The Strong One

Use an LTE in a seamless, fast-failover state to improve network resilience. Back up a primary circuit with LTE for an easy-to-deploy, always-on network. Perfect for small businesses that rely on Internet-based systems and applications, the Seamless LTE Back-up deployment scenario is perfect for mid-sized restaurants and multi-transaction businesses. Restaurants need the Internet for their Point-of-Sale systems, online ordering and delivery platforms, music/video streaming, customer WiFi and myriad other back-office applications. Keep the restaurant running with always-on connectivity. Find out more about the product over here at Multapplied.

How often do you see the phrase “no rules” apply to a technology offering? In today’s world of tightly governed licensing models and end user agreements, it’s pretty rare. So, our customers sometimes look at us funny when we tell them that we can provide SD-WAN on their terms. No rules. Plain and simple. In short, we offer a closed source, open architecture platform that you can use to white label SD-WAN as your own offering. What you do with our platform is up to you. You have the freedom to sell it at a 5%, or a 500% markup, and to manage it however you deem fit. You even have the freedom to cancel at any time, no questions asked, if you don’t like it. Multapplied is sold as a subscription, with a licensing model that scales with your sales growth on a per site basis. We provide you with lightning-fast connectivity (supported by aggregated bandwidth and same IP Failover) and enable you to create WANs across multiple connections and geographies. How you handle the rest i

When NASA wanted to phone home from outer space, a company it chose to help make the call was Snapt, a start-up from Johannesburg backed by billionaires Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer that has now landed in Silicon Valley.  Snapt founder Dave Blakey was just 14 when, together with his father, he started a computer company that developed hardware to manage bandwidth. Now his company Snapt does much and more of the same thing — helping manage computer traffic, balance loads among servers and accelerate Web flow — but in software format. * Read the full article over at TechCentral .

The In Conversation series is an opportunity for us to talk to the people who make up the Victory Square Technologies subsidiary family, giving you a look at who they are and what they do.   Our latest sit-down is with Geoff Hultin, President of Multapplied Networks Inc. Fresh off of being listed as a Vendor of Note in Gartner Inc.’s Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure Report, VST’s James Graham caught up with Geoff to learn more about how Multapplied helps provide the infrastructure that keeps today’s internet running. Read the interview over at Victory Square over here .

Microsoft is ready to start serving Africa with local data centers, bringing its previously announced South African data centers online Wednesday.  Microsoft had originally promised to bring data centers in Johannesburg and Cape Town online in 2018, but even given that brief delay it will become the first of the major cloud providers to provide local service to Africa. IBM operates data centers in South Africa but doesn’t provide nearly the breadth and depth of cloud computing services that the other companies do, while Amazon Web Services announced plans last October to bring a South African data center online in 2020. Read the article over at geekwire over here .

Avi Freedman, Co-founder and CEO of Kentik, demonstrates how to build a monitoring dashboard for cloud-native applications during the Packet Pushers Virtual Design Clinic 4 held on March 14, 2019. The presentation is a mix of slides and live demonstration of a microservices-based Sock Shop running in Google Compute Platform. Kentik ingests GCP flow records, parses the metadata, and displays exactly how the components of the Sock Shop are interacting with each other and the outside world. The data was created on-the-fly by the live attendees of this presentation browsing the demo Sock Shop. Register for the next Packet Pushers Virtual Design Clinic at https://packetpushers.net/vdc . They are free, and you won't get any follow up messages unless you opt-in to receive them. Packet Pushers has lots of other material aimed at IT engineers & networkers. Visit https://packetpushers.net and subscribe to our podcast network--over 1,000 episodes in our archives, with fresh

A new milestone has been achieved! This version provides improvements in the the discovery algorithm, the device backup (adding comparison to saved configs) and many frontend enhancements! Read the article over at NeDi over here .

Multapplied SD-WAN is changing the way Service Providers network. Multapplied SD-WAN is more than software, it’s a business platform; Our white label, multitenant SD-WAN allows you to build your brand, reduce your costs, and maximize your revenues and profits. The best part is that we support you every step of the way – we provide 24/7 technical support to our customers. Watch the video below to not only learn more about SD-WAN but why Multapplied SD-WAN is the cost effective service you need. Check out our Video page for more.     

