http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/networking/w/wiki/4878.openmanage-network-manager
Dell OpenManage Network Manager is designed to make it easier to plan and manage your Dell, Cisco, HP, Juniper, Aruba and Brocade and more network devices. It is paid on a annual basis based on different tiers of managed devices.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Entuity Network Management Tools partners with Dell Networking
http://entuity.com/solutions/dell-solutions/
Entuity is best of breed management platform for plug and play of a multi-vendor large enterprise infrastructure. Their ROI is managing more than 200 network devices.
The drill down of layer 2 and 3 network mapping is all inclusive that allows for the NOC to get a complete picture of network discovery and topology mapping. It applies that information with event correlation to provide complete insight to network performance. It can predict network congestion problems before trouble tickets appear to the NOC.
Distributed Enterprise environments that are using multiple connections between sites for main connections and backup routes can benefit from SurePath managing best connections through multi-vendor ISP links to ensure SLA agreements for application delivery.
Entuity is best of breed management platform for plug and play of a multi-vendor large enterprise infrastructure. Their ROI is managing more than 200 network devices.
The drill down of layer 2 and 3 network mapping is all inclusive that allows for the NOC to get a complete picture of network discovery and topology mapping. It applies that information with event correlation to provide complete insight to network performance. It can predict network congestion problems before trouble tickets appear to the NOC.
Distributed Enterprise environments that are using multiple connections between sites for main connections and backup routes can benefit from SurePath managing best connections through multi-vendor ISP links to ensure SLA agreements for application delivery.
Friday, August 14, 2015
If you're a Dell SMB Customer, please note these reference architecture links...
Hello Guest,
Problem statement:
There is many pieces to the puzzle and there is more pieces to choose from than ever.
How to make them all fit within policy?
Which to choose?
Which way is the market heading?
Controlling costs while innovating faster is the name of the game more precisely. Dell has done a great job of providing best of breed compute, network, and storage offerings that makes sense as a CAPEX business expense. Obviously I do not need to get into business plans b/c each business is different. However to simply the IT part of the business, Dell provides industry standards and plug-and-play architecture that is different in the market place. Below documentation can help a business deploy faster than the competition and get to market faster.
Reference Architecture: Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V on Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Deployment Guide: Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V on Dell PowerEdge VRTX
Bonus: Dell Networking Small Business Reference Architecture 1.0
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Aerohive and SonicWall update
See previous post about initial feedback of Aerohive setup.
I have really liked Aerohive cloud dashboard for the per device visibility within my new wireless network.
Since the AP130 has advanced routing capabilities built-in. I assumed I only needed to make sure it had an IP address that it can route to/from the internet. I now have my SonicWall's interface X4 connected to Aerohive midspan which is connected to the access point. (Previously I plugged directly into AT&T U-verse router, bypassing firewall.) I added interface X4 to LAN zone for more security scanning (IPS and Content Filtering), visibility, and file sharing capabilities. The LAN environment is still on 192.168.168.1 255.255.255.0 network. I added wireless aerohive WLAN network within the LAN zone (no NAT policies) and assigned the 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0 network to X4. I double checked that routing was enabled on this interface with this IP address.
After I plugged in the AP130 the way it currently is, the white light on the access point turned amber and lost internet connectivity. I logged into Aerohives cloud dashboard and learned that the Aerohive AP130 does not have a built-in dhcp server. So I had to go back into the SonicWall's DHCP services and create a lease scope of 25 IP addresses. After hitting accept on the SonicWall it took a couple of minutes and command of IPCONFIG /RENEW for the AP130 to get an IP Address and then give this machine an IP address of 192.168.10.22 255.255.255.0. The AP130 light has been white since and been serving up internet for family and whoever my step-son share the preshare secret key with. He had a friend that came over with an iPhone and they streamed YouTube videos.
Since the new wireless network has the LAN zone content filtering policy assigned to it, I am blocking pornography on wireless connectivity again. Also I have the dashboard visibilty of the SonicWall for tracking source and destination IP address at an application level and Geo-IP filtering. So at the end of the day I have more information to coorelate for user/device tracking on my home/lab network.
Again this was easy to set up and use. Since I have familiarity with how subnets talk to each other, it took maybe an hour of my time yesterday. Also wasted 30 minutes this morning looking at my .10 network connections in the firewall and correlating that info with what I see in Aerohive's cloud dashboard.
I have really liked Aerohive cloud dashboard for the per device visibility within my new wireless network.
