Cisco unveils quantum network advancements

Copyright TechTarget - All rights reserved https://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html Techtarget Feed Generator en Sat, 13 Jun 2026 15:45:02 GMT https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking editor@techtarget.com Cisco is working to extend its networking leadership into the age of quantum computing. The company revealed a prototype Thursday of what it calls a "universal quantum switch," one that understands the encoding modalities of different types of quantum computers so they can be networked in the same way classical computers are today. The switch works at room temperature and can hook into existing fiber optic networks. Unlike today's commercial <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252454768/Cisco-sees-the-future-of-switching-in-Luxtera-silicon-photonics">photonic switches</a>, these switches preserve the quantum entanglement of photons, allowing them to convey complex quantum states. "Cisco's quantum network greatly expands the possibilities of quantum computing by allowing the networking of several smaller quantum computers into an effectively larger one, even if the underlying physics of the quantum computers are substantially different," said Mark Horvath, a Gartner analyst, in an email. In February, Cisco, in partnership with Qunnect, <a target="_blank" href="https://outshift.cisco.com/blog/quantum/scalable-quantum-entanglement-networking" rel="noopener">set up</a> a quantum network over a noisy commercial fiber optic conduit from Brooklyn to the 60 Hudson Street telecommunication carrier hotel in Manhattan. They were able to convey 5,400 qubit pairs per hour over the 17.6-kilometer route, about 10,000 times faster than any previous experiments, Cisco researchers asserted. "Cisco Quantum's recent validation results from working with Qunnect in NYC were fascinating and good evidence of solid advancements, proving quantum networking can work over distances and without supercooling," said Jim Frey, Omdia principal analyst for networking, in an email. <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="A need for quantum networking"> <h2 class="section-title">A need for quantum networking</h2> Quantum computing promises to solve complex problems too difficult for today's classical computers, in areas such as financial modeling, drug discovery, weather exploration and logistics planning. Even after decades of research, however, quantum computers are still far from where they need to be to run these complex workloads, which would require hundreds of thousands or even millions of quantum bits -- or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/qubit">qubits</a> -- to model. Today's most powerful quantum computers, however, can juggle at most only a few thousand qubits at once, and with vigorous research in the next few years, that number might only jump to the low tens of thousands. "There's a big gap between the number of qubits we need and the number of qubits we have," said Vijoy Pandey, senior vice president and general manager of Outshift, Cisco's emerging technologies and incubation group, during a press conference this week. So, it would be natural to borrow a technique from the high-performance computing community and lash quantum computers together to get the required power needed to tackle these jobs in a distributed manner. A network of computers would scale faster than trying to vertically build up a single computer, Pandey argued. "In order to reach the total compute capacity needed for quantum computing to be broadly viable, and to make the system secure, it will be necessary to chain quantum computers together via quantum networking," Frey agreed. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Cisco doing what it does best"> <h2 class="section-title">Cisco doing what it does best</h2> Cisco's universal quantum switch works just like a typical data center switch but adjusted for quantum traffic. It accepts the incoming quantum signal, internally converts it to a neutral common modality for routing, and sends it out in the correct modality for the receiving system -- preserving the quantum state all the while. Classical internet routing differs from what would be required for the quantum realm. The internet operates on a store-and-forward approach, but a quantum network must establish an open path between the source and destination first to share the entanglement state. "For now, we think of quantum networking as completely different from classical networking. Distributing quantum states is a completely separate way of doing things," said Ramana Kompella, Cisco fellow and head of Cisco research, during the press conference. Quantum computing states are fragile, Kompella said. A pair of photons can be entangled to produce a qubit, and the more photons you can entangle, the more information you can convey. Moving a quantum state from one processor to another, called teleportation, requires preserving each qubit's entanglement properties. But electromechanical noise can easily destroy a qubit. The more devices a state of qubits passes through, the more a potential loss of fidelity compounds. Different quantum systems have different encoding modalities, much like early classical computers were incompatible with one another. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/feature/Companies-building-quantum-computers">IBM quantum systems</a> have a different modality, for instance, from those built by Atom Computing. This is not vendor lock-in for its own sake, Kompella said. Different applications favor different modalities. Cisco partnered with both IBM and Atom for this switch, which will support four modalities: <ul class="default-list"> <li>Polarization, where the orientation of light waves carries information.</li> <li>Time-bin, where the timing of light pulses carries information.</li> <li>Frequency-bin, where the color or frequency of light is used to carry information.</li> <li>Path, where the physical or spatial path carries information.</li> </ul> "We don't know which of these technologies will be dominant," said Reza Nejabati, head of Cisco quantum research and quantum labs, during the press conference. "So the network can support any of them." Fast switching was also imperative. The Cisco switch can reconfigure connection in as little as a nanosecond, while consuming less than a milliwatt of power. Key to the switching process is a silicon-based quantum state converter, which, using quantum tomography, converts qubits into an internal encoding format for routing. They are then converted back, without being measured or destroyed, to their original encoding, or to one of the other encoding formats, at their destination. Unlike other qubit management approaches, the switch can operate at room temperature, thanks to the frequency of telecommunications fiber optic channels and the internal encoding format. The work builds on previous Cisco research as part of its Outshift quantum incubation program, including a quantum network entanglement chip to link the quantum computers to the network, and a network-aware quantum compiler that orchestrates quantum algorithms across multiple quantum processors -- handy for error correction. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The next steps for quantum networking"> <h2 class="section-title">The next steps for quantum networking</h2> The Cisco universal switch is still in the prototype phase. It will be several years before it is released commercially, as the supporting stack for end-to-end operation needs to be finalized. For instance, the company will need to build a repeater of some sort because quantum signals can only travel about 100 kilometers or so. <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> This is a seismic breakthrough that will bring solutions into reach for many problems that were years beyond today's existing generation of quantum computers. </figure> <figcaption> Mark HorvathGartner analyst </figcaption> </div> </blockquote> In the more immediate term, researchers will post a paper explaining the technology on ArXiv. "This is a seismic breakthrough that will bring solutions into reach for many problems that were years beyond today's existing generation of quantum computers," Horvath said. In addition to putting quantum computing on a more solid commercial footing, quantum networking may open up new uses on its own, Kompella said. For instance, a quantum network could give high-frequency trading (HFT) firms a competitive edge. An HFT firm might run across multiple data centers, and when it makes a purchasing decision in one data center, it should replicate as quickly as possible in the other locations. Today, the network is the bottleneck for HFT, in that it limits the speed at which that information can be moved to near the speed of light. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/An-introduction-to-quantum-networks-and-how-they-work">Quantum communications</a> could beat what was previously thought to be the physical upper limit by coordinating the decision-making process ahead of time through entanglement, according to Pandey. "Coordinated decisions [that run] faster than the speed of light actually give you a substantial advantage compared to any classical strategy," Kompella said. Freelance news writer Joab Jackson has been writing about back-end IT technologies for the past three decades. His grandfather programmed mainframes, and his father wrote computer games for hobbyist programming magazines in the 1980s. </section> Cisco's quantum switch prototype operates like a data center switch and supports four encoding modalities. It marks a step forward in making quantum computing 'broadly viable.' https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/arvr_g1273484747.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366642172/Cisco-unveils-quantum-network-advancements Thu, 23 Apr 2026 09:00:00 GMT Cisco unveils quantum network advancements Democratic senators are pushing for a new review of HPE's <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366626897/DOJ-clears-road-for-HPEs-14B-Juniper-Networks-acquisition">approved acquisition</a> of Juniper Networks after the U.S. Department of Justice fired two top antitrust deputies for "insubordination" over the $14 billion deal. DOJ antitrust deputies Roger Alford and Bill Rinner were fired earlier this week, a Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to Informa TechTarget. Alford worked in the DOJ under the first Trump administration, and Rinner was a top legal advisor to Makan Delrahim, former head of the antitrust division under Trump. An Axios report citing an anonymous national security official on Wednesday claimed the U.S. intelligence community stepped in just before the merger was set to go to trial this month, persuading the Justice Department to reach a settlement. U.S. officials worried that blocking the merger would give China's Huawei Technologies an advantage over American companies, according to the report. That intervention, along with reported internal lobbying efforts, created infighting at the DOJ that led to Alford and Rinner being fired, the report said. The alleged infighting would illustrate a divide between antitrust hawks and pro-business forces within the Trump administration. <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Firings lead to call for scrutiny"> <h2 class="section-title">Firings lead to call for scrutiny</h2> In a statement, DOJ spokesman Gates McGavick denied that backroom dealmaking influenced the settlement. "The department has consistently reiterated that the resolution of this merger was based only on the merits of the transaction," he said. In response to the controversy, U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wrote to U.S. District Court Judge P. Casey Pitts -- an appointee of former U.S. President Joe Biden -- urging judicial review of <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366565834/HPE-to-acquire-Juniper-Networks-for-14-billion">the merger</a>. The senators called for heightened review under the Tunney Act (formally known as the Antitrust Procedures and Penalty Act), a 1974 law that allows courts to hold hearings and take action that could affect the merger. The act was first used in 2019 to review the CVS-Aetna merger. While that merger stood, the proceedings led to new precedents for judicial antitrust scrutiny. "A settlement to resolve HPE's proposed acquisition of Juniper should not be made on the backs of the American people while enriching well-connected lobbyists," the senators wrote in a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/letter_from_senator_warren_to_judge_pitts_on_hpe-juniper_merger_and_tunney_act.pdf" rel="noopener">letter</a> to Pitts. Trump allies Mike Davis and Arthur Schwartz were lobbying on behalf of HPE, according to filings and several published reports. Schwartz is known to be a friend and confidante of U.S. Vice President JD Vance. In a statement, HPE said its merger with Juniper would promote competition in the WLAN market. "The transaction was appropriately approved with certain remedies by the U.S. Department of Justice, and it was unconditionally approved by 13 other antitrust regulators around the world," an HPE spokesperson said. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="HPE's big win in jeopardy?"> <h2 class="section-title">HPE's big win in jeopardy?</h2> Analysts widely saw the June settlement as a big win for HPE, despite caveats of the settlement, which included the company selling off its Instant On business and licensing of Juniper's AIOps for Mist source code. Instant On, which offers a line of wireless access points and switches, is aimed at small and medium-sized businesses. "It appears that the divestiture does not allay concerns arising from the combination of HPE and Juniper Networks' enterprise-grade products, which would merge two current competitors and create an apparent duopoly," the senators wrote in the letter to the court. Renewed scrutiny could slow or even jeopardize the merger. Ron Westfall, an analyst at HyperFrame Research, said the potential new review could prove to be a major setback. "It's not good, overall, as HPE and Juniper teams have already started embarking on integration plans. This has already been scrutinized heavily," he said. "It's not good for the overall wireless LAN industry, let alone the tech industry. I think there's some irony here that there's political pressure here to decide if there were politics involved with the decision." In the letter to the judge, the senators said the HPE settlement did not address concerns about competition and market consolidation. After the deal, HPE and its closest competitor, Cisco, would hold a 70% WLAN market share. Notably, a Tunney Act review has never overturned an antitrust settlement. Shane Snider, a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of experience, covers IT infrastructure at Informa TechTarget. </section> Reported involvement from intelligence agencies, lobbyists may have helped push the merger through before a planned antitrust trial, causing infighting at the Justice Department. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/legal_g929185540.