The 200 largest network companies and more

EDITORS’ CHOICE

From the front page

Network World 200: How the biggest network companies measure up

This year’s Network World 200 list shows an industry in robust health, but with changing dynamics. As the biggest companies keep bulking up, will they collapse under their own weight or blossom into fuller glory?

Crunch time for Microsoft management plan

Three years into a projected 10-year effort to create a self-healing management platform for Windows, it’s time for Microsoft to stop talking and start producing, analysts and partners say.

Securing UC Berkeley’s network

Clifford Frost, director of UC Berkeley’s Communications and Network Services, on how IT has evolved, getting ahead of security challenges, handling security breaches and more.

In depth

WAN emulators ease application tests

Extensive testing of applications and equipment is therefore critical to ensure acceptable performance under all network conditions. Fortunately, products known as WAN emulators make it easy for developers and IT managers to test in a lab environment under a wide range of conditions by emulating WAN links on a local network.

How to

Choosing the right OS for a database server

Ron Nutter helps a user with some basic criteria for his selection.

Security

James Gaskin: “It’s raining bad news for the security conscious all of a sudden. What is going on?”

From the blogs

Mark Gibbs wonders how you ensure truth and accuracy on public collaboration sites. Paul McNamara ponders the uselessness of non-delivery e-mail messages. Keith Shaw takes a look at draft-N (i.e., 802-11n) wireless products. Jason Meserve recommends the Sony DSR-11 DVCAM Digital Videocassette Recorder.; ;

More news

The hard sell of the IP softphone

Corporate users are talking on IP softphone clients everywhere – or nowhere, depending on whom you talk to.

Telecommuting security concerns grow

Telecommuting has become a way of life as more companies let employees work from home to do jobs that might otherwise be done on corporate premises. As a result, IT managers are adapting security policies to encompass home PCs.

IT turning green: New regulations make hardware more environmentally friendly

As IT buyers focus on finding the most energy-efficient and coolest-running data-center systems, another environmentally friendly trend is taking off in the industry: the requirement to build hardware free of toxic substances.

Google points search at corporate applications

Google last week demonstrated its interest in winning over business users with the introduction of features for its corporate search appliance that can crawl through data from business applications.

Postini adds user message archiving to e-mail service

Messaging security service provider Postini this week plans to augment its archiving offering with a feature that lets users store e-mail and instant-messaging communications somewhere other than on the company’s servers.

Heroix adds correlation, SLA monitoring to software

Heroix this week is set to release an upgraded version of its application performance management software that the company says can help customers understand how IT events impact the performance of business applications.

Advanced switch gear on tap at Interop

Several Ethernet and application switch vendors plan to announce products at the Interop show next week that are intended to make high-speed network gear more affordable and help users boost application performance and security

Manufacturers eye on-demand software

Manufacturers of all sizes are looking into hosted software for core supply-chain functions, such as demand planning and factory scheduling.

Virtualization vendors take aim at desktop

VMware this week will announce it has formed an industry group, the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure Alliance, with more than 20 other software, hardware and service providers. The alliance is aimed at building joint virtual desktop offerings.

Marathon eyes a wider server market

Marathon Technology introduces EverRun HA, its third product since it emerged from bankruptcy protection and reinvented itself as a software company in 2004.

Microsoft patch service due

Microsoft plans to give customers a peek at the next version of its Windows Server Update Services software at the Microsoft Management Summit conference in San Diego this week.

In brief: Verizon Business launches trouble-ticket dashboard

Verizon Business last week launched a dashboard interface for its online trouble-ticket management system.

Interop 2006 Show Planner

Our take on the most important sessions you should be watching for at the show.

Softricity spotlights virtualized applications

Softricity is expected to release this week the latest version of SoftGrid, application virtualization software that is aimed at reducing the work associated with managing Windows PCs by turning desktop applications into virtual services that can be delivered over a network.

Microsoft to push Sender ID, program at e-mail summit

Microsoft said last week it plans to promote adoption of the Sender ID e-mail specification and introduce a new program for helping customers protect the integrity of e-mail messages.

But wait, there’s more

Our This Week page will also link you to: VPLS slowly pushing out legacy networks; Marshal sets up spyware protection; Vendors advance WLAN mesh networks; Rootkits aren’t doom – but keep up defenses; Start-up’s software classifies all data types; New BellSouth service delivers encrypted e-mail; Start-up takes aim at ‘zombie’ PCs; CA offers free database management tool; NetContinuum upgrades application firewall hardware, software.