Since the AP130 has advanced routing capabilities built-in. I assumed I only needed to make sure it had an IP address that it can route to/from the internet. I now have my SonicWall's interface X4 connected to Aerohive midspan which is connected to the access point. (Previously I plugged directly into AT&T U-verse router, bypassing firewall.) I added interface X4 to LAN zone for more security scanning (IPS and Content Filtering), visibility, and file sharing capabilities. The LAN environment is still on 192.168.168.1 255.255.255.0 network. I added wireless aerohive WLAN network within the LAN zone (no NAT policies) and assigned the 192.168.10.1 255.255.255.0 network to X4. I double checked that routing was enabled on this interface with this IP address.
After I plugged in the AP130 the way it currently is, the white light on the access point turned amber and lost internet connectivity. I logged into Aerohives cloud dashboard and learned that the Aerohive AP130 does not have a built-in dhcp server. So I had to go back into the SonicWall's DHCP services and create a lease scope of 25 IP addresses. After hitting accept on the SonicWall it took a couple of minutes and command of IPCONFIG /RENEW for the AP130 to get an IP Address and then give this machine an IP address of 192.168.10.22 255.255.255.0. The AP130 light has been white since and been serving up internet for family and whoever my step-son share the preshare secret key with. He had a friend that came over with an iPhone and they streamed YouTube videos.
Since the new wireless network has the LAN zone content filtering policy assigned to it, I am blocking pornography on wireless connectivity again. Also I have the dashboard visibilty of the SonicWall for tracking source and destination IP address at an application level and Geo-IP filtering. So at the end of the day I have more information to coorelate for user/device tracking on my home/lab network.
Again this was easy to set up and use. Since I have familiarity with how subnets talk to each other, it took maybe an hour of my time yesterday. Also wasted 30 minutes this morning looking at my .10 network connections in the firewall and correlating that info with what I see in Aerohive's cloud dashboard.
Friday, August 7, 2015
VMware vSphere 5.5 on Dell PowerEdge FX2 - Reference architecture and Deployment guide
These whitepapers are part of Dell Blueprints initiative to simplify Enterprise solutions and deployments. FX2 is a 4 server node chassis taking up 2U rack space. It has a variety of configuration options for different enterprise workloads. Dell builds on standards based x86 platform and uses software for management. Dell is a leader in Software Defined Data Center (SDDC) technology. The linked white papers shows highly scalable best of breed compute, storage, and networking for optimized power, cooling, rack space, and OPEX.
Reference Architecture: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20441314
Deployment guide: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20441316
Reference Architecture: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20441314
Deployment guide: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20441316
Tuesday, August 4, 2015
Dell OpenManage Essentials: Principled Technologies Commissioned Report.
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/OME_comparison_0615.pdf
Dell OME compared to HP OneView is:
63% less time to update firmware
40% less time to deploy servers
93% lower licensing cost
Dell OME compared to HP OneView is:
63% less time to update firmware
40% less time to deploy servers
93% lower licensing cost
Monday, July 27, 2015
Windows Server 2003 puts business at risk
http://www.cio-asia.com/print-article/83747/
"According to Secunia, 22 vulnerabilities affecting Windows Server 2003 were unpatched as of March 31, 2015, and Microsoft has not announced if any of these issues will be addressed in security updates released before the July support deadline. "The operating system will likely contain unaddressed vulnerabilities now Microsoft has discontinued support, essentially acting as perpetual zero-day vulnerabilities.
"According to Secunia, 22 vulnerabilities affecting Windows Server 2003 were unpatched as of March 31, 2015, and Microsoft has not announced if any of these issues will be addressed in security updates released before the July support deadline. "The operating system will likely contain unaddressed vulnerabilities now Microsoft has discontinued support, essentially acting as perpetual zero-day vulnerabilities.
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Aerohive Setup
http://www.aerohive.com/cloud/ ---> Try HiveManagerNG
three step process to verify account, and get password set up.
Aerohive communitry forums: https://community.aerohive.com/aerohive
learning what's new documentation:
http://www.aerohive.com/330000/docs/help/english/ng/learning-whats-new.htm
After setting up password, I assume I am in my online HiveManager account. It starts out listing steps for getting started. Currently have 7 different tabs open and have reviewed online documentation, including storing reference material in Google Drive. However not feeling overwhelmed and liking the planning walk through currently in home screen.
Next? Onboarding Access Point or Look at log-in and log-out settings as well as two factor config.
The online and included paper documentation suggest onboarding device... I believe I want to learn a little more about the sign-in features.
Account details look really straight forward. There is logging information and device management settings I need to get familiar with. Going ahead and logging out.
https://cloud.aerohive.com/login#/login
Account sign-in is set up with email address. Reset of forgotten password is with send email link at page. Very user friendly for users that do not store passwords well.
