Data centre networking

What is a MAC address and how do I find it?

A MAC address (media access control address) is a 12-digit hexadecimal number assigned to each device connected to the network. Continue Reading

By

• Kinza Yasar, Technical Writer

How Infoblox is tackling multicloud complexity and boosting security

Infoblox CEO Scott Harrell discusses the company’s new Universal DDI service designed to address the growing challenges of managing network security in hybrid IT environments Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Foxconn and Nvidia to build Taiwan’s fastest supercomputer

The supercomputer, powered by Nvidia’s Blackwell architecture, will drive breakthroughs in cancer research, large language models and smart city initiatives Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Powering Britain’s economy – datacentres gain in status

In this week’s Computer Weekly, the UK government has finally classified datacentres as critical national infrastructure – we ask, what took it so long? We assess the impact of the EU’s new energy efficiency rules on datacentre operators. And we discuss the power of information and diversity with the chief data officer at Legal & General. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

Rocketing AI demand sees Lumen light up custom networks division

Connectivity provider shakes up corporate structure in response to artificial intelligence economy changing business operations and companies recognising need for powerful network to manage unprecedented data flows and demand Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

HPE Discover 2024: HPE, Nvidia team to accelerate GenAI revolution

Partnership on product and sales channels to feature what is described as first-of-its-kind turnkey, private-cloud AI service including sustainable accelerated computing with full lifecycle services to streamline time to value with AI Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a standard protocol on the internet that ensures the reliable transmission of data between devices on a network. Continue Reading

By

• Kinza Yasar, Technical Writer
• Ben Lutkevich, Site Editor

Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP)

The Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) is an open and extendable part of the Internet Protocol Suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, used in the IEEE 802.1AB standard to advertise a device's identity and abilities to other connected devices within the same network. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

Nvidia sees massive datacentre compute growth, says networking is next

After posting revenues of $19.4bn in its datacentre business, Nvidia is now looking to revolutionise ethernet interconnects Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

AI set to improve network operational efficiency by 40% or more

Study of telecom and IT engineers exploring artificial intelligence’s impact on the network sees almost universal belief in need to upgrade fibre-optic networks to support more AI traffic Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Virgin Media Business Wholesale connects MA5 datacentre with new fibre

Virgin Media Business Wholesale marks next phase of ongoing high bandwidth upgrade programme, setting out to deliver faster and more accurate provisioning at strategic sites throughout the UK Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

IBM enhances network IT automation capabilities with Pliant acquisition

Tech giant makes strategic purchase to further boost software networking capabilities, offering customers the tools to enable network infrastructure observability, connectivity, control and automation across hybrid cloud environments Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Singtel to host Vultr’s GPU workloads in AI datacentres

Vultr users will be able to deploy large-scale clusters of Nvidia H100 GPUs in Vultr’s Singapore region hosted in Singtel’s AI datacentres by the third quarter this year Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Digital experience becomes new boardroom metric

Networking technology and services giant outlines new paradigm in experience economy, where next generation of chief digital officers demand unified understanding of every component of networked applications Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Juniper claims first AI-native networking platform

AIOps and virtual network assistant expanded with first integrated digital experience twinning and end-to-end insight across campus, branch and data centre infrastructures to drive more speed, scale and value Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Digital Realty opens datacentre in Chennai

Datacentre developed through joint venture will support high-density power requirements and tap Jio’s connectivity infrastructure across India Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

HPE nabs Juniper Networks in $14bn deal to boost networking

The two companies position the combined business as a major force in enterprise and datacentre networking Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

Inside the Met Police’s investigation into EncroChat crime gangs

The Met’s senior investigating officer responsible for investigating criminals using the EncroChat encrypted phone network tells the inside story of the UK’s biggest organised crime bust in a BBC podcast series released this week Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Inside the Singapore government’s cloud journey

The Smart Nation Group’s chief digital technology officer outlines the government’s cloud journey, including its approach to cloud migration and how it came to host mission-critical workloads on AWS Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

APAC organisations warm to microsegmentation

Nearly two-thirds of organisations in the APAC region see microsegmentation as a way to protect their IT assets, but lack the skills to deploy the technology Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

