768k Day may cause major internet outages

Major internet disruptions could be right around the corner as we approach 768k Day when the size of the global BGP routing table is expected to exceed 768,000 entries.

Similar disruptions were experienced back in 2014, on what we now know as “512k Day”, when the Ipv4 internet routing table exceeded 512,000 BGP routes when Verizon advertised thousands of more routes to the internet.

At the time, a number of ISPs and other organizations has provisioned the size of the  memory for their router TCAMs for a limit of 512K route entries and some older routers suffered memory overflows which led their CPUs to crash. These crashes created significant packet loss and traffic outages across the internet with even large provider networks being affected.

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Engineers and network administrators rushed to apply emergency firmware patches to set a new upper limit which in many cases was 768k entries.

512K Day served as a wake-up call for many ISPs and internet organizations but it seems they may have forgotten the chaos it caused as 768k Day is expected to occur sometime this month.

768k Day

While five years ago ISPs and internet companies were unprepared for 512k Day, this time around most of the large providers who felt its impact have likely prepped and maintained their infrastructures reasonably well which could lead to less outages.

However, there are still a lot of smaller ISPs, data centers and other providers who are part of the fabric of the internet. A good amount of service traffic transits through these 'soft spots' of  internet infrastructure where maintenance on legacy routers and network equipment can be neglected or missed more easily.

It's still entirely possible that we will see some issues or outages due to 768k Day during the next month or so.

To prepare for any potential disruptions, it is a good idea to perform some preventative maintenance on any routers that receive full internet routes.

Via ThousandEyes

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Best gaming laptops 2019: the 10 top gaming laptops we've reviewed

The best gaming laptops have changed so much in such a short amount of time, and now they’re more powerful than ever before. Thanks to additions like Nvidia RTX graphics, the best gaming laptops can push the best PC games at higher resolutions and frame rates. You don’t need to put together the best gaming PC to get high specs and performance anymore. Plus, the best gaming laptops come in every shape and size.

That’s why you shouldn’t judge a gaming laptop by its cover. Thanks to Nvidia Turing Max-Q graphics for laptops, there are a ton of gaming laptops that can hide in plain sight. Just look at the aptly named MSI GS65 Stealth. Don’t worry, if you want a beastly desktop replacement, that option is still open to you, with devices like the MSI GT75 that demand attention from anyone that steps in the room.

So, whether you want a thicc desktop replacement, packed with the most powerful graphics and processors so that you can run the Division 2 and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice with the settings cranked, you’re in luck. Or, if you just want a thin and light gaming laptop that’ll let you play your favorite games on the road, we’ve got a few up your alley. There are even some more affordable laptops like the Dell G3. And, don’t worry, we’ve tested these gaming laptops ourselves, so you know they’ll be up to snuff. 

These days, many gaming laptop manufacturers seem to be locked into a race to see who can craft the thinnest gaming laptop that doesn’t compromise on power. And, right now, the crown might have to go to the Asus ROG Zephyrus GX701. At just 0.7 inches thick, this monster of a laptop houses an Intel Coffee Lake Core i7 chip, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q graphics and 16GB of RAM. That means you can crank any PC game under the sun to max settings, and take it with you wherever you go. And, of course, it’s packed with RGB lighting that’ll dazzle anyone that looks at it.

Read the full review: Asus ROG Zephyrus S GX701 

If you want to play some of the best PC games on the move, but you don’t want everyone to know you’re playing games, the MSI GS65 Stealth is the best gaming laptop for you. Coming in at just .69 inches thick and featuring impressive hardware like Intel Coffee Lake processors and Nvidia GeForce GTX 10-series – refreshed with RTX 20-series graphics at CES – the MSI GS65 Stealth packs a ton of power into a very svelte package. There’s nothing you won’t be able to throw at this thing that’ll slow it down. And, thanks to the subdued design, you’ll be able to bring this beefy rig everywhere you go, making it the best gaming laptop on the market right now.

Read the full review: MSI GS65 Stealth 

For a few years now, the Razer Blade has been among the best gaming laptops on the market, filled with powerful components, beautiful displays and an elegant chassis. That’s all true for the 2019 model, too, which now rocks up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080. That is, frankly, a ton of power for a laptop this thin and light. Plus, even if that’s not enough GPU horsepower for you, you can use the Razer Core for future expansion. It’s an expensive device, but it might be worth it if style and power are equally as important to you.

