Network World articles from November 2002

Network World archives from November 2002

What users want from Microsoft.
November 4, 2002... If customers had any doubt as to Microsoft's dominance in the server and desktop markets they need look no further than the latest numbers from IDC. The research showed Microsoft accounted for a 49% share of the 5.7 million new server...

Are weblogs legitimate business tools?
November 4, 2002... While Weblogs are an increasingly popular tool, they're not nearly as transformative as some people think. Based on my three years of writing "Good Experience," a newsletter and blog, the blog has limited value as a business tool. I will grant...

Are Weblogs legitimate business tools?; Two industry insiders debate whether blogs have the potential to transform business.
November 4, 2002... Using Weblogs in your business environment can increase employee communication and knowledge, save time and resources, and build reputation and confidence. We're not talking server logs here; the Weblogs we're talking about are topical,...

Your presence is requested; SIP-based, real-time multimedia communication is calling.(instant messaging, videoconferencing, text messaging)
November 4, 2002... SIP-based, real-time multimedia communication is calling. by CHRISTINE PEREY, Network World global test alliance You're in a conference room in New York and you need to get in touch with Bob in Los Angeles. You don't know if Bob is in...

Check Point's CEO tackles security issues.(Gil Schwed)(Interview)
November 4, 2002... Check Point Software needs this quarter to be its biggest in years for revenue if it hopes to match last year's revenue figure of $528 million. The company also is in the midst of a slide in its stock prices from a high of about $50 per share...

Gigabit intrusion-detection systems; Tests show network IDS products have a ways to go to get accurate detection at gigabit speeds.(Network security software)
November 4, 2002... In our tests of five leading network intrusion-detection systems and the popular open source Snort, performance was spotty during baseline testing and degraded by as much as 50% on some products when we opened the throttle to gigabit speeds....

how we did it.(Testing intrusion detection systems)
November 4, 2002... How we did it (On-line only) We tested gigabit IDS systems by generating background traffic and running easily obtained attacks. Our test-bed network consisted of an Extreme Network's Summit 5i, an Extreme Summit 7i and two Extreme 48...

Managing IT contraction.
November 4, 2002... Given the economic climate, it's not surprising that IT executives are looking for ways to do more with less. When it comes to their existing IT operations, the mantra of the day is consolidation and standardization. Yet, few IT organizations...

VoIP views.(voice over IP)
November 4, 2002... Regarding "Quality question remains for VoIP" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 2924): This past year I rolled out a new, 1,000-phone PBX. I considered voice over IP briefly but decided that it wasn't ready for prime time, for the following...

Accessibility helps everyone.(technology access for the disabled )
November 4, 2002... As a network executive, you want to be responsive to your users' needs. Those users might include people with disabilities - the temporary or permanent loss of a major life function, such as mobility, sight, hearing or cognitive ability. ...

Self-protection; Reliance on financially troubled service providers requires special contract care.
November 4, 2002... Self-protection Reliance on financially troubled service providers requires special contract care. BY MICHAEL MARTIN Negotiating contracts with IT suppliers never has been easy, but with the economy in the dumps and IT vendors...

Storage advances to boost throughput; STORAGE: A look at emerging technologies.( Serial Advanced Technology Attachment and Serial Attached SCSI )
November 4, 2002... New storage connectivity technology is on the horizon that promises faster performance, greater scalability and more flexibility for companies of all sizes. The two technologies expected to take center stage early next year are Serial...

Diff-Serv provides quality of service.(Differentiated Services standard)
November 4, 2002... The three primary benefits of converged networks are cost-effectiveness, scalable support for voice and datastreams on a single infrastructure, and reduced management costs. However, a converged network requires a quality-of-service (QoS)...

Endangered silos?(FCC Commissioner recommends new services-based telecommunications regulations)
November 4, 2002... Historically, the pillars of telecommunications regulation around the world have been: l Raise money for the government. l Protect incumbent carriers. l Raise money for the government. l Maximize response time to technological...

