Communications News articles from August 2004

Communications News archives from August 2004

Muddy waters.(Editor's Note)
August 1, 2004... Our cover story this month is a bit of a departure from our usual approach, and offers a unique look inside the decision-making process of an enterprise customer evaluating a technology solution. In this case, the question was which type of...

Subsidies for mobile workers?(Trends)
August 1, 2004... Tracking and managing the increasing number of devices used by mobile employees is proving to be a challenge for many organizations. As those employees increase their use of mobile devices for voice and data, enterprises are seeking ways to...

Events.(calendar)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
August 1, 2004... Network Security Conference, Sept. 13-15, Las Vegas, features conference events and exhibitions targeting IS security professionals, www.isaca.org TECHXNY, Oct. 5-7, NY, features keynotes, exhibitions and conferences for business...

Short take.
August 1, 2004... "This is the beginning of the end of local telephone competition. What will follow is a future with fewer choices and higher prices for consumers." -Mark Cooper, director of research, Consumer Federation of America, responding to AT& T's...

Can 'onshoring' replace offshoring?(Trends)
August 1, 2004... Offshore outsourcing of IT jobs has been a hot topic recently, but one U.S. company says it has a workable alternative. Synergroup Systems of Aliso Viejo, Calif., calls its solution the homeland on shore model (HOM), and claims it could be the...

Communication Networking, An Analytical Approach.(Publications)(Brief Article)(Book Review)
August 1, 2004... Communication Networking, An Analytical Approach, by Anurag Kumar, D. Manjunath and Joy Kuri, takes an analytical approach to efficient resource sharing, focusing on the three building blocks of communication networking, including multiplexing,...

Clarification.(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2004... In the July issue, a photo appearing with the article "Optical fiber: blown or conventional?" should have been identified as a blown-fiber cable solution from Sumitomo Electric Corp., Triangle Park, N.C.

NAS v.s. SAN: when ProfitLine went through the laborious process of choosing a storage technology, Don Lightsey was thrust into the center of the decision making. This is his first-person account.(Cover Story)
August 1, 2004... Just like the age-old question of which operating system (OS) and computer platform to choose when buying a computer, both network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) technologies have their place in the network storage arena....

Storage service is credit-worthy: financial-services firm decides to upgrade data backup needs for customers.(Storage Networks)
August 1, 2004... As many as 100 million credit card transactions would be needed to approach the data volume generated by just five hours of check-image transaction processing by many banks. That is because each transaction image eats up 40 kilobytes of storage...

Protect data remotely.(Storage Networks)
August 1, 2004... With the help of new technologies, remote data protection has become easier and more convenient to use. With this new level of accessibility, off-site data protection services can mitigate the mounting risks and costs of data loss. The...

Traffic shaping on a global scale: bandwidth-hungry applications, QoS requirements test company's international network.(Traffic Analysis)
August 1, 2004... Managing a worldwide network is a massive undertaking. So is reengineering a network. Doing both at the same time-and on a budget-would be a challenge for any network manager, but that is exactly what Michael Wiper has been doing from his...

Leverage traffic analysis.(Traffic Analysis)
August 1, 2004... The first step in driving business value is to understand how critical the WAN is to the overall business goal, determine how it affects the business and how it should be managed. To manage this resource, quality-of-service (QoS) approaches...

QoS enforcement.(New Products)
August 1, 2004... NetReality is an enterprise network solution to help large, multilocation companies monitor and control network traffic in accordance with strategic business priorities. It allows administrators to observe WAN and frame relay activity, actively...

Application monitoring.(New Products)
August 1, 2004... NetVCR is a full-function appliance for advanced real-time network, service and application performance monitoring and troubleshooting. It integrates proactive end-to-end SLM/ QoS monitoring and surveillance; an online, continuous analyzer from...

Contact center analysis.(New Products)
August 1, 2004... Empirix Baseline is a service that helps companies benchmark the performance of automated systems in their contact centers. It provides quantitative, objective data that can be used to formulate goals for upcoming technology rollouts or...

Prepare your WLAN for voice: new standards will address quality-of-service and management requirements.(Voice Networks)
August 1, 2004... The ability to support real-time applications like voice over IP (VoIP) and other multimedia services is a critical component of next-generation wireless LAN (WLAN) networks. While the business case for VoIP as a replacement for the enterprise...

Test parameters for VoWLAN.(Voice Networks)
August 1, 2004... Care needs to be taken when overlaying VoIP on an existing 802.11 network to fully understand and measure the impact voice deployment will have on the performance and security of the network. In addition, voice over wireless LAN (VoWLAN)...

Secure your mobile road warriors: VPN choices or managed security providers are options to ensure network integrity.(Mobile Computing)
August 1, 2004... Many companies are already applying an increased level of security to their mobile workers. Solutions such as hardware tokens, tighter software firewalls and real-time end-point security enforcement are being used to ensure that remote PCs meet...

Wi-Fi, 'down under' style: university's construction makes a case for a different type of access-point architecture.(Mobile Computing)
August 1, 2004... Jeff Dowsley knew he did not have the best physical environment for a wireless network, but his customers were virtually demanding wireless access-so he had to find a solution. "We had been exploring putting 802.11a in some of our buildings,"...

Cabling choice improves productivity: firm selects products offering better-than-standard features for future growth.(network hardware)
August 1, 2004... Charlie Orndorff and his technical team were determined to build their local area network on the strongest foundation, so eight months before systems decisions had to be made, they began to study the cabling alternatives and evaluate solutions...

