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Implementation of IaaS Container Security for Confidentiality and Integrity

Implementation of IaaS Container Security Techniques
Containers have emerged as a choice for deploying and scaling applications, owing to their lightweight, isolated, and portable nature. However, the absence of robust security measures may expose containers to diverse threats, thereby compromising the confidentiality and integrity of data and apps.

Contents

1 Introduction
2 IaaS Container Security Techniques
3 Conclusion

1. Introduction

Infrastructure as a Service has become an increasingly popular way of deploying and managing applications, and containerization has emerged as a leading technology for packaging and deploying these applications. Containers are software packages that include all the necessary components to operate in any environment. While containers offer numerous benefits, such as portability, scalability, and speed, they also introduce new security challenges that must be addressed.

Implementing adequate IaaS container security requires a comprehensive approach encompassing multiple layers and techniques. This blog explores the critical components of IaaS container security. It provides an overview of the techniques and best practices for implementing security measures that ensure the confidentiality and integrity of containerized applications. By following these, organizations can leverage the benefits of IaaS and containerization while mitigating the security risks that come along.

2. IaaS Container Security Techniques

The increasing IAAS security risks and security issues associated with IAAS these days are leading to a massive data breach. Thus, IAAS security concerns are taken into consideration, and seven best techniques are drafted below.

2.1. Container Image Security:

Container images are the building blocks of containerized applications. Ensuring the security of these images is essential to prevent security threats. The following measures are used for container image security:

  • Using secure registries: The registry is the location where container images are stored and distributed. Usage of centrally managed registries on campus, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) can scan them for security issues and system managers may simply assess package gaps, etc.

  • Signing images: Container images can be signed using digital signatures to ensure their authenticity. Signed images can be verified before being deployed to ensure they have not been tampered with.

  • Scanning images: Although standard AppSec tools such as Software Composition Analysis (SCA) can check container images for vulnerabilities in software packages and dependencies, extra dependencies can be introduced during the development process or even at runtime.

2.2. Host Security:

Host security is a collection of capabilities that provide a framework for implementing a variety of security solutions on hosts to prevent attacks. The underlying host infrastructure where containers are deployed must be secured. The following measures are used for host security:

  • Using secure operating systems: The host operating system must be safe and up-to-date with the latest high severity security patches within 7 days of release, and others, within 30 days to prevent vulnerabilities and security issues.

  • Applying security patches: Security patches must be applied to the host operating system and other software packages to fix vulnerabilities and prevent security threats.

  • Hardening the host environment: The host environment must be hardened by disabling unnecessary services, limiting access to the host, and applying security policies to prevent unauthorized access.

2.3. Network Security:

Network security involves securing the network traffic between containers and the outside world. The following measures are used for network security:

  • Using Microsegmentation and firewalls: Microsegmentation tools with next-gen firewalls provide container network security. Microsegmentation software leverages network virtualization to build extremely granular security zones in data centers and cloud applications to isolate and safeguard each workload.

  • Encryption: Encryption can protect network traffic and prevent eavesdropping and interception of data.

  • Access control measures: Access control measures can restrict access to containerized applications based on user roles and responsibilities.

2.4. Data Security:

Data stored in containers must be secured to ensure its confidentiality and integrity. The following measures are used for data security:

  • Using encryption: Data stored in containers can be encrypted, using Transport Layer Security protocol version 1.1. (TLS 1.1) or higher, to protect it from unauthorized access and prevent data leaks. All outbound traffic from private cloud should be encrypted at the transport layer.

  • Access control measures: Access control measures can restrict access to sensitive data in containers based on user roles and responsibilities.

  • Not storing sensitive data in clear text: Sensitive data must not be stored in clear text within containers to prevent unauthorized access and data breaches. Backup app data, atleast weekly.

2.5. Identity and Access Management (IAM):

IAM involves managing access to the container infrastructure and resources based on the roles and responsibilities of the users. The following measures are used for IAM:

  • Implementing identity and access management solutions: IAM solutions can manage user identities, assign user roles and responsibilities, authenticate and provide access control policies.

  • Multi-factor authentication: Multi-factor authentication can add an extra layer of security to the login process.

  • Auditing capabilities: Auditing capabilities can monitor user activity and detect potential security threats.

2.6. Runtime Container Security:

To keep its containers safe, businesses should employ a defense-in-depth strategy, as part of runtime protection.

  • Malicious processes, files, and network activity that deviates from a baseline can be detected and blocked via runtime container security.

  • Container runtime protection can give an extra layer of defense against malicious code on top of the network security provided by containerized next-generation firewalls.

  • In addition, HTTP layer 7 based threats like the OWASP Top 10, denial of service (DoS), and bots can be prevented with embedded web application and API security.

2.7. Compliance and Auditing:

Compliance and auditing ensure that the container infrastructure complies with relevant regulatory and industry standards. The following measures are used for compliance and auditing:

  • Monitoring and auditing capabilities: Monitoring and auditing capabilities can detect and report cloud security incidents and violations.

  • Compliance frameworks: Compliance frameworks can be used to ensure that the container infrastructure complies with relevant regulatory and industry standards, such as HIPAA, PCI DSS, and GDPR.

  • Enabling data access logs on AWS S3 buckets containing high-risk Confidential Data is one such example.

3. Conclusion

IaaS container security is critical for organizations that rely on containerization technology for deploying and managing their applications. There is likely to be an increased focus on the increased use of AI and ML to detect and respond to security incidents in real-time, the adoption of more advanced encryption techniques to protect data, and the integration of security measures into the entire application development lifecycle.

In order to stay ahead of the challenges and ensure the continued security of containerized applications, the ongoing process of IaaS container security requires continuous attention and improvement. By prioritizing security and implementing effective measures, organizations can confidently leverage the benefits of containerization while maintaining the confidentiality and integrity of their applications and data.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

