Network World articles from July 2003

Network World archives from July 2003

Is your boss the best?
July 7, 2003... Byline: Network World Fusion For an upcoming special Signature Series feature, we're looking for IT executives who make great bosses. If you think your boss qualifies, please let us know: Your name: Title: Company: ...

Playing tag; Retailers explore wireless labels for tracking merchandise and increasing sales opportunities.(Industry Overview)
July 7, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ AND DENISE DUBIE Wireless asset-tracking systems are causing a stir throughout the ranks of traditionally IT-conservative retailers. Wal-Mart is conducting field trials of wireless-enabled item labels that are...

Take two tablet PCs and call me in the morning; Healthcare industry looks to boost patient care through electronic data entry and record keeping via portable wireless devices.
July 7, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR AND JENNIFER MEARS For IT executives in large healthcare organizations, compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act is, surprisingly enough, last year's business. With HIPAA under...

Asset protection; Banks look for better ways to plug security holes and ensure disaster recovery.
July 7, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER Banks come in all shapes and sizes, from global financial services firms down to the smallest credit unions. But finding better ways to ensure security is a common concern. Large banks face another challenge - the...

Security lesson; University net execs face variety of security challenges.
July 7, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX AND TONI KISTNER Just how seriously universities now take network security can be seen in one small, but telling incident: The CIO of Tulane University wouldn't talk about the subject. "I have made it a policy to not...

Shoestring networks; States get creative as budgets shrink.
July 7, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE AND DENISE PAPPALARDO As government networks carry more and more traffic, top state network officials are grappling with the same core issues that plague corporate IT professionals: Demand for network capacity is up, yet...

Shop talk; Factories look for network answers.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Phil Hochmuth and John Fontana Shop talk Factories look for network answers. by PHIL HOCHMUTH AND JOHN FONTANA Envision a modern-day manufacturing plant and chances are you conjure up images of large robotic arms and...

No one here but the sales department.(Column)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Edward Horrell A recent story in USA Today discussed the difficulty of getting assistance when experiencing service troubles. The writer gave examples of some national companies at which it is difficult, if not impossible, to get a...

Where's the war dividend?(Column)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Howard Anderson Every time the U.S. goes to war, there always seems to be a "peace dividend" - a commercial spinoff from the Department of Defense spending that flows to the private sector. Because we needed a better way to gauge...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
July 7, 2003... Byline: readers Your story "Broadband over power lines closer to reality" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 6622) minimizes the very serious "environmental" impact of power line communication/broadband over power line Internet service: radio...

Microsoft's Munich.(Column)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Kevin Tolly Some three score years ago, a meeting in Munich played a pivotal role in determining the course of a world war. As that Bavarian city gets set to roll out Linux to the desktops of its 14,000 knowledge workers, it might...

The state of the LAN landscape; Cisco tops most categories, but sees increasing competition at high, low end.(Industry Overview)
July 7, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Market leadership in most LAN switch categories can be summed up in one word - Cisco. But a closer look at the numbers reveals some new developments taking place at opposite ends of the switch spectrum. While...

The usefulness of 'do not' signs.(Column)
July 7, 2003... Byline: Scott Bradner Many years after it became clear to most of the U.S. population that it needed to be done, a federal "do not call" list is almost here. Those whose business model is predicated on interrupting your dinner are...

Retailers spur supply chain registry.
July 7, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA Mega-retailers Wal-Mart and The Home Depot have ignited an industry-wide effort to create a master catalog of retail product data targeted at slashing billions of dollars in supply chain costs and triggering a new...

Juniper enhances edge offerings; 'Service-Built' extensions intended to drive carrier revenue.
July 7, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY Juniper Networks last week unveiled new and enhanced products designed to let service providers derive more revenue from the edge of their networks. Under the umbrella "Service-Built Edge," Juniper rolled out an...

VMware increases control of virtual server resources.
July 7, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS VMware, which specializes in software that carves multiple virtual servers out of single physical boxes, has introduced a product that promises centralized control of those systems. It also is readying software that...

Getting Vertical.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Bob Brown So how about that RFID? Gotta love CPOE, right? Whaddya say about ETL? Just when you think you've got a handle on the latest network terms, along comes a new batch to send your brain whirling. But don't feel too bad....

