May 2015 Cisco E-Zine

Welcome to the May 2015 Edition of the Arrowdawn Technical E‐Zine.

This is put together by members of the Cisco Technical Community to provide up‐to‐date technical information on Cisco Products, Technology and Services.

We hope you will find this edition useful and if you have any questions on the details included please ask your Arrowdawn Technical Contact for more information or drop an email to connect@arrowdawn.com.

Breaking News

Cisco APIC wins Best of Interop 2015 award in SDN category

Cisco Integrates ACI with FirePOWER to Deliver Automated Real-time Threat Protection for Data Centers

Myth-busting: White-box Switches are No Bargain

Cisco Showcases New Generation of Virtualized Video Solutions at NAB 2015

Software That’s Checking You’re Who You Say You Are

Cisco  Study: Adoption of Internet of Everything by Oil and Gas Industry Could Fuel GDP Increase of Up to 0.8

Percent, or $816 Billion, over 10 Years

RSA 2015 Cisco Keynote: Advanced Strategies for Defending Against a New Breed of Attacks 

Cisco Launches Security Incident Response Services

Cisco & Elastica join forces on cloud security monitoring 

Intelligent Traffic Director (ITD) wins best of Interop award for DC category

 

Cisco Blogs 

Announcing New Next Generation Firewall Models

Data Lifecycle Management for Hadoop with Cisco UCS and HDP

Training Events or Summits/Webcasts 2015

Tech Huddle June 2015

OpenStack Summit

Cisco on Cisco Webinars

Upcoming Webinars

Inside Cisco IT: Finding Secure Cloud Services

 

Cisco TechWiseTV News

Virtual Managed VPN for Service Providers

Fundamentals of 802.11ac Wave 2

Secure Enterprise Network News 

Cisco Multigigabit Ethernet Technology

Next Generation Wireless LAN Controllers

Cisco Advanced Malware Protection for Continuous Breach Detection and Remediation

Cisco Cyber Threat Defence Solution

Advanced Security

Gartner Recognizes Cisco WAAS as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization

 

Collaboration News

Cisco announced an exciting update to Cisco Webex Meetings App for IOS

Cisco Collaboration Meeting Rooms (CMR)

Webex Extensions and Chrome Browsers

WebEx Security Updates Impact Collaboration Clients : Field Notice: FN – 63959

 

Data Center News

NX-OS 7.1(1)N1(1) Release Announcement

Nexus 1000V Version 5.2(1)SV3(1.4) Supporting VMware vSphere 6.0

Cisco UCS and Intel Xeon E7v3: bringing the horsepower you need for analytics

Nexus 3548 NX-OS Release 6.0(2)A6(2)

Minimum & Recommended Cisco NX-OS Releases for Cisco Nexus 3000, 3100 & 3500 Series Switches

Flowing Through History – What’s SDN About

Open Daylight Contributions from Cisco


EOS/EOL Notifications

End-of-Sale and End-of-Life Announcement for the Cisco 2960-S and 2960-SF Series Switches

End-of-Life and End-of-Support Announcement for Cisco Jabber for Windows Versions 9.2x and 9.6x

 

Breaking News

CISCO APIC WINS BEST OF INTEROP 2015 AWARD IN SDN CATEGORY

The Best of Interop Awards for 2015 were announced at the Interop Theater. Cisco APIC won the Best of Interop award in the SDN category. I want to extend my congratulations to the entire team at Insieme Network Systems Business Unit and recognize their hard work in developing this award-winning Product. Cisco appreciates the recognition from the Interop judges and it’s a great compliment to the recognition Cisco APIC is getting from its customers.

To learn more about this unique product, you can refer to the following posts:

http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/cisco-apic-makes-best-of-interop-2015-finalist.

 

CISCO INTEGRATES ACI WITH FIREPOWER TO DELIVER AUTOMATED REAL-TIME THREAT PROTECTION FOR

DATA CENTERS

Cisco ACI is now validated for use by Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliant organizations April 29, 2015 – Cisco today announced the full integration of Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)embedded security with the threat detection of FirePOWER Next Generation Intrusion Prevention System (NGIPS), providing automated threat protection to combat emerging datacenter security threats. http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1628097

 

MYTH-BUSTING: WHITE-BOX SWITCHES ARE NO BARGAIN

April 27, 2015 – While the cost of a white-box and traditional switch are fairly similar from a capital expenditure point of view, Cisco analysis shows that white-box switches are more expensive when you include operational expenditures, such as the integration of third party software, tools and support costs. Cisco President Rob Lloyd and SDN expert Frank D’Agostino debunk the myth that white box switches save money.

http://newsroom.cisco.com/video-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1625275

 

