 no terminal pager  
 crypto ca export throwaway pkcs12 <passphrase>

Save the blob of text including the begin/end lines. The blob is a PKCS12 bundle encrypted using the passphrase above and then base64 encoded. Be sure to save the encryption passphrase.
 -----BEGIN PKCS12-----  
 MIIJZwIBAzCCCSEGCSqGSIb3DQEHAaCCCRIEggkOMIIJCjCCCQYGCSqGSIb3DQEH  
 BqCCCPcwggjzAgEAMIII7AYJKoZIhvcNAQcBMBsGCiqGSIb3DQEMAQMwDQQI4KTD  
 ...etc...  
 ru1WrVnO7wFa+83BK8D+aQ7UedzQuU6NOiDrjPR0w8uWSLwKmmSVgnZN4BEwPTAh  
 MAkGBSsOAwIaBQAEFGA2bfp4y+a/R29RZ9TA8sCUSZ+jBBRvppgVbM8rBbW62096  
 L/HnJErexgICBAA=  
 -----END PKCS12-----

We no longer need the certificate or the throwaway trustpoint in which it's stored. Kill it. The private key will survive.
 no crypto ca trustpoint throwaway noconfirm

The easiest way to Continue reading

PlexxiPulse—Spotlight on SDN

Infonetics analyst Clifford Grossner recently released a SDN enterprise study which found that nearly 80 percent of medium and large size businesses plan to implement SDN technology in the data center by 2017. The survey of 153 businesses also revealed that 65 percent of respondents are currently conducting data center SDN lab trials or plan to do so in 2015. Marcia Savage of NetworkComputing cites the Infonetics data and names SDN as a top networking trend in a piece this week titled “What’s Hot In Networking: 7 Key Trends.” We’re excited to see SDN in the spotlight. Marcia’s piece and the Infonetics study are both worth a read before you kick off your weekend.

Interested in seeing Plexxi in action? Contact [email protected] to schedule a demo today!

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

Network World: How SDN will help earn money, not just save
By Ajay Malik
Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is transforming the network and giving network operators unprecedented network programmability, automation, and control. Network administrators are exploring it as it can help them not just optimize total cost of ownership, but do more with Continue reading

This is what an iPad vending machine looks like

Drexel University and the Free Library of Philadelphia have introduced a vending machine that doles out Apple iPad tablets for four hours at a time. The machine's debut follows that of a MacBook vending machine at the disposal of Drexel students around the clock. RELATED: Coca-Cola piloting free WiFi at vending machines | The iPad Kiosk: Landing at an airport near you The iPads are accessible to Drexel students and residents of Philly's Manua and Poweton Village neighborhoods. Borrowers must swipe either their student ID or library card to activate the vending machine.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Arista Jumps into Open Networking — or Do They?

On March 31 Arista announced it will offer its EOS operating system as a subscription license separate from its switch hardware.  While the rest of the industry is realizing disaggregation of hardware and software for the sake of customer choice and innovation, Arista’s “disaggregation” is only a new pricing model. Arista hardware and its EOS operating system remain locked. Customer choice is limited to pricing models.

That is not open networking. And it’s not what customers need. This is an open pricing model at the best.

Currently Arista sells its hardware and software as a single bundle, but with this new pricing model, Arista claims it gives customers a better way to balance their CapEx and OpEx budgets. Arista also says this will let customers scale their cloud deployments as they want, paying for their network resources only as they consume them and — given the subscription service — helping them avoid exorbitant upfront investments.

Disaggregation?

