This week in Network World

NOTE: This page shows all of the stories that appeared in print this week. However, some of them may also have appeared online before the print publication date and the text may not exactly match the print version. The date on each story is the date it appeared online.

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IBM moving workforce to IP voice
IBM, creator of the Token Ring LAN, is in the midst of ripping out that infrastructure and replacing it with Ethernet, not just for speed and manageability, but also because it can support IP telephony.

Mary Kay exec says Web site more than a pretty interface
Cosmetic's giant Mary Kay's Chief Architect for E-Business Barry Bloom spoke with Network World about the technology behind Mary Kay's online evolution.

Ethernet gaining favor on more factory floors
Industrial Ethernet products aimed at lowering operating costs, helping manufacturers run their shops more efficiently and enabling the convergence of business and factory floor networks will be a key focus of next week's National Manufacturing Week trade show.

Face-off: Chapter 11
Does it give vendors and service providers an unfair advantage? Read pro/con statements, then jump in with your comments.

Tests/Buyer's Guides

XRN Interconnect architecture
3Com is targeting the enterprise backbone with its new Expandable Resilient Networking architecture, and our tests support 3Com's claim that its XRN interconnect technology combines high availability with excellent performance.

Windows patch management tools
We tested four stand-alone Windows patch management products - BigFix's Enterprise Suite, Gravity Storm Software's Service Pack Manager 2000, PatchLink's Update and Shavlik Technologies' HfNetChk Pro to find out if they improve patch deployment.

Tech Update

Wi-Fi switching adds wireless control
Key to wireless LAN switching technology is the ability to maintain user identity across the wireless infrastructure so services and security can be delivered seamlessly to users or user groups from access point to access point.

Management Strategies

Support savings
Tapping Usenet and vendor sites for technical help and updates conserves time and money.

Net.Worker

Eaton Vance's security strategy for telework
Like most investment management firms, Eaton Vance walks a tightrope between providing its users with the remote access they need, and ensuring those users don't compromise the network. Vinnie Cottone, vice president of infrastructure services, recently spoke with Network World about his strategy for securing remote workers.

In brief: New Parks Associates broadband survey
Plus: Home networks stats, a new SSL-based appliance from AEP Systems and energy saving tips.

SSM Health Care uses virtual call center
Today, 11 staffers work half their shifts at home, and plans to send another six are in the works. Jaeger and his nurse supervisor work from home part-time, and Jaeger's goal is to send everyone home permanently within three years.

More news

Palmisano preps for IBM's growth
First-year IBM CEO Sam Palmisano has shown the kind of corporate vision experts expect of him. In the past 12 months, he's filled Big Blue's professional services gap, shored up its software division, and reinvigorated its server portfolio. But a tough economy and voracious competitors will keep Palmisano from resting on any laurels he might have earned in his rookie year.

Web site warrantee
Altaworks tunes AAA's Web site to keep the auto giant's apps running smoothly.

Cisco exec talks up IP telephony ROI
Don Proctor, general manager of Cisco's Voice Technology Group spoke with Network World Senior Writer Phil Hochmuth about why businesses should invest in IP telephony and about Cisco's voice road map.

Sun powers up software, servers
Sun has charted a new course for the way it will deliver software and manufacture processors in the hopes of keeping users as it faces increased competition from IBM and Intel.

Patch mgmt. tools on tap from Shavlik
Automating will be the prevailing theme next week when Shavlik Technologies releases the first major revision of its patch management product for Microsoft software.

DSL penetrates the business market . . . slowly
Many early providers of DSL disappeared during the telecom meltdown, but the technology has continued to evolve and grow in popularity.

Survey: IT spending might rise, but . . .
Plus: Counterfeit Symantic software seized; Tenor Networks shuts down; Bill Gates still the world's richest man; standards group works on reliable Web services messaging.

Microsoft fights for your digital rights
Microsoft last week aired plans to help users secure corporate documents with digital rights management technology. It's a move observers say should bring awareness to the technology, but hardly would signal the start of widespread adoption.

NAI, CA get tougher on viruses
Network Associates Inc. and Computer Associates last week separately announced antivirus-software upgrades in an effort to differentiate their offerings in a market that observers say has nearly reached commodity status.

Aelita zeros in on Active Directory restructuring
Aelita Software this week will introduce the first software that provides automated tools for reshaping Microsoft's rigid Active Directory.

FCC ruling could mean status quo
The FCC's much-ballyhooed triennial review was supposed to kick-start the ailing telecom industry, but observers who've had time to digest the controversial decision say the new regulations won't have much immediate impact.

Better days ahead for telecom?
There might be a light at the end of the tunnel for the U.S. telecom market, despite a seemingly continuous drumbeat of bad news.

Broadwing sale ends rough flight
The fanfare with which Broadwing was launched three years ago was but a distant memory last week as the company announced the sale of its broadband division for a bargain-basement price.

In brief: AT&T and Cisco expand relationship
Plus: BellSouth uses DWDM and 802.11i-based wireless products delayed.

In brief: NetIQ releases SQL Management Suite 2.0
Plus: Macromedia rolls Presedia tools into Breeze

In brief: IBM peps up low-end Unix server
Plus: Veritas enhances back-up software.

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03/03/03