Why telcos should set their sights on grid networking, Part 1

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: STEVE TAYLOR AND JIM METZLER ON WIDE
AREA NETWORKING
09/13/05
Today's focus: Why telcos should set their sights on grid
networking, Part 1

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Don't let grid networking be another missed opportunity for
telcos
* Links related to Wide Area Networking
* Featured reader resource
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference &
EXPO Fall 2005

Attend the World's Largest VoIP Marketplace, October 24-27 at
the Los Angeles Convention Center, featuring the only guaranteed
VoIP educational program and keynotes you can't hear at other
VoIP events - Carly Fiorina, Michael Powell, AOL, Skype,
Microsoft, Yahoo and more. If you're serious about deploying
VoIP in your enterprise or service provider network, or want to
resell VoIP, this is the only event you need to attend.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=113891
_______________________________________________________________
THE LATEST HOME NETWORK EQUIPMENT PREDICTIONS

How many devices will be connected to home networks by the year
2010? Does 1 billion devices sound right? Is the prediction
based on more home networks coming online or more devices per
home network? And what is the prediction for wireless adoption
in home networks? For the latest, click here:
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=114012
_______________________________________________________________

Today's focus: Why telcos should set their sights on grid
networking, Part 1

By Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

Our industry is littered with missed opportunities - especially
when it comes to the telephone companies. For instance, the
lucrative and pervasive "T-1 multiplexer" market of the 1980s
never would have developed had the phone companies simply
offered automatic alternate routing for these circuits. Lacking
this feature, the datacomm shops within the enterprise adopted a
BYOB (Be Your Own Bell) attitude, and the phone companies are
still struggling to regain a leadership position via "managed
services."

According to a recent article
<http://www.webtorials.com/main/newsletters/dcti/index.htm> by
our colleague, Alan Weissberger, the telcos are in the midst of
missing yet another great opportunity - providing support for
grid computing.

As grid computing moves from the academic/scientific world to
mainstream business, there's a great opportunity to provide
support for this next-generation of distributed computing.

According to Weissberger, there are at least two opportunities
that telcos could exploit: the use of grids by the telcos
themselves and offering support for these networks. He says,
"The critical issue is that telco internal use of grids can
greatly improve operations and lower [operational expenses],
while a grid network service could be a profitable new market.
Having participated in numerous grid computing events and the
Grid Computing Forum (GGF) for almost three years now, I am
convinced that grids offer huge opportunities for telcos - first
as a grid user and later as a grid-networking provider. However,
the telcos - especially those in the U.S. - seem to be out to
lunch with respect to this huge opportunity. This is especially
puzzling, since the grid technology continues to mature, while
grid standards evolve and product offerings stabilize."

What will the enterprise grid user do to interconnect his
geographically sites/data centers? Will this come from the telco
or will he have to do the job himself? Weissberger continues,
"The enterprise grid user must try to match the 1/10G bit/sec
Ethernet connections in his data center and campus network with
what is available in the metro and wide area networks. Today,
most commercial users interconnect grid sites using private
lines - often by leasing DS3/E3 or dark fiber - at much lower
rates than their campus LAN backbones. But there are limits to
connectivity and scalability with this approach and the burden
of managing the network is on the enterprise.

"What role will the telcos play in grid networking? The driving
factor for a telco grid network service offering will be to
effectively use the assets it already owns and to realize a
reasonable return on investment."

Our hope is that by bringing this issue to light in this forum,
we will be able to help create market pull for these services.
And next time we'll continue with more of Weissberger's
comments, tying them back to some of our own recent
observations.

The top 5: Today's most-read stories

1. McAfee, Tech Assist top anti-spyware test
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6977>

2. What's the best way to protect against spyware?
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6978>

3. Google hacking <http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6696>

4. Supermarket chain freezes Internet access
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6658>

5. Cisco warns of another IOS bug
<http://www.networkworld.com/nlwan6806>

_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

Steve Taylor is president of Distributed Networking Associates
and publisher/editor-in-chief of Webtorials. For more detailed
information on most of the topics discussed in this newsletter,
connect to Webtorials <http://www.webtorials.com/>, the premier
site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and
market research. Taylor can be reached at
<mailto:taylor@webtorials.com>

Jim Metzler is the Vice President of Ashton, Metzler &
Associates, a consulting organization that focuses on leveraging
technology for business success. Jim assists vendors to refine
product strategies, service providers to deploy technologies and
services, and enterprises evolve their network infrastructure.
He can be reached at <mailto:jim@ashtonmetzler.com>
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by Tacit
Network World Executive Guide: Staying Focused on the Moving
Target that is Storage

Keeping pace with evolving storage strategies, architectures,
and trends is not unlike keeping pace with your organizations
underlying capacity needs. From ILM strategies to SAN management
to the threat of those USB memory sticks, this Network World
Executive Guide will help you stay focused on the moving target
that is Storage. Register now and get a free copy of Network
World's Storage Executive Guide.
http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=114188
_______________________________________________________________
ARCHIVE LINKS

Archive of the WAN newsletter:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/frame/index.html
_______________________________________________________________
FEATURED READER RESOURCE

GARTNER'S SECURITY HYPE-O-METER

What is hype and has it influenced your network security
efforts? At a recent Gartner security summit, analysts described
what they say are "The Five Most Overhyped Security Threats,"
risks that have been overblown and shouldn't be scaring everyone
as much as they seem to be. For more, click here:

<http://www.networkworld.com/weblogs/security/009180.html>
_______________________________________________________________
May We Send You a Free Print Subscription?
You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered
at your fingertips each day. Now, extend your knowledge by
receiving 51 FREE issues to our print publication. Apply
today at http://www.subscribenw.com/nl2

International subscribers click here:
http://nww1.com/go/circ_promo.html
_______________________________________________________________
SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World e-mail
newsletters, go to:
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/Changes.aspx>

To change your e-mail address, go to:
<http://www.nwwsubscribe.com/ChangeMail.aspx>

Subscription questions? Contact Customer Service by replying to
this message.

This message was sent to: networking.world@gmail.com
Please use this address when modifying your subscription.
_______________________________________________________________

Have editorial comments? Write Jeff Caruso, Newsletter Editor,
at: <mailto:jcaruso@nww.com>

Inquiries to: NL Customer Service, Network World, Inc., 118
Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772

For advertising information, write Kevin Normandeau, V.P. of
Online Development, at: <mailto:sponsorships@nwfusion.com>

Copyright Network World, Inc., 2005