IT budgets are up again this year, but only by 6% according to IDC. So while executives plan to spend, they still have to be careful about just where their dollars are going. This year's NetWorld+Interop offers a real-world look at many of the most tempting technologies.

Wireless, collaboration technologies, VoIP and the increasing Webification of business applications are all placing new demands on corporate networks. The plus side is that there is no shortage of innovation when it comes to addressing these growing network needs. The downside is that sometimes it's hard to know which of those technologies is right for you.

"There are new application demands and I think a lot of companies are finding that their infrastructures are not capable of delivering so they're having to re-evaluate and in some cases re-architect their infrastructures. In doing so, they have to make the right decisions the first time," says Steve Wylie, N+I director of content. "N+I becomes the safe place to make those decisions in context because they can see new technologies as part of a working system."

In addition to the Interop eNet, which will give users a look at VoIP, anti-spam appliances and performance-monitoring tools in action, attendees will have access to more information than they have had in the past. The event will include more free educational seminars than ever before on everything from security to network performance to open source. There will be the usual expert-led seminars, tutorials and workshops. And 375 exhibitors are expected to crowd the show floor, a 10% jump from last year.

Also: ILabs hones in on SIP, secure client access and open source

Wylie and N+I General Manager Lenny Heymann say more than 17,500 people are expected to attend this year's show, an almost 10% increase from the 16,000 who showed up last year. So if you're among those heading to N+I's new digs at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, keep this planner on hand. We've pulled out some of the highlights to help you get the most out of the show.

Monday, May 2

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: SSL VPN Day

As business becomes increasingly virtual and remote access becomes the norm, it is critical to make sure those tapping into your network are legitimate. But how best to provide secure remote access?

IPSec has been the answer for most companies that want for ironclad security. But what about evolving SSL VPN technology? With SSL VPNs, network managers don't have the headache of having to install software on remote devices because users tap into the network via a Web browser and an SSL connection.

Join Joel Snyder, a Network World Test Alliance partner and a senior partner at Opus One, for this intensive daylong workshop that will give the lowdown on all SSL VPNs can offer. The workshop will provide the nitty-gritty on how SSL VPNs work, what features are common to SSL VPN products, how different products affect application access and how best to evaluate them. Attendees will find out how to determine whether the technology is the best fit for their organization.

8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.: Network Forensics Day

There's no murder mystery here. But for network managers, the detective work during this daylong session likely will be just as exciting. Bill Alderson, executive network analyst at the Pine Mountain Group, and Marshall Manhoff, senior technical manager for AOL's network analysis group and out-of-band access team, lead the event that gives attendees a firsthand look at how to solve the mysteries of network and application underperformance. They will guide attendees through troubled, complex, multi-vendor network environments and show how to pinpoint and fix these problems, as well as how to prevent them.

Tuesday, May 3

2 to 2:45 p.m.: Assembling and Running a Test Lab Inside Your Company

Network managers under pressure to put products through its paces before deploying them on a live network should make room for this session. Joel Snyder and VPN Consortium Director Paul Hoffman will share tips for how to avoid kinks when running your own test lab. They'll offer advice on how to save your time and your company's money. Everything from patch cords and power strips to automation scripts and open source test tools contribute to a good lab. Hoffman and Snyder will share their experiences from two decades of hard-core testing.

9 a.m.: John Chambers, president and CEO Cisco, Keynote

John Chambers, president and CEO of Cisco Systems, will open Interop with this keynote address in which he will talk about how to unleash the power of your network to drive productivity, collaboration and innovation. Business processes have moved from production-based systems to transaction-based systems to interactive systems. With the growing focus on interaction, the need for highly secure networks is mounting. Chambers "will address the critical role that IT plays in enabling secure, high-value interactions between people and machines in the real-time world of today," the company says. Chambers will talk about Cisco's architectural approach to security and how an "Intelligent Information Network sets the foundation for organizations to move with speed and flexibility for competitive advantage on a global scale."

9 to 10 a.m.: Testing Endpoint Security Options

This is the first of several sessions that will give attendees a detailed look at the results of testing done in Network World labs. Network World Lab Alliance members Mandy Andress, president of ArcSec Technologies, and Rodney Thayer , principal investigator with security research firm Canola & Jones, are testing endpoint security devices that include everything from personal firewalls to host intrusion-prevention systems to policy enforcement products. Their first round of tests focused on proactive products that identify and block malicious traffic. Now they're testing endpoint policy enforcement products. This session will take attendees under the covers of the testing and provide perspective on the endpoint security market.

10:15 to 11:15 a.m.: Is the End of Unsolicited E-mail in Sight, or will SPIM, SPAM and SPIT Spin Entirely Out of Control?

There's no shortage of innovation when it comes to fighting the proliferation of spam. During the past year or so, network managers have had a growing pool of anti-spam product choices. But the onslaught of unsolicited e-mail continues, and spammers are branching out into instant messaging, short messaging services and IP telephony. Phillip Hallam-Baker, principal scientist at VeriSign, and John Veizades, product manager at Mirapoint, lead this session in which they will try to answer the question, "Can you get a handle on spam?"

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.: Leveraging Infrastructure Data for Performance Management

Infrastructure management tools provide tons of information to track system availability and troubleshoot problems. Ever thought of putting the data to wider use? In this session Wilson MacDonald, vice president of product management at Concord Communications; Bob Quillin, vice president of marketing and product management at Network Physics; and Joel Trammell, CEO and co-founder of NetQoS will discuss how network managers can use infrastructure measurement data to keep tabs on network performance metrics such as application response time.

2 to 3:15 p.m.: VoWi-Fi - Revolution in the Making

These days, network managers are getting increasingly comfortable with VoIP and Wi-Fi technologies. But what about combining the two? VoIP over Wi-Fi (VoWi-Fi) stands to be the next big thing as businesses look for ways to integrate disparate wireless voice and data systems. Keith Shaw, senior editor of product testing at Network World, will moderate this panel discussion with David Newman , president of Network Test and a Network World Test Alliance member; Joel Vincent, director of product marketing at Meru Networks; and Ben Guderian, director of market strategy and industry relations at SpectraLink. The panel will address issues such as when cost-effective cellular/VoWi-Fi phones will be available, what users can expect from service providers when it comes to VoWi-Fi and how VoWi-Fi might lead to the end of the tethered desktop phone.

2 to 3:15 p.m.: Performance Enhanced ROI: Choosing Between Application and Network-Centric Solutions

When looking for ways to boost the performance of your network, you can come at it from two angles: the network angle and the application angle. But which is better? Application-centric approaches boost specific applications, but are limited in scope. Network-centric tools might not provide as much application performance improvement as an application-based tool, but they can be applied to any application that traverses the network. Join Johna Till Johnson , president and chief research officer at Nemertes Research, Network World columnist and author of Network World's Data Center newsletter; Lynn Nye, president of APM Advisors; and Peter Sevcik, president NetForecast, as they discuss how to decide which approach - or whether a combination of the two - is best for you.

3:30 to 4:30 p.m.: Overcoming the Barriers to Regulatory Compliance

Complying with new federal regulations regarding data management and retention is putting a strain on all IT shops. Analysts say that regulatory compliance will cost companies more than they spent in advance of Y2K. Don Kleinschnitz, vice president of Symantec's Secure Enterprise Administration product delivery, will lead this session that will outline what the issues are when it comes to regulatory compliance and how network managers can deal with them.