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Thursday, August 27, 2015

8/27/2015 12:32:00 PM

Google’s New Local Pack Shows In The Number One Spot 93%

Now, with the new 3-pack local results box, you are way more likely to see them in the number one position.

Earlier this month, Google replaced their “7-pack,” the local results box that showed seven local businesses in the Google Web search results, with the 3-pack. The change was significant: Four fewer businesses than before were showing up in the local pack.

But a new report from seoClarity shows what is possibly an even more shocking change. The local pack, before it changed to the 3-pack, used to show up in the number one slot in the Web search results only 25 percent of the time. Now, with the new 3-pack, the study says it shows up in the number one position 93 percent of the time.

Here is a rank graph from seoClarity showing the before and after rank distributions:

seoclarity-rank-local-pack
As you can see, the top spot now will show a local pack 93 percent of the time versus 25 percent of the time. And 99 percent of the time, you’d see it in the top two positions, a dramatic improvement versus 31 percent of the time.
Here’s how seoClarity documented their methodology:
  • Start with a list of keywords which on 7/25 showed the 7-pack map listings
  • Narrow down the list to only those that showed the new 3-pack format on 8/15
  • Retrieve the rank position at which the local pack showed for each date
  • Compare the visibility of the old 7-pack map listings vs. the new 3-pack local listings
You can see, even based on the 7-pack to 3-pack switch chart, that there was an uptick in seoClarity’s data:
seoclarity-local-pack
And even Mozcast shows a similar pattern:

moz-local-pack

 

 SOURCE

Thursday, August 20, 2015

8/20/2015 06:13:00 PM

How Apache Ranger and Chuck Norris help secure Hadoop

Hadoop ecosystem has always been a bag of parts, each of which needs to be secured separately.



The Hadoop security project referred to as Ranger purportedly was named in tribute to Chuck Frank Norris in his "Walker, Lone-Star State Ranger" role. The project has its roots in XA Secure, that was noninheritable  by Hortonworks, then renamed to Argus before sinking in at the Apache package Foundation as Ranger.

When Hadoop started, it absolutely was a collection of loosely coupled elements primarily utilized in the rear finish of the large net firms like Yahoo. These elements were wrapped into distributions and marketed as Hadoop by the likes of MapR, Cloudera, and Hortonworks.

Such piecemeal design is not uncommon within the world of open supply or maybe within the wide world of business package. It does, however, end in security challenges. Some can browse this as "it's insecure," however that won't essentially the case -- tho' it will be. the matter is a lot of however does one attest users to any or all elements of this technique of elements -- and once you attest them however does one authorize them to try to to solely what you mean to permit them to do?

Each a part of Hadoop has its own LDAP and Kerberos authentication, also as its own suggests that and rules of authorization (and in most cases altogether separate implementations of the same). this implies you get to piece Kerberos or LDAP to every individual half, then outline those rules in every separate configuration. What Apache Ranger will is offer a plug-in to every of those elements of Hadoop and a typical authentication repository, also as enable you to outline policies during a centralized location.

Ranger is clearly a Hortonworks-sponsored project (as opposition a Cloudera or MapR or currently Databricks). you'll tell this partially by the manner it's scraped (green) and partially attributable to what it supports. At present, Ranger supports the following:

  •     HDFS
  •     Hive
  •     Storm
  •     HBase
  •     Knox
  •     YARN
  •     Kafka
  •     Solr

Except for HDFS and HBase, that square measure supported as a part of the core of Hadoop and Solr, these square measure a number of the a lot of "Hortonworksy" comes. during a fashionable preparation, you will probably see different elements, like Spark or presumably antelope (from Cloudera). still, Ranger may be a good thing.

How Ranger works

In Ranger, for every part you're employed with a Repository. These repositories square measure supported associate underlying plug-in or agent that operates therewith part.
Ranger Hadoop security project

The repository manager from Hortonworks' Ranger documentation

Associated with every of those repositories may be a set of policies, that square measure related to the resource you're protective (a table, folder, or column) and a bunch (such as administrators) and what they're allowed to try to to therewith issue (read, write, and so on). You provide every policy a reputation -- say, "Only the grp_nixon will browse the apac_china table."

Ranger Hadoop security project

A policy creation screen from Ranger documentation

A GUI with a central read of UN agency is allowed to try to to what brings a lot of required simplicity to the Hadoop system, however that is not all that Ranger offers. It additionally provides audit work. though this cannot come after all the appliance audit work you may ever need, if you just have to be compelled to grasp UN agency accessed what on HDFS or what policies were enforced  wherever, it's most likely precisely what you would like.

