Communications News articles from October 2003

Communications News archives from October 2003

Tread carefully.(Editor's Note)(Editorial)
October 1, 2003... Over the next two years, a great many companies will be evaluating their aging IT infrastructure and deciding which systems need upgrading and what new capabilities need to be added. Such is the inevitable result of the widespread delay of IT...

Protect mobile device data.(Trends)
October 1, 2003... Hand-held computing devices can be tucked into a purse or a pocket and carried everywhere a user goes, and often are considered "private" tools, outside the corporate purview. This is certainly the case as long as the device is used to play...

Events.(Trends)(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... [check] SANS Network Security Conference 2003, Nov. 14-19, New Orleans, offers professional instruction and certification in security technologies and techniques, as well as product expositions and demonstrations, www.sans.org [check]...

Wham! Bam! that spam.(Trends)
October 1, 2003... The cost of spam can be staggering, but often that cost is hidden. The Radicati Group estimates that a company with 10,000 employees will spend $49 per user on server resources to deal with spam vs. $25 per user for companies that have...

Short take.(Trends)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... "The attackers haven't even unleashed the big guns yet. The worms we're seeing are damaging, but nothing as nasty as they could write." --Ed Skoudis, International Network Services (quoted in USA Today regarding the latest computer virus...

Safe and sound: Spaulding & Slye Colliers keeps real estate data safe with online backup and recovery service.
October 1, 2003... John Rinaldi received the inevitable call that every IT person receives--a request for help in restoring a vital financial system directory. Of course, the restore needed to be done fast in order to meet an important deadline. Rinaldi,...

SSL or IPSec? Or both? encryption and authentication technologies are effective as part of overall security architecture.(Internet Security; Internet protocol security and secure sockets layer )
October 1, 2003... Due to its ubiquity and ability to support seamless access from almost everywhere, the Internet has emerged as the mobile network of choice, creating security challenges for today's network managers. Network managers, however, know their remote...

SSL VPN secures healthy acquisition: Medex was looking for a highly secure, cost-effective solution to provide quick anywhere access to diverse applications.(Internet Security)
October 1, 2003... When medical device manufacturer Medex Inc. was in the process of acquiring Johnson & Johnson's worldwide vascular access business of Ethicon Endo-Surgery, it turned to a remote-access secure sockets layer (SSL) virtual private network (VPN)...

What to expect from your IPS.(Internet Security; intrusion prevention systems)
October 1, 2003... So what actually are intrusion prevention systems (IPS)? Most implementations today use a combination of anomalyor behavior-based detection for rapid discovery of an attack and intrusion detection system (IDS)-type signatures for both double...

Solution bridges emergency response: voice-conferencing system gives volunteers a call when medical help is needed.(Special Focus: concerning)
October 1, 2003... Mad River Valley is in the heart of Vermont's scenic ski country. Five thousand people live there year round, more than 20,000 during ski season. A dedicated team of volunteers, the Mad River Valley Ambulance Service (MRVAS) provides medical...

Buyers guide.(Special Focus: Conferencing)(Buyers Guide)
October 1, 2003... The first portion of this Conferencing 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 Web...

Converged conferencing.(New products; Shoreline Communications' ShoreConvergedConference)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... ShoreConvergedConference is a conferencing platform that integrates voice and data collaboration into the company's IP phone system. The system extends an existing ad hoc voice-collaboration platform by enabling users to schedule conferences...

Collaboration management.(New products; DYS Analytics' Collaboration CONTROL! )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... As a comprehensive performance-management solution for instant collaboration, Collaboration CONTROL! for IBM Lotus instant messaging and Web conferencing (formerly known as Sametime), provides real-time health and availability monitoring, as...

Secure with SSL.(New products; Neoteris' Meeting Series)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Meeting Series is an tension of the company's stant Virtual Extranet platform, enabling enterprises to instantly and securely provision cross-enterprise online meetings and user-to-user collaboration without the security tradeoffs and costs...