Microsoft pricing: You were warned.(Microsoft questionable licensing practices lead to profit)
November 4, 2002... "We have met the enemy, and he is us." - Walt Kelly, www.igopogo.com/we_have_met.htm Given that almost all technology companies are reporting less-than-expected revenue and earnings, Microsoft stands out with its report for the...

Software rivals rev up.(groupware from Open Text and SiteScape)
November 4, 2002... Collaborative software competitors Open Text and SiteScape this week are scheduled to upgrade their offerings with options that provide improved real-time sharing and application integration capabilities. The products are designed to make...

Content mgmt. gets collaboration features.(Dow Corning combines workgroup and document management systems)
November 4, 2002... Dow Corning installed its content management system in 1996, using the software to manage everything from project documentation to material safety data sheets to technical reports. It also used the Documentum-supplied system for some light...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... Dell and storage vendor EMC will celebrate the one-year anniversary of their alliance with the launch of a low-end storage system. The companies last week unveiled the Clariion CX 200, a new entry-level storage product that they developed...

apps briefs.(Sybase ships Enterprise Portal 5.0)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... Sybase last week unveiled a new version of its portal software, Enterprise Portal 5.0, which offers updates intended to make the product easier to use. New features include Portal Studio, which has wizard-driven tools designed to make it easier...

Got Ethernet? Add a wireless bridge.(home networking goes wireless)
November 4, 2002... Ethernet is moving beyond the realm of notebooks and PDAs, as more devices gain Ethernet ports to access the Internet. The network is moving from home offices into the living room as home audio equipment, video equipment and video game consoles...

News briefs.(Internet Engineering Task Force standards)
November 4, 2002... The Internet Engineering Task Force has approved as proposed standards a set of protocols that will let DNS support foreign-language domain names and today's English derivatives. The Internationalized Domain Names in Applications protocols...

Verizon seen looking beyond Genuity.
November 4, 2002... Verizon's business IP services have been closely tied to Genuity for more than two years, which means that as the ISP's future is called into question daily, so is the future of those Verizon services. Verizon walked away from Genuity this...

Nortel revitalizes enterprise strategy.
November 4, 2002... While many have viewed Nortel's business networks group as being largely dormant during the past few quarters, a recent reorganization and a new IP product push might indicate signs of renewed enterprise life. Nortel recently introduced a...

COMPANY ADDRESSES BGP SHORTCOMINGS.(Border Gateway Protocol)
November 4, 2002... PALO ALTO - Packet Design this week will unveil a product designed to alleviate the security and reliability issues associated with Border Gateway Protocol, the routing protocol used by virtually all network routers for communication between...

Moving from bandwidth provider to service provider.
November 4, 2002... I've written a lot about the distinction between bandwidth providers and service providers. For incumbent local exchange carriers, it's not just semantics: The difference has a real impact on their futures. To recap, bandwidth providers...

carrier briefs.(Broadwing Communications, NTT/Verio)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... n Broadwing Communications is cutting 25% of its staff - 500 employees - in an effort to reduce expenses. The company says it will reduce overall costs by 25% over the next six months through layoffs, network grooming and optimization,...

Ask Dr. Internet.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... Can you get a Web browser's media access control address from a Web server? It would probably be impractical to send an Address Resolution Protocol request. ARP would be blocked at the router local to the Web server because it is a...

ELEMATICS PROVISIONS OPTICAL LINKS; CONTROL PLANE SOFTWARE CAN CREATE LIGHT PATHS THROUGH CARRIER NETWORKS.(Elematics Intelligent Network Control Plane software)
November 4, 2002... PORTLAND, ORE. - Elematics is introducing software designed to ease the provisioning of optical circuits by talking directly to the network devices and associated management systems. Called Intelligent Network Control Plane (INCP), the...

The Edge briefs.(Vina Technologies, Lucent Technologies)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... Metropolitan access vendor Vina Technologies last week announced it has expanded its OEM relationship with Lucent. Lucent will resell Vina's eLink products, which integrate voice, data and Internet services over one broadband line for small...

