Technology advancements are crucial to the dynamic IT landscape in today’s times. Cloud computing has been crucial which presents excellent opportunities to business for the future. SysOps and DevOps are commonly used terminologies in cloud computing.

In the past times organizations hired multiple personnel to perform different set of activities however as the cloud computing came into existence the job role become simpler and administrators have flexibility to support developers in the process of building applications without or lesser defects which otherwise got missed or ignored due to lower weightage in terms of application functionality. Similar way SysOps also found a recognition for business to align with certain standards or frameworks.

Today we look more in depth about DevOps and SysOps terminologies and understand how they could help businesses in bringing agility in delivery and time to market.

About DevOps

DevOps is the commonly used terminology in Cloud computing world. The focus of DevOps is tasks such as development, testing, integration, and monitoring. DevOps uses opensource and cross platform tools like Chef and Puppet for delivery of system configuration and automation. The administrators deal with infrastructure building tasks in DevOps as well as developers have access to the concerns of continuous deployment through automation of build tools.

Features of DevOps

• Reduction in implementation time of new services
• Productivity increase for enterprise and IT teams
• Saves costs on maintenance and upgrades
• Standardization of strategies for easy replication and quick deliveries
• Improves quality, reliability, and reusability of system components
• Rate of success is increased with digitization and transformation projects

About SysOps

SysOps generally deals with monitoring and justifying the right cloud services with best practises. The SysOps is a modern approach that supports monitoring, management and operations of infrastructure systems. SysOps is useful in troubleshooting of issues emerging during operations. SysOps is based on IT service management (ITIL) framework which concentrates on aligning business goals to IT services. ITIL enables organizations to form a baseline from which they can design, execute and measure the effectiveness. It shows compliance and estimated improvement.

Comparison Table: DevOps vs SysOps

Below given table summarizes the difference between DevOps and SysOps:

FUNCTION	DevOps	SysOps
Definition	DevOps is a collaboration between software development and IT teams	SysOps is an administrator of cloud services which handle some or most of the tasks relayed to software development environment
Approach	Adaptive approach by breaking down complex problems in small iterative steps	Consistent approach to identify and implement changes to systems
Aim	Acceleration of software development process by bringing development and IT teams together	SysOps aim is to manage all key responsibilities of the IT operations in a multi user environment
Delivery Methodology	Compliance with principles for seamless and stable collaboration and coordination between development and operations team	Compliance with ITIL for services delivery and focuses on alignment of business objectives with IT services
Code development approach	Unpredictable rate of changes in code deployment	Predictable changes in code and deployment at specified intervals with the support of SysOps professionals
Responsiveness to change	Adaptive approach to code change	Consistency in approach with de-risking factor in the event of new changes are introduced
Implementation of changes	Changes are applied to code	Changes are applied to servers
Value for business	Value improvement for customers henceforth improvement in business	Smooth functioning of system processes ensure improvement in value for organization
Infrastructure management approach	Depends on usage of best automation tools	Drive by focused attention on each server

Download the comparison table: DevOps vs SysOps

Conclusion

Every organization faces tough decision when it comes to choose between DevOps and SysOps so a clear understanding is required in terms of business need for speed of execution, significance of predictions and traffic rate determination for an application – highs and lows of traffic, businesses also need to know speed of scaling based on change in traffic, frequency of performing releases to the applications.

DevOps and SysOps are two major areas of cloud computing and both are used to manage infrastructure. If choice is to be made between the two than we need to look deeper into the requirements so as to build an application as under:

• Load predictability estimation
• Traffic trends (Highs and lows)
• Clear idea of execution speed requirements
• Rapid application change requirements
• Rapid scaling requirements of applications
• Business nature global or local
• Frequency of application releases

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DevOps vs NetOps

DevOps vs NetDevOps

The tremendous technical development in the IT and other digital fields started the popular trend of creating acronyms with the Suffix Ops. And the word DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps are confusing IT and Tech communities further as they are more interrelated. Here in this article, you will get a clear differentiation between them.

To put it simply, DevOps, NetOps and SecOps are the different stages and process involved in an Application and Software production and implementation. Here is a further explanation about it.

 What is DevOps?

DevOps is expanded as Development Operations. It is the development framework that uses a different combination of tools to make the organizations the Application development faster and continuous.  It covers the whole Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC) from planning to final testing.

When the customer makes a request the DevOps team starts working on them and aim to make fast and quick delivery. They practice many automation techniques like machine learning and Artificial Intelligence to make create a continuous and qualified delivery.

DevOps is a direct successor of Agile Software Development involving many iterative software development methodologies like –

• Scrum
• Kanban
• Scaled Agile Framework (SAF)
• Lean Development
• Extreme Programming (XP)

In short, DevOps is the practice whose prime motive is to reduce the barriers the traditional development operations. You can learn more about DevOps through devops courses.

What is NetOps?

NetOps is expanded as the Network Operations. Former organizations didn’t focus on NetOps, but since the recent development of cloud technology, NetOps are given more importance. NetOps is classified into two types as NetOps 1.0 and NetOps 2.0.

After the DevOps team deliver the tested application, NetOps teams start working on them. They design the network connections and infrastructure and ensure the responsiveness and scalability of the application. NetOps 1.0 is a traditional approach where most of the operations are processed manually and delayed delivery.

Thus the NetOps 2.0 integrated DevOps major characteristics including automation, virtualization, and Orchestration, etc… This made the Networking Operations fast ad easily accessible.

Still today there is no clear definition for NetOps. Here is our view about it -NetOps refers to the implementation of some DevOps and other network techniques to satisfy the business needs and goals.

Difference between NetOps and DevOps

Though both of them are interrelated and have many similarities, there are some differences to understand them better they are here –

PARAMETER	DevOps	NetOps
Meaning	Development Operations	Network Operations
Scope of work	DevOps includes development, remodeling, and fast delivery of Applications	NetOps involves the maintenance and upgrading of the network infrastructure of applications.
Goal	Continuous and fast App Development	Robust-Network Infrastructure
Focus	Focused on implementation of new automation tools and meeting the final customer requirement.	Addresses the limitations in the network and makes them more responsive and scalable
Stage	DevOps is the first stage of the production process. External environment needs.	As a second stage, it follows the DevOps.
Types of Approaches	Simple DevOps and DevSecOps (Integration with Security Operations)	NetOps 1.0 and NetOps 2.0
Dependency	DevOps is a Semi-Dependent on SecOps and independent of NetOps	NetOps is a dependent of DevOps and SecOps
Way of processing	Mostly automated an AI-driven	Involves both manual and automated processes.
Knowledge Requirements	Wide knowledge of different Script languages and specialization anyone (preferably Python)	Deep knowledge of Network Security, Troubleshooting, configuration, etc…

Download the difference table here.

What is SecOps?

Like the previous two, it is expanded as “Security Operations”. After the development and network channeling of the application or product, it is important to ensure that it doesn’t expose any vulnerabilities. The process or practices involved in ensuring the security of the product is called SecOps.

The clash between DevOps, NetOps, and SecOps:

There is always a never-ending clash between the DevOps and NetOps team. As the DevOps focus more on fast delivery, they finish the development and throw them to the NetOps team. But NetOps team needs to ensure that the application satisfies all the users and organization goals.

DevOps team has been complaining about the NetOps manual delay whereas the NetOps team complains about the DevOps team’s core concepts. And this clash is fired when the SecOps demand the inbuilt security in App development and networking.

However, this clash has been smoothened by the incorporation of the three teams, and this lead to the creation of new acronyms like DevSecOps, Super-NetOps, etc…

The recent survey by the F5 shows that nearly 75% of the NetOps acceptance over DevOps concepts and 60% of DevOps approves the NetOps view.  Irrespective of the disputes at the end of the day they are the reason for the quick, quality, and secure app development.

In today’s topic we will learn about how to configure DHCP relay traffic to make use of SD-WAN rules.   

About SD-WAN Rules 

SD-WAN rules can be created using CLI or GUI interface. For GUI users Goto Network🡪 SD-WAN 🡪SD-WAN rules. 

From CLI 

config system sdwan

    config service

        edit <ID>

        next

    end

end

DHCP relay is a host or a router to forward DHCP packets between servers and clients. DHCP is used as a service in SD-WAN appliances to relay requests and replies between local DHCP clients and remote DHCP servers. Local hosts can acquire dynamic IP addresses from remote server. 

By default, when DHCP relay is configured on an interface, FortiGate does packet forwarding based on routing table lookups irrespective of the  configured SD-WAN rules.

Sample Configuration

Sample configuration of DHCP relay configuration on an interface

# config system interface

    edit “vlan-10”

        set vdom “root”

        set dhcp-relay-service enable

        set ip 10.9.62.254 255.255.255.0

        set allowaccess ping

        set device-identification enable

        set dhcp-relay-interface-select-method auto

        set dhcp-relay-ip “192.12.10.1” “192.12.10.2 “

        set interface “port1”

        set vlanid 20

    next

As default behaviour, on reaching relayed traffic to FortiGate it is considered locally originated and does not match any SD-WAN rule.

The setting ‘set dhcp-relay-interface-select-method auto’ means all traffic will use the best available interface

Options to Route Traffic for DHCP Relay

There are three options available to route the traffic for DHCP relay as under:

• Auto- Establish outgoing interface automatically (Which is default setting)
• SD-WAN – configure interface by SD-WAN or routing policy rules
• Specify – configure interface manually 

To configure interface to use SD-WAN rules the below setting needs to set as 

set dhcp-relay-interface-select-method sdwan

This blog will guide you through key factors to consider when selecting a hybrid cloud provider. We’ll cover aspects like reliability, security, and cost-efficiency. Understanding these elements can help you make an informed decision.

Stay tuned as we unravel what to look for in hybrid cloud providers. Get ready to boost your enterprise’s cloud strategy!

Factors to be Considered While Choosing a Hybrid Cloud Provider

Understanding Your Business Needs

It is very important to know exactly what your business needs before choosing a hybrid cloud provider. Looking at what your business needs now and in the future can help you figure out what features and services are necessary.

You can be sure that the provider you choose will help your business reach its goals and grow if you make these needs clear. For instance, think about whether your operations need high availability or if you need advanced data analytics tools.

Evaluating Security Measures

When picking a hybrid cloud provider, security should be the most important thing. Strong security measures keep private information safe and stop people from getting in without permission.

Check to see if the service provider offers things like encryption, managing your identity, and regular security updates. Also, check to see if they follow the rules and standards of your industry to make sure your data is handled correctly.

Integration Capabilities

Another important thing to think about is how to integrate with existing systems. A good hybrid cloud provider should be able to work with your current data, applications, and IT infrastructure without any problems.

This includes being able to work with different platforms and operating systems. Cloud solution integration tools can have a big effect on how quickly and easily you can switch to a hybrid cloud environment.

Related: Public vs Private vs Hybrid vs Community Clouds

Performance and Reliability

How well and how reliably a hybrid cloud provider works can have a direct effect on how your business runs. Check their service level agreements (SLAs) and uptime statistics to make sure they can meet your performance needs.

Reliable services lower the chance of downtime, which is important for keeping the business going and making sure customers are happy. Also, find out what their backup and disaster recovery options are.

Cost-Effectiveness

When choosing a hybrid cloud provider, cost is always an important thing to think about. It’s important to look at the pricing models and know-how costs are calculated.

Find a service provider that lets you choose your pricing plans and only charges you for the resources you use. Also, think about any extra costs that might come up, like support or data transfer fees.

Scalability Options

One great thing about a hybrid cloud environment is that it can be scaled up or down as needed. Make sure the provider you pick can change the amount of resources they offer based on your needs.

This skill is very important for adapting to changes in demand without affecting performance. Providers should offer automated scaling options to help manage resources in a way that saves time and money.

Support and Customer Service

It’s very important to know how much support and customer service a hybrid cloud provider offers. Having good customer service can help solve problems quickly and keep things running smoothly.

Check to see if the provider offers support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also, think about the different ways you can get help, like chat, email, or the phone. How quickly and well the support team can help is very important.

Compliance and Governance

Check to see if the hybrid cloud provider follows the governance and compliance standards that are important to your business. It is important to follow rules like GDPR and HIPAA for legal and business reasons.

The policies and procedures that providers offer should be clear and in line with your company’s compliance needs. Good governance makes sure that your data is managed and kept safe in a way that meets government requirements.

Data Management and Storage

A hybrid cloud solution needs to have good ways to manage and store data. Check the provider’s data storage options, such as their backup and redundancy plans.

Having good data management makes sure that your data is safe, easy to find, and handled quickly and correctly. You should also think about the storage options in terms of how scalable they are and how much they cost.

Network Infrastructure

The network infrastructure of a hybrid cloud provider is very important to how well and reliably services work. Look into the provider’s data centers, where they are located, and the ways you can connect to them.

Higher data transfer speeds and less latency can be achieved with a strong network infrastructure. In a distributed cloud environment, it is necessary to keep performance standards high.

Customization and Flexibility

With customization, you can make the hybrid cloud solution fit the needs of your business. A flexible provider should offer different configuration options so that the cloud environment can be changed to fit your needs.

This can include changing how resources are used, how security is set up, and how applications are deployed. Customization makes sure that the hybrid cloud solution works well with the goals of your business.

Innovation and Future-Proofing

Since technology changes quickly, it’s important to pick a hybrid cloud provider that is committed to new ideas. Find a service provider that is always putting money into new technologies and making things better.

This promise makes sure that your cloud resources are always up-to-date and ready to use. Focusing on innovation can also lead to new features that make your business run better and give it more chances to grow.

In selecting a hybrid cloud provider, it is imperative to consider these aspects carefully. The enterprise hybrid cloud solutions offer various advantages, but without properly assessing your hybrid computing options, you may face challenges later down the road.

Maximizing Business Potential through Hybrid Cloud Computing Providers

Choosing the right hybrid cloud computing providers is important for the growth and efficiency of your business in the future. These companies offer solutions that can be scaled up or down to fit different needs.

They make sure that security and compliance are strong, which keeps your data safe. With support that you can count on, they improve operational performance.

Plans that save money are also valuable. To make the most of your business’s potential and success, you should carefully consider hybrid cloud computing providers.

Did you like this guide? Great! Please browse our website for more!

Indirectly, the far-reaching implications of cloud infrastructure extend to various sectors, influencing everything from healthcare to education. For instance, telemedicine relies on secure and scalable cloud solutions to provide remote healthcare services. Similarly, educational institutions leverage cloud platforms for seamless online learning experiences.

Moreover, businesses of all sizes benefit from the scalability and cost-effectiveness of cloud computing, enabling innovation and growth. As society continues to embrace the digital era, the cloud’s expansive footprint underscores its pivotal role in shaping the way individuals live, work, and connect with the world.

