Network World articles from November 2003

Network World archives from November 2003

Hospital: Prognosis good for WLANs.(wireless local area networks)
November 3, 2003... As managing director of IS infrastructure at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, Richard Kubica is in a challenging position when it comes to rolling out network technology. While he'd like to take advantage of the latest advances, he needs to be...

College WLANs put to the test.(wireless loal area networks)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JOHN COX HANOVER, N.H. - Each freshman class at Dartmouth College is unique, but this year's crop has at least one thing in common with other classes across the country: a passion for wireless networks. "No one wants to plug in...

CCM Version 2 eases Nortel VPN management.(Contivity Configura-tion Manager)(virtual private network)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JOEL SNYDER, NETWORK WORLD GLOBAL TEST ALLIANCE As one of the most popular enterprise-class VPN appliance lines, Nortel's Contivity VPN gear historically has been hampered by awkward and inconvenient configuration and management...

Sneaker company steps up to a unified SAN backbone.(storage-area network)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Pierre Baudet Sneaker company steps up to a unified SAN backbone By Pierre Baudet, business systems manager, New Balance athletic shoe New Balance's growth - annual sales up from $210 million to $1.3 billion in 10 years -...

VoIP by the numbers; IP telephony can save hard dollars - if you know how to measure them.(voice over internet protocol)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Robin Gareiss VoIP by the numbers IP telephony can save hard dollars - if you know how to measure them. By Robin Gareiss Budgets are flat. Staffers are overworked and overstressed. IT executives can be forgiven for...

When the voice-over-IP wheels start turning.(internet protocol)
November 3, 2003... Byline: ROBIN GAREISS Once IP telephony is installed and employees reach a comfort level, IT and business managers typically find new and creative ways to use it. Patient scheduling, accounting: Several healthcare companies are...

Listen up, vendors.(industry requirements for effective internet protocol telephony )
November 3, 2003... Byline: ROBIN GAREISS Vendors and carriers trying to convince companies to buy IP telephony products or voice-over-IP services have some work to do. More than three dozen IT executives, who agreed to speak candidly about where their...

Should the U.S. govt. do more to keep IT jobs for citizens? Two industry watchers debate whether the government should step in to preserve IT jobs in the U.S.
November 3, 2003... Byline: Yes, by Matthew Biggs The U.S. high-tech, aerospace and IT industries historically have been viewed as second to none worldwide. But liberal domestic trade policies, questionable economic initiatives, corporate greed and...

Face-off: Should the U.S. govt. do more to keep IT jobs for citizens? Two industry watchers debate whether the government should step in to preserve IT jobs in the U.S.
November 3, 2003... Byline: No, by Scott Turner U.S. tech workers are clearly being affected by the use of offshore resources to do jobs previously done in the U.S. This trend started in earnest during the Y2K remediation era, and now some companies are...

Free MS tool pushes Windows image across the net.(Microsoft network management software)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Thomas Henderson Free MS tool pushes Windows image across the net By Thomas Henderson, Network World Global Test Alliance Microsoft's Automated Deployment Services is a free download that manages the distribution of network...

Women in IT.(Letter to the Editor)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Kamalesh Thakker Thanks for your very instructive story about women coping in IT (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 8323). As a former pre-sales software engineering manager, I've tried to be sensitive to gender issues, and this gives...

802.16a wireless links the last mile.
November 3, 2003... Byline: J.P. RAICHURA First-generation proprietary technology for broadband fixed wireless networks had lackluster non-line-of-sight performance, and the equipment was relatively expensive. Both of these drawbacks delayed widespread...

The ultimate disruptive technology.
November 3, 2003... Byline: Howard Anderson If I send you a fax, is it a data call or a voice call? If I send you a voice message over the Internet, is it a data call or a voice call? If it's a data call, then there are no access fees involved. If it's a...

Web services wisdom.
November 3, 2003... Wielding control over Web services Forward-thinking companies are creating a management position to oversee deployment of service-oriented architecture. By John Fontana When Ira Feuer thinks about Web services he sees a visionary...

IBM case highlights health fears in industry.(are clean rooms unhealthy)(Bell South developing voice over Internet Protocol)(Senator Warren Rudman appointed to MCI as adviser)
November 3, 2003... Silicon Valley owes its might to clean-room workers such as James Moore and Alida Hernandez who worked for IBM in the 1970s and 1980s. They worked in one of Big Blue's clean rooms - manufacturing facilities that used powerful chemicals to keep...

