iLabs engineers cook up 802.1X, iSCSI, MPLS tests

The NetWorld+Interop 2003 InteropNet Labs - a neutral proving ground for vendors to publicly test their products in accordance with emerging standards - will focus on three areas this week in Las Vegas: 802.1X-based wireless security; iSCSI-based storage networks; and advanced internetworking based on Multi-protocol Label Switching. Weeks ago in a warehouse halfway between San Jose and San Francisco, dozens of iLabs volunteers set up a network and conducted rounds of interoperability testing. Then the iLabs team packaged up the network and shipped it to Las Vegas, where show attendees can get hands-on experience. As media sponsor of the iLabs, Network World had exclusive access to the inner workings of the hot stage testing. We sent Network World Global Test Alliance member Joel Snyder and director Christine Burns to California to participate in the testing and report the findings.

Wireless security is rising, but it's not fully baked yet
In interoperability testing that NetWorld+Interop's iLabs Wireless Security team conducted earlier this month, we found that products supporting 802.1X -- the proposed standard for authentication in wireless networks -- worked well together most of the time, but we identified some problem areas that need attention from standards bodies and vendors alike.

What can iSCSI do for you?
But what can iSCSI do for you? How about letting you go to CompUSA, buy three USB floppy disk drives, hang them off a Linux server and configure them into a RAID array from a Windows 2000 Server over a wireless network?