Communications News articles from January 2005

Communications News archives from January 2005

SPIT on VoIP.(Editor's Note)
January 1, 2005... If your company is like thousands of others, your phone will soon be delivering spam with your morning voice messages. Along with that message left by a client the day before will be sales pitches for wonder drugs and pornographic Web sites....

FUD factor sells security upgrades.(Trends)
January 1, 2005... What are the top methods IT professionals use to persuade senior management to increase security? According to a survey by WatchGuard Technologies, a provider of network security solutions, network and security administrators in small and...

Events.(calendar )(Brief Article)(Calendar)
January 1, 2005... VoiceCon, Feb. 7-10, Orlando, brings enterprise voice decision makers together with industry innovators, vendors and consultants to focus on the issues central to enterprise voice networks and the migration to IP telephony and VoIP....

VoIP planning is paramount.(Trends)
January 1, 2005... Your voice system may soon have an unwanted and unexpected visitor--spam--but that is just one of the potential risks and pitfalls of migrating to voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony. Most of these challenges can be mitigated, however, through...

Customers prefer security integration.(Trends)
January 1, 2005... Security has been one of the few growing areas of the networking market over the last two years because of a combination of factors, including technology innovation, world events, increased government spending, increased paranoia, and increased...

More or less.(surveys on technology purchasing)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In yet another survey of the technology purchasing plans of enterprise customers, Enterprise Systems, a provider of business and technology information, bas released its IT budgeting survey for 2005. Key findings include: * While more than...

Make IT one: Southern Company puts its energy behind a more efficient, productive authentication process across disparate network platforms.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2005... The process of unifying or bringing systems together is not a process of abandoning existing systems in favor of a common platform company-wide, says Becky Blalock, Southern Company senior vice president and chief information officer. Rather,...

'New school' rules on LAN control: appliance improves network performance by addressing the 'triple threats.'.(Special Focus: Local Area Networks)
January 1, 2005... Cleveland Independent School District (CISD) is a small organization. Located outside of Houston, Texas, it consists of six school campuses, three ancillaries and a technology center. More than 60% of its students are considered economically...

From the top down.(communications protocols)
January 1, 2005... Today, enterprise network managers are faced with increasingly new and complex network-monitoring and troubleshooting challenges. As technology has improved, network problems have migrated up the stack to the application level, causing IT...

'Do it-yourself' monitoring enabled: company installs system to remotely track environmental and physical factors at 32 sites.(network hardware)
January 1, 2005... Proactive monitoring of critical facilities infrastructure on an integrated real-time network can help businesses avoid the costly outages and downtime associated with unplanned failure in their facilities equipment. This is especially...

Monitoring tool reduces complexity.(Special Focus: Local Area Networks)
January 1, 2005... As a leading international authority on public health, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health works to keep millions around the world safe from illness and injury by pioneering new research, deploying its knowledge and expertise in...

Buyers guide.(Special Focus: Local Area Networks)(Buyers Guide)
January 1, 2005... The first portion of this Local Area Networks Buyers Guide, the Product Guide, lists the various products in this category, and the companies that make those products. The second section, the Company Guide, provides phone and fax numbers, and...

Stackable managed switch.(New products)
January 1, 2005... The TigerSwitch 10/100 L2 24-Port Managed Switch is stackable up to eight high, all of which can be managed under a single IP address. Each switch provides 24 auto-MDIX 10/100-Mbps ports and no uplink ports for optional gigabit or 100-Mbps...

Secure network switching.(New products)
January 1, 2005... The Model 4421 CAT 5 RJ-45 Interface A/B Switch is designed for fallback network applications. The switch connects a workstation or device between no other devices or networks with RJ-45 connections. Internal circuitry ensures isolation between...

Redundant connections.(New products)
January 1, 2005... The D7400RHS Series Ethernet transceivers provide transmission of three 10/ 100-Mbps Ethernet data signals in a redundant, self-healing ring network architecture utilizing one optical fiber. The transceivers feature three electrical and two...

Fast traffic shaping.(New products)
January 1, 2005... Designed for high-speed WAN application traffic management, the 10000 Series appliance delivers full-duplex 1-Gbps throughput to provide the application visibility, control and acceleration capabilities required for WAN QoS. Featuring Packeteer...

Gigabit-speed switching.(New products)
January 1, 2005... The ProSafe 48-port Gigabit Smart Switch delivers gigabit power and fiber connectivity with switch-management features utilizing an intuitive Web-browser interface. The switch provides 48 10/100/1000 ports with automatic speed and full/...