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366628372/DOJ-firings-spark-fresh-HPE-Juniper-deal-scrutiny Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:41:00 GMT DOJ firings spark fresh HPE-Juniper deal scrutiny Cisco on Tuesday launched a barrage of products and updates that promise to enhance security and boost AI capabilities for enterprise and hyperscale customers. During Cisco Live 2025, the company touted new tools for its Hybrid Mesh Firewall (including a new generation of firewalls), Universal Zero Trust Network Access and secure network architecture aimed at AI transformation. While the AI angle for Cisco's new products is not shocking considering current market trends, the company's focus shows an important sign of the industry's evolution, said Bob O'Donnell, lead analyst and CEO of Technalysis. <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> They're doing AI, they're doing agentic AI … of course, everybody is doing that. But there are legitimate questions about how much networking is required to really do these things properly. </figure> <figcaption> Bob O'DonnellLead analyst and CEO, Technalysis </figcaption> </div> </blockquote> "They're doing AI, they're doing agentic AI … of course, everybody is doing that. But there are legitimate questions about how much networking is required to really do these things properly. And I think they're trying to address that," O'Donnell said. They are bringing in more ease of use by leveraging agentic AI and their own LLM to make the process of managing these incredibly sophisticated, interwoven systems easier, and that's a big deal." <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Hybrid Mesh Firewall and ZTNA"> <h2 class="section-title">Hybrid Mesh Firewall and ZTNA</h2> Cisco said its Hybrid Mesh Firewall and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) will simplify policy management, enhance visibility and allow enterprises to scale in a secure environment. Splunk's observability tools have been integrated further into Cisco's offerings, the company said. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/news/366574374/Cisco-lays-out-security-observability-plans-for-Splunk">Cisco acquired Splunk</a> for$28 billion last year. "Safety and security are the defining challenges of the AI era -- and agentic AI multiplies the risk, as every new agent is both a force multiplier and a fresh attack surface," said Jeetu Patel, Cisco's president and chief product officer, in a statement. "At the same time, threat actors are already leveraging AI tools to launch more sophisticated attacks than ever. To help IT and security teams fight back, Cisco is reimagining how we secure networks, protect AI apps and models, manage identity, and equip security teams with the AI tools they need to meet the moment." The company's Hybrid Mesh Firewall now has additional hardware offerings: the Secure Firewall 6100 series, which allows 200 Gbps per rack unit of firewalling and the Secure Firewall 200 series, which delivers advanced on-box threat inspection and integrated software-defined WAN. Cisco's Universal ZTNA has added integration with Cisco Secure Access, enabling customers to explore connectivity options while protected by a unified <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/Explaining-the-differences-between-SASE-vs-SSE">security service edge</a> policy and consistent enforcement, the company said. The ZTNA will also allow customers to enable agentic AI securely with secure agentic identities, zero-trust access to enterprise resources and tracking of agent actions. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Secure network architecture additions"> <h2 class="section-title">Secure network architecture additions</h2> The company said its new network architecture will power campus, branch and industrial networks with an AI workload focus. A new series of smart switches, routers and an expanded wireless portfolio added to the company's hardware solutions. The C9350 and C9610 smart switches deliver up to 51.2 TBps of networking power for campus networks. Cisco's expanded wireless portfolio will include Wireless 9179F Series Access Points tailored for stadiums and large venues. Cisco's new unified management system adds integration with Splunk and ThousandEyes, adding what it describes as real-time insights from network to application. "The combination of Splunk and ThousandEyes is a really big deal because all of a sudden, you have the ability to do the things you really couldn't do before," O'Donnell said. "Being able to really see what's going on with your network, what's going on with your applications, and make sure problems can get solved easily. Those are huge problems for enterprises." Shane Snider is a veteran journalist with more than 20 years of industry experience. </section> The networking giant released a slew of products leveraging the capabilities of last year's Splunk acquisition and touting a focus on AI adoption support. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/arvr_g1273484747.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366625672/Cisco-beefs-up-AI-security-in-new-networking-products Tue, 10 Jun 2025 09:00:00 GMT Cisco beefs up AI, security in new networking products This article was updated Jan. 31, 2025. The U.S. Justice Department is suing to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 billion acquisition of networking technology vendor Juniper Networks. The DOJ lawsuit, filed Jan. 30 in the Northern District of California, alleged that the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/opinion/HPE-Discover-2024-Aruba-Networking-moves-to-center-stage">acquisition</a> would eliminate competition, increase customer prices and violate Section 7 of the Clayton Antitrust Act. The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-sues-block-hewlett-packard-enterprises-proposed-14-billion-acquisition" rel="noopener">DOJ stated</a> that HPE and Juniper are the second- and third-largest networking vendors in the U.S., respectively. "HPE and Juniper are successful companies. But rather than continue to compete as rivals in the WLAN marketplace, they seek to consolidate -- increasing concentration in an already concentrated market," said Omeed Assefi, acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department's antitrust division, in a statement. The two vendors fired back in a separate <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250130866726/en/Hewlett-Packard-Enterprise-and-Juniper-Networks-Strongly-Oppose-Department-of-Justice%E2%80%99s-Decision-to-File-Suit-to-Block-Acquisition" rel="noopener">press release</a>, calling the DOJ's analysis "fundamentally flawed." <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Market disconnect"> <h2 class="section-title">Market disconnect</h2> HPE and Juniper stated that the DOJ's analysis of the WLAN market "is substantially disconnected from market realities." They noted that the transaction has been approved by antitrust regulators in 14 jurisdictions, including the European Commission and the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority, and said they've yet to see customer complaints regarding the consolidation. <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> Putting these two together, they're still much smaller than Cisco. </figure> <figcaption> Jim FreyPrincipal analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group </figcaption> </div> </blockquote> Even if the two companies did combine, the total share of the WLAN market under HPE's control would still be significantly smaller than Cisco Systems, according to Jim Frey, principal analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, now part of Omdia. "Putting these two together, they're still much smaller than Cisco," he said. "It's consolidation, but this new entity would be better to counter [Cisco] than either could do independently right now." HPE first <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366565834/HPE-to-acquire-Juniper-Networks-for-14-billion">announced its plan</a> to acquire Juniper Networks in January 2024. The move would double HPE's networking business, with current Juniper CEO Rami Rahim leading the operation and reporting to HPE CEO Antonio Neri. HPE's Aruba networking technology brand competes with Juniper's Mist AI software and switches. Networking technology analysts anticipated <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/opinion/Why-HPE-plans-to-acquire-Juniper-Networks">HPE to incorporate Juniper</a> hardware and software into its Aruba line, increasing the diversity of offerings available and making HPE more competitive against Cisco. The companies stated that they plan to fight the lawsuit. Compared with other <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/news/366560755/Broadcom-completes-VMware-acquisition-promises-investment">recent technology acquisitions</a>, Frey said the Juniper acquisition hasn't drawn much outcry or concern from customers of either company. The purchase removes a rival for HPE and adds AI technology to the HPE stack that it previously lacked. "HPE didn't really have a good AI story, and Juniper did. Aruba was feeling some competitive pain versus Juniper," he said. "It shouldn't be the only reason to buy them, but it's a valid reason amongst many." Cisco, Juniper and HPE are the largest networking vendors by market share in the U.S., but far more competition exists globally, Frey said. The HPE-Juniper consolidation could give other vendors a chance to gain market share domestically. "As you reduce the number of people at the top, you increase the airtime for other vendors," he said. "Outside the U.S., it's a much more active and competitive environment." Tim McCarthy is a news writer for Informa TechTarget covering cloud and data storage. </section> The Department of Justice sues to block the $14 billion deal. HPE and Juniper call its analysis 'substantially disconnected from market realities.' https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/legal_g90787303.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366618640/HPE-Juniper-deal-hits-DOJ-roadblock Thu, 30 Jan 2025 18:10:00 GMT HPE-Juniper deal hits DOJ roadblock Cisco has packaged its AI infrastructure for enterprises looking to purchase a certified technology stack for AI inference, which is the process of fine-tuning models for specific tasks. Cisco introduced the AI packages, called Pods, Tuesday at its Partner Summit in Los Angeles. The company, which sells most of its products through channel partners, will begin taking orders for Pods in November. Four Pod configurations, varying by the number of CPUs and Nvidia H100 and H200 Tensor Core GPUs, will be available. Each configuration will be offered within a Cisco UCS X-Series Modular System, which is managed and monitored through Cisco's cloud-based <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/news/252498371/Cisco-Intersight-folds-in-Terraform-Cloud-amid-SaaS-revamp">Intersight software</a>. Many organizations use cloud providers, such as AWS, Google and Microsoft, to run AI applications. Pods are tailored AI infrastructure for organizations that want to keep data on-premises for security or compliance reasons, said Michael Leone, an analyst at TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group. Cisco's strategy of providing pre-integrated stacks for AI applications is similar to competitors Dell, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and Lenovo. "Everybody is trying to put together their validated stack, their pre-integrated stack, to address inferencing," Leone said. "This is the opportunity for all traditional infrastructure vendors." <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/What-is-AI-inference">AI model inference</a> typically includes a technique called retrieval-augmented generation, or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/definition/retrieval-augmented-generation">RAG</a>. RAG lets enterprises use their private data to tune models for specific tasks, such as fraud detection, text summarization, personal digital assistants and medical image analysis. Cisco's X-Series Modular system for Pods uses a 7RU UCS X9508 chassis. UCS, or Unified Computing System, is an integrated data center or edge platform that includes computing, networking, management, virtualization and storage. Each UCS X9508 chassis can house up to eight UCS X-Series M7 computing servers and four X440p PCIe nodes that support up to 16 Nvidia GPUs. Other chassis components include: <ul class="default-list"> <li>The UCS 9108 Intelligent Fabric Module for up to 100 Gbps of connectivity per computing node, with eight uplink ports of either <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-is-the-advantage-of-SFP-ports-on-a-Gigabit-switch">25 Gbps SFP28 or 100 Gbps QSFP28</a> connections;</li> <li>The 1RU UCS 6536 10/25/40/100 Gigabit Ethernet, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/FCoE-Fibre-Channel-over-Ethernet">Fibre Channel over Ethernet</a> and Fibre Channel switch, with 7.42 Tbps throughput with 36 ports. Another option is the UCS Fabric Interconnect 9108 100G Intelligent Fabric Module for enterprises using UCS blade servers within the X9508 chassis;</li> <li>The UCS X9416 X-Fabric Module plug-in for the X9508 chassis. The module provides direct <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchdatacenter/definition/PCI-Express">PCIe connections</a> from each computing node to the GPUs.</li> </ul> Pods include Intersight and a subscription to the Nvidia AI Enterprise (NVAIE) software suite and the Nvidia HPC-X software toolkit. NVAIE provides tools and frameworks to fine-tune the included pre-trained models for specific tasks. The Nvidia HPC-X toolkit offers the technology needed to optimize high-performance computing applications. Other Pod components include licensing for the Red Hat <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/tip/Docker-vs-OpenShift-What-are-the-main-differences">OpenShift platform</a> to develop and deploy AI applications across hybrid cloud environments. Optional pieces include storage from NetApp or Pure Storage. Both offer toolkits for helping developers and data scientists perform data management tasks. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ucs_m8_c885A_bronco_server_dsc06224_horizon_back_600-f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ucs_m8_c885A_bronco_server_dsc06224_horizon_back_600-f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ucs_m8_c885A_bronco_server_dsc06224_horizon_back_600-f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/ucs_m8_c885A_bronco_server_dsc06224_horizon_back_600-f.jpg 1280w" alt="Cisco UCS C885A M8" data-credit="Cisco" height="497" width="559"> <figcaption> Back view of the Cisco UCS C885A M8 server for running AI applications on up to eight Nvidia GPUs. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="New UCS server"> <h2 class="section-title">New UCS server</h2> In addition to Pods, Cisco launched its first UCS server dedicated to running AI workloads on GPUs. The UCS C885A M8 can run applications for up to eight Nvidia GPUs. Companies can order Cisco UCS C885A M8 now for shipping by the end of the year. Most enterprises are moving toward deploying generative AI. A recent Enterprise Strategy Group global survey of 832 organizations found that 30% are in mature or early production of GenAI applications and 33% are in the pilot or proof-of-concept stage. Those organizations will have to upgrade servers, storage and networking to support GenAI applications, Leone said. "It's really hard to integrate existing infrastructure components to deliver something that performs optimally for AI workloads." <iframe title="Cisco generative AI strategy hinges on CX and agents" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px); height: 150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=hvgrj-17c6898-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=f6f6f6&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=2baf9e" loading="lazy"></iframe> Antone Gonsalves is an editor at large for TechTarget Editorial, reporting on industry trends critical to enterprise tech buyers. He has worked in tech journalism for 25 years and is based in San Francisco. Have a news tip? Please drop him an <a title="mailto:agonsalves@techtarget.com" target="_blank" href="mailto:agonsalves@techtarget.com?subject=News%20tip" rel="noopener">email</a>. </section> In addition to Pods, Cisco launched its first UCS server dedicated to running AI workloads on GPUs. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/storage_g1197646065.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366614623/Cisco-launches-integrated-AI-infrastructure-Pods Tue, 29 Oct 2024 17:06:00 GMT Cisco launches integrated AI infrastructure 'Pods' Cisco plans to acquire Accedian to expand its portfolio for troubleshooting and fixing network problems that could degrade the quality-of-service carriers guarantee for private 5G networks and critical enterprise applications. Cisco plans to fold Accedian's network performance monitoring technology into Cisco's Network Assurance portfolio. The company expects to complete the acquisition in the first quarter of its fiscal year 2024, which begins Aug. 1. Acquired in 2017 by investment firm Bridge Growth Partners, Accedian offers communication service providers (CSP) a SaaS-based monitoring platform for their cloud and data center networks. Cisco and Accedian have had a partnership since 2021. Accedian's Skylight Analytics SaaS provides visibility into the performance of the network underlay. The product includes machine learning analytics that extracts intelligence from the billions of data points collected from a CSP's network. Skylight Analytics will become part of Cisco's <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/data-center-analytics/network-insights-data-center/at-a-glance-c45-743086.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Network Assurance Portfolio</a>, which provides troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and remediation of network problems. The portfolio comprises three applications: the Network Assurance Engine, Network Insights for Resources, and Network Insights Advisor. The portfolio is a strategic part of Cisco's <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366539512/Cisco-releases-plans-for-Networking-Cloud">recently unveiled plans</a> to develop a cloud-based service to manage its networking and security products. The service, called <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/opinion/Ciscos-vision-for-Networking-Cloud-becomes-clear">Networking Cloud</a>, will take several years to build. Cisco also wants to link Accedian-collected data into Cisco ThousandEyes. The cloud-based service provides a comprehensive view of the enterprise WAN. Accedian's customers include three-fourths of the world's largest CSPs, according to Cisco. Accedian's reach could help Cisco in the enterprise 5G market, a focus for carriers because of a weak consumer market. Consumer 5G hasn't taken off because of a lack of services requiring a faster cellular network than the previous generation, 4G LTE. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-private_5g_network_architecture-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-private_5g_network_architecture-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-private_5g_network_architecture-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-private_5g_network_architecture-f.png 1280w" alt="private 5G" height="364" width="560"> <figcaption> Private 5G network architecture. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> Accedian-generated network insight, in combination with other Cisco products, would also help CSPs meet service level agreements for critical enterprise applications, such as remote healthcare, IDC analyst John Byrne said. "Those use cases are potentially extremely lucrative for CSPs but can only be delivered when the network, IT, and application code can all be provisioned, monitored, and assured," Byrne said. <a href="https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS50717723" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IDC predicts</a> that LTE and 5G infrastructure for private cellular networks will reach $5.5 billion in 2027 from $1.9 billion in 2022. The increase amounts to an annual growth rate of almost 24%. In other Cisco news this week, the company launched two Silicon One application-specific integrated circuits. Cisco built the five-nanometer G200 and G202 ASICs for spine switches and Ethernet-based AI and machine learning deployments. The latest ASICs raise the portfolio's maximum throughput to 51.2 terabits per second. Silicon One chips have a throughput range beginning at 3.2 gigabits per second. Cisco has started sending samples of the fourth-generation Silicon One chips to customers. Silicon One competes with Nvidia and Broadcom chips. Antone Gonsalves is networking news director for TechTarget Editorial. He has deep and wide experience in tech journalism. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked for UBM's InformationWeek, TechWeb and Computer Reseller News. He has also written for Ziff Davis' PC Week, IDG's CSOonline and IBTMedia's CruxialCIO, and rounded all of that out by covering startups for Bloomberg News. He started his journalism career at United Press International, working as a reporter and editor in California, Texas, Kansas and Florida. Have a news tip? Please drop him an <a href="mailto:agonsalves@techtarget.com">email</a>. Cisco expects Accedian to bolster its Network Assurance portfolio for service providers. The product line provides network troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, and remediation. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/telecommunications_g1092964846.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366542487/Cisco-acquires-Accedian-for-Network-Assurance-portfolio Thu, 22 Jun 2023 13:40:00 GMT Cisco acquires Accedian for Network Assurance portfolio <iframe title="Healthcare IT, It’s Evolving" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=j8mzh-141af5b-pb&from=pb6admin&pbad=0&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=f6f6f6&font-color=000000&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=1b1b1b"></iframe> Two years ago, Baptist Health started replacing Cisco with Arista Networks for the software and hardware running the wired and wireless LAN across its medical campus. The reason for the switch? Cisco made network maintenance too hard for IT staff. The Jacksonville, Fla., medical center expects to finish the transition in three years by replacing its wired infrastructure, including <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521501/Cisco-launches-cloud-management-of-Catalyst-Nexus-switches">Cisco Catalyst switches</a>, with Arista hardware. To date, Baptist Health has swapped 90% of its wireless infrastructure, which includes Cisco Meraki access points and devices. The healthcare organization estimates it will spend $10 million with Arista over five years. The critical difference between Cisco and Arista is the latter's single code base across the data center as well as wired and wireless campus networks, said Jim Bilsky, vice president of enterprise IT operations at Baptist Health. The Arista architecture lets Baptist Health perform updates and other maintenance without taking down network portions. "That's a huge, huge win, since getting maintenance windows in hospitals is extremely painful," Bilsky said. "That's because hospitals never close. They're always open for business." Cisco did not respond to a request for comment. Arista's switches run on a single operating system, the Linux-based Extensible Operating System. Cisco has various OSes, making it impossible to roll out updates across all networks simultaneously. As a result, Baptist Health's IT department had to contend with multiple versions of network operating systems running various product code versions, Bilsky said. Unlike Cisco, Arista is not a leader in <a href="https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-2C4HS4LK&ct=221228&st=sb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gartner's latest</a> Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure. But its strengths include the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366573315/Arista-adds-network-change-analysis-to-CloudVision">CloudVision management platform</a> that unifies maintenance across the data center and campus switching, according to Gartner. Cisco's strengths include a vast wired and wireless product portfolio covering various use cases. Its weaknesses include overlapping product lines and two separate management platforms, DNA Center and the Meraki Dashboard. <a href="https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/data-center-and-cloud-networking/compare/arista-center-vs-cisco" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peer Insights</a>, a Gartner poll of enterprise technology users, found Arista with a slightly higher overall rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars versus Cisco's 4.6. Users dinged Arista for having fewer switching commands and reported that Cisco was "very complex to configure a simple task." <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Baptist Health and CloudVision"> <h2 class="section-title">Baptist Health and CloudVision</h2> Bilsky said Arista CloudVision is a significant plus for Baptist Health, because it provides a network roadmap across the institution's six hospitals, three freestanding emergency departments, and roughly 75 outpatient care and physician offices. Monitoring networks through a single user interface is a significant plus, he added. <div class="imagecaption alignLeft"> <img src="https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/bilsky_jr_jim.jpg" alt="Jim Bilsky, vice president of enterprise IT operations, Baptist Health">Jim Bilsky </div> Like other network management consoles, CloudVision lets IT departments drill down to any devices on the network -- including access points, smartphones, tablets and PCs -- to troubleshoot problems. "The communication between the device and the access point is all monitored," Bilsky said. "We can see all that data granularly and then troubleshoot and react to it faster." Last week, Arista introduced network access control for <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252495869/Arista-launches-zero-trust-security-with-a-Forescout-option">CloudVision to authenticate and secure devices</a> logging onto a network. Arista plans to make the technology, named the Arista Guardian for Network Identity, generally available by the end of the quarter. Bilsky said he expects to eventually replace Cisco's <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/what-is-network-access-control-nac.html#~use-cases-for-nac" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Identity Services Engine</a> with Arista's identity service. Besides identifying typical mobile devices, Baptist Health's wireless networks must also authenticate a few medical devices, like electroencephalograms and <a href="https://www.baptistjax.com/about-us/newsroom/news-releases/baptist-health-deploying-robots-to-support-clinical-teams?utm_source=baptist-social&utm_medium=social-post&utm_content=moxi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Moxi</a>, a robot on wheels carrying supplies, medicine, lab samples and lightweight equipment to hospital medical staff. Most of Baptist Health's equipment, such as EKGs or surgical gear, is connected to the wired network, which doesn't have the signal fluctuations of wireless technology. "We don't want to introduce those variables if it's patient care critical," Bilsky said. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="The fewer vendors, the better"> <h2 class="section-title">The fewer vendors, the better</h2> The massive transition between vendors reflects Baptist Health's preference for using a single platform for networking and other technology categories rather than deploying multiple vendors based on feature quality. The benefit of working with as few vendors as possible is cost management, Bilsky said. The more extensive the contract, the more sway the customer has over the vendors. Having more vendors also increases the likelihood of overlapping features. "I end up owning two or three of the same things," Bilsky said. "It also helps us strategically with those partners because we can become closer [to them] because we have more products." Reducing IT costs is a constant for Bilsky. That's because he often can't get funding to replace aging equipment if it's competing with gear for patient care. "I have to justify why that new whiz-bang MRI that's going to save a patient's life is less important than x-amount of dollars to replace a switch that no one understands what it does anyway," Bilsky said. Antone Gonsalves is networking news director for TechTarget Editorial. He has deep and wide experience in tech journalism. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked for UBM's InformationWeek, TechWeb and Computer Reseller News. He has also written for Ziff Davis' PC Week, IDG's CSOonline and IBTMedia's CruxialCIO, and rounded all of that out by covering startups for Bloomberg News. He started his journalism career at United Press International, working as a reporter and editor in California, Texas, Kansas and Florida. Have a news tip? Please drop him an <a href="mailto:agonsalves@techtarget.com">email</a>. <div class="btt-thumbnailContainer"> Tech News This Week 05-26-2023 <a class="btt-thumbnailLink" data-video-id="585260" data-channel-id="17077"> <div class="btt-thumbnailImgContainer"> <img class="btt-videoBtThumbnail" src="https://cdn.brighttalk.com/ams/california/images/communication/585257/image_922337.png?width=640&height=360"> </div></a> <time class="btt-video-duration" datetime="PT27M36S">27:36</time> </div> <div class="btt-modal"> <div class="btt-modal-content"></div> </div> </section> Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Fla., expects Arista's single wired, wireless and data center network operating system to eliminate partial outages during infrastructure upgrades. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/health_g1250152635.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366536577/Baptist-Health-leaves-Cisco-for-Arista Wed, 03 May 2023 13:08:00 GMT Baptist Health leaves Cisco for Arista <iframe title="Will Generative AI Doom the Software Engineer?" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=7v52e-13d9580-pb&from=pb6admin&pbad=0&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=f6f6f6&font-color=000000&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=f6f6f6"></iframe> Amazon Sidewalk, a nationwide wireless network for IoT, lacks guaranteed connectivity and performance. Yet OnAsset Intelligence believes it's good enough to improve its business-to-business logistics service significantly. OnAsset, based in Irving, Texas, was one of the first companies to introduce a product leveraging Sidewalk, which Amazon recently opened to businesses. The <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/wireless-mesh-network">wireless mesh network</a> of Amazon Echo and Ring consumer devices reaches nine out of every 10 people in the United States. OnAsset expects Sidewalk to be most beneficial for tracking goods on trucks heading to their final destinations in cities, which are the places where the concentration of Amazon devices is highest. The company launched last week a sensor named the Sentinel 200 that can communicate with a Sidewalk-enabled device within roughly a mile. <div class="imagecaption alignLeft"> <img src="https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/crossno_adam.jpg" alt="Adam Crossno, CEO, OnAsset">Adam Crossno </div> "It's just a natural fit," said OnAsset CEO Adam Crossno. "It's something we've been working on for some time in partnership with Amazon. We've been playing with this for a while." OnAsset develops sensors to track individual items or complete shipments of manufactured goods. For climate-sensitive products, such as medicines, fine arts and vaccines, OnAsset's sensors can monitor temperature, humidity and light. They can also track whether fragile products, such as flat-screen TVs, remained upright during shipment. OnAsset sensors send encrypted data to the company's internet gateway devices installed in ports, freight-forwarding warehouses, and air and train cargo facilities. Sensors within 430 yards of an OnAsset gateway send data to the company's cloud. Customers can see the information through an online portal or have the data directed to on-premises systems. The problem OnAsset solves with Sidewalk is the data silence that occurs when a truck leaves the final warehouse and arrives at the receiving dock of the company that bought the goods. There are no gateways to receive data while the goods are in transit, and the company receiving the goods is unlikely an OnAsset customer. OnAsset's Sentinel 200 sensors continue to send tracking data by tapping into Sidewalk over Bluetooth or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-is-the-difference-between-LoRa-and-LoRaWAN">LoRa</a>, a low-power, long-range wireless technology. OnAsset could get similar coverage by installing a cellular radio on its sensors. However, that would increase costs and require a subscription fee to access the network. "When you layer all of those things up, Sidewalk is very attractive from just a raw cost point of view," Crossno said. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/mesh_network-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/mesh_network-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/mesh_network-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/mesh_network-f.png 1280w" alt="Amazon Sidewalk" height="336" width="560"> <figcaption> Amazon Sidewalk is a mesh network of Amazon Echo and Ring devices. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Sidewalk's downside"> <h2 class="section-title">Sidewalk's downside</h2> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Sidewalk/b?ie=UTF8&node=21328123011" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sidewalk</a> is a long-range network that offers persistent connectivity to hundreds of millions of voice-activated Echo devices and Ring security cameras. All data traveling on Sidewalk is encrypted, <a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/sidewalk/final_privacy_security_whitepaper.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to Amazon</a>. Amazon integrated Sidewalk with its <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcloudcomputing/feature/Get-to-know-cloud-IoT-services-on-AWS-Azure-and-Google-Cloud">AWS IoT Core service</a>, which comprises tools for connecting IoT devices and routing data to other AWS services. Last week, Amazon released hardware and software development kits that let developers build the software to connect devices to Sidewalk. Echo and Ring devices include Sidewalk Bridge technology, which pools a small portion of the hardware's internet bandwidth to provide network access to third-party devices. Amazon turns on Bridge by default, but Echo and Ring customers can turn it off if they prefer not to share their internet connection. That adds an element of uncertainty when trying to connect to the network, said Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates. Regions outside densely populated areas would also have fewer Echo and Ring devices, so that network availability could fluctuate, he added. Carriers like AT&T, Verizon or T-Mobile could provide a more reliable and secure IoT service as they roll out their 5G networks, Gold said. However, whether they'll dedicate a portion of the network to IoT is unknown. "For the carriers, how you slice the network is as much a business decision as a technology decision," Gold said. "So they've got to figure out whether or not it's attractive." Meanwhile, companies like OnAsset will tap into Sidewalk when the benefits outweigh its limitations. The company plans to offer more products leveraging the network between now and early next year. <div class="btt-thumbnailContainer"> Tech News This Week 04-07-2023 <a class="btt-thumbnailLink" data-video-id="579905" data-channel-id="17077"> <div class="btt-thumbnailImgContainer"> <img class="btt-videoBtThumbnail" src="https://cdn.brighttalk.com/ams/california/images/communication/579902/image_912062.png?width=640&height=360"> </div></a> <time class="btt-video-duration" datetime="PT18M2S">18:02</time> </div> <div class="btt-modal"> <div class="btt-modal-content"></div> </div> Antone Gonsalves is networking news director for TechTarget Editorial. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked for UBM's InformationWeek, TechWeb and Computer Reseller News. He has also written for Ziff Davis' PC Week, IDG's CSOonline and IBTMedia's CruxialCIO, and rounded all of that out by covering startups for Bloomberg News. He started his journalism career at United Press International, working as a reporter and editor in California, Texas, Kansas and Florida. Have a news tip? Please drop him an <a href="mailto:agonsalves@techtarget.com">email</a>. </section> Logistics company OnAsset Intelligence expects Amazon Sidewalk to be most beneficial for tracking goods on trucks heading to their final destinations in densely populated areas. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/location_g976796402.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/365534914/OnAsset-logistics-service-taps-Amazon-Sidewalk Tue, 04 Apr 2023 15:48:00 GMT OnAsset logistics service taps Amazon Sidewalk <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is passive reconnaissance?"> <h2 class="section-title">What is passive reconnaissance?</h2> Passive reconnaissance is an attempt to gain information about targeted computers and networks without actively engaging with the systems. In active reconnaissance, in contrast, the attacker engages with the target system, typically conducting a port scan to find any open ports. The term reconnaissance comes from its military use to describe an information-gathering mission. In computing and networking, both passive and active reconnaissance are sometimes referred to as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/passive-attack">passive attacks</a> because the purpose is simply to obtain information, rather than to actively exploit the target. However, reconnaissance is commonly used when preparing for an attack against a target system. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-common_attack_vectors-f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-common_attack_vectors-f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-common_attack_vectors-f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-common_attack_vectors-f.jpg 1280w" alt="Graphic showing 10 common attach vectors" height="378" width="558"> <figcaption> With passive reconnaissance cybercriminals attempt to gain information about targeted computers and networks without actively engaging those systems. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Why do cybercriminals do passive reconnaissance?"> <h2 class="section-title">Why do cybercriminals do passive reconnaissance?</h2> The main idea behind passive reconnaissance is to discover as much relevant information as possible about the target organization and its infrastructure without being detected. Cybercriminals attempt to achieve this in several ways: <ul class="default-list"> <li>Open source intelligence (<a href="https://osint.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">OSINT</a>). Would-be attackers gather information from publicly available sources, typically via the internet. Collected data can come from a wide range of sources and include specific details about the target organization and its employees, including email addresses, phone numbers, IP addresses, domain names, suppliers, deployed technologies, geographic locations and social networking accounts. Cybercriminals can find most of this data by using search engines such as Google or Bing, as well as tools such as <a href="https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/python-theharvester-how-to-use-it/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">theHarvester</a>, a command-line utility that uses popular search engines to more easily <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchenterpriseai/tip/How-to-enhance-OSINT-investigations-using-AI">retrieve OSINT data</a>. In some cases, the information that hackers discover is highly sensitive, making their jobs much easier.</li> <li>Environmental assessments. In conjunction with their OSINT searches, cybercriminals will look specifically for details about the target organization's operating environment. For example, they might try to discover what type of computers are being used, what <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/operating-system-OS">operating systems</a> are running, which software has been installed, an application's programming language and similar details about the organization's infrastructure and its configuration. To find this information, the cybercriminals often use a variety of tools. For example, they might use <a href="https://www.gnu.org/software/wget/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wget</a> to download files from a <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Web-server">web server</a> and then search those files for information about the environment, or they might use Netcraft, an internet security tool, to find specific details about a website such as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/IP-address-Internet-Protocol-Address">IP addresses</a>, domains or security certificate information. Hackers might also masquerade as authorized users to gain access to systems to learn more about the environment.</li> <li>Network examination. Cybercriminals will also learn whatever they can about an organization's network and its internet connections. For example, they'll often search for Domain Name System (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/domain-name-system">DNS</a>) information such as IP delegation, domain ownership or DNS record content. A tool such as Netcraft can also be useful for this type of research, as can tools such as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/nslookup">nslookup</a> or <a href="https://github.com/rfc1036/whois" target="_blank" rel="noopener">whois</a>. Cybercriminals might also eavesdrop on an organization's network traffic using <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Wireshark">Wireshark</a> or another packet sniffer. This is sometimes done in conjunction with <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchmobilecomputing/definition/war-driving">war driving</a>, the process of locating and possibly exploiting connections to wireless local area networks. In addition, cybercriminals might use a tool such as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Shodan">Shodan</a> to identify vulnerable devices connected to the internet whose IP addresses belong to the target organization.</li> <li>Physical searches. Would-be hackers are not above performing physical searches to get at sensitive information. This might include digging through trash or looking for data stored on discarded computers or other devices. Any discarded item represents a potential inroad.</li> </ul> <div class="youtube-iframe-container"> <iframe id="ytplayer-0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KZ93C-CroAA?autoplay=0&modestbranding=1&rel=0&widget_referrer=null&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.techtarget.com" type="text/html" height="360" width="640" frameborder="0"></iframe> </div> Both active and passive reconnaissance are also used by <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/ethical-hacker">ethical hackers</a> to carry out attacks against a system to determine its vulnerabilities. These can then be addressed before the system falls prey to a real attack. Ethical reconnaissance is typically part of a larger <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/penetration-testing">penetration testing</a> strategy that also incorporates steps such as network scanning and vulnerability assessment. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-pen_testing-f.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-pen_testing-f_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-pen_testing-f_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/security-pen_testing-f.png 1280w" alt="Graphic showing six steps in penetration testing" height="560" width="560"> <figcaption> Penetration testing at a glance. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> Cybercriminals use passive reconnaissance because they want to go unnoticed, so it can be very difficult for the target organization to detect. The organization's best defense is to implement a layered protection strategy that includes comprehensive <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/firewall">firewall</a> protection and an intrusion prevention system (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/intrusion-prevention">IPS</a>). The firewall should permit only essential traffic and limit port exposure. The IPS should detect port scans in progress and shut them down before hackers can gain a full map of the network. The organization should also conduct regular penetration testing and employ other security measures that protect against data leakage. <div class="youtube-iframe-container"> <iframe id="ytplayer-1" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uGaERP4Npys?autoplay=0&modestbranding=1&rel=0&widget_referrer=null&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.techtarget.com" type="text/html" height="360" width="640" frameborder="0"></iframe> </div> Explore <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Explore-9-essential-elements-of-network-security">nine essential elements of network security</a> and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/feature/The-five-different-types-of-firewalls">five different types of firewalls</a>. </section> Passive reconnaissance is an attempt to gain information about targeted computers and networks without actively engaging with the systems. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/digdeeper/5.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/passive-reconnaissance Fri, 03 Feb 2023 10:13:00 GMT passive reconnaissance <h3>What is the presentation layer?</h3> The presentation layer resides at Layer 6 of the Open Systems Interconnection (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/OSI">OSI</a>) communications model and ensures that communications that pass through it are in the appropriate form for the recipient application. In other words, the presentation layer presents the data in a readable format from an <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/Application-layer">application layer</a> perspective. For example, a presentation layer program could format a file transfer request in binary code to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/tip/6-enterprise-secure-file-transfer-best-practices">ensure a successful file transfer</a>. Because binary is the most rudimentary of computing languages, it ensures that the receiving device can decipher and translate it into a format the application layer understands and expects. <div class="youtube-iframe-container"> <iframe id="ytplayer-0" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jlp8HL_iIqo?autoplay=0&modestbranding=1&rel=0&widget_referrer=null&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.techtarget.com" type="text/html" height="360" width="640" frameborder="0"></iframe> </div> <h3>How the presentation layer works</h3> Once the application layer passes data meant for transport to another device in a certain format, the presentation layer then prepares this data in the most appropriate format the receiving application can understand. Common data formats include the following: <ul class="default-list"> <li><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/ASCII-American-Standard-Code-for-Information-Interchange">American Standard Code for Information Interchange</a> and Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code for text;</li> <li><a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/JPEG-Joint-Photographic-Experts-Group">JPEG</a>, GIF and TIFF for images; and</li> <li>MPEG, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/MIDI-Musical-Instrument-Digital-Interface">MIDI</a> and QuickTime for video.