Cruising communications.(shipboard internet services)
November 3, 2003... Think your job is tough? Imagine managing a potential 1,400 users with a nearly 100% turnover every seven to 10 days. And your only connection to the Internet is via satellite, but your downlink is in seemingly constant motion. That's the job...

Healthcare provider gives Sprint a shot; Oxford turns from MCI to single carrier at a time when others look to spread their business.
November 3, 2003... Byline: CAROLYN DUFFY MARSAN A year ago, network executives at Oxford Health Plans in Trumbull, Conn., had lost faith in their long-time carrier, MCI/WorldCom, and announced plans to migrate all the company's voice, data and wireless...

Reactivity beefs up Web services management.(XML Firewall 2300)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA Start-up Reactivity last week released another version of its XML firewall designed to provide corporations with tools to control, manage and log Web services traffic. The XML Firewall 2300 is a network device...

Miscounting and misunderstanding addresses.(is there an IP address shortage)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Scott Bradner The BBC reports that the end of the Internet world is near. The news organization is not the first to do so, nor will it be the last, but its story caught my eye the other day (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 8330). ...

apps briefs.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Symantec last week continued to strengthen its family of security software by buying ON Technology, a maker of remote PC management technology, for $100 million. ON is a publicly traded company that makes products designed to help network...

Sun is giving customers early, hands-on access to upcoming features in Solaris so they can try the code in their own data centers as Sun engineers iron out wrinkles.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Sun is giving customers early, hands-on access to upcoming features in Solaris so they can try the code in their own data centers as Sun engineers iron out wrinkles. Sun, which announced its Software Express for Solaris program last month, is...

Clean slates hard to come by.(business scandals are hard to live down)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara Clean slates hard to come by You are CEO Michael Capellas and for months you've been on your hands and knees with a scrub brush trying to cleanse the stain of WorldCom from your company so it can move beyond one...

A whole new ball game.(wide impact of internet telephony)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Johna Till Johnson An underlying theme of many of these columns is that the definition of telecom "service providers" is undergoing a fundamental change. That's actually a consequence of a broader and deeper shift: namely, the...

Service Providers Short Takes.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... First Avenue Networks, formerly known as Advanced Radio Telecom, has resurfaced with a new strategy and new services. The company launched its Express Link and Express Net 39-GHz spectrum leasing services last week. Before filing for bankruptcy...

Proofpoint improves spam prevention; Upgraded MLX technology teaches software to detect more junk mail.(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 3, 2003... Byline: CARA GARRETSON Anti-spam start-up Proofpoint last week released an upgrade to its corporate gateway software that promises to give customers new ways to detect and deflect spam. Proofpoint's Protection Server features the...

Stay clear of the rabbit hole.
November 3, 2003... Byline: Sandra Gittlen The LAN is becoming crowded. Voice over IP, wireless LANs and video over IP all are maturing rapidly, forcing LAN managers to make room for them in their networks. Tight budgets, staffing cutbacks and lack of...

Challenges abound archiving company e-mail; APPLICATIONS: The art of compliance.
November 3, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR Pressured by fines and threats of imprisonment for noncompliance with federal and state regulations, IT executives slowly are deploying systems that archive their e-mail and instant-messaging communications. The...

Mazu upgrades security offering; Profiler package enhanced to more effeciently detect malicious traffic.(Mazu Networks )
November 3, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE Mazu Networks has upgraded its security-analysis platform to help customers find worms and unauthorized behavior that previously might have gone undetected by its gear. Mazu's Profiler 3.0 software adds three...

Techies, tribbles and toilets.(William Shatner)(Interview)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Denise Dubie Best known as "Star Trek's" Capt. James T. Kirk, William Shatner is something of a techie in real life, too. Last year he penned a book called I'm Working on That, A Trek from Science Fiction to Fact, and last week his...

Lucent/Juniper alliance bears fruit.
November 3, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY Lucent and Juniper last week unveiled the first fruits of their six-month union: product combinations designed to let service providers better integrate legacy services and infrastructures with newer IP offerings. ...

ask dr. internet.(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Steve Blass We want to implement secure FTP service (SFTP) on our Windows 2000 servers, but we don't have the budget for a commercial product and are having trouble getting OpenSSH compiled so it will run as a Windows service. Is there any...

10G NIC vendor pumps up server performance.
November 3, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Few network products are as commoditized as the network interface card. But start-up S2IO is looking to break that notion with the recent debut of its 10G Ethernet server adapters that offer users quality of service,...

IBM takes on U.S. regulatory compliance requirements.
November 3, 2003... Byline: JUAN CARLOS PEREZ IBM last week introduced bundles of hardware, software and services for helping companies comply with U.S. federal regulations. The IBM offerings address changes companies should make to their IT...

