Ansible 1.9.1 Released

ANSIBLE_1.9.1_Released

Ansible 1.9.1 fixes several bugs, including:

* Fixed a bug related to Kerberos auth when using winrm with a domain account.

* Fixing several bugs in the s3 module.

* Fixed a bug with upstart service detection in the service module.

* Fixed several bugs with the user module when used on OSX.

* Fixed unicode handling in some module situations (assert and shell/command execution).

* Fixed a bug in redhat_subscription when using the activationkey parameter.

* Fixed a traceback in the gce module on EL6 distros when multiple pycrypto installations are available.

* Added support for PostgreSQL 9.4 in rds_param_group

* Several other minor fixes.

As always, this update is available via PyPi and releases.ansible.com now, and packages for distros will be available as soon as possible.

Xerox targets paper-laden enterprises with new mobile apps, services

The “paperless office” has long been held up as a goal for businesses large and small, but few have come even close. The average office worker, in fact, still generates roughly two pounds of paper waste every day, according to the U.S. EPA.Aiming to help cut a few more of the ties that bind businesses to paper, Xerox on Tuesday unveiled a raft of new automation services and mobile apps for enterprise users.Xerox’s Workflow Automation Solution for Supply Chain Optimization tool, for example, targets retailers with a new way to digitize, centralize, automate and govern the manual steps involved in the product life cycle. Using the Datawatch Managed Analytics Platform, the new offering can reduce labor and printing costs, Xerox says, as well as simplify inventory and invoice reconciliation and improve fill rates by syncing data and applying automated analytics at the store level.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

LG bets on battery life over performance with new G4 smartphone

LG Electronics is giving its latest flagship smartphone, the leather-covered G4, a big removable battery and a power-efficient processor, hoping a long battery life will help it stand out among tough competitors.The G4, teased for weeks, was finally unveiled on Tuesday at events around the world. The company hopes to repeat the success it had last year with the G3 and compete head-on with the Galaxy S6 from Samsung, arguably the best Android-based smartphone. But LG has chosen a slightly different approach on the inside and the outside.Like Samsung, LG used premium materials other than plastic. But instead of using a mixture of aluminium and glass, LG covered the back of the G4 in leather. There are six colors to choose from: black, red, brown, blue, beige and yellow. For leather-averse people, there is a version of the phone with a ceramic back covered in a diamond pattern.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Amazon opens marketplace for business customers

Amazon has opened a marketplace for businesses where they can purchase items ranging from basic office supplies like paper clips to sophisticated products such as lab supplies and tractor parts.Companies that use Amazon Business will receive free two-day shipping on orders costing more than US$49. Only U.S. businesses can shop at the marketplace, but it’s open to both domestic and international sellers.Amazon built the site in response to strong demand from businesses for an online shopping service similar to the company’s core marketplace for consumers, the company said Tuesday.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Yes, Virginia, NFV services can be testable, scalable and predictable

One of the coolest demonstrations at the RSA Conference in San Francisco was of a network functions virtualization (NFV)-based firewall and Deep Content Inspection engine embedded into the software-defined networking (SDN) control plane of a heavily laden network. The firewall/DCI engine filtered content and blocked SQL injection attacks in real time, without slowing down the simulated network. The OpenStack-based testbed was created and run by Spirent, a Southern California firm well known for its network testing platform. The security firm with the firewall and DCI engine was Wedge Networks, a Canadian company that's focused on the cloud.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Earthquake rocks Internet in Nepal

dii_nepal

Saturday’s earthquake in Nepal, which claimed the lives of at least 4,000 victims and injured many more, took a toll on the country’s Internet connectivity, which was already one of the least developed in the region.  A recent evaluation of Internet infrastructure in South Asia commissioned by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) classified Nepal’s international connectivity as ‘weak’ and its fixed and mobile infrastructure as ‘limited’.


dii_nepal

While the loss of Internet connectivity pales in comparison to the loss of life, the ability to communicate both domestically and internationally will be crucial in coming days for the coordination of relief efforts already underway.  Innovative services from Facebook and Google to facilitate communicating the status of those affected by the massive earthquake would be largely useless if Nepal had been knocked entirely offline.  In fact, Nepal’s international links generally survived the earthquake, however last mile connectivity is another matter.

As we reported on Saturday, we began seeing severe Internet outages and instabilities immediately following the earthquake at 6:11 UTC.  On the left is a timeline of outages through today and on the right is the volume of DNS queries Continue reading

Why numbering should start at zero?

How does Internet work - We know what is networking

Please note: This has nothing to do with networking in particular! Not if you look from only one perspective. If you look from totally different perspective, with Cisco ACI and all other SDN solutions, you will probably meet with Python programming language (because you will) and then, somewhere in beginning of Python exploration this is the first question that will cross your mind. Of course, if you think like me! Although not directly related to networking, the question bothered me for some time now and the answer is not only really logical when you read it but it is also

Why numbering should start at zero?

