IDT Comments on U.S. Department of Commerce Ruling on ZTE

Integrated Device Technology (IDT) said the U.S. Department of Commerce ruling on ZTE is expected to have minimal impact on its financial performance.

IDT confirmed that ZTE is one of its customers and that ZTE-related revenue has historically ranged between approximately $3 million and $4 million per quarter.

http://www.idt.com

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Cisco Bets $500 Million on “Deutschland Digital” Initiative

Cisco announced an investment of $500 million in Germany over the next three years under a program called “Deutschland Digital” that focuses on innovation, security and education. Planned investments foresee funds for specific digitization projects, research projects, an expansion of the Cisco Networking Academy, and direct investments in venture funds, as well as to human resources and infrastructure spending. Cisco will expand its investment in start-ups and venture funds in Germany with priority areas such as security, cloud, and Internet of Things (IoT). The company also seeks to partner with the public sector and contribute to large-scale transformation projects such as smart cities and regions as well as healthcare and utility networks.

"Digitization goes beyond connectivity. It gives you the ability to secure data, act on data and deliver value based on data,” says Oliver Tuszik, general manager Cisco Germany. "Digitization benefits countries, cities, companies and every one of us. It creates competitiveness, improved public services and better quality of life, particularly amongst the demographic changes over the next years. We would like to make our contribution to this transformation, in addition to our ongoing investments."

Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco, commented: “Germany has long been known for its focus on innovation, and digitization opens up unprecedented opportunities for the country. With our increased investments in education, innovation and security, we can help create a digital Germany that can bring even greater value to the country and its citizens. Cisco is honored to partner with Germany on ‘Deutschland Digital.’”

http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1752243

• In Europe, Cisco previously announced investment plans for digitization acceleration in the U.K., France and Italy. “We all understand there is enormous potential in Germany through digitization”, says Tuszik. “Now, we need to accelerate and make it a success. This is where we want to make a contribution through our investment.”

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U.S. Dept. of Commerce Ruling Hits ZTE and Suppliers

The U.S. Department of Commerce has added ZTE to the list of entities involved in "activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States."

The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) listing, which limits the availability of most license exceptions on U.S. technology sales to ZTE, was driven by a finding that ZTE willingly resold restricted U.S. technology products to Iran during the period of economic sanctions,

The move could block U.S. semiconductor companies from selling to ZTE, potentially impacting a wide range of networking gear and mobile devices.

ZTE said it is working expeditiously towards resolution of this issue and that it is fully committed to compliance with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which it operates.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-05104.pdf

FBI Opens Criminal Investigation into ZTE Shipments to Iran

Saturday, July 14, 2012  China, Legal, ZTE  No comments

The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into whether ZTE shipped U.S.-made networking components and surveillance equipment to Iran.  According to various news sources, including Reuters, The Washington Post and The Smoking Gun, various documents have emerged, including a shipping manifest, related to a $130 million sales contract between ZTE and the Telecommunications Company of Iran.  Equipment reportedly includes systems from Cisco, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Juniper, Microsoft, Oracle and Symantec.
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/fbi-probes-zte-iran-deal-645912
http://www.washingtonpost.com/

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Mellanox Sets Out an Open Composable Network Framework

Mellanox Technologies unveiled its next-generation Open Composable Networks (OCN) platform aimed at helping enterprises and service providers to unlock performance and unleash innovation with predictable application performance and the efficiency of Web-Scale IT.

Mellanox said its OCN framework leverages the network disaggregation model pioneered by the hyperscale cloud operators, where functional independent modules are combined with open, clearly-defined abstraction interfaces.

Some highlights:

• The Mellanox end-to-end 25/50/100 Gb/s Ethernet portfolio includes Spectrum switches, ConnectX adapters, and LinkX cables.
• Mellanox has been a key contributor to the development open networking initiatives including OCP ONIE and SAI, and Linux switchdev, where Spectrum is the first switch supported upstream in Linux
• The Mellanox NEO management package enables network automation and software defined intelligence. Through integration with other cloud management platforms and Software Defined Networking (SDN) controllers, NEO helps to enhance network operational efficiency, and make network infrastructure easy to deploy, manage, and scale.