What to look for in WLAN switches.(wireless local area network switches)
November 3, 2003... Byline: John Dix When you're shopping for wireless LAN switches, look for systems that offer integrated radio frequency management, centralized configuration and the ability to pinpoint rogue access points. So says the network vice...

cool tools.(media cell phone; scanner; wireless router)
November 3, 2003... Byline: keith shaw Nokia 7700 is more than a cell phone When is a cell phone not a cell phone? When it's a Media Device. That's what Nokia is calling its new 7700 model, which lets you watch TV and play-back video, surf the Web...

Help desks look to reinvent their mission.
November 3, 2003... Byline: DENISE DUBIE NEW ORLEANS - New automated systems are increasingly making help desks or at least some of their members expendable. But managers overseeing these support groups argue that phasing out people can only go so far. ...

Dreaming of a single computer.
November 3, 2003... Byline: mark gibbs Here in the Gearhead bunker we dream of one huge wrap-around LCD monitor on our desk (or if we must, three or four side by side), a single keyboard and mouse all linked to a single machine running Windows, Linux and any...

HP expands Intel-based server options.(Hewlett-Packard)
November 3, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS Continuing its progression toward an Intel-only server portfolio, HP today is expected to round out its Itanium-based server line and unveil a two-processor Xeon-based box designed to be a low-cost node in...

3Com, Crossbeam team on security; Partnership includes R&D efforts and product integration.
November 3, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH 3Com this week is expected to announce a deal to resell security switches from Crossbeam Systems, a move that could offer users a multifunction security box at almost half the cost of competing security boxes, the...

EMC to enter database archiving market.
November 3, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR ORLANDO - EMC is expected to introduce database archiving software in the first quarter of next year that will let customers improve the performance of their databases by migrating old data to less-expensive storage...

Users betting big on RFID; Technology to tighten supply chains.(radio frequency identification)
November 3, 2003... Byline: Ann Bednarz BOSTON - Tire manufacturer Michelin carries about $1 billion in inventory at all times. Consumer packaged goods company Procter & Gamble spends between $50 million and $100 million per year reprocessing orders that...

Microsoft eyes ID management.
November 3, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA LOS ANGELES - Microsoft is working on identity technology for its future Longhorn operating system that it hopes will evolve into a cross-platform, standard format that companies can use to secure digital relationships...

Defense Department goes on offense with RFID.
November 3, 2003... Byline: Ann Bednarz Companies that want to sell products to the Department of Defense soon will have to comply with a new condition of doing business with the multibillion-dollar buyer: wireless inventory tagging. The Defense...

Dead at the time.(opinions about IT court cases)
November 3, 2003... Everyone . . . lies! When we're kids, we lie our heads off! "I didn't do it! I didn't do it! I was dead at the time! I was on the moon . . . with Steve." And your dad's going, "I haven't even accused you of anything yet!"... Then when you're...

Beyond Windows-centric management.(software management software)(Brief Article)
November 3, 2003... Byline: John Fontana Microsoft last week unveiled a Web services-based technology intended to let its Windows-centric management tools work with other platforms such as Linux and Unix. The technology is part of the company's Dynamic...

Travelocity's flight to open systems; CTO Barry Vandevier trusts Linux to keep Travelocity's renowned extended enterprise aloft.(Interview)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Julie Bort Travelocity's flight to open systems CTO Barry Vandevier trusts Linux to keep Travelocity's renowned extended enterprise aloft. The extended enterprise concept is as old as networking itself, and as young as...

Crankin' up the heat; New Web application firewalls give you the chance to burn Port 80 hackers.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Beth Schultz Crankin' up the heat New Web application firewalls give you the chance to burn Port 80 hackers. By Beth Schultz Industry statistics show that 80% of malicious attacks target Port 80, the Web traffic...

Web integration: Then & now; B2B e-commerce pioneers Ford Motor Credit, Sigma-Aldrich and Staples continue to define the cutting edge.(business-to-business)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Paul Desmond Web integration: Then & now B2B e-commerce pioneers Ford Motor Credit, Sigma-Aldrich and Staples continue to define the cutting edge. By Paul Desmond In its annual "Marketing to Life Scientists" study...

Words of wisdom on Web integration; When thinking about your extended enterprise projects, consider these words of advice from IT executives at business-to-business e-commerce pioneers Ford Credit, Sigma-Aldrich and Staples.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Paul Desmond Words of wisdom on Web integration When thinking about your extended enterprise projects, consider these words of advice from IT executives at business-to-business e-commerce pioneers Ford Credit, Sigma-Aldrich and...