CISCO SHOWCASES NEW GENERATION OF VIRTUALIZED VIDEO SOLUTIONS AT NAB 2015

At NAB 2015, Cisco will demonstrate how it is once again raising the bar with a new generation of all-IP virtualized video solutions that help media companies get new services and features to market faster, protect themselves from attack and reduce costs.

http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1620571

 

SOFTWARE THAT’S CHECKING YOU’RE WHO YOU SAY YOU ARE

Companies such as Agnitio and ValidSoft have developed systems that are so precise they can distinguish between the voices of twin siblings and can even confirm you are who you say you are when you are calling from a  mobile  phone with plenty of noise in the background.  Major banking groups, such  as Barclays, are deploying these systems to ward off mounting levels of identity theft. “The uniqueness of a voice biometric, along with the fact that it can’t be removed, lost, counterfeited, or forgotten, made this an excellent solution and an advantage over knowledge-based verification or user IDs and passwords.”

http://newsroom.cisco.com/feature-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1624742

 

CISCO STUDY: ADOPTION OF INTERNET OF EVERYTHING BY OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY COULD FUEL GDP INCREASE OF UP TO 0.8 PERCENT, OR $816 BILLION, OVER 10 YEARS

Industry Must Address Falling Prices and Traditional Responses – Technology and Intelligence from Data

Will Drive Growth, Improve Operational Efficiencies for Survival. Worldwide oil production is outpacing demand, and oil prices have fallen by more than 50 percent since June 2014. Many factors — including soft demand, increasing U.S. production and diminishing storage for crude oil — suggest that the days of $100- a-barrel oil may not return.

“Cisco Consulting Services estimated that the adoption cost of the Internet of Everything would be about

$180 billion for the industry. Over a 10-year period, the multiplier impact would be about three to four times when  it’s translated to the global economy. That’s quite a positive multiplier impact.”  —Kathy Bostjancic, Director, U.S. Macro Investor Services, Oxford Economics

http://newsroom.cisco.com/press-release-content?type=webcontent&articleId=1621802

 

RSA 2015 CISCO KEYNOTE: ADVANCED STRATEGIES FOR DEFENDING AGAINST A NEW BREED OF ATTACKS Watch Vice President and Chief Architect of Cisco’s Security Business Group, Martin Roesch’s keynote speech at the 2015 RSA event. Roesch outlines strategies to evolve security to include new approaches that address incidents efficiently, enable visibility, facilitate appropriate actions and support business growth.

Click on the link below to view the video of the keynote:

https://communities.cisco.com/community/technology/security/news_and_virtual_experiences?event=rsa2015

 

CISCO LAUNCHES SECURITY INCIDENT RESPONSE SERVICES

Cisco recently launched the Cisco Security Incident Response Service, the newest addition to the Advisory

Services portfolio.  The Incident Response Service significantly strengthens your network and information security defenses. Using the latest intelligence and best practices, it introduces a process that engages all layers of defense and provides a comprehensive range of capabilities to help organisations prepare, manage, respond to, and recover from incidents quickly and effectively.

For more information, please see the Incident Response Services section at the link below:

https://communities.cisco.com/community/technology/security/news_and_virtual_experiences?event=v22015

 

CISCO & ELASTICA JOIN FORCES ON CLOUD SECURITY MONITORING

Networking giant Cisco is teaming up with Elastica, a cloud security startup, in a move that will see the two firms combine their threat intelligence and cloud service monitoring technologies.   The partnership will also see Cisco resell Elastica’s cloud application security and monitoring solution (CloudSOC) to its customers.

The combination of Cisco’s threat-centric security portfolio and Elastica’s innovation in cloud application security provides a unique opportunity. Our global customers gain additional levels of visibility and control for cloud applications and it enhances our portfolio of advanced cloud-delivered security offerings,” said Scott Harrell, vice president of product management, Cisco Security Business Group.

http://www.businesscloudnews.com/2015/04/22/cisco-elastica-join-forces-on-cloud-security-monitoring/

 

INTELLIGENT TRAFFIC DIRECTOR (ITD) WINS BEST OF INTEROP AWARD FOR DC CATEGORY

Just a few months ago, Cisco announced an innovative new feature called Intelligent traffic Director (ITD) on the Nexus 7000. ITD offers customers a hardware based multi-terabit load-balancing and traffic re- director solution unmatched in the industry.

Yesterday, at Interop, ITD was recognized for its industry leading innovation and capabilities with the best of Interop award in the data center category.

Since it’s introduction, the customer feedback has been nothing short of remarkable.  ITD has gotten tremendous interest and traction from both Enterprise and Service providers who are using it to scale out Firewalls, IPS, Video Caching, Server Load Balancing, Professional Media Network devices, WAAS etc. ITD is helping businesses solve their real world problems and delivering significant value in terms of increased capabilities, scale while significantly lowering their lower Capex and Opex.