An introduction to cloud network architecture

Enterprises have three main options when it comes to cloud network architecture: Use built-in CSP tools, buy virtual networking appliances or use a multi-cloud management platform. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE)

Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a protocol that encapsulates packets in order to route various protocols over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati
• Tessa Parmenter, Contributor
• Lisa Phifer, Core Competence

Verizon advances fibre technology for increased speed, reliability and capacity

Increasing its bet on fibre not only in the fixed domain but also as backhaul for wireless networks, communications provider reveals trial showing 1.2Tbps transport of data across a single wavelength on its live metro network Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

data plane

The data plane -- sometimes known as the user plane, forwarding plane, carrier plane or bearer plane -- is the part of a network that carries user traffic. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

Neos Networks expands fibre net with London, Manchester datacentre estates

UK connectivity provider brings Telehouse South and Equinix MA5 on-net to its commercial datacentre, offering reliable, resilient and secure connectivity to UK financial services hub Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

BT stitches multi-cloud with Global Fabric

UK’s leading telco unveils network-as-a-service offering designed to enable customers to boost cost, security and sustainability while optimising application performance and user experience Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Ogi, brsk further UK altnet charge

Independent providers cover south of Wales and northwest of England, celebrate full-fibre deployment milestones Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Singtel NaaS offering to ease hybrid network management

Singtel CUBΣ is touted to make it easier for enterprises to manage, scale and automate deployment of networking resources in a hybrid network environment Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How Google is priming its infrastructure for the AI wave

The technology giant is integrating purpose-built hardware with an optimised software stack to meet the heightened computational demands of next-generation AI workloads Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

New revelations from the Snowden archive surface

A decade after Snowden exposed NSA’s mass surveillance in cooperation with the British GCHQ, only about 1% of the documents have been published – but three major facts can finally be revealed thanks to a doctoral thesis in applied cryptography by Jacob Appelbaum Continue Reading

By

• Stefania Maurizi

network fabric

'Network fabric' is a general term used to describe underlying data network infrastructure as a whole. Continue Reading

By

• Gavin Wright

How Maxeon is forging the path to SASE

Maxeon Solar Technologies is building out its security service edge capabilities with an eye on a SASE implementation that combines best of breed offerings from different suppliers Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

How STT GDC is cracking the Philippines datacentre market

The joint venture formed by ST Telemedia Global Data Centres, Globe and Ayala Corporation is building its largest datacentre in the Philippines among other efforts to meet the needs of an underserved market Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

logical network

A logical network is a software-defined network topology or routing that is often different than the physical network. Continue Reading

By

• Gavin Wright

How to keep network costs affordable

In this week’s Computer Weekly, as demands for networking performance and speed increase, we examine how to keep a handle on costs. Chip makers are investing in PLC technology – the next generation of flash storage – but some think it won’t be worth the effort; we investigate. And we listen in as tech industry leaders and politicians discuss the regulation of AI. Read the issue now. Continue Reading

flow control

Flow control is a technique used to regulate data transfer between computers or other nodes in a network. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF)

The Network Configuration Protocol (NETCONF) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) network management protocol that provides a secure mechanism for installing, manipulating and deleting the configuration data on a network device such as a firewall, router or switch. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

RS-232C

RS-232C is one of the earlier versions of the long-established standard RS-232, which defines a physical interface for relatively low-speed serial data communication between computers and related devices. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

IT leaders missing vital connection between enterprise network and employee experience

Survey reveals that despite the rise of hybrid and remote working, and as digitisation demands increase, companies are struggling to connect their employees to the enterprise network Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Microsoft, Singtel debut Azure public MEC in Singapore

Azure public multi-access edge compute service will let enterprises deploy low-latency workloads and leverage public cloud services in edge locations Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Clos network

A Clos network is a type of nonblocking, multistage switching network used today in large-scale data center switching fabrics. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon
• Jessica Scarpati
• Tom Nolle, Andover Intel

session layer

The session layer is Layer 5 of the OSI communications model. It is the long-lived logical connection that persists between endpoints over time. Continue Reading