Is Arista opening their pricing model because of growing industry support for open networking? Their announcement nods towards a “disaggregated offering,” but EOS still requires Arista hardware, and Arista switches still require EOS. Customers can buy the hardware/software components separately, but they still can’t Continue reading

Hyundai Motor to release semiautonomous car this year

Owners of Hyundai Motor’s upcoming Equus will be able to take their hands off the steering wheel and feet off the brakes as they’re traveling down the highway, and let their car do the driving. The South Korea-based automaker plans to integrate a host of self-driving features into its premium sedan later this year, transforming it into a semiautonomous vehicle.Highway driving assistance features will allow the new Equus to stay in lane, slow down and speed up as necessary to avoid collisions. The price of the new Equus hasn’t been determined but should be similar to Hyundai’s current models, ranging from US $61,500 to $68,750, officials said.The main markets for the new Equus will be South Korea and the U.S., company officials said at a briefing ahead of the Seoul Motor Show, which opened Friday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Show 231 – OpenFlow’s Possible Futures with Curt Beckmann

Seen as a unifier and enabler in its early days, OpenFlow has come up against some adoption barriers in the form of silicon challenges and vendor-specific extensions that has resulted in a marketplace of OpenFlow options awash in inconsistency. How does OpenFlow rise above this current state of things? Or does it? The Packet Pushers discuss with Curt Beckmann.

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 Show 231 – OpenFlow’s Possible Futures with Curt Beckmann appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Ethan Banks.

Microsoft Surface team to brave Reddit on Friday

Microsoft's Surface tablet team, fresh off introducing a new lighter and thinner model this week, will take its chances with the Reddit crowd on Friday.Things got a bit rough for the team about a year ago when it dipped its toes into the sometimes dangerous waters of Reddit's Q&A free-for-all, dubbed Ask Me Anything (AMA) following the release of the Surface Pro 3 tablet. Among other things, Microsoft was taken to task for charging separately for the keyboard/cover. However, the Surface Pro 3 has become something of a hit, pulling in a reported $900 million-plus in revenue, according to market watchers.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Windows forecast to gradually grab tablet market share from iOS and Android

Once considered a lost cause in the tablet market, Microsoft's Windows will take market share from Apple's iOS and Google's Android in the coming years, according to IDC. Android and iOS are the top two OSes for tablets, with 67.3 percent and 27.6 percent share, respectively, of the 229.7 million units shipped in 2014. Windows had just a 5.1 percent market share, according to research released by IDC on Thursday. But by 2019, Windows will have 14.1 percent market share, and the share of Android and iOS will gradually fall to 62.9 percent and 23 percent respectively. Tablet shipments in 2019 will total 269.4 million, indicating slow growth over the coming years, IDC said.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

ISIS Link-Group

Introduction On the Core or Edge network, we need more and more bandwidth. For a large service provider, in some parts of the world it’s quite expensive to upgrade links, .ie from 1Gb/s to 10Gb/s. There are two alternatives: aggregate the links either on layer 2 or by doing Layer 3 ECMP. With layer 2 […]

Author information

Youssef El Fathi

Youssef is a network engineer working for a french service provider. He is also a dual CCIE (RS, SP). You can find him on Twitter.
TwitterLinkedIn

The post ISIS Link-Group appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Youssef El Fathi.

Under one percent of Android devices affected by potentially harmful applications

Based on data collected by Google, less than one percent of Android devices had a potentially harmful application installed last year. This includes devices on which users have installed applications from outside the official Google Play store.The data was collected through a feature called Verify Apps that was first introduced in Android 4.2 back in 2012. The feature, which was also backported to Android 2.3 and higher in 2013, checks locally installed applications for potentially harmful behavior regardless of whether they were downloaded from Google Play or other sources.Verify Apps initially scanned applications only at installation time, but since March 2014 it also performs background scans, so it can later detect malicious applications that weren’t flagged when they were initially installed.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The IPad arrived five years ago today

The first version of Apple’s tablet that redefined tablets was released in stores and delivered to homes on April 3, 2010.We’ve collected a bunch of pictures taken that day and you can see them here.While sales growth for the iPad has slowed recently, the device was an immediate hit when it arrived and has proven to be among Apple’s most successful products.From an Apple press release two days after the first release: Apple today announced that it sold over 300,000 iPads in the US as of midnight Saturday, April 3. These sales included deliveries of pre-ordered iPads to customers, deliveries to channel partners and sales at Apple Retail Stores. Apple also announced that iPad users downloaded over one million apps from Apple’s App Store and over 250,000 ebooks from its iBookstore during the first day.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

iPexpert’s Newest “CCIE Wall of Fame” Additions 4/3/2015

Please join us in congratulating the following iPexpert client’s who have passed their CCIE lab!

