Welcome to the Netrality News Roundup!
We’ve selected key articles on the latest news, developments, innovations and revelations in the colocation data center industry.
Don’t miss our bi-weekly news roundups to learn what’s going on with colocation, edge computing, and the brave new world of hybrid cloud, 5G, IoT, artificial intelligence, smart cities, virtual reality, and other technologies at the edge!
An Infrastructure Arms Race Is Fueling the Future of Gaming
June 29, 2020
Cecilia D’Anastasio, Wired
“Over the past two years, it seems every major gaming and tech company has launched a cloud gaming service: Microsoft’s Project xCloud, Sony’s PlayStation Now, Google’s Stadia, Nvidia’s GeForce Now, Tencent’s Start. Facebook and Amazon are reportedly sniffing around too. Many agree that, as competition becomes more fierce, and cloud gaming sees mass adoption, success in cloud gaming could mean an infrastructure arms race.
To give as many people as possible the best latency possible, you need to own or rent space from a lot of well-located data centers. “The slightest increase in latency, lag, or jitter can send early adopters away from these new platforms and back to their consoles and PCs,” says Jennifer Curry, the senior vice president of product and technology at data center colocation company INAP. ‘Just 20 to 30 additional milliseconds can be the difference between a top-tier service and an unviable service.’”
The majority of cloud gaming companies connect at colocation data centers — even the companies that own their own data centers. Colocation providers enable peering with internet service providers (ISPs) and network carriers at multiple PoPs, creating a healthy “coopetition” where everyone wins.
New Tech Leverages Edge Computing, Biometrics and Temperature Screening to Reduce COVID-19 Exposure
June 16, 2020
Jim Davis, Biometric Update
“Among the new guidance to reduce COVID-19 exposure being provided by the national Association of Manufacturers are setting up a worker checkpoint outside the facility, taking temperatures with a non-touch laser device, and providing for worker privacy by providing tests but not recording temperature readings or employee names.
Real-time analytics and machine learning are being pre-trained for actions such as temperature detection, cough detection, hand washing monitoring, social distancing monitoring, and mask / facial covering detection. Edge devices are being tied in with analytics and HR systems, and. data gathered from these devices is analyzed to show trends in employee health over time and across different facilities. This is useful because, while edge computing allows for quick local reporting of potential health issues, centralized analysis provides for insights that can help management change practices and policies at other facilities to prevent an outbreak.
The COVID-19 pandemic is revealing the power and potential of edge computing in ways we never imagined before. Companies like Foghorn, Aaeon and Birlasoft are among those at the forefront of the solution.
AWS Snowcone: Ultra-portable, Secure Edge Computing, Storage, and Data Transfer Device
June 18, 2020
Help Net Security
Running applications in disconnected environments or connected edge locations can be challenging because often these locations lack the space, power, and cooling common in data centers.
Today, customers use the AWS Snow Family (a collection of physical devices designed to run outside the data center and ranging in size from the suitcase-sized AWS Snowball to the 45-foot long ruggedized shipping container AWS Snowmobile) to collect and process data, run local computing applications, and move large volumes of data from log files, digital media, genomic data, and sensor data from connected devices to AWS.
AWS is making the edge accessible with a device that weighs under 5 lbs and can fit in a backpack. As more and more users need to extend cloud infrastructures into more edge locations, new use cases are emerging for edge computing, such as machine learning, industrial IoT, and autonomous machines.
New Malware Makes Air-Gapped Data Center Networks Less Bulletproof
June 8, 2020
Maria Korolov, Data Center Knowledge
Air gaps keep cybercriminals away from sensitive data and backups safe from ransomware. They isolate operational technology to ensure that data centers stay up and running no matter what is happening on the networks it houses.
But it’s time for data center cybersecurity managers to take another look at their air gapped systems and the processes they have set up around them. Air gapping on its own isn’t as bulletproof as it once was. Even completely isolated networks need to have some contact with the outside world from time to time, and researchers at the cybersecurity firm ESET have found a group of hackers working on malware designed to infiltrate air-gapped networks by hitching rides on legitimate files and devices. Once this particular malware – called “Ramsay” – gets a foothold in an air-gapped system, it will spread to any other systems it may find.
Cyber-threats are no longer predictable, and evolve faster than traditional cybersecurity methods can keep up with them. Rui Lopes, director of engineering and technical support at Panda Security, warns that “Shared resources, even through internal networks, should not reach air-gapped systems, because Ramsay has proven it can reach them. For a truly air-gapped system, data center managers need to isolate those networks entirely. The definition of an air-gapped network needs to become stricter. It may not be the most efficient use of resources, he added, but it’s the only way to ensure the systems are safe.”
AT&T and Cisco Partner on SD-WAN Managed Services
July 9, 2020
Jeffrey Burt, Channelnomics
AT&T has partnered with Cisco to expand its software-defined “SD-WAN” managed service with the addition of Cisco’s Secure SD-WAN technology. Both companies are moving workloads into hybrid cloud and multi-cloud environments, SD-WAN gives them easier access to their data and applications with capabilities such as intelligent dynamic routing, optimized cloud connectivity, and greater visibility into the network applications. This partnership brings two major players together to provide managed services to organizations and channel partners as demand is accelerating the move by enterprises to the cloud.
With the announcement this week, Cisco joins VMware as partners in AT&T’s portfolio of SD-WAN offerings. The carrier last year unveiled the partnership with VMware and its SD-WAN by VeloCloud offering, saying it would bring together SD-WAN with AT&T’s growing 5G network.
Successful network and digital transformation requires effective security management. AT&T SD-WAN with Cisco combines connectivity, SD-WAN, and security, which allows businesses to expand and scale without worrying about the security of their branch locations. “As customers move their workloads to multiple clouds, they require fast, highly secure access to applications hosted anywhere, whether applications are hosted in the data center, public cloud, or a private SaaS platform,” said Ravi Chandrasekaran, senior vice president of Cisco’s Intent-Based Networking Group. “The new AT&T managed service based on Cisco Secure SD-WAN addresses this by providing businesses with application optimization, integrated security, and consistent intent-based networking policies for their hybrid, multi-cloud environments.”
