Here is this week's Editors' Choice; look for Readers' Choice later this week.
EDITORS’ CHOICE
From the front page of Network World
VoIP is here to stay
Is VoIP ready for prime time? Look at the raft of ambitious enterprise VoIP projects announced in recent months.
Microsoft Research fights critics, targets innovation
When the word “innovation” is tossed about many may look down their nose at the company sitting on top of the high tech industry – Microsoft (also join the discussion on this article – look at the bottom of the first page for links to posts).
IBM targets service research
Services research is a hot area at IBM, as the corporate giant looks to eek greater profitability from its services division.
IEEE sets sights on 100G Ethernet
The next Ethernet speed will be 100Gbps, the IEEE voted recently. Now the standards body just has to go build something never done before.
Reviews
Patch-management products move toward remediation
Patch-management products have evolved from simply pushing out patches to now encompassing more preemptive security measures, including manipulating security configuration settings, deploying standard software packages, maintaining policy compliance and taking an active role in vulnerability remediation.
A10 provides simple, ID-based provisioning tool
Our Clear Choice Test of A10 Networks’ IDSentrie shows this software package bucks both trends: It provides a simple tool for provisioning accounts and synchronizing passwords across multiple repositories and enables user self-service, with relatively low associated deployment costs.
From the blogs and forums
But first a note on why you’d want to sign up for a Network World Community account: With an account you can get e-mail notification whenever somebody posts to a discussion you’re interested in. And if you post to a discussion (or start a new one), your comments will go up right away, rather than waiting in a queue for an editor to review. Plus, we’re going to start trying some interesting stuff (the ability to create your own groups on specific topics and issues) that will require registration. Registration is free and doesn’t take very long (honest!) – start at the Registration page.
Speaking of registration, Adam Gaffin gets a headache trying to register for certain sites. NetworkWorld.com visitors debate whether Microsoft is really an innovator. James Gaskin talks to IT types in Portland, Or. and discovers the problems some have getting bosses to approve basic training. One user doesn’t think MySpace can root out sex offenders, while others debate whether YouTube should remove videos that seem to show people inhaling household aerosols. Paul McNamara ponders the recent HP pretexting lawsuit settlement. Mark Gibbs and readers debate desktop virtualization. Jason Meserve discovers life moves a bit slower in Vermont.
In depth
Overlay network for security policies
One way to ensure the security of business transactions, customer data and intellectual property is to use IPSec to provide data encryption and authentication services. However, the management of IPSec policies and the Internet Key Exchange protocol – which is used for the authentication of end nodes and the creation of the IPSec security associations – present some practical deployment limitations. These constraints can be addressed using a three-layer approach to security.
Massachusetts CIO reflects after resignation
Louis Gutierrez reflects on a painful second tour as head of the state’s IT department.
How to
Ron Nutter helps a user figure out how much bandwidth end users are consuming. Joshua Wright looks at security issues around WiMAX.
ITVideo
Fiberlink’s Dan Hoffman uses his hacking skills to show customers how vulnerable they may be. He shares his secrets on this week’s Hot Seat video.
More news
XenSource expands virtualization software lineup
Organizations preparing to move to virtual environments will find broader options in 2007 as competitors to market leader VMware emerge with enhanced, enterprise-ready offerings.
Financial services firms share security tactics
Some of the top players in the financial services arena – such as Visa, JPMorgan Chase and Experian International — are expanding their tactics for preventing customer data loss.
Disney protected with home-grown security, compliance software
The Walt Disney Co. is locking down its applications with cutting edge identity management innovations developed in-house that are helping the entertainment giant meet its security, compliance and auditing goals.
