Network World articles from November 2004

Network World archives from November 2004

'Net Buzz.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Paul McNamara A food store first This newspaper quote from Freshdirect co-founder Jason Ackerman was so amusingly cheeky that I made a note to give the online grocer a call: "For the most part the demand has been greater...

Security Summit; CIOs gather at Dartmouth College to share ideas on enterprise security.(Chief information officers)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Joel Shore Security Summit CIOs gather at Dartmouth College to share ideas on enterprise security. By Joel Shore Can security be a competitive advantage? Are security and privacy at odds with speed and collaboration?...

E-mail at a crossroads; Spam, phishing and other abuses are threatening to undermine confidence in the internet. What will it take to.
November 1, 2004... Byline: CARA GARRETSON E-mail is arguably the most pervasive application on the Internet, but it's under attack by an onslaught of abuses that are eroding its usefulness. If not reined in soon, these threats could change the nature of the...

Sender authentication hits roadblocks.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Cara Garretson Sender authentication hits roadblocks Sender authentication won't completely rid e-mail in-boxes of spam and phishing. Yet technology has emerged as a useful tool in fighting e-mail abuses by giving recipients...

Testing your mettle: Zinc whiskers in the data center; If they're underfoot, you may have a problem; 'It sounded like popcorn.'.
November 1, 2004... Byline: BOB BROWN Testing your mettle: Zinc whiskers in the data center If they're underfoot, you may have a problem; 'It sounded like popcorn.' It's been more than a year since Wayne Harris and his IT comrades at a Canadian...

Configuresoft succeeds at system compliance management.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Mandy Andress, Network World Lab Alliance Policy management Configuresoft succeeds at system compliance management By Mandy Andress, Network World Lab Alliance Defining, monitoring and enforcing Windows system...

Configuresoft review how we did it.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Mandy Andress We installed ECM 4.5.2 on a Windows 2003 Server (2GHz, 2G bytes RAM) running IIS and SQL Server 2000, all fully patched. We installed ECM agents on five Windows systems, running default installations of Win 2000...

New buzzword, same old mess.(enterprise service bus)
November 1, 2004... Byline: James Kobielus Middleware is spaghetti that just keeps looping and layering new approaches over old. The industry keeps ladling more sauce over the mess, in terms of such nebulous nomenclature as enterprise application integration,...

The best laid plans.(Information technology management)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Chuck Yoke "The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry, and leave us nothing but grief and pain instead of promised joy." Poet Robert Burns' words reflect many IT managers' sentiments regarding projects that started strong...

letters.(Letter to the Editor)
November 1, 2004... Regarding "Doing the desktop waddle" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 4422): Linux will never replace Windows until programmers make their applications generic enough that a person can install them on most Linux flavors without having to jump...

Improving IT infrastructure; High-performance businesses need a strong foundation.
November 1, 2004... Byline: James Hall Improving IT infrastructure High-performance businesses need a strong foundation. By James Hall In too many companies, IT is suffering from what Accenture refers to as the austerity trap. It's a trap that is...

Cable operators target business accounts; CABLE MSOS: Local presence, price and bandwidth are key to winning accounts from telcos.(Cable multisystem operators)
November 1, 2004... Byline: JIM DUFFY Think your cable TV company is just for video and residential VoIP? Think again. Cable multisystem operators are building a strong presence as providers of business telecom services, particularly to small and midsize...

Google's desktop search engine falls short.
November 1, 2004... Byline: dave kearns A few months ago, when the buzz was all about the "new and improved" search engine Microsoft was introducing, I found it lacking. While many pundits were gushing over this challenge to Google, I found it to be...

Exchange road map overdue; Users look to Microsoft for future direction of messaging platform.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JORIS EVERS After Microsoft removed the 2006 Kodiak release of Exchange Server from its product road map earlier this year, its plans for the messaging software have gotten even cloudier, making it more difficult for users to make...

short takes.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... n Yahoo and Adobe have entered an alliance aimed at improving Yahoo's Internet search tool while possibly turning more content into PDFs. The companies last week launched a co-branded toolbar featuring Yahoo's search, pop-up ad blocker and...

Eccentricities of Windows networking.(Microsoft Windows XP)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Mark Gibbs We wonder if this column should be renamed "Last week we were... " as that seems to be our standard entree these days. But just to break the chain, this week we will begin a little differently: The week before last we...