In addition, Ranger will offer Key Management Services so as to figure with HDFS's new TDE (transparent knowledge encryption). thus if you would like end-to-end encoding and a clean thanks to manage the keys related to it, Ranger isn't a nasty place to begin.
Ranger appearance ahead

I think the most important hope for Ranger comes from its extensibility. you'll produce your own plug-ins for areas that aren't lined.

If you were hoping this was the top of the story on Hadoop security, sadly, Cloudera has its own Apache project referred to as scout (which MapR seems to additionally support) that covers a lot of identical space. To be fair, scout was 1st, then Hortonworks noninheritable  XA Secure. That said, the documentation for scout is just about nonexistent, the coverage is a lot of forced, and also the project web site is unrestored (although activity on GitHub recently picked up).

Hadoop security has return a protracted manner. Ranger offers a reasonably comprehensive, if still alittle incomplete, thanks to manage the system. The holes that persist square measure primarily because of trafficker competition throughout the large knowledge world. These will be crammed via the extensibility of the project, however it'd be nice to ascertain a lot of collaboration and community within the Apache world.


8/20/2015 05:36:00 PM

SharePoint 2016 future is hybrid

On-premises collaboration server will increasingly rely on use of, cloud services


 The beta preview of Microsoft Exchange 2016 shows it to be additional of a service pack for Exchange 2013 than a full server unleash. The message is loud and clear that keep with Microsoft's "cloud first" strategy, the $64000 innovation would happen within the cloud version, and eventually the merchandise can become cloud-only.

The same fate seems to be in line for SharePoint 2016, expected in mid-2016. though Microsoft has however to unleash a beta version (one is predicted by year end), the small print it's free show that SharePoint 2016 is on constant path as Exchange 2016.

That path could be a hybrid one, wherever the on-premises version is extended by cloud-only options, with the combination shifting from on-premises to cloud over time.

On-premises SharePoint 2016 can trust additional and additional on the cloud

For starters, very similar to Exchange, the on-premises version of SharePoint has already been evolving within the cloud as a part of workplace 365 and as SharePoint on-line. There ar options within the cloud version of SharePoint that may not be delivered to the on-premises version, like workplace Graph and turn over.

Some options of the on-premises version can cash in of the cloud, in what Microsoft calls "cloud-accelerated experiences." That leads ultimately to hybrid configurations involving on-premises SharePoint and also the cloud-based SharePoint on-line, lease your users will cash in of options that exist solely within the cloud version whereas lease you continue to run most of SharePoint on your own servers.

Here ar 3 samples of "cloud-accelerated experiences":

    Search through workplace turn over: Delve uses workplace Graph to supply prophetical, personalised content for users. A hybrid SharePoint preparation would let associate on-premises SharePoint server still cash in of turn over.

    Next-gen portals: associate example of this can be workplace 365 Video, that permits hosting of video content for users in workplace 365. Again, a hybrid preparation would build this capability on the market to associate on-premises SharePoint server setting.

    Files: though you'll use document libraries in on-premises SharePoint, Microsoft's larger strategy pushes users to use OneDrive to manage files across all devices. Having the flexibility to integrate that OneDrive cloud storage into your on-premises SharePoint is sensible.

Not all changes in SharePoint 2016 relate to the cloud

SharePoint preparations can not yield a complete deployment with SQL categorical (even if you’re merely attempting to line it up as a fast dev or check server). However, you'll still install SharePoint 2016 on one server with SQL Server put in.

Unlike Exchange, that has steady reduced the amount of server roles you'll deploy from 5 roles in Exchange 2007 and 2010 to a few roles in Exchange 2013 to 2 roles in Exchange 2016 (Mailbox and Edge Transport), SharePoint goes the opposite way: you'll deploy one server farm or a multiple-server farm wherever you select the subsequent roles:

    Special Load: For third-party services isolation from different services
 internet Front End: For user requests
    Search: For search services
    Application: For back-end jobs (or triggered back-end job requests)
    Distributed Cache: For load equalisation of user requests from the online face role

In addition, there ar changes within the authentication choices, with Azure Active Directory sure by default. however SharePoint 2016 can retain backward compatibility for previous authentication ways (Windows Claims, Forms-based, SML, so forth). Microsoft is outwardly moving removed from Windows-based identities in favor of claims-based choices.

