Network World articles from May 2005

Network World archives from May 2005

Advanced SIP interoperability is slow in the making.(serial interface protocol)
May 2, 2005... Byline: JOEL SNYDER, NETWORK WORLD LAB ALLIANCE A team of 20 iLabs engineers spent eight days running more than 1,100 SIP interoperability tests, and the conclusion is that having multi-vendor VoIP devices work together is by no means a...

SIP videophones fall short of the Interop mark.(serial interface protocol )
May 2, 2005... Byline: Joel Snyder SIP videophones fall short of the Interop mark Our testing of five videophone products - softphones from Nortel and Xten (on Macintosh and Windows platforms) and hard phones from InnoMedia and Leadtek - was not a...

In search of safe network access.
May 2, 2005... Byline: Rodney Thayer In search of safe network access By Rodney Thayer, Network World Lab Alliance Access to network resources has become an easy problem to solve. Using LAN connections, wireless access points, remote VPNs and...

ILabs how we did it.(Interop InteropNet Labs)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Joel Snyder How we did it We tested SIP products by building a large, multi-vendor test bed at the NetWorld+Interop InteropNet Labs Hot Stage facility in Belmont, California. Using Extreme Networks and Cisco Power-over-Ethernet...

SIP phone interop test plan.(Serial Interface Protocol)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Joel Snyder SIP PHONE INTEROP TEST PLAN Phase 0 testing: Run tests on phones as configured on one PBX: Asterisk. This is to validate basic "phone is not broken" behavior. Phase 1 testing: Move phones to the PBXs as...

Risk mgmt., controls key to SOX.(Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Daniel Blum Good information security professionals don't need a regulation to tell them it's important to protect their business. But, overprotecting the business? That's another matter. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act's...

ILabs teams dig deep on SIP interoperability, secure access and open source integration.(Interop InteropNet Labs)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Burns ILabs teams dig deep on SIP interoperability, secure access and open source integration Like they've done for more than 15 years now, dozens of engineers from all walks of network life last month gathered in a...

Shopping for software maintenance; Take care to avoid paying for service, support and upgrades that you neither need nor want.
May 2, 2005... Byline: John Fontana Shopping for software maintenance Take care to avoid paying for service, support and upgrades that you neither need nor want. As for any discerning shopper, value is the end goal for companies buying software...

Game over: Demand is dead.(network/datacom/telecom industry)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Howard Anderson We're screwed. There's no other way to put it. Who's "we?" The network/datacom/telecom industry. And why are we screwed? Because demand is dead. Kaput. Moribund. Innovation has never been better, and demand has...

Interwise leads field of 11 vendors in global test of voice/video over IP services; WEB CONFERENCING.(Enterprise Connection Platform (ECP), iMeeting 5.2)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 2, 2005... Byline: CHRISTINE PEREY, NETWORK WORLD LAB ALLIANCE Web conferencing vendors are adding two key features to their baseline data collaboration platforms: voice and video over IP. The advantages of being able to establish a single session...

Web conferencing test how we did it.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Perey The testing team consisted of 11 people in four countries - the U.S., U.K., Switzerland and Austria. Testers used Windows XP-based laptops connected to either corporate networks or broadband Internet; others used...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
May 2, 2005... Regarding the story "Spyware flap looks headed for court" (www.networkworld.com, DocFinder: 6925): If Todd Sawicki of the adware firm 180solutions is so committed to his "belief that the person has the right to choose what's on the machine," I...

Software moves streams in real time.(stream-processing engine, a data management software)
May 2, 2005... Byline: UGUR CETINTEMEL Applications that process real-time datastreams are pushing the limits of traditional data processing technologies. These applications are characterized by the need for sub-second response times - whether they...

Apple: Predator or protagonist?
May 2, 2005... Byline: Dave Kearns The big news last week on the PC front, at least according to the general press, was the release of a new version of the Macintosh operating system - the one that's been touted by the code name Tiger, as in the...

Forecasts for double or nothing.(meteorological services)(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Scott Bradner In the No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Department, Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) has introduced legislation to cripple the ability of the National Weather Service to show you weather information and forecasts that you paid...

SugarCRM unveils open source package.(Sugar Suite 3.0)
May 2, 2005... Byline: STACY COWLEY SugarCRM last week released an upgrade to its open source CRM system, a software package SugarCRM's founders say they hope will woo customers that would otherwise turn to more expensive commercial CRM offerings. ...

