network – TechVirtuoso

If you haven’t disabled telnet on your switches, shame on you!

March 20th, 2017 at 10:57 PM Comments Off Frank Owen

I am surprised at how many networks I run across that still have telnet and plain old http not only enabled, but the only way to manage these devices. This really is a easy change and in my experiences doesn’t have any drawbacks, so why do people still have these enabled on their network? Why are device manufacturers allowing these as options in new devices being configured?

The reason I bring this up today is unless you are living under a rock (and if you are, I am sorry) you have heard about Wikileaks providing information on a huge amount of network vulnerabilities that are, and have been on many of the devices we have in our corporate networks. Cisco has now released a listing of devices (the first of many I am sure) and details of the cause. Surprise! If these devices are in your network and have telnet enabled, you have a big problem on your hands! If you still have devices managed by telnet, even if they are not Cisco you need to stop reading this post, and get to planning some changes!

This is probably the first of many security exploits we will see in the coming weeks. If you have equipment on this list, I would start planning firmware upgrades for the short term, and refreshes for the long term!

Cisco unveils new Linksys E4200 high performance home router

January 19th, 2011 at 11:03 AM 2 Comments Michael Stanclift

Cisco has unveiled their high performance home network router, the Linksys E4200. Not only is this thing feature packed, it comes in a pretty nice looking case for something that will be tucked away and never touched. Maybe Cisco intends to change that and wants you to put this bad boy on your desk for the world to see?

For $179.99, this thing packs a pretty hefty list of features:

Simultaneous dual-band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) wireless-N
4x Gigabit Ethernet ports
USB Storage Port with built-in UPnP AV media server
WPA/WPA2 encryption and SPI firewall
QoS traffic prioritization
6 internal antennas, 3×3 MIMO

The USB Storage Port lets you add an external USB drive to your network and share files at home or over the Internet. The built-in UPnP AV Media Server allows for streaming of your video and media files to an Xbox 360, PS3, or other UPnP compatible device.

Cisco also has plans to turn the USB port into a Virtual USB port with a future firmware upgrade, this will also enable printers to easily connect to the network so all users in the home can print wirelessly.

(more…)

I can’t wait for the iPhone to come to Verizon, so you’ll all shut up about it

January 9th, 2011 at 10:49 AM 4 Comments Michael Stanclift

The boys who cried wolf (AKA The Wall Street Journal, et al) are all indicating that Tuesday will be the announcement of the long awaited iPhone 4 on Verizon. I hope they’re finally right.

Not because I’m going to switch, no, I’m actually pretty satisfied with my AT&T service, having been a customer for a long while before the launch of the first iPhone. I’ll just be glad when the noise makers and complainers can have another option. I hope that Verizon’s network works better for them than AT&T (although I kinda also hope it’s just as bad) so that they’ll shut up. I also look forward to another network getting some of the load so that my service will be even more reliable than it already is.

I can’t be alone in this thinking, if AT&T’s network is so god damn horrible across the entire country as the people in San Fransisco and New York make it out to be, no one would use it. Fact is, myself and millions of other subscribers made the choice to use it long before the iPhone. I even used to live down the street from the world headquarters of Sprint, and still used AT&T because I got better service.

I’m not discounting that there are people with horrible AT&T service. I’ve been places where that is the case, I know people who have this problem on a regular basis. It sucks, but chances are no has one forced you to use an iPhone this whole time.

I’ll also be glad when this golden phone finally does arrive, so we can stop obsessing about it. The phone will come out, AT&T’s subscriber numbers will slightly decrease, Verizon will see an increase, Apple’s profits will go up. The sun will still rise in the east and set in the west. Choice is good, but the tech world needs to stop treating this like we’re awaiting the second coming of Christ, and treat this like what it is, like what happens all around the world with the iPhone on multiple carriers. The same phone, on another network.

(Image credit to Gizmodo, from back in 2005, proof people hated them before the iPhone)

Verizon now offering 150/35Mbit FiOS service

November 22nd, 2010 at 12:02 PM 1 Comment Michael Stanclift

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQjIsaf3S2A

Verizon is now offering FiOS customers a 150 Mbit down and 35 Mbit up connection. Honestly, I’d be happy with just more uplink on my broadband, but this will work.

Sprint lights up 4G service in New York

November 1st, 2010 at 11:39 AM 1 Comment Michael Stanclift

Sprint customers in the Big Apple with the HTC EVO, Samsung Epic or an Overdrive card got a much welcomed surprise today. 4G service came online today. Get ready to blow through batteries like never before!

Hartford, New Haven, New Brunswick, Trenton and Tampa also got added to the ever expanding coverage list for Sprint’s next generation service. Customers can currently get 4G service in 61 cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and Houston, and by the end of this year Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Denver and Washington DC.

Sprint has some great videos up on the challenges of managing and expanding a network in an area like New York City. The first one is posted above, the other two are after the break.

(more…)

Verizon tests 10Gbps fiber Internet connection

October 27th, 2010 at 1:23 PM 5 Comments Michael Stanclift

I can’t think of anyone person who could fully saturate a 10gb fiber Internet connection for much of anything… legally… for very long, but Verizon seems to think it’s important enough to show off that it can be done. They recently gave the Elks Lodge in Taunton, Massachusetts the chance.

Using the FiOS infrastructure, a desktop with a 10Gbps network card and some fancy optical magic, they were able to push a 2.3GB file between the Lodge and their network switching center in around four seconds. Since the connection was symmetric, they were able to push huge amounts of data in both directions.

While it will be a long time before this type of connection is available to consumers, if ever, it’s great that Verizon is continuing to research and push the limits of their network.

via Ars Technica

Not everything made by Cisco is made of gold

March 8th, 2010 at 3:14 PM 5 Comments Jake Sonelly

The scenario: You’ve found yourself working at a company that is experiencing phenomenal growth. The employees have actually decupled in the past year and show no signs of slowing in the near future (on this note, when was the last time you saw the “decupled” in print?). You have inherited a network that is truly a Frankensteinian creation that not even the original architects understand any more. You have noticed that you neither have a working firewall nor a decent VPN system, though Cisco VPN is used by a handful of key employees to connect to a Cisco 1800 series router. The IP scheme for the organization, which spans three sites, is using the 192.x.x.x address space. You wish to straighten everything out with a minimum of downtime and as seamless as possible for the end-users. What do you do?

Well, instead of telling you what to do, allow me to tell you what not to do. Not just that, let me drill into your collective skulls what not to do. Are you ready? Here it comes:

Do not, and this is key, so write it down… do not buy a Cisco SA 500 series device.

(more…)

Qwest rolling out new fiber for cellular providers

September 18th, 2009 at 11:06 AM No Comments Michael Stanclift

quest_logo Qwest Communications has announced the launch of its new fiber-based, Ethernet backhaul service designed for wireless service providers, allowing providers to run fiber directly to cellular tower sites to accommodate for increasing bandwidth demands being places on them by more advanced smartphones, netbooks and other bandwidth-demanding systems.

“Wireless users seem to have an insatiable appetite for bandwidth, whether they’re watching videos, sending pictures to friends, playing games online – you name it,” said Roland Thorton, executive vice president for Qwest Wholesale.

Qwest says this new infrastructure is ideal for providers looking to migrate from existing SONET based services due to greater flexibility.

The new service will allow scalable bandwidth, enabling providers to increase capacity to sites on an incremental and as-needed basis. The bandwidth is managed by software, rather than hardware so the time required to perform provisioning of increased speed is reduced and operations are simplified.