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The Boss Lift offers employers an opportunity to visit military installations throughout the nation to observe National Guard and Reserve members involved in training exercises.
For three local employers, Mike Redd, of Redd Mechanical, Billy Mendoza, of Denison Mines, and Gary Crowley, of Crowley Construction, it also allowed them a first-hand look as their employees began a year-long deployment to Afghanistan as members of the Utah National Guard's 624th Engineer Company.
Local members of the Utah National Guard's 624th include Ivan Carr, David Carr (employed as a Process Mechanic at Denison Mines) Montana Carr, Jesse Barton (employed at Crowley Construction) and Derrick Jones (employed as an Apprentice Plumber at Redd Mechanical).
On June, 13, about 150 soldiers of the Utah National Guard's 624th Engineer Company departed Utah on the first leg of their 12-month deployment to Afghanistan.
Just more than a week later, the Boss Lift program allowed employers to travel on a KC-135 Refueling Jet to Fort Bliss, where they were able to see their employees train and continue their preparation for deployment.
"We received a warm welcome from the commanding officers at Fort Bliss," said Gary Crowley. "They expressed many, many times how much they appreciated the employers support and they gave us ideas of how we could support the troops during their time of deployment and after they return. The whole experience helped me realize what dedicated young men and women our service members are and how much we owe them."
At Fort Bliss, the employers were shown around the base and were able to see some of what the troops will do and the equipment they will use.
The employers were allowed to fire a 50 caliber machine gun and wear the 40 pounds of protective armor and the other gear that the troops will wear in the 100 plus degree heat of Afghanistan.
For Billy Mendoza, the visit was not only an honor and a privilege, but he found himself eating in the same chow hall and reflecting on his own 2003 deployment. Mendoza was a member of the 1457th Engineer Company that was deployed in support of Operation Enduring Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.
Mike Redd said, "The objective of the trip was to give employers a better understanding of the Guardsman we employ, but we were able to see how critical they each are to their Unit's success and we, each employer there, also came away with a feeling of absolute and intense gratitude.
"Each of these individuals are our employees and friends…they are volunteers, they are great soldiers, they are great people...they are our heroes!"
The employers bid the troops goodbye on Friday evening after a good meal in the mess hall and returned to Salt Lake City on Saturday morning.
In Salt Lake City, they observed a National Guard Unit returning after a year deployment in Afghanistan and got a glimpse of what it will be like in a year when our own local heroes return home.
"Hoooaaaaahhhhh!!!," added Mendoza. "Hooah is an Army term that's used meaning 'we agree!' We used this term a lot during our visit to Fort Bliss. 624th…Hooah!"


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SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed for a week the Ayodhya title suit verdict that was due to be pronounced by the Allahabad High Court on Friday, and will hear the plea for deferment of the judgement next Tuesday.
A bench comprising Justices R V Raveendran and H L Gokhale gave a patient hearing to the petition filed by Ramesh Chand Tripathi that the judgement may have repercussions on the law and order situation on the country no matter which side the judgement favoured.
The two judges of court no 3 heard the matter for over 40 minutes before passing the order.
The court bench will now hear the deferment plea on September 28.
"Even if there is one per cent chance of negotiations one must give it a chance," Justice Raveendran said.
Additional Inputs: PTI
SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
The court issued notices to the contesting parties on the petition filed by retired bureaucrat Tripathi challenging the order of the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court refusing to defer the verdict in the 60-year-old Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit dispute.
The bench stayed the verdict following conflicting views over the issue of entertaining the petition challenging the high court order.
Justice Raveendran was of the view that the special leave petition should be dismissed while Justice Gokhale, on the other hand, was of the opinion that a notice should be issued for exploring the option of settlement.
However, Justice Raveendran, who was heading the bench, preferred to go by the opinion of Justice Gokhale.
In the order, Justice Raveendran said, "When one of the judges has a difference of opinion then the tradition is to issue notice."
SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
The Supreme Court also sent a notice to the Attorney General.
The apex court verdict has evoked mixed reactions.
Babri Masjid Committee Convenor Dr S Q R Ilyas says that the decision to stay the pronouncement of the verdict has come as a shock since for the first time such a verdict has been pronounced despite both the parties not wanting any deferment.
Both parties had made it clear that the court should go ahead with the verdict and there is no scope for any further argument.
"Even when the Supreme Court hears the matter next week, our answers will be the same and it cannot be compromised at this stage. It has not happened in 60 years and overnight it will not happen. There have been many attempts made in the past to settle the matter but they have all failed," he said.
SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
Even during the last hearing of the high court both parties had voiced in the same concern and it was based on this the verdict not to defer the plea was passed.
"This looks like just another tactic to delay proceedings and if the matter is not settled by September 30, one of the judges on the bench will retire and the matter will have to be re-heard."
"When we go before the Supreme Court next week we will seek speedy disposal of the case so that the pronouncement can go ahead," he added.
On Wednesday, a bench of the apex court comprising Justices Altmas Kabir and A K Patnaik had declined to hear urgently the plea to postpone the Ayodhya title suit verdict.
While refusing to hear the petition filed by retired bureaucrat Tripathi, the bench had said that it did not have the "determination" to take up the issue and added that it will be listed before another bench.
SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
Mukul Rohatgi, senior counsel appearing for Tripathi, said the Supreme Court may give a healing touch by attempting a last-ditch effort at mediation.
He said it was possible that in the face of Supreme Court notices the rival parties may sit across to find an amicable solution.
Rohatgi said that next Tuesday his side would try to tell the court that the matter of judgement should be deferred so that religious, political and national leaders could try and work out a solution.
He also said it was not a matter of just 10 or 20 parties in the case but related to lakhs and crores of people and the mediation could result in some way out.
Tripathi had on Wednesday moved the apex court five days after the high court's Lucknow bench rejected his petition for deferring the verdict and to allow mediation to find a solution to the contentious dispute.
SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
The Allahabad high court had also imposed "exemplary costs" of Rs 50,000, terming Tripathi's effort for an out-of-court settlement of the dispute as a "mischievous attempt".
The petition filed by Tripathi sought some time to allow mediation among the parties and also challenged the costs. Tripathi, in his plea before the apex court, claimed that the verdict might disturb communal harmony and lead to violence in the country.
In the petition filed through advocate Sunil Jain, he cited several reasons for deferment of the verdict, which he said would be in "public interest" in view of the apprehension of communal flare up, upcoming Commonwealth Games, elections in Bihar and violence in Kashmir Valley and Naxal-hit states.
The petition had feared that there would be inadequate security personnel in Uttar Pradesh to provide security.
SC defers Ayodhya title verdict by a week
Tripathi had also referred to an earlier order of the Court on July 27 last that parties concerned are at liberty to approach the Officer on Special Duty for formation of the bench if there was any possibility of disposal of the dispute or arrival at an understanding through consensus.
One of the three judges in the Lucknow bench, however, disagreed with the majority order of September 17 rejecting the plea for deferring the Ayodhya verdict to allow mediation and gave a dissenting opinion that an amicable settlement could have been explored in the protracted legal wrangle.
Justice Dharam Veer Sharma, while not concurring with the view of the other two judges -- Justice S U Khan and Justice Sudhir Agarwal -- also said in his dissenting judgement that he wasn't consulted when the three-judge bench gave the order while dismissing the plea for mediation.

subset: commoncrawl


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Challenges of Global MPLS Network ProcurementNetwork
Companion resource: The Techtarget version of our free IT Managers step by step Global MPLS Network procurement Mindmap. Every risk, pitfall and opportunity outlined at a glance.
In this article, I share my thoughts on successful WAN sales process surround creating a diagnostic environment.
An approach which considers your existing VPN strengths and weaknesses which relate to specific areas within global MPLS network procurement is a good foundation for WAN procurement execution. However, I also consider expectation setting to be the next area of value led sales, particularly when buying Ethernet telecoms services such as a secure and private global MPLS network capability. One of the main consistent feedback points we received during our own WAN procurement research told us that IT teams are better placed to work around problems and issues if expectations are set up front. When expectations are known, contingency plans are built and senior members of the business at least know the potential impact and are able to react accordingly – perhaps delaying a project and so forth.
With this in mind, I thought I'd write content on some particular areas which relate to global MPLS procurement – at layer 3 and layer 2. There are indeed some specific challenges which relate to the global arena vs their national counterparts. In this article, we'll discuss some of the main areas to consider. MPLS and VPLS services offer fantastic scalable and fractional bandwidth with 100Mbps Ethernet as the standard with a high prevalence of 1Gbps Ethernet circuits.
There are multiple areas to consider when writing about global MPLS network procurement, if we were to write about every single area in one article, you would end up with an ebook. Statistics, reporting, change process, routing, strategy and so forth all deserve an article of their own. With this in mind, I will continue to write more content moving forward.
We talk about transparency a fair amount within our day jobs. In any complex services arena, potential customers need to be sure the service providers they are working with are providing the necessary data and information outside of marketing collateral. In order to be sure this is the case, we recommend the creation of an RFI (Request for Information) which asks relevant questions to force the required detail on capability.
