The origins of regular expressions lie in automata theory and formal language theory, both of which are part of theoretical computer science. These fields study models of computation (automata) and ways to describe and classify formal languages. In the 1950s, mathematician Stephen Cole Kleene described these models using his mathematical notation called regular sets. The SNOBOL language was an early implementation of pattern matching, but not identical to regular expressions. Ken Thompson built Kleene’s notation into the editor QED as a means to match patterns in text files. A regular expression is entered as part of a command and is [...]

On September 23 2010, Cisco announced it has completed its acquisition of privately-held ExtendMedia, a leading provider of software-based Content Management Systems (CMS) that manage the entire lifecycle of video content through monetization for pay media and ad-supported business models. Based in Newton, Mass., with the majority of its employee base in Toronto, Canada, ExtendMedia enables Cisco to help service providers deliver multi-screen offerings as the market transitions to IP video. “As the video market transitions and consumers expect multi-screen engagement, service providers are enhancing their infrastructure to manage and deliver video to any device while providing a rich user [...]

Three days ago, Cisco has released the Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for the iPhone (iOS 4), but what is it? The Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client provides remote users with secure VPN connections to the Cisco ASA 5500 Series using the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol and the Datagram TLS (DTLS) protocol. The Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client for Apple iOS provides seamless and secure remote access to enterprise networks. The client provides a full tunneling experience that allows any installed application to communicate as though connected directly to the enterprise network. It runs on Apple iOS version 4.1 [...]

Cisco has completed its acquisition of privately held Arch Rock Corporation, a pioneer in Internet Protocol-based wireless network technology for smart-grid  applications.  Based in San Francisco, Arch Rock will accelerate Cisco’s ability to facilitate the utility industry’s transition to an open and interoperable smart grid by enabling Cisco to offer a comprehensive and highly secure advanced metering infrastructure solution that is fully IP and open-standards based. “Arch Rock’s wireless mesh technology enhances Cisco’s IP-based, end-to-end smart-grid offerings,” said Laura Ipsen, senior vice president and general manager of Cisco’s Smart Grid business unit. “This acquisition further positions Cisco as a strategic [...]

A number of shortcuts exist within the IOS command line interface. The most famous shortcut is the ‘TAB’ command, that completes a partially typed CLI command. For istance, if you type “sh ru” and press TAB, it will complete the command as “show running-config“. Below the complete list of the IOS shortcuts: Ctrl+T: Swap the current character with the one before it Ctrl+K: Erase all characters from the current cursor position to the end of the line Ctrl+X: Erase all characters from the current cursor position to the beginning of the line Ctrl+L: Reprint the line Ctrl+C: Exit configuration mode

The The Cisco Product Security Incident Response Team (PSIRT) has published ten important vulnerability advisories: Cisco IOS XR Software Border Gateway Protocol Vulnerability Cisco Unified Communications Manager Denial of Service Vulnerabilities Cisco Unified Presence Denial of Service Vulnerabilities Cisco IOS Software TCP Denial of Service Vulnerability Multiple Vulnerabilities in the Cisco ACE Application Control Engine Module and Cisco ACE 4710 Application Control Engine SQL Injection Vulnerability in Cisco Wireless Control System Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco ASA 5500 Series Adaptive Security Appliances Multiple Vulnerabilities in Cisco Firewall Services Module CDS Internet Streamer: Web Server Directory Traversal Vulnerability Hard-Coded SNMP Community Names [...]