Networking World

Daily News: PM

Network World Daily News: PM, 09/28/07

NEWS PODCAST: NETWORK WORLD 360, 09/28/07
Network equipment vendor 3Com has agreed to be acquired by Huawei and Bain Capital in a deal worth over $2 billion, according to a newspaper report. Also, the Internet's leading standards bodies have agreed to work together to ensure that a new transport protocol being developed for MPLS networks is compatible with existing MPLS equipment. (5:11)

HUAWEI, INVESTMENT FUND TO BUY 3COM FOR $2B
Network equipment vendor 3Com has agreed to be acquired by Huawei and Bain Capital in a deal worth over $2 billion, according to a report. Plus: 3Com switches link wireless/wireline networks

APPLE UPDATE BREAKS HACKED IPHONES
Users are reporting that a new update to Apple's iPhone is making previously unlocked iPhones unusable. Plus: iPhone gets VoIP tryout

STORM: THE LARGEST BOTNET IN THE WORLD?
Researchers say the size and scope of the botnet created by the Storm worm makes it one of the most aggressive pieces of malware to date. Plus: Frequently asked questions about Storm worm

STANDARDS BODIES VOW TO RESOLVE MPLS FLAP
The Internet’s leading standards bodies have agreed to work together to ensure that a new transport protocol being developed for Multiprotocol Label Switching networks is compatible with the billions of dollars worth of MPLS equipment that carriers ...

GOOGLE BUYS MOBILE SOCIAL NETWORKING SERVICE
Google has acquired a mobile social networking start-up called Zingku, the search company's latest move to provide more services through mobile ...

MIT OFFICIALLY LAUNCHES KERBEROS CONSORTIUM
MIT launches its Kerberos Consortium, vows to promote Kerberos use for e-commerce and mobile devices.

ENTERPRISES WARNED TO APPROACH WEB 2.0 WITH CAUTION
Web 2.0 software applications that are easy to write and deploy have a place in the enterprise for improved work collaboration and customer ...

MICROSOFT GIVES OEMs FIVE MORE MONTHS TO INSTALL XP
Microsoft is extending the time it will allow OEMs and retail outlets to sell PCs with Windows XP as customers continue to balk on ...

WiMAX STARTUPS AIM TO BOOST RADIO SPEEDS, NETWORK DEPLOYMENTS
Startups are using new software technologies to layer on capabilities to emerging WiMAX wireless nets.

Questions? Feedback? Contact NetworkWorld.com Site Editor Jeff Caruso.

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WAN News Alert

WAN News Alert, 09/28/07

Verizon reverses decision on abortion text messages, 09/27/07: Verizon has reversed its decision to block text messages sent out by Naral Pro-Choice America, the company announced today.

3Com switches link wireless/wireline networks, 09/27/07: 3Com this week unveiled a new edge switch line designed to economically support converged wireline and wireless voice and data networks.

'Radical rethinking' of Internet routing under way, 09/27/07: Some of the world’s top network engineers are engaged in a research effort that could lead to the most radical redesign of the Internet’s underlying routing architecture since it was developed in the 1980s.

U.K. government probes next-generation broadband, 09/26/07: Ofcom has launched a consultation that probes next generation broadband networks, with particular focus on whether the U.K. requires a nationwide fiber network.

Outsourcing your way to innovation, 09/26/07: Outsourcers continue to market themselves as the IT department's partners in innovation. Yet with increased globalization and the resulting decrease in profit margins for many IT service providers, can they really deliver on that promise? We asked 290 IT executives to tell us what they think. The results show that for most IT leaders, outsourcing offers benefits in many areas. But when it comes to innovation, they prefer to keep those efforts closer to home.

Contact Site Editor Jeff Caruso

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Compliance News Alert

Network World's Standards and Regulations News Alert, 09/28/07

Compliance pushing identity management in new directions, 09/27/07: Compliance issues are moving the focus of identity management on administration of users and shifting it more toward access control and authorization to meet regulatory mandates.

HP offers archive system for legal discovery, 09/27/2007: HP, which had some well publicized legal troubles of its own not long ago, has unveiled a data back-up system to help other companies when they are hit with a lawsuit or regulatory audit.

Verizon reverses decision on NARAL text messages, 09/27/07: Verizon Wireless has reversed its decision to block text messages sent out by Naral Pro-Choice America, the carrier announced Thursday.

Former FCC chair describes Frontline’s plans for wireless spectrum, 09/25/07: Frontline Wireless Vice Chairman Reed Hundt said his company plans to use spectrum on the 700MHz band to build public safety and open access networks.

Video: NAC standards: Where are we now?: Steve Hanna, a Juniper distinguished engineer and co-chair of NAC standards groups at the IETF and the Trusted Computing Group, discusses the progress of the NAC standards effort and Cisco's lack of involvement.

U.K. government probes next-generation broadband, 09/26/07: Ofcom has launched a consultation that probes next generation broadband networks, with particular focus on whether the U.K. requires a nationwide fiber network.

Fraud police buckling under mountains of data, 09/26/07: Fraud investigators are struggling to cope with vast quantities of data sent to them by financial institutions, meaning some crimes may go uninvestigated or even unnoticed, experts said on Wednesday.

HP unleashes wireless network traffic monitoring, 09/25/07: HP this week claimed to be the first to implement a technology designed to improve traffic monitoring in wireless networks.

ArcSight launches PCI compliance suite, 09/25/07: ArcSight on Monday announced a suite of software designed to make sure companies are in compliance with the Payment Card Industry’s (PCI) latest data-security standards.

Contact Site Editor Jeff Caruso

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Daily News: AM

Network World Daily News: AM, 09/28/07

'RADICAL RETHINKING' OF INTERNET ROUTING UNDER WAY
Some of the world’s leading network engineers are engaged in a research effort that could lead to the most radical redesign of the Internet’s underlying routing architecture since it was developed in the 1980s.

VERIZON REVERSES DECISION ON ABORTION TEXT MESSAGES
Verizon has reversed its decision to block text messages sent out by Naral Pro-Choice America, the company announced today.

MIT PRANKSTERS GIVE HARVARD THE HALO 3 TREATMENT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology pranksters celebrated this past Tuesday’s debut of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 Halo 3 by transforming the statue of John Harvard in Harvard Yard into the Master Chief character from the much anticipated video game.

LIVE SEARCH PLAYS TO ITS BASE
Microsoft thinks its Live Search can match Google in some areas now, but the company has been the underdog in search for so long it's not even trying to lure users away from its rival -- at least not yet.

IBM SOFTWARE TO SCAN CHICAGO STREETS
The City of Chicago is developing a futuristic video-surveillance system designed to scan city streets looking for everything from bombs to traffic jams.

CISCO AGREES TO BUY CALL-CENTER VENDOR LATIGENT
Cisco has agreed to buy Latigent, a vendor of call center reporting tools, and plans to integrate Latigent's products with its unified customer contact center systems.

LIVE CHAT

CHAT WITH AMAZON.COM’S CTO LIVE
If ever there were a man that knew how to eek out capacity and secure a data center, it would be Werner Vogels, vice president & CTO of Amazon.com. Join him for a live chat on Monday Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. No registration is required, but those who RSVP “yes” to community editor Julie Bort in advance will be eligible for a Network World T-shirt.

VIDEO

5 COOL TECHNOLOGIES FROM DAY 2 OF DEMOfALL07
Keith showcases five companies that stood out on day 2 of DEMOfall07: 360desktop, kannuu, Check Point, MuseStorm and SpaceTime.

BLOGS

BUZZBLOG: COURT WON'T DECLARE CHIMP A PERSON
But let there be no mistake about it, a person can be a chimp. Nothing about technology here ... simply the human condition.

TODAY AT CISCO SUBNET
Rent A Cert, a Web site launched last week seeks match Cisco certified engineers with Cisco vendors desperate for certifications. But the engineers don't have to do any work - just associate their cert number with that company. Is it ethical? Latigent is to be Cisco's 123rd acquisition. Its co-founder blogs about what it's like to be acquired by Cisco. From the Field blogger Michael Morris shares how to calculate a simple ROI for you next project.

TODAY ON MICROSOFT SUBNET
Message to Facebook – take the money!; Platt’s Laws of the Universe – why Software Sucks; Recovering monopolies unite! AT&T joins Microsoft in opposing Google/Doubleclick.

Questions? Feedback? Contact NetworkWorld.com Site Editor Jeff Caruso.

