Federal IT projects need critical care

Federal IT projects have hit the critical care list all too often and now watchdogs at the Government Accountability Office have moved those undertakings to its High Risk List which means Congress and the executive branch should take an extra special look at the situation.The GAO puts out the High Risk List every two years at the start of a new Congress, with the notion that resolution to those problems in particular could save billions in taxpayer money. The list currently includes 32 items ranging from climate change and cyber security threat response to Medicaid fraud.+ More on Network World: FBI: The top 3 ways Congress could help fight tenacious cyber threats +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Multi-Container Docker with YAML and Vagrant

In this post, I’ll provide an example of using YAML to create a multi-container Docker environment in Vagrant. I made a brief mention of this technique in my earlier post talking about how to use Docker with Vagrant, but wanted to provide an example. For me, I know that examples are often quite helpful when I’m learning something new. Since one of my primary goals here is to help enable others to learn these technologies, I figured an example would be helpful. So, to that end, here’s an example that I hope will help others.

As is becoming my custom, you can find resources to help you replicate this environment on your own laptop/desktop/whatever via my “learning-tools” GitHub repository.

Before I get into the details, I want to just very quickly recap some information from my earlier post on using Docker with Vagrant:

  • Vagrant has a built-in Docker provider (present since versioni 1.6).
  • Unless running on Linux, Vagrant will (by default) spin up an instance of a boot2docker VM on which to host the Docker containers. If you decide to modify this behavior (see the earlier post for full details), you’ll end up with a second Vagrantfile that Continue reading

Which wireless carrier is best for you? Verizon, probably, but check for yourself

Verizon unquestionably is the best wireless carrier, according to a comprehensive nationwide study of the service provided by the top four U.S. wireless providers during the second half of 2014. That doesn’t mean that it’s the right choice for you. But it's a good starting point to help you choose the right wireless carrier, with a little hand-holding. That’s because the national study, released Tuesday by RootMetrics, doesn’t dive into the specifics for where you live. What it does tell us, however, was which carrier was best in terms of call quality, data download speed, and other metrics. The data is broken down nationally, on a statewide basis, and in tested metro areas.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Which wireless carrier is best for you? Verizon, probably, but check for yourself

Verizon unquestionably is the best wireless carrier, according to a comprehensive nationwide study of the service provided by the top four U.S. wireless providers during the second half of 2014. That doesn’t mean that it’s the right choice for you. But it's a good starting point to help you choose the right wireless carrier, with a little hand-holding. That’s because the national study, released Tuesday by RootMetrics, doesn’t dive into the specifics for where you live. What it does tell us, however, was which carrier was best in terms of call quality, data download speed, and other metrics. The data is broken down nationally, on a statewide basis, and in tested metro areas.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Tim Cook explains what he really thinks of Android

When Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks, the world listens—even if he’s speaking to a room full of bankers and other finance bigwigs at the annual Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.And he didn’t disappoint. Cook announced that Apple is partnering with First Solar to build an $850 million solar farm in Monterey County, Calif. The 1,300-acre farm will produce enough power for Apple’s new campus, currently under construction, along with the company’s data center, offices, and 52 retail stores in California.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD Tim Cook's 2014 pay package dwarfed by new hire Ahrendts' +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

6 things Apple should fix in iOS 9

It’s not a shock to learn that Apple is always hard at work on the next big thing. There will always be another iPhone, a lighter MacBook Air, a faster iMac, and new operating systems to run on them. 9to5Mac reported last week that, according to its unnamed sources, iOS 9 would focus not on new features, but rather on cleaning up iOS and making sure all the bells and whistles added in iOS 7 and iOS 8 work like they’re supposed to, every time.Think of it as the Snow Leopard of iOS. When Apple decided to slow the roll of feature creep in OS X 10.6, the result was an OS that didn’t boast hundreds of new features, but turned out to be stable and reliable—and we loved it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

100G interconnect hooks UConn into massive research databases

The University of Connecticut announced yesterday that it has connected a new 100G fiber link, giving its faculty an improved ability to collaborate with others around the world on data-intensive research projects.The connection links to a global backbone network called Internet2, which is a specialized research and education infrastructure linking government, corporate and academic organizations together.+ ALSO ON NETWORK WORLD: Microsoft to release next generation of Windows Server in 2016 | iPhone still king of enterprise mobile as usage skyrockets, study finds +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