How NSPs Prepare to Thrive in the 5G Era

Article | October 3, 2023

In my last blog in this series, we looked at the present state of 5G. Although it’s still early and it’s impossible to fully comprehend the potential impact of 5G use cases that haven’t been built yet, opportunities to monetize 5G with little additional investment are out there for network service providers (NSPs) who know where to look. Now, it’s time to look toward the future. Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that 5G technology will be revolutionary across many industry use cases, but I’m not sure everyone understands just how revolutionary, and how quickly it will go down. According to Gartner®, “While 10% of CSPs in 2020 provided commercializable 5G services, which could achieve multiregional availability, this number will increase to 60% by 2024”.[i] With so many recognizing the value of 5G and acting to capitalize on it, NSPs that fail to prepare for future 5G opportunities today are doing themselves and their enterprise customers a serious disservice. Preparing for a 5G future may seem daunting but working with a trusted interconnection partner like Equinix can help make it easier. 5G is so challenging for NSPs and their customers because it is so revolutionary. Mobile radio networks were built with consumer use cases in mind, which means the traffic from those networks is generally dumped straight to the internet. 5G is the first generation of wireless technology capable of supporting enterprise-class business applications, which means it’s also forcing many NSPs to consider alternatives to the public internet to support those applications. User plane function breakout helps put traffic near the app In my last article, I mentioned that one of the key steps mobile network operators (MNOs) could take to enable 5G monetization in the short term would be to bypass the public internet by enabling user traffic functions in the data center. This is certainly a step in the right direction, but to prepare themselves for future 5G and multicloud opportunities, they must go further by enabling user plane function (UPF) breakout. The 5G opportunities of tomorrow will rely on wireless traffic residing as close as possible to business applications, to reduce the distance data must travel and keep latency as low as possible. This is a similar challenge to the one NSPs faced in the past with their wireline networks. To address that challenge, they typically deployed virtual network functions (VNFs) on their own equipment. This helped them get the network capabilities they needed, when and where they needed them, but it also required them to buy colocation capacity and figure out how to interconnect their VNFs with the rest of their digital infrastructure. Instead, Equinix customers have the option to do UPF breakout with Equinix Metal®, our automated bare-metal-as-a-service offering, or Network Edge virtual network services on Platform Equinix®. Both options provide a simple, cost-effective way to get the edge infrastructure needed to support 5G business applications. Since both offerings are integrated with Equinix Fabric™, they allow NSPs to create secure software-defined interconnection with a rich ecosystem of partners. This streamlines the process of setting up hybrid deployments. Working with Equinix can help make UPF breakout less daunting. Instead of investing massive amounts of money to create 5G-ready infrastructure everywhere they need it, they can take advantage of more than 235 Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers spread across 65 metros in 27 countries on five continents. This allows them to shift from a potentially debilitating up-front CAPEX investment to an OPEX investment spread over time, making the economics around 5G infrastructure much more manageable. Support MEC with a wide array of partners Multiaccess edge compute (MEC) will play a key role in enabling advanced 5G use cases, but first enterprises need a digital infrastructure capable of supporting it. This gets more complicated when they need to modernize their infrastructure while maintaining existing application-level partnerships. To put it simply, NSPs and their enterprise customers need an infrastructure provider that can not only partner with them, but also partner with their partners. With Equinix Metal, organizations can deploy the physical infrastructure they need to support MEC at software speed, while also supporting capabilities from a diverse array of partners. For instance, Equinix Metal provides support for Google Anthos, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) Anywhere and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) Anywhere. These are just a few examples of how Equinix interconnection offerings make it easier to collaborate with leading cloud providers to deploy MEC-driven applications. Provision reliable network slicing in a matter of minutes Network slicing is another important 5G capability that can help NSPs differentiate their offerings and unlock new business opportunities. On the surface, it sounds simple: slicing up network traffic into different classes of service, so that the most important traffic is optimized for factors such as high throughput, low latency and security. However, NSPs won’t always know exactly what slices their customers will want to send or where they’ll want to send them, making network slice mapping a serious challenge. Preparing for a 5G future may seem daunting but working with a trusted interconnection partner like Equinix can help make it easier.” Equinix Fabric offers a quicker, more cost-effective way to map network slices, with no need for cross connects to be set on the fly. With software-defined interconnection, the counterparty that receives the network slice essentially becomes an automated function that NSPs can easily control. This means NSPs can provision network slicing in a matter of minutes, not days, even when they don’t know who the counterparty is going to be. Service automation enabled by Equinix Fabric can be a critical element of an NSP’s multidomain orchestration architecture. 5G use case: Reimagining the live event experience As part of the MEF 3.0 Proof of Concept showcase, Equinix partnered with Spectrum Enterprise, Adva, and Juniper Networks to create a proof of concept (PoC) for a differentiated live event experience. The PoC showed how event promoters such as minor league sports teams could ingest multiple video feeds into an AI/ML-driven GPU farm that lives in an Equinix facility, and then process those feeds to present fans with custom content on demand. With the help of network slicing and high-performance MEC, fans can build their own unique experience of the event, looking at different camera angles or following a particular player throughout the game. Event promoters can offer this personalized experience even without access to the on-site data centers that are more common in major league sports venues. DISH taps Equinix for digital infrastructure services in support of 5G rollout As DISH looks to build out the first nationwide 5G network in the U.S., they will partner with Equinix to gain access to critical digital infrastructure services in our IBX data centers. This is a great example of how Equinix is equipped to help its NSP partners access the modern digital infrastructure needed to capitalize on 5G—today and into the future. DISH is taking the lead in delivering on the promise of 5G in the U.S., and our partnership with Equinix will enable us to secure critical interconnections for a nationwide 5G network. With proximity to large population centers, as well as network and cloud density, Equinix is the right partner to connect our cloud-native 5G network.” - Jeff McSchooler, DISH executive vice president of wireless network operations

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Adapting to Changing Landscape: Challenges and Solutions in HCI

