"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:
Sunday, August 30, 2009
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:
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