The Upload: Your tech news briefing for Wednesday, February 11

Smartphone thefts fall after kill switches come inLaw enforcement officials who pushed hard for vendors to make smartphones a less attractive target for theft by adding “kill switch” features are pleased to know the tactic is working. Statistics to be released Wednesday show smartphone thefts, particularly for iPhones, trending down significantly in New York, London and San Francisco.Anthem hit for failure to communicateInadequate security practices let hackers steal personal information on about 80 million customers of Anthem, and now inadequate follow-up with those victims by the health insurer has attorneys general in ten U.S. states demanding immediate action. Anthem said last week it would offer free credit monitoring and identity theft protection to victims, but since then, the AGs say, it has provided few additional details and no information about how individuals can sign up. They’re demanding that the insurer commit to reimbursing consumers for hack-related losses incurred between the breach and whenever victims get access to credit and identity theft safeguards.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Uber rolls out safety features in its ride-hailing app across India

Uber Technologies has started a pilot across Indian cities of new safety features for its ride-hailing app, but the new measures may cut no ice with regulators in Delhi where the service was banned.The app will now let users send driver and vehicle details to their relatives and friends, and will also have an SOS button that will enable riders to contact the local authorities in an emergency.Uber was banned from Delhi in December after the alleged rape of a woman passenger by one of its drivers.It announced in January that to keep the service going, it had applied for a license under the city’s revised Radio Taxi Scheme that places tighter controls on taxi operators.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

BGP Route Reflector Clusters

BGP Route reflectors are used as an alternate method to full mesh IBGP and helps for scaling. BGP Route reflector clustering is used to provide redundancy in an RR design. Route Reflectors and its clients create a cluster. In an IBGP topologies, every BGP speaker has to be in a logically full mesh. Route reflectors… Read More »

The post BGP Route Reflector Clusters appeared first on Network Design and Architecture.

Drop in smartphone thefts after kill-switch introduction

The number of thefts and robberies of smartphones, particularly iPhones, is on the fall in New York, London and San Francisco, according to data to be released Wednesday.Law enforcement officials, who have been at the forefront of demands to include a “kill switch” in all smartphones, hailed the news as proof that the technology is working as a deterrent.In San Francisco, overall robberies and thefts dropped 22 percent from 2013 to 2014, but those involving smartphones were down 27 percent. Thefts and robberies of iPhones fell 40 percent. In New York, smartphone theft dropped 16 percent overall with iPhone figures down 25 percent. And London saw smartphone thefts from persons drop 40 percent in a year.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Wi-Fi backers warn about unlicensed LTE while Ericsson claims speed boost

The Wi-Fi Alliance warned that LTE on unlicensed frequencies could interfere with Wi-Fi and said it plans to collaborate with the 3GPP cellular standards group to help prevent that.Mobile operators are starting to explore the use of the unlicensed 5GHz band for LTE even though many Wi-Fi networks rely on those frequencies. On Tuesday, Ericsson announced it’s testing unlicensed LTE with Qualcomm and that SK Telecom, T-Mobile USA and Verizon are interested in the technology.Most countries set aside large portions of the 5GHz band for use without a license, and Wi-Fi has become a major user of that spectrum. Mobile operators are allowed to use the band even though they have their own licensed frequencies, but LTE wasn’t developed to coexist with other networks in that kind of environment.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Apple’s $710 billion market cap sets new record

At the close of trading on Tuesday, shares of Apple rested at $122.02 a share. Not only did the closing price represent an all-time stock high for the company, it also gave Apple a market cap of $710.74 billion. As a result, Apple is now the first U.S. company to close out the trading day with a market cap over $700 billion.Highlighting the financial behemoth that is Apple, here's how Apple's own market cap stacks up against some other notable tech heavyweights: Amazon has a market cap of $172 billion, Google has a market cap of $358 billion, while Microsoft has a market cap of $346 billion.In a broad sense, Tim Cook clearly knows what he's doing. Taking a closer look at Apple's stock price, however, one can't help but mention Apple's capital return program. When Apple began issuing dividends and engaging in stock buybacks, the company's share price saw an immediate boost. For starters, Apple as a dividend stock instantly became more appealing to large funds. More specifically, a number of large mutual funds are governed by rules which only allow them to invest in dividend paying stocks. Second, Apple's stock buyback program helps Continue reading

Using Docker with Vagrant

As part of my ongoing effort to create tools to assist others in learning some of the new technologies out there, I spent a bit of time today working through the use of Docker with Vagrant. Neither of these technologies should be new to my readers; I’ve already provided quick introductory posts to both (see here and here). However, using these two together may provide a real benefit for users who are new to either technology, so I’d like to take a bit and show you how to use Docker with Vagrant.

