Tuesday, August 25, 2015

GSMA: Mobile Broadband Growth is Key for the Americas

Mobile data traffic is predicted to rise more than sixfold in North America and tenfold in Latin America between 2014 and 2019, according to figures cited by the GSMA. As of September 2014, there were 216 million individuals using mobile devices to access the internet in Latin America, an overall penetration rate of approximately 35 per cent. By 2020, the GSMA forecasts that penetration will come close to 50 per cent of the population, which means an additional 105 million people will gain access to the mobile Internet.

The recent Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL) in Ottawa, which was held in preparation for this November’s World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15),  agreed to support the entire L-band (1427-1518MHz) for mobile broadband. Early indications suggest that this band will have widespread support as a globally harmonised band at WRC-15, driving economies of scale that will benefit consumers around the world.

“Mobile data traffic is predicted to rise more than sixfold in North America and tenfold in Latin America between 2014 and 20192. We urge all the governments of the Americas to make a clear call for the mobile spectrum needed to support future data demand and the region’s digital economy,” stated John Giusti, Deputy Chief Regulatory Officer, GSMA.

“The GSMA welcomes the strong leadership shown by the governments of North and Latin America and the Caribbean last week in supporting the growth of mobile broadband, a critical enabler to social and economic opportunity in the region. Many countries require connectivity across large rural areas and mobile broadband is often the only way – or at least the most cost-effective way – to ensure people have access to the Internet."

“We are also pleased with the progress made on the sub-700MHz UHF band (470-698MHz), critical for expanding affordable rural connectivity. Although there is no CITEL common proposal in support of this band for mobile, a growing number of countries want to ensure they have flexibility to deploy mobile broadband networks in this band. The GSMA will continue to work in concert with administrations in the Americas and other regions to advance a global multi-country proposal to the WRC-15 in November. Given the shared challenges of expanding rural connectivity in countries around the world, the GSMA urges governments from all regions to join this multi-country proposal in support of the sub-700MHz band."

http://www.gsma.com

Skyport Ships SkySecure with Secure Hosting for VMware vCenter

Skyport Systems announced the general availability of SkySecure -- a cloud-managed, on-premises, secure server.

When VMware vCenter is hosted on a SkySecure Server, an application-specific firewall for VMware vCenter secures the computing foundation and all communications channels. Essentially,, the SkySecure Server creates a customized firewall protecting VMware vCenter. This application-specific firewall implementation hardens each protocol and communication channel for:

  • Administrative access to vCenter Server
  • DNS access to/from vCenter Server
  • Microsoft Active Directory for user and admin identity management
  • Partner API usage such as Software Defined Networking controllers or VM backup systems
  • Network Attached Storage entitlements for image management
  • ESX Server to vCenter administrative control channel

http://www.skyportsystems.com

See 1 minute video:  https://youtu.be/tp_cye0AARc

Skyport Unveils its Hyper-Secured Servers

Skyport Systems, a start-up based in Mountain View, California unveiled its "hyper-secured" server architecture for delivering trusted computing and policy enforcement at the application edge.

The SkySecure System enforces policy on hosted workloads without software agents or network changes. The architecture tightly integrates the components of multiple security appliances that were not designed to work together, reduces the threat surface by removing physical attack vectors and implements Intel's Trusted Execution Technology. SkySecure is designed for deployment at the most critical points of infrastructure, including exposed DMZs, branch and remote environments, high-value business applications and foundational IT control systems such as Microsoft Active Directory, DNS servers and virtualization/cloud/big data/SDN controllers. No changes are required to networks, applications, or operating systems. The company says its server is designed to catch and contain malware and rootkits.

Hardware, firmware and software components are validated at the point of manufacture and continuously monitored once deployed. After properly attesting, the system boots a fully
whitelisted Security Enhanced Linux (SELinux) implementation. SkySecure Compartments enable a dynamic whitelist and application-layer protections around each workload deployed on a SkySecure Server, houses them in a synthetic operating environment and assumes a zero-trust posture regarding all network access.

Nexenta Extends Its Software-Defined Storage Platform

Nexenta announced a number of enhancements for it Open Source-driven Software-Defined Storage (OpenSDS) for VMware environments and the Software-Defined Data Center (SDDC).