</li> </ul> Encryption and decryption of data communications are also performed at the presentation layer. Here, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/definition/encryption">encryption</a> methods and keys exchange between the two communicating devices. Only the sender and receiver can properly <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/encoding-and-decoding">encode and decode</a> data so it returns to a readable format. The presentation layer can serialize -- or translate -- more complex application data objects into a storable and transportable format. This helps to rebuild the object once it arrives at the other side of the communications stream. The presentation layer also deserializes the data stream and places it back into an object format that the application can understand by the application. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-osi_layers__presentation.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-osi_layers__presentation_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-osi_layers__presentation_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/networking-osi_layers__presentation.png 1280w" alt="Chart depicting the location of the presentation layer within the OSI model." height="500" width="519"> <figcaption> The presentation layer is located at Layer 6 of the OSI model. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> The tool that manages Hypertext Transfer Protocol (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/HTTP-Hypertext-Transfer-Protocol">HTTP</a>) is an example of a program that loosely adheres to the presentation layer of OSI. Although it's technically considered an application-layer protocol per the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/TCP-IP">TCP/IP model</a>, HTTP includes presentation layer services within it. HTTP works when the requesting device forwards user requests passed to the web browser onto a web server elsewhere in the network. HTTP receives a return message from the web server that includes a Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/MIME-Multi-Purpose-Internet-Mail-Extensions">MIME</a>) header. The MIME header indicates the type of file -- text, video, or audio -- that has been received so that an appropriate player utility can present the file to the user. <h3>Functions of the presentation layer</h3> <ul class="default-list"> <li>ensures proper formatting and delivery to and from the application layer;</li> <li>performs data encryption; and</li> <li>manages serialization of data objects.</li> </ul> Editor's note: This article was republished in January 2023 to improve the reader experience. The presentation layer resides at Layer 6 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model and ensures that communications that pass through it are in the appropriate form for the recipient application. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/visuals/digdeeper/4.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/presentation-layer Thu, 19 Jan 2023 09:00:00 GMT presentation layer As COVID-19 continues and a global recession looms, enterprises are looking for ways to construct higher-efficiency networks while limiting overhead and personnel. Analysts predict that going into 2023, companies will invest in products that save money and resources as networks drift deeper into the cloud. These multi-cloud networking trends include network as a service, connectivity for a cloud-native network function and more observability for network security. <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="What is multi-cloud networking?"> <h2 class="section-title">What is multi-cloud networking?</h2> Multi-cloud networking connects multiple public clouds or a mix of public and private clouds (hybrid clouds). Most enterprises are embracing multi-cloud networking and using at least two or three cloud providers, said Shamus McGillicuddy, vice president of network management research at Enterprise Management Associates. The cloud team, instead of the networking team, often configures networking inside the cloud -- but that will change. "I think more networking pros will start looking at multi-cloud networking as a strategic imperative in 2023," McGillicuddy said. This initiative could involve multiple products and services, such as network as a service (NaaS) providers, data center networking overlays that extend into the cloud, cloud networking specialists and software-defined WAN (SD-WAN). Enterprises also have the option of using a single-vendor strategy for networking inside the cloud. "Either way, network teams must get more centralized control and visibility over multi-cloud networks to ensure resilient and secure services that provide a good user experience," McGillicuddy said. Bob Laliberte, senior analyst at TechTarget's Enterprise Strategy Group, agrees. There's a greater need to simplify the connectivity to multiple clouds, he said. Several companies offer one tool that can learn the unique intricacies of each cloud to work with all of them. These tools save time for IT personnel who would otherwise need to become experts in each cloud rather than just learning one tool. Companies offering a single tool for cloud connectivity include Cisco, Aviatrix, Alkira, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366543082/Prosimo-offers-free-multi-cloud-connectivity">Prosimo</a> and F5. Here are the details on this year's multi-cloud networking trends: </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="1. NaaS"> <h2 class="section-title">1. NaaS</h2> NaaS is a way for enterprises to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/Common-network-services-and-their-functions">deliver network services</a> on a subscription basis. Service providers have offered bandwidth as a service for a long time. But as budgets tighten, organizations have a harder time predicting the ebbs and flows of the network, said Derek Granath, senior director of product and technical marketing at Aruba. Given the unpredictability, more and more companies want to <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/The-migration-to-enterprise-network-as-a-service">consume networking as a service</a>. "They don't want to own the Wi-Fi access points. They don't want to own the switches. They don't want to think about it," Granath said. "They just want to connect their employees, and they want it to work." Customers prefer to pay for services on an as-needed basis rather than obtaining full-time ownership, like using a ride-sharing service rather than buying a car, Granath said. As a result, more and more network infrastructure will be consumed, deployed and managed as a service. NaaS offerings include HPE's <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitchannel/feature/New-go-to-market-strategy-key-to-selling-HPE-GreenLake">GreenLake</a> for Aruba and Cisco's <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252498627/Cisco-network-as-a-service-for-hybrid-clouds-on-the-horizon">Cisco+</a>, Laliberte said. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/366547437/SDI-swaps-Cisco-wired-wireless-LAN-for-Nile-NaaS">Another is Nile</a>, the NaaS startup co-founded by Cisco's former CEO John Chambers and former executive vice president Pankaj Patel. Nile, launched in 2022, has a usage-based consumption model and offers networking delivered entirely as a service. "I think everyone's keeping their eye on them," Laliberte said. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="2. Connectivity for a cloud-native network function"> <h2 class="section-title">2. Connectivity for a cloud-native network function</h2> Building architectures for a cloud-native network function (<a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/cloud-native-network-function-CNF">CNF</a>) requires a container network interface (CNI), an ingress controller and a service mesh, according to IDC analyst Brad Casemore. A <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/Explore-network-plugins-for-Kubernetes-CNI-explained">CNI defines how plugins should communicate</a> and interoperate with the container runtime. An ingress controller is a load balancer for container environments that manages communications from outside the container. A <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/definition/service-mesh">service mesh</a> is a part of the infrastructure that delivers service-to-service communications. "Those are all operating at the highest layers of the OSI model," Casemore said. These products are offered by Isovalent, a company that provides cloud-native networking by harnessing <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/An-introduction-to-eBPF-and-where-it-shines">eBPF technology</a>. Its Cilium Enterprise product is an <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tutorial/Improve-Kubernetes-network-performance-with-Cilium-and-eBPF">open source, scalable CNI</a> that supports multi-cluster networking. <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/blog/Open-Source-Insider/Cilium-speeds-sidecar-optioned-cloud-native-networking">Cilium</a> is becoming more popular as a data plane CNI for container networking, which is a fast-growing area, he said. Many other companies offer cloud-native networking service meshes, including <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252528001/How-HashiCorp-is-driving-cloud-provisioning-and-management">HashiCorp</a>, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/news/252505812/Soloio-folds-API-gateway-in-with-Istio-service-mesh">Solo.io</a> and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/news/252513471/F5-Distributed-Cloud-security-services-strike-a-trendy-chord">F5</a>, Casemore said. </section> <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="3. Integration of network and security"> <h2 class="section-title">3. Integration of network and security</h2> Security threats are evolving as the network becomes more distributed, creating a larger attack surface. "Being able to detect anomalous activity within the network is becoming a lot more important," Laliberte said. Modern security tools make use of the data collected by the network. Network detection and response, or NDR, technology can drill to the packet level and enable enterprises to go farther across an extended environment, he said. This tighter integration between network and security is also emerging in secure access service edge, or SASE, due to the rise of the hybrid work model. Companies are working to solve the problem of connecting users securely and efficiently in a mesh-style network by leveraging <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/7-key-SD-WAN-trends-to-evaluate">SD-WAN to converge with security service edge</a>, or SSE, Laliberte said. Another contributor to the increased security capabilities in the network is the transition from network monitoring to network observability, Laliberte said. Monitoring tracks for common issues, whereas <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/definition/observability">observability</a> tracks for unusual problems. Observability is useful in a modern networking environment, which is becoming more dynamic and transient, he said. Observability requires complete data collection to identify unexpected problems. "You don't know what the problem is until you go find it," Laliberte said. "If you have missing data, you may never find it." One popular observability tool is <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/The-future-of-OpenTelemetry-for-observability">OpenTelemetry</a>, an open source framework that helps admins understand an application's performance and health by gathering machine data using a single cloud-native platform. Another is <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/opinion/Splunk-conf22-focuses-on-scaling-observability-for-the-cloud">Splunk</a>, a software platform that indexes machine data and turns it into operational intelligence to facilitate data-driven decision management. Mary Reines joined TechTarget Editorial in October 2022 as a news writer covering networking. Prior to TechTarget, Reines worked for five years as arts editor at the Marblehead Reporter, her hometown newspaper. She received her bachelor's in journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she served as an assistant news editor for the student newspaper, The Daily Collegian. </section> As multi-cloud networking becomes an industry standard, enterprises increasingly seek tools to wrangle data, services and security in a sprawling network that can span countries. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/cloud_g1251263502.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252528816/Multi-cloud-networking-trends-to-watch-in-2023 Tue, 03 Jan 2023 17:05:00 GMT Multi-cloud networking trends to watch in 2023 Cisco beat analyst estimates for the quarter that ended in July as easing supply chain troubles allowed the company to ship more products to customers. Cisco reported Wednesday that revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022 was flat at $13.1 billion, topping <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/CSCO/analysis?p=CSCO" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Wall Street estimates</a> of $12.73 billion. Net income fell 6% to $2.8 billion. For the current quarter, Cisco forecast revenue growth between 2% and 4% year over year. For fiscal 2023, the company expected revenue to increase from 4% to 6%. Revenue would be higher except for the difficulty in buying components, executives said during an earnings call with analysts. Cisco has a record backlog of orders. Without the supply constraints, "we would be growing much more quickly," Cisco CFO Scott Herren said. He expects the component shortage to continue throughout fiscal 2023. "There was some easing [in fiscal Q4], but it doesn't mean it's over," Herren said. COVID-19 lockdowns in Chinese manufacturing centers have <a href="https://twitter.com/stubarea51/status/1557345838288048128" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised havoc</a> in the tech industry's global supply chain. However, competitors Arista and Juniper Networks have navigated the disruption better than Cisco. As a result, they have taken market share, according to analysts. In their most recent quarters, <a href="https://www.arista.com/en/company/news/press-release/15867-pr-20220801" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Arista</a> and <a href="https://investor.juniper.net/investor-relations/press-releases/press-release-details/2022/Juniper-Networks-Reports-Preliminary-Second-Quarter-2022-Financial-Results/default.