Cisco and Proximus Renew Strategic Partnership

Cisco and leading Belgian telecommunications and IT service Proximus today announced at CES 2015, which have consolidated their partnership to promote innovation and joint business development. The renewed partnership will enable Proximus their customers faster, customized and innovative services across the entire portfolio. Cisco will benefit from the technology research experience Proximus' and local market penetration, offerings. Within renewed to co-create new service under this agreement, Proximus and Cisco have three growth areas defined the next generation video delivery to consumers the intelligent city services for government organizations and orchestration of services for business to business customers.

Next Generation Video Delivery:

Proximus has a video service for mass market success through digital television, traditional decoders. By centralizing the functionality of digital TV open cloud architecture Proximus' instead of the recorder of consumer digital video recorder (DVR), the telecommunications provider plans to move faster, accelerating the delivery of new capabilities customized video. For example, making an open cloud-based architecture is easy to digital TV with third party applications, such as evaluations and recommendations based programs integrating cloud. And subscribers that run from the DVR space for your favorite shows in the future, simply lease more space in the cloud. With NDS Group, both partners have developed a new generation TV service based on the cloud for Proximus.

Smart And Connected Cities:

The cities are facing new challenges such as congestion or demographic pressure. Cities of tomorrow must be safe, efficient, sustainable, comfortable and interactive. Together with Cisco Proximus has developed a framework for smart cities and switched beyond wireless Internet access throughout the city and free. The partnership will accelerate business models to monetize both the coverage and improve the lives of consumers and sales for the company's development of intelligent and connected cities (S + CC).

Service Orchestration And SDN: 

Future proof network and IT infrastructure must be able to meet exponential growth in traffic and have a native ability to enable new services. With Cisco's network service orchestration technology, Proximus customers would be able to configure their network services online. Network orchestration also allows to fully automating the subsequent provisioning and management of both virtual and physical networks, further improving customer experience and agility.

642-902 Sample Question

QUESTION NO : 12

Which of the following are methods EIGRP uses to initially populate (seed) its EIGRP topology table, before learning topology data from neighbors? (Choose two.)

A. By adding all subnets listed by the show ip route connected command
B. By adding the subnets of working interfaces over which static neighbors have been defined
C. By adding subnets redistributed on the local router from another routing source
D. By adding all subnets listed by the show ip route static command

Answer : BC

642-902 Sample Question

QUESTION NO : 11

Identify three characteristics of EIGRP feasible successors? (Choose three.)

A. A feasible successor is selected by comparing the advertised distance of a non-successor route to the feasible distance of the best route.
B. If the advertised distance of the non-successor route is less than the feasible distance of best route, then that route is identified as a feasible successor.
C. If the successor becomes unavailable, then the feasible successor can be used immediately without recalculating for a lost route.
D. The feasible successor can be found in the routing table.
E. Traffic will be load balanced between feasible successors with the same advertised distance.

Answer : ABC

Cisco And IBM Speed Data Center Transformation With New Integrated Infrastructure Solution Delivered by Business Partners

Today announced the availability of an integrated solution that combines integrated (NASDAQ :CSCO) and IBM (IBM NYSE) Cisco UCS infrastructure innovation with the efficiency of the storage system IBM Storwize Cisco.Available from qualified business partners worldwide who VersaStack™ is developed solution to a high level of comfort,efficiency and versatility in the cloud,big data and analytics and mobility deployments.Over time,the platform for IBM Business applications will be optimized,while the integration of Cisco innovations such as Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) and Cisco Fabric Interconnects cloud.

CIOs are looking for solutions that provide deployment options and fast delivery are increasingly turning throughout the technology stack data center can be integrated into an already proven system and with the support that is designed combined to operate systems and to manage a whole. As a result of the popularity of integrated infrastructure solutions is growing rapidly.According to IDC, the worldwide total expenditure for embedded systems with 32.8 percent a year and reached approximately $ 14.37 billion in 2017 (compared to 5.4 billion US dollars, 2013).

Organizations today need the infrastructure to be simple, efficient and versatile, Satinder Sethi, vice president,Data Center Solutions, Cisco.VersaStack help our mutual customers optimize the implementation and operation of their IT infrastructure,he said.It is also the basis for innovation between Cisco and IBM mobility and data analysis and inter-cloud and application-based infrastructure.