Article | October 3, 2023

Navigating the complex terrain of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: Unveiling the best practices and innovative strategies to harness the maximum benefits of HCI for transformation of business. Contents 1. Introduction to Hyper-Converged Infrastructure 1.1 Evolution and adoption of HCI 1.2 Importance of Adapting to the Changing HCI Environment 2. Challenges in HCI 2.1 Integration & Compatibility: Legacy System Integration 2.2 Efficient Lifecycle: Firmware & Software Management 2.3 Resource Forecasting: Scalability Planning 2.4 Workload Segregation: Performance Optimization 2.5 Latency Optimization: Data Access Efficiency 3. Solutions for Adapting to Changing HCI Landscape 3.1 Interoperability 3.2 Lifecycle Management 3.3 Capacity Planning 3.4 Performance Isolation 3.5 Data Locality 4. Importance of Ongoing Adaptation in the HCI Domain 4.1 Evolving Technology 4.2 Performance Optimization 4.3 Scalability and Flexibility 4.4 Security and Compliance 4.5 Business Transformation 5. Key Takeaways from the Challenges and Solutions Discussed 1. Introduction to Hyper-Converged Infrastructure 1.1 Evolution and adoption of HCI Hyper-Converged Infrastructure has transformed by providing a consolidated and software-defined approach to data center infrastructure. HCI combines virtualization, storage, and networking into a single integrated system, simplifying management and improving scalability. It has gained widespread adoption due to its ability to address the challenges of data center consolidation, virtualization, and resource efficiency. HCI solutions have evolved to offer advanced features like hybrid and multi-cloud support, data deduplication, and disaster recovery, making them suitable for various workloads. The HCI market has experienced significant growth, with a diverse ecosystem of vendors offering turnkey appliances and software-defined solutions. It has become the preferred infrastructure for running workloads like VDI, databases, and edge computing. HCI's ability to simplify operations, improve resource utilization, and support diverse workloads ensures its continued relevance. 1.2 Importance of Adapting to the Changing HCI Environment Adapting to the changing Hyper-Converged Infrastructure is of utmost importance for businesses, as it offers a consolidated and software-defined approach to IT infrastructure, enabling streamlined management, improved scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Staying up-to-date with evolving HCI technologies and trends ensures businesses to leverage the latest advancements for optimizing their operations. Embracing HCI enables organizations to enhance resource utilization, accelerate deployment times, and support a wide range of workloads. In accordance with enhancement, it facilitates seamless integration with emerging technologies like hybrid and multi-cloud environments, containerization, and data analytics. Businesses can stay competitive, enhance their agility, and unlock the full potential of their IT infrastructure. 2. Challenges in HCI 2.1 Integration and Compatibility: Legacy System Integration Integrating Hyper-Converged Infrastructure with legacy systems can be challenging due to differences in architecture, protocols, and compatibility issues. Existing legacy systems may not seamlessly integrate with HCI solutions, leading to potential disruptions, data silos, and operational inefficiencies. This may hinder the organization's ability to fully leverage the benefits of HCI and limit its potential for streamlined operations and cost savings. 2.2 Efficient Lifecycle: Firmware and Software Management Managing firmware and software updates across the HCI infrastructure can be complex and time-consuming. Ensuring that all components within the HCI stack, including compute, storage, and networking, are running the latest firmware and software versions is crucial for security, performance, and stability. However, coordinating and applying updates across the entire infrastructure can pose challenges, resulting in potential vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, and suboptimal system performance. 2.3 Resource Forecasting: Scalability Planning Forecasting resource requirements and planning for scalability in an HCI environment is as crucial as efficiently implementing HCI systems. As workloads grow or change, accurately predicting the necessary computing, storage, and networking resources becomes essential. Without proper resource forecasting and scalability planning, organizations may face underutilization or overprovisioning of resources, leading to increased costs, performance bottlenecks, or inefficient resource allocation. 2.4 Workload Segregation: Performance Optimization In an HCI environment, effectively segregating workloads to optimize performance can be challenging. Workloads with varying resource requirements and performance characteristics may coexist within the HCI infrastructure. Ensuring that high-performance workloads receive the necessary resources and do not impact other workloads' performance is critical. Failure to segregate workloads properly can result in resource contention, degraded performance, and potential bottlenecks, affecting the overall efficiency and user experience. 2.5 Latency Optimization: Data Access Efficiency Optimizing data access latency in an HCI environment is a rising challenge. HCI integrates computing and storage into a unified system, and data access latency can significantly impact performance. Inefficient data retrieval and processing can lead to increased response times, reduced user satisfaction, and potential productivity losses. Failure to ensure the data access patterns, caching mechanisms, and optimized network configurations to minimize latency and maximize data access efficiency within the HCI infrastructure leads to such latency. 3. Solutions for Adapting to Changing HCI Landscape 3.1 Interoperability Achieved by: Standards-based Integration and API HCI solutions should prioritize adherence to industry standards and provide robust support for APIs. By leveraging standardized protocols and APIs, HCI can seamlessly integrate with legacy systems, ensuring compatibility and smooth data flow between different components. This promotes interoperability, eliminates data silos, and enables organizations to leverage their existing infrastructure investments while benefiting from the advantages of HCI. 3.2 Lifecycle Management Achieved by: Centralized Firmware and Software Management Efficient Lifecycle Management in Hyper-Converged Infrastructure can be achieved by implementing a centralized management system that automates firmware and software updates across the HCI infrastructure. This solution streamlines the process of identifying, scheduling, and deploying updates, ensuring that all components are running the latest versions. Centralized management reduces manual efforts, minimizes the risk of compatibility issues, and enhances security, stability, and overall system performance. 3.3 Capacity Planning Achieved by: Analytics-driven Resource Forecasting HCI solutions should incorporate analytics-driven capacity planning capabilities. By analyzing historical and real-time data, HCI systems can accurately predict resource requirements and assist organizations in scaling their infrastructure proactively. This solution enables efficient resource utilization, avoids underprovisioning or overprovisioning, and optimizes cost savings while ensuring that performance demands are met. 3.4 Performance Isolation Achieved by: Quality of Service and Resource Allocation Policies To achieve effective workload segregation and performance optimization, HCI solutions should provide robust Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms and flexible resource allocation policies. QoS settings allow organizations to prioritize critical workloads, allocate resources based on predefined policies, and enforce performance guarantees for specific applications or users. This solution ensures that high-performance workloads receive the necessary resources while preventing resource contention and performance degradation for other workloads. 3.5 Data Locality Achieved by: Data Tiering and Caching Mechanisms Addressing latency optimization and data access efficiency, HCI solutions must incorporate data tiering and caching mechanisms. By intelligently placing frequently accessed data closer to the compute resources, such as utilizing flash storage or caching algorithms, HCI systems can minimize data access latency and improve overall performance. This solution enhances data locality, reduces network latency, and ensures faster data retrieval, resulting in optimized application response times and improved user experience. 4. Importance of Ongoing Adaptation in the HCI Domain continuous adaptation is of the utmost importance in the HCI domain. HCI is a swiftly advancing technology that continues to provide new capabilities. Organizations are able to maximize the benefits of HCI and maintain a competitive advantage if they stay apprised of the most recent advancements and adapt to the changing environment. Here are key reasons highlighting the significance of ongoing adaptation in the HCI domain: 4.1 Evolving Technology HCI is constantly changing, with new features, functionalities, and enhancements being introduced regularly. Ongoing adaptation allows organizations to take advantage of these advancements and incorporate them into their infrastructure. It ensures that businesses stay up-to-date with the latest technological trends and can make informed decisions to optimize their HCI deployments. 4.2 Performance Optimization Continuous adaptation enables organizations to fine-tune their HCI environments for optimal performance. By staying informed about performance best practices and emerging optimization techniques, businesses can make necessary adjustments to maximize resource utilization, improve workload performance, and enhance overall system efficiency. Ongoing adaptation ensures that HCI deployments are continuously optimized to meet evolving business requirements. 4.3 Scalability and Flexibility Adapting to the changing HCI landscape facilitates scalability and flexibility. As business needs evolve, organizations may require the ability to scale their infrastructure, accommodate new workloads, or adopt hybrid or multi-cloud environments. Ongoing adaptation allows businesses to assess and implement the necessary changes to their HCI deployments, ensuring they can seamlessly scale and adapt to evolving demands. 4.4 Security and Compliance The HCI domain is not immune to security threats and compliance requirements. Ongoing adaptation helps organizations stay vigilant and up-to-date with the latest security practices, threat landscapes, and regulatory changes. It enables businesses to implement robust security measures, proactively address vulnerabilities, and maintain compliance with industry standards and regulations. Ongoing adaptation ensures that HCI deployments remain secure and compliant in the face of evolving cybersecurity challenges. 4.5 Business Transformation Ongoing adaptation in the HCI domain supports broader business transformation initiatives. Organizations undergoing digital transformation may need to adopt new technologies, integrate with cloud services, or embrace emerging trends like edge computing. Adapting the HCI infrastructure allows businesses to align their IT infrastructure with strategic objectives, enabling seamless integration, improved agility, and the ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities. The adaptation is thus crucial in the HCI domain as it enables organizations to stay current with technological advancements, optimize performance, scale infrastructure, enhance security, and align with business transformation initiatives. By continuously adapting to the evolving HCI, businesses can maximize the value and benefits derived from their HCI investments. 5. Key Takeaways from Challenges and Solutions Discussed Hyper-Converged Infrastructure poses several challenges during the implementation and execution of systems that organizations need to address for optimal performance. Integration and compatibility issues arise when integrating HCI with legacy systems, requiring standards-based integration and API support. Efficient lifecycle management is crucial, involving centralized firmware and software management to automate updates and enhance security and stability. Accurate resource forecasting is vital for capacity planning, enabling organizations to scale their HCI infrastructure effectively. Workload segregation demands QOS mechanisms and flexible resource allocation policies to optimize performance. Apart from these, latency optimization requires data tiering and caching mechanisms to minimize data access latency and improve application response times. By tackling these challenges and implementing appropriate solutions, businesses can harness the full potential of HCI, streamlining operations, maximizing resource utilization, and ensuring exceptional performance and user experience.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, IT Systems Management

Orchestration of Infrastructure in a Hybrid Environment

Article | September 14, 2023

The cloud has dispelled many myths and self-made barriers during the past ten years. The utilization of cloud infrastructure keeps proving the innovators right. The cloud has experienced tremendous adoption, leading to the development of our most pervasive - and disorderly - IT infrastructure systems. This move calls for a new level of infrastructure orchestration to manage the complexity of changing hybrid systems. There are many challenges involved in moving from an on-premises-only architecture to a cloud environment. IT operations teams must manage a considerably more complex overall environment due to this hybrid IT approach. Because of the variable nature of the cloud, IT directors have discovered fast that what worked to manage on-premises infrastructures may not always be applicable. Utilize Infrastructure as Code Tools to Provide Cloud Infrastructure as a Service IT has traditionally managed infrastructure orchestration and automation for business tools and platforms. Service orchestration and automation platforms (SOAPs) let non-IT workers turn on and off cloud infrastructure while IT maintains control. End-users are empowered with automated workflows that spin up infrastructure on-demand instead of opening a ticket for every request and waiting on the helpdesk or cloud service team. Automation benefits both end-users and ITOps. Users gain speed, and IT decides which cloud provider and how much cloud infrastructure is used. Give End Users Access to Code, Low Code, or No Code Modern SOAP lets citizen automators access workflow automation by preference or competence. SOAPs allow end-users to utilize code or no-code, depending on their preference. SOAPs let end-users access automation through Microsoft Teams, Slack, and ServiceNow. Developers and technical team members can access the platform's scripts and code. As enterprises outgrow their legacy systems, infrastructure orchestration solutions become essential. Using a service orchestration and automation platform is one way to manage complicated infrastructures. SOAPs are built for hybrid IT environments and will help organizations master multi-cloud and on-premises tools.