Onboarding access point is connecting the access point to router with dhcp. I am plugging directly into ISP home router bypassing my TZ215 for easiest access. I need to get more familiar with setting up multiple WAN uplinks through VLAN enabled switch. It would be appropriate to set up policy with multiple SSID and routing LAN access through SonicWall. That setup will need to be for later date, also would like an appropriate network switch with VLAN tags to test with.
However setting up initial Wifi policy for simple PSK WLAN access is easy and straight forward. I have had to go back through the policy and hit the upload button for the new SSID to show up on wireless devices. Also another thing to point out is that the access point 130 is packaged well but does not come with any patch cables. Installation will require separate purchase or already own patch cables for deployment.
I am going to turn off SonicWall Wifi, no need for two different services running at the same time.
Now time to test connectivity for home devices...
HTC one is connected well; Google streaming video and music, pulling up news, and refreshed reddit all really well.
Dashboard is showing three clients connected and showing host name on PCs and android os for third client. Awesome user tracking right there.
I am not seeing an easy way to implement web content filtering to block pornography that can be set up on sonicwall in a few clicks. Maybe I need to do more research in AP security settings. As it stands now three hours from reading and organizing documentation to setup is really good for initial user experience. I will need to work with colleagues on fine tuning AP130 for different SSIDs to different client connectivity options.
three step process to verify account, and get password set up.
Aerohive communitry forums: https://community.aerohive.com/aerohive
learning what's new documentation:
http://www.aerohive.com/330000/docs/help/english/ng/learning-whats-new.htm
After setting up password, I assume I am in my online HiveManager account. It starts out listing steps for getting started. Currently have 7 different tabs open and have reviewed online documentation, including storing reference material in Google Drive. However not feeling overwhelmed and liking the planning walk through currently in home screen.
Next? Onboarding Access Point or Look at log-in and log-out settings as well as two factor config.
The online and included paper documentation suggest onboarding device... I believe I want to learn a little more about the sign-in features.
Account details look really straight forward. There is logging information and device management settings I need to get familiar with. Going ahead and logging out.
https://cloud.aerohive.com/login#/login
Account sign-in is set up with email address. Reset of forgotten password is with send email link at page. Very user friendly for users that do not store passwords well.
Onboarding access point is connecting the access point to router with dhcp. I am plugging directly into ISP home router bypassing my TZ215 for easiest access. I need to get more familiar with setting up multiple WAN uplinks through VLAN enabled switch. It would be appropriate to set up policy with multiple SSID and routing LAN access through SonicWall. That setup will need to be for later date, also would like an appropriate network switch with VLAN tags to test with.
However setting up initial Wifi policy for simple PSK WLAN access is easy and straight forward. I have had to go back through the policy and hit the upload button for the new SSID to show up on wireless devices. Also another thing to point out is that the access point 130 is packaged well but does not come with any patch cables. Installation will require separate purchase or already own patch cables for deployment.
I am going to turn off SonicWall Wifi, no need for two different services running at the same time.
Now time to test connectivity for home devices...
HTC one is connected well; Google streaming video and music, pulling up news, and refreshed reddit all really well.
Dashboard is showing three clients connected and showing host name on PCs and android os for third client. Awesome user tracking right there.
I am not seeing an easy way to implement web content filtering to block pornography that can be set up on sonicwall in a few clicks. Maybe I need to do more research in AP security settings. As it stands now three hours from reading and organizing documentation to setup is really good for initial user experience. I will need to work with colleagues on fine tuning AP130 for different SSIDs to different client connectivity options.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
DSG Data Protection
http://www.dell.com/learn/us/en/04/software-data-protection
So a large challenge facing many businesses of all sizes is managing data. Both structured and unstructured data is increasing by anywhere from 40 to 60 percent according to IDC. Unstructured data is getting stored anywhere and everywhere; While structured data gives better insight with the more information that you can give it. Both Forrester and Ponemon research says that on average it takes a full day to recover from an outage and half the time there is lost data when doing the restore.
Dell's point of view is a compelling reason to put together the best in class software with hardware to provide a simplified data protection plan that is affordable and provides return on investment throughout data management life cycle.
Dell has a number of options that can be combined specific to the business's cost, performance, and goals. Dell Software portfolio protects physical, virtual, and cloud environments. Each of these solutions is built and proven at a few terabytes to full rack scale out architecture.
We have a teams of talented people who would like to talk about the organization's data classification, recovery objectives, and IT infrastructure. Then putting together a particular plan that fits the business RPO and RTO objectives. These plans can range from business critical applications backed up every 15 minutes to deduped, compressed, encrypted, and fully replicated offsite disaster recovery solution.
Really quickly:
NetVault allows us to back up nearly everything out there in the market for a disk to disk to tape solution. NetVault allows organizations to make the most of existing resources.
vRanger is our agentless virtual machine backup software. It backs up both VMware and Hyper-V. It is the only agentless VM backup software on the market that I know of.
