AWS re:Invent: Highlights from Day 1

AWS re:Invent 2018 kicks off this week in Las Vegas. Once again the event is sold out and seat reservations are required for popular sessions. Here are the highlights from Day 1:

Introducing AWS Global Accelerator, a network service that enables organizations to seamlessly route traffic to multiple regions and improve availability and performance for their end users. AWS Global Accelerator uses AWS’s global network to direct internet traffic from end users to applications running in AWS regions. AWS says its global network is highly-available and largely congestion-free compared with the public Internet. Clients route to the optimal region based on client location, health-checks, and configured weights. No changes are needed at the client-side. AWS Global Accelerator supports both TCP and UDP protocols. It provides health checking of target endpoints and then will route traffic away from unhealthy applications or congested regions. Pricing is based on gigabytes of data transferred over the AWS network.

A new AWS Transit Gateway will let enterprises build a hub-and-spoke network topology on AWS infrastructure, enabling the interconnection of existing VPCs, data centers, remote offices, and remote gateways. The customer gets full control over network routing and security. Connected resources and span multiple AWS accounts, including VPCs, Active Directories, and shared services. The new AWS Transit Gateway may also be used to consolidate existing edge connectivity and route it through a single ingress/egress point. Pricing is based on a per-hour rate along with a per-GB data processing fee.

AWS introduced its first cloud instance with up to 100 Gbps of network bandwidth.  Use cases are expected to include in-memory caches, data lakes, and other communication-intensive applications. AWS said its new C5n instances incorporate 4th gen custom Nitro hardware. The Elastic Network Interface (ENI) on the C5n uses up to 32 queues (in comparison to 8 on the C5 and C5d), allowing the packet processing workload to be better distributed across all available vCPUs. The ability to push more packets per second will make these instances a great fit for network appliances such as firewalls, routers, and 5G cellular infrastructure. Here are the specs:

AWS is launching its first cloud instances based on its own Arm-based AWS Graviton Processors. The new processors are the result of the acquisition of Annapurna Labs in 2015.  AWS said its Graviton processors are optimized for performance and cost, making them a fit for scale-out workloads where you can share the load across a group of smaller instances. This includes containerized microservices, web servers, development environments, and caching fleets. The new A1 instances are available now in the US East (N. Virginia), US East (Ohio), US West (Oregon), and Europe (Ireland) Regions in On-Demand, Reserved Instance, Spot, Dedicated Instance, and Dedicated Host form.

In addition to processors from strategic partner Intel and its own AWS Graviton processors, AWS is offering cloud instances powered by AMD at a 10% discount.

AWS introduced Firecracker, a new virtualization technology for #containers -- think microVMs with fast startup times (125ms). The company says Firecracker uses multiple levels of isolation and protection and exposes a minimal attack surface for better security. Firecracker is expected to improve the efficiency of AWS infrastructure. It is also being released as open source. Firecracker is already powering multiple high-volume AWS services including AWS Lambda and AWS Fargate.

AWS has developed its own Scalable Reliable Datagram (SRD) protocol for high-performance computing clusters as an alternative to TCP/IP



Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, is running on AWS.


https://reinvent.awsevents.com

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AWS re:Invent - Delivering robotics functions via AWS RoboMaker

Amazon Web Services introduced RoboMaker, a new service for delivering intelligent robotics functions using cloud services.

AWS RoboMaker extends Robot Operating System (ROS), which is the most widely used open source robotics software framework, by adding connectivity to AWS services including machine learning, monitoring, and analytics services.

AWS RoboMaker provides an AWS Cloud9-based robotics integrated development environment for application development, robotics simulation to accelerate application testing, and fleet management for remote application deployment, update, and management. The idea is to  enable a robot to stream data, navigate, communicate, comprehend, and learn.

Initially, AWS RoboMaker is available in US East (N. Virginia), US West (Oregon), EU (Ireland), and will expand to additional regions in the coming year.