Effectively managing cloud infrastructure is crucial for unlocking the full potential of cloud computing. When handled adeptly, the cloud provides businesses with unparalleled flexibility and scalability for their applications and infrastructure, all while maintaining cost efficiency. This is achieved by allowing organizations and users to access virtual resources on a pay-as-you-go basis, minimizing the need to invest in and maintain physical infrastructure.

However, the promise of cost savings can be undermined without proper visibility, monitoring, and governance. An illustrative scenario involves an engineer inadvertently leaving a cloud development environment running continuously, even when it’s only required for a few hours of work. In a pay-as-you-go model, such oversights can result in escalating cloud costs, turning into runaway bills.

To avoid these pitfalls, businesses need to implement robust strategies for cloud infrastructure management. This entails establishing clear visibility into resource usage, implementing effective monitoring tools, and enforcing governance policies. By doing so, organizations can identify underutilized resources, optimize usage patterns, and prevent unnecessary expenses.

In essence, the key lies not only in leveraging the cloud’s inherent flexibility but also in maintaining vigilant oversight to ensure that cost-effective practices align with the dynamic nature of cloud computing. Through strategic management, businesses can harness the transformative potential of the cloud while keeping their financial commitments in check.

Explore The Benefits of Cloud Infrastructure

Cloud infrastructure management services offer a multitude of benefits that extend far beyond the primary advantages, unveiling unexplored and collateral benefits. These services, which involve overseeing the computing resources and services within a cloud environment, contribute to organizational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and innovation.

• Cost Optimization

The primary benefit of cloud infrastructure management services is cost optimization. By dynamically adjusting resources based on demand, organizations can avoid over-provisioning and only pay for the resources they consume. However, an often overlooked collateral benefit is the reduction in capital expenditure. With cloud services, businesses can shift from a capital-intensive model to an operational expenditure model, eliminating the need for substantial upfront investments in physical infrastructure.

• Enhanced Security

Effective cloud management services bolster security by implementing robust access controls, encryption, and compliance measures. Beyond the obvious security boost, organizations can gain collateral benefits such as improved reputation and customer trust. Demonstrating a commitment to data security can enhance the brand image, attracting customers who prioritize the protection of their sensitive information.

• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

Cloud infrastructure management facilitates efficient backup and disaster recovery solutions. Beyond the immediate benefits of minimizing downtime, the collateral advantage lies in increased resilience. Organizations gain the ability to adapt swiftly to unforeseen disruptions, ensuring continuous operations. This resilience can have a positive ripple effect on overall business stability and customer satisfaction.

• Scalability and Flexibility

Cloud services allow businesses to scale up or down based on demand. The collateral benefit here is the ability to experiment and innovate without significant upfront investments. Start-ups and smaller enterprises, in particular, can leverage the scalability to test new ideas, fostering a culture of innovation that might not have been feasible with traditional infrastructure.

• Improved Collaboration

Cloud infrastructure facilitates collaboration by providing a centralized platform for data storage and sharing. The unexplored benefit lies in the potential for enhanced employee productivity. Collaborative tools and real-time access to shared resources enable teams to work seamlessly, transcending geographical boundaries. This can lead to improved teamwork, creativity, and ultimately, business outcomes.

• Agility and Time-to-Market

Efficient cloud management accelerates time-to-market for products and services. Collaterally, this agility enables organizations to respond swiftly to market changes and customer demands. The ability to deploy new features or applications rapidly can be a competitive advantage, allowing businesses to stay ahead in dynamic industries.

• Environmental Sustainability

Cloud services contribute to environmental sustainability by optimizing resource utilization and energy efficiency. While the primary benefit is a reduced carbon footprint, the collateral advantage is positive publicity and stakeholder goodwill. Organizations demonstrating a commitment to eco-friendly practices can attract environmentally conscious customers and investors.

• Global Reach

Cloud infrastructure allows organizations to expand their reach globally without the need for physical presence in every location. The collateral benefit is increased market access and the potential for international business growth. Companies can tap into new customer bases and diverse markets without the logistical challenges associated with traditional expansion.

• Automation and Efficiency

Cloud management services often involve automation of routine tasks. The direct benefit is increased operational efficiency, but the collateral advantage is a boost in employee morale. Automation reduces mundane, repetitive tasks, allowing employees to focus on more strategic and fulfilling aspects of their roles, fostering job satisfaction and retention.

Conclusion

In a world where the cloud is the future, falling behind means risking relevance. Embracing cloud infrastructure management services isn’t just about staying current—it’s about seizing opportunities for growth, efficiency, and innovation. From cost savings to enhanced security and global reach, the benefits are too significant to ignore.

By harnessing the power of the cloud, businesses can position themselves at the forefront of digital transformation, ensuring they remain competitive and adaptable in an ever-changing landscape. So, let’s not settle for being left behind. Instead, let’s embrace the cloud and pave the way for a brighter, more connected future.

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Career in Cyber Security or Cloud Computing: Which is better?

Top 10 Cloud Computing Trends

Palo Alto Prisma Access is a Cloud service provided by Palo Alto Networks. This service provides secure access to Internet and business applications that may be hosted on SASE, a corporate headquarters, Data Centres, OR instances that you may have running inside of Public Cloud.

Let’s discuss the above given diagram to understand the Prisma Access :

Prisma Access deployed in the middle of a data centre or headquarters, your mobile users and remote networks and the Internet. This kind of set-up allows Prisma Access to inspect and analyse all traffic. To identify applications, threat, content, and it provides visibility into the use of SASE applications and ability to control which SASE applications are available to use by your users.

Being a Cloud service, Prisma also allows you to avoid the challenges of figuring out what type of Hardware to buy (It provides Scalability). It also minimises the coverage gaps or inconsistencies associated with distributer organisations.

In the past perhaps you have multiple point solutions for remote access that you had to deploy across your enterprise and the access was not the same, the user experience was also not the same.

All these scenarios create in-consistencies in how these point products were managed. Well, in Prisma Access you don’t need to worry about these because it all encompassed within the cloud services. We can shrink or expand our requirement based on the user’s load and avail cloud services accordingly. If the number of users connected decreases, we are able to decrease the amount of compute resources that are allocated to Prisma Access.

Let’s take a look of individual components of Prisma Access:

Palo Alto Prisma Access for Mobile Users

Palo Alto Prisma Access for Mobile Users provide security services that Palo Alto Networks is known for. For example, App-ID, User-id, Threat-Prevention, DNS-Security, Enterprise-DLP, all these services are available with Prisma Access.

Prisma Access also provides an alternative to the traditional on-premises deployment of Remote Access VPN. Instead of having multiple solutions at various locations, you can manage it as part of a Unified Service in a single pane of glass. 

You are able to select locations that are suitable for users. Prisma Cloud Access has more than 100 locations available to choose from, it includes locations in regions like Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Japan, Middle East, North America, Central America, South America.

You can also enable Prisma access with Mobile users in Hybrid-network in which Mobile users combine with on-premises firewalls that can run Global Protect Gateways for areas where Palo Alto Networks don’t have coverage. If you are familiar with Global Protect, the functionalities are very similar, 

1. Users will connect to the portal, 
2. Then the portal will decide which is the best available location for that specific user, 
3. It will connect to that location; the user will build the IPSec tunnel to that location. 
4. Then traffic gets sent through that tunnel to the Prisma Access.

From Prisma Access, the traffic will split to the direct out to the Internet from the cloud service OR leverage the service connection to reach internal resources that you may have stored in Headquarters, DC, in your Cloud Instances. All of this is logged, and all the logs are sent to the Cortex Data Lake.

Palo Alto Prisma Access for Remote Networks

Palo Alto Prisma Access for remote networks provides security services just like it does for mobile users (App-ID, Threat-Prevention, User-id) 

Enabling your remote network to safely use common applications and web access. Remote Access connects to Prisma Access via industry IPSec VPN cable devices (don’t need Palo Alto Firewall at both ends). Any firewall which supports IPSec VPN can connect with Prisma Access and we can send that remote site’s traffic to, so that traffic may be forwarded to the Prisma Access and provide internet access to internal DC or H.Q resources through a service connection. 

See below image -> features of Remote Network Setup

Prisma Access for remote networks are managed in the same manners as Mobile users so, you can use a single pane of glass to manage all of these remote sites.

Let’s take a look at Service Connections.

Service Connections

Service connections are glue that hold everything together, they connect Prisma Access to your H.Q or Data Centre resources. It also leverages IPSec tunnels for secure transport over the internet. 

These are Layer 3 router connections which can accommodate static or dynamic routing and can terminate any IPSec capable firewall, router or SD-WAN device that may be sitting on your premises.

These terminate on a corporate access node on the Prisma Access end of the connection and the service connections are what provide the inbound connectivity to those centrally located resources that may be sitting in your Headquarters, DC. Below image can explain the set-up process to enable Service Connections in Prisma.

• It covers tunnel information
• Routing
• QoS (Bandwidth Allocation)

The difference between Remote Network and Service Connection is

• Remote Network can do outbound and inbound connectivity
• Whereas Service Connections are only for inbound connectivity

In Service Connection you can route traffic to Prisma Access to the internet. 

Palo Alto Prisma Access Management Methods

There are two methods which are used to manage Prisma Access

1. First method is via the Cloud Service plug-in on a Panorama managed device. If you are already a consumer of Palo Alto Network device, you can use same Panorama with a Cloud Services plug-in to manage your on-premises firewall and Prisma Access through Panorama.
2. Second option is Cloud Manage; this is also a Cloud provider service. If you don’t have Panorama or are new to Palo Alto Networks, this will be the easiest way to get Prisma Access. It’s ability to deploy Prisma Access and use Prisma Access service without need to deploy another on-premises device OR VM (Virtual-Machine) on which you may have to run services.

Plao Alto Prisma Access uses Cortex Data Lake to store logs. Cortex Data Lake stores the logging that happens for any of the actions taken by Prisma Access. You can forward logs to any other device by redirecting the logs from Cortex Data Lake to on-prem device or log server.

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USER ID – PALO ALTO NETWORKS

High Availability Palo Alto

Palo Alto vs Fortinet Firewall: Detailed Comparison

Security and network architecture have taken a front seat since cloud adoption is all time high and constantly growing. The demand for remote workforce is increasing and per Gartner research demand for remote working is set to increase 30% by 2030, this is given more momentum with the coronavirus pandemic which has forced world wide organizations to adopt a hybrid working model. 

Need for distributed working is however much older and not just evolved in the last 24 months during the pandemic times. In the 1990s and 2000s there was a simple centralized architecture where data resided in data centers and connectivity to branch offices and simple security measures were set in. The majority of staff worked from the office so it was easy to provide secure access to resources and services. 

Today we look more in detail about two most popular terminologies emerged in cloud era – SSE (Security service edge) and SASE (Secure access service edge), lets understand how they are interlinked but at the same time they are different , their advantages and limitations and off course the use cases. 

What is Security Service Edge or SSE?

SSE term was also introduced by Gartner in the year 2021 emerged as a single vendor, cloud centric converged solution to accelerate digital transformation with enterprise level security to access web, cloud services, software as a service, private applications with capability to accommodate performance demands and growth. 

It may be included as a hybrid of on premises and agent-based components but primarily it is a cloud-based service. It offers capabilities such as access control, threat protection, data security, security monitoring, acceptable use controls enforced via network based and API based integrations. 

SSE security services include Cloud access security broker (CASB), Secure web gateway (SWG), Zero trust network access (ZTNA), Data loss prevention (DLP), Remote browser installation (RBI) and Firewall as a service (FaaS). 

What is SASE?

Term Security Service Edge or SASE was coined by Gartner in 2019 to describe offering a range of security networking products. It is a complex product with five elements into it and with the inclusion of SD-WAN meant on premises equipment which makes setup more complicated and pricing model needs to cover cost of hardware also. 

Some of the major vendors in SASE space are Cato networks, Fortinet, Palo Alto networks, Versa, VMware and others. It brought two prolonged vendor approaches together, having a highly converged wide area network (WAN) and Edge infrastructure platform with highly converged security platform – Security service edge (SSE). 

It is a security component of SASE which unifies all security services including secure web gateway (SWG) , cloud access security broker (CASB) and Zero trust network access (ZTNA) to provide secure access to web, cloud services, and applications. 

Comparison: SSE vs SASE

The key points of differences between the two are:

Term Coined

Gartner gave SSE term in year 2021 to define limited scope of network security convergence including SWG, CASB, DLP, FaaS, ZTNA into a single cloud native service. On the other hand, Gartner gave SASE term in year 2019 to define convergence of networking and security capabilities into a single cloud native service.

Concept

SSE is a component of SASE (a security pillar). SASE has broader approach and takes a holistic approach towards secure and optimized access . The focus is both on user experience and security.

Requirements

To use capabilities of SSE we need physical hardware to deploy services at locations. SASE = security service edge (SSE) + access, it is an architecture that organizations endeavour to have involving delivering networking and security via cloud directly to end user instead of a physical conventional data center.

Vendors

Some of the examples of important vendors of SSE are Z-scaler, Cisco, Palo Alto, Netskope, Cato networks. Whereas, Z-scaler, Palo Alto, McAfee, Cisco, Nokia, Fortinet, Versa Networks, VMware are the important vendors that provide SASE.

Below table summarizes the differential points between the two:

Download the comparison table: SSE vs SASE

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CASB vs SASE: Which One Is Better?

CSPM vs CASB: Detailed Comparison

As more and more data moves onto the cloud new tools and methods are evolving to control data and adhere to security regulations. Coronavirus pandemic is becoming an acceleration factor as all around the world companies have to adopt digital remote working to survive in this period.

Many organizations implemented VPNs to connect remote workers to the organization network and soon had a major hit back on realizing how VPNs were riddled with problems. This necessitated the need for a cloud based, zero trust solution to fit into the changing business landscape. 

Today we look more in detail about two most popular terminologies related to cloud access in a secure manner – Cloud access security broker (CASB) and Secure access service edge (SASE), how they are related and different from each other, advantages and use cases. 

What is CASB?

Cloud access security broker (CASB) is a software which can be hosted on premises and cloud and enforce compliance via policies, security and regulatory safeguards around data and cloud applications.

Initially CASB focus was to bring in cloud visibility hence primarily it is used to detect shadow IT.  However later it has evolved to offer more features such as encryption, protection of data stored in the cloud by prohibiting specific categories of sensitive data exposure via email or file sharing, data access restrictions, audit on cloud services etc. 

Let’s discuss the key benefits and drawbacks of CASB:

Pros

• Prevents external & internal cyber threats.
• Cloud infrastructure can be made more secure by using it in conjunction with other solutions.

Cons

• Need of integration with other security solutions.
• It reduces the overall effectiveness of the security team because every security solution must be acquired, deployed, monitored, and maintained separately.

