IBM's POWER 750 Delivers Innovative Power
Huntington Beach, CA - Thursday, April 14th, 2011
The IBM Power® 750 Express® server model 8233-E8B delivers the outstanding performance of the POWER7® processor. The performance, capacity, energy efficiency and virtualization capabilities of the Power 750 Express make it an ideal consolidation, database or multiapplication server.
Utilize the full capability of the 8233-E8B by leveraging industrial-strength PowerVM™ virtualization for AIX®, IBM i, and Linux. PowerVM offers the capability to dynamically adjust system resources based on workload demands so that each partition gets the resources it needs. Active Memory™ Expansion is a new POWER7 technology that enables the effective maximum memory capacity to be much larger than the true physical memory. Innovative compression/decompression of memory content can enable memory expansion up to 100 percent. This can enable a partition to do significantly more work or enable a server to run more partitions with the same physical amount of memory.
The Power 750 Express is a one- to four-socket server that supports up to 32 cores with outstanding energy efficiency and diagnostic features in a 4U (EIA Units) package. The Power 750 / 8233-E8B is an ENERGY STAR®-qualified server designed with features to help clients become more energy efficient. IBM Systems Director Active Energy Manager™ exploits EnergyScale™ technology, enabling Intelligent Energy management features to dramatically and dynamically conserve power. These Intelligent Energy features enable the POWER7 processor to operate at a higher frequency if environmental conditions permit, for increased performance and performance per watt; or alternatively operate at a reduced frequency if user settings permit, for significant energy savings. The Power 750 also implements Light Path diagnostics, which provide an obvious and intuitive means to positively identify failing components.
Come see why so many clients are moving to IBM Power Systems™. Whether you need a reliable and efficient server consolidation platform or a high-performing multiapplication or database server, the Power 750 Express server is an ENERGY STAR-qualified server that can fulfill your requirements while using technology that provides innovation that sets your business apart from the competition. The Power 750 Express offers outstanding performance, industrial-strength PowerVM virtualization and a choice of AIX, IBM i or Linux operating systems.
http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/power/hardware/750/index.html
Speak with a CherrystoneIT, Inc. IBM Sales Associate for server configurations, pricing and financing options @ 877-623-5842
Security researchers demo Cisco Wi-Fi flaws
Huntington Beach, CA - Monday, Feb 28, 2011
Enno Rey and Daniel Mende from German testing firm ERNW demonstrated how to hack into two separate generations of Cisco Wi-Fi kit. They said that the flaws were fairly easy to find and exploit.
In a presentation called 'Hacking Cisco Enterprise WLANs' on Wednesday, the researchers demonstrated an attack aimed at Cisco's first generation equipment Cisco Structured Wireless Aware Network (Swan).
The researchers said it was possible to launch denial of service attacks and to sniff encrypted traffic on Swan by exploiting weaknesses in Cisco's Wireless LAN Context Control Protocol (WLCCP). The protocol defines how information is sent between wireless access points.
Swan access points transfer keys between them to facilitate roaming. Rey said that Leap — the authentication protocol used in Cisco's equipment — was weak, meaning that the cryptography used to hide the keys could be broken.In addition, attacks could be made against Swan wireless components, said the researchers, including the insertion of rogue access points, the removal of physical components from the network, or attacks via the management interfaces.
"The main message is: please be aware that if you deploy [Swan] solutions, there will be some holes and extra efforts needed to run them securely," said Rey.The researchers also demontrated an attack against third generation Cisco Unified Wireless Network (CUWN) equipment.The researcher said that Cisco equipment based on CUWN uses cryptography that is more secure than Swan. However, CUWN is vulnerable through its management web interfaces, particularly where the interface runs SNMP (simple network management protocol). Default SNMP passwords that are widely known, said the researcher, while SNMP itself is based on HTTPS, which is vulnerable to cross-site scripting attacks.
Rey urged enterprises to ensure management access to their wireless network was restricted. "They must take special care of isolating and restricting management access. This is the Achilles heel," he said.The security researcher said that Cisco is not the only vendor grappling with these issues. "All of these [vendors'] solutions have skeletons in the closet," he said. "This is not so much about Cisco bashing."
Cisco had not responded to a request for comment at the time of writing. http://www.zdnet.co.uk/news/security-threats/2010/04/16/security-researchers-demo-cisco-wi-fi-flaws-40088653/?s_cid=938
IBM Power7 Express Servers Designed to Cut Costs
Huntington Beach, CA - Tuesday, November 2, 2010
IBM is rolling out a new line of entry-level servers based on Power7 processors that are designed for small enterprises and businesses with IT budget constraints. IBM announced the Power7 710, 720, 730 and 740 Express servers on Sept. 22.