NexentaStor 5.0 connects NexentaFusion and VMware vCenter Server to deliver simplified deployment, configuration and on-going management of Software-Defined Storage infrastructures.

 Features of NexentaStor include:

  • Unified File (NFS and SMB) and Block (FC and iSCSI) services
  • Built on ZFS for enterprise grade data integrity, scale and performance
  • Scales from 10’s of terabytes to petabytes
  • Unlimited file system sizes
  • Inline data reduction for additional storage cost savings
  • Unlimited space optimized snapshots and clones
  • Periodic asynchronous long distance replication
  • Interoperability with VMware environments (VAAI support, vCenter plugin, etc.)

“VMware and Nexenta share a vision of enabling IT to break down physical barriers that currently binds data to specific hardware in order to drive greater operational efficiency and availability at lower costs,” said Skip Bacon, vice president of Products, Storage and Availability, VMware. “VMware and its partners continue to work closely to enable customers to realize the benefits of software-defined storage.”

http://www.nexenta.com

Scality Raises $45 Million for Software-Based Storage

Scality, a start-up based in San Francisco, completed a $45 million Series D funding round for its software-based storage solution.

Scality’s RING platform runs on standard x86 servers powered by Linux, such as the ones of HP, Dell, Cisco, SuperMicro, or Seagate. It uses an object storage architecture to create an unlimited storage pool for file, object and OpenStack applications.

The latest funding round includes new entrant and strategic partner BroadBand Tower, Inc. (BBTower), all existing investors, led by Menlo Ventures, and 65% of the Scality staff, bringing the total investment in Scality to $80 million.

Since its last round of funding in July 2013, Scality has increased its revenue by 400%, grew its staff from 42 to 160, announced major customers, including most recently Deluxe, RTL II, and Phoenix, and signed major distribution agreements. This includes a global resale agreement with HP signed in October 2014 and a recent deal with Dell,  as well as other relationships with server manufacturers.  The company claims more than 50% of the server market is reselling Scality RING software.

“Over the course of the last year-and-a-half, we’ve seen an unprecedented amount of funding given to software storage startups. At the same time, we’ve seen the traditional storage vendors lose market share, change leadership and shift their business model to mimic the software-defined strategy. This latest funding round comes at a time when Scality and the software-defined storage industry are poised to attract billions of dollars from customers that are rethinking their storage strategies. Within our Series D, we are happy to welcome BroadBand Tower, and can report that all of our existing investors have contributed, as well as 65% of Scality employees,” said Jerome Lecat, CEO at Scality. “Our employees and partners believe in us, and the fact that this last funding round was done at 2x valuation speaks volumes about the overall confidence in the future of Scality. This new capital investment will allow us to massively boost our go-to-market, attract strategic new hires, continue to expand globally, and be primed for a successful IPO by 2017.”

http://www.scality.com

Symantec Secures More Than 1 Billion IoT Devices

Symantec said it is now securing more than one billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices, including everything from televisions and cars to smart meters and critical infrastructure.

Symantec's IoT security portfolio includes:

  • Device Security with Symantec’s Embedded Critical Systems Protection: Symantec’s newest offering protects IoT devices by locking down the software embedded in the device to protect against zero-day attacks and prevent compromise. Symantec has signed Wincor, the world’s leading providers of IT solutions and services to retail banks and the retail industry, along with other leading manufacturers in the industrial and automotive ecosystems.
  • IoT Roots of Trust and Device Certificates: Symantec is working with the world’s largest chip providers and cryptographic library partners, including Texas Instruments and wolfSSL, to embed security at the hardware level. These partnerships combine Symantec’s leading Certificate Authority with the partner’s embeddable engines to create new “Roots of Trust,” the cornerstones for devices to safely encrypt and authenticate information.
  • Code Signing Certificates and Secure App Services: To ensure that code running on IoT devices is authorized, Symantec provides code signing certificates and a cloud based signing-as-a-service for a number of code formats relevant to IoT.

http://www.symantec.com

ONUG to Host NSF-Supported Workshop on SDN

The Open Networking User Group (ONUG) will host a National Science Foundation-supported workshop on “SDN in Large Enterprise Networks” in conjunction with the upcoming ONUG Fall 2015. The workshop will take place November 3-4 at New York University’s Kimmel Center.