BONUS FEATURE

IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details.

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Cisco News Alert

Network World's Cisco News Alert, 09/28/07

Welcome to the Friday edition of Network World's Cisco News Alert in which we focus on the top items from Cisco Subnet, your gateway to Cisco news, blogs, discussion forums, security alerts, giveaways and more. Enjoy!

* TOP PICK OF THE WEEK:

Rent A Cert: A good idea for Cisco partners and cert holders?
Brad Reese on Cisco writes about Rent A Cert, a Web site launched a week ago: "Rent A Cert seeks to line the pockets of Cisco certification holders with extra cash, while simultaneously preying on the desperation of those in the channel who wish to improve their partnership levels on the cheap, to either Cisco Silver or Cisco Gold status (and the coveted partner discounts that go along with each status)." It's not illegal for Cisco cert holders to do this nor is it illegal for companies to simply pay these folks for the use of their names and certification numbers, but is it ethical? Aren't customers ultimately the losers in this? What do you think? 

ALSO:

Entrepreneur describes what it's like to be acquired by Cisco

Cisco Catalyst flaw enables hackers to bypass certain security restrictions

Cisco offers security, unified communications to branch offices

Cisco wants to become a $50 billion company by 2010 - how?

* FROM OUR BLOGGERS:

Brad Reese on Cisco: Suggestion for maintaining control of a self-funded Cisco CCIE number
A discussion has been ongoing at RouterIE.com about maintaining control of a self-funded Cisco CCIE number. A Cisco gold partner employee has been self-funding the expenses of his CCIE lab exam, including taking unpaid leave. Therefore, the employee does not want his CCIE number assigned to his employer upon passing the CCIE lab exam. Instead, the employee wants the option of leaving his employer and immediately having his CCIE number associated with his new employer.

Jeff Doyle on IP Routing: Fast Reroute without MPLS?
I’ve been a long-time advocate of MPLS, because it enables simplification: You can eliminate your ATM and Frame Relay infrastructures and consolidate your virtual circuits onto your routed IP infrastructure.

Author Expert Wendell Odom: VTP clients updating servers (and answers to questions)
When I first heard that a VTP client can update a VTP server under the right conditions, I was frankly a non-believer. No way. I'd seen evidence to the contrary in several documents at cisco.com and in Cisco courses - but all the evidence was written, without my doing any experiments. So, I spent some time experimenting a few years ago, and found that it's true - clients can overwrite VTP server's VLAN databases. And this matters for the exam and for real life in some cases, so it seemed a good topic to talk about this week.

ChannelSurfing with Ken Presti: Rented certifications: What’s that about?
There’s a series of TV commercials in which people are confidently doing some skilled, professional task and then admit they’re not really experts, but they did sleep in this particular hotel last night. That theme came to mind when I read Brad Reese’s blog about a company that’s offering to match channel partners with certified personnel (CCIE, CCNP, etc.) – not for hiring them -- but for renting their badge so they can appear on paper to be more skilled than they really are.

Michael Morris' Notes from the Field: Calculating a simple ROI for your next project
Designing and buildings networks is a great job and career. However, all networks are built for a purpose, most often a business purpose. When proposing new network projects, decision makers (i.e. managers) want to know what business benefits they will get from a project. While there are many different business benefits - such as increased productivity, better customer service, and strategic relationships - one of best benefits to demonstrate to management is Return on Investment (ROI). 

Jamey Heary: Cisco Security Expert: Security collaboration: Cisco IPS and Cisco Wireless
Not many people realize that the Cisco IPS 4200 Series sensors can collaborate with a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller(WLC) to defend the network. This solution allows you to extend your security protection way beyond what the embedded wireless signatures can offer. It moves your wireless attack detection/prevention capabilities from the solely Layer 2 realm, that embedded wireless signatures offer, into the Layer 2-7 realm. And since Layer 2-7 protection is arguably where you want/need to be this solution gets you there.

HOT DISCUSSIONS AMONG CISCO SUBNET READERS:

Doyle: My favorite interview question

Reese: Cisco engineers with top secret security clearances are available for hire new

Odom: How Cisco uses question styles to better evaluate us

Morris: Using burstable circuits to reduce costs

FREEBIES, GIVEAWAYS AND OTHER NOTABLES:

** LAST FEW DAYS TO ENTER TO WIN **

* Enter to win a Skyline-ATS training course of your choice worth up to $3,495. Details here.

*Enter to Win a Cisco Press Book: Up for grabs are 15 copies of Wendell Odom's book "Official Exam Certification Library (CCNA Exam 640-802), 3rd Edition," a comprehensive review and practice package for the latest CCNA exams.. Details here. Get a sneak peek of a chapter from one of the books here.

* Read a free chapter from "Deploying IPv6 Networks" by Ciprian P. Popoviciu, Eric Levy-Abegnoli, Patrick Grossetete. Free excerpt here.

* Check out Cisco Subnet's library for more free chapters from Cisco Press books.

Senior Editor Jim Duffy covers Cisco for Network World.

Linda Leung edits Cisco Subnet.

Cisco Subnet: The independent voice of Cisco customers

BONUS FEATURE

IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details.

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Linux & Open Source News Alert

LinuxWorld's Linux and Open Source News Alert, 09/28/07

LinuxWorld.com Feature Story

Clad in his pajamas, Red Hat co-founder Marc Ewing arrived at work at 11 a.m. one day in 1998, unlocked the office for a new employee, and promptly left to go back to sleep.

For a guy who developed the Linux distribution in his spare bedroom it just seemed natural. Today, however, such sleepy days are but a dream at Red Hat.

The company is a powerhouse in the open source community: It owns 80% of the Linux market and posted $400 million in revenue for fiscal 2007 -- a 44% increase over the previous year -- and has $600 million in cash stashed under its blazing red fedora.

Last week's second quarter 2008 earnings showed a 65% increase in net income and a 28% climb in revenue over the same quarter last year.

But Red Hat is moving out of its Linux operating system comfort zone and everyone from Microsoft to IBM to Oracle to Wall Street seems to be breathing down its neck. The company faces stiff challenges to spread beyond its roots, create a middleware platform, build a developer base and collect a critical mass of partners all so it can turn its IT infrastructure platform strategy to gold. (Read more.)

More Linux news

Many userspace developers want a "flight recorder" for applications on Linux. While Solaris offers a comprehensive tracing tool, dtrace, Linux is now growing pieces of tracing functionality.

Nobody likes having someone always looking over their shoulder, but you may get that feeling after you've browsed a while and then take a peek inside your Cookies folder.

MontaVista Software plans to announce on Wednesday the latest version of its Linux-based mobile phone operating system, expected to be available in November.

Monsoon Multimedia and the Software Freedom Law Center are discussing a settlement regarding Monsoon's open-source licensing violation, but a deal isn't certain.

Swedish police are expected to decide later this week whether a criminal case is warranted against 10 major music and movie companies over their alleged efforts to disrupt the Pirate Bay, one of the largest file-sharing search engines.

WabiSabi Labi Ltd., a Swiss start-up that caused a stir with the creation of an eBay Inc.-like marketplace for software vulnerabilities, plans to offer an intrusion-detection system and will open up its auction site to a wider range of intellectual property, according to a company executive.

The Bhutan government liked its first taste of Linux so much that it has come back for seconds, releasing an updated version of its Debian-based operating system that it launched last year.

LinuxWorld Community

Linux is going mainstream, right? How many times have you read that in the IT media? We look at when the mainstreaming of Linux peaked, according to Google News—probably later than most Linux users realized, but long enough ago that the media might need to retire the "Linux goes mainstream" headline.

And Dean Drako, CEO of Barracuda Networks, explains how the company uses open-source packages such as SpamAssassin and ClamAV, running on Linux, to build an anti-spam appliance -- along with the threat level from Linux viruses, which departments of the company can move to Linux desktops and which already have, and what an appliance vendor needs from kernel developers. (podcast, 15:03)

Don Marti is editor of LinuxWorld.com.

