How to Add a Data Collection Device to your BIG-IQ Cluster

Gathering and analyzing data helps organizations make intelligent decisions about their IT infrastructure. You may need a data collection device (DCD) to collect BIG-IP data so you can manage that device with BIG-IQ. BIG-IQ is a platform that manages your devices and the services they deliver. Let’s look at how to discover and add a data collection device in BIG-IQ v5.2. You can add a new data collection device to your BIG-IQ cluster so that you can start managing it using the BIG-IP device data.

In addition to Event and Alert Log data, you can view and manage statistical data for your devices. From licensing to policies, traffic to security, you’ll see it all from a single pane of glass.

But you need a DCD to do that.

So, we start by logging in to a BIG-IQ.

Then, under the System tab, go to BIG-IQ Data Collection and under that, click BIG-IQ Data Collection Devices.

The current DCD screen shows no devices in this cluster. To add a DCD, click Add.

This brings us to the DCD Properties screen. For Management Address field, we add the management IP address of the BIG-IP/DCD we want to manage. We’ll then add the Admin username and password for the device. For Data Collection IP Address, we put the transport address which is usually the internal Self-IP address of the DCD and click Add.

The process can take a little while as the BIG-IQ authenticates with the BIG-IQ DCD and adds it to the BIG-IQ configuration. But once complete, you can see the devices has been added successfully.

Now you’ll notice that the DCD has been added but there are no Services at this point. To add Services, click Add Services.

In this instance, we’re managing a BIG-IP with multiple services including Access Policies so we’re going to activate the Access services. The listener address already has the management address of the DCD populated so we’ll simply click Activate. Once activated, you can see that it is Active.

When we go back to the Data Collection Devices page, we can see that the Access Services have been added and the activation worked.

Congrats! You’ve added a Data Collection Device! You can also watch a video demo of How to Add a data collection device to your BIG-IQ cluster.

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Related:

• Lightboard Lesson: What is BIG-IQ?

You’re Getting Under My (e)-Skin

Imagine if the temporary tattoos that come in a box of Cracker Jack (if you’re lucky) had an electronic display logo that lights up when you put it on. Or a fitness tracker that you tape to yourself rather than wearing it around your wrist. Or a watch so thin that it lights the time while blending into your skin. Or even, a sensor that can be applied directly to an organ to determine health.

This is the future for electronic skin. Yup, I said it: E-Skin.

Researchers in Japan have developed an ultra-thin and ultra-stretchy material that can mimic the flexibility of human skin. Ultraflexible organic photonic skin is an organic polymer with light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) or small sheets of energy-efficient lights that are laminated right on the skin. These are intended to equip the human body with electronic components for health-monitoring and information technologies. These are transparent but when powered with electrical pulses, it’ll emit a colored light, number or letter depending on the implementation. The arrangement of PLEDs can also display more complex information. They also report that this PLED film produced less heat and consumed less power than previous e-skin samples.

The interesting thing here is that they used organic materials, added an extra layer of film to protect it from oxygen and water, so it lasted several days. Past organic efforts lasted less than a day due to air exposure. Today, non-organic materials used to make super-thin tattoo-like monitoring devices can last weeks or longer.
These advancements will only fuel the health care wearable market which is growing exponentially.

Research firm Tractica released findings from its report ‘Wearable Devices for Healthcare Markets’ that show worldwide shipments of healthcare wearables will increase from 2.5 million in 2016 to 97.6 million in 2021…or $17.8 Billion in yearly revenue. The general wearable device market will increase from 85 million units in 2015 to 559.6 million units by 2021 - a compound annual growth rate of about 37%.

If you thought the influx of data center and cloud traffic from mobile was big, just wait until all our body vitals start hitting the wire. Add that to all the other IoT initiates, like home/automotive, big data suddenly turns into ginormous data.