“When talking to our customers, we see the same pattern repeated over and again. They spend a lot of time setting up infrastructure and cobbling together software for different stages of the robotics development cycle, repeating work others have done before, leaving less time for innovation,” said Roger Barga, General Manager, AWS RoboMaker. “AWS RoboMaker provides pre-built functionality to support robotics developers during their entire project, making it significantly easier to build robots, simulate performance in various environments, iterate faster, and drive greater innovation.”

http://aws.amazon.com/robomaker

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AWS re:Invent - More companies designate AWS as preferred cloud

Amazon Web Services announced two more high profile companies going :all in" or designating it as their preferred public cloud provider.

Ellie Mae is going "all in" by moving its infrastructure to AWS while rebuilding its core applications and creatomg new digital products for the evolving needs of homebuyers. Ellie Mae will use the breadth and depth of AWS services, including compute, storage, database, serverless, and containers, to develop new ways of delivering the digital mortgage and simplifying the loan process for its customers and partners. Ellie Mae has already built a company-wide data lake on AWS using Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to better understand, personalize, and further automate digital lending.

“We process more than a third of mortgage applications in the United States, and use AWS to help us deliver on our mission of the true digital mortgage, so lenders can achieve compliance, quality, and efficiency,” said Satheesh Ravala, Senior Vice President, Cloud Engineering and Operations at Ellie Mae. “AWS gives us an unmatched set of cloud services and a highly reliable infrastructure to work with as we continue to build solutions that provide borrowers and lenders with the best digital loan experiences. As a result of early successes on AWS, we are confident that their services will continue to give us what we need to be nimble, innovate, achieve results, and cut costs while we grow and expand our business well into the future.”

Mobileye, an Intel company, chose AWS as its preferred public cloud provider for its autonomous vehicle business. Mobileye is running core workloads on AWS for greater speed, agility, and compute power. Mobileye is using AWS’s broad portfolio, including compute, storage, database, analytics, machine learning, and edge computing, to supply automakers with the most advanced self-driving applications. As Mobileye grows workloads on AWS, the organization will build a data lake on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) to ingest, process, and analyze hundreds of petabytes of vehicle data gathered from sensors, images, and video feeds.

“AWS gives us the most comprehensive set of services and the best performance so that we can provide our teams with the cloud capabilities required to deliver autonomous vehicles,” said Professor Amnon Shashua, President and Chief Executive Officer at Mobileye. “Making AWS our preferred cloud provider aligns with our overall technical strategy and desired pace of innovation. We are becoming a more agile organization on AWS, and continuing our 18-year history of leveraging the most advanced machine learning and deep learning technologies available.”

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NTT tests Dynamic Bandwidth in Optical Line Terminal

NTT announced a prototype optical line terminal (OLT) featuring a dynamic bandwidth assignment (DBA) capability.

The prototype successfully implements software changes to meet dynamic service requirements. This advance enables carriers to use a common access system for a diverse range of services including accommodation of base stations for 5G mobile systems.

NTT said it is working with the Broadband Forum and the Open Networking Foundation to standardize APIs for use by partners.

http://www.ntt.co.jp/news2018/1811e/181120a.html

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AWS re:Invent - Dynatrace extends visibility with AWS CloudTrail

Dynatrace announced the extension of its platform’s cloud visibility and contextual data ingestion from Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Amazon CloudWatch (CloudWatch) and AWS CloudTrail (CloudTrail).

The company says the addition of AWS metrics and events from the two services enriches the high-fidelity data that it processes. This enhances its contextual problem identification and root cause analysis.

AWS CloudTrail allows businesses to monitor and log account activity related to actions across their AWS infrastructure. CloudTrail log ingestion extends Dynatrace AI’s automated root cause analysis and problem detection to include AWS account-initiated activity. This data provides ops teams with insights into not just what caused a problem, but also which user or account made service-impacting changes.

“Enterprises are rapidly expanding their cloud footprint to support the development of cloud-native applications and the modernization of IT operations,” said Steve Tack, SVP Product Management at Dynatrace. “Dynatrace was purpose-built to deal with the scale and complexity of the enterprise cloud, providing teams with intelligence to manage their cloud operations with a single platform. Ultimately, with CloudWatch, our customers can gain additional context, which when combined with our full-stack, AI powered monitoring capabilities, allows for faster and more precise answers.”

https://www.dynatrace.com/technologies/aws-monitoring

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AWS re:Invent - Cylance brings its AI-powered security to AWS

Cylance announced support for Amazon Web Services (AWS) with its CylancePROTECT for the cloud.