Like a cloud,mobile,and large data volumes continue to challenge and transform data centers more and more companies rely on innovative solutions such as VersaStack to help,said Laura Guio,Vice President Business Line Executive IBM storage systems.Meanwhile,IBM Storwize is designed to help customers and improve performance management data center through virtualization and automated data movement more strategic level storage.

Cisco and IBM have collaborated for over 15 years, delivering combined solutions to more than 25,000 customers around the world. Today, Cisco and IBM collaborate around numerous customer opportunities, including big data and business analytics, cloud, collaboration, data center, Internet of Things, and software defined networking.

Highlights

• The VersaStack solution combines the performance and innovation of Cisco UCS Integrated Infrastructure with the versatility and efficiency of the IBM Storwize V7000 storage system to deliver a more responsive model for IT.
• Cisco UCS® Integrated Infrastructure, which includes the Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS), ACI-Ready Cisco Nexus® and Cisco MDS switches, and UCS Director, can accelerate the deployment of applications and can improve the ability to adapt to business change.
• The IBM Storwize V7000 includes technologies that both complement and enhance virtual environments with built-in functions such as Data Virtualization, Real-time Compression, and Easy Tier, which automatically migrates data between tiers based on real-time usage patterns, for extraordinary levels of performance and efficiency.
• The initial VersaStack solution targets data center and private cloud deployments as well as big data and analytics for large commercial and enterprise customers. Cisco and IBM will look to introduce additional reference architectures over time.
• The VersaStack platform is based on Cisco Validated Design (CVD) reference architectures, enabling channel partners and customers to deliver applications quickly and with great confidence, while helping to reduce risk. 
• The VersaStack solution will be sold globally through qualified Business Partners who are experienced in Cisco data center technologies and IBM Storwize storage systems.
• IBM Global Technology Services will offer services from strategy through maintenance. Solution support services will be available from Cisco, IBM and qualified Business Partners.
• IBM Global Financing and Cisco Capital each offer a full range of financing capabilities for all aspects and components of the VersaStack solution, including hardware, software, and services. Through simplified payment options, clients can accelerate return on investment and manage their IT lifecycle.

642-902 Sample Question

QUESTION NO : 10

Which is the most effective technique to contain EIGRP queries?

A. route summarization
B. configuring route filters
C. using a hierarchical addressing scheme
D. establishing separate autonomous systems

Answer: A

Cisco, Oracle Find Dozens Of Their Products Affected By Shellshock

Cisco and Oracle are working hard to identify networks and other products in their portfolios,which are affected by the critical vulnerability Shellshock.

The Shellshock vulnerability and several related last week due to errors such as command line interpreter bash for Unix and Linux systems analyzed chains,were found to be forwarded through external scripts.The errors that can be exploited to trick certain processes are running in areas vulnerable to malicious strings pass Bash,which is then run as commands on the underlying operating system machines.

Security researcher Rob Fuller has set collected by a collection of ShellShock feats proof-of-concept from different sources.The best known attack vectors are running on the Web server CGI scripts,SSH demons,although other applications that interact with Bash also potential targets.

Cisco has 71 products so far,which exposed the vulnerability is identified.These products serve a variety of purposes,including network implementation,service and acceleration; Network and content security Management and network provisioning; Routing and switching; Unified Computing Voice and Unified Communications; Video streaming,telepresence and transcoding.

The number of Cisco products vulnerable to Shellshock and related errors far exceeds the 38 confirmed not vulnerable. The company is reviewing an additional 168 products and hosted services,so that the list of sensitive products is likely to increase.

The impact of this vulnerability on Cisco products can vary depending on the product concerned because some types of attacks such as SSH,require successful authentication to be exploited and can not give rise to additional privileges granted to the user,Cisco said in its adviser.

Oracle is also in the process of identifying which of their products are vulnerable.Until now the company has released patches for nine products Shellshock Oracle Database Appliance 2.X and 12.1.2 Software Oracle Exadata Storage Server Oracle Exalogic Oracle Exalytics Oracle Linux 4,5,6 and 7 Oracle Solaris 8,9,10 and 11 operating system Oracle Supercluster Oracle Virtual Compute Appliance Software and Oracle VM 2.2,3.2 and 3.3.

