Mist Is the New Edge

Tom Hollingsworth had the chance to see Mist present at Mobility Field Day this past July. He writes that since being acquired by Juniper Networks, both Juniper and Mist have grown and gone through an incredible transformation. That has led to Mist being on the cutting edge of utilizing AI to change the way we do networking. Tom writes that he’s never been so excited to see radical changes coming in the way we network and is looking forward to seeing what Juniper and Mist have up their sleeve next. Check out Tom’s article on GestaltIT.com and all of the Mobility Field Day presentations on our website.


Modernizing AirMagnet With NetAlly

At Mobility Field Day, “The Networking Nerd” Tom Hollingsworth was excited to see that NetAlly has been able to make AirMagnet relevant and new again with their latest update. He writes that they’ve brought AirMagnet back with new features for our modern wireless networks including the ability to import data from AirCheck and EtherScope. Check out Tom’s perspective on GestaltIT.com or the NetAlly presentation highlighting AirMagnet Survey PRO on the Tech Field Day website.


Thoughts From Networking Field Day 23

Networking Field Day this Fall was full of quality content and sponsors. Event lead Tom Hollingsworth shares some quick thoughts about this event on his latest blog post. Tom writes about his thoughts on the transformation of network monitoring, developments for SD-WAN, and how companies are going to have to better support their employee’s connectivity with the shift to remote work. He also talks about Networking Field Day presenter Juniper and their evolving place in the market. For more great Networking Field Day content including Juniper Network’s presentations, check out our website!


Unified Security Theory With Fortinet

Treating wireless and networking separately in terms of security doesn’t really make sense anymore, so why are we doing just that? Tom Hollingsworth has been interacting with Fortinet products for many years, and had the chance to see them present at Mobility Field Day. Fortinet dispenses with the antiquated framework of wireless and networking and works to secure information with their patented ASIC technology. Be sure to check out Fortinet’s presentation and Tom’s take on the practical benefits of their approach on the Gestalt IT website.


Host Separation With Tempered

Writing for Gestalt IT, Tom Hollingsworth looks back at Tempered’s presentation from Security Field Day in June. Tempered very quickly got Tom’s attention with their claim that they could secure host-to-host communications while keeping everything invisible on the wire. Tom writes that the Tempered product Airwall is an easy and straightforward solution that supports both network security and privacy. Check out Tom’s article and Tempered’s first ever Security Field Day presentations on our website!


Opening Up Remote Access With Opengear

Remote device management used to be optional, but in 2020 it’s now essential. Tom Hollingsworth writes about Opengear and notes that they have been leading the charge on remote management in the past and that they are continuing that today. In addition, they are continuing the push forward on hardware which they demonstrated in their presentation at the Tech Field Day Virtual Cisco Live Experience.


Powering Your People With Ventev

Getting your racks where you need them is one thing, connecting them to reliable power can be another thing entirely. Tom Hollingsworth writes about the issues of supplying dependable power in all the possible locations that you might want it and how Ventev is working to confront those challenges. Check out Tom’s post as well as Ventev’s Mobility Field Day presentation on “Taking Telecom Closets Outdoors” on the Gestalt IT website!


Redefining Service Protection With VMware Service-Defined Firewall

The world of security is always changing and so are the challenges around it. Writing for Gestalt IT, Tom Hollingsworth (the “Networking Nerd”) writes about the evolving challenges facing the traditional firewall and how VMware is working to combat those challenges with its Service-Defined Firewall. Check out Tom’s post and VMware’s presentation on their new security products at Security Field Day.


Bad Behavior Analysis With Juniper Networks

It can be hard to determine what bad behavior looks like on a network. Signals are crowded and searching through the noise is time consuming. The industry has heard that AI is a possible solution, and it looks like this may be moving from hypothetical to reality very soon. Tom Hollingsworth takes a look at the way Juniper Networks is using AI to find bad actors before they can get what they’re after. He got to hear from Juniper at Security Field Day, be sure to checkout their full video presentation for all the details.


Fast Friday – Mobility Field Day 5 Edition

Tom Hollingswort has been organizing Mobility Field Day since the event started, and it’s great to see the discussions and presentations still get him excited. As he’s seen the mobility industry change over the last few years, there are a few things he keeps in mind. The physical realities of wireless are never magic, and require concrete planning to be successful. Analytics are great, but admins are still needed to deploy, fix, and enhance wireless networks. And don’t expect Wi-Fi 6E to roll out quickly. With all those things in mind, he’s excited to hear what the delegates thought of the event!