By

• Gavin Wright
• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

transport layer

The transport layer is Layer 4 of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model. It is responsible for ensuring that the data packets arrive accurately and reliably between sender and receiver. Continue Reading

By

• Gavin Wright
• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

NDIS (Network Driver Interface Specification)

Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) is a Microsoft Windows specification for how communication protocol programs (such as TCP/IP) and network device drivers should communicate with each other. Continue Reading

By

• Andrew Zola

physical layer

The physical layer is the first and lowest layer of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) communications model. Continue Reading

By

• Alexander S. Gillis, Technical Writer and Editor
• Andrew Froehlich, West Gate Networks

ANZ CIOs flag priorities amid inflation concerns

CIOs in Australia and New Zealand are concerned about inflation and plan to adjust their technology priorities to optimise resources and combat cyber threats Continue Reading

By

• Stephen Withers

APAC buyer’s guide to SASE

In this buyer’s guide on secure access service edge services, we look at the benefits of the technology, key considerations and the market landscape Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

caching

Caching -- pronounced "cashing" -- is the process of storing data in a cache, which is a temporary storage area that facilitates faster access to data with the goal of improving application and system performance. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

How Aruba is tapping opportunities in networking

Aruba is planning to expand its product portfolio, make deeper inroads into datacentres and drive adoption of network as a service, among other efforts to tap opportunities in the networking market Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

plane (in networking)

A plane is an integral component of telecommunications architecture and networks. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

Singapore’s met service to get new supercomputer

The Meteorological Service Singapore is getting a new Cray supercomputer to improve weather forecasting and tropical climate research Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

APAC organisations warm to cloud networking

Organisations in Asia-Pacific are getting up to speed with cloud networking services, even as they grapple with the challenges of managing a hybrid cloud environment. Continue Reading

CW APAC: Trend Watch: Cloud networking

Organisations are waking up to the importance of utilising updated cloud services. In this handbook, focused on cloud networking in the Asia-Pacific region, Computer Weekly looks at the technology’s advantages, how Cloudflare keeps its customers protected, Tata’s efforts to strengthen its offerings, and how networking and security might evolve in the future. Continue Reading

VMware CEO: Broadcom acquisition is on track

Raghu Raghuram claims VMware customers are getting more comfortable with the Broadcom acquisition while employees are ‘more or less focused’ on the job at hand Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

APAC organisations warm to cloud networking

Organisations in Asia-Pacific are getting up to speed with cloud networking services, even as they grapple with the challenges of managing a hybrid cloud environment Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Vodafone upgrades global network with SDN for flexible scalability

Software-defined networking stack deployed on both IP and optical global internet network controllers Continue Reading

By

• Cliff Saran, Managing Editor

northbound interface/southbound interface

A northbound interface is an application programming interface (API) or protocol that allows a lower-level network component to communicate with a higher-level or more central component, while -- conversely -- a southbound interface allows a higher-level component to send commands to lower-level network components. Continue Reading

By

• Gavin Wright

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA)

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) is a feature of Windows-based OSes -- included since Windows 98 and Windows ME -- that enables a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol client to automatically assign an IP address to itself when there's no DHCP server available to perform that function. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

CW Europe: Russia escalates cyber war on Ukraine

Microsoft has given details of cyber attacks on Ukrainian civilian communications, nuclear safety authorities, and the exploitation of the destruction of Mariupol in a phishing campaign. Also read about a report on the European Artificial Intelligence Act that suggests a limited ban on predictive policing systems. Continue Reading

20 systemctl commands for system and service management

System and service management are vital to ensure customer satisfaction and service delivery. These systemctl commands can help ease those management tasks for admins. Continue Reading

By

• Damon Garn, Cogspinner Coaction

The role of network virtualization and SDN in data centers

SDN, zero trust and infrastructure as code are popular forms of network virtualization within the data center, moving away from manual VLANs toward policy-driven virtualization. Continue Reading

By

• John Burke, Nemertes Research

Networks are the intersection in a multi-cloud strategy

Enterprises interested in multi-cloud adoption should evaluate application requirements, cloud provider features and their legacy network architecture. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Executive Editor

