Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, October 2, 2009
Cisco: ‘In Norway We Trust’
Cisco: In Norway We Trust
The push to Buy American could start to mean something quite different than a patriotic call to purchase homemade cars and appliances in the coming years.
Sensing a more stabilized economy, the largest technology companies have started to put their massive cash war chests into action, acquiring companies once again. Oracle led the way with its purchase of Sun Microsystems. EMC gobbled up Data Domain. VMware bought the open-source software maker SpringSource. And this week, Cisco made a $3.0 billion offer for Tandberg, a video-conferencing specialist.
It’s Cisco’s acquisition that jumps out because of its European flair. Tandberg is based in Oslo, Norway and provided Cisco with a unique opportunity to use some of its $35 billion in cash.
The vast majority - about $29 billion - of Cisco’s cash sits overseas. Cisco would have faced huge tax penalties to bring that money stateside if it wanted to buy another video-conferencing player like Polycom or LifeSize.
Ned Hooper, a senior vice president at Cisco, said the expected by noting that Cisco’s judges acquisitions first based on their strategic and cultural alignment. Of course, the international angle with Tandberg didn’t hurt either.
We do have a great deal of cash overseas and were able to use the international cash to pay for this transaction,Mr. Hooper said.
Cisco’s foreign cash situation is the most dramatic of the major American technology players, although all of the companies face similar problems.
John Chambers, Cisco’s chief executive, has grumbled about the government nixing a tax repatriation break.
With a major era of consolidation in the technology industry looming, these tax and cash issues seem destined to crop up again, especially as American companies are passed over and left to fend against even larger opponents.
On a more lighthearted note, the acquisition of Tandberg reminded me of a post made back in March about Cisco’s TelePresence video-conferencing systems.
A Sean Tyrrell commented on the post back then saying, If Cisco’s Telepresence is soooo good, why do they have to always give it away? In every global account I am involved in, Cisco gives these things away. The fact is they are expensive to operate, limited in that you can only see a few sites at a time, they ought to call it Tele-Absence.
Mr. Tyrrell, you see, works at Tandberg where he is a global account director, and he’s taken a sweeter tone on Cisco since the deal was announced.
In an e-mail, Mr. Tyrrell said, This is a win-win for both companies, but more importantly, it is a win for our customers and the overall market. I think it is a defining moment in the industry and that video collaboration will reach the masses much faster than it would have had Tandberg and Cisco fought it out alone.
Best of all, Cisco might be able to charge money for its products now.
SOURCE:
The push to Buy American could start to mean something quite different than a patriotic call to purchase homemade cars and appliances in the coming years.
Sensing a more stabilized economy, the largest technology companies have started to put their massive cash war chests into action, acquiring companies once again. Oracle led the way with its purchase of Sun Microsystems. EMC gobbled up Data Domain. VMware bought the open-source software maker SpringSource. And this week, Cisco made a $3.0 billion offer for Tandberg, a video-conferencing specialist.
It’s Cisco’s acquisition that jumps out because of its European flair. Tandberg is based in Oslo, Norway and provided Cisco with a unique opportunity to use some of its $35 billion in cash.
The vast majority - about $29 billion - of Cisco’s cash sits overseas. Cisco would have faced huge tax penalties to bring that money stateside if it wanted to buy another video-conferencing player like Polycom or LifeSize.
Ned Hooper, a senior vice president at Cisco, said the expected by noting that Cisco’s judges acquisitions first based on their strategic and cultural alignment. Of course, the international angle with Tandberg didn’t hurt either.
We do have a great deal of cash overseas and were able to use the international cash to pay for this transaction,Mr. Hooper said.
Cisco’s foreign cash situation is the most dramatic of the major American technology players, although all of the companies face similar problems.
John Chambers, Cisco’s chief executive, has grumbled about the government nixing a tax repatriation break.
With a major era of consolidation in the technology industry looming, these tax and cash issues seem destined to crop up again, especially as American companies are passed over and left to fend against even larger opponents.
On a more lighthearted note, the acquisition of Tandberg reminded me of a post made back in March about Cisco’s TelePresence video-conferencing systems.
A Sean Tyrrell commented on the post back then saying, If Cisco’s Telepresence is soooo good, why do they have to always give it away? In every global account I am involved in, Cisco gives these things away. The fact is they are expensive to operate, limited in that you can only see a few sites at a time, they ought to call it Tele-Absence.
Mr. Tyrrell, you see, works at Tandberg where he is a global account director, and he’s taken a sweeter tone on Cisco since the deal was announced.
In an e-mail, Mr. Tyrrell said, This is a win-win for both companies, but more importantly, it is a win for our customers and the overall market. I think it is a defining moment in the industry and that video collaboration will reach the masses much faster than it would have had Tandberg and Cisco fought it out alone.
Best of all, Cisco might be able to charge money for its products now.
SOURCE:
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Cisco to establish IT training center in Dalian
Cisco has singed a three-party memorandum of understanding with the Dalian High-Tech Zone Administrative Committee and VanceInfo Technologies Inc. on the development of a Cisco Networking Training Center in Dalian, China. The center will cultivate high-end networking talent to meet growing global demand for skilled IT professionals, while increasing local employment opportunities.
The city of Dalian is becoming more connected as its information industry is developing, and there is a growing demand for networking talent for governmental organizations and different industries throughout the city. "We hope to leverage the Networking Training Center's advanced training resources to develop more talent suited to society's practical needs. This will lower IT training costs for employers, create more employment opportunities in Dalian and accelerate development in both industry and the wider local economy." said Luan Qingwei, director of the Administrative Committee of Dalian High-Tech Zone.
"This initiative represents another step that Cisco has taken towards contributing to innovation and sustainable development in China," said Jim Sherriff, chairman and CEO of Cisco China. "We will continue to share globally-tested best practices with Chinese companies, further strengthening our cooperation with local government, and fostering social and economic progress by developing more talent in networking technologies."
"VanceInfo has comprehensive IT service expertise and strong training operation capabilities," said Liu Junbo, executive VP of VanceInfo. "In addition to the technical, knowledge-based curriculum, the center also provides other professional development courses and hands-on operational lab training. As one of the most advanced training platforms in China, and we believe it will create more networking talent for Dalian, and help to close the gap between the existing talent pool and China's future needs."
The Dalian High-Tech Zone, Cisco and VanceInfo will each apply their unique resources to develop the most advanced networking professional training program in China. Drawing on its rich networking and IT training experience, Cisco will offer globally tested best practices and its learning curriculum, as well as advanced Cisco lab equipment. As Cisco's training partner, VanceInfo will take the responsibility for managing and operating the training center.
Cisco has worked with the Dalian High-Tech Zone in the past, establishing the Cisco Dalian Service Practice Center (DLSP) in the Dalian Software Park of High-Tech Zone. DLSP provides comprehensive and timely services for customers throughout Northeast Asia while also promoting local economic growth in Dalian. Renewed cooperation with the Dalian High-Tech Zone to develop more highly trained networking professionals will help the city provide employment opportunities, meet local demand, and promote growth in the city's information industry.
SOURCE:
The city of Dalian is becoming more connected as its information industry is developing, and there is a growing demand for networking talent for governmental organizations and different industries throughout the city. "We hope to leverage the Networking Training Center's advanced training resources to develop more talent suited to society's practical needs. This will lower IT training costs for employers, create more employment opportunities in Dalian and accelerate development in both industry and the wider local economy." said Luan Qingwei, director of the Administrative Committee of Dalian High-Tech Zone.
"This initiative represents another step that Cisco has taken towards contributing to innovation and sustainable development in China," said Jim Sherriff, chairman and CEO of Cisco China. "We will continue to share globally-tested best practices with Chinese companies, further strengthening our cooperation with local government, and fostering social and economic progress by developing more talent in networking technologies."
"VanceInfo has comprehensive IT service expertise and strong training operation capabilities," said Liu Junbo, executive VP of VanceInfo. "In addition to the technical, knowledge-based curriculum, the center also provides other professional development courses and hands-on operational lab training. As one of the most advanced training platforms in China, and we believe it will create more networking talent for Dalian, and help to close the gap between the existing talent pool and China's future needs."
The Dalian High-Tech Zone, Cisco and VanceInfo will each apply their unique resources to develop the most advanced networking professional training program in China. Drawing on its rich networking and IT training experience, Cisco will offer globally tested best practices and its learning curriculum, as well as advanced Cisco lab equipment. As Cisco's training partner, VanceInfo will take the responsibility for managing and operating the training center.
Cisco has worked with the Dalian High-Tech Zone in the past, establishing the Cisco Dalian Service Practice Center (DLSP) in the Dalian Software Park of High-Tech Zone. DLSP provides comprehensive and timely services for customers throughout Northeast Asia while also promoting local economic growth in Dalian. Renewed cooperation with the Dalian High-Tech Zone to develop more highly trained networking professionals will help the city provide employment opportunities, meet local demand, and promote growth in the city's information industry.
SOURCE:
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Defying Experts, Rogue Computer Code Still Lurks
Like a ghost ship, a rogue software program that glided onto the Internet last November has confounded the efforts of top security experts to eradicate the program and trace its origins and purpose, exposing serious weaknesses in the world’s digital infrastructure.
The program, known as Conficker, uses flaws in Windows software to co-opt machines and link them into a virtual computer that can be commanded remotely by its authors. With more than five million of these zombies now under its control — government, business and home computers in more than 200 countries — this shadowy computer has power that dwarfs that of the world’s largest data centers.
Alarmed by the program’s quick spread after its debut in November, computer security experts from industry, academia and government joined forces in a highly unusual collaboration. They decoded the program and developed antivirus software that erased it from millions of the computers. But Conficker’s persistence and sophistication has squelched the belief of many experts that such global computer infections are a thing of the past.
“It’s using the best current practices and state of the art to communicate and to protect itself,” Rodney Joffe, director of the Conficker Working Group, said of the malicious program. “We have not found the trick to take control back from the malware in any way.”
Researchers speculate that the computer could be employed to generate vast amounts of spam; it could steal information like passwords and logins by capturing keystrokes on infected computers; it could deliver fake antivirus warnings to trick naïve users into believing their computers are infected and persuading them to pay by credit card to have the infection removed.
There is also a different possibility that concerns the researchers: That the program was not designed by a criminal gang, but instead by an intelligence agency or the military of some country to monitor or disable an enemy’s computers. Networks of infected computers, or botnets, were used widely as weapons in conflicts in Estonia in 2007 and in Georgia last year, and in more recent attacks against South Korean and United States government agencies. Recent attacks that temporarily crippled Twitter and Facebook were believed to have had political overtones.
Yet for the most part Conficker has done little more than to extend its reach to more and more computers. Though there had been speculation that the computer might be activated to do something malicious on April 1, the date passed without incident, and some security experts wonder if the program has been abandoned.
The experts have only tiny clues about the location of the program’s authors. The first version included software that stopped the program if it infected a machine with a Ukrainian language keyboard. There may have been two initial infections — in Buenos Aires and in Kiev.
Wherever the authors are, the experts say, they are clearly professionals using the most advanced technology available. The program is protected by internal defense mechanisms that make it hard to erase, and even kills or hides from programs designed to look for botnets.
A member of the security team said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had suspects, but was moving slowly because it needed to build a relationship with “noncorrupt” law enforcement agencies in the countries where the suspects are located.
An F.B.I. spokesman in Washington declined to comment, saying that the Conficker investigation was an open case.
The first infections, last Nov. 20, set off an intense battle between the hidden authors and the volunteer group that formed to counter them. The group, which first called itself the “Conficker Cabal,” changed its name when Microsoft, Symantec and several other companies objected to the unprofessional connotation.
Eventually, university researchers and law enforcement officials joined forces with computer experts at more than two dozen Internet, software and computer security firms.
The group won some battles, but lost others. The Conficker authors kept distributing new, more intricate versions of the program, at one point using code that had been devised in academia only months before. At another point, a single technical slip by the working group allowed the program’s authors to convert a huge number of the infected machines to an advanced peer-to-peer communications scheme that the industry group has not been able to defeat. Where before all the infected computers would have to phone home to a single source for instructions, the authors could now use any infected computer to instruct all the others.
In early April, Patrick Peterson, a research fellow at Cisco Systems in San Jose, Calif., gained some intelligence about the authors’ interests. He studies nasty computer programs by keeping a set of quarantined computers that capture and observe them — his “digital zoo.”
He discovered that the Conficker authors had begun distributing software that tricks Internet users into buying fake antivirus software with their credit cards. “We turned off the lights in the zoo one day and came back the next day,” Mr. Peterson said, noting that in the “cage” reserved for Conficker, the infection had been joined by a program distributing an antivirus software scam.
It was the most recent sign of life from the program, and its silence has set off a debate among computer security experts. Some researchers think Conficker is an empty shell, or that the authors of the program were scared away in the spring. Others argue that they are simply biding their time.
If the misbegotten computer were reactivated, it would not have the problem-solving ability of supercomputers used to design nuclear weapons or simulate climate change. But because it has commandeered so many machines, it could draw on an amount of computing power greater than that from any single computing facility run by governments or Google. It is a dark reflection of the “cloud computing” sweeping the commercial Internet, in which data is stored on the Internet rather than on a personal computer.
The industry group continues to try to find ways to kill Conficker, meeting as recently as Tuesday. Mr. Joffe said he, for one, was not prepared to declare victory. But he said that the group’s work proved that government and private industry could cooperate to counter cyberthreats.
“Even if we lose against Conficker,” he said, “there are things we’ve learned that will benefit us in the future.”
SOURCE:
The program, known as Conficker, uses flaws in Windows software to co-opt machines and link them into a virtual computer that can be commanded remotely by its authors. With more than five million of these zombies now under its control — government, business and home computers in more than 200 countries — this shadowy computer has power that dwarfs that of the world’s largest data centers.
Alarmed by the program’s quick spread after its debut in November, computer security experts from industry, academia and government joined forces in a highly unusual collaboration. They decoded the program and developed antivirus software that erased it from millions of the computers. But Conficker’s persistence and sophistication has squelched the belief of many experts that such global computer infections are a thing of the past.
“It’s using the best current practices and state of the art to communicate and to protect itself,” Rodney Joffe, director of the Conficker Working Group, said of the malicious program. “We have not found the trick to take control back from the malware in any way.”
Researchers speculate that the computer could be employed to generate vast amounts of spam; it could steal information like passwords and logins by capturing keystrokes on infected computers; it could deliver fake antivirus warnings to trick naïve users into believing their computers are infected and persuading them to pay by credit card to have the infection removed.
There is also a different possibility that concerns the researchers: That the program was not designed by a criminal gang, but instead by an intelligence agency or the military of some country to monitor or disable an enemy’s computers. Networks of infected computers, or botnets, were used widely as weapons in conflicts in Estonia in 2007 and in Georgia last year, and in more recent attacks against South Korean and United States government agencies. Recent attacks that temporarily crippled Twitter and Facebook were believed to have had political overtones.
Yet for the most part Conficker has done little more than to extend its reach to more and more computers. Though there had been speculation that the computer might be activated to do something malicious on April 1, the date passed without incident, and some security experts wonder if the program has been abandoned.
The experts have only tiny clues about the location of the program’s authors. The first version included software that stopped the program if it infected a machine with a Ukrainian language keyboard. There may have been two initial infections — in Buenos Aires and in Kiev.
Wherever the authors are, the experts say, they are clearly professionals using the most advanced technology available. The program is protected by internal defense mechanisms that make it hard to erase, and even kills or hides from programs designed to look for botnets.
A member of the security team said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had suspects, but was moving slowly because it needed to build a relationship with “noncorrupt” law enforcement agencies in the countries where the suspects are located.
An F.B.I. spokesman in Washington declined to comment, saying that the Conficker investigation was an open case.
The first infections, last Nov. 20, set off an intense battle between the hidden authors and the volunteer group that formed to counter them. The group, which first called itself the “Conficker Cabal,” changed its name when Microsoft, Symantec and several other companies objected to the unprofessional connotation.
Eventually, university researchers and law enforcement officials joined forces with computer experts at more than two dozen Internet, software and computer security firms.
The group won some battles, but lost others. The Conficker authors kept distributing new, more intricate versions of the program, at one point using code that had been devised in academia only months before. At another point, a single technical slip by the working group allowed the program’s authors to convert a huge number of the infected machines to an advanced peer-to-peer communications scheme that the industry group has not been able to defeat. Where before all the infected computers would have to phone home to a single source for instructions, the authors could now use any infected computer to instruct all the others.
In early April, Patrick Peterson, a research fellow at Cisco Systems in San Jose, Calif., gained some intelligence about the authors’ interests. He studies nasty computer programs by keeping a set of quarantined computers that capture and observe them — his “digital zoo.”
He discovered that the Conficker authors had begun distributing software that tricks Internet users into buying fake antivirus software with their credit cards. “We turned off the lights in the zoo one day and came back the next day,” Mr. Peterson said, noting that in the “cage” reserved for Conficker, the infection had been joined by a program distributing an antivirus software scam.