In the ever-evolving landscape of enterprise networking, the shift from Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) to Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) has become a strategic imperative. This transition promises enhanced flexibility, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, but navigating the complexities of implementation requires careful planning and execution. Let's delve into the intricacies of this transition, from understanding the fundamentals to crafting a seamless action plan. Understanding the Basics: MPLS vs. SD-WAN MPLS, a stalwart of enterprise networking for over two decades, offers reliable connectivity through a hub-and-spoke architecture. However, its rigid structure and high costs are becoming prohibitive in today's dynamic environment. Enter SD-WAN, a revolutionary approach that decouples the network control mechanism from the underlying hardware, enabling agile and efficient networking. Why Transition from MPLS to SD-WAN? Flexibility & Ease of Set-up: S

Following on from our Day in the life of a NOC Engineer with Raf, we spend the day showing you what one of our Service Delivery Manager's at Custodian Data Centres gets up to! Custodian Data Centres is a data centre and networks provider based in the heart of Kent, England, UK. The data centre hosts mission critical IT for industry leading organisations, all the way down to local business. Visit our website: www.custodiandc.com

Follow our NOC Team Leader, Raf, on a typical night shift for an engineer at our 24/7/365 data centre in Kent.

Every month we’ll be highlighting a feature and delving into what it can do for you, the Service Provider, or your end-customers. This month I’ll be talking about split tunneling or “Tunnel Bypass” as we call it.  This Blog defines Tunnel Bypass, provides an overview of what it can do for you, and illustrates the use of Tunnel Bypass with a couple use-cases.  Read the blog post over at Multapplied over here .

Despite multiple benefits, there are various issues which have negatively impacted the rate of adoption of SDWAN, including scepticism about Internet performance; multiple vendors entering an already vendor-heavy market; and vendors confusing clients by implying that SDWAN is a plug and play solution which they can simply manage on their own - resulting in indecision when it comes to outsourcing the WAN.  Of course, there is the natural resistance to change that comes with emerging technology, however, SDWAN is a compelling option for businesses because of the cost savings, improved agility and availability, and ability to act as a risk management tool.     Read the blog post over at Internet Solutions over here .

Software defined wide area networking (SDWAN) promises to provide path protection that would negate the negative consequences of what happened at Gatwick airport. However, it is a bit of a fly in the ointment. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

In the realm of South African networking, a historical lack of wireless spectrum allocation during the Zuma era has cast a long shadow. The absence of digital divide spectrum and associated challenges have stifled growth and network performance aggregation for years. However, let's not fall into the trap of assuming that licensed spectrum is the panacea for all networking woes. While it mitigates potential interference, it's not a silver bullet. User experience is a multifaceted metric influenced by a multitude of factors, spectrum allocation being just one piece of the puzzle. 🇿🇦📶 Here, we delve into the intricate attributes that shape the user experience in networking: Interference Woes: Interference reigns supreme as the biggest hurdle in wireless networks. Spectrum and power management, often poorly planned, can lead

As we traverse the technology landscape, reminiscing about the days of mainframes and POTS connections, it's fascinating to witness the profound transformation that has unfolded. The genesis of computing, with colossal machines and serial-based communications, foreshadowed the embryonic stages of what we now know as the cloud. Fast forward to today, and we find ourselves amid a confluence of two powerful forces: SD-WAN and the cloud. Cloud: The Reincarnation of Computer Bureaus In the nineties, computer bureaus were the go-to solution for enterprises seeking access to mainframes and mid-range systems. These facilities, equipped with Big Iron, served as the technological heartbeats of the era. POTS connections, running at a humble 2400 baud, were the lifelines connecting enterprises to these computing giants. The interfaces of the tim

The most significant cause of network down time is power outages at the customer premise. Surprisingly, a significant number of installations have no way of knowing the power status of remote sites. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

