Tag Archive for Cisco

| May 15, 2012
Comments Off on Internet of Things

Internet of Things

Internet of ThingsThe Internet of Things is a world where everything can be both analog and digitally approached. It reformulates our relationship with objects – things- as well as the objects themselves.  Any object that carries an RFID tag relates not only to you but also through being read by an RFID reader nearby, to other objects, relations or values in a database. In this world, you are no longer alone, anywhere.

The Machines Are Talking a Lot

The Machines Are Talking a LotCisco’s Visual Networking Index Global Mobile Data Traffic Forecast Update, 2011-2016 reports that Internet traffic continues to grow at unprecedented rates. Cisco says that the second leading source of internet traffic will be the Internet of Things devices.

The networking giant says the source will be from machine-to-machine communications, or “M2M.” Brian Bergstein at MIT‘s Technology Review says to think of sensors in cars and in appliances, surveillance cameras, smart electric meters, and devices still to come, monitoring the world and reporting to each other and to centralized computers what they’re detecting. The chart below, reprinted from the Cisco report, shows just how extreme the jump in machine-to-machine communications could be. Cisco says M2M will grow, on average, 86 percent a year, reaching 508 petabytes a month, or half a billion gigabytes by 2016.

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New ARM chip for Internet of Things

ARM logoARM (ARMH), the semiconductor company whose chip technology powers most modern smartphones, has come up with a chip for the Internet of things (IoT). Om Malik at GigaOM reports that the Cortex-M0+ is an energy-efficient chip, optimized for use in everything from connected lighting to power controls to other home appliances. In a press release, the company explains:

The 32-bit Cortex-M0+ processor … consumes just 9µA/MHz … around one-third of the energy of any 8 or 16-bit processor available today, while delivering much higher performance …[to] enable the creation of smart, low-power microcontrollers to provide … wirelessly connected devices, a concept known as the ‘Internet of Things.’

At GigaOM’s Mobilize 2011 event ThingM CEO Mike Kuniavsky said that “ubiquitous network connectivity, cloud-based services, cheap assembly of electronics, social design, open collaboration tools, and low-volume sales channels create an innovation ecosystem that is the foundation for an Internet of things.”

GigaOM says Freescale and NXP (NXPI), both are major suppliers to the automotive and home automation industries have signed up for the new ARM Internet of Things chip technology. Freescale and NXP have locations in the Farmington Hills, MI area.

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A new chip for the Internet of Things

Atheros logoOm Malik at GigaOm recently noted that Atheros, a division of Qualcomm (QCOM) launched a new very low power consuming Wi-Fi chip. The AR4100P, is focused on the “Internet of Things.” He predicts that soon, there might be Wi-Fi in everything around us, including Samsung’s (005930) Wi-Fi-enabled washing machines, which Malik wrote about earlier.

According to the blog, the new “highly integrated 802.11n single-stream Wi-Fi system-in-package with integrated dual IPv4 IPv6 networking stack” is focused on smart home and building controls and appliances. Atheros and other chip companies such as ARM are betting that the Internet of Things will prove to be a new giant market opportunity.

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The new Atheros chip also includes an IPv6 stack as well as 802.11n to give end-to-end control of your home appliances.

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  • Marvell chip makes appliances and LED lights ‘smart’ (ces.cnet.com)

The Web Connected Smelly Robot

olly logoThe Internet of Things now has smell-o-vision from Olly. Olly takes services on the Internet and delivers their pings as smell according to his website. Whether it’s a tweet or a like on Instagram, Olly will be sure to let your nose know about it. Mint Foundry, a graduate design lab at Mint Digital dedicated to exploring the potential of web-connected objects developed Olly.

It is possible to change Olly’s smells in an instant. It has a removable section in the back which can be filled with any smell you like. It could be essential oils, a slice of fruit, your partner’s perfume, or even a drop of gin.

Olly is stackable, so if you have more than one, you can assign each one to a different service with a different smell. Connect one to Twitter and another to your calendar. Before you know it, you’ll have a networked Internet smell center claims the website.

Olly is not yet in production, but Mint is glad to offer the source files to anyone who’s got a 3D printer and a nose for adventure.