“We are excited to make our AI-driven, prevention-first security solutions available to cloud computing environments,” said Stuart McClure, founder and chief executive at Cylance. “By approaching security with sophisticated machine learning techniques and offering scalable threat detection, response, root cause analysis, and threat hunting, Cylance helps prevent data breaches that impact the security of an organization’s data in the cloud.”

Cylance simplifies cloud security by utilizing an agent with a small footprint and with no configuration or signature-update needs.

http://www.cylance.com

BlackBerry to acquire Cylance for AI-power cybersecurity

Sunday, November 18, 2018  Blackberry, Mergers And Acquisitions  

BlackBerry Limited agreed to acquire Cylance, a privately-held develop of cybersecurity solution, for US $1.4 billion in cash, plus the assumption of unvested employee incentive awards. “Cylance’s leadership in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity will immediately complement our entire portfolio, UEM and QNX in particular. We are very excited to onboard their team and leverage our newly combined expertise,” said John Chen, Executive Chairman...

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Openreach extends its G.fast network to 81 more locations across UK

Openreach announced the planned extension of its Gfast network in a further 81 locations across the UK, including London, Leicester, Manchester, Worth, Birmingham, and Blackpool.

The multimillion pound investment will extend the service to just over a million homes and businesses.  This latest announcement complements a wider investment programme in FTTP networks, which is on track to reach three million homes and businesses by the end of 2020. By the mid-2020s, Openreach aims to reach a total of 5.7 million properties using Gfast, and also wants to extend its FTTP rollout to 10 million premises.

Openreach said its new Gfast network builds on existing infrastructure and changes the way broadband signals are transmitted from existing street cabinets to boost speeds up to 330 Mbps (seven times today’s UK average), without the need to dig up roads and install new cabling.

Kim Mears, MD for Strategic Infrastructure Development, said: “Currently, the UK is a world leader in digital infrastructure and services, but as the digital revolution rushes forwards and the demand for data continues to grow, we need to sure we stay ahead of the curve. That’s why we’re investing in faster, more reliable network infrastructure to facilitate all the activities we want to do now, and also those we haven’t even dreamt of doing in ten years’ time.”

https://news.openreach.co.uk/pressreleases/openreach-builds-ultrafast-broadband-network-to-81-new-locations-2803422

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StarHub complete 5G New Radio pilot in Singapore with Nokia

StarHub completed the first outdoor pilot of 5G New Radio on 3.5GHz frequency band in Singapore. Nokia 5G radio technology was demonstrated interworking with StarHub's 4G core network. Nokia deployed AirScale Radio Access technology with 5G New Radio 3GPP-compliant software and the Nokia AirFrame data center solution, leveraging its services expertise to optimise deployment.

Chong Siew Loong, Chief Technology Officer of StarHub, said: "As 5G inches closer, we are intensifying trials to identify new business opportunities and chart our network transformation roadmap to meet the demands of our customers. This successful pilot with Nokia showcases the readiness and possibilities of 5G to enhance consumer services and boost efficiencies for enterprises. It aligns with StarHub's goal to support and accelerate Smart Nation initiatives in Singapore."

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Telecom Egypt boosts Delta Region DWDM backbone to 200G with Nokia

Telecom Egypt has doubled the line capacity of its its Delta Region DWDM backbone network to 200G using Nokia's Photonic Service Engine (PSE) technology and its existing Nokia PSS 1830 switches. Commercial deployment of the new high-speed service started in June and represents the first 200G long distance, single carrier transmission service in Africa.

Specifically, Telecom Egypt is upgrading its backbone network using the Nokia 500G DWDM Muxponder, a programmable card that provides wavelength capacities from 50G to 250G per line port.

Amr El-Leithy, head of the MEA Market for Nokia, said: "We are proud to be part of this groundbreaking agreement for the continent. We have a longstanding partnership with Telecom Egypt and are pleased to see the growth in demand for both their broadband and LTE services. This is exactly what we had in mind when we designed the 1830 PSS platform. Its flexibility and easy upgradability will allow them to proactively manage the data explosion and develop new revenue streams - all the while improving the experience for their customers."

http://www.nokia.com

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