Better than FTP!(Netsilica's Netsilica EPN)
November 4, 2002... Way back in the mists of time (2001 to be exact) we dissected FTP in a series of columns (www.nwfusion .com, DocFinder: 2939). Now FTP is jolly good stuff, but in an enterprise environment it has a few drawbacks. FTP requires specific...

Start-ups push wireless LAN envelope; Mobilian embraces 802.11b and Bluetooth; Vivato airs switch.
November 4, 2002... Two new companies, Mobilian and Vivato, this week will unveil products that hint at the future of enterprise wireless LANs. With Mobilian TrueRadio chips, a wireless client could use a Bluetooth radio to work with assorted peripherals, such...

net buzz.(Serence's KlipFolio)
November 4, 2002... Like PointCast without the pork Describe a product such as KlipFolio from Serence and many a mind turns immediately to PointCast, which way back in the mid-1990s pioneered push technology mere seconds before giving it a bad name: bandwidth...

Okena adds control.(to StormTrack)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... WALTHAM, MASS. - Okena last week introduced intrusion-detection system management software that goes beyond simply centralizing the process of controlling servers and PCs running the company's StormWatch IDS program. Like other IDS...

FCC turns its attention to home networks.(Federal Communications Commission)
November 4, 2002... Assures HomePlug community it's committed to the goal of ubiquitous broadband In case there are lingering doubts as to the importance of broadband deployment to the emerging home network industry, consider the HomePlug Alliance's choice of...

Turning the security lens on storage.(Storage Networking World 2002 conference)(Panel Discussion)
November 4, 2002... The Storage Networking World conference in Orlando last week was bustling with scores of vendors and buyers talking about everything from storage security to storage resource management. In fact, SRM - the ability to centrally manage and...

What cost fast wireless?(In-Stat/MDR report)
November 4, 2002... Putting 802.11a SOHO products through their paces in the home The high-tech market research firm In-Stat/MDR predicts 33 million total Wi-Fi node shipments in 2006, up from the six million expected this year. Vendors hope we work wirelessly...

ID mgmt. tool upgraded.(Calendra's Directory Manager 4.0)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... HERNDON, VA. - Calendra this week will release the newest version of its directory management software, which will provide network executives with tools for managing user identities across directories and databases. The tools are designed...

Infonet heads into VoIP; Managed service aimed at saving on international calls.(IP Voice VPN service)
November 4, 2002... EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. - Infonet this week is joining a growing number of carriers that offer managed IP voice services that can help users get around the high cost of international phone links. Called IP Voice VPN, the service connects...

Security management gets easier; GuardedNet, Intellitactics, netForensics add event translation, analysis features.
November 4, 2002... Three security management software makers are improving their respective products with features that include real-time event correlation, analysis to prioritize security events, and scalable systems that can collect and store thousands of...

IBM touts on-demand computing.
November 4, 2002... NEW YORK - Bold and risky plans from technology vendors aren't the norm these days, but IBM is trying to buck that trend. The company last week said it is investing $10 billion in technology and services aimed at treating corporate...

Server vendors queue up behind Intel's new processor.(HP, IBM)(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... The promise of smaller, higher-speed cache memory processors has server makers lining up behind Intel's new Gallatin chip. The 2-GHz servers from Hewlett-Packard, IBM and others will be aimed at customers who need to crunch CRM, database...

'Intrusion prevention' raises hopes, concerns.(Top Layer Networks, Sourcefire)
November 4, 2002... New intrusion-detection systems that go beyond monitoring attacks to actually blocking them have network executives intrigued, but some worry that the devices could quash legitimate traffic, cause network latency and present a single point of...

Energy firms take lesson in efficiency.(Annual Energy IT Conference and Expo 2002)
November 4, 2002... LAS VEGAS - When IT professionals from around the country gather here for the 50th Annual Energy IT Conference and Expo they'll get the usual news and insight about the best technologies for the utility industry, but they'll also take a hard...