Some of the key RFI areas are follows (Request our template)
Carrier and Provider Reach – PE (PROVIDER EDGE)
IT Managers will no doubt be aware that a fair amount of marketing exists within the market place. Where service providers are professing to offer a high percentage of global coverage, the detail behind the marketing deserves careful consideration and thought. The capability of reach is governed by the scale of PE (Provider Edge) coverage. The PE represents the entry into an MPLS network, i.e. connectivity prior to the MPLS Provider Edge will be based on tail circuit local loop circuits. Application latency will normally be predicted by service providers as an average across their core network. When considering global networks, the performance of delay sensitive traffic such as voice and video may be within latency parameters (SLA) at first glance but the addition of local loop delay may render the application unusable. When armed with the data regarding global MPLS network PE coverage, it is possible to approximate the distance from the PE to your office which will allow your team to estimate latency delay. Readers should note that a local loop circuit does not travel in straight lines and therefore any estimate of tail circuit length is just that, an estimate. In our work we often ask the provider to demonstrate live ping data from their PE to existing clients CE (Customer Edge) devices. The live data will also help to predict performance.
VPN Resiliency and Diversity
Leading on from our discussion on PE to CE latency, adding an Ethernet failover circuit will mean using a secondary PE device within the providers network. A second PE device will require a diverse secondary tail circuit which may extend the VPNs local loop length vs the primary tail circuit. The failover circuit additional tail length must also be considered to calculate the impact to applications if the primary fails.
We have witnessed designs which implement a second tail circuit using an alternative wholesale provider. Whilst at first glance this may appear to be a sensible option, neither provider will understand the tail circuit routing of each others local loop connectivity. The outcome will normally mean points of commonality through the VPNs network creating single points of failure. Organisations with a requirement to avoid any single points of failure should order a single provider product which is designed to route dual tail circuits with no points of commonality subject to survey.
The Business Factor
There is an ongoing initiative to gain clarity on Enterprise global MPLS network & VPLS architecture vs business strategy, technical, cost and budget. The VPN carriers and the service provider market via carriers and providers is feature rich which sounds, as you will no doubt agree, positive. However, IT Management are faced with aligning their business specifics with the capability of prospective service providers which requires transparency with regards to true ability. Over the years I have collated data from experiences working with and for large Enterprise organisations allowing me to understand the key areas which require focus to achieve the best possible procurement outcome.
The problems are varied but in the main reflect an un-balanced approach to WAN procurement. When working with customers, their focus was often too far aligned with the technical elements vs business needs or IT teams were highly motivated by reducing costs. There isn't a right or wrong as some projects are successful depending on criteria but an approach which creates a balanced framework to bring the business, technical and budget together provides the best possible outcome. There is also the danger of a service provider sales process which only consists of features and benefits rather than a diagnostic approach to your problems, issues and projects.
The overall challenges remain the same but today's technology advancements are adding a further reliance on WAN connectivity. The cloud, collaboration, remote users and so forth only operate efficiently when connectivity is an enabler and not a bottleneck to performance. With this last statement in mind, support, agility, performance, resiliency, adds / changes, application QoS, migration, service management and stats (to name just a few!) must be capable of meeting your unique business needs.
Challenges specific to Enterprise Businesses procuring Global MPLS Network connectivity
Global organisations are faced with some specific challenges surrounding VPN migration and support. When considering migration, the regulations which exist within each region may impact the delivery of services. In addition, time zones, local language, access restrictions, bandwidth availability and local IT capability all conspire against an organisation to ensure global WAN provision remains a challenge. With this said, your organisation is not the first to go through the process. The Mindmap we have created also contains notes on expectation setting which allows your IT team to communicate back into the organisation concerning potential risks and pitfalls. As an example, the migration section will detail the areas which require highlighting in order to set expectations.
We mentioned expectation setting as (perhaps) the new era of the carrier / telco / provider sales process. When setting expectations, it is possible to gain an insight into the areas where particular focus is required. An an example, the ordering of dual Ethernet tail circuits is normally viewed as a single order from a carrier perspective. This ultimately means that the failover circuit is not delivered / handed over until the primary is delivered. Not good if you are working to timescales. With this said, it is often possible to separate out the circuits ensuring the primary is delivered outside of any reliance on the failover circuit. This is really just an example of expectation setting, if you are armed with this information up front, the business is able to make decisions accordingly.
Hybrid WAN approach to Global MPLS Network Connectivity & networks infrastructure
The service provider arena is awash with acronyms and buzz, the cloud being one example. The past has often focussed on one particular product as 'the standard' all Enterprise organisations should adopt. However, today's designs and business requirements dictate that a hybrid approach to WAN design is widely adopted. The use of MPLS, VPLS, VLL, IPSec and so on is more prevalent than ever as users expect to securely connect whenever and wherever they are located. As an example, the new Cisco iWAN capability provides a single device to terminate multiple connectivity types reducing complexity and cost. MPLS, VPLS & VLL offer a standards based private WAN infrastructure which meets high security standards required within Enterprise organisations today. These products offer some great business benefits, a hybrid approach ensures your business is able to deliver real value based on firm requirements.
Layer 3 and Layer 2 access types and design / advantages
We have mentioned technologies such as MPLS, VPLS and VLL within this article, let's explain some use cases.
MPLS VPN – Multi Protocol Label Switching – A layer 3 VPRn (Virtual Private Routed Network)
We've written a fair amount of content regarding MPLS, readers wishing to learn more about the history of the protocol should visit either of the following articles:
MPLS VPN Longform article
MPLS Network Longform article
In short, IT management refer to a layer 3 Virtual Private Routed Network as MPLS. Rightly or wrongly, the term MPLS is used to describe a private routed VPN. The correct term is therefore VPRn but, for the sake of continuity, we will continue to refer to VPRn as MPLS.
In today's market place, MPLS offers a private based routed network either managed or unmanaged with a productised set of supportable features including QoS (Quality of Service) configured across a core / customers routers. MPLS remains the standard for all organisations looking to outsource connectivity for the majority of requirements. Available on an international basis with or without managed routers and devices.
VPLS VPN Networks – Virtual Private LAN Service
VPLS is not a separate service to MPLS. In fact, VPLS is an evolution of the MPLS protocol. The service provides much the same any to any connectivity with QoS (Quality of Service) support when compared to MPLS VPRn networks – the difference is that VPLS offers layer 2 access, stripping off layer 3. As an example, when considering data centres on a global basis, VPLS offers the ability to extend the LAN across geographical locations. Extending the LAN will enable resources to be added as required, irrespective of location. If readers imagine a scenario where further servers are required because a datacenter has reached capacity, an alternative site may be used and added to the same LAN. Clustering and resiliency is maintained across the layer 2 topology.
VLL – Virtual Leased Line
VLLs are a further evolution of the MPLS protocol providing point to point and multipoint Ethernet connectivity over distance. Often referred to as pseudo wire services, a VLL circuit offers greater reach vs dedicated fibre which is subject to distance limitations. However, whilst latency and security are clearly very good, the service is not comparable to dedicated fibre which is a per customer (not shared) wire speed latency product.
The majority of MPLS, VPLS and VLL services are based around 100Mbps Ethernet and 1Gbps Ethernet services.
Application Performance – Global traffic latency and jitter across office, mobile and cloud
We alluded to tail circuit length creating additional latency earlier within this article. When documenting your existing VPN applications and their usage profile with future project and strategy, an indication of real world performance should be profiled. The majority of international providers and carriers will offer global MPLS network capability directly connected to their backbone within major cities and regions. However, the prevalence of mobility with cloud means a fair amount of traffic could / will originate from various locations across the world. The impact of regional connectivity is that certain content may need to be restricted to avoid user dissatisfaction. Applications are becoming more connectivity aware and will not operate unless optimal conditions exist. In either scenario, aligning user applications, there profile and potential access points will allow your business to understand implications.
General network advice
Overall, the procurement of global networks, multi protocol label switching or otherwise, is perhaps more challenging vs national provisioning for the reasons we have outlined. As we move forward with VPN content, we'll update the section at the end of this post with further recommended reading. Our intent is to write more about MPLS networks and connect their migration challenges together with video tutorial content.
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An MPLS WAN Article
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An WAN Service Providers
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Can a piece of software really determine if you're ready to quit your job?
The evolution of predictive analytics technology continues to be something to keep an eye on in 2015. Although the technique is nothing new to the average consumer – we see it every time Netflix recommends a movie or Facebook places an ad on our news feed – it might be time to pay closer attention to the affect it could have in our work lives. Whether that impact is negative or positive is too early to determine, but one thing is certain: Technology companies are creating big data analytics software to monitor employee activity and the sophistication and capabilities of that technology are steadily increasing.
Take Workday. The company's cloud-based human resource management software is used by hundreds of organizations to oversee their employees.
Back in November, Quentin Hardy wrote in The New York Times that Workday takes big data analytics and goes a step further than Netflix and Facebook. Instead of merely suggesting a movie or an ad to click on, Workday's software is now capable of calculating which employees are most likely to leave a company or overspend their budgets. After collecting this information, Workday offers HR managers options that can range from job promotions to reprimands. It's this type of dynamic analysis that sets Workday apart from other vendors, observers say.
"There are other vendors talking about 'predictive analytics,' but what I think is different about Workday is that they are looking at publicly available data, such as job postings, and not just aggregating customer data or bringing in a third-party data set," said IDC Research Director Christine Dover, in an interview with TechTarget executive editor David Essex.
So on the upside, these kinds of predictive analytic tools can help companies increase productivity, reduce spending budgets and recognize employees who excel at their jobs. But for every upside, there is a downside.
