Networking

Cisco revenues up, customers warming to new products

Cisco revenues in the last quarter rose 6% as businesses took advantage of a strong economy to refresh networks and deploy new products. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

New Dell EMC 100 GbE switch tailored for east-west traffic

The latest Dell EMC 100 GbE switch is an open system aimed at service providers and large enterprises. The Z9264F is a 2RU system, with 64 100 GbE ports. Pricing starts at $45,000. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Active-active data centers key to high-availability application resilience

Enterprises dependent upon a high-availability application should investigate active-active data center designs to ensure reliability and resiliency. Continue Reading

By

• Terry Slattery, NetCraftsmen

Array bolsters throughput, security in NFV appliance

Array Networks has added support for 40 GbE interfaces in its NFV appliance. The AVX hardware also has higher throughput for encrypted traffic. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

What key network performance issues spark service disruptions?

From cabling to capacity issues, IT professionals need to consider all possibilities when rooting out the underlying cause of network performance problems. Continue Reading

By

• Amy Larsen DeCarlo, GlobalData

Which SD-WAN security concerns should I tackle first?

IT teams thinking about software-defined WAN technology should assess a few SD-WAN security concerns before deployment to make sure it's worth the investment. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

Mist Systems gives VMware NSX SD-WAN a boost

Arista Networks and VMware are focusing on Wi-Fi to bolster products for the wireless LAN. Wi-Fi vendor Mist is strengthening VMware's NSX SD-WAN and Arista has acquired Mojo. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

ITSM automation helps advance network automation

IT service management helps close the gap between IT staff and business needs, as artificial intelligence and machine learning work with ITSM automation to usher in network automation. Continue Reading

By

• Amy Larsen DeCarlo, GlobalData

Juniper boosting performance of SRX5000 firewall for IoT, 5G

Juniper Networks has released an acceleration card for its SRX5000 line of firewalls. The SPC3 card readies the product for IoT, 5G and multi-cloud applications. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

What it takes to be a steward of your SDN career

When it comes to SDN careers and training, the impetus is on vendors, enterprises and individual network professionals to create and pursue training and certification opportunities. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Assess technology and products from top SD-WAN vendors

SD-WAN products and services offer a variety of features and deployment options. Learn how top SD-WAN vendors stack up when it comes to addressing your key considerations. Continue Reading

By

• Lee Doyle, Doyle Research

Software networking supports campus network convergence

Software networking, along with intent-based capabilities, can help improve campus network visibility and authentication, while also supporting Ethernet and Wi-Fi convergence. Continue Reading

By

• Lee Doyle, Doyle Research

Cisco Viptela integrated with IOS XE on ISR, ASR

Companies unhappy with iWAN on ISR can switch to Cisco Viptela. The networking company has integrated the Viptela SD-WAN with IOS XE, the ISR network operating system. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Arista, Cisco agree to stop patent suits for five years

The Arista-Cisco agreement includes Arista paying $400 million to end their patent infringement dispute. The companies also agreed to a lawsuit moratorium on existing products. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Benefits of wireless networks extend to disaster recovery plans

In a business continuity and disaster recovery plan, IT resilience is key. Find out how the benefits of wireless networks can help keep businesses running. Continue Reading

By

• Craig Mathias

How micro modular data centers simplify complex network routes

The deployment of prefabricated micro modular data centers could ease network traffic to customer premises and multiple clouds by processing data locally at the network edge. Continue Reading

By

• Amy Larsen DeCarlo, GlobalData

Network performance metrics pose data center challenges

Currently, network performance metrics are not fully formed and offer just a generic view of the network. Plus, metrics produce reams of data that are difficult to digest. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

Cisco bolsters cloud security with Duo acquisition

Cisco has bought Duo Security to add its two-step authentication services to Cisco's cloud-based security offerings. Cisco plans to close the Duo acquisition by October. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Kontron heeds carrier demand for software, buys Inocybe

Kontron has bought open source networking company Inocybe. The specialty hardware maker is adding SDN software to its portfolio as telco customers buy more commodity systems. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

How hackers use idle scans in port scan attacks

Hackers exploit port scan attacks to mask their identities before launching an attack. One of their favorites: the idle scan. Continue Reading

By

• Fernando Gont, SI6 Networks

Origin authentication a small step toward resolving BGP security issues

Although content verification, origin authentication and shared information can address aspects of BGP security, it's unlikely we'll be able to resolve the issues completely. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

What networking automation tools should you consider?