How far can we go? Despite technology barriers, the real-time enterprise is the next milestone for today's extended enterprise.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Julie Bort How far can we go? Despite technology barriers, the real-time enterprise is the next milestone for today's extended enterprise. By Julie Bort Many network executives and industry analysts clearly can see...

Real-life real time; Some users already are moving beyond today's extended enterprise to tomorrow's real-time one.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Julie Bort Real-life real time Some users already are moving beyond today's extended enterprise to tomorrow's real-time one. Examples abound of cutting-edge extended enterprises already testing real-time - meaning near...

VoIP security still a major issue.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Steven Taylor In a previous column (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 8326), I discussed how budgetary constraints are impeding voice-over-IP implementation. Another major impediment is security concerns, according to Webtorial's recent...

The ultimate Internet; John Patrick, well-respected Internet go-to guy, shares his big-picture look on the shape of business to come and the future of the 'Net.(Interview)
November 10, 2003... Byline: John Patrick The ultimate Internet John Patrick, well-respected Internet go-to guy, shares his big-picture look on the shape of business to come and the future of the 'Net. After decades of growth, we are now about 5% of...

Making application performance a non-issue; Possibilities for managing application performance have increased exponentially. But users remain wary.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Denise Dubie Making application performance a non-issue Possibilities for managing application performance have increased exponentially. But users remain wary. By Denise Dubie Applications at Best Buy Canada/Future...

Letters to the editor.
November 10, 2003... Byline: readers While I think Mark Gibbs makes some valid points about productivity in his Backspin column "Collaboration technology: Just a lot of noise?" (DocFinder: 8428), I'm not sure I like the vision he creates of how a company...

Wireless mesh networks boost reliability.
November 10, 2003... Byline: BOB JORDAN Wireless networks have long embraced a centralized model that holds the potential for bottlenecks, latency and a single point of failure. But wireless mesh networks are emerging as an alternative to wireless switching....

Over the top 'down under'.(Microsoft security issues)
November 10, 2003... Byline: kevin tolly T ry as I might, I just can't seem to get away from "the Microsoft question." In the midst of a September spell in Australia, I saw what to date has been the most over-the-top attack on Microsoft - characterizing...

Blades: Platform of the future.(blade servers)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Frank Dzubeck In a column earlier this year (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 8429), I predicted that the communications platform of the future would be the blade server. My prediction is beginning to be played out on blade servers...

Infrastructure briefs.(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... Byline: staff Red Hat is dropping its free Linux product range and asking customers to migrate to its priced Enterprise Linux, the company said last week. Red Hat said it will end maintenance and support for Linux Versions 7.1 through 8.0...

Top Layer gear boosts app protection.(Top Layer Networks )
November 10, 2003... Byline: TIM GREENE Top Layer Networks is announcing a faster hardware platform for its application filtering software and the addition of protection against three application-layer attacks it didn't defend against before. Called Attack...

Mirapoint fattens up spam stoppers.
November 10, 2003... Byline: CARA GARRETSON Mirapoint is fortifying its e-mail security appliance with new anti-spam filters and administrator and end-user tools to help users manage unwanted e-mails. The upgrades to Mirapoint Messaging Director's...

short takes.(software)(Brief Article)
November 10, 2003... n Akamai is enhancing the management tools it makes available to customers moving content and applications on its overlay network of 14,000 edge servers in 1,100 networks around the world. This week Akamai is expected to announce EdgeControl, a...

Vendor brings Cobol apps to the Web.
November 10, 2003... Byline: JOHN FONTANA The theme for Web services is integration, and Micro Focus plans to bring Cobol into the picture by equipping companies with tools that convert the legacy code to align with the emerging technology. Micro Focus...

Real pleasure with virtual machines.
November 10, 2003... Byline: mark gibbs L ast week we started cleaning up our desk by reducing the number of keyboards and mice by using the two-port, ultra-compact Built-on-Cable KVM Switch from StarTech.com. As we noted, some odd things happened,...

Big ideas for advancing telework.(Interview)
November 10, 2003... Byline: toni kistner Telework has come a long way, with many professionals routinely working away from the office. But can technology take it to the next level - get it to places that today can't support it? The Telework Consortium, a...

Juniper tries to grab edge from Cisco.
November 10, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY Juniper last week unveiled two edge routers designed to unseat older routers from rival Cisco that are already installed in service provider networks. The M7i and M10i routing platforms are targeted at small and...

