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Container IT gets boost with Docker enhancement
In this week's SN blogs, analysts discuss Docker, the real value of an industry certification and the capabilities of a new Linux project aimed at virtualized environments.
Whither Docker? Will it actually become a viable way to host distributed applications? Or, will it fall short because it can't surpass existing application management environments? Steven Hill, an analyst at Current Analysis Inc., based in Sterling, Va., writes that Docker Content Trust, which became available Aug. 11, is Docker's next step in making it ready for prime time. The new capabilities, he says, address enterprise IT's concerns about the technology's security and reliability. IBM's endorsement is another boon, Hill writes, with Big Blue building a Docker environment that can run on every IBM platform.
Hill says Docker still has a long way to go; it needs to engineer a stronger framework for security and data access, for instance, and it needs some sort of API-management layer to make it a useful ingredient for container IT. But Hill says the Docker's strategic direction -- so far -- is on the right path.
Read Hill's thoughts about Docker and what the technology might mean to enterprise IT.
New Linux project could transform virtualized management
The Enterprise Strategy Group Inc., based in Milford, Mass., examines the potential impact of the IO Visor Project (IOVP), a Linux Foundation-backed initiative that could transform how network devices communicate in a virtualized environment.
IOVP is brand new; the initiative was just announced last week and is backed by Cisco, Intel and Broadcom, among other suppliers. In a nutshell, IOVP is an I/O hypervisor engine that resides between the Linux OS and hardware. Akin to a Java virtual machine (VM), IOVP is an in-kernel VM for I/O instructions. It won't replace existing hypervisors, since its sole purpose is to support I/O, but, because it is software-defined, it could become a foundation for new generations of Linux virtualization and networking, ESG writes. IOVP consists of an engine, a set of development tools, associated operational and management apps, and I/O modules.
Linux portability could help give IOVP a potentially large footprint; "many vendors," ESG writes, could choose to examine IO Visor to determine how it might fit within their own strategies. Potential use cases encompass security, cloud building and carrier networking.
Get more information about IOVP and read what ESG has to say about the project.
Certification: What's really driving the need for that piece of paper?
PacketPushers blogger Fred Chagnon is prepping for a new certification, but he found his motivation for doing so is much different today than it was when he began his networking career in the late 1990s.
Instead of just getting a new piece of paper or the ability to add some new designation to his email signature, Chagnon says he's interested in more fundamental incentives. Among them is the opportunity to learn new things and the ability to become more self-assured.
While there's nothing wrong with seeking a certification to satisfy goals of career advancement or recognition, Chagnon writes that not everyone shares those goals. Instead, personal growth factors might be an even bigger motivator and an even better reason to snag that next endorsement.
Get Chagnon's thoughts on the value of an industry certification.
