Networking World

Daily News: PM

Network World Daily News: PM, 11/15/07

NEWS PODCAST

NETWORK WORLD 360
New phishing scam known as 'whaling' targets corporate executives; Microsoft ships first public data of its Windows HPC Server 2008; and a Gartner analyst predicts that 2% of U.S. citizens will get married in virtual worlds by 2015.

The top 25 most-read STORIES and BLOGS this week

1. All-in-one firewalls tested
2. 5 cool wireless research projects worth checking out
3. 10 career killers to avoid
4. Oracle takes on VMware with own hypervisor
5. MIT reinvents the wheel with foldable, stackable car
6. The 50 greatest networking arguments of all time
7. IPv6 will matter to the enterprise in 5 years
8. Top 5 security-menace predictions for 2008
9. Whaling: Latest e-mail scams target executives
10. Net Know-It-All Challenge II

11. South Korea to build robot theme parks
12. 15 great free game sites
13. 10 robots we love to love
14. IBM agrees to buy Cognos for $5B
15. NAC's dirty little secrets revealed by early adopters
16. Half a million database servers have no firewall
17. Incredible Holmes Comet grows bigger than the sun
18. Avaya gets iPhone ready for business
19. 10 burning questions about Microsoft Office 2007
20. Microsoft hires supercomputing guru

21. When the patient is a Googler and the doctor is pompous
22. Antispam group targets transactions, not messages
23. Boeing completes prototype heat shield for Orion
24. Data center switch start-up expands line
25. Researchers pushing 100G copper networks

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

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Network Architecture

Network World's Network Architecture Newsletter, 11/15/07

10 Gigabit Ethernet has bright future, research firm says

By Jeff Caruso

Infonetics Research released a report this week that looks at how rapidly 10 Gigabit Ethernet is growing and attempts to explain why.

In 2006, the number of ports shipped on enterprise and service provider equipment was about 300,000. But Infonetics expects to see that number swell to 3 million by 2010.

10 Gigabit ports are most commonly found on Ethernet switches these days; however, Infonetics claims that 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports will start to show up on IP edge routers and optical equipment in coming years, and that will be a big factor in its growth.

The report covers enterprise Ethernet switches, routers, and application switches, as well as service provider routers, carrier Ethernet switches and optical gear.

Infonetics points to bandwidth-hungry applications as a driver for 10G in the enterprise, but there are few apps that really need 10 Gigabit. Perhaps more pressing are the backup and archiving applications Infonetics cites. If you are doing backups over the network, it helps to have as much headroom as you can get, to help the backups move quicker in a short burst.

And why haven't we seen 10G take off at really high levels in the enterprise yet? Infonetics says some buyers have been holding out for lower-priced copper alternatives.

The service providers are a different animal. They are coping with ever-increasing needs for capacity as Internet traffic continues to grow, especially as video is used by more people online. Ethernet, even the 10 Gigabit kind, brings its usual low costs to the party.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning 'Tues., Nov. 20, the Network Architecture Newsletter, written by Jeff Caruso, will be merged with the LAN News Alert and will be named the Network Architecture Alert. You'll get Jeff's analysis of the Network Architecture market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's network architecture news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World. Contact him.

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Network/Systems Management News Alert

Network World's Network/Systems Management News Alert, 11/15/07

IT management nightmares, 11/14/07: The older I get, the more often nightmares happen during the day and when I am fully awake -- and they always happen at work.

Female IT workers push for flexible workplaces, 11/14/07: Top level management must endorse flexibility and facilitate unique work-life balances to attract women to IT, according to female IT managers.

SysAdmin of the Year winner protects and serves, 11/14/07: When working in IT, one never expects the recognition that Matt Timken received Wednesday when he was chosen SysAdmin of the Year out of more than 5,000 nominations.

A shallow talent pool means hiring challenges, 11/12/07: Executives and managers might want to take a moment to look around the office and make sure employees are engaged, challenged and appropriately rewarded. Right now, the internal talent pool might just be a lot stronger than the one on the outside. Those entering the workforce are about to find it harder to get in to many of the companies on whose doors they knock-at least if they're trying to get hired at large companies.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. The Network/Systems Management newsletter written by Network World Senior Editor Denise Dubie will be merged with the Network/Systems News Alert and will be named the Network/Systems Alert. You'll get Denise's analysis of the network/systems management market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's network/systems management news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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

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Cool Tools Alert

Keith Shaw's Cool Tools Alert, 11/15/07

* LATEST COOL TOOLS VIDEO:

5 great tech gifts under $100
Keith brings you five great tech gifts under $100 - perfect for family or Yankee swaps.

* LATEST COOL TOOLS COLUMN:

Nokia impresses with latest Internet Tablet
Nokia's N800 Internet Tablet is a very small, thin and portable handheld device with a large color touchscreen (800 by 480 pixels) and the ability to perform Web browsing, play multimedia (music, photos and videos), read e-mails and access other applications (games, calculator, etc.). While this is a Nokia device, the N800 doesn't access a cellular network, instead it uses Skype to perform VoIP calling through the device's Wi-Fi connectivity.

* MORE FROM THE VIDEO LIBRARY:

New Zunes out from Microsoft
Microsoft is releasing three new Zune portable media players this week along with tighter integration with Windows and a new Zune Marketplace.

* LATEST TWISTED PAIR PODCAST:

Google (and Keith) have an android fetish
Jason and Keith discuss the Google mobile phone platform, big purchases by Dell and Symantec, and how bad their caffeine addictions have gotten.

* LATEST FROM NETWORK WORLD PANORAMA:

The FTP Threat
Every week, the news is filled with stories of yet another breach of data with millions more identities being stolen by hackers. A lot of attention is given to newer Web 2.0 applications with unproven security track records. But one company is trying to shine the light on another potential hole with a long history on the 'Net: FTP. Network World's Jason Meserve talks with Proginet Senior VP Arne Johnson about FTP, its potential risk to corporate data and what you can do to better protect your organization's data. (9:37)

Dissecting the Storm Worm threat
Josh Corman created a bit of a stir at the recent Interop conference when he told attendees that the Storm Worm botnet seemed to be retaliating against researchers trying to probe its inner workings. In this podcast, Network World's Jason Meserve talks with Corman about the Storm worm, its repercussions and what you can do to protect yourself. (14:22)

UTM: Is it ready for prime time?
Are there unified threat management firewalls with the chops to provide the perimeter security functions that an enterprise needs? Network World Lab Alliance member Joel Snyder talks with Network World's Christine Burns about the conclusions that can be drawn about UTM now that testing of the products is complete. (19:36)

* LATEST VOICES FROM IT ROADMAP:

Stuffing 10 pounds of data in 5-pound pipe
How did First Command Financial Planning Services manage to pack 70 megabytes of data through a 22 megabyte pipe to speed disaster recovery systems? Kevin Dunn, director of network operations, First Command Financial Planning explains on this edition of Voices from IT Roadmap. (9:08)

* LATEST COOL TOOL BLOGS:

Writer's strike is boon for me
Considering that we're about a month away from not having any new TV shows to watch because of the Writer's Guild strike, the prediction from In-Stat that "more than 16 million U.S. TV households may be using their broadband service more than they use their TV sets" within the next three years doesn't seem so far-fetched. In fact, the prediction may come true sooner than they're predicting.