Desktop sharing.(New products; Encounter Collaborative's ShareItNow)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... ShareItNow lets customers, partners, suppliers and colleagues share any application on their desktops, easily and intuitively, with just one click. This includes proprietary software, PDFs, spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. From the...

Technical support.(New products; Linktivity's WebInteractive 3.0)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... WebInteractive 3.0 is a premise-based e-support and e-sales collaboration software solution that requires no client software installation, and enables use within the customer support or online sales environment. By connecting through the...

Conference server.(New products; Pixion's PictureTalk Enterprise Conference Server )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... PictureTalk Enterprise Conference Server is a secure Web-conferencing solution offered for Apple's latest server solution. Designed for installation on Apple's Mac OS X Server behind the network firewall, the scalable online meeting environment...

Secure message logging.(New products; Deviant Technologies' InterIM)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Archive business communications with InterIM, an all-in-one instant-messaging server appliance for small and large corporations. The solution requires little or no IT expertise, allowing smaller companies to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley...

Desktop solution.(New products; SightSpeed)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... SightSpeed Internet videoconferencing software is designed so that users can install and deploy the software with minimal assistance from IT staff. The desktop videoconferencing software offers quality that is comparable to dedicated room-based...

Document camera.(New products; ClearOne Communications' DocCam Pro VC )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The DocCam Pro VC document camera allows active sharing of high-resolution documents and images during a videoconference or presentation for more collaborative meetings. The cameras feature automatic focus, iris, shutter and white balance for...

Secure videoconferencing.(New products; Application Level Gateway Proxy Server )
October 1, 2003... SecureConnect is a suite of products for enterprises and service providers that enables both secure firewall/NAT traversal, as well as fully encrypted communications over private and public networks. Scalable from two to 100 concurrent calls,...

Audio conference service.(New products)(Forum Communications International's U-HOST)
October 1, 2003... The U-HOST managed conference service is designed for companies that need the reliability, convenience and security of having an in-house conferencing system, but prefer a monthly service charge vs. a major capital investment. The service...

Conferencing provides disaster link: in-house solution provides cost savings over outsourcing alternative.(Special Focus: Conferencing)(NSTAR)
October 1, 2003... When severe winter storms move through New England, potentially causing a significant power interruption, energy provider NSTAR is fully prepared and equipped to respond to emergency requests. In fact, part of its emergency restoration plan...

The future of IP conferencing: multiple forms of communication will connect workers and improve productivity.(Special focus: conferencing)(Column)
October 1, 2003... Conferencing capabilities are about to undergo a dramatic transformation, as all forms of conferencing media that are discrete today-voice, video and data-merge on a single IP infrastructure. Imagine the following scenario in the next few years...

The impact of fiber management: automated fault-detection tools can speed the repair of cable networks.(Infrastructure)(remote fiber test systems, or RFTS )
October 1, 2003... Traditionally, automated network management was considered a means to achieve greater internal efficiencies. Today, fiber network management is seen as a vital business strategy. In a typical fiber-management system, or remote fiber test...

Horizontal cable management.(Power and cabling products)
October 1, 2003... The PatchLink horizontal cable manager features a dual hinged cover that opens upward or downward to provide easy access to the cable pathway without having to completely remove the cover. Flexible fingers and increased finger spacing organize...

Power distribution.(Power and cabling products)(Snake Tray's Snake Bus power distribution system)
October 1, 2003... Available in 4" and 8" snap-together lengths, the Snake Bus power distribution system eliminates the need for traditional methods of hard-wiring equipment to deliver power through data centers and workstations. Preconfigured systems deliver...

Surge protection.(Power and cabling products)(Power Sentry's Power Blocker 2 surge protector )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Power Blocker 2 surge protector shields office equipment from spikes or surges of electricity. The device shuts down completely when it senses a continuing or growing power surge. Switch response time is no milliseconds, up to 1,000 times...

Cable blowing.(Power and cabling products)(General Machine Products' Breeze cable-blowing machine )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Breeze cable-blowing machine will move micro-fiber cable of 0.1" to 0.315" (2.5 mm to 8 mm) diameter at speeds to 164 feet (50 m) per minute into preinstalled micro duct. It is compatible with micro duct with an outer diameter from 0.197"...