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Daily News: PM

Network World Daily News: PM, 09/27/07

News podcast

NETWORK WORLD 360
AIM vulnerable to hacking; eBay denies breach; Sophos blocks remote connection tools. (6:03)

The top 25 most-read STORIES and BLOGS this week

1. DEMOfall 07 consumer tech preview
2. IT pay falls short
3. The Salary Calculator: Compare your pay
4. Gartner touts Web 2.0, scoffs at sequel
5. Lawsuit charging GPL violation is first ever
6. Five tips for getting more out of your IT salary
7. A defense against Photoshop funny business
8. Can you spot a phish? Play Carnegie Mellon's game and see
9. Red Hat faces stiff challenges to move beyond its core
10. VMware bugs shine spotlight on virtualization security

11. AT&T wins $1B Treasury Department network deal
12. Cisco rolls out branch office router, LAN switch, security gear
13. Daylight-saving time issue reappears on IT radar
14. Cisco broadens Carrier Ethernet line
15. How open source saved a school district's IT department
16. Apple's options for stopping open source iPhone use
17. 'Panda virus' victim offers perp plum IT job
18. DEMOfall 07 enterprise tech preview
19. Open source impossible to avoid, Gartner says
20. Unauthorized iPhone apps market flourishes

21. TJX credit-monitoring offer no good for 99% of breach sufferers
22. Researchers flash personal aircraft, future jetpack
23. IBM: Symphony downloaded 100,000 times in first week
24. The end of booth-babe culture?
25. Toughest job skills to find

Questions? Feedback? Contact NetworkWorld.com Site Editor Jeff Caruso.

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IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS

Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details.

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Unified Communications

Network World's Unified Communications Newsletter, 09/27/07

'My data isn’t secure in the hands of a third party'

By Michael Osterman

Week before last, I had the privilege of speaking at the inaugural Application Continuity conference in San Jose. The meeting brought together a group of interesting speakers on topics focused around keeping messaging and applications available through disasters and other problems.

During the afternoon of the conference’s second day, there was an interesting panel discussion that pitted three proponents of hosted services against three proponents of on-premise solutions. The goal was to explore the issues for and against each approach and to solicit feedback from the audience, many of whom were IT decision makers.

Not surprisingly, many in the audience were opposed to the idea of hosting their messaging systems and/or applications because of their concerns over potential data loss. Because messaging systems and applications contain data that is absolutely critical to the operation of the business, including sensitive financial data, many want to keep their data physically behind the corporate firewall for safekeeping.

That’s a valid concern. If your job security is at least partly dependent upon protecting the integrity of your company’s data, you had better be concerned about protecting that data. However, I would recommend that you undertake the following mental exercise: imagine what someone would have to do to gain access to your data, either by hacking their way in to your network or actually breaking into your facilities to steal backup tapes, disk drives, laptop computers, etc. After that, arrange a tour of a leading hosting provider to determine what their defenses are relative to yours. It may be that your defenses are better and protect your data more completely. Then again, maybe the hosting provider offers better defenses against data loss.

In a Webinar that we will be hosting on Oct. 3, we will directly address security issues and concerns for hosted providers. You can sign up for this no-charge Webinar here.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

For webinars or research on messaging, or to join the Osterman Research market research survey panel, go here. Osterman Research helps organizations understand the markets for messaging and directory related offerings. To e-mail Michael, click here.

ARCHIVE

Archive of the Unified Communications Newsletter.

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Network Architecture

Network World's Network Architecture Newsletter, 09/27/07

Linksys unveils eight LAN switches

By Jeff Caruso

Cisco division Linksys this week introduced eight "smart" LAN switches for small businesses.

Linksys is billing the newest members of the Business Series Smart Ethernet Switch line as a cost-effective way for small businesses to get simple Web management, security and easy installation in their switches.

Linksys had built a name for itself in the market for switches designed for small and home offices before Cisco bought the company in 2003. The latest switches are more about small businesses than about the home networking market, so this is a middle ground between Cisco's traditional business and the Linksys bread and butter.

The new devices include 24-port and 48-port 10/100Mbps switches, each with two Gigabit Ethernet copper or fiber ports. There are also versions of those with support for Power over Ethernet. Other new switches include 24-port and 48-port 10/100/1000Mbps switches with two optical slots.

Linksys is also introducing two stackable switches, one with 24 ports and another with 48 ports of 10/100Mbps Ethernet and four copper or four optical ports.

Management features are intended for organizations with little to no dedicated IT staff, but the switches still support SNMP, so that they can be monitored and managed from a central location. Many-to-one port mirroring allows a manager to monitor network traffic, cable analysis helps identify cable problems, and rate limiting allows control over how much traffic can go through a port.

The switches also support 802.1p and Differentiated Services Code Point for traffic prioritization and simple quality of service. Virtual LANs based on 802.1Q and port-level security based on 802.1x are also supported.

The switches are shipping now, ranging from $200 to $800.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Jeff Caruso is managing editor of online news for Network World. He oversees daily online news posting and newsletter editing, and writes the NetFlash daily news summary, the High-Speed LANs newsletter and the Voices of Networking newsletter. Contact him at jcaruso@nww.com

ARCHIVE

Archive of the Network Architecture Newsletter.

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Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details.

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Cool Tools Alert

Keith Shaw's Cool Tools Alert, 09/27/07

* LATEST COOL TOOLS COLUMN:

Another DEMO, another batch of ‘cool stuff'
If it’s September, it must be DEMOfall, in which I get another opportunity to see what’s hot in the world of start-ups and innovation. While there are lots of new products and services for the enterprise launching at this week’s show in San Diego, for me it’s always about seeing the cool stuff.

* LATEST TWISTED PAIR PODCAST:

Death, bombs and backups
Jason and Keith discuss why PC backups are so important, whether Microsoft has chinks in its Office armor, and why they should have stuck with their computer science majors (starting salaries are up again).

* LATEST FROM THE VIDEO LIBRARY:

Matchmine grows from Patriot roots
Matchmine lets users take their tastes and preferences profile with them to multiple sites with technology spawned from the New England Patriots. Featuring Bob Kraft and the 2004 Super Bowl Ring.

Five great companies from the first day of DEMOfall07
Keith gives his picks for the five best companies and technologies demonstrating on Day 1 of DEMOfall07. Companies include: Propel Software, MotionDSP, LiveMocha, Vyro Games and Ncursion.

NAC standards: Where are we now?
Steve Hanna, a Juniper distinguished engineer and co-chair of NAC standards groups at the IETF and the Trusted Computing Group, discusses the progress of the NAC standards effort and Cisco's lack of involvement.

NAC going beyond the desktop
Network Access Control (NAC) is moving beyond the desktop to touch every connected device. The experts at The Security Standard conference explain the ramifications.

Dealing with Web 2.0
How do you let employees access Web 2.0 and social networking sites while still maintaining overall security? We asked the experts at The Security Standard conference.

* LATEST FROM NETWORK WORLD PANORAMA:

FireEye battles bot nets
FireEye is using its appliance technology in the enterprise and Internet to root out bot nets and their command and control infrastructure. FireEye CEO Ashar Aziz explains the technology and the goals of the FireEye Botwall Network to Network World Senior Editor Tim Greene. (12:29)

* LATEST COOL TOOL BLOGS:

DimDim CEO: "WebEx is history"
Best opening line of a DEMOfall07 demonstration so far: "WebEx is history." Given by DimDim CEO DD Ganguly.

Mining ideas for money
At least three companies here at DEMOfall07 are relaying the concept that ideas are valuable. Fluid Innovation (its Virtual Ventures offering), Advanta's IdeaBlob Web site and the new spigit Enterprise site attempt this in different ways, but all are basically asking users to submit ideas, offer advice or comment on ideas in the hopes that the "wisdom of the crowds" will prevail and a good idea will emerge.

DEMOfall game: Count the iPhone references
DEMO executive producer Chris Shipley made a small joke after one of the presentations, asking audience members to start counting the number of demonstrators that reference the Apple iPhone.

DEMOfall: Video moves to the desktop
One of the early themes here at the show is a bunch of "widgets" that allow users to search videos and other multimedia content directly from the widget instead of a browser. Both ClipBlast! And MetaRADAR showed off desktop apps that aggregate a bunch of video clips for viewing in the application instead of launching another multimedia player.

High-speed robots frighten me
I'm sure that the new Adept Quattro s650 robot is going to be very useful for companies interested in high-speed packaging of food, medical and consumer goods, but looking at this robot gives me the creeps.

Keith Shaw is an award-winning editor at Network World. In addition to creating the Cool Tools universe of columns, blogs and videocasts, he also edits the weekly DEMOletter newsletter and is the Programming Director at Network World, responsible for the multimedia strategy for the Web site.