Bandwidth control.(New products)
January 1, 2005... NetEqualizer appliances are plug-and-play, bandwidth-shaping systems designed for voice and data networks. The scalable bandwidth-control products feature built-in rules-based, application-level traffic-shaping technology that dynamically...

Are you dense? New high-density patch panels can help lower the cost of non-productive data center space.(coommunications servers)
January 1, 2005... Today's data-centric enterprises need more processing, data and connectivity in less floor space. Storage is more compact, servers are now available in blades with multiple servers within one chassis, and connectivity is responding with...

More power over Ethernet.(Premises Infrastructure)
January 1, 2005... Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology has been around in various forms for almost four years, and the Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3af Task Force has ratified the technology into the Ethernet standard. The standard...

Gel-free optical cables.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The family of Gel-free Optical Cables is available in ALTOS, SST-Ribbon and FREEDM cables. The product design removes all gels from the cable and replaces them with specially engineered dry waterblocking tapes and yarns, using a field-proven...

Structured cabling system.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The TrueNet structured cabling solution is an integrated portfolio of industry-leading products from ADC and KRONE. The system delivers cable, connectivity and cable-management solutions for fiber, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and CAT 6/5e from the...

Labels and documentation.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... DOCU-MARK software is a TIA/EIA-606-A compliant cable-administration and labeling solution for enterprise IT and installer professionals. The software tool guides a user through a series of questions to gather necessary infrastructure...

Plenum-rated cables.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The CAT 5e 25-pair plenum (CMP rated) and 25-pair non-plenum cables are designed for use in data and voice backbone applications, CAT 5e zone cabling applications and interconnect cable assemblies. The plenum-jacketed cable, in accordance with...

High-density patch panels.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The high-density, GigaBand CAT 6 and MegaBand CAT 5e patch panels support 48 ports in 1U. The panels feature a built-in rear cable-management design that enables each cable to be secured to the back of the panel, allowing for the neat routing...

Fiber tool kit.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The Opt-X Light Fiber Tool Kit provides all the essential tools for quick field termination of fiber-optic connectors. It features a durable 100X fiber-optic microscope, with precision glass optics and oblique illumination to provide a view of...

10-gigabit copper solution.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The AMP NETCONNECT XG Copper Cabling System Solution is for 10-Gigabit Ethernet applications. The twisted-pair system consists of foil-shielded cable, connectors and patch panel designs that overcome alien crosstalk to support the proposed...

Under-floor cable management.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... The 101 Series under-floor cable tray is available in a larger 18" wide and 4" deep version, providing 72 square inches of cable path to hold more than 1,000 CAT 5e (.21 OD) cables. The system is specifically designed for under floors and...

Angled patch panels.(BICSI WINTER, 2005)
January 1, 2005... Designed for Category 6 or Category 5e installations that are either high density or utilize extensive side and end-of-the-rack cable management, PowerCat Angled Patch Panels are available as 1U 24-port or 2U 48-port units. The angle feature...

A richer rich-media experience: employee needs for more communications flexibility pose challenges to employers.(Voice Networks)
January 1, 2005... Today's workers are expected to function more autonomously than ever before, and yet be more responsive. Companies want to see effective teamwork among employees, but are increasingly decentralizing organizational structures. Management wants...

Is your switch smart?(Voice Networks)
January 1, 2005... Enterprise networks transport several types of traffic, primarily date and voice. Date traffic usually does not have a pressing delivery deadline, but voice traffic, such as that from a voice-over-IP (VoIP) phone, must progress through the...

Wireless security assessment.(Wireless technologies)
January 1, 2005... The [Omni.sup.3] v2.0 distributed network fault-analysis platform supports all types of networks, from WAN links to Gigabit Ethernet to 10/100 and wireless LANs. Using a centralized console, distributed engines and expert analysis,...

Broadband wireless multiplexer.(Wireless technologies)
January 1, 2005... The AirMux-200 is a high-capacity, carrier-class multiplexer that provides point-to-point connectivity of T-1/E-1 and Ethernet networks over a wireless link. Consisting of an indoor and outdoor unit, it integrates up to two unframed T-1 or E-1...

Compact two-radio solution.(Wireless technologies)
January 1, 2005... The BelAir 100 Multi-Service Wireless Switch Router is a two-radio solution designed for situations where the full functionality of the four-radio BelAir200 is not required. It accepts the same radio modules as the larger platform. The system...