When launching network automation projects, do you craft custom scripts or buy off-the-shelf networking automation tools? It probably depends on your team's capabilities. Continue Reading

By

• Dan Conde

Social concept points to an SDN model with two control planes

It might not seem like control planes and SDN models have a lot in common with a social concept, but together, they could highlight how business intent and operations inform network design. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

Juniper multi-cloud strategy aimed at enterprise data centers

The Juniper multi-cloud strategy is aimed at expanding the vendor's reach beyond carriers and the largest enterprises. Key to the game plan is Contrail Enterprise Multicloud. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Compare leading on-premises and cloud-managed WLAN products

In order for your organization to select the WLAN architecture that will best meet its needs, you must compare product types, deployment options and capabilities. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

How to check for high network utilization

Learn why high utilization issues in the network arise, how to detect them, and two ways to grapple with the problem to keep network latency low and application performance high. Continue Reading

By

• Terry Slattery, NetCraftsmen

SR-IOV specification poses promise and pitfalls in virtualized networks

The SR-IOV specification gives network administrators another tool for workload optimization. While SR-IOV could offer many benefits, it does have its drawbacks. Continue Reading

By

• Glen Kemp

What you need to know about managed SD-WAN services

This guide offers easy access to information on five major topics related to managed SD-WAN services and directs you toward the latest advice, tips and recommendations. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

How to set up network analytics tools for successful monitoring

Learn which analytics tools help monitor the network and what systems and processes you should work out in advance to make them as effective as possible. Continue Reading

By

• Alan R. Earls

Will network management functions as a service arrive soon?

Network management as a service isn't widespread, at least not yet. But if past history is any indication, its popularity is bound to grow, once certain hurdles are overcome. Continue Reading

By

• Alan R. Earls

Windstream SD-WAN gets help connecting to the cloud

Windstream has introduced technology for connecting the Windstream SD-WAN to public clouds. SD-WAN Cloud Connect will support AWS and Microsoft Azure starting next month. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Avi load balancer gets tighter with Cisco products

The Avi load balancer is more tightly integrated with Cisco ACI in the latest Avi Vantage Platform upgrade. Vantage 18.1 also sends more data to Cisco AppDynamics and Tetration. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Assessing performance bottlenecks in virtualized networking

Virtual or soft switches can add measurable overhead to network-intensive workloads, but implementing PCI devices offers one option to reduce excess overhead. Continue Reading

By

• Glen Kemp

How can network analytics tools benefit IT staff?

Network analytics tools can help IT managers proactively pinpoint network performance issues and trends -- even before the underlying problem is revealed. Continue Reading

By

• Craig Mathias

Midyear 2018 telecom trends: Operators broaden their focus

Midyear 2018 telecom trends show operators looking to increase profits on a number of fronts ranging from new investments, network automation and rethinking the 5G transition. Continue Reading

By

• Tom Nolle, Andover Intel

Does software-defined networking architecture need network overlays?

Network overlays and software-defined networking architecture share a history. But while overlays offer flexibility, they also bring extra overhead and troubleshooting complications. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

Juniper preps 400 GbE across PTX, MX and QFX hardware

Juniper will ship 400 GbE in PTX, MX and QFX routers and switches over the next 12 months. Cisco and Arista are expected to follow with their 400 GbE products as demand from service providers rises. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

New details released on Huawei's intent-based network

ZK Research offers details on Huawei's new Intent-Driven Network and what its hardware and the software can do to smooth network glitches and even raise security. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Don't forget SD-WAN during your next network infrastructure upgrade

SD-WAN can be a natural progression for enterprises facing a network infrastructure upgrade. But a refresh with SD-WAN deployment requires more than a 'hope for the best' attitude. Continue Reading

By

• John Burke, Nemertes Research

Options for DNS in networking address growing challenges

A need for modern DNS in networking has grown out of increased cloud use and distributed applications. Now, vendors are offering these services for internal enterprise use. Continue Reading

By

• Kate Gerwig, Editorial Director

Startup Arrcus aims NOS at Cisco, Juniper in the data center

Startup Arrcus has launched a scalable network operating system aimed at all switching tasks in the leaf-spine network. The new ArcOS is a NOS alternative to Cisco and Juniper. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Should IT share data analysis from network management consoles?