Read the full review: Razer Blade

The best gaming laptops keep getting more expensive every day. Especially now that Nvidia RTX graphics are available, getting a powerful gaming laptop carries quite the toll. Luckily, laptops like the Lenovo Legion Y7000P are here to lighten the load. This budget-minded gaming laptop features an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060, which should be just fine for its 1080p 60Hz display. When it’s a question of getting the essentials in order to save some cash, the Lenovo Legion Y7000P is a no-brainer.

Read the full review: Lenovo Legion Y7000P

Some gaming laptops just don’t pull any punches, enabling you to run any game you can imagine without breaking a sweat – and the MSI GT75 Titan is one of these laptops. It’s a titanic desktop replacement packing 6-core Intel Coffee Lake processors, plenty of RAM and powerful Nvidia Pascal graphics. You’re not going to be able to carry it around with you, and it’s not going to be something you’ll be caught with in a coffee shop, but if raw power is what you’re after, look no further. Just be ready to break open your piggy bank. 

Read the full review: MSI GT75 Titan

Thin and light gaming laptops are everywhere right now, but if you don’t care about that, and want a thick, heavy and monstrous laptop that can demolish any game you throw at it – the Asus ROG G703GI is for you. This is a massive – and expensive – laptop, but it justifies its size and price with gaming performance that rivals the best gaming PCs. Just don’t think you’ll be able to haul it along with you to your local coffee shop without its two power bricks – or awkward stares.

Read the full review: Asus ROG G703GI 

It may not boast the most innovative design, substituting the usual black and red aesthetic for one that makes it feel like Halloween all year round (no complaints here). But, it’s undoubtedly one of the best when it comes to gaming in 1080p. In fact, we were able to crank the setting s all the way up in Overwatch without ever straying below 60fps. It doesn’t feature the longest battery life, but the screen, power and onboard sound system more than make up for it.

Read the full review: Asus ROG Strix GL502

• This product is only available in the US and UK at the time of this writing. Australian readers: check out a fine alternative in the Alienware 17 R5

If you’re looking for a powerful gaming laptop, and you don’t want to spring for one of those svelte thin and light gamign laptops, the Acer Predator Helios 500 is a good option. Packed with up to an Intel Core i9 processor and full-fat Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 graphics, this gaming laptop will be able to handle any game you throw at it – even if it’s not the most portable device in the world. If you can get past the mediocre speakers and trackpad, there’s a lot to love here. 

Read the full review: Acer Predator Helios 500

When you’re setting out to buy one of the best gaming laptops, one of the first things you’ll likely notice is how expensive they can get. Luckily, the Dell G3 15 is not just extremely affordable, but it punches above its weight class with great 1080p gaming performance. With up to an Nvidia GTX 1060 GPU, you’ll be able to play all the latest games at 1080p without breaking a sweat, even if it’s not at max settings all the time. And, that blue on black color combo is quite a looker, if that’s your aesthetic. 

Read the full review: Dell G3 15 

Over the last couple of years, there’s been a trend among the best gaming laptops to make them as thin as possible. And, the Gigabyte Aero 15 definitely fits the bill, while delivering top-end gaming performance. This laptop is just 0.74 inches thick, while delivering up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 and an Intel Core i9 CPU. However, this thinness is a double-edged sword: the Core i9 gets way too hot and can throttle. So, just keep that in mind if you plan on doing any sustained creative work, like editing all your gaming videos. 

Read the full review: Gigabyte Aero 15

• Image Credit: TechRadar

• Want more choices? Check out our list of the best laptop 2019

Gabe Carey and Bill Thomas have also contributed to this article

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The best student laptops: all the best options for school

School isn’t cheap. Books, tuition, accommodation and even food can add up. But, you shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on the best laptops for students. In fact, student laptops will be budget-minded devices that have great style and plenty of power, but they’ll do it without charging an arm and a leg.

Saving up for a shiny new laptop when you’re spending all your money on textbooks and ramen can be quite hard, though. So, the best student laptops will put value above having the best processors and graphics cards. You won’t be limited to Windows 10, either – the best Chromebooks are some of the best laptops for students, as you can get all your work done on the cheap. 

Going to school is a stressful time, we know, but that’s why you should ensure that you have one of the top laptops for students. You don’t need to add the pressure of running around campus with a dying laptop to your plate. So, that’s why we went ahead and gathered up the best student laptops you can buy today: no one should be limited to an ancient relic just to get some work done, and you shouldn’t have to sell a kidney, either.

Here at TechRadar, we love it when a laptop can perfectly balance price and performance without any compromises, and the Huawei MateBook 13 comes closer to hitting that perfect balance than anything in 2019 so far. Thin, light, quick and affordable, this beautiful 13-inch Ultrabook will let you get all your work done in style, without dragging down on your wallet. The battery life is a little weak, but that’s a worthy sacrifice to make here – just carry the charger around with you.

