The Open Source Advocate

I have just returned from the yearly Cisco Networkers convention, which was in Las Vegas for the second year in a row. This was the biggest Networkers yet, with over 10,000 network professionals in attendance. I had a good time and attended several excellent training sessions. There was the standard keynote address by Cisco CEO John Chambers, which I thought was mediocre. Mr. Chambers didn't say anything interesting or new, and the humor was so predictable it was annoying. Mo Rocca also gave a speech, which was both interesting and sufficiently humorous. I enjoyed talking directly with the engineers that write official Cisco documentation and books. Networkers is a great opportunity to catch up on all the new developments in Cisco products and their recommended best practices. One of the more interesting new products is the ACE ( Application Control Engine) module for Catalyst 6500 switches. The ACE module can perform load-balancing, SSL termination, and basic security fire

What am I talking about, you ask? I'm talking about the 150 finalist entries in the $200,000 VMware Virtual Appliance Challenge . (Ok, I admit that the title is misleading. Keep reading!) What is a virtual appliance? VMware describes a virtual appliance as a "fully pre-installed and pre-configured application and operating system environment that runs on any standard x86 desktop or server in a self-contained, isolated environment known as a virtual machine." You can browse these virtual appliances on the VMware site. There are many different types of appliances, so I am sure that you will find one that interests you. While you are there, make sure you look at a very special one called NeDiVA (Network Discovery Virtual Appliance). This is special because I created that entry! I am very proud of it, and I hope it does well in the competition. Here is the summary of what NeDiVA does: *********************************************************** NeDiVA Features: Aut