Network health monitoring.(Wireless technologies)
January 1, 2005... Server Nanny version 2.25 is network-monitoring software that runs on a Windows platform. Server Nanny can monitor almost any network device using more than 30 different types of monitors, from a basic ping to SNMP. There are monitors for Web...

Access point.(Wireless technologies)
January 1, 2005... The enterprise-class 802.11g access point, WPE54G-ENT, is capable of functioning in five different modes, including access point bridging, gateway, wireless bridge link and wireless Ethernet adapter. Features include WPA, 802.1x authentication...

Outdoor access point.(Wireless technologies)
January 1, 2005... The ZyAIR B-5000 is a compact outdoor wireless solution that functions as an access point for establishing a high-power WLAN, and also as a wireless bridge for offering high-speed, long-range links between buildings. The AP supports speeds of...

Schools improve bandwidth: students have fast, reliable Internet access, thanks to a traffic-management device.(Internet/WAN)
January 1, 2005... The Spokane Public School District in Spokane, Wash., leverages the public network in many ways, including hosting an Internet site with district and school information for teachers, parents and employees, while providing Internet access to the...

High-availability storage.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... The ExtremeStor-iNAS400 is a NAS/iSCSI server that incorporates as many as 24, 400-GB hot-swappable SATA hard drives. The system provides IT managers with up to 9.6 TB of scaleable, fault-tolerant storage and high-performance iSCSI file access...

Redundant blade server.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... The NexProFT Blade Server Features single or dual Intel Xeon 3.06-GHz processors, 4-GB DDRSRAM and up to 2-GB network throughput. With an ultra320 SCSI interface, the storage capacity of the system can be expanded to up to 876 GB. Designed...

Desktop conferencing.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... Designed for one-on-one conferences or small group settings, the vPoint HD Executive desktop conferencing application features built-in echo cancellation and audio device discovery. With H.264 video and full-screen video capability, vPoint HD...

Secure remote access.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... Integrity Clientless Security Version 3 is a solution for securing new network access methods and applications, like SSL VPNs and Web-based e-mail. The solution reduces risks of browser-based network access with new complete session...

High storage density.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... The S20000 LTO Backup Appliance is compact, yet can hold 120 LTO or SAIT tape cartridges and up to six tape drives in 19U of rack space. The system offers 60 TB of library storage capacity using SAIT and 24 TB using LTO. The system can also...

Granular data recovery.(New Products)
January 1, 2005... The Information Recovery Platform is a disk-based data-recovery solution offering granular data-recovery control from a single data backup. The Xpress Restore platform streamlines the data-recovery process and provides the ability to restore...

Automated Ethernet analysis.(Product Spotlight: Network testing solutions)
January 1, 2005... The N2620A FrameScope Pro uses a unique autotest feature that measures the performance of network resources-such as DHCP and DNS, as well as file, e-mail and Web servers-to enable troubleshooting of performance bottlenecks. A single tool can...

Power verification.(Product Spotlight: Network testing solutions)
January 1, 2005... Butterfly is a low-cost, hand-held power meter designed specifically for 802.11b, a and b/g WLANs. The receiver attaches directly to any access point or network interface card with an SMA external antenna connection and measures both 2.4 GHz...

Protocol testing.(Product Spotlight: Network testing solutions)
January 1, 2005... The Monarch SAS Tester is for testing serial-attached SCSI (SAS), enterprise-class environments and devices. The device provides low-level testing of legal and illegal serial management protocol and serial SCSI protocol frames and data...

Hand-held optical tool.(Product Spotlight: Network testing solutions)
January 1, 2005... The OFL 200 Handheld OTDR is a testing solution for qualifying, trouble-shooting and documenting fiber-optic networks. Smaller than many optical-loss test sets, the OFL 200 combines the automation of full-auto mode for operators not familiar...

Network health monitoring.(Product Spotlight: Network testing solutions)
January 1, 2005... Server Nanny version 2.25 is network-monitoring software that runs on a Windows platform. Server Nanny can monitor almost any network device using more than 30 different types of monitors, from a basic ping to SNMP. There are monitors for Web...

Leave it to the experts: outsourcing telecommunications expense management can provide savings and better deals with providers.(Guest Column)
January 1, 2005... There are few expense-control activities that are more frustrating than monitoring and reconciling communications expenses. Telephony, data services and mobile bills are arcane and complicated, and they are rife with errors. Finding those...