Network World articles from April 2003

Network World archives from April 2003

Is the enterprise ready for end-to-end wireless LANs? Two technology execs debate whether companies should start using wireless LANs today.
April 7, 2003... Byline: NO, by Merwyn Andrade Until tools are available that will let network managers effectively deploy, secure and manage wireless LANs, 802.11 technology will continue to languish in the enterprise. Without a structured architectural...

Is the enterprise ready for end-to-end wireless LANs? Two technology execs debate whether companies should start using wireless LANs today.(Column)
April 7, 2003... Byline: YES, by Doug Klein The enterprise is ready for wireless LANs for three reasons: replacing cable with wireless gives companies an instant ROI; deployment issues have established solutions; and rollouts are well under way. One...

Gushing over Linux; Petroleum companies rely on cluster computing for oil exploration.
April 7, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH The oil and gas industry was once the province of the world's fastest supercomputers from makers such as Cray and IBM. But recently, industry heavyweights such as Amerada Hess, British Petroleum, Conoco and Shell...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
April 7, 2003... Byline: readers In the story "DSL penetrates the business market . . . slowly" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 5024), I'm confused by For Eyes Optical IT manager Shuieb Khan's statement that asymmetrical DSL (ADSL) speeds vary depending on...

Where the jobs are; Despite the economic malaise, there are still pockets of industries that have IT openings.
April 7, 2003... Byline: LINDA LEUNG Virginia mortgage investment firm Freddie Mac is enjoying rich pickings in its ongoing quest to expand its IT workforce as resumes fly in from IT workers laid off from local high-tech firms such as AOL Time Warner and...

More on tech discontinuity.(Wi-Fi and cellular wireless)(Column)
April 7, 2003... Byline: frank dzubeck My last column on technological discontinuities in 2003 (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 5027) generated significant reader e-mail regarding the feasibility of voice becoming the "killer" application for IEEE 802.11...

The need for DNS resiliency.
April 7, 2003... Byline: robert gezelter On Sept. 11, 2001, many New York businesses disappeared from the Internet because their DNS services were fragile. Fragility is the opposite of resilience, the ability to continue operations despite damage to...

WebDAV secures collaboration.(Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning )
April 7, 2003... Byline: LISA DUSSEAULT Web-based Distributed Authoring and Versioning is an extension of HTTP that lets users collaborate via the Internet. The Internet Engineering Task Force approved it as a standards-track specification in 1998, and it...

The latest cool stuff from our labs.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Keith Shaw After some time off and traveling to trade shows, we've acquired a backlog in the Cool Tools Testing Labs (also known as my cube). Here's a roundup of new products that win the Cool Tools Seal of Approval: ...

Bad law or really bad law?(states' versions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act)
April 7, 2003... Over the past few weeks a number of state legislatures have started to consider similar bills - apparently at the behest of the copyright folks - that fail to take into account the unintended consequences of the Digital Millennium Copyright...

Every day is Valentine's Day.(Microsoft's Brian Valentine)(Column)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Dave Kearns Once again, Brian Valentine's mouth seems to have started running away before his brain could engage with on-again, off-again pronouncements about versions of Longhorn and Blackcomb, the follow-ons to Windows XP and...

INTERNET PHOTONICS UNLEASHES GSLAM; AGGREGATION SYSTEM DESIGNED FOR CABLE OPERATOR HEADENDS AND SERVICE PROVIDERS' POPS.(LightStack Gigabit Services Line Access Multiplexer )
April 7, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY MARLBOROUGH, MASS. - Internet Photonics, a developer of optical Ethernet and 10G bit/sec metropolitan transport systems, last week announced a high-end aggregation and switching system. The company's LightStack...

Recovery tool targets Win OS failures.(Winternals Recovery Manager)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA AUSTIN, TEXAS - It's the first thought after a system crash: Has any data been lost? Winternals thinks it can ease the panic with Recovery Manager, software that targets operating system failures on Windows servers...

Apptix raises autoprovisioning platform.(updates to Apptix's Tecos 4.0 platform )
April 7, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS STERLING, VA. - Apptix, a spinoff of application service provider TeleComputing, last week unveiled upgrades to its automated provisioning platform to make it easier for service providers to offer applications on...

Ask Dr. Internet.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Steve Blass We downloaded a Windows network sniffer program as suggested in your Aug. 28, 2000, column (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 5029) to troubleshoot a network slowdown. Now what? We see the results, but without some idea of...