Unix not standing pat in data centers.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS Alpine Electronics, probably best known for its booming car stereos, got a bang of its own when it moved its ERP environment to IBM pSeries Unix servers that enable the electronics manufacturer to dynamically...

Enterprise Computing briefs.(Sepaton S2100-ES2, a virtual tape library appliance)
May 2, 2005... Byline: staff writers Sepaton announced last week an enhanced version of its virtual tape library appliance, which lets companies back up data to disk as if it were tape. The Sepaton S2100-ES2 includes the ability to back up data at up to...

Novell preps Linux/NetWare upgrade.
May 2, 2005... Byline: ROBERT MCMILLAN Just one month after shipping its merged Linux/NetWare operating system, called Open Enterprise Server, Novell is planning a major update to the product, scheduled to be released by the first half of 2007. The...

Security protocol has lots of work ahead of it.(WS-Security)
May 2, 2005... Byline: JOHN FONTANA The security protocol that began to increase use of Web services on corporate networks is now a year old: WS-Security has firmly established itself as a foundation IT can trust for securing XML-based traffic, according...

The economics of emergency services.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Johna Till Johnson My recent column on the necessity of universal 911 services definitely hit a hot button. Many thanks to those who wrote to share their views. A few clarifications: First, I provided some inaccurate...

Hooked on photonics; BBN researcher builds hack-proof quantum cryptography network that uses photons to generate secure keys.
May 2, 2005... Byline: AMY SCHURR Hooked on photonics BBN researcher builds hack-proof quantum cryptography network that uses photons to generate secure keys. CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - Chip Elliott is every hacker's worst nightmare. Elliott,...

Infoblox upgrades appliances.
May 2, 2005... Byline: CAROLYN DUFFY MARSAN As more companies support mobile access to network resources, they're finding they need a dynamic infrastructure for assigning IP addresses, authenticating users and controlling network access. Infoblox, a...

short takes.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Macromedia last week released Version 5.0 of Breeze, an online conferencing and collaboration platform that uses the company's Flash format to support virtual meetings and training. Breeze 5.0 includes a new Events application for managing...

Sprint pumps up volume on its Wi-Fi network.
May 2, 2005... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Sprint is beefing up its Wi-Fi hot-spot coverage in what the company calls an effort to offer users better wireless access support around the world. The Sprint PCS Wi-Fi Access service now sports 19,000...

Spike in distributed work boosts professional suites giant Regus.
May 2, 2005... Byline: toni kistner Spike in distributed work boosts professional suites giant Regus Big companies pushing distributed work realize that mobile employees need three places to work: a corporate office, a home office and some sort of...

Microsoft and SAP to link Office with ERP apps.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JORIS EVERS AND JOHN BLAU SAP and Microsoft later this year plan to deliver a jointly developed product that links SAP's software and Microsoft's Office products, giving users a familiar user interface to more complex ERP...

IBM has some tall RFID plans.
May 2, 2005... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ IBM is ramping up its efforts to compete in the emerging market for products that communicate environmental data to IT systems for analysis - which Big Blue says could represent a $20 billion opportunity by 2007. ...

Cisco's Sipura buy boosts VoIP support.
May 2, 2005... Byline: STEPHEN LAWSON Looking to buttress its small-business network support of VoIP, Cisco last week grabbed up Sipura for integration into its Linksys division. Cisco will pay about $68 million in cash and options for privately...

Router vendors boost IPTV services.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JIM DUFFY Don't touch that dial: Video appears to be the killer app for IP routing these days. Two vendors this week are expected to unveil enhancements for their router lines designed to address the burgeoning market among...

Sprint to bundle Orb media access with DSL.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: MARTYN WILLIAMS Sprint last week said it will offer its broadband customers a remote media access service from Orb Networks. The service lets users remotely access media stored on home PCs from a Web browser. It requires a home...

Consortium seeks to make grids more enterprise network ready.(Globus Toolkit from Globus Alliance)
May 2, 2005... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS A consortium led by HP, IBM and others to promote commercial adoption of an open source-based grid computing tool kit says a new version of the software will make it easier for companies to roll out distributed...

Cisco wears a big target, plugs IOS leaks.
May 2, 2005... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Even as Cisco focuses on writing more secure software and diffuses its next-generation router operating system across more platforms, observers say they expect the future of IOS to more resemble the cyclical...