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Network/Systems Management News Alert

Network World's Network/Systems Management News Alert, 09/27/07

How to move up during restructuring, 09/24/07: A restructuring doesn't always mean you're going to lose your job. Though the word has come to connote desperate cost cutting and massive layoffs, sometimes an executive can make lemonade from this situation.

Salary survey: IT pay falls short, 09/24/07: Typical annual raises beat national rate of inflation, but network professionals are dissatisfied with their pay, our annual survey finds.

HP unleashes wireless network traffic monitoring, 09/25/07: HP this week claimed to be the first to implement a technology designed to improve traffic monitoring in wireless networks.

Get a grip on vendors, 09/24/07: How do you squeeze the most value from your company's relationships with hardware and software companies, management consultants and outsourcing firms? Almost half of North American companies now use a dedicated team.

IT pay: Salaries aren’t what they should be, 09/24/07: IT professionals find their paychecks lacking, our annual survey finds.
Try our interactive tool, which provides estimated pay based on criteria such as industry, region and age: 2007 salary calculator

Chat with Amazon.com’s CTO live: If ever there were a man that knew how to eek out capacity and secure a data center, it would be Werner Vogels, vice president & CTO of Amazon.com. Join him for a live chat on Monday Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. No registration is required, but those who RSVP “yes” to community editor Julie Bort in advance will be eligible for a Network World T-shirt.

Senior Editor Denise Dubie covers network and systems management for Network World.

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Microsoft News Alert

Network World's Microsoft News Alert, 09/27/07

Microsoft launches campaign against Google-DoubleClick, 09/24/07: Microsoft has teamed with public relations and marketing agency Burson-Marsteller on a campaign to garner industry support for asking regulators to scrutinize and potentially block the proposed merger of Google and DoubleClick.

Vista backlash: Microsoft lets Vista users revert to XP, 09/24/07: Hate Vista? If your PC is running Microsoft Windows Vista Business or Windows Ultimate and you're fed up with the OS you may be able to ditch Vista for XP Pro. Microsoft is quietly allowing you to downgrade to Windows XP Pro.

Microsoft tweaks CardSpace, launches massive scalability test, 09/25/07: Microsoft plans to update its CardSpace identity software with new security options and is testing the technology for large-scale deployment using its Hotmail and other Live online services.

Open source vendor takes on Microsoft Project, 09/24/07: A new open source player is taking on Microsoft’s project management suite, but faces a tough challenge.

Microsoft releases SP1 beta to limited group, 09/24/07: Microsoft released the beta of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 to a private group of testers, taking one step closer to the anticipated official launch in the first quarter of next year.

Report: Microsoft seeks Facebook stake, 09/24/07: Microsoft has approached Facebook in recent weeks proposing an investment that would give Microsoft a stake of up to 5% in the popular social-networking company, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Microsoft's secretive standards orgs in Former Yugoslavia, 09/24/07: After the International Organization for Standardization voted to reject Microsoft's Office Open XML document format as a standard, the detailed results from ISO member countries give us a lot of material to analyze. Votes from Southeastern Europe and former Yugoslavia countries showed Microsoft's domination of that market, and especially good connections with authorities because the most of national standardization bodies voted Yes with no comments.

Microsoft Subnet welcomes new blogger Ron Colonna: Colonna will be writing for the Microsoft Certification/Training Corner. “We will discuss, debate and understand Microsoft Education, Training and Certification,” he writes “There are no bad questions here. Ask away.”

Today at Microsoft Subnet: Microsoft/Nortel alliance showcases a big customer win. Halo 3 Web site, built with Silverlight, rocks. The final pieces of the Unified Communications (UC) jigsaw will be launched on Oct. 16. Frequent Answers to your training/certification questions from new blogger Ron Colonna.

Senior Editor John Fontana covers Microsoft for Network World.

Julie Bort edits Microsoft Subnet

Microsoft Subnet: The independent voice of Microsoft customers

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Daily News: AM

Network World Daily News: AM, 09/27/07

TJX CREDIT-MONITORING OFFER NO GOOD FOR 99% OF BREACH SUFFERERS
TJX customers who lost a whopping 45.2 million credit or debit card numbers will not be offered credit monitoring in the tentative settlement TJX drafted in hopes of smoothing over its data breach controversy.

IBM: SYMPHONY DOWNLOADED 100,000 TIMES IN FIRST WEEK
People apparently are already tuning in to IBM's Symphony. The company reported Wednesday that its free rival to Microsoft's Office suite was downloaded 100,000 times in the first week of release.

EBAY DENIES SECURITY BREACH LED TO POSTING OF USER DATA
When the names and personal information of 1,200 eBay users, along with credit card numbers, suddenly appeared yesterday on eBay’s Trust & Safety Discussion Board where public comment is shared, eBay responded by immediately shutting down the discussion board.

SOFTWARE LETS SKYPE CUSTOMERS RECORD CONVERSATIONS
A new program developed by a Russian software company allows Skype users to record their phone conversations and save them on their computer as digital multimedia files.

SALARY SURVEY: IT PAY BOOSTED BY BIG BONUSES
IT professionals report year-over-year bonuses are up 12%, our annual survey reveals. Read the story and get the bonus outlook.

VONAGE GETS PARTIAL REMAND IN VERIZON CASE
Vonage Holdings Corp. is downplaying an appeals court decision affirming an earlier verdict of patent infringement on two patents owned by ...

CODE GREEN DOWNSIZES DATA-PROTECTION BOXES
Code Green Networks is coming out with a smaller, lower-cost version of its data-loss-prevention appliances that it hopes will attract small and midsize businesses that cannot afford higher-end data-protection gear.

CASE STUDY

ELEVATOR MAKER GETS A LIFT OUT OF VoIP
Switching to VoIP means less expensive management and maintenance for ThyssenKrupp’s telecom group, and it promises even more cost savings in the future for the elevator manufacturer.

VIDEO

MATCHMINE GROWS FROM PATRIOT ROOTS
Matchmine lets users take their tastes and preferences profile with them to multiple sites with technology spawned from the New England Patriots. Featuring Bob Kraft and the 2004 Super Bowl Ring.

LIVE CHAT

CHAT WITH AMAZON.COM’S CTO LIVE
If ever there were a man that knew how to eek out capacity and secure a data center, it would be Werner Vogels, vice president & CTO of Amazon.com. Join him for a live chat on Monday Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. No registration is required, but those who RSVP “yes” to community editor Julie Bort in advance will be eligible for a Network World T-shirt.

BLOGS

TODAY AT CISCO SUBNET
Cisco says Scotland's the place to build new data centers. Cisco trainer Wendell Odom answers the sample Cisco exam questions about VTP clients. Cisco security expert Jamey Heary explains how Cisco IPS 4200 Series sensors work with a Cisco Wireless LAN Controller to defend the network. Last few days to enter to win a Skyline-ATS training course worth up to $3,495 and Wendell Odom's CCNA Exam guide.

TODAY AT MICROSOFT SUBNET
Microsoft/Nortel alliance showcases a big customer win. Halo 3 Web site, built with Silverlight, rocks. The final pieces of the Unified Communications (UC) jigsaw will be launched on Oct. 16. Frequent Answers to your training/certification questions from new blogger Ron Colonna.

BUZZBLOG: 'PANDA' VICTIM TO HIRE PERP ... AND TI TOE-BREAKER TURNS 40
Freshly sentenced to 4 years in a Chinese prison, the author of the "Panda" virus will have a plum IT job awaiting him when he gets out, courtesy of one of his victims. ... And the first TI calculator, a 3-pound behemoth, turns 40.

Questions? Feedback? Contact NetworkWorld.com Site Editor Jeff Caruso.

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Security: Network Access Control

Network World's Security: Network Access Control Newsletter, 09/27/07

StillSecure offers NAC lite

By Tim Greene

StillSecure is offering a monitor-only version of its Safe Access NAC software so customers can see whether NAC makes sense for them.

Safe Access Lite assesses endpoints just like the full Safe Access product only it doesn’t enforce access policies. It’s also free.

The offer supports up to 250 endpoints and includes all three endpoint-assessment options: use of a full NAC client, use of a Web-based NAC agent downloaded at the time of access, and assessing the endpoint without any client.

The software assesses endpoints as they try to log in and reports on whether they live up to NAC requirements. If not, network managers can manually enforce the policies or just compile data on compliance rates in preparation for eventual full NAC implementations.