What is SASE?

SASE is a cloud-based IT architecture, a term coined in the year 2019 by Gartner which combines software defined networking and network security tasks and delivers them from a single cloud native platform. SASE is a broader term which covers access and security both in its paradigm without the physical boundaries. 

SASE gives businesses a converged network which is consistent, agile and holistic, eliminating need for specialized hardware or security appliances as it is delivered as a service. 

SASE is a bundle of access and security and have security components like Zero trust network access (ZTNA),  Data leakage protection (DLP), Secure web gateway (SWG) and Cloud access broker service (CASB). 

Let’s discuss the pros and cons of SASE:

Pros

• Provides an all-in-one solution fulfilling the networking and security requirements.
• SASE is a complete WAN infrastructure solution, so it cannot be just slotted into place like a CASB.
• An organisation can take advantage of the convergence of SD-WAN network services and fully integrated security technologies by using a comprehensive security stack.

Cons

• A network redesign and the retirement of legacy networking and security solutions might be required to implement SASE.
• It is expensive.

Comparison Table: CASB vs SASE

Below table summarizes the difference between the two:

Download the comparison table: CASB vs SASE

CASB vs SASE: Which One Is Better?

To conclude which one is better CASB vs SASE, a CASB and a standalone SASE both offer the CASB functionality required for cloud security. Although there are advantages and disadvantages to both, the “right choice” may depend on an organisation’s specific situation and objectives.

SASE is typically a better choice since it simplifies security and maximizes the efficiency of a company’s security team, but a standalone CASB might be integrated more easily into the company’s existing security structure.

Quick facts!

As per Gartner prediction by 2025 ; 80% of organizations will unify web, cloud services and application access using a SASE architecture.

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Top 13 CASB Solutions

CASB vs Proxy: Understand the difference

Related Video

In the IT community, we define with the term VPS (Virtual Private Server), any virtual machine that is sold as a service by an Internet Hosting Service. In normal conditions, a virtual private server usually runs its own copy of an operating system (OS) and customers have full administration access to that operating system instance. Meaning that they can install almost any kind of software.

Regarding many kind of purposes, the VPS is functionally equivalent to any dedicated physical server and it is being software customized, meaning that it can be easily created and configured. On the other hand, a virtual server costs much less money than an equivalent physical server. However, as virtual servers share the underlying physical hardware with other Virtual Private Servers performance is usually slower and depends on the workload of any other executing virtual machines on the network.

There are a number of VPS Hosting service providers available. For example: AccuWeb Hosting provides one of the best affordable VPS Hosting services.

Virtual Private Server Advantages & Features

Nowadays, in the IT industry many enterprises are using Virtual Private Servers for many reasons. The most advanced features and advantages of VPN technology are addressed below:

Virtualization:

The most advanced technology that the VPS offers is based on the force of driving server virtualization. Although in most virtualization techniques, the resources are shared, as they are under the time-sharing model. Virtualization provides a higher level of security which depends on the type of virtualization used. Most of the individual virtual servers are mostly isolated from each other and may run their own operating system which can be independently rebooted as a virtual instance.

The technique used for partitioning single servers in order to appear as multiple servers is very common on microcomputers since the launch of VMware ESX Server in 2001. The common features include a physical server that typically runs a hypervisor which is releasing and managing the resources of what we call “guest” operating systems or virtual machines.

In addition, these “guest” operating systems are allocated to share the resources of the physical server. As the VPS runs its own copy of its operating system, users have high administrative level access to that operating system instance and can install any kind software that runs on the OS.

Motivation:

In addition, VPS is used to decrease hardware costs by trimming a failover cluster to a single machine, therefore decreasing costs dramatically while it provides the same services. As a general rule the common server roles and features are generally designed to operate isolated in most system architectures. Like Windows Server 2019 OS requires a certificate authority and a domain controller to exist on independent servers.

This happens because the additional roles and features increases areas of potential failure as well as adding visible security risks. This procedure directly motivates needs for virtual private servers in order to retain conflicting server roles and features on a single hosting machine. Also, the occurrence of virtual machine encrypted networks decreases most of the passing through risks that might have discouraged the VPS usage as a legitimate hosting server.

Hosting:

Finally, VPS is used from many companies in order to provide virtual private server hosting or virtual dedicated server hosting as an advanced alternative solution for web hosting services. These services have several challenges to be considered such as licensing the proprietary software in a multi-tenant virtual environment.

They are categorized to “Unmanaged” or “Self-Managed” hosting. This includes the user to administer his own server instance or on other hand, “Unmetered” hosting, which is generally provided with no limit on the amount of data transferred on a fixed bandwidth line.

In general, in a virtual private server, bandwidth will be shared and a fair usage policy should be involved.

Conclusion 

We explained in this article that VPS is one of the most advanced ways to keep up the success of any web-site security and integrity. It’s also the best plan that can provide scalability for enterprises and large organizations. With VPS, not only the user enjoys a tremendous amount of storage and bandwidth but it’s also a cost-effective solution to meet the demands of a busy site. Hopefully in the future, new technologies will be invented for manipulating hardware resources more efficiently.

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Public vs Private vs Hybrid vs Community Clouds

What is Multi Cloud Network Architecture?

Penetration of cloud all around the enterprises also brought the need for hybrid networking solutions supporting private WANs and commodity Internet connections to support adoption of cloud applications, remote connectivity, scalability with application performance and including visibility. Major networking vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto, Juniper networks and so on are offering SD-WAN solutions oriented towards servicing cloud infrastructures. 

Today we look more in detail about two most popular SD-WAN solutions from leading network services providers – Cisco SD-WAN and Palo Alto Prism (Cloud Genix), their advantages, how they differ from each other and how they can still be integrated, use cases etc.

Cisco SD-WAN

In traditional WANs traffic is routed from remote sites to enterprise data centres using private MPLS circuits. But this traditional structure is getting out of date due to increased penetration of applications movement over public clouds such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS. Moving user traffic from branches to enterprise DC and then onto cloud or Internet is inefficient, expensive and lacks scalability.

SD-WAN architecture applies the principle of Software defined networking (SDN) replacing traditional data centres. It is designed to meet the demands of enterprise applications and increased security requirements. Cisco SD-WAN is made up of four components and segregated into four planes namely:

• orchestration plane,
• management plane,
• control plane, and
• data plane.

Cisco vBond operates at orchestration plane and performs orchestration of onboarding of new unconfigured devices to SD-WAN fabric. Cisco vManage operates at the management plane and runs the user interface of system and dashboard. It collects network telemetry data, runs analytics and alerts on events, creates device templates, push configurations, and overlay traffic engineering.

Cisco vSmart is a control plane component and they are the brain of overlay fabric. Advertising policies, routing, and security. Cisco vEdge is a data plane and it sits at WAN edge and establish network fabric and join SD-WAN overlay. 

Features of SD-WAN

• Centralized management is main feature which offers operational simplicity, reduction in changes and deployment times as a result
• Transport independent overlay as underlay transport is abstracted from overlay fabric, any combination of transports can be used in active/active fashion to reduce bandwidth costs.
• Sophisticated security as it uses certificate identity with zero trust security model
• Visibility of applications -Real time analysis and application visibility are core components of this architecture and enables enforcement of service level agreements (SLA) and tracking of performance metrics for specific sets.

Palo Alto Prisma (Cloud Genix)

Palo Alto Prisma SD-WAN is a cloud delivered service which implements application defined, autonomous SD-WAN which help to secure and connect branch offices, data centres, and campus sites in a simple and cost-effective manner. The application fabric connects to sites in a secure way having application awareness and gives freedom to use any WAN, any cloud.

It has Instant on Network (ION) devices deployed in locations to have control and visibility wherever desired. It allows to create policies based on business intent, enables dynamic path selection using the highest performance network, and visibility into applications and network performance.

A secure application fabric, AppFabric, is established by creating a virtual private network over every WAN link. ION devices automatically choose the best WAN path for applications and do a real time analysis of application performance metrics and WAN links. 

Features of Palo Alto Prisma (Cloud Genix)

• Let you measure and monitor specific paths as well as dynamically move sessions to optimal path
• Leverages commodity links such as broadband Internet, LTE etc 
• Eliminates the need to manage multiple, disparate consoles from different vendors using ‘Panorama’ network security management tool
• Provisioning of new branches with zero touch provisioning for automating tedious onboarding process 
• Hardware high availability in active/passive mode 

Cisco SD-WAN vs Palo Alto Prisma: Comparison Table

Download the comparison table: cisco sd-wan vs palo alto prisma

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Palo Alto Prisma SD WAN: CloudGenix SD WAN

FortiGate SD-WAN Fundamentals

When you add competition and hackers, both trying to take over your place in the business world, you realize that things are tougher than you imagined, and help is essential. This is why all successful businesses focus on finding the right people to work with them. A capable team and valuable employees you can rely on are highly important.

Among the many other things you must focus on, there’s the need for reliable software and hardware, too. In today’s digital world, your machines are at least half of the work. Every company works with computers, and IT experts are essential, so finding the best experts is a must.

One of the things to have in mind is data security. The pieces of information you create within the workspace must be protected. You can’t let accidental deletion from employees or hacker intrusion affect them.

A great solution for this issue is cloud computing or cloud services. This technology allows you to upload information to the cloud and ensure it is safe. But, what is cloud computing, and why is it so valuable for you? Keep reading and find out more about this.

What is Cloud Computing?

Cloud services refer to the delivery of computing resources, including servers, storage, databases, software, and analytics – all of this over the Internet. Instead of hosting these resources locally, businesses can access them through remote servers maintained by cloud service providers.

The three primary models of cloud services are Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Through them, you design the best office model and make sure all data is safe.

Why is Cloud Storage important?

When you hire a cloud computing agency and upload all information to the cloud, you’re getting top-notch security for your data and insurance that will never be lost. Additionally, hackers intrude and steal information from the cloud rarely, as these agencies have the highest possible protection against hacking.

Hackers cause tremendous damage to companies that are not taking care of this problem. Estimates say that by 2025, hackers will be responsible for over $10 trillion across all industries. No company is safe, so taking precautions is much smarter than it seems.

Another reason to upload everything on the cloud is protection against accidents. Aside from your own employees often deleting stuff by accident, there’s the higher power issue you can’t control. Storing everything in office servers may be risky as floods, fire, or other hazards may cause total destruction and losing everything you had.

If you store data on the cloud, you’ll never worry about this problem. Physical items may burn down or be permanently damaged, but digital data can stay on the cloud and be useful immediately. Your company can continue working using it, although your entire office is inaccessible.

How to find the best cloud service provider?

You need an agency with experience, capacity, and an excellent reputation to provide this for you. The best solution is to hire one that is in the area since eventual issues will be covered by them on the spot. For example, if you’re in Australia, hire an offsite backup provider in Sydney, and be sure they can come over for a meeting any time you want.

Even though cloud services mean uploading information on the internet and then scattering data worldwide on servers that are not necessarily nearby, it is still valuable to have the managers and data controllers nearby.

Look for an agency with an excellent reputation, great experience, and capacity to get the job done. The best ones have been active on the market for at least five years, and have great reviews from their previous clients. If you find a company like this, you’ll surely be happy with the results.

Conclusion

When we say a powerful cloud service, we mean a company that knows how to handle your needs. Every company is different and has unique needs. You should be looking for an IT-managed service company and a cloud service provider that knows how to deal with your needs exclusively. You need an agency that will provide a bespoke solution just for you.

If you find this kind of company, you will never again worry about data destruction, hackers, or accidental deletion. Among other things that we talked about, this company will provide enhanced scalability, improved accessibility to your information, and disaster recovery strategy, and gives you an advantage when it comes to the competition. Choose the right cloud service agency and see your business uplift.

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Top 10 Cloud Computing Trends

Network Security vs Cloud Security: Know the difference

Let’s troubleshoot VM Invalid status 

You can see multiple “invalid” VM machines in the image below. Here status is showing invalid.

Reason of Invalid VM Machine status could be related to the storage of underlying machine has been moved or changed, or corrupted, deleted and it moved to another storage device and as a result of which VMware ESXi hosts no longer knows what it is and consider VM Machines as invalid.

You need to delete the invalid VM Machines and add it manually if the machine does exist.

Please consider below points before deleting any VMware Machine 

• Check .vmx file for configuration of the host. It should be accessible to replicate the new VM after deleting invalid host.
• Check if .vmx file is in unlock state
• Check VM tools for installation like SSH/putty 

There -> Navigator -> Virtual Machines -> Select VM

Click on Action -> Right Click the Action Tab -> It will give you so many options to allow, delete, and unregister you the VMware Machine.

You can select unregister Tab to remove the device from here. However if you find the options in greyed-out colour then you need to unregister the devices from SSH access.

First you need to enable SSH for VMware ESXi machines and then connect to the machines by using a putty session.

Go to Manage -> Services -> TSM-SSH -> SSH -> Action -> Select Start

And apply a running option to enable the SSH application for the host.

Login to Putty session from Windows Machine. 

Make sure you can login as a root user.

Once you login into putty session type below command to provide the overview what is running in the ESXi host

# vim-cmd /vmsvc/getallvms

You can see that the output of the command can show you the list of VM IDs. You can pick the list of VM IDs which you want to remove from the VM host.

Now further you can check the list of VM IDs with invalid status along with ID number.

Case 1: Reload VM to recover from invalid state

Here first, we will try to recover the host by reloading the configuration. We can try to reload the VM as to rectify the issue but if it fails then we have to unregister the VM (case-2)

# vmsvc/reload <VM id>

Case 2: Unregister VM Host

Now we need to unregister the above invalid VM IDs from CLI by running below command followed by VM ID number

#vim –cm /vmsvc/unregister <VM id>

Further you can cross verify the removal of VM IDs from the Web GUI of host as well.

You can reconfigure the VM hosts once removing the VM IDs.

Thanks for reading!!!

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Hyper V vs VMware : Detailed Comparison

What is VMware Horizon?

SaaS providers host their applications online so that customers can access them from anywhere at any time. These providers charge users regularly instead of charging for each software license upfront. We have compiled this list of the top SaaS companies to help you know them better and expand your knowledge about the industry.

Many people consider these companies as leaders in this segment because of their large market share, a high number of users and a high number of partnerships with other players in the same field.

Before going to the list of SaaS providers, lets enlist and understand the benefits of SaaS.

What are the benefits of SaaS?

SaaS applications are hosted remotely, which allows businesses to use a single application for multiple purposes.