Attackers enlist cloud providers in large HTTPS DDoS hit

A recent large-scale DDoS incident shows how cyber criminals are switching up their tactics to conduct more sophisticated attacks Continue Reading

By

• Alex Scroxton, Security Editor

Competitive pricing, network monitoring drive SD-WAN selection

Research reveals competitive pricing and monitoring features rank highest in companies’ software-defined wide area networking SD-WAN supplier selection, while WAN optimisation and standardisation rank lowest Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Undersea cable market steams ahead in Africa and Middle East

Twofold capacity increase supports East Africa’s digital transformation as work continues on Equiano subsea cable linking Africa to Europe Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Virgin Media Business Wholesale brings dark fibre, managed services capacity to south Wales

Major fibre upgrade by wholesale arm of UK cable provider more than doubles capacity across Wales to support demand from wholesale partners, ensuring shorter delivery times for customer projects Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

How to beat the heat: What can datacentre operators do to meet emissions targets?

With new mandates around sustainability proliferating, datacentres must find ways to meet their environmental goals while remaining competitive and meeting customer service-level expectations Continue Reading

By

• Fleur Doidge

Lawyers say ‘unprecedented’ secrecy deprived EncroChat defendants of fair trials

Lawyers from seven countries say it is impossible for their clients to challenge the accuracy, authenticity, reliability and legality of the evidence against them Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Singtel adds Azure Edge Zones to MEC platform

Azure customers will be able to leverage existing Azure subscriptions in Singtel’s new MEC offering and use the Azure portal to deploy 5G applications at the edge Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

French Supreme Court raises constitutional questions over EncroChat hacking secrecy

Conseil Constitutionnel to decide whether ‘defence secrecy’ over state EncroChat cryptophone hacking breaches French constitution Continue Reading

By

• Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly

Review the major networking acquisitions of 2021

When a networking vendor announces plans to acquire another company, most people take notice. Explore which vendors made moves in 2021 and what those purchases mean. Continue Reading

By

• Jennifer English, Executive Editor

InfiniBand

InfiniBand is an industry standard communications specification the InfiniBand Trade Association (IBTA) developed. Continue Reading

By

• Robert Sheldon

Top 10 ANZ IT stories of 2021

Here are Computer Weekly’s top 10 ANZ IT stories of 2021 Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

NEXTDC opens edge datacentre on the Sunshine Coast

NEXTDC’s SC1 facility is the first in a series of edge datacentre sites that will provide low-latency services to regional businesses and global linkages Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Cable management software enhances documentation, visibility

Even a timeworn networking discipline like cabling can undergo a renaissance. See how cable management software helps organizations visualize network connectivity. Continue Reading

By

• David Jacobs, The Jacobs Group

CW Nordics: Could Iceland be the best place in the world for HPC?

Most of Iceland’s cheap, sustainable energy is used by aluminium smelters, but the country's Landsvirkjun power company is now promoting other uses for it, including high-performance computing. Also read in this issue how IoT collaboration in Norway is reaching beyond industries such as mining and shipping to include fish farming. Continue Reading

How SASE is set to determine the future

We take a look at the SASE environment and what challenges and benefits lie ahead in the adoption of secure access service edge Continue Reading

By

• Maxwell Cooter

Post-Covid tech world to see 89% of UK tech operations hosted off-premise

Leading UK ISP releases research showing that emergence of the hybrid era means that dependence on on-premise infrastructure to support a full capacity office is no longer required Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Post-Covid tech world to see 89% of UK tech operations hosted off-premise

Leading UK ISP releases research showing that emergence of the hybrid era means dependence on on-premise infrastructure to support a full capacity office is no longer required Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

A guide to Windows DHCP server configuration

The main steps to configure DHCP on Windows Server are installation, Active Directory authorization, creating a scope and DNS registration. Learn about other tasks and best practices. Continue Reading

By

• Damon Garn, Cogspinner Coaction

London calling for infrastructure as business nets expand four times faster than pre-pandemic

As the new way of working in the post-pandemic arena evolves, research finds digitally mature businesses are hitting the accelerator on digital infrastructure Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Gitex 2021: Arc spans network ecosystem in Oman