Hardy, for example, wondered in his Times article what impact Workday could have on college students who haven't even entered the workforce. As Hardy wrote, "Workday is also used for school recruitment: Should knowledge of what companies like to see on a resume affect choices in curriculum design, or the kinds of projects students work on?"
Hardy has a point. So much of the growth in technology depends on innovation, which flows from creativity. I like to believe that many people are naturally creative, and when groups of people come together to solve a problem or create a product, the answers come from a diverse set of ideas. If students start basing their curriculum choices on what they think will look appealing to potential employers, that desire to conform might end up making everyone too similar.
Students and employees already face enough pressure to impress their professors, bosses and colleagues. Will they now also have to bow to the whims of a piece of data analytics software?
CDC for cybersecurity? One group thinks it might be timecybersecurity
Do enterprises and other organizations need a CDC-like entity to help them in their fight against cyber attacks?
The Society for Information Management (SIM) thinks they might. Madeline Weiss, director of SIM's Advanced Practices Council (APC), said the group is evaluating whether it's time to create what she terms "a CDC for cybersecurity," modeled after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. To that end, an APC task force last month drafted a proposal for such a body, dubbed the CIO Coalition for Open Security. Its goal? To create a framework in which companies can work together, across industries, and share information about malicious cyber activities—much like the CDC collects data and issues bulletins about outbreaks and other health-related developments to the nation as a whole.
The APC is no slouch. The council comprises 33 senior IT executives, most of whom are CIOs employed by large multinational corporations and government agencies. Although the APC usually acts behind the scenes in an advisory capacity, the cybersecurity problem is so critical that the group has been spurred to action, Weiss said in an interview conducted at SIM's annual meeting in Denver earlier this month.
A large part of that push came from David Bray, CIO of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, who recently spoke to the group in his capacity as a guest lecturer at Oxford University. Bray delivered a dim and "extremely scary" scenario of the future of cybersecurity, Weiss said, followed by some ideas about what the industry can do about it.
"He made the point that no one organization, no matter how big they are or how well-equipped, can solve this problem," Weiss said. "He said success is dependent upon collaboration and openness–open in the sense that there is sharing of attacks, and that there is sharing of potential, of possibilities and observations and solutions and that there should be sharing within private, public and governmental sectors."
Similar efforts exist within other sectors, most notably in the pharmaceutical industry, where Eli Lilly's InnoCentive acts as a repository of crowdsourced solutions aimed at tackling unresolved R&D problems. Such an approach for cybersecurity, Weiss argued, could be equally beneficial, providing companies with early-warning information and other data they need to thwart attacks. In addition, a CDC-like organization for cybersecurity could connect security problem solvers with those experiencing security issues. For example, it might be able to produce a map of distributed denial of service alerts or act as an information clearinghouse.
"Working together, we can address this issue," Weiss said. "Working alone, we probably can't."
The next step is for the APC to sketch out the framework that would support the coalition, including soliciting volunteers who would lead the initiative.
"Members have done some investigation and learned that there are [similar] activities in various industries, but they seem to be staying within their industries — in other words, lots of silos," Weiss said.
"We plan to sponsor research that will help us understand who the current key players are and determine what has worked and what hasn't," she added. "We then anticipate pushing for combining efforts where feasible to facilitate broader and more open sharing [of information]."
A VPLS Network procurement walkthroughNetwork
Organisations should never be forced into a features and benefits conversation with their prospective service providers. The majority of network designs produced by our BT Business partnership surrounds hybrid technologies, perhaps VPLS across data centres, layer 3 MPLS at branch sites, fibre services within the core and IPSec / SLL for remote users. In certain sites, it makes sense to deliver a layer 3 capability, in others (such as data centres) VPLS is the clear option to deliver capability. In metropolitan areas, fibre is always a good option. This kind of features and benefits sales approach will result in missed requirements and essentially a MPLS or VPLS network solution which is not fit for purpose.
A good accompanying resource is the Techtarget version of my MPLS and VPLS step by step IT Managers procurement Mindmap which is available upon request.
The mindmap examines in detail the process and considerations to make vs your own business requirements. The overall complexity is dependent on not only your requirements today but also those which need to be predicted in the future. The IT team's work is becoming more critical than ever to communicate needs as globalisation, security, application performance, user productivity and disaster recovery is driving a critical reliance on WAN connectivity. The ultimate goal, as ever, is to maximise uptime of resources and plan for scenario's which are unlikely but would impact the business in a major way. The WAN may appear as though innovation is fairly stagnant, we don't hear too much in the way of significant evolution and buzz around WAN connectivity. However, applications are evolving faster than they ever have before due to enhanced productivity, different ways of working and a desire to achieve efficiencies and this a competitive edge.
What is VPLS Ethernet
Virtual Private LAN Service networks provide the ability for companies to create a LAN structure between geographically separate sites. The traditional and default choice for IT Management is generally considered to surround layer 3 VPRn (Virtual Private Routed Network) – known as MPLS in the market place. We believe the growth of VPLS services is driven by the ubiquitous access of Ethernet coupled with private cloud based services. We will go on to to explain more about our findings later.
The key benefits of VPLS solutions surround a number of key points.
Perhaps the most popular discussion surrounds the ability to extend data centre connectivity (or essentially sites which contain resources) across geographical separation. The dream is to deliver global or national connectivity whilst maintaining a base level of configuration and thus avoiding IP address reconfiguration which is required with layer 3 networks (MPLS – Virtual Private Routed networks). We are aware that globalisation is growing with data centres located in far flung locations, the challenge of deploying applications is made easier with VPLS layer 2 WAN services. A VPLS solution will extend the deployment of your server clusters into different data centres protecting against major disruption.
In another scenario, service providers and enterprises often do not meet in terms of requirements vs capability. There are some businesses which are reluctant to allow a service provider access to their layer 3 management and routing, Perhaps the organisation is needing to serve an unsupported protocol which the service providers will not transport. In this example, the ability to layer on layer 3 is a clear advantage for VPLS based connectivity.
It would be remiss not to mention VLL (Virtual Leased Line) services as they are closely related. VLL's are designed to emulate point to point / multipoint fibre connectivity across an MPLS core network. The benefits are clear since MPLS provides the reach and emulation for circuits which would otherwise be too great in distance for dedicated fibre provision.
In short:
VPLS provides any to any connectivity using pseudowires – Virtual Ethernet circuits provisioned as a full mesh topology
VLL – point to point or multipoint Ethernet pseudowires
A pseudowire is essentially point to point emulation of Ethernet.
One important distinction to make: VPLS is an evolution in terms of capability which is built and created on the shoulders of MPLS core networks. The majority of IT managers believe that VPLS is somehow a different platform to MPLS but the reality is, MPLS core networks are the foundation for layer 2 connectivity. In other words, today's MPLS networks facilitate layer 2 and layer 3 connectivity.
Why VPLS
Prior to VPLS becoming a mainstream technology, organisations were not only limited by distance related issues across layer 2 fibre but also dedicated high-speed data circuits equalled high costs. The telco's already owned significant core networks with layer 3 capability, the addition of a layer 2 VPN capability made sense.
Some serious benefits to consider
An organisation with a private cloud (their own hosting facility) requires further virtual servers on the same LAN segment. However, space is running out fast. In this scenario, a further data centre could be added with a connection into VPLS. Once connected, further virtual servers are able to be installed which will appear on the same connected LAN as the older full data centre facility. The plus point is clearly demonstrated to surround seamless LAN connectivity. The added benefits of a geographically separated site surrounds disaster recovery and resilience since the loss of a DC will ultimately partially remove some connected hosts but not all of them which offers greater uptime.
You have the desire and capability manage your own routed network. As the name suggest, the procurement of VPLS is at layer 2 which leaves layer 3 routing to be setup as required. Service providers set a base level of capability for MPLS.
We worked with a client recently which had decided to implement a cloud server cluster strategy for redundancy and scalability. With each cluster needing to reside in the same VLAN and network but with geographical separation for further redundancy, the organisation looked to VPLS. which enables extended VLAN. In addition, their data centres were encountering issues with power and cooling. The addition of a further datacenter allowed the client (as per point 1)
Consideration of VPLS vs MPLS
VPLS is built using a service provider product term called EVC's (Ethernet Virtual Circuits). This is a marked difference when making a comparison to MPLS. The use of EVC's is perceived as a scalability issue since, as networks grows, the network performance may be impacted meaning there is an ultimate ceiling in terms of how many EVCs each provider router may support. The majority of providers will brush over scalability since their core networks are, over time, increasing in their ability to scale which increases their ability to support greater EVC's. In the majority of cases, there is no need to worry or be overly concerned but clarity should always be requested depending on which provider readers are considering. On the counter point, MPLS (or rather layer 3 routed networks) are truly connectionless from the perspective of scalability.
VPLS network terminology
As I have previously mentioned, VPLS is a layer 2 VPN across an MPLS core network. When considering providers, procurement teams will often be faced with acronyms such as PE or P which refer to the edge and core devices within a network.
The PE device refers to the Provider Edge which is essentially the edge node into a service provider's network. IT Managers are advised to understand the true PE capability of prospective service providers since PE coverage determines scale and diversity options. The P device is the 'Provider' core aggregation devices within the centre of their network used to scale the MPLS core network.