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Application Infrastructure

A Look at Trends in IT infrastructure and Operations for 2022

Article | May 9, 2022

We’re all hoping that 2022 will finally end the unprecedented challenges brought by the global pandemic and things will return to a new normalcy. For IT infrastructure and operations organizations, the rising trends that we are seeing today will likely continue, but there are still a few areas that will need special attention from IT leaders over the next 12 to 18 months. In no particular order, they include: The New Edge Edge computing is now at the forefront. Two primary factors that make it business-critical are the increased prevalence of remote and hybrid workplace models where employees will continue working remotely, either from home or a branch office, resulting in an increased adoption of cloud-based businesses and communications services. With the rising focus on remote and hybrid workplace cultures, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet have continued to expand their solutions and add new features. As people start moving back to office, they are likely to want the same experience they had from home. In a typical enterprise setup, branch office traffic is usually backhauled all the way to the data center. This architecture severely impacts the user experience, so enterprises will have to review their network architectures and come up with a roadmap to accommodate local egress between branch offices and headquarters. That’s where the edge can help, bringing it closer to the workforce. This also brings an opportunity to optimize costs by migrating from some of the expensive multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) or private circuits to relatively low-cost direct internet circuits, which is being addressed by the new secure access service edge (SASE) architecture that is being offered by many established vendors. I anticipate some components of SASE, specifically those related to software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), local egress, and virtual private network (VPN), will drive a lot of conversation this year. Holistic Cloud Strategy Cloud adoption will continue to grow, and along with software as a service (SaaS), there will be renewed interest in infrastructure as a service (IaaS), albeit for specific workloads. For a medium-to-large-sized enterprise with a substantial development environment, it will still be cost-prohibitive to move everything to the cloud, so any cloud strategy would need to be holistic and forward-looking to maximize its business value. Another pandemic-induced shift is from using virtual machines (VMs) as a consumption unit of compute to containers as a consumption unit of software. For on-premises or private cloud deployment architectures that require sustainable management, organizations will have to orchestrate containers and deploy efficient container security and management tools. Automation Now that cloud adoption, migration, and edge computing architectures are becoming more prevalent, the legacy methods of infrastructure provisioning and management will not be scalable. By increasing infrastructure automation, enterprises can optimize costs and be more flexible and efficient—but only if they are successful at developing new skills. To achieve the goal of “infrastructure as a code” will require a shift in the perspective on infrastructure automation to one that focuses on developing and sustaining skills and roles that improve efficiency and agility across on-premises, cloud, and edge infrastructures. Defining the roles of designers and architects to support automation is essential to ensure that automation works as expected, avoids significant errors, and complements other technologies. AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) Alongside complementing automation trends, the implementation of AIOps to effectively automate IT operations processes such as event correlation, anomaly detection, and causality determination will also be important. AIOps will eliminate the data silos in IT by bringing all types of data under one roof so it can be used to execute machine learning (ML)-based methods to develop insights for responsive enhancements and corrections. AIOps can also help with probable cause analytics by focusing on the most likely source of a problem. The concept of site reliability engineering (SRE) is being increasingly adopted by SaaS providers and will gain importance in enterprise IT environments due to the trends listed above. AIOps is a key component that will enable site reliability engineers (SREs) to respond more quickly—and even proactively—by resolving issues without manual intervention. These focus areas are by no means an exhaustive list. There are a variety of trends that will be more prevalent in specific industry areas, but a common theme in the post-pandemic era is going to be superior delivery of IT services. That’s also at the heart of the Autonomous Digital Enterprise, a forward-focused business framework designed to help companies make technology investments for the future.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Adapting to Changing Landscape: Challenges and Solutions in HCI

Article | October 3, 2023

In my last blog in this series, we looked at the present state of 5G. Although it’s still early and it’s impossible to fully comprehend the potential impact of 5G use cases that haven’t been built yet, opportunities to monetize 5G with little additional investment are out there for network service providers (NSPs) who know where to look. Now, it’s time to look toward the future. Anyone who’s been paying attention knows that 5G technology will be revolutionary across many industry use cases, but I’m not sure everyone understands just how revolutionary, and how quickly it will go down. According to Gartner®, “While 10% of CSPs in 2020 provided commercializable 5G services, which could achieve multiregional availability, this number will increase to 60% by 2024”.[i] With so many recognizing the value of 5G and acting to capitalize on it, NSPs that fail to prepare for future 5G opportunities today are doing themselves and their enterprise customers a serious disservice. Preparing for a 5G future may seem daunting but working with a trusted interconnection partner like Equinix can help make it easier. 5G is so challenging for NSPs and their customers because it is so revolutionary. Mobile radio networks were built with consumer use cases in mind, which means the traffic from those networks is generally dumped straight to the internet. 5G is the first generation of wireless technology capable of supporting enterprise-class business applications, which means it’s also forcing many NSPs to consider alternatives to the public internet to support those applications. User plane function breakout helps put traffic near the app In my last article, I mentioned that one of the key steps mobile network operators (MNOs) could take to enable 5G monetization in the short term would be to bypass the public internet by enabling user traffic functions in the data center. This is certainly a step in the right direction, but to prepare themselves for future 5G and multicloud opportunities, they must go further by enabling user plane function (UPF) breakout. The 5G opportunities of tomorrow will rely on wireless traffic residing as close as possible to business applications, to reduce the distance data must travel and keep latency as low as possible. This is a similar challenge to the one NSPs faced in the past with their wireline networks. To address that challenge, they typically deployed virtual network functions (VNFs) on their own equipment. This helped them get the network capabilities they needed, when and where they needed them, but it also required them to buy colocation capacity and figure out how to interconnect their VNFs with the rest of their digital infrastructure. Instead, Equinix customers have the option to do UPF breakout with Equinix Metal®, our automated bare-metal-as-a-service offering, or Network Edge virtual network services on Platform Equinix®. Both options provide a simple, cost-effective way to get the edge infrastructure needed to support 5G business applications. Since both offerings are integrated with Equinix Fabric™, they allow NSPs to create secure software-defined interconnection with a rich ecosystem of partners. This streamlines the process of setting up hybrid deployments. Working with Equinix can help make UPF breakout less daunting. Instead of investing massive amounts of money to create 5G-ready infrastructure everywhere they need it, they can take advantage of more than 235 Equinix International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers spread across 65 metros in 27 countries on five continents. This allows them to shift from a potentially debilitating up-front CAPEX investment to an OPEX investment spread over time, making the economics around 5G infrastructure much more manageable. Support MEC with a wide array of partners Multiaccess edge compute (MEC) will play a key role in enabling advanced 5G use cases, but first enterprises need a digital infrastructure capable of supporting it. This gets more complicated when they need to modernize their infrastructure while maintaining existing application-level partnerships. To put it simply, NSPs and their enterprise customers need an infrastructure provider that can not only partner with them, but also partner with their partners. With Equinix Metal, organizations can deploy the physical infrastructure they need to support MEC at software speed, while also supporting capabilities from a diverse array of partners. For instance, Equinix Metal provides support for Google Anthos, Amazon Elastic Container Service (ECS) Anywhere and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) Anywhere. These are just a few examples of how Equinix interconnection offerings make it easier to collaborate with leading cloud providers to deploy MEC-driven applications. Provision reliable network slicing in a matter of minutes Network slicing is another important 5G capability that can help NSPs differentiate their offerings and unlock new business opportunities. On the surface, it sounds simple: slicing up network traffic into different classes of service, so that the most important traffic is optimized for factors such as high throughput, low latency and security. However, NSPs won’t always know exactly what slices their customers will want to send or where they’ll want to send them, making network slice mapping a serious challenge. Preparing for a 5G future may seem daunting but working with a trusted interconnection partner like Equinix can help make it easier.” Equinix Fabric offers a quicker, more cost-effective way to map network slices, with no need for cross connects to be set on the fly. With software-defined interconnection, the counterparty that receives the network slice essentially becomes an automated function that NSPs can easily control. This means NSPs can provision network slicing in a matter of minutes, not days, even when they don’t know who the counterparty is going to be. Service automation enabled by Equinix Fabric can be a critical element of an NSP’s multidomain orchestration architecture. 5G use case: Reimagining the live event experience As part of the MEF 3.0 Proof of Concept showcase, Equinix partnered with Spectrum Enterprise, Adva, and Juniper Networks to create a proof of concept (PoC) for a differentiated live event experience. The PoC showed how event promoters such as minor league sports teams could ingest multiple video feeds into an AI/ML-driven GPU farm that lives in an Equinix facility, and then process those feeds to present fans with custom content on demand. With the help of network slicing and high-performance MEC, fans can build their own unique experience of the event, looking at different camera angles or following a particular player throughout the game. Event promoters can offer this personalized experience even without access to the on-site data centers that are more common in major league sports venues. DISH taps Equinix for digital infrastructure services in support of 5G rollout As DISH looks to build out the first nationwide 5G network in the U.S., they will partner with Equinix to gain access to critical digital infrastructure services in our IBX data centers. This is a great example of how Equinix is equipped to help its NSP partners access the modern digital infrastructure needed to capitalize on 5G—today and into the future. DISH is taking the lead in delivering on the promise of 5G in the U.S., and our partnership with Equinix will enable us to secure critical interconnections for a nationwide 5G network. With proximity to large population centers, as well as network and cloud density, Equinix is the right partner to connect our cloud-native 5G network.” - Jeff McSchooler, DISH executive vice president of wireless network operations