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Juniper Networks</a> reported that year-to-year revenue rose 48.7% and 8%, respectively. The companies also forecast revenue growth in their current quarters. <div class="imagecaption alignRight"> <img src="https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineImages/robbins_chuck.jpg" alt="Chuck Robbins, CEO, Cisco">Chuck Robbins </div> Cisco has tackled its product backlog by paying higher-than-average component prices, which have lowered margins, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said. The company expects to continue spending more over the next 60 to 90 days. The company has done <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252518449/Cisco-revenue-depressed-by-China-lockdowns-supply-woes">hundreds of product redesigns</a> to bypass some component shortages. Those products will ship throughout the fiscal year. In fiscal Q4, Cisco's supply deficit led to a revenue decline in routing and campus and data center switching, Herren said. Meeting and calling products also suffered revenue drops. "The teams are really focused on trying to get that back to growth," Robbins said of the meeting platforms, which include the Webex portfolio. "But we've got a lot of work to do." Security revenue grew 20%. Other products with positive revenue growth included the Meraki wireless portfolio and collaboration hardware, which grew 2%. The weakest industry sectors for sales included retail, healthcare and financial services. Otherwise, "pretty much strength across most of the rest of the sectors," Herren said. Cisco has not seen a change in customer demand from the Federal Reserve's decision to raise interest rates to lower inflation. "We haven't seen a material demand signal change as we enter into [fiscal] Q1," Robbins said. In general, customers' buying behaviors haven't changed, other than looking for a quicker return on investment, he said. "That affects how they think about what products they're buying." In some cases, customers were planning for 2023, "but other than that, we're not seeing anything significantly different," Robbins said. Antone Gonsalves is a news director for TechTarget Editorial, focusing on networking, collaboration and end-user computing. He has deep and wide experience in tech journalism. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked for UBM's InformationWeek, TechWeb and Computer Reseller News. He has also written for Ziff Davis' PC Week, IDG's CSOonline and IBTMedia's CruxialCIO, and rounded all of that out by covering startups for Bloomberg News. He started his journalism career at United Press International, working as a reporter and editor in California, Texas, Kansas and Florida. Cisco expects component shortages to continue through fiscal 2023, holding revenue growth to between 4% and 6%. Component prices could ease after the current quarter. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/toolGearArrow_g140057613.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252523974/Cisco-earnings-improve-with-easing-supply-shortage Thu, 18 Aug 2022 11:02:00 GMT Cisco earnings improve with easing supply shortage Cisco executive Todd Nightingale, who leads the firm's enterprise networking and cloud division, will step down next month to become CEO of cloud edge company Fastly. Nightingale plans to start his new job with Fastly Sept. 1, leaving Cisco after nearly 10 years. "I've been honored to be a part of such a passionate, caring organization," <a href="https://twitter.com/tnight/status/1554981559916081152">Nightingale tweeted</a> this week. "Being a part of Cisco and Meraki over the past decade has been a privilege for which I will be forever grateful." Nightingale started working for Cisco when it <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240171835/Why-Cisco-chooses-acquisition-over-RD">bought cloud network management company Meraki</a> in late 2012 for $1.2 billion. For eight years, he served as vice president and general manager of the Meraki division. He was an executive and engineer at network security firm AirDefense before his tenure at Meraki. <div class="imagecaption alignLeft"> <img src="https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/nightingale_todd.jpg " alt="Todd Nightingale, Fastly CEO">Todd Nightingale </div> In his time with Meraki, Nightingale furthered the company's reputation for simplifying network management for IT administrators, IDC analyst Rohit Mehra said. "Meraki has not only done great for Cisco, but for many in the industry, it's been the poster child for cloud-managed networking," Mehra said. When Cisco executive <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252479853/Cisco-restructuring-following-Goeckeler-departure">David Goeckeler left</a> in March 2020, Nightingale took charge of the company's newly formed enterprise networking and cloud group. In that capacity, he led Cisco's efforts to integrate Meraki's management capabilities with its portfolio of campus networking products, Mehra said. Nightingale's work led to the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521501/Cisco-launches-cloud-management-of-Catalyst-Nexus-switches">addition of Cisco's Catalyst campus switches</a> to Meraki's management platform. The recent integration, which lets administrators monitor and troubleshoot networks from the cloud, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521774/Cisco-customers-eager-for-Merakis-Catalyst-management">won praise</a> from IT professionals. Nightingale was instrumental to Cisco taking that big step in network management, Enterprise Strategy Group analyst Bob Laliberte said. "He moved a lot of mountains within Cisco to converge these groups." Though Nightingale's departure is a loss, Cisco has a strong bench of talent that will let it continue integrating its hardware with Meraki, Mehra said. "It's an opportunity for a number of Cisco's senior product and business leaders to rise to the occasion," he said. Cisco will merge Nightingale's department with its mass-scale infrastructure division, the company said. Jonathan Davidson, currently executive vice president of that group, will lead the combined unit. "We are grateful for Todd's many contributions and congratulate him as he takes on a new opportunity as a CEO of another company in an adjacent market," a Cisco spokesperson said. Nightingale will replace Joshua Bixby as Fastly CEO. Bixby will step down from his CEO position and the company's board but will continue to serve as an adviser. Fastly's software platform delivers content from the cloud. "Todd is a proven and passionate technology leader, and we are thrilled to have him join our team," Fastly board member David Hornik said in a statement. In <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220803005944/en/">a release</a>, Nightingale praised Fastly's technology and thanked the company for choosing him for CEO. "Fastly is delivering unparalleled application experiences for users around the world, with exceptional flexibility, security and performance," Nightingale said. "I'm honored and grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the Fastly team." Enterprise Strategy Group is a division of TechTarget. Mike Gleason is a reporter covering unified communications and collaboration tools. He previously covered communities in the MetroWest region of Massachusetts for the Milford Daily News, Walpole Times, Sharon Advocate and Medfield Press. He has also worked for newspapers in central Massachusetts and southwestern Vermont and served as a local editor for Patch. He can be found on Twitter at @MGleason_TT. Executive Todd Nightingale will step away from Cisco after a decade. Cisco plans to combine the enterprise networking and cloud division he led with another department. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/keys_a150731005.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252523556/Cisco-executive-Todd-Nightingale-to-take-Fastly-CEO-job Fri, 05 Aug 2022 14:17:00 GMT Cisco executive Todd Nightingale to take Fastly CEO job Cisco's recent addition of Catalyst campus switches to its cloud-based Meraki network management platform has IT administrators expecting to do more without increasing staffing. The Meraki update seemed to excite network engineers the most of the several cloud-related announcements that Cisco made at the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/opinion/Cisco-Live-highlights-network-observability-the-metaverse">Cisco Live conference</a> last week. That's likely because Catalyst accounts for more than half of the global campus switching market, although its share has shrunk over the last several years. Network administrator Jared Houghton looks forward to using Meraki and Catalyst together to ease his workload as the sole engineer at Bonneville International, a Utah media and broadcast company. "One of my challenges is being able to manage all the equipment [covering Bonneville's] market --management is definitely a big, time-consuming thing," he said. "Simplifying that [job] is a big deal for me." Luis Morales, CTO of Valley Health System in New Jersey, expects the latest version of Meraki to ease the complexity of moving Valley Health's flagship hospital to a <a href="https://www.valleyhealth.com/new-valley-hospital" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new healthcare campus</a> by next year. Morales hopes to complete The Valley Hospital project without hiring more staff. "I think Meraki and [its] switch visibility is going to be huge for us," Morales said. "Managing our diverse environment with all the different sites is a challenge. … If we don't have to add more people to manage it, that will be tremendous." <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/German/Cisco_Meraki_MR55_Dashboard.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/German/Cisco_Meraki_MR55_Dashboard_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/German/Cisco_Meraki_MR55_Dashboard_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/German/Cisco_Meraki_MR55_Dashboard.png 1280w" alt="Several blue line graphs on the Meraki dashboard display network health." data-credit="Cisco" height="563" width="560"> <figcaption> he Meraki cloud-based management dashboard. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> Cisco <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521501/Cisco-launches-cloud-management-of-Catalyst-Nexus-switches">has added to the Meraki dashboard</a> support for Catalyst 9200, 9300, and 9500 switches. The company plans to expand support to the entire Catalyst 9000 line in time. Also, Cisco will release integration between Meraki and the ThousandEyes internet intelligence platform soon, Todd Nightingale, the senior vice president and general manager of enterprise networking at Cisco, said. A network engineer who asked to remain anonymous because he wasn't authorized to talk to the media wondered why Cisco didn't add Catalyst to Meraki sooner, given the customer demand. "I'm just surprised it took them so long to figure that out," he said. Now that Cisco has gone this far, he wants the company to go further by adding to Meraki more troubleshooting features, such as a greater wealth of switching logs. "Meraki still needs to go a long way, [but] it's getting better," he said. <h3>Cisco launches Nexus Cloud</h3> Cisco's other <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521501/Cisco-launches-cloud-management-of-Catalyst-Nexus-switches">significant launch was Nexus Cloud</a>, which will eventually incorporate most Nexus Dashboard management features for Nexus data center switches. For now, Nexus Cloud offers onboarding and traffic analysis. Joseph Imprescia, a senior network engineer at Boston-based insurance company Liberty Mutual, is deploying the on-premises <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252491408/Cisco-dashboard-simplifies-access-to-multiple-NetOps-tools">Nexus Dashboard</a>. The software manages network operations across <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252455729/Cisco-ACI-controller-headed-for-AWS">Cisco ACI</a> and <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/ios-nx-os-software/nx-os-software/data_sheet_c78-652063.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NX-OS</a> data center fabrics. ACI, or Application Centric Infrastructure, is the software-defined networking product for private data centers and public clouds; NX-OS is the operating system for Nexus switches. Imprescia looks forward to using Nexus Cloud when he deploys ACI in public clouds. "We will be using [Nexus Cloud], but that will be for our ACI fabrics as we go more to rolling out multi-cloud," he said. Frankie Bueno, a systems engineer for Connecticut telecom company Charter Communications, said her company could use Nexus Cloud in the future to correlate analytics from across different network connections. "To be able to see things at a glance in a way where you can actually see how things are connected -- like hybrid views -- I think are very helpful," Bueno said. <h3>Cisco takes more security to the cloud</h3> Earlier in the month, Cisco introduced Cisco Security Cloud for network security. The unified security management and policy administration platform sits between employees connecting from anywhere and applications running in the cloud or the data center. Security Cloud provides features like risk-based authentication and zero trust. Some Cisco Live attendees were wary of giving control to a cloud-based security product. The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York, which suffered <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-brooklyn-hospital-center-notice-of-data-security-incident-300950176.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a painful malware attack</a> in 2019, uses Cisco on-premises firewalls, access control systems and other technology to lock down its networks. The hospital is unlikely to use Cisco Security Cloud or any other cloud-based security product that would touch patient data, said Shane Froebel, the center's acting chief information security officer.  "There's a very rigorous checklist that I have before I say, 'Yes, the cloud is OK,'" Froebel said. "[But] I'll never put a firewall, I'll never put a router on the cloud. I think it's too risky." Froebel's caution comes from working in a highly regulated industry that must answer to multiple government agencies if patient data is compromised. That process would get more complicated if a cloud provider stored or handled patient data. "We're too regulated," Froebel said. Luis Melendrez, an information systems specialist for the California utility company Imperial Irrigation District, echoed Froebel's sentiments. He adopted Cisco's next-generation firewalls a few years ago and is impressed with the intelligence it provides. However, putting his network's security in the cloud still makes Melendrez nervous. "I need to be convinced that it's secure to move [data] to the cloud," he said. Several network managers weren't considering Security Cloud because of previous evaluations of Cisco security products. Back then, they found the technology poorly integrated, a problem Cisco tries to address with Security Cloud. While Valley Health System is a Cisco shop for network and telephone infrastructure, it uses Palo Alto for security, Morales said. "We looked at Cisco solutions [and] at that time, I think it was -- I'm going to say fractured," he said. "Palo Alto provided a more unified approach." Madelaine Millar is a news writer covering network technology at TechTarget. She has previously written about science and technology for MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, as well as covering community news for Boston Globe Media. IT professionals were excited to see cloud-based Meraki management for Catalyst switches but were less enthusiastic over the new Cisco Security Cloud. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/cloud_g1135435124.