Some thoughts regarding VPLS network procurement
In general, VPLS is sold as an unmanaged service with Ethernet handoff. With this said, in some instances, the provider will offer a managed service whether this is based on a Layer 3 switch or a router. As with any WAN procurement project, the advice is to carefully consider the service capability vs your specific requirements. The Mindmap not only details some of the specifics of VPLS but also the key vectors we know to matter across application performance, uptime, topology, strategy and budget. In general VPLS services should be viewed in the same way as the more traditional layer 3 from the perspective of SLA which includes latency, jitter and uptime guarantees. Clearly an unmanaged service creates a very different adds, moves and changes process vs managed services. The typical approach when making changes is often surrounded by 'clunky' processes which creates delay. One of the real plus points of VPLS, as we have mentioned within this article, is the ease of self managed services. We are seeing growth within the managed services sector where organisations are outsourcing the management to specialist organisations which overlay their services with the providers supplying the connectivity. This, we believe, is a major shift in thinking since the traditional approach is to use a single provider for connectivity and management. VPLS is creating an environment of adoption which creates a little more freedom when considering how to manage services on an ongoing basis.
All of the concerns surrounding MPLS procurement are essentially the same when considering VPLS. We are in effect talking about layer 3 vs layer 2 which both using an underlying MPLS core network.
We have written a fair amount of content on WAN procurement, both MPLS and VPLS but the core of our approach remains the same. It is clear that organisations which achieve better outcomes when they are able to align their business specifics vs the service provider capability. In short, if you consider applications (as an example), our approach to execute WAN procurement involves understand how the application performs today but also how performance may be increased to improve productivity. In some instances, improving application performance may not relate to the technical aspects of a capability but perhaps admin tasks such as adds, moves and changes. As organisations begin to understand how each provider might provide a capability which adds a competitive edge, the WAN becomes and enabler rather than the typical bottleneck.
VPLS is a growing technology which, in part, is due to the emergence of cloud based solutions, whether private or public. Server clusters often require geographical diversity, VPLS networks add a unique capability here. The ability to add, remove servers as required across a layer 2 Ethernet WAN with any to any connectivity. The simplicity of layer 2 is now available across the WAN offering seamless connectivity on a Global basis. As a counter point, layer 3 services offer an out of the box routed network supporting a standard capability. As I wrote toward the beginning of this article, we are finding most project result in a hybrid approach for design. This means that VPLS is a another building block for organisations to use in their pursuit of connectivity and cloud excellence.
Additional reading: MPLS Network long form article
WAN Service Providers long form article
Taking the pulse of Wi-Fi-enabled healthcare devices in an IoT world
Wi-Fi connectivity is a great luxury to have in public places to power your favorite app, but what if your life-saving medical device relied on the wireless LAN to work?
Hospitals are using wireless devices and equipment — ranging from small patient monitoring sensors, to pharmacy inventory systems, all the way to large imaging systems — to care for patients. Needless to say, reliable, consistent Wi-Fi connectivity has become a critical network asset, rather than just a "nice to have" feature for many healthcare facilities.
As the Internet of Things (IoT) gains traction, Wi-Fi vendors are working to ensure they can offer their customers the functionality and management tools they'll need to support the influx of Wi-Fi-enabled devices requiring network access and attention from IT. "It's clear that for a lot of our customers, more devices are 'turning on,' or requiring network access, rather than just the typical user devices people are carrying in," said Bruce Miller, vice president of product marketing for Xirrus, a Thousand Oaks, Calif.-based Wi-Fi vendor.
Healthcare certainly isn't the only industry grappling with supporting IoT devices. However, most other verticals aren't faced with the challenge of supporting devices that are saving lives. Xirrus is currently working with healthcare customers, as well as customers that develop Wi-Fi-enabled medical tools and devices for the IoT. Miller also highlighted some of the wireless LAN design considerations enterprise IT teams supporting IoT devices should know.
Right out of the gate, many medical devices aren't easy for IT teams to support. This equipment often comes with low-end wireless cards because they don't have high bandwidth needs — especially in the case of a sensor that is reporting patient data, not streaming live video. Additionally, healthcare environments are also very "noisy" from an RF and coverage perspective, Miller said. "There are a lot of devices than can interfere [with Wi-Fi signals] – we've even heard of up to 20 devices in one patient room," he said. "The number of devices is getting extreme, and in some situations, that can pose a lot of challenges." Most healthcare facilities are also filled with many small rooms with a lot of walls that cut signal strength down, and radiology labs with metal-coated walls that are difficult to penetrate, he said.
Xirrus is encouraging its healthcare customers to design for dense environments by deploying direct, in-room Wi-Fi close to the client. This means more access points are needed in an IoT-enabled environment.
Once the wireless LAN has been bolstered to address the sheer number of devices that need support, IT must be able to understand and identify all Wi-Fi-enabled equipment in their environment, Miller said."It's key to be able to separate out what kind of device something is, what it does, how it operates differently from another kind of device, and lastly, how it [needs to be] supported," he said. "We've been doing this for a while — helping customers understand the difference between a laptop, tablet or phone, so now it's just extending that visibility further."
In addition to understanding what the device is, IT has to be able to make sense of the data coming from the device in an intelligent way. Then, the information must go to the right place, like patient stats to a monitoring nurse or physician or alerts to IT if a device has been moved or stolen, Miller said. "We've had to look at the health of…a greater variety of clients, and put those capabilities into our systems to allow IT to troubleshoot," he said. If a device keeps disconnecting and reconnecting, or generating a lot of errors, Xirrus' network management tools can monitor those network health stats and provide alerts to IT. "Sometimes, it's as simple as updating a driver or software on a device, or maybe [the device] is in a bad coverage area, and IT needs to know about that, too," he said.
Wireless LAN design and deployment has changed dramatically over the years, and they also can vary by industry. "On our side, we've turned our procedures and best practices upside down from what we used to do just a few years ago…We also base our products on upgradable hardware so business don't have to roll out a whole new set of products when things change in their environment," Miller said. "We recommend higher signal strength everywhere, 5 gig everywhere, and being able to support an adaptable infrastructure that can conform to new requirements."
Thoughts on achieving good MPLS costsNetwork
If your idea of obtaining good MPLS costs is to throw a spreadsheet of sites together and hope for the best, you might be disappointed. In this article I share some of my experience where projects have achieved some excellent results.
Part of creating a WAN proposal is building a specific capability aligned with your business. A capability and not a bottleneck. The truth is, most clients I speak with regarding change are in a poor situation because there was never any work completed to understand whether their existing WAN was in alignment with their business. A major component of this work revolves around understanding which areas of both your organisation and the service provider capability are matched. To complete this work requires an understanding of both sides of the coin. In the first instance, IT Managers need to consider particular aspects of their business from strategy through to application performance requirements. On the provider side, each and every key area which has the potential to impact your business should also be clearly understood. I've often been involved in a situation where the information provided by an organisation in order to price up their WAN is little more than addresses and bandwidths. In this scenario. the decision making process defaults to little more than a commodity-based purchase. In the absence of value, all you are left with is the price of your MPLS service.
Dealing with special pricing teams
I have also been involved in a good amount of special bid's. You know the kind of situation. One provider is more expensive than the other but features appear equal. Senior members of a business don't really get the value and therefore instruct their IT management team to obtain MPLS costs at their best available rates. The problem occurs when the provider is faced with the spreadsheet I mentioned earlier. The special bid team working on your account is unable to determine whether their is serious buying intent because they don't have a well aligned design in addition to the spreadsheet. The answer then is fairly simple. Providers (and special pricing teams) need to see buying intent, they need to know that their hard work will not be wasted on a fruitless exercise. So, whilst your intent may well be mostly 'lowest possible pricing' based, remember that the teams within the provider recognise which deals are more likely to result in a sale.
A base level of data to achieve great MPLS costs
If you consider a base level of data which should be the minimum required to achieve good pricing, I would suggest the following elements.
- Topology diagram presented in Visio format (including failover)
- Applications, listed by priority with QoS (Quality of Service) settings
- Your business strategy in terms of decision making process with time scales
Over and above these elements, a complete statement of requirements (SoR) will provide a major benefit to both your project and the goal of achieving MPLS costs from the providers with which you are in discussions. An SoR is a thorough document which is designed to look at every aspect of your particular business including the motivation for your project, the existing service provider and their pain points and issues together with a revised design based on these specifics. When preparing SoR content, a templates approach is required to ensure certain elements are not missed when creating the documentation. In the day job, we consider every aspect including:
User experience to the user behaviour which is increasingly mobile on a global basis. The users within your network require ubiquitous access to resources no matter where they are located.
Quality of Service – The level of bandwidth a priority required for each application on the network. Careful consideration must be given to where the traffic is sourced and destined.
Failover – Consideration of failover design and type. For example, the failover product should be designed whether the uptime is based on fibre primary and fibre failover or most cost effective copper including EFM and broadband.
BT IP Clear Playbook for UK IT ManagementNetwork
US readers will no doubt tune out but wait. Although BT IP Clear is a UK based service, the technology refers (as a rule, there are exceptions) to unmanaged connectivity from BT. The US market is largely unmanaged vs the UK's preference for managed services when procuring WAN connectivity. So, take a read through and compare a flagship UK product vs your US service provider capability. BT are no longer using BT IP Clear as a product name but the majority of IT Managers still refer to their wires only product using this brand reference. BT IP Connect is now the flagship product which also includes a wires only version together with fully managed routers where required, both Global and UK. Within the rest of this article, we'll talk generically about the BT IP Clear capability.