Such monitoring can be useful. For instance, many businesses that have rolled out NAC discovered too late that very few of their endpoints actually met NAC policies. They had to hold back on their rollouts until they could upgrade the endpoints so large numbers of users wouldn’t be denied network access and disrupt business.

Customers can roll out Safe Access Lite without having to face this problem. The software notifies IT managers of devices that don’t comply, but the devices still get network access. If network managers deem it appropriate, they can manually deny access.

Safe Access Lite also gives customers the chance to play with NAC without committing themselves to a purchase. As with any new technology, NAC has a learning curve that can be satisfied at least in part by playing with Lite.

Anyone considering NAC should consider this valuable learning tool. And remember, it’s free.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Tim Greene is a senior editor at Network World, covering network access control, virtual private networking gear, remote access, WAN acceleration and aspects of VoIP technology. You can reach him at tgreene@nww.com.

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Network Optimization

Network World's Network Optimization Newsletter, 09/27/07

Visibility plus control

By Ann Bednarz

It stands to reason that IT managers who can get more detailed information about network and application conditions will be better prepared to boost the performance of those resources. The old adage “knowledge is power” comes to mind.

Along those lines, the new version of Streamcore’s application acceleration platform is designed to provide greater visibility into how networks, systems and applications are performing. StreamSense 5.0, unveiled last week, combines real-time monitoring features with provisioning and configuration tools that let users control the resources dedicated to business applications. StreamSense works with the company’s StreamGroomer traffic-management appliances, which enforce QoS rules.

Under the covers is Streamcore’s Application Behavior-Based Acceleration (ABBA) engine, which accelerates performance-sensitive traffic and prioritizes applications as needed to meet business objectives.

ABBA is designed to adapt to application behavior in real-time according to the amount of traffic, bandwidth requirements and the number of users. Network administrators can assign “weights” to each application according to business needs, and those values are used to determine the priority of the associated data streams, the company says.

Along with the ABBA engine is a feature Streamcore calls “fast packet inspection,” which examines a packet’s IP address and session behavior to provide visibility into application and network traffic.

“One of the things that makes control or optimization of the network really hard is that you’re trying to know everything. You have to recognize and identify all applications, you have to understand how the protocols are working for each of these applications, and you have to tune your own optimization or control device in order to take into account these things,” says Eric Jeux, CEO of Streamcore.

On the performance management front, StreamSense 5.0 provides real-time reporting, troubleshooting tools, and centralized access to configuration information.

“What the ABBA engine does is look at every single session in a network. It reconstructs automatically the string of packets that are in a session, and it looks at the behavior of these packets -- the size of the packets and how the packets are coming into the network,” Jeux says. The information is aggregated and analyzed to determine “what does this application, this session, need right now?” he says.

Jim Metzler, principal analyst at Ashton, Metzler & Associates, says enterprises need visibility into and control of networks to effectively deliver critical applications. “By empowering networks with this centralized visibility, companies like Streamcore facilitate collaboration between IT teams and even across business units and branches to ensure utmost productivity and the knowledge to be able to commit IT resources to a network’s most pressing issues,” Metzler says.

Streamcore was founded in Paris, France, in 2003 and, following a recent corporate move, is headquartered in Emeryville, Calif. The company’s development operations remain in France.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Ann Bednarz is an associate news editor at Network World responsible for editing daily news content. She previously covered enterprise applications, e-commerce and telework trends for Network World. E-mail Ann.

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Storage in the Enterprise

Network World's Storage in the Enterprise Newsletter, 09/27/07

IForem storage forever

By Deni Connor

A new digital archiving company, iForem, launched at DEMOfall07 this week with a product that lets businesses store critical data without a continuing cost.

IForem announced the iForem Active Records Management service, which provides a pay-once digital vault for businesses interested in storing, protecting and sharing their intellectual property.

The company uses a service called iNuity which places customers’ data in an irrevocable trust account. IForem places a calculated amount of funds from each sale into the iNuity trust. The trust invests the funds and ensures that even if iForem is bankrupt, or purchased, your data will still be available.

IForem says that businesses are overwhelmed by the number of physical and digital documents they have. It says that businesses can rely on many storage platforms for storing their data but can’t ensure the long-term retention of business-critical data.

IForem offers four products – a vault, where files are stored; a deep freeze, where the user’s vault can remain forever; an access manager, which determines what files a user can access or contribute to the vault; and, a version automator.

Users access the vault via a Web browser and can e-mail files to the vault. The Deep Freeze protects the file from deletion, even by the user. Deep freezing a file makes it a permanent member of the vault. The access manager controls what files users can see in the vault, who can add content and how users access data. Files and folders can be assigned access rights for read only or write access. The Version Automator ensures that files are accessible from within the vault – files are scanned to determine that the most current version of the software was used. For files that a user chooses, a duplicate is created and converted to the latest version, while the original is stored to ensure no data loss occurs from the update.

IForem also contains records management capability in which records can be archived and identified, scanned, access and preserved. IT administrators can set records retention policies.

IForem Active Records Management starts at $20 for 20MB of vault space for a life-time storage fee. It is scalable up to 1GB for $1,024.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Deni Connor is senior editor for Network World magazine covering storage, archiving and compliance, IT in healthcare, Novell and data center-related issues. E-mail Deni.

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Wide Area Networking

Network World's Wide Area Networking Newsletter, 09/27/07

How do you enforce acceptable network use?

By Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

Almost every week, we write about how to make the most effective use of your WAN and the topics often center on how to keep unauthorized traffic off your network. For instance, we recently wrote about whether it’s a good idea and/or possible to block traffic in certain ports, especially with the ability of applications like Skype to find a way though most firewalls and application performance appliances.

Today, we’d like to take a moment to consider to what extent tight control is possible – or even desirable. For instance, recently reports in the popular press focused on lost productivity from employees accessing their “fantasy football” accounts while at work, reporting that many people spend up to an hour a day – while allegedly “at work” - managing their teams. And there seems to be virtually no way to stop personal e-mails at work. Even if corporate e-mail is used for work purposes only, Web-based access to services like Google’s Gmail make it almost impossible to stop access to e-mail services.

So the basic question becomes to what extent it is reasonable to try to curtail this use – or possible abuse – of corporate resources with technology? Yes, we can – and should - continue to use various devices for traffic shaping and to ensure that sufficient bandwidth is available for mission critical applications and that personal communications do not cause a bottleneck. At the same time, perhaps this is best addressed with a combination of technology and policy, after all, with increasing bandwidth and lower bandwidth costs the strain of corporate networks is becoming more and more a productivity issue than a corporate bandwidth issue. And while policy can’t always be strictly enforced, there at least is a baseline expectation as to what is and isn’t acceptable network use.

So we’d like to hear from you on this. Do you have an acceptable network use policy in your organization? Are there strict limits as to how many hours per day may be spent on personal communications? If so, how are these policies enforced?

Let us hear from you, and we’ll be sharing the results.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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, the premier site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and market research. Taylor can be reached at 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 via e-mail.

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Daily News: PM

Network World Daily News: PM, 09/26/07

NEWS PODCAST: NETWORK WORLD 360, 09/26/07
Cisco rolls out branch office gear; ATT wins U.S. Treasury Department contract; Carnegie Mellon scientists develop phishing game. (5:58)

Red Hat faces stiff challenges to move beyond its core technology
Middleware, virtualization, developer tools, software exchange all signal the Linux vendor wants to put another mark on enterprise infrastructure.

How much should you be making?
The 2007 salary calculator is here. This interactive tool provides estimated pay based on criteria such as industry, region and age.

Cisco, China's Haier in home networking deal
Cisco has entered into a partnership with Haier Co. Ltd., the largest manufacturer of large home appliances in China, that will allow the ...

Researchers say AIM vulnerable to worm attack
A critical flaw in the way that the AOL's instant messaging client displays Web-based graphics could be exploited by criminals to create a self-copying worm attack, security researchers are warning.

Amazon.com CTO available Monday for a personal chat; RSVP now
If ever there were a man that knew how to eke out capacity and secure a data center, it would be Werner Vogels, vice president and CTO for Amazon.com. He will be standing by live to take your questions as our guest for a Network World text chat. On Monday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. Eastern, go here. No registration is required, but those who RSVP "yes" and submit questions to community editor Julie Bort in advance will be eligible for a Network World T-shirt.

Hot U.S. tech industry adds 118,500 jobs in first half of 2007
The American Electronics Association today said that the U.S. high-tech industry added 118,500 jobs between January and June of 2007, a 2% rise, for a total of 5.94 million workers. 