SOURCE

8/20/2015 05:26:00 PM

Upgrading an old PC to Windows 10

Microsoft's free upgrade strategy places the burden of support on PC.

Want a free TV? get a Windows ten computer from holler. Like alternative pc vendors, holler is waging a desperate struggle to prevent customers from defecting to smartphones, phablets, and tablets. holler was therefore desirous to ride the Windows ten upgrade wave, it even offered customers free shipping and a guarantee that their new PCs would arrive on July twenty nine -- launch day for the new OS.

There's nothing wrong with old style accomplishment, although the TV giveaway strikes a chord in my memory of the toasters offered to new customers by failing banks years past. however the arrival of the new Windows ten has left many house owners of older computers get in the cold and has arranged  vacant the differing priorities of Microsoft and therefore the hard put PC manufacturers.

Microsoft does not care if you get a replacement computer

Microsoft, needing to attract developers to its blemished platform, is doing everything it will to push Windows ten onto as several PCs as attainable. It's even rejection vital amounts of revenue by providing Windows ten as a free upgrade for a minimum of a year, an ingenious business move that has happy enterprise IT.

PC makers, of course, area unit perpetually a lot of less inquisitive about having their customers upgrade their existing systems than in mercantilism new ones. that is not new, however with Windows ten, the contradiction between the wants of the vendors and Microsoft has ne'er been beguiler.

Microsoft broken the computer manufacturers by manufacturing the deservedly less-traveled Windows eight, and there was many public grumbling by computer executives concerning it. currently Microsoft is telling folks that have those detested systems they do not would like new ones. that may solely uphold the computer makers' pain.

Something had to convey, and during this case, it is the desires of the house owners of older PCs.

The "supported" list -- and on the far side

Whenever a replacement Windows OS debuts, driver and BIOS problems emerge. It's powerful on businesses, and it's powerful on shoppers UN agency could suddenly notice that they will now not print, connect with the network, or use a chic graphics card.

I've checked in with the most important computer manufacturers and located that a number of them have sites listing what they decision "supported systems" that may run Windows ten. Those pages aren't really easy to search out, however they exist at Lenovo, Dell, Acer, and Toshiba. power unit and Asus give system search pages for sorting out individual PCs.

What will "supported" mean? In most cases it implies that the computer maker has updated drivers or has tested the system, as well as the BIOS, and has determined it will run Windows ten. that is simple.

Less clear, though, is what to try to to if a computer isn't on the list. In some cases, the system can run Windows ten, though the manufacturer has not written drivers or tested it. In alternative cases, it will not run Windows ten the least bit.

Microsoft has provided its own tool to check for Windows ten compatibility. The Get Windows ten app was pushed onto several PCs before Windows 10's unharness throughout routine updates. If you stir up the app and choose the Check Your computer choice, the app can scan your system for potential Windows ten compatibility issues.

What happens if Microsoft says your computer is alright to upgrade, however that system is not on the vendor's supported list? Here, as an example, is what Associate in Nursing magnoliopsid genus voice told me:

 we'll unharness any needed BIOS updates and/or drivers for any systems on the approved list. If a product isn't on the approved list, a client should be ready to install Windows ten, however we'll not unharness new BIOS/drivers for Windows ten, cannot guarantee it'll work, etc.

That's just about what I detected from the opposite firms, too.

Welcome to patch town

The worst case is once Microsoft's compatibility app provides the thumbs-up -- and therefore the system will not run properly once the update has been performed. If the system was on the vendor's Windows ten approved list, that merchant ought to give support. If not (particularly if it's Associate in Nursing recent, out-of-warranty system) the probabilities of obtaining merchant support area unit slim.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is already whipping out patches on Associate in Nursing OS that has solely been live for one or two of weeks. Microsoft has discharged the second "cumulative update" -- that means a significant set of patches -- for Windows ten in exactly 3 days.

We're conjointly seeing buggy updates, a difficulty that has bedeviled Microsoft's Windows patches for many years currently. Windows ten is already experiencing its own buggy updates.

Overall, Windows ten may be a Brobdingnagian improvement over Windows eight, however the reluctance of computer manufacturers to support several probably viable PCs smacks of planned devolution. that will not do a lot of to create loyalty at a time once the computer manufacturers ought to be showering the dilution ranks of their customers amorously.