I'm thinking label printers aren't on Santa's list…
It's the time of the year for holiday gift-giving and wish lists and all sorts of holiday gift guides (don't worry, ours comes out on Monday, Nov. 19). Most of these lists will include things like iPods, iPhones, gaming consoles, HDTVs, stereo systems, etc. But what if you just make or sell office supply devices like label printers?

Reason #547 to loathe Microsoft . . .
Probably because I'm a glutton for punishment, I decide to try and download Microsoft's new Zune music software (new Zune devices available tomorrow), mainly to see how the software handles the downloading and browsing of podcasts (who knows, maybe Zune users would want to listen to a few Network World podcasts on their device).

Video rentals via iTunes coming soon?
A guy who's upgrading his iTunes application looks at some of the code differences between the updates and finds some keywords regarding the possibility of video rentals and on-demand video.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, subscribers to the HTML version of this newsletter will notice some enhancements to the layout that will provide you with easier and clearer access to a wider range of resources at Network World. We hope you enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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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Microsoft News Alert

Network World's Microsoft News Alert, 11/15/07

Windows HPC server hits first public beta, 11/14/07: Microsoft Tuesday shipped the first public beta of its Windows HPC Server 2008, the successor to its Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 for high performance computing.

Microsoft's OneCare 2.0 due next week, 11/14/07: Microsoft plans to release a major update to its Windows Live OneCare security suite next week, according to online retailer Amazon.com.

Microsoft releases Vista SP1 RC Preview to 15,000 testers, 11/14/07: Microsoft Wednesday released Windows Vista SP1 RC Preview to 15,000 testers as part of its private beta program.

Microsoft finds holes in Windows 2000 flaw claim, 11/14/07: Microsoft has rejected claims by a team of Israeli researchers that a loophole exists in the Windows 2000 random number generator, allowing hackers to retrieve users' personal information

Microsoft offers up stand-alone virtualization server, 11/12/07: Microsoft Monday tweaked its virtualization strategy by unveiling a stand-alone virtualization server that won’t require users to run the Windows Server 2008 operating system.

Windows Server 2008 pricing revealed
Microsoft Monday outlined pricing on eight versions of Windows Server 2008 that are slated to ship early next year.

Microsoft spinoff opens mobile beta, 11/13/07: A Microsoft spinoff plans to release an open beta of a new mobile browsing user interface in mid-December.

Video: New Zunes out from Microsoft: Microsoft is releasing three new Zune portable media players this week along with tighter integration with Windows and a new Zune Marketplace.

Microsoft hires supercomputing guru, 11/12/07: Microsoft Research hires Dan Reed, a supercomputing expert at North Carolina’s Renaissance Computing Institute, to lead its multicore computing effort.

Microsoft stands by its invite to arrested hacker, 11/09/07: Microsoft's security team took a bit of a chance a few weeks ago, when it invited Roberto Preatoni to give a talk at its Redmond campus.

Microsoft extends Windows rehabbed PC licenses to businesses, 11/09/07: Microsoft launched a program to help ensure that PC refurbishers and OEMs reselling used PCs to businesses are installing legitimate copies of Windows on them.

Up for grabs: Enter to win free Microsoft training from New Horizons worth up to $2,500. Also, enter to win one of 15 free copies of SQL Server 2005 Management and Administration.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, subscribers to the HTML version of this newsletter will notice some enhancements to the layout that will provide you with easier and clearer access to a wider range of resources at Network World. We hope you enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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, 11/15/07

New switch upgrades Cisco high-end server-to-storage computing
Cisco is introducing a gateway switch that boosts the performance of applications that rely on interactions between InfiniBand-clustered servers and network-attached storage- and Fibre Channel-based storage devices.

NAC’s dirty little secrets revealed by early adopters
NAC early adopters say the security technology is much more than endpoint scanning.

Whaling: Latest e-mail scam targets executives
With targeted phishing attacks on the rise, it’s no surprise that cybercriminals are doing their research and aiming at those with the most to lose – executives.

House passes bill to streamline VoIP 911 service
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill designed to streamline VOIP providers' connections to emergency dialing 911 networks.

How Cox Communications joined the teleworking revolution
The popularity of teleworking is based on a simple premise posed by an obvious question: Why should someone have to drive to an office to talk on the phone and use a computer for work if they have a computer and a phone at home?

Leopard mauls competition, takes half Japan retail market
Apple's new Leopard operating system took a sizable bite of the Japanese retail operating system market during October. Plus: Latest Leopard apps updates

HP puts supercomputer in a 'Shorty'
HP has revealed its take on the "personal supercomputing" trend on Tuesday in the form of the Cluster Platform Workgroup System, based on the recently introduced BladeSystem c3000.

Palm-print biometrics aid Atlanta police
The Police Department of Atlanta, which makes 63,000 arrests per year, is getting a new kind of weapon to catch criminals: a workflow-based biometrics system that can scan palm prints in addition to fingerprints.

Female IT workers push for flexible workplaces
Top level management must endorse flexibility and facilitate unique work-life balances to attract women to IT, according to female IT managers.

PODCAST

The FTP Threat
Every week, the news is filled with stories of yet another breach of data with millions more identities being stolen by hackers. A lot of attention is given to newer Web 2.0 applications with unproven security track records. But one company is trying to shine the light on another potential hole with a long history on the 'Net: FTP. Network World's Jason Meserve talks with Proginet Senior VP Arne Johnson about FTP, its potential risk to corporate data and what you can do to better protect your organization's data. (9:37)

BLOGS

Today on Cisco Subnet
Forbes mag gives ShoreTel thumbs up over Cisco. Where is David to Cisco's Goliath? Top CCIE recruiter attracts large crowd at Second Life Cisco job fair. Cisco, Oracle: Get ready for an encore. UC battle brewing: Cisco vs. Avaya. PE routers on customer premises: What about password recovery? 

Buzzblog: 5 reasons ‘virtual marriage’ won't happen
A Gartner analyst insists that "virtual marriage" with full real-life legal rights and responsibilities -- even between people who have never met in person -- will be a reality by 2015. In reality, the notion is a non-starter. Here's why.

Today on Layer 8 we examine the difference between what’s hot and just brain-fryingly scorching:
Boeing said Wednesday it had completed a developmental heat shield designed to protect future NASA astronauts from extreme heat during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere following lunar and low-Earth orbit missions. 