Carriers brace for number portability.(wireless)
November 10, 2003... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO The nation's largest wireless service providers are scrambling behind the scenes to ensure that systems for providing wireless number portability are up and running by the government's Nov. 24 deadline. ...

Server enables offline access for Web apps.
November 10, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ Offline specialist BackWeb Technologies this week is expected to announce a retooled and renamed version of its flagship software for making Web applications available to disconnected remote and mobile workers. ...

VMware points users toward utility computing.
November 10, 2003... Byline: JENNIFER MEARS With its Intel server farm growing relentlessly, news conglomerate Gannett turned to virtual server company VMware to put multiple virtual machines on single physical boxes. Gannett deployed VMware's ESX Server...

A closer look at the Telework Consortium's efforts.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Toni Kistner T he Telework Consortium is busy these days, compiling research reports, testing products and conducting pilots. The group's first published report makes a business case for increased telework by highlighting...

Ninety-seven senators can be wrong.(anti-spam law)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Paul McNamara Ninety-seven senators can be wrong The vote in your United States Senate was 97 to 0 - generally the kind of bipartisan unanimity reserved for proclamations supporting National Bran Muffin Month and the like. ...

A different Big Mac index.(Macintosh supercomputing)
November 10, 2003... Byline: scott bradner G iven my fondness for Apple computers you knew I would eventually write about the Virginia Tech Mac-based supercomputer-on-the-cheap. I was waiting for some of the testing to be completed. Because the test...

Bizarre and inexplicable visions.(high technology forecasts)
November 10, 2003... Byline: Mark Gibbs "There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is...

Enterprise Applications Short Takes.
November 10, 2003... Microsoft last week released Windows Rights Management Services, an add-on to Windows Server 2003 that lets organizations add digital rights protection to information such as documents and e-mail. Windows RMS is the last of three parts that...

Cancer center SAN ensures on-time treatment.(storage-area network )
November 10, 2003... Byline: DENI CONNOR At the Cancer Therapy & Research Center in San Antonio, Texas, more than 200 patients each day receive radiation therapy on time because of an iSCSI storage-area network and some innovative remote boot technology. ...

Carriers need a dose of 'buyer beware'.
November 10, 2003... Byline: johna till johnson The long-anticipated court approval of MCI's emergence from bankruptcy came through on Oct. 31, leaving the company leaner, meaner and 85% lower in debt. At almost the same time, BellSouth publicly spurned...

Ask Dr. Internet.
November 10, 2003... Byline: Steve Blass Steve Blass I found a directory called sitebot with a readme file that referred to the software in the directory as an Eggdrop. This was under the Windows directory on a PC that claimed to have zero free space on...

Start-up takes aim at document management.( PSS Systems )
November 10, 2003... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ Start-up PSS Systems last week unveiled its first product: software aimed at helping companies track and secure documents that are distributed inside and outside of corporate boundaries. PSS1 is designed to replace...

Home movies to DVD: An all-day affair.
November 10, 2003... Byline: keith shaw G ot a handful of home movies on videotape that you want to put on DVD? Better have a week's vacation time ready. I recently found this out when testing two new devices that aim to ease the transition from video...

Microsoft posts $5 million 'bounty' fund.
November 10, 2003... Microsoft is dipping into its sizeable cash reserves to offer rewards of $250,000 each to anyone who can help track down the authors of the SoBig and Blaster worms that wreaked havoc with Microsoft software and crippled many corporate networks....

Qwest extends long-distance data service availability.
November 10, 2003... Byline: JIM DUFFY Qwest this week said it now can offer long-distance data and IP services, in addition to voice, to businesses and government agencies in most of its 14-state region. Qwest already offers these services - which include...

MCI preens for its coming out.
November 10, 2003... Byline: John Dix With a nod from the judge overseeing MCI's bankruptcy proceedings, the carrier has been cleared to emerge from Chapter 11 early next year. Of the $40 billion-plus in debt the company had when it sought Chapter 11...

Digital asset management becomes a reality; Boston media outlet and the University of Michigan begin rolling out systems.
November 10, 2003... Byline: JASON MESERVE BOSTON - Two high-profile users last week joined with Sun and IBM respectively to announce programs that promise to more quickly and efficiently manage networked media resources. WGBH, a Boston public television...

Avaya, Extreme unite on converged nets; Avaya to resell and support Extreme switches; companies plan to jointly develop technologies.
November 10, 2003... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Avaya and Extreme Networks last week said they are partnering to deliver customers a new option for building end-to-end converged IP networks and to develop management and other technologies needed to improve such...