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To learn more about Application Centric Infrastructure,
join us for a special webcast with John Chambers and Soni Jiandani
on November 6th at 10:30 am EST/7:30 pm PST/15:30 GMT.
Register here

I want to address some questions about VMware’s NSX virtual networking announcement that have been asked of us by the media and social Web commentators in the past few days. Specifically, they have asked  why Cisco did not announce support for NSX and whether the announcement changes the long-standing strategic relationship between our two companies.

First, let me be clear: VMware is an important partner to Cisco, and we expect to continue our close collaboration around private cloud and desktop virtualization.  As we outlined yesterday in a joint news release about Cisco and VMware’s mutual customers, thousands of organizations rely on our combined innovation in their businesses each and every day and I look forward to continued success in this area.

While we share a common vision for private cloud and desktop virtualization, there are significant differences in our visions over the future of networking.

Network virtualization is important. We both agree on that. In fact, over the past several years, we have delivered game-changing innovations in this area particularly with the Nexus 1000v and more recently with NFV solutions, both of which are key elements of the Cisco ONE portfolio. Today, more than 6,000 Nexus 1000v customers benefit from the flexibility delivered by our virtual networking technology.

However, a software-only approach to network virtualization places significant constraints on customers.  It doesn’t scale, and it fails to provide full real-time visibility of both physical and virtual infrastructure.  In addition this approach does not provide key capabilities such as multi-hypervisor support, integrated security, systems point-of-view or end-to-end telemetry for application placement and troubleshooting.  This loosely-coupled approach forces the user to tie multiple 3rd party components together adding cost and complexity in day-to-day operations as well as throughout the network lifecycle.  Users are forced to address multiple management points and maintain version control for each of the independent components.  Software network virtualization treats physical and virtual infrastructure as separate entities, and denies customers a common policy framework and common operational model for management, orchestration and monitoring.

Cisco has a different strategy and that is embodied in the Application Centric Infrastructure.  Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) is an innovative secure architecture that delivers centralized application-driven policy automation, management and visibility of physical and virtual networks.  It’s built upon a fabric foundation that delivers best-in-class infrastructure by combining hardware, software and ASIC innovations into an integrated system.

The architecture provides a common management framework for network, application, security and virtualization teams — making IT more agile while reducing application deployment time.  It’s built for multi-tenancy ensuring proper isolation and detailed telemetry of SLAs across different consumers of the infrastructure while also providing a consistent security policy across both physical and virtual applications.  ACI allows IT teams to offer a public cloud experience and economics to their customers while maintaining the associated SLAs and performance requirements for the most demanding business applications.  It’s an open programmable architecture with a comprehensive set of APIs that enables the broadest ecosystem of datacenter management and L4-7 services.  Finally, ACI enables comprehensive investment protection by leveraging existing IT teams’ skillset and infrastructure to lower overall TCO.

I recently wrote a blog post about how Network Virtualization is a Different to Server Virtualization as we think about the next chapter of networking.  It’s key to remember that underutilized compute resources created the opportunity for server virtualization. Underutilization is not a problem in the network. In fact, server virtualization is pushing the limits of today’s network utilization and driving demand for higher port counts, application and policy-driven automation, and unified management of physical, virtual and cloud infrastructures in a single system.  Businesses today are looking for more from their investments as they turn on new services and applications more quickly, in a way that is easier to manage and that can scale with applications needs.

We believe that delivering those benefits requires the flexibility of software coupled tightly with the performance and scalability of hardware and ASICs. That’s what we’re delivering with our Application-Centric Infrastructure vision and throughout the entire Unified Data Center portfolio.

Stay tuned for some exciting news from us in this area in the next few months.



Authors

Padmasree Warrior

Chief Technology & Strategy Officer

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When I arrived in early June for my 12-week internship in Cisco Corporate Affairs, I began to read You + Networks = Impactx everywhere on the Cisco Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) website. For me, it was just a tagline – part of a marketing campaign for Cisco CSR.  I didn’t understand it, and wasn’t sure if I completely believed it.  It wasn’t until I became a part of the Cisco CSR family and plugged myself into the equation that You + Networks = Impactx became much more than a tagline; it became the heart of my work at Cisco this summer.

During my 12-week internship, I learned how human and technology networks can multiply impact on people, communities, and the planet.
During my 12-week internship, I learned how human and technology networks can multiply impact on people, communities, and the planet.

Continue reading “How Can One Cisco Intern Impact the World?”