At this week's Open Compute Project Summit in San Jose, Mellanox will be showcasing OCN with a live demo of end-to-end 10/25, 50, 100 Gb/s network composed of LinkX cables, the new ConnectX-4 Lx based OCP adapter cards, and the flagship Spectrum Ethernet switches capable of running multiple network operating systems (NOS) and applications, including Cumulus Linux, OpenSwitch, Metaswitch IP Routing, and Mellanox MLNX-OS, running on open software interfaces such as OCP Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) and Linux Switchdev.

In addition, Mellanox has added Cumulus Linux support for its Spectrum line of 10/25, 40/50, and 100 Gb/s Ethernet switches.

http://www.mellanox.com

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AT&T Introduces UC Collaboration Service

AT&T introduced a hosted voice and collaboration service aimed at improving employee productivity.

AT&T Collaborate provides a full array of cloud-based voice features and collaboration tools, such as instant messaging and presence, audio, video and web conferencing, and content sharing. The service offers more than 30 calling features, plus a mobile client for use on your smartphone or tablet. Service options include:

• AT&T Collaborate-Enhanced Voice – Includes additional voice features for employees with more advanced requirements such as selective call acceptance, alternate numbers, instant group calls and more.
• AT&T Collaborate-Unified Communications – Includes instant messaging, employee presence, desktop sharing and conferencing features.
• AT&T Collaborate-Contact Center – Includes basic agent and supervisor call center features as well as web client services.

"With AT&T Collaborate, you're able to design a collaboration solution that best fits your business needs – whether you need basic voice capabilities or a full unified communications experience," said Rick Hubbard, senior vice president, Networking Product Management, AT&T Business Solutions. "The solution provides a flexible way for you to connect your employees while helping control costs and complexity."

http://www.att.com/collaborate

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PLUMgrid Partners with Edgecore on OpenStack Cloud

Taiwan-based Edgecore Networks will resell PLUMgrid’s full SDN portfolio of solutions including its Open Networking Suite (ONS) for OpenStack, CloudApex SDN visualization and monitoring platform.

“Partnering with Edgecore brings their extensive networking and integrated solutions experience to our joint clients in Asia,” said PLUMgrid CEO Larry Lang. “Combining their expertise and knowledge of regional markets with our integrated ONS platform and SDN solutions dramatically advances OpenStack networking and delivers significant value to our enterprise and service provider clients.”

http://www.plumgrid.com/press-releases/2016/03/plumgrid-and-edgecore-networks-partner-to-deliver-openstack-cloud-solutions/

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Video: Apps, Virtualization, Security and the Cloud

Art Gilliland, CEO of Skyport Systems, discusses Application, Virtualization, Security and the Cloud at RSA 2016.

When you think about isolating applications or workloads, you want to be able to put security around them. Virtualization gives you a compartment to do that. But companies really need to think about how to manage those environments. Skyport addresses this challenge by bringing the new security perimeter all the way down to the application.

YouTube:  https://youtu.be/ULB7pmxJkRU

 

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Video: Defending the Whole: IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS

Mark Nunnikhoven, VP of Cloud Research at Trend Micro, reflects on the Cloud Security Alliance Summit at #RSA2016.  Enterprises are using a lot of cloud services, each of which may have its own security implementation.  Taken together, implementing a consistent security stance becomes a challenge, which the industry is starting to address.  The roadmap is bright.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/uEKIG_CE77g

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Video: Malware Attack Fan-out via Cloud Storage Converge! Network Digest Converge! Network Digest

Cloud storage services are popular but they are becoming a vector for the rapid spread of malware.  Krishna Narayanaswamy, Founder and Chief Scientist at Netskope, describes how malware is the start of a sophisticated attack cycle.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cy5Z9AbuHwI

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Video: As Perimeter Defenses Fail, Harden the Interior

Almost all cyber intrusions involve a failure of perimeter defenses, says Leo Taddeo, Chief Security Officer at Cryptzone.  It's time to harden the interior of the corporate network.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/hCMYkMXVqyQ

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Hughes to Provide Satellite Backhaul for Entel Bolivia

Entel Bolivia has selected Hughes Network Systems' JUPITER System to extend cellular and Internet access in remote areas. Entel serves more than 4.5 million users in Bolivia.