LLDP-MED simplifies VoIP deployments.(Link Layer Discovery Protocol-Media Endpoint Discovery )
November 1, 2004... Byline: PAUL CONGDON AND DAVID FRATTURA Many companies seeking cost-effective, easily managed VoIP systems face deployment obstacles because of the diversity of convergence products in the marketplace. Corporations also are challenged by...

Telecom, nanotechnology and sensor networks.(forecast)(Column)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Johna Till Johnson In a previous column, I defined telecommunications as enabling remote communications between humans. Back in the last century that meant being able to project your voice and ears across thousands of miles -...

Service-oriented hype to meet hard realities.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JOHN FONTANA Hype alone would have IT executives believe that in coming years service-oriented architectures will be as standard within companies as morning coffee. But network professionals and industry analysts say it won't...

Misapplied faith.(proper use of electronic voting machines and security management)(Column)
November 1, 2004... Byline: scott bradner T his column will be published the day before the U.S. presidential election. I hope all of you who have registered to vote will do so, and I hope that the predictions of a multi-month period of confusion before...

New software checks configurations.
November 1, 2004... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER St. Bernard Software this week will unveil SecurityExpert, a scanning tool that will let customers check Windows 2000, XP, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Internet Information Server to make sure the desktop and...

Ask dr. internet.(forms generation mangement)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Steve Blass We want software that takes commonly used industry paper forms and puts them in a SQL application. We want to hard-code or protect the wording so it can only be struck out and new words inserted in a different font with...

CipherTrust takes 'control' of spam; Updated IronMail appliance rejects spammers' connection requests.
November 1, 2004... Byline: CARA GARRETSON E-mail security vendor CipherTrust is adding a new feature to its IronMail gateway appliance designed to boost the product's performance by identifying and rejecting incoming spams without having to process them...

Switch vendors crunch Gbit chips.
November 1, 2004... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Companies such as Broadcom and Agere Systems are working to squeeze more Gigabit switch port controllers onto one chip. For switch buyers, this could result in lower-cost, feature-rich gear that is less prone to...

GXS to inherit IBM's EDI business.
November 1, 2004... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ Global eXchange Services stands to become the largest player in an industry some predicted would continue to falter and eventually die out altogether. Instead, today's value-added network service providers are mulling a...

Infrastructure Short Takes.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... n IBM has beefed up its storage virtualization and automation software. At Storage Networking World last week, the company unveiled improvements to its TotalStorage Open Software. This software suite includes TotalStorage SAN File System 2.2,...

It's good to be a mobile device.
November 1, 2004... Byline: Keith Shaw A recent IDC report says corporations are warming to the idea of converged mobile devices for their employees, as they realize that such devices can leverage personal and corporate data with more flexibility than...

WLAN vendors target branch offices.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JOHN COX Wireless LAN rivals Airespace and Trapeze Networks separately have announced switches aimed at branch offices or other small locations. To tailor these products for this market, both companies have simplified business...

Packeteer software fights network congestion.
November 1, 2004... Byline: TIM GREENE Packeteer is issuing software for its traffic-shaping gear that makes it easier for customers to resolve network problems. Part of the company's Packeteer 7.0 software for its PacketShaper appliances, the Adaptive...

Sprint rolls out wireless management services.
November 1, 2004... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO Sprint last week announced its first management system that lets users manage enterprise-wide wireless services and devices while also promising reduced costs and increased security. The service provider...

Service Providers briefs.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Byline: staff Verizon has selected Motorola to supply video network infrastructure and customer premises equipment for its fiber-to-the-premises network. Terms of the multi-year agreement were not disclosed. Verizon plans to launch video...

Carriers aim for MMS interoperability.
November 1, 2004... Byline: STEPHEN LAWSON AND TOM KRAZIT SAN FRANCISCO - U.S. wireless operators have created a plan for Multimedia Messaging Services interoperability across networks, the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association announced last...

Dell to pre-install SuSE Linux on servers.(Brief Article)
November 1, 2004... Byline: LAURA ROHDE Dell will install Novell's SuSE Linux operating system on Dell PowerEdge servers as part of a worldwide agreement, the companies announced last week. Novell's SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 will be available on...

BEA pitches integrated business bundles.
November 1, 2004... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ BEA Systems this week is expected to announce plans to pool its infrastructure software with partner technologies in combinations the company says will help solve its customers' business problems. On tap are five...

