Network World articles from February 2003

Network World archives from February 2003

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
February 3, 2003... Byline: readers Regarding Mark Gibbs' Backspin column "Christmas clue giving" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 4122): I would like to give a clue to everyone who has missed the basic problem with spam - that we pay for the infrastructure to...

Life sciences firms face an array of regulatory requirements.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Salvatore Salamone While the sheer volume of data in life sciences companies represents a storage management challenge, perhaps a bigger challenge is the length of time data must be retained. Regular businesses usually keep...

Testing 10Gig Ethernet switches; Mixed results: Only Force10 delivers 10G bit/sec throughput, but all switches boast impressive features.
February 3, 2003... Byline: David Newman, Network World Global Test Alliance Mixed results: Only Force10 delivers 10G bit/sec throughput, but all switches boast impressive features. By David Newman, Network World Global Test Alliance Lab tests...

QoS sanity check.(Ethernet switch testing)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: David Newman QoS sanity check One way for a vendor to rack up a good score in quality-of-service tests is to "nail up" a fixed amount of bandwidth for the exclusive use of high-priority traffic. This is similar to the TDM...

How we did it.(Ethernet switch testing)
February 3, 2003... We asked vendors to supply two switch chassis, up to four 10G Ethernet interfaces, and a total of 24 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces. We assessed device performance in terms of pure 10G bit/sec throughput, delay and jitter; 1G bit/sec throughput,...

No shows.(Ethernet switch testing)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: David Newman No shows Network World invited all leading enterprise switch vendors to participate in this test. Nonparticipants cited a variety of reasons for begging off. Alcatel says its 10G Ethernet products won't be...

How we did it.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Tom Henderson We tested the Vocera system as supplied by Vocera. The kit included four badges (with lanyards, headsets, belt clips and chargers), a Dell 4500 server (Windows 2000 Server) using a 2-GHz Intel processor, and a...

Vocera Communication System; Boldly talking over the wireless LAN.(Vocera Communications Vocera Badge)
February 3, 2003... Byline: TOM HENDERSON, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE n "Star Trek: The Next Generation," characters in the 24th century communicated by tapping a badge and speaking ("Picard to Engineering"). Magically, the badge would contact the...

Gadgets show IT's future.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Daniel Briere If you are reading this publication, chances are you love gadgets. Let's face it, we all love technology, and if we could do nothing but track the latest gadgets, we probably would. Now more than ever though,...

Mining value from tech events.(Demo Conference)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Chris Shipley Conventional wisdom says that in today's economic downturn, technology innovation is dead, or at least sleeping very soundly. Nothing could be further from the truth. While producing the annual Demo Conference, I...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: staff writers Cubix has launched a dual Xeon-based blade server with support for RAID 5, Windows 2003, SQL Server and Linux systems. The company's blade, the BladeStation XP4, which uses 2.8-GHz Xeon processors, supports as many as...

VPN outsourcing; Firms are using managed services to circumvent the staffing burden of maintaining VPNs.
February 3, 2003... Byline: denise pappalardo VPN outsourcing Firms are using managed services to circumvent the staffing burden of maintaining VPNs. n BY DENISE PAPPALARDO For most companies, moving to an IP-based VPN to enjoy savings and...

Enterprise Applications briefs.(Gores Technology Group acquires Resonate)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: staff Gores Technology Group last week said it would acquire application and traffic monitoring software maker Resonate for about $53 million. While the stock transaction will be subject to customary regulatory and Resonate...

NetPro extends Active Directory management suite.(DirectoryLockdown, DNSAnalyzer)
February 3, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA SCOTTSDALE, ARIZ. - NetPro has announced a new module for its management and monitoring suite designed to plug a lingering corporate security concern in Microsoft's Active Directory technology. The company last...

School solves videoconferencing puzzle.(Imperial County Office of Education )
February 3, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE Five years ago, the Imperial County Office of Education in El Centro, Calif., had a vision to put videoconferencing into every classroom in its 56 schools, but it wasn't until last year that it solved a key problem:...

Familiar welcome to the new year.(virus attacks Microsoft software)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Scott Bradner We did not get all that far into the new year before the inevitable happened. Yet another fast-spreading worm struck a Microsoft product, bogging down big chunks of the Internet and taking a few tens of thousands of...

SQL Slammer attack reveals reliability reality.(computer virus )
February 3, 2003... Byline: Kevin Tolly SQL Slammer attack reveals reliability reality "To have the same number of takeoffs and landings and never have my name in the paper." I received that well-practiced answer when I asked a commercial wide-body...

