Network World back issues from December 2002:
test test test; It's an ideal scenario. In the office, you roam the floors with your notebook, always connected to the corporate LAN via an 802.11b wireless connection. At the end of the day, you head home, and connect the same notebook to your wireless home network.
Dec 01, 2002; ... If only it were that simple. Today, on the corporate side, your only choice is 802.11b. But when your workers head home, they're confronted with home network products - PC cards, Universal Serial Bus devices and residential gateways - that may use a competing standard, HomeRF. ...
'Net Buzz.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Readers get another turn One last word of thanks before we move on to the gift-giving madness: Buzz truly appreciates almost all of you who take the time to send e-mail. . . . The exceptions know who you are. Let's look the recent correspondence: A number ...
Optical in the enterprise; Once the sole purview of carriers, beaming gigabits over glass is now taking root in corporate networks.(Industry Overview)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Optical switching and transport systems are finding their way into corporate networks as users deploy fiber to support high-speed connections and bandwidth-hungry applications between buildings in a metropolitan campus. Educational institutions and governmental bodies are leading the way; ...
Sip passes taste test; The Session Initiation Protocol is winning converts among the voice-over-IP crowd.
Dec 02, 2002; ... The Session Initiation Protocol has gained industry momentum for its promise as the future of real-time voice, video and messaging applications. But early adopters like it for one reason - it's very simple to manage. SIP is an IETF standard for establishing and terminating ...
The customer is king; Four pioneers from different industries tailor CRM technology to better their customer relations.(Nordstrom Inc.)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Nordstrom's salespeople are getting ready to throw out their little black books. Instead of filling pages with hand-scrawled notes about customers' sizes and designer preferences, 20,000 sales clerks at the Seattle chain's 137 stores soon will be using new software and mobile ...
Under control; Route control customers say they're experiencing unexpected benefits.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Route control products and services are primarily designed to pick the best paths for Internet traffic at companies that use more than one ISP. But early adopters of the technology say it delivers a range of additional benefits. In deciding which way traffic should go, route ...
New OS creating Macintosh converts; Unix-based Mac OS X 10.2 offers network executives more familiar administrative tools.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Macintosh servers and workstations might no longer be the black sheeps of network and systems management. The reason, IT executives say, is that a new version of Apple's Unix-based operating system - Macintosh OS X 10.2 - is giving them the long-sought-after tools to bring these ...
Making wireless LAN security air tight; All-in-one security gateways are helping to boost confidence in wireless networks.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Losing sleep lately? With rogue wireless LAN access points popping up every time you turn around it's easy to understand why. Securing the ether is becoming job No. 1. One approach that's gaining favor is to use security gateways to lasso groups of access points. These boxes are ...
Utility IT exec to explore power of Web services.(Gene Zimon oc Nstar)(Interview)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Gene Zimon, CIO and a senior vice president at energy company Nstar in Boston, has an atypical perspective on network technology. While he currently oversees a statewide network for the utility, which serves 1.3 million residential and business customers across Massachusetts, he also has ...
Authentication gets smart.
Dec 02, 2002; ... In an apprehensive society, we'll be more identified and authenticated than ever before. We'll be carded, asked for our personal identification number and inspected using a bevy of new technologies. But whether these efforts prove effective in creating real security depends on how ...
Linux is the answer.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Regarding "What users want from Microsoft" (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 3322): I perceive Microsoft to work more or less like our politicians do. You tell them what you want; they listen, nod their heads and then do what they were going to do anyway. You can either play by their rules or ...
ESP over Fibre Channel secures SANs.(Encapsulating Security Payload )
Dec 02, 2002; ... Storage-area networks were once closed and relied predominantly on physical protection to ensure security. However, as SANs become more distributed and remotely accessible, security concerns are growing. Fibre Channel has limited security services. Commonly used schemes such as ...
Antispam help is on the way.
Dec 02, 2002; ... In the last year, spam has grown from a nuisance to a nightmare for corporate network executives, who are scrambling to respond to the increased volume and objectionable content of unsolicited commercial e-mail messages sent to end users. In response, messaging vendors are ...