A revised review, the aftermath of real life.(Intradyn RocketVault)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 2, 2005... Byline: mark gibbs We recently ran several columns about a network back-up appliance called the Intradyn RocketVault, (the last was www.networkworld.com, DocFinder: 6938), and we concluded by saying we really liked the product even though...

Ask Dr. Internet.(Jsch from www.jcraft.com)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Steve Blass Can you recommend an open source Java Secure Shell library that provides Secure FTP services in a Java client application? Yes - Jsch from www.jcraft.com is a pure Java implementation of SSH2 that offers a complete...

Service Providers briefs.(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: staff writers The global cellular handset market saw robust growth during the first quarter, according to reports from major handset manufacturers. Most of the top handset makers registered double-digit percentage growth. Siemens...

Net Buzz.(Stamps.com Inc.)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Paul McNamara Took a licking and . . . Turns out that The Smoking Gun only winged Stamps.com after all. You might recall that last fall we told the story of how a test run of Stamps.com's wildly popular PhotoStamps service...

Akamai accelerating Web-based apps.
May 2, 2005... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Akamai Technologies this week is expected to launch a service that promises to improve the performance of Web-based applications for business customers. The content delivery network (CDN) service provider...

Same content, different Web address.(NetworkWorld.com)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Adam Gaffin After nine and a half years online, it's time to say good-bye to Network World Fusion. But don't worry, we're not abandoning the Web. In fact, today, we launch a completely revamped Web site - as NetworkWorld.com. ...

Cool tools.(product intro)
May 2, 2005... Byline: keith shaw Create DVDs without a computer Part of the problem with taking home videos and putting them on DVD has been the conversion process and the use of a PC as the middleman. Sony last week got rid of the middleman with...

Aventail upgrade controls VPN access.
May 2, 2005... Byline: TIM GREENE Aventail this week is upgrading software for its SSL VPN appliances with features that will let customers set policies that pare down the resources remote users can reach. For example, Aventail's Smart Tunneling...

Microsoft has server beta on tap.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JOHN FONTANA Microsoft proved last week that it still has a lot of work to do on Longhorn before it is corporate-ready. But the imminent release of the next version of its server operating system is on target to provide users with...

Citrix revises software, adds VPN box.
May 2, 2005... Byline: STACY COWLEY AND JOHN COX Citrix last week unveiled a flurry of product updates that include speed and scalability enhancements along with new features such as an overhauled printer-support system, additional security and access...

Group to demo ways to secure desktops.
May 2, 2005... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER An industry consortium this week plans to demonstrate a specification for desktop policy enforcement that has been a year in the making. The Trusted Computing Group's (TCG) specification, which is scheduled to...

Trustgenix eases identity integration.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JOHN FONTANA Trustgenix last week released a simplified version of its server for sharing identities among companies that is designed to let users easily integrate partners into their infrastructure for access control. The...

Emergency extension; State Farm Insurance can bring nodes up in disaster-torn areas in a matter of hours.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JOHN DIX When you have a backbone network that spans the country, supporting three giant corporate facilities, 35 operations centers, almost 500 claims offices and some 17,000 agent offices, you'd think you'd have your bases...

Juniper fills gaps in its enterprise strategy.
May 2, 2005... Byline: TIM GREENE AND JIM DUFFY Juniper this week is set to reveal a key component of its corporate customer strategy that will include a network quarantine scheme that relies on the use of the company's WAN VPN technology to enforce...

News Bits.
May 2, 2005... It's not the first time he's shown a preference for it and likely won't be the last, but Microsoft Chief Software Architect Bill Gates last week said he'd like the Bush administration to do away with the limitation on foreign engineers U.S....

Interop to feature net mgmt. releases.
May 2, 2005... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Vendors plan to use Interop this week to launch new and upgraded products designed to show how networks and applications affect each other. Companies such as Allot Communications, Computer Associates and...

Avaya aims to boost VoIP performance.
May 2, 2005... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Avaya is expected to launch a raft of updates to its IP PBX family this week at Interop, including features that bolster VoIP reliability and ensure call quality. The server software Avaya is introducing lets...

Sun steps up services offerings.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS AND DENI CONNOR As part of a continuing effort to cast off its mantle as strictly a big server vendor, Sun this week is expected to expand its services offerings with the Sun Connection portal that will provide end...

Why go with a hosted service?(web conferencing)(Brief Article)
May 2, 2005... Byline: CHRISTINE PEREY Businesses can purchase Web conferencing in three different options: They can deploy it as an in-house application on the corporate network; a dedicated server can be set up and configured for a corporation on a...