Enterprise Application briefs.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: staff writers Staffware PLC and Fujitsu Software will soon release new versions of their business process management software suites. Staffware Process Suite Version 2 SPS is a modular set of applications for running, modeling and...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: staff writers IP-storage start-up Intransa rolled out its first product last week - a storage array that uses Advanced Technology Attachment drives and attaches to the Gigabit Ethernet network. The IP5000 Storage System uses the...

Getting Gigabit to desktops; Standard, proprietary technologies on the way to speed PC buses.
April 7, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Dramatic price drops on copper Gigabit Ethernet network interface cards and switch ports have caused many network professionals to take notice. But because many PCI-based desktop machines were not built for...

Andreessen assesses browser prospects.(Interview)
April 7, 2003... Byline: John Cox Ten years ago this month, a team of programmers at the University of Illinois' National Center for Supercomputing Applications loaded a program on an FTP server that could be accessed by almost anyone on the Internet....

RIVERSTONE LOWERS ENTRY BAR FOR 10G; SUB-$10K PER-PORT COST INTENDED TO CREATE DEMAND, SPUR ADOPTION.(Riverstone Networks XGS line )
April 7, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY SANTA CLARA - Riverstone Networks this week will enter the 10G bit/sec Ethernet market with switches designed to establish a new entry price. Riverstone's XGS line of 10G Ethernet switches are priced at just less...

Microsoft set to boost Win Server VPN offerings; INFRASTRUCTURE: The ubiquitous VPN.(Windows Server 2003)
April 7, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE When Microsoft wheels out Windows Server 2003 this month, the company will address some shortcomings of its embedded VPN technology, making the software more attractive to users looking to save money connecting remote...

EQUINIX OFFERS MULTIHOMING SERVICE; COMPANY USES PEERING POINTS TO MORE THAN 100 NETWORKS.
April 7, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS FOSTER CITY, CALIF. - Organizations that multihome network connections from different service providers might get more than the high availability and optimal performance they seek from such arrangements: Managing...

The Edge briefs.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Staff Tellabs recently announced that it is expanding its OEM relationship with White Rock Networks by investing in the company. Under the arrangement, Tellabs will market and sell a customized version of White Rock's VLX2020...

AT&T OFFERS NEW VOIP OPTIONS; IP PBXS ARE SUPPORTED FOR THE FIRST TIME.
April 7, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO SAN JOSE - AT&T is expanding the reach of its voice-over-IP services by supporting additional vendor gear, including for the first time IP PBXs. The carrier announced last week at the Spring 2003 Voice on the...

carrier briefs.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... n BellSouth recently launched its first managed IP VPN service called Managed Network VPN. The service is available throughout BellSouth's service area in the Southeast. The carrier's service is based on Multi-protocol Label Switching...

Windows registry magic.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs Centralized configuration database" is Microsoft's long and rather more formal way of saying "registry" - that somewhat eccentric hierarchical database that now has a pivotal role in Windows architecture. We've...

IP PBX debate brings on fireworks.(Voice on the Network conference)
April 7, 2003... Byline: John Dix The back and forth at the Network World IP PBX Showdown at the Voice on the Network conference in San Jose last week was, in a word, spirited. The goal of the presidential-style debate - hosted by yours truly and Mike...

Report on Microsoft security mixed.
April 7, 2003... n A report released by Forrester Research last week shows that security is still tops the list of concerns for Microsoft users, but that those concerns are not deterring them from deploying Windows-based applications. Seventy-seven percent of...

Fortinet uncorks security mgmt. app.(FortiManager)
April 7, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE SANTA CLARA - Fortinet this week is introducing a management appliance that claims to make it simpler for customers to configure, create policies for and administer the large groups of the company's multifaceted...

SuSE Linux desktop slated for June debut.
April 7, 2003... Byline: JUAN CARLOS PEREZ Looking to brighten the allure of having Linux on enterprise desktops, SuSE Linux last week said it plans to ship its SuSE Linux Enterprise Desktop operating system in June, a delay from original plans to ship it...

CEO speaks of Veritas branching out.(Interview)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Deni Connor Network World Senior Editor Deni Connor recently spoke with Veritas CEO Gary Bloom, who for the first time talked publicly about the company's plans to integrate the products of two acquisitions - application and...