Fraud police buckling under mountains of data
Fraud investigators are struggling to cope with vast quantities of data sent to them by financial institutions, meaning some crimes may ...

Unauthorized iPhone apps market flourishes
Despite Apple’s position that iPhone applications be limited to ones that run through the Safari Web browser, Ajax developers say there are ...

IBM begins another wave of SOA releases
IBM released service-oriented architecture products for integrating software applications and improving business processes, and said more customers ...

VIDEO

NAC standards: Where are we now?
Steve Hanna, a Juniper distinguished engineer and co-chair of NAC standards groups at the IETF and the Trusted Computing Group, discusses the progress of the NAC standards effort and Cisco's lack of involvement.

Questions? Feedback? Contact NetworkWorld.com Site Editor Jeff Caruso.

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Daily News: AM

Network World Daily News: AM, 09/26/07

Nine skills in high demand
Networking and wireless LAN experts are hot commodities, closely followed by those versed in open source and data center technologies, our annual salary survey finds. Read the story and get the stats.

Can you spot a phish? Play Carnegie Mellon’s game and see
A Carnegie Mellon University Ph.D. student has developed an online game to educate Internet users about phishing threats.

Cisco rolls out branch office router, LAN switch, security gear
Cisco this week is unveiling a raft of products designed to allow customers to implement a consistent set of security, unified communications, application acceleration and wireless services at remote sites.

Seven ways to improve enterprise search
Bad enterprise search is a common problem in businesses, but it’s not always the vendor’s fault. Here are seven ways customers can maximize the effectiveness of enterprise search.

GPL lawsuit may be settled out of court
Monsoon Multimedia and the Software Freedom Law Center are discussing a settlement regarding Monsoon's open source licensing violation, but a deal isn't certain.

HP unleashes wireless network traffic monitoring
HP claims to be the first to implement a technology designed to improve traffic monitoring in wireless networks.

'Fraudster' posts confidential eBay member data on forum
Someone used an eBay Inc. discussion forum on Tuesday to post confidential information about eBay users along with what may be their credit card numbers.

AirMagnet strengthens WLAN defenses
AirMagnet unwrapped the new version of its enterprise wireless LAN security defense application. New features protect against more attacks, and make it simpler to manage complex WLANs.

Vonage loses Sprint-Nextel patent suit, plans appeal
A federal court ruled on Tuesday that struggling VoIP provider Vonage infringed on patents owned by Sprint Nextel.

VIDEO

NAC standards: Where are we now?
Steve Hanna, a Juniper distinguished engineer and co-chair of NAC standards groups at the IETF and the Trusted Computing Group, discusses the progress of the NAC standards effort and Cisco's lack of involvement.

LIVE CHAT

Chat with Amazon.com’s CTO live
If ever there were a man that knew how to eek out capacity and secure a data center, it would be Werner Vogels, vice president & CTO of Amazon.com. Join him for a live chat on Monday Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. No registration is required, but those who RSVP “yes” to community editor Julie Bort in advance will be eligible for a Network World T-shirt.

CHAT

IM is the biggest, most overlooked threat
Messaging guru Michael Osterman discusses the overlooked IM threat, the best low-cost archiving solutions and how social networking affects the enterprise in this chat transcript.

BLOGS

Today at Cisco Subnet
Cisco wants to become a $50 billion company by 2010 - how? Start-up Dimdim challenges Cisco WebEx. Cisco furthers home-networking ambitions with China home appliance company. IP routing expert Jeff Doyle mulls fast reroute without MPLS. Cisco trainer Wendell Odom asks: Can a VTP client cause a VTP server to update its VLAN database? Plus: Why is Cisco Subnet blogging about Kiefer Sutherland's DUI arrest? 

Today on Microsoft Subnet
OpenOffice.org bug targets Linux, but Macs and Windows not safe either; Office 2008 for Mac to launch Jan. 15 and cost $400; Microsoft Subnet welcomes new blogger, certification trainer Ron Colanna. Got training or cert questions? Fire away! Or check out his post on navigating Microsoft’s certification FAQ.

Buzzblog: Those video-happy Pats; countering Photoshop; and life after 51
Busy day at DEMOfall07 Tuesday: First we have an ironic technology investment from the owners of my favorite pro football team. Next an interesting defense against photographic fakery. And, finally, a look at a new social-networking site targetted at adults but marketed in such a way as to have me wondering how long I'll be welcome.

Today on Layer 8, where we think this supersize-everything trend has got to end somewhere:
Now here is something we didn’t need. U.K.-based Ad-Air launched a service that will let companies advertise on five-acre plots near the runways of some of the world's busiest airports. On its Web site, the company proudly proclaims its ads are nearly four times the size of the Dallas Cowboys’ football field and that “such size leads to an unprecedented audience impact; they are quite simply overwhelmed by the scale of the advertisement.”

Questions? Feedback? Contact NetworkWorld.com Site Editor Jeff Caruso.

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Convergence & VoIP News Alert

Network World's Convergence & VoIP News Alert, 09/26/07

Vonage loses Sprint-Nextel patent suit, plans appeal, 09/25/07: A federal court ruled on Tuesday that struggling VoIP provider Vonage infringed on patents owned by Sprint Nextel.

Not so dim: Start-up Dimdim challenges Cisco WebEx.

Skype: The new worm-delivery system, 09/17/07: A few weeks ago, Skype, IMO, gained eternal notoriety when executives of that firm, through mouthpieces, and the power of the internet, tried to convince users/subscribers into believing that a service outage which came suspiciously after a (Microsoft) Windows update was Redmond’s fault. Nowhere in their press releases was the fact that they, Skype, had just pushed out a software update as well!

ITExpo 2007 recap: Announcements from Clarus, Comverse, Contactual, Paraxip, 09/24/07: At the Internet Telephony Expo held earlier this month, several companies announced new products.

Senior Editor Tim Greene covers VoIP carrier issues for Network World.

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WAN News Alert

WAN News Alert, 09/26/07

AT&T wins $1B Treasury Department network deal, 09/25/07: AT&T announced Monday that it will build and manage a next-generation wide-area network for the U.S. Department of Treasury under a contract worth up to $1 billion over the next 10 years.

F5 preps Big-IP for carriers, 09/25/07: F5 Networks is adding support for certain protocols to its Big-IP Local Traffic Manager, so it can better fit into carrier networks.

Vonage loses Sprint-Nextel patent suit, plans appeal, 09/25/07: A federal court ruled on Tuesday that struggling VoIP provider Vonage infringed on patents owned by Sprint Nextel.

Fast reroute: IP routing expert Jeff Doyle mulls fast reroute without MPLS.

Cisco broadens Carrier Ethernet line, 09/24/07: Cisco this week is extending its Carrier Ethernet portfolio with a system that allows service providers to deliver fiber-based Ethernet to multi-tenant units, such as apartment buildings.

Juniper extends Carrier Ethernet line; enterprise next?, 09/25/07: Juniper Networks this week is expanding its Carrier Ethernet switch/router line with two smaller form factor platforms, higher density modules and software enhancements.

AT&T offers raft of RFID services aimed at healthcare customers , 09/21/07: AT&T unveiled a complete portfolio of RFID services for healthcare providers this week that it says will enable hospitals to use a Web browser to track equipment, patients and devices.

Security outsourcing on the rise , 09/21/07: As one of the world's largest outsourcing providers, Wipro Technologies is ramping up its security services business in a big way.

Contact Site Editor Jeff Caruso

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Cisco News Alert

Network World's Cisco News Alert, 09/26/07

Cisco rolls out branch office router, LAN switch, security gear, 09/26/07: Cisco this week is unveiling a raft of products designed to allow customers to implement a consistent set of security, unified communications, application acceleration and wireless services at remote sites.

Cisco plans wireless Mega City in Shanghai, 09/24/07: Cisco is discussing with the Shanghai government in China plans to set up a wireless broadband network called Mega City in time for the 2010 World Expo. Sina English quotes Charlie giancarlo, Cisco's chief development officer as saying: "Our vision of Mega City is a wireless (connected) and green city, and we will construct the network's infrastructure for the project." Mega city is expected to support high-def video transfer and would connect government-authorized networks in areas such as traffic control, security monitoriing and environmental regulations, reports Sina English.