By making data analysis available from a network management console, IT groups could offer their lines of business better insights into end-user productivity. Continue Reading

By

• Craig Mathias

Cato Networks adds 'identity awareness' to SD-WAN as a service

Cato Networks SD-WAN as a service was updated this week with identity-aware routing. The vendor claims identity awareness can simplify network operations and better meet business goals. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Big Switch taps AWS VPCs for hybrid cloud networking

Big Switch plans to roll out software for creating virtual networks in AWS and a private cloud. The hybrid cloud technology takes advantage of AWS VPCs. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Can hyper-converged systems benefit from SDN architecture?

Hyper-convergence combined with software-defined networking architecture might seem like hyper-hype, but SDN offers many network capabilities required of hyper-converged systems. Continue Reading

By

• Lee Doyle, Doyle Research

Understanding the exploit market: How data breaches happen

When you understand how data breaches happen, applying software patches quickly is crucial to minimize your chances of being on the wrong end of the ever-faster exploit market. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

Fortinet transitions from partner to FortiGate SD-WAN vendor

In a change from forging security partnerships with SD-WAN vendors, Fortinet introduced FortiGate SD-WAN, which integrates SD-WAN into its FortiGate next-generation firewall appliance. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Leading SD-WAN providers offer varying capabilities

By examining how leading SD-WAN providers address technology, market reach, partnerships and long-term viability, you can select an SD-WAN product to fit your organization's needs. Continue Reading

By

• Lee Doyle, Doyle Research

New generation of network analytics software starting to emerge

Some of the newest network analytics tools can learn how a network is supposed to operate, warn managers of potential problems and offer ways to solve issues. Continue Reading

By

• Dan Conde

Experts skeptical an AWS switch is coming

An AWS switch -- reportedly possible in the next 18 months -- would not benefit the cloud provider's customers, experts said. Instead, AWS needs to offer better connectivity. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

How to simplify your overly complex networking design

If you flood your networking design with extraneous features and don't have a firm understanding of the overall system, you might fall into a complexity wormhole. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

IT spending shows cloud-focused data center architectures

Corporate IT spending shows companies are revamping data center architectures in preparation for a multi-cloud future. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

UNH InterOperability Lab expands IPv6 testing amid SDN growth

UNH-IOL updated its IPv6 testing program to comply with newly released regulations for network devices procured by government agencies, adding SDN and IoT support along the way. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Vendors vie for a piece of the SD-WAN market share pie

The SD-WAN vendor market is showing some signs of consolidation. But it will remain volatile in the near term, and that should prove beneficial to customers. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Hybrid cloud strategies should be reimagined as multi-cloud

The tech industry needs to change the way it defines hybrid cloud. A multi-cloud environment is often a more accurate description and worthwhile goal. Continue Reading

By

• John Fruehe

MU-MIMO technology boosts system capacity for WLANs

MU-MIMO technology might not be magic, but it upgrades WLAN performance and system capacity so well that some network engineers might call it magical. Continue Reading

By

• Craig Mathias

Cisco, Samsung finish 5G trial for home, IoT applications

Cisco, Samsung and French carrier Orange have completed a successful 5G trial. The companies' fixed wireless network delivered HD video to homes and provided IoT services. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Four ways to improve network security for modern networks

The green padlock on websites doesn't improve network security, so our expert addresses four ways to secure the modern network that move beyond the castle-wall analogy. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

HPE aims new SimpliVity HCI at edge computing

Hewlett Packard Enterprise has launched a 2U SimpliVity HCI product for virtual desktops. The condensed compute and storage system will later be offered for IoT applications. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Cradlepoint router boosts network flexibility for dance group

Connecting an audience to the motion and music of a dance production takes more than dance and musical skills. For one professor, it required network flexibility and the Cradlepoint AER2100 router. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Vodafone puts Facebook Voyager through its paces