Background

Vagrant first started shipping with a Docker provider as part of the core product in version 1.6 (recall that Vagrant uses the concept of providers to support multiple backend virtualization solutions). Therefore, if you’ve installed any recent version of Vagrant, you already have the Docker provider as part of your Vagrant installation.

However, while you may have the Docker provider as part of Vagrant, you still need Docker itself (just like if you have the VMware provider for Vagrant, you still need the appropriate VMware product—VMware Fusion on the Mac or VMware Workstation on Windows/Linux) in order to provide the functionality Vagrant will consume. Continue reading

Native TFTP and FTP Server in OSX

As a System Engineer, I do occasionally have to do real field work. When that happens, having access to a TFTP and FTP server is sometimes required. Although the [lack of] UI makes the use counterintuitive, these tools are available in OSX. This post includes the commands required to enable, confirm, and disable both TFTP and FTP in the native Mac environment.

TFTP Server

//load the TFTP daemon (typically starts automatically)
sudo launchctl load -F /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist

//confirm that TFTP is listening (netstat)
netstat -atp UDP | grep tftp
--output--
udp6       0      0  *.tftp                 *.*   //IPv6 Listening                         
udp4       0      0  *.tftp                 *.*   //IPv4 Listening     

//unload the TFTP daemon
sudo launchctl unload -F /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/tftp.plist

//confirm that TFTP is no longer listening (netstat)
netstat -atp UDP | grep tftp
--no output--

TFTP Caveats

  • Default Directory is /private/tftpboot
  • Copying a file from a device to the TFTP server requires it be “pre” created (Hint: sudo touch /private/tftpboot/<filename>)
  • File permissions typically need to be modified (Hint: sudo chmod 766 /private/tftpboot/*)
  • I just use my TFTP directory for transient file transfers

FTP Server

//load the FTP daemon (typically starts automatically)
sudo launchctl load -w /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/ftp.plist

//confirm that FTP is listening (netstat)
netstat  Continue reading

How to set up a new user on your Amazon AWS server

I recently set up a free Amazon AWS server. As I experimented with it, I installed a GUI desktop. Then I encountered some issues that I eventually resolved by creating a new user with its own password and then using that user for the rest of my activities.

For my own reference, and in the hope others will find it useful, here is the procedure I followed:

  1. Create a new userid, with password
  2. Add the new user to the *sudoers* file
  3. Install the AWS server’s public key for the new user
  4. Log in as the new user

I posted the details in my blog post, below.

Why do we need a password?

The default ubuntu userid does not have a password. The Amazon AWS documentation on managing users recommends creating new users with password disabled. So, why set up a new user with a password?

After installing a GUI desktop, you need to a use a password to authenticate operations performed by GUI software such as Ubuntu Software Center. I did not see any problems caused by configuring a user password. I found it was best to work in a “normal” Linux user account that has a password.

Create a Continue reading

Apple’s massive solar farm could power its entire California operations

Apple is investing in a vast solar plant in Northern California that will generate as much electricity as the company uses to power all its operations in the state.Apple will invest $850 million in the plant through a partnership with First Solar, CEO Tim Cook said Tuesday. It will cover 1,300 acres—equal to about 1,000 football fields—in Monterey County, about an hour south of Apples Silicon Valley headquarters.The plant will generate enough energy that it could power Apples entire operations in California, including its data center, retail stores and offices. That’s also enough energy to power 15,000 California homes, Cook said.It doesn’t mean Apple’s stores and offices will consume power directly from the plant. But the investment allows Apple to lock in a low, fixed rate for renewable energy, and probably also obtain renewable energy certificates to offset its carbon foot print.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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