IBM tailors wares for HIPAA readiness; Portfolio of software, hardware, training and services geared for healthcare and insurance companies.(WebSphere Business Integration for HIPAA)
November 4, 2002... BALTIMORE - IBM said last week it would offer healthcare industry customers software that can help them implement government-mandated business processes faster and with fewer IT resources than if they went at the process alone. The new...

Plan to give WLAN users more range nearly done.(wireless local area network)
November 4, 2002... A plan that would let wireless LAN users roam among service provider networks is in the final stage of preparation by the Wi-Fi Alliance. The blueprint is a set of best practices for wireless LAN service providers and vendors, as well as...

Gigabit to desktop? Not so fast.
November 4, 2002... Vendors might be moving full-bore to drive Gigabit Ethernet to the desktop, but users have other plans - at least for now. Hewlett-Packard this week will debut two fixed-port Gigabit Ethernet switches aimed at desktop users. Foundry...

Emusic blows the details.(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 4, 2002... I've been observing a skirmish between a group of subscribers to the online music service Emusic.com and the service's management. What it brought home was how important the details are if you want to be successful. I have written about...

Wireless link problems.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... I have a wireless link between two locations. Location 1 has a D-Link DI-614+ router. Location 2 has a D-Link DWL-900AP+ access point set to wireless client mode. I can ping any computer at Location 2 from Location 1 but cannot ping the...

carrier briefs.(Brief Article)
November 4, 2002... n Broadwing Communications is cutting 25% of its staff - 500 employees - in an effort to reduce expenses. The company says it will reduce ovoverall costs by 25% over the next six months through layoffs, network grooming and optimization,...

Best ways to keep your cool (while the industry loses its); Experts share advice on how to maintain an even keel no matter the job pressures.(Industry Overview)
November 11, 2002... Best ways to keep your cool (while the industry loses its) Experts share advice on how to maintain an even keel no matter the job pressures. By Susan Marks If your year is progressing like it is for other network executives, you...

Top tips for skating through the telecom meltdown; Experts share their best ideas for keeping your network safe when your carrier is on thin ice.(Industry Overview)
November 11, 2002... Top tips for skating through the telecom meltdown Experts share their best ideas for keeping your network safe when your carrier is on thin ice. By Julie Bort "In skating over thin ice, our safety is in our speed," wrote Ralph...

Wares extraordinaire; Five of our columnists name the winners of our annual Category-breaker Award.(Software Review)
November 11, 2002... Wares extraordinaire Five of our columnists name the winners of our annual Category-breaker Award. The Pick: PestPatrol PestPatrol, www.pestpatrol.com By Winn Schwartau, On Security columnist An exterminator for pesky...

Fave raves; Five network pros give us the scoop on their favorite products, tools they say are simply 'the best.'.(Software Review)
November 11, 2002... Fave raves Five network pros give us the scoop on their favorite products, tools they say are simply 'the best.' By Joanne Cummings Ed Mann, vice president of network technology planning, Prudential Securities Years in...

Best of the tests; Cool, fast, practical and more, the 13 products that earned the 2002 Best of the Tests Award exemplify excellence.
November 11, 2002... Best of the tests Cool, fast, practical and more, the 13 products that earned the 2002 Best of the Tests Award exemplify excellence. By Christine Burns and Keith Shaw Network World bestows its Best of the Tests Award distinction...

Upgrade ingenuity; Royal & SunAlliance USA wins the 2002 User Excellence Award for a multifaceted network project that turned end users into IT partners, while saving big bucks.
November 11, 2002... Upgrade ingenuity Royal & SunAlliance USA wins the 2002 User Excellence Award for a multifaceted network project that turned end users into IT partners, while saving big bucks. By Julie Bort To fully appreciate the network...

Take control of the infrastructure.(service provider industry uncertain)
November 11, 2002... With WorldCom in Chapter 11 and other big bankruptcies on the horizon, the service provider world is in a highly uncertain state. What can network executives do to protect their companies? First and foremost, service quality almost...