It was the most recent sign of life from the program, and its silence has set off a debate among computer security experts. Some researchers think Conficker is an empty shell, or that the authors of the program were scared away in the spring. Others argue that they are simply biding their time.
If the misbegotten computer were reactivated, it would not have the problem-solving ability of supercomputers used to design nuclear weapons or simulate climate change. But because it has commandeered so many machines, it could draw on an amount of computing power greater than that from any single computing facility run by governments or Google. It is a dark reflection of the “cloud computing” sweeping the commercial Internet, in which data is stored on the Internet rather than on a personal computer.
The industry group continues to try to find ways to kill Conficker, meeting as recently as Tuesday. Mr. Joffe said he, for one, was not prepared to declare victory. But he said that the group’s work proved that government and private industry could cooperate to counter cyberthreats.
“Even if we lose against Conficker,” he said, “there are things we’ve learned that will benefit us in the future.”
SOURCE:
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Cisco picks up first Double-A win
"Cisco picks up first Double-A win"
Pitcher Mike Cisco (Wando High School/South Carolina) picked up his first victory since being promoted to the Double-A Eastern League.
Cisco, playing for the Reading Phillies, worked 5 1/3 innings and and allowed seven hits and four earned runs in a 6-4 win over Erie on Wednesday.
Cisco had started out 0-3 for Reading after being promoted from Class A Clearwater. For the entire season, he's 8-6 with a 4.14 earned run average.
Cisco was drafted in the 36th round by the Phillies in 2008.
Around the bases
--Catcher Alex Garabedian (College of Charleston) has been on a home-run tear of late. The 6-2, 210-pounder hit three homers in four games last week, bringing his total to six for the season with Class A Inland Empire in the California League. He's hit .303 over his last 10 games with four RBIs.
--First baseman Justin Smoak (Stratford HS/USC), hampered by a strained oblique of late, is batting .240 with four homers and 23 RBIs in 53 games for Class AAA Oklahoma City. But that didn't stop Smoak from being selected to play for Team USA in the 2009 World Cup next month.
--Shortstop Reese Havens (Bishop England HS/USC) continued his strong play in the second half for Class A St. Lucie. Havens is batting .333 in his last 10 games, with two homers, four doubles and eight RBIs. His average is up to .244 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs in 89 games.
--Pitcher Jon Ellis (St. Andrews HS/The Citadel) picked up his first save for Triple-A Portland in the Pacific Coast League last Monday. The bullpen workhorse pitched a scoreless inning in a win over Sacramento, and is 7-3 with a 4.30 ERA for Portland.
--Pitcher Matt Crim (Stratford HS/The Citadel) took his first loss as a pro on Wednesday for the Class A Danville Braves. Crim allowed three hits and four earned runs in five innings against Burlington, taking a 4-3 loss. Crim is now a mere 10-1 with a 2.96 ERA.
--Outfielder Justin Greene (Stratford HS/Francis Marion) is 5 for 14 in his last three games for Class Winston-Salem … Catcher John Murrian (Stratford HS/Winthrop) is hitting .298 with Oneonta in the New York-Penn League, despite a recent 0 for 14 skid.
SOURCE:
Pitcher Mike Cisco (Wando High School/South Carolina) picked up his first victory since being promoted to the Double-A Eastern League.
Cisco, playing for the Reading Phillies, worked 5 1/3 innings and and allowed seven hits and four earned runs in a 6-4 win over Erie on Wednesday.
Cisco had started out 0-3 for Reading after being promoted from Class A Clearwater. For the entire season, he's 8-6 with a 4.14 earned run average.
Cisco was drafted in the 36th round by the Phillies in 2008.
Around the bases
--Catcher Alex Garabedian (College of Charleston) has been on a home-run tear of late. The 6-2, 210-pounder hit three homers in four games last week, bringing his total to six for the season with Class A Inland Empire in the California League. He's hit .303 over his last 10 games with four RBIs.
--First baseman Justin Smoak (Stratford HS/USC), hampered by a strained oblique of late, is batting .240 with four homers and 23 RBIs in 53 games for Class AAA Oklahoma City. But that didn't stop Smoak from being selected to play for Team USA in the 2009 World Cup next month.
--Shortstop Reese Havens (Bishop England HS/USC) continued his strong play in the second half for Class A St. Lucie. Havens is batting .333 in his last 10 games, with two homers, four doubles and eight RBIs. His average is up to .244 with 12 homers and 49 RBIs in 89 games.
--Pitcher Jon Ellis (St. Andrews HS/The Citadel) picked up his first save for Triple-A Portland in the Pacific Coast League last Monday. The bullpen workhorse pitched a scoreless inning in a win over Sacramento, and is 7-3 with a 4.30 ERA for Portland.
--Pitcher Matt Crim (Stratford HS/The Citadel) took his first loss as a pro on Wednesday for the Class A Danville Braves. Crim allowed three hits and four earned runs in five innings against Burlington, taking a 4-3 loss. Crim is now a mere 10-1 with a 2.96 ERA.
--Outfielder Justin Greene (Stratford HS/Francis Marion) is 5 for 14 in his last three games for Class Winston-Salem … Catcher John Murrian (Stratford HS/Winthrop) is hitting .298 with Oneonta in the New York-Penn League, despite a recent 0 for 14 skid.
SOURCE:
Friday, August 28, 2009
Submarine Fiber optic cable repair
Ever wondered how the world is connected? Through submarine cables specifically fiber optics and if these fiber optics break the internet world will be in chaos everything will be in a drag because of the cables have been break here is the video on how it is being repaired:
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Virtual network switches add scalability to server virtualization
With virtual switches, Cisco Systems and now Arista Networks are trying to clear the networking bottlenecks that occur when enterprises do large-scale server virtualization.
Cisco's Nexus 1000v aims to give the networking team control over virtual infrastructure management. Meanwhile, Arista's vEOS product, announced today, integrates with VMware's existing technology and promises to be more appealing to system administrators who want to bypass network administrators when managing virtual environments.
One of the key networking challenges with server virtualization is the management of virtualized network and security profiles, as well as virtual machine configurations, as they migrate across physical hosts. Performing that task in a scalable way is tough and often prevents enterprises from taking their server virtualization efforts beyond server consolidation and into dynamic resource allocation. This is very much a networking problem, and companies like Cisco Systems and now Arista Networks are trying to solve it.
Technologies like VMware's vMotion and vSphere make it easy for virtual machines to migrate from one physical host to another as needed and for applications to scale up and down by combining the resources of multiple physical hosts. However, a networking bottleneck occurs when enterprises try to create such a dynamic virtual infrastructure. Network and system administrators struggle to make sure that the virtual network and security settings and profiles migrate with the virtual machines as they traverse across physical hosts. VMware and other hypervisor vendors offer some form of virtual switching technology that allows server administrators to manage the virtual network and security settings within the physical hosts, but typically these virtual switching products don't scale up to the level that some enterprises need.
More on networking for server virtualization
Talking cloud computing networks and 10 Gigabit Ethernet with Arista
Managing virtual network relationships
Server virtualization and the impact on network configuration
"If vMotion moves a workload from one machine to another to balance out load or to recover from failure, that's great," said Joe Skorupa, research vice president with Gartner. "But if you have to manually go back and reconfigure the switches, that's not so good."
These networking bottlenecks often limit the extent of server virtualization that can occur within an enterprise.
"Having spoken with customers about this problem going on three years now, this has been one of the key points with trying to get past the 15% to 20% [ceiling] of your servers being virtualized," said Rob Whiteley, vice president and research director at Forrester Research. "At a small scale, you don't bump into networking problems. But typically, around 15% to 20% of your production servers going virtual, you're going to start having issues."
This problem of scale motivated Cisco to release the Nexus 1000v earlier this year. This virtual switch actually replaces VMware's vSwitch technology and manages the virtual network and security connections that take place within virtualized servers. It also gives network administrators a familiar interface for managing those connections, which are quite often handled by server administrators without the network administrators' knowledge.
Now, startup switch vendor Arista Networks has introduced its new virtual Extensible Operating System (vEOS). In some ways similar to the Nexus 1000v concept, Arista's vEOS is actually a software image of the EOS operating system that runs on all of Arista's physical switches. It functions as a virtual appliance, running inside the physical server that is hosting virtual servers. It doesn't replace VMware's vSwitch technology. Instead, the vEOS works with it, making vSwitch more scalable and familiar to network administrators, who find many of VMware's products too foreign.
"Clearly, the virtual switch that comes with VMware infrastructure is good, but it won't scale to the data center networking that people need," Whiteley said. "I think what Arista has done is very elegant from a software engineering perspective. They're not beating their chests on their ASICs and their hardware. They're appropriately spending a little more time on the concept of a truly stateful operating system."
Systems vs. networking: Battling for virtual network management control
The difference in approach between Arista and Cisco is also indicative of a quiet struggle that has been going between system administrators and network administrators for control of switching and management in virtualized data centers.
"Cisco wants to extend [its] control all the way up into servers and take control of them," Skorupa said. "Arista is certainly aligning [itself] with VMware."
Arista's vEOS may be based on the operating system that runs on its physical switches, but Skorupa believes the vEOS will go largely unused by network administrators. Instead, system administrators will have more of a use for it, he said. Systems guys have been managing switching within virtual hosts for a few years now, much to the chagrin of network administrators. The vEOS will allow them to continue on that path.
"It's the battle we've seen brewing and going on quietly in the background for the past year or so, which is: Who is in control?" Skorupa said. "Is the network guy in control when he puts the Cisco virtual switch into the VMware server? Or is the server guy in control when he uses the VMware embedded switch and then integrates with whichever networking vendor [such as Arista] he chooses?
Server administrators usually support virtual switching products that enable them to manage the process without relying on the networking team, Skorupa said.
"It creates political problems for the network guys," he said, "because they lose their influence and control."
Doug Gourlay, Arista's vice president of marketing, emphasized that the vEOS is aimed squarely at network administrators.
"The server guy can access vSphere with his familiar Web interface," Gourlay said. "The network administrator gains CLI and SMNP."
A new breed of administrator for the virtualized environment?
The so-called war between server and network factions in virtualized data centers may ultimately give way to a new hybrid data center role, a concept Whiteley describes as the virtualization administrator. These admins will be mostly server-oriented but will have strong storage and networking skills as well.
"The $5,000 price point [of Arista's vEOS] is the perfect price point to attack these virtualization administrators because they're going to be able to quickly solve the problems they have, which is scaling the network," Whiteley said. "At the same time, I don't think it completely alienates the networking team because it puts a decent working product in there that they will be able to use. Now, there will still be politics at play here because if the server team keeps procuring its own network infrastructure, even in a virtual form fact , let's hope they're looping in the network team. I don't think that's Arista's problem to solve. That's an internal challenge that companies have to work through."
Arista's vEOS comes free of charge with the purchase of an Arista 7000 switch. A scaled-back version of vEOS that addresses only visibility and troubleshooting is available free to anyone for a limited time. The full network configuration version is priced at $5,000.
SOURCE:
Cisco's Nexus 1000v aims to give the networking team control over virtual infrastructure management. Meanwhile, Arista's vEOS product, announced today, integrates with VMware's existing technology and promises to be more appealing to system administrators who want to bypass network administrators when managing virtual environments.
One of the key networking challenges with server virtualization is the management of virtualized network and security profiles, as well as virtual machine configurations, as they migrate across physical hosts. Performing that task in a scalable way is tough and often prevents enterprises from taking their server virtualization efforts beyond server consolidation and into dynamic resource allocation. This is very much a networking problem, and companies like Cisco Systems and now Arista Networks are trying to solve it.
Technologies like VMware's vMotion and vSphere make it easy for virtual machines to migrate from one physical host to another as needed and for applications to scale up and down by combining the resources of multiple physical hosts. However, a networking bottleneck occurs when enterprises try to create such a dynamic virtual infrastructure. Network and system administrators struggle to make sure that the virtual network and security settings and profiles migrate with the virtual machines as they traverse across physical hosts. VMware and other hypervisor vendors offer some form of virtual switching technology that allows server administrators to manage the virtual network and security settings within the physical hosts, but typically these virtual switching products don't scale up to the level that some enterprises need.
More on networking for server virtualization
Talking cloud computing networks and 10 Gigabit Ethernet with Arista
Managing virtual network relationships
Server virtualization and the impact on network configuration
"If vMotion moves a workload from one machine to another to balance out load or to recover from failure, that's great," said Joe Skorupa, research vice president with Gartner. "But if you have to manually go back and reconfigure the switches, that's not so good."
These networking bottlenecks often limit the extent of server virtualization that can occur within an enterprise.
"Having spoken with customers about this problem going on three years now, this has been one of the key points with trying to get past the 15% to 20% [ceiling] of your servers being virtualized," said Rob Whiteley, vice president and research director at Forrester Research. "At a small scale, you don't bump into networking problems. But typically, around 15% to 20% of your production servers going virtual, you're going to start having issues."
This problem of scale motivated Cisco to release the Nexus 1000v earlier this year. This virtual switch actually replaces VMware's vSwitch technology and manages the virtual network and security connections that take place within virtualized servers. It also gives network administrators a familiar interface for managing those connections, which are quite often handled by server administrators without the network administrators' knowledge.
Now, startup switch vendor Arista Networks has introduced its new virtual Extensible Operating System (vEOS). In some ways similar to the Nexus 1000v concept, Arista's vEOS is actually a software image of the EOS operating system that runs on all of Arista's physical switches. It functions as a virtual appliance, running inside the physical server that is hosting virtual servers. It doesn't replace VMware's vSwitch technology. Instead, the vEOS works with it, making vSwitch more scalable and familiar to network administrators, who find many of VMware's products too foreign.
"Clearly, the virtual switch that comes with VMware infrastructure is good, but it won't scale to the data center networking that people need," Whiteley said. "I think what Arista has done is very elegant from a software engineering perspective. They're not beating their chests on their ASICs and their hardware. They're appropriately spending a little more time on the concept of a truly stateful operating system."
Systems vs. networking: Battling for virtual network management control
The difference in approach between Arista and Cisco is also indicative of a quiet struggle that has been going between system administrators and network administrators for control of switching and management in virtualized data centers.
"Cisco wants to extend [its] control all the way up into servers and take control of them," Skorupa said. "Arista is certainly aligning [itself] with VMware."
Arista's vEOS may be based on the operating system that runs on its physical switches, but Skorupa believes the vEOS will go largely unused by network administrators. Instead, system administrators will have more of a use for it, he said. Systems guys have been managing switching within virtual hosts for a few years now, much to the chagrin of network administrators. The vEOS will allow them to continue on that path.
"It's the battle we've seen brewing and going on quietly in the background for the past year or so, which is: Who is in control?" Skorupa said. "Is the network guy in control when he puts the Cisco virtual switch into the VMware server? Or is the server guy in control when he uses the VMware embedded switch and then integrates with whichever networking vendor [such as Arista] he chooses?
Server administrators usually support virtual switching products that enable them to manage the process without relying on the networking team, Skorupa said.
"It creates political problems for the network guys," he said, "because they lose their influence and control."
Doug Gourlay, Arista's vice president of marketing, emphasized that the vEOS is aimed squarely at network administrators.
"The server guy can access vSphere with his familiar Web interface," Gourlay said. "The network administrator gains CLI and SMNP."
A new breed of administrator for the virtualized environment?
The so-called war between server and network factions in virtualized data centers may ultimately give way to a new hybrid data center role, a concept Whiteley describes as the virtualization administrator. These admins will be mostly server-oriented but will have strong storage and networking skills as well.
"The $5,000 price point [of Arista's vEOS] is the perfect price point to attack these virtualization administrators because they're going to be able to quickly solve the problems they have, which is scaling the network," Whiteley said. "At the same time, I don't think it completely alienates the networking team because it puts a decent working product in there that they will be able to use. Now, there will still be politics at play here because if the server team keeps procuring its own network infrastructure, even in a virtual form fact , let's hope they're looping in the network team. I don't think that's Arista's problem to solve. That's an internal challenge that companies have to work through."
Arista's vEOS comes free of charge with the purchase of an Arista 7000 switch. A scaled-back version of vEOS that addresses only visibility and troubleshooting is available free to anyone for a limited time. The full network configuration version is priced at $5,000.
SOURCE:
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Deadly pings for Cisco routers and switches
A bug in the Firewall Services Module (FWSM) software allows Cisco routers and switches to be disabled by a series of crafted ICMP packets. Catalyst 6500 series switches and Cisco 7600 series routers equipped with a Firewall Services Module are affected. All FWSM software versions 2.x, 3.x and 4.x without the specific fix for this bug are vulnerable. In a security advisory, Cisco states that processing ICMP packets can lead a processor to use all available execution threads, with the result that the system will not forward any further packets. The FSWM itself is then no longer available remotely and, if configured for failover operation, the failover may also fail.
The command show np 2 stats can be used to determine whether the problem has previously occurred. If it has the error message "ERROR: np_logger_query request for FP Stats failed" is returned. The vendor does not suggest a workaround, but has made updated versions of the FWSM software available in which the problem does not occur.