- Reach and Diversity for failover – BT's national coverage of Provider Edge (PE) devices to terminate your circuits
- SLA – The national latency, jitter, uptime and install figures
- Circuit types – From Gigabit Ethernet through to ADSL
- Other services – cloud, SIP and remote access
We have been spending a substantial amount of time over the last 18 months improving and honing our WAN procurement content. In some respects, this work is slight selfish since we are, in tandem, documenting our own sales process. Our original WAN Mindmap was generic and contained the pitfalls, risks and opportunities associated with MPLS & VPLS procurement. It is still, by far, our most requested content. Good news – when we embarked on the BT IP Clear version, we really wanted to create something which would specifically detail the procurement process as it relates to a particular product. The IP Clear service is generally positioned as wires only product and therefore attention should be paid to the attributes of a self managed service.
BT's MPLS network is known to be well engineered and essentially covers the UK and, in the case of Global Services, the rest of the world. Gartner recently announced BT would remain within their magic quadrant because of their capability to serve global Enterprise clients. You may be forgiven for wondering how BT Global MPLS has anything to do with the BT IP Clear UK product? The same resources and investment is put into the network as a whole. As the global network evolves, so does the UK capability which increased bandwidth and presence with POP's (Points of Presence) becoming more wide spread adding diversity and performance increases. If you ever read BT product description, the capability also mentions global reach. This said, IP Clear has always been associated with UK coverage. However, it is possible to procure a UK VPN from BT and connect international sites at a later date should your organisation grow by acquisition.
The following map details existing coverage in the UK.
It's pretty easy to notice that the UK is well covered. Ultimately, this means your sites have less distance to travel to the nearest point of network entry. This not only reduces costs but also has the added benefit of diversity choices and the best possible latency.
The more PE nodes a provider has, the easier it is to create a diverse network. Within the generic procurement Mindmap, we always advise asking any potential provider for their true PE coverage as this will demonstrate your ability to create diversity and also demonstrate the providers true MPLS capability which is often covered up by marketing.
Let's look at an example.
The BT Secure Plus product is designed to avoid any single point of failure. With full diversity, two routers will be configured running HSRP (Hot Standby Routing Protocol) or load balanced depending on your requirements. (Being self managed).
From the routers, BT will look to use two different points of exit from the building. Whether or not this is possible depends a) whether two points of entry exist and b) whether or not there are any restrictions on the building from the perspective of creating another entry point. Once the circuits leave the building, diverse paths will be attempted to ensure seperacy is maintained with dual BT local Exchanges used where possible. From the exchange, the circuits will ultimately arrive at dual BT Provider Edge POP's.
As an MPLS network can carry both your voice and data traffic, you are effectively putting all of your applications under one circuit without diversity. Although you can achieve economies of scale by using MPLS a reliable service becomes essential or any savings you make by using the technology can quickly be eroded via productivity losses in the event of failure. By having so many POPs in so many key business locations BT can provide that piece of mind that we can reach a resilient POP sooner than any other provider in the UK.
Circuit types
There are a number of different ways to access the network, including connectivity from 1Gbit/s all the way through to standard broadband. One of the clients we are working with now are using the IP Clear ADSL product across 106 sites, only two of them are fibre based leased line products. There is a mix of availability with regards to DSL from standard ADSL2 through to FTTC (Fibre to the Cabinet). In terms of site issues, there are only 3 of the sites which are suffering from poor performance due to the locations being remote. BT are able to check site addresses to understand the kind of performance you will experience in the real world. The actual performance has been pretty good in terms of latency, here's a live ping from the network which includes the LAN from HQ to a site connected via DSL:
Success rate is 100 percent (5/5), round-trip min/avg/max = 20/20/24 ms
CE_Router#ping 10.10.165.254.254 .254 0.254
Type escape sequence to abort.
The performance of the above ping is more than good enough for VoIP (SIP) based services and mission critical applications. The upstream bandwidth may potentially become an issue over the longer term but, for now, all is looking good.
- Lower cost fibre access direct to your site
- EFM access, aggregating copper pairs (telephone lines) to offer a single Ethernet service with built in resilience and a lower cost compared to fibre
- ADSL2+ integration as an access technology onto our WAN services
- Superfast access through Fibre To The Cabinet (FTTC) and Fibre To The Premises (FTTP)
- EMF and GEA access providers
BT IP Clear SLA (Full granular figures are included within the Mindmap)
The SLA is a commercial agreement, we always suggest organisations never design based on SLA figures and NEVER commit to the business that circuits will always perform to SLA parameters.
This said, the SLA will provide you with a good overview of predicted performance. If we know that traffic across the UK POP to POP will perform on average Xms depicted within the SLA, we are at least able to consider worst case performance. In general, latency performs better than projected SLA figures since they are always set as a monthly average.
The uptime guarantee is perhaps the most useless of all, in my opinion of course. (Not BT's by the way, just SLA's in general). For years we have seen figures of 99.9% as the standard for fibre based leased line connectivity. The fact remains that the SLA is of little comfort if your site is down and falls outside of these amazing averages. In this sense, it is important to design uptime based on the specific requirements of that site. The IP Clear product allows you to ensure services are built to maximise both productivity and performance regardless of the SLA figure.
Other Services
Clearly the WAN is an enabler to additional services such as the cloud and SIP. BT provide a number of different cloud based options for managed services which include hosting and colocation. These services may not be as applicable for clients looking to buy IP Clear self managed IT infrastructure but it possible to create a hybrid of services. Access to SIP is a possibility by two methods. The first involves separate access using a BTNet leased line.
The other alternative is directly via the MPLS platform. However, the BTNet variant is a much easier product to implement since the product allows interface into existing ISDN-2 or ISDN-30 circuits – a Samsung device converts ISDN to IP. However, if true end to end SIP is required, access will need to be via the MPLS platform.
BT IP Clear Pricing
We are finding that project we are working on are producing some excellent commercials. As an IT Manager, you need to be aware that any project will likely yield better savings and costs when the requirements are fully outlined. The special pricing teams within BT are busy and therefore they take the projects with a good statement of requirements more seriously than those which consist of a spreadsheet and bandwidths.
Our senior designer has Distilled everything we know about BT IP Clear procurement into one of our single step by step A2 Mindmap. We borrowed some of our Techtarget MPLS VPN procurement workflows and essentially layered on the specifics of IP Clear service from the perspective of reach, latency, QoS (Quality of Service), fix times, uptime, change requests and additional BT products which interface into the capability including SIP and Cloud.
One of the best Global MPLS providers?Network
It's not really that hard to come up with a list of global MPLS providers from the usual suspects. There are a few lesser known providers worth considering.
If you think about the market place, you'll no doubt list several of the major telco's. I'm betting readers could list at least 3 to 5 without too much difficulty.
Without making too much of a sweeping statement, the 'usual providers' normally translates into the 'usual service levels'.
"The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them".
In other words, if you are considering changing your Global MPLS provider, something must change within your procurement process to avoid the same problems and issues occurring again.
The overall intent of any WAN procurement project is as follows:
- Avoid the typical pitfalls, issues and problems faced by the majority of Enterprise and Medium sized organisations when procuring international MPLS providers
- Align the specifics of your business strategy, applications, business continuity and process to the service provider market place
- Understand the impact of engaging with a provider which doesn't operate a repeatable process to identify your business needs – the issues are often felt for years
- The Mindmap is designed to help you follow along as you move through the procurement process
Read on to understand some of our thoughts and ideas surrounding specific Global MPLS providers challenges.
The first steps, align your business
We all like to think we know and understand aspects of our business. In many ways, it's not the knowledge we have but taking that knowledge and ensuring suppliers understand your value and your competitive edge – what makes your business unique. In the respect of Global MPLS network procurement, this means ensuring that any prospective provider clearly relates the specifics of your business to their capability to deliver a Global MPLS network providers service. When IT and business are mis-aligned, the business is seriously impacted. We've witnessed clients facing simply frustrating issues such as incorrect billing but also those clients which have suffered huge downtime and productivity issues. If you follow a repeatable process within the international service provides procurement process, you are in a better position to tick off the boxes as you complete the project ensuring good practice and due diligence is adhered to throughout your project.
The workflow for network procurement sounds vast. If you consider everything from application performance through to high availability, adds, moves and changes, delivery and migration, you gain an understanding why some companies just keep plodding on with their existing supplier. However, we know it doesn't make sense to do more of what simply isn't working.
Of course, being able to find a perfect provider is most certainly a futile task as there will always be aspects which don't fit. However, if you know and clearly understand where these weaknesses exist, you are able to either work around them or adapt your business. As an example, you might find a provider which takes time to make bandwidth upgrades. This fact may either be a show stopper of something which you are able to work with depending on the detail.
In short, the areas we consider are as follows:
- Business Strategy
- Applications
- Business Continuity and DR (Disaster Recovery)
- Topology
- Projects
- Documentation and process
- Due Diligence throughout contract
- SLA (Service Level Agreement)
- Budget
- How to achieve Global and UK proposal and pricing excellence
Becoming a strategic thinker
Strategy is the direct link between your business specifics and your provider. The subject of strategy often conjures up thoughts of huge amounts of work but in reality, and as far as Global MPLS network providers procurement is concerned, strategy is about defining the key areas which make your business successful. We see this time and time again, the businesses which are successful within their particular niche really understand their go-to-market strategy, the areas which result in customer retention.