Today at Cisco Subnet
Cisco wants to become a $50 billion company by 2010 - how? Start-up Dimdim challenges Cisco WebEx. Cisco furthers home-networking ambitions with China home appliance company. IP routing expert Jeff Doyle mulls fast reroute without MPLS. Cisco trainer Wendell Odom asks: Can a VTP client cause a VTP server to update its VLAN database? Plus: Why is Cisco Subnet blogging about Kiefer Sutherland's DUI arrest? 

IT job outlook: Nine skills in big demand, 09/24/07: Networking and wireless LAN experts are hot commodities, closely followed by those versed in open source and data center technologies, our annual salary survey finds.
Get the stats.

Senior Editor Jim Duffy covers Cisco for Network World.

Linda Leung edits Cisco Subnet.

Cisco Subnet: The independent voice of Cisco customers

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Network/Systems Management

Network World's Network/Systems Management Newsletter, 09/26/07

Competitors sound off on pending NetScout/Network General deal

By Denise Dubie

NetScout last week announced its plans to acquire Network General in a deal worth about $205 million.

Set to close in November, the acquisition would bring together two sometime competitors and strengthen NetScout's packet-analysis and application performance management product suite. Network General customers, who have endured a bit of a rocky decade with the vendor, now face another management team. But officials at NetScout, the smaller of the two companies, say they will support all Network General products.

Industry watchers think the move will help both product lines as NetScout approaches network and application management performance from the top down, and Network General with its history in Sniffer technology tackles the same issues from the bottom layers up. The combination should provide a comprehensive set of capabilities to customers, industry watchers say.

"Network General's acquisition of Fidelia last February gives them the application performance story that NetScout was not covering," says Tracy Corbo, senior analyst for IDC. "These companies have found themselves more often in cooperative selling environments because each was approaching the problem differently."

Yet competitors say otherwise.

Douglas Smith, president and co-founder of Network Instruments, sounded off on the pending deal in the company's blog and also coupled the words with some graphics -- showing how Network General has a bit of a checkered past.

Smith writes: "We think coupling high-level aggregated reporting with in-depth packet capture and TiVo-like network analysis is such a good idea that in December 2006 we forged a partnership with NetQoS. Our partnership was the first among network analysis vendors; NetScout’s purchase of Network General is simply the latest company to jump onto the bandwagon. What we offer today, they are promising for the end of fiscal 2009. Both of these companies are among the leaders in their markets, but it seems they’ve lost their way. NG has seen shrinking sales and a patchwork of acquired product offerings that have never truly been integrated – and that was when these technologies were under one roof."

Network Instruments aforementioned partner NetQoS also chimed in. Steve Harriman, vice president of marketing at the performance management vendor, writes in an e-mail: "The lackluster financial performance of both Network General and NetScout demonstrates that their technologies have struggled to keep pace with the performance-first demands of modern enterprise networks. This lack of technology vision has cost both companies dearly and resulted in flat or negative license revenue growth over the last financial year. With NetScout and Network General playing catch-up with their respective technology platforms, their prospects for growth are unlikely to change any time soon, particularly with a complex and time-consuming merger of organizational cultures and technologies now looming. From a competitive viewpoint, we see this acquisition as a direct, if not belated, response to our partnership with Network Instruments."

With the companies' joint argument about how the NetScout/Network General deal echoes an earlier partnership, it could be argued that the pending acquisition is a smart one that could equip customers with much-needed capabilities. Now the question becomes, "Is it better to get the two sets of capabilities from one integrated vendor or have to deal with two companies that forged a partnership?" Let me know.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Senior Editor Denise Dubie covers the technologies, products and services that address network, systems, application and IT service management for Network World. E-mail Denise.

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Linux & Open Source News Alert

LinuxWorld's Linux and Open Source News Alert, 09/26/07

LinuxWorld.com Feature Story

Linux startup moves desktop Windows to the data center - LinuxWorld, 09/24/07: Qumranet, the company behind one of the hottest Linux kernel features, is scheduled to announce its first product, a new desktop virtualization system, offering today at the DEMOfall conference in San Diego. Qumranet's Solid ICE product moves desktop users' Linux or Microsoft Windows installs onto virtual machines in the data center, allowing the users to run their applications and OS of choice from thin clients or from Windows or Linux PC clients. Unlike VMWare's ESX server, the Solid ICE server runs on a host with a standard Linux distribution from Red Hat, Novell, or Canonical.

The company already has five Fortune 1000 customers participating in an early adopter program, says John-Marc Clark, the company's VP of Marketing.

Qumranet offers a physical to virtual (P2V) tool for converting a customer's physical OS images to virtual machine templates, says Rami Tamir, the company's President, VP of R&D, and co-founder. The company offers a remote desktop protocol it calls SPICE, which Tamir says is suitable for use over a LAN and supports high-bandwidth uses such as bidirectional audio and video. Solid ICE also supports RDP for lower-bandwidth links, but Tamir recommends "remote presence"—moving a running guest machine from its original server to one closer to the user. Solid ICE does not have support for offline use independent of the server. (Read more.)

More Linux news

Microsoft's secretive standards orgs in Former Yugoslavia - LinuxWorld, 09/24/07: Microsoft quietly got its proposed Office Open XML format through two European standards bodies. A member of the Free Software Foundation Europe looks at the low-profile process that made it happen.

Open source vendor takes on Microsoft Project - LinuxWorld, 09/24/07: A new open source player is taking on Microsoft’s project management suite, but faces a tough challenge.

Bhutan Government comes back for a second taste of Linux - LinuxWorld, 09/24/07: The Bhutan government liked its first taste of Linux so much that it has come back for seconds, releasing an updated version of its Debian-based operating system that it launched last year.

How open source saved a school district’s IT department - LinuxWorld, 09/21/07: A California school district used open source software to stave off a potential budget crisis and upgrade technology for students and teachers.

Lawsuit charging GPL violation is first ever - LinuxWorld, 09/21/07: In what may be the first action of its kind in the U.S., the Software Freedom Law Center has filed a lawsuit to enforce an open-source license.

Apple’s options for stopping open source iPhone use - LinuxWorld, 09/20/07: With Steve Jobs’ recent declaration of war on iPhone hackers, we look at Apple’s options for stopping open source iPhone use.

IDF : Intel project aims to boost power efficiency in Linux - LinuxWorld, 09/20/07: Intel plans to announce an open source project called LessWatts.org, which aims to improve the power efficiency of the Linux operating system and applications.

The end of booth-babe culture? - LinuxWorld, 09/20/07: The Wall Street Journal last week ran a page-one, above-the-fold, front-and-center article on a topic you don't normally read much about: the role of sexuality on the sales side of the IT business.

LinuxWorld Community

Mark Hinkle reacts to Qumranet's new virtual desktop environment. "Qumranet is interesting is that desktop virtualization has many interesting advantages from a management standpoint. What really interests me is that Qumranet includes Moshe Bar as CTO and co-founder. Moshe is a virtualization icon who co-founded Xensource, the openMOSIX Project, and Qlusters . He's got significant virtualization street credit and based on that I would assume their product is going to have merit. With VMware's IPO and the Citrix acquisition of Xensource virutalization is white hot but I believe their is plenty of room for another player."

Don Marti is editor of LinuxWorld.com.

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Storage News Alert

Network World's Storage News Alert, 09/26/07

Vendor unveils iSCSI storage for SMBs, 09/25/07: Start-up StorMagic Tuesday announced software designed to make it easy for small- and mid-sized businesses to deploy iSCSI storage-area networks.

EMC acquires online backup provider Mozy, 09/24/07: EMC today acquired online backup provider Mozy to bolster its data protection offerings, according to sources.

Security holes expose data stored in Tivoli system, 09/24/07: IBM has issued a warning to customers that security fixes should be installed for two vulnerabilities in the IBM Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) backup software client. The security holes could allow a buffer overrun attack or enable unauthorized access to stored data, IBM said.

Chat with Amazon.com’s CTO live: If ever there were a man that knew how to eek out capacity and secure a data center, it would be Werner Vogels, vice president & CTO of Amazon.com. Join him for a live chat on Monday Oct. 1 from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m. EDT. No registration is required, but those who RSVP “yes” to community editor Julie Bort in advance will be eligible for a Network World T-shirt.

From Microsoft Subnet: Dell and Microsoft team to offer data warehouse appliances; Sync Your Files with Windows Live Folder Share.

Senior Editor Deni Connor covers storage for Network World.