This can reduce the number of applications you have to manage, and it can be easier to access compared to installing software on your servers. There are also several other benefits to choosing SaaS, including:

• Business continuity – Businesses will never lose access to data if one location experiences a power outage or natural disaster.
• Security – Hosted applications are better protected from security breaches because data is stored on remote servers.
• Scalability – You can add more employees or off-hours workers as needed, and you can also remove access as needed.
• Lower risk – SaaS providers typically offer service-level agreements in case something goes wrong.
• Ease of transition – If you transition to a new employer or if your company acquires another company, you can continue to use the same applications.
• Support – SaaS providers offer customer support over the phone, email, or online chat.
• Subscription cost – SaaS providers typically charge a monthly fee rather than requiring a large upfront investment.

List of Top 10 Software as a Service (SaaS) Companies 

Salesforce

With revenue of $11 billion, Salesforce is the world’s largest SaaS company. It is an enterprise cloud computing company that sells a suite of software products with the most prominent being Sales Cloud, Service Cloud, Marketing Cloud, and SalesforceIQ. These services are aimed at improving the way businesses and organizations manage their customers, sales, and business processes.

Salesforce’s customer relationship management (CRM) and business process management (BPM) software provide organizational insight that helps companies increase productivity through streamlined tasks and real-time analytics. Salesforce was founded in 1999 by former Oracle product managers Marc Benioff and Parker Harris.

Microsoft

Microsoft is one of the best SaaS companies and is a pioneer in the application-as-a-service model. It is a multinational computer software corporation that is headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Microsoft’s fiscal year is from July 1 to June 30 and the company has a market cap of $820.8 billion and is run by Satya Nadella. Microsoft offers a wide range of products and services for individuals and businesses. It operates in three segments:

• Productivity and Business Processes,
• Intelligent Cloud, and
• More Personal Computing.

The company’s portfolio of products and services includes Operating Systems, Security, Developer Tools, Business Process Tools, Office products, Gaming, Consumer and Office services, Productivity services, Microsoft Azure services, and Other products and services.

HUBSPOT

HubSpot is a marketing and sales software SaaS provider with a focus on inbound marketing. It offers a marketing automation tool, a CRM, an analytics dashboard, and a sales automation tool. The company also provides training programs and certifications to help organizations adopt its tools.

HubSpot was founded in 2010 by Dharmesh Shah and Jared Newman. It is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. HubSpot has raised $664 million in funding and has more than 17,000 customers.

Adobe

Adobe is a multinational software company that provides services in the areas of digital marketing and creative software. Its services include web and mobile applications, advertising and marketing services, video and audio content, and software and security solutions. Whether you want to learn how to make a profile picture to build your brand, create stunning visual content, or manage digital marketing campaigns, Adobe provides a suite of tools and resources to support your creative and professional goals. The company was founded in February 1982 and is headquartered in San Jose, California, with facilities around the world.

Adobe has more than 50,000 customers in over 90 countries, including 85 of the Fortune 100 companies. Some of Adobe’s best-known products and services include Adobe Digital Marketing, Creative Cloud, Adobe Experience Manager, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Sign, and more.

Google

Google is an American multinational technology company that specializes in Internet-related services and products, which include online advertising technologies, search, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Google was founded in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were Ph.D. students at Stanford University. Together, they own 16.3% of their shares and control 56.7% of the stockholder voting power through special voting shares.

Google is the world’s largest Internet corporation, as well as the world’s largest Internet search engine. The company also analyzes Tiktok user data and offers other services involving the Internet. Google is the parent company of several Internet-based services and products, including

• the search engine,
• the advertising service AdWords,
• the cloud service Google Cloud,
• the online knowledge market Google Search,
• the online email service Gmail,
• the online video sharing service YouTube,
• the online translation service Google Translate,
• the online map service Google Maps,
• the online shopping service Google Shopping,
• the online office suite Google Docs, and
• the social network Google+

Slack

Slack is an online workspace where teams can communicate, collaborate, and complete their work. It offers messaging, file hosting, and video conferencing tools. Slack was founded in 2013 and has a current valuation of $15 billion. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Slack has over 10 million daily users and has raised over $800 million from investors, including Sequoia Capital, GGV Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Thrive Capital.

Slack’s first product was an internal communications tool called Tiny Speck developed for Atlassian’s office in Sydney, Australia. In March 2013, the company launched a beta version of Tiny Speck to the public. In September 2013, the company raised $42 million in a Series B round of funding led by Greylock, including investors Marc Andreessen, Kleiner Perkins, and Sequoia Capital.

Freshworks

Freshworks is a cloud-based software SaaS company that makes products for sales and service organizations. Freshworks offers a suite of products, including Freshdesk, Freshservice, Freshcaller, Freshmeet, Freshmail, and Freshsales. Freshworks was founded in 2011 by Subramanian Venkat and Ramanand Chandrasekaran.

The company has raised more than $205 million in funding from investors including Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, and Sands Capital. Freshworks has over 8,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including Adidas, Tesla, and Adobe.

Freshworks was previously named Freshdesk, an online help desk software. The company changed its name to Freshworks in 2018. Freshworks has more than 500 employees, with offices in San Francisco, Chennai, Sydney, and Hyderabad.

ServiceNow

ServiceNow is an enterprise SaaS company that provides cloud-based IT service management and IT operations management software. The company’s products include ServiceNow Service Automation, ServiceNow Config Automation, ServiceNow IT Operations, ServiceNow IT Automation. ServiceNow was founded in 2003 by Fred Gillo, Vikram Krishnan, and John Morules.

The company has raised $1.37 billion from investors including Southeastern Asset Management, Blackrock, Capital Group Companies, and GIC. ServiceNow was the first cloud-based enterprise IT operations management software and IT service management platform that could be accessed from any device.

The company also offers a hybrid cloud hosting model and a multi-tenant model. ServiceNow has over 6,400 customers, including Avis, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HP Inc., Hitachi, Intel, Qualcomm, and VMware.

Atlassian

Atlassian is an Australian software company that provides collaboration tools for software developers and project managers. It offers a suite of software products including Jira (project management), Confluence (knowledge management), BitBucket (source code management), HipChat (team communication), and Stride (workplace chat). The company’s products are used by software teams to track issues, assign work, and collaborate.

Atlassian was founded in 2002 by Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquhar. The company has raised $3.3 billion from investors including Accel Partners, BlackRock, Google Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and TPG. Atlassian’s products are used by more than 100,000 organizations, including 84% of the Fortune 100 and 75% of the Fortune 500. The company has over 8,000 customers, including Adobe, Amazon, Cisco, eBay, NASA, Netflix, Spotify, Tesla, and Etsy.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a file hosting service that enables users to share and store files online. It is a cloud computing service that allows users to store files online and access them from a web browser or mobile device. Dropbox was founded in 2007 by Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi.

The company is valued at $10 billion. Dropbox has raised $439 million from investors including Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Dragoneer Investment Group. Dropbox has over 500 million users and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

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How to make a career as a SaaS Developer?

5 Top Cloud Service Providers

Today we look more in detail about two important terminologies: Cloud security posture management and cloud security access broker, what is the purpose of each, advantages and disadvantages, use cases etc.

Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM)

Cloud security posture management (CSPM) is meant for protection of workloads from outside by assessment of secure and compliant configurations on control plane in cloud platform. There are a set of tools which support monitoring of compliance, DevOps processes integration, incident response, risk assessment and risk virtualization.

It identifies unknown and excessive risk across an organization cloud plane including cloud services for computing, storage, identify and access management, and many more. It provides continuous compliance monitoring, configuration drift prevention, investigations in security operations center. Policies can be created at organization level to define desired state of configuration for cloud infrastructure; which CSPM product can use for monitoring based on those policies.

It enables enterprises to detect and take care of configuration issues which affect their cloud environments as per center for internet security benchmarks for cloud providers. CSPM tools can automatically detect the cloud environments non-compliance and security violations and provide automated steps to fix them. New risks for cloud environment, breach prevention, and uniform cloud configurations are manageable with CCPM.

Features of CSPM

• Visibility and security controls enforcement across multi cloud providers
• Discovery and identification of cloud workloads and services
• Threat detection and alert prioritization
• Capabilities of Cloud risk management, risk visualization and risk prioritization
• Continuous compliance monitoring against different regulatory standards

Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)

Cloud access security broker (CASB) is a firewall for cloud environment. It has a security policy enhancement gateway to make sure that users are compliant to organization policies and actions are authorized. It can identify all cloud services used by an organization, be it Shadow IT, unapproved or unmanaged SaaS and PaaS products. It enables alerts, cloud usage tracking, reporting, logging, assessment of risks posed by Shadow IT and event monitoring.

It has auditing and reporting tools for regulatory compliances, in addition to cloud stored areas. This provides user authentication, authorized applications, anti-phishing, account takeover, URL filtering, malware detection, and sandbox protection.

CASB can also monitor access to data and with granular access controls it can enforce data centric security policies and policy-based encryption.

Features of CASB

• Detection of shadow IT
• Usage tracking in cloud services
• Reporting and logging
• Alerts generation
• Enforcement of regulatory requirements
• User behaviour analysis
• Malware detection
• Encryption and tokenization
• Enforcement of data loss prevention policies

Comparison Table: CSPM vs CASB

Below table summarizes the difference between the two:

Download the comparison table: CSPM vs CASB

Conclusion

The recent cloud breaches are forcing organizations to double their security and it is a domination conversation across board meetings. Cloud security means all procedures and technologies which secure the cloud computing environment against internal and external threats and ensure adherence to regulatory requirements which may differ from country to country. Both CSPM and CASB are needed to secure a cloud computing environment. CASB acts as a security policy enforcement gateway to ensure users are compliant to policy requirements whereas CSPM is required to ensure continuous compliance monitoring.

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Top 13 CASB Solutions

What is CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker)?

Today we look more in detail about cloud access security broker (CASB) and web proxy, what are the significant differences between both products, its advantages etc.

About CASB

Cloud access security broker (CASB) is a cloud hosted solution placed between cloud service customers and cloud service providers to implement security, compliance and governance controls and security policies for cloud-based applications and help to extend security controls of infrastructure over the cloud. There are four pillars of CASB namely visibility, compliance, data security and threat detection. 

• Visibility – into user activity over cloud applications such as who uses which cloud application, their departments , locations and devices being used
• Compliance – identify sensitive data in cloud and enforce DLP policies to ensure data compliance objectives are met
• Data security – implements data security such as encryption, tokenization and access control inclusive of information rights management
• Threat protection – detect and respond to malicious threats, privilege user threats and accounts compromise 

Features of CASB

• Identification of malware attack and its prevention from entering it into organization network
• User authentication checking of credentials and ensures access to granted to only appropriate resource
• Web application firewalls (WAF) designed to breach security at application level instead of network level 
• Data loss prevention to ensure users cannot transmit organization confidential information or intellectual property outside its boundaries
• Provides detailed, independent risk assessment for each cloud services 
• Enforces risk-based policies 
• Controls user access based on context 
• Apply machine learning to detect threats 

Use cases for CASB

• Discovery of cloud application and risk rating assignment
• Adaptive access control
• Data loss prevention
• Behaviour analytics for users and entities
• Threat protection
• Client facing encryption
• Pre-cloud encryption and tokenization
• Bring your own key management
• Monitoring and log management
• Cloud security posture management 

How does CASB work?

CASB working involves securing data flow to and from cloud environments by implementation of organization security policies and protection against cyber attacks, malware prevention and provide data security with encryption and make data streams non-interceptive for hackers. It uses auto discovery to locate cloud applications in use and identify high risk applications, users and key risk factors. 

CASB can be deployed in forward or reverse proxy mode to enforce online controls however similarities stop here with web proxy. CASB is focused on deep visibility and granular controls for usage of cloud. it can be deployed in API mode to scan data at rest in cloud services and enforce policies across cloud applications data. 

About Proxy 

Web proxies offer broad protection against network threats, and offers limited visibility into cloud usage, without any integration to CASB it tracks cloud access over corporate networks. Some customers use network security solutions to terminate SSL and inspect content for malware, proxies and firewalls and bucket cloud services into high level categories which usually do not cover the underlying function of the services such as CRM, file share or social media. Usually, web proxies redirect URL access requests to an alternate web page hosting a notification that URL is blocked (millions of illicit sites containing pornography, drugs, gambling etc.).

Firewalls can be configured to block traffic from a specific IP address in the same manner. But it lacks detailed and up to date cloud registries with cloud service URLs and IP addresses to extend this access control functionality over to cloud services. As routinely new URLs are introduced by cloud service providers and IP that are not blocked which leads to ‘proxy leakage’ in which employees may have access to websites which IT does not want them to visit. CASB works as complementary technology to web proxies and can leverage existing network infrastructure to gain visibility into cloud usage. 

Web proxies capture data about cloud usage occurring over the network but cannot differentiate between cloud usage and internet usage. 

Comparison Table: CASB vs Proxy

Below table summarizes the difference between the two:

FUNCTION	CASB	PROXY
Log Collection	CASB solutions detect which users are using which cloud services by ingestion of log files	Capture cloud usage over network but can’t differentiate between internet usage and cloud usage
Packet Capture	CASB ingests part of traffic into existing network solution and gain visibility into data in packet capture	Usually inspects web traffic and block URLs based on policies and redirects user to a web page indicating URL is blocked due to varied reasons such as gambling ,illegitimate sites etc.
Access	Access over browser, mobile applications and desktop apps, sync client	Browser only
Use Cases	Quarantine sensitive data and malware, encrypt sensitive data at rest , remove public shares of sensitive data	Stop malware Encrypt sensitive data in real time Govern on or off managed network devices
Products	MacAfee MVISION, Microsoft defender, Symantec CloudSOC etc.	SmartProxy, Brightdata, Oxylabs etc.

Download the comparison Table: CASB vs Proxy

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CSPM vs CASB: Detailed Comparison

Top 13 CASB Solutions

New technology trends arise every day, but not all of them remain relevant. The same goes for the cloud computing industry. There are some technologies that have solid potential while others will disappear sooner than later.

Today, we take a look at the top 10 cloud computing trends of 2023 based on abundant market research and expert opinions. Cloud computing is a broad concept that covers many services, deployment models, and technologies. Its rapid adoption has led to new innovations and existing solutions optimised for this environment in almost every industry vertical. There are various Cloud Computing courses available to keep yourself updated with the ever emerging cloud technologies.

The following article details why cloud usage will continue to grow in the coming years, how businesses can capitalise on this trend to streamline their operations, and which areas of the cloud computing space will see the most innovation by 2023.

List of Top 10 Cloud Computing Trends

Multi-Cloud Solutions

The number one trend that will affect the entire cloud computing industry is the growing adoption of multi-cloud solutions. According to a recent report, more than 70% of companies use more than one cloud provider, and 23% use three or more different cloud vendors.

The reason behind this is that companies need to take advantage of the best features and pricing of each cloud vendor to optimise their IT organisations. However, this isn’t an easy task given that cloud services come with different price structures, payment models, SLAs, and feature sets.