SSL: The secret handshake of the 'Net.(Secure Sockets Layer)
February 3, 2003... Byline: matt rollender Secure Sockets Layer has become the de facto standard for secure communications between end users and Internet sites, and today, SSL support is built into virtually every browser. SSL is a protocol layer that...

How low can rates go? . . . It's worth asking; DATA SERVICES: Price outlook mixed.(lowering data service costs)
February 3, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Today's economy is driving users to maintain existing investments in traditional data services. Despite a lot of hype and increasing adoption of IP VPN technology, businesses are happy to stick with tried-and-true...

Start-up scouts for redundant data.(Deepfile Auditor and Enforcer policy/data management devices)
February 3, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR AUSTIN, TEXAS - Deepfile CEO Jeff Erramouspe says that half the files on a typical corporate network are unaccounted for, either because they are redundant or haven't been accessed for a long time. Not only does this...

Sana Security claims cure for server intrusion.(Primary Response )
February 3, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER SAN MATEO, CALIF. - Start-up Sana Security this week will introduce software it says can learn normal server activity and detect or block abnormal behavior, such as buffer-overflow attempts, which aims to subvert the...

Versatile IP PBX on tap from Zultys.(Zultys Technologies MX 1200)
February 3, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Zultys Technologies last week made its debut with its MX1200 IP telephony server - or IP PBX - aimed at replacing circuit-switch phone networks in small and midsize businesses. The MX1200 could...

ask dr. internet.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Steve Blass Is there a way to connect customer networks that use the same internal IP address space (10.X.X.X) to a managed service provider's connection? We want to connect multiple customers who use the same internal addresses. We have...

A better way to measure true costs.(total cost of service delivery)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Johna Till Johnson Last week we discussed the concept of total cost of service delivery. In a nutshell, it is an approach for measuring the value of technology based on the assumption that you're putting the technology in place to...

NetVmg ups 'Net performance.(ships Flow Control Platform 100 and FCP 500 appliances)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE FREMONT, CALIF. - NetVmg is boosting its hardware and software platform in an effort to help businesses better control costs and improve Internet performance. The Flow Control Platform 100 and FCP 500 appliances are...

How Cogent digested PSINet.(interview with Cogent CEO Dave Schaeffer)(Interview)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Mike Martin While many communications providers that sprang up in the late 1990s have been filing for bankruptcy, ISP Cogent Communications has made news by acquiring the assets of its cash-strapped counterparts. In early 2002, the...

carrier briefs.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... n The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York has approved Level 3 Communications' planned acquisition of Genuity. Genuity announced it will lay off 700 to 800 more employees. Level 3 is expected to offer permanent positions...

Cool battery, smart spam stopper -- Cool Tools.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Keith Shaw Here are two more products we've been testing recently: N-Charge Power System Devices that give your laptop extra power when you're traveling are nothing new, but having the same device recharge your handheld...

IBM steps up content mgmt. play; Government regulations reinforce need to control corporate data.
February 3, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ ARMONK, N.Y. - Tougher document archiving regulations - plus increased government scrutiny of business documents - are generating new interest in an old technology: content management. Government regulatory...

Net.Worker.(rural areas in Great Britain push for broadband services )(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: staff Rural Britains are banding together to persuade British Telecom to provide their small towns and villages broadband access. Because BT will consider deploying high-speed access when a community preregisters at least 200 (and...

Three reasons to buy broadband.(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: TONI KISTNER LAS VEGAS - For the majority of U.S. online households, broadband still fails to deliver enough bang for the buck. Of the 76.5% who still used dial-up last year, 42% said they didn't need it and 32% said broadband was...

Mitel adds IP phone for teleworkers.(Mitel Networks 6010 Teleworker Solution)
February 3, 2003... Byline: TONI KISTNER Most network executives don't think twice about supplying corporate teleworkers with standard PCs with secure connections. Yet, extending the PBX to the home is often dismissed as too costly, with complicated...

Routers down, switches up, report predicts.
February 3, 2003... The router market will remain depressed, while Ethernet switch sales are expected to be up over last year, according to Dell'Oro Group. Dell'Oro says worldwide router sales will decline 2% from 2002, reaching $6.2 billion this year - the third...

Net Buzz.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara Beware that 'seamless transition' Slashing payroll might be standard business practice these days, but there's still no good way to tell the public - your customers, in particular - that you are forced to lay off...

IP PBXs: Telling the players apart.(Network World plans IP PBX showdown)
February 3, 2003... Byline: John Dix At the first Network World Showdown at the Voice on the Net show last February we asked a panel of IP PBX vendors if IP telephony was ready for prime time. They assured us it was, although the debate that endued was...