How to get real answers from service providers.(Column)
July 7, 2003... Periodically I get the question "What service provider should I go with?" Or, as a reader recently put it, "I hope you write a column about how to evaluate telcos using the resources out there on the 'Net, but I'll have signed a multi-year...

LANDesk punches up patch management suite.(LANDesk Management Suite 7.0)
July 7, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Customers looking to automate the repetitive and tedious processes of updating security patches, rolling out new applications and simply managing desktops might want to consider LANDesk's offering due out later this...

Verio takes the plunge on IPv6.
July 7, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO ISP Verio, a subsidiary of NTT, is rolling out IPv6 support to U.S. customers in a move the company says will offer more flexibility for current and future network needs. The native-mode IPv6 service will let...

Biz technology system still rough.(EmergeCore Networks IT-100 )
July 7, 2003... Byline: JAMES GASKIN, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE EmergeCore Networks' IT-100 promises small-business owners a complete business-technology system - Web hosting, e-mail services, file sharing, firewall and built-in wireless access...

TCP Offload Engine speeds processing.
July 7, 2003... Byline: JOE GERVAIS TCP/IP has long been the common language for network traffic, and recent initiatives such as Internet SCSI and Remote Direct Memory Access are making it the protocol of choice for storage and clustering. However,...

Tellabs recently announced completion of its $135 million acquisition of multiservice edge switch maker Vivace Networks.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... Tellabs recently announced completion of its $135 million acquisition of multiservice edge switch maker Vivace Networks. Concurrent with the deal's closing, Tellabs confirmed that NTT and MCI, formerly WorldCom, are using Vivace's switches. ...

Enterprise Applications Short Takes.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... Sybase, a subsidiary of iAnywhere Solutions, has updated software designed to push e-mail out to wireless devices from enterprise servers, adding support for mail attachments. The Pylon family of software also can synchronize mail stored on a...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
July 7, 2003... Byline: staff writers SMC Networks this month is expected to release new five- and eight-port TigerStack Gigabit Ethernet switches and Gigabit network interface cards aimed at small "power user" workgroups. The unmanaged boxes will support...

Net.Worker briefs.
July 7, 2003... Byline: staff writers Microsoft last week announced the latest beta release of its Small Business Server 2003. To make client/server networks less intimidating to non-technical users, Microsoft made the user interface friendly and Windows...

Ask Dr. Internet.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Steve Blass Steve Blass Our Web sites run on Apache/mod_ssl servers hosted by our ISP. We want to authenticate Web site visitors by using personal digital certificates instead of a basic logon dialog box. Can we configure...

'Net Buzz.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara A bunch of Network World Fusion readers apparently have never heard the old adage about never saying never. The evidence can be seen in an online poll conducted throughout June that asked: "Have you ever paid for...

Cool Tools.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Keith Shaw Another widescreen notebook It looks like Apple hit another nerve with end users' tastes (I mean that in a good way). After Apple released its widescreen notebook earlier this year, PC notebook vendors followed suit...

KVM in, Linux server up, we install the WLAN.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs Last week we asked if anyone had any ideas on how to get Serial Advanced Technology Attachment drives to work under Linux, and Mark Mills was the first to respond: "Install a 3Ware card. I'm new to Linux but 3Ware's...

Govt. regs taxing on storage resources.
July 7, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR Complying with government regulations is taking an increasing toll on IT storage budgets and resources, analysts say. Businesses are spending a majority of the money earmarked for storage on software and hardware...

Court sides with ex-Intel worker.(California Supreme Court)
July 7, 2003... California's highest court last week decided that a former Intel employee did not trespass on Intel's IT systems by sending mass e-mail messages critical of the company to its employees. After leaving Intel, Kourosh Kenneth Hamidi helped form...

Big players push IPv6, but masses still resist.
July 7, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH AND TIM GREENE When the dominant maker and a powerful buyer of network gear - Cisco and the Pentagon - insist the time has come for IPv6, some might see it as marching orders for the industry. However, IPv6 -...

ID mgmt. poised for next stage.
July 7, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA Existing identity management practices and standards in combination with Web services security protocols will provide needed protection to support distributed computing between corporations and their partners. That...