SOURCE:
The command show np 2 stats can be used to determine whether the problem has previously occurred. If it has the error message "ERROR: np_logger_query request for FP Stats failed" is returned. The vendor does not suggest a workaround, but has made updated versions of the FWSM software available in which the problem does not occur.
SOURCE:
Monday, August 24, 2009
Cisco Patches DDOS Vulnerability in Its BGP Protocol
Cisco, the leader in networking tools around the globe, has recently released a patch for its routers and switches fixing a critical vulnerability in its IOS BGP protocol. This vulnerability allowed hackers to fool an equipment to think it was under attack and remotely shut it down.
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is a dynamic routing protocol that heavily relies on network updates to know the equipment’s position and status inside a network. The fixed vulnerability occurred when invalid BGP updates were received by Cisco IOS XR software. Supplying an invalid attribute in the prefix of a BGP update packet, Cisco routers would have stopped connections for that route until new clean updates were received. This would have enabled hackers to practically send bad updates over a series of routes and disable an entire network.
The IOS was also vulnerable when lengthy BGP updates had been received by Cisco software. In this kind of situations, routers would have crashed or reset. A third vulnerability inside the BGP protocol regarded BGP updates that contained a large number of AS prepends. This led to BGP service crashes.
All these vulnerabilities were fixed with the release of a recent patch that can be found here.
On the other hand, a completely different bug was reported regarding another Cisco product, this time inside its Firewall Service Module (FWSM). The vulnerability would have allowed attackers to send modified pings to disable a Cisco switch or router. The equipment, by processing these specially crafted ICMP packets, would have used all available computing threads and stopped relaying packets between its ports. This led to a complete network stoppage.
Catalyst 6500 series switches and Cisco 7600 series routers are vulnerable to this problem when having installed FWSM 2.X, 3.X and 4.X as a service. Security experts at Cisco did not report any case where this vulnerability was used in the wild, but after further tests, they noticed that some network data streams could unintentionally trigger the bug.
SOURCE:
BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) is a dynamic routing protocol that heavily relies on network updates to know the equipment’s position and status inside a network. The fixed vulnerability occurred when invalid BGP updates were received by Cisco IOS XR software. Supplying an invalid attribute in the prefix of a BGP update packet, Cisco routers would have stopped connections for that route until new clean updates were received. This would have enabled hackers to practically send bad updates over a series of routes and disable an entire network.
The IOS was also vulnerable when lengthy BGP updates had been received by Cisco software. In this kind of situations, routers would have crashed or reset. A third vulnerability inside the BGP protocol regarded BGP updates that contained a large number of AS prepends. This led to BGP service crashes.
All these vulnerabilities were fixed with the release of a recent patch that can be found here.
On the other hand, a completely different bug was reported regarding another Cisco product, this time inside its Firewall Service Module (FWSM). The vulnerability would have allowed attackers to send modified pings to disable a Cisco switch or router. The equipment, by processing these specially crafted ICMP packets, would have used all available computing threads and stopped relaying packets between its ports. This led to a complete network stoppage.
Catalyst 6500 series switches and Cisco 7600 series routers are vulnerable to this problem when having installed FWSM 2.X, 3.X and 4.X as a service. Security experts at Cisco did not report any case where this vulnerability was used in the wild, but after further tests, they noticed that some network data streams could unintentionally trigger the bug.
SOURCE:
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Cisco patches up to prevent denial of service attacks
A flaw in the Firewall Services Module could be used for denial of service attacks.
Cisco has released an update that addresses a vulnerability in a series of switches and routers.
The flaw is in the Firewall Services Module (FWSM) for its Catalyst 6500 series switches and 7600 series routers.
An attacker could have caused a denial of service (DoS) attack if they sent "specially crafted ICMP" messages to the Firewall Services Module, Cisco said.
Cisco said it had not yet seen any cases of the flaw being exploited, but had observed data streams that had triggered it by accident.
The US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) encouraged users and administrators to review the advisory and apply the necessary updates and workarounds.
This new flaw follows a separate patch the networking company released on Wednesday for its IOS XR software, used on some of its routers.
This could have led to routing inconsistencies and denial-of-service.
SOURCE:
Cisco has released an update that addresses a vulnerability in a series of switches and routers.
The flaw is in the Firewall Services Module (FWSM) for its Catalyst 6500 series switches and 7600 series routers.
An attacker could have caused a denial of service (DoS) attack if they sent "specially crafted ICMP" messages to the Firewall Services Module, Cisco said.
Cisco said it had not yet seen any cases of the flaw being exploited, but had observed data streams that had triggered it by accident.
The US-CERT (United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team) encouraged users and administrators to review the advisory and apply the necessary updates and workarounds.
This new flaw follows a separate patch the networking company released on Wednesday for its IOS XR software, used on some of its routers.
This could have led to routing inconsistencies and denial-of-service.
SOURCE:
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Cisco News - Cisco Networking Academy Announces New Security Course
The Cisco Networking Academy has reportedly introduced a new Cisco (News - Alert) CCNA Security course in partnership with the education community. This course will cater to the growing demand for entry-level professionals with networking security and risk-management skills, Cisco said.
For a budding network professional security and risk management skills are the most important tools to have in the job market. The CCNA Security course helps these professionals in safeguarding networks and databases. Ensuring the materials are relevant and meet the exceptional quality standards of Cisco Networking Academy, the CCNA Security curriculum has been field-tested by educators around the world, Cisco said.
For professionals who want to enhance their CCNA-level skill set and help meet the growing demand for networking professionals with specialized skills, the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Security course provides a next step. The curriculum focuses on maintaining the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and devices by providing core security concepts and skills needed for the installation, troubleshooting, and monitoring of network devices.
"Cisco Networking Academy provides lifelong learning and career ladders for students to find and develop rewarding career opportunities, improving the future for themselves and their communities,” Amy Christen, vice president, corporate affairs and general manager, Cisco Networking Academy, said in a statement. “This new CCNA Security curriculum reflects the evolving technologies and specialized security skills that will help students succeed in today's global, networked economy.”
Cisco has now improved Cisco Packet Tracer to support the security protocols covered in the CCNA Security curriculum. Professionals can now acquire the skills required to develop a security infrastructure with the CCNA Security certification.
Recently, Cisco partnered with AIESEC, a student-run organization, to provide Malaysian students the opportunity to expand their skills and gain valuable international work experience. The program is opened to qualified students that are currently enrolled in the Cisco Networking Academy program. Officials said that the professional internship program will transform selected students' classroom knowledge to practical work-based skills that will last from six months to 18 months.
SOURCE:
For a budding network professional security and risk management skills are the most important tools to have in the job market. The CCNA Security course helps these professionals in safeguarding networks and databases. Ensuring the materials are relevant and meet the exceptional quality standards of Cisco Networking Academy, the CCNA Security curriculum has been field-tested by educators around the world, Cisco said.
For professionals who want to enhance their CCNA-level skill set and help meet the growing demand for networking professionals with specialized skills, the Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Security course provides a next step. The curriculum focuses on maintaining the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and devices by providing core security concepts and skills needed for the installation, troubleshooting, and monitoring of network devices.
"Cisco Networking Academy provides lifelong learning and career ladders for students to find and develop rewarding career opportunities, improving the future for themselves and their communities,” Amy Christen, vice president, corporate affairs and general manager, Cisco Networking Academy, said in a statement. “This new CCNA Security curriculum reflects the evolving technologies and specialized security skills that will help students succeed in today's global, networked economy.”
Cisco has now improved Cisco Packet Tracer to support the security protocols covered in the CCNA Security curriculum. Professionals can now acquire the skills required to develop a security infrastructure with the CCNA Security certification.
Recently, Cisco partnered with AIESEC, a student-run organization, to provide Malaysian students the opportunity to expand their skills and gain valuable international work experience. The program is opened to qualified students that are currently enrolled in the Cisco Networking Academy program. Officials said that the professional internship program will transform selected students' classroom knowledge to practical work-based skills that will last from six months to 18 months.
SOURCE:
Friday, August 14, 2009
Cisco gets set to make buildings intelligent
Bangalore: It was a leap of faith for Cisco Systems Inc. to announce its first business unit outside the US in Bangalore in February when chief executive John Chambers visited the city.
Energy-efficient: Sandeep Vij, vice-president and general manager of Converged Building Systems unit at Cisco Systems, says that with 25-30% energy saving, the return on investment is swift. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Energy-efficient: Sandeep Vij, vice-president and general manager of Converged Building Systems unit at Cisco Systems, says that with 25-30% energy saving, the return on investment is swift. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Now with the converged building systems, or CBS, unit ready to roll out products, Cisco says it has brought its technology closer to the market it intends to serve, which evidently is also the market where maximum urbanization is likely to happen.
In July, Cisco announced its smart connected buildings initiative, which is about integrating information technology (IT) into buildings to optimize energy use.
With 76% of all electricity used going towards running buildings anywhere in the world, multi-billion dollar business opportunities beckon technology providers, particularly the early starters. Both the commercial and residential building spaces are worth $12 billion (Rs58,080 crore) each, says Sandeep Vij, vice-president and general manager of the CBS unit at Cisco Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd. In fact, he sees “smart+connected communities” as the “birth of a new industry”.
The backbone of this initiative, at least initially, is the mediator technology which came through Cisco’s acquisition of a California company, Richards-Zeta Inc., in May. Mediator provides a centralized Internet protocol (IP)-based management of multiple systems running in a building including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electricity, water, telephony and data.
The cost of the mediator and peripherals can start from $5,000 and go up to around $1 million. But Vij is quick to add that with 25-30% energy saving, the return on investment is swift.
“Cisco’s timing is right for their smarter, IP-enabled infrastructure across various sectors, given the increasing government funding across the globe,” say analysts Usman Sindhu and Doug Washburn at technology and market research firm Forrester Research.
The duo has been looking at the smart+connected communities concept ever since it was announced.
In June, Cisco signed an agreement with Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Co. Ltd and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd to set up a connected finance city. In February, the Karnataka government came on board to chart a road map for an “intelligent and sustainable” Bangalore.
Under its first phase, Bangalore’s transport and police departments are deploying Cisco’s technology.
“In the next phase, Cisco is keen to work with our state-run rural BPOs (state’s new initiative in business process outsourcing to enhance IT skills of rural people) and we’ve just begun discussing how a new Cisco-proposed model will complement the existing programme,” said Ashok Kumar C. Manoli, Karnataka’s principal secretary for IT. Education and health will come next, he added.
Sindhu and Washburn think Cisco has made a smart move, “especially working with city officials to get their buy-in at the initial stages of technology roll-out”. Besides Bangalore, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Incheon in South Korea and Amsterdam in the Netherlands are the cities where the company is providing flavours of the smarter city infrastructure.
But Cisco is also eyeing many technology companies in India which operate large and multiple campuses. “We have a healthy pipeline of responses,” says Vij, not disclosing which technology firms are keen on managing their energy footprint.
Analysts say Cisco’s strategy lies in the fact that it’s not alone in rolling out this infrastructure. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)is in the forefront with its “smart planet initiative”. In India, IBM has unveiled a digital video surveillance tool for threat and fraud detection and real estate company DLF Ltd is one of its early adopters.
“The solution helps DLF with real-time alerts and post-event analysis for investigative purposes, integrated dashboard for security sensors like cameras, access control readers, etc.,” said Ashish Kumar, general manager, global technology services, IBM India/South Asia.
As these schemes pick up, many vendors will get involved and provide niche capabilities such as security, validation testing and other such services. For instance, say Sindhu and Washburn, Hewlett-Packard Co. has stepped up to provide validation testing for smart meters before they hit the market.
But bandwidth guzzlers as these smart services are, poor network infrastructure could play a spoilsport. According to the latest Global Information Technology Report released in March, India ranks a lowly 54 among 134 countries in IT use, with only 0.3% broadband penetration. Forrester analysts say bandwidth is a bottleneck in other parts of the world as well since smart services require bandwidth-hungry applications such as “unified communications, telepresence and Web 2.0”.
Security is another concern. Sindhu and Washburn say “it is even neglected to some extent”. “For example, smart meters that are being rolled out under Smart Grid are not as secure as they should be. They need to be tested rigorously to bulletproof them from being breached.”
Cisco doesn’t underrate these challenges, says Vij. But for now it’s busy asking, “After voice, data and video, can we now move energy management to the network?”
SOURCE:
Energy-efficient: Sandeep Vij, vice-president and general manager of Converged Building Systems unit at Cisco Systems, says that with 25-30% energy saving, the return on investment is swift. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Energy-efficient: Sandeep Vij, vice-president and general manager of Converged Building Systems unit at Cisco Systems, says that with 25-30% energy saving, the return on investment is swift. Hemant Mishra / Mint
Now with the converged building systems, or CBS, unit ready to roll out products, Cisco says it has brought its technology closer to the market it intends to serve, which evidently is also the market where maximum urbanization is likely to happen.
In July, Cisco announced its smart connected buildings initiative, which is about integrating information technology (IT) into buildings to optimize energy use.
With 76% of all electricity used going towards running buildings anywhere in the world, multi-billion dollar business opportunities beckon technology providers, particularly the early starters. Both the commercial and residential building spaces are worth $12 billion (Rs58,080 crore) each, says Sandeep Vij, vice-president and general manager of the CBS unit at Cisco Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd. In fact, he sees “smart+connected communities” as the “birth of a new industry”.
The backbone of this initiative, at least initially, is the mediator technology which came through Cisco’s acquisition of a California company, Richards-Zeta Inc., in May. Mediator provides a centralized Internet protocol (IP)-based management of multiple systems running in a building including heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electricity, water, telephony and data.
The cost of the mediator and peripherals can start from $5,000 and go up to around $1 million. But Vij is quick to add that with 25-30% energy saving, the return on investment is swift.
“Cisco’s timing is right for their smarter, IP-enabled infrastructure across various sectors, given the increasing government funding across the globe,” say analysts Usman Sindhu and Doug Washburn at technology and market research firm Forrester Research.
The duo has been looking at the smart+connected communities concept ever since it was announced.
In June, Cisco signed an agreement with Gujarat International Finance Tec-City Co. Ltd and Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd to set up a connected finance city. In February, the Karnataka government came on board to chart a road map for an “intelligent and sustainable” Bangalore.
Under its first phase, Bangalore’s transport and police departments are deploying Cisco’s technology.
“In the next phase, Cisco is keen to work with our state-run rural BPOs (state’s new initiative in business process outsourcing to enhance IT skills of rural people) and we’ve just begun discussing how a new Cisco-proposed model will complement the existing programme,” said Ashok Kumar C. Manoli, Karnataka’s principal secretary for IT. Education and health will come next, he added.
Sindhu and Washburn think Cisco has made a smart move, “especially working with city officials to get their buy-in at the initial stages of technology roll-out”. Besides Bangalore, Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Incheon in South Korea and Amsterdam in the Netherlands are the cities where the company is providing flavours of the smarter city infrastructure.
But Cisco is also eyeing many technology companies in India which operate large and multiple campuses. “We have a healthy pipeline of responses,” says Vij, not disclosing which technology firms are keen on managing their energy footprint.
Analysts say Cisco’s strategy lies in the fact that it’s not alone in rolling out this infrastructure. International Business Machines Corp. (IBM)is in the forefront with its “smart planet initiative”. In India, IBM has unveiled a digital video surveillance tool for threat and fraud detection and real estate company DLF Ltd is one of its early adopters.
“The solution helps DLF with real-time alerts and post-event analysis for investigative purposes, integrated dashboard for security sensors like cameras, access control readers, etc.,” said Ashish Kumar, general manager, global technology services, IBM India/South Asia.
As these schemes pick up, many vendors will get involved and provide niche capabilities such as security, validation testing and other such services. For instance, say Sindhu and Washburn, Hewlett-Packard Co. has stepped up to provide validation testing for smart meters before they hit the market.
But bandwidth guzzlers as these smart services are, poor network infrastructure could play a spoilsport. According to the latest Global Information Technology Report released in March, India ranks a lowly 54 among 134 countries in IT use, with only 0.3% broadband penetration. Forrester analysts say bandwidth is a bottleneck in other parts of the world as well since smart services require bandwidth-hungry applications such as “unified communications, telepresence and Web 2.0”.
Security is another concern. Sindhu and Washburn say “it is even neglected to some extent”. “For example, smart meters that are being rolled out under Smart Grid are not as secure as they should be. They need to be tested rigorously to bulletproof them from being breached.”
Cisco doesn’t underrate these challenges, says Vij. But for now it’s busy asking, “After voice, data and video, can we now move energy management to the network?”
SOURCE:
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
New Cisco certification courses available through UK training provider Fast Lane
The company said that the Certified Cisco Network Professional (CCNP) Wireless curriculum forms key preparation for the new Certified Cisco Internetwork Expert (CCIE) Wireless certification, the highest level of technical networking certification offered by Cisco.
Two of the modules - Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Voice Networks (IUWVN) and Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Mobility Services (IUWMS) - were developed by senior Fast Lane instructor Jerome Henry.
Both courses are designed to give students a firm understanding of how to integrate VoWLAN services into the WLAN and implement QoS for high-bandwidth applications. The courses also teach advanced skills needed to integrate mobility services, tune and troubleshoot the WLAN and implement indoor enterprise MESH networks.