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure

Transforming Data Management by Modernized Storage Solutions Using HCI

Article | October 3, 2023

Navigating the complex terrain of Hyper-Converged Infrastructure: Unveiling the best practices and innovative strategies to harness the maximum benefits of HCI for transformation of business. Contents 1. Introduction to Hyper-Converged Infrastructure 1.1 Evolution and adoption of HCI 1.2 Importance of Adapting to the Changing HCI Environment 2. Challenges in HCI 2.1 Integration & Compatibility: Legacy System Integration 2.2 Efficient Lifecycle: Firmware & Software Management 2.3 Resource Forecasting: Scalability Planning 2.4 Workload Segregation: Performance Optimization 2.5 Latency Optimization: Data Access Efficiency 3. Solutions for Adapting to Changing HCI Landscape 3.1 Interoperability 3.2 Lifecycle Management 3.3 Capacity Planning 3.4 Performance Isolation 3.5 Data Locality 4. Importance of Ongoing Adaptation in the HCI Domain 4.1 Evolving Technology 4.2 Performance Optimization 4.3 Scalability and Flexibility 4.4 Security and Compliance 4.5 Business Transformation 5. Key Takeaways from the Challenges and Solutions Discussed 1. Introduction to Hyper-Converged Infrastructure 1.1 Evolution and adoption of HCI Hyper-Converged Infrastructure has transformed by providing a consolidated and software-defined approach to data center infrastructure. HCI combines virtualization, storage, and networking into a single integrated system, simplifying management and improving scalability. It has gained widespread adoption due to its ability to address the challenges of data center consolidation, virtualization, and resource efficiency. HCI solutions have evolved to offer advanced features like hybrid and multi-cloud support, data deduplication, and disaster recovery, making them suitable for various workloads. The HCI market has experienced significant growth, with a diverse ecosystem of vendors offering turnkey appliances and software-defined solutions. It has become the preferred infrastructure for running workloads like VDI, databases, and edge computing. HCI's ability to simplify operations, improve resource utilization, and support diverse workloads ensures its continued relevance. 1.2 Importance of Adapting to the Changing HCI Environment Adapting to the changing Hyper-Converged Infrastructure is of utmost importance for businesses, as it offers a consolidated and software-defined approach to IT infrastructure, enabling streamlined management, improved scalability, and cost-effectiveness. Staying up-to-date with evolving HCI technologies and trends ensures businesses to leverage the latest advancements for optimizing their operations. Embracing HCI enables organizations to enhance resource utilization, accelerate deployment times, and support a wide range of workloads. In accordance with enhancement, it facilitates seamless integration with emerging technologies like hybrid and multi-cloud environments, containerization, and data analytics. Businesses can stay competitive, enhance their agility, and unlock the full potential of their IT infrastructure. 2. Challenges in HCI 2.1 Integration and Compatibility: Legacy System Integration Integrating Hyper-Converged Infrastructure with legacy systems can be challenging due to differences in architecture, protocols, and compatibility issues. Existing legacy systems may not seamlessly integrate with HCI solutions, leading to potential disruptions, data silos, and operational inefficiencies. This may hinder the organization's ability to fully leverage the benefits of HCI and limit its potential for streamlined operations and cost savings. 2.2 Efficient Lifecycle: Firmware and Software Management Managing firmware and software updates across the HCI infrastructure can be complex and time-consuming. Ensuring that all components within the HCI stack, including compute, storage, and networking, are running the latest firmware and software versions is crucial for security, performance, and stability. However, coordinating and applying updates across the entire infrastructure can pose challenges, resulting in potential vulnerabilities, compatibility issues, and suboptimal system performance. 2.3 Resource Forecasting: Scalability Planning Forecasting resource requirements and planning for scalability in an HCI environment is as crucial as efficiently implementing HCI systems. As workloads grow or change, accurately predicting the necessary computing, storage, and networking resources becomes essential. Without proper resource forecasting and scalability planning, organizations may face underutilization or overprovisioning of resources, leading to increased costs, performance bottlenecks, or inefficient resource allocation. 2.4 Workload Segregation: Performance Optimization In an HCI environment, effectively segregating workloads to optimize performance can be challenging. Workloads with varying resource requirements and performance characteristics may coexist within the HCI infrastructure. Ensuring that high-performance workloads receive the necessary resources and do not impact other workloads' performance is critical. Failure to segregate workloads properly can result in resource contention, degraded performance, and potential bottlenecks, affecting the overall efficiency and user experience. 2.5 Latency Optimization: Data Access Efficiency Optimizing data access latency in an HCI environment is a rising challenge. HCI integrates computing and storage into a unified system, and data access latency can significantly impact performance. Inefficient data retrieval and processing can lead to increased response times, reduced user satisfaction, and potential productivity losses. Failure to ensure the data access patterns, caching mechanisms, and optimized network configurations to minimize latency and maximize data access efficiency within the HCI infrastructure leads to such latency. 3. Solutions for Adapting to Changing HCI Landscape 3.1 Interoperability Achieved by: Standards-based Integration and API HCI solutions should prioritize adherence to industry standards and provide robust support for APIs. By leveraging standardized protocols and APIs, HCI can seamlessly integrate with legacy systems, ensuring compatibility and smooth data flow between different components. This promotes interoperability, eliminates data silos, and enables organizations to leverage their existing infrastructure investments while benefiting from the advantages of HCI. 3.2 Lifecycle Management Achieved by: Centralized Firmware and Software Management Efficient Lifecycle Management in Hyper-Converged Infrastructure can be achieved by implementing a centralized management system that automates firmware and software updates across the HCI infrastructure. This solution streamlines the process of identifying, scheduling, and deploying updates, ensuring that all components are running the latest versions. Centralized management reduces manual efforts, minimizes the risk of compatibility issues, and enhances security, stability, and overall system performance. 3.3 Capacity Planning Achieved by: Analytics-driven Resource Forecasting HCI solutions should incorporate analytics-driven capacity planning capabilities. By analyzing historical and real-time data, HCI systems can accurately predict resource requirements and assist organizations in scaling their infrastructure proactively. This solution enables efficient resource utilization, avoids underprovisioning or overprovisioning, and optimizes cost savings while ensuring that performance demands are met. 3.4 Performance Isolation Achieved by: Quality of Service and Resource Allocation Policies To achieve effective workload segregation and performance optimization, HCI solutions should provide robust Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms and flexible resource allocation policies. QoS settings allow organizations to prioritize critical workloads, allocate resources based on predefined policies, and enforce performance guarantees for specific applications or users. This solution ensures that high-performance workloads receive the necessary resources while preventing resource contention and performance degradation for other workloads. 3.5 Data Locality Achieved by: Data Tiering and Caching Mechanisms Addressing latency optimization and data access efficiency, HCI solutions must incorporate data tiering and caching mechanisms. By intelligently placing frequently accessed data closer to the compute resources, such as utilizing flash storage or caching algorithms, HCI systems can minimize data access latency and improve overall performance. This solution enhances data locality, reduces network latency, and ensures faster data retrieval, resulting in optimized application response times and improved user experience. 4. Importance of Ongoing Adaptation in the HCI Domain continuous adaptation is of the utmost importance in the HCI domain. HCI is a swiftly advancing technology that continues to provide new capabilities. Organizations are able to maximize the benefits of HCI and maintain a competitive advantage if they stay apprised of the most recent advancements and adapt to the changing environment. Here are key reasons highlighting the significance of ongoing adaptation in the HCI domain: 4.1 Evolving Technology HCI is constantly changing, with new features, functionalities, and enhancements being introduced regularly. Ongoing adaptation allows organizations to take advantage of these advancements and incorporate them into their infrastructure. It ensures that businesses stay up-to-date with the latest technological trends and can make informed decisions to optimize their HCI deployments. 4.2 Performance Optimization Continuous adaptation enables organizations to fine-tune their HCI environments for optimal performance. By staying informed about performance best practices and emerging optimization techniques, businesses can make necessary adjustments to maximize resource utilization, improve workload performance, and enhance overall system efficiency. Ongoing adaptation ensures that HCI deployments are continuously optimized to meet evolving business requirements. 4.3 Scalability and Flexibility Adapting to the changing HCI landscape facilitates scalability and flexibility. As business needs evolve, organizations may require the ability to scale their infrastructure, accommodate new workloads, or adopt hybrid or multi-cloud environments. Ongoing adaptation allows businesses to assess and implement the necessary changes to their HCI deployments, ensuring they can seamlessly scale and adapt to evolving demands. 4.4 Security and Compliance The HCI domain is not immune to security threats and compliance requirements. Ongoing adaptation helps organizations stay vigilant and up-to-date with the latest security practices, threat landscapes, and regulatory changes. It enables businesses to implement robust security measures, proactively address vulnerabilities, and maintain compliance with industry standards and regulations. Ongoing adaptation ensures that HCI deployments remain secure and compliant in the face of evolving cybersecurity challenges. 4.5 Business Transformation Ongoing adaptation in the HCI domain supports broader business transformation initiatives. Organizations undergoing digital transformation may need to adopt new technologies, integrate with cloud services, or embrace emerging trends like edge computing. Adapting the HCI infrastructure allows businesses to align their IT infrastructure with strategic objectives, enabling seamless integration, improved agility, and the ability to capitalize on emerging opportunities. The adaptation is thus crucial in the HCI domain as it enables organizations to stay current with technological advancements, optimize performance, scale infrastructure, enhance security, and align with business transformation initiatives. By continuously adapting to the evolving HCI, businesses can maximize the value and benefits derived from their HCI investments. 5. Key Takeaways from Challenges and Solutions Discussed Hyper-Converged Infrastructure poses several challenges during the implementation and execution of systems that organizations need to address for optimal performance. Integration and compatibility issues arise when integrating HCI with legacy systems, requiring standards-based integration and API support. Efficient lifecycle management is crucial, involving centralized firmware and software management to automate updates and enhance security and stability. Accurate resource forecasting is vital for capacity planning, enabling organizations to scale their HCI infrastructure effectively. Workload segregation demands QOS mechanisms and flexible resource allocation policies to optimize performance. Apart from these, latency optimization requires data tiering and caching mechanisms to minimize data access latency and improve application response times. By tackling these challenges and implementing appropriate solutions, businesses can harness the full potential of HCI, streamlining operations, maximizing resource utilization, and ensuring exceptional performance and user experience.