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521774/Cisco-customers-eager-for-Merakis-Catalyst-management Mon, 20 Jun 2022 16:19:00 GMT Cisco customers eager for Meraki's Catalyst management Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins acknowledged that stock market volatility and high inflation and interest rates could cause a slowdown in the global IT market. Nevertheless, he said he did not expect the current economic conditions to have the same impact they would have had a decade ago. In the past, C-suite executives would have slashed IT spending to reduce expenses, Robbins said Tuesday at <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/conference/Cisco-Live-conference-coverage-news-and-analysis">Cisco Live</a>. Now, executives see IT as driving the company's core business. "I'm not naive that things could slow down, and [companies] could push projects out," Robbins said during a meeting with reporters and analysts. "But not like you would have seen in the past, when [IT] was seen as a cost center." The change in executive attitudes is "a monumental shift in thinking," he said. Robbins pointed to how Cisco customers Ford Motor Co. and Bank of America have used technology to drive revenue through customer services. Ford President and CEO Jim Farley plans to invest $50 billion by 2026 to build internet-connected electric vehicles. <div class="imagecaption alignLeft"> <img src="https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineImages/robbins_chuck.jpg" alt="Chuck Robbins">Chuck Robbins </div> "There's an understanding of the power of the technology," Robbins said of the companies. Technology's importance was demonstrated during the pandemic, when companies used it <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcio/feature/C-suite-executives-offer-advice-on-working-remotely-during-pandemic">to keep employees working from home</a> on laptops. Today, Cisco customers have had to adjust to employee demand to continue working from home at least two or three days a week. Many of those companies continue experimenting with collaboration tools like video conferencing, which can't adequately serve all the needs of a hybrid workforce, Robbins said. "They're solving for hybrid work by looking at collaboration on a meetings platform, as opposed to a holistic experience," he said. <h3>Robbins goes easy on the Biden administration</h3> Robbins avoided criticizing the Biden administration on its handling of the U.S. economy. Last year's <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/11/biden-1point9-trillion-covid-relief-package-thursday-afternoon.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$1.9 trillion relief package</a> to help the unemployed during the pandemic contributed to today's high inflation rate, economists said. That consequence wasn't certain at the time because no one had experience navigating a global pandemic, Robbins said. "[So] I would stop short of criticizing them." But the Federal Reserve and the administration should have adjusted to the impact of the stimulus package sooner, he said. Then again, eight months ago, no one could have foreseen a war in Ukraine and soaring oil prices. "It's a complicated world, and they're navigating a lot of moving parts," Robbins said. Also contributing to the world's economic turmoil is a global supply chain recovering <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searcherp/feature/7-techniques-to-build-supply-chain-resilience">from production and shipping disruptions</a>. Cisco can't get enough semiconductors because "every product on the planet now seems to have one or more semiconductors in it," Robbins said. He expected the supply to improve significantly next year as PC demand slows. Also, component inventories at brokers have increased a bit. "We're starting to see some good signs, but I still think we're three, six or nine months to where we really get this thing resolved in a way that's acceptable to our customers, honestly," Robbins said. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins said companies could reduce spending but are unlikely to slash budgets because technology has become a revenue driver. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/money_g656093868.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252521558/Cisco-CEO-Chuck-Robbins-IT-spending-could-slow Wed, 15 Jun 2022 10:43:00 GMT Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins: IT spending could slow Cisco released two updates to its ThousandEyes internet intelligence platform to improve video conference connection quality and simplify troubleshooting. Launched this week, Automated Session Testing and the Agent View dashboard help IT teams proactively manage day-to-day problems that affect applications running on top of ever more complex networking environments, according to Cisco. Automated Session Testing is a <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsoftwarequality/definition/synthetic-monitoring">synthetic monitoring</a> tool for infrastructure devices supporting Cisco Webex, Microsoft Teams and Zoom meetings. Network managers configure automatic tests of the network paths used by the devices with a ThousandEyes endpoint agent. IT professionals can specify the frequency of tests and the protocols used, such as <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/TCP">TCP</a> or <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/ICMP">ICMP</a>. ThousandEyes displays gathered testing information as a flow chart of network hops. The chart identifies jitter, packet loss or other issues in the network path. Automated Session Testing also identifies network nodes common to multiple users in the same video conference. That information can help IT professionals determine where to troubleshoot problems affecting many people. Cisco plans to add Automated Session Testing support for more communication apps. Future updates will support popular call center apps like Genesys and Amazon Connect. Synthetic testing is not a new concept. Kentik and Viavi are two synthetic testing vendors likely to compete with the updated ThousandEyes product, IDC analyst Mark Leary said. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/agent_view_correlates_multiple_data_sources_to_show_performance_trends_for_a_monitored_user_f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/agent_view_correlates_multiple_data_sources_to_show_performance_trends_for_a_monitored_user_f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/agent_view_correlates_multiple_data_sources_to_show_performance_trends_for_a_monitored_user_f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/agent_view_correlates_multiple_data_sources_to_show_performance_trends_for_a_monitored_user_f.jpg 1280w" alt="The Agent View dashboard correlates data from multiple sources about one user." data-credit="Cisco" height="351" width="560"> <figcaption> The Agent View dashboard correlates user data from multiple sources. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> The Agent View dashboard aggregates network health data for each person on the network. The data includes browser sessions, scheduled tests, local networks and device-level metrics. Correlating all the data and displaying it side by side helps IT professionals spot degradation trends in network performance quickly, Cisco said. The new tools are available now at no extra cost to ThousandEyes subscribers. The customer trend behind the latest announcements is the same that drove Cisco to unveil plans for <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252517961/Cisco-reveals-details-of-predictive-network-management-tool">an AI-powered SaaS application</a> that predicts network problems based on abnormalities discovered in traffic patterns. Companies want tools that help IT spot potential network problems before affecting employees. <figure class="main-article-image full-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/automated_session_testing_displays_common_network_points_for_all_meeting_participants_f.jpg"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/automated_session_testing_displays_common_network_points_for_all_meeting_participants_f_mobile.jpg" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/automated_session_testing_displays_common_network_points_for_all_meeting_participants_f_mobile.jpg 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/automated_session_testing_displays_common_network_points_for_all_meeting_participants_f.jpg 1280w" alt="Automated Session Testing displays video conference attendees' network paths as flowcharts." data-credit="Cisco" height="335" width="558"> <figcaption> Automated Session Testing displays video conference attendees' network paths as flowcharts. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> The SaaS analytics engine represents a step toward technology that can resolve problems itself, while the latest releases help network managers become more proactive in fixing potential issues, Leary said. "If we're to deliver networks that are dynamic, that can serve the digital age better, [they need] less operator involvement, less manual intervention with networks, less manual diagnostics, less problem resolution [and more problem avoidance]," Leary said. Madelaine Millar is a news writer covering network technology at TechTarget. She has previously written about science and technology for MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, as well as covering community news for Boston Globe Media. Cisco added automated testing for video conferences and a troubleshooting dashboard to the ThousandEyes internet intelligence platform. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/security_a395732039.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252518361/Cisco-adds-synthetic-monitoring-to-ThousandEyes Wed, 18 May 2022 11:29:00 GMT Cisco adds automated testing to ThousandEyes Cisco has warned that some of its dual in-line memory <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/module">modules</a> are failing prematurely due to a manufacturing error. Customers using specific Cisco DIMMs that appear in products such as the Cloud Native Broadband Router (CNBR) and the Unified Computing System (UCS) server are encouraged to replace the component to prevent server failures. The <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/definition/DIMM">DIMMs</a> with faulty chips are 16 GB, 32 GB and 64 GB components manufactured during the second half of 2020. Customers might notice a faulty DIMM from persistent correctable memory errors. However, Cisco discouraged customers from relying solely on that metric, as operating system and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/whatis/definition/Reliability-Availability-and-Serviceability-RAS">reliability, availability and service (RAS)</a> features might mask some errors. Instead, the company recommended customers use <a href="https://cloudsso.cisco.com/as/authorization.oauth2?response_type=code&client_id=wam_prod_ac&redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fsnvui.cisco.com%2Fpa%2Foidc%2Fcb&state=eyJ6aXAiOiJERUYiLCJhbGciOiJkaXIiLCJlbmMiOiJBMTI4Q0JDLUhTMjU2Iiwia2lkIjoibDQiLCJzdWZmaXgiOiJWY2NPN1QuMTY1MjEyMTcyOCJ9..eHiRr-hoiZc1BaP5nmHPQQ.xDaDkVebFt6Gexg0q-W9TEdY8kj06jfHFE-g6GxAbRaxePPXzdBCz7aIEZlUPLjzerXM6q6YH-NJHAqxzB4LhyVovLEnjk5JLgOr2zakn_U.GZKktUSmzItZC3SZcPr_lg&nonce=W759qI22maVt1SAM0eFO3elbUkuc2X3yjBbRShhmg9U&acr_values=stdnomfa&scope=openid%20profile%20address%20email%20phone&vnd_pi_requested_resource=https%3A%2F%2Fsnvui.cisco.com%2Fsnv%2FFN72368&vnd_pi_application_name=CAEAXprod-snvui" target="_blank" rel="noopener">its Serial Number Validation Tool</a> to test whether their hardware uses affected DIMMs. Not all DIMMs contain the manufacturing error. Companies that fail to replace the DIMM might discover that error messages disappear in systems after a repair even if issues remain. Over time, these memory errors can lead to uncorrectable memory errors and an unexpected server reset. An uncorrectable memory error can reduce the total available memory. Products with faulty DIMMs include models of Cisco's Cloud Services Platform, the CNBR and the UCS. The flaw also affects Business Edition 6000 and 7000 <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitchannel/feature/Channel-Explained-Voice-over-Internet-Protocol-VoIP">VoIP</a> systems. A complete list of impacted product IDs is available in <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/723/fn72368.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cisco's field notice on Friday</a>. Companies can order replacement parts <a href="https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/723/fn72368.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">through Cisco</a>. Customers in South America, Central America, Asia and non-EU countries should expect shipping delays of three months. The replacement DIMM may not immediately show as healthy, particularly if the physical DIMM seating is incorrect. Cisco recommends customers run server memory diagnostics to minimize early runtime errors. In other Cisco news last week, the company <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252517961/Cisco-reveals-details-of-predictive-network-management-tool">introduced a predictive analytics engine</a> for network management. It uses AI to anticipate network health issues before they occur based on previous network behavior. Cisco developed the engine using its data over the last two years. The SaaS product will ingest customer data to tailor predictions to users' specific networks. Cisco plans to unveil the engine at Cisco Live in June. The company plans to integrate the service into other Cisco products in the coming years. The engine has shown promise at accurately predicting when network traffic paths will degrade in early customer trials. However, IT professionals will still have to learn about manufacturing defects the traditional way. Madelaine Millar is a news writer covering network technology at TechTarget. She has previously written about science and technology for MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, as well as covering community news for Boston Globe Media. A manufacturing defect affecting some DIMMs made in late 2020 could cause persistent memory errors and server failure. Cisco recommends customers replace impacted DIMMs. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/security_a303249453.