AppAssure is the king of RPO and RTO with continous system, data, and application protection. This software technology backups only the block changes as frequently as 5 minutes.
The DL4000 appliance that is purpose built appliance for AppAsure has Live Recovery technology allowing you to restore user access to application and terabytes of data in mere minutes.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Six Steps to SIEM Success
Checking out AlienVault and taking notes:
SIEM event collection and correlation engine (fancy words for a database).
It is an extra layer of management on top of the different layers of defense that should be in place.
It gives you a lens to focus in on an event or chain of events (through if/then statements).
It looks at events in a particular order from different equipment from the network.
Different pieces of the defense:
IDS, intrusion detection services
HIDS, host intrusion detection services
Services Logs
Asset Management
SIEM is to bring these layers of management together but this database does not give good data back unless it is fed good data consistently in the first place.
SIEM event collection and correlation engine (fancy words for a database).
It is an extra layer of management on top of the different layers of defense that should be in place.
It gives you a lens to focus in on an event or chain of events (through if/then statements).
It looks at events in a particular order from different equipment from the network.
Different pieces of the defense:
IDS, intrusion detection services
HIDS, host intrusion detection services
Services Logs
Asset Management
SIEM is to bring these layers of management together but this database does not give good data back unless it is fed good data consistently in the first place.
Monday, June 29, 2015
best article I have seen on U.S. Was Warned Office of Personnel Management Hack
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/06/us/chinese-hackers-may-be-behind-anthem-premera-attacks.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
This thing is turning political... It was the lack of access controls that were never put in place and not reviewed on any type of schedule.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Wednesday, June 24, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
ASM vs. UCS
http://www.principledtechnologies.com/Dell/Dell_ASM_simplify_deployment_0415.pdf
There is UCS Manager and Director...
Director uses service templates for getting set up and running. Building your own wizard for the service templates with the Cisco solution requires in-depth knowledge of Cisco UCS service profiles, hardware components, and add-in components necessary to perform bare-metal deployments.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Dell Networking Positioning
We need to look at the solution from an application, data, or workload perspective.
The differentiators are really
1. Choice of Operating System that we offer – this list is growing
2. Feature rich OS9 including VLT, VRF, OA
3. End-to-end Dell story including Server / Storage
The differentiators are really
1. Choice of Operating System that we offer – this list is growing
2. Feature rich OS9 including VLT, VRF, OA
3. End-to-end Dell story including Server / Storage
If we need to deliver a large workload through the network, we can do it.
need to reformat a couple of computers around the house
ZDnet links for archive
1. http://www.zdnet.com/article/seven-perfectly-legal-ways-to-get-windows-7-cheap-or-even-free/
above link has below links...
2. http://www.zdnet.com/article/finally-some-answers-to-windows-7-upgrade-questions/
3. http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-prepares-windows-anytime-upgrade-v2/
OK so after doing some shopping and for considerations of time. The upgrade process direct from M$ is less than $100. The system restore disk that I need to create with golden image will be worth $98 for Windows 7 Pro.
steps for setting up pc:
1. http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN127699/EN
I personally don't recommend McAfee for personal use. There is lighter and free scan tools available for consumer PCs. I recommend McAfee and other enterprise AV subscription solutions for enterprise though.
2. http://www.pcworld.com/article/2108245/the-right-way-to-set-up-a-new-pc.html
next:
set up computer for remote desktop windows 7
Going to need to buy windows 8.1 for upcoming gaming pc for oculus...