While we may instantly think about the fitness trackers and smartwatches that garner our bodies, the health care industry is also looking at the treatment of chronic diseases, wellness programs, remote patient monitoring and physician use. And there are other devices like posture monitors, connected wearable patches and pain management wearables that are gaining ground.

I can already hear the posture sensor barking, 'Stop Slouching!' and a pain patch that actually works instead of those menthol smelling globs – great idea!

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Related

• Super-thin electronic skin lights up a digital display on your hand
• Ultraflexible organic photonic skin
• Healthcare wearables will bring $17.8B in yearly revenue by 2021, says Tractica
• Wearable Devices for Healthcare Markets

Play Ball!

...Oh Wait, Let Me Check the Stat-Cloud First!
It is like a SAT question: Cincinnati Reds Billy Hamilton has a 10.83 foot lead off first base, can hit a top speed of 21.51 mph and clocked a jump of 0.49 seconds. If the Milwaukee Brewers catcher took 0.667 seconds to to get the ball out of his glove to throw to second and the ball is travelling at 78.81 mph, is Hamilton safe or out?
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Internet of Sports, and can't believe I missed this one. But with the MLB playoffs in full gear, I didn't want this to slip through the IoT cracks. Sports analytics has been around for a while but never to this degree.
Just like the NFL, Major League Baseball is equipping stadiums with technologies that can track moving players, flying baseballs and accurate throws. More than the RBIs, hits and stolen bases that appear on the back of trading cards, new technology (and software) also gathers stats like pop-fly pursuit range or average ground ball response time. Professional sports teams have always tracked their players' performance and often such milestones are included in the player's contract. Bonus for so many games played, or home runs hit or some other goal. With all this new detailed data, teams can adjust how they train, prepare for games and even player value for personnel moves like trades.
For the 2014 season, only 3 stadiums (Mets, Brewers, Twins) had the new Field f/x (Sportvision Inc.) system but the league plans to have all 30 parks complete for the 2015 season. Field f/x can show data such as the angle of elevation of a batted ball, the highest point in its trajectory and the distance covered and top speed attained by a player attempting to field a ball. Of course all this can then be crunched for cool graphics during a replay. Cameras, sensors and software are all now part of the game.
So are data centers, clouds and high speed links.
All this data needs to be crunched somewhere and more often it is in a cloud environment. Add to that, the connection(s) to the fans and with the fans at the stadium. Levi's Stadium, for instance, has 1200 access points and an app that allows you to order food, watch instant replays and know which bathroom line is the shortest. Our sport stadiums are becoming data centers.
Announcer: Welcome to Exclusive Sponsor Data Center Field! Home of the Hypertext Transfer Protocols. Undefeated at home this year, the Prots look to extend their record and secure home field throughout the playoffs.
And of you were wondering, Hamilton was Safe.
ps
Related:

• New Baseball Season Brings Tech to Track Player Skills
• Major League Baseball brings new tech to the plate
• Baseball All-Stars’ Data Gets More Sophisticated With Field F/X
• The Internet of Sports
• Are You Ready For Some...Technology!!
• Is IoT Hype For Real?

Technorati Tags: iot,things,baseball,sports,sensors,stats,big data,mlb,nfl,f5,silva,stadiums

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The Internet of Sports

Did you see what the NFL is doing this year with sensors?

Earlier this month they announced a partnership with Zebra Technologies, a company that provides RFID chips for applications from 'automotive assembly lines to dairy cows' milk production.' This season there will be sensors in the player's shoulder pads which will track all their on field movements. This includes player acceleration rates, top speed, length of runs, and even the distance between a ball carrier and a defender. Next year they'll add sensors for breathing, temperature and heart rate. More stats than ever and could change the game for-ever. Imagine coaches being able to examine that data and instantly call a play based on it. Play by play. To me it somewhat takes away that 'feel' for the game flow but also having data to confirm or deny that feeling might make for exciting games. Maybe lots of 0-0 overtimes or a 70-0 blowout. Data vs. data. Oh how do I miss my old buzzing electric football game.