Will 2003 see a telecom revival?(Industry Overview)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Columns written this time of year often have one of three themes: a nostalgic look back - such as the 10 best things to happen in 2002 (unfortunately, the "best" events this year would be "worst" in a good year); wishful Santa-list dreaming - you know, the 10 services we'd like to see ...
Are you an early adopter?
Dec 02, 2002; ... Finding leading-edge network shops isn't as easy as it used to be - and it's not because they don't exist. Partly to blame is the demise of national user organizations that gave network executives a high-profile way to showcase their efforts. Increasingly paranoid corporate policies about ...
Collaboration software gets CAD support.(eRoom Technologies' eRoom Viewer for CAD Visualization)
Dec 02, 2002; ... CAMBRIDGE, MASS. - With an eye toward reducing product development cycles, Web-based collaboration vendor eRoom Technologies is adding support for CAD drawings to its online meeting room software that will let users share, edit and annotate those files. Online collaboration on ...
Los Alamos builds big InfiniBand cluster.(with Promicro Systems)(Brief Article)
Dec 02, 2002; ... LOS ALMOS, N.M. - Los Alamos National Laboratory has turned to server maker Promicro Systems to build what it says is the largest cluster that uses the fledgling InfiniBand interconnect. Los Alamos recently said it was building a 128-processor cluster that includes Promicro ...
The road toward successful streamlining.(Column)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Several of my recent columns have touched on the importance of lowering operational costs. Most recently, I discussed the crushing operational overhead that many telephone companies endure (60% to 70% of service costs are because of operational overhead). The challenge isn't ...
Spam, spam, spam, lovely spam.(Column)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Spam. As a food we celebrate its virtues in two well-publicized festivals, one in Austin, Texas (www.nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 3325), and another in Austin, Minn., home of the Spam Museum (DocFinder: 3326). Most everyone thinks Spam, the food, is a fun subject. Spam. As a verb, ...
carrier briefs.(Brief Article)
Dec 02, 2002 ... Telstra, the largest service provider in Australia and New Zealand, recently announced it is deploying BroadSoft's voice-over-data products in its network. The carrier is rolling out BroadSoft's BroadWorks servers and applications to offer businesses hosted voice-over-data and voice VPN ...
SBC unifies offerings across U.S. .
Dec 02, 2002 ... SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - SBC Communications last week rolled out standardized national data services, letting SBC business customers get the same speed, service level and pricing options across the U.S. Until last week, SBC's pricing, speeds and service-level agreements varied even ...
Latis rolls out wireless LAN protection.(Latis Networks StillSecure Border Guard )
Dec 02, 2002; ... SUPERIOR, COLO. - Latis Networks has introduced an 802.11 wireless LAN security gateway that enforces user authentication and continuously scans the wireless network to block computer worms and Web attacks. Installed between wireless access points and wired LAN, the StillSecure ...
Sprint buffs up managed data offerings.
Dec 02, 2002; ... KANSAS CITY, MO. - Sprint announced last week that it has revamped its managed data service offerings by simplifying the product set and pricing while extending the reach of its management capabilities. The carrier now offers two service umbrellas, called Managed Network Service ...
MasterCard factors 9/11 into disaster-recovery plan.
Dec 02, 2002; ... 'FALLON, MO. - MasterCard International, which last year opened a gleaming $160 million data-processing campus in Missouri, is gearing up for its next challenge: building a back-up and disaster-recovery site designed for the age of terrorism. The card-processing giant currently ...
Optical subsets up while market slumps.(according to Probe Research)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Leading research firms recently released figures and made statements indicating that certain subsets of the worldwide optical-hardware market are experiencing healthy growth while the overall market languishes. In the long-haul, revenue will decrease by 50% this year from last ...
Switch lightens database server load.(Savantis Systems dbSwitch)
Dec 02, 2002; ... LEXINGTON, MASS. - Start-up Savantis Systems is introducing a switch that lets users pool databases to better utilize capacity and potentially reduce the number of database servers they maintain. The company says individual database servers typically are only 7% to 15% utilized ....