These four new IBM servers are based on the Power7 chip architecture that the company announced in August.
These IBM Express servers, available through IBM Business Partners, promise high computing capacities for an affordable price tag: They start under $6,500 and, depending on actual financing rates, a 36-month lease of the Power Systems Express server model 710 can come to a mere $188 a month, according to IBM.
IBM said in the announcement, "These high-density and cost-efficient servers minimize complexity" and offer "the memory capacity, internal storage options, I/O expandability and RAS features needed ... in today's high-growth, midsize business. The Power 710 and Power 730 are ... in 2U [3.5-inch], one-two-socket rack packages."
The Power 720 and 740 4U (7-inch) servers come in both the rack and tower configurations. The two systems offer "large memory capacities and internal storage," which solution providers can use for "distributed applications, midsize databases and consolidation."
IBM has said in the past the Power7 technology supports four times as many processor cores as prior systems and uses the latest PowerVM virtualization software to enable customers to run more than 1,000 virtual servers on a single physical system.
References:
1. http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Infrastructure/IBM-Power7-Express-Servers-Designed-for-CostConscious-Businesses-551429/
Check Point Wins Best IPS and UTM Solutions in the 2010 Information Security Readers' Choice Awards
Redwood City, CA — October 06, 2010
http://www.checkpoint.com/press/2010/100410-informationsecurity-readerschoice.html
Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced that Information SecurityTM magazine and SearchSecurity.comTM named Check Point the 2010 Readers' Choice Award gold medal winner for Best Intrusion Prevention (IPS) solution and Best Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions -- for the UTM-1 and Safe@Office appliances. For the fifth consecutive year, the Readers' Choice Awards recognize Check Point's technological innovation and dedication to delivering security solutions that address real customer needs.
Selected by the readers and editors of Information Security magazine and SearchSecurity.com, Check Point was also recognized for its leadership in Network Access Control (NAC) and Secure Remote Access, with Check Point Endpoint Security and Connectra winning silver and bronze in their respective categories. Check Point won more awards than any other security vendor in a survey of over 1,500 information security executives and managers. These awards validate Check Point's success in protecting businesses against new and evolving security threats - from the gateway to the endpoint.
Check Point's intrusion prevention (IPS) solutions detect and block attempts to exploit existing vulnerabilities and protect servers and critical data against worms, malware and emerging Internet threats. Check Point IPS received "high marks from the voters in all categories, but its intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, as well as its threat response time and easy installation received particularly favorable reviews, ultimately garnering it the gold medal," according to SearchSecurity.com. Check Point IPS solutions deliver real-time updates, security advisories and are offered to customers of all sizes as a dedicated IPS-1 appliance or as an IPS Software Blade available on an existing gateway for immediate threat protection.
Check Point's UTM-1 and Safe@Office appliances offer businesses a simple, all-in-one security solution that provides the highest level of protection and integrates Check Point's patented Stateful Inspection firewall, IPS, anti-spam, VoIP security, instant messaging (IM) security, Web filtering, and anti-virus technologies - all with central management from a single dashboard. "Readers gave the products high scores across the board, but particularly liked their breadth of security features and depth of security provided by individual functions," according to SearchSecurity.com. Check Point appliances deliver signature-strong network security that has been recognized in the industry throughout the years, helping customers - including 100 percent of the Fortune 100 - consolidate security functions and simplify security deployments. For more information and a full list of UTM protections, visit: http://www.checkpoint.com/products/utm-1/ and http://www.checkpoint.com/products/safe@office/.
"These awards clearly validate our products' strength, performance and Check Point's pure focus on security. Every vote and each award is a clear testament to our continued commitment to security innovation," said Juliette Sultan, head of global marketing at Check Point. "Based on our Software Blade Architecture, Check Point's solutions protect customers immediately upon deployment and provide businesses with the flexibility to scale as they grow or expand their security to protect against future threats."