Also need to nut up for Server 2008 for small 5 pc network. :(
best link so far:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html
Thursday, June 4, 2015
BSN BCF underlay for NSX-v
I am saving this link here to watch later:
http://www.bigswitch.com/videos/demo-big-cloud-fabric-support-for-vmware-nsx
also check out:
http://labs.bigswitch.com/users/login
http://www.bigswitch.com/videos/demo-big-cloud-fabric-support-for-vmware-nsx
also check out:
http://labs.bigswitch.com/users/login
Tuesday, April 21, 2015
8 SonicWall webinars that are great training resources
These webinars are great resources for new customers and
partners. Upon viewing their first BrightTalk webinar, the customer
will need to register an account – after that, they can view all the
webinars anytime from anywhere. Here are the titles and links to
the 8 webinars, as well as the links to the KB articles that answer the
questions. The Security Services
Webinar was a special webinar for Sales and does not include a Q&A
KB. A visual list of, as well as links to, all webinars is also seen by
simply navigating to https://www.brighttalk.com/channel/5052
1.) Best Practices: Site to site VPN on SonicOS
Q&A KB:
2.) Best Practices: NAT Policies on SonicOS
Q&A KB:
3.) Best Practices: How firewalls and security services work
together
**Special Webinar: No Q&A KB
4.) Best Practices: Optimal Firmware Management
Q&A KB:
5.) Best Practices: High Availability on Dell SonicWALL
https://www.brighttalk.com/webcast/5052/123057
*This is an encore presentation of 120983*
Q&A KB:
6.) Best Practices: Content Filter Part 1 - User/Group
Policies
Q&A KB:
7.) Best Practices: Content Filtering Part 2 - Application
Rules
Q&A KB:
8.) Best Practices: GMS and Analyzer - Getting the most out
of Reports
Q&A KB:
Monday, April 20, 2015
Gartner Vendor rating: Dell - Positive
http://www.gartner.com/technology/reprints.do?id=1-2C6IMXJ&ct=150324&st=sb
http://onedellway.us.dell.com/blogs/odw/archive/2015/04/17/and-gartner-s-rating-on-dell-is-in.aspx
Dell has emerged as a top four player in the data center networking space when measured by port shipments. It has also been the most-innovative and most-disruptive mainstream data center networking vendor in the market over the past 12 months. In January 2014, Dell announced support for a disaggregated new switching paradigm allowing organizations to run third-party networking OS software on select Dell hardware. Combined with continued advances in the data center portfolio (high-performance, fixed form factor switches and integrated blade switches), Dell now offers a compelling alternative for many data center use cases. On the campus front, Dell has enhanced its switch offerings, and continues to offer an OEM wireless offering to complete the portfolio.
http://onedellway.us.dell.com/blogs/odw/archive/2015/04/17/and-gartner-s-rating-on-dell-is-in.aspx
Networking: Positive
Dell has emerged as a top four player in the data center networking space when measured by port shipments. It has also been the most-innovative and most-disruptive mainstream data center networking vendor in the market over the past 12 months. In January 2014, Dell announced support for a disaggregated new switching paradigm allowing organizations to run third-party networking OS software on select Dell hardware. Combined with continued advances in the data center portfolio (high-performance, fixed form factor switches and integrated blade switches), Dell now offers a compelling alternative for many data center use cases. On the campus front, Dell has enhanced its switch offerings, and continues to offer an OEM wireless offering to complete the portfolio.
Network Security: Positive
Dell entered the network security market with the acquisition of SonicWALL in May 2012. SonicWALL is well-known in the unified threat management market, and is a current market leader in our most-recent iteration of "Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management." Dell has continued to invest in its research and development of the SonicWALL technology, with emphasis on intrusion prevention signature development. The company has shifted its emphasis to add enterprise sales to the traditional SonicWALL small or midsize business (SMB) customer base during the last two years, and this has created some challenges with execution. Recent product announcements have been viewed as positive for its network security product lines, and demonstrated that the company is getting back on track after the disruptions caused by the SonicWALL acquisition and business integration process.Wednesday, April 15, 2015
Three Key Takeaways from Dell’s 2015 Threat Report
http://en.community.dell.com/dell-blogs/direct2dell/b/direct2dell/archive/2015/04/13/three-key-takeaways-from-dell-s-2015-threat-report
As organizations are contending with unprecedented challenges in combating cyber criminals, we notice that the sophistication and volume of attacks on enterprises are growing. The threat report identifies multiple findings, including three of particular note:
As organizations are contending with unprecedented challenges in combating cyber criminals, we notice that the sophistication and volume of attacks on enterprises are growing. The threat report identifies multiple findings, including three of particular note:
- A surge in point-of-sale (POS) malware
- A dramatic increase in encrypted traffic
- Growing attacks on SCADA systems.
Monday, April 6, 2015
CRN article: Dell Aims To Take A Bite Out Of Cisco With New Enterprise Talent
http://www.crn.com/news/data-center/300076393/dell-aims-to-take-a-bite-out-of-cisco-with-new-enterprise-talent.htm/pgno/0/1?itc=hp_ots
In a prepared statement after his appointment on March 23, Perez said he sees Dell's "best days" ahead. "It’s very clear the industry is moving towards software-defined data centers running on industry standard x86 servers, and Dell, with its strength in compute and storage, and growing networking portfolio, is poised to lead this transition," he said. "I am thrilled to be at the center of architecting and designing the solutions that enable customers to achieve this vision and to do so powered by Dell."