Automate with Automate.(Unisyn's Automate 5.0 )
February 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs A few months ago we reviewed an automation product called OpalisRobot (see www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 4140). We liked it a lot, and several readers said that if we liked that product, we'd love Automate 5 from Unisyn....

Sun to roll out first blade server.
February 3, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF. - Sun next week is expected to introduce the company's first blade-based server, as well as two midrange storage arrays, a 12-processor server and enhancements to its high-end servers. While...

Plethora of convergence wares on tap.
February 3, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Convergence products announced last week from Cisco, AltiGen and Avaya could help customers more effectively link voice and e-mail applications, increasing user productivity and easing administration tasks. The...

Laying blame when things are going wrong.(Column)
February 3, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs I need to rant. Specifically I need to rant about last week's little Internet worm problem . . . . Here we had a vulnerability that many argue should not have existed in the first place, that was identified and a patch...

Lotus offers assurances to Domino customers.
February 3, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA ORLANDO - Lotus started to regain momentum last week by throwing down the gauntlet to chief rival Microsoft and wooing end users with forthcoming products that promise to extend Domino's life and integrate the...

Next 'Slammer' could be worse.
February 3, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER As cleanup of the MS-SQL Slammer worm continued last week, talk among security experts centered on two facets of the attack that might portend greater trouble: the remarkable speed with which Slammer spread, and the...

Reporter's Notebook.(ComNet)(Brief Article)
February 3, 2003... Byline: staff writers Dwindling vendor and user attendance was the main observation most show-goers had about last week's ComNet. The show that once overflowed the Washington Convention Center's 381,000 square feet now only uses about...

ComNet attendees focus on wireless security.
February 3, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Wireless networks were a hot topic of conversation at last week's ComNet Conference & Expo, which featured 10 sessions devoted to everything from wireless LAN security to 3G's viability. On the wireless LAN...

Small ComNet soldiers on.
February 3, 2003... Byline: Network World staff WASHINGTON, D.C. - The ComNet Conference & Expo last week celebrated a bittersweet 25th birthday: Sessions and exhibitors focused on the hottest industry subjects from security to convergence to Web services,...

Sprint shake-up might be in the works.
February 3, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Speculation last week that longtime Sprint Chairman and CEO William Esrey is about to step down had industry watchers looking back at his career while raising concerns about the company's future. "This is not...

Telework set to transform call centers; Faced with 200,000 jobs lost to India, industry seeks new ways to compete.
February 3, 2003... Byline: TONI KISTNER It's ironic; everyone's teleworking - or, rather, they're just working, albeit at home - but the corporate telework industry is in the dumps. Equally ironic: Most big companies aren't spending on launching or expanding...

Siemens unveils first HomePlug/wireless router; When wireless coverage falls short, extend network with power line .(Siemens SpeedStream 2524 Powerline Wireless DSL/Cable Router)(Hardware Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 3, 2003... Byline: JAMES E. GASKIN If the question is "What are ways to connect small-office networks?" the answers are A) Ethernet, B) Wireless and C) HomePlug. The new Siemens SpeedStream 2524 Powerline Wireless DSL/Cable Router adds a new answer:...

Make way for media adapters; Devices make sharing PC and entertainment content easy.
February 3, 2003... Byline: MIKE WOLF While many consumers are starting to realize the benefits of a home network, the majority never venture beyond basic Internet, file and printer sharing. Not that the big three applications aren't important; when I help...

Plethora of convergence wares on tap.
February 3, 2003... Byline: phil hochmuth Plethora of convergence wares on tap n By Phil Hochmuth Convergence products announced last week from Cisco, AltiGen, Avaya and Captaris could help customers more effectively link voice and e-mail...

IBM database integrates diverse data.
February 10, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ IBM last week announced software designed to make it easier for companies to integrate and manage business information scattered across the corporation. Available in beta version, DB2 Information Integrator ties...

Amnis moves video to network edge.
February 10, 2003... Byline: JASON MESERVE PALO ALTO - Amnis Systems, formerly Optivision, is scheduled to launch line of edge servers designed to push video delivery and processing functions closer to end users within a geographically dispersed company. ...

Do-it-yourself tech support; A host of Web utilities help you troubleshoot your small- office network.(Directory)
February 10, 2003... Byline: JAMES E. GASKIN First in a two-part series When technical problems crop up, most small offices are on their own. Good thing there's a host of good Web utilities that make troubleshooting your small network much easier. ...