Vodafone said it has finished successfully testing the open source Facebook Voyager transponder on a live network in Spain. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Four misconceptions regarding the benefits of SD-WAN

It's all too easy to get sucked into the buzz and misconceptions around software-defined WAN technology. Here are four points to be aware of about the touted benefits of SD-WAN. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sturt, Netify

Network security issues top the list of enterprise priorities

A network manager's list of concerns is always long. But given the rise of deadly threats, security tops the list, followed by SDN, IoT and edge computing. Continue Reading

By

• Steve Zurier, ZFeatures

Transforming a legacy network through digital transformation

In a recent keynote speech, GE's CTO Chris Drumgoole outlines the transformation of a corporate giant's network from traditional and sluggish to limber and cloud-enhanced. Continue Reading

By

• Zeus Kerravala, ZK Research

Juniper adds core campus switch to EX series

Juniper has added to the EX series a core aggregation switch for companies that need less scale than the EX9000. The compact EX4650 campus switch supports the EVPN and VXLAN protocols Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Tempered Networks extends reach of NAC software

Tempered Networks has extended the reach of its network access control technology. The company has introduced NAC software for IoT, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Business IoT applications benefit from SD-WAN prioritization

Business IoT applications require prioritized traffic flows and low-cost connectivity. SD-WAN lets IT teams assign policies to prioritize traffic and use cheaper connectivity links. Continue Reading

By

• Lee Doyle, Doyle Research

Is NaaS the answer to bolster network infrastructure security strategy?

Network security as a service can be a beneficial part of a network infrastructure security strategy, but you have to ask the right questions. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

Vendors need to concentrate on wireless reliability, not hype

Wireless reliability should be the main goal of WLAN vendors and institutions, one engineer writes. Also, how come networking didn't evolve the same way compute did? Continue Reading

By

• Chuck Moozakis, Editor at Large

ThousandEyes launches cloud performance monitoring tools

ThousandEyes has launched cloud performance monitoring tools. The latest offering provides critical metrics for software running in multi-cloud environments. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Address network scalability requirements when selecting SD-WAN

Selecting an SD-WAN option that suits business needs can be daunting, but diving into network scalability requirements, like bandwidth needs and the number of sites, is a good start. Continue Reading

By

• John Burke, Nemertes Research

Options for dedicated cloud interconnects and their benefits

There are clear benefits to replacing existing VPN tunnels now. Discover the advantages to dedicating cloud interconnects to improve your enterprise traffic flows. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

Cisco acquires July Systems for its location, analytics services

Cisco buys July Systems to add its cloud-based location services to Cisco's enterprise Wi-Fi platform. Also, Extreme and Ruckus launch improvements to their wireless LANs. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Three goals of multiple cloud management and how to reach them

Attaining the benefits of the cloud is getting ever more complex. Learn ways to enable efficient and effective management of hybrid and multi-cloud environments. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

Silver Peak SD-WAN adds service chaining, partners for cloud security

Silver Peak SD-WAN now allows service chaining for Forcepoint, McAfee and Symantec security VNFs. Also, ONF targets four technologies to develop -- and four supply chain partners to help. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Aruba taps ClearPass, Central for SD-Branch management

Aruba has introduced a software-defined branch offering. The product works with Aruba ClearPass and Central for management and includes an SD-WAN within a gateway appliance. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Carrier cloud needs 5G wireless networks, other drivers for success

While 5G wireless networks appear to be the biggest driver in building the necessary carrier cloud, two other short-term drivers can help complete the carrier network transformation. Continue Reading

By

• Tom Nolle, Andover Intel

Juniper unveils Penta chipset for 5G infrastructure

Juniper unveils the Penta chipset for carrier's 5G infrastructure. The packet-forwarding chip features higher speeds and low power consumption. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Cisco to merge Viptela, DNA Center for campus networking

Cisco plans to integrate its Viptela SD-WAN with DNA Center for campus networking in the next 18 months. At the same time, Cisco expects to release a cloud version of DNA Center. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Versa SD-WAN counts progress in customer wins, not 'dollars'