CherrystoneIT, Inc. Nearing a Decade in the Independent Reseller Market
Huntington Beach, CA - Monday, August 16, 2010
After its inception in May 2001, CherrystoneIT Inc. prepares for the 10-year milestone. Luckily for this group of industry veterans, customer cost savings have always been the focus and customers are consistently looking to do just that. Building on their base product line of new and expert-refurbished Sun, IBM, HP, Cisco and Dell equipment, CherrystoneIT has recently added Extreme, Check Point, Brocade, EMC, & Network Appliance to their list of offerings. In a tumultuous decade that has seen dozens of independent resellers come and go, it takes a special combination of financial, technical, and market wizardry to navigate today's IT market. When asked about some of the obstacles of the past decade and the outlook on the next 10 years CherrystoneIT President Keith Dicarlo stated "Our focus remains the same: CherryStoneIT will continue to be the low-cost provider. Whether you want new or refurbished equipment, we will offer it at the lowest possible price. Your IT dollars will go far and your return on investment will be quick. Give us a try and see."
Multiven Announces Cisco’s Settlement of its Antitrust Lawsuit
WEBWIRE – Monday, August 02, 2010
Redwood City, California - Monday, August 2, 2010 - Multiven, Inc. today announced that Cisco Systems, Inc. has entered into a confidential agreement to settle Multiven’s antitrust lawsuit which was filed on December 1, 2008. The complaint alleged that Cisco harmed Multiven and consumers by bundling and tying software bug fixes, patches and updates for its operating system and application software to its maintenance services ("SMARTnet").
"We are pleased that the concerns raised in our complaint against Cisco are now successfully resolved and look forward to competing and providing consumers with further choice and value when procuring Internet infrastructure maintenance services" stated Peter Alfred-Adekeye, CEO of Multiven.
This settlement, with an effective date of July 19, 2010, resolves Multiven’s antitrust lawsuit as well as Cisco’s counterclaims against Multiven, Pingsta and Peter Alfred-Adekeye, which have all been dismissed.
Huntington Beach, CA - July 21 2010 -
The fine line between embedded and non-embedded software continues to be tested in present day.
The laws dealing with embedded software since 1970 fell under article 2 of the US Uniform Commercial Code. Embedded software was originally defined as software on non-programmable storage device that served a function, but could not be changed. Nowadays, with the flood of programmable chips embedded into all kinds of devices, the line between embedded vs non-embedded is blurred. If you have to purchase a Cisco IOS license when you purchase that used Cisco router, why don't you have to buy a Toyota software license when you purchase that used car with software controlling the fuel injection system? The answer is that software such as Cisco's IOS falls under non-embedded software laws. UCITA was originally submitted in 1999 as a modification to the Uniform Commercial code and was meant to clarify questions regarding software licensing, fair use, reverse engineering and transferability of licenses. This set of guidelines was opposed by several consumer advocacy groups because it heavily favored vendors and stripped consumers of protections that they were historically given. Because of the opposition, the UCITA laws were only passed in Maryland and Virginia. One thing is for certain. This fight is bound to get more complicated rather than less complicated in the years to come.
References:
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Computer_Information_Transactions_Act
2..http://www.badsoftware.com/embedd1.htm
3.http://www.kaner.com/pdfs/holy_cross.pdf
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Silicon Valley, California – April 7, 2010 –
The Multiven Consumer Advocacy Group, a unit of Multiven – the global leader in premium multivendor Internet Protocol network maintenance services – today released a Dossier titled “Anti-Competition Concerns in US Government Request For Proposals: Cisco SMARTnet”.
This Dossier highlights anti-competitive procurement practices within US Government agencies that eliminate competition, stifle job creation, and reduce technological innovation.Most US government agencies persist in issuing Request For Proposals (RFP) for maintenance of Cisco networking equipment that specifically request for “ Cisco SMARTnet only” thus perpetuating a highly anticompetitive practice that is contrary to President Obama’s order of March 4, 2009 to Federal Government executive agencies instructing them to desist from issuing non-competitive contracts.
Restrictive RFPs are often supported by flawed fear-mongering Justification & Approvals (J&A) statements that falsely ascertain that only Cisco Systems – a company that manufactures most of its hardware in China, with the majority of its software supported out of India – is capable of maintaining US Government networks. Such incorrect statements prevent tax-paying manufacturer-independent service providers from competing and thus deprives the US Government of considerable cost savings, choice and innovation - a much needed requirement especially with the ongoing battle to secure Government cyber-infrastructure.
To correct this behavior, all Government agencies should remove Brand Name requests from all Cisco equipment maintenance RFPs to allow fair and competitive bids from all service providers. It is the duty of all Government agencies to discourage and discontinue anti-competitive practices so as not to be party to an illegal act that is counter-productive to the values of free and open market societies.
The full article can be read at http://advocacy.multiven.com/
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