FCC moves toward ‘historic’ spectrum sharing plan

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved what some commissioners called a "historic" plan to allow private mobile broadband services to share spectrum with incumbent military users.The FCC voted Friday to approve its so-called Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) plan to open up wireless frequencies from 3550MHz to 3700MHz to new users, including new devices that could use the spectrum like current devices use Wi-Fi.MORE ON NETWORK WORLD: The 700MHZ spectrum: Who owns what? Commercial access to the spectrum may still be years away, and the FCC has several sticky issues it needs to resolve, including questions about the best ways to limit inference between users in the band. But with little new spectrum available to satisfy skyrocketing demand for mobile data services, some commissioners hailed the spectrum-sharing plan as a new model for dealing with a spectrum shortage.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Spec showdown: Samsung Galaxy S6 vs. Huawei P8

The Samsung Galaxy S6 is now the benchmark for high-end smartphones running Android, but there are lots of challengers, including the new P8 from Huawei Technologies.The two smartphone vendors have had many of the same goals when building their respective smartphones, including improving the looks and the cameras. But there are still differences that will likely sway you one way or the other. Here’s a spec comparison between the phones:DesignA more premium design has been a common theme for this year’s launches of high-end smartphones. In this regard, both Huawei and Samsung have succeeded. The P8 has a metal unibody design and the Galaxy S6 combines a metal frame with a glass back. They are both good-looking devices, but neither design is very original. The P8 looks a little bland because Huawei doesn’t put its logo on the front.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

4 lessons the iPhone should learn from the Apple Watch

For the past eight years, the iPhone has been the innovator. Whether we’re talking about hardware breakthroughs, software solutions, or just plain good looks, the iPhone has always taken the lead, ushering in the latest technologies and design shifts before any other device: the Retina screen, Siri, Lightning, Touch ID, Apple Pay—even the new MacBook’s shiny gold case owes a debt to the iPhone 5s.MORE: 10 mobile startups to watch For the first time since its debut, the iPhone isn’t the most cutting-edge piece of technology in Apple’s lineup. While Apple Watch borrowed some of the iPhone 6’s style and smarts, it also brings a host of new features and technologies made possible by the uniqueness of the device. So while I wouldn’t expect the next iPhone to sport a Digital Crown or a dedicated Friends button, there are still plenty of tricks it can learn from the new kid on the block.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google seeks $19.8M tax break in Iowa

Google needs a tax break like Bill Gates needs food stamps, yet that isn’t stopping the search giant from asking for $19.8 million in “economic development incentives” from Iowa to build a $1-billion expansion of its growing data center facility in Council Bluffs.And, well, why not ask? The company has already been given $16.8 million in tax breaks to build out the various stages of the existing Council Bluffs facility, which opened in 2007.According to this Omaha World-Herald report, the latest tax break is expected to be approved by the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Council Bluffs City Council with little or no opposition.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

PlexxiPulse—Are you ready for Interop 2015?

We had a great time showcasing the CloudOOP Big Data Pod at HIMSS this week with our new partner, PSSC Labs. We are back in Nashua and the team is busy gearing up for Interop 2015 in Las Vegas. CEO Rich Napolitano and other members of the Plexxi team will be at the show from April 28–30 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. We have a lineup of demos you will not want to miss. Drop us a line on Twitter or email [email protected] if you are interested in meeting with the team at the show. We’ll see you there!

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

Enterprise Networking Planet: Optimizing SDN for the Coming Data Deluge
By Arthur Cole
There are two ways of looking at the state of enterprise technology today. Either challenges like Big Data and the Internet of Things are fueling the development of the cloud and software defined infrastructure, or cloud and SDx development are driving Big Data and the IoT. Either way, these twin forces affecting Information Technology have at least given the enterprise a goal and the means Continue reading

Pawn Storm cyberespionage group increases activity, targets NATO

Even though its activities were exposed last year, a cyberespionage group dubbed Pawn Storm has ramped up its efforts over the past few months, targeting NATO members and potentially the White House.The first quarter of this year “has seen a great deal of activity from the group,” researchers from antivirus firm Trend Micro said Thursday in a blog post. “Most notably this involved setting up dozens of exploit URLs and a dozen new command-and-control (C&C) servers targeting NATO members and governments in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Show 233 – Cisco Nexus Using BGP As A VXLAN Control Plane – Sponsored

Lukas Krattiger, Technical Marketing Engineer and Samir Thoria, Principal Engineer at Cisco join Ethan Banks and Greg Ferro for a discussion of how the Cisco Nexus 9K switching platform can use BGP as a control plane for VXLAN.

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 233 – Cisco Nexus Using BGP As A VXLAN Control Plane – Sponsored appeared first on Packet Pushers Podcast and was written by Ethan Banks.