Based on the strong demand for ITD, Cisco is extending ITD across the Nexus portfolio starting with the Nexus 5000 and Nexus 9000 Series by the end of this month. We are also continuing to enhance ITD with a comprehensive roadmap which includes new features, support for enterprise and SP router/switches, new extensions for mobile operators and an ecosystem involving several partners.

http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/switches/nexus-7000-series-switches/at-a-glance-c45-732554.pdf

Cisco Blogs

ANNOUNCING NEW NEXT GENERATION FIREWALL MODELS

Organisations of  all  sizes are facing increasing volumes of cyberattacks that place sensitive data and

intellectual property at risk. Next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) have historically been best deployed by larger organizations. Until now, small and medium-sized businesses have been underserved by either less effective unified threat management (UTM) solutions or faced the daunting integration and management costs of multiple point solutions.

Now, there’s a new way forward: Cisco has unveiled new models of Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services for

SMB, midsize organizations, and branch offices.

The new ASA models deliver the same superior threat protection available with the larger enterprise-class

ASA with FirePOWER Services models. They deliver:

  • Superior multilayered threat protection
  • Unprecedented network visibility
  • Simplified management
  • Reduced Cost and lower TCO

http://blogs.cisco.com/security/a-new-way-forward-continuous-threat-protection-for-organizations-of-all-sizes

DATA LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT FOR HADOOP WITH CISCO UCS AND HDP

Cisco UCS Integrated Infrastructure for Big Data and Hortonworks Data Platform offer comprehensive set

of capabilities for data management, data access, data governance and integration and operations.

http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/data-lifecycle-management-for-hadoop

Cisco offers a range of IT certification, training, and testing programs to meet the needs of IT professionals, partners, employees, and students.

Please use the URL below to find out more information :

http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/index.html

 

TECH HUDDLE JUNE 2015

Welcome to the Cisco TechHuddle.

We would like to invite you to our next series of sessions focusing on Connecting to the Network in A Mobile World.

With an explosion of things being connected to the Network, it is critical the Network (WLAN, LAN and WAN ) has the correct innovation needed to support the increasing demands from your business. This TechHuddle will take you on a journey, from where you connect to the network, describing the latest in Cisco wireless switching and routing innovations that allow IT to reduce complexity and cost while still delivering business services at the speed your business requires.

You will also have the opportunity to connect with our experts; ask questions at this interactive session and gain insights from our subject matter experts

Event dates :

Dublin – 3rd June, 2015

Reading – 9th June, 2015

Manchester – 10th June, 2015

Glasgow – 11th June, 2015

London – 16th June, 2015

Click Here for Event Registration

 

OPENSTACK SUMMIT

May 18-22 ,  20 15  •  Van co u ver  BC  Join Cisco at the OpenStack Summit to learn how Cisco  solutions leverage the power of OpenStack to deliver cloud applications with unmatched speed,  flexibility, and security.

Visit Us in the Expo Hall at Cisco Booth P10

  • Find out about Cisco Validated Designs for deploying Red Hat OpenStack Platform on Cisco UCS infrastructure
  • Connect with Cisco technical experts developing open source code and managing the on-premises Cisco OpenStack Private Cloud solution (formerly known as Metacloud)
  • Learn more about Cisco DevNet, a portal providing everything a developer needs to integrate with and develop  on  top  of  Cisco  OpenStack  offerings,  as  well  as  resources  for  working  with  the OpenStack community.

Attend Our Technical Sessions Make the most of the OpenStack Summit by learning more about Cisco technologies and solutions that leverage the power of OpenStack. Hear about the benefits of Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI), where application policies are applied automatically to the underlying infrastructure to deliver cloud applications with greater speed and security. Learn about Cisco OpenStack Private Cloud (formerly Metacloud), a fully-managed, on-premises OpenStack environment that provides a public cloud-like experience for development teams building and scaling cloud native applications. See our entire list of sessions and make them a part of your schedule.

Talk with Cisco Experts

Arrange a meeting with Cisco executives and technical experts to get answers to your questions about Cisco solutions for OpenStack and Cisco Cloud Consulting Services. To schedule a private meeting, contact your Cisco representative.

 

CISCO ON CISCO WEBINARS

Take a look inside Cisco IT and join  us for technical sessions, panel discussions and global webinars.  Our IT experts share their insight, technical acumen and first hand experiences deploying and using Cisco products that yield tangible business benefits. You can also find Cisco IT subject matter experts at industry trade shows, conferences, and Cisco events worldwide.

Why not take a look inside Cisco IT ?