The Walls Are On Fire

There’s no denying the fact that firewalls are a necessary part of modern perimeter security. NAT isn’t a security construct. Attackers have the equivalent of megaton nuclear arsenals with access to so many DDoS networks. Security admins have to do everything they can to prevent these problems from happening. But one look at firewall market tells you something is terribly wrong.

Who’s Protecting First?

Take a look at this recent magic polygon from everyone’s favorite analyst firm:

FW Magic Polygon. Thanks to @EtherealMind.

FW Magic Polygon. Thanks to @EtherealMind.

I won’t deny that Checkpoint is on top. That’s mostly due to the fact that they have the biggest install base in enterprises. But I disagree with the rest of this mystical tesseract. How is Palo Alto a leader in the firewall market? I thought their devices were mostly designed around mitigating internal threats? And how is everyone not named Cisco, Palo Alto, or Fortinet regulated to the Niche Players corral?

The issue comes down to purpose. Most firewalls today aren’t packet filters. They aren’t designed to keep the bad guys out of your networks. They are unified threat management systems. That’s a fancy way of saying they have a whole bunch of software built on top Continue reading

How Do I Start My IPv6 Addressing Plan?

One of my readers was reading the Preparing an IPv6 Addressing Plan document on RIPE web site, and found that the document proposes two approaches to IPv6 addressing: encode location in high-order bits and subnet type in low-order bits (the traditional approach) or encode subnet type in high-order bits and location in low-order bits (totally counter intuitive to most networking engineers). His obvious question was: “Is anyone using type-first addressing in production network?”

Terastream project seems to be using service-first format; if you’re doing something similar, please leave a comment!

Read more ...

Interop 2015: SDN reality-check, apps aplenty

This week’s Interop agenda includes more than 125 sessions covering topics as wide ranging as a status update on the latest trends in software defined networking (SDN) to tips for new application development and delivery methods, infrastructure management, and the pervasive issues of security and mobile workers.Held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Introp is expected to draw 12,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors, which is 125 more than last year.+ MORE AT NETOWRK WORLD: Interop 2015: The essential information | Hot products at Interop 2015 +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Decryption tool available for TeslaCrypt ransomware that targets games

Some users whose computers have been infected with a ransomware program called TeslaCrypt might be in luck: security researchers from Cisco Systems have developed a tool to recover their encrypted files.TeslaCrypt appeared earlier this year and masquerades as a variant of the notorious CryptoLocker ransomware. However, its authors seemed intent on targeting gamers in particular.Once installed on a system, the program encrypts files with 185 different extensions, over 50 of which are associated with computer games and related software, including user-generated content like game saves, maps, profiles, replays and mods.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Expect more Cyanogen phones from Chinese vendors

Cyanogen, the maker of an Android-based operating system, is hoping it can expand with the help of Chinese handset vendors with global ambitions.The U.S. company has over 50 million users of its CyanogenMod, which is a modified version of Android that can be installed on smartphones manually. But it’s hoping to proliferate the OS even more, by partnering with Chinese companies to release phones that come with the software.“It’s a great way for them to build some identity outside of China using a brand that’s already reasonably well known,” said Kirt McMaster, the company’s CEO.McMaster made the comment Tuesday in Beijing at the Global Mobile Internet Conference. Although the company’s executives declined to name specific vendors, they said the phones would target the international market, and not mainland China, where competition is already heated.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

First look: Apple’s new MacBook is small, yet completely capable

A few years ago, my first impression of the MacBook Air was generally dismissive -- I felt the Air was underpowered and overpriced -- until I took a second look and realized it was perfect for road warriors. I won't make that mistake twice with Apple's latest MacBook. Like the MacBook Air, the 12-in. MacBook has new design elements that will be a deal-breaker for some and a revelation for others.As of this writing, I've spent less than a week with this laptop -- and the MacBook, with its forward-thinking design and accompanying tradeoffs, is the type of computer that requires time to get a real feel for its strengths and weaknesses. Instead, think of this as more of a first impression; I'll see how these observations hold up when I fully evaluate the MacBook after I've used it more.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Toshiba hopes to charm developers with kits for building wearables

Toshiba is hoping developers will use its application processors to build wearable devices, and has launched hardware and software development kits to help make it happen.The chip industry has become transfixed by the massive potential of the market for wearables and other IoT (Internet of Things) devices. Vendors such as Intel and Broadcom are developing products and offering development tools to make them easier to integrate. Toshiba has now joined the fray.The company’s new development environment includes an HDK (hardware development kit) embedded with the TZ1001MBG application processor, an SDK (software development kit) that runs on it, as well as a software development tool, according to Toshiba.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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