An additional 42 products use Bash in at least one version and are likely to be susceptible to Shellshock, Oracle has found. No patches are currently available for these products. Four other products are currently being investigated to determine whether they are using vulnerable versions of Bash.

Oracle has the impact of this vulnerability for products evaluated no longer supported by the Oracle,the company said in its advisory.Other suppliers built on top of Linux,if it is to release hardware devices,SCADA platforms specialized servers or embedded devices,probably patches Shellshock in the near future, products are.

The overall impact of the vulnerability Shellshock and errors associated Bash is difficult to quantify due to the ubiquitous nature of this block in the world of Unix and Linux and the fact that all versions of Bash 1993 is likely vulnerable.Multiple vectors of attack only adds to the complexity of determining which systems are at risk.

Cisco Beats Estimates On Strong New Product Sales In Developed Markets

Cisco announced a mixed set of Q4 FY2014 results,as revenues declined marginally but the company beat guidance on stronger than expected demand for new products in developed markets.The networking giant saw its revenues drop year-over-year (y-o-y) by less than 1% to $12.36 billion,as sustained weakness in emerging markets and sluggish spending by service providers weighed on results. The revenue decline was at the lower end of the company’s guidance of 1-3% and better than consensus expectations of 2%.

Although emerging market orders fell by 9%,with China, Russia,Brazil and Thailand contributing to a bulk of the weakness,the company was able to offset some of the pressure with a strong showing in the U.S.where commercial and enterprise orders grew by 17% and 16% y-o-y,respectively.Cisco’s new high-end routers and switches continued their strong momentum from the previous quarter,as orders for the NCS and CRS-X grew above expectations to about $50 million each in Q4 and $100 million each in the full fiscal year.The Nexus 9000 and Cisco’s SDN strategy also seems to have resonated well with customers,as the number of clients jumped from 180 in Q3 to 580 at the end of the fiscal fourth quarter.

The routing and switching transition seems to be going well and the company expects these business divisions to contribute meaningfully to top-line growth in the next few quarters. Cisco expects its overall revenue growth to return to positive territory in the next quarter, ranging between zero and 1%. With revenues remaining almost flat, gross margins are unlikely to recover in the near term given the long sales cycles associated with launches of new networking products. In the coming years, we expect Cisco to be able to defend its overall operating margins better as the new high-end products start gaining traction and the company’s cost-cutting measures take hold. The company continues to generate strong cash flows and has been opportunistic in deploying the cash to buy back shares at depressed valuations.


Switching Transition On Right Track

Cisco faces a difficult environment in regions such as Asia-Pacific, Japan,China and Russia, where customers expenses network interface in response to fluctuations in strong currencies and geopolitical factors.The company saw orders in Asia-Pacific and Japan at 7% from the same period last fiscal year.China has a primary,given the unstable political situation after the scandal about pain NSA spying.Orders in China fell 23% over the same quarter last year.

In developed markets like UsWhere the general economic situation has become less uncertain Cisco is comparatively much better implementation.However,product transitions have delays in routing and switching rates as customers orders and test the new equipment before deployment.The decline was even more pronounced in the service provider market, where the delay in sales is usually more than the company and the company changed its focus from traditional video decoders in the cloud.In the last quarter,saw its orders Cisco service providers by 11% over the same period last year.

Therefore,it is a good sign for the new Cisco routers and switches look should flow a good number of orders that sales growth to continue in the coming quarters.Supports Cisco SDN strategy of the Nexus 9000 recent gains significant traction with customers, which was evident by the fact that their customer base over the previous quarter tripled.This helped the company to the sales decrease switching delay to about 4%,compared with more than 6% in the third quarter.

However,there is usually a delay of at least one quarter prior orders comes to translating.We therefore expect Cisco to continue to lose market share in the short-term competitors such as Juniper,which is later in the sales cycle of new products.However,Cisco appears well positioned to some of its lost market share as the strong order flow leads to income, to recover possibly the middle of next year.