The yardsticks will have chips along with the refs and all that data is picked up by 20 RFID receivers placed throughout the stadium. Those, in turn, are wired to a hub and server which processes the data. 25 times a second, data will be transmitted to the receivers and the quarter sized sensors use a typical watch battery. The data goes to the NFL 'cloud' and available in seconds. The only thing without a sensor is the ball. But that's probably coming soon since we already have the 94Fifty sensor basketball.

And we've had the NASCAR RACEf/x for years and this year they are going to track every turn of the wrench with RFID tracking in the pits and sensors on the crew. Riddell has impact sensors in their helmets to analyze, transmit and alert if an impact exceeds a predetermined threshold. They can measure the force of a NBA dunk; they can recognize the pitcher’s grip and figure out the pitch; then the bat sensor that can measure impact to the ball, the barrel angle of their swings, and how fast their hands are moving; and they are tracking soccer player movement in Germany. Heck, many ordinary people wear sensor infused bracelets to track their activity.

We've come a long way since John Madden sketched over a telestrator years ago and with 300 plus lb. players running around with sensors, this is truly Big Data. It also confirms my notion that the IoT should really be the Internet of Nouns - the players, the stadiums and the yardsticks.

ps

Related:

• Player-tracking system will let NFL fans go deeper than ever
• Fantasy footballers and coaches rejoice—NFL players to wear RFID tags
• More sensors are coming to professional sports, but research outpaces business models
• Why This Nascar Team Is Putting RFID Sensors On Every Person In The Pit
• Impact Sensors: Riddell InSite Impact Response System
• Fastpitch Softball League Adds Swing Sensors to its Gear

 

Technorati Tags: rfid,sensors,IoT,things,nfl,cloud,big data,silva,f5,sports

 

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Privacy for a Price

A few weeks ago, I went to my usual haircut place and after the trim at the register I presented my loyalty card.  You know the heavy paper ones that either get stamped or hole-punched for each purchase.  After a certain number of paid visits, you receive a free haircut.  I presented the card, still in the early stages of completion, for validation and the manager said I could convert the partially filled card to their new system.  I just had to enter my email address (and some other info) in the little kiosk thingy.  I declined saying, 'Ah, no thanks, enough people have my email already and don't need yet another daily digest.'  He continued, 'well, we are doing away with the cards and moving all electronic so...'  'That's ok,' I replied, 'I'll pay for that extra/free haircut to keep my name off a mailing list.' 

This event, of course, got me thinking about human nature and how we will often give up some privacy for either convenience or something free.  Imagine a stranger walking up to you and asking for your name, address, email, birthday, income level, favorite color and shopping habits.  Most of us would tell them to 'fill in the blank'-off.  Yet, when a Brand asks for the same info but includes something in return - free birthday dinner, discounted tickets, coupons, personalized service - we typically spill the beans.

Infosys recently conducted a survey which showed that consumers worldwide will certainly share personal information to get better service from their doctors, bank and retailers; yet, they are very sensitive about how they share. Today’s digital consumers are complicated and sometimes suspicious about how institutions use their data, according to the global study of 5,000 digitally savvy consumers.  They also created an infographic based on their findings.

Overall they found:

• 82 percent want data mining for fraud protection, will even switch banks for more security;
• 78 percent more likely to buy from retailers with targeted ads, while only 16 percent will share social profile;
• 56 percent will share personal and family medical history with doctors

...and specific to retail:

• To know me is to sell to me: Three quarters of consumers worldwide believe retailers currently miss the mark in targeting them with ads on mobile apps, and 72 percent do not feel that online promotions or emails they receive resonate with their personal interests and needs
• To really know me is to sell me even more: A wide majority of consumers (78 percent) agree that they would be more likely to purchase from a retailer again if they provided offers targeted to their interests, wants or needs, and 71 percent feel similarly if offered incentives based on location
• Catch-22 for retailers? While in principle shoppers say they want to receive ads or promotions targeted to their interests, just 16 percent will share social media profile information. Lacking these details could make it difficult for retailers to deliver tailored digital offers

Your data is valuable and comes with a price.  While many data miners are looking to capitalize on our unique info, you can always decline.  Yes, it is still probably already gathered up somewhere else; Yes, you will probably miss out on some free or discounted something; Yes, you will probably see annoying pop-up ads on that free mobile app/game and; Yes, you might feel out of the loop. 