When we think about strategy, we consider your business and the impact of particular MPLS network areas. As an example, your key sites where you deliver services or data to customers must offer up a capability which contains no single point of failure. Or, perhaps there is a particular application which must perform well – the performance is key to customer satisfaction. Although these aspects will no doubt be covered in the technical design, outlining them and defining these key areas as part of your strategy will have a profound effect on the overall outcome.
Application performance and enhancements
Understanding applications is the basis of productivity for both internal users and customers engaging with your business in various forms. The way in which applications rely on MPLS varies but the key aspects cover latency, jitter, uptime and packet loss. Service providers are able to offer feature rich solutions which include QoS (Quality of Service) to provide confidence in the performance attributes. However, an SLA is only a commercial agreement – the network should never be engineered based on an SLA but there is a good indication of overall performance. The mindmap will also point you to areas which you may not have considered such as the impact of 'chatty' applications.
Keeping those applications running with maximum uptime
Clearly, having well performing applications is great from a business perspective. A major part of your applications performance is uptime. We recently wrote an content on the BT RA02 (Resilient Access) product where we described some of the aspects of achieving a solution with no single point of failure. We are pleased with all areas of the mindmap but particularly within the resilience and diversity section. Here, you're able to easily see the pitfalls and the questions you need to ask of network suppliers ensuring there are no single points of failure within your capability.
Topology, any to any
The native topology of MPLS facilitates any to any connectivity. However, topology is also concerned with restricting access to certain areas of the business. As an example, clients create multiple VPN's within a single VPN for voice and video to keep them seperate. More than applications, MPLS solutions allow you to create separation for extranet clients – you may have a supplier which requires access to areas of your network such as procurement of goods or services. The topology maybe created to facilitate this capability.
Within topology, you need to consider reach. If your organisation is looking at expanding into particular areas on a global basis, the future reach of your provider becomes a critical aspect. Even if we consider UK clients, opening a data centre in a location which is not well served by a particular provider of choice will impact you in terms of cost and potentially uptime.
Projects which need to be factored
With many organisations, there will always be a future project in the wings. We see this with various departments considering new initiatives or the business as a whole might on an acquisition trail. You may believe this area to be part of strategy but our belief is that these aspects require a section of their own. The situation you need to avoid is one where you put in place a solution which isn't fit for purpose because the business launches a new initiative or procures another business.
Keeping up to date with documentation and due diligence
One of the major disappointments clients experience relates to poor network documentation and due diligence throughout their contract. We worked with a client recently where their network has not been configured correctly from day 1 with a serious knock on effect to their business. Applications performed but very badly and nobody from the service provider had a good understanding of configuration.
In order to avoid this situation, global MPLS providers need to define how they maintain documentation and also where the documentation is stored to avoid versioning problems. The mindmap will provide details on the areas we recommend you consider.
Throughout contract, due diligence with documentation is important. Just as a repeatable process is required for WAN supplier selection, a workflow is also required to maintain good practice covering such areas as trend reporting and SLA breaches.
Global MPLS Providers & Service Levels, Delivery and Migration
The Global MPLS network mindmap provides a focus on the key areas of service levels including the usual suspects from latency, jitter throughput to uptime and packet loss. Within each of the service areas, we point you to pitfalls and where the service provider marketing may miss out some of the key points. The SLA is a good indication of the providers performance, not only from the perspective of ongoing service but also delivery aspects of the service including adds, moves and changes.
Perhaps one of the biggest areas of weakness surrounds slow and painful adds, moves and changes. Some providers are more agile than others in respect of changes but we find that the process is often improved if the client has a clear understanding of the workflow from raising a change through to placing an order for the change and delivery. Some aspects of changes will be fast, others will take time. Again, which of these aspects that will impact your business will be understood when the specifics of your organisation are aligned with the product.
On the delivery side, the SLA will apply to lead times. There are certainly aspects to consider here which are going to become critical to your project including the actual process to take you from a design through to ordering, acceptance, and circuit delivery milestones. On top of this, you will also want to be thinking about migration and how you will take your service from one provider to another.
Budget, achieving the best international MPLS providers commercials
Obtaining a good deal requires knowledge of process. In addition to our knowledge of MPLS network pricing workflows, the mindmap does a good job of bringing other areas to your attention which make a commercial difference. An example of which is creating your statement of requirements. Any service provider prefers to work on a well qualified set of requirements and presenting your needs in this way has a dramatic effect on how they approach the commercials of your solution. If, for example, you present a list of sites on a spreadsheet, the provider will not take your requirements seriously and will forward out standard pricing.
If you have any further questions, let us know. The organisations on our PDF are also able to offer VPLS providers services.
Venture capital firm back in data center market: Why?APM
By Chuck Moozakis
Private equity investment firm M/C Partners has a long pedigree in telecommunications investing. The Boston-based firm, formerly known as Media Communications Partners, has overseen more than $1.5 billion in placements over the past two decades as it focused on companies spawned from the landmark Telecommunications Deregulation Act of 1996.
So, when Managing Partner Gillis Cashman talks about the firm's latest investment–$50 million equity funding in data center services company Involta—his thoughts bear at least a cursory listen. Why, after previously investing in heavyweight companies that included Metro PCS and Level 3 Communications, does M/C now believe Involta, with just a handful of data centers in towns such as Duluth, Minn., and Marion, Iowa, is a good bet?
The simple answer? Application performance. Or more specifically, the lack thereof.
"There is a view in cloud computing that data centers are now becoming commodities and that proximity doesn't matter; you can host your servers anywhere," Cashman said. But concerns about application performance, and to a lesser extent security, are inhibiting cloud's success, he said. "When you think about application performance, it really requires a different architecture, where you need to get those servers and applications very close to the end user.
"Instead of 50 servers being in a data center in the middle of nowhere, now what you need is 50 servers at 50 data centers close to the edge where the redundancy is in the network itself."
And, Cashman said, those DCs should be located where the need is greatest: to serve enterprises in communities that are not served by Tier 1 or Tier 2 providers. These companies, he said, still have mission-critical applications, but they can't get the service-level agreements they need to ensure their employees and customers are getting the application performance they deserve.
"There is far more insourcing going on in smaller markets," Cashman said. "The reason is they either don't trust the facilities in the market or there are no facilities in the market, so they are forced to deploy their applications internally." To target these types of customers, Involta builds a dedicated fiber link from the DC to the enterprise, effectively creating a leased line. "Performance across this network is guaranteed because it never touches the public Internet, and to me, that is a critical factor that will drive more outsourcing [to data centers]. You need to have that infrastructure in place to effectively place these private cloud architectures."
Ensuring that Acme Manufacturing in central Iowa has the same broadband capability and application performance as XYZ MegaCorp. in New York City is smart business–and as M/C Partners almost surely agrees, it's good business, too.
Smaller vs larger MPLS service providers?Network
I recently read a couple of good article UK MPLS & Global MPLS which got me to thinking about the differences between large and small service providers and how they serve the market differently.
The default for the Enterprise is to typically progress their MPLS proposal with the larger end of the market which is understandable. An Enterprise requires the stability of a service provider of equal stature in terms of size to provide comfort in stability. On the flip side, smaller organisations (think SME) are always avoiding the larger service provider in favour of the agility and focus which smaller providers typically offer.
I personally worked for a large service provider in the mid 2000's and recall a strategy change where the CEO decided to effectively segment their business. In short, the provider decided they were expending way too much of their employees time supporting SME businesses which represented a fraction of their revenue. As a business decision, it was probably the right one to make but I imagine the SME's being given the news that they were effectively being forced into a different support channel were not impressed. Within the same provider, they also launched a new program of professional services where the large enterprise would be expected to pay for service and project management – i.e. these resources were no longer being provided by default. I'm not judging their decision and in many ways the service and support increased for their Enterprise clients which probably had the budget.
The smaller SME therefore should be wary of entering into contracts with the larger providers since they may not achieve the focus and service of the larger paying clients. I appreciate this is a broad statement to make and larger service providers are making strides into changing how they support the SME market. An an example, BT have launched a specific product which is dedicated to the SME market but the release is early days so we will have to see how things pan out.
Let's look at some of the comparisons.
Clearly larger service providers have huge revenue streams which offers stability associated with similar institutions to themselves. This said, profitability is still very important as we have witnessed large providers such as WorldCom enter Chapter 11 so size is not always a given from the perspective of stability. However, all things being equal, a large stable company provides long term comfort when signing WAN contracts. The smaller providers are often good profitable organisations but they very much have a shorter way to fall if things should go wrong. We know of companies which are reliant on a few contracts for the source of their income and profitability which clearly is a risk. And there are some which have a good broad range of contracts so are more stable and further along their business growth path. It is also true that smaller providers are more prone to strategy changes. In any given month, they may decide to invest which changes their financial position and increases risk.
Staff and coverage is also an area which requires clarification. Using another example, a provider we worked with under a consultancy arrangement had only two main POP's (Point of Presence) in the UK with only a few staff. We asked how they would support offices over large distances and they said "We would put replacement hardware in a van and ask one of the engineers to drive it over". Whilst this approach may work, it's clearly not a particularly robust support process.
