Communications News articles from November 2008

Communications News archives from November 2008

Block MySpace?(Viewpoint essay)(Survey)
November 1, 2008... Here's a news flash: There are still challenges facing widespread use of social networking sites within an office setting. That's the gist of a recent survey by Steelcase on the use of social networking, but the tone of the press release...

Protect data from employees.(Security)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Organizations routinely invest west significant resources to ensure the security of confidential customer and employee information, such as home address, Social Security number and date of birth. In addition to...

Working remotely.(SHORT TAKES)(Survey)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Companies that give their workers the option of telecommuting are benefitting from greater productivity, lower costs, more options for finding and retaining qualified staff, and improved employee health, according to a survey released by the...

Events.(Calendar)
November 1, 2008... VoiceCon San Francisco, Nov. 10-13, San Francisco, offers information on mobility, unified communications and software-based architectures, www.voicecon.com Enterprise Networking Summit, Nov. 17-19, Orlando, shows how to prioritize budgets...

CCNP Quick Reference.(PUBLICATIONS)
November 1, 2008... CCNP Quick Reference, by Denise Donohue, Brent Stewart and Jerold Swan, provides a review of objectives on the CCNP exams, with detailed, graphical-based information, www.ciscopress.com

Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate Online.(PUBLICATIONS)
November 1, 2008... Cloud Computing: Web-Based Applications That Change the Way You Work and Collaborate Online, by Michael Miller, defines cloud computing and how to use it to collaborate on reports and presentations. safari.quepublishing.com

Wireless Mesh Networking.(PUBLICATIONS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Wireless Mesh Networking, by George Aggelou, provides a roadmap to wireless mesh networks, while covering all aspects of network operation-from antenna technologies and software to energy management. www.mcgraw-hill.com

Cell phone users frustrated.(Mobility)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... MOBILITY More than a third of mainstream consumers over the age of 30 experience significant frustration associated with their cell phone's interface, according to a study by Bowen Research. The study indicates a digital divide between people...

Three days down the drain.(Performance)(Survey)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... That is what the latest research from global IT services firm Dimension Data revealed in its Network Performance Frustrations Research Report. For example, 30 percent of end-users and IT staff bemoan frequent computer crashes and sluggish...

College builds flexible data center: uninterruptible power supply fits into small space and provides for expansion.(Power Play)
November 1, 2008... A college in New England, needing to plan for the future, anticipated growth in the coming years and wanted to have a data center that could expand to accommodate its increasing power needs. The sciences division of the college is comprised of...

School deploys SSL VPN: solution maintains control over endpoints while providing AAA protection.(Threat Stoppers)
November 1, 2008... Polytechnic Institute of NYU invested significant capital in deploying Oracle PeopleSoft ERP applications on a highly scalable, centralized application architecture. The deployment addressed payroll, human resources, student registration,...

Route analytics keeps power on: end-to-end visibility into its critical Layer 3 infrastructure protects utility's data.(Beyond Testing)
November 1, 2008... Out of the disastrous 2003 Northeast blackout, when 40 million Americans lost power and outage-related financial losses topped $6 billion, new reliability standards emerged. Utilities have realized that meeting those standards means the...

Lone Star schools boot rivalry.
November 1, 2008... In the school rivalry hall of fame, this one is legendary. There have been daring team mascot kidnappings, bonfires, pranks, and songs and cheers that call for the downfall of the other team-all for one football game, "The Lone Star Showdown,"...

Is it time to ditch your phone? Vendors are pushing the switch from legacy systems to UC and VoIP, but options are available.(Unified Communications)
November 1, 2008... The migration from legacy TDM-based PBXs to IP PBX platforms has been underway in the corporate world for some time, but many companies have yet to make the move. Being told they should switch to IP-based, unified communications-capable systems...

Four IPT factors to consider.(Unified Communications)
November 1, 2008... IP telephony (IPT) offers many advantages compared to time-division multiplexing PBX systems, including improved multimodal connectivity, easier integration with wireless devices, better business-continuity capability and support for the...