A resilient architecture.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Sept. 11, 2001, was a generally quiet day on the Internet. This was true even though the attacks in New York destroyed some important network facilities. It might not have looked that way to those trying to get through to CNN and other news sources, but those problems turned out to be ...
Experts flag security flaw in Solaris.
Dec 02, 2002 ... A vulnerability in Solaris puts systems running the Sun operating system at risk of being taken over by an attacker, experts warned last week. A buffer overflow flaw lies in Sun's implementation of the X Windows Font Service, which serves font files to clients and runs by default on all ...
IP VPN extends manufacturer's reach.(Russ Berrie and Co. )
Dec 02, 2002; ... In an effort to save money and tie together its widely scattered groups, Russ Berrie and Co. is turning to high-speed IP VPNs to augment its existing frame relay network connections. In the past, the Oakland, N.J., manufacturer of gift items has relied on frame relay to connect ...
Enterprise Applications Briefs.(Brief Article)
Dec 02, 2002 ... Macromedia announced last week a new version of its Director MX multimedia authoring software, which makes it easier for customers to create kiosk and training applications that are accessible to end users with disabilities. The upgraded software, which is scheduled to ship this month, ...
Chilling out at Comdex.
Dec 02, 2002; ... The recent Fall 2002 Comdex show in Las Vegas was a rather low-key event; it seemed that more people wanted to do business than watch any over-the-top booth demonstrations (nary a bikini or magician in sight). Still, there was plenty to get excited about in the world of gizmos and gadgets ....
Ask Dr. Internet.
Dec 02, 2002; ... We have a 300-workstation network with a Windows 2000 server, two domain controllers, a SQL 2000 database server, Linux Web server and ISA firewall. We've been asked to segment the database server onto a separate network so only certain staff members can access it. We also want to install ...
VocalTec head says VoIP adoption coming slowly to U.S.(Interview)
Dec 02, 2002; ... The past two years have been tough for VocalTec: Revenue dropped from $41.9 million in 2000 to $28.4 million in 2001, and through three quarters of this year sales are $13.1 million. Despite this, the Israeli company expects conditions to improve as more carriers adopt voice over IP, first ...
JUNIPER'S MINT OFFERS PROFITABLE DATA.(Juniper Networks )
Dec 02, 2002; ... SUNNYVALE, CALIF. - Juniper Networks this week is unveiling a plan designed to let service providers profitably address underserved markets without commoditizing their offerings. Supporting the framework are several new products Juniper will roll out later this month and early ...
BindView tunes tools for Microsoft.(bv-Admin for Windows 7.0)
Dec 02, 2002; ... HOUSTON - BindView this week will release tools for easing delegation and deployment tasks for those managing Microsoft Active Directory environments. While bv-Admin for Windows 7.0 includes features for migrating to Windows 2000 and Active Directory, its focus is on making it ...
Infrastructure Briefs.
Dec 02, 2002 ... Raritan, a vendor of keyboard-video-mouse switches, recently announced a product that lets small and midsize data centers manage servers and other network devices distributed across networks over IP. Called the IP-Reach M Series, the products have one- and two-port configurations that ...
ISAPI, ISAPI filters and finally ASP.
Dec 02, 2002; ... A correction is in order: Two weeks ago we wrote that "the Windows Task Scheduler . . . only allows a minimum repeat interval of 24 hours," and we were wrong. Despite having used the scheduler several times, we moved too fast to notice the checkbox that reads: "Open advanced properties for ...
The total information monster.(Total Information Awareness program )
Dec 02, 2002; ... In the Fox News story "Pentagon to Track American Consumer Purchases" it was reported the Pentagon said, "A massive database that the government will use to monitor every purchase made by every American citizen is a necessary tool in the war on terror." The idea behind the ...
Vendor crafts handheld access to corporate apps.(National Semiconductor developing Geode Extended Office )
Dec 02, 2002; ... LAS VEGAS - At the recent Comdex show, National Semiconductor showed a working prototype of a handheld computer that can access standard enterprise applications over more wireless infrastructures. Roughly half the size of an 8.5-by-11-inch paper sheet, the Geode Extended Office ...
Sun move placates users; Company ships Solaris 9 operating system for Intel servers.