Up for grabs: Free copies of MPLS VPN Security book; Free Cisco training course worth up to $3,495; Enter to win a free copy of MPLS VPN Security by Michael Behringer and Monique Morrow, published by Cisco Press. Also, you can enter to win a free Cisco training course of your choosing, worth up to $3,495, courtesy of Cisco learning partner Skyline-ATS. Or win a free Microsoft training from New Horizons worth up to $2,500. Also, enter to win one of 15 free copies of SQL Server 2005 Management and Administration.

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

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Network Optimization

Network World's Network Optimization Newsletter, 11/15/07

Bedfellows strengthen WAN wares

By Ann Bednarz

Some partnerships you can see coming -- a WAN optimization vendor teaming with a network storage vendor, for instance. Others come as more of a surprise, like when a content delivery network provider partners with a coffee chain.

Lately a handful of network optimization players have struck partnerships with other companies. For customers, the deals can mean vendors with different technologies are going to do the upfront work to make sure their products work well together, which can save enterprises some deployment and integration headaches.

In a deal between Expand Networks and BlueArc, for example, the companies are working to pair application acceleration technology with file server consolidation capabilities. The combination is designed to help avoid the performance hits that can accompany a typical storage consolidation project. Clearly, moving file servers from remote offices and putting them in a central location can introduce latency and congestion issues for employees trying to access files over the WAN. Jointly deploying BlueArc’s Titan network storage systems and Expand’s WAN optimization technologies can mitigate consolidation pitfalls and make it easier for remote employees to be productive, the companies say.

Similarly, F5 Networks and EMC are working together to ensure interoperability between F5’s WANJet 500 appliance and EMC’s Symmetrix networked storage system. EMC will resell F5's WANJet 500 appliance to provide acceleration and traffic shaping between data centers using EMC’s Symmetrix Remote Data Facility (SRDF) software for data replication and disaster recovery.

In the case of Stampede Technologies working with Motorola, enterprise customers can benefit from joint testing the two companies did to make sure Stampede’s client acceleration software works on Windows Mobile devices from Motorola. Stampede last month achieved validation that its client software works on Motorola handsets, including the MC35, MC7094 and MC9094. Stampede’s client acceleration software works in conjunction with its acceleration appliances and is geared for users of smart phones and PDAs who need to download large e-mail attachments, access Web applications and do other enterprise tasks on the road.

In another recent partnership, Akamai Technologies teamed with Starbucks in a deal that calls for Akamai-enabled content delivery servers to be deployed within thousands of the coffee chain’s stores to speed wireless delivery of digital music. The deal builds off an agreement between Apple and Starbucks whereby customers in a Starbucks location who have an iPod, iPhone, or device running iTunes can get free Wi-Fi access to Apple’s iTunes Store to buy and download music. Adding Akamai to the mix speeds the delivery of content from the iTunes Store to Starbucks locations -- and means Starbucks can take advantage of Akamai’s network capabilities rather than increase connectivity in each store location.

Editor's note: Starting Monday, Nov, 19, this newsletter will be renamed "Network Optimization Alert." Subscribers to the HTML version of this newsletter will notice some enhancements that will provide you with access to more resources relevant to network optimization. You will still receive Ann Bednarz's analysis of this market, which you will be able to read in its entirety online at NetworkWorld.com, along with links to relevant news headlines of the day. We hope you enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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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Security: Network Access Control

Network World's Security: Network Access Control Newsletter, 11/15/07

Cisco makes NAC box just for guests

By Tim Greene

Cisco is introducing a new NAC appliance dedicated to speeding up network access for corporate guests.

NAC Guest Server makes is possible for any employee to create a guest account so when visitors, consultants or vendors come to corporate sites, they can gain network access quickly.

If the company uses Cisco wireless access points to grant guest access, they can be the devices that enforce their NAC policy, Cisco says.

If the company already has a Cisco NAC Appliance, it can enforce the policies.

In December, the company plans to upgrade software on the appliance so it can also use Cisco 802.1x switches to enforce guest access.

Before, when they wanted to provision a guest account, a designated employee would have to set up the account in a NAC appliance or within Cisco’s Wireless LAN Controller, which involved training.

Cisco says that by having individual employees take care of creating accounts for their own guests, IT staff time is freed up to do other work.

With the appliance, authorized employees can log in to a Web page and set up the account. Businesses can designate these employees by creating groups in Active Directory or LDAP or RADIUS.

To provision a guest, the sponsor employee logs in to the device, enters guest details and sets the time window for which guest access is granted. The appliance can also send the guest their account information via e-mail or SMS message, or can print out a hard copy.

The device also logs when guests access the network, identifying details about the guest such as name, affiliation, e-mail address, etc., and who created the account.

The appliance costs $25,000.

The Network World IT Buyer's Guides provide comprehensive, detailed information on how to select, test, buy and deploy thousands of network and IT products. The new Network World IT Buyer's Guides offer even more features than before, here's just one that's worth checking out: Network Access Control

Editor's note: Starting Tuesday, Nov, 20, this newsletter will be renamed "Security: Network Access Control Alert." Subscribers to the HTML version of this newsletter will notice some enhancements that will provide you with access to more resources relevant to IT security. You will still receive Tim Greene's analysis of this market, which you will be able to read in its entirety online at NetworkWorld.com, along with links to relevant news headlines of the day. We hope you enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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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Storage in the Enterprise

Network World's Storage in the Enterprise Newsletter, 11/15/07

iSCSI breezes into SMB businesses

By Deni Connor

ISCSI was in the news last week with EqualLogic being acquired by Dell, LeftHand Networks introducing new iSCSI storage appliances and Dynamic Network Factory teaming with Bell Microproducts to bring iSCSI to Apple’s Xserve RAID arrays.

Anyone would have had to spend the week in an isolation tank to not hear about the $1.4 billion in cash Dell plunked down to acquire Equallogic and its iSCSI assets. Dell will add iSCSI functionality to its PowerVault arrays and continue to market EqualLogic storage through the channel. 

The company says that the EqualLogic buy complements its storage strategy of IT simplification – making storage as easy to manage and install as servers.

And, indeed it does. Talk with some of EqualLogic’s customers and they will tell you that there is nothing easier to work with than iSCSI.

LeftHand, perhaps unwittingly, chose last week to unveil two new iSCSI appliances – the NSM (Network Storage Module) 4150 and the NSM 2060. These new appliances join the LeftHand NSM 160, a smaller capacity array. The NSM 4150 is a 4U appliance that holds as many as 15 3.5-inch hard disks. Those hard disks can be 300GB Serial Attached SCSI, 500GB Serial ATA or 750GB Serial ATA. The NSM 2060 is a 2U appliance that can hold six 3.5-inch drives.

