Here is this week's Editors' Choice; look for Readers' Choice later this week.
EDITORS’ CHOICE
From the front page of Network World
Cisco looks to ease VPN deployments
Cisco this week is expected to introduce VPN technology that could help businesses with fast-growing branch-office deployments more quickly set up and maintain secure WAN links.
Before they were gurus
Joe Skorupa, once in the IT department at Indiana University and now a research vice president at Gartner, is among those with IT tales to tell.
Vista presents one of myriad decisions IT customers face
The hard part is over: Microsoft officially rolled out its Vista client operating system today, now it must convince users, who have more desktop options now with Linux and Apple OS X, that the operating system is the way to go.
Face-off: Image spam
Next Big Threat or not so bad? Patrick Peterson, IronPort Systems, says image spam is a major issue. John Veizades of Mirapoint says it’s an issue, but nothing to go crazy over. Read what they have to say, then jump in with your comments and questions.
Reviews
ConSentry edges out Nevis in in-line NAC appliance test
Start-ups ConSentry Networks and Nevis Networks have stepped into the network access control ring with in-line enforcement products that promise high levels of security with minimal impact on existing network infrastructures.
HP, Symantec SRM wares hit on discovery, inventory tasks
This Clear Choice test targets products that cover most storage-management bases in a heterogeneous environment: Brocade’s Fabric Manager, Cisco’s Fabric Manager, CA’s StoreAge, Commvault’s Storage Manager, EMC’s SAN Manager, Hitachi’s HiCommand Storage Services Manager, HP’s Storage Essentials Enterprise Edition, IBM/Tivoli’s Storage Manager, Softek’s Storage Manager and Symantec’s Veritas CommandCentral Storage.
In depth
Making wide-area file services secure
One of the most important security provisions in Microsoft’s ubiquitous Common Internet File System is Server Message Block signing.
Good news for CIOs: Tenure in the top IT spot has lengthened over the last few years, hitting an average of 3.6 years, according to a recent Society for Information Management survey.
How to
Ron Nutter helps a user begin to figure out which certification to take to get out of his rut. Michael O. Cooper looks at ways to reduce the odds of employees inadvertently spilling corporate secrets.
From the blogs and forums
Paul McNamara takes a look at Newt Gingrich’s proposal to fight terrorists by restricting free speech on the ‘Net. Users debate the Novell/Microsoft deal and its affect on Linux. Mark Gibbs doesn’t get suckered in by the domain re-registration scam. We just can’t get enough of that ancient Greek calculator. The Alpha Doggs wonder if a conscious machine will ever be built. Oh, and remember: Starting your own discussion on one of our articles is now as easy as filling out a form at the bottom of every article on the site.
Power polls
We’re looking at some of the power players in networking and wonder just what makes them that way. Join the discussion and vote on each one, from Microsoft’s Ray Ozzie to Google’s Eric Schmidt.
ITVideo
Cutting the cost of storage
How can you replace 30 physical servers with one purpose-built storage appliance without impacting applications? Bob Miller, CEO of OnStor, explains on this week’s Network World Hot Seat.
More news
Cisco boosts connectivity
Cisco is expected to announce new hardware modules for its Integrated Services Router line that add network management and monitoring, as well as connectivity options, such as cable broadband, DSL and metro Ethernet.
Cisco to bolster video portfolio
Cisco this week is expected to unveil a series of new and enhanced products designed to let carriers deliver application- and subscriber-aware video services.
Appliance boasts 48 processing cores
As Intel and Advanced Micro Devices roll out quad-core processors, newcomer Azul Systems this week plans to introduce the second generation of its Java appliances that are built on custom-designed chips containing 48 processing cores on each piece of silicon.
McAfee to provide total protection for corporations WatchGuard puts high-end security in low-end boxes
WatchGuard is adding high-end security features to its low-end protection devices to make it more affordable for customers to put advanced network defenses at their sites.
New research reveals more details of 2,100-year-old calculator
Advanced imaging software and 3-D X-ray tomography have finally let scientists create the most detailed reconstruction yet of a 2,100-year-old astronomical calculator.
Office 2007 early adopter: Mary Kay putting together a SharePoint makeover
Mary Kay wants to be more than just another pretty face, and the company’s IT department is digging deep into Microsoft’s Office 2007 product lineup to make that happen.
F-Secure takes aim at rootkits on Windows XP, Vista
F-Secure Thursday is announcing announced an upgraded version of its Client Security antivirus and desktop firewall software, adding rootkit detection and host-based intrusion prevention.
Companies unprepared to comply with new electronic discovery rules
Organizations are woefully unprepared to comply with amendments to the U.S. court system’s Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that call for businesses to retain and be able to produce electronic records, recent studies show.
3Com buys out Huawei joint venture for $882 million
3Com said Tuesday it is buying full ownership of its joint venture with vendor Huawei for $882 million.
HP Labs offers server cooling advances
HP Labs research center has developed a new approach to cooling data centers by adjusting air-conditioning systems to changing server loads more precisely than what’s available now.
Novell adds to management portfolio
Novell Tuesday unveiled desktop and data center management products designed to tackle heterogeneous virtual, physical and clustered server environments.
Making the leap: Tips for becoming an IT analyst
Network: Many IT gurus moved into consulting or analyst work after a former colleague or friend made the leap. “Never burn a contact,” says Zeus Kerravala, senior vice president of enterprise research at Yankee Group.
How Argonne Labs did an about-face on cybersecurity
Five years ago, Argonne National Laboratory was in the midst of a cybersecurity crisis. The Energy Department research center was failing audits, and management was under pressure to fix the situation. Today, Argonne gets top marks from security auditors. Scott Pinkerton, communications infrastructure department manager, tells Network World Senior Editor Carolyn Duffy Marsan how the organization turned things around.
For open source networking, no open source guru required, Vyatta execs say
Vyatta CEO Kelly Herrell and chief strategy officer Dave Roberts recently told Network World Senior Editor Phil Hochmuth what Vyatta is, and is not, and what it hopes to become.
Symantec snaps up IP, assets of continuous data protection vendor Revivio
Symantec last week snapped up faltering continuous data protection vendor Revivio for an estimated $20 million.
Shaklee chooses Virtela for global expansion
Imagine being the IT director faced with this problem: Your company has just been bought by a private equity firm that wants to take the operation global. You need to upgrade a 10-year-old network, but you don’t know what countries you’ll need to support or when you’ll need to support them.