Equipment rack.(Power and cabling products)(The Siemon Company's Rack-it is a set of mounting brackets that allows rackmount equipment to be installed almost anywhere )
October 1, 2003... The Rack-it is a set of mounting brackets that allows rackmount equipment to be installed almost anywhere. Designed for mounting network equipment, patch panels, distribution enclosures and more in areas where floor and wall space are at a...

Portable cooling.(Power and cabling products)(MovinCool's Office Pro 10 portable air-conditioning system)
October 1, 2003... Prevent hot temperatures from causing heat-sensitive computer servers and other office systems to fail with the Office Pro 10. With high performance available in a compact design, the portable air-conditioning system is fully self-contained....

Power supply.(Power and cabling products)(Unipower's TPCMR1U power system )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The TPCMR1U power system features three 800-W, hot-swap power modules in a slim, 1 U-high rack space. The system has input power correction, remote sensing and integrated LED status indicators. All connections are on the back panel, including...

Fiber conversion.(Media conversion)(Omnitron Systems' iConverter GX/T provides media and speed conversion from 10/100/1000Base-T unshielded twisted-pair to 1000Base-X fiber)
October 1, 2003... Fiber conversion Supporting the IEEE 802.3ab and IEEE 802.3z standards, the iConverter GX/T provides media and speed conversion from 10/100/1000Base-T unshielded twisted-pair to 1000Base-X fiber. The converter extends high-speed network...

First-mile Ethernet.(Media conversion)(Transition Networks' Remotely Managed Fast Ethernet Media Converter provides a fully managed conversion between 100BaseTX and 100BaseFX signals at central office and customer premises)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... The Remotely Managed Fast Ethernet Media Converter provides a fully managed conversion between 100BaseTX and 100BaseFX signals at central office and customer premises. The product meets the link integrity, monitoring and loopback requirements...

Protected fiber converter.(Media conversion)(IMC Networks' Secure Gateway Enclosure combines an approved protective distribution systems enclosure and a 10/100 MiniMC auto-negotiating media converter)
October 1, 2003... The Secure Gateway Enclosure combines an approved protective distribution systems enclosure and a 10/100 MiniMC auto-negotiating media converter. The 16-gauge metal enclosures are engineered to provide security and prevent unauthorized access...

Keep telephony and data centers powered: whether maintaining or hosting equipment, power glitches should be invisible to system users.(Power Management)(Houston-based Titanis Corp.)
October 1, 2003... Many Texas-based companies specialize in drilling for natural fuel and manufacturing components for equipment used in the intensive drilling and exploration processes. Sometimes, that leaves the search for IT expertise uncharted. That is when...

Failure was not an option: combining blade server technology with software creates a unified computing platform.(Wide Area Networks)(Seattle-based CRG)
October 1, 2003... Seattle-based CRG plans events of all sizes, from executive retreats to product launches, and also provides professional services and Web-based applications for event planning, event registration and event management. Like many businesses,...

WAN analysis.(Network analysis products)(Fluke Networks' OptiView WAN Analyzer )
October 1, 2003... The OptiView WAN Analyzer allows network engineers to identify all network elements that utilize OC-3 or OC-12 WAN links, perform full RMON2-based remote monitoring, gather detailed traffic statistics, and filter an capture cells and packets on...

VoIP monitoring and assessment.(Network analysis products)(Alcatel's Alcatel Assessment for VoIP Solution tool is a software solution for assessing the VolP readiness of enterprise networks, as well as ongoing monitoring and troubleshooting)
October 1, 2003... The Alcatel Assessment for VoIP Solution tool is a software solution for assessing the VolP readiness of enterprise networks, as well as ongoing monitoring and troubleshooting. Designed around a PC-based server and the company's e-Reflexes IP...