 

Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| April 5, 2012
Comments Off on Power over Ethernet 802.3af

Power over Ethernet 802.3af

Power over Ethernet 802.3afA client recently asked what happened to the network design rule of thumb which said do not install data cables anywhere near electrical cables? The fear of cross-talk, interference, and corruption of the data traffic seems to have disappeared with Power over Ethernet (PoE). He rightly pointed out that now it seems OK to mix data and power in the same cable going to a networked device. 

Read part 2 here.

Plain Old Telephone SystemPoE is similar in principle to the way that the copper wire pair that carries your POTS (Plain Old Telephone System) telephone signals into your house also carries enough electricity (48v DC) from the telco Central Office to power the phone’s core elements of the headset, dial, and ringer. Power over Ethernet’s development started with early implementations of Voice over Internet Protocol VoIP)phone systems. VoIP pioneers did not have a telco CO to power the phones and powering the VoIP phones with wall warts proved unreliable. The phones stopped working when unplugged from the wall or if the building lost power.

In 2000 Cisco (CSCO) developed the first successful technique of putting 48v DC on the LAN data cable along with the data traffic. This proprietary system allowed Cisco to overcome customer objections to wall warts and sell a lot of VoIP systems.

Cisco logoCisco’s original PoE equipment was capable of delivering up to 10W per port. The endpoint and the Cisco switch negotiated the amount of power to be delivered based on a power value in the proprietary Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP). The Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) will send a Fast Link Pulse (FLP) on the transmit pair. The Powered Device (PD) connects the transmit line to the receiving line via a low pass filter. And thus the PSE gets the FLP in return. Cisco’s original PoE implementation is not software upgradeable to the IEEE 802.3af standard. Cisco manufactured many IP phones and WLAN access points devices that were not compliant with the IEEE 802.3-2005 Clause 33 including:

Cisco pre-standard IP phones
7985G7960G7940G7910G7910G + SW
7912G7905G7902G7970G
Cisco IEEE 802.3af and pre-standard IP phones
7970G7961G7906G7941G
7911G7962G
The Cisco 7936 Conference Phone does not support any LAN based power and requires a Cisco power injection adapter
Source

Throughout 2001 and 2002, other VoIP and Wireless Access Point (WAP) vendors saw Cisco’s success and developed their own proprietary (and often non-interoperable) powering systems. As more proprietary systems were developed the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recognized the need to standardize PoE. The IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Committee assigned PoE technology to a new working subcommittee called 802.3af. The IEEE working group’s charge was to create a standardized version of the Power Over Ethernet so that any manufacturer who wanted to could make their products PoE ready. The IEEE working group took commentary from 2001 to 2003 and released the ratified IEEE 802.3af-2003 Power over Ethernet standard in June 2003 which added clause 33 to the IEEE 802.3 standard

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 Ethernet CommitteeThe 802.3af document describes how PoE systems should work.  The standard defines two types of PoE equipment, Power Sourcing Equipment (PSE) and the Powered Device (PD). Power Sourcing Equipment sends the power out over the LAN cabling system to the Powered Device. The PSE would send out a maximum of 15.4 watts DC per link to each device, (limited to standard Ethernet distances). 12.95 watts are assumed to be available at the PD because some power is lost in the cable.

The nominal voltage is 48 V, over two of the four available pairs on a Cat. 3/Cat. 5e cable. “Phantom power” is used to allow the powered pairs to also carry data. This permits PoE to be used with 10BASE-T and 100BASE-TX, which use only two of the four pairs in the cable, but also with 1000BASE-T (gigabit Ethernet), which uses all four pairs for data transmission. This is possible because all versions of Ethernet over twisted pair cable specify differential data transmission over each pair with transformer coupling; the DC supply and load connections can be made to the transformer center-taps at each end. Each pair thus operates in “common mode” as one side of the DC supply, so two pairs are required to complete the circuit. The polarity of the DC supply may be inverted by cross cables; the powered device must work with either pair: spare pairs 4-5 and 7-8 or data pairs 1-2 and 3-6. Polarity is required on data pairs and ambiguously implemented for spare pairs, with the use of a bridge rectifier. (Source)

VOIP devicesPower Sourcing Equipment can be in two form factors. A PSE can be implemented as an endspan which is an Ethernet switch with powered ports (a PoE enabled switch) or midspan which is a power hub that is used along with a non-powered switch the end-user already has in place. PD’s can receive PoE equally well from either type of PSE per the standard. The decision to use an endspan or a midspan is left up to the end-user.  The end device can use either powering technique.