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252517976/Cisco-warns-of-hardware-failure-in-DIMM-memory-components Mon, 09 May 2022 18:31:00 GMT Cisco warns of hardware failure in DIMM memory components AMD's $1.9 billion acquisition of Pensando would place the chipmaker next to Intel and Nvidia in vying for the business of large enterprises deploying smartNICs as critical infrastructure for modernized data centers running private clouds. AMD this week disclosed plans to acquire the Milpitas, Calif., maker of programmable packet processors before July. Pensando technology competes with the <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/tip/CPU-vs-microprocessor-What-are-the-differences">digital processing units</a> (DPU) Intel and Nvidia make for <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/post/Compare-smartNIC-products-and-use-cases">smartNICs</a>. Enterprises like Pensando customer Goldman Sachs use <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchstorage/tip/DPUs-vs-SmartNICs-What-storage-admins-need-to-know">smartNICs with processors that can offload</a> telemetry, security, storage and networking services from a server's CPU. The architecture dedicates more CPU power to run applications that drive an enterprise's business. Also, the architecture provides software-defined centralized control of the services. That is "hugely important for ensuring operational efficiency," said Bob Laliberte, a senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group. AMD is a longtime provider of server CPUs, so the acquisition could help Pensando accelerate growth in its core business and allow it to pursue a much larger customer base across more markets, Pensando CEO Prem Jain said in a statement. The Pensando packet processor uses an ARM core to control and supervise packet paths while allowing smartNIC manufacturers to use the specialized <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-is-a-programmable-data-plane-and-where-does-P4-fit-in">P4 programming language</a> to tailor the data plane for customers' use cases. <figure class="main-article-image half-col" data-img-fullsize="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/Pensando_DSC_100.png"> <img data-src="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/Pensando_DSC_100_half_column_mobile.png" class="lazy" data-srcset="https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/Pensando_DSC_100_half_column_mobile.png 960w,https://www.techtarget.com/rms/onlineimages/Pensando_DSC_100.png 1280w" alt="Pensando DSC-100" data-credit="Pensando" height="249" width="280"> <figcaption> The Pensando DSC-100 Distributed Services Card delivers software-defined services for public and private clouds. </figcaption> <div class="main-article-image-enlarge"> </div> </figure> Intel started pursuing a similar technique with the 2019 acquisition of Barefoot Networks, a chipmaker for switches. Nvidia's smartNIC technology is the programmable BlueField DPU. The company has partnered with VMware to deliver <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchitoperations/feature/Memory-management-techniques-improve-system-performance">its ESXi hypervisor on BlueField</a>. Distributing services in smartNICs to boost application performance started with public cloud providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure. AMD, Intel and Nvidia want to work with enterprises that plan to mimic the architecture in their private clouds. "What you get with the likes of Pensando is a building block that alters the way people have traditionally built infrastructure for 30 years," Ashish Nadkarni, group vice president at IDC's infrastructure practice, said. Pensando, Intel and Nvidia each approach DPUs from a different perspective, Nadkarni said. Pensando, founded by former Cisco CEO John Chambers, leans toward networking, Nvidia artificial intelligence, and Intel machine learning and real-time network telemetry. <blockquote class="main-article-pullquote"> <div class="main-article-pullquote-inner"> <figure> What you get with the likes of Pensando is a building block that alters the way people have traditionally built infrastructure for 30 years. </figure> <figcaption> Ashish NadkarniGroup vice president, IDC </figcaption> </div> </blockquote> The "low-hanging fruit" for enterprises today is to use smartNICs to gather and analyze telemetry to measure what's happening in a network, said Silvano Gai, a Pensando Systems fellow and author of Building a Future-Proof Cloud Infrastructure from Pearson, <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/feature/How-smartNIC-architecture-supports-scalable-infrastructure">in a recent interview</a>. Another useful purpose with low overhead is distributing network taps, which are external monitoring devices that mirror traffic between two network nodes, according to Gai. Tap-makers design them, so they don't impede production traffic flow. With Pensando, AMD has the option of offering <a href="https://support.hpe.com/hpesc/public/docDisplay?docId=a00104572en_us&docLocale=en_US#:~:text=Pensando%20Distributed%20Services%20Platform%20(DSP,where%20the%20transition%20between%20network" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a distributed services platform</a> that enterprises can deploy with minimal disruption to their data center servers, ESG's Laliberte said. Last year, Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, <a href="https://news.arubanetworks.com/news-release-details/2021/Aruba-Introduces-The-Next-Evolution-of-Switching-Architecture/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched the CX 10000 Series of top-of-rack switches</a>, including the Pensando platform. The hardware delivers distributed networking and security services without replacing servers or adding smartNICs. As a result, the option isn't disruptive to existing data centers because "you're not going in and ripping open a server," Laliberte said. Enterprise Strategy Group is a division of TechTarget. Antone Gonsalves is the news director for the Networking Media Group. He has deep and wide experience in tech journalism. Since the mid-1990s, he has worked for UBM's InformationWeek, TechWeb and Computer Reseller News. He has also written for Ziff Davis' PC Week, IDG's CSOonline and IBTMedia's CruxialCIO, and rounded all of that out by covering startups for Bloomberg News. He started his journalism career at United Press International, working as a reporter and editor in California, Texas, Kansas and Florida. AMD's $1.9 billion acquisition of Pensando would hand the chipmaker a DPU that leans toward providing distributed network services within large enterprises' private clouds. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/storage_g539954410.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252515660/AMD-heats-up-DPU-competition-with-Pensando-acquisition Wed, 06 Apr 2022 14:34:00 GMT AMD heats up DPU competition with Pensando acquisition Microsoft has bolstered its hybrid cloud offering for communication service providers with an Azure for Operators update that focuses on running critical mobile 5G technology on the global cloud network. Microsoft also announced this week at the MWC mobile communications conference in Barcelona, Spain, a partnership with AT&T to offer a private 5G network that can hand off roaming devices to the carrier's wireless network. The Azure for Operators update includes the new Azure Operator Distributed Services to run the network core. For the cloud network's edge, Microsoft introduced the Azure Private 5G Core and Azure public <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-is-multi-access-edge-computing-and-how-has-it-evolved">multi-access edge compute</a> (MEC). Microsoft <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/microsoft-partners-with-the-telecommunications-industry-to-roll-out-5g-and-more/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">launched Azure for Operators in 2020</a> to provide communication service providers with a platform for deploying and managing wireless networks through a hybrid cloud architecture. Since then, Microsoft has established credibility with enterprises and network operators, giving it a "significant edge" over rivals AWS and Google Cloud, said Tom Nolle, president of networking and IT consultancy CIMI Corp. "Operators are very reluctant to jump into any investment in [their own] carrier cloud, so they're happy to look at [cloud] options that don't commit them to upfront costs," Nolle said. Azure Operator Distributed Services is a hybrid cloud platform that combines the AT&T Network Cloud with Azure's security, monitoring, analytics and AI capabilities. It also includes the new Azure Operator 5G Core, a packet-core-as-a-service application for mobile networks. Network Cloud, <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252503434/ATT-to-move-5G-mobile-network-to-Microsoft-Azure">acquired by Microsoft</a> in June 2021, allows telecom operators to unify the network core, the radio access network, the mobile and voice core, and the operational support system in a hybrid cloud. Splitting the technology between Azure and a carrier's private data center is a more flexible option than running everything on premises. It's not surprising to see cloud-based network cores work their way into the telco operator market, IDC analyst Daryl Schoolar said. The trend is similar to how enterprises use the cloud to access IT services. "You've seen this approach for the business end user -- something as a service, like security as a service or Microsoft Office as a service," Schoolar said. "Now you start to see it go to the telco operator, which has to be done on a bigger scale; [it has] many different requirements in terms of reliability." Microsoft's new Azure Private 5G Core provides packet core as a service to enterprises running on-premises private 5G networks and low-latency applications on edge platforms, such as the on-premises Azure Stack Edge. Azure public MEC is a public iteration of the Azure private MEC released last year. Microsoft is working on the public MEC with a range of systems integrators, including Accenture, Capgemini, Intelsat, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Microsoft plans to conduct Azure Operator Distributed Services tests later this year. A private preview of Azure Operator 5G Core is available now. Azure Private 5G Core is available now as part of the Azure private MEC solution already on the market. The AT&T-Microsoft partnership -- the <a href="https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252513904/ATT-teams-with-Microsoft-to-gain-private-5G-edge">AT&T Private 5G Edge</a> -- will use Azure MEC, which Microsoft <a href="https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/unlocking-the-enterprise-opportunity-with-5g-edge-compute-and-cloud/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released in June 2021</a>, to offer a private network capable of accessing AT&T's public network. The handoff would occur when devices leave the physical area of the private network to ensure that latency-critical applications at the edge remain connected. The service will operate across the AT&T spectrum and <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/answer/What-is-Citizens-Broadband-Radio-Service">Citizens Broadband Radio Service</a> used for private wireless networks. Microsoft and AT&T have already collaborated on 5G before with Microsoft Azure <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252503471/Microsoft-will-host-ATT-5G-network-on-Azure">hosting AT&T's public 5G core network</a>. Madelaine Millar is a news writer covering network technology at TechTarget. She has previously written about science and technology for MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Khoury College of Computer Sciences, as well as covering community news for Boston Globe Media. Microsoft's latest Azure for Operators update includes critical 5G services. The company also joined AT&T in a private 5G service that can roam on the carrier's public network. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/mobile_g1097898396.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252514149/Microsoft-updates-Azure-for-Operators-joins-ATT-in-private-5G Thu, 03 Mar 2022 15:16:00 GMT Microsoft updates Azure for Operators, joins AT&T in private 5G In the wake of the Dec. 7 AWS service outage, the company has acknowledged that its existing outage response was inadequate, and its methods for communicating service health updates also failed. A Dec. 10 blog post detailed how providing updates via a global banner on the Service Health Dashboard left some customers in the dark. AWS promised to rearchitect its support system and release an updated version of the service performance console. <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchcloudcomputing/news/252510639/Major-Amazon-Web-Services-outage-downs-businesses-services">The outage occurred</a> after an attempt to scale up the capacity of an unspecified service triggered "unexpected activity" in AWS's internal network, which handles foundational services including monitoring, DNS and authorization, said the company in a<a href="https://aws.amazon.com/message/12721/"> blog post</a>. The unusual activity caused a surge in connection activity that overwhelmed the devices responsible for communicating between the main and internal networks. The lack of communication resulted in the downing of customer services ranging from <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchsecurity/news/365533432/ZenGo-finds-transaction-simulation-flaw-in-Coinbase-others">Coinbase</a> to Roomba to Netflix. The outage also affected parent company Amazon's e-commerce site. The outage affected the northern Virginia region, home to AWS's largest data center. The disruption lasted from 7:30 a.m. to 2:22 p.m. PST on Dec. 7, but response times for some services remained heightened until 6:40 p.m. PST. AWS said it would replace its existing failover setup with an <a href="https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/tip/Active-active-data-centers-key-to-high-availability-application-resilience">active-active</a> multi-region support system architecture to improve its response time to outages. The new system is more complex to set up and maintain because it requires more communication between servers to remain synchronized. However, it will ensure that services continue to be delivered even if one region experiences an outage, said Mattias Andersson, senior community training architect at A Cloud Guru, which provides IT training on cloud use. Pluralsight, an online educational company, owns A Cloud Guru. "The difficulty is in making [an active-active architecture] seem like it's a single system, but it happens to be running in multiple places … data synchronization across large areas is really the core difficulty around building a system of this kind," Andersson said. A system reliant on communication between two networks to switch to another region during an outage is vulnerable to communication disruptions caused by that outage. But a system that balances all loads among all available processing capacity all the time would not be affected. "Honestly, I think it's a really good approach," Andersson said. <section class="section main-article-chapter" data-menu-title="Defending against outages"> <h2 class="section-title">Defending against outages</h2> The AWS outage lasted so long in part because it affected the visibility of network monitoring data. It also affected the Service Health Dashboard, which left AWS unable to communicate quickly with customers. AWS will update the dashboard in early 2022 to improve communication during outages. Running workloads in the cloud is "essentially handing over the keys of the kingdom," said Gartner analyst Sid Nag. There isn't much that customers can do to keep their workflows moving during an outage. However, enterprises can become more prepared in advance. "I think that the best way for people to mitigate these sorts of issues is to learn about and understand how the cloud really works," Andersson said. "People need to not just follow some set of rules, but rather understand how the cloud actually works so they can use it to good advantage and work around a lot of the risks that they might never have understood before." A 100% uptime for all services all the time is prohibitively expensive and rarely necessary, Andersson said. Also, pursuing it would reduce the cloud's speed and flexibility. Instead, he recommended that IT departments explore the <a href="https://docs.aws.amazon.com/wellarchitected/latest/framework/welcome.html">AWS Well Architected Framework</a> to evaluate whether they are using AWS cloud resources in an outage-resilient way. Madelaine Millar is a news writer covering network technology at TechTarget. She has previously written about science and technology for MIT's Lincoln Laboratory and the Khoury College of Computer Science, as well as covering community news for Boston Globe Media. </section> AWS plans to rearchitect its support system to run across multiple regions to prevent a future hours-long outage. Also, it will release an updated Service Health Dashboard. https://cdn.ttgtmedia.com/rms/onlineimages/map_globe_g1310544349.jpg https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/news/252511210/AWS-to-rearchitect-support-network-following-major-outage Mon, 20 Dec 2021 10:53:00 GMT AWS to rearchitect support network following major outage Search Networking Resources and Information from TechTarget 60 webmaster@techtarget.com