Dec 02, 2002; ... PALO ALTO - Ending nearly a year of sometimes cantankerous debate with its users, Sun appeased its Unix customers when it posted on its site a downloadable early-access version of its Solaris 9 operating environment for Intel-based servers and workstations. In posting the ...
GSA to keep vigilant with patch- notification service.(U.S. General Services Administration)
Dec 02, 2002; ... WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. General Services Administration last week began offering federal civilian agencies a way to keep track of new software patches so that they can apply them before hackers exploit known vulnerabilities. The free service is being offered to agencies that ...
10G or not 10G?; That is the question regarding high-speed switch products.
Dec 02, 2002; ... If you're looking to add 10 Gigabit Ethernet to your corporate backbone, you might want to wait for the next generation of switches from vendors such as Cisco, Extreme Networks and Foundry Networks to ensure you're getting the most bang for your buck. That's because most ...
Leave your PDA at home.(CardScan)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Putting your contacts database online lets you access it from anywhere Last time we discussed the new CardScan business-card scanner hardware and accompanying database software. Since then, I've downloaded the upgrade (runs faster, jumps higher) and explored the online ...
What consumers really want.
Dec 02, 2002; ... Early technology adopters want a hand in the kitchen more than access to company files? What good is the connected home? That's what the Internet Home Alliance (IHA) is charged with finding out. By conducting research and field trials, the IHA is trying to help its members - ...
Alcatel switches stack up; 'Virtual chassis' offerings boast failover, flexibility.(Alcatel's OmniStack 6600 network switch)
Dec 02, 2002; ... CALABASAS, CALIF. - Alcatel this month is scheduled to start offering stackable 10/100M bit/sec Ethernet switches that pack much of the punch of enterprise chassis-based boxes. Alcatel lags behind 3Com, Cisco and Nortel in getting into the "virtual chassis" switch market, but at ...
Bank of America chooses Sigaba.(Sigaba will provide secure e-mail gateways)
Dec 02, 2002; ... Bank of America has awarded Sigaba, a San Mateo, Calif., start-up, a multimillion-dollar deal that industry observers say is one of the largest-ever enterprise purchases of secure messaging software. Sigaba will provide secure e-mail gateways, secure e-mail applets, ...
how we did it.(SilverBack's InfoCare 3.5 )(Brief Article)
Dec 09, 2002; ... We installed SilverBack's InfoCare 3.5 CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) on our lab's six segment Fast Ethernet network. Each segment consisted of a server and several clients along with SNMP-manageable switch, ...
SilverBack InfoCare 3.5; The service is good, but software needs some work.(Product/Service Evaluation)
Dec 09, 2002; ... Want to take a long lunch, but you're afraid to take your eyes off the network for more than a few minutes? Consider hiring an "extra pair of eyes" to watch over things. SilverBack Technologies says its InfoCare 3.5 service and appliance can do this without blinking. InfoCare ...
Lightening the load; Reduce total cost of ownership with strategic sourcing and cost-optimized network design.
Dec 09, 2002; ... Lightening the load Reduce total cost of ownership with strategic sourcing and cost-optimized network design. BY SHALLY BANSAL STANLEY As IT executives finalize their 2003 budgets, few expect much growth. The new spending goals in these times of austerity ...
AS2 secures documents using the Web.
Dec 09, 2002; ... Applicability Statement 2 is a draft standard from the Internet Engineering Task Force for securely exchanging business documents over the Internet, with guarantees in place to ensure a document is not lost. AS2 provides the instructions for software at one company to send any ...
Other VoIP traffic-analysis options.
Dec 09, 2002; ... Other VoIP traffic-analysis options By Vincent Battistelli and Edwin Mier In addition to the voice over IP traffic analysis products tested, other vendors also now offer products featuring various VoIP-analysis capabilities. We've assembled information about those ...
How we did it.
Dec 09, 2002; ... How we did it By Edwin Mier Product selection Our objective was to review the growing set of products that have added "VoIP traffic analysis" to their repertoire of options. Nearly two dozen contenders turned up in our research; many are long-time ...
Sizing up VoIP listening tools; VoIP traffic analysis products offer an eclectic mix of capabilities and perspective, but no vendor ships a complete tool kit.