This Week’s CCIE Success Stories

  • Thomas Loran, CCIE #7113 (Service Provider)
  • Karl-Johan Stjernqvist, CCIE #47637 (Wireless)
  • Rob Wiggins, CCIE #8375 (Data Center)
  • Michael Fowler, CCIE #47172 (Routing and Switching)
  • Patrick Perry, CCIE #47548 (Routing and Switching)
  • Heino Ala-Honkola, CCIE #47729 (Wireless)

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!

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, April 3

Uber poaches Facebook’s Joe Sullivan for security chiefIn an indication that the ride-hailing app company is aware that it had better get security right, Uber Technologies has hired away Facebook’s head of security, Joe Sullivan, to be its first CSO. Sullivan has been fairly high profile as Facebook’s CSO for the last five years, and besides time spent at PayPal and eBay, he has a background prosecuting cyber crime, re/code reports. Sullivan has his work cut out for him, with Uber facing challenges ranging from data privacy to its riders’ physical security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, April 3

Uber poaches Facebook’s Joe Sullivan for security chiefIn an indication that the ride-hailing app company is aware that it had better get security right, Uber Technologies has hired away Facebook’s head of security, Joe Sullivan, to be its first CSO. Sullivan has been fairly high profile as Facebook’s CSO for the last five years, and besides time spent at PayPal and eBay, he has a background prosecuting cyber crime, re/code reports. Sullivan has his work cut out for him, with Uber facing challenges ranging from data privacy to its riders’ physical security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, April 3

Uber poaches Facebook’s Joe Sullivan for security chiefIn an indication that the ride-hailing app company is aware that it had better get security right, Uber Technologies has hired away Facebook’s head of security, Joe Sullivan, to be its first CSO. Sullivan has been fairly high profile as Facebook’s CSO for the last five years, and besides time spent at PayPal and eBay, he has a background prosecuting cyber crime, re/code reports. Sullivan has his work cut out for him, with Uber facing challenges ranging from data privacy to its riders’ physical security.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LinkedIn buys social knowledge startup Refresh

In a move that could yield even more automated suggestions and tips for LinkedIn users, the professional network has acquired California startup Refresh, the maker of an app that gathers news and insights about participants in meetings.Launched three years ago, Refresh is designed to be a “digital briefing book” that can call up online information related to people that users are scheduled to meet. The information can be anything from blog posts, news articles or Facebook posts to personal notes or favorite sports teams.The Refresh mobile and desktop app is aimed at helping people relate to one another more quickly, but it can also be used to refresh one’s memory when running into acquaintances unexpectedly.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Uber knuckles down on security, poaches exec from Facebook

Although it started off as a smartphone app to connect passengers with drivers, Uber Technologies is encountering the same real-world security issues as the taxi industry, includng the need for driver background checks and local regulatory compliance.On top of this there are the risks involved in handling masses of customer and driver data, which became evident earlier this year when the company admitted driver data had been compromised.On Thursday, Uber moved a step forward in its bid to fend off criticism of its security practices by appointing as its first chief security officer Joe Sullivan, a former U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor and, more recently, Facebook’s security chief.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Uber knuckles down on security, poaches exec from Facebook

Although it started off as a smartphone app to connect passengers with drivers, Uber Technologies is encountering the same real-world security issues as the taxi industry, includng the need for driver background checks and local regulatory compliance.On top of this there are the risks involved in handling masses of customer and driver data, which became evident earlier this year when the company admitted driver data had been compromised.On Thursday, Uber moved a step forward in its bid to fend off criticism of its security practices by appointing as its first chief security officer Joe Sullivan, a former U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor and, more recently, Facebook’s security chief.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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