Multi-cloud is likely to become the default choice for most organisations as it maximises their return on investment and helps them avoid vendor lock-ins.

AI and ML-Powered Cloud

Artificial intelligence and Machine learning have been on the rise in recent years, and they’re expected to reach new heights in the coming five years. AI and ML are used in many areas of business, and the cloud is no different.

AI-powered cloud services can help organisations with everything from cyber security to predictive maintenance. One of the most prominent AI and ML trends for the cloud is AI-powered image recognition.

This technology can help enterprises analyse images and identify objects within them using AI algorithms. A great example of this is Google Cloud’s image recognition solution. It can help you categorise images and detect objects in them with a few clicks.

Another trend is natural language processing. This technology allows you to analyse text and identify topics, mood, sentiment, and much more.

Cloud Security

As businesses increasingly embrace cloud-based solutions, they will require robust security solutions to keep sensitive data safe. This is where multi-factor authentication and risk-based authentication come into play.

Based on user behaviour, risk-based authentication flags and suspicious behaviour prompts users to provide additional authentication factors such as one-time tokens, passcodes sent to your smartphone, or biometrics such as voice and face recognition.

Multi-factor authentication, on the other hand, requires users to confirm their identity using multiple identifiers such as a username, password, and an authenticator app.

Another interesting trend that has emerged recently is machine learning-driven cyber security. This technology uses machine learning algorithms to predict and prevent cyber attacks, detect malware, and analyse data patterns.

Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery

The next trend is the growing adoption of backup and disaster recovery services in the cloud. Cloud-based disaster recovery solutions are becoming increasingly popular because they’re easy to set up and manage.

Moreover, they’re cheaper than on-premise DR environments and allow organisations to achieve DR compliance easier.

Another trend we’re likely to see is the shift towards hybrid DR. Hybrid DR is the combination of cloud-based DR and on-premise DR. It’s a more cost-effective solution than on-premise DR alone, but it comes with challenges such as increased complexity.

Edge Computing

The next trend is edge computing, which is expected to become even more widespread in the coming years. Edge computing enables you to offload certain tasks from the cloud and process them at the network edge. This helps reduce network latency and improve the user experience.

Moreover, it can help businesses reduce their network costs by using cheaper equipment and removing the need for expensive WAN links. Some of the most common edge computing use cases are IoT applications, voice-over-IP communications, and authentication.

IoT Platform

The Internet of Things is a technology that’s likely to see exponential adoption in the next five years. With IoT, organisations can collect and analyse data from sensors and devices that are connected to the internet. This data can then be used to automate tasks and improve operational efficiency.

There are many different IoT platforms available on the market that can help businesses deploy IoT services quickly and efficiently. One of the top cloud computing trends for 2023 is the growing adoption of hybrid IoT platforms. These hybrid IoT platforms combine on-premise and cloud-based solutions to provide businesses with a more cost-effective and flexible solution.

DevSecOps

The next trend in the cloud computing industry is DevSecOps. This is an application of a more mature culture in the software development process, with the focus being on the security of the end product. A key difference between DevOps and DevSecOps is that the latter places more emphasis on security. This is because the software development process has become more mature, and organisations have a better understanding of their security weaknesses.

This is one of the most prominent trends in cloud computing because it can help organisations to achieve compliance with ease and less effort.

Serverless Architecture

Another promising trend is serverless architecture, which will become more relevant in the future as its adoption increases. Serverless architecture is an application architecture that has no dedicated servers or there is no concept of servers.

Instead, serverless architectures use software tools and APIs to run applications. You can host a serverless application on any cloud provider and pay only for what you use. This makes serverless architecture a very cost-effective solution. The most common serverless application areas are big data, IoT, and artificial intelligence.

Open-Source Cloud Computing

The final trend on our list is the adoption of open-source cloud computing. Open-source cloud computing is an approach that leverages open-source software and standardised resources to host applications.

With open-source cloud computing, businesses can reduce their spending on software and hardware, as well as enjoy better flexibility and scalability. Open-source cloud computing is a great choice for startups and small businesses that need to keep costs low.

Moreover, it’s a secure option for large enterprises that want more control over their infrastructure.

Service Mesh

A service mesh is a critical component of any cloud platform. It’s important to ensure that these platforms have secure and fast communication environments. Using a service mesh, you can provide customers with a dedicated S2S (service to service) communication layer. This will result in a highly secure and dynamic cloud ecosystem. Cloud platforms are still developing and adapting to new user demands. A service mesh fills these new demands and allows access to multiple policies in your cloud environment.

Conclusion

The cloud computing industry has come a long way since Amazon Web Services first launched in 2006. The potential of cloud computing is still far from being fully explored, and we’re likely to see many more innovations as the years pass.

The trends described above are likely to become more prominent in the next five years. However, it’s important to note that nothing is set in stone. New technologies and innovations may emerge that could change the cloud computing landscape as we know it.

Continue Reading:

What is Multi Cloud Network Architecture – Aviatrix ?

Serverless Architecture vs Traditional Architecture

• Virtual Machine
• Containers
• Serverless and many points in between security devices

They can spin up and be destroyed in a matter of a minute. This dynamic distributed hardware makes it hard to identify resources, configuration, monitoring alerts, control permissions and Identity Access. Moreover, it can ensure compliance like HIPPA, SOC2 and PCI.

What is Prisma Cloud?

Palo Alto Prisma Cloud is a comprehensive platform which simplifies security across the cloud native network.

This Cloud Native Platform brings together a comprehensive security and capabilities by delivering Full Life Cycle Security and Full Stack Protection. Prisma Cloud enhances Visibility, Secure Data, perform Threat detection and Workload Protection. 

In Palo Alto Networks we know the future will run into the Cloud technology so Prisma helps us to secure the Cloud hub and secure your future technologies that way.

Prisma Cloud gives us below questions to think about Cloud Security:

• How can cloud provide security to users
• How can we protect cloud-based infrastructure?
• How can the Cloud help us to deliver better security?

To answer the above questions, we should understand what exactly Prisma Cloud is. Nowadays 8 out of 10 applications are moving to the Cloud Network. Everything is managed by a Cloud provider or DevOps team.

Prisma Cloud can identify essentially configuration errors, particular workload has got out of compliance and needs to be corrected as per Governance rule and regulation to meet those Compliance.  Prisma Cloud could do lots of different things (shown in below image)

Let’s discuss some key-points of Prisma Cloud

• Supports Multiple Cloud Infrastructure Platforms: It supports deployment of multiple cloud infrastructure from using single CONSOLE. Like you can implement and monitor your network which are hosted on different cloud services Like Azure, AWS and Google.
• Policy Scan and Monitoring: Prisma can scan policies which are implemented on multiple Cloud network and compare those policies with compliance standards. It notifies the administrator if any policy violation happens.
• Anomaly Detection: Prisma cloud uses machine learning to detect the malicious behaviour of traffic. Prisma can check the traffic pattern and take necessary action accordingly. Every traffic pattern is categorised by severity of risk and relevant business impact. Furthermore, risks are aggregated based on the severity and alerts can be customised by the administrator to get the notification on the dashboard.
• Compliance Report: Prisma Cloud can generate policy violation and threat identification report which further discussed with CISA and risk management team to prohibit the risk factor and mitigate any compliance issue.

Palo Alto Prisma Cloud Dashboard Features

Prisma Cloud Dashboard provides you below features

• It provides and measure Cloud Security Capabilities
• Progress Report and Alerts
• Increase operationalization to modify the errors

1. Dashboard: It covers Asset, Alerts, Compliance, and policies

2. Inventory: Alerts and Compliance of assets which are managed by PrismaCloud

3. SecOps: It represents the performance of assets which are connected to Internet.

4. Prisma Cloud Policies: It provides predefined policies which can adhere to PIC-DSS, HIPPA, SOC2 and         Governance. You can customise Prisma Policies according to network requirements.

5. Threat Detection: It can detect Vulnerabilities in CSPM (Cloud Security Posture Management) and CWPP     (Cloud Workload Protection Platform) 

6. Investigation: Investigate logs and error in Prisma Cloud

Compliance Dashboard: It shows Compliance chart and standards. We can customise the report and charts in this Dashboard.

Prisma Cloud Network Security: It provides network security logs that are exposed to public cloud network.

Prisma Cloud Onboarding

To add your account to Prisma Cloud first you need to add your Cloud Vendor (AWS, Azure, Google) to Prisma Cloud. Please find the steps below

1. Login into your Prisma Cloud Account 

2. Go to Setting

3. Select New Cloud Account

4. It will prompt multiple Cloud Vendors in the list, select your Cloud Service Provider. Here I am selecting AWS.

5. Name your AWS Cloud name

6. Select Mode of Cloud i.e, Monitor (Default Service Account with Read-Only Access) OR Monitor & Protect  Account (Prisma can read the configuration and apply mitigation as to avoid Compliance Issue)

7. Select Data Security option which scan malware

8. Select Next

9. From the Configure Account step we can select Create Stack, we will use CloudFormation template to create the resources that are required on AWS account. So, the Prisma Cloud should have the necessary APIs and the Cloud Trail SNS data

10. Select Cloud Stack

Once we select Create Stack it will navigate to the Console of the AWS Account, we can monitor the Stack creation process. 

You can mention Stack Name, Prisma Cloud Role Name with DLP. After verifying the configuration, you can select Create Stack.

Now a new Stack has been created. Make sure there is no errors have occurred.

If I click to the Output TAB, two new resources are created 

• The RoleARN: It is required to access your S3 buckets 
• The SNSARN: It is required for Forward scan event notifications 

Now we need to go to the Prisma Cloud window (step 9) and add those values in Role ARN tab and SNS topic ARN tab.

11. We can copy RoleARN from AWS Account and paste in Prisma Cloud Onboarding setup.

12. Similarly, we can copy SNSARN information and paste it to SNS Topic ARN.

Now go to Resources TAB and check if the RoleARN and SNSARN are created there.

Now the next step is to create Cloud Trail from the Setup tab. We configure Cloud Trail to monitor right events and SNS Topics so that Prisma Cloud Data Security Module when new objects are added to storage and forward scanning is triggered to pick up any new or modified files.

As shown in the below link in the dialogue box, it takes you to Tech Docs, online documentation where steps are mentioned to follow the entire On-boarding procedure for AWS/admin guide.

13. Let’s go back to the AWS console and select Cloud Trail in the option. Now we are navigated to Cloud Trail service page.

14. We get started to Create Cloud Trail.

15. Give name to the CloudTrail, we have mentioned ctrail-demo, select other options for S3 and Trail log folder.

16. Please refer all the steps mentioned in below image and when your are finished, Click Next.

17. In the  Choose Log Events sections select event types, dis-select API read mode.

18. In the Data event follow below image and select the mentioned, red-marked options. Click Next

19. It further moved to the review page. Review your configuration and click Create Trail TAB.

Now we have seen from the table that Trail has been created and logging successfully.

20. Let’s move forward to the next step once CloudTrail configuration is completed.

21. Now we will configure Data Security. You have all the S3 bucket options to select for account. OR you can customise and select a specific bucket list as per your requirement.

Select option Forward OR Forward and Backward option 

Forward option: Forward scan is enabled by default and cannot be disabled 

Forward & backward scan: when you select backward scan, Prisma Cloud starts scanning all existing files in the bucket in a batch operation.

Depending on the files in the bucket, backward portions may cost more for organisation.

22. Select Default Account from the option and click next.

23. Now we can check the status of services which we have configured for the Prisma Cloud account. It monitors the  Prisma Cloud status with an AWS account.

For Data Security status of CloudTrail and Storage MUST be healthy. Once status is Green you can proceed for the Done option.

Your account on Prisma Cloud is ready.

Continue Reading:

Palo Alto Prisma Access: SASE

Palo Alto Prisma SD WAN: CloudGenix SD WAN

Fog computing, popularly known as fogging is a concept that was released by Cisco in 2014. It was solely designed to connect the internet to devices at the periphery of the network. The main objective of fogging was to minimize the latency that beset cloud computing.

As we can see in the above scenario diagram, where we don’t have Fog computing setup,  the data is sent from IoT (internet of things) devices to the cloud directly.

While Fog computing uses nodes to evaluate information on the edge of the network without transferring it back to the Cloud. The idea behind fog computing is to perform as much localized processing as possible using fog computing systems, which are much nearer to the data-generating devices. This assures that only processed or optimized information is forwarded to Cloud rather than raw data and hence the bandwidth requirements are reduced.

Therefore, we can call Fog computing as a decentralized computing structure located between the cloud and devices producing the data. Currently, fog computing is establishing its foundations, and its market is expected to be worth $6.4 billion in coming years. We can call Fog as the Sum of Cloud and IOT.

Watch this video for better understanding:

(or continue reading)

How it works?

Fogging functions by building nodes all through a network. Fog nodes can be devices such as switches, cameras, routers, and controllers. The nodes can be placed in target locales, including offices and vehicles. Thus, when an IoT device generates information, it is processed in one of the nodes without being sent back to the cloud. Fog computing offers decentralized local access, which majorly differentiates it from cloud computing, which provides centralized access.   Data in fog computing follows the steps below:

• From device to automation controller
• Automation controller sends data via the protocol gateway or OPC server
• OPC server then converts the Data into an internet-based protocol
• Data is sent to the fog node for further analysis

Importance of Fog computing

Fog computing speeds up responses and awareness to events. Quick answers can boost service levels, increase safety and improve output in industries such as mining, public sector, transportation, oil and gas, manufacturing as well as utilities.  It also creates new business opportunities, such as vehicle insurance and pay-as-you-drive. The significant benefits of fog computing include lower operating cost; elevated business alertness; more in-depth insight into privacy control and better security.

The concepts help the cloud to handle two Exabytes of information generated every day from the internet. Analyzing information close to where it is needed and produced helps solve issues of excess data volume, velocity, and variety. Fog computing catalyzes awareness by eliminating the round trip of data to the cloud. By offloading gigabytes from the leading network; it reduces costly bandwidth additions and protects sensitive data. Companies that use fog computing have better business agility, improved safety levels, and customer service. It keeps up with the growth of IoT devices, which has proved impossible through cloud computing.

Advantages of Fog Computing

1. Low latency and drastic reduction in amount of data that is sent to the cloud.
2. Since the distance to be traveled by the data is reduced, it results in saving network bandwidth.
3. Improves scope for real time application and reduces the response time of the system. This results in enhancing user experience
4. System security is improved in addition to better privacy since the data resides close to the host.
5. Fog computing can provide better reliability due to reduction of data transmission burden.