Biometrics benefits, challenges aired.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JEFF CARUSO NEW YORK - In a conference room overlooking the site of the World Trade Center, early adopters of biometrics technology last week stressed the importance of determining someone's true identity. Attendees of the Fall...

Keeping storage growth in check.
November 1, 2004... Byline: John Dix Information life-cycle management, intelligent storage-area networks and virtualization were some of the topics that dominated the thriving Storage Networking World conference in Orlando last week, which was hosted by...

Top Layer unveils clustered IPS.(Internet Provider Security )
November 1, 2004... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER Top Layer Networks this week is expected to unveil a clustered version of its intrusion-prevention system that can reach 8G bit/sec throughput while supporting inspection and traffic blocking through multiple routers....

Real IT and fake accounts.(information technology)
November 1, 2004... Byline: Mark Gibbs Revision Department: Since my Backspin column of last March (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 4457) I have had time to reflect. I have pondered the oneness of the Internet, the eternal packet that transcends all routers...

Microsoft readying simpler ID mgmt.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JOHN FONTANA DENVER - Microsoft is developing a portal-like interface for its identity management platform that will let users self-manage their identity information and provision network services. The features are part of...

Data center cooling issue heats up.
November 1, 2004... Byline: DENI CONNOR ORLANDO - IT professionals often over-build their cooling and power systems in data centers because they misunderstand or miscalculate necessary thermal requirements, experts say. Such misjudgments can result in the...

Red Sox IT department caches in on World Series.(infomation technology)
November 1, 2004... Byline: BOB BROWN The Boston Red Sox, newly crowned champs of Major League Baseball, traditionally haven't been known for team speed. Until recently, neither was the network the club used to support news reporters and photographers working...

Avaya, Polycom team on desktop videophone.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JASON MESERVE Avaya and Polycom have teamed to create a desktop videophone that lets users place a video call by dialing a standard telephone number. The combination of Avaya's VoIP Softphone application and Polycom's Via Video...

HP to debut switches, mgmt. software; Company launches edge switch with copper, fiber 10G links.
November 1, 2004... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH HP this week is expected to release two wiring closet switches that let users uplink with 10G Ethernet via fiber or copper links. The ProCurve 3400 series switches are fixed-configuration boxes with 10/100/1000M...

; Company says it will reveal its business service management strategy and products.
November 1, 2004... Byline: DENISE DUBIE HP later this month is expected to unveil the fruit of two acquisitions that the company says will help customers automate the detection and resolution of application performance problems and maintain IT service...

Vendors tout WLAN security products; Newbury Networks, Funk Software focus on implementing 802.11i features.
November 1, 2004... Byline: JOHN COX AND ELLEN MESSMER New software from two vendors is intended to boost security for wireless LANs, one targeting the network, the other wireless clients. Newbury Networks added to its WiFi Watchdog software new features...

Equipment makers . net plans.(revive corp)
November 1, 2004... Byline: JIM DUFFY Traditional telecom equipment vendors are increasingly targeting the enterprise network market, banking on growing demand for packet-based capabilities similar to those for carriers. The fact that the worldwide market...

Roadblocks for shared IDs: Trust, immature standards.(Identification)
November 1, 2004... Byline: JOHN FONTANA DENVER - Speaking at last week's Digital ID World conference, American Express, Fidelity Investments, Boeing, Fifth Third Bank, Premier and a host of other companies shared their hopes, early successes and concerns as...

U.K. report boosts desktop Linux.
November 1, 2004... n Open source software proponents received a potential boost from the U.K. government last week with a release of a report citing the well-documented advantages on the server side, and also growing maturity on the desktop front. The assessments...

Practitioners unlock the secrets of a growing hobby for network pros; Amateur lock pickers assure us they're only looking for a challenge.
November 8, 2004... Byline: BOB BROWN Practitioners unlock the secrets of a growing hobby for network pros Amateur lock pickers assure us they're only looking for a challenge. Douglas Chick swears he isn't trying to teach anyone to break into your...

The evolution of IDS; Security advances push intrusion detection deeper into the network, relegating its role to forensics investigation and internal monitoring.(Intrusion Detection Software )
November 8, 2004... Byline: DEBORAH RADCLIFF Drowning in signature libraries and reactive event information that is of little value in locating attacks in progress, network security managers are fed up with signature-based intrusion-detection systems that...