Find out how Cisco addresses many of the same IT challenges you face every day :

http://www.cisco.com/go/ciscooncisco

 

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Inside Cisco IT: Finding Secure Cloud Services

Our March edition of the 2015 Inside Cisco IT Webinar Series features Cisco IT Program Manager, Ken

Hankoff and Services Director, Robert Dimicco, who discuss CASPR – Cisco’s internal program that pulls together stakeholders from IT Risk Management, InfoSec, Legal/Compliance, Service Continuity/Resiliency, and  Architecture.  The  program  is  tasked  with  reducing  the  risk  associated  with  using  Cloud  Service Providers (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, etc.).

March 24, 2015 9:00AM PT

View recording

Why not take a look inside Cisco IT?  Find out how Cisco addresses many of the same IT challenges you face every day: http://www.cisco.com/go/ciscooncisco

 

Cisco TechWiseTV News

TechWiseTV – Cisco’s window to the world:   http://www.cisco.com/go/techwisetv

Subscribe to Cisco’s YouTube channel:               http://cs.co/Subscribe

TechWiseTV examines the technology driving IT strategy and decision-making.   Join hosts Robb Boyd, Jimmy Ray Purser, and their guests in these informative and entertaining videos and online workshops.

VIRTUAL MANAGED VPN FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS

We ARE going to show you a specific service, using YOUR network, where the technology can be ready to

go faster than your marketing or sales department can be ready to sell it. http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le21/onlineevts/offers/twtv/en/twtv168/preview.html

 

FUNDAMENTALS OF 802.11AC WAVE 2

Wave 2 of 802.11ac is coming and with it, wireless speeds that’ll eclipse today’s gigabit Ethernet. With the

right tools, you can use your current Cat5 cable to get all that speed and even prepare for future innovations. Check out this latest TechWiseTV episode now and learn what you will need to take full advantage of multigigabit wireless, including a look at Cisco’s deep involvement in driving the standards for 2.5 and 5 Gb/s Ethernet rates.

Explore the technical challenges and business opportunities of these unprecedented access speeds with seasoned industry pros. Register now. http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le21/onlineevts/offers/twtv/en/twtv165/preview.html

 

CISCO MULTIGIGABIT ETHERNET TECHNOLOGY

Cisco  Multigigabit  Ethernet  is  a  unique  Cisco  innovation  to  the  new  Cisco  Catalyst®  Ethernet  Access

Switches. With the enormous growth of 802.11ac and new wireless applications, wireless devices are driving the demand for more network bandwidth. This creates a need for a technology that supports speeds higher than 1 Gbps on all cabling infrastructure. Cisco multigigabit technology allows you to achieve bandwidth between speeds of 1 and 10 Gbps over traditional Cat 5e cabling or above.

Widespread proliferation of 802.11ac and new wireless applications and devices are driving the need for more network bandwidth. As the industry moves toward 802.11ac Wave 2, access points will require higher wireless bandwidth than 1 Gbps.

But existing cabling infrastructure could prevent many businesses from capitalizing on this growth. Much of the cabling deployed worldwide is limited to 1 Gbps at 100m. Cisco Multigigabit Ethernet enables speeds up to 5 Gbps on the same infrastructure without replacing a single cable. In addition to higher speeds, the technology also delivers UPOE (up to 60W) using a multi-gigabit port.

The Solution – Cisco Multigigabit Technology Powered by NBASE- T

Is a game- changing inno vation allowing enterprise netw orks to evolve beyond 1G

Enables 2.5 and 5 Gbps up to 100m on legacy cables

Supports all PoE standards up to 60W

For further information on Multigigabit: www.cisco.com/go/multigigabit

FAQ: http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/solutions/collateral/enterprise-networks/catalyst-multigigabit-switching/multigigabit-ethernet-technology.pdf

NBASE-T Alliance: http://www.nbaset.org

 

NEXT GENERATION WIRELESS LAN CONTROLLERS

The   Cisco   5520   and   8540   Wireless   Controllers   provide   centralized   control,   management,   and

troubleshooting for high-scale deployments in service provider and large campus deployments. They are highly scalable and service-rich platforms, supporting 802.11ac Wave 2 medium-sized to large campus wireless deployments.

They  offer  flexibility  to  support  multiple  deployment  modes  in  the  same  controller:  for  example, centralized mode for campus, Cisco FlexConnect mode for lean branches managed over the WAN, and mesh (bridge) mode for deployments where full Ethernet cabling is unavailable.   As components of the Cisco Unified Wireless Network, these controllers provide real-time communication between Cisco Aironet access points, the Cisco Prime Infrastructure, and the Cisco Mobility Services Engine, and are interoperable with other Cisco controllers.

