Here is this week's Editors' Choice; look for Readers' Choice later this week.
EDITORS’ CHOICE
New buyer’s guides
Our all-new series of buyer’s guides will get you the information you need to make the right buying decision – with thousands of details on hundreds of enterprise products (with more to come). We’ve started with security – where you can compare products and, if we’ve tested them, our test results (free registration required).
From the front page
Cisco may adopt unbundled pricing
Cisco last week said it was considering unbundling network software from its current hardware platforms – a move that could end up costing users more but could give them increased flexibility in buying and configuring the company’s gear.
Dashboards called a key to net mgmt.
IT executives are finding dashboards that let them quickly gauge the effect of interrelated events and take corrective action can make staff more productive and keep key systems humming.
Verizon to upgrade network, services
Verizon Business is readying major changes to its network designed to result in a faster, more reliable system capable of supporting next-generation services for enterprises, such as Ethernet, VoIP and IP-based videoconferencing.
Matt vs. the volcano
Reventador, located in northern Ecuador, is an active volcano. In 2002 it erupted with such massive force that it blanketed Quito, Ecuador’s capital city 60 miles to the west, with a layer of ash so thick the airport had to shut down. … What scientists want even more than taking in the sights and sounds, however, is gathering precise records of seismic activity and studying the data, which is where Matt Welsh, assistant professor of computer science at Harvard University, and his wireless sensor mesh network come in.
In depth
Smart use of contract help is central to the New Data Center plan. Call it outsourcing. Call it managed services. Call it out-tasking. But network executives will call on it in some form to help them manage the complexities of their advanced New Data Center infrastructures.
A new sheriff in town: monitoring outbound content
IT organizations have learned the hard way that leakage of confidential information, whether it trickled out inadvertently or passed through in a calculated fashion, can levy heavy damages against market share and brand reputation, and potentially give rise to civil lawsuits and punitive fines.
Online banks strengthen security
About five times a month, customers try to renege on purchases and transfers they’ve made through their SolidPay e-wallet accounts by claiming they’re victims of fraud. Each time the data gathered through SolidPay’s authentication system proves they’re lying, saving the company what could be tens of thousands of dollars per month in charge-backs to its customers’ accounts.
Protocol measures IP performance
Measuring the performance of IP networks through the use of standard protocols has always been a challenge. The inventors of IP provided some tools, such as ICMP Ping, Traceroute and UDP Echo, as part of the TCP/IP suite of protocols.
Review
Longitude offers lots of agent-less latitude
While an agent-less monitoring tool cannot supply the wealth of detail of an agent-based product, its simpler environment, reduced risk of crashing a server and easier deployment make it a compelling and tempting choice.
Audio/video
New podcast: Network World’s Twisted Pair
Each week, Jason Meserve and Keith Shaw chat up the hot news and cool stuff you need to think about.
ITVideo: Fixing the plumbing of storage
What do data collection/retention and clogged toilets have in common? Dave Ellard, senior vice president at Glasshouse, explains the analogy and how you can remedy the problem on this week’s Network World Hot Seat.
How to
Ron Nutter helps a user protect the data sent to and from user laptops in the field.
Best EAP for an enterprise wireless LAN
Joshua Wright discusses the options.
From the blogs and forums
What next for Novell now that Messman is out? Discuss. Paul McNamara, meanwhile, discusses the case of the ‘missing’ Microsoft exec. Mark Gibbs considers why laptops don’t belong on laps. James Gaskin tries to sort out dueling claims when it comes to eBay integration of rival Intuit and Microsoft apps. Adam Gaffin spies the minivan belonging to what appears to be Massachusetts’s top Linux fan.
More news
Reaction positive to executive changes at Novell
Novell’s announcement last week that it had ousted CEO Jack Messman and replaced him with President Ron Hovsepian was greeted positively by NetWare users and industry analysts who say they hope the changes will lead to Novell’s resurgence in the operating system and identity management markets.
Mortgage broker banking on smart-phone app
A wholesale mortgage broker is exploiting a mobile application to give its sales representatives one-handed access to account data anywhere they can get a cell phone signal.
Altiris integrates application virtualization wares
Software management and virtualization vendor Altiris last week released software to help corporations ease rollouts of virtualized applications and manage desktops better.
Three IPS products pass security evaluation tests
ICSA Labs’ first tests evaluating intrusion-prevention systems have yielded just three that made the grade out of 10 submitted for review.
Network Appliance enters SMB storage market with new array
Network Appliance this week plans to announce its entry into the small and midsize business market, with a storage array designed to work in network-attached, iSCSI and Fibre Channel environments.
One man’s fight against rootkits
While rootkits used by malicious hackers are obviously bad, there are arguments as to whether rootkits could be used in commercial software for good purposes. What’s your view?
Network support key as mainframe evolves
As IBM evolves the mainframe as a hub for increasingly on-demand data centers, it is fine-tuning how the Big Iron communicates with other devices on distributed networks, making it easier to support LANs, enhancing the performance and bandwidth of network links and adding security features specifically designed for service-oriented architectures.
Platform Computing flexes grid software
Platform Computing has rolled out a version of its grid software designed for the financial industry, saying the release will help customers to make better use of compute resources by enabling multiple applications to be managed and share resources across a grid.
More? But of course!
Our This Week page will also link you to: AARP advances Web services; Backup consumes big chunks of budgets, study shows; Advocates defend telecommuting against backlash; Intel hopes to stem AMD tide; MessageLabs updates hosted Web security; Symantec plans early warning system; VMware acquires virtualization company Akimbi; Inter-Tel bolsters Linux-based IP PBX; IBM pushes online contract mgmt.; Quest adds directory mgmt. console, SQL tools; Obstacles remain for US government telecommuters; Providers cast wider anti-phishing net; Analysts debate need for IPv6 in near future; WAN improvements speed hospital net.