IBM plots Unix path.
February 10, 2003... Byline: ASHLEE VANCE AUSTIN, TEXAS - IBM has plans to make the midrange and low end of its Unix line stronger in a move that could liven up competition within the company between competing chip architectures. In 2004, IBM is scheduled...

CHANGES AFOOT FOR GENUITY CUSTOMERS; CLOSURE OF ACQUISITION BY LEVEL 3 MEANS SOME CUSTOMERS WILL NEED TO FIND NEW PROVIDERS.
February 10, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO BROOMFIELD, COLO. - Some Genuity customers soon will experience significant changes that will affect where or even if they remain on the network now that Level 3 Communications officially has acquired the troubled...

New mobile data standard on the way; IEEE focuses on developing real-time transmission for mobile users.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO A new wireless data specification is expected to join an already crowded field next year. The IEEE last week created the 802.20 Mobile Broadband Wireless Access (MBWA) working group. The group is focused on...

cool tools.
February 10, 2003... Byline: k shaw Apple launches 'spring line' Apple (www.apple.com) last week introduced two new iMacs as part of its "spring line." The 17-inch widescreen model includes a 1-GHz PowerPC G4 processor, 256M bytes of DDR memory, a...

Actelis aims at fiber-deprived firms.
February 10, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL MARTIN Actelis Networks recently expanded its product line with a device designed to let carriers offer metropolitan Ethernet services over multiple copper lines in areas where fiber isn't available or economically...

VCs stay stingy toward net start-ups.
February 10, 2003... Byline: BOB BROWN Venture funding of network start-ups continued its record slide in the fourth quarter last year, as the poor economy and a lack of corporate and carrier IT spending took heavy tolls. Venture capitalists invested $2.2...

Web server tool lets you enhance HTML forms.
February 10, 2003... Byline: gibbs In our quest to help our alter ego find useful tools for the Web server and computer lab at his son's school we have tried all sorts of products. We've delved into calendaring tools, JavaScript editors and all sorts of Web...

News briefs.
February 10, 2003... Byline: staff writers Microsoft last week issued two security advisories, pointing to a "critical" flaw in Internet Explorer and a second, less-severe problem with its Windows XP operating system. The Internet Explorer problem stems from a...

Regulatory basics.
February 10, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL MARTIN What is the Triennial Review? Every three years the Federal Communications Commission gathers to consider changes to its policies regarding unbundled network elements (UNE). The pending Triennial Review is...

Nortel set to roll out SSL VPN gear; Company also has Web acceleration, LAN and data center offerings on tap.
February 10, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH SANTA CLARA - New hardware coming soon from Nortel aims to give users a more cost-effective method for remote access, as the network vendor looks to firm up its position in the emerging Secure Sockets Layer VPN...

WAN carriers rock and teeter.
February 10, 2003... Byline: John Dix Just when you thought the long-distance telecom sector would settle down a bit, things have started to wobble again. Let's review: *Even as Sprint trotted out enviable 2002 results - revenue up 4% to $46.6 billion and...

Computer Associates streamlines data mgmt.
February 10, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ ISLANDIA, N.Y. - Years spent on the acquisition trail have netted Computer Associates a broad assortment of data-management technologies, which it's now beginning to integrate with a new version of its core CleverPath...

EMC OFFERS RECYCLING UPGRADE PLAN; REUSING STORAGE COMPONENTS SAVES MONEY.
February 10, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR HOPKINTON, MASS. - EMC introduced a high-end storage system last week that lets corporate customers reuse the disk drives and other components from their midrange Clariion storage arrays, giving users an inexpensive...

10 Gigabit getting ready to go copper.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Phil Hochmuth While the fiber-based 10G Ethernet standard is less than a year old, the IEEE already is moving to create a copper-based version of the 802.3ae standard. Two study groups formed in November are working on copper...

Proxim pitches wireless LAN switch.
February 10, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Wireless LAN switch announcements are popping up faster now than rogue access points, but Proxim says its architecture will stand apart. The effort - code-named "Maestro" - will feature a...

More on computers in education.(Column)
February 10, 2003... Byline: mark gibbs A cop stopped me for speeding. He said, 'Why were you going so fast?' I said, 'See this thing my foot is on? It's called an accelerator. When you push down on it, it sends more gas to the engine. The whole car just takes...

Microsoft rolls out 'reliability' programs.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Scarlet Pruit REDMOND, WASH. - Microsoft rolled out a set of programs and services last week aimed at bolstering the reliability of its Windows Server 2003, which the company plans to release in April. The support programs are...