The CCNP Wireless courses each take five days and can be taken in any order. The prerequisite for the entire curriculum is the Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Networking Essentials (IUWNE) course. Course prices were not given.
SOURCE:
Two of the modules - Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Voice Networks (IUWVN) and Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Mobility Services (IUWMS) - were developed by senior Fast Lane instructor Jerome Henry.
Both courses are designed to give students a firm understanding of how to integrate VoWLAN services into the WLAN and implement QoS for high-bandwidth applications. The courses also teach advanced skills needed to integrate mobility services, tune and troubleshoot the WLAN and implement indoor enterprise MESH networks.
The CCNP Wireless courses each take five days and can be taken in any order. The prerequisite for the entire curriculum is the Implementing Cisco Unified Wireless Networking Essentials (IUWNE) course. Course prices were not given.
SOURCE:
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Cisco Networking Academy Expands Offerings to Address Growing Demand for Information-Security Skills
PRESS RELEASE:Cisco Networking Academy Expands Offerings to Address Growing Demand for Information-Security Skills
SAN JOSE, CA -- 08/11/09 -- For more than a decade, Cisco® Networking Academy® program has partnered with the education community to help students worldwide enter rewarding careers by teaching valuable networking and information technology (IT) skills. Recognizing the growing demand for entry-level professionals with networking security and risk-management skills, Networking Academy today announced the availability of a new Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) CCNA® Security course, which will be available to students globally via colleges and universities that are part of Networking Academy community.
* Security and risk-management skills are among the most sought-after skills in networking, and global demand continues to grow. Organizations around the world are experiencing a shortage of qualified ICT (information and communications technology) candidates with the specialized knowledge and skills needed to administer devices and applications in a highly secure infrastructure, to recognize network vulnerabilities, and to mitigate security threats.
* According to a recent study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Cisco, dedicated security roles are expected in 80 percent of the companies studied worldwide by 2012.
* Since 1997, Networking Academy has grown to reach a diverse population of more than 750,000 students each year in more than 165 countries. All students receive the same high-quality education through their local educational institutions, supported by online content and assessments, performance tracking, hands-on labs and interactive learning tools.
Security Courseware:
* The Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Security course provides a next step for individuals who want to enhance their CCNA-level skill set and help meet the growing demand for networking professionals with specialized skills.
* The curriculum provides an introduction to the core security concepts and skills needed for the installation, troubleshooting, and monitoring of network devices to maintain the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and devices.
* Cisco Packet Tracer, the powerful simulation and visualization software developed by Cisco Networking Academy, has been enhanced to provide support for the security protocols covered in the CCNA Security curriculum.
* CCNA Security courseware and Cisco Packet Tracer 5.2 are available now.
CCNA Security Certification
* CCNA Security helps students prepare for the Implementing Cisco IOS® Network Security (IINS) certification exam (640-553) leading to the Cisco CCNA Security certification.
* With the CCNA Security certification, an individual demonstrates the skills required to develop a security infrastructure, recognize network threats and vulnerabilities, and mitigate security threats with a focus on industry-leading Cisco equipment, while providing general network security knowledge that is applicable across multiple vendor platforms.
* The CCNA Security certification helps students develop the skills needed for job roles such as network security specialists, security administrators and network security support engineers.
* The CCNA Security certification prerequisite is a valid CCNA.
Supporting Quotes:
* Amy Christen, vice president, Corporate Affairs and general manager, Cisco Networking Academy, said: "Cisco Networking Academy provides lifelong learning and career ladders for students to find and develop rewarding career opportunities, improving the future for themselves and their communities. This new CCNA Security curriculum reflects the evolving technologies and specialized security skills that will help students succeed in today's global, networked economy."
* Ashraf Salem, head teacher, Meadowbank ICT, Northern Sydney Institute, said: "Businesses of all sizes and in all industries are looking for professionals with the advanced skills needed to maintain and secure their increasingly complex networks. The education provided by Cisco Networking Academy helps prepare students for rewarding careers in exciting fields. The new security course will provide an opportunity for students to further enhance their skills and prepare for in-demand job roles."
* Ye-Zhai Chau, student, Meadowbank ICT, Northern Sydney Institute, said: "I found the CCNA Security course to be very beneficial in my understanding of safeguarding networks and databases. I could apply the skills acquired from this course to set up complex passwords for security purposes. I feel that I have gained a deeper understanding regarding network attacks and in which manner to safeguard against future attacks."
* Lewis Lightner, chairperson, Networking Technology, Asheville- Buncombe Technical Community College, said: "The CCNA Security curriculum provides the specialized technical and soft skills required for networking professionals to excel in today's job market. Students are very excited about the opportunity to build on the core routing and switching skills they have already acquired through Networking Academy courses and to develop new skills. The CCNA Security curriculum has been field-tested by educators around the world to ensure the materials are relevant and meet the exceptional quality standards of Cisco Networking Academy."
SOURCE:
SAN JOSE, CA -- 08/11/09 -- For more than a decade, Cisco® Networking Academy® program has partnered with the education community to help students worldwide enter rewarding careers by teaching valuable networking and information technology (IT) skills. Recognizing the growing demand for entry-level professionals with networking security and risk-management skills, Networking Academy today announced the availability of a new Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) CCNA® Security course, which will be available to students globally via colleges and universities that are part of Networking Academy community.
* Security and risk-management skills are among the most sought-after skills in networking, and global demand continues to grow. Organizations around the world are experiencing a shortage of qualified ICT (information and communications technology) candidates with the specialized knowledge and skills needed to administer devices and applications in a highly secure infrastructure, to recognize network vulnerabilities, and to mitigate security threats.
* According to a recent study conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Cisco, dedicated security roles are expected in 80 percent of the companies studied worldwide by 2012.
* Since 1997, Networking Academy has grown to reach a diverse population of more than 750,000 students each year in more than 165 countries. All students receive the same high-quality education through their local educational institutions, supported by online content and assessments, performance tracking, hands-on labs and interactive learning tools.
Security Courseware:
* The Cisco Networking Academy CCNA Security course provides a next step for individuals who want to enhance their CCNA-level skill set and help meet the growing demand for networking professionals with specialized skills.
* The curriculum provides an introduction to the core security concepts and skills needed for the installation, troubleshooting, and monitoring of network devices to maintain the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data and devices.
* Cisco Packet Tracer, the powerful simulation and visualization software developed by Cisco Networking Academy, has been enhanced to provide support for the security protocols covered in the CCNA Security curriculum.
* CCNA Security courseware and Cisco Packet Tracer 5.2 are available now.
CCNA Security Certification
* CCNA Security helps students prepare for the Implementing Cisco IOS® Network Security (IINS) certification exam (640-553) leading to the Cisco CCNA Security certification.
* With the CCNA Security certification, an individual demonstrates the skills required to develop a security infrastructure, recognize network threats and vulnerabilities, and mitigate security threats with a focus on industry-leading Cisco equipment, while providing general network security knowledge that is applicable across multiple vendor platforms.
* The CCNA Security certification helps students develop the skills needed for job roles such as network security specialists, security administrators and network security support engineers.
* The CCNA Security certification prerequisite is a valid CCNA.
Supporting Quotes:
* Amy Christen, vice president, Corporate Affairs and general manager, Cisco Networking Academy, said: "Cisco Networking Academy provides lifelong learning and career ladders for students to find and develop rewarding career opportunities, improving the future for themselves and their communities. This new CCNA Security curriculum reflects the evolving technologies and specialized security skills that will help students succeed in today's global, networked economy."
* Ashraf Salem, head teacher, Meadowbank ICT, Northern Sydney Institute, said: "Businesses of all sizes and in all industries are looking for professionals with the advanced skills needed to maintain and secure their increasingly complex networks. The education provided by Cisco Networking Academy helps prepare students for rewarding careers in exciting fields. The new security course will provide an opportunity for students to further enhance their skills and prepare for in-demand job roles."
* Ye-Zhai Chau, student, Meadowbank ICT, Northern Sydney Institute, said: "I found the CCNA Security course to be very beneficial in my understanding of safeguarding networks and databases. I could apply the skills acquired from this course to set up complex passwords for security purposes. I feel that I have gained a deeper understanding regarding network attacks and in which manner to safeguard against future attacks."
* Lewis Lightner, chairperson, Networking Technology, Asheville- Buncombe Technical Community College, said: "The CCNA Security curriculum provides the specialized technical and soft skills required for networking professionals to excel in today's job market. Students are very excited about the opportunity to build on the core routing and switching skills they have already acquired through Networking Academy courses and to develop new skills. The CCNA Security curriculum has been field-tested by educators around the world to ensure the materials are relevant and meet the exceptional quality standards of Cisco Networking Academy."
SOURCE:
Monday, August 10, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
EMC, Cisco and VMware to Release Joint Data Center Product
At yesterday's EMC Forum in Long Beach, Calif., EMC (NYSE: EMC) let slip a few details about announcements that could come within a month, as the cloud alliance between VMware (NYSE: VMW), Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) and EMC (dubbed VCE) gathers momentum.
"We have been building an integrated 'stack in a rack,' which is essentially a virtual data center in one rack," said Linda Connly, EMC's chief of staff and sales strategy. "We have proved out an architecture that offers integrated components for storage, virtualization, security, networking and deduplication. These would work well, for example, as drop-in modules for remote sites."
In addition to the first concrete product from the VCE alliance, a joint service center is also part of the plans — with three vendors to deal with, customers would naturally be hesitant about what could well turn into a finger-pointing extravaganza.
"We have a joint announcement coming soon about an integrated service offer for customer service," said Connly. "That means one phone call to resolve issues with this new product."
Each member of VCE has contributed staff, for an initial total of 60 people to form the core of the support organization. End user calls would go to a resource pool that spans the combined might of the companies so that issues can be handled at first contact rather than being referred from one vendor to another.
It's not clear if Cisco's Unified Computing System, or UCS, will be part of the announcement. Cisco said on its earnings conference call this week that it expects UCS sales to pick up in the second half of the year.
SOURCE:
"We have been building an integrated 'stack in a rack,' which is essentially a virtual data center in one rack," said Linda Connly, EMC's chief of staff and sales strategy. "We have proved out an architecture that offers integrated components for storage, virtualization, security, networking and deduplication. These would work well, for example, as drop-in modules for remote sites."
In addition to the first concrete product from the VCE alliance, a joint service center is also part of the plans — with three vendors to deal with, customers would naturally be hesitant about what could well turn into a finger-pointing extravaganza.
"We have a joint announcement coming soon about an integrated service offer for customer service," said Connly. "That means one phone call to resolve issues with this new product."
Each member of VCE has contributed staff, for an initial total of 60 people to form the core of the support organization. End user calls would go to a resource pool that spans the combined might of the companies so that issues can be handled at first contact rather than being referred from one vendor to another.
It's not clear if Cisco's Unified Computing System, or UCS, will be part of the announcement. Cisco said on its earnings conference call this week that it expects UCS sales to pick up in the second half of the year.
SOURCE:
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Analysts notes lift Cisco shares ahead of earnings
NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - Shares of Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) rose 2 percent on Monday after a string of upbeat analysts notes and growing confidence in an economic recovery propped up expectations for the network equipment maker's quarterly results due later in the week.
Bernstein Research analyst Jeff Evenson said that after talking with industry contacts and looking at overall economic trends, he believed the company's quarterly results would likely come in at the higher end of its estimates.
Cisco, scheduled to report results after the market closes on Wednesday, had forecast a 17 percent to 20 percent drop in revenue from a year earlier.
"Revenue guidance given last quarter appears to have been generally conservative, assuming that demand would not stabilize or recover," said Evenson, forecasting quarterly revenue of $8.6 billion, down 17 percent from a year earlier.
Analysts on average expect $8.4 billion, down nearly 19 percent from a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of the world's biggest manufacturer of routers and switches rose 43 cents to $22.44, outperforming the Nasdaq composite's .IXIC 0.6 percent rise.
UBS raised its target on the shares to $22.50 from $20.50, and Jefferies & Co. raised its target to $26 from $24.
The shares have risen around 14 percent in the past three months on hopes of an economic recovery, although many analysts have warned a substantial recovery in technology demand may take longer than many investors expect.
Morgan Keegan analyst Simon Leopold said he believes the communications equipment market bottomed out in the January-March quarter.
"We think the stock bounced off the bottom when the macro economy seemed to bottom, and now with initial signs of recovery, albeit muted, we think the stock can continue to appreciate," he said.
Leopold added that he expects Cisco to strike an "incrementally more positive" with investors, and that even if quarterly revenue falls as much as the market expects, cost-cuts may help earnings exceed the market's consensus of 28 cents per share before items.
REUTERS:
Bernstein Research analyst Jeff Evenson said that after talking with industry contacts and looking at overall economic trends, he believed the company's quarterly results would likely come in at the higher end of its estimates.
Cisco, scheduled to report results after the market closes on Wednesday, had forecast a 17 percent to 20 percent drop in revenue from a year earlier.
"Revenue guidance given last quarter appears to have been generally conservative, assuming that demand would not stabilize or recover," said Evenson, forecasting quarterly revenue of $8.6 billion, down 17 percent from a year earlier.
Analysts on average expect $8.4 billion, down nearly 19 percent from a year earlier, according to Reuters Estimates.
Shares of the world's biggest manufacturer of routers and switches rose 43 cents to $22.44, outperforming the Nasdaq composite's .IXIC 0.6 percent rise.
UBS raised its target on the shares to $22.50 from $20.50, and Jefferies & Co. raised its target to $26 from $24.
The shares have risen around 14 percent in the past three months on hopes of an economic recovery, although many analysts have warned a substantial recovery in technology demand may take longer than many investors expect.
Morgan Keegan analyst Simon Leopold said he believes the communications equipment market bottomed out in the January-March quarter.
"We think the stock bounced off the bottom when the macro economy seemed to bottom, and now with initial signs of recovery, albeit muted, we think the stock can continue to appreciate," he said.
Leopold added that he expects Cisco to strike an "incrementally more positive" with investors, and that even if quarterly revenue falls as much as the market expects, cost-cuts may help earnings exceed the market's consensus of 28 cents per share before items.
REUTERS:
Monday, August 3, 2009
Cisco Systems, Inc., CSCO - Cisco is expected to post an 18% drop in sales
Cisco Systems, Inc., CSCO - Cisco is expected to post an 18% drop in sales
The maker of routers and networking gear is widely considered a barometer for corporate tech spending. Cisco is expected to post an 18% drop in sales…but investors hope that results will offer signs that the deep slump is coming to an end.
On average analysts expect Cisco to report fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $8.49 billion, down 18 percent from a year earlier but up 4 percent from the previous quarter, according to Reuters Estimates. Analyst Kenneth Muth said he believes there is more upside than downside risk and raised his price target to $26 from $20.
I have not bought and tested a cisco equipment before.
SOURCE:
The maker of routers and networking gear is widely considered a barometer for corporate tech spending. Cisco is expected to post an 18% drop in sales…but investors hope that results will offer signs that the deep slump is coming to an end.
On average analysts expect Cisco to report fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $8.49 billion, down 18 percent from a year earlier but up 4 percent from the previous quarter, according to Reuters Estimates. Analyst Kenneth Muth said he believes there is more upside than downside risk and raised his price target to $26 from $20.
I have not bought and tested a cisco equipment before.
SOURCE:
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Cisco Systems, Inc. CSCO, Cisco: Pac Crest Ups Positive Enterprise Rebound to Target $27
The company’s price target was also raised by $27 from $23 by Cisco Systems, Pacific Crest analyst Brent Bracelin this morning.
He further states that he sees signs of a rebound among Cisco’s enterprise customer base from his checks with resellers. Bracelin expects Cisco to meet or beat expectations for its Q4 of $8.5 billion and 28 cents.
About Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking and other products relating to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. The company offers routers that interconnect IP networks and moving information between networks; switching systems, which provide connectivity to end users, workstations, and servers; application networking solutions; home networking products, such as voice and data modems, network cards, media adapters, Internet video cameras, network storage, and USB adapters; and Cisco security solutions to protect information systems.
WhisperfromWallStreet.com is a FREE award winning newsletter that specializes in sending alerts to our subscribers on stocks we think are going to run, why we think so, as well as teaching you how to become a better trader. We scan hundreds of stocks a day to find those that meet our criteria and when we find one, we send you an alert.
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He further states that he sees signs of a rebound among Cisco’s enterprise customer base from his checks with resellers. Bracelin expects Cisco to meet or beat expectations for its Q4 of $8.5 billion and 28 cents.
About Cisco
Cisco Systems, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol (IP)-based networking and other products relating to the communications and information technology industry worldwide. The company offers routers that interconnect IP networks and moving information between networks; switching systems, which provide connectivity to end users, workstations, and servers; application networking solutions; home networking products, such as voice and data modems, network cards, media adapters, Internet video cameras, network storage, and USB adapters; and Cisco security solutions to protect information systems.