Some of use cases of Fog Computing

1. Smart cities equipped with fog computing will allow traffic regulation with smart traffic signals and road barriers.
2. Smart System at home which have smart lighting, programmable shades and sprinklers and infact intelligent alarm systems.
3. In Healthcare also, doctors can consider smart choices during a case of emergency, while being secured and with reduced delays in comparison to a cloud-based application.
4. Fog computing has also been embraced by many other industries like agriculture, retail, oil & gas, Transportation and Energy.

Continue Reading:

 Cloud Computing

Hybrid Cloud vs Multi Cloud

Most computer major students find it difficult to decide between cyber security and cloud computing. So here in this article, you will get to know about the important things about both the careers to make the right choice. 

So without further ado, let’s see about your two options – 

What is Cyber Security? 

Cyber security deals with the security of all the things connected to the internet. It deals with the protection of data and has a promising career path in a large organization. 

The US Department of Homeland Security defines cyber security as ” the art of protecting networks, devices, and data from unauthorized access or criminal use and the practice of ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information” 

Skill Requirement for career in Cyber Security

To make the right comparison first you should know what are the skills and qualifications to get into any cyber security role –

• It is very challenging and he/she needs to be kept updated on the recent developments.
• You should have extensive knowledge of Web App Security, Network security, etc…He should have familiarity with various domains to deal with new types of threats. 
• As said in the definition, cyber security is an art. Like any other art stream, you can achieve perfection through practice. But it is hard to find opportunities to practice as you cannot hack all the websites you see. 

Now let’s see what are the career opportunities available for you in the cyber security domain – 

Roles & Career Opportunities under Cyber Security

i) Security Analyst: 

A security analyst is a technical person who analyzes the threats and risks of a particular business or industry and provides them with security advice. They also design solutions or software to protect the interest of the companies. Security Analysts can also form a private security company or work for the government. 

ii) Network Security Specialist: 

These people check the quality of the network and prevent insertions of the virus through the network and they also check the network devices and fix if there are any bugs under them. 

iii) Cloud Security 

And now after the development of Cloud technology, there is a new career opportunity as a Cloud security analyst, which is a security analyst with cloud computing knowledge. 

What is Cloud Computing? 

Cloud computing refers to storing and analyzing the data in the cloud servers instead of local servers thus they can be accessed from anywhere. 

Cloud computing Services can be divided into three types Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service ( PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). They offer respective services in their name through the internet. 

Skill Requirement for career in Cloud Computing

The skills required are – 

• Deep knowledge development streams like database, software programming, and infrastructure or network management
• You should be familiar with different platforms like AWS, Azure and GCS, etc… 
• You should have creative and problem solving characteristics. 

Roles & Career Opportunities under Cloud Computing

i) Cloud Engineer 

This engineer works with companies that use cloud computing services, he deals with the storage, backup, and other services of the company. He creates solutions and software according to the needs of the business. 

ii) Cloud Architect

The cloud Architect is responsible for creating a perfect cloud infrastructure design according to the needs of the business. He should consider the technical resource availability and cost while preparing this design. 

iii) Cloud Developer 

The cloud developer brings the cloud architect plans into action, he should have deep knowledge of several programming knowledge. He creates Software that is provided as a Product (SAP) to meet today’s IT environment. 

Career in Cyber Security or Cloud Computing: Which is better? 

Both fields have nearly equal opportunities, Cyber security needs the person to be more knowledgeable in Computer Science (Software and Hardware) and mathematics. Cloud computing requests the person to have deep programming knowledge and development skills. 

You need to get an OSCP (Offensive Security Certified Professional) certificate to practice as a Cyber Security personnel. Whereas you should get cloud certifications to make a career in Cloud computing. 

And when it comes to salary, the average starting salary of a Cyber Security expert is 6 Lakhs per Annum. Though the salary of a Cloud Engineer or professional varies from organization there are many opportunities for you. 

So if you are okay with working alone and interested in hacking and bug fixing then cyber security is for you. If you rather work as a team and are creative enough to develop new software or cloud infrastructure then Cloud Computing is the best one for you. 

If you have any further doubts please leave them in the comment section below. 

Continue Reading:

Cyber Security vs Network Security: Know the difference

Top 10 Cybersecurity trends

Top 10 Cloud Computing Certifications

Today in this article you will get to know about the difference between these two domains and the career opportunities and skills required and more. Okay without further ado let’s get started. 

What is Network Security? 

Network security is the branch of cyber security that focuses on the protection of data, applications, or systems that are connected at the network level. To understand more about Network security you should first know what a Network is. 

So the simple definition for the network is, that network refers to the two or more computers that are systems that are linked to share resources and communications. Today’s network architecture is developed into more complex ones and is open to various vulnerabilities. 

These vulnerabilities are spread through various devices. It can be unauthorized access to data, hardware or software problems, and so on.  So a network security analyst is responsible for protecting the data, and resources of the computers or other electronic devices connected in a network. 

Network Security Control Methods

Network security can be achieved by the following three types of controls – 

i) Physical Network Control 

Here the security personnel focuses on preventing unauthorized access to the network through physical components like Routers, cables, etc… Some of the security measures taken are biometric authentication to data or network rooms, locks, etc… 

ii) Technical Network Control

Here both data and system are protected from the malicious activities of both outsiders and employees. The most well-known security measures like firewalls, and antivirus come under this control. They protect the network from any technical threats. 

iii) Administrative Control 

This control deals with the control of policies and other processes like user behavior, administrative powers, etc….This is achieved by providing different levels of power to each system in the network, in short, it gives special power to the admin to access and rewrite the data of the company. 

What is Cloud Security? 

Cloud security refers to the protection of interests of both cloud provider and client in a cloud-based infrastructure. Cloud security is a broader concept than network security which covers the whole corporate structure, as they are mostly offered as infrastructure as service. Before seeing more about cloud security let’s what is a Cloud? 

Cloud computing is an advanced form of networking where all the computers are connected to a particular cloud or server through the internet instead of physical cables. These cloud services are available in three forms: infrastructure as a Service, Software as a service, and platform as a service. 

And different types of cloud security are adopted in each of the above forms. Though cloud services providers take active steps to minimize the risk, in modern days the threats are increasing as most businesses are migrating to cloud-based services. 

Cloud Security Solutions

Here are some well-known cloud security solutions – 

i) Identity and Access Management (IAM)

It is like administrative control in network security, IAM allows the enterprise to policy-driven enforcements and protocols to prevent authorized access. Separate digital identities are created for each user to achieve this

ii) Data Loss Prevention (DLP) 

Offers a set of tools and services to ensure the security of the cloud, which includes data encryption, remediation alerts, backup strategy, etc… 

iii) Security Information and event management (SIEM )

It focuses on threat monitoring and detection in cloud-based environments, uses AI-driven technologies to correlate with the past data, and ensures against any potential threats. 

Difference Between Network Security and Cloud Security

Now we get to know about the difference between Network Security and Cloud Security. Let’s summarize the things we have seen till now, to form a difference table. 

Continue Reading:

Top 10 SIEM Tools

Cyber Security vs Network Security: Know the difference

Virtual Machine Monitor or VMM also called as Hypervisor is a technology that separates software (computer operating system) from hardware. With a hypervisor, a host computer can support and accommodate many other virtual machines by sharing its processing and memory. Hypervisors can also be created for mobiles. The basic concept is to maximize the use of computer resources like CPU cycles, memory, and network bandwidth.

Hypervisors allow every guest (virtual machines) to access the host computer’s CPU and memory; it also limits the portion of resources each VM can make use of so that other VM’s can also run on a single system easily.

Talking about the types, hypervisors are distinguished into two:

Type 1 Hypervisors: Native

Also known as “bare-metal” hypervisors which lie between guest operating systems and hardware, these directly run on the hardware of the host computer. It also helps manage guest virtual machines. Type 1 hypervisors interacts with the memory, CPU of the host. Direct access makes it an efficient choice, also increasing the security as there is nothing between the CPU and itself that can be put on stake. But, it does need a separate machine to manage host hardware and different VMs.

Type 2 Hypervisors: Hosted

This kind of hypervisor works as another software on the computer. It needs to be lodged or installed in the computer. It differs with the native hypervisors in performance. Type 2 hypervisor provides better connection between the host operating system and the guest virtual machine allowing users to open and exit as required and enabling them to access host OS folders and files from the VM. There lies a potential risk of security because guest OS can be manipulated if the host OS gets compromised.

List of Top 5 Type 1 Hypervisors in Market

VMware vSphere/ ESXi:

Donning the leader’s hat is the VMware available in 5 commercial versions and one version free of cost. The product is vSphere/ESXi. Earlier the free version was called “Free ESXi” which is directly loaded on the server. It provides features like svMotion, vMotion, or centralized management. Free version supports up to 32 GB RAM per server. There are also some low cost offerings making it affordable for small scale infrastructures.

Microsoft Hyper-V:

Earlier released under Microsoft, Hyper-V is available both commercially and free of cost. There are 4 commercial editions-

• Foundation
• Essentials
• Standard
• Datacenter Hyper-V

It provides features like storage migration, VM replica, dynamic memory and many more. Along with vSphere and XenServer, Hyper-V falls in the top 3 range of type 1 hypervisors.

Related – Hyper-V vs VMware

Citrix XenServer:

XenServer is a commercial solution provided by Citrix present in 4 editions. XenSource, Inc. was purchased by Citrix in 2007. Now, Xen projects are available at Xen.org. Features offered are power management, memory optimization, monitoring and alerting, conversion tools, live storage migration etc. XenServer started as an open source project and today it has labelled their proprietary solutions namely XenDesktop and XenApp with the name of Xen.

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV):

With features like live migration, image management, templating, power saving and cluster maintenance, RHEV is a commercial version of type 1 hypervisor. Built on Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM), it benefits users as an easy to set up, use and manage alternative. An open source hypervisor, Red Hat Enterprise is made in such a way that it can work with anything but it is also tested on many hardware and servers. RHEV is an affordable solution as the total cost of owning it is low while performance is outstanding.

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine):

A type-1 hypervisor based on Linux is an open source hypervisor. KVM can run on Linux operating systems like SUSE, Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Apart from these, Windows and Solaris are some Linux operating systems supported. With KVM, Linux turns into a hypervisor that enables host computer to run and support several other virtual machines or guests. Every guest machine runs as common Linux operating system with hardware like graphics adapter, memory, network card, CPUs and disks.

This is how virtual servers, groups and users can be managed and monitored from a unified dashboard.

Also refer: Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors

For long, Applications were assigned dedicated physical servers and resources like CPU, memory and storage. Growth and demand in the ever changing IT environment stipulated for a cost effective and energy saving solution. Virtualization technology gained acceptance in the IT world and henceforth Hypervisors gained global preference. Hypervisor technology is not as young, infact it was introduced by IBM in the 1960s for the purpose of its mainframe computers. Till date, hypervisor technology has developed considerably such that a single mainframe can handle hundreds and thousands of VMs.

Hypervisor is the key ingredient of virtualization which is responsible for sharing of physical hardware resources for different application and minimizing dependencies of application on physical machine. In its simpler form, the hypervisor is specialized firmware or software, or both, installed on single hardware that would allow you to host several virtual machines. It permit physical hardware to be shared across several VMs. A computer on which hypervisor runs one or more virtual machines is called a host machine. The VM is known as a guest machine. The hypervisor allows the physical host machine to run various guest machines. Hypervisor computes resources such as memory, storage, network bandwidth, and CPU cycles. Infact, these resources are considered by hypervisor as a pool which can be reallocated between existing guests or to new VMs.

Types of Hypervisor in Cloud Computing

• Type I Hypervisor
• Type II Hypervisor

Related – Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors

Type I Hypervisor in Cloud Computing

Type I is the bare-metal hypervisor that is deployed directly over the host’s system hardware without any underlying OS or software. Usually, they don’t require the installation of software ahead of time. It can be install onto the hardware. This type of hypervisor tends to be powerful and requires a great deal of expertise to function it well. Type I hypervisors are more complex.  It has certain hardware requirements to run adequately. Due to this, it is mostly chosen by IT operations and data center computing. Type 1 hypervisors vendors are

• Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor
• Oracle VM
• VMware ESXi
• Citrix XenServer.

Type II Hypervisor in Cloud Computing

Type II is a hosted hypervisor that runs as a software layer within a physical operating system. The hypervisor runs as a separate second layer over the hardware while the OS runs as a third layer. Type two is not much efficient to handle complex virtual tasks. It can be used for basic development testing and emulation purpose. If there is any security flaw found inside the host OS, it can potentially compromise all of virtual machines running. That is why type II hypervisors cannot be used for Data Center computing. They are designed for end-user systems where security is less of a concern. For instance, developers could use type II Hypervisor to launch virtual machines in order to test software product before their release. Type II hypervisor vendors are –

• Parallels Desktop
• Windows Virtual PC
• VMware Workstation Pro/VMware Fusion
• Oracle VM
• Virtual Box
• VMware Player.

Advantages of Hypervisor in Cloud Computing

• Though virtual machines operate on the same physical hardware, they are separated from each other. This also depicts that if one virtual machine undergoes a crash, error, or a malware attack, it doesn’t affect the other virtual machines.
• Another benefit is that virtual machines are mobile and portable as they don’t depend on the underlying hardware. Since they are not linked to physical hardware, switching between local or remote virtualized servers gets a lot easier as compared to traditional applications.

Summary

When you achieve virtualization, it brings a merger of multiple resources. This tends to reduce costs and improves manageability. In addition to it, a hypervisor can manage increased workloads. In a situation when a specific hardware node gets overheated, you can easily switch those virtual machines onto some other physical nodes. Virtualization also delivers other benefits of security, debugging and support. A Hypervisor is a natural target for hackers because its design controls all the resources of the hardware while managing all the virtual machines residing on it.

Related – Top 5 Type-1 Hypervisors in Market

Watch Related Video

In computing, virtualization refers to the act of engendering a virtual version of one thing, as well as virtual constituent platforms, storage contrivances, and electronic network resources. On a very broad level, there are 3 styles of Server Virtualization –

• Full virtualization
• Para-virtualization
• OS-level virtualization.

A hypervisor, conjointly referred to as a virtual machine monitor, is a method that makes and runs virtual machines (VMs). A hypervisor permits one host laptop to support multiple guest VMs by nearly sharing its resources, like memory and process.

Generally, there are a unit 2 kinds of hypervisors. Type-1 hypervisors, which is also known as “bare metal,” runs directly on the host’s hardware. Type-2 hypervisors, also known as “hosted,” run as a package layer, like alternative laptop programs.

 What is Hyper V?

Hyper-V functions by running each VM in their respective isolated space, while leveraging the same hardware. Each Virtual Machine in this scenario may have their own Operating system independent of other VMs. Infact, such logical partitioning by virtualization helps keep the issues like crashing etc local to the VM while other workloads can run independently.

