The myth about how Amazon’s Web service started just won’t die

There’s a rumor that goes around cloud circles about how Amazon.com created what is now the multi-billion dollar infrastructure as a service (IaaS) cloud computing industry in the early 2000s.Some people wrongly assume that Amazon had spare, excess computing capacity from their ecommerce site that was used as the basis for Amazon Web Services' (AWS) cloud.It’s something that Benjamin Black has heard a lot. But it’s not true. And he would know: Black is widely credited with co-authoring the initial proposal at Amazon that led to the creation of AWS.“Why will that not die?” Black says about the rumor. “It’s totally false.”+MORE AT NETWORK WORLD: 10 Tips to not get burned by Microsoft and other cloud SLAs +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Managing VMware vSphere guests with Ansible Tower

There are lots of ways to enable self-service VMs within an organisation - what some might call 'a private cloud'. However, these usually require layers and layers of complex software. What if you could leverage your existing hypervisor and 15 lines of code to do the same? And what if those 15 lines became an even simpler single click?

Ansible Core contains a module for managing virtual machines in VMware vSphere environments called vsphere_guest. Using this one module we can talk to an existing vSphere instance to create new VMs, clone VM templates, and control and delete VMs. Couple up a simple playbook with Ansible Tower and we can do some pretty amazing things with very little effort.

Here's our playbook to create a new virtual machine from a template in vSphere:

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The really important bit that's doing the work is the 15 lines associated with the 'Create VM from template' task. Note the extensive use of variables in this play to give us lots of flexibility. We'll make use of this in Tower in just a moment.

Tower 2.1 introduced 'Surveys', which are a great way to create interactive forms for a given play. The form can Continue reading

Jolla’s Sailfish tablet shows promise thanks to upgraded OS

Finnish company Jolla seems to be making good progress on its first tablet, which runs an improved version of its Sailfish operating system.Since its inception in 2011, Jolla has bet on the Sailfish OS to differentiate itself from the competition on smartphones and now tablets. Android and iOS may dominate the tablet market, but Jolla’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign has showed there is an appetite, albeit not very big, for products running other OSes. The company has so far sold about 10,000 tablets after two rounds on Indiegogo, the second of which is still running.Development on the tablet has come a long way since the product was first announced back in November. Back then it wasn’t much more than a mock-up, but at an event on Monday the company showed the tablet running an upgraded version of Sailfish without many glitches.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Jolla’s Sailfish tablet shows promise thanks to upgraded OS

Finnish company Jolla seems to be making good progress on its first tablet, which runs an improved version of its Sailfish operating system. Since its inception in 2011, Jolla has bet on the Sailfish OS to differentiate itself from the competition on smartphones and now tablets. Android and iOS may dominate the tablet market, but Jolla’s Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign has showed there is an appetite, albeit not very big, for products running other OSes. The company has so far sold about 10,000 tablets after two rounds on Indiegogo, the second of which is still running.+ See our full coverage of MWC 2015 +To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Europe’s political youth organizations demand strict net neutrality rules

European political youth organizations have demanded that European countries draft strict and clear net neutrality rules that prevent ISPs from discriminating against certain Internet traffic.In order to keep the Internet open, all data on the Internet should be treated equally, 51 youth organizations said in a manifest sent to European ministers on Monday.The ministers, gathered in the Council of the EU, are in the process of discussing a new EU telecom law as proposed by the European Commission and the European Parliament that contains clauses on net neutrality and roaming. The Parliament in April last year voted to enshrine net neutrality in EU law, so that all traffic would be treated equally and without discrimination. However, the Council is trying to get some traffic discrimination back into the draft.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Why small ISPs support net neutrality

In the wake of the FCC's landmark decision last week to classify broadband internet access as a public utility, it was easy to see the battle over net neutrality as a conflict between Democrats and Republicans, between the companies that provide content over the internet and companies that supply the "pipes" that deliver that content.But according to Dane Jasper, CEO and co-founder of California-based ISP Sonic, that would be far too simplistic an analysis. In reality, Jasper says, the warring principles behind net neutrality cut across those lines in surprising ways. As chief executive of a company competing with the big carriers, Jasper clearly has an agenda. But his viewpoint also makes it clear that the carrier industry is not uniformly opposed to net neutrality and Title II regulation.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s Pichai on Xiaomi, Cyanogen and the Apple Watch

In a wide-ranging discussion on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai offered his views on lots of issues at the heart of the mobile telecommunications industry.He used the time to confirm Google’s plans to launch a mobile carrier in the U.S. and gave an update on progress of its ambitious Project Loon and Project Titan airborne Internet experiments. Here’s what else he said:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s Pichai on Xiaomi, Cyanogen and the Apple Watch

In a wide-ranging discussion on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai offered his views on lots of issues at the heart of the mobile telecommunications industry.He used the time to confirm Google’s plans to launch a mobile carrier in the U.S. and gave an update on progress of its ambitious Project Loon and Project Titan airborne Internet experiments. Here’s what else he said:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s Pichai on Xiaomi, Cyanogen and the Apple Watch

In a wide-ranging discussion on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai offered his views on lots of issues at the heart of the mobile telecommunications industry.+ See our full coverage of MWC 2015 +He used the time to confirm Google’s plans to launch a mobile carrier in the U.S. and gave an update on progress of its ambitious Project Loon and Project Titan airborne Internet experiments. Here’s what else he said:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google’s Pichai on Xiaomi, Cyanogen and the Apple Watch

In a wide-ranging discussion on stage at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Google senior vice president Sundar Pichai offered his views on lots of issues at the heart of the mobile telecommunications industry.+ See our full coverage of MWC 2015 +He used the time to confirm Google’s plans to launch a mobile carrier in the U.S. and gave an update on progress of its ambitious Project Loon and Project Titan airborne Internet experiments. Here’s what else he said:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HP will buy Aruba to bolster its wireless networking business