WhisperfromWallStreet.com is a FREE award winning newsletter that specializes in sending alerts to our subscribers on stocks we think are going to run, why we think so, as well as teaching you how to become a better trader. We scan hundreds of stocks a day to find those that meet our criteria and when we find one, we send you an alert.
IMPORTANT: Never invest in any stock featured in any press release, email or website unless you can afford the loss of your entire investment. Stocks and particularly penny stocks have the possibility for dramatic gains, and also losses. Neither WhisperFromWallStreet, nor any of its affiliates are registered investment advisors or broker dealers.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Cisco Unified Service Delivery Underscores Industry’s Focus on Data Centers
I came across this article published by CIOZone on July 20, 2009 - “IT Spending Forecasts Improve, Cisco Popular”; and obviously, am pleased by the positive results around Cisco’s Unified Computing System (UCS).
An impressive number - “77 percent of respondents in the UBS survey said that they expected to buy or evaluate Cisco’s Unified Computing System…in the next 18 months”; and that they see this system as being more likely to succeed than the competition. This is great news, since the UCS forms the foundational building block for the Unified Service Delivery solution and it is a testament to our engineers for building such an innovative product
READ THE ORIGINAL BLOG ENTRY:
An impressive number - “77 percent of respondents in the UBS survey said that they expected to buy or evaluate Cisco’s Unified Computing System…in the next 18 months”; and that they see this system as being more likely to succeed than the competition. This is great news, since the UCS forms the foundational building block for the Unified Service Delivery solution and it is a testament to our engineers for building such an innovative product
READ THE ORIGINAL BLOG ENTRY:
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Infosys Opens First Philippine BPO Branch With Collaboration Platform From Cisco
Infosys Opens First Philippine BPO Branch With Collaboration Platform From Cisco
Technologies Ltd., recently opened its first BPO branch in the Philippines. The center features collaboration technologies from Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), including Cisco® Unified Contact Center, which delivers intelligent contact routing, call treatment, network-to-desktop computer telephony integration (CTI), and multichannel contact management over an Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure. The center will support multiple clients in the technology industry.
Infosys' Philippines branch extends the global relationship between the two companies, which began in India in 2002 and now includes six geographic delivery centers across the globe. "Cisco's relationship with Infosys is strategic in nature and crosses various business organizations, providing tremendous synergies for both companies," said Mark Homan, Global Operations senior director at Cisco.
"The entire IT infrastructure is built on a Cisco platform and we will continue to expand the center," said Madhusudan Menon, center head, Infosys Philippines. "Through this project, Infosys BPO Philippines may emerge as one of the largest Cisco Unified Contact Center implementations by the end of the year."
"The relationship between Infosys BPO and Cisco is good for the Philippines, as it brings world-class end-to-end order management and customer services to the country. It will also give a boost to the BPO industry here and enhance the country's reputation in this area," said Stephen Misa, country manager, Cisco Philippines.
Cisco technologies used in the project include specific customer resource management (CRM) applications for customer order management, the Cisco Unified Communications suite, including the Cisco Unified Contact Center and Cisco WebEx(TM), Cisco Unified Intelligent Contact Management, Cisco Unified Web Interaction Manager, and various workflow-processing tools, as well as Cisco routing and switching products.
Infosys BPO recently won the 2008 Six Sigma and Business Improvement Award for Organizational Business Improvement in Transactional Services at the Third Annual Global Lean, Six Sigma & Business Improvement Summit held in Orlando, Fla. This year, Infosys' ranking rose from fifth to fourth in the FAO Enterprise Provider Bakers Dozen survey.
SOURCE:
Technologies Ltd., recently opened its first BPO branch in the Philippines. The center features collaboration technologies from Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), including Cisco® Unified Contact Center, which delivers intelligent contact routing, call treatment, network-to-desktop computer telephony integration (CTI), and multichannel contact management over an Internet Protocol (IP) infrastructure. The center will support multiple clients in the technology industry.
Infosys' Philippines branch extends the global relationship between the two companies, which began in India in 2002 and now includes six geographic delivery centers across the globe. "Cisco's relationship with Infosys is strategic in nature and crosses various business organizations, providing tremendous synergies for both companies," said Mark Homan, Global Operations senior director at Cisco.
"The entire IT infrastructure is built on a Cisco platform and we will continue to expand the center," said Madhusudan Menon, center head, Infosys Philippines. "Through this project, Infosys BPO Philippines may emerge as one of the largest Cisco Unified Contact Center implementations by the end of the year."
"The relationship between Infosys BPO and Cisco is good for the Philippines, as it brings world-class end-to-end order management and customer services to the country. It will also give a boost to the BPO industry here and enhance the country's reputation in this area," said Stephen Misa, country manager, Cisco Philippines.
Cisco technologies used in the project include specific customer resource management (CRM) applications for customer order management, the Cisco Unified Communications suite, including the Cisco Unified Contact Center and Cisco WebEx(TM), Cisco Unified Intelligent Contact Management, Cisco Unified Web Interaction Manager, and various workflow-processing tools, as well as Cisco routing and switching products.
Infosys BPO recently won the 2008 Six Sigma and Business Improvement Award for Organizational Business Improvement in Transactional Services at the Third Annual Global Lean, Six Sigma & Business Improvement Summit held in Orlando, Fla. This year, Infosys' ranking rose from fifth to fourth in the FAO Enterprise Provider Bakers Dozen survey.
SOURCE:
Friday, July 24, 2009
Avaya's Nortel buy could cause trouble for Cisco
Avaya's Nortel buy could cause trouble for Cisco
Avaya's US$475 million bid for Nortel's Enterprise Solutions Business could spell trouble for Cisco in Australia's enterprise telephony market, according to an industry analyst, but it would also be good news for customers.
"They would be a very credible challenger to Cisco," Telsyte telco analyst Gary Tsang told ZDNet.com Australia today. He estimated the companies' joint market share would be close to 30 per cent in Australia by 2010: "If they can sustain their current sales level they should become the market leader by 2010."
The planned acquisition of the Nortel division has come at a time of major change for Avaya, which recently appointed its new managing director, Rob Wells, a former executive of Business Objects. Avaya also recently ditched its direct sales model, reverting back to a pure channel model, said Tsang.
The company this week announced it would supply 6000 IP handsets to Macquarie University via a deal won by one its two major distribution partners, NSC. Nortel had previously been contracted for the university's network refresh.
Should the deal proceed, Avaya is likely to achieve better negotiating terms with the major telcos too, according to Tsang.
Optus' integration arm, Alphawest, currently has a distribution deal with Nortel and Cisco. Telstra, meanwhile, has flagged Polycom as its preferred IP handset supplier, while on the unified communications front its preferred suppliers are Cisco and Microsoft.
"The market is very fragmented and bringing Nortel and Avaya together will be good for the Australian market in terms of challenging Cisco," said Tsang.
SOURCE:
Avaya's US$475 million bid for Nortel's Enterprise Solutions Business could spell trouble for Cisco in Australia's enterprise telephony market, according to an industry analyst, but it would also be good news for customers.
"They would be a very credible challenger to Cisco," Telsyte telco analyst Gary Tsang told ZDNet.com Australia today. He estimated the companies' joint market share would be close to 30 per cent in Australia by 2010: "If they can sustain their current sales level they should become the market leader by 2010."
The planned acquisition of the Nortel division has come at a time of major change for Avaya, which recently appointed its new managing director, Rob Wells, a former executive of Business Objects. Avaya also recently ditched its direct sales model, reverting back to a pure channel model, said Tsang.
The company this week announced it would supply 6000 IP handsets to Macquarie University via a deal won by one its two major distribution partners, NSC. Nortel had previously been contracted for the university's network refresh.
Should the deal proceed, Avaya is likely to achieve better negotiating terms with the major telcos too, according to Tsang.
Optus' integration arm, Alphawest, currently has a distribution deal with Nortel and Cisco. Telstra, meanwhile, has flagged Polycom as its preferred IP handset supplier, while on the unified communications front its preferred suppliers are Cisco and Microsoft.
"The market is very fragmented and bringing Nortel and Avaya together will be good for the Australian market in terms of challenging Cisco," said Tsang.
SOURCE:
Monday, July 20, 2009
Gotta be the best Cisco Router Simulator Ever
GNS3 Against Packet tracer 5.1
GNS3:
1. You can almost do all the commands that the packet tracer cannot do.
2. You can simulate the virtual network to a real hardware or an equipment.
3. The frame cloud is easier to configure.
4. Free
Packet tracer 5.1:
1. Limited commands only
2. You can only connect directly to another workstation.
3. Frame cloud is a bit hard to configure and understand.
4. Available only to those enrolled in CNAP.
GNS3:
1. You can almost do all the commands that the packet tracer cannot do.
2. You can simulate the virtual network to a real hardware or an equipment.
3. The frame cloud is easier to configure.
4. Free
Packet tracer 5.1:
1. Limited commands only
2. You can only connect directly to another workstation.
3. Frame cloud is a bit hard to configure and understand.
4. Available only to those enrolled in CNAP.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Harley-Davidson and Cisco both let go of many hundreds.
With its sales of motorcycles down 30% and its revenue down 27% from last year, Harley-Davidson, the legendary producer of high-end hogs, slashed its expectations for this year's shipments by nearly 20% this week and let go of 1,000 workers. This follows the company's January job cut of 1,100, bringing its total staff reduction so far this year to 2,100. The company employs around 9,300 altogether.
Its new chairman and chief executive officer, Keith Wandell, who took charge in May, maintained that Harley's brand is still top-notch, and that the sales slump reflects only the down economy: "It is obviously a very tough environment for us right now, given the continued weak consumer spending in the overall economy for discretionary purchases." Harley's stock price was floating around $18.90 on Friday, down by more than half since last year, but still more than double its low of $7.99 in March.
Article Controls
Last week Hasan Imam, an analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners, reported that Cisco Systems ( CSCO - news - people ) was preparing for large layoffs. This week Cisco began printing the pink slips. The carnage wasn't quite as gruesome as the 2,000 dismissals Imam had predicted, but Cisco let go of nearly 700 on Thursday at the company's San Jose, Calif., headquarters. John Chambers, Cisco's CEO, said in February that he'd be eliminating up to 2,000 jobs by the end of the fiscal year; these are among those positions. Cisco employs around 66,000 people altogether.
Navistar International, a producer of military vehicles, laid off 275 at its plant in West Point, Miss., this week. The layoffs follow Navistar's failure to win a $1.06 billion Pentagon contract, which was instead awarded to Oshkosh, of Wisconsin. The West Point plant operates on a project-by-project basis, said a spokeswoman for the company. Navistar hopes to find a new vehicle to build to bring the plant back to full operation in the future.
Boeing ( BA - news - people ) announced this week that by September it would let go of 130 workers at its operations in Huntsville, Ala. Those job losses are a direct result of cuts in federal missile defense spending scheduled to take effect in 2010. They will affect Boeing's work on the Defense Department's Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program. The company expects to cut an additional 100 or so jobs elsewhere for similar reasons.
SOURCE:
Its new chairman and chief executive officer, Keith Wandell, who took charge in May, maintained that Harley's brand is still top-notch, and that the sales slump reflects only the down economy: "It is obviously a very tough environment for us right now, given the continued weak consumer spending in the overall economy for discretionary purchases." Harley's stock price was floating around $18.90 on Friday, down by more than half since last year, but still more than double its low of $7.99 in March.
Article Controls
Last week Hasan Imam, an analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners, reported that Cisco Systems ( CSCO - news - people ) was preparing for large layoffs. This week Cisco began printing the pink slips. The carnage wasn't quite as gruesome as the 2,000 dismissals Imam had predicted, but Cisco let go of nearly 700 on Thursday at the company's San Jose, Calif., headquarters. John Chambers, Cisco's CEO, said in February that he'd be eliminating up to 2,000 jobs by the end of the fiscal year; these are among those positions. Cisco employs around 66,000 people altogether.
Navistar International, a producer of military vehicles, laid off 275 at its plant in West Point, Miss., this week. The layoffs follow Navistar's failure to win a $1.06 billion Pentagon contract, which was instead awarded to Oshkosh, of Wisconsin. The West Point plant operates on a project-by-project basis, said a spokeswoman for the company. Navistar hopes to find a new vehicle to build to bring the plant back to full operation in the future.
Boeing ( BA - news - people ) announced this week that by September it would let go of 130 workers at its operations in Huntsville, Ala. Those job losses are a direct result of cuts in federal missile defense spending scheduled to take effect in 2010. They will affect Boeing's work on the Defense Department's Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program. The company expects to cut an additional 100 or so jobs elsewhere for similar reasons.
SOURCE:
Friday, July 17, 2009
Cisco Moves Ahead With More Layoffs
Cisco Systems Inc. laid off several hundred employees on Thursday, as part of the company's plan to control its costs amid declining sales.
Between 600 and 700 people were laid off at the company's San Jose headquarters, according to a person familiar with the decision. The company also cut jobs in branch offices elsewhere in the U.S., said people familiar with the matter. The total number of jobs eliminated wasn't immediately clear.
"We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected by the limited restructuring," a Cisco spokesman said.
Digits
In February, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers said the networking giant would likely cut between 1,500 and 2,000 positions over the remainder of its fiscal year, which ends this month. The company also eliminated several hundred positions in February.
Cisco, which had 66,558 employees at the end of April, has reported back-to-back quarters of declining sales. In May, Mr. Chambers said that he saw signs that the worst of the recession was over, but added it could be a while before spending trends back up.
SOURCE:
Between 600 and 700 people were laid off at the company's San Jose headquarters, according to a person familiar with the decision. The company also cut jobs in branch offices elsewhere in the U.S., said people familiar with the matter. The total number of jobs eliminated wasn't immediately clear.
"We are doing everything possible to minimize the impact on employees affected by the limited restructuring," a Cisco spokesman said.
Digits
In February, Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers said the networking giant would likely cut between 1,500 and 2,000 positions over the remainder of its fiscal year, which ends this month. The company also eliminated several hundred positions in February.
Cisco, which had 66,558 employees at the end of April, has reported back-to-back quarters of declining sales. In May, Mr. Chambers said that he saw signs that the worst of the recession was over, but added it could be a while before spending trends back up.
SOURCE:
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Firm fields Cisco eng’rs
PRIME Communications takes pride in bringing its Cisco-certified employees at the forefront of its highly respected business solution service.
Armed with the right skills to meet the ever growing challenges of the information technology industry, Prime Communications’ network operations group are all Cisco certified.
Cisco has a widely respected training and certification program that equips engineers and IT professionals with training and expertise on highly sophisticated network solutions.
With increasingly more complex networks and requirements, companies put a premium on highly skilled, certified engineers and commit resources to train their IT personnel. In line with its goal of prioritizing customer satisfaction, Prime Communications has ensured that all its engineers interfacing with its business customers have undergone Cisco training and certification.
The Cisco program has three certification levels – gold, silver and premier.
Prime Communications’ network operations group have proudly attained the premier certification level, which means that the company’s IT engineers have achieved technical competency in the integration of basic routing and switching, wireless LAN and security technologies. (PR)
SOURCE:
Armed with the right skills to meet the ever growing challenges of the information technology industry, Prime Communications’ network operations group are all Cisco certified.
Cisco has a widely respected training and certification program that equips engineers and IT professionals with training and expertise on highly sophisticated network solutions.
With increasingly more complex networks and requirements, companies put a premium on highly skilled, certified engineers and commit resources to train their IT personnel. In line with its goal of prioritizing customer satisfaction, Prime Communications has ensured that all its engineers interfacing with its business customers have undergone Cisco training and certification.
The Cisco program has three certification levels – gold, silver and premier.
Prime Communications’ network operations group have proudly attained the premier certification level, which means that the company’s IT engineers have achieved technical competency in the integration of basic routing and switching, wireless LAN and security technologies. (PR)
SOURCE:
Monday, July 13, 2009
Getting Going With Cisco Router Simulators
For anyone who has ever needed to test a new network architecture, implement a new routing protocol or simply study for a Cisco exam has needed access to a real live router or a router simulator. But buying a bunch of routers just test up an idea or for study is expensive. And until recently good fully functional router simulators we just something we could only dream about.
Some company's, like Boson have router simulators you could buy to help you study for the CCNA but it was extremely limited with limited functionality. There was also some open source software like dynmips and the hypervisor engine that could be used to simulate a router but these applications were really difficult to configure and only support limited models.
Well now there is GNS3 - a multi-platform Graphical Network Simulator. GNS3 builds on dynamips and dynagen to create a nice graphical front end for building complex Cisco networks. I was completely amazed at how easy it was to install and build a new network, configure routers and switches and have a nice simulated network up and running.
GNS3 is a free open source router emulation software application developed in Python and uses the PyQT libraries for creating the UI. It uses standard vector graphics similar to Visio to create the network digrams and layouts. GNS3 uses real Cisco IOS for creating fully function emulated routers and switches.
GNS3 supports many types of interface configurations (pretty much if its in the IOS its supported). Frame Relay, Frame Relays Switches, ATM, Ethernet, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, and more.
The only draw back that I can say so far with GNS3 is that you need a pretty hefty machine to simulate a large network. Especially if you are trying to build it on a Windows machine. I havent tried but I have heard that running GNS3 on linux is much more manageable.