The NSM 4150 starts at $32,000; the NSM 2060 starts at $15,000.

Finally, Dynamic Network Factory (DNF) and Bell Microproducts teamed to deliver iSCSI capability to Apple Xserve arrays. DNF makes the StorMacX appliance, which connects to the network either as network-attached storage or iSCSI. Together, the two companies will distribute the appliance to Apple Xserve users.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 13, the Storage in the Enterprise Newsletter, written by Network World Senior Editor Deni Connor, will be merged with the Storage News Alert and will be named the Storage Alert. You'll get Deni's analysis of the storage market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's storage news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Network World senior editor Deni Connor covers storage, servers, IT in healthcare, and data center issues including virtualization and energy efficiency.

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Wide Area Networking

Network World's Wide Area Networking Newsletter, 11/15/07

Finding Cisco's competition

By Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler

The last couple of newsletters have examined some key enterprise IT markets that are dominated by Cisco. We don't think that Cisco is bad. We do, however, think that the lack of competition is bad. We will use this newsletter to continue to examine key enterprise IT markets looking for viable competitors to challenge Cisco.

One hot market is WAN optimization, and the biggest piece of this market is branch office optimization solutions that are often referred to as WAN Optimization Controllers (WOC). This is a very key market for Cisco because it is the perfect example of putting more and more intelligence in the network. Cisco's entire enterprise marketing strategy is predicated on the network becoming more and more intelligent and hence not a commodity.

Note that the phrase "in the network" does not necessarily mean that the functionality is integrated into a router. As previous newsletters have detailed, there is a lot of healthy discussion going on relative to what functionality belongs in a router and what functionality does not.

The interesting thing about the WOC market is that Cisco is not the 800-pound gorilla of the market. If there is an 800-pound gorilla, it is Riverbed. Cisco, on the other hand, is being Cisco and doing what it so often does. It was certainly not a pioneer in the WOC market, but is now looking at it seriously and making substantial progress in terms of market share. One thing that impresses us about Cisco and Riverbed is that they both have very intelligent management so we doubt if they will make any horrendous blunders. As a result, this competition will be fun and important to watch. It also will be interesting to watch and see if Riverbed can reinvent itself into more than just a WOC company.

So is that it? Does Cisco have just one or two competitors in isolated markets? Definitely not. Cisco's annual revenue is approaching $40 billion a year. In order to grow that revenue, Cisco is looking into markets that are adjacent to its existing networking market. In particular, it is looking at areas such as collaboration and storage. As Cisco enters these markets it is increasingly bumping up against its friends. Companies like Microsoft, EMC and IBM. These companies are not likely to make the same mistakes as did the switch and router vendors. 

We believe that as it moves forward Cisco will face its stiffest competition to date. It will be interesting to see if Cisco's management is agile enough to win more battles than it loses in these new arenas.

Editor's note: Starting Nov. 19 week, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning Monday, Nov. 12, the Wide Area Networking Newsletter, written by Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler, will be merged with the WAN News Alert and will be named the Wide Area Networking Alert. You'll get Steve and Jim's analysis of the convergence and WAN market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's WAN news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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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Unified Communications

Network World's Unified Communications Newsletter, 11/15/07

You really should pay attention to the FRCP

By Michael Osterman

Last week, I attended Exchange Connections in Las Vegas. The show, held in conjunction with a number of related events, was very good and quite well attended. Plus, every vendor with whom I spoke was pleased with the number and quality of the leads they received.

In my discussions with senior people at a couple of archiving vendors, they both noted that lots of their prospects are not familiar with the new amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP), despite the fact that these changes went into effect nearly a year ago.

Should you be concerned about these new amendments? Yes. Unlike many data retention requirements in specific industries, such as those imposed upon broker-dealers or hedge fund managers by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the FRCP apply to almost all organizations across all industries. If an organization can have a civil lawsuit filed against it, then the FRCP should figure prominently in that organization’s data management strategy in the context of archiving, data retention policies and the like.

The new amendments to the FRCP are critically important for both IT and business decision-makers to understand, since they raise the importance of data governance practices to a new level. Instead of proper data retention being simply a best practice for organizations to follow, data retention is now a legal obligation that carries with it serious consequences if managed badly or ignored altogether. While backup, archiving and other data retention capabilities are important components of an appropriate data management strategy, organizations should adopt a holistic approach to managing data, particularly the growing proportion of electronic information that they possess.

Editor's note: Starting Tuesday, Nov, 20, the Unified Communications newsletter will be merged with the Antispam News Alert and will be named the "Unified Communications Alert." Subscribers to the HTML version of this newsletter will notice some enhancements that will provide you with access to more resources relevant to unified communications. You will still receive Michael Osterman's analysis of this market, which you will be able to read in its entirety online at NetworkWorld.com, along with links to relevant news headlines of the day. We hope you enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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.

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Daily News: PM

Network World Daily News: PM, 11/14/07

NEWS PODCAST: Network World 360
New security research says nearly half a million database servers are exposed on the Internet without firewall protection; AT&T launches mobile banking platform that would let users do their banking from their cell phones.

Researchers pushing 100 Gig copper networks
Penn State engineers are trying to push relatively short Category-7 copper cables to support digital data speeds up to 100Gbps.

Microsoft's OneCare 2.0 due next week
Microsoft plans to release a major update to its Windows Live OneCare security suite next week, according to online retailer Amazon.com.

15 great free game sites
There are few better ways to use time, a PC, and an Internet connection than by whiling away a few hours with online games. And you frequently don't have to pay to ...

Half a million database servers have no firewall
Think your database server is safe? You may want to double-check. According to security researcher David Litchfield, there are nearly half a ...

Gartner analyst predicts 'virtual marriages' by 2015
Will you marry me (in Second Life)? A Gartner analyst is predicting that 2% of U.S. citizens will get married in virtual worlds by 2015 to people they have never met, and may never meet even after they are married. These online virtual marriages will carry all the same legal implications of marriages that take place in the “offline” world, the Gartner analyst claims.

Nortel, with IBM’s help, unveils SOA strategy
Nortel this week announced a relationship with IBM to plot a service-oriented architecture and Web services framework for the development of ...

Apple iPhone gains GameBoy emulation
The iPhone is a GameBoy - at least for those prepared to hack the device - as a group of hackers have just released a GameBoy Advanced emulator. Plus: Apple's new phones lead to iTypos

ZoneAlarm offers free antispyware for one day
Check Point Software Technologies' ZoneAlarm is offering a free download of its anti-spyware package as part of Microsoft's Patch Tuesday.

Microsoft finds holes in Windows 2000 flaw claim
Microsoft has rejected claims by a team of Israeli researchers that a loophole exists in the Windows 2000 random number generator, allowing ...

