Take a Network Break! This week we cover a serious vulnerability in Cisco’s IOS XE network OS, new hardware firewalls from Juniper including a 1.4Tbps beast, and a whitebox offering from Drivenets for building a data center fabric for AI workloads. Palo Alto Networks adds new feature to its cloud platform for secure application development, Broadcom begins shipping a 25.6Tbps routing chip to take on custom routing silicon, and the US FCC takes its next step toward reinstating network...

Take a Network Break! This week we cover a new set of Layer 1 switches from Arista that target financial services and high-frequency trading, Ruckus announcing a (pre-ratified) Wi-Fi 7 AP, and AWS planning to require multi-factor authentication starting in mid-2024. MGM Resorts says it will take a $100 million hit in its quarterly results due to a security breach, the UK finally fines Equifax for a 2017 breach, and Broadcom may have cleared a China hurdle to its VMware acquisition. Get...

Take a Network Break! Days after announcing a partnership, Cisco and Nutanix release joint hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) products built with Cisco hardware and Nutanix software. HPE Aruba announces a new sensor to measure performance of Wi-Fi 6e networks, and Intel says its FPGA group will become a standalone business. Cisco revamps how it reports its business units to Wall Street and Gmail tells bulk email senders to get ready for new authentication requirements. A 5G satellite...

Take a Network Break! Drew welcomes guest host Johna Till Johnson while Greg is away. On today’s show we discuss Amazon’s $4 billion investment in an AI startup, Marvell’s response to accusations of an NSA-friendly backdoor in older Cavium chips, and the impact of Cisco’s Splunk acquisition. Microsoft is developing a strategy for small modular nuclear reactors to help power data centers, the chair of the FCC proposes restoring Net Neutrality rules, and Meta confirms that its AI assistant is...

On today’s Network Break, Greg Ferro is joined by guest co-host Brad Casemore. You can follow Brad on his blog Crepuscular Circus. Greg and Brad discuss new capabilities in Juniper’s Apstra data center automation software, Versa partnering with Intel to put security software on a NIC, and Cisco buying Splunk for $28 billion. The Linux Foundation gives a home to the Terraform fork OpenTF and renames it OpenTofu, China pauses its Broadcom review, and BackBox and Paessler AG team up. Get links...

This week’s Network Break starts with follow-up on Elon Musk and Starlink. On the news front, Cisco announces end-of-life for its Hyperflex Data Platform and commits to its Nutanix partnership for HCI. Cisco also announces a new service provider router, and rolls out new custom Ethernet switch ASICs to compete for AI fabrics. Nokia announces new routers also boasting custom silicon, Intel makes noise about the Thunderbolt 5 connector, Marvell touts ASICs for automotive Ethernet, the AfriNIC...

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss an FU about a 70kw rack to talk about a 400kw rack! On the news side, we dig into Microsoft’s post-mortem of an attack that led to the theft of emails from multiple US government agencies, Cisco and Nutanix team up on hyperconverged infrastructure, and AWS adds security groups to its cloud load balancers. Check Point purchases a startup that scans for shadow SaaS apps, Huawei rolls out a new 7nm chip despite US trade restrictions meant to thwart...

Take a Network Break! We start with some FU on why private 5G isn’t taking off, then pivot to the latest news. Juniper is adding ChatGPT to its Marvis virtual assistant to summarize technical docs, Palo Alto Networks courts MSPs with new provider-friendly SASE features, and a colo provider offers big juice for AI and HPC workloads. Microsoft attempts to head off potential EU anti-trust actions by unbundling Teams from Microsoft 365 and Office 365, Broadcom touts AI ASICs in its latest...

Take a Network Break! On today’s episode we discuss two announcements from VMware Explore 2023: a private AI offering, and a revamped NSX for public and private cloud networking. We also discuss recent rule changes at the SEC that require public companies to disclose material security incidents in a timely manner. SUSE announces that a private equity firm is taking the company off the public market, 5G has failed to be a revenue bonanza for telcos, Cisco announces steady financial results,...

Take a Network Break! We’ve got more durm and strang in open source license debate, cars that don’t work wihtout a network, something mumble something Fibrechannel, a security acquisition by Check Point, cheesy microchips, listener follow-up, and more. Sponsor: Backbox Backbox is a Network Automation Platform that supports network and security devices from over 180 vendors, with thousands of pre-built automations and a scripting-free way to build new ones. With BackBox any task that could be...

Take a Network Break! This week we cover new advances in interconnects for AI workloads and look a little more carefully at the potential impact of superconductors on computing. HashiCorp swaps its open source licensing for a Business Source License to protect itself from companies that might take its software and build a competing company. Oracle, SUSE Linux, and CIQ announce a new Linux distribution that directly targets Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), Fortinet releases a new firewall...

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss new charges for IPv4 addresses being levied by AWS, Cisco’s acquisition of a BGP monitoring service, and financial results for a host of tech companies. We also speak with J Metz, the Steering Committee Chair of the Ultra Ethernet Consortium to learn more about the organization’s goals; and examine the efforts to investigate claims of a breakthrough in superconducting research. Get links to all these stories below. Sponsor: BackBox BackBox is a...

Take a Network Break! This week we cover a new Broadcom Trident ASIC that supports the SONiC network OS, discuss why Thales spent $3.6 billion for a Web app firewall, and look at a Dell/NVIDIA partnership for on-prem AI. Intel pledges to integrate AI processing capabilities on every platform it makes, US Senator Ron Wyden asks three government agencies to investigate Microsoft for shoddy security practices, the IEEE approves specifications for light-based wireless communications, and Juniper...