Job search reality.
November 11, 2002... Regarding Chuck Yoke's column "IT jobs still abound, if flexible" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 3044): While it's easy to say that being willing to relocate, become an SNA expert and accept $20,000 less than you were previously making will...

Enter the cable carpetbagger.(cable industry)
November 11, 2002... The people running the cable industry must be the luckiest SOBs on the face of the earth. They don't really know what they are doing and are almost inept technically - yet they step in a pot of gold every few years. The cable industry didn't...

G.SHDSL: It's like ADSL, only better; North American telcos are evaluating new international standard for Internet services.
November 11, 2002... G.SHDSL is a new international standard for single-pair, high-speed DSL, as defined in the ITU-T Standard G.991.2. Unlike asymmetric DSL, which was designed for residential applications in which more bandwidth is delivered downstream (to the...

Patch mgmt. packages proliferate.(Industry Overview)
November 11, 2002... Patch management remains a major headache and money pit for network executives and can no longer be handled by manual processes, according to experts. This week, BigFix and ConfigureSoft will release upgrades to their patch management...

GOP to lead on high-tech issues.
November 11, 2002... When the Republican Party takes control of the U.S. Senate in early January, a new crop of leaders will emerge on high-tech issues. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a long-time proponent of Internet privacy, likely will be the chair of the Senate...

Net.Worker briefs.
November 11, 2002... NetGear last week announced wireless carrier T-Mobile will begin bundling its 802.11b wireless PC Cards (MA401) as part of T-Mobile's HotSpotSM service. Customers will buy the NetGear cards at T-Mobile retail stores ($80), and upon...

Server appliances die a quiet death.(Industry Overview)
November 11, 2002... Vendors selling server appliances promised customers they could have a box up and running in 15 minutes. Well, for the vendors, their 15 minutes of fame are up. Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Sun all rode the server appliance bandwagon,...

Re-engineering for today's enterprise demands.(annual State of the LAN seminar series)
November 11, 2002... T he relationship we enter into with our network equipment suppliers can, and sometimes does, resemble a marriage. Indeed, some of us might be guilty of keeping our eyes open before the marriage, and half shut afterward, as Ben Franklin...

Funk, Interlink improve wireless LAN authentication; Companies look to simplify wireless administration by adding TTLS support.(Funk Software and Interlink Networks)
November 11, 2002... Funk Software and Interlink Networks have each added support for a proposed wireless LAN authentication standard that promises strong mutual authentication without having to distribute and manage certificates for all end users. Both...

Enterprise Applications briefs.(WorkSite MP 3.0)(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... IManage has unveiled the latest version of its collaboration and content management software. The new package features tight integration with Microsoft Office, and advanced workflow capabilities. With WorkSite MP 3.0 users can create content...

WAVESMITH NETWORKS NAMES CEO; FORMER UNISPHERE COO TAKES THE HELM.(Thomas Burkardt )
November 11, 2002... ACTON, MASS. - WaveSmith Networks last week named former Unisphere Networks COO Thomas Burkardt as its chairman and CEO. Burkardt replaces company founder Robert Dalias, who will assume the role of CTO, a position he's juggled in addition to...

New spins on work/life balance; Three firms offer clever remedies for traffic congestion and remote worker isolation.(ProximateCommute)
November 11, 2002... Swapping jobs What if your company offered you the same job with the same pay with half the commute? That's the idea behind ProximateCommute, a firm that helps companies with multiple locations rearrange their employees so they work at the...

Gravy train from China slows; Market no longer a respite from North America for telecom equipment vendors.(Industry Overview)
November 11, 2002... Who knows how these things get started? Was it the slowdown in demand for telecom equipment in other markets that made China seem so hot? Maybe it was that magic number: a largely untapped market of 1.3 billion potential customers. Or...