The coverage of a provider is very variable with smaller providers. Our experience ranges from companies with hardware in an office (yes really) through to a couple of core POP's up to well engineered networks. I always recommend IT Management looking at procurement to clearly understand the true MPLS coverage of services providers.
Over and above coverage, process for adds, moves and changes very much varies when comparing the larger organisations vs the smaller companies in the market place. In my experience, smaller represents agility with larger service providers often creating more bureaucracy.


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Saturday, April 05, 2014
Sports News
Ease To Davis Cup Victory Over Japan
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[April 05, 2014]
(Reuters) — The Czech Republic
wasted little time wrapping up their Davis Cup quarter-final tie against
Japan after the defending champions eased to a straight sets victory in
the doubles rubber on Saturday to take an unassailable 3-0 lead in
After battling to singles wins on Friday, Radek Stepanek and
Lukas Rosol paired up for a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory over Tatsuma Ito and
Yasutaka Uchiyama at the Ariake Coliseum to set up a last four
encounter against either Germany or France.
In a match that lasted two hours and 20 minutes, the Czech pairing
won all three sets with a break of serve in the 10th game against
the error-prone Japanese to remain on course for a third straight
Davis Cup title and fourth overall.
Rosol was brought in as a substitute for Jiri Vesely by Czech
captain Jaroslav Navratil on Saturday morning and the move proved
inspired with the world number 40 exhibiting a strong serve and
playing especially well from the baseline.
On Friday, former world number eight Stepanek, now 47th, came from a
set down to beat Ito 6-7(5) 7-6(5) 6-1 7-5 before Rosol survived a
mid-match meltdown to overcome 21-year-old Taro Daniel 6-4 6-4 3-6
4-6 6-2 in the second rubber.
Both sides came into the contest without their top players.
[to top of second column]
World number five Tomas Berdych is out for the Czechs following two
tough tournaments in the United States, while Kei Nishikori is
sidelined with a groin problem suffered in a victory over Roger
Federer at last week's Sony Open in Miami.
The Czechs are likely to face Germany in September's semi-final
encounter after Carsten Arriens' unfancied side opened a 2-0 lead
over the French on the opening day of their tie in Nancy.
(Writing by John O'Brien in Singapore, editing by Nick Mulvenney)
[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights
Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Harvard is in search of its first Ivy win of the year Saturday against Cornell (Gil Talbot).
The Particulars
The Harvard men's soccer team returns to Ivy League action as it welcomes in No. 18 Cornell for a Saturday showdown. Cornell represents the third ranked opponent for the Crimson this season.
Series History
Harvard has done well traditionally against Cornell, holding a 37-21-15 record in 73 career meetings. The first meeting between the two squads came in 1907, with the Crimson posting a 5-1 victory at home. Harvard won 13 of 15 meetings between 1958 and 1972 to help the Crimson take a significant edge in the all-time series. Harvard is 3-1-2 in the last six games against the Big Red, but Cornell captured a 3-1 win last year in Ithaca, N.Y.
Last Time Out
In a midweek, non-conference contest against local rival Boston College, Harvard took a 1-0 lead in the second minute but also relinquished a first-half goal in a 1-1 tie. Just over a minute into the contest, Zack Wolfenzon fed a lead pass to Ross Friedman, streaking down the right sideline. Friedman chipped the ball into the box just before it rolled over the endline, and Hiroki Kobayashi headed the ball into the back of the net for Harvard's fastest goal of the season. BC's goal came minutes later and the teams traded good looks through the end of the second overtime, but neither squad was able to come up with the game-winner.
About The Crimson
With a 1-5-3 overall mark on the season, Harvard will be looking for its second victory, and second home victory, of the season. With his goal against the Eagles, Kobayashi became the first multiple-goal scorer of the season for Harvard and now leads the team with four points. Wolfenzon has three points on the year with a goal and an assist and Jake Freeman, Scott Prozeller and Oliver White have also tallied goals this season.
Freshmen Joe Festa and Evan Mendez have split time in goal this season for the Crimson. Festa has started the past three contests and boasts a 1.23 goals-against average, to go along with 24 stops this year. Mendez has the better overall record at 1-2-1 this season.
Scouting Cornell
The Big Red comes to Cambridge as one of three teams in the nation that is both unbeaten and untied. With a 9-0-0 record, Cornell has outscored opponents, 26-7, on the year, and has scored multiple goals in every game except one. In its Ivy League opener last weekend, the Big Red netted three first-half goals en route to a 3-2 win over Penn at home.
Junior forward Daniel Haber leads the nation in points per game (3.67) and goals per game (1.56) and has 33 points on 14 goals and five helpers through nine games this season. Sophomore Conor Goepel ranks tied for second on the team with nine points (4g, 1a) and senior Tyler Regan also has nine points this year on a pair of goals and a team-high tying five assists. Senior Nico Nissl has also dished out five helpers on the season. Senior Rick Pflasterer has been the go-to keeper for Cornell this year, and he brings a 0.79 goals-against average and two shutouts in the Harvard game.
Up Next
The tough tests continue for Harvard as the Crimson travels to No. 19 Brown Oct. 13 for a 7 p.m. game.


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France's defending champion Stephane Peterhansel took a huge step toward his 11th Dakar Rally win on Monday as his main rival, Nasser al-Attiyah, struggled during the ninth stage, the longest of the race.
Spaniard Nani Roma won the stage — his second of this year's edition and 13th of his career — leading in a Mini 1-2 with 47-year-old Peterhansel — six times champion on a motorbike and four times in a car — second and Argentine Orlando Terranova third in a BMW.
Al-Attiyah — the 2011 champion — had to stop several times during the stage in his Red Bull Buggy including just 4km from the finish line and saw his dreams of a second Dakar title dashed.
Peterhansel now has a comfortable lead of almost 50 minutes over his nearest rival, South African Giniel de Villiers.
"We could have gained even more time, but we would have had to take risks," Peterhansel said. "It's [the title] getting closer, but there are still a few long stages left, which favor the buggies. We need to take time whenever we can, because we can always make mistakes in Fiambala or on the dunes of Copiapo."
Earlier, defending motorbike champion Cyril Despres stormed back into contention for this year's title as the Frenchman won his first stage of this year's renewal.
The 38-year-old KTM star started the day over 24 minutes off the pace, but finished the stage in second place overall as he came in 4 minutes, 3 seconds ahead of Spanish rider Joan Barreda, on a Husqvarna.
Despres put himself firmly into the mix for retaining the title as the four-time champion trails teammate Ruben Faria of Portugal by 5:23, but said it had been about time he made an impression.
"I knew that it would be physically demanding, that I'd have to give it my all," Despres said. "I've got blisters on my feet and my hands are sore, but I had to bang my fist on the table to say: "Hey, I'm here. Ruben and I are racing well for the team, he's in good shape and that's the most important thing right now."
While Despres entered the overall picture, two of his compatriots fell away completely on the race's longest stage, 852km from Tucuman including 593km of it timed.
David Casteu — who led overnight going into the stage — hit a cow with his Yamaha during the timed section, which resulted in him dislocating his shoulder and another stop on the stage saw him slip from pole position to not having a hope of winning the title.
His compatriot Olivier Pain also had a day to forget as he came off the bike on several occasions and lost about 32 minutes to also lose sight of overall victory.


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CAREY MALONEY: This is the most colorful kitchen we've ever done. Our client loves La Cornue, and there are so many colors to choose from. She picked red for the stove and ivory and green for the lower cabinets. It was brave of her to go with three different colors.
I actually didn't know La Cornue made cabinets.
Oh, yes. Ooooh, yes. In a big way. They're made entirely of steel. The colorful panels are baked enamel on steel. I love that finish. You have no idea how beautiful it is. It's dense, very shiny and reflective, like a car finish, with warmth and depth. And the way they operate takes cabinets to a whole other level. Opening a drawer is like opening the door to a Mercedes.
That stove really has va-va-voom.
It's a big, strong element that's more tarted up than the rest of the room--it has a lot more brass than the cabinets. We did the hood in red, too, to keep the look all of a piece, one big unit. The red gives the room some height--your eye goes up. This is the basement level of an 1845 house--the ceilings aren't high.
And what do those bright green cabinets do for the pantry?
This sounds cheesy, but it's really a happy green. It could have been something serious, but it's not. It's a fun color.
The pantry wall is a riot of greens.
We do love that glass tile! The room needed something strong that could hold its own against the bold green enamel. There are 10 different greens mixed with beiges and brown, and not one is an absolute match to the cabinets. But it's OK, because your eye will correct for that. It's like how you get a better white room if you use 10 shades of white rather than one. You get a better green room if you use 10 greens.
There are softer green tones in the kitchen.
We wanted to use green in here to bring the outdoors in. The room looks out onto a brick wall. The tile on the walls has a pale celadon cast, but green is more discernible in the veining on the marble countertops.
Why the switch to wood for the upper cabinets?
Ideally we wouldn't have had upper cabinets at all, but we needed the extra storage. We didn't want the cabinets to look like two big steel boxes, one on top of the other, and the limed oak softens the edgy, industrial steel a bit. We did open shelves for the cookbooks.
Substantial ones.
They reflect the thickness and beefiness of the brackets. I think shelves should always look like they can support the things that are on them. I don't like those delicate shelves people do.
The pot rack has quite a presence, too.