“The goal of ONUG has always been to advance SDN and open cloud infrastructure by facilitating a higher level of engagement between IT business leaders, standards organizations, and members of the academic, research, and vendor communities,” said Nick Lippis, ONUG co-founder and co-chairman. “Hosting the NSF-supported workshop at ONUG Fall takes this one step further, providing an invaluable opportunity to strengthen the relationship with researchers and incorporate their expertise as the industry forges ahead with SDN deployments.”

http://www.OpenNetworkingUserGroup.com

Windstream Carrier Deploys in Zayo’s NY Data Centers

Windstream will deploy its core network infrastructure within Zayo’s colocation facilities in the New York metro market.

The deployment was driven by Windstream’s 100G long haul express network expansion that upgraded and modernized its Northeast regional and metro DWDM network.

Specifically, Zayo will deploy colocation infrastructure for Windstream at zColo facilities located at 60 Hudson Street in New York City, and 165 Halsey Street in Newark. Combined, the two carrier-neutral colocation facilities provide connectivity to more than 300 customers and key carriers, enabling Windstream Carrier Solutions to offer its metro and long haul wave services to an extended customer base in the Northeast.

http://zayo.com/services/colocation

IEEE Forms NG-EON and Ethernet-over-Backplanes Study Groups

IEEE announced the formation of two new study groups: IEEE 802.3™ Next Generation Ethernet Passive Optical Network (NG-EPON) study group and IEEE 802.3 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Ethernet over Backplane and Copper Cable study group.

“The telecommunications industry is faced with three main components that drive increasing access network speeds: number of subscribers, number of connected devices (and applications) per subscriber, and bit rate required by those devices and applications. All are increasing simultaneously, and these three growth areas combined lead to an exponential increase in bit rates over the fiber access network,” said Dr. Curtis Knittle, chairperson of the IEEE 802.3 NG-EPON study group and director of Network Technologies at CableLabs, Inc. “The NG-EPON Study Group will explore market drivers, existing and projected technologies, and consolidate the industry around the objectives for the next generation Ethernet Passive Optical Network architecture to address the future needs of network operators.”

“IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standards are evolving to address broader markets, such as supporting automotive and industrial networks,” said Yong Kim, chairperson of the IEEE 802.3 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Ethernet over Backplane and Copper Cable Study Group and senior director, CTO Office, Networking Broadcom Corporation. “We are now seeing the evolution of the mainstream object storage market as it transitions to take advantage of the benefits from the use of Ethernet. This study group will explore the objectives and criteria to serve the 2.5 Gb/s and 5 Gb/s Backplane and short reach copper cable applications.”

http://ieee802.org/3/NGEPONSG/index.html
http://ieee802.org/3/CU4HDDSG/index.html
http://www.ieee.org

Mellanox Supplies End-to-End EDR 100Gb/s InfiniBand to KTH Royal Institute

Sweden's KTH Royal Institute of Technology has selected Mellanox Technologies to supply its end-to-end, EDR 100Gb/s InfiniBand solutions for use in their PDC Center for High Performance Computing (PDC Center), whose scientific research work includes advanced modeling for climate changes, brain functions and protein-drug interactions.

The PDC Center is the latest deployment of Mellanox EDR InfiniBand technology to validate the expanding global adoption of this high-performance interconnect solution. Mellanox’s EDR InfiniBand solution offers higher interconnect speed, lower latency and smart accelerations.

The PDC Center for High Performance Computing at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology provides HPC services to Swedish academia as part of the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC), as well as internationally via the Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe (PRACE) infrastructure. Those services include supercomputing and storage resources plus assistance from a range of application experts.

http://www.mellanox.com

Compass Networks Joins the Consortium of On-Board Optics

Compass Networks, which offers a high-performance routing platform based on its icPhotonics chipsets, has joined the Consortium of On-Board Optics (COBO), which is developing interoperable specifications to lower power consumption and increase bandwidth for optics within enterprises and data centers.

“We are pleased to have chip companies that provide solutions for 100G and 400G join the consortium,” said Brad Booth, chair of COBO. “CMOS semiconductors will continue to play a major role as the COBO ecosystem develops for cloud and enterprise datacenters.”

Compass Networks will work with other industry leaders in defining standards that will reduce power consumption and faceplate area in data center networking equipment.