Signature no longer valid.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Byline: DEBORAH RADCLIFF Signature-based intrusion detection is already obsolete not only because of the technology's information management deficiencies but also because there are too many ways to fool it. Even Internet Security...

Will IPS replace IDS?(Internet Provider Security)(Internet Distribution System)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Byline: DEBORAH RADCLIFF IDS and IPS already are being put into all-in-one appliances like Internet Security Systems' Proventia series. But it's not likely that IPS will replace IDS devices until reporting, analysis and correlation are...

Will Microsoft enter IP telephony?
November 8, 2004... Byline: Nick Lippis There's no doubt that Microsoft could enter the IP telephony market. But why would the software giant want to enter an area so foreign to its core business? Well, the answer is IP telephony is moving toward a Microsoft...

IT gets down and dirty.(information technology)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Linda Musthaler Now that the 2004 elections are history, one would think the mudslinging, name-calling and negative ads would stop. Instead, it seems that businesses have been inspired by politicians to use these same tactics to...

Eight network scanning tools offer beefed-up management and remediation; Network vulnerability assessment management.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mandy Andress Network vulnerability assessment management Eight network scanning tools offer beefed-up management and remediation By Mandy Andress, Network World Lab Alliance A vulnerability rated as a low risk this...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
November 8, 2004... Byline: readers Follow-up is needed Regarding the story "Cisco deals kick VoIP market into high gear" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 4527): A few years ago Cisco made several similar big VoIP rollout announcements, Dow Chemical being...

Citadel focuses on vulnerability remediation.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mandy Andress Citadel focuses on vulnerability remediation While vulnerability assessment products are moving solidly in the direction of vulnerability management, Citadel Security Software takes that shift one step further...

Getting a second scanning opinion.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mandy Andress Getting a second scanning opinion Companies often want to run multiple scanners against their systems for completeness, but the cost of that second opinion can be prohibitive. If you are in the market for a less...

Andress review how we did it.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mandy Andress We set up the test network as a flat network, with all devices working off one Cisco Catalyst 3500 switch. This network had 31 devices running on it, varying from a wireless access point, NetScreen firewall, Cisco VPN...

Maximizing your assets; Management software helps firms get a grasp of their IT resources and use them more efficiently.(information technology)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Linda Leung Maximizing your assets Management software helps firms get a grasp of their IT resources and use them more efficiently. By Linda Leung In the late 1990s, Fidelity Investments operated its quickly growing...

NSA Projects, Manhattan and otherwise.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Scott Bradner NSA Projects, Manhattan and otherwise The U.S. National Security Agency does not see its mission as being limited to peering through keyholes. In addition to trying to figure out what "the other guys" are up to,...

SMASH simplifies server management.
November 8, 2004... Byline: WINSTON BUMPUS IT organizations face increasing complexity and costs associated with operating multiple server platforms across diverse departments, sites and locations. With important initiatives such as grid and utility computing...

Deployment options put speech within reach; APPLICATIONS: Speech options.
November 8, 2004... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ People who want to build a new home can hire an architect to design a one-of-a-kind custom dwelling, pick from a range of stock house plans or buy prefabricated house parts ready for the field. Deciding which is the...

IPLocks reinforces security tool.(IPLocks)(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Byline: ELLEN MESSMER Looking to help users protect corporate assets from theft, fraud and other abuse, database-security software vendor IPLocks this week announced a new version of its database monitoring, assessment and analysis tool....

EMC previews virtualization appliance.
November 8, 2004... Byline: DENI CONNOR EMC has previewed its upcoming Storage Router, code-named Fabric X, which customers can use to non-disruptively move or replicate data from one heterogeneous storage array to another for disaster recovery or information...

Early adopters: SOA worth the effort.(Service Oriented Application )
November 8, 2004... Byline: ANN BEDNARZ AND JOHN FONTANA The concept of a serviceoriented architecture has gained momentum as an alternative to traditional enterprise application integration, and early adopters are drawn to it for all the things old-school...

short takes.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... n Veritas Software last week announced a new version of its OpForce provisioning software designed to make it easier for administrators to install and manage applications and server operating systems. OpForce 4.0 is based on software acquired...

short takes.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... n Tandberg last week rolled out three videoconferencing appliances targeted at desktops and small group conference users. The devices are capable of H.264 video compression and Advanced Encryption Standard. For desktop conferencing, the...