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Hyper-Converged Infrastructure, IT Systems Management

How Managed Service Providers Drive Management in HCI

Article | September 14, 2023

The cloud has dispelled many myths and self-made barriers during the past ten years. The utilization of cloud infrastructure keeps proving the innovators right. The cloud has experienced tremendous adoption, leading to the development of our most pervasive - and disorderly - IT infrastructure systems. This move calls for a new level of infrastructure orchestration to manage the complexity of changing hybrid systems. There are many challenges involved in moving from an on-premises-only architecture to a cloud environment. IT operations teams must manage a considerably more complex overall environment due to this hybrid IT approach. Because of the variable nature of the cloud, IT directors have discovered fast that what worked to manage on-premises infrastructures may not always be applicable. Utilize Infrastructure as Code Tools to Provide Cloud Infrastructure as a Service IT has traditionally managed infrastructure orchestration and automation for business tools and platforms. Service orchestration and automation platforms (SOAPs) let non-IT workers turn on and off cloud infrastructure while IT maintains control. End-users are empowered with automated workflows that spin up infrastructure on-demand instead of opening a ticket for every request and waiting on the helpdesk or cloud service team. Automation benefits both end-users and ITOps. Users gain speed, and IT decides which cloud provider and how much cloud infrastructure is used. Give End Users Access to Code, Low Code, or No Code Modern SOAP lets citizen automators access workflow automation by preference or competence. SOAPs allow end-users to utilize code or no-code, depending on their preference. SOAPs let end-users access automation through Microsoft Teams, Slack, and ServiceNow. Developers and technical team members can access the platform's scripts and code. As enterprises outgrow their legacy systems, infrastructure orchestration solutions become essential. Using a service orchestration and automation platform is one way to manage complicated infrastructures. SOAPs are built for hybrid IT environments and will help organizations master multi-cloud and on-premises tools.

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Application Infrastructure

A Look at Trends in IT infrastructure and Operations for 2022

Article | May 9, 2022

We’re all hoping that 2022 will finally end the unprecedented challenges brought by the global pandemic and things will return to a new normalcy. For IT infrastructure and operations organizations, the rising trends that we are seeing today will likely continue, but there are still a few areas that will need special attention from IT leaders over the next 12 to 18 months. In no particular order, they include: The New Edge Edge computing is now at the forefront. Two primary factors that make it business-critical are the increased prevalence of remote and hybrid workplace models where employees will continue working remotely, either from home or a branch office, resulting in an increased adoption of cloud-based businesses and communications services. With the rising focus on remote and hybrid workplace cultures, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet have continued to expand their solutions and add new features. As people start moving back to office, they are likely to want the same experience they had from home. In a typical enterprise setup, branch office traffic is usually backhauled all the way to the data center. This architecture severely impacts the user experience, so enterprises will have to review their network architectures and come up with a roadmap to accommodate local egress between branch offices and headquarters. That’s where the edge can help, bringing it closer to the workforce. This also brings an opportunity to optimize costs by migrating from some of the expensive multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) or private circuits to relatively low-cost direct internet circuits, which is being addressed by the new secure access service edge (SASE) architecture that is being offered by many established vendors. I anticipate some components of SASE, specifically those related to software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), local egress, and virtual private network (VPN), will drive a lot of conversation this year. Holistic Cloud Strategy Cloud adoption will continue to grow, and along with software as a service (SaaS), there will be renewed interest in infrastructure as a service (IaaS), albeit for specific workloads. For a medium-to-large-sized enterprise with a substantial development environment, it will still be cost-prohibitive to move everything to the cloud, so any cloud strategy would need to be holistic and forward-looking to maximize its business value. Another pandemic-induced shift is from using virtual machines (VMs) as a consumption unit of compute to containers as a consumption unit of software. For on-premises or private cloud deployment architectures that require sustainable management, organizations will have to orchestrate containers and deploy efficient container security and management tools. Automation Now that cloud adoption, migration, and edge computing architectures are becoming more prevalent, the legacy methods of infrastructure provisioning and management will not be scalable. By increasing infrastructure automation, enterprises can optimize costs and be more flexible and efficient—but only if they are successful at developing new skills. To achieve the goal of “infrastructure as a code” will require a shift in the perspective on infrastructure automation to one that focuses on developing and sustaining skills and roles that improve efficiency and agility across on-premises, cloud, and edge infrastructures. Defining the roles of designers and architects to support automation is essential to ensure that automation works as expected, avoids significant errors, and complements other technologies. AIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations) Alongside complementing automation trends, the implementation of AIOps to effectively automate IT operations processes such as event correlation, anomaly detection, and causality determination will also be important. AIOps will eliminate the data silos in IT by bringing all types of data under one roof so it can be used to execute machine learning (ML)-based methods to develop insights for responsive enhancements and corrections. AIOps can also help with probable cause analytics by focusing on the most likely source of a problem. The concept of site reliability engineering (SRE) is being increasingly adopted by SaaS providers and will gain importance in enterprise IT environments due to the trends listed above. AIOps is a key component that will enable site reliability engineers (SREs) to respond more quickly—and even proactively—by resolving issues without manual intervention. These focus areas are by no means an exhaustive list. There are a variety of trends that will be more prevalent in specific industry areas, but a common theme in the post-pandemic era is going to be superior delivery of IT services. That’s also at the heart of the Autonomous Digital Enterprise, a forward-focused business framework designed to help companies make technology investments for the future.