The sales pitch by service providers has always been that they are so good that before a client knows about a problem, they will receive a "pro-active" call telling them about it. Never mind, that the best possible notification between the customer and the service provider knowing about an outage is at the exact same time. Unless service providers start buying up the remaining inventory of De Loreans to enable themselves to time travel, the above mentioned sales pitch creates an unachievable expectation. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

At this point, most MSPs are well aware of the SD-WAN play.  It’s no secret that SD-WAN is a multi-billion do llar opportunity, and something that every MSP should be leveraging to deploy services, drive profits, acquire new customers and increase customer retention.  Unfortunately, most MSPs are still missing the point with SD-WAN—big time.  SD-WAN vendors are dangling mediocre incentives and rewards to MSPs who are offering their services, while they rake in profits. Here are some of the top mistakes that MSPs are making with SD-WAN.

Based on risk mitigations and industry norms, ISPs often contract SLA's based on these MTTRs. A poorly managed MTTR can result in heavy penalties or having to incur additional costs by correcting excessive times using more resources (either headcount or automated service tools) which might not be optimal. Another negative consequence would be customer churn. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn here .

A failure to fully manage and monitor CPE's is a primary failure of being proactive.A failure to fully manage and monitor CPE's is a primary failure of being proactive. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

One the most important steps predates any outage on a last mile link and that step needs to occur when it is provisioned. This is the commissioning test also known as the soak test. It is oft overlooked by fulfillment engineers in the hast to deliver the service to the client. However, the result is invariable a large amount of wasted time and effort during assurance. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

An important consideration is that the SDWAN eco-system actually aggregates and records the data usage. One immediate reason is that on a technology like LTE there might be a fixed data bucket of for example 50GB per month after which a higher out of bundle rate might apply. The device must know these parameters and be able to suspend an interface based on a rule associated with data usage. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn here .

It is often said in real estate that the three most important considerations are location, location and location. In SDWAN eco-systems this consideration is not even given a cursory glance. Mostly because this consideration is a service assurance issue and does not contribute to the product sale itself. However, a poorly supported product will result in a customer not buying another one. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

IBM Business Partner Fusion Broadband Pty. Ltd. teamed with IBM to migrate its software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) solutions to IBM® Cloud™. Now users can develop their own private proprietary networks, controlling the environment and flow of data from a single console. Read the article over at IBM here .

  In this article I'll concentrate on some of the important form factors for a SDWAN Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) networking device. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

Although SDWAN has a great use case in simplified provisioning there is also a great benefit when SDWAN gateways are used to provide networks service using multiple providers and media in the last mile. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn here .

Notwithstanding the primary goal of SDWAN is to remove complexity from wide area networking and make it a commodity.  As an example we have a few consumer networking devices such as a mobile phones and home fibre connections. Both these can be configured, setup and easily used by people with limited training and expertise. The same cannot be said about current wide area network deployments that are technically top heavy. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn here .

In the vast realm of modern networking, Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) stands out as the transformative technology that adds the much-needed special sauce to the plain pasta of traditional Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). It's not merely about connectivity; it's about orchestrating a symphony of network elements to create an enhanced and delectable experience. Let's dive into the magic sauce of SD-WAN and unravel the key ingredients that set it apart in the world of networking. 1. Visibility and Transparency: The Flavorsome Foundation Consider a well-seasoned pasta dish – it's not just about the noodles; the flavorsome sauce is what makes it remarkable. Similarly, SD-WAN brings the spice of visibility and transparency to networking. It grants organizations deep insights into their network operations, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of

Security can be a never-ending saga—a chronicle of increasingly sophisticated attacks, volumes of alerts, and long resolution timeframes where today’s Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) products can’t keep pace.  SecOps teams are inundated with a very high volume of alerts and spend far too much time in tasks like infrastructure set up and maintenance. As a result, many legitimate threats go unnoticed. An expected shortfall of 3.5M security professionals by 2021 will further increase the challenges for security operations teams. You need a solution that empowers your existing SecOps team to see the threats clearer and eliminate the distractions. Read the article by Eliav Levi over at Microsoft here .