Reactivity enhances Web gateway OS; XOS 4.1 can boost throughput, adds support for SAML-based security tokens.
November 8, 2004... Byline: John Fontana Reactivity this week is set to release operating system enhancements for its Web services security gateway intended to provide corporations with the performance and interoperability they need to expand Web services...

SonicWall improves virus protection; Latest release of SonicOS adds anti-virus screening at the network edge.
November 8, 2004... Byline: tim greene SonicWall is introducing software for its VPN appliances that lets businesses screen Internet traffic for viruses as it enters their networks. Release 3.0 of the company's SonicOS software equips all the company's...

Enabling the agile enterprise.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Johna Till Johnson I recently listened to leading executives from my company's IT advisory board discuss their top technology issues. These CTOs, CIOs and senior IT executives from a range of midsize-to-large organizations had...

Net.worker briefs.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Byline: staff writers Remote Work Central and satellite services provider Loral Skynet have teamed to deliver secure telecommuting and remote-access connectivity to individual remote users, small and midsize companies, and government...

Buffalo charges Citrix GoToMyPC; 'Remote router' offers secure access to PC desktop and network resources - without a subscription.
November 8, 2004... Byline: TONI KISTNER Small office/home office network hardware vendor Buffalo Technology has announced a security router with a clever mix of remote access and PC remote control capabilities that could lure away some Citrix GoToMyPC's...

Storage deconstructed: A black box no more.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Kevin Tolly L ittle by little, "convergence" is helping us take apart the myriad black boxes that have constituted IP infrastructure over the years, and rebuild them as infinitely more flexible, open and economical systems....

Service Providers Short Takes.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... n Netli is adding free network-based storage to its Internet-acceleration service so customers can avoid adding Web gear when they need to store Web data that doesn't get accessed very often. The company provides 1G byte of storage free with...

AT&T adding tool to help thwart attacks.
November 8, 2004... Byline: DENISE PAPPALARDO AT&T last week announced its newest Internet Protect security service, which is designed to help business customers mitigate worm and virus attacks on their networks. The service, which has not been named,...

Ask Dr. Internet.(Brief Article)
November 8, 2004... Byline: Steve Blass Steve Blass We installed the pre-built binary version of the Jboss Nukes content management system from Sourceforge after trying unsuccessfully to build pages from the Java source code. We want to make changes to...

Cool Tools.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Keith Shaw Lexar Media offers new music players Is it a storage device or an MP3 player? Lexar Media says its new LDP-400, a compact digital music player that also acts as a USB flash drive, is both. The company last week...

Proxim charts fixed wireless path to WiMAX.
November 8, 2004... Byline: JOHN COX Looking to help provide users with more powerful wireless products and services, Proxim has unveiled a ruggedized version of its Tsunami MP.11 point-to-multipoint base station and software. The Tsunami MP.11 5054-R...

Looking for a proxy.
November 8, 2004... Byline: Mark Gibbs In previous Gearhead columns we have discussed our quest to find network and IT solutions for a nonprofit school. Products and systems for this kind of environment must be cheap, easy to set up, cheap, easy to manage,...

Net Buzz.(Internet Explorer )
November 8, 2004... Byline: Paul McNamara Tugging at IE's pant leg Bill Gates will hold a yard sale to help make ends meet before his company's Internet Explorer is displaced as the world's dominant Web browser. But that doesn't mean there's nothing...

VON faithful see VoIP growing up.
November 8, 2004... Byline: John Dix The crowd that flocked to the recent Voice on the Network conference in Boston found some frank discussion about IP PBX costs and interesting new management tools. In an analyst panel on enterprise VoIP, Gartner...

10G Ethernet vendors look to stoke demand.
November 8, 2004... Byline: PHIL HOCHMUTH Network vendors this week are expected to introduce a variety of 10G Ethernet wares aimed at customers seeking to bump up bandwidth in large data centers and campus backbones. Products range from 10G Ethernet core...

BigFix mixes systems and patch mgmt.
November 8, 2004... Byline: DENISE DUBIE Patch management vendor BigFix this week is unveiling software that will let customers forward application and software upgrades to distributed systems and maintain an inventory of desktops, laptops and servers and the...