  • Up to 20Gbps of throughput, support for 1500 APs and 20,000 clients
  • Up to 40Gbps of throughput, support for 6000 APs and 64,000 clients

5520: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/5520-wireless-controller/index.html

8540: http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/wireless/8540-wireless-controller/index.html

 

CISCO ADVANCED MALWARE PROTECTION FOR CONTINUOUS BREACH DETECTION AND REMEDIATION

Cisco AMP is better than ever, with new features and new technology integrations that provide users with more visibility and control to protect against advanced threats. You get:

  • Unmatched global  threat  intelligence  and  advanced  analysis  from  Cisco  AMP  Threat  Grid  to strengthen your defences
  • Continuous detection and retrospective security to help you uncover stealthy attacks and quickly remediate them
  • The flexibility of deployment where you need it most: endpoints, mobile devices, and network, web, and email gateways

To learn more visit :

https://communities.cisco.com/community/technology/security/news_and_virtual_experiences?event=v2_2015.

 

CISCO CYBER THREAT DEFENCE SOLUTION

Advanced security threats can penetrate your network and persist for months or more. These threats can operate below your radar while stealing vital information and disrupting operations. Cisco Cyber Threat Defense (CTD) provides a Cisco-validated framework of best-in-class tools that accelerates your implementation of an advanced threat detection and response system.

Through the Cisco® Cyber Threat Defense (CTD) solution, security analysts gain network-wide visibility and precise control over advanced threats. The solution is designed to:

  • Detect network reconnaissance and network probing that aim to identify attack vectors
  • Block known threats that are potentially part of a larger coordinated attack
  • Detect and  block  command-and-control  (C&C)  traffic  between  the  attacker  and  compromised internal hosts
  • Track and remediate internal malware propagation aimed at gathering information and disrupting operations
  • Continuously monitor assets for indications of compromise
  • Solution Overview

Cisco CTD exposes advanced threats using the following automated capabilities:

  • Cisco NetFlow analysis: Identifies suspicious network traffic patterns inside the network
  • File analysis: Performs reputation scoring and dynamic analysis of files traversing the network
  • Deep-packet inspection: Identifies exploits that can lead to system compromise
  • Log analysis: Uncovers stealthy activity that may be spread across days, weeks, or months

After being exposed, advanced threats can be mitigated using:

  • Restricted access for compromised devices to network resources
  • Dynamic inline blocking
  • Endpoint-based remediation

Cisco CTD provides network-wide visibility by using telemetry from network devices, effectively turning the entire network into a security sensor. In turn, it provides very detailed levels of control by turning network devices into security enforcement points. Solution components and associated platforms for Cisco CTD are listed below :

Cisco ASA Next-Generation Firewalls with FirePOWER Services Cisco Cloud Web Security (CWS) Premium
Lancope StealthWatch System Cisco Catalyst® Switches
Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) Cisco Routers
Cisco Sourcefire® Next-Generation Intrusion PreventionSystem (NGIPS) Cisco Unified Computing SystemTM (CiscoUCS®) Servers
Cisco Sourcefire Advanced Malware Protection (AMP)

http://www.cisco.com/go/ctd

Cisco ASA with FirePOWER services

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/security/asa-firepower-services/index.html

Lancope Stealthwatch System

https://www.lancope.com/partners/cisco-lancope-partnership

Cisco Identity Services Engine

http://www.cisco.com/go/ise

 

ADVANCED SECURITY

New Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services next-generation firewalls deliver integrated threat defense, a low TCO, and simplified security management. SMBs and distributed enterprises are high-value targets for cyber criminals. They face costly threats that jeopardize corporate secrets, intellectual property, and customer data. And they’ve become an unknowing entry point for attacks against larger organizations they sell to, partner with, and buy from. These factors create a need for advanced threat defense. SMBs and distributed enterprises have been underserved by inferior next-generation firewalls (NGFWs) and unified threat  management (UTM) systems. Cisco offers advanced  threat defense in a range of form factors specifically designed for your unique needs.

Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client features always-on, application-level VPN. In addition, Cisco ASA supports

Cisco AnyConnect mobile and native Android and iOS VPN clients.

NGIPS delivers complete contextual awareness, full visibility, and control of users, devices, applications, and content, to provide industry-leading threat prevention.

Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) provides an industry-leading ability to discover, understand, stop, and remediate malware and emerging threats missed by other security layers.

Reputation-based URL filtering blocks high-risk web addresses. Cisco URL filtering accurately analyzes

URLs and associates a reputation score for each one, helping users avoid high-risk web addresses.

Flexible Management Options

  • Integrated on-device management is included for single-instance deployments.
  • Centralized management, with Cisco FireSIGHT Management System, is available as a virtualized or physical appliance.
  • Detailed  reporting   on   indicators   of   compromise   and   threats   are   available,   regardless   of management option.