Hewlett-Packard will purchase Aruba Networks to boost its wireless networking business, the companies announced Monday.HP will offer $24.67 per share, giving Aruba a $3 billion value. The deal is worth $2.7 billion taking into account Aruba's debt and cash.MORE: 8 ways to celebrate Raspberry Pi's 3rd birthdayBy buying Aruba, HP will be able to help businesses beef up their wireless networks to meet the demands of an increasingly mobile workforce, the companies said.This is HP's first major acquisition since CEO Meg Whitman announced last year that the company would split into two. One half will focus on enterprise products and the other well sell printers and PCs.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

HP will buy Aruba to bolster its wireless networking business

Hewlett-Packard will purchase Aruba Networks to boost its wireless networking business, the companies announced Monday.HP will offer $24.67 per share, giving Aruba a $3 billion value. The deal is worth $2.7 billion taking into account Aruba's debt and cash.MORE: 8 ways to celebrate Raspberry Pi's 3rd birthdayBy buying Aruba, HP will be able to help businesses beef up their wireless networks to meet the demands of an increasingly mobile workforce, the companies said.This is HP's first major acquisition since CEO Meg Whitman announced last year that the company would split into two. One half will focus on enterprise products and the other well sell printers and PCs.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Iran ready to work with Google, other global Internet companies

Iran is ready to cooperate with Google and other global Internet companies to allow them to operate in the country, according to Iranian media reports.Talks are already under way with Google to place servers in Iran, according to a report Sunday from the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA). The article quoted remarks made to local press by the country’s deputy minister of telecommunications and information technology, Nasrollah Jahangard.Similar negotiations are ongoing with several other major U.S. and European Internet companies, according to IRNA.In a separate report from the Fars News Agency (FNA), Iran’s semi-official news agency, Jahangard was quoted saying “We are ready to provide Google or any other company with Iran’s possibilities and facilities for service providing to the region.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Small mesh networks will soon help you find things

The famous adage, attributed to many different wits, goes along the lines of "insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results."Well, maybe that's a bit harsh, but I think you could argue that an indication of intelligence is not repeating the same unproductive act over and over again. And if that's the case, then why do we always misplace things?Surely, the clever thing to do would be to always put things, like car keys, in the same place each time. Like when arriving home, for example. But some of the smartest people I know don't do that.And before we get into a debate about whether those folks are indeed smart—as they look for their keys, I can happily announce that the whole argument is about to become moot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

IDG Contributor Network: Small mesh networks will soon help you find things

The famous adage, attributed to many different wits, goes along the lines of "insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results."Well, maybe that's a bit harsh, but I think you could argue that an indication of intelligence is not repeating the same unproductive act over and over again. And if that's the case, then why do we always misplace things?Surely, the clever thing to do would be to always put things, like car keys, in the same place each time. Like when arriving home, for example. But some of the smartest people I know don't do that.And before we get into a debate about whether those folks are indeed smart—as they look for their keys, I can happily announce that the whole argument is about to become moot.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Guest Blog: REST API for Cumulus Linux ACLs

Cumulus Linux: REST API for Cumulus Linux ACLs

RESTful control of Cumulus Linux ACLs included a proof of concept script that demonstrated how to remotely control iptables entries in Cumulus Linux.  Cumulus Linux in turn converts the standard Linux iptables rules into the hardware ACLs implemented by merchant silicon switch ASICs to deliver line rate filtering.

Previous blog posts demonstrated how remote control of Cumulus Linux ACLs can be used for DDoS mitigationand Large “Elephant” flow marking.

A more advanced version of the script is now available on GitHub

The new script adds the following features:

  1. It now runs as a daemon.
  2. Exceptions generated by cl-acltool are caught and handled
  3. Rules are compiled asynchronously, reducing response time of REST calls
  4. Updates are batched, supporting hundreds of operations per second

The script doesn’t provide any security, which may be acceptable if access to the REST API is limited to the management port, but is generally unacceptable for production deployments.

Fortunately, Cumulus Linux is a open Linux distribution that allows additional software components to be installed. Rather than being forced to add authentication and encryption to the script, it is possible to install additional software and leverage the capabilities of a mature web server such as Apache. The Continue reading

Google sees success with balloon, airplane Internet

Google’s ambitious efforts to bring balloon and aircraft-borne connectivity to underserved areas of the globe are pushing past some key milestones and the company expects a public launch in a few years.Both projects have captured the imagination of many for their ability to beam Internet signals from platforms high up in the sky to areas without cellular networks, but represent significant engineering challenges for Google—just the kind of thing the company likes, said Sundar Pichai, a senior vice president at Google, speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.The oldest and perhaps best known of the two projects, Project Loon, seeks to use balloons flying around 20 kilometers (65,000 feet) above the Earth to deliver Internet signals. The company’s first experiments used a proprietary WiFi signal but that’s since changed to LTE cellular signals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Google sees success with balloon, airplane Internet

Google’s ambitious efforts to bring balloon and aircraft-borne connectivity to underserved areas of the globe are pushing past some key milestones and the company expects a public launch in a few years. Both projects have captured the imagination of many for their ability to beam Internet signals from platforms high up in the sky to areas without cellular networks, but represent significant engineering challenges for Google—just the kind of thing the company likes, said Sundar Pichai, a senior vice president at Google, speaking at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The oldest and perhaps best known of the two projects, Project Loon, seeks to use balloons flying around 20 kilometers (65,000 feet) above the Earth to deliver Internet signals. The company’s first experiments used a proprietary WiFi signal but that’s since changed to LTE cellular signals.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

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