As IHS Markit issues its latest report on the increasing SD-WAN revenue, Versa Networks' CEO said he counts Versa SD-WAN success in customer wins, not revenue. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Hybrid cloud security architecture requires rethinking

Enterprises need a centralized approach when considering a hybrid cloud security architecture, an analyst says. Plus, is user experience management an IT responsibility? Continue Reading

By

• David Harbeck, Editorial Assistant

Cisco intent-based networking to beat out open OS, company claims

At Cisco Live, CEO Chuck Robbins emphasized customer preference for integrated hardware and software that offer Cisco intent-based networking over open OSes. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Cisco opens DNA to developers in campus networking push

Cisco wants to turn its DNA Center campus networking platform into a platform for software development. The goal is to work with the data the system collects. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

ONAP Beijing release targets deployment scenarios

With its ONAP Beijing release, the Linux Foundation turns its attention to what makes a system deployment ready to go: usability, stability and security, among others. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Nyansa extends network performance monitor software

In Cisco Live news, Nyansa upgrades its network performance monitor software to track WAN and Wi-Fi connection problems. Also, A10 adds Kubernetes support. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

SDN, machine learning could lead to intelligent networks

The next step for SDN is to integrate network analytics and machine learning to result in automated, intelligent networks. But first, humans need to trust the technology. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Editorial Director

Challenges of blockchain muddle understanding of the technology

There is a lot of hype about blockchain and how it might be used within networking operations. But just understanding the technology and what it actually does might be among the biggest challenges of blockchain. Continue Reading

By

• Teren Bryson

LiveAction buys Savvius to combine packet monitoring and NPM

LiveAction plans to combine its software for network performance management with Savvius' packet monitoring technology to deliver both in a single product. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Clarifying network disaggregation and related technologies

Trying to explain network disaggregation and related trends -- like SDN, NFV and white boxes -- can be complicated. Our expert pins the terms down and explains the tradeoffs. Continue Reading

By

• Russ White

New Arista switches use Barefoot Tofino programmable chip

Arista has launched its first switches with the Barefoot Tofino programmable chip. The latest hardware is designed to replace some network appliances and routers. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Apstra adds EVPN configuration to AOS

The newly released version of Apstra AOS includes EVPN configuration. The latest feature in the intent-based OS reduces the manual labor behind network segmentation. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Network edge switch upgrades hinge on WLAN deployments

Network edge switch upgrades depend on a variety of factors, but one of the most critical is taking a look at your future WLAN deployment strategies. Continue Reading

By

• Craig Mathias

VMware is redesigning NSX networking for the cloud

A VMware researcher says the company is preparing a new version of NSX networking for public clouds and expects the technology to be available in about a year. Continue Reading

By

• Antone Gonsalves, Editor at Large

Cloud-based network monitoring creates management flexibility

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Choosing the right software-driven network technology

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Enterprises use network security in the cloud to combat threats

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DevOps for networking evolves with software

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Software-based networks lay foundation of networking's future

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DevOps in networking begins to gain ground

Software development has benefited from a DevOps framework, which brings together software engineers and operating teams to collaborate in a continuous integration/continuous delivery model that helps automate and deploy code faster. DevOps in networking, however, is still an emerging concept. Many networks are still managed and updated using heavily manual processes.

In this issue of Network Evolution, find out how network virtualization and automation are leading enterprises to consider whether they can manage their networks through DevOps methodologies. As more network elements become software-driven, organizations will see a shift to DevOps in networking.

In addition to an emerging DevOps approach, the software-driven network brings with it a slew of new technologies and approaches to understand. From software-defined networking and software-defined WAN to network functions virtualization and virtual network functions, network professionals have to wade through options aimed at changing everything about how networks are built and managed. Read on as we sort out the subtle differences among these technologies.

And as virtualization enhances network design, it also makes the network a more attractive target for hackers. We also look at what security tools and services enterprises are investing in to boost network security in the cloud.

Finally, read how the Broward Center for the Performing Arts is using cloud-based network monitoring to keep its theater in the spotlight.

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Software-based networks lay foundation of networking's future

Software-based networks are evolving, reshaping how companies do business and blending into legacy networking. Enterprises will have to sort out which approaches work best. Continue Reading

By

• Chuck Moozakis, Editor at Large