Communications News articles from May 2003

Communications News archives from May 2003

Tips for selecting the best carrier. (Trends).
May 1, 2003... Today's telecom market can be difficult to navigate for even the most sophisticated companies. To help you through the rough seas, here is some advice from Alliance Group Services, a wholesale provider of network services to long-distance...

The changing workspace. (Trends).
May 1, 2003... When asked to name important factors contributing to workplace evolution, many would agree that technology has done the most to change the way we work. An argument could also be made, however, for the cubicle as a key to office change. The...

Pick a provider in 10 easy steps: enterprise WAN capabilities depend on service availability. (Guest Column).
May 1, 2003... Network service providers (NSPs) deliver Internet connectivity via backbone services to distributed companies worldwide. Once subscribed, enterprise WAN capabilities and business continuity depend on service availability. Successfully choosing...

Balancing act: when real estate listing service NWMLS switched to multihoming, it found that a load-balancing solution was also necessary. (Cover Story).
May 1, 2003... Like many organizations, Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), a Seattle-based real-estate listing service, relies heavily on the Internet as a critical part of its business success. In turn, more than 14,000 real estate brokers and...

Five tips for successful VoIP: security and quality of service should be given careful consideration before purchasing. (Voice Networks).(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... The current and future product offerings of the major telecommunications vendors and network equipment providers are all geared toward unified communications utilizing IP. They expect that voice over IP (VoIP) will optimize their...

Disk-based backup improves performance: storage provider finds a simple, high-speed solution for protecting customer data. (Special focus: storage technologies).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Data Base File Tech (DBFT), a Victoria, British Columbia-based data storage company specializing in high-security storage of both physical assets and digital information, maintains one of the most secure storage sites in the world. Situated on...

Acquisition speeds need for storage: a SAN fills the need for ensuring customer data is safe from harm. (Special focus: storage technologies).
May 1, 2003... Baltimore Technologies PLC, (Baltimore Tech) headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, helps businesses in diverse industry sectors meet their e-security challenges-including financial services, government, technology, telecommunications, utilities and...

SAN over Ethernet. (New products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Utilize standard Ethernet switches, routers and cables with iSAN, a fully iSCSI-compatible, high-performance network-attached tape storage subsystem. The iSCSI protocol translates standard SCSI commands into TCP/ IP and sends them over standard...

NAS appliance. (New products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Deploy enough file sharing capacity to satisfy 150 users, in just five minutes. The Snap Server 4100 is designed for workgroups or departments that are experiencing rapid data growth, providing up to 320 GB of storage in 1U of space. The...

Solid-state acceleration. (New products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The MegaRam-10000 solid-state disk accelerator works with existing storage systems as a solid-state SAN accelerator for both read and write caching, in either an in-band or out-of-band virtualization solution. Geared for transaction-intensive...

NAS device. (New products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The model 720GB POPnetserver 4500 is a high-performance network-attached storage system for small to midsize businesses, and enterprise departments and workgroups. The device includes a 900-MHz CPU processor, 512 MB memory, hot-swappable...

ATA storage. (New products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The SpinServer 3300 network-attached storage platform now supports economical ATA disk storage, allowing customers to deploy cost-correct storage for applications such as online backup and recovery, data archival and storage of fixed content...

Storage-management system. (New products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Configure and manage storage across multiple vendor products with SANavigator 3.5. The new version delivers enhanced security, extended asset management, business-level views and improved diagnostics to allow IT professionals better control of...

Take control of the physical layer: tracking network problems is often like finding a needle in a haystack. (Infrastructure).
May 1, 2003... The stakes of network uptime and performance are higher than ever. Down-time was painful when the LAN was just a link to internal data, but today, when a network means e-mail, Internet e-commerce and even the telephone, if the network is down,...

Ethernet cable tracker. (Cable and power management).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Designed for network maintenance personnel, the CTK1015 CableTracker Network ID Kit uses link,light activation or port ID, combined with a tone generator, to provide cable-identification capabilities, with either active or inactive Ethernet...

Hidden switch. (Infrastructure).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The NJ200 Network Jack is an in-the-wall, four-port Ethernet switch that quadruples LAN infrastructure port connections more conveniently than pulling wires. The managed switch brings intelligence to the edge of the network, mounted...

Wire tracer. (Infrastructure).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The TG30 wire tracer and tone generator kit is used to trace cables, perform continuity tests and test telephone lines for proper operation. The non-contact probe audibly identifies the selected wire or cable, and an adjustable sensitivity...

Power converter. (Infrastructure Products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Use electronic equipment in remote locations with the DCCU power inverter. Designed for devices that require high start-up currents, the portable unit offers continuous AC power up to 2,400 W, and peak surge power up to 4,800 W. Integral...

Rack protection. (Infrastructure Products).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Protect both LAN and WAN circuits with the RackShield, a 19" rackmountable, customer-configurable platform for network surge protection. Each unit protects up to 12 network interfaces with quick-release modules that can be mixed to match...