My bet is on history repeating itself for virtualization technology and software defined architecture, built on industry standard hardware.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Dell Networking Z9500 performance validation whitepaper by Miercom
Dell Networking Z9500 Performance Validation by Miercom
Our testing of the Z9500 primarily addressed performance and energy efficiency. For performance testing, traffic was directed across the switching fabric. The results of the following performance tests are included here:
RFC 2544 Layer 2 throughput and latency operating in store-and-forward mode
RFC 2889 Layer 2 and 3 throughput and latency operating in both store-and forward mode and cut-through mode
RFC 3393 Layer 2 jitter (latency variance) operating in store-and-forward mode
Among the key test results:
-In store-and-forward mode, the Z9500 transmits Layer 2 packets of all sizes (64 to 9,216 bytes) at full line-rate on all 132 x 40GE ports, with zero loss and with low latency.
Operating in both store-and-forward and cut-through modes, the Z9500 readily transmits Layer 3 packets of all sizes (70 to 9,216 bytes) at full line-rate with zero loss and with low latency.
The Z9500 exhibits impressively low Layer 2 jitter (latency variance) while operating in store-and-forward mode.
-The switch consumes a comparatively respectful 15.65 watts per 40GE port, with all 132 x 40GE ports handling a random mix of Layer 2 packet sizes, 64 to 9,216 bytes, at 100 percent full load.
-Experienced zero loss of Layer 2 minimum-size (64-byte) packets during a 15- hour test that applied traffic across the switching fabric on all 132 x 40GE ports.
The review also verified these characteristics of the Z9500:
-The 3RU (three rack units, about 5 ¼ inches) chassis houses a switching fabric and 11 IO modules. Each IO module supports 12 x 40GE ports.
-The switching fabric includes six Broadcom Trident II chipsets while each IO module has one – a system total of 17 Trident II chipsets.
-Load balancing is achieved by dynamically directing traffic across the switching fabric.
-The switch functions perfectly with only two of its four load-balancing, hot-swappable power supplies in operation.
-Internal sensors monitor the temperature to ensure the switch stays within operating range, and dynamically vary the speed of the cooling fans to save energy.
Software defined what???
Historically there is silos of information: Compute, Network, and Storage.
Each had their own stack of technology to manage and teams to handshake for them to inter-operate.
Frankly, this is still the case in most medium and large business organizations.
There will be a reliance on obsolete hardware and software in small shops where you have a single IT guy wearing multiple hats for the foreseeable future. A new type of consultant will become mainstream though called the cloud admin. They can start out in the public cloud and then bring that same technology in house for economy of scale for a private cloud. They know how to create an abstraction layer between the hardware and software.
Cloud technology and starting with server (compute) virtualization there is major shifts happening in the IT industry. Cloud technology is in constant flux and therefore there are many different opinions of an exact definition of "Cloud." According to my definition (that has a Dell bias), it is using software on top of industry standard hardware to disaggregate the physical control plane from the data plane.
Most IT shops have done exactly this with virutalizing some or most of their servers to best optimize use the hardware and provide quick application recovery or migration. Web scale data centers are doing this with not only the server virtualization but also the storage and networking pieces as well.
On the storage side of things we are not managing the spindles anymore, we are managing the bits of data. The software managing the spindles can allow RAID 10 writes and RAID 5 reads on the same spindle. However it goes even further with hyper-converged solutions (openstack or nutanix) where the all the compute and storage can fit on any node within the datacenter.
The best description I have received for these sever node environments is that we need to stop treating servers as puppies and instead treat them like cattle. You cannot spend hours setting up the server just right, you know treating it like a puppy. You need software that automates the provisioning of the hardware to a few minutes and shoving as much hardware into a confined space, you know like corralling cattle for a stockyard.
The last piece I would like to write about is the software defined networking. Again using software to disaggregate the control plane from the data (forwarding) plane on industry standard hardware. There is three different paths to currently do this. First is with open source operating systems running on the switch that allows Linux automation tools to setup the hardware. Second is overlay solution that plugs into the management center of a hypervisor environment. Third would be a control plane solution requiring either a virutal or hardware controller that is the central brain of the entire fabric. All this choice is causing confusion since there is so many choices to make. Also the solutions are innovating at break neck speeds.
However isn't that the better business problem to have versus being stuck with a single vendor's hardware box as the only choice for deployment and innovation?
Each had their own stack of technology to manage and teams to handshake for them to inter-operate.
Frankly, this is still the case in most medium and large business organizations.
There will be a reliance on obsolete hardware and software in small shops where you have a single IT guy wearing multiple hats for the foreseeable future. A new type of consultant will become mainstream though called the cloud admin. They can start out in the public cloud and then bring that same technology in house for economy of scale for a private cloud. They know how to create an abstraction layer between the hardware and software.
Cloud technology and starting with server (compute) virtualization there is major shifts happening in the IT industry. Cloud technology is in constant flux and therefore there are many different opinions of an exact definition of "Cloud." According to my definition (that has a Dell bias), it is using software on top of industry standard hardware to disaggregate the physical control plane from the data plane.