 

GARTNER RECOGNIZES CISCO WAAS AS A LEADER IN THE MAGIC QUADRANT FOR WAN OPTIMIZATION

Cisco are very excited and proud to announce that Gartner has placed Cisco into the Leaders quadrant in the Magic  Quadrant  for  WAN  Optimization. We believe this accomplishment reflects the substantial progress Cisco has made in developing and executing on its vision for the Cisco Intelligent WAN (IWAN) with Cisco Wide Area Application Services (WAAS) over the past three years – a record that we feel clearly demonstrates Cisco’s ability to compete in this space.

Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization

The analyst research and press coverage tells us loud and clear that the WAN is hotter than ever, and for good reason: mobility, cloud and the digitization of the enterprise are changing how we consume and deliver applications. Even the applications themselves are changing, as we’ve seen with the rise of a whole new class of bandwidth-intensive and latency-sensitive mobile apps and video.

The next generation of the WAN will need to support a dynamic network, one that shifts from a focus on getting the most out of a single network pipe to one that manages application flows across a sophisticated multi-link WAN fabric to accommodate different applications with different needs accessed on an ever- growing number of mobile devices and connected things.

In reality, it’s even worse.  In addition to every package being next day air, they all get sent back to

headquarters before going on to their actual destination, even if it’s just across town from the shipper.

Extending this a bit further, you can imagine a service whereby someone is able to get more stuff into the same size shipment (i.e., WAN optimization). Useful and valuable for sure, but what is clearly apparent is that the bigger opportunity lies in moving to a multi-modal transport model, and the same is true for the WAN – a reality echoed in recent report from Gartner, Hybrid will be the New Normal for Next Generation Enterprise WAN.

Cisco has made several advancements over the last year to help customers enable a dynamic hybrid WAN.

  • Performance Routing (PfR) V3 complements all the application acceleration and WAN offload of Cisco WAAS by then selecting the best path based on metrics that very few vendors can provide (jitter, latency, packet loss), and easily scales across 2000 sites with pre-defined templates for application best practices.
  • Cisco WAAS with Akamai offers new levels of Web and mobile acceleration unlike any other vendor in the industry. We have taken Akamai’s platform that has solved the physical problem of degradation of application performance caused by distance between the user and applications, and have extended their intelligent caching to the branch office where most business face severe bandwidth constraints.
  • Cisco ISR 4000 includes an award-winning architecture designed from the ground up to deliver on

the intelligent WAN vision, including running the full-suite of Cisco WAAS services natively on the platform with dedicated resources. This dramatically simplifies deployment and reduces branch operational complexity.

Collaboration News

CISCO ANNOUNCED AN EXCITING UPDATE TO CISCO WEBEX MEETINGS APP FOR IOS

Start meetings in your WebEx Meeting Center Personal Room from your Apple Watch

Organize (schedule, invite, and start) meetings

  • Two-way video conferencing
  • View shared content, attendee list chat, and Audio Active Speaker
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Attend WebEx Training Center classes and Event

Center online events

  • Share content in real-time from your iPad, or files from your Box account*

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/conferencing/web-conferencing/index.html

 

CISCO COLLABORATION MEETING ROOMS (CMR)

Cisco  Collaboration  Meeting  Rooms  (CMR)  Cloud  is  a  video  conferencing  service.  It  couples  WebEx

Personal Rooms and the cloud-based WebEx Video Bridge into one, always-available meeting experience. CMR Cloud is accessible from any standards-based video device. It provides simple, highly secure collaboration from the scalable Cisco WebEx Cloud.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/conferencing/collaboration-meeting-rooms-cmr- cloud/index.html#

With Cisco CMR Cloud, organizations can:

  • Make decisions faster, and gain a competitive advantage.
  • Enhance productivity, accelerate sales cycles, and reduce time to market.
  • Scale meeting capacity from one to hundreds of concurrent participants.
  • Support quicker user adoption across the organization.

WEBEX EXTENSIONS AND CHROME BROWSERS

Google has announced that Netscape Plugin Application Programming Interface (NPAPI) support

will be completely removed from Chrome by the end of 2014. As part of Cisco’s commitment to providing a simple and easy way for users to join WebEx meetings; we are providing a new, alternative method to join meetings  that  does  not  require  the  use  of NPAPI  support.  Our  new  join  method  will  use  a Chrome extension starting with Chrome 38. All previous versions of Chrome will still use the plugin.

Please reference enclosed link to White Paper

https://support.webex.com/LocalizedUpgrades/Chrome_FireFox_NPAPI/Chrome_Extension_38_FAQ.pdf

 

WEBEX SECURITY UPDATES IMPACT COLLABORATION CLIENTS : FIELD NOTICE: FN – 63959

CUCI-Lync and Jabber (Win, Mac, iOS, Android) – SW Upgrade Required

WebEx Security Updates impact Jabber Clients configured to use WebEx Meetings PlugIn requiring customers to upgrade their clients to a supported version.   The client applications that are listed in the Products  Affected  section  are  impacted  only  when  configured  for  integration  with  the  Cisco  WebEx service. The client applications that are not configured for integration with the Cisco WebEx service are not impacted.