Businesses looking to be successful in the competitive digital economy need to adopt for improved cloud access. Traditional networking solutions such as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) alone are no longer enough. Instead, businesses can now consider Software Defined Networks (SD-WAN), which is more advanced than traditional networking solutions and mitigates the disadvantages associated with traditional networking solutions.   Read the article over at MyBroadband over here . 

There are a number of important considerations to take into account when managing Customer Premise equipment (CPE).  This article written by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn highlights a few of these details.

While working for a network operator one of the things I realised was that of all the network outages which the Network Operations Centre (NOC) had to deal with, 80% of them were related to power. This is related to the CPE losing its power either from a trip, cabling being unplugged, or utility side outage. Of the remaining 20% of network outages, 80% are resolved by recycling the on premise networking kit. This implies only 4% of networking outages actually involve troubleshooting. However, in SDWAN development, vendors concentrate all of their efforts in that 4% and ignore the other 96%. Read the article by Ronald Bartels over at LinkedIn over here .

SD-WAN offers cost savings, improved reliability, security and more SD-WAN is the hottest new technology in networking and many distributed organizations have already or will soon adopt SD-WAN solutions. Here are 10 essential considerations for IT organizations weighing whether to adopt or expand their SD-WANs. The attraction of SD-WAN stems from the fact that it combines multiple physical WAN links into one logical network and provides traffic prioritization to accelerate performance of applications that are deployed in internal data centers and in clouds.Using network abstraction, SD-WAN improves the economics of branch connectivity by leveraging inexpensive circuits such as the Internet to address growing bandwidth requirements. SD-WAN is an overlay technology that maps new services – application prioritization, security, management – on top of existing physical networks. Here are 10 essential considerations when evaluating SD-WAN use.  

In the ever-evolving landscape of networking technologies, Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) have emerged as a powerful force, promising enhanced flexibility, improved performance, and cost-effective solutions. However, even in this realm of innovation, the dark side of SD-WAN lurks, presenting challenges that organizations must confront. Let's delve into the shadows and unmask the hidden challenges that might be undermining your SD-WAN experience. Stagnation in Innovation: When the Force Fades Away One of the primary challenges faced by organizations is when their SD-WAN vendor ceases to innovate. Whether due to shareholders prioritizing financial gains over innovation, as seen with Broadcom and VMware, or because the company has been sold and the creative minds have moved on, a stagnant SD-WAN vendor can hinder progress and leave organizations stranded in an era of outdated technology. Security Quandaries: The Quest for Fort Knox-level Protection Security is a critical

The head of the Department of Physics at Dresden was Professor Hallwachs, the discoverer of the photoelectric effect. Hallwachs had observed that when ultra-violet light struck the surface of a metallic plate, some of the electrons were dislodged at high velocities. If Einstein's and Planck’s new quantum theories were correct, the wavelength of the light should be proportional to the maximum velocity of the electrons. However, several attempts to demonstrate this had so far proved fruitless. Hallwachs brought this perplexing problem to van der Bijl’s attention and suggested that he look into it. This led to van der Bijl’s paper entitled "Zur Bestimmung der Erstenergien lichtelektrisch ausgeslöster Elektronen" [The Determination of the Initial Energies of Photoelectrically Liberated Electrons] being published in April 1913. Read the full history of van der Bijl over at Eskom here .

Traditional networks are no longer adequate to power your business. Today’s organizations are migrating to Cloud-based business applications to maximize resources and increase productivity. This results in the network becoming a critical bottleneck that can impact your bottom-line. Access the guide over at Multapplied over here .

Network administrators are looking for creative ways to get all the benefits of MPLS, but control costs and maintain uniformity across the WAN. To satisfy these requirements Multapplied Networks offers a technology used to create a consistent network platform that enhances communication and coordination – and to include the troublesome sites that are left out of their private network. Multapplied’s cutting edge technology allows enterprises to combine multiple low-cost Internet connections into a single, faster and more reliable connection onto which we layer a centralized firewall, end-to-end Quality of Service (QoS), and WAN monitoring and management. Create WANs made up of multiple connections, from multiple service providers, in multiple geographies – and apply global rules, alerts, and features easily. Learn how!  Multapplied Networks’ has recently published a solution brief that provides an SD-WAN Technical Overview! With Multapplied SD-WAN, you get robust reliabilit

Whether you are self-employed, a small or medium enterprise, a professional practice or a multi-faceted business, we offer a suite of business solutions tailored to your individual requirements. Partner with us for growth. Find out more about the product here .