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, April 17

Wikileaks goes to HollywoodWikiLeaks won plaudits from people who want to see the workings of government exposed to daylight, by publishing a vast trove of U.S. data several years ago. Now, it’s decided to expose another cache of purloined information that has decidedly less obvious benefit for the public interest. It’s put up a searchable database of the documents stolen from Sony Pictures last year in a high-profile hack, using the rationalization that basically, big companies should have their dirty washing hung out just because (insert reference to military-industrial complex here). Those who can’t wait to read a Hollywood executive’s true feelings about a certain famous actress would probably agree.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Friday, April 17

Wikileaks goes to HollywoodWikiLeaks won plaudits from people who want to see the workings of government exposed to daylight, by publishing a vast trove of U.S. data several years ago. Now, it’s decided to expose another cache of purloined information that has decidedly less obvious benefit for the public interest. It’s put up a searchable database of the documents stolen from Sony Pictures last year in a high-profile hack, using the rationalization that basically, big companies should have their dirty washing hung out just because (insert reference to military-industrial complex here). Those who can’t wait to read a Hollywood executive’s true feelings about a certain famous actress would probably agree.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

SD-WAN’s Value Prop Conundrum

My interpretation of the SD-WAN value prop can be boiled down to cost savings, simplified operations, and improved application performance over inconsistently performing WAN links. Here's the conundrum. An engineer might instinctively recoil at this sort of value proposition.

LA school district seeks millions from Apple over iPad software woes

The Los Angeles Unified School District is seeking a multimillion dollar refund from Apple over a failed project to provide 650,000 students with iPads they could use at home.LA Unified approached Apple in 2013 about using its tablets as part of an ambitious project to provide every student, teacher and administrator in the U.S.'s second-largest school district with an iPad.The initiative, then known as the Common Core Technology Project, would cost around US$1.3 billion, the school district said at the time, with half that figure going to Apple and the remainder being used to build out wireless networks at the schools.Apple hired Pearson Education as a subcontractor to develop software for the iPads, but according to a letter the school district sent to Apple this week, a "vast majority" of the student have been unable to use the software.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Whistleblowers at risk when using US government websites

More than two dozen U.S. government websites should be urgently upgraded to use encryption, as whistleblowers are potentially at risk, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.At least 29 websites that can be used for reporting abuse and fraud don’t use encryption, the ACLU said in a letter sent on Tuesday to the U.S.’s top technology chief, CIO Tony Scott.There has been a broad push recently to move websites to using SSL/TLS (secure sockets layer/transport security layer) encryption. Most e-commerce sites use SSL/TLS, but the case has grown stronger for its broader adoption because of a surge in state-sponsored espionage and cybercriminal activity.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Flip Side of Overlays

Why Labeled BGP on White Box Will Disrupt How We Buy Routers

For those of us that are old enough to have or remember a record collection, there is familiarity (and probably a little nostalgia) for the term “flip side.” In this context, flip side refers to the B-side of a standard vinyl record, and refers to secondary recordings or bonus tracks that weren’t as heavily marketed as their A-side counterparts.

Why am I writing about an antiquated music medium? And what does this have to do with networking? I bring this up because it’s an interesting parallel with what’s happening with network overlays – and specifically, how these are viewed from the “flip side,” or in other words, the different points of view from the consumer and the provider.

First off, some background. In the simplest terms, an overlay is a logical network that enables you to create paths and connections on top of (and in many cases, regardless of) the physical connections between the end points. More importantly, overlays are a critical construct because they enable network operators to create more virtual subnets – which in turn support multi-tenancy, VM mobility, and service differentiation.

These are all Continue reading

Eyes turn to Ericsson, Juniper

Now that Nokia’s made its move for Alcatel-Lucent, speculation is rampant on how Nokia rival Ericsson might respond. And the presumed target for Ericsson is Juniper.By buying Alcatel-Lucent, Nokia would become the leading provider of wireless equipment to service providers and significantly expand its wireline portfolio, making it a more formidable competitor to Ericsson. Specific wireline assets to be gained from Alcatel-Lucent would be the core and edge routers sold to service providers, of which Alcatel-Lucent is the No. 4 and No. 2 player in the industry, respectively.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Solidarity

The government's zealous War on Hackers threatens us, the good hackers who stop the bad ones. They can't tell the good witches from the bad witches. When members of our community get threatened by the system, we should probably do more to stand in solidarity with them. I mention this because many of you will be flying to SFO this coming week for the RSA Conference, which gives us an opportunity to show solidarity.

Today, a security researcher tweeted a joke while on a plane. When he landed, the FBI grabbed him and confiscated all his stuff. The tweets are here:



Chris Roberts' area of research is embedded control systems like those on planes. It's not simply that the FBI grabbed him because of a random person on a plane, but specifically because he's a security researcher. He's on the FBI's radar (so to speak) for things like this Fox News interview.

I suggest we all start joke tweeting along these lines,  from the airplanes, like:

DFW->SFO. Playing with airplane wifi. I Continue reading
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