Most IT shops have done exactly this with virutalizing some or most of their servers to best optimize use the hardware and provide quick application recovery or migration. Web scale data centers are doing this with not only the server virtualization but also the storage and networking pieces as well.
On the storage side of things we are not managing the spindles anymore, we are managing the bits of data. The software managing the spindles can allow RAID 10 writes and RAID 5 reads on the same spindle. However it goes even further with hyper-converged solutions (openstack or nutanix) where the all the compute and storage can fit on any node within the datacenter.
The best description I have received for these sever node environments is that we need to stop treating servers as puppies and instead treat them like cattle. You cannot spend hours setting up the server just right, you know treating it like a puppy. You need software that automates the provisioning of the hardware to a few minutes and shoving as much hardware into a confined space, you know like corralling cattle for a stockyard.
The last piece I would like to write about is the software defined networking. Again using software to disaggregate the control plane from the data (forwarding) plane on industry standard hardware. There is three different paths to currently do this. First is with open source operating systems running on the switch that allows Linux automation tools to setup the hardware. Second is overlay solution that plugs into the management center of a hypervisor environment. Third would be a control plane solution requiring either a virutal or hardware controller that is the central brain of the entire fabric. All this choice is causing confusion since there is so many choices to make. Also the solutions are innovating at break neck speeds.
However isn't that the better business problem to have versus being stuck with a single vendor's hardware box as the only choice for deployment and innovation?
Thursday, March 12, 2015
List of Dell Networking Campus links
Dell Virtual rack : http://dellnetworkingvr.dell.com/
Dell Networking Campus Switching Reference Architecture: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20439122
QRLDell Networking videos:
Dell Networking Guides: http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/networking/p/guides
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Monday, March 2, 2015
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Dell Networking Campus Reference Architecture
whitepaper can be downloaded at:
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20439122
Friday, February 20, 2015
Thursday, February 12, 2015
Art Fewell's New NetworkWorld Blog - Interview with JR Rivers - Please view and share!
http://www.networkworld.com/article/2881984/cisco-subnet/cumulus-networks-ceo-jr-rivers-on-whats-hot-for-open-computing-in-2015.html
IT admins need to become Cloud admins.
The IT admin needs to be able to start a company from cloud
resources and then at a point of scale they need to be able to bring that cloud technology on premises (private).
'what do you really really want?' In the end it always turns into 'I want a big fat free bus'. So I want really high-capacity network. I want it (the network) to not get in my way.
Cumulus' perspective is moving the networking industry into that same evolved barrier of super high capacity interconnect, easy to deploy, easy to deploy at scale, works easily & is easy to acquire. Its kind of affordable capacity that's easy to get out there and that's what drives us in pretty much everything that we do.
'what do you really really want?' In the end it always turns into 'I want a big fat free bus'. So I want really high-capacity network. I want it (the network) to not get in my way.
Cumulus' perspective is moving the networking industry into that same evolved barrier of super high capacity interconnect, easy to deploy, easy to deploy at scale, works easily & is easy to acquire. Its kind of affordable capacity that's easy to get out there and that's what drives us in pretty much everything that we do.
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
m1000e midplane v1.1
Blade Chassis Midplane v1.1
M-Series technology transition
from 10Gb XAUI to 10Gb KR - switches and mezz cards/LOMs must be the same type
to talk to each other (i.e. all XAUI or all KR).
10GbE LOM/NDC (Fabric A) on
M710HD is only supported with M1000e chassis shipped after January 2011.
Otherwise we would need to have end user check the Chassis Health tab of the CMC Web-based interface, GUI.
Lastly end user can look at the back
chassis for fabric A and look for a square symbol below the A fabric. If the symbol is a
triangle, then they have midplane 1.0.
BSN - Big Switch Networks - Solutions for Big Tap and BCF - Big Cloud Fabric
Media
Headlines:
Currently putting together a solution for Big Tap.
Single Controller solution with 94 10GbE SFP+ to identify and sort traffic.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
new cool tools for Dell server, storage and networking
This tool is very simple to
navigate and has a great deal of information.
Storage: http://dellstoragevr.dell.com/
Servers: http://dellservervr.dell.com/
Networking: http://dellnetworkingvr.dell.com/
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Dell chassis converged infrastructure: VMWare, M1000e, MXL, PS6210XS, S4810P
Since stacking does take down the entire stack when upgrading firmware, this is not considered best practice for all enterprise environments. VLT between MXLs can provide full redundancy and performance but not same performance as stacking.