It was fabricated by La Cornue--nine feet of solid brass--but customized by us with the brackets on the ceiling. It acts as a nice window treatment, don't you think?
Château cabinets, range, hood, and pot rack by La Cornue through St. Charles of New York: stcharlesofny.com.
Medina tile: annsacks.com.
Lunada Bay Sumi-e tile and Bianco Antico countertops: artistictile.com.
Easton faucets: waterworks.com.
Samode rug: abchome.com.
FOR MORE DETAILS, GO TO housebeautiful.com/resources


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At the 19th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) this week, Dr. Ron Valdiserri, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Health for Infectious Diseases, spoke with Dr. Michael Horberg, Director of HIV/AIDS for Kaiser Permanente and a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). They discussed the paper Dr. Horberg is presenting at CROI on the impact of missed office visits on HIV outcomes and mortality. This paper offers important insight into our efforts to address improvements in the continuum of HIV care. Watch their convseration below.
Miguel Gomez is director of AIDS.gov and a senior communications advisor in the Office of HIV/AIDS Policy at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


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"Mitel's MiVoice and MiCollab are simply the way we work now – the mobile enterprise is completely enabled. Without these solutions I don't see how we'd be able to be as effective or productive. Since the solution is in the cloud, people can do their jobs from anywhere, which truly changes the way we work."- Patrice Belie, CEO, Hub One
Hub One, a subsidiary of Groupe ADP (Aéroport de Paris), is a telecom operator and integrator of mobile and tracking solutions for 4500 enterprises of differents sectors in France and supporting 95 million passengers per year across three Parisian airports in France (Roissy Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Le Bourget), as well as in shopping malls and campuses, and another 70 million passengers per year through the Amsterdam airport.
More recently, by leveraging its experience in airport environments and partnering with companies like Mitel, Hub One grew beyond the airport market and expanded to other vertical markets. For business telephony and unified communications, Hub One delivers 100% cloud-based solutions based on Mitel MiVoice Business and MiCollab, Mitel's collaboration solution. The goal is to enable the mobile enterprise, making communication seamless.
In 2011, the company selected Mitel as its cloud IP telephony provider, and resells – and uses – Mitel's unified communications and telephony cloud services, as well as Mitel's devices and applications for business customers. For example, Hub One uses MiVoice Business as their core private cloud solution across both French and Dutch Airports. Bélie notes that, "Thanks to Mitel we have grown so that the airport market now represents only half of our business." Avis and the French Grand Chancery of the Legion of Honor are some of the prestigious brands that Hub One serves using Mitel cloud solutions.
The Mitel solution is fully in the cloud and managed centrally, making it easy to scale up or down as needed. For example, with an increased number of travelers in the summer and during holidays, airports need to scale and accommodate more employees and more phones.
Bélie says, "With the cloud, we can grow as needed."
Mobility is a key part of any business today, and Hub One provides tools to enable mobile workers to effectively perform their tasks. Hub One knows that with Mitel's clear understanding of mobility and as the voice core, they have the right partner and maximum flexibility to meet their current and future business needs. The two companies are working together to help the mobile enterprise make communication seamless.


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ALEX Toys POPS Craft 2 Tutu Dolls
by ALEX Toys
Please check your favorite toy retailer for availability. Prices may vary.
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Product Description
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Mark Jacobs
Camelot Unchained concept art and animation test show the Helbound class
Camelot Unchained concept art for the Helbound class and tease for the Giant race of the Tuatha Dé Danann have been revealed on the game's official website. According to a post from City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs, who also posted an animation test for the Helbound character, the model nor the animation cycles "are final […]
Mark Jacobs headlines
Camelot Unchained contains the character aging feature cut from Warhammer Online
Camelot Unchained will feature a character aging feature which Mark Jacobs had planned for Warhammer Online.
Camelot Unchained Q&A unearths details on stretch goals, add-ons & more
Camelot Unchained developer City State Entertainment has posted a Q&A update for its Kickstarter-funded realm v realm successor to Dark Age of Camelot. In it, the game's creators talk stretch goals, physical copies and the ability for users to create custom add-ons.
Camelot Unchained takes on new staff, promises more frequent updates
Camelot Unchained developer City State Entertainment has made three hires, and pledged to keep fans and backers in the loop with regular production roadmaps.
Camelot Unchained Kickstarter succeeds with 19 hours left
With around 19 hours to go, Camelot Unchained has garnered $2,023,932 towards its $2 million goal, making it a success.
Camelot Unchained: surviving the freemium apocalypse
Camelot Unchained is an RvR MMO smackdown from the Middle Ages. Creator Mark Jacobs talks to VG247's Dave Cook about his Kickstarter and the impending free-to-play apocalypse.
Camelot Unchained dev: free-to-play headed towards an "apocalypse" in 3-5 years time
Camelot Unchained creator and long-time MMO veteran Mark Jacobs has warned of an impending free-to-play "apocalypse" in three to five years time, thanks to a rush towards unsustainable free-to-play models. He predicted to VG247 that developers will close and publishers stand to lose a lot of money.
Camelot Unchained engine supports 10,000 characters on screen
Camelot Unchained has a custom engine, a bold move designed to support its core conceit: genuinely massive player battles. In a Kickstarter update, Mark Jacobs shared a video showing off how the early engine tech can already support 10,000 characters on screen with no frame-rate drop. It comes at the cost of fancy lighting and […]
Camelot Unchained Kickstarter is live
The Kickstarter for Camelot Unchained, the RvR-focused MMORPG from Mark Jacobs and CSE set in a post-apocalyptic world, has gone live. The firm is seeking $2,000,000 in funding and so far 920 backers have pledged $217,288. The game has been in the news quite a bit since February and you can find the Kickstarter video […]
Camelot Unchained won't have any XP boosts or limited time items
Camelot Unchained designer Mark Jacobs is adamant Camelot Unchained won't allow any premium items that give one player an advantage over another.
Camelot Unchained will have "sandbox" RvR combat, no storyline
Former Mythic leader Mark Jacobs plans for Camelot Unchained to be written entirely by players, in what he hopes will be a sandbox-like PvP experience.
Camelot Unchained will use RvR to generate "server pride"
In the latest Camelot Unchained developer blog, Cuty State Entertainment founder and former Mythic lead Mark Jacobs said that he hopes the unusual MMORPG can foster all kinds of "pride" among its users – pride in the race, class, guild, realm and sever they choose to play with. "This is not something that CSE can […]
Camelot Unchained to create "interdependency" between players
In his latest developer diary, Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs goes into detail on how he hopes to foster "Realm pride" and "interdependency" among Camelot Unchained players. Jacobs bemoaned the rising prevalence of solo-focused play in modern MMORPGs, and while promising that everyone will be able to play alone should the wich, discussed various methods for […]
Camelot Unchained to embrace "randomness" and "chaos"
Camelot Unchained will very rarely reward or punish players in spectacular ways.
Camelot Unchained dev refuses to take the safe route
Camelot Unchained's developers are willing to alienate the mass market if it results in a better game for a niche audience. In a developer blog, City State Entertainment's Mark Jacobs said he's willing to embrace features which appeal only to hardcore players, like slow levelling and a day-night cycle – things publishers wouldn't take a […]
Camelot Unchained Kickstarter to launch in March, announces CSE's Mark Jacobs
Ex-Mythic boss and co-founder Mark Jacobs has announced his studio, City State Entertainment, will launch a Kickstarter campaign in March to help fund the creation of the MMO Camelot Unchained.
Ex-Mythic boss left due to future direction of company
Ex-Mythic boss Mark Jacobs left the company two years ago because he didn't agree with the course of direction the company was about to take under its then new owners EA, the man himself has said.
Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs forms casual gaming firm City State Entertainment
Former Mythic CEO Mark Jacobs has returned after a two-year sabbatical from the industry with casual game firm City State Entertainment.
Rumor: EA lay-offs coming in November, $300M spent on SWTOR
An anonymous developer calling himself EA Louse and claiming to be part of the Warhammer Online team at Mythic has said on his blog that EA's not only planning another round of lay-offs next month, but that the company has already spent around $300 million creating The Old Republic MMO.
Zeschuk on BioWare and Mythic - "We're not merged at all"
BioWare co-head Greg Zeschuk has told Eurogamer that BioWare and Mythic are still two different entities, despite being pulled together into one EA group under Ray Muzyka's leadership. "There absolutely is still BioWare and Mythic, we're not merged at all," he said, speaking in London last week. "That's kind of how it all works. Ray […]
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Mark Jacobs latest
Camelot Unchained concept art and animation test show the Helbound class
Camelot Unchained contains the character aging feature cut from Warhammer Online
Camelot Unchained Q&A unearths details on stretch goals, add-ons & more
Camelot Unchained takes on new staff, promises more frequent updates
Camelot Unchained dev: free-to-play headed towards an "apocalypse" in 3-5 years time
Camelot Unchained engine supports 10,000 characters on screen
Camelot Unchained won't have any XP boosts or limited time items
Camelot Unchained will have "sandbox" RvR combat, no storyline
Camelot Unchained to create "interdependency" between players
Camelot Unchained Kickstarter to launch in March, announces CSE's Mark Jacobs
Mythic co-founder Mark Jacobs forms casual gaming firm City State Entertainment
Mark Jacobs leaves Mythic, Muzyka takes on new EA MMO/RPG group
Jacobs responds to Mythic lay-off rumour, EA declines to comment