Take a Network Break. This week we cover multiple follow-ups, and then discuss the launch of the Ultra Ethernet Consortium and its intention to revamp Ethernet to support AI and High Performance Computing (HPC) workloads. NOS startup Arrcus pulls in a $65 million series D round, Fortinet launches big-iron firewalls, and Huawei flexes its patent muscles in 5G and wireless. The IETF rolls out the Messaging Layer Security (MLS) protocol to help protect group messaging, and infamous hacker Kevin...

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss Intel walking away from NUC computers, Microsoft rebranding Azure AD and launching an SSE offering, and Microsoft Exchange Online getting hacked. The European Union gives Broadcom conditional approval to buy VMware, Marvell touts Fibre Channel, and Oracle and SUSE capitalize on anger over IBM’s handling of Red Hat Enterprise Linux. SonicWall and Fortinet release fixes for serious vulnerabilities, the Wireshark Foundation would like your help, and a...

Today on the Network Break we argue over Roman numerals; discuss a significant, but probably limited, Cisco vulnerability; and ponder a new partnership between BT and HPE to manage your LAN. Broadcom (kinda) pledges to invest in the Spanish semiconductor industry, TSMC brings in specialists from Taiwan to build new fabs in Arizona, and Nokia brags about new distance and throughput milestones for Fixed Wireless Access. Last but not least, Greg wishes Ethernet an unhappy birthday. Sponsor:...

Take a Network Break! We’re recording just ahead of the July 4th 2023 holiday in the US and we didn’t have an official episode scheduled, but we decided to record anyway. There’s no sponsors, no Tech Bytes. It’s just us. So hang out for a bit while we discuss the latest tech news, including another Cisco acquisition, cloud networking news from Prosimo, SEC trouble for SolarWinds, and a million dollar refrigerator. Show Links: Prosimo Disrupts MCN Market by Making Multi-Cloud Connectivity...

In this weeks Network’n’Break through the IT news with a definite infrastructure focus, Cisco announces AI Networking versions of Silicon One ASICs and buys another DEM business. HPE Greenlake adds AI LLM. FCC talks bandwidth caps. Google calls kettle black when accusing Microsoft of monopolistic behaviour. Sponsor: Nokia Data Centre Fabric and Automation We’re sponsored today by Nokia and its data center fabric for network automation and orchestration. Nokia’s data center fabric is designed...

Johna Til-Johson from Nemertes Research joins today (Drew on well earned leave). First the FU then its vendors co-operating ? NetBrain and Paessler. Google sells its domain registration to Squarespace, a smidgeon of Quantum computing before looking AMD at the state of Pensando DPUs. Finally the news that liquid cooling is toxic due to PFAS ‘forever chemicals’. Sponsor: Backbox BackBox is a multi-vendor network automation platform that lets you automate every device on the network through a...

Take a Network Break: Drew is on holiday (again) and Ethan shows up. Who knew he was still around ? We start with FU, Cisco Live was underwhelming announcing a new focus simplicity and that customers hate their licensing, Bluecat spends again, Hashicorp gets a financial slapping, Itential ships a new version and Quantum Space Networking. Sponsor: Itential Itential simplifies automation across hybrid cloud network infrastructure. Their platform makes it easy for network teams to bring their...

Take a Network Break. This week we discuss a new Google offering to interconnect public clouds, NVIDIA’s Spectrum-X platform for building AI networking fabrics using Ethernet switches and DPUs, and Cisco’s latest acquisition in the security space. Juniper announces that you’d better upgrade from very old JunOS versions, ccTLD phishing domains drop significantly after Meta sues a registrar, Riverbed gets a new private equity owner, and Amazon pays a pittance to the FTC to settle allegations of...

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss a new offering from DriveNets that aims to make Ethernet more suitable as a network fabric for AI workloads, why the EU slapped Meta with a $1.3 billion fine, and a new offering from Extreme Networks that lets you manage Extreme gear in the cloud or from on-prem with the same experience. China bans US-made Micron chips from its sensitive information infrastructure, Cisco launches a new learning platform called Cisco U., and a space networking startup...

Take a Network Break! This week we cover Juniper’s new cloud-based NAC and why Juniper is adding ChatGPT to its interacctive Marvis service. Aviatrix announces new firewall and traffic inspection capabilities as part of its multi-cloud networking offering. Dell builds a story, if not a product, around Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). DDI vendor BlueCat acquires Mice&Men, also a DDI player. Google comes under significant criticism from security experts for rolling out .zip and .mov Top...

Take a Network Break! This week we cover some follow-up on Lumen. Then we dive into a massive Cisco blunder that let a digital certificate expire on some models of the Viptela SD-WAN appliance, causing device failures. Extreme Networks release a new Wi-Fi 6e AP and core and aggregation switches, a Ubiquiti employee who stole company data gets six years in jail, and a former Uber executive who covered up and obstructed an investigation into a massive data breach gets probation. Microsoft says...

Take a Network Break! This week we discuss a new Azure-native cloud firewall from Palo Alto Networks, why pharma giant Merck might be owed a big settlement from its cyber-insurers, and why HPE wants to simplify its branding. Lumen offers 400G IP transit ports, the US White House announces actions to promote safe, responsible AI; Versa Networks rolls out zero trust for remote and campus users, and Rogers teams up with SpaceX on a plan to allow SMS messaging via satellite. Get links to all...