The Powered Device (PD) is a network device like VoIP phones, Wireless Access Points, and IP cameras. which are capable of taking the power off the LAN cable, through the RJ-45 (8P8C) connector and using it to power itself. Some pre-standard PoE devices are incompatible with 802.3af equipment. More PoE ready PD’s are available every year  PoE ready end devices can reduce installation costs by as much as 90% over traditional powering techniques.  Among the newer PoE PD’s devices on the market or coming soon are IP Paging, Speaker Systems, POS Terminals, Door and Gate Security hardware, Public Information signs, Building Access, Temperature Control Systems, Stage Lighting, and Computers. These newer PD’s were pushing 802.3af to its limits and the IEEE began work to evolve the standard. This power limitation prevented “high power” devices that required up to 30W to be supported via the industry-standard PoE solution.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| January 5, 2012
3 comments

Cisco Tries Bribing Shareholders For A Tax Cut

Cisco Tries Bribing Shareholders For A Tax CutEmbattled Cisco (CSCO) CEO John Chambers recently urged the networking giants shareholders to lobby congress for a big corporate tax break. He tried to bribe promised to increase their dividend if the tax break comes through reported the BusinessInsider.

BI explains the CEO was talking specifically about repatriation, the term for when multinational corporations bring cash from overseas back into the U.S. Today they are charged the full corporate tax rate, 35%.

Cisco logoMr. Chambers has been the poster child for multinationals like Cisco wanting to be granted another so-called “repatriation tax holiday” that would allow them to bring back more than a trillion dollars at a much lower tax rate. He even appeared on 60 Minutes arguing for the plan. (I have written about Cisco’s efforts to dodge taxes here and here)

Mr. Chambers made the case that a repatriation tax holiday would be of personal benefit to Cisco shareholders. “Repatriation at a rate of between zero and 2 percent puts us on a level playing field,” he said. If Cisco could bring its overseas funds back it would spend them on beefing up manufacturing sites, jobs and “if approved” the company would “increase dividends,” he said.

Cisco CEO promises to increase dividends if tax break passes“The current tax system was developed when Microsoft (MSFT) wasn’t even public,” the Cisco CEO said. He urged the assembled to “Take time to send a note to members of Congress and others,” he urged.

In 2004 Cisco and other multinationals were granted a tax holiday. Opponents of a tax holiday for repatriation aren’t convinced that Cisco needs the tax break now. Some say that multinationals have accumulated offshore cash through gimmicks. They also point out that corporations can borrow against their overseas stash at really low rates and will use this as an ongoing method to avoid paying U.S. taxes.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| December 15, 2011
Comments Off on Mobile Device Info

Mobile Device Info

Mobile Device InfoIn case there was any doubt that mobile devices are the real deal, here are some stats from Digby. Globally, 80% of consumers have used computers to get access to the Web within the previous seven days. Sixty percent used their mobile devices to do so. 25% of US mobile web users only access the web from their mobile phones.

Angry Birds know where you live

Angry Birds know where you live75% of the public may be giving away their physical location when downloading smartphone applications, according to mobile security vendor AdaptiveMobile. 69% of smartphone users say such privacy breaches are unacceptable, yet Help Net Security reports that 75% fail to read the terms and conditions, which include access to data such as their physical location.

“Consumers are outraged that their data may not be secure but are unwilling to protect themselves,” AdaptiveMobile VP of Handset Security, Ciaran Bradley says in the article. “We are downloading more apps than ever before, but people are unaware that their location and other information can be harvested by applications.”

AdaptiveMobile research has shown that common applications including Angry Birds, Jaws, and Paper Toss have access to information including location coordinates and owner’s name, which can be shared with up to 17 different external domains including advertisers.

“Consumers and the wider mobile industry need to become savvier about the information which is shared by apps,” Mike Hawkes, Chairman of The Mobile Data Association told Help Net Security. “It is becoming commonplace that personal information is shared with advertisers and developers.”

Mr. Bradley told Help Net Security that iPhone users are the most careless, with 65% completely unaware that free applications may compromise their privacy. Windows Phone users are more responsible, with 29% promising to stop downloading free applications if they had any doubt that their personal information was not safe. Windows Phone users are generally cautious, 95% of them are ‘quite’ or ‘very’ concerned about privacy infringements.