Another application that has similar functionality is Cisco's Packet Tracer. Thought originally designed as a group learning tools for Cisco Academy students, it make for a nice router simulator. And because its build for Cisco Academy, the only place to get it is if your enrolled in Cisco Academy. Another problem with Packet Tracer is it only runs on Windows. It's a bit more limited than GNS3, as it comes preconfigured with set models of routers and switches. It is very stable and less resource intensive than GNS3 by a long shot and will do the trick when you need to test out a quick config. To find Packet Tracer is pretty easy if you look out on the bit torrents, you should easily be able to find it.
So if your looking for a cool router simulator and have been frustrated thinking they dont exist. Think again! Here are two really cool simulators right here!
Source:
Some company's, like Boson have router simulators you could buy to help you study for the CCNA but it was extremely limited with limited functionality. There was also some open source software like dynmips and the hypervisor engine that could be used to simulate a router but these applications were really difficult to configure and only support limited models.
Well now there is GNS3 - a multi-platform Graphical Network Simulator. GNS3 builds on dynamips and dynagen to create a nice graphical front end for building complex Cisco networks. I was completely amazed at how easy it was to install and build a new network, configure routers and switches and have a nice simulated network up and running.
GNS3 is a free open source router emulation software application developed in Python and uses the PyQT libraries for creating the UI. It uses standard vector graphics similar to Visio to create the network digrams and layouts. GNS3 uses real Cisco IOS for creating fully function emulated routers and switches.
GNS3 supports many types of interface configurations (pretty much if its in the IOS its supported). Frame Relay, Frame Relays Switches, ATM, Ethernet, OSPF, EIGRP, BGP, and more.
The only draw back that I can say so far with GNS3 is that you need a pretty hefty machine to simulate a large network. Especially if you are trying to build it on a Windows machine. I havent tried but I have heard that running GNS3 on linux is much more manageable.
Another application that has similar functionality is Cisco's Packet Tracer. Thought originally designed as a group learning tools for Cisco Academy students, it make for a nice router simulator. And because its build for Cisco Academy, the only place to get it is if your enrolled in Cisco Academy. Another problem with Packet Tracer is it only runs on Windows. It's a bit more limited than GNS3, as it comes preconfigured with set models of routers and switches. It is very stable and less resource intensive than GNS3 by a long shot and will do the trick when you need to test out a quick config. To find Packet Tracer is pretty easy if you look out on the bit torrents, you should easily be able to find it.
So if your looking for a cool router simulator and have been frustrated thinking they dont exist. Think again! Here are two really cool simulators right here!
Source:
Sunday, July 12, 2009
CISCO WIRELESS ROUTER WRT610N REVIEW
This new product being launched by cisco is really a breakthrough product it gives off a higher and better signal even if you are being surrounded by walls and a gap between buildings the good thing about this product is that it supports a signal from G to N. And with its new look it wouldn't be easily recognized as an access point it is like a stealth plain of the armed forces.
Are you a CCNA certified card holder?
Hello All,
I have been bringing my CCNA card almost 2 years now and I have already renewed it before it gets expired, but im still done with one exam to renew it to a CCNP professional with the switching to be the first one I passed, I am still reviewing on the routing exam for it is a very broad one that talks on large routing protocols like BGP,IS-IS, OSPF and IPV6.
I have been bringing my CCNA card almost 2 years now and I have already renewed it before it gets expired, but im still done with one exam to renew it to a CCNP professional with the switching to be the first one I passed, I am still reviewing on the routing exam for it is a very broad one that talks on large routing protocols like BGP,IS-IS, OSPF and IPV6.
Friday, July 10, 2009
New Cisco CCNA Security Training series released by Palaestra Training
Palaestra Training Releases Cisco CCNA Security Training Video Series with Full preparation for Cisco's 640-553 Implementing Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS) Exam.
Our customers asked us to develop Cisco CCNA Security Training, says Christopher Rees, President of Palaestra Training. He adds
we are offering this training series -- simply the best Cisco CCNA Security Training at the best price on the market -- anywhere!
The Best Trainers Create the Best Training
Medford, NJ (PRWEB) July 2, 2009 -- Palaestra Training today announced the release of their Cisco CCNA Security Training video series which fully prepares a student for Cisco's 640-553 implementing Cisco IOS network security exam. "Our customers asked us to develop Cisco CCNA Security Training, says Christopher Rees, President of Palaestra Training. He adds "today, network security is an integral part of any network administrator's daily work and our videos help them not only understand those skills and get certified, but we also help them apply this knowledge in real world scenarios."
This advanced topic course on Cisco CCNA Security features over 11 hours of video instruction delivered on DVD. The training comes with multiple file formats, giving customers the ability to access the training in a variety of ways, such as iPod (m4v) Video, mp3 Audio, and high-resolution AVI format. This allows Palaestra Training to deliver their content to customers in ways they can truly watch or listen to anytime, anywhere. The training package helps students prepare for the Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS) 640-553 certification exam. In addition to complete coverage of the exam topics, the package includes a full version of Cisco IINS 640-553 practice exam software from award-winning exam simulation software maker MeasureUp.
Rees added "we are offering this training series -- simply the best Cisco CCNA Security Training at the best price on the market -- anywhere!" For a limited time, customers will receive $25 off the retail price of $249 by using the promo code pr640553.
Palaestra Training's Cisco CCNA Security video training course is instructed by Koren Archibald, a Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (#30837) and award-winning technology consultant who has helped deliver security solutions to the U.S. Government and large international organizations worldwide.
About Palaestra Training:
Palaestra Training is an international IT certification and training video products and services company based in Medford, New Jersey. Palaestra Training was founded in 2006 by senior executives and technologists from the advanced technology and training industries. Built upon the successful "The Best Trainers Create the Best Training" model, Palaestra Training delivers IT certification and training video solutions to hundreds of companies, colleges and universities, government agencies, and non-profit organizations including: The United States Army, Oracle Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Xerox Corporation, and TD Bank. Palaestra Training is privately held and markets its products and services directly and through partners worldwide.
SOURCE:
Our customers asked us to develop Cisco CCNA Security Training, says Christopher Rees, President of Palaestra Training. He adds
we are offering this training series -- simply the best Cisco CCNA Security Training at the best price on the market -- anywhere!
The Best Trainers Create the Best Training
Medford, NJ (PRWEB) July 2, 2009 -- Palaestra Training today announced the release of their Cisco CCNA Security Training video series which fully prepares a student for Cisco's 640-553 implementing Cisco IOS network security exam. "Our customers asked us to develop Cisco CCNA Security Training, says Christopher Rees, President of Palaestra Training. He adds "today, network security is an integral part of any network administrator's daily work and our videos help them not only understand those skills and get certified, but we also help them apply this knowledge in real world scenarios."
This advanced topic course on Cisco CCNA Security features over 11 hours of video instruction delivered on DVD. The training comes with multiple file formats, giving customers the ability to access the training in a variety of ways, such as iPod (m4v) Video, mp3 Audio, and high-resolution AVI format. This allows Palaestra Training to deliver their content to customers in ways they can truly watch or listen to anytime, anywhere. The training package helps students prepare for the Cisco IOS Network Security (IINS) 640-553 certification exam. In addition to complete coverage of the exam topics, the package includes a full version of Cisco IINS 640-553 practice exam software from award-winning exam simulation software maker MeasureUp.
Rees added "we are offering this training series -- simply the best Cisco CCNA Security Training at the best price on the market -- anywhere!" For a limited time, customers will receive $25 off the retail price of $249 by using the promo code pr640553.
Palaestra Training's Cisco CCNA Security video training course is instructed by Koren Archibald, a Cisco Certified Systems Instructor (#30837) and award-winning technology consultant who has helped deliver security solutions to the U.S. Government and large international organizations worldwide.
About Palaestra Training:
Palaestra Training is an international IT certification and training video products and services company based in Medford, New Jersey. Palaestra Training was founded in 2006 by senior executives and technologists from the advanced technology and training industries. Built upon the successful "The Best Trainers Create the Best Training" model, Palaestra Training delivers IT certification and training video solutions to hundreds of companies, colleges and universities, government agencies, and non-profit organizations including: The United States Army, Oracle Corporation, Lockheed Martin, Xerox Corporation, and TD Bank. Palaestra Training is privately held and markets its products and services directly and through partners worldwide.
SOURCE:
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Cisco IPTV Broadcast: Midyear Security Report Shows Network Threats 'Are Getting Down to Business
On Tuesday, July 14, 2009, security executives and researchers from Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) will discuss findings from the Cisco 2009 Midyear Security Report, recapping security events and trends of the first half of 2009 and implications for the future. The live broadcast will highlight:
* Threats in 2009: Security incidents that affected businesses and consumers around the world.
* Crime Today - Getting Down to Business: Explanation of how Internet criminals are increasingly operating like successful businesses, borrowing some of the best strategies from legitimate companies and forming partnerships with one another to help make their illegal activities more lucrative.
* Recommendations: Guidance on how to prevent security breaches and protect businesses and individuals.
* Live Q&A: Media, analysts and customers can ask questions throughout the broadcast.
Who:
Patrick Peterson, fellow and chief security researcher, Cisco
Fred Kost, director, security solutions marketing, Cisco
When: Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 8 a.m. Pacific
Where: The Internet TV broadcast can be accessed at the URL below. No registration required. Please visit the http://tools.cisco.com/cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=89479 on July 14 at 8 a.m. Pacific and click "Play" to launch the live presentation.
Technical Assistance:
Attendees who experience difficulties connecting can contact support at 866-614-0208 or 617-778-9652. Phone support is available 30 minutes prior to and after the event, as well as during the videocast. Attendees may also submit an Online Support Request to CiscoTV_help@external.cisco.com or ciscotv_help@btci.com if necessary.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.
SOURCE:
* Threats in 2009: Security incidents that affected businesses and consumers around the world.
* Crime Today - Getting Down to Business: Explanation of how Internet criminals are increasingly operating like successful businesses, borrowing some of the best strategies from legitimate companies and forming partnerships with one another to help make their illegal activities more lucrative.
* Recommendations: Guidance on how to prevent security breaches and protect businesses and individuals.
* Live Q&A: Media, analysts and customers can ask questions throughout the broadcast.
Who:
Patrick Peterson, fellow and chief security researcher, Cisco
Fred Kost, director, security solutions marketing, Cisco
When: Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 8 a.m. Pacific
Where: The Internet TV broadcast can be accessed at the URL below. No registration required. Please visit the http://tools.cisco.com/cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=89479 on July 14 at 8 a.m. Pacific and click "Play" to launch the live presentation.
Technical Assistance:
Attendees who experience difficulties connecting can contact support at 866-614-0208 or 617-778-9652. Phone support is available 30 minutes prior to and after the event, as well as during the videocast. Attendees may also submit an Online Support Request to CiscoTV_help@external.cisco.com or ciscotv_help@btci.com if necessary.
About Cisco Systems
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.
Cisco, the Cisco logo, and Cisco Systems are registered trademarks or trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. The use of the word partner does not imply a partnership relationship between Cisco and any other company. This document is Cisco Public Information.
SOURCE:
Cisco janitors plan protest at Stanford
Those following the saga of the 75 janitors laid off from Cisco might want to keep the date of May 21 in mind. That's when hundreds of janitors and their supporters will stage a protest at Stanford during the school's "Socially Responsible Supply Chain" conference at which two Cisco executives will speak.
The protesters will gather outside of Stanford's Bechtel Conference Center to protest the participation of Cisco executives Kevin Harrington and Brian Glazebrook. According to the janitors' union, Cisco recently ordered its contractor, ABM, to lay off more than 75 janitors at its corporate headquarters in San Jose. The janitors set up camp outside of Cisco's headquarters to protest those layoffs.
In a press release announcing the planned protest at Stanford, union vice president Andrea Dehlendorf said:
"By targeting of contracted janitors for layoffs while protecting its enormous profits, Cisco has created a textbook example of irresponsible corporate supply-chain economics."
Last week, the janitors' union, SEIU-United Service Workers West, said it sent a letter to Harrington and Glazebrook pointing out that Cisco cannot credibly claim to be a socially responsible company while it withholds its prosperity from its contracted service workers. The letter called on Cisco to live up to its claims of having a "responsible supply chain" by reinstating the laid-off janitors, and engaging in workplace and wage improvement dialogue with the union.
Do they have enough knowledge on how the cisco janitors work in the cisco company?
SOURCE:
The protesters will gather outside of Stanford's Bechtel Conference Center to protest the participation of Cisco executives Kevin Harrington and Brian Glazebrook. According to the janitors' union, Cisco recently ordered its contractor, ABM, to lay off more than 75 janitors at its corporate headquarters in San Jose. The janitors set up camp outside of Cisco's headquarters to protest those layoffs.
In a press release announcing the planned protest at Stanford, union vice president Andrea Dehlendorf said:
"By targeting of contracted janitors for layoffs while protecting its enormous profits, Cisco has created a textbook example of irresponsible corporate supply-chain economics."
Last week, the janitors' union, SEIU-United Service Workers West, said it sent a letter to Harrington and Glazebrook pointing out that Cisco cannot credibly claim to be a socially responsible company while it withholds its prosperity from its contracted service workers. The letter called on Cisco to live up to its claims of having a "responsible supply chain" by reinstating the laid-off janitors, and engaging in workplace and wage improvement dialogue with the union.
Do they have enough knowledge on how the cisco janitors work in the cisco company?
SOURCE:
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Cisco appoints Ned Hooper strategy chief
*Hooper to take on Chief Strategy Officer role
*To be responsible for acquisitions and investments
NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) said on Wednesday that Ned Hooper, the head of its consumer business would also take on the role of chief strategy officer with responsibility for issues including acquisitions.
Cisco said that Hooper, already president of its corporate development and consumer business, would help shape the company's business plans as it moves into new markets and develops new strategies in his new role.
The leader in network equipment for big companies and telecommunications service providers has recently been pushing into new market segments such as consumer and video conferencing.
Hooper, an 11-year veteran of Cisco, will also be responsible for the company's global strategy, acquisitions, equity investments and the incubation of new technologies. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Derek Caney)
Source:
*To be responsible for acquisitions and investments
NEW YORK, July 8 (Reuters) - Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O) said on Wednesday that Ned Hooper, the head of its consumer business would also take on the role of chief strategy officer with responsibility for issues including acquisitions.
Cisco said that Hooper, already president of its corporate development and consumer business, would help shape the company's business plans as it moves into new markets and develops new strategies in his new role.
The leader in network equipment for big companies and telecommunications service providers has recently been pushing into new market segments such as consumer and video conferencing.
Hooper, an 11-year veteran of Cisco, will also be responsible for the company's global strategy, acquisitions, equity investments and the incubation of new technologies. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Derek Caney)
Source:
CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator
More Information
Product DescriptionTable of ContentsVideo
Product Description
The most effective router and switch simulator for hands-on CCNA® skills enhancement
Covers all CCNA topics
* 250 labs
* 8 different lab topologies
* 3000+ hands-on tasks
* Three Unique types of labs
CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator helps you develop and improve hands-on configuration and troubleshooting skills without the investment in expensive lab hardware. This state-of-the-art, interactive simulation software allows you to practice your networking skills with more than 250 structured labs designed to help you learn by doing, the most effective method of learning.
Experience realistic network device response as you work through each of the labs, which include detailed instructions, topology diagrams, hints, and full answers. Unlike other simulators on the market, the lab scenarios included in the CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator are far more complex, challenging you to learn how to perform realistic network configuration and troubleshooting tasks.
This unique network simulation software helps you master the hands-on skills needed to succeed on the CCNA® exam. Topics covered include:
* Router and switch navigation and administration
* LAN switching
* IP addressing
* Routing
* WANs
* VLANs and trunking
* IP routing protocols
* Scaling IP
* Troubleshooting
System Requirements:
* 500 MHz or higher processor
* 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)
* 500 MB hard drive space
* 32-bit true color monitor (1024x768 resolution)
* Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP3, Microsoft Vista, or Mac OS X Version 10.4.11 or higher
* Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.5.0
* Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0
* Connection to the Internet during installation for access code validation
Source:
Product DescriptionTable of ContentsVideo
Product Description
The most effective router and switch simulator for hands-on CCNA® skills enhancement
Covers all CCNA topics
* 250 labs
* 8 different lab topologies
* 3000+ hands-on tasks
* Three Unique types of labs
CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator helps you develop and improve hands-on configuration and troubleshooting skills without the investment in expensive lab hardware. This state-of-the-art, interactive simulation software allows you to practice your networking skills with more than 250 structured labs designed to help you learn by doing, the most effective method of learning.
Experience realistic network device response as you work through each of the labs, which include detailed instructions, topology diagrams, hints, and full answers. Unlike other simulators on the market, the lab scenarios included in the CCNA 640-802 Network Simulator are far more complex, challenging you to learn how to perform realistic network configuration and troubleshooting tasks.
