Interop Las Vegas 2008 planning guide

Network World Testing Track
Tuesday, April 29, 1:15 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Room: Breakers L
Title: Testing Unified Threat Management tools for the enterprise
Presenter: Joel Snyder, Opus One
Are there UTM firewalls with the chops to provide the perimeter-security functions an enterprise needs? In his recent review of 13 high-end UTMs, Snyder ran a battery of tests that stressed eight categories of products. In this session, he will outline where the products stand up, fall down and just don't make an impact. Also to be covered are follow-up tests of performance and of new systems the test didn't cover.

Network World Testing Track
Wednesday, April 30, 4:15 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Room: Breakers L
Title: Knowing what to test in a modern-day switch
Presenter: David Newman, Network Test
Once the holy grail for switch performance, line-rate performance now is just table stakes. As Network World’s access-switch tests show, new features are what differentiate switches now — for example, multicast, 802.1X authentication, manageability and IPv6 support. In this session, Newman will cover test results and buying guidelines.

Monday, April 28, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Energy camp @ Interop
This day-long seminar, which takes place the day before Interop formally kicks off, is dedicated to reducing IT's carbon footprint. According to Interop General Manager Lenny Heymann, Energy Camp will "open up the discussion to the whole community to ask for their perspectives on sustainability." He says the camp will be much more participatory than traditional panels and sessions, because audience members will be asked to share their perspectives. Energy Camp is organized by David Berlind, general manager of alternative events for TechWeb, and James Governor, co-founder of open source analyst firm RedMonk.

PICK OF THE DAY: Tuesday, April 29, 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
KEYNOTE: C.K. Prahalad, distinguished professor at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business
In what is sure to be a fascinating presentation, professor and author C.K. Prahalad will open this year's Interop with his keynote address. He is best known for his acclaimed books and essays on business strategy and poverty reduction. Among his most famous international bestsellers are the 1994 Competing for the Future, as well as the 2004 The Future of Competition and The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits.

Tuesday, April 29, 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Enterprise 2.0: What it is and why it matters
Can wikis, social-networking sites and other Web 2.0 applications deliver value to the enterprise? This question, which has led to some disagreement among the academic community, will be addressed by a panel headed by Ken Ross, the CEO of research firm Expert CEO, that promises to provide a broad overview of what Enterprise 2.0 applications are and how they will affect enterprise software. Other panelists include Eugene Lee, CEO of Enterprise 2.0 applications vendor Socialtext, and Karen Appleton, vice president of business development for online storage vendor Box.net.

Tuesday, April 29, 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m.
Evolution of threats and their impact on security technology
Although IT security has worked hard over the years to meet the challenges of viruses, worms and IP-spoofing attacks, threats to corporate security keep evolving into dangerous new forms. Trojans that capture keystrokes, and attacks delivered through Web browsers are just two of the techniques that have become popular among malevolent hackers in recent years. Gene Schultz, CTO of security firm High Tower Software, will use this session to describe new security technologies that handle these recent threats, and will present examples of how security technology has changed in response to new challenges.

Tuesday, April 29, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Wireless security and management: New challenges, new opportunities
With more companies using more and faster wireless devices, IT departments will have to adjust their security and management strategies for wireless LANs and wide-area wireless deployments. This panel discussion includes representatives from several WLAN and wireless security vendors, including Greg Murphy, COO of AirWave Wireless (recently acquired by Aruba Networks); Ahmet Tuncay, Sr., vice president of product management at Trapeze Networks; and David King, chairman and CEO of AirTight Networks. The panel will be moderated by Lisa Phifer, vice president of consulting firm Core Competence.