Category: Blog

Networking used to be all about specialized “boxes,” but that era is fading fast.   By a specialized box, I mean a piece of hardware that was built to perform an individual function. Physical firewalls, routers, servers, load balancers, etc., are all examples of these different boxes, and they are still everywhere. But new technology […]

It’s fair to say that there has never been a bigger driver of network evolution than the cloud. The reason for this is the cloud is a fundamentally different kind of compute paradigm, as it enables applications, data, and architecture changes to be done seemingly instantly. Cloud-native infrastructure is what enables mobile app developers to […]

The technology that powers businesses is evolving faster than ever before, allowing us to do more than we ever thought possible. Things that were once only seen in science fiction movies are actually coming to life. One of these areas is the field of artificial intelligence (AI). We’re on the verge of having machines diagnose […]

The Open Compute Project began in 2011 when Facebook published the designs of some homebrew servers it had built to make its data centers run more efficiently. Facebook hoped that other companies would adopt and adapt its initial designs, pushing down costs and improving quality – and they have: Sales of hardware built to Open Compute […]

As long as I have been an industry analyst, network engineers have tried to build multifunction boxes that are capable of addressing a wide range of network functions. These all-purpose network boxes have been lost to history as single-function platforms optimized for network performance (e.g., router or WAN optimization) dominated the market. The branch network […]

There’s no question that Wi-Fi networks continue to grow in importance for most companies. Workers rely on it to do their jobs, students are being educated on mobile tablets, doctors are pulling up records at a patients’ bedside, and millions of Internet of Things (IoT) devices are now being connected to Wi-Fi.  Wireless is no […]

Last month it was Catalyst 9000 switches, and this month its routers. Yes, my project engineering staff have had a surprising amount of inquiries regarding routers. Routers vital to enterprise networks When looking at distribution for an enterprise network, well-planned routing is the key to success. Routers can be absolutely vital for networks, as they […]

The notion of disaggregation – separating the operating system and applications from the underlying hardware –  has always been a conundrum for Cisco.  In a nutshell, why would the company risk losing all of the millions of dollars in development and the key networking features tied up in current Cisco hardware and software packages? But […]

It’s not good enough to run cables and just hope they work, or simply say it’s all good if they provide a working network connection to the computer or device. You should double-check by testing or qualifying the cable runs before you call the job complete. You should use a tester to check if all […]

Cisco is well known for many things. It’s the world’s largest networking vendor, it has typically been the bell weather for IT spending, as it’s often predicted upticks or downticks in spending before other vendors, and its ability to catch market transitions has been remarkable, which is why it has a market leading position in […]