Under the deal, Hughes will provide a JUPITER System gateway and approximately 550 terminals to power Entel's delivery of Internet access service in remote areas and for satellite backhaul of 3G and 4G LTE cellular base stations. The services will operate in the Ku-band satellite spectrum over the Túpac Katari 1 satellite.  Financial terms were not disclosed.

The Hughes JUPITER System features a flexible and robust gateway architecture with lights-out operation, enhanced IPoS air interface for bandwidth efficiency, and high-throughput terminals, enabling operators to achieve the highest possible capacity and efficiency for any satellite broadband implementation. The underlying technology is the powerful JUPITER System on a Chip (SoC), a custom–designed microprocessor employing a multi-core architecture and enabling 100 Mbps of throughput on every terminal in the JUPITER family.

"We are proud to have been chosen by Entel Bolivia for this very important initiative to close the digital divide in Bolivia," said Hugo Frega, senior sales director of the Central America and Latin America (CALA) region for Hughes. "Satellite is the ideal technology for extending connectivity to remote areas beyond the reach of traditional terrestrial options, and our JUPITER System is the proven market leader in supplying high-availability and high-performance networks to support cellular and Internet access worldwide."

http://www.hughes.com

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Video: The Intersection of IoT and Security

Jason Porter, VP of Security Solutions from AT&T, gives a 2-minute overview of the intersection of #IoT and security.  Not surprisingly, the top concern from enterprises deploying IoT technologies is ensuring end-to-end security for all elements in the ecosystem.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/p6doq-Jbbh0

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Video: The State of Cloud Security

Jim Reavis, CEO of the Cloud Security Alliance, provides a 2-minute update on the state of the industry and highlights of the day-long Cloud Security Summit held at RSA 2016.

The current state of security in cloud computing is strong, but uneven. Many issues remain to be addressed, including as services transgress international boundaries or even go from one operator to another.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/-wAS1t7dl-8

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Video: CSA Global Enterprise Board's Call to Action

Vinay Patel, Global Head of Information Security for Citi Enterprise Infrastructure, issues a call-to-action on behalf of the Cloud Security Alliance's Enterprise Advisory Board.

For enterprises, the stakes could not be higher in ensuring that cloud services are safe, secure, transparent and trusted platforms.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/TFQ7XovaCqs

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Video: New Approaches to Cloud Security with Prevoty

Arpit Joshipura discusses New Approaches to Cloud Security at RSA 2016.

Conventional cyber solutions based on malware signatures, white-lists, black-lists, data flow analysis are no longer effective.  The focus needs to move to a layered approach that includes runtime application security within the applications themselves.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/fh20tTEj_XY

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Vertical Systems: 2015 U.S.Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD

AT&T captured the top spot in Vertical Systems Group's U.S. Carrier Ethernet LEADERBOARD results for year-end 2015.

The following companies achieved LEADERBOARD status (rank order based on retail port share): AT&T, Level 3, Verizon, CenturyLink, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Cox, XO and new entrant Windstream.

To qualify for the LEADERBOARD, providers must have four percent (4%) or more of the U.S. Ethernet services market. Shares are measured by number of ports in service at businesses and enterprises as tracked by Vertical, with input from surveys of Ethernet providers.

“For the full year 2015, the Ethernet market grew by more than 20 percent, however the second half of the year showed moderating growth going into 2016,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “During this cycle, Windstream moved up to the LEADERBOARD from the Challenge Tier based on the strength of its Ethernet private line service and its presence in many smaller markets that others do not serve.”

Ethernet providers cited footprint expansion and support for increased speeds as their top initiatives for 2016 in response to Vertical Systems Group’s Year-End 2015 Ethernet/IP VPN/Fiber and LEADERBOARD Survey. Price compression and provisioning intervals are considered the primary challenges.

A key competitive requirement cited by Ethernet providers is MEF CE 2.0 certification. Seven of the nine companies on the 2015 U.S. LEADERBOARD have MEF CE 2.0 certified services. Additionally, all LEADERBOARD-ranked companies employ MEF Carrier Ethernet Certified Professionals (MEF-CECPs).