But, it was still fun to be in some control over my own info leaks.

ps

Related:

• Path pledges to be ad-free: Will consumers pay for their privacy?
• What Would You Pay for Privacy?
• Paying for privacy: Why it’s time for us to become customers again
• Consumers Worldwide Will Allow Access To Personal Data For Clear Benefits, Says Infosys Study
• Engaging with digital consumers: Insights from Infosys survey [Infographic]
• Parking Ticket Privacy
• Invasion of Privacy - Mobile App Infographic Style
• 'Radio Killed the Privacy Star' Music Video?

Technorati Tags: privacy,data,big data,mobile,loyalty,consumer,human,information,personal,silva,security,retail,financial

 

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Big Data Getting Attention

According to IBM, we generate 2.5 quintillion (2.5 followed by 17 zeros) bytes of data every day.  In the last two years, we've created about 90% of the data we have today.  Almost everything that's 'connected' generates data.  Our mobile devices, social media interactions, online purchases, GPS navigators, digital media, climate sensors and even this blog to name a few, adds to the pile of big data that needs to be processed, analyzed, managed and stored.  And you think that saving all your movies, music and games is a challenge.

This data growth conundrum is 3 (or 4 - depending on who you talk to) dimensional with Volume (always increasing amount of data), Velocity (the speed back and forth) and Variety (all the different types - structured & unstructured).  Veracity (trust and accuracy) is also included in some circles.  With all this data churning, security and privacy only add to the concerns but traditional tactics might not be adequate.

Recently the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) listed the top 10 security and privacy challenges big data poses to enterprises and what organizations can do about them.  After interviewing CSA members and security-practitioners to draft an initial list of high priority security and privacy problems, studying the published solutions and characterizing problems as challenges if the proposed solution(s) did not cover the problem scenarios, they arrived at the Top 10 Security & Privacy Challenges for Big Data.

They are:

1. Secure computations in distributed programming frameworks
2. Security best practices for non-relational data stores
3. Secure data storage and transactions logs
4. End-point input validation/filtering
5. Real-Time Security Monitoring
6. Scalable and composable privacy-preserving data mining and analytics
7. Cryptographically enforced data centric security
8. Granular access control
9. Granular audits
10. Data Provenance

The Expanded Top 10 Big Data challenges has evolved from the initial list of challenges to an expanded version that addresses new distinct issues.

1. Modeling: formalizing a threat model that covers most of the cyber-attack or data-leakage scenarios
2. Analysis: finding tractable solutions based on the threat model
3. Implementation: implanting the solution in existing infrastructures

The idea of highlighting these challenges is to bring renewed focus on fortifying big data infrastructures.  The entire CSA Top 10 Big Data Security Challenges report can be downloaded here.

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Related:

• CSA Lists Top 10 Security, Privacy Challenges of Big Data
• CSA Releases the Expanded Top Ten Big Data Security & Privacy Challenges
• Expanded Top Ten Big Data Security and Privacy Challenges (download link)
• The Four V’s of Big Data
• Don't forget the network in this Big Data rush
• When Big Data Meets Cloud Meets Infrastructure
• How big data in the cloud can drive IT ops

Technorati Tags: big data,performance,web,cloud,csa,optimization,cloud computing,network,application,infrastructure,http 2.0,dynamic infrastructure,mobile,silva,security,privacy

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