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Since returning from Cisco Live! I have been working on our next big project. In this case, I will need help in my design and deployment so I have to select the company that will help me; choosing a VAR (Value Added Reseller) for the project is a very important choice. Most companies have a policy of getting three or more SOWs (Statement of Work) from partners, but once they are in you are left with several very similar documents and the main difference is price. Anyone that has been in this industry for any amount of time knows choosing your partner purely based on price is a great way to set yourself up for failure.

So how do you choose a partner? Hopefully, you have taken your stack of SOWs and have whittled them down to a manageable npeople meetingumber of potentials. Again, hopefully they all have similar levels of experience with the type of deployment you are looking for and possibly similar prices. One of the things I ask up front is if the company is a Cisco ATP (Advanced Technology Partner). If they are, then they stay in my possibilities stack, if they aren’t then even if they stay in the possible stack they have a long hill to climb in the selection process. A company being a Cisco VAR and an ATP means they have proven expertise in an area. They also have direct access to Cisco product resources beyond the normal TAC (Technical Assistance Center) path I would have to take in opening a case and seeking support.  Continue reading “Choosing a Cisco Partner for an Advanced Technology Project”



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William Maguire

Wireless Network Engineer

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Citizen Schools, a national nonprofit organization that partners with middle schools to expand the learning day for underserved students, today announced Cisco as a new National Leadership Partner.

Cisco and the Cisco Foundation have supported Citizen Schools since 2009, providing more than $1.24 million in grants and products to help the program expand from 10 schools in five states to 31 schools in seven states and improve communication among staff nationally.

Also, more than 125 Cisco employees have volunteered with the nonprofit’s Citizen Teacher program, leading 10-week apprenticeships for middle school students.

Cisco Strategic Account Manager Doug Reagan instructs students on the art of making video documentaries.
Cisco Strategic Account Manager Doug Reagan instructs students on the art of making video documentaries.

Are you passionate about helping children succeed in high school, dream of college and careers, and reach their full potential? Find out how you can become a Citizen Teacher at citizenschools.org.

 



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Alexis Raymond

Senior Manager

Chief Sustainability Office

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In this week’s Engineers Unplugged, we talk technology from a different angle–community. How can you join your community of peers to learn, grow your career, and stay on top of the latest in this ever-changing tech landscape? Listen in as Josh Atwell (@josh_atwell) and Gurusimran Khalsa (@gurusimran) talk about their experiences as co-hosts on #vBrownBag.

Great tips on how to maximize the time you spend on social media and professional development, there are many ways to give back. This unicorn they drew is not one of them.

Continue reading “#EngineersUnplugged S3|Ep10: Community Architecture (3 Ways You Can Join)”



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The largest Higher Education IT event of the year, EDUCAUSE 2013 takes place  in Anaheim, California  October 15-18. We will be there along with about 5,000 key decision makers from the United States, Canada, and around the world.

If you are planning to attend,  visit the Cisco team at booth #601, where we will showcase our Connected Learning solutions for higher education. Stop by and learn how to use your campus network infrastructure to save money, improve efficiency, enhance safety and security, and prepare the next-generation workforce.

Continue reading “The Best Thinking in Higher Education IT”



Authors

John Tuohy

Senior Manager, Education Industry Marketing

Public Sector Marketing

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I’ve mentioned before that I grow up around a very musical family. I remember on Sunday’s sitting around on the porch with the whole family playing music. Heck anytime I go back home to Tennessee, we go and play music until early in the morning. Now I was never much of a musician at all.  Although to be quite honest, I’d stand up to the crap today for sure. “You kids git off my lawn!!!”

The one thing I noticed is that life itself has a sound track, so it makes sense to me, that technology also should have a soundtrack. So from the somewhat legal music files of Jimmy Ray Purser, here is my recommendation for tunes based on the technology.

Switches: Traveling Wilbury’s. There’s just something about the smooth melodic sounds of this group that just ties the tech together. Switches are the focal point of the network so the band has to stand the test of time and have a happy tempo for sure. Hey it’s switching, one of the coolest technologies out there. Getting in the Ether groove is easy with the Wilbury Boys.

Routers: Rush. With routing, you’re climbing the stack a little higher and getting into more complex stuff. Oh sure you still a command line commando using your weapons of Command-Tab (Alt-Tab for Bill’s crew) between sessions using alias commands to shortcut longer commands, etc. You need some heady-er tunes that you can sing a bar or two too but also just enjoy the more intellectual groove it puts you in. Hard to beat Rush for that stuff for sure! Dad gum I feel all Mozart smart and stuff listen to this without being a whanker about it.