MontaVista beefs up carrier-grade Linux
Telecom nets are increasingly turning to Linux. Version 5.0 of MontaVista Linux, Carrier Grade Edition, is aimed at network equipment vendors whose gear ...

HOW-TO

Diagnose and repair an unbootable XP or Vista PC
How do I prepare an emergency boot disc so I'm ready in case Windows becomes unbootable?

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

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WAN News Alert

WAN News Alert, 11/14/07

Consumer groups oppose telecom-deregulation requests, 11/13/07: Eight public-interest and consumer groups have asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to reject requests by two large telecommunication providers to close off their copper voice and data networks to competitors in 10 U.S. cities.

Verizon defends redirecting typo traffic, 11/09/07: Verizon is standing by its program of redirecting typo traffic to their company’s own search page, and claims that the redirects are valuable ways to help their users search the Internet.

Verizon, Level 3 share $1.8B telecom contract, 11/09/07: Verizon Business and Level 3 Communications will share a multibillion contract to provide local telecommunications services to U.S. federal agencies in the Washington, D.C. area.

Podcast: Stuffing 10 pounds of data in 5-pound pipe: How did First Command Financial Planning Services manage to pack 70 megabytes of data through a 22 megabyte pipe to speed disaster recovery systems? Kevin Dunn, director of network operations, First Command Financial Planning explains on this edition of Voices from IT Roadmap. (9:08)

New broadband data: The U.S. is still behind, 11/12/07: Japan's average broadband speed is more than 10 times that of the U.S., while its subscription prices are only about 50% higher, according to new data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Designing your network in the 21st century: Change and survivability modeling involve modeling your existing network, adding known link loads and application flows, and then imposing changes or failures to see how the loads and flows react.

Separating network design and the CCIE: Cisco's announcement in July of the new Cisco Certified Design Expert (CCDE) and Master Architect certifications was a sign of the times. For years, people have been designing complex networks or, at a higher level, setting architectural strategies and goals. However, during this time, the key to the design engineer washroom was a CCIE.

Where's David?, 11/08/07: Jim and Steve are old enough to remember when the Goliath that is now Cisco had several viable competitors. While it is a stretch to say that today Cisco does not have any viable competitors in most of its traditional enterprise markets, it is only a bit of a stretch. The question this newsletter addresses is what happened to those competitors of yesterday and who if anybody can compete with Cisco in the future?

Where have Cisco's competitors gone?, 11/13/07: In the last newsletter we discussed how in many cases Cisco has become the overwhelmingly dominant vendor in some enterprise markets such as the enterprise switch and router market. We expressed our concern that this type of market dominance is ultimately bad for IT organizations as the lack of competition tends to result in less innovation and higher prices. We will use this newsletter to look at some other markets to see if Cisco is indeed the Goliath of those markets as well.

NLR, Internet2 merger off again, 11/06/07: Internet2’s on-again, off-again relationship with National LambdaRail has hit another rough patch.

How does Metro Ethernet work?: Cisco instructor explains the mysteries of Metro Ethernet.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning Monday, Nov. 12, the Wide Area Networking Newsletter, written by Steve Taylor and Jim Metzler, will be merged with the WAN News Alert and will be named the Wide Area Networking Alert. You'll get Steve and Jim's analysis of the convergence and WAN market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's WAN news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

Contact Site Editor Jeff Caruso

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Cisco News Alert

Network World's Cisco News Alert, 11/14/07

Cisco helps speed up Oracle 11g, 11/13/07: Cisco did its part for Oracle users as the OpenWorld conference opened Monday, announcing a protocol it developed with the software company for running Oracle databases over larger server clusters.

Where have Cisco's competitors gone?, 11/13/07: In the last newsletter we discussed how in many cases Cisco has become the overwhelmingly dominant vendor in some enterprise markets such as the enterprise switch and router market. We expressed our concern that this type of market dominance is ultimately bad for IT organizations as the lack of competition tends to result in less innovation and higher prices. We will use this newsletter to look at some other markets to see if Cisco is indeed the Goliath of those markets as well.

Today on Cisco Subnet: Cisco shareholders want answers to Cisco's role in repressive nations. Michael Morris separates network design and the CCIE. Cisco's latest NAC service lets end users set up guest access to the corporate network - is it good to give end users such control? Wendell Odom asks if you need certs for a job inside your company - and outside. Cisco security expert Jamey Heary reveals his security Christmas list - what's yours? Joe Chapman explains Metro Ethernet. Plus: We reveal the winner of October's free Cisco training giveaway.

Up for grabs: Free copies of MPLS VPN Security book; Free Cisco training course worth up to $3,495: Enter to win a free copy of MPLS VPN Security by Michael Behringer and Monique Morrow, published by Cisco Press. Also, you can enter to win a free Cisco training course of your choosing, worth up to $3,495, courtesy of Cisco learning partner Skyline-ATS.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, subscribers to the HTML version of this newsletter will notice some enhancements to the layout that will provide you with easier and clearer access to a wider range of resources at Network World. We hope you enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

Managing Editor Jim Duffy covers Cisco for Network World.

Assistant Site Editor Linda Leung edits Cisco Subnet.

Cisco Subnet: The independent voice of Cisco customers

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Storage News Alert

Network World's Storage News Alert, 11/14/07

Sun shoots for the stars with Constellation HPC, 11/12/07: Sun is returning to the high-performance computing market with Monday's first shipments of its Constellation System.

Back up e-mail, judge tells White House, 11/13/07: The White House must preserve e-mail and maintain copies of millions of backup e-mail messages that were allegedly deleted improperly from servers, according to a temporary restraining order issued Monday by a U.S. judge.

InfiniBand start-up launches three products for clustered computing, 11/13/07: A start-up in Austin Texas last week rolled out three storage appliances designed to interconnect clusters and improve performance.

Organize your information like you would organize handbags?: Blogger Sue Hanley explains, "A woman has designed an organizational framework (think information architecture) for her collection of 130 handbags. … Since one of the things I often have to teach new SharePoint users is the concept of metadata and breaking the folder paradigm, I am thinking that the handbag system might be a useful analogy."

The Network World IT Buyer's Guides provide comprehensive, detailed information on how to select, test, buy and deploy thousands of network and IT products. The new Network World IT Buyer's Guides offer even more features than before, here's just one that's worth checking out: Storage Virtualization

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning Tuesday, Nov. 13, the Storage in the Enterprise Newsletter, written by Network World Senior Editor Deni Connor, will be merged with the Storage News Alert and will be named the Storage Alert. You'll get Deni's analysis of the storage market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's storage news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

Senior Editor Deni Connor covers storage for Network World.