CA event to highlight on-demand computing.
July 7, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE At its annual customer conference next week in Las Vegas, Computer Associates will flesh out its strategy for managing on-demand computing environments - a software-centric effort the company says is more flexible than...

What spam really costs, Part II.
July 7, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs I hope you did the homework I assigned last week. I wanted you to find out: * What your data services cost per month. * What percentage of your available WAN bandwidth actually is used. * What percentage of...

Getting more out of frame with mgmt. tools; FRAME RELAY MANAGEMENT TOOLS: Three users speak of benefits.
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Reducing costs and getting more out of existing technology has become a mantra for IT professionals, especially those with mature networks such as frame relay. Companies are deploying a variety of frame relay...

Return training to the budget.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Steven Taylor The worldwide information infrastructure is growing and improving by leaps and bounds, while our ability to support this infrastructure is crumbling around us. That's because budgets for professional development -...

filters on routers: the price of performance; access control doesn't have to be a throughput killer.
July 14, 2003... Byline: david newman ACCESS CONTROL DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A THROUGHPUT KILLER Filters on routers: The price of performance n by DAVID NEWMAN, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE Setting filters on routers might be mandatory for...

filtering dos and don'ts.
July 14, 2003... Byline: david newman Filtering dos and don'ts Filters can permit or deny virtually any kind of traffic - up to a point. Here are some basic dos and don'ts for filter usage: Do prevent address spoofing at the edge of a company's...

featured players.(routers)
July 14, 2003... Byline: david newman Featured players A router's features are at least as important as its performance, often far more so. To get a sense of what these routers do beyond filtering, we asked participating vendors to complete a features...

How we did it.
July 14, 2003... Byline: David Newman How we did it We assessed router performance in four ways: baseline measurements; performance with filters applied; performance with routing and filters applied; and reboot time under load. For all tests,...

GoBeam offers flat-fee IP voice plan; Flat rate for IP phone service replaces pay-as-you-go model.
July 14, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE IP phone service provider GoBeam is taking the guesswork out of how many calling minutes to buy with a new flat-fee pricing model that's based on how many phone sets customers have. With the new pricing for its...

Neoteris launches conferencing appliance.(Neoteris Meeting Series)
July 14, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE Neoteris is adding an Internet-conferencing appliance to its line of Secure Sockets Layer remote-access gear, which makes it possible to collaborate with others that use Internet-connected computers equipped with Web...

Spam scam.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Jim McCullars Regarding Mark Gibbs' Backspin column "Beating online burning" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 6730), in which he discusses the Nigerian letter fraud: There is a new Nigerian scam making the rounds, this time targeting...

Wrangling wireless costs; Nail down a contract and track usage to keep your employees' cell phone bills low.
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO As business becomes ever more dependent on mobile communications, the cost of keeping employees untethered is soaring. In-Stat MDR estimates that companies will spend $12 billion on wireless services this year. If...

Needed: A return to simplicity.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Daniel Briere We're hearing a steady hum across the industry as the market begins to recover a little, some forward visibility starts to creep in, and things, well . . . pick up, albeit in some slow-growth ways. However, we're...

Deutsche Bank gives remote users a choice.
July 14, 2003... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER At Deutsche Bank, there's no one-size-fits-all policy for VPNs. The bank, which ranks as the 20th largest in the world based on market value, has used an IP Security (IPSec)-based VPN since September 2001 so that more...

Ask Dr. Internet.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Steve Blass Steve Blass I installed a personal digital certificate under my e-mail client. I can digitally sign my e-mail but cannot encrypt messages I send unless I have a copy of the recipient's digital certificate. Why...

Are companies responsible for their CRM failures? Two experts debate whether vendors or buyers bear the most blame for CRM mishaps.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Chris Selland Mention CRM these days and the most common response you'll receive will have something to do with failure - usually because of some fault of the vendor. But blaming vendors for CRM failures is simplistic and...

No side to faceoff.(customer relatinship management vs sales force automation)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Dror Pockard Vendors - not customers - are ultimately responsible for CRM failures. There was so much hype around the technology in the late 1990s that it was almost impossible to meet inflated customer expectations. CRM providers...

Toolless desktop, swivelicious monitor.(IBM ThinkCentre S50 and HP L1925 )(Hardware Review)(Product/Service Evaluation)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Keith Shaw It's been a few weeks since we've been able to test some stuff here at the Cool Tools Test Zone, so as usual we're falling behind. Here's a quick look at two products that have graced our offices and merit the Cool Tools...