Intel ready to fatten up server pipes.(Intel Pro/10GbE LR Server Adapter)
February 10, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH SAN JOSE - Intel will next month announce a 10G bit/sec Gigabit Ethernet NIC that promises to more than double the connectivity speed of today's servers. The Intel Pro/10GbE LR Server Adapter, to be released at...

Vendors improve security, server management wares.
February 10, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Network managers soon will have better tools for managing security and servers, experts say, as vendors such as NetIQ and BMC Software release new products that automatically provision users and monitor servers. ...

FCC rulings could hurt CLECs, help large users.
February 10, 2003... Byline: MICHAEL MARTIN Regulatory rulings expected any day on a pair of furiously debated telecom issues might spell bad news for consumers and small business but wind up indirectly benefiting large companies. A consensus is building...

Pentagon seen backing off hard-line wireless stance.
February 10, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER FT. MEADE, MD. - The Pentagon, which last fall issued sweeping prohibitions against the military using certain wireless network technologies, appears to be softening its stance by striking a balance between security...

A better IPSec?(National Security Agency's High-Assurance Internet Protocol Encryption)(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Ellen Messmer One option for the military to secure its wireless LANs in the future might be to use a protocol under development by the National Security Agency. The secretive protocol, dubbed High-Assurance Internet Protocol...

The latest tech discontinuities.(Wi-Fi for voice in addition to data and the blade server )
February 10, 2003... Byline: frank dzubeck Every once in a while a technology discontinuity occurs, reinventing the marketplace and sending a shiver up the corporate spines of vendors. Examples include the transistor vs. the vacuum tube, the PC vs. the...

Riding herd on desktop demands; Software vendors attempt to ease the burden of managing desktops, laptops, servers and mobile clients.
February 10, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Basil Blume learned a lot about desktop management his first week on the job at Centennial Bank of the West. For one, he learned that he needed a better way to do it. Blume, CTO at the chain of banks headquartered...

What about Microsoft?(Systems Management Server 2003 beta)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 10, 2003... Byline: PAUL FERRILL Microsoft's latest version of its Systems Management Server still is in the middle of an extended beta-test program. We put the SMS 2003 beta product through many of the same tests that we used for the other products...

Keeping up with desktop details.(Altiris' Express Client Management Suite; CA's Unicenter Asset Management, Software Delivery and Remote Control; LANDesk's Management Suite; Mobile Automation's Mobile Lifecycle Management Suite; NetSupport's TCO; PC-Duo Enterprise from Vector Networks; PowerQuest's PowerDeploy Suite with Cognet Manager and Cognet Observer; Novell's ZENworks for Desktops; and ZENworks for Handhelds, and XcelleNet's Afaria)(Software Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
February 10, 2003... Byline: PAUL FERRILL Much has changed in the two years since we last compared desktop management tools. Network executives are as focused as ever on reducing costs, but there's been a resurgent interest in security, particularly keeping up...

Sales pitch overload; IT executives are being deluged with sales calls from technology vendors every week.(Column)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Ann Bednarz Sales pitch overload IT executives are being deluged with sales calls from technology vendors every week. n BY ANN BEDNARZ A slew of states have adopted legislation that lets consumers who don't want to...

It pays to sort out UCPs.(utility computing providers)
February 10, 2003... Byline: jeff kaplan IBM's announcement of an impressive round of on-demand computing megadeals at the end of 2002 signals that utility computing services finally might have arrived. Utility computing services promise to give companies a...

Letters to the editor.
February 10, 2003... Byline: Readers The gist of the story "Why old data services thrive while new ones wither" (www.nwfusion.com, Doc Finder: 4136) is that major carriers today either do not offer Gigabit Ethernet services or are reluctant to promote such...

Marketing we can live with.(Novell's new series of ads )(Column)
February 10, 2003... Byline: dave kearns Last time out I criticized Microsoft and IBM for their current advertising campaigns. A few months ago I jumped all over Apple for its "switcher" series of ads. For years I've lampooned Novell for its marketing, or lack...

Ask Dr. Internet.(Brief Article)
February 10, 2003... Byline: Steve Blass Steve Blass Our ISP advertises 1.5M downstream and 256K upstream. We have a four-port Linksys router and have four PCs at home using the Internet. The FTP server software displays the throughput that each uses, as...

Spanning Tree rapidly branches out.(Spanning Tree Protocol and Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol )
February 10, 2003... Byline: JEFF HAYES Spanning Tree Protocol, supported on most bridges and switches, is the tried and tested method for providing path redundancy while eliminating loops in bridged networks. Loops create never-ending data paths, resulting in...