This unique network simulation software helps you master the hands-on skills needed to succeed on the CCNA® exam. Topics covered include:
* Router and switch navigation and administration
* LAN switching
* IP addressing
* Routing
* WANs
* VLANs and trunking
* IP routing protocols
* Scaling IP
* Troubleshooting
System Requirements:
* 500 MHz or higher processor
* 512 MB RAM (1 GB recommended)
* 500 MB hard drive space
* 32-bit true color monitor (1024x768 resolution)
* Microsoft Windows XP Professional with SP3, Microsoft Vista, or Mac OS X Version 10.4.11 or higher
* Java Runtime Environment (JRE) version 1.5.0
* Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0
* Connection to the Internet during installation for access code validation
Source:
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
reBlog from mybloglog55f41e5e7b31b7d07f00: Some truths about being a CCNA in cebu
I found this fascinating quote today:
If you plan your career in networking CCNA certification becomes vital for your career growth. In order to be successful in your networking profession and to be viewed by the superiors as an asset to the company you must clear certification exams. For this you can approach any good online training institute that can help you get through the exams. Certified network engineers are perceived as highly skilled professionals by the employers. CCNA certification also imparts the most needed self confidence and self reliance for your career growth.mybloglog55f41e5e7b31b7d07f00, Some truths about being a CCNA in cebu, Jul 2009
You should read the whole article.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Internet Marketing through blogging
Want to earn and learn through internet marketing click the link below to learn how.
Internet Marketing workshop
Internet Marketing workshop
Benefits of CCNA Certification
Today's software industries are in need of certified networking professionals, with excellent working knowledge of protocols like IP, IGRP, Serial, Frame Relay, IP RIP, VLAN's and the like, for installing, configuring, operating, maintaining, and trouble shooting LAN, WAN and other networks. If you are a software professional interested in networking, it is wise to grab the opportunity to grow your career with Cisco Certified Network Associate certification. It is easy to obtain this valuable CCNA certification with the help of online training institutes that offer comprehensive training and hands on experience to their students.
If you plan your career in networking CCNA certification becomes vital for your career growth. In order to be successful in your networking profession and to be viewed by the superiors as an asset to the company you must clear certification exams. For this you can approach any good online training institute that can help you get through the exams. Certified network engineers are perceived as highly skilled professionals by the employers. CCNA certification also imparts the most needed self confidence and self reliance for your career growth.
In order to get the best CCNA Certification training, you need to choose an excellent online training institute that can provide you with a solid foundation useful for both your exams and your profession. The easiest way to identify such online institutes is through their reputation. Most reputed online institutions and exams expert provide you with the complete study material and samples that could be of great use to you. While you can get vital information from your friends and colleagues, researching the internet for positive feed backs is also an efficient way to locate your favorite institute. Do personally check the customer care service of the online institutes and customer reviews before joining any of the online institutes that provide CCNA Certification training.
Source:
If you plan your career in networking CCNA certification becomes vital for your career growth. In order to be successful in your networking profession and to be viewed by the superiors as an asset to the company you must clear certification exams. For this you can approach any good online training institute that can help you get through the exams. Certified network engineers are perceived as highly skilled professionals by the employers. CCNA certification also imparts the most needed self confidence and self reliance for your career growth.
In order to get the best CCNA Certification training, you need to choose an excellent online training institute that can provide you with a solid foundation useful for both your exams and your profession. The easiest way to identify such online institutes is through their reputation. Most reputed online institutions and exams expert provide you with the complete study material and samples that could be of great use to you. While you can get vital information from your friends and colleagues, researching the internet for positive feed backs is also an efficient way to locate your favorite institute. Do personally check the customer care service of the online institutes and customer reviews before joining any of the online institutes that provide CCNA Certification training.
Source:
10 dumb things you can do to your Cisco router and how to fix them
As IT pros, we have many stories about end users who did something dumb with their computers (how many times have you heard the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder story?).
However, we tend to keep our Cisco networking mistakes to ourselves, right? I am not too bashful to admit that I have taken down a network before due to a dumb mistake that could have been prevented (but I won't tell you what it was).
In order to help other network admins avoid costly mistakes, I've come up with a list of 10 dumb things you can do to your Cisco router.
#1: Not having a backup of your Cisco router configuration
While these aren't listed in any particular order, if they were, I would say that this belongs at the top of the most common router mistakes. Picture this: your Cisco router dies, but you're getting a replacement overnight, so your boss is ecstatic.
However, you, as the Cisco network admin, can't seem to make the router pass traffic as you have no backup of the config. Don't get put in the doghouse over this. It's easy to make a backup using:
Router# copy running-configuration tftp
Built into routers with newer IOS versions is IOS configuration archiving. This can automatically copy your router's configuration off of the router when configuration changes are made. To learn more about it read, "Use the Cisco IOS Archive Command to Archive Your Router's Configuration".
Also, there are many third-party GUI applications that will schedule this for you so that you can "set it and forget it." For example, see my article on Kiwi CatTools and products from ManageEngine OpUtils and PacketTrap pt360 Pro.
#2: Not having a backup of your Cisco router IOS software
Not only is a Cisco router completely useless if it isn't properly configured, but it is also useless if it has no IOS or it has the wrong IOS. As a Cisco network admin, you had better have a repository of all the different Cisco IOS router and switch IOS versions in use on your network today, stored on a file share somewhere.
By doing this, you can copy the proper IOS back onto a Cisco router that is shipped to you from Cisco or reconfigure another Cisco router (say an older router off the shelf) to take the place of a broken Cisco router.
Backing up the IOS is easy. Just TFTP it to your server with a command like this:
Router# copy flash tftp
And you will be prompted to answer all the questions needed to back up your Cisco IOS.
#3: Not having spare router hardware
I have found Cisco hardware to be extremely reliable. Still, I have had to replace both Cisco routers and switches periodically, over the years.
These days, it's not acceptable for the Internet connection to be down for a few days should a Cisco router go bad or an interface in the router start taking errors. You must be prepared to replace that hardware at a moment's notice. The replacement hardware must have the same configuration (or a config that delivers the same network connectivity to the end users) and the IOS should also be the same (or offer the same features as needed by the config).
Trust me, you don't want to be making calls all over the country asking if anyone can overnight you a router for a hefty charge.
If you aren't going to have spare hardware on site, you should at least have a Cisco SmartNET contract on your router hardware that is able to deliver a replacement router to you in an acceptable amount of time.
#4: Never document changes
When you discover that you are having networking issues, the first questions are always "When did this start?" and "Did we change anything?" By setting up a change documentation or change management procedure, you can have a history of changes--what was changed and when.
If you set up change management, you typically also have approval processes in there so that someone must have tested and then approved the changes before they went in.
Another way to document changes is to use router configuration archiving. To learn more about it read "Use the Cisco IOS Archive Command to Archive Your Router's Configuration".
#5: Don't log your router events
When issues do come up in the network, you first want to check out router logs. Not only should you have some buffered logs on the router for temporary storage, you should also have a central syslog repository of Cisco router logs.
Cisco IOS logging is easy to configure, and you can use a free Linux syslog server or buy one for Windows such as Kiwi Syslog.
To learn all about configuring logging in the Cisco IOS, please see my article "Get to Know Your Logging Options in the Cisco IOS".
#6: Not upgrading your Cisco IOS
Like any operating system, the Cisco IOS periodically has bugs (see tip #7 on searching for bugs). Plus, over time, you will get new routers with new IOS versions and you want router IOS versions to maintain compatibility. For these reasons and others, you need to make sure that your Cisco IOS stays up to date.
To upgrade your Cisco IOS, see my article "Upgrading" and my video on upgrading your Cisco IOS.
#7: Don't know where to search for Cisco documentation and troubleshooting tips
I get many Cisco IOS technical questions via e-mail, and many of these can be answered by using your favorite search engine. However, here are a couple of tips:
* Use Google search with the "site:cisco.com" keyword to search only for articles on Cisco's official Web site or the "site:techrepublic.com" keyword to search for articles at TechRepublic.
* Install the Cisco Search Toolbars to your browser. With these, you can search the Cisco Bug database, Command Line lookups, error message decoder, your RMA orders, TAC Service requests, and Cisco netpro discussions. Trust me, these tools are very cool and make it easier to find the answer to your Cisco IOS problem. For more information read "Adding Cisco.com searches and tools to your browser".
#8: Forgetting your password and not knowing how to reset it
At some point, you may forget the password on a router. Or, an admin could leave and not tell you the password to a router. While these things can happen, what you need to know is how to reset a lost Cisco router password.
To do this, check out these two resources:
* Cisco's Master Password Recovery Instructions page
* My video on how to reset your Cisco router password
#9: Not securing your router
Security? Who has time for that, right? Well, if you don't secure your routers and network, it could all be lost (and so could the company's most critical data). Make sure you follow best practices to lock down your routers and your network. I recommend you start with reading my TechRepublic download on locking down your Cisco IOS router in 10 steps.
#10: Not spending the time to create documentation
Most of us loathe having to create documentation, but let's face it, we forget things and we aren't going to be here forever. Wouldn't you just love to tell a junior admin to "go read my document on how to reset a Cisco router password" when he asks you how to do it? To prevent mistakes and downtime in the future, make sure you keep your Cisco network documentation up to date.
Source:
However, we tend to keep our Cisco networking mistakes to ourselves, right? I am not too bashful to admit that I have taken down a network before due to a dumb mistake that could have been prevented (but I won't tell you what it was).
In order to help other network admins avoid costly mistakes, I've come up with a list of 10 dumb things you can do to your Cisco router.
#1: Not having a backup of your Cisco router configuration
While these aren't listed in any particular order, if they were, I would say that this belongs at the top of the most common router mistakes. Picture this: your Cisco router dies, but you're getting a replacement overnight, so your boss is ecstatic.
However, you, as the Cisco network admin, can't seem to make the router pass traffic as you have no backup of the config. Don't get put in the doghouse over this. It's easy to make a backup using:
Router# copy running-configuration tftp
Built into routers with newer IOS versions is IOS configuration archiving. This can automatically copy your router's configuration off of the router when configuration changes are made. To learn more about it read, "Use the Cisco IOS Archive Command to Archive Your Router's Configuration".
Also, there are many third-party GUI applications that will schedule this for you so that you can "set it and forget it." For example, see my article on Kiwi CatTools and products from ManageEngine OpUtils and PacketTrap pt360 Pro.
#2: Not having a backup of your Cisco router IOS software
Not only is a Cisco router completely useless if it isn't properly configured, but it is also useless if it has no IOS or it has the wrong IOS. As a Cisco network admin, you had better have a repository of all the different Cisco IOS router and switch IOS versions in use on your network today, stored on a file share somewhere.
By doing this, you can copy the proper IOS back onto a Cisco router that is shipped to you from Cisco or reconfigure another Cisco router (say an older router off the shelf) to take the place of a broken Cisco router.
Backing up the IOS is easy. Just TFTP it to your server with a command like this:
Router# copy flash tftp
And you will be prompted to answer all the questions needed to back up your Cisco IOS.
#3: Not having spare router hardware
I have found Cisco hardware to be extremely reliable. Still, I have had to replace both Cisco routers and switches periodically, over the years.
These days, it's not acceptable for the Internet connection to be down for a few days should a Cisco router go bad or an interface in the router start taking errors. You must be prepared to replace that hardware at a moment's notice. The replacement hardware must have the same configuration (or a config that delivers the same network connectivity to the end users) and the IOS should also be the same (or offer the same features as needed by the config).
Trust me, you don't want to be making calls all over the country asking if anyone can overnight you a router for a hefty charge.
If you aren't going to have spare hardware on site, you should at least have a Cisco SmartNET contract on your router hardware that is able to deliver a replacement router to you in an acceptable amount of time.
#4: Never document changes
When you discover that you are having networking issues, the first questions are always "When did this start?" and "Did we change anything?" By setting up a change documentation or change management procedure, you can have a history of changes--what was changed and when.
If you set up change management, you typically also have approval processes in there so that someone must have tested and then approved the changes before they went in.
Another way to document changes is to use router configuration archiving. To learn more about it read "Use the Cisco IOS Archive Command to Archive Your Router's Configuration".
#5: Don't log your router events
When issues do come up in the network, you first want to check out router logs. Not only should you have some buffered logs on the router for temporary storage, you should also have a central syslog repository of Cisco router logs.
Cisco IOS logging is easy to configure, and you can use a free Linux syslog server or buy one for Windows such as Kiwi Syslog.
To learn all about configuring logging in the Cisco IOS, please see my article "Get to Know Your Logging Options in the Cisco IOS".
#6: Not upgrading your Cisco IOS
Like any operating system, the Cisco IOS periodically has bugs (see tip #7 on searching for bugs). Plus, over time, you will get new routers with new IOS versions and you want router IOS versions to maintain compatibility. For these reasons and others, you need to make sure that your Cisco IOS stays up to date.
To upgrade your Cisco IOS, see my article "Upgrading" and my video on upgrading your Cisco IOS.
#7: Don't know where to search for Cisco documentation and troubleshooting tips
I get many Cisco IOS technical questions via e-mail, and many of these can be answered by using your favorite search engine. However, here are a couple of tips:
* Use Google search with the "site:cisco.com" keyword to search only for articles on Cisco's official Web site or the "site:techrepublic.com" keyword to search for articles at TechRepublic.
* Install the Cisco Search Toolbars to your browser. With these, you can search the Cisco Bug database, Command Line lookups, error message decoder, your RMA orders, TAC Service requests, and Cisco netpro discussions. Trust me, these tools are very cool and make it easier to find the answer to your Cisco IOS problem. For more information read "Adding Cisco.com searches and tools to your browser".
#8: Forgetting your password and not knowing how to reset it
At some point, you may forget the password on a router. Or, an admin could leave and not tell you the password to a router. While these things can happen, what you need to know is how to reset a lost Cisco router password.
To do this, check out these two resources:
* Cisco's Master Password Recovery Instructions page
* My video on how to reset your Cisco router password
#9: Not securing your router
Security? Who has time for that, right? Well, if you don't secure your routers and network, it could all be lost (and so could the company's most critical data). Make sure you follow best practices to lock down your routers and your network. I recommend you start with reading my TechRepublic download on locking down your Cisco IOS router in 10 steps.
#10: Not spending the time to create documentation
Most of us loathe having to create documentation, but let's face it, we forget things and we aren't going to be here forever. Wouldn't you just love to tell a junior admin to "go read my document on how to reset a Cisco router password" when he asks you how to do it? To prevent mistakes and downtime in the future, make sure you keep your Cisco network documentation up to date.
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Cisco News - Cisco Unveils Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link
Cisco announced a new Linux powered router, the Linksys by Cisco Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link (WRT160NL). This will complement the existing Linksys by Cisco (News - Alert) consumer router line-up and is expected to be the next generation of the WRT54GL.
It is similar in design to the Linksys (News - Alert) by Cisco N-routers, and it has integrated connectors for external antennae. Consumers who need external aerials will benefit from the Linksys by Cisco router design owing to the integrated R-SMA (News - Alert) antenna connectors.
The integrated Storage Link allows consumers to connect their USB storage device to the router for creating a powerful media sharing solution which enables video, photo, data and music sharing via the integrated media server.
Cisco explained that the media server can stream to PCs or UPnP AV digital media adapters. The integrated storage link port supports FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS file systems in read and write modes. Also the two R-SMA antenna connectors allow users to benefit from choosing their antenna and its placement.
The product packaging also offers reduction in waste materials as the size of the box is reduced. Plastics are avoided where possible and recycled paper is used with other eco-friendly materials, said Cisco.
The Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link and Linksys EasyLink Advisor (LELA) are shipped together. With the help of LELA, consumers can get their network running and also to keep the network updated and secure. Cisco said that the set-up CD is compatible with Mac and Windows computers.
“In the past we have had many successful Linux powered devices with the WRT54GL and NSLU2 being great examples. The WRT160NL is the logical next step combining Linux, 802.11n technology and USB storage functionality,” Aaron Marinari, senior product manager, Cisco Consumer Business Group.
“We see the WRT160NL as a possible successor of our WRT54GL as the market transitions to 802.11n - but then with storage functionality on top of that,” headed.
Cisco revealed that the system is Linux powered and 802.11n draft 2.0 certified. It includes a 400 MHz processor, 8 Megabytes Flash memory, 32 Megabytes DDRAM and Storage Link port (USB 2.0). The system specifications also mention UPnP AV media server, Wi-Fi protected Setup pushbutton security and 2 x R-SMA antennae connectors.
Source:
It is similar in design to the Linksys (News - Alert) by Cisco N-routers, and it has integrated connectors for external antennae. Consumers who need external aerials will benefit from the Linksys by Cisco router design owing to the integrated R-SMA (News - Alert) antenna connectors.
The integrated Storage Link allows consumers to connect their USB storage device to the router for creating a powerful media sharing solution which enables video, photo, data and music sharing via the integrated media server.
Cisco explained that the media server can stream to PCs or UPnP AV digital media adapters. The integrated storage link port supports FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS file systems in read and write modes. Also the two R-SMA antenna connectors allow users to benefit from choosing their antenna and its placement.
The product packaging also offers reduction in waste materials as the size of the box is reduced. Plastics are avoided where possible and recycled paper is used with other eco-friendly materials, said Cisco.
