NETWORKING

Dynamic host-configuration protocol (DHCP) has a lot of benefits, including saving time by assigning IP addresses and other attributes to networked devices rather than IT pros having to do it manually. Sometimes, though, problems arise that eat up time in a different way. This is one such case affecting Cisco Catalyst 6500 and 9600 Layer 3 chassis switches used as distribution switches for the network, with different groups of buildings linked to them. DHCP is…

This is the second blog in our series about writing software for ChatOps. In the first post of this ChatOps series, we built a Webex bot that received and logged messages to its running console. In this post, we’ll walk through how to secure your Webex bot with authentication and authorization. Securing a Webex bot in this way will allow us to feel more confident in our deployment as we move on to adding more…

Have you tried out Cisco YANG Suite yet? YANG Suite provides network operators with a set of tools and plugins to interact with and test YANG programmable interfaces including NETCONF, RESTCONF, gNMI, and more. In Episode 58 of DevNet Snack Minute, Jeremy Cohoe (Technical Marketing Engineer with Cisco Systems) provides us with an overview of the new updates included in the latest version of Cisco YANG Suite. To find out even more about YANG Suite,…

When cord-cutting became a thing, it was all about saving money. Now, cord-cutting costs are catching up with cable.  Just Disney Plus is $8 a month with its must-watch package of Marvel Universe, Star Wars, and Disney films. Netflix starts at $10 a month, too. Plus, with internet TV streaming services such as YouTube TV, which costs $65 a month, your streaming bill can easily climb up to $80 or more, which is within spitting…

When cord-cutting became a thing, it was all about saving money. Now, cord-cutting costs are catching up with cable.  Just Disney Plus is $13 a month with its must-watch package of Marvel Universe, Star Wars, and Disney films. Netflix is $13 a month, too. Plus, with internet TV streaming services such as AT&T TV Now, which costs $55 a month, your streaming bill can quickly get up to $80 or more, which is within spitting…

A new Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) warns that advanced persistent threat (APT) actors have unleashed new malware to gain full system access to industrial control systems (ICS). Industrial organizations and critical infrastructure are at risk. The CSA was issued jointly by the Department of Energy (DOE), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), National Security Agency (NSA), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Security researchers from ESET, Dragos, and Mandiant have released details on the new malware,…

It comes as a big surprise to many people when their restores are slower than their backups, but it should be no surprise at all. In fact, everyone should plan for this disparity and build into their backup design. There are a number of reasons why restore speeds are typically slower than backup, and here is an explanation of five of them. The RAID write penalty Most modern disk arrays are built using parity-based redundant…

Businesses are increasingly operating at the edge due to the rise of work-from-home employees and the adoption of public, hybrid, and multi-cloud cloud environments. This trend is giving rise to the deployment of virtual firewalls, designed for use in cloud environments and wherever deploying hardware firewalls is difficult or costly, or both. This practice can involve delivering firewall security to public and private cloud architectures. In response, Cisco and Equinix have partnered to help organizations…

I’ve become an avid reader of Geoffrey Moore’s books on how companies should strive to adapt and survive in the technology industry.  Starting with “Crossing the Chasm”, which describes a product life cycle more appropriate to what we see in the technology business, I learned the hard way when a previous product program I ran “fell” into the chasm – and as many innovative and disruptive products find, it’s a struggle to get out of…

Great companies transform to meet their customer’s needs. From its humble beginnings as a small network equipment manufacturer, Cisco has grown into one of the largest global providers of hardware, software and services – with offerings that many customers consider their IT backbone and rely on for security, daily IT business operations, internal and external communications and enabling great customer experiences. As Cisco has evolved, so has the way that we enable our customers to…