Alcatel-Lucent has announced its software-defined networking (SDN) strategy for 2013, but it’s taking a somewhat different road than other network vendors that have announced support for the OpenFlow standard. [Read more]

Check Point Software recently launched a new suite of services that leverages its ThreatCloud security intelligence infrastructure to protect enterprise networks and provide expert advice on demand. Customers can choose a managed security service for day-to-day security operations and an incident response service that provides support in the event of an attack. [Read more]

Palo Alto Networks has unleashed a slew of security products, including VM-Series, a next-generation firewall platform for virtualized data centers. The company has also introduced mid-range firewall hardware platform, the PA-3000 Series, and the M-100, a dedicated management appliance. The company has also enhanced its Wildfire malware prevention subscription service. All four of these products work with the newly-released PAN-OS 5.0, which Palo Alto said has 60 new features, including increased control for managing SSL traffic and enhanced IPv6 support.  [Read More on Network Computing]

Extreme Networks is boosting its Open Fabric BlackDiamond X8 switches with 40 Gigabit Ethernet and 100 Gigabit Ethernet switch modules. The company also announced support for two software-defined networking applications recently released by Big Switch Networks. The 40GbE-XL module includes 12 ports and the 100GbE-XL module comes with four ports.  [Read More on Network Computing]

Hitachi Data Systems has developed and launched its own flash storage module for its Virtual Storage Platform (VSP) to meet performance demands of enterprise customers.

The company said its in-house designed flash storage was built from scratch to outperform conventional SSD. The company claims its flash storage will deliver better performance, energy efficiency, capacity and lower costs per bit. In addition, HDS said its controller can improve the endurance of flash memory. [Read more on Network Computing]

HP is upgrading its mobile thin clients by adding more screen real estate and horsepower to the mt40 Mobile Thin Client line, while making them easier to manage remotely.

Aimed at telecommuters and on-campus mobile workers, the mt40 features a 14-inch HD display, an Intel Celeron B840 dual core processor and the choice of a either a lightweight or extended battery, HP said. The mt40 weighs slightly less than 5 pounds, has no moving parts and comes as a single package – keyboard, monitor and mouse – as it’s meant to be moved around a lot, HP said. [Read more on Network Computing]

Cloud security startup Porticor has updated its Virtual Private Data (VPD) system to help companies encrypt data stored in the cloud and protect encryption keys. Porticor’s VPD combines encryption and its own proprietary key management service to protect enterprise data stored in public, private and hybrid clouds that run on VMWare and Amazon Web Services. [Read more on Network Computing]

Mellanox Technologies is making its software-defined networking play with the latest version of its SwitchX, positioning it as a fast and affordable alternative to offerings from Arista Networks and Cisco. [Read more at Network Computing]

Gary Hilson is a Toronto-based writer, editor and digital content strategist.

Much of the discussion about software-defined networks focuses on the network side of the story. But vendors are revealing plans that will allow applications and services to take advantage of the programmability promised by SDN. Citrix Systems has announced a forthcoming version of its NetScaler SDX application delivery controller that aims to do just that. [Full Story]

EVault has launched the latest version of its cloud-connected backup and recovery platform, which the Seagate-owned company said is a significant update to its predecessor and takes a cue from social media with its streamlined management interface.  [Full Story]