Jim Duffy - Author

Stories by Jim Duffy

Start-up readies network-optimized Linux for data centers

Start-up Cumulus Networks this week has emerged with a Linux network operating system designed for programmable data centers like the ones Google and Facebook are building.

By Jim Duffy | 19 June, 2013 14:42

Tags: Google, Networking, LAN & WAN, Facebook

Enterasys enhances data center offerings

Enterasys this week unveiled new switches, software and management products to enhance the automation and centralized control of data center operations.

By Jim Duffy | 18 June, 2013 14:31

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, Dell, catalyst, alcatel-lucent, Ethernet Switch, hardware systems, Data Center, LAN & WAN, HP

Juniper keeps its simplification promise

As promised, Juniper has added automation and orchestration features to its campus and data center switches, including OpenStack support.

By Jim Duffy | 12 June, 2013 18:40

Tags: Configuration / maintenance, IDC, hardware systems, Data Center, OpenStack, LAN & WAN

New Cisco core router boasts 10X capacity of original

Cisco this week is upgrading its Internet core routers with the CRS-X, a system whose capacity is 10x that of what the initial CRS offered when introduced 10 years ago.

By Jim Duffy | 12 June, 2013 16:48

Tags: networking hardware, Cisco Systems, Networking, router, routers, LAN & WAN

Big Switch lowers forecast for OpenDaylight SDN effort

Citing concerns over technical and market direction, Big Switch Networks has downgraded its participation in the OpenDaylight consortium, a multivendor effort to define an open source SDN framework.

By Jim Duffy | 05 June, 2013 14:43

Tags: open source, Linux, IBM, Big Switch Networks, linux foundation, cisco, OpenDaylight consortium, software, operating systems, LAN & WAN, OpenFlow, SDN

Cisco betters its best-selling Catalyst Ethernet switch

Cisco this week upgraded its best-selling Catalyst switch by doubling its stacked port density, stacking bandwidth, buffers and CPU performance.

By Jim Duffy | 04 June, 2013 15:00

Tags: access switches, Networking, Energy Efficient Ethernet, Cisco Catalyst switches, o2, LAN & WAN, PoE, catalyst, gigabit ethernet, Toyota, Catalyst 2000, IDC, Ethernet Switch, stackable switches, energywise

Cisco not looking to kill Microsoft/Skype deal, says Chambers

Cisco doesn't want to kill Microsoft's marriage to Skype -- it just wants a dowry.

By Jim Duffy | 31 May, 2013 14:53

Tags: business issues, unified communications, Networking, telepresence, european union, acquisitions, Mergers and acquisitions, mergers, CNBC, mergers and acquisition, corporate issues, skype, Microsoft

Cisco acquires IT energy management technology

Cisco this week announced its intent to acquire privately held JouleX, a developer of enterprise IT energy management tools, for $107 million in cash.

By Jim Duffy | 29 May, 2013 16:13

Tags: EE, router, industry verticals, energy, LAN & WAN

Cisco appealing EU approval of Microsoft/Skype union, again

Cisco is reportedly attempting to persuade Europe's second-highest court that it should overturn the European Union's approval of the Microsoft/Skype union, an $8.5 billion blockbuster originally announced by the companies two years ago.

By Jim Duffy | 28 May, 2013 21:04

Tags: business issues, unified communications, Networking, telepresence, european union, videoconferencing, Mergers and acquisitions, mergers and acquisition, corporate issues, skype, Reuters, Microsoft, european commission, acquisitions, Microsoft Skype, mergers

In Pictures: 20 milestones in Ethernet's first 40 years

Reviewing the highlights of Ethernet's first four decades

By Jim Duffy | 21 May, 2013 08:47

Tags: componenets, Ethernet, PC, slideshow, internet

10 things you may not know about Ethernet

Ethernet's value to networking and IT is well established over the past 40 years. But did you know that "Ethernet" refers to two slightly different ways of sending information between endpoints on a LAN? That and some other perhaps lesser known facts about this 40-year-old technology are reviewed here:

By Jim Duffy | 20 May, 2013 13:50

Tags: University of Hawaii, Xerox, Networking, Ethernet Switch, LAN, intel, LAN & WAN

What's next for Ethernet?

Internet traffic will quadruple in five years and the number of mobile Internet connections will exceed the world's population by 2017, according to Cisco research.

By Jim Duffy | 20 May, 2013 13:49

Tags: itu, EE, Networking, Ethernet Switch, LAN, internet, LAN & WAN

After Arista and before Cisco/Insieme, Huawei hikes 100G bar again

Huawei this week unveiled a high-end upgrade to its CloudEngine core switch, which debuted here at Interop a year ago.

By Jim Duffy | 07 May, 2013 14:29

Tags: Interop, Huawei, Configuration / maintenance, hardware systems, Data Center, cloud computing, internet, Arista Networks, LAN & WAN, 100G Ethernet, Facebook, Cisco/Insieme, Interop 2013, Cloud, Ethernet Switch

The cloud's the limit for new Arista, Brocade and HP switches

Cloud scaling will be all the switching rage at this week’s Interop. Three major vendors last week took their platforms deeper into and then beyond the data center, outdueling each other on server access density and software programmability, two key attributes needed for the virtualized goldmine called the cloud. And in so doing, they have raised the bar and perhaps set the stage for one of the more anticipated announcements in SDN switching from Cisco spin-in Insieme.

By Jim Duffy | 06 May, 2013 11:14

Tags: HP, Cloud, Ethernet Switch, cloud computing, internet, Arista Networks, OpenStack, LAN & WAN