HP Discover and what F5 bring to the party
There are only a couple of weeks to go before HP Discover, taking place this year in Frankfurt on 4-6 December. HP is a big organisation with lots of end user and vendor touchpoints. The short video below, by F5's Alasdair Pattinson, lays out the main ways in which F5 and HP collaborate, namely in data centre consolidation projects, Bring Your Own Device initiatives, and smoothing and securing implementations of Microsoft Exchange.DNSSEC – the forgotten security asset?
An interesting article from CIO Online last month explained how DNS had been used to identify over 700 instances of a managed service provider’s customers being infected with malware. The MSP was able to determine the malware using DNS. As the article points out, a thirty year old technology was being used to defeat twenty-first century computer problems. In short DNS may be a viable means of identifying infections within networks quicker, because as well as security apps relying on DNS, the attackers do as well. DNS however still comes with its own unique security approach. The signature checking procedures outlined in the Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) specifications were deemed adequate for the protocols surrounding domain resolution. While the certificates offer security that is authenticated, the data is not encrypted, meaning that data is not confidential. The other problem with DNSSEC is that in the event of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) DNS Amplification attack on a DNS server, the processing of validation requests adds to the processor usage and contributes to slowdown. DNSSEC does, however, provide protection against cache poisoning and other malicious activities and remains part of the network security arsenal. At F5, our solution for the DNSSEC load problem was to integrate our DNSSEC to our BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager. The traffic manager handles all of the overhead processing requirements created during a DDOS DNS Amplification attack. The result is that the DNS Server can be left to function with no performance limitation. On top of this the F5 solution is fully compliant with international DNSSEC regulations imposed by governments, organisations and domain registrars. While DNSSEC may seem mature and even outdated for its security specifications, the correct application of technology, such as F5’s BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager delivers peace of mind over security, performance, resource and centralised management of your DNS.Context. SDN. Big Data. Security. Cloud.
That's right, something for everyone. F5 recently attended IP Expo in the UK. We had some speaker sessions at the event - some readers might have come along and seen them live. The event organisers did a nice job of filming the slots along with the slideware presented, and here they are: THE NETWORK FIREWALL IS REDUNDANT (NATHAN PEARCE) BIG DATA - A CONTEXTUAL GOLDMINE (NATHAN PEARCE) KEEPING APPLICATIONS RUNNING SMOOTHLY FROM THE CLOUD (NATHAN PEARCE) AUTOMATION & ORCHESTRATION - KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR SOFTWARE DEFINED DATA CENTRES (KEVIN WARE-LANE)VMworld 2012 Europe - Strobel's Scribblings, Part IV
The last installment...sniff...from F5's Frank Strobel at VMworld in Barcelona: One man's end is another's beginning... While VMworld EMEA 2012 came to an end today, something else saw its first light: @F5VMW The latest member to the F5 Twitter family was created to allow you - our valued user community - to better follow all news related to F5 and VMware. So, if you are not a follower yet, this is a great time to become one. We will be sharing updates on new solutions, new product integrations, tips & tricks including the latest from F5's own DevCentral, and - last but not least - updates from events such as VMworld, VMUGs, and many others. One of our first tweets from @F5VMW was a retweet about Charlie Cano's breakout session which took place today: Solving the Application Provisioning Nightmare: Integrating vSphere and vCloud Director with Your Application Delivery Networking Services (SPO2069). Together with Adina Simu from VMware, Charlie gave a repeat performance of this session from VMworld in San Francisco earlier this year. F5's deep integration with the vCloud Ecosystem Framework (vCEF) through VMware Ready for Networking & Security allows for an easier, automated, and seamless deployment of Application Delivery Networking (ADN) services by means of API-level communication between F5's management solution and VMware's vShield Manager. The ability to easily deploy vApps and the associated application delivery services in vSphere or vCloud Director using iApps has created a lot of interest with the VMworld attendees, both during the breakout session and during conversations at the booth. Click here to learn more about the VMware Ready Networking & Security program. So, while we say adios to Barcelona, we won't have to say farewell. Rumor has it that we will be returning to this beautiful city by the sea next year...VMworld 2012 Europe - Strobel's Scribblings, Part III
