NETWORKING

Now that the Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge 2021 winners have been officially announced, we are excited for you to learn more about each winning team and the story behind each innovation. The Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge is an annual competition that awards cash prizes to early-stage tech entrepreneurs solving the world’s toughest problems. Now in its fifth year, the competition awarded its largest prize pool ever, $1 million USD, to 20 winning teams from around the world. I…

Prices of enterprise-grade solid-state drives are likely to jump in the coming months, perhaps by as much as 15% over current SSD prices, says TrendForce, a Taiwanese market research firm that focuses on the memory market. In a rare and no doubt unintentional move, Intel and AMD are on a path to begin shipping new processors at roughly the same time: Intel with its Ice Lake generation of Xeon processors and AMD with its Milan processors. You…

Network-operations types tell me that, in the future, AI is going to manage their networks. They also tell me that their vendors told them that very same thing. The good news is that’s sort-of-true. The bad news is the same; with emphasis on the qualifier “sort-of”. To get the most from AI network management, you have to navigate out of that hazy “sort-of” zone, and you do it by thinking about ants and farmers. Ants…

The continued growth of cloud applications, wireless technology and the COVID-19-driven enterprise hybrid workplace is making flexible networking a must. As a result the networking industry as a whole is set to experience the highest growth in years, according to Extreme Networks’ president and CEO Ed Meyercord. Extreme Networks Extreme CEO Ed Meyercord Such growth is represented in part by the company’s record $1.009 billion in annual revenue for FY2021, which ended June 30. “The…

Innovation is today’s new constant. Innovation from open source, startups, the public cloud providers and companies like Cisco. The sheer speed, number and quality of choices at our fingertips offers unprecedented opportunity, but comes with a tax of rapidly increasing complexity. When operating models, tools and applications are splintered across multiple clouds, on-premises and in the public cloud – Dev teams and Ops teams carry the burden of that complexity. This reminds me of a collection of remote controls I once had for my entertainment setup. I created a very intricate sequence – the right remote for the right system in the…

Intel is pledging to introduce a faster generation of processors every year through 2025 by embracing new technology that enables smaller and smaller transistors and so more powerful chips. By 2024, the transistors will be so small they will no longer be measured in nanometers as they are today, but in angstroms, which are a tenth as big, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger announced this week. And the chips built around the transistors will be primarily…

Episode 9 of the Cisco Optics Podcast is now posted! See below for episode notes. Cisco Optics Podcast Episode 9 Cisco Optics Podcast Episode 9. Demystifying fiber cable infrastructure, with Brian Kelly. Part 1 of 6. If you search on “data center” you’ll find many images that show rows and rows of equipment racks. The network gear in these racks need to be physically connected to each other, and that’s where pluggable optic transceivers come…

ProtonVPN has long been a good Virtual Private Network (VPN) system. But, now that it’s sped up its connection by up to 400%, it demands your attention. This new speed boost “VPN Accelerator,” is enabled by default on all ProtonVPN paid accounts and with all the ProtonVPN apps. It also works with all of ProtonVPN and is available for all users. VPN Accelerator will give you its speed boost no matter which VPN protocol you…

Choice is good. And so is simplicity. At Cisco, we’ve always prided ourselves on offering network professionals choice. Choice that suits different network sizes, domains, sophistication levels, and industry needs. Sometimes we’ve even been accused – rightly in my view – of providing so much choice that it can be difficult to find the right fit. Welcome to our “Cisco Networking” portal (www.cisco.com/go/networking) where choice is made simple. Start here and easily navigate across our…

Perceptions, expectations, and reality Last month, I stepped into a new role as Senior Vice President and GM of Cloud and Network Security at Cisco Security Business Group.  As with any new job, I am equal parts elated with the opportunity and submerged in learning about its Security portfolio and strategy. Now that I have some Cisco experience under my proverbial belt—albeit only a couple months’ worth—I’d like to share a bit about what attracted…