Related – Hypervisor in cloud computing

Editions of Hyper V are as below:

• Windows Server Data center
• Windows Server Standards
• Windows Server Essentials

Supported OS by Hyper-V:

• CentOS
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Debian
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE
• Ubuntu
• FreeBSD

What Is VMware?

VMware is a company that provides platform for virtualization. Vmware was launched in year 1998 in Palo Alto, California. The first virtualization software was VMware Workstation. In year 2001, VMWare GSX Server and VMWare ESX server were introduced in the market. It is notable that majority of the VMware virtualization software programs are for business use.

VMware vSphere is a server virtualization platform created by VMware. Basically, vSphere encompasses a collection of virtualization products that hold the ESXi hypervisor, vSphere shopper, VMware digital computer, vCenter, and others.

Editions of VMware are:

• VMware vSphere Standard
• VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus
• VMware vSphere Operations Management Enterprise Plus
• VMware vSphere Platinum

Below are the Supported OS by VMware:

• Oracle Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 3 Quarterly Update 3
• Asianux 4 SP4
• Solaris 11.2
• Ubuntu 12.04.5
• Ubuntu 14.04.1
• Oracle Linux 7
• FreeBSD 9.3
• OS X 10.10.

Hyper V vs VMware:

Licensing support of Hyper V and VMware:

• Physical CPU support available in Hyper V but limited in VMware.
• OSE license support is available in both.
• Windows server VM license support is available per host.
• Antivirus and malware protection is supported by both.
• A web-based management console support is available in both.

Storage Capabilities of Hyper V and VMware:

• ISCSI/FC support available in both.
• Network file system support available in both.
• Virtual fiber channel support available in both.
• 3^rd Party multipathing is available in both.
• Storage tearing and Virtualization is available in both.

Network Capabilities of Hyper V and VMware:

• IPsec task offload is available in Hyper V but not in VMware.
• Virtual receive side scaling is available in both.
• SR-IOV with live migration is supported in Hyper-V but not in VMware.
• Dynamic Virtual Machine queue is available in both.

Technical feature comparison (Hyper-V on Windows Server 2016 vs Vmware vSphere 6.7)

• System Logical CPU
  • Hyper-V on Win Server 2016 supports 512
  • Vmware vSphere 6.7 supports 768.
• System Physical RAM
  • 24 TB for Hyper-V
  • 16 TB for Vmware vSphere.
• Virtual CPUs and VM per host
  • 2048 and 1024 respectively for Hyper-V
  • 4096 and 1024 respectively for Vmware vSphere
• Virtual CPUs per VM
  • In case of Hyper-V (Win server 2016)
    • 240 for Gen2 VMs
    • 64 for Gen1 VMs
    • 320 for host OS
  • In case of Vmware vSphere 6.7
    • 128
• Memory per VM
  • For Hyper-V, its 12 TB for Gen2 VM and 1 TB for Gen1 VM
  • In case of vSphere, it is 6128 GB
• Maximum Virtual Disk Size
  • For Hyper-V, its 64 TB (VHDX) and 2040 GB (VHD)
  • In case of vSphere, it is 62 TB
• Number of Virtual SCSI disks
  • Both support 256 SCSI disks
• Maximum number of VMs per cluster
  • Both support 8000 VMs per cluster

 Some PROS and CONS of Hyper V:

Some PROS and CONS of VMware:

Summary

Hyper V and VMware are both extremely powerful hypervisors on which you can run your enterprise data center production workloads. Each have various characteristics that make them unique. Each of these characteristics serve the basis on which many make the decision to go with one hypervisor or another for running their enterprise data centres.

Server virtualization is perhaps the sultriest point in the IT world today. It has been around for a long time, and its ubiquity continues developing, particularly in big business environments.

What makes virtualization conceivable in hypervisors?

Server virtualization permits distinctive working frameworks running separate applications on one server while as yet utilizing the equivalent physical assets. These virtual machines make it workable for a framework and system managers to have a committed machine for each service they have to run.

In addition to the fact that this reduces the quantity of physical servers required, yet in addition spares time while attempting to pinpoint issues.

What are Hypervisors?

Hypervisors are a pivotal bit of programming that makes virtualization conceivable. Fundamentally, hypervisors make a virtualization layer that isolates CPU/Processors, RAM and other physical assets from the virtual machines you make.

The machine we introduce a hypervisor on is known as a host machine, instead of visitor virtual machines that sudden spike in demand for top of them.

Hypervisors imitate accessible assets with the goal that visitor machines can utilize them. Regardless of what working framework you boot up with a virtual machine, it will feel that genuine physical equipment is available to its.

From a VM’s viewpoint, there is no distinction between the physical and virtualized condition. Visitor machines do not have a clue about the hypervisor made them in a virtual domain and that they share the accessible processing power. Since virtual machines run all the while with the software that forces them, they are completely subject to their steady activity. There can be two types of hypervisor:

• Type 1 Hypervisor.
• Type 2 Hypervisor.

Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors: Difference Table

PARAMETER	TYPE 1 HYPERVISOR	TYPE 2 HYPERVISOR
Terminology	Run directly on System Hardware	Run on host Operating System
Booting	Boots before Operating system	Cannot boot until Operating System is up and running
Other names	Native/ Bare metal / Embedded Hypervisor	Host OS Hypervisor
Efficiency	Comparatively better	Inferior
Support	Hardware virtualization	Operating system virtualization
Availability	Comparatively better	Inferior
Performance	High	Low
Security	Comparatively better	Inferior
Usage	In Datacentre	By Lab and IT professionals
Examples	VMware ESXi and Citrix XEN Server	KVM, Virtual Box, VMware Server and Microsoft Virtual PC.

Download the difference table: Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors

Type 1 Hypervisor

It runs directly in the host’s hardware to manage guest operating system. There is a direct access of hardware and does not requires any base server operating system. It has better performance, scalability and stability but supported by limited hardware. Type 1 Hypervisor is called by names also i.e. Bare Metal Hypervisor or native Hypervisor. Based on its features, Type 1 Hypervisors are suitable or use in Datacentre environment

Type 2 Hypervisor

This type of hypervisor is hosted on the main operating system. Basically, a software installed on an OS and hypervisor ask the OS to make hardware calls. It also has the better compatibility with the hardware and its increased overhead affects the performance.

Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors: Which one to pick?

Picking the correct kind of hypervisor carefully relies upon your individual needs.

On a macro level, 2 key considerations need to be taken into account while selecting the Hypervisor to be used.

• First one is “SIZE” of the virtual environment where the hypervisor needs to run. For individual use and small organizations, you can go for one of the type 2 hypervisors, if financial limit is not an issue. Things get complicated in large business environments where we need to be more prudent and accordingly take a judicious call.
• Second consideration is “Cost”. Despite the fact that type 1 hypervisors are the best approach, cost may play a big role in Hypervisor selection. This is where you have to give additional attention since cost might be per server, per CPU or even per center.

Numerous merchants offer various items and layers of licenses to suit any association. You might need to make a rundown of the prerequisites, for example, what number of VMs you need, maximum permitted assets per VM, specific functionalities, and afterward check which of these items’ best fits in. Note that trial period can be gainful when settling on a choice which hypervisor to pick.

Also refer: Top 5 Type-1 Hypervisors in Market

Watch Related Video

Talking about the virtualization concept, hypervisors technology is quite a well-known concept. A hypervisor is used by a person who would wish to merge the server space or run a number of other independent machines with the host server. Hypervisors add a touch of virtualization in a way that the data is controlled and managed centrally.

With the role of hypervisors expanding, the storage hypervisors are being used to form a centralized storage pond. Along with storage, networks are also being played with in a way that they are being formed, managed, manipulated or destroyed without even physically tampering the network devices. This is how network virtualization is being broadened.

Drilling deeper into the kinds come XenServer and KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) as Type 1 hypervisors existing in the market. Since both being Type 1 Hypervisors, the question lies, which one is better? So let’s dive into the comparison part:-

XENSERVER:

An open source hypervisor recognized for its almost native performance, Xen hypervisor directly runs on the hardware of host. Xen allows formation, implementation and management of a number of virtual machines with a single host computer. Bought by Citrix Systems in 2007, XenSource created Xen. Commercial versions of Xen also exist.

Being a Type 1 hypervisor, Xen can be lodged directly on hardware of the computer without any requirement of a host operating system. Xen supports Windows and Linux operating systems. Xen can also be put to use on IA-32, ARM and x86 processors. Xen software is customizable because it has a unique structure getting virtualization everywhere.

XenServer is the first choice for hyper scale clouds of the industry like Alibaba, Amazon and Oracle Cloud and IBM Softlayer as it is easy to use with a flexible structure. An approach of detection and multilayered protection is used which makes Xen a secure option for usage. Xen’s architecture has advanced security features making it a leading choice in security related environments.

This hypervisor partitions the memory and also provides controlled execution for each virtual machine since the processing environment is commonly shared. This virtual solution is available in 64-bit hypervisor platform. Xen runs three virtual machines. A guest operating system and applications are run on each virtual machine thereby splitting the resources.

KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine):

A Linux inherent technology specifically converts Linux into a hypervisor that enables the host computer to operate a number of independent virtual systems also recognized as Virtual machines or guests. Initially disclosed in 2006, it merged with the mainline Linux kernel versions the following year. This open source virtual solution benefits from up to date features of Linux without the need of any additional skilful arrangement.

Being of any kind, hypervisors require some components of the level of an operating system to operate virtual machines like Input/output (I/O) stack, memory manager, process scheduler, security manager, network stack, device drivers and many more. All these components are contained by KVM since it is a part of Linux kernel. Linux gets converted into a native hypervisor through KVM and every machine is executed as a regular process of Linux organized by Linux Scheduler with committed virtual hardwares such as memory, disks, CPUs, network card, graphics adapter, etc.

To cut the explanation of its working short, you just need to install a version of Linux released after 2007 on X86 hardware which is capable of supporting virtualization. Then 2 modules, host kernel module and processor-specific module needs to be loaded along with emulators and helpful drivers which will run other systems.

Putting KVM into action on Linux based technologies like Red Hat Enterprise Linux- extends KVM’s capabilities like swapping resources, splitting shared libraries and more.

KVM is embedded in Linux so what Linux contains, KVM has it too. KVM is preferable because of its features like hardware support, security, storage, memory management, performance and scalability, live migration, scheduling and resource control, higher prioritization and lower latency.

To answer the question raised above, Xen is better than KVM in terms of virtual storage support, high availability, enhanced security, virtual network support, power management, fault tolerance, real-time support, and virtual CPU scalability. KVM is technologically stellar and contains some high quality uses but is still inferior to XEN.

Below list enumerates difference between XEN and KVM:

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Hypervisor in Cloud Computing

Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors

Top 5 Type-1 Hypervisors

XenServer

XenServer is a platform utilized by virtualization administrators for the purpose of hosting, organizing and handling VMs. It is even utilized to share all the hardware resources such as storage, CPU, networking, memory – to VMs. The key element of Xenserver has an objective to facilitate virtualization architecture supervision. VM templates are an important feature of this.

VMware ESXi

VMware ESXi Server is a kind of software system which is depended on computer virtualization by VMware Inc. The features of ESXi Server are: it is a smaller footprint edition having advanced qualities of the VMware ESX Server. ESXi is applied with VMware architecture and it is utilized for the purpose of organizing central supervision for business desktops and data center implementations.

Difference between Xen and VMware ESXi

Pricing:

As per the comparison done among the two of these with regard to expenditure, it turned out that distinct enterprise models are there that have been implemented by these servers. By the way, Xenserver is an open source which is entirely charge less and even offer license as per server.

On the other hand, a land holder license is required in ESXi and it is licensed with each processor. However, products do possess a considerable client subsequently dotted all over the world regardless of their expenses composition.

Host Server Limits

ESXi possess around 120 virtual machines in such a way that there is one single host with each virtual machine as well as the RAM with each host at 2048 GB with an entire 2048 virtual disks per host.

XenServer has a complete pack of 75 virtual machines per host. It has a RAM consisting 1024 GB per host and 512 virtual disks for every host.

Both the system acquires 160 logical CPUs with each host and the skill is there of possessing a complete of 2048 virtual CPUs with each host. Nevertheless, XenServer do not posses any virtual CPUs on the host.

Supported Host Operating Systems

The further aspects differentiating the two are actually backing host operating systems. With no question in mind, the Achilles heel which is a part of VMware ESXi is the kind of host operating systems helped by the program.

On the contrary, Xenserver even helped a lot of host operating systems like Novell Linux Desktop, Linux WS, Red Hat Linux, Linux ES and Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS. Other Operating systems comprises of Windows 95 and 98, Windows NT Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional and Server, Web and Standard Editions, Windows Me, Windows NT Terminal Server, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise, Professional editions and Windows XP Home.

Technical Help

Whether it is Xen server or ESXi, both of them promote a spectrum of technical support media like white papers, instructional videos, telephone, forums, knowledge base, system upgrades, online self-service etc.

They even vary in this field as VMware does not offer technical support through email, brochures, blogs and instructional booklet of the proprietor. However it significantly do possess a well-staffed support desk and even provide a remote training choice.

Citrix XenServer, on contrary, offer technical help via users’ instructional booklet, email, blogs and brochures – however does not offer this endorsement via a help desk or via remote training.

Technical Specifications

The Bare Metal (Type 1) hypervisor type is executed by both Xen software and ESXi software. These software programs help x64 and x86 architecture. Despite of the fact that they help several sorts of virtualization like para-virtualization and hardware dependent virtualization, only the VMware ESXi accomplish entire virtualization.

The Xen software system and ESXi software system endorse many depository choices. In terms of virtualization, the main difference between Xen and ESXi is that VMware just focus on promoting SSD and FCoE for Swap and never promotes iSCSI, SATA, SAS, USB, NFS – which are entirely endorsed by Citrix Xenserver. Both of them promote DAS, NAS and FC depository whereas none of them promotes eSATA or RDM. Both systems have even achieved plethora of users in healthcare sector, financial services, and the government area and education field.

Comparison Table: Xen vs VMware

Download the comparison table: XEN vs ESXi

Conclusion

While comparing Xen vs ESXi, we have drawn the line of difference in terms of the sharing qualities, the pricing, host server limits, technical help and specifications as well as the promotion and endorsement of the depository choices. When it is matter of recognition space and market presence, the VMware vSphere ESXi appears to be victorious over its counterpart. This information regarding both products can help you to easily find out which of the two excellently sets within your profession route.

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XEN vs KVM : Type 1 Hypervisors

Type-1 vs Type-2 Hypervisors

More and more organizations are moving towards hosting and running business applications in public cloud such as Microsoft Azure, Amazon AWS, Google cloud etc. Application hosting and running over public cloud has its own networking implications for remote and branch offices.