Other providers selling Ethernet services in the U.S. are segmented into two tiers as measured by port share. The first or Challenge Tier includes providers with between 1% and 4% share of the U.S. retail Ethernet market. For 2015, the following five companies attained a position in the Challenge tier (in alphabetical order): Bright House, Charter, Cogent, Lightpath and Zayo.

http://www.verticalsystems.com/vsglb/2015-u-s-carrier-ethernet-leaderboard/

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Crehan: Data Center Switch Market Hits $12B in 2015, Reports Crehan Research

The data center switch market reached $12 billion in sales in 2015, according to a new report from Crehan Research.

Ethernet, which accounts for the majority of data center switch revenues, grew 7% in 2015, while InfiniBand revenues surged to a record year, surpassing its prior record of 2012. In contrast with Ethernet and InfiniBand, Fibre Channel switch revenues declined slightly following growth in 2014.

“Ethernet remained by far the dominantdata center switch technology during 2015," said Seamus Crehan, president of Crehan Research. "With the recent introductions of attractively priced 25 gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 50GbE, and 100GbE switches, we expect this to continue," he said, adding, "InfiniBand is also enjoying a strong resurgence, in conjunction with the adoption of Intel’s higher performing Grantley-based server platforms and ever-expanding high performance computing applications."

Some highlights:

• 10GBASE-T and 40GbE were the main data center Ethernet switch growth drivers in 2015, with both technologies seeing an approximate doubling of annual shipments
• Modular data center Ethernet switch shipments returned to growth after two consecutive years of decline
• 25GbE/50GbE/100GbE data center switches saw initial shipments in 4Q15, along with the server adapters to connect to these switches. These products are expected to ramp strongly in the second half of 2016 
• Cisco accounted for 60% of total data center Ethernet switch revenue in 2015
• Arista’s total data center Ethernet switch revenue increased more than 40% in 2015, resulting in a two-point share gain
• Huawei’s 4Q15 data center Ethernet switch revenue more than doubled year-over-year, as data center upgrades and build-outs continued to be strong in China despite macro-economic volatility
• For full-year 2015, 16Gbps Fibre Channel became a solid majority of total Fibre Channel switch  shipments, laying the foundation for the ramp of recently introduced 32Gbps Fibre Channel products
• White box and ODM-direct data center Ethernet switching accounted for 4% of total 2015 data center switch revenue

http://www.CrehanResearch.com

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Frontier Launches Ethernet Private Line Service

Frontier Communications has added Ethernet Private Line (EPL) to its E-Line Ethernet Solutions portfolio.

EPL joins Frontier’s local IntraLATA EVPL offering and will be available in Frontier’s service areas with the same bandwidth profiles and at the same rates.

EPL has also been rolled into the Carrier InterLATA EPATH offering, previously launched in October 2015 as a service multiplexed, vlan aware only offering, in Frontier’s Idaho, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin markets. Frontier’s current traffic prioritization classes and associated Silver, Gold and Platinum Service Level Agreements will accompany this enhancement.

http://www.frontier.com

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SpaceX Launches SES-9 on Falcon 9 Rocket

SpaceX successfully launched the SES-9 satellite using a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

SES-9 is SES’s largest satellite to serve the Asia-Pacific region. It weighed 5.3 tonnes at the launch and has 57 high-power Ku-band transponders – equivalent to 81x36 MHz transponders’ It thus provides significant expansion capacity to serve the buoyant and fast-growing video, enterprise, mobility and government sectors across Northeast Asia, South Asia, India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Boeing was lead contractor.

In addition, SES-9 is equipped with dedicated mobility beams to provide maritime coverage vessels on high-traffic maritime routes between the Suez Canal and Strait of Malacca.

The Falcon 9 rocket attempted to land on a drone ship in the Atlantic, but missed narrowly.

http://www.spacex.com

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In Memory: Raymond Tomlinson

Ray Tomlinson, who is credited with developing email while working on ARPANet in 1971, has died. He was 74.

The first email was sent between two machines that were literally side-by-side using a program that Tomlinson developed called SNDMSG. Tomlinson chose the user@host addressing format that remains in use today.

http://openmap.bbn.com/~tomlinso/ray/firstemailframe.html

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