Firm bullish on Web services; However, Merrill Lynch exec says security, mgmt. issues can be a bear.
April 7, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ BOSTON - Rick Carey, chief technology architect at Merrill Lynch, told an audience of CTOs last week that his company is using Web services to tackle onerous application integration challenges and reduce the burden of...

net buzz.
April 7, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara A dumb idea at exactly the wrong time Few political pronouncements are more easily ignored than one from a congressman making the case for goods or services sold by a company in his or her district. Contrary...

Security start-up to block Trojans.(WholeSecurity's Confidence Online )
April 7, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER AUSTIN, TEXAS - Start-up WholeSecurity debuts this week with Web server software designed to prevent remote-access Trojans or eavesdropping software from penetrating networks during e-commerce or employee interactions...

Box speeds SSL traffic, balances loads.(Nauticus' N2000 and N2000V intelligent switches)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS Managed security firm Guardent was looking for ways to beef up its services infrastructure, but wanted to do it without complicating its data center architecture. After looking at load balancers and Secure...

Worser and worser laws.
April 7, 2003... Byline: mark gibbs "Although the Santa Cruz Library makes every effort to protect your privacy, under the federal USA PATRIOT ACT (Public Law 107-56), records of the books and other materials you borrow from this library may be obtained by...

Competition forces HP to slash prices.
April 7, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS PALO ALTO - In an effort to improve its position in the midrange Unix server market, HP is cutting prices on its core offerings by about 20%, rolling out enhanced customization options and expanding its server...

Sprint to offer Feds their own 'Internet'.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: GRANT GROSS WASHINGTON, D.C. - Sprint last week announced plans for a summer launch of a private IP network aimed at security-conscious U.S. government agencies. The unnamed network will mimic Sprint's SprintLink...

Mgmt. vendors beat automation drum; BMC and IBM Tivoli separately announce software to automatically manage networks.(IBM's Tivoli Autonomic Monitoring Engine and )
April 7, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE IBM and BMC Software this week separately will announce product road maps that industry watchers say will begin to deliver real-time automation and service management features that vendors have long promised enterprise...

Microsoft eases directory work.(Active Directory/Application Mode beta)
April 7, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA REDMOND, WASH. - Microsoft is preparing for a major evolution of Active Directory this summer that will allow it to play catch-up with competitors and provide companies the ability to more easily use the software to...

Low-speed frame costs on the rise.
April 7, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO While rates for many telecom services have long plummeted, some users are paying up to twice as much today for low-speed frame relay as they did 18 to 24 months ago, according to industry watchers and those...

Switch eases wireless LAN installation.(Airespace 4000 Wireless Switch )
April 7, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX SAN JOSE - A beta-test version user of a wireless switch being announced this week by start-up Airespace says the device has simplified the work of running and securing his wireless LAN. The Airespace 4000 Wireless...

Network Associates buys two start-ups.(Brief Article)
April 7, 2003... Byline: Ellen Messmer Making good on a recent pledge to expand into new segments of the security industry, Network Associates last week bought its way into the emerging intrusion-prevention system (IPS) market by agreeing to acquire two...

Five Nines, by the book.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Kenneth Percy I recently had a junior engineer in our lab ask me about the term "five nines." I launched into my canned script about the term representing 99.999% uptime, translating into a 5-minute, 15-second downtime budget....

Server-side SSL boosts security.(Secure Sockets Layer)
April 14, 2003... Byline: James Kobielus E-mail is rarely secure, but users rarely care. E-mail is secure enough for most users under most circumstances, even those involving transmission of sensitive content. People leave most messages unencrypted and...

Be the hacker; Ethical hacking of your own Web site can reveal problems and vulnerabilities before the bad guys find them.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Barry Nance Be the hacker Ethical hacking of your own Web site can reveal problems and vulnerabilities before the bad guys find them. BY BARRY NANCE, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE A good intrusion-detection system...

WLAN analyzers; Tools to watch your airwaves.(Hardware Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
April 14, 2003... Byline: TOM HENDERSON, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE Like a blind date, wireless LANs can look attractive and compelling on the surface, but looks can be deceiving. WLANs might install smoothly with little forethought, but in time,...

How we did it.(test methodology)
April 14, 2003... Byline: tom henderson We performed several wireless LAN tests. We configured a WLAN infrastructure consisting of five 802.11b access points, two 802.11a access points, two 802.11a/b hybrid access points and two 802.11b+ access points over...

A note about speeds.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Tom Henderson The handheld analyzers were limited in looking at 802.11b because the higher speeds of 802.11a are simply too fast for the PC Card data bus used in the most popular form factor - HP's iPAQ 3800 Series. The current...