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Convergence & VoIP News Alert

Network World's Convergence & VoIP News Alert, 11/14/07

Avaya gets iPhone ready for business, 11/12/07: Avaya is announcing an iPhone version of its one-X Mobile client software that can communicate with a corporate Avaya VoIP PBX. Plus: iPhone-to-Exchange gateways - not what IT wants

Vodafone support down as users defect to iPhone?, 11/12/07: Vodafone's customer support lines have been down for the weekend, as the company deals with hordes of customers attempting to cancel their contracts as they move to O2 and the iPhone.

Alianza delivers a SaaS platform for unified communications, 11/12/07: If you’re lucky enough to live in an area of the country that is served by multiple broadband service providers, you’ve probably noticed how intensely they are competing for new customers. Most of the service offerings seem to be around Internet, digital phone and maybe television access. If Alianza has any say, the competition and the range of broadband services is about to explode.

Microsoft and Smart Phones: The Android Awakens!: Industry analyst Michael Dortch writes: "If Android becomes popular, it could push Windows Mobile into third place, closer to Research in Motion, Ltd. (RIM)'s BlackBerry, which accounts for 11 percent of the market."

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. The Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, written by analysts Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick, will be merged with the VoIP News Alert and will be named the Convergence & VoIP Alert. You'll get Steve and Larry's analysis of the convergence and VoIP market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's convergence news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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

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Daily News: AM

Network World Daily News: AM, 11/14/07

AT&T brings online banking to cell phones
AT&T Tuesday unveiled a mobile banking platform that could allow users to carry out banking transactions from their cell phones.

IBM: Most Symphony users are Microsoft customers
IBM Tuesday released the second beta of its Symphony rival suite to Microsoft Office, claiming that 88% of its users are Microsoft customers.

Google Android gets positive early reviews
While Google’s Android announcement generated a lot of hype last week, developers had to wait until yesterday to see whether the company had actually developed a good platform.

Taking business and IT alignment to the next level
You’ve heard that IT must align itself with business goals, but that’s just the beginning: IT and business users must in some cases merge operations and become experts in each other’s fields, technology executives and analysts said Tuesday.

Foreign Office breached Data Protection Act
The Foreign Office has been slammed for breaching the Data Protection Act after a probe by the Information Commissioner into a security flaw on a website used by people applying for U.K. visas.

Microsoft fixes URL problem in Windows
Microsoft has released its November security updates, fixing a critical Windows bug that has been exploited by online criminals.

Pharmacy software vendors embrace e-prescribing
Thirteen U.S. pharmacy software vendors have expressed support for electronic prescribing efforts, each committing to a formal campaign to educate pharmacists on the benefits of e-prescribing, an operator of an electronic network announced Tuesday.

Back up e-mail, judge tells White House
The White House must preserve e-mail and maintain copies of millions of backup e-mail messages that were allegedly deleted improperly from servers, according to a temporary restraining order issued Monday by a U.S. judge.

Consumer groups oppose telecom-deregulation requests
Eight public-interest and consumer groups have asked the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to reject requests by two large telecommunication providers to close off their copper voice and data networks to competitors in 10 U.S. cities.

New broadband data: The U.S. is still behind
Japan's average broadband speed is more than 10 times that of the U.S., while its subscription prices are only about 50% higher, according to new data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

PODCAST

Stuffing 10 pounds of data in 5-pound pipe
How did First Command Financial Planning Services manage to pack 70 megabytes of data through a 22 megabyte pipe to speed disaster-recovery systems? Kevin Dunn, director of network operations, First Command Financial Planning, explains on this edition of Voices from IT Roadmap. (9:08)

VIDEO

New Zunes out from Microsoft
Microsoft is releasing three new Zune portable media players this week along with tighter integration with Windows and a new Zune Marketplace.

BLOGS

Today on Cisco Subnet
Cisco's latest NAC service lets end users set up guest access to the corporate network - is it good to give end users such control? Wendell Odom asks if you need certs for a job inside your company - and outside. Cisco working on open source database connectivity protocol.

Today on Microsoft Subnet
What's the biggest problem with virtualization? Overpopulation, says blogger Mitchell Ashley. Plus, a mild Patch Tuesday, the lowdown on revisions to the MCSE program. And Bill Gates donates $50 million to fight AIDS in China.

Buzzblog: 10 reasons you shouldn't believe in UFOs
Former Arizona Gov. Fife Symington and his band of others are out beating the drums so loudly about UFOs that they might be heard on another planet. Do you believe in alien visitors? Here are 10 reasons why you shouldn't.

Today on Layer 8, where we wonder if the South Koreans ever saw Westworld:
Call it Westworld Lives! South Korea officials said they hope to build two robot theme parks for $1.6 billion by 2013.

Up for grabs: Free copies of MPLS VPN Security book; Free Cisco training course worth up to $3,495
Enter to win a free copy of MPLS VPN Security by Michael Behringer and Monique Morrow, published by Cisco Press. Also, you can enter to win a free Cisco training course of your choosing, worth up to $3,495, courtesy of Cisco learning partner Skyline-ATS.

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

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Linux & Open Source News Alert

LinuxWorld's Linux and Open Source News Alert, 11/14/07

LinuxWorld.com Feature Story

Oracle takes on VMware, others, with its own hypervisor November 12, 2007
Oracle is going after its piece of the hot virtualization market by introducing an open source Xen-based hypervisor to compete against those from Novell, Red Hat and VMware.

Oracle VM, unveiled Monday at the Oracle OpenWorld convention in San Francisco, enables virtualization on Oracle and non-Oracle software applications and on the Linux and Windows operating systems. It also operates on industry-standard x86- and x86-64-based servers. Oracle claims it offers virtualization at a cost that's lower than competitors' prices.

The Oracle announcement sent VMware's stock tumbling Monday by 8.41% or $7.38 a share, to close at $80.36 at the end of regular trading. It fell further, to $77.50, in after hours trading. The stock of Novell and Red Hat moved only slightly.

The hypervisor is available as a free download. Technical support, including upgrades, on servers with one or two CPUs costs $499 per year, per system, while support for a system with unlimited CPUs costs $999 per year, per system. (Read more)

More Linux news

Germans ramp up U.K. open source support November 13, 2007
British open source advocates will be boosted by the news that German support vendor Credativ is expanding its open source center (OSSC) to support all distributions of Linux in the U.K. (Read more)

Google offers $10 million for best Android mobile phone applications November 12, 2007
Google will give $10 million to the developers who build the best applications for Android, the open source platform Google designed for building mobile phones. (Read more)

Nigeria favors Mandriva over Microsoft once more November 9, 2007
LONDON - Microsoft may not have beaten French Linux vendor Mandriva in a large deal to supply Nigerian elementary schools with laptop computers and software after all. (Read more)

LinuxWorld Community

Ron Paul is the new Linux? November 8, 2007
Linux freaks have a reputation for posting a bunch of crazy comments every time someone in the Media reports a problem with Linux, or posts something positive about a lock-in media format, or, of course, certain IT vendors.

