Update on OPNFV and the Arno Release with Prodip Sen

OPNFV is an open source project under The Linux Foundation aimed at accelerating the introduction of NFV products and services. Prodip Sen, CTO of Network Functions Virtualization at HP and Chair of the OPNFV Project, provides a quick update of the community and its first release -- "Arno".

Arno provides an initial build of the NFV Infrastructure (NFVI) and Virtual Infrastructure Manager (VIM) components of ETSI NFV architecture. The baseline release enables continuous integration, automated deployment and testing of components from upstream projects such as Ceph, KVM, OpenDaylight, OpenStack and Open vSwitch.




See video: https://youtu.be/IJ47y4uh4yI

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Massive Data Breach Raises Questions about Perimeter Defense

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) confirmed details of a massive data breach potentially impacting the personal records of 4 million current and past employees of the U.S. government.

OPM said it became aware of a cybersecurity intrusion affecting its information technology (IT) systems and data in April 2015 while it was in the process of updating its cybersecurity posture, adding tools and capabilities to its various networks.

Media reports attributed the attack to a Chinese state-backed hacker group known as “Deep Panda”, although both the OPM and FBI declined to comment on the specifics. Media reports also suggest that the stolen data was not encrypted.

The OPM network is believed to have been protected by the second generation intrusion detection and prevention system, known as EINSTEIN 2. A planned upgrade to EINSTEIN 3, which will be integrated as a Managed Security Service with leading Internet Service Providers (ISP), is being accelerated so as to cover all government network by the end of 2016.

Outside commentators noted that relying on a perimeter IDS, even one benefiting from signatures captured by national security agencies, may be an insufficient strategy for 2015 and beyond, compared to other solutions emphasizing network visibility for advanced persistent threats. A Bloomberg story posted Michael A Riley quotes a senior fellow in cybersecurity at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington as saying Einstein 3 is already obsolete and that the commercial security industry moving away from this type of perimeter defense.

http://www.opm.gov/
http://www.fbi.gov
http://www.whitehouse.gov
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Einstein_%28US-CERT_program%29
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-06/china-hackers-got-past-costly-u-s-computer-security-with-ease

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HP to Resell ALU's IP+Optical for DCI

Alcatel-Lucent and HP are expanding their long-running alliance to now deliver enterprise data center networking, data replication and new storage architectures connected with IP and optical backbones.

The solutions, which are offered as part of the HP Complete Program in the Americas and EMEA, include Alcatel-Lucent’s IP edge platform, the Alcatel-Lucent 7750 Service Router and the Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) family of optical products.

The companies said the combination of the 1830 PSS optical platform with the HP 3PAR Remote Copy software can deliver synchronous replication over fiber up to 130 kilometers with encryption to reduce business risk. This solution further expands the HP and Alcatel-Lucent collaboration in Data Center solutions, after the recent launch of HP Distributed Cloud Networking (DCN) platform, which leverages the Virtualized Services Platform (VSP) from Alcatel-Lucent’s Nuage Networks SDN venture.

https://www.alcatel-lucent.com
http://www.hp.com

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Ciena Sees Sales Momentum in Q2

Ciena reported fiscal second quarter 2015 revenue of $621.6 million as compared to $560.1 million for the fiscal second quarter 2014. Net income (GAAP) was $20.7 million, or $0.17 per diluted common share, which compares to a GAAP net loss of $(10.2) million, or $(0.10) per diluted common share, for the fiscal second quarter 2014.

"We delivered outstanding second quarter results that, when combined with our strong financial performance during the past several quarters, demonstrate increased operating leverage and sustained momentum in our business," said Gary B. Smith, president and CEO, Ciena. “This performance also reflects our industry-leading ability to deliver open, on-demand, software-driven networks for an increasingly diverse set of customers across the globe.”

Some highlights:

• U.S. customers contributed 59.1% of total revenue
• One customer accounted for greater than 10% of revenue and represented 19% of total revenue
• Cash and investments totaled $816.7 million
• Cash flow from operations totaled $37.8 million
• Average days' sales outstanding (DSOs) were 80
• Accounts receivable balance was $553.3 million
• Inventories totaled $214.6 million
• Product inventory turns were 5.3
• Headcount totaled 5,108

http://www.ciena.com

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