Need IP telephony talent? . . . Try a service provider.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Johna Till Johnson A month ago I wrote about what service providers can do to get in tune with IP telephony, including developing compelling ROI stories, emphasizing managed service and delivering integrated mobile solutions. A...

I don't want you to be me.(identity theft)
July 14, 2003... Byline: Sccott Bradner No offense, but I don't want you to be me. Last year the Federal Trade Commission received almost 162,000 complaints concerning identity theft, up from 117,000 in 2001. And there is no indication that the problem is...

FCIP bridges Fibre Channel SANs.
July 14, 2003... Byline: TOM CLARK Fibre Channel over IP is a proposed IETF standard for linking Fibre Channel fabrics over TCP/IP network links. The protocol can be used as an alternative to connecting storage-area networks via dense wavelength division...

Netgear releases managed Layer 3 box.(Netgear GSM7324)
July 14, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Home network vendor Netgear last week released a box aimed more at the corporate set - a triple-speed (10/100/1000M bit/sec) LAN edge switch that also can act as a hardware-based router. The GSM7324 could help...

Equant pushing IDS service.
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Equant announced a managed service last week that it says will address a major shortcoming of intrusion-detection systems: too many false alarms. "There are a large amount of false negatives and false...

net buzz.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara Jesse and James swear by it Quiz time: What do former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura and political pit bull James Carville have in common? Big mouths and not much hair, you say? . . . That's a swell guess, but...

NetScreen among firms adding IPv6 to firewalls.
July 14, 2003... Byline: STEPHEN LAWSON Makers of network security gear are lining up to help corporations and service providers implement IPv6, the next-generation network layer protocol for the Internet that offers a vastly larger number of host...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... Byline: staff NetPro has launched a new version of its Novell eDirectory monitoring and alerting software. DS Expert 4.0 now supports eDirectory management on Windows and Solaris networks and can be managed with Microsoft Operations...

IBM, Microsoft debut Web specs.
July 14, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA SAN FRANCISCO - IBM and Microsoft last week published the fifth of an eventual seven specifications that will work in unison to help corporations deploy secure and interoperable Web services. The new WS-Federation...

Polycom strengthens videoconference features.
July 14, 2003... Byline: JASON MESERVE Polycom has been busy the past two weeks announcing advanced features for its low-end gateway device, improved video and audio quality for its desktop videoconferencing device, and a portal-like Web conferencing...

Service Providers Short Takes.(Brief Article)
July 14, 2003... AT&T Wireless has inked a three-year roaming agreement with Western Wireless to expand AT&T Wireless' reach throughout 17 western states. Both service providers support GSM/General Packet Radio Service wireless networks. AT&T Wireless has...

Enterprise Application briefs.
July 14, 2003... Byline: staff Sun plans to announce the first beta of its Project Orion software package this month or early next month, with the final product scheduled to ship before year-end, a source close to Sun said last week. Project Orion is the...

Wrapping up the WLAN.
July 14, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs So last week we talked about getting the wireless LAN infrastructure ready for our friend's conference, and the next step was to look at what services needed to be provided. We could have linked our network to the...

Reserving judgment on IDS death.
July 14, 2003... Byline: John Dix Gartner has created something of a flap with a string of reports saying intrusion-detection systems haven't lived up to their promises and will be eclipsed by intrusion-prevention tools. The latest indictment was...

EMC move fuels storage shakeout.(Industry Overview)
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR A steadily consolidating storage market veered into the fast lane last week with EMC's $1.3 billion purchase of Legato Systems. And experts see nothing but open road ahead for more mergers and acquisitions. The...

NetScout looks to tie management data.(nGenius Performance Manager 2.0 and nGenius Probe Firmware 6.0)
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE IT staff members at Mohegan Sun aren't allowed to bet at the casino, and they didn't want to gamble with managing an Ethernet network that supports 6,200 slot machines and 7,500 switches, routers and servers. IT...

Zultys releases IP PBX for smaller shops; SIP and Linux technology converge in a branch-office IP telephony appliance.(Zultys Technologies MX250 hardware/software product)
July 14, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH IP telephony start-up Zultys Technologies is expected this week to announce a small-office version of its IP PBX that can cost less than circuit-switched telephone key systems, or small PBXs, while providing converged...