Cisco WebEx implements security changes that impact the affected applications. After the update, the applications that are older than the minimum version do not function properly.

T29 customers must update prior to June 5th

T28 customers must update prior to July 31st. Supported Clients are as follows

  • Jabber for iOS (10.6 or later)
  • Jabber Android (10.6 or later)
  • Jabber for Windows (10.6.1 or later)
  • Jabber for Windows (10.5(5))
  • Jabber for Windows (9.7(6))
  • Jabber for Mac (10.6.1 or later)

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/639/fn63959.html

Data Center News

NX-OS 7.1(1)N1(1) RELEASE ANNOUNCEMENT

Cisco is pleased to announce the immediate availability of NX-OS Release 7.1(1)N1(1) for download from

CCO.  This release includes a number of new software features and hardware components, due to start shipping shortly after the code release.  The highlights are this release are as follows.

  • Cisco Nexus 56484Q switch – Support for 48 x QSFP 40G ports. It has 24 fixed QSFP ports and support for two GEM slots that can support an additional 12 x QSFP ports per GEM slot.
  • Cisco Nexus 2332TQ FEX – New Fabric Extender supporting 32 x 10GBaseT host ports and 4 x QSFP network ports

Key new Software Features in the release:

  • Flex link Support
  • IEEE 1588v2 PTP
  • ERSPAN v3 with PTP Timestamp
  • CoPP (Control Plane Policing) Extended Rate
  • Class-Based Quality-of-Service MIB (cbQoSMIB)
  • Intelligent Traffic Director (ITD)
  • Remote Integrated Service Engine (RISE)
  • 100 Mbps Support on 2348TQ and 2332TQ

For more information and software download, please see the following links:

 

NEXUS 1000V VERSION 5.2(1)SV3(1.4) SUPPORTING VMWARE VSPHERE 6.0

Cisco Cloud Networking and Services team is excited to announce the availability of Version 5.2(1)SV3(1.4) of Nexus1000V for vSphere. With this introduction, enterprise and cloud provider customers running the VMware vSphere version 6.0 will be able to leverage the distributed virtual firewall VSG, enhanced scale, expand VXLAN footprint in the datacenter, avail the architecture play offered by Cisco TrustSec and also leverage the simplicity offered by Cisco VSUM.

Key highlights of this release include :

  • Addition of VMware vSphere 6.0 support
  • Leap second security vulnerability Fix
  • Critical Bug-fixes

Cisco Nexus1000V Software Download 5.2(1) SV3 (1.4)

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=282646785&softwareid=282088129&release=5.2(1)SV3(1.3)&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

Cisco Nexus1000V Release Notes 5.2(1) SV3 (1.4)

https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?i=!y&mdfid=282646785&softwareid=282088129&release=5.2(1)SV3(1.4)&os

 

CISCO UCS AND INTEL XEON E7V3: BRINGING THE HORSEPOWER YOU NEED FOR ANALYTICS

Cisco UCS B460 M4  :  Some CIO’s like their ERP systems the same way they like their cars: big, fast and German. Setting nationalities aside, IT pros craving more horsepower for something like SAP HANA need look no  further  than our  UCS  B460 M4 and  C460 M4 servers, which now supports Intel’s new Xeon E7v3 processor family.

You may wonder why news like this is this important in an age where hardware is so often taken for granted. The  answer is speed, in two flavors (i) Faster Applications and (ii) Fast IT

Organizations across the spectrum are working to become intelligence- driven throughout their operations, in real time, in order to create a perpetual and renewable competitive edge. Taking a long-term view in choosing the right infrastructure accomplish this important.

For the reasons and remainder of this blog please follow this link http://blogs.cisco.com/datacenter/cisco- ucs-and-intel-xeon-e7v3-bringing-the-horsepower-you-need-for-analytics

 

NEXUS 3548 NX-OS RELEASE 6.0(2)A6(2)

The Cisco NX-OS Release 6.0(2)A6(2) includes the following software features:

  • Multicast Service Reflection – This feature is supported in the following flavours: fast-pass mode, fast-pass no-rewrite mode, and regular mode.
  • Starting with Release 6.0(2)A6(2), OpenFlow is supported on the N3K-C3548-10GX platforms

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/nexus3548/sw/release_notes/602_A6_1/n3k_rel_not es_6_0_2_a6_2.html

 