Wireless: Any Industrial or Trance Electronica. Personally I grab Enigma most of the time but I feed Trance Soma thru the lab and soak it up. With wireless, you have to imagine most of it, then test. There are so many variables in wireless you really need to use music to expand your mind and float ya down Maxwell’s currents to Fourier’s shores.  Other bands come with lyrics and memories that divert your focus too much.  Honorable Mention and super close second: Yes.

Security:  Radiohead. Namely the OK Computer album. Oh man you have to remember you’re plugging your network into the world and challenging everyone. Radiohead gets you in the groove, smashes the record then eats it. That’s what you need as a security person. Think outside the friggen box, against the grain and break the beer bottle over your head.

Hacking:  Ramones. OK when you start to hack, you are breaking the rules and the law in most places. You can’t take prisoners and have to be more like Francois L’Olonnais. He was a French pirate that actually ate an enemy’s heart to terrify the enemy prisoners to make them show him an escape route out of certain capture. They did and he escaped to fight another day. That’s the mind set of a good hacker. Whatever it takes to get your data will be done. Honorable Mention: Sex Pistols/PiL

 Data Center: Boston. Data Center technology is truly a solution that you have to not only work with multiple vendors but every single piece has work perfect for the server to boot off the SAN. So it needs something different, ground breaking and high energy. Hard to beat Boston for that task for sure.  I mean come on man! Tom Scholz (lead guitar picker) didn’t like the sound of rock music so he invented his own!! Plus he was such a perfectionist he delayed an album over two years until the sound was just right. Oh yeah, that is a data center mindset right there!  Honorable Mention: Daft Punk. It puts you on grid baby!

Storage: Pink Floyd. Storage seems to be the most elitist of all technologies. They do EVERYTHING different on that side of the world for sure. Kinda like eating over at a friend’s house for the first time. Not that it’s a bad thing at all. Their methods and practices are tried and true. They are responsible for the data itself so the rules of zero loss tolerance are non negotiable. When I was a young boot camp storage rookie, I’d question why this or that and the result was the same; “You don’t understand yet, but you will in time if you keep at it” That was the same answer I got when I said; “WTF???” after listening to Pink Floyd’s Animals album.

VOIP:  Bjork. Yeah get it config’ed so you can turn this off and go grab a beer and chicken wings at 80’s throwback bar and jam to some hair band tunes!

And to finish it up; my personal happy song…When I’m in a great mood and everything seems to be going A+ you can just bet that the song; “Walking on Sunshine” by Katrina and Waves is on a loop in my head!

So…music tends to be a really personal thing. I think I’ve seen more fist fights over music then girls or sports teams. (I need new friends, I know…) Do you agree or disagree with my song selection? What is YOUR happy song in the sound track of your life?

Jimmy Ray Purser

Trivia File Transfer Protocol

The first record to sell one million copies was The Glen Miller Orchestra’s “Chattanooga Choo-Choo” way back in 1942



Authors

Jimmy Ray Purser

Former Co-Host of TechWiseTV

No Longer at Cisco

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To know more about Application Centric Infrastructure join us for a special webcast
with John Chambers and Soni Jiandani
on November 6th at 10:30 am EST/7:30 pm PST/15:30 GMT
Register Here 

True Innovators are not easy to find. In fact, people who build next-generation innovations and succeed are certifiably rare. Repeat successes with these innovations are rarer still. Hatricks are legendary. Anything beyond is best relegated to a rarefied stratospheric atmosphere and dismissed as fiction.

Fortunately for us at Cisco, one need not look too far for such innovators. The team of Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain, Luca Cafiero and Soni Jiandani (affectionately called by some in the industry as the MPLS team) has both the reputation as well as the track-record of not just building world-class innovations, but for successfully converting them into multi-billion dollar global businesses within the Cisco fold.   So, when they talk about networking, a subject which they know a thing or two about, most people find it worth their while to listen up.

Continue reading “The Next Paradigm Shift: Application-Centric Infrastructure (ACI) gets ready to rumble”



Authors

Shashi Kiran

Senior Director, Market Management

Data Center, Cloud and Open Networking

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The Syrian Electronic Army continues to hammer away at media organizations.  This afternoon the Syrian Electronic Army appears to have compromised the registrar Melbourne IT which hosts the domains of notable media organizations like Twitter, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post.

Syrian Electronic Army cracks Melbourne IT Registrar

Continue reading “Syrian Electronic Army Continues Spree: Cracks New York Times, Twitter and Huffington Post”



Authors

Jaeson Schultz

Technical Leader

Cisco Talos Security Intelligence & Research