“If we are to slow the rise in cybercrime, consumers need to become more aware of the need for phone security” concluded Mr. Bradley. “Not only will this frustrate hackers and other cybercriminals, but also ensure that consumers can have a safe mobile experience.”

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I wrote about mobile apps stealing PII here and here.

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Cisco’s Tablets Are Doing So Well, They’re Planning At Least Two More Models For Next Year

Cisco Cius tabletThe Cisco Cius tablet for enterprises sounded like a hard sell when Cisco introduced it. But the company is apparently proving experts wrong, including me (I wrote about the Cius here and here) because Cisco‘s (CSCO) tablets are doing well enough that the company plans to release two new form factors next year, including a 10-inch version according to the BusinessInsider

Product manager Chuck Fontana told the BusinessInsider that 1,000 companies have already bought the tablet, He wouldn’t share device unit sales, but some deployments are in the hundreds, and one company plans to buy 1,500 for its mobile sales force. The tablets are sold as part of a broader communications package and include Cisco’s teleconferencing and collaboration services.

But underneath they’re straight Google (GOOG) Android tablets and can run any Android app. To prevent employees from downloading malware-infested or low-quality apps, Cisco has rolled out a custom app store called AppHQ, where every app is vetted.

The BusinessInsider says the Cius is an interesting demonstration of how the relative openness of Android versus iOS is helping it gain traction in surprising places. Cisco didn’t go to quite the lengths that Amazon (AMZN) did with the Kindle Fire, where it basically forked Android and created a custom OS. But Android is open enough that Cisco could build its own app store and ship it with its own apps front and center.

That couldn’t have worked with the iPad, where Apple (AAPL) controls the experience.

So would Cisco consider offering a Windows tablet instead once Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 8 comes out?  “No,” said Fontana, “we’re not looking to do anything from a Windows perspective. Our core approach remains on Android.”

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People Are Losing Interest In The Microsoft Tablet, And It’s Not Even Out Yet

Microsoft TabletApple‘s (AAPL) iPad has already taken about 11% of the PC market, and by the time Microsoft (MSFT) and its partners get around to releasing a real competitor next year, it may be too late according to a new study from Forrester Research (FORR) in the BusinessInsider.

Near the beginning of 2011 according to the article Forrester surveyed 3,835 consumers who were considering buying a tablet. When asked which operating system they’d like on it, 48% said Windows, well ahead of iOS (16%) and Google’s (GOOG) Android (9%). The second most popular choice was “undecided” with 16%.

In September, Forrester asked the same question of a different group of 2,229 consumers. This time, iOS came in number one with 28% of the vote. Windows had only 25%, and Android was at 18%. A whole 24% were still undecided.

Overall, interest in Windows tablets dropped 21 percentage points in six months.

The BusinessInsider says the study is probably a bit skewed but says the data shows a real perception shift: consumers are thinking of tablets more like smartphones and less like PCs. That perception could carry through to the next time they’re thinking of buying a new computing device.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

Category: Tablet computing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| October 27, 2011
One comment

Cisco CEO Talks Cash at Tech Dinner

Cisco CEO Talks Cash at Tech DinnerSometimes my view from the Bach Seat is just so right….

The BusinessInsider reports that former Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs told his biographer Walter Isaacson what really went on when the tech titans supped with President Barack Obama earlier this year.

repatriation tax holiday that would allow major corporations to avoid tax payments on overseas profitsWhile the tech titans were slated to discuss America’s economy and what could be done to create more jobs in the U.S. according to Mr. Isaacson, Google‘s (GOOG) Eric Schmidt, then Yahoo (YHOO) chief Carol Bartz, and Oracle‘s (ORCL) Larry Ellison and Cisco (CSCO) CEO John Chambers annoyed Obama. The business leaders seemed more concerned with boosting their own company instead of America’s economy. Mr.Isaacson focuses on Cisco’s Chambers as an example:

Cisco's (CSCO) John Chambers annoyed President Obama“Chambers, for example, pushed a proposal for a repatriation tax holiday that would allow major corporations to avoid tax payments on overseas profits if they brought them back to the United States for investment during a certain period. The President was annoyed, and so was Facebooks’s Mark Zuckerberg, who turned to Valerie Jarrett, sitting to his right, and whispered, “We should be talking about what’s important to the country. Why is he just talking about what’s good for him?”

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I noted Cisco’s John Chambers’ editorial in the WSJ calling for a tax holiday last year.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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