Dec 09, 2002; ... VoIP traffic analysis products offer an eclectic mix of capabilities and perspective, but no vendor ships a complete tool kit. By Edwin Mier, Vincent Battistelli and Alan Miner With corporate voice-over-IP activity on the rise, network professionals need to know ...
Whitelisting could be spam remedy.
Dec 09, 2002; ... Spam is nearing a crisis point for e-mail users and administrators. But we don't have to accept it as an inevitable force of nature. The first step in the fight against spam is to dispel the notion that users are powerless against the onslaught. There is an expanding array of antispam ...
Wireless woos doctors; networked mobile devices help improve patient care and diagnosis.
Dec 09, 2002; ... Wireless woos doctors Networked mobile devices help improve patient care and diagnosis. By John Cox Healthcare network executives are discovering that wireless access to data can have a dramatic effect in boosting the number of patients served, improving ...
Wake-up call.(distributed denial-of-service attacks )
Dec 09, 2002; ... The recent distributed denial-of-service attack (DoS) against the Internet's root servers (www. nwfusion.com, DocFinder: 3425) should stand as a wake-up call for the entire computing industry. In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 43 million home computers with Internet ...
To buy or not to buy.(IT budgets)
Dec 09, 2002; ... With IT budgets for 2003 expected to remain flat, and with traditional early technology adopters such as financial services companies short of resources to spend, the environment is harsh for start-up companies with new products to sell. Most CIOs say they plan to avoid large, long-term ...
Companies saddle up for NT's ride into sunset; OPERATING SYSTEMS: The end of an era.
Dec 09, 2002; ... The New Technology Server was Microsoft's entrance into enterprise-class software in 1996, but in 12 months Windows NT will leave the ranks of supported software, and network executives must decide now what to do with the platform, users and experts say. Corporations should have ...
Do you believe in the autonegotiation fairy?
Dec 09, 2002; ... A few months back, during our fourth annual Switch Interoperability event we host with Network World, I couldn't help but notice that all of the participating switch vendors passed our autonegotiation tests. No big deal. The standard for autonegotiation is years old. Everyone ...
What fools these mortals be.
Dec 09, 2002; ... I know it's not Halloween, but if you want to read a scary book try The Art of Deception by Kevin Mitnick. I challenge you to not recognize yourself in the role of the mark in at least some of his little vignettes. And when you inevitably do, I challenge you to feel comfortable about the ...
Equant to keep an eye on apps.(Application Visualizer services)
Dec 09, 2002; ... ATLANTA - Equant says it will launch an application-monitoring service for data customers around the world by year-end. The service, called Application Visualizer, will let IP VPN, frame relay and ATM customers outsource application monitoring and reporting to Equant. ...
News briefs.(AT&T, WorldCom and Covad Communications)
Dec 09, 2002 ... Competitive local exchange carriers last week continued to joust with the regional Bell operating companies over what unbundled network elements the RBOCs must provide to CLEC competitors. The latest salvo is a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, filed by AT&T, WorldCom and Covad ...
net buzz.(Google News)
Dec 09, 2002; ... Google's gift to news hounds . . . Here's a self-centered observation that also just happens to be defensible: Nothing can really be said to represent an advance in search technology unless it helps me - yes, me - easily and quickly find something at the exact moment when that ...
Net mgmt. software: Rip and replace?; As systems age, users face decision to squeeze more out of old packages or toss them.(Computer Associates Unicenter TNG at Waterbury Hospital)
Dec 09, 2002; ... When the network at Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut went from supporting 200 to 1,500 end users, CIO Jim Olson needed a way to keep managing it without spending any more money. The most obvious route would have been trying to squeeze more out of the company's 3-year-old ...
net briefs.(Linksys has begun bundling Norton Internet Security Suite; HomePlug Powerline Alliance )(Brief Article)
Dec 09, 2002 ... Linksys has begun bundling Norton Internet Security Suite with all its DSL and cable routers for free. Customers who bought a router after Sept. 25, 2002, can download a free copy from the Web site. The suite provides virus protection and a personal firewall to protect against hackers ....