Read the full review: Huawei MateBook 13 

Dell’s flagship laptop has always placed among the best laptops – for college students, professionals and even casual, everyday users. But, the Dell XPS 13 2019 brings back the entry-level option, making it more affordable for college students again. And, Dell managed to fix our biggest issue with the XPS lineup – the webcam. The manufacturer has moved the webcam up to the top of the display, where it belongs, so your friends and colleagues don’t have to stare up your nose when you’re in a video call. 

Read the full review: Dell XPS 13 

While the first Surface Laptop was already one of the best student laptops, it was held back by sub-par performance, a lack of ports and Windows 10 in S Mode. With the Surface Laptop 2, however, everything is better – except for the ports. It’s packed with 8th-generation Kaby Lake Refresh processors, full-fat Windows 10 Home and a black color option. We wish it had even a single USB-C port, but that doesn’t change the fact that you’ll be able to get all your work done in style with this laptop.

Read the full review: Surface Laptop 2

When you’re looking for a laptop for school, you should aim for a golden balance between price and performance – and a dollop of style can’t hurt. The Microsoft Surface Go, then, isn’t just one of the best Windows tablets, but it may just be one of the best student laptops, especially from a value perspective. Don’t be fooled by the low-power components, either – Microsoft has engineered this tablet to be able to keep up with all your schoolwork without breaking a sweat.  

Read the full review: Microsoft Surface Go 

Dell’s XPS lineup has been among the best laptops for college students for years now, and the new XPS 15 is no different. Taking the approach of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’, not much has changed year over year – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. What you’re getting here is a reliable Ultrabook with enough horsepower to carry you through all of your coursework without costing an arm and a leg. While the entry level is perfectly fine for most people, you can configure this thing with up to a Core i9 CPU and 32GB of RAM, transforming the Dell XPS 15 into a killer media editing workstation. We just wish Dell would move that webcam.

Read the full review: Dell XPS 15 

When you’re looking for a laptop for school, you don’t need some bougie affair from Apple, that looks like something out of a designer catalog – you need a laptop that’s going to get the job done. And, the Acer Swift 5 should be near the top of your list. This budget-friendly Ultrabook is packed with the latest 8th-generation Intel processors and enough RAM and SSD storage to get you through pretty much any assignment. It’s not the most aesthetic laptop in the world, but it’s hard to argue with that price.

Read the full review: Acer Swift 5

The Microsoft Surface lineup has built a reputation for itself for being among the best Windows devices out there – gorgeous touch screens, incredible performance and long battery life. The Surface Pro 6 continues this tradition, even if it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. What you’re getting here is a speedy Windows tablet that can effortlessly turn into a laptop through the Surface Type Cover. You can get your work done and then effortlessly transition into break time.  

Read the full review: Surface Pro 6

If you’re a student that’s on the market for a laptop that will let you do all your research and type up papers, and nothing else, the Dell Inspiron Chromebook 11 2-in-1 is going to be right up your alley. Most schoolwork that’s not specialized (i.e. engineering) can be done on a Chromebook while saving hundreds of dollars. The Dell Chromebook 11 2-in-1 won’t be able to do much heavy lifting, but at under $300, it doesn’t need to. This is the best laptop for students that need to save a few bucks.

Read the full review: Dell Inspiron Chromebook 11 2-in-1

We were left waiting for Apple to renew the MacBook Air for years, as it languished with a 5th-generation Intel Core processor and an out of date, low-resolution display. Thankfully, those days are over. Apple has ushered the MacBook Air into the modern age, with 8th-generation fanless processors, a thinner and lighter design, and perhaps most importantly – a Retina display. No more do you have to compromise on modern features if you want an “affordable Mac”, and that makes the MacBook Air one of the best laptops for college students.

Read the full review: MacBook Air 

If you’re not too concerned with cash, and you’re a macOS addict (we get it), the 2018 MacBook Pro is the most powerful MacBook that’s ever existed. With its impressive hexa-core processors, and up to a whopping 32GB of memory, this cupertino workstation will get you through whatever you throw at it. It also includes the much-improved third generation Butterfly keyboard that will not only be less distracting to the students around you, but will be less prone to failure if some dust comes within 10 feet.

Read the full review: MacBook Pro 15-inch (2018) 

• Want more choices? Check out our list of the best laptop 2019
• Images Credit: TechRadar

Bill Thomas and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article.

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