Organizations looking for a complete solution to build hybrid networks consisting of MPLS private WANs and commodity internet connections for adoption of cloud application, remote office high availability, application performance, and end to end visibility. SD-WAN solutions help to achieve a robust network with visibility into performance and availability for networks and applications.

Today we look more in detail about Palo Alto Prisma SD WAN (CloudGenix), learn about its architecture, features, advantages, quick facts etc.

About Palo Alto Prisma SDWAN (CloudGenix) 

CloudGenix was acquired by Palo Alto in the year 2020. The CloudGenix SD WAN is delivered by CloudGenix Instant-On Network (ION) devices which allows to enforce policies based on business intent, enables dynamic path selection, and provides visibility into performance of applications and networks. 

It is a secure application fabric, AppFabric, established among all ION devices, creating a virtual private network (VPN) over every WAN link. Policies are defined which are aligned to business requirements which specify compliance, performance and security rules for applications and sites. ION devices will automatically choose the best WAN path for application based on business policy and real time analysis of application performance metrics and WAN links. 

Prisma SD WAN Architecture

CloudGenix once deployed at sites, automatically ION devices establish a VPN to the data centers over every internet circuit. The ION devices establish VPNs over private WAN circuits which share a common service provider. We can define application policies for performance , security and compliance which is aligned to organization objectives. All aspects of configuration, management and monitoring of CloudGenix ION hardware and software devices from multi-tenant are managed via a single interface which is CloudGenix management portal. ( Refer above diagram)

Deployment Operating Modes

CloudGenix SD WAN can be deployed in one of the two operating modes – analytics mode and control mode.

• In analytics mode ION device is installed into a new or existing branch site. ION device is placed between a WAN edge router and a LAN switch. The ION device monitors traffic and collects analytics which are reported to the CloudGenix portal. When sites are in analytics mode the ION devices do not apply policies or make path selection decisions for applications.
• In control mode an ION device is installed on a new or existing branch site. You can either replace the WAN edge router with an ION device or place the ION device between WAN edge router and LAN switch. ION devices at branch level dynamically build secure fabric VPN connections to all data center sites across all WAN paths. Sites in control mode select the best path from the available physical and secure fabric links based on the applied network policies and enforce security policy for applications. 

CloudGenix SD-WAN supports 32 public and 32 private circuit categories, which can be customized to match organization’s requirements.

Features of Palo Alto Prisma 

• Centralized control – the CloudGenix central controller software runs in the cloud as a virtual machine in the local network , or on a CloudGenix X86 box in the data center. It is the central point for all control, management, policy configurations, analytics and reporting for SD-WAN fabric
• Traffic forwarding – ION elements of CloudGenix are flow forwarders, analogues to WAN routers which handle traffic forwarding with multi-gigabit rate. 
• Secure application fabric – ION fabric is an overlay mesh of ION elements. The ION fabric contains one or more virtual networks and all traffic flows through fabric is encrypted with AES-256 IPsec for security of SD-WAN
• Application fingerprinting – CloudGenix uses sessions flowing between endpoints to identify applications rather than using signatures or deep packet inspection technique which is not so reliable due to the increasing number of encrypted application payloads.
• Sophisticated path selection – there are no routing protocols. A complex decision-making process is involving into consideration real world throughput , link capacity and performance needs of application 
• CloudGenix policy manager – is simple is design and expresses complex business goals into simplified way
• Traffic analytics – shows specific application flow information and offers performance and compliance reports

Quick facts !

As per MarketsandMarkets research firm forecast the SD-WAN market is expected to grow from $1.8 bn in 2020 to $8.4 bn by 2025

Palo Alto acquired a 5% market share player in 2020 (CloudGenix)

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What is Multi Tenancy? Multi Tenancy Architecture

FortiGate SD-WAN Fundamentals

With the introduction of virtual and remote operations, more established enterprises and even startups are choosing comparable options to host their sites. And since many reputable web hosting providers offer both VPS and cloud hosting, your decision might quickly become even more complex. 

Now, let’s dive into more details!

What Is Cloud Hosting?

Cloud hosting is by far the most advanced website (or app) hosting solution currently available. In a short amount of time, the technology has reached a phenomenal level of acceptability.

Cloud-hosted websites are available at all times and from any location. This implies that each website’s hosting resources are duplicated across all cloud servers in the cluster. For instance, if a cloud server is already at capacity, the request for the specified site is immediately sent to the cluster’s idle cloud server.

In other words, the cloud operates web hosting services such as data storage, SSH, FTP, SFTP, and email services on several servers simultaneously.

Pros:

• Scalability – If you quickly want extra resources or access to greater bandwidth, you may obtain it automatically.

• Pricing Flexibility – Using cloud hosting, you only pay for what you use. This differs from VPS hosting, where you pay for specified server space even if you don’t utilize it.

• Redundancy and Quick Deployment – You may duplicate your site in various environments to decrease downtime even further.
• Reliability – When one of the physical servers in the group dies, your site will not go down since the other servers will take over to display it.

Cons:

• Security Is Not Assured – Because you are still sharing resources, what occurs to other sites utilizing the same hosting may harm your site. Because your website is also on the internet, it is still exposed to hackers – and cloud hosting doesn’t really change that. As a result, securing your site and hosting remains crucial.

• The Learning Curve – Cloud hosting is not a simple alternative to implement, and it can be tricky even for technically savvy engineers. It is not impossible, but it is also not suitable for novices. However, there are fully managed hosting services that allow easy setup and maintenance of WordPress sites.

What Is VPS Hosting?

VPS hosting, commonly known as “Private Cloud,” is built on servers that have been built utilizing a virtualization technology.

The design employs numerous individually dedicated berths on the very same virtual machine. Every slot can be given to a certain resource. Nonetheless, the system operates on a time-shared or asset-shared basis.

One of the major drawbacks preventing the VPS hosting industry from progressing is its vulnerability, which can cause a specific slot or resource to go down in any crash scenario, rendering the app or website on that specific space inaccessible with no superfluous online accessibility unless and until the problem is settled.

However, VPS hosting has certain advantages in that it closes the gap between dedicated and shared hosting options.

Pros:

• You Have More Assigned Resources – Because you are renting a greater percentage of the server, you have access to a much larger portion of the server’s assets than it is with shared hosting, which is yet another form of web hosting.
• Complete Control Over All of The Configurations – In most circumstances, a VPS will provide you with far more control. Root access is usually present, as is the ability to examine all backup data and access all settings. If you don’t have access to anything, your hosting company is more likely to make a modification for you.
• It Is Relatively Scalable – You can usually increase your package if you find you require additional resources, which you can do without having to relocate your site to a completely new server. However, because a VPS has limited resources, there will come a moment when there will be no more place on the server. You will be compelled to move if this occurs.

Cons:

• Security Is Not Strictly Guaranteed – Because you’re sharing a server, anything other individuals on the server do may damage your site, especially if they are hacked. 

• You Are Still Using The Same Server – Talking of sharing servers, regardless if you have a VPS, you are still using a physical server with the other users. As a result, you may not have access to all of the tools you require
• It Can Become Technical – Whether you pick a managed or unmanaged VPS, they may necessitate certain technical expertise and abilities. However, some providers are user-friendly, so take note of this in your hunt for hosting if this is essential to you.
• Reliability – When deciding between a VPS and a cloud host, a VPS is less dependable than cloud hosting since if the physical server fails, every VPS on that server will fail.
• Scalability – It’s also worth noting that a VPS does not grow as well as cloud hosting. This is because, as previously said, VPSs have limited resources, which implies traffic surges might be a problem.

Final Thought: What’s Best For Your Website – Cloud or VPS?

The main distinction between the two server environments is size. If you want to get started quickly and don’t care about scalability, a VPS server might be a wonderful place to start. However, if you want a flexible hosting solution as well as a high degree of site speed and storage, a cloud hosting setup is worth investigating.

Cloud hosting gives you access to an almost limitless amount of server resources. Cloud hosting might be the ideal choice for businesses with fluctuating traffic levels or websites that are rapidly expanding. Cloud hosting provides excellent server power and complete flexibility in terms of resource utilization and price.

Ultimately, VPS hosting is an excellent choice for folks who wish to establish a website but have outgrown the limitations of their shared server environment. A VPS is strong and does enhance speed, making it an excellent alternative for any organization that requires (and values) the stability of a dependable server. 

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What is VPS (Virtual Private Server)?

Public vs Private vs Hybrid vs Community Clouds

In this article we will look at some white box networking vendors which made their place in the top 10 and changed the networking landscape drastically. Understand their strengths and features.

List of  Top 10 White Box Networking Vendors

Big Switch Networks

Big switch networks was founded in 2010. It was known for its Floodlight SDN controller which got open sourced in 2012. Big cloud fabric is a major product from big switches. It offers Virtual private cloud (VPC) based logical networking, delivering automation of networks and visibility to both on premises and multiple cloud workloads. It provides consistent network management and capabilities for operations management. Some of the key customers of big switch networks are Verizon, VMware, Visa and T-Mobile.

Cumulus

Cumulus was founded in 2010. Cumulus is a pioneer in open network operating systems for Whitebox switches. It allows the automation, customization and scale of data center networks. It provides 100+ hardware platforms including industry standard open compute platform (OCP) and ONIE (Open networking Install Environment). Cumulus is the first white box software provider to add support for Minipack, Facebook’s latest OCP compliant reference design.

Pica8 –

Pica8 was founded in 2009. Key product offering from Pica8 is PICOS, an open networking software. PICOS offers tightly integrated / coupled control planes, giving network operators non-destructive control of their enterprise’s networks; deep and dynamic traffic monitoring and attack mitigation in real time. PICOS provides functionality called CrossFlow which tightly couples the L2/L3 control plane and classic ‘SDN’ control plane for real time network operations. Some of its key customers are General Electric, stratedge and Edge core.

Plexxi –

Plexxi was founded in 2010. Key product is Plexxi switch which enables customers to build public and private clouds. This product post acquisition is getting integrated with HPE composable Fabric ecosystem. Plexxi supports composable infrastructure which can be composed or recomposed as per the need based on network loads. Some of its customers are Arrow electronics, SafeGuard Scientifics and Jefferies Financial group

Pluribus –

Pluribus was found in 2010. Its key product offering is Netvisor ONE Operating system which is layer 2/3 switching optimized for meeting requirements for distributed enterprise and service provider networks. It supports peer-to-peer architecture, and eliminates the need for an SDN controller and simplification of overall network architecture. It supports open compute platform (OCP) and open network install environment (ONINE) standards. Some of its key customers are Cloudflare, Steelcase and Tibco.

NoviFlow –

It was founded in 2012. Its key product is NoviWare network operating system software which can be deployed on network switches, WAN IP/MPLS routers, network appliances, and high bandwidth forwarding planes. It is compliant to OpenFlow 1.3/1.4 and 1.5 protocol versions. Its key customers are Fortinet and Lumina networks.

Arrcus –

Arrcus are manufacturers of white box switches running ArcOS latest generation switches that leverage Jericho-2 chipset. It supports multi-tenancy at scale, open integration across multiple ODM vendors. It offers hardware agnostic platform which is largely deployed in data centre fabrics, large scale peering/ edge deployments, and cloud.

Kaloom –

Kaloom is a software solution for white boxes which are meant for hyper scale and distributed data centres. It supports integrated routing and switching and enables developers to develop new code to add new features and services. It has low latency multi datacenter fabric, self-forming and self-discovery capabilities, zero touch provisioning of virtual networks and automated software upgrades.

Snaproute –

Snaproute was found in 2015. It created an open-source software FlexSwitch to the open compute project (OCP). It runs on industry standard white box switches, provides all management and networking functionality to simplify networking stack. It automate network provisioning

iPinfusion –

iPinfusion offers OcNOS industry first full featured network OS for white box it supports advanced capabilities such as extensive switching and routing protocol support. MPLS and SDN. It has hybrid, centralized or distributed network support; scalable, modular high performance network support and a robust data plane.

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What is White box Switching?

Basics of SDN and Open Flow Network Architecture

Today we look more in detail about Which box switching or white box networking , its features, advantages , use cases etc.

White Box Switching 

Due to the complexity of traditional networks, evaluation of white box switching (or white box networking) has come as an ideal solution for hyper scalable data centres. Some of the limitations of traditional networks are:

• Complicated protocols to grow networks
• Manual configurations have limitations 
• VLANs do not scale and cannot be reused across data centres
• STP is unstable, comes with proprietary extensions which makes is incompatible, and lot of ports are blocked
• Troubleshooting issues is a pain as skilled personnel required to assist here
• The network becomes the stopper for business most of the times

White box switching is a new form of networking model where hyper scale data centres adopt commoditized networking by using white box switches providing investment protection by avoidance of vendor lock-in. 

• White box switch is independent of hardware and it can use the software from any other provider. This allows them to build and set up flexible network design for their network and switches.
• White box switches are most popular in SDN (Software Defined network). White box switches can be programmed to create routing tables and route connections using OpenFlow protocol or another south bound API in SDN environments.
• White box switches are low in cost as compared to traditional switches and popular for both large data centres and small networks.
• White box switches have high port density. 
• A white box switch comes preloaded with minimal software or may be sold as a bare metal device. These switches can be customized to meet organization specific business and networking requirements.
• White box switches are used to support a wide range of open-source management tools such as OpenStack , Puppet and Chef. 
• Most white box switches adopt ‘open’ Linux based NOS (Network operating system) which is designed to be separated or segregated from the underlying hardware, letting the user change hardware box or NOS as per the will. They rely on an operating system which might come preinstalled to integrate layer 2 / layer 3 topology and support basic networking features. 
• These are commodity / cheaper switch boxes built on merchant silicon by Taiwanese manufacturer known as original device manufacturers (ODM) such as Accton, Quanta and Alpha etc. Small start-up companies like Cumulus networks, Big Switch networks, Pica8 etc. buy bare metal switches from Taiwanese ODMs and load their operating system and sell these switches as white boxes. Like Cumulus uses Linux operating system, Pica8 uses PicOS and Big switch uses Switch light OS. 

Advantages of White Box Switch 

• They are simple to operate
• They are flexible and independent of underlying hardware
• Limited features by high performance is guaranteed
• Fabric architecture enable multiple switches to act as single unit
• Segmentation and security of network virtualization
• API driven network automation 

Use cases of White Box Switching

• Big companies like Facebook, Amazon and Google need massive deployment of switches in their large data centres. The number of ports requirement is quite high , white box switch fit perfectly due to high port density 
• Web scale companies looking for flexibility and openness in their switch platform where white box switches fit swiftly

Continue Reading:

OpenFlow vs Netconf: Which is the Best Protocol to Program?

Basics of SDN and Open Flow Network Architecture