The advent of the enterprise-class KVM: consider these product attributes and capabilities when selecting a solution. (Internet).(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2003... For more than a decade, keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) solutions have been helping IT managers and systems administrators save time, space and money by enabling out-of-band, BIOS level access and control of multiple computers from one or...

Web-based conferencing. (Conferencing solutions).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ConferenceManager 3.0 is a premises-based audio- and Web-conferencing system that incorporates integration and participation features. With VolP and SIP support, the solution can be integrated into a variety of voice and data networks. The...

Conference phone. (Conferencing solutions).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... A high-end teleconferencing system, the Nexus Platinum business conference phone features true full-duplex communications and a high-performance digital signal processor for natural-sounding conversations. Three noise-canceling microphones...

IP-based communication. (Conferencing solutions).(Radvision Invision 100/Mv)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Designed for enterprises that run their videoconferencing sessions over the LAN and have a data connection into the public IP network, the INVISION 100/Mv is a plug-and-play device that features an integrated video net-work-management solution,...

Wireless solution. (Conferencing solutions).(GN Netcom GN 9120 wireless headset)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Conduct conference calls without being tied to a conference room phone. The lightweight, GN 9120 is an advanced wireless headset for business professionals that also offers conferencing capabilities. Multi-unit conferencing enables up to four...

Audio conferencing. (Conferencing solutions).(Polycom SoundStation VTX 1000)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The SoundStation VTX 1000 is a wideband conference phone that delivers a high-fidelity, voice-conferencing experience through normal analog telephone lines. New features include expansive new microphone pick-up capabilities and the ability to...

Durable batteries. (SUPERCOMM 2003).(Genesis NP-GEL line from EnerSys)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Booth 23859 The Genesis NP-GEL product line is designed for systems that require frequent cycling at high temperatures, such as remote telecommunications systems. The valve-regulated, lead-acid batteries use a silica gel to immobilize the...

Hot-swap server. (SUPERCOMM 2003).( Advantech Network Computing ACP-7000)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Booth 22169 Designed to be a reliable enclosure for Web-enabled systems, the ACP-7000 is a high performance, high-capacity computing platform for file, print, e-mail and Web servers. The departmental server accepts a range of standard...

Media conversion chassis. (SUPERCOMM 2003).(from Omnitron Systems)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Booth 11532 Designed to house the company's Fiber media converters for local and metropolitan area networks, the 1-U high, 5-Module Managed Power Chassis can be mounted in a 19-inch or 23-inch rack, and features dual hot-swappable,...

Power protection. (SUPERCOMM 2003).(Citel's Surge-Guard 400 )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Booth 12613 Installed at the main service entrance or within the facility at branch distribution panels, the Surge-Guard 400 provides protection against both conducted and induced transient over-voltages that may be caused by direct...

Optical multiplexer. (SUPERCOMM 2003).(Microsens' Modular Optical Multiplexer )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Booth 10813 The Modular Optical Multiplexer combines the cost attractiveness of CWDM technology with the high channel density of a DWDM solution. In its basic stage, the system offers up to eight CWDM channels at a transfer rate of 2.5...

Ensure wireless data privacy on the road: understanding the needs of mobile workers is the first step to protecting the network. (Wireless).
May 1, 2003... Outfitting a workforce for on-the-road wireless connectivity to corporate data requires thoughtful preparation and implementation by IT administrators. By enacting appropriate procedures for safe connection to corporate resources using Wi-Fi...

Traffic monitoring. (Network monitoring and security).(Acterna's DA-3600 Data Network Analyzer )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... The DA-3600 Data Network Analyzer is capable of operating on Ethernet and packet-over-SONET/SDH data networks, and supports rates up to 2.5 Gbps. Able to intercept and forward packet streams based on parameters defined by the user, the unit has...

Web application assessment. (Network monitoring and security).(Weblnspect 3.0 Enterprise Edition)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Discover where network security needs improvement with Weblnspect 3.0 Enterprise Edition, a product designed to automate the assessment of Web services security. Users can perform security assessments on any Web-enabled application, including...

Firewall analysis. (Network monitoring and security).(elQnetworks' FirewallAnalyzer 3.0 )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Version 3.0 of FirewallAnalyzer is a browser-based, cross-platform firewall/VPN analysis and reporting solution with support for all leading firewalls. Installing on any system running Windows XP, 2000 or NT, the analyzer converts cryptic...

Scan like a hacker. (Network monitoring and security).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... ScanDo is a Web application scanner that assesses the entire Web application to identify security loopholes through comprehensive exploration and penetration of the Web application and its operating environments. The tool reveals Web...

Bandwidth monitoring. (Network monitoring and security).(ServicePoint 2020-tmc T1 Probe )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2003... Analyze WAN performance metrics with the ServicePoint 2020-tmc T1 Probe The probe monitors and shapes WAN frame relay and application traffic, ensuring quality performance for mission-critical applications. The device resides between a...

To each his own: as networks get more complex, "single-pane-of-glass" management is becoming obsolete. (The Bottom Line).
May 1, 2003... The relationship between network management and application performance has changed considerably over the years. That change is important for network managers to consider as they decide what tools and technologies to acquire. When client/server...