Where WLAN analyzers apply.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Tom Henderson A wireless LAN analyzer can help in all three stages of a WLAN's life: 1) Site survey: WLANs are unlicensed radio transports for Ethernet. As such, they are subject to unseen and heretofore undetected or interfering...

Risk analysis needs a reality check.(Industry Overview)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Joel Snyder Every day, we hear about security problems lurking on our networks and are urged to fix them immediately. When we deal with that information, we're performing risk analysis. When we run out and install every security...

Unwilling customers.(Editorial)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Janet Law In the Q&A "Customer service VP at WorldCom sees brighter days ahead" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 5122), no questions were asked about the large customer base consisting of those receiving collect calls from prisons....

Retaining crucial skills; IT executives look to preserve mainframe and legacy system knowledge as employees near retirement.(Industry Overview)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Before Kent Howell can retire, he needs to complete one more project for his employer: He must teach his co-workers the mainframe systems expertise he acquired in his 35 years of working in high-tech. As manager of...

Artificial intelligence scopes out spam.
April 14, 2003... Byline: DAVE STRICKLER In the cat-and-mouse game of the antispam industry, staying one step ahead of spammers is difficult because they constantly exploit the weaknesses of e-mail keyword filtering. But the newest artificial-intelligence...

'NetBuzz.(Column)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara Fighting spam with poetry and lawyers Rarely does Buzz root for the guys filing the lawsuits. And never - at least not that I can recall - have I used the word "unique" to describe anything. (It's considered...

Citadel adds power to its scan-patch tool.(Hercules 2.0)
April 14, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER DALLAS - Citadel next month plans to ship an updated version of its software scan-and-patch tool that promises to let users quickly install software patches or strip out a troublesome patch and apply the old code back...

IRS touts savings of mgmt. project.
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE AUSTIN, TEXAS - It's refund time for the IRS. That is, the agency's massive, four-year network management overhaul is starting to pay off. It's hard to gauge just what the payback has been because the IRS won't...

Free Internet: A 5-minute walk?
April 14, 2003... Byline: scott bradner If the Alliance for Downtown New York is able to realize its plans, free Internet access soon will be much easier to come by for anyone in lower Manhattan. The experience in the rest of Manhattan bodes well for...

Aggregating air: Toward optimizing wireless.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Kevin Tolly While we are barely into the second quarter of the year, it is already reasonable to label 2003 the year of enterprise wireless. Aruba, Trapeze - and now Engim - are taking a distinctly enterprise look at harnessing...

apps briefs.(IntelliReach MessageArchive 2.0, Adobe Systems)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... n IntelliReach last week announced e-mail archiving software designed for long-term storage of messages and for companies facing compliance with legislation such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act or the Security...

ask dr. internet.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: steve blass Steve Blass We want to connect three LANs in Sheboygan, Wis., to servers in Chicago and St. Louis. We want to use either private line or frame relay instead of the Internet. How many access lines and router ports...

Net.Worker briefs.(SMC Networks Barricade Wireless DSL Router, Gric Communications)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: staff writers SMC Networks recently announced a wireless DSL router for small offices. The Barricade Wireless DSL Router includes a DSL modem, four-port switch, 802.11b wireless access point and print server. Security features...

Avoiding Wi-Fi surprises; Buying today's prestandard 802.11g gear could create problems in the future.
April 14, 2003... Byline: TONI KISTNER Enterprise firms won't invest in 802.11g products before the standard is ratified this summer. But small offices/home offices and consumers are buying products by the bucket load. Most vendors say prestandard gear will...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: staff IBM last week added a entry-level storage server to its storage portfolio. The IBM TotalStorage FastT600 offers three times the throughput of IBM's previous entry-level offering, the FastT200, according to IBM. With expansion...

Getting service providers back on track.(Column)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Johna Till Johnson It seems as though half my columns this year have been about the failings of service providers. I've gotten a few heated notes from telecom employees asking, "Why do you keep beating us up?" and many more...

Sun fills server, storage families at product blowout.(SunFire V210 and V240 servers, StorEdge 6120 and 6320 storage arrays)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR AND JENNIFER MEARS SAN FRANCISCO - In a wide-ranging announcement Sun last week bolstered its low-end servers for customers serving up Web pages, running firewalls or filling out server farms and reinforced its system...

carrier briefs.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... n AT&T and Siebel Systems have formed a strategic alliance that is aimed at helping customers deploy and manage distributed Siebel eBusiness Applications. The companies say the alliance will make it easier for customers to implement Siebel...