Andy Wolber shows you how you can reduce spam with just two records added to your domain name system settings.  Google, like most major email providers, actively works to combat forged email, spam, and scam email. For the most part, their defenses work. Open your Gmail spam folder to see the Google spam fighting team's work. The vast majority of email there will be spam. Read the article over at TechRepublic over here .

A satellite technology map perspective All industries have jargon, acronyms and code words that make the experts look smarter while mostly just confuse the rest of us. Unfortunately, the satellite industry is no different, and with the recent new technology developments, this has further increased the general level of confusion in the market. While a detailed discussion might not help to clarify anything, the aim of this article is to provide first order context to managers and executives who have to engage in satellite-related discussions.  In principle terms, satellite services are designed to operate on different frequency bands – either C-band, Ku-band or Ka-band, and at different geographical locations relative to the earth – either low earth orbits (LEO), medium earth orbits (MEO) or geostationary satellites.  Since the telecommunication industry is now starting to use satellite services within all these parameters, the product and services di

This explainer video shows what goes on behind closed doors when Eskom repairs its boiler tube leaks. Such leaks were in part to blame for the most recent bout of load shedding. With over 650 km of tubing in a modern boiler, there's a lot of ground to cover. Repairers need to pass through holes the size of a car wheel to access the boilers. They're mainly there repair leaks  caused by fly ash erosion, which is due  to poor quality  coal.  Access and watch the video at BusinessTech over here .

When I started working at Librestream ten years ago, the idea of ‘remote expert guidance’ technology was brand new.  For those of you who have worked in a start-up environment, you’ll know the incredible passion and creativity it takes to bring the big idea to life and continue to evolve the solution. That passion still drives us to expand the capabilities through our product roadmap and strategic R&D initiatives. Read the blog post over at Librestream over here .

You cannot manage it if you don’t measure it A suitable set of metrics needs to be selected that can be used to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of Information Technology (IT). To assist in this selection the following important IT metrics to dashboard is provided: Service quality Analyse service quality, Improve service quality, Report service quality performance Create service performance deviation report, Track and manage service quality performance deviation Determine SLA transgressions, analyse SLA modifications. Close service quality deviation report Metrics being measured ·The service will be available x% of the time during business hours and x% of the time during non-business hours. Any outage in excess of x minutes (or x outages with 24 h

A new report from IHS Markit found that in the fourth quarter of 2018 the SD-WAN market grew 26 percent from the previous quarter to reach $359 million. This number includes appliance, control, and management software.  According to this most recent Data Center Network Equipment Market Tracker from IHS, VMware led the SD-WAN market in the quarter, with a revenue share of 20 percent. VMware’s worldwide SD-WAN revenue reached $73.2 million in Q4. It is followed closely by Cisco, at 14 percent with $48.8 million in revenue, and Aryaka at 12 percent with $41.2 million in revenue. Also trailing behind the top three are Silver Peak, Nuage Networks, Fortinet, and Huawei (in that order). Each of these vendors continues to see growth in the market. * Read the full article over at sdxcentral .

When it comes to networking equipment, the conventional model has often been one where network management is an aftermarket addition—like receiving a free set of steak knives with your kitchen purchase. The tools provided for network management are typically clumsy, dated, and based on SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol), a protocol that has been around since the era of pagers and faxes. Despite its age, SNMP has lingered, relying on centralized polling that results in limited edge processing. This outdated approach inundates Network Operations Centre (NOC) personnel with a flood of confusing and contradictory events, especially during outages when critical metrics are often only available retrospectively. Steak Knives in the SD-WAN Deal Enter Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN), a transformative technology designed to exch