Cool Tools.
November 11, 2002... Toshiba's new projectors lower the price bar Toshiba's Computer Systems Group recently announced two digital projectors that start at $1,300 and offer 1,400 lumens of brightness.The TLP-S30U and TLP-T50MU also include a 400-to-1 contrast...

Microsoft shakes up SALT offerings.(Speech Application Language Tags )
November 11, 2002... An emerging standard called Speech Application Language Tags received a boost last month when Microsoft announced several efforts to beef up its support for a specification that enables speech interfaces to Web information. An extension to...

Nokia, Trend Micro team on content security.(Nokia Message Protector SC6600 corporate e-mail security appliance )
November 11, 2002... Nokia and software maker Trend Micro announced an alliance last week to produce a corporate e-mail security appliance that joins Trend Micro's antivirus technology to Nokia's hardware and software. Called Nokia Message Protector SC6600, the...

How to make 'operational excellence' a reality.(IT management)(Column)
November 11, 2002... Many telecom departments and IT groups are focusing on what I call "operational excellence." In a nutshell, that means providing top-quality services to internal customers: the lines of business and end users within their organizations....

Speedera service generates dynamic images on the fly.
November 11, 2002... SANTA CLARA - Content delivery specialist Speedera Networks says it has the answer for companies tired of the time-consuming task of manipulating and storing static images on graphics-heavy Web sites. Speedera is partnering with imaging...

Sun takes aim at mainframe users.(Sun Mainframe Transaction Processing Software 8.0 and Sun Mainframe Batch Manager Software 10.0)
November 11, 2002... Sun is luring mainframe customers away from IBM with expanded software and services that the company says let them rehost COBOL and Customer Information Control System applications on less-expensive Sun servers. The company announced...

EasyVista tailors asset mgmt. app to teleworkers.
November 11, 2002... When it comes to asset management, most large shops either rely on existing network management tools, or opt for products from Tally Systems, Tangram and others. The trouble is, such systems rely on a client connection to the network to deliver...

Verizon to enter business long-distance; Northeast service expected to launch early next year and reach 56 markets.
November 11, 2002... Verizon's impending entry into the business long-distance market might not accelerate the decline in the cost of telecom services, but it will give customers another financially stable provider to which they can turn, experts say. "We will...

Purina paranoid chow?(Microsoft antitrust case)
November 11, 2002... To all intents and purposes it looks like we have seen the final shoe drop on the current phase of the Microsoft antitrust case. The result might not be exactly what Microsoft wanted when the whole process started but it sure is not what...

CYBERA LOOKS TO UNDERCUT FRAME RELAY.(VPN services )
November 11, 2002... NASHVILLE - Cybera, a regional carrier with national aspirations, is rolling out network- and customer-site VPN services at what it says are half the price of frame relay connections. The provider has four services under the name Smart...

ask dr. internet.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... We are trying to build a VPN. At our first location we have a Windows 98 machine connected to the 'Net. We set this machine as a dial-up server and added user TSTWAN with no password. The machine has a static DNS name, www.tstmyconnection.com,...

Avaya looks to reinvent itself; Reorganization, new products refresh company's convergence efforts.
November 11, 2002... BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - With its legacy as a Bell spinoff, Avaya has had to fight the image of being a technology dinosaur trying to compete with companies more evolved for the IP infrastructure markets. In its second year since leaving...

carrier briefs.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... n Responding to the uncertainty surrounding service providers in the tough economy, managed hosting company Digex is offering a 12-month contract term that allows early termination with no penalty. The Digex @ No Risk promotion is available...

net buzz.(Interview)
November 11, 2002... Pity the poor telemarketer? When Buzz first chatted with Gryphon Networks CEO Keith Fotta a year ago it was easy to see how his company was positioned for success. Gryphon sells a network-based service that lets telemarketing companies...

edge briefs.(Brief Article)
November 11, 2002... n Turnstone Systems last week announced the availability of programming interfaces that facilitate the integration of Turnstone's ONYX Automation Software with carrier operations support systems. The company also announced an application...