Extreme adds switch oomph; Streaming media, autonegotiation modules make their debuts.(Streaming Media Accelerator module for Extreme's BlackDiamond switch )
April 14, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH SANTA CLARA - Extreme Networks last week introduced Gigabit Ethernet chassis modules powered by new feature-rich silicon that could serve to remind customers that the company with the purple boxes is still after their...

Siebel guards its CRM domain.
April 14, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ SAN MATEO, CALIF. - Wall Street went easy on Siebel Systems last week after the vendor warned it would miss its first-quarter earnings estimates. But if the CRM market leader is to retain its title, simpler products and...

Push-to-talk coming to a net near you; Nextel's popular DirectConnect feature soon to be imitated by other wireless carriers.
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO The largest wireless carriers are just now scrambling to roll out their own push-to-talk capabilities after having watched Nextel make hay with the feature for a decade. The move means more users will gain the...

Coming soon to network cameras.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Keith Shaw Security and surveillance cameras continue to move from analog-based systems to digital, which lets companies move video over their existing IP-based data networks. Sometimes, however, the images from these security...

CRM market is flush with cash.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: Ann Bednarz Siebel continues to sell more CRM applications than its competitors, despite declining sales. Siebel logged $700 million in CRM software revenue in 2002. Meanwhile, SAP attributes $450 million of its 2002 license...

Windows registry.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs So we were talking about the Windows registry last week and reader Keith Medcalf wrote in to point out that, "Actually, the registry was invented by IBM for Presentation Manager (the graphical interface layer to OS/2) in...

WorldCom name going away.
April 14, 2003... WorldCom will announce this week that it is ditching its tainted name, which has become synonymous with corporate scandal and accounting fraud. According to The Washington Post, WorldCom will adopt the moniker of its long-distance subsidiary,...

Top security vendors called to NYC debate.(Network World Security Showdown at CeBIT America)
April 14, 2003... Byline: John Gallant You don't have to press readers very hard to learn that security is their top concern. The threats to information assets keep morphing, new technologies keep popping up, and the expectations for securing the network...

Router newcomers take on Cisco, Juniper; Procket, Caspian push megarouters that offer increased stability, reliability, capacity.(Procket Networks' Pro/8800 series and Caspian Networks' Apeiro)
April 14, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY With their souped-up engines and buckets of cash, two new router players debuted their product plans last week in an effort to break the two-headed tyranny of Cisco and Juniper. Procket Networks and Caspian Networks...

Tivoli users discuss automation.
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE NEW ORLEANS - Several executives at Planet Tivoli and DeveloperWorks Live detailed how they are taking baby steps toward deploying automation across key networks, systems and applications. The show, which had...

Storage vendors extend their reach.(Storage Networking World)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR PHOENIX - Interoperability and manageability of data storage will be the primary focus of products that Network Appliance, Hitachi Data Systems, Cisco and others introduce this week at Storage Networking World. ...

Novell to unveil cross-platform GroupWise client.(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR SALT LAKE CITY - Novell this week is expected to introduce a cross-platform client for its GroupWise collaborative messaging environment at the company's annual Brainshare user conference. The client software, which...

Nortel raises VoIP security flag at RSA show.
April 14, 2003... Byline: Phil Hochmuth Nortel this week will use the RSA show to roll out product enhancements designed to help lock down IP telephony networks. Nortel is addressing concerns about IP PBX server viruses and other voice-over-IP (VoIP)...

Liberty turning first spec over to OASIS; will introduce two more.(Liberty Alliance and the Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards )
April 14, 2003... Byline: John Fontana The Liberty Alliance this week for the first time will turn over part of its work to a standards group and will release two new draft specifications as part of its revamped architecture for creating open network...

Switches simplify WLAN deployment.
April 14, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX You have a wireless LAN with 50 access points. You manage it using running shoes, bailing wire and spit. Now, a host of companies say they've got a solution and it looks a lot like something you already use: an Ethernet...

Intrusion prevention to highlight RSA show.
April 14, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER SAN FRANCISCO - Attendees at this week's RSA Conference will get a good look at an emerging cluster of products designed to identify attacks and block nefarious traffic before it can invade corporate networks. ...

A better wireless LAN chip?(from Engim)(Brief Article)
April 14, 2003... Byline: John Cox Engim, a fabless silicon design start-up, has begun making available samples of a chipset designed to boost the capacity of wireless LAN access points by up to 50 times. Today, an 802.11b access point has available...