Are Ron Paul commenters taking up the slack from the Linux users? (Read more)

Don Marti is editor of LinuxWorld.com.

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Whitepapers Download

Today we have 2 featured Whitepapers for you from LANDesk, and Infoblox Inc.

You can see all of the available whitepapers here.

LANDesk

Learn the Benefits of Workflow Automation
Find out how you can reduce the cost and complexity of your IT operations with run book automation (RBA) tools. You will discover which features and capabilities the best RBA products should offer and how they will streamline your workflow processes. Download this whitepaper today for all of the details.

Infoblox Inc

Delivering IP Address Management (IPAM) in Microsoft Environments
Microsoft DNS and DHCP services are deployed by many enterprises. But, if you are like many other organizations out there, you've probably resorted to using spreadsheets to track your IP space. Fortunately, powerful new tools are available that make managing your IP and name space easier, faster, and more accurate than ever before. Download this Whitepaper now.

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Network/Systems Management

Network World's Network/Systems Management Newsletter, 11/14/07

IT management nightmares

By Denise Dubie

The older I get, the more often nightmares happen during the day and when I am fully awake -- and they always happen at work.

I long for the days of hiding under the covers from the imagined monster in the closet -- partly because those covers were impenetrable and I was safe as long as I didn't move. Now my nightmares happen in broad daylight -- or under the harsh reality of fluorescent lighting -- with no covers to be found and consist of public humiliation and cringe-worthy events from which I have no escape. Such incidents range from misspellings or inaccuracies turning up in articles stamped with my byline to flubbing lines on a podcast or even worse at a public speaking engagement. Now sometimes those errors and flubs are entirely my fault and sometimes they are not, but the true underlying fault never reduces the number of shudders my body experiences each time such mishaps occur. Knowing I was not the root cause of an error or mishap does not relieve my horror that something under my domain of responsibility went awry. The one comfort is that typically errors attributed to me as a journalist don't take down the entire company.

IT managers don't have it that easy. Their nightmares play out before their eyes and often through no fault of their own -- yet the blame still falls on IT when the network goes down. This past summer I felt I shared in a universal IT management nightmare when I read an article published by The Wall Street Journal. Fellow Network World columnists M.E. Kabay and Linda Musthaler also experienced the upset that the article - "Ten Things Your IT Department Won't Tell You" - would induce in anyone in or adjacent to the IT industry.

Speaking with hackers, the author details workarounds to several IT security and/or management policies put in place to protect corporate assets. Following such procedures would put networks at risk. The article is extremely irresponsible in the same way that eating disorder or suicide Web sites are when the pages offer information that people looking to do harm to themselves could use. Advising nontechnical people to circumvent the policies put in place to protect corporate intellectual property and employees' or customers' personal information is dangerous. And it will lead to less savvy individuals following the tips and unwittingly putting themselves at risk. Even though the article's author followed up with a pro-IT piece, putting such information out there is an act that cannot be recalled.

In our community forum, a lot of IT executives and professionals commented on the dangers of such information being publicly distributed. I imagine it could cause nightmares for many in IT. I am curious what other issues could be considered IT management nightmares in which something beyond IT's control puts their companies at risk and causes network managers to work harder to prevent operational or security mishaps. Feel free to share with me anonymously.

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. The Network/Systems Management newsletter written by Network World Senior Editor Denise Dubie will be merged with the Network/Systems News Alert and will be named the Network/Systems Alert. You'll get Denise's analysis of the network/systems management market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's network/systems management news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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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Convergence & VoIP

Network World's Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, 11/14/07

Whatever happened to IMS?

By Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick

Today, we’d like to launch a “mini-series” on the state of IP-Multimedia System technology and deployments that will span the next several editions of this newsletter. In the series, we will interview several key players who have a large stake in the success of IMS, including some IMS component suppliers and three carriers who have embraced an IMS strategy for service deployment.

As a prelude, we remind our readers that IMS is an architectural framework for delivering IP multimedia services and applications to users. The initial framework and standards were initially developed by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and were first designed to serve GSM-based cellular networks, but the standards have evolved to support wireless LAN, CDMA 2000, and wireline networks.

As an architectural framework, IMS does not specify how applications should be developed; rather the framework is designed to provide a common architecture that lets wireless carriers and wireline carriers interoperate between networks in supporting common applications and services. IMS also relies on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to provide session control. IMS has the potential to play a critical role in fixed-mobile convergence (FMC.)

And in the interest of fair journalism and analysis, we also disclose the hypotheses we will test and the pre-dispositions we hold as we launch this series. We believe that, “on paper,” IMS is a great idea. But we think that IMS deployments are rolling along very slowly due to many factors.

First, since IMS relies on SIP for session control and since fewer that two-dozen VoIP features have proven multivendor interoperability we think that one big roadblock to IMS deployments is the lack of agreements on how SIP should be deployed in multivendor equipment.

Second, since IMS must work in a carrier environment, IMS “hooks” for carrier operational support systems (OSS) must be in place for any scalable deployment and we find that IMS support for OSS is minimal at best.

Finally, we hypothesize that wireless carriers and wireline carriers who don’t operate sell both wireless and wireline services may have a vested interest on slow-rolling IMS-based FMC solutions while carriers that do operate both network types may hesitate to give up revenue or to change their existing business models for voice minutes of use.

Starting next week, we’ll test our hypotheses and ask several IMS suppliers and carriers to challenge our initial views on IMS.

Editor's note: Starting the week of  Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. The Convergence & VoIP Newsletter, written by analysts Steve Taylor and Larry Hettick, will be merged with the VoIP News Alert and will be newly named the Convergence & VoIP Alert. You'll get Steve and Larry's analysis of the convergence and VoIP market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's convergence news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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 a Principal Analyst at Current Analysis, the leading provider of competitive response solutions. A 25
year industry veteran, he has focused on Convergence and VoIP since 2000.

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Wireless in the Enterprise

Network World's Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter, 11/14/07

Curious cast of characters to vie for spectrum

By Joanie Wexler

We’ll know on Dec. 3 who has filed to bid in the January auctions for blocks of 700MHz U.S. spectrum, frequently called the “beachfront property” of wireless because of its excellent propagation characteristics.

Incumbents and newcomers alike will be vying for the spectrum, soon to be vacated by analog TV. Their agendas will range from protecting their existing voice-driven cellular turfs to shaking up the entire U.S. mobility model, say industry watchers.

For example, Google has indicated it might bid the full $4.6 billion minimum asking price for all 12 nationwide 22MHz licenses to be auctioned off in the C block with some open-access rules applying. Andy Seybold, principal at wireless consultancy Andrew Seybold Inc., said that if Google succeeds at that, it might turn around and do a deal with AT&T.