The Wireless-N Broadband Router with Storage Link and Linksys EasyLink Advisor (LELA) are shipped together. With the help of LELA, consumers can get their network running and also to keep the network updated and secure. Cisco said that the set-up CD is compatible with Mac and Windows computers.
“In the past we have had many successful Linux powered devices with the WRT54GL and NSLU2 being great examples. The WRT160NL is the logical next step combining Linux, 802.11n technology and USB storage functionality,” Aaron Marinari, senior product manager, Cisco Consumer Business Group.
“We see the WRT160NL as a possible successor of our WRT54GL as the market transitions to 802.11n - but then with storage functionality on top of that,” headed.
Cisco revealed that the system is Linux powered and 802.11n draft 2.0 certified. It includes a 400 MHz processor, 8 Megabytes Flash memory, 32 Megabytes DDRAM and Storage Link port (USB 2.0). The system specifications also mention UPnP AV media server, Wi-Fi protected Setup pushbutton security and 2 x R-SMA antennae connectors.
Source:
Do you need a CCNA before you go for your CCIE?
Q: What are the requirements for achieving the CCIE certification? Is the CCNA one of them?
A: Oddly enough, the flagship certification for Cisco does not have an actual prerequisite. The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) may not require any certifications such as the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) for a prerequisite, but that does not negate the recommendation of at least three years professional experience. In other words, you are not required to have the certification, but you should master the concepts of the CCNA and the professional level exams too before you try to get your CCIE.
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A: Oddly enough, the flagship certification for Cisco does not have an actual prerequisite. The Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert (CCIE) may not require any certifications such as the Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) for a prerequisite, but that does not negate the recommendation of at least three years professional experience. In other words, you are not required to have the certification, but you should master the concepts of the CCNA and the professional level exams too before you try to get your CCIE.
Source:
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Cisco Network Academy Shines Bright in Alberta: An Interview with Scott Empson
Linda Leung and Scott Empson discuss the value of the Cisco Networking Academy, how it's viewed by potential employers, and the advantages of going through the Academy vs. other learning methods
Cisco is perhaps the only networking vendor to manage a learning program aimed at students in schools and other public learning institutions to train a new generation of networking professionals. The Cisco Networking Academy has been around since 1997, and according to Cisco some 600,000 students go through the program each year in 160 countries. One institute offering the program is Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where author Scott Empson is the program coordinator.
Scott also teaches Cisco routing, switching and network design courses in certificate, diploma, and applied degree programs at the post-secondary level. He is an author of numerous CCNP Guides, including CCNP Portable Command Guide Library and CCNP ONT Portable Command Guide.
As he was preparing to attend Cisco Live, I asked Scott about the value of the Cisco Networking Academy, how it's viewed by potential employers, and the advantages of going through the Academy vs. other learning methods.
Linda Leung: What's the most rewarding aspect of being part of the Cisco Networking Academy?
Scott Empson: Working with Academy instructors from around the world that all subscribe to the same ideas and philosophies that what we are teaching is making a difference in students' lives.
LL: What kinds of people have gone through the Academy with you?
SE: The Academy courses that run at my institution are part of a larger certificate or degree program. We have students who are fresh out of high school and are still looking for direction in their lives. I teach older students who have university degrees from another country and have immigrated to Canada looking for a better life. They take our programs, part of which are Academy courses, as a way to allow them to get recognized training that will make them more desirable in our workforce.
LL: The Academy seems to be pretty unique in the industry. Is there anything in the industry that comes close — CompTIA's A+ or Network+, perhaps?
SE: The Academy is one of a kind. I do not know of any other company that has gone to this great length to try and create such an amazing learning opportunity. The CompTIA group has created a series of learner outcomes that are vendor neutral in different areas of IT, but it has not created full courses or curriculum to the quality that is the Cisco Academy. And for any other company that has created vendor specific training (Microsoft, Citrix, etc) for their own products, nothing comes even remotely close to what the CLI (Cisco Learning Institute) has created for the Cisco Academy.
LL: What's the cost of going through the Academy program? What are the options for prospective students in Canada to get help raising funds? Could students apply for the Canada Student Loans Program to help fund their Cisco education?
SE: I can only speak for my institution, but for right now, the Cisco Academy is part of larger, accredited certificate or degree programs. Because of this, students who are accepted into these programs can qualify for student loans, either through the Canada Student Loan Program or through Canadian financial institutions. When we did offer courses to the public as "general interest" courses — ones that were not part of a certificate or degree — I do not believe they qualified for Student Loans.
LL: What specializations are popular with IT students? Which areas are less popular, and do you think we'll eventually have a shortage of skills in those less popular areas?
SE: As with the real world, security is the hot topic — it's everywhere in IT, and rightfully so. Getting even more specialized is the concept of forensics and penetration testing. But to get into these areas you need a strong basis in the fundamentals. Will we ever see a shortage of skilled workers? We're seeing that right now. That's why the Cisco Academy is such an integral part of IT training — they're providing the training in the fundamentals, and will continue to do so.
LL: How do businesses partner with the Academy, and do your students eventually get jobs with those partners?
SE: In Canada I see businesses partner with schools that provide training in the Cisco Academy. But at a high-level some companies do want to partner with Cisco and the Academy — an example of this is Future Shop (a Canadian consumer electronics retailer), where students in the Academy program at either a high school or post-secondary level can use their Academy status to bypass the first level of screening when applying for a job there. Academy students in the IT Essentials course have been identified as desirable employees. Other companies have talked with Cisco about this.
LL: Cisco is putting a lot of emphasis on extending learning opportunities to students in developing nations, to women, and to those with disabilities. What do you think the IT workforce will look like in 10 or 20 years?
SE: The world of IT is truly a global one, in that it doesn't matter where you come from, what gender you are, etc. Everyone who wants to learn can learn. And if you have the skills, you can get hired. Cisco should be commended for trying to create these opportunities for those areas. In 10 to 20 years we will see a very diverse cross section of IT workers from all sections of society.
LL: Do you see a particular willingness by experienced IT professionals to help train a new generation of IT workers? How should such
experienced IT pros offer their skills and experience to newcomers?
SE: The best way of IT professionals helping out is through mentorship — taking that new hire and working with them to allow the new hire a better chance of becoming more productive in their position faster.
LL: During economic downturns and with rising unemployment rates, there may be some people who are tempted to retrain for a new career in IT. Where would you recommend these folks to start? Should they train for the CCENT or jump straight to the CCNA program? How long should you hold the CCNA accreditation before attempting the CCNP?
SE: I believe that in order to have a better chance of getting that first job in IT, you need to be well rounded. Where I live, the people who get hired have a strong skill set in a number of areas — not just Cisco, but in network administration — Microsoft and/or Linux, PC repair, help desk and user support, wireless, Database, and so on.
If you have little job experience, get a certification exam to prove to potential employers that you have the ability to train for and study for passing an exam that is recognized globally. In some markets, a CCENT may be what you need. A CCNA is always better.
I also feel that a worker needs to have at least two years of experience on live production equipment in order to have a CCNP recognized as something of value. There is always the risk that someone with little work experience but a lot of certification credentials will not be taken as seriously as someone with fewer certs, but more practical experience. It is a fine line.
LL: And for these folks, is going through the Academy a better choice than training alone and attending a few classes, which may give them more flexibility, especially if they have part-time jobs?
SE: One of the strengths of the Academy is the ability to work with the actual gear. Studying alone is not enough. In this world you need to get your hands dirty working with the gear, practicing to design, install, configure, and troubleshoot networks. That is what the Academy courses allow you to get — hands-on practice. There is no better way to learn this.
LL: You hold the CCNP, the CCDA, CCAI and Network+. Do you have plans to study for other certifications? Perhaps CCIE?
SE:I hold some other certifications, most notably the Certified Ethical Hacker. There is always the desire to write the CCIE, but it is a huge undertaking. A true CCIE needs to have hand-on experience with all different types of Cisco equipment and technologies, some of which I do not teach or have access to. As an instructor in the world of post-secondary education, I do not always get to work on the necessary equipment or teach the necessary classes to give me a strong enough background to be a worthy CCIE candidate.
I have attempted the CCIE written exam, and have not achieved a mark sufficient enough to be allowed to take the practical exam. I do not call this a failure. Rather, this shows where I need to improve upon. The CCIE is not for the faint-of-heart; it is very demanding, and not everyone has the ability to pass. But if you do pass, consider yourself amongst the very elite in this industry.
Before I go for another attempt at the CCIE, I am considering looking at the CCDP or maybe the CCNA-Security exam and moving in that direction.
LL: Final question: what will you be doing at Cisco Live?
SE: I'll be reconnecting with old friends and networking and making new ones. I'll be seeing some sessions on some technologies that I am familiar with, and some new ones that I have no clue about. I'll stop by the World of Solutions and look for new technologies, products that I can use in my classes. I'll advertise my students and their skill sets to industry, and collect as much swag as I can carry back home (t-shirts, backpacks, etc) to use as prizes in my classes. (Some of my students don't have backpacks, and if I have one that says Cisco on it, or HP, or any of the other companies there, my students really take to using them.)
I'll also stop by the Cisco Press section of the Marketplace, and reconnect with all of the wonderful people there who work endlessly to market, promote and sell my books.
And when I am really needing to clear my head, I will be found in some corner of the Marketplace or World of Solutions… juggling. My co-author, Hans Roth, got me started on juggling as a way to ease stress and decompress, and it's always fun to toss the balls around. He's very good. I am not.
I have'nt pursue my ccnp BSCI yet what should the exam be like after fnishing the BCMSN in the cisco network career path?
Source:
Cisco is perhaps the only networking vendor to manage a learning program aimed at students in schools and other public learning institutions to train a new generation of networking professionals. The Cisco Networking Academy has been around since 1997, and according to Cisco some 600,000 students go through the program each year in 160 countries. One institute offering the program is Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where author Scott Empson is the program coordinator.
Scott also teaches Cisco routing, switching and network design courses in certificate, diploma, and applied degree programs at the post-secondary level. He is an author of numerous CCNP Guides, including CCNP Portable Command Guide Library and CCNP ONT Portable Command Guide.
As he was preparing to attend Cisco Live, I asked Scott about the value of the Cisco Networking Academy, how it's viewed by potential employers, and the advantages of going through the Academy vs. other learning methods.
Linda Leung: What's the most rewarding aspect of being part of the Cisco Networking Academy?
Scott Empson: Working with Academy instructors from around the world that all subscribe to the same ideas and philosophies that what we are teaching is making a difference in students' lives.
LL: What kinds of people have gone through the Academy with you?
SE: The Academy courses that run at my institution are part of a larger certificate or degree program. We have students who are fresh out of high school and are still looking for direction in their lives. I teach older students who have university degrees from another country and have immigrated to Canada looking for a better life. They take our programs, part of which are Academy courses, as a way to allow them to get recognized training that will make them more desirable in our workforce.
LL: The Academy seems to be pretty unique in the industry. Is there anything in the industry that comes close — CompTIA's A+ or Network+, perhaps?
SE: The Academy is one of a kind. I do not know of any other company that has gone to this great length to try and create such an amazing learning opportunity. The CompTIA group has created a series of learner outcomes that are vendor neutral in different areas of IT, but it has not created full courses or curriculum to the quality that is the Cisco Academy. And for any other company that has created vendor specific training (Microsoft, Citrix, etc) for their own products, nothing comes even remotely close to what the CLI (Cisco Learning Institute) has created for the Cisco Academy.
LL: What's the cost of going through the Academy program? What are the options for prospective students in Canada to get help raising funds? Could students apply for the Canada Student Loans Program to help fund their Cisco education?
SE: I can only speak for my institution, but for right now, the Cisco Academy is part of larger, accredited certificate or degree programs. Because of this, students who are accepted into these programs can qualify for student loans, either through the Canada Student Loan Program or through Canadian financial institutions. When we did offer courses to the public as "general interest" courses — ones that were not part of a certificate or degree — I do not believe they qualified for Student Loans.
LL: What specializations are popular with IT students? Which areas are less popular, and do you think we'll eventually have a shortage of skills in those less popular areas?
SE: As with the real world, security is the hot topic — it's everywhere in IT, and rightfully so. Getting even more specialized is the concept of forensics and penetration testing. But to get into these areas you need a strong basis in the fundamentals. Will we ever see a shortage of skilled workers? We're seeing that right now. That's why the Cisco Academy is such an integral part of IT training — they're providing the training in the fundamentals, and will continue to do so.
LL: How do businesses partner with the Academy, and do your students eventually get jobs with those partners?
SE: In Canada I see businesses partner with schools that provide training in the Cisco Academy. But at a high-level some companies do want to partner with Cisco and the Academy — an example of this is Future Shop (a Canadian consumer electronics retailer), where students in the Academy program at either a high school or post-secondary level can use their Academy status to bypass the first level of screening when applying for a job there. Academy students in the IT Essentials course have been identified as desirable employees. Other companies have talked with Cisco about this.
LL: Cisco is putting a lot of emphasis on extending learning opportunities to students in developing nations, to women, and to those with disabilities. What do you think the IT workforce will look like in 10 or 20 years?
SE: The world of IT is truly a global one, in that it doesn't matter where you come from, what gender you are, etc. Everyone who wants to learn can learn. And if you have the skills, you can get hired. Cisco should be commended for trying to create these opportunities for those areas. In 10 to 20 years we will see a very diverse cross section of IT workers from all sections of society.
LL: Do you see a particular willingness by experienced IT professionals to help train a new generation of IT workers? How should such
experienced IT pros offer their skills and experience to newcomers?
SE: The best way of IT professionals helping out is through mentorship — taking that new hire and working with them to allow the new hire a better chance of becoming more productive in their position faster.
LL: During economic downturns and with rising unemployment rates, there may be some people who are tempted to retrain for a new career in IT. Where would you recommend these folks to start? Should they train for the CCENT or jump straight to the CCNA program? How long should you hold the CCNA accreditation before attempting the CCNP?
SE: I believe that in order to have a better chance of getting that first job in IT, you need to be well rounded. Where I live, the people who get hired have a strong skill set in a number of areas — not just Cisco, but in network administration — Microsoft and/or Linux, PC repair, help desk and user support, wireless, Database, and so on.
If you have little job experience, get a certification exam to prove to potential employers that you have the ability to train for and study for passing an exam that is recognized globally. In some markets, a CCENT may be what you need. A CCNA is always better.
I also feel that a worker needs to have at least two years of experience on live production equipment in order to have a CCNP recognized as something of value. There is always the risk that someone with little work experience but a lot of certification credentials will not be taken as seriously as someone with fewer certs, but more practical experience. It is a fine line.
LL: And for these folks, is going through the Academy a better choice than training alone and attending a few classes, which may give them more flexibility, especially if they have part-time jobs?
SE: One of the strengths of the Academy is the ability to work with the actual gear. Studying alone is not enough. In this world you need to get your hands dirty working with the gear, practicing to design, install, configure, and troubleshoot networks. That is what the Academy courses allow you to get — hands-on practice. There is no better way to learn this.
LL: You hold the CCNP, the CCDA, CCAI and Network+. Do you have plans to study for other certifications? Perhaps CCIE?
SE:I hold some other certifications, most notably the Certified Ethical Hacker. There is always the desire to write the CCIE, but it is a huge undertaking. A true CCIE needs to have hand-on experience with all different types of Cisco equipment and technologies, some of which I do not teach or have access to. As an instructor in the world of post-secondary education, I do not always get to work on the necessary equipment or teach the necessary classes to give me a strong enough background to be a worthy CCIE candidate.
I have attempted the CCIE written exam, and have not achieved a mark sufficient enough to be allowed to take the practical exam. I do not call this a failure. Rather, this shows where I need to improve upon. The CCIE is not for the faint-of-heart; it is very demanding, and not everyone has the ability to pass. But if you do pass, consider yourself amongst the very elite in this industry.
Before I go for another attempt at the CCIE, I am considering looking at the CCDP or maybe the CCNA-Security exam and moving in that direction.
LL: Final question: what will you be doing at Cisco Live?
SE: I'll be reconnecting with old friends and networking and making new ones. I'll be seeing some sessions on some technologies that I am familiar with, and some new ones that I have no clue about. I'll stop by the World of Solutions and look for new technologies, products that I can use in my classes. I'll advertise my students and their skill sets to industry, and collect as much swag as I can carry back home (t-shirts, backpacks, etc) to use as prizes in my classes. (Some of my students don't have backpacks, and if I have one that says Cisco on it, or HP, or any of the other companies there, my students really take to using them.)
I'll also stop by the Cisco Press section of the Marketplace, and reconnect with all of the wonderful people there who work endlessly to market, promote and sell my books.
And when I am really needing to clear my head, I will be found in some corner of the Marketplace or World of Solutions… juggling. My co-author, Hans Roth, got me started on juggling as a way to ease stress and decompress, and it's always fun to toss the balls around. He's very good. I am not.
I have'nt pursue my ccnp BSCI yet what should the exam be like after fnishing the BCMSN in the cisco network career path?
Source:
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