MINIMUM & RECOMMENDED CISCO NX-OS RELEASES FOR CISCO NEXUS 3000, 3100 & 3500 SERIES

SWITCHES

Cisco recommends that customers with new and existing Cisco Nexus 3000, Cisco Nexus 3100, and Cisco

Nexus 3500 Series deployments choose from the following minimum and recommended releases :

Platform Series Minimum Recommended Release
Cisco Nexus 3000 6.0(2)U3(7)
Cisco Nexus 3100 6.0(2)U5(2)
Cisco Nexus 3500 6.0(2)A4(5)

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/switches/datacenter/nexus3000/sw/recommended_release/b_Minimum_a nd_Recommended_Cisco_NX-OS_Releases_for_Cisco_Nexus_3000_Series_Switches.html

 

FLOWING THROUGH HISTORY – WHAT’S SDN ABOUT

Back in the mid 1990’s when Cisco first launched the Catalyst 5000 LAN switching product range, the term “router on a stick” was created, where an   external IOS router like the 7200 or 7500 acted as the inter VLAN routing point and external access to WAN services.

Initially these were dedicated 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet links, one per subnet or VLAN and then with the innovation of Inter-Switch Link (ISL) trunking, multiple VLANs could be carried across one link or at the time multiple Fast Ether-channel bundles (FEC) and then moving to 1 Gbps links and both ISL and 802.1Q trunking.

The external Cisco IOS router was essentially a route-processor and all inter- VLAN traffic had to flow through it. In order to increase Layer 3 performance the concept of Multilayer Switching was created, leveraging both route-processor (RP) and Netflow innovations (NFFC) directly into the Catalyst switch.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/tech/lan-switching/multi-layer-switching-mls/index.html

The whole principle of multi-layer switching (MLS) on the Catalyst 5000 was to allow dedicated ASIC hardware to perform L3 rewrites automatically, without the need for a route processor look up, therefore having greater L3 throughput whilst maintaining the correct L3 information and intelligence and Quality of Service. Comparing the Route-Processor and MLS switching from 1997 to OpenFlow switching and SDN of today, the concept and innovation of flow processing can clearly be seen and the contribution that Cisco has made over time and in the future.

 

OPEN DAYLIGHT CONTRIBUTIONS FROM CISCO

As a founding and platinum member of the Open Daylight community, Cisco is committed to donating software and engineering resources to the Open-Source project. As a long-standing participant in the open source community, Cisco is driving the growth of open source technologies, expanding the development of open standards, and investing resources to provide for sustainable innovation.

http://www.cisco.com/web/about/doing_business/open_source/index.html

Our commitment to the open community is visible throughout the company’s history and encompasses activities including:

  • Standards development
  • Extensive use of open source software in solutions
  • Targeted givebacks to the open source community

A demonstrable measure of Cisco contributions to Open Daylight is the spectrometer at OpenDaylight.org where individual company or development staff contributions are logged for all to see.

http://spectrometer.opendaylight.org/?metric=loc&project_type=opendaylight

 

EOS/EOL Notifications

END-OF-SALE AND END-OF-LIFE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE CISCO 2960-S AND 2960-SF SERIES SWITCHES

Cisco announces the end-of-sale and end-of-life dates for the Cisco Catalyst 2960-S Series and 2960-SF Series Switches. The last day to order the affected product(s) is November 6, 2015.

Cisco is also announcing a price increase for Cisco Catalyst 2960S and 2960SF Series Switches effective May 9th, 2015.

The Catalyst 2960-X product family provides a direct replacement for each Catalyst 2960-S Series Gigabit Ethernet model, at the same price. 2960-X provides better architecture, features and performance than the 2960-S Series, scaling up the feature set by 2x.

Customers for Catalyst 2960-SF Fast Ethernet Series switches are encouraged to consider moving to the

2960-X family of switches. 2960-X provides the features of the Catalyst 2960-SF and more, including PoE+, improved IPv6 performance, and optional StackWise stacking.

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/switches/catalyst-2960-series-switches/eos-eol-notice-c51-733348.html

 

END-OF-LIFE AND END-OF-SUPPORT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CISCO JABBER FOR WINDOWS VERSIONS 9.2X AND

9.6X

Cisco announces end of life and end of support for versions 9.2x and 9.6x of Cisco® Jabber for Windows

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/unified-communications/jabber-windows/index.html.

Milestone Definition Date
End-of-life and end-of- support announcement The date of this notice that announces the end of life and end of support for Jabber for Windows versions 9.2x and9.6x. Dec 17,2014
End of sale date Jabber for Windows, versions 9.2x and 9.6x software downloads will no longer be available to order after this date. June 17,2015
Last Day of Support Last day support will be offered for Jabber for Windows9.2x and 9.6x. June 17,2015

http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/unified-communications/jabber-windows/bulletin-c25-733634.html