More from Frank Strobel, live from VMworld 2012 in Barcelona. Today, 16,000 feet and a tale of two booths... At the end of another 10+ hour day at VMworld in Barcelona, my feet started hating me. At least, they clearly express their displeasure about being used too much. At the same time, however, there are 16,000 feet here interested in our story. Countless of those feet found their way to our booth today. And, speaking of booths, there are some that seem to be always full of attendees and some that are not so much. Can you guess from the pictures which of those are F5's? Many of the visitors to our booth asked about yesterday's VXLAN announcement and we were excited to share our plans with them. In addition, Charlie Cano co-presented with Adina Simu from VMware in a repeat performance from VMworld in San Francisco. Their joint presentation, vCloud Networking: an Extensible and Open Platform, was a technical deep dive describing the wealth of offerings the vCloud Ecosystem Framework provides from known vendors in the virtual data center realm, with easy provisioning, flexible insertion points, and automated lifecycle. Here’s a photo of Charlie in action! Last but not least, as I have shared with you in previous blog entries, F5's support for VMware View continues to grow. The latest member of the family is the Branch Office Desktop solution that the View team announced at VMworld just yesterday. Once more we asked Lori Mac Vittie to help us understand what F5 is doing and, more importantly, how this is beneficial to customers deploying remote and branch office desktops. Please find Lori's latest blog entry here: Bye Bye Branch Office Blues As we are wrapping up the business day in Barcelona, we are looking forward to tonight's party. Although, my feet have already told me that dancing is out of the question. No Flamenco for this VMworld attendee...VMworld 2012 Europe - Strobel's Scribblings, Part II
Part II from our man on the ground, Frank Strobel, at VMworld Europe 2012 in Barcelona: What do motorcycles, tapas, and F5 have in common? Well, yes, that would be VMworld EMEA 2012. Let me explain... Today was the first full day of VMworld and we introduced the new F5 look & feel to EMEA. Not only do we have a beautiful new color scheme for our booth that aligns with the recently re-designed F5.com web site but we updated our messaging as well. The primary areas of focus are Orchestration, Management, and Control. One significant contribution to providing our customers with more control in their virtualized environments is F5's support for VMware's VXLAN we announced today. To gain a better understanding of what this means, please check out the blog entry from the fabulous Lori Mac Vittie:Getting You One Step Closer to a SDDC or F5’s latest press release here. As for motorcycles, we have a fun simulator in our booth. Come check us out at G100 and drive a Harley Davidson Fat Boy. Everyone is a winner and there are some special prizes for those driving the quickest lap! So, that leaves us with tapas. Those really have nothing to do with VMworld but because I love to eat, I thought that I should mention them. They are really, really good and the thought about enjoying another lovely dinner makes the long day at the event go by a little bit faster...Policy is key for protection in the cloud era
Today, companies host mission-critical systems such as email in the cloud, which contain both customer details, company-confidential information and without which, company operations would grind to a halt. Although cloud providers were forced to reconsider their security and continuity arrangements after the large cloud outages and security breaches last year, cloud users still have a number of challenges. Unless organisations work with a small, specialist provider, it is unlikely that they can guarantee where their data is stored, or the data handling policies of the cloud provider in question. Organisations frequently forget that their in-house data policies simply will not be exported to the cloud with their data. Authentication, authorisation and accounting services (AAA) are often cited as major concerns for companies using cloud services. Organisations need assurance of due process of data handling, or else a way to remove the problem so that they lose no sleep over cloud. Aside from problems with location, one of the main problems with cloud is that it does not lend itself to static security policy. For example, one of the most popular uses of cloud is cloudbursting, where excess traffic is directed to cloud resources to avoid overwhelming in-house servers, to spread traffic more economically or to spread the load when several tasks of high importance are being carried out at once. Firm policies about what kind of data can be moved to the cloud, at what capacity threshold, and