Secure fiber cabling.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The line of IBDN FiberExpress Secure/Keyed LC products allows for physical segregation of network segments in secure fiber cabling infrastructures. The products have been designed for the specific uses of high-security installations, including...

Wireless rack access.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The E-LINE wireless Swinghandle is an access-control and monitoring solution that allows administrators control over sensitive rack equipment. The system grants access only to authorized users and can limit access based on time of day through a...

Cable analyzer.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The DTX CableAnalyzer features a 12-second CAT 6 autotest time, 900 MHz of testing bandwidth, 12-hour battery life and advanced troubleshooting diagnostics. The testing device is in full compliance with today's standards for CAT 5e and CAT 6,...

Raceway cutting tool.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The new Cutting Tool is intended for making raceway installations faster and easier. This new tool cuts and trims with less effort than previous models, and provides a clean, smooth finish. Its clean-cutting capability eliminates rough edges...

Optical data transmission.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The D2510WDM Series Universal Serial Data Transceiver is an environmentally hardened universal serial data transceiver that supports data rates up to 512 kbps. The unit provides transmission of a single RS-232, RS-422 or RS-485 serial data...

Reusable cable ties.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The SpeedyTie is a fully reusable, easily releasable lashing tie. The new design allows just one click to tie and untie. Once it is applied, the tail can be tucked away for added safety. It can also secure two bundles simultaneously by...

Fiber enclosure.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The Wall-Mountable Interconnect Center (WIC) is an economical housing for terminating optical fiber cables. The product is optimized for use in building entrance rooms, telecommunications rooms or inside programmable logic-controller cabinets...

Compact RJ-45 connector.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... The BladePatch patch cord features a R J-45 style connector with a unique latching design that eliminates the need to depress an external latch. Designed to be used in standard UTP outlets and patch panels, the plug latch is activated by the...

Wiring channels.(Cabling products)
August 1, 2004... WireTracks is a wiring channel system for power, data and voice cabling that is installed behind baseboard molding. The system consists of a wiring channel that is in stalled in plane with drywall and a wiring channel cover. After standard...

Security products.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... Automated security appliance SNAP VPN is a line of enterprise-class network security appliances designed specifically for the small and midsize business market. The solutions include a complete set of network security services, including...

Secure USB ports.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... With DeviceLock version 5.53, administrators can lock out unauthorized users from USB and FireWire devices, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth adapters, CD-Rom and floppy drives, serial and parallel ports, and many other plug-and-play devices. The solution...

Centralized patch management.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... UpdateEXPERT version 6.2 is a patch-management solution that features expanded support for portable workstations and laptops. The offering also includes the ability for network administrators to create a central repository to streamline their...

Consistent security enforcement.(Product Spotlight: Security products)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2004... Apply a consistent set of policies across different business units or locations with the Unified Security Manager Enterprise (USM). USM is a highly scalable, global security-management system to address enterprises' need to enforce consistent...

Endpoint security compliance.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... StillSecure Safe Access is an end point security solution that ensures devices accessing the network are free from security threats and in compliance with organizational standards. Access policies can include tests for operating system version,...

Remote-office appliance.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... The Crossbeam C10 security services switch delivers two gigabits of performance and integrated, best-in-class security applications. The product combines with the company's other offerings to create a network wide enterprise security solution...

SSL-based secure sharing.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... The Secure Meeting Appliance enables enterprises to instantly and securely provision online meetings, remote desktop support and conferencing sessions to hundreds of concurrent users per system, without the potential security trade-offs and...

Stop the spam.(Product Spotlight: Security products)
August 1, 2004... The Barracuda Spam Firewall is a scalable antispam and antivirus product that can be installed in front of a corporate e-mail server in typically less than five minutes. The single-box solution can block from 1 to 10 million spam messages, as...

Remote power solution.(Product Spotlight: Power-management products)
August 1, 2004... iBoot is a remote power solution designed to remotely monitor, manage and control corporate and personal computing devices and other electronic equipment. The single-outlet power switch allows remote equipment to be rebooted or power controlled...

Fixed-cord PDU.(Product Spotlight: Power-management products)
August 1, 2004... Designed to alleviate cable-management and rack air-flow concerns in high-density, 1U fixed-rail server and equipment installations, the Fixed Cord Power-Distribution Units (PDU) aid in managing cable clutter in the back of the rack--improving...

Remote-controlled power.(Power-management products)
August 1, 2004... The 16-port SPC 1600 power-management-over-IP solution provides a field-proven method to securely monitor and manage power to business-critical servers and other data center network devices. The power-distribution unit delivers advanced power...

UPS for business continuity.(Power-management products)
August 1, 2004... With built-in network manageability and available from 4 kVA to 16 kVA N+1, the online Symmetra LX protects high-performance IT and telecommunications equipment in computer rooms and small data centers. The solution uses a modular, redundant...

Advanced UPS.(Power-management products)
August 1, 2004... The Powerware 5125 5000/6000 VA single-phase uninterruptible power system features a compact 3-U package, including batteries, providing rack space for other critical equipment, such as servers and disk arrays. By combining the high-power...

The patching game: scalable processes and automated supporting tools are needed for effective patch management.(information technology infrastructure)
August 1, 2004... As networks have grown in complexity and businesses have, in turn, grown more reliant on their IT infrastructures to support critical business processes, network staffs have been Faced with the additional problems posed by malicious attacks and...