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Wireless in the Enterprise

Network World's Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter, 09/26/07

DIRECTV mobilizes CRM application for sales force

By Joanie Wexler

Just a few short years ago, the effectiveness of pushing back-end business applications onto small mobile devices was mediocre, at best. The devices weren’t that powerful. Mobile networks were orders of magnitude slower than LANs. And most attempts at mobilizing traditional business applications tried to replicate a complex PC experience on the ultra-small screen of a handheld device, which went over like a lead balloon.

That situation is turning around. Smart phones are as powerful as PCs. 3G (and forthcoming 4G) mobile WANs are nearly as fast as fixed broadband access networks. Web services are making real-time back-end data available from any Web portal.
And companies such as Antenna Software have figured out how to gather data from multiple back-end systems and display it on tiny devices in digestible, usable nuggets.

At least, that’s been the experience of DIRECTV. The company is using Antenna Software’s Antenna Mobility Platform (AMP) and client software to provide CRM data to its 60-strong sales force, which supports about 7,000 nationwide dealers selling subscriptions to the company’s satellite services. When visiting a dealer, sales reps need up-to-date information from reports such as sales metrics, activation metrics, trending and availability of support tools and promotions, explains Erik Walters, project manager, sales operations, at DIRECTV.

The company has been using Oracle’s Siebel CRM On Demand hosted service, which allows access to this information from any Web connection. However, the service by itself is PC-centric, attempting to jam a whole PC screen onto the sales forces’ Research In Motion BlackBerry 8700 devices, which proved too complex to use. The Antenna Software client software – which runs on RIM, Symbian, Palm, Microsoft Mobile devices - rolled out as a small-device complement to Siebel CRM On Demand at DIRECTV in January 2007.

“It breaks the On Demand information into categories so the sales force gets real-time information in the best presentation,” Walters says.

Plus, the sales rep can pull multiple reports from a single application, rather than having to piece them together from five to seven locations to bring them to a dealer, only to find out upon arrival that they might already be out of date.
“Our sales force no longer has to prep for two hours a day to visit dealers,” Walter says.

DIRECTV reports the following payoffs:
* A 30% increase in the number of accounts its sales force can visit in a week.
* 90 hours a week saved by the sales team
* Sales data reporting reduced from seven days to one day

“Mobility used to be a pipe dream,” Walters continues, “because everyone was thinking ‘laptop.’ We don’t want to see a 20-page spreadsheet on a BlackBerry – we need the Cliff Notes version of the bigger tool. With the [portable CRM], we’re really impressing the socks off our dealers.”

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future article topics. Reach her at joanie@jwexler.com.

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Whitepapers Download

Today we have 9 featured Whitepapers for you from PlateSpin, Sendio, D-Link, Webroot Software, Raritan Computer, Inc., Webroot Software, Panduit Corp, NetApp , and Server Technology Inc.

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PlateSpin

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This white paper provides best practices for optimizing the use of server resources, and how to get the most of out existing x86 infrastructure in the data center using OS Portability technology. OS Portability is a technology that decouples the software stack from any physical or virtual machine and allows it to be streamed over the network to any other physical or virtual machine.

Sendio

How do Your Customers Feel When you Lose Their eMail Messages?
And how do you feel when your suppliers lose yours? Receiving spam is an annoyance, but losing email in your spam filter is a disaster. In fact, 36 percent of organizations have lost business because of an undelivered email. This report exposes the link between business performance levels, the costs of lost email and the benefits of real spam control.

D-Link

D-Link Unified Switching Improves Network Efficiency
As businesses scale, blending traditional wireless and wired networks become a challenge. D-Link's xStack 3200 series incorporate effortless wireless switching and advanced wired functionality for a TOTAL unified network solution. Discover how D-Link can help take your network to the next level. Download your copy of "Unified Wireless Switching" to learn more.

Webroot Software

Why Antivirus Solutions Do Not Protect From SpyWare
Companies who are using antivirus software to protect against spyware are making a dangerous mistake. Spyware is particularly devious and costly because it operates covertly and defies detection by all but specially developed antispyware software. The business impact of spyware is greater, as it compromises privacy, threatens assets and affects productivity beyond the damage caused by viruses. Click here to learn more now.

Raritan Computer, Inc.

Data Center Transformations - Simplify data center build outs, consolidations and acquisitions
Changes in IT can be split into moves, additions and changes (MAC) and build outs, consolidations and acquisitions (BOCA). This paper examines the BOCA process and what is required to meet IT goals and objectives and maintain business continuity. Implementing an effective BOCA project requires progress through five basic stages: assess, plan, build, stabilize and optimize. This paper will discuss each of the five stages and how the right remote access and IT infrastructure management tools will dramatically improve overall efficiency.

Webroot Software

State of Internet Security Report on Protecting Enterprise Systems
Ensure you are protected from today's most malicious Internet threats. Stay informed about the latest trends and best practices in Internet Security. This Report provides an in-depth review and analysis of the most urgent computer and data security-related concerns facing businesses today.

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Keeping up with Data Center Demands
Every IT shop has data center power and cooling concerns. Get this complimentary whitepaper, Data Center Solutions: Planning considerations for data center facilities systems, to learn how to consistently alleviate those concerns. Discover how secondary facilities systems can create a reliable data center today and in the future.

NetApp

ESG White Paper: Storage for Mid-Sized Enterprises
Tony Asaro from Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG) takes a close look at the mid-size enterprise storage landscape and the unique challenges facing the mid-size enterprise companies as they evaluate implementing a storage network. He provides overview on factors driving the storage networking adoption, its benefits and perceived inhibitors is provided. The white paper also reviews storage virtualization as an essential element to consider when evaluating a storage system and evaluates NetApp storage virtualization capabilities and benefits.

Server Technology Inc

Whitepaper: Discover 3-Phase power
Learn how you can realize cost benefits by migration to 3-Phase power within your data center. Discover how 3-Phase power supports both 120 v and 208 v devices and why it's the most efficient way to produce and distribute electricity. Download this whitepaper now.

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Convergence & VoIP

Network World's Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, 09/26/07

News grab bag: AudioCodes, ShoreTel, Polycom, CableLabs

By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick

Last week, AudioCodes and Shoretel announced they are joining forces on unified communications. In the joint release, the companies disclosed that the AudioCodes Media Gateways will be used to enable ShoreTel customers to integrate Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 into their ShoreTel IP Telephony System for Exchange Unified Messaging.

Steve Timmerman, VP of marketing at ShoreTel said: “ShoreTel’s distributed, switch-based architecture … combined with AudioCodes’ gateways … can seamlessly combine collaborative applications like Microsoft Exchange with world-class IP telephony.” The AudioCodes’ SIP-compliant MediaPack gateways enable connectivity to Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007, legacy analog phones, fax machines and survivable remote branch offices, as to the PSTN.

Polycom announced enhancements to its market-Leading VSX Line. According to Polycom, VSX Release 8.7 software adds “new capabilities including simplified use in mixed networks (H.323 and SIP switching), QoS enhancements, support for gatekeeper redundancy for mission critical video applications, enhanced remote management, and additional language support.” The release supports Polycom’s ongoing integration efforts within its unified collaboration partners’ environments, including the Avaya Video Telephony Solution, Polycom Unified Collaboration for IBM Lotus Sametime and Lotus Notes, and Polycom Unified Collaboration for Microsoft LCS 2005.

Finally, CableLabs announced earlier this month that it had successfully completed the first in a series of PacketCable 2.0 interoperability events. The inaugural event focused on pre-PacketCable 2.0 IMS core networks, voice application servers, and voice clients. According to CableLabs, the event demonstrated “an impressive level of interoperability for SIP based voice services across equipment combinations from 10 different manufacturers including Alcatel-Lucent, Broadcom, BroadSoft, Cedar Point, Gallery-IPT, IP Unity, Motorola, MetaSwitch, Sonus, and Sylantro.” Ed Miller, CableLabs VP of broadband network services said: “Having established a solid base of voice interoperability, we're looking forward to upcoming events when we begin exploring applications that extend beyond voice to cover areas such as cross-platform features, unified messaging, and presence."

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

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, the premier site for Web-based educational presentations, white papers, and market research. Taylor can be reached at taylor@webtorials.com

Larry Hettick is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of experience in voice and data. He is Vice President for Telecom Services and Infrastructure at Current Analysis, the leading competitive response solutions company. He can be reached at lhettick@currentanalysis.com

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