AT&T, MCI firm up Wi-Fi VPN access plans.
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO The two largest carriers are getting closer to offering Wi-Fi VPN access for customers who spend lot of time on the road. AT&T last week signed a deal with Gric Communications that will let AT&T customers...

Starbucks gets win-win from Wi-Fi.
July 14, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE Customers of coffee-shop giant Starbucks who browse the Internet from in-store wireless hot spots might be surprised to learn that the same 802.11b network was conceived as a way to run the retailer's business more...

Bit by bit, 64-bit processors catching on.
July 14, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS At Fortis Health, servers powered by 64-bit Intel processors are used to run business analytics on - a capability the health insurer says will help keep it one step ahead of the competition. But Roger Jones, senior...

Judge says 3Com can back Huawei.
July 14, 2003... A judge ruled last week that 3Com can participate in a lawsuit filed by Cisco against Huawei Technologies. 3Com can assist Huawei in future court proceedings, the judge said. Cisco is suing Huawei for copyright and patent infringements. 3Com's...

BellSouth lowers DSL pricing.
July 14, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO BellSouth last week became the latest local exchange carrier to drop its DSL service rates in an effort to convert more dial-up and cable modem Internet access users. The carrier's new DSL Lite, priced at $35...

Wal-Mart shelves RFID test plan.
July 14, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX Wal-Mart has decided against testing a wireless inventory control system on shelves at a suburban Boston store. It's a move some privacy advocates are hailing as a victory, but one the retailer calls unrelated to concerns...

Past the event horizon.
July 14, 2003... Byline: mark gibbs Doctrine defines the event horizon, conceptually that location in time and space where a force interacts with the enemy's will. . . . It is the task of doctrine to extend the event horizon as far away as possible from...

Proxim struggles continue despite WLAN popularity.
July 14, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX If wireless is such a hot market, why can't Proxim make any money? That's the question on the minds of customers and industry watchers who have seen the company pile up more than $190 million in losses during the past...

Boeing lets single sign-on project fly; Effort with Southwest Airlines exploits identity management technology.
July 14, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA SAN FRANCISCO - Boeing last week made public the first phase of a standards-based identity management project that could serve as an industry model for integrating single sign-on access controls across business...

What's weighing on you? Security and employee management remain perpetual worries, yet our annual Top Concerns survey reveals a more optimistic you.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Julie Bort What's weighing on you? Security and employee management remain perpetual worries, yet our annual Top Concerns survey reveals a more optimistic you. By Julie Bort Despite strained IT budgets, the continued...

Making your decisions ethical; Even the most principled net execs see shades of gray in software licensing, vendor billing mistakes and other business issues that challenge their values.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Joanne Cummings Making your decisions ethical Even the most principled net execs see shades of gray in software licensing, vendor billing mistakes and other business issues that challenge their values. By Joanne Cummings...

Six ways to stay ethical; You might be confident in your personal ethics, but what about those of your department or company? Here are some tips for keeping your shop is ethical.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Joanne Cummings Six ways to stay ethical You might be confident in your personal ethics, but what about those of your department or company? Here are some tips for keeping your shop is ethical. 1. Consider the front-page...

The (online) games you play; Need to unwind? Load up that 'shooter' software and away you go.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Denise Dubie The (online) games you play Need to unwind? Load up that 'shooter' software and away you go. By Denise Dubie By day, you manage a budget of millions, oversee a staff of dozens and make decisions affecting...

Carrying football footage; Convergence is the big play at NFL Films, where Network Director Steve Eager made the call to merge voice, video and data on a new IP infrastructure.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Bob Violino Carrying football footage Convergence is the big play at NFL Films, where Network Director Steve Eager made the call to merge voice, video and data on a new IP infrastructure. By Bob Violino Walk into the...

Built for power; Champion powerlifter Phil Andrews, acting network director at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, makes sure the TeraGrid research network can crunch massive amounts of data.
July 21, 2003... Byline: Terry Sweeney Built for power Champion powerlifter Phil Andrews, acting network director at the San Diego Supercomputer Center, makes sure the TeraGrid research network can crunch massive amounts of data. By Terry Sweeney...