What Will HPE Do With Silver Peak? | Gestalt IT Rundown: July 15, 2020

In this episode of the Gestalt IT Rundown, Rich Stroffolino and Tom Hollingsworth breakdown the recent acquisition of Silver Peak by HPE. The SD-WAN company will be integrated into HPE’s Aruba business unit. Tom and Rich have seen Silver Peak at Networking and Cloud Field Day events in the past, and are well versed in their portfolio. They see the acquisition as a further bolstering of HPE’s ambitions with Aruba. We can’t wait to see the first fruits of this exciting acquisition.


Why Did VMware Buy Datrium? | Gestalt IT Rundown: July 8, 2020

In this episode of the Gestalt IT Rundown, Tom Hollingsworth and Rich Stroffolino discussed the recent acquisition of Datrium by VMware. This was positioned as a DRaaS play for VMware’s cloud offerings, helping to refine their overall DR strategy. Rich found it interesting that Datrium had been billing themselves as a HCI vendor, to have them acquired for DR assets.


Cisco SecureX Roundtable

Join the delegates from Gestalt IT’s Tech Field Day Virtual Cisco Live Experience as they look at the newest security platform offering from Cisco, SecureX. They discuss the importance of having a centralized solution to provide at-a-glance information and action capabilities. The delegates also discuss where the future of Cisco security solutions is headed.


Cisco Intent-Based Networking Roundtable

Join the delegates from Gestalt IT’s Tech Field Day Virtual Cisco Live Experience as they dive into the latest intent-based networking announcements from Cisco. Listen in as they discuss the importance of network policy, user-defined networks, location tracking, and SD-WAN. Tom Hollingsworth leads the expert panel of Phil Gervasi, Shala Denise, Jonathan Davis, John Herbert, and Jody Lemoine.


The New Branch With Riverbed SD-WAN

What does your branch office look like? I’m sure the answer to that question is different than it was just six months ago. Tom Hollingsworth takes a look back at Riverbed’s presentation from Networking Field Day and how they have the right tools to make your new branch work just like it should.


A Tale of Scale in Three Parts With Broadcom

Broadcom is one of the biggest suppliers for chips in the networking market? But how do they provide the chips you need to fit the services and operations you’re selling? Tom Hollingsworth takes a look at their lineup and how they can scale in a variety of ways to fit the bill. The company showed off a lot of their solutions at Networking Field Day earlier this year, so be sure to get up to speed on this article before diving into their full video presentation.


Go Time With PathSolutions

How much time does it take before you know you’ve been breached? How much time do you spend figuring out what you need to know so you can respond appropriately? How many precious minutes are wasted gathering info from the four corners of your enterprise? What if you could have what you needed in just one minute? Tom Hollingsworth takes a look at PathSolutions TotalView Security Operations Manager and how it is the perfect rapid response SIEM for the SMB. They went into detail about this at their recent Security Field Day presentation, so be sure to check out Tom’s piece before digging into the videos yourself.


Insightful Fabric Management With Cisco Network Insights

What is your network fabric trying to tell you? Are you missing out on important updates about the status of patches and updates? How can you learn more about what you need to accomplish? Tom Hollingsworth looks at Cisco Network Insights Advisor and how it can help you decipher what you need to be listening to. Cisco showed off NIA at Networking Field Day, and Tom sees it as a support tech dedicated to doing nothing but update you on what the latest issues are that could affect things and how you can mitigate or remove those problems. And for the times when you can do neither, NIA can help you get your ducks in a row when you need to call TAC.


Defeating Configuration Drift With Gluware

No two configurations are the same. Usually because they’ve been modified outside of recommended parameters. If you want to stop this from happening in your network, you need a tool that can detect the drift in your devices. Tom Hollingsworth examines Gluware and their presentation during Networking Field Day to see how they can help network admins keep your configs on track. Their drift tool takes a snapshot of the configuration of a device and allows you to quickly compare it with the state of the device later on. Tom admits to causing some network drift in his time, so he’s glad to see there’s a solution out there to help address it.


Rogue Device Detection Thanks to PathSolutions

How can you track down all the devices in your network that you don’t know about? How can you ensure they aren’t security risks or potential threat vectors? Tom Hollingsworth takes a look at PathSolutions and their new TotalView Security Operations Manager and how it can help you figure out what’s hiding just out of plain sight. He got a deep dive from PathSolutions during Security Field Day, so once you check out Tom’s piece, be sure to check out their full presentation video.