any modifications which need to be made to data all need to be considered in a very short space of time. All of this needs to be accomplished whilst keeping data secure in transit, and with minimal management to avoid overloading IT managers at already busy times. Furthermore, organisations need to consider AAA concerns, making sure that data is kept in the right hands at all times. Organisations need to secure applications, regardless of location, and to do this, they need to be able to extend policy to the cloud to make sure that data stays safe, wherever it is. Using application delivery control enables companies to control all inbound and outbound application traffic, allowing them to export AAA services to the cloud. They should also make sure that they have a guarantee of secure tunnelling (i.e. via VPNs) which will make sure that data is secure in transit, as well as confirming that only the right users have access to it. Using some kind of secure sign on such as via two-factor authentication can also make sure that the right users are correctly authorised. In future, organisations may begin to juggle multiple cloud environments, balancing data between them for superior resilience, business continuity and pricing offers – often referred to as ‘supercloud’ - and this can be extremely complex. As company usage of cloud becomes more involved, managing and automating key processes will become more important so that cloud is an asset, rather than a millstone around the neck of IT departments.VMware’s Mobile Secure Desktop Bootcamp…
F5 features heavily on Day 4 of the VMware View Mobile Secure Desktop Bootcamp. Click through to VMware’s End User Computing Blog here (or see below) for free-on-demand training. As F5’s Lori MacVittie posts here, “by combining BIG-IP Global Traffic Manager (GTM) to provide global delivery services as well as BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM) for enhanced security and streamlined authentication and authorization to resources, IT organizations can realize higher gains in efficiency while assuring higher availability and performance for end-users, regardless of location. F5 components of the VMware View Mobile Secure Desktop solution architecture provide services critical to the successful deployment of virtual desktop initiatives.”Microsoft server virtualisation: 'How To' videos
We have added nine new videos to illustrate how F5 technologies help optimise specific applications and Microsoft server virtualisation solutions: Video 1:Introducing F5 Application Ready Solutions– Explains how F5 ® solutions can help improve performance for enterprise applications—such as those from Oracle, Microsoft, and IBM—while ensuring the best possible user experience. Videos 2–8:F5’s BIG-IP Configuration Series–Learn the basics of configuring aBIG-IP ® system for your Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 and SharePoint Server infrastructures, showcasing F5’sApplication Ready Templates. Video 2:BIG-IP Web GUI Navigation– Learn to navigate the BIG-IP GUI. Video 3:Exchange Application Template Part 1– Walkthrough of F5’s application template for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Video 4:Exchange Application Template Part 2– Continued overview of F5’s application template for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Video 5:Exchange SNAT Considerations – Configuring SNAT pools using F5’s application template for Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. Video 6:SharePoint GUI Walkthrough– Walkthrough of F5’s application template for Microsoft SharePoint Server. Video 7:SharePoint SSL Offloading– Configuring BIG-IP SSL offloading using F5’s application template for Microsoft SharePoint Server. Video 8:SharePoint Load Balancing and Optimizations– Configuring load balancing and optimization capabilities using F5’s application template for Microsoft SharePoint Server. Video 9:Server Virtualization with F5 and Microsoft– Illustrates how F5 can help you use Microsoft virtualisation and systems management technologies to move physically deployed applications into a virtual environment.Videos from F5's recent Agility customer / partner conference in London
A week or so ago, F5 in EMEA held our annual customer / partner conference in London. I meant to do a little write-up sooner but after an incredibly busy conference week I flew to F5's HQ in Seattle and didn't get round to posting there either. So...better late than never? One of the things we wanted to do at Agility was take advantage of the DevCentral team's presence at the event. They pioneered social media as a community tool, kicking off F5's DevCentral community (now c. 100,000 strong) in something like 2004. They are very experienced and knowledgeable about how to use rich media to get a message across. So we thought we'd ask them to do a few videos with F5's customers and partners about what drives them and how F5 fits in. Some of them are below, and all of them can be found here.