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dxFeed Launches Market Data IaaS Project for Tradu, Assumes Infrastructure and Data Provision Responsibilities

PR Newswire | January 25, 2024

dxFeed, a global leader in data solutions and index management for the financial industry, announces the launch of an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) project for Tradu, an advanced multi-asset trading platform catering to active traders and investors. In this venture, dxFeed manages the crucial aspects of infrastructure and data provision for Tradu. As an award-winning IaaS provider (the Best Infrastructure Provider by the Sell-Side Technology Awards 2023), dxFeed is poised to address all technical challenges related to market data delivery to hundreds of thousands of end users, allowing Tradu to focus on its core business objectives. Users worldwide can seamlessly connect to Tradu's platform, receiving authorization tokens for access to high-quality market data from the EU, US, Hong Kong, and Australian Exchanges. This approach eliminates the complexities and bottlenecks associated with building, maintaining, and scaling the infrastructure required for such extensive global data access. dxFeed's scalable low latency infrastructure ensures the delivery of consolidated and top-notch market data from diverse sources to the clients located in Asia, Americas and Europe. With the ability to rapidly reconfigure and accommodate the growing performance demands, dxFeed is equipped to serve hundreds of thousands of concurrent clients, with the potential to scale the solution even further in order to meet the constantly growing demand, at the same time providing a seamless and reliable experience. One of the highlights of this collaboration is the introduction of brand-new data feed services exclusively for Tradu's Stocks platform. This proprietary solution enhances Tradu's offerings and demonstrates dxFeed's commitment to delivering tailored and innovative solutions. Tradu also benefits from dxFeed's Stocks Radar—a comprehensive technical and fundamental market analysis solution. This Software as a Service (SaaS) seamlessly integrates with infrastructure, offering added value to traders and investors by simplifying complex analytical tasks. Moreover, Tradu leverages the advantages of dxFeed's composite feed (the winner at The Technical Analyst Awards). This accolade reinforces dxFeed's commitment to delivering excellence in data provision, further solidifying Tradu's position as a global leader in online foreign exchange. "When we were thinking of our new sophisticated multi-asset trading platform for the active trader and investors we met with the necessity of expanding instrument and user numbers. We realized we needed a highly competent, professional team to deploy the infrastructure, taking into account the peculiarities of our processes and services," said Brendan Callan, CEO of Tradu. "On the one hand, it allows our clients to receive quality consolidating data from multiple sources. On the other hand, as a leading global provider of online foreign exchange, we can dispose of dxFeed's geo-scalable infrastructure and perform rapid reconfiguration to meet growing performance demands to provide data to hundreds of thousands of our clients around the globe." "The range of businesses finding the Market Data IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model appealing continues to expand. This approach is gaining traction among various enterprises, from agile startups seeking rapid development to established, prominent brands acknowledging the strategic benefits of delegating market data infrastructure to specialized firms," said Oleg Solodukhin, CEO of dxFeed. By taking on the responsibilities of infrastructure and data provision, dxFeed empowers Tradu to focus on innovation and client satisfaction, setting the stage for a transformative journey in the dynamic world of financial trading. About dxFeed dxFeed is a leading market data and services provider and calculation agent for the capital markets industry. According to the WatersTechnology 2022 IMD & IRD awards honors, it's the "Most Innovative Market Data Project." dxFeed focuses primarily on delivering financial information and services to buy- and sell-side institutions in global markets, both traditional and crypto. That includes brokerages, prop traders, exchanges, individuals (traders, quants, and portfolio managers), and academia (educational institutions and researchers). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contact dxFeed: pr@dxfeed.com About Tradu Tradu is headquartered in London with offices around the world. The global Tradu team speaks more than two dozen languages and prides itself on its responsive and helpful client support. Stratos also operates FXCM, an FX and CFD platform founded in 1999. Stratos will continue to offer FXCM services alongside Tradu's multi-asset platform.

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IT Systems Management

ICANN ANNOUNCES GRANT PROGRAM TO SPUR INNOVATION

PR Newswire | January 16, 2024

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), announced today the ICANN Grant Program, which will make millions of dollars in funding available to develop projects that support the growth of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet. ICANN is opening an application cycle for the first $10 million in grants in March 2024. Internet connectivity continues to increase worldwide, particularly in developing countries. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an estimated 5.3 billion of the world's population use the Internet as of 2022, a growth rate of 6.1% over 2021. The Grant Program will support this next phase of global Internet growth by fostering an inclusive and transparent approach to developing stable, secure Internet infrastructure solutions that support the Internet's unique identifier systems. "With the rapid evolution of emerging technologies, businesses and security models, it is critical that the Internet's unique identifier systems continue to evolve," said Sally Costerton, Interim President and CEO, ICANN. "The ICANN Grant Program offers a new avenue to further those efforts by investing in projects that are committed to and support ICANN's vision of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet that fosters inclusion amongst a broad, global community of users." ICANN expects to begin accepting grant applications on 25 March 2024. The application window will remain open until 24 May 2024. A complete list of eligibility criteria can be found at: https://icann.org/grant-program. Once the application window closes, all applications are subject to admissibility and eligibility checks. An Independent Application Assessment Panel will review admissible and eligible applications and the tentative timeline to announce the grantees of the first cycle is in January of 2025. Potential applicants will have several opportunities to learn more about the Call for Proposals and ask ICANN Grant Program staff members questions through question-and-answer webinar sessions in the coming months. For more information on the program, including eligibility and submission requirements, the ICANN Grant Program Applicant Guide is available at https://icann.org/grant-program. About ICANN ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secured and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world.

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Application Infrastructure

Legrand Acquires Data Center, Branch, and Edge Management Infrastructure Market Leader ZPE Systems, Inc.

Legrand | January 15, 2024

Legrand, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures, including data center solutions, has announced its acquisition is complete of ZPE Systems, Inc., a Fremont, California-based company that offers critical solutions and services to deliver resilience and security for customers' business critical infrastructure. This includes serial console servers, sensors, and services routers that enable remote access and management of network IT equipment from data centers to the edge. The acquisition brings together ZPE's secure and open management infrastructure and services delivery platform for data center, branch, and edge environments to Legrand's comprehensive data center solutions of overhead busway, custom cabinets, intelligent PDUs, KVM switches, and advanced fiber solutions. ZPE Systems will become a business unit of Legrand's Data, Power, and Control (DPC) Division. Arnaldo Zimmermann will continue to serve as Vice President and General Manager of ZPE Systems, reporting to Brian DiBella, President of Legrand's DPC Division. "ZPE Systems leads the fast growing and profitable data center and edge management infrastructure market. This acquisition allows Legrand to enter a promising new segment whose strong growth is expected to accelerate further with the development of artificial intelligence and associated needs," said John Selldorff, President and CEO, Legrand, North and Central America. "Edge computing, AI and operational technology will require more complex data centers and edge infrastructure with intelligent IT needs to be built in disparate remote geographies. This makes remote management and operation a critical requirement. ZPE Systems is well positioned to address this need through high performance automation infrastructure solutions, which are complementary to our current data center offerings." "By joining forces with Legrand, ZPE Systems is advancing our leadership position in management infrastructure and propelling our technology and solutions to further support existing and new market opportunities," said Zimmermann. About Legrand and Legrand, North and Central America Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving lives by transforming the spaces where people live, work, and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative, and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and responsible growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings—including products with enhanced value in use (faster expanding segments: data centers, connected offerings and energy efficiency programs). Legrand reported sales of €8.0 billion in 2022. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 and CAC 40 ESG indexes.