AT&T quietly purchased 12MHz spectrum licenses covering 196 million people and 281 markets in the 700MHz frequency range last month from Aloha Partners, L.P. That spectrum—particularly alongside a possible deal with an auction winner—could allow it into the 700MHz arena without having to do battle at the auctions.

“22MHz is not enough for a robust network, but it is a great bargaining tool,” said Seybold, who was a panelist at a meeting of the Wireless Communications Alliance at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley last week.

At the meeting, Seybold said that because the 700MHz networks “will be all IP, end to end, from the ground up,” the auctions might even appeal to the interests of IP companies such as Cisco.

Similarly, non-U.S. companies, such as Chinese 3G equipment makers Huawei and ZTE, “might come to the U.S. if Google or another incumbent get spectrum” and there’s a possibility of a deal, speculated Mike Thelander, CEO of wireless research and consulting firm Signals Research Group

He speculated that satellite operators and teams of operator and mobile handset makers might also appear at the bidding table.

For its part, Microsoft said at last month’s CTIA show that it prefers to partner with all the operators and doesn’t intend to bid on the spectrum.

Editor's note: Starting Nov. 19 week, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning Monday, Nov. 12, the Wireless in the Enterprise Newsletter, written by Joanie Wexler, will be merged with the Wireless News Alert and will be named the Wireless Alert. You'll get Joanie's analysis of the wireless market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's wireless news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Mondays and Wednesdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

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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Daily News: PM

Network World Daily News: PM, 11/13/07

NEWS PODCAST: Network World 360
Microsoft plans to release three non-security updates to Windows Vista on Patch Tuesday; Apple pushed out a firmware update for its iPhone that fixes a widely publicized bug in its browser.

Top 5 security-menace predictions for 2008
If this year will be remembered for high-profile data breaches, with the TJX break-in topping a long list, then what troubles are in store for 2008?

Cisco helps speed up Oracle 11g
Cisco did its part for Oracle users as the OpenWorld conference opened Monday, announcing a protocol it developed with the software company for ...

Samsung shows off WiMAX PDA, PC
Samsung Electronics has unveiled four new data networking terminals for use on the commercial WiMax network operating in Seoul. While the devices ...

Quest Software snaps up virtualization company Provision Networks
Quest Software announced late Monday that it had acquired Provision Networks, a maker of desktop virtualization software, to ...

Apple fixes security bug with iPhone update
Apple has pushed out its iPhone 1.1.2 firmware update to users of its popular mobile phone, fixing a widely publicized bug in the iPhone's browser.

HP CEO: Further industry consolidation likely
Count HP CEO Mark Hurd among those who believe the tech industry could be on the cusp of another major wave of consolidation.

IBM’s Lotus Symphony continues ODF push
IBM Tuesday released the second beta of its free Lotus Symphony productivity applications suite, which supports OpenDocument Format and is built on the ...

Google’s Postini division delves into data-leak prevention
Google’s Postini division announced its e-mail security service has been enhanced with data-leak prevention and content- ...

As CIO role evolves, IT's never easy
Every now and then you hear something different, something coming from a different perspective and a different vantage point. That's when it's time to sit up ...

iPhone activation system cracking under pressure
O2 is boasting thousands of iPhone sales since the device launched in the U.K. last Friday - but its activation infrastructure is feeling ...

Oracle show kicks off with SNL skits, mellow Ellison
Oracle's public image may be that of a sharp-elbowed sales competitor and insatiable eater of terrified companies.

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

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Network Architecture

This newsletter is sponsored by Infoblox Inc

Streamlining Administration
Microsoft DNS and DHCP services are deployed by many enterprises. But, if you are like many other organizations out there, you've probably resorted to using spreadsheets to track your IP space. Fortunately, powerful new tools are available that make managing your IP and name space easier, faster, and more accurate than ever before. Download this Whitepaper now.

Network World's Network Architecture Newsletter, 11/13/07

The return of SCinet

By Jeff Caruso

Every year, the SCxy conference for supercomputing pushes the envelope - not just for computing, but for high-performance networking as well.

The SC07 conference is going on this week in Reno, Nev., and the network, called SCinet, is expected to be impressive. The conference organizers claim it is the most powerful, advanced network ever built for a conference.

The network has to be substantial to support the conference activities. For example, there is the annual Bandwidth Challenge. Seven research teams will try to make the most use out of the 10Gbps WAN links, using supercomputing power from around the world.

Last year, nine teams competed. The winning team came from the National Center for Data Mining at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It was able to get a sustained transfer rate of 8Gbps on a 10Gbps network link, with a peak transfer rate of 9.18Gbps.

Last year I wrote about the network for SC06, but I focused a little too narrowly on one of the contributors to the network and had to issue a mea culpa the following week (see the correction at the bottom of the newsletter).

So, rather than venture down that road again, I'd rather take a look at some fun facts that SC07 displays on its Web site about SCinet:

* The network is built entirely by volunteers.
* Total bandwidth is 200Gbps.
* The network is modeled after regional networks, with NOCs serving as "cities."
* 48 miles of fiber-optic lines will be used.
* The wireless network will also be the largest conference implementation.
* The intrusion-detection systems operate at 40Gbps.
* 56 institutions and companies donate time and equipment.

And of course, the entire thing is built on glass, so be careful where you step. The conference organizers write:

"Exhibitors please note: It is important when constructing your booth that you do not place heavy booth material on the fiber near the edge of your booth. To avoid damage to the network fiber taped to the exhibit hall floor, point-loads must not be positioned within 18" inside the booth boundary along all aisle ways."

Editor's note: Starting the week of Nov. 19, you will notice a number of enhancements to Network World newsletters that will provide you with more resources and more news links relevant to the newsletter's subject. Beginning 'Tues., Nov. 20, the Network Architecture Newsletter, written by Jeff Caruso, will be merged with the LAN News Alert and will be named the Network Architecture Alert. You'll get Jeff's analysis of the Network Architecture market, which you will be able to read in full at NetworkWorld.com, plus links to the day's network architecture news and other relevant resources. This Alert will be mailed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We hope you will enjoy the enhancements and we thank you for reading Network World newsletters.

What do you think? Post a comment on this newsletter

Jeff Caruso is site editor at Network World. Contact him.

This newsletter is sponsored by Infoblox Inc

Streamlining Administration
Microsoft DNS and DHCP services are deployed by many enterprises. But, if you are like many other organizations out there, you've probably resorted to using spreadsheets to track your IP space. Fortunately, powerful new tools are available that make managing your IP and name space easier, faster, and more accurate than ever before. Download this Whitepaper now.

ARCHIVE

Archive of the Network Architecture Newsletter.

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Special News Alert

NETWORK WORLD SPECIAL NEWS ALERT, 11/13/07

Contact Site Editor Jeff Caruso

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