Credit union finds network echo: analysis of voice, data, network and application-performance functions clears problem.(Voice Networks)
November 1, 2008... For nearly 70 years, the lines of communication between the North Island Credit Union in San Diego County, Calif., and its customers remained clear. In 2006, however, the staff of the locally owned financial cooperative began noticing a...

College aces the storage test: thin provisioning and automated tiered storage area network save Texas school $2 million.(Storage/Business Continuity)
November 1, 2008... State-of-the-art technology offerings, including podcasts, on-demand services and video lectures, offer a unique appeal to the 33,000 students at the University of North Texas (UNT). While those efforts have helped set UNT apart from other...

Storage server.(STORAGE PRODUCTS)(Synology )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Equipped with a 800-MHz CPU and 512-MB RAM, the four-bay Disk Station DS408 is capable of housing up to 4 TB of storage in a range of disk configurations, including basic, JBOD, and RAID 0, 1 and 5. Running off Gigabit Ethernet, the DS408...

NAS server.(STORAGE PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The 5-TB, five-bay TS-509 Pro Turbo NAS is powered by a 1.6-GHz Intel Celeron CPU and 1-GB DDRII memory. Dual Gigabit LAN ports can be configured as failover, load balancing or to serve two different subnets. The RAID protection feature guards...

Fibre Channel and iSCSI storage.(STORAGE PRODUCTS)(Dell Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... The Dell/EMC CX family of storage systems with multi-protocol flexibility and scalability offers four models of storage arrays that can be configured with both 4-gigabit Fibre Channel (FC) and 1-gigabit iSCSI ports. As new technologies emerge,...

Disaster-recovery appliance.(STORAGE PRODUCTS)
November 1, 2008... PlateSpin Forge is a disaster-recovery appliance that provides complete protection for server workloads straight out of the box. In the event of production server downtime or a disaster, protected workloads can be recovered and run on the...

University switches IPS: campus-wide network overhaul replaces aging switching and security systems.(Network Performance)
November 1, 2008... Howard University-a research-oriented college in Washington, D.C.-has a propensity for embracing new technology. The 140-year-old private university was a higher education leader with its campus-wide FDDI network and distributed Internet...

Technology secures border.(Network Performance)
November 1, 2008... Linking the two sides of the Niagara Falls region, the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission (NFBC) is a joint U.S. and Canadian agency that owns and operates three bridges that traverse the Niagara River. The organization is charged with keeping the...

Network monitoring service.(TESTING & MONITORING PRODUCTS)(SafeData)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Managed High Availability Services can provide 24/7 monitoring and problem resolution, audits and scheduled switch tests to ensure stability and confidence of high-availability environments. The service can manage the environment in the...

Fault finder.(TESTING & MONITORING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... With a visible 635 nm red laser, the Fiber-Checker can be used on fiberoptic cable lengths up to 3 kilometers to locate a broken splice or fiber, identify overly tight cable ties or isolate a damaged connector. A break or bend in the fiber is...

Cable test kit.(TESTING & MONITORING PRODUCTS)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Comprised of installation and service tools, the MicroScanner2 Termination Test Kit includes the tools required for locating, terminating and verifying copper cabling installations. The MicroScanner2 Cable Verifier, works with all major cable...

Fiber keeps scientists connected: South Pole environment provides stern test for research site's cabling infrastructure.(Cabling Infrastructure)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For harsh environments, nothing compares to the South Pole-a mean annual temperature of minus 56[degrees] F, constant winds creating snowdrifts high enough to bury a building, accumulating snow that never melts, and...

Data centers confront energy costs: soaring electricity prices coupled with increasing consumption highlight need for improved efficiency.(GreenTech)
November 1, 2008... The energy-guzzling, ever-expanding data center is in need of a makeover. In the past, the most important priorities of the data center have been speed, reliability and uptime. Energy efficiency was not a top priority. Today, data centers are...