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Application Infrastructure

dxFeed Launches Market Data IaaS Project for Tradu, Assumes Infrastructure and Data Provision Responsibilities

PR Newswire | January 25, 2024

dxFeed, a global leader in data solutions and index management for the financial industry, announces the launch of an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) project for Tradu, an advanced multi-asset trading platform catering to active traders and investors. In this venture, dxFeed manages the crucial aspects of infrastructure and data provision for Tradu. As an award-winning IaaS provider (the Best Infrastructure Provider by the Sell-Side Technology Awards 2023), dxFeed is poised to address all technical challenges related to market data delivery to hundreds of thousands of end users, allowing Tradu to focus on its core business objectives. Users worldwide can seamlessly connect to Tradu's platform, receiving authorization tokens for access to high-quality market data from the EU, US, Hong Kong, and Australian Exchanges. This approach eliminates the complexities and bottlenecks associated with building, maintaining, and scaling the infrastructure required for such extensive global data access. dxFeed's scalable low latency infrastructure ensures the delivery of consolidated and top-notch market data from diverse sources to the clients located in Asia, Americas and Europe. With the ability to rapidly reconfigure and accommodate the growing performance demands, dxFeed is equipped to serve hundreds of thousands of concurrent clients, with the potential to scale the solution even further in order to meet the constantly growing demand, at the same time providing a seamless and reliable experience. One of the highlights of this collaboration is the introduction of brand-new data feed services exclusively for Tradu's Stocks platform. This proprietary solution enhances Tradu's offerings and demonstrates dxFeed's commitment to delivering tailored and innovative solutions. Tradu also benefits from dxFeed's Stocks Radar—a comprehensive technical and fundamental market analysis solution. This Software as a Service (SaaS) seamlessly integrates with infrastructure, offering added value to traders and investors by simplifying complex analytical tasks. Moreover, Tradu leverages the advantages of dxFeed's composite feed (the winner at The Technical Analyst Awards). This accolade reinforces dxFeed's commitment to delivering excellence in data provision, further solidifying Tradu's position as a global leader in online foreign exchange. "When we were thinking of our new sophisticated multi-asset trading platform for the active trader and investors we met with the necessity of expanding instrument and user numbers. We realized we needed a highly competent, professional team to deploy the infrastructure, taking into account the peculiarities of our processes and services," said Brendan Callan, CEO of Tradu. "On the one hand, it allows our clients to receive quality consolidating data from multiple sources. On the other hand, as a leading global provider of online foreign exchange, we can dispose of dxFeed's geo-scalable infrastructure and perform rapid reconfiguration to meet growing performance demands to provide data to hundreds of thousands of our clients around the globe." "The range of businesses finding the Market Data IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) model appealing continues to expand. This approach is gaining traction among various enterprises, from agile startups seeking rapid development to established, prominent brands acknowledging the strategic benefits of delegating market data infrastructure to specialized firms," said Oleg Solodukhin, CEO of dxFeed. By taking on the responsibilities of infrastructure and data provision, dxFeed empowers Tradu to focus on innovation and client satisfaction, setting the stage for a transformative journey in the dynamic world of financial trading. About dxFeed dxFeed is a leading market data and services provider and calculation agent for the capital markets industry. According to the WatersTechnology 2022 IMD & IRD awards honors, it's the "Most Innovative Market Data Project." dxFeed focuses primarily on delivering financial information and services to buy- and sell-side institutions in global markets, both traditional and crypto. That includes brokerages, prop traders, exchanges, individuals (traders, quants, and portfolio managers), and academia (educational institutions and researchers). Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Contact dxFeed: pr@dxfeed.com About Tradu Tradu is headquartered in London with offices around the world. The global Tradu team speaks more than two dozen languages and prides itself on its responsive and helpful client support. Stratos also operates FXCM, an FX and CFD platform founded in 1999. Stratos will continue to offer FXCM services alongside Tradu's multi-asset platform.

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IT Systems Management

ICANN ANNOUNCES GRANT PROGRAM TO SPUR INNOVATION

PR Newswire | January 16, 2024

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the nonprofit organization that coordinates the Domain Name System (DNS), announced today the ICANN Grant Program, which will make millions of dollars in funding available to develop projects that support the growth of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet. ICANN is opening an application cycle for the first $10 million in grants in March 2024. Internet connectivity continues to increase worldwide, particularly in developing countries. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an estimated 5.3 billion of the world's population use the Internet as of 2022, a growth rate of 6.1% over 2021. The Grant Program will support this next phase of global Internet growth by fostering an inclusive and transparent approach to developing stable, secure Internet infrastructure solutions that support the Internet's unique identifier systems. "With the rapid evolution of emerging technologies, businesses and security models, it is critical that the Internet's unique identifier systems continue to evolve," said Sally Costerton, Interim President and CEO, ICANN. "The ICANN Grant Program offers a new avenue to further those efforts by investing in projects that are committed to and support ICANN's vision of a single, open and globally interoperable Internet that fosters inclusion amongst a broad, global community of users." ICANN expects to begin accepting grant applications on 25 March 2024. The application window will remain open until 24 May 2024. A complete list of eligibility criteria can be found at: https://icann.org/grant-program. Once the application window closes, all applications are subject to admissibility and eligibility checks. An Independent Application Assessment Panel will review admissible and eligible applications and the tentative timeline to announce the grantees of the first cycle is in January of 2025. Potential applicants will have several opportunities to learn more about the Call for Proposals and ask ICANN Grant Program staff members questions through question-and-answer webinar sessions in the coming months. For more information on the program, including eligibility and submission requirements, the ICANN Grant Program Applicant Guide is available at https://icann.org/grant-program. About ICANN ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secured and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you need to type an address – a name or a number – into your computer or other device. That address must be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world.

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Application Infrastructure

Legrand Acquires Data Center, Branch, and Edge Management Infrastructure Market Leader ZPE Systems, Inc.

Legrand | January 15, 2024

Legrand, a global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures, including data center solutions, has announced its acquisition is complete of ZPE Systems, Inc., a Fremont, California-based company that offers critical solutions and services to deliver resilience and security for customers' business critical infrastructure. This includes serial console servers, sensors, and services routers that enable remote access and management of network IT equipment from data centers to the edge. The acquisition brings together ZPE's secure and open management infrastructure and services delivery platform for data center, branch, and edge environments to Legrand's comprehensive data center solutions of overhead busway, custom cabinets, intelligent PDUs, KVM switches, and advanced fiber solutions. ZPE Systems will become a business unit of Legrand's Data, Power, and Control (DPC) Division. Arnaldo Zimmermann will continue to serve as Vice President and General Manager of ZPE Systems, reporting to Brian DiBella, President of Legrand's DPC Division. "ZPE Systems leads the fast growing and profitable data center and edge management infrastructure market. This acquisition allows Legrand to enter a promising new segment whose strong growth is expected to accelerate further with the development of artificial intelligence and associated needs," said John Selldorff, President and CEO, Legrand, North and Central America. "Edge computing, AI and operational technology will require more complex data centers and edge infrastructure with intelligent IT needs to be built in disparate remote geographies. This makes remote management and operation a critical requirement. ZPE Systems is well positioned to address this need through high performance automation infrastructure solutions, which are complementary to our current data center offerings." "By joining forces with Legrand, ZPE Systems is advancing our leadership position in management infrastructure and propelling our technology and solutions to further support existing and new market opportunities," said Zimmermann. About Legrand and Legrand, North and Central America Legrand is the global specialist in electrical and digital building infrastructures. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for commercial, industrial, and residential markets makes it a benchmark for customers worldwide. The Group harnesses technological and societal trends with lasting impacts on buildings with the purpose of improving lives by transforming the spaces where people live, work, and meet with electrical, digital infrastructures and connected solutions that are simple, innovative, and sustainable. Drawing on an approach that involves all teams and stakeholders, Legrand is pursuing its strategy of profitable and responsible growth driven by acquisitions and innovation, with a steady flow of new offerings—including products with enhanced value in use (faster expanding segments: data centers, connected offerings and energy efficiency programs). Legrand reported sales of €8.0 billion in 2022. The company is listed on Euronext Paris and is notably a component stock of the CAC 40 and CAC 40 ESG indexes.

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