Integrated networking services provider invests in Nokia technology to offer added connectivity options for enterprise customers in key Middle East location Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

integration server

An integration server is a type of computer server that facilitates the interaction between different operating systems (OSes), services and applications across an enterprise IT environment. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati

Grace Hopper subsea cable lands in UK

First private subsea cable to the UK funded by Google intended to improve diversity and resilience of network, underpinning consumer and enterprise products, increasing capacity and powering services such as Meet, Gmail and Google Cloud Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Blackpool illumination for full-fibre broadband

Neos Networks unveils significant network expansion across Lancashire to facilitate high capacity fibre connectivity for hyperscalers, large-scale content providers and businesses using UK fibre network and connections to Ireland Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Verizon expands global automation capabilities in collaboration with Equinix

Expansion of SDI solution aims to enable enterprise and public sector customers to connect their MPLS and Ethernet private networking services to hundreds of cloud, infrastructure and service providers with automated, same-day connectivity Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

BSO named first non-domestic global connectivity provider for Indian stock exchange

Growing global infrastructure and connectivity provider BSO confirmed as one of the first official international approved connectivity partners to meet demand for trading at the National Stock Exchange of India International Exchange Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Ascendas India Trust to build datacentre near Mumbai

New datacentre campus near Mumbai will deliver 90MW of power to host technology and cloud suppliers as well as large Indian companies in a fast-growing market Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget

Swisscom embarks on public cloud migration with AWS to power 5G innovation

Switzerland-based telco Swisscom has named AWS its preferred public cloud partner to power its digital transformation plans Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

Extreme Networks taps up Microsoft Azure to provide UK customers with locally hosted cloud service

Extreme Networks will draw on Microsoft Azure's UK datacentre region to provide its customers with locally hosted versions of its flagship cloud management platform Continue Reading

By

• Caroline Donnelly, Senior Editor, UK

10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE)

10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) is a telecommunication technology that offers data speeds up to 10 billion bits per second. Continue Reading

By

• Rahul Awati
• Paul Kirvan

CW Europe: Amsterdam reins back datacentre developments over environmental concern

The construction of datacentres in the Netherlands’ Amsterdam region has accelerated at such a pace that their demands for electricity are causing concern, prompting city authorities and datacentre operators to open a dialogue about sustainable datacentre industry expansion. Also in this issue, find out the state of play in the adoption of open banking across Europe. Continue Reading

Triggered dormant bug sees Fastly CDN cut to the quick

Cloud provider acts quickly to restore content delivery network after software bug disrupts service for major firms spanning media, e-commerce and government websites, including Amazon, The Guardian and Gov.uk Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Aryaka activates EU-friendly point of presence

Cloud-first managed SD-WAN and SASE provider aims to bridge recently emerged EU/UK connectivity gap with enhanced networking support and application experience Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Juniper Is Getting The Hang Of Acquisitions...

Had an excellent catch-up with Apstra, a company I’ve followed since day one, fascinated by its concept of “intent-based networking”. After all, my IT raison d’etre is to prove that stuff “does ... Continue Reading

By

• Steve Broadhead, Broadband Testing

Proximus claims world’s fastest live fibre network with Nokia PON

Accelerating build out of Belgium’s leading high capacity, open fibre network, operator taps comms tech provider to make first ever 25G PON live deployment running on the same fibre network equipment currently used Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Yeo Valley milks business benefits with full-fibre broadband

Truespeed converts farm and dairy business from ADSL to gigabit network to transform its business capability Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Edge computing drives business innovation

Intel research identifies edge computing as a critical factor that businesses must harness to navigate and understand data now and into the future Continue Reading

Megaport claims transformation of networking at the edge with Fortinet Secure SD-WAN

Megaport Virtual Edge technology enables network managers to modernise their SD-WAN connectivity, optimise network performance and cut provisioning time Continue Reading

By

• Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly

Intel seeks broader platform play with Ice Lake

Company is counting on performance improvements from its third-generation Xeon ‘Ice Lake’ chip and its broader platform strategy to regain its mojo in the market Continue Reading

By

• Aaron Tan, TechTarget