Dell switch configuration guides for Equallogic or Compellent SANs
http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/storage/w/wiki/4250.switch-configuration-guides-for-equallogic-or-compellent-sans
I didn't realize how hard this was to find until it was lost...
I didn't realize how hard this was to find until it was lost...
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Aruba wireless
Enterprise solution with an enterprise price.
It have capabilities for large deployment services and integration with multiple wired environments.
http://www.arubanetworks.com/products/airwave/
http://www.arubanetworks.com/products/clearpass/
Guess what? It is in the software, not the hardware that I would be positioning this solution for the win.
Reminds me of a term; software defined networking.
Which is a term completely all to itself and actually completely different than the two softwares above... except not really. There is a virtual solution to clearpass. so maybe not...
SDN is being sold to universities and enterprises with development budgets. The technology is still evolving and man is it interesting.
It have capabilities for large deployment services and integration with multiple wired environments.
http://www.arubanetworks.com/products/airwave/
http://www.arubanetworks.com/products/clearpass/
Guess what? It is in the software, not the hardware that I would be positioning this solution for the win.
Reminds me of a term; software defined networking.
Which is a term completely all to itself and actually completely different than the two softwares above... except not really. There is a virtual solution to clearpass. so maybe not...
SDN is being sold to universities and enterprises with development budgets. The technology is still evolving and man is it interesting.
new focus - storage
www.Dell.com/storage
MD equals flexibility. Add storage in multiple ways. Gives you choice in dependable hardware as to how to expand.
Equalogics equals simplicity. frame-less architecture. It is easy to expand performance and capability linearly. IT admins wearing multiple hats can setup and manage this solution.
Compellent equals total cost of ownership. Once data has been written to disk it is typically read a few times and then needs to be moved deep and cheap jbod. Data progression on CML gives you best disk useage for your workloads and storage's resources.
MD equals flexibility. Add storage in multiple ways. Gives you choice in dependable hardware as to how to expand.
Equalogics equals simplicity. frame-less architecture. It is easy to expand performance and capability linearly. IT admins wearing multiple hats can setup and manage this solution.
Compellent equals total cost of ownership. Once data has been written to disk it is typically read a few times and then needs to be moved deep and cheap jbod. Data progression on CML gives you best disk useage for your workloads and storage's resources.
52 user firewall and wireless solution.
Thursday I helped someone before going to meet my mom for lunch, and it made me happy...
There is an Oklahoma business that is now part of my linkedin profile that hopefully buys SonicWall.
Business has/had Tz210 and the processor and memory was at full capacity. It needed to be replaced. They currently have 52 users behind the firewall and are expecting growth.
They wanted wireless but need multiple access points. Not positive of the amount needed but know need more than one.
Explained that they better not go with the built-in access point. The built-in access point allow seamless roaming with the newer 802.11ac SoniPoints.
Customer obviously wants to stick with SonicWall, they also want to take advantage of the layer 7 visibility in the user interface. Threat prevention services in SonicWall are enterprise capable and easy to use. The user data integrates with active directory and shows per user data.
Through a lot of work (any NAC takes considerable configuration) it has a service capable to decrypt and reencrypt user LAN/WAN traffic in real time.
This small business user does not need that level of visibility though. Just need LAN and Guest services. The guest services has a policy on it to only allow internet service. Default rules are on LAN zone only.
The business in this case will only need to transfer the config from the TZ210 to the NSA2600 to start off. I would suggest working through old config to set up new firewall policy. Also suggest updating documentation (including getting rid of outdated) policies in secure encrypted file. This would provide a good end user and guest policy document for proper use and connectivity of business network.
Suggest NSA2600 with 3 year secure upgrade option and 2 of the new 802.3AC access points. The 3 year secure upgrade provides a year of comprehensive gateway security suite for free. (or just the way I like to explain the upfront discount of the sku)
I am interested in how it turns out.
Monday, January 5, 2015
Getting Lubuntu 14.04.1 to boot on old Dell XPS system
Decided to go with Lubuntu for the lightweight OS for 7 year old Dell Vista system. 32 bit version...
So far stable with no problems.
Now trying to get wireless Broadcom card to work.
using these links for instructions.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/500819/wireless-bcm4318-not-working
going with option 2.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BroadcomSTA%28Wireless%29
about to reboot and see if this old thing has wireless.
Update: step-son has been using for couple weeks now. No crashes and has been stable, cheap solution for web surfing.
So far stable with no problems.
Now trying to get wireless Broadcom card to work.
using these links for instructions.
http://askubuntu.com/questions/500819/wireless-bcm4318-not-working
going with option 2.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BroadcomSTA%28Wireless%29
about to reboot and see if this old thing has wireless.
Update: step-son has been using for couple weeks now. No crashes and has been stable, cheap solution for web surfing.
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