TCP analysis.(Network analysis products)(Alacritech's TCP/IP Offload Engine Analyzer is a monitoring program that helps administrators determine the need for TCP offload on Microsoft Windows-based systems)
October 1, 2003... The TCP/IP Offload Engine Analyzer is a monitaring program that helps administrators determine the need for TCP affload on Microsoft Windows-based systems. TCP offload allow businesses to reduce server costs by offloading network protocol...

QoS monitoring.(Network analysis products)(Viola Networks' NetAlly RealTime is a comprehensive tool for pre-service network readiness assessment, on-demand network troubleshooting and ongoing network-performance monitoring )
October 1, 2003... Designed to address the unique needs of converged networks, NetAlly RealTime provides systems integrators and enterprises one comprehensive tool for the pre-service network readiness assessment, on-demand network troubleshooting and ongoing...

Detect fibers in use.(Network analysis products)(EXFO's LFD-203 Live Fiber Detector )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Designed for ribbon fiber applications in the field, the LFD-203 Live Fiber Detector is a rugged hand-held instrument that uses non-destructive, macro-bending technology to detect whether or not a signal is being transmitted through an optical...

Wireless IP system.(Voice network products)(Kirk Telecom's KIRK 1500 IP is a modular wireless voice-communication system that integrates with most existing and future IP-PBX installations )
October 1, 2003... The KIRK 1500 IP is a modular wireless voice-communication system that integrates with most existing and future IP-PBX installations. The solution consists of a Wireless Mobility Server (the central control unit) installed with the appropriate...

Mix analog and digital.(Voice network products)(Toshiba Telecommunications Systems' Strata CTX100-S telephone management system)
October 1, 2003... Providing smaller system users with a robust, turn-key telecommunication system, the Strata CTX100-S supports up to 16 ports in a mix-and-match configuration of central office lines, IP, digital and analog stations, and is available with...

Large-size phone solution.(Voice network products)(Vodavi Technology's XTS communications system )
October 1, 2003... The XTS communications system can now be configured as one cabinet supporting up to 136 ports, or 48 central office lines and 96 stations, up to six cabinets accommodating 216 central office lines and 492 stations, for a maximum of 600 ports....

Branch phone system.(Voice network products)
October 1, 2003... Created for small and mid-size businesses and branch offices, the MX250 enterprise media exchange is based on open standards to easily integrate with existing networks, and provides voice, data, fax and video communications. The system...

Call management.(Voice network products)(Veramark Technologies' VeraSMART is a Web-based telemanagement platform designed to enable large business enterprises to reduce and control communications expenses )
October 1, 2003... VeraSMART is a Web-based telemanagement platform designed to enable large business enterprises to reduce and control communications expenses throughout the enterprise. The first application available on the platform is call accounting, which...

Small business phone system.(Voice network products)(Centrepoint Technologies' TalkSwitch 48 NLS system )
October 1, 2003... The TalkSwitch 48 NLS system includes built-in auto-attendants, voice mail, remote extensions, music on hold, call hold, transfer, forward and cascade. The system can expand up to 16 lines and 32 extensions, and is designed to be entirely...

IP telephony service.(Voice network products)(OuterBoundsTechnologies' nVox)
October 1, 2003... Designed for small to midsize businesses, nVox is an IP telephony suite that can be configured to perform as a primary IP phone system or as a migration strategy from traditional TDM phone services to an IP-based architecture. Flexibility in...

IP remote PIM.(Voice network products)(the NEAX 2000 IPS-DMR is a new remote component for the company's NEAX 2000 IPS and NEAX IPS-DM midrange VoIP systems)
October 1, 2003... The NEAX 2000 IPS-DMR is a new remote component for the company's NEAX 2000 IPS and NEAX IPS-DM midrange VoIP systems. Designed primarily For distributed IP networking, but also supporting traditional analog and digital trunks for connection to...

DNS growth has just begun: the challenge is to find new ways to use the almost limitless resource.(Guest Column)(domain name system )
October 1, 2003... In 2003, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Internet's deployment and the creation of the domain name system (DNS). The commonly held view is that the DNS is merely a mechanism for translating host names to IP addresses. This view is too...