Who played, who didn't.(parameters for webconferencing services survey)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Christine Perey The Web conferencing industry is crowded. More than 40 companies offer services for business users. We expect that there will continue to be consolidation in the industry in coming months and years. To focus on...

Freedom through surveillance data.(Column)
May 2, 2005... Byline: Mark Gibbs Since our discussions a few weeks ago about the use of RFID tags to track schoolchildren, I've been thinking: What about tracking cars and trucks? Motorized vehicles are without doubt central to the American...

Interop features array of security gear.
May 2, 2005... Byline: TIM GREENE AND PHIL HOCHMUTH A host of security vendors are set to roll out everything from intrusion-prevention gear to SSL VPN equipment at Interop this week. This focus on securing networks is not surprising considering that...

Cisco hedging its bets with WLAN game plan.
May 2, 2005... Byline: JOHN COX AND PHIL HOCHMUTH Cisco last week finally answered customer questions on whether they should stick with Cisco's current and pricey wireless LAN product plan or embrace the WLAN products from the company's $500 million...

Crunching the numbers; IP address management comes to the forefront as IT shops work to deliver more services and ensure their networks remain available and secure.
May 9, 2005... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Will McGregor isn't an accountant, but still his job requires that he keep tabs on 20,000 numbers at once. As a LAN network and security team member for Reuters in London, the numbers McGregor monitors are IP...

Lucent edges MetaInfo in IP address management test; VitalQIP is fast and scalable, Meta IP offers security and useful reports and ApplianSys' DNSBox 300 is an easy-to-deploy plug-and-play device.(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 9, 2005... Byline: BARRY NANCE, NETWORK WORLD LAB ALLIANCE When your company's IP address list begins to rival the Manhattan phone book, it's time for a serious IP address management tool. Dealing with a growing and rapidly changing population of IP...

Tech Insider how we did it.(testing of subnets)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Barry Nance Our test environment consisted of six routed Fast Ethernet subnet domains and a T-1 Internet connection. The Internet link let us perform massive zone transfers and other large-scale IP address operations, but most of...

So where is all the IPv6?(internet protocol, forecast)(Column)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Chuck Yoke Five years ago, I wrote a column questioning the need for IPv6 because I felt IPv4 was more than adequate. Two years later, I wrote another column basically saying the same thing - which did nothing to endear me to the...

Zultys launches small-office SIP-based IP PBX.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Zultys Technologies last month released a small-office version of its IP PBX, which targets offices with fewer than 30 users. The MX30 could be used as a stand-alone IP PBX in offices that need business phone...

E-mail snooping: A smart strategy.(survey)(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Linda Musthaler Last week I was drawn into a conversation between two women who happened to be small-business owners. One woman was telling the other how her husband occasionally looks at their employees' e-mails. Her mention of...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
May 9, 2005... Byline: readers Your story on wireless communications while driving (www.networkworld.com, DocFinder: 7027) is extremely appropriate these days. I fear the day will come when I see more drivers talking on cell phones while driving than...

When animals attack; Networks pay the tab for voracious varmints.
May 9, 2005... Byline: BOB BROWN AND JOHAN BOSTROM The crime scenes last February in rural Sweden looked remarkably similar despite being 90 miles apart. The perpetrators appeared to have entered through the smallest of cracks. Footprints dotted the snow....

Symantec targets client management; Company announces products to manage, secure and restore desktop devices.
May 9, 2005... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Symantec last week unveiled a suite of client management applications that the company says will converge management features, security capabilities and storage tools to help customers more easily maintain, secure and...

IPMI V2.0 simplifies server mgmt.(intelligent platform management interface, management)
May 9, 2005... Byline: MARCIO SAITO The need to reduce the complexity of IT infrastructure management remains a priority on every IT manager's agenda. One of the most prominent open standards addressing that need, Intelligent Platform Management...

Vendor vetting; When it comes to choosing network products, customer references can be an information gold mine.(Schon Crouse talks about the importance of customer references)
May 9, 2005... Byline: John Cox Vendor vetting When it comes to choosing network products, customer references can be an information gold mine. By John Cox Some network executives either overlook or don't make the most of a key resource in...

Maybe it is mulish stupidity after all.(Bruce Schneier, Barry Steinhardt views on electronic passport)(Column)
May 9, 2005... Byline: scott bradner Three weeks ago I wrote about the U.S. government's efforts to keep the pending electronic passport from being too secure. I still don't know for sure why the government tried so hard to do this, but it's beginning to...

Pillars of VoIP service - bandwidth, architecture.(voice over internet protocol forecast)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Kevin Tolly For all of the high-profile "Broadband VoIP" advertising we're being inundated with of late, you'd think that the major differentiators between leading contenders fall into just two categories: bells & whistles, and...

Juniper revamps security gear; Intrusion-detection added to current family of firewall/VPN devices.(virtual private networks, Juniper Networks Inc.)
May 9, 2005... Byline: TIM GREENE Juniper is adding intrusion detection to one of its firewall/VPN devices and revamping its line of stand-alone intrusion-detection gear, making it possible for businesses to streamline network administration by deploying...

Anti-virus firm joins spyware battle.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER Anti-virus firm Eset last week announced it has added anti-spyware filtering to its NOD32 Version 2.5 software for helping users protect Windows desktops and servers, and a range of Lotus, Novell and Linux servers....

short takes.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Fair Isaac, the Minneapolis firm that offers the Falcon line of high-end analytic software that compiles many credit scores and risk evaluations in the U.S., last week announced Unix- and mainframe-based software that unites the features in all...

short takes.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... Dell is offering a line of LAN switches that gives users management capabilities at a price that the company says is lower than the cost of its unmanaged switches. The PowerConnect 2700 Series switches cost as little as $16 per managed Gigabit...

Intel playing catch-up to AMD efforts.
May 9, 2005... Byline: TOM KRAZIT SANTA CLARA - Intel's top server executive recently acknowledged the disparity between his company's server processor road maps and Advanced Micro Devices, but said Intel plans to close the gap soon with a revitalized...

Start-up aims for always-on Exchange.(new product Teneros Applications Continuity Appliance from Teneron Corp.)
May 9, 2005... Byline: John Fontana Back-up and recovery start-up Teneros is developing an appliance designed to help users ensure that their Microsoft Exchange environments are always available. The Teneros Applications Continuity Appliance (ACA)...

Politics, policy and pragmatism.(Column)
May 9, 2005... Byline: Johna Till Johnson Every now and then, readers comment on a column they think is "too political," or that they believe stems from a particular political bias on my part. In these polarized times, that belief is understandable. But...

Juniper, Avaya agree to expand joint development partnership.
May 9, 2005... Byline: Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service Juniper and Avaya said last week they intend to tighten their partnership to include joint product development as well as resale and support of each other's products. Under their current...

Vendors improve remote server management products.
May 9, 2005... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Server management vendors last week at Interop introduced products designed to give systems administrators direct access to remote machines and ease management tasks. Avocent and Cyclades separately unveiled...

Unplug and play: Uniting mobile devices, PBXs; WIRELESS: Telephony system integration strategies.
May 9, 2005... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO As a mobile device user, do you have desktop phone envy? Sure, going mobile spells freedom, but it also often means giving up traditional PBX-based phone system features such as abbreviated dialing, call...

HP and EMC last week said they have signed a five-year patent cross-licensing deal that will end four years of litigation between them. The settlement agreement calls for HP to pay EMC a $325 million "balancing" payment.(Brief Article)
May 9, 2005... HP and EMC last week said they have signed a five-year patent cross-licensing deal that will end four years of litigation between them. The settlement agreement calls for HP to pay EMC a $325 million "balancing" payment. HP's payment obligation...

XOsoft product verifies disaster-recovery tools.
May 9, 2005... Byline: DENI CONNOR XOsoft last week introduced software based on the premise that data replication and mirroring software isn't any good if it isn't working. The company, which sells replication and mirroring tools, says Assured...

More on machine names and spam.(readers talks about computer security)(Column)
May 9, 2005... Well, we had lots of feedback on the topic of naming servers and PCs after our column of a few weeks ago. Reader Kes Masalaitis wrote, "we got our first RISC machine, which was way faster than the CISC machines we had. I was the sysadmin, and...

News briefs.
May 9, 2005... Byline: staff writers IBM set to slash 13,000 jobs After reporting less than rousing first-quarter financials, IBM executives last week detailed a series of restructuring moves - including the loss of between 10,000 and 13,000 jobs -...

AT&T rolls out hosted IP PBX service at Interop.
May 9, 2005... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO AT&T last week announced a suite of IP services that will include voice, conferencing